Health and Disability Reform
Debate between Mel Stride and Stephen McPartland(7 months ago)
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Stephen McPartland (Stevenage) (Con)
I would like to give the Secretary of State the benefit of the doubt, and he has made a number of important points, but those 2.6 million people and their families who will have heard his statement will be absolutely terrified. A lot of them will feel that the reforms are just about providing some kind of cuts to services. I believe that we need to try to support those people and put compassion at the heart of our welfare system. There are reports of up to 2 million people waiting for mental health treatment at the moment, so does the Secretary of State believe that in this “compassionate” review, where we are going to have a “grown-up conversation”, we will be able to see more money invested to ensure that those 2 million people can get more mental health support?
Mel Stride
My hon. Friend raises important points that are core to the consultation that is being carried out. The corollary to my hon. Friend’s argument is that we should not do anything and stay with a system that has not been revisited for over a decade, despite the fact that the terrain has changed substantially, not least in terms of the increase in those suffering from mental health conditions. I say no to that. We need to have a grown-up conversation about these matters if we are to provide better support for the people whom hon. Members across the House care about.
Justice
Debate between Mel Stride and Stephen McPartland(5 years, 7 months ago)
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Stephen McPartland (Stevenage) (Con)
The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mel Stride)
This Government have made very significant progress in reducing the burden of taxation on the low paid, including by recently increasing the personal allowance to £12,500—thus taking 1.7 million of the lowest paid out of tax all together since 2017.
[Official Report, 9 April 2019, Vol. 658, c. 165.]
Letter of correction from the Financial Secretary to the Treasury:
An error has been identified in the response I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Stevenage (Stephen McPartland).
The correct response should have been:
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Mel Stride and Stephen McPartland(5 years, 7 months ago)
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Stephen McPartland (Stevenage) (Con)
The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mel Stride)
This Government have made very significant progress in reducing the burden of taxation on the low paid, including by recently increasing the personal allowance to £12,500—thus taking 1.7 million of the lowest paid out of tax all together since 2017.[Official Report, 11 April 2019, Vol. 658, c. 5MC.]
Stephen McPartland
What the Treasury gives with one hand, local authorities are taking away with the other, with relentless rises in council tax, and parking charges and fees affecting households up and down the country. What are we actually doing to help families, instead of paying them lip service?
Mel Stride
My hon. Friend makes the important point that there are many costs and taxes that bear down on the lowest paid. That is why, in addition to increasing the personal allowance, the Conservatives have introduced the national living wage, which has gone up well above the rate of inflation this April. We have frozen fuel duty for nine years in a row, which has saved the average car driver £1,000 cumulatively. We should also not forget that 28% of all income tax is paid by just the highest 1% of earners.