Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Mark Prisk and Sheila Gilmore
Mr Prisk
My hon. Friend puts his finger exactly on the point: some Labour councils and, indeed, some trade unions, which, as we know, bankroll the Labour party, are bitterly opposed to the idea that people should be able to buy their own home. I can tell him that this Government are determined to ensure that eligible tenants who want to exercise their right to buy will be able to do so, and never mind the politics on the other side of the House.
Sheila Gilmore (Edinburgh East) (Lab)
The Government said that the proceeds of these right-to-buy sales will be used to build new affordable homes, but the problem surely is that these are not going to be affordable homes and one direct consequence will be a big increase in the housing benefit bill if any houses actually get built for that kind of rent.
Mr Prisk
I am sorry to disappoint the hon. Lady, but some 844 dwellings have started or been acquired already, and those are affordable homes to rent. So she is wrong on the facts and the Opposition are wrong on their ideology against the principle that people should have the right to buy their own home.
Employment Law (Beecroft Report)
Debate between Mark Prisk and Sheila GilmoreUrgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.
This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record
Mr Prisk
As my hon. Friend the Member for South West Norfolk (Elizabeth Truss) pointed out a moment ago, Germany has made important reforms recently, and that has helped. We will look at all the evidence. We have a call for evidence, which will close in June, and I hope that the hon. Lady will contribute.
Sheila Gilmore (Edinburgh East) (Lab)
Opposition Members might be more able to discuss the issue if they had read the report. It has been kicking around in Government for several months, but the Government have resisted calls for its publication. Why do the Minister and his colleagues persistently repeat the statement that they have created 600,000 jobs since the election, when the Minister knows that—in the words of his own Prime Minister—the first 500,000 were created in the first six months, and were clearly a result of the stimulus created by the last Government?
Mr Prisk
It is true that 600,000 private sector jobs have been created since the last election, and we are proud of that. However, as the hon. Lady ought to recognise, Governments do not create wealth and jobs but business does, and our job is to ensure that it can do so more confidently.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Mark Prisk and Sheila Gilmore
Sheila Gilmore (Edinburgh East) (Lab)
What assessment has the Minister made of the impact of the Scottish Government’s decision to charge English students tuition fees of up to £9,000?