Business of the House

Patricia Gibson Excerpts

Thursday 3rd October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

All answers are straight answers; they are sometimes simply not the answers that people want. These are two very separate concepts. The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has his specific responsibilities, and periodically the Government produce a list of ministerial responsibilities. That has been asked for by my office on behalf of the House of Commons, and we will ask for it again and we will release it to the House when it is available.

[Patricia Gibson (North Ayrshire and Arran) (SNP)]

In August 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that parents who were not married should be eligible for widowed parent’s allowance, but the UK Government have failed to pay this allowance to parents affected, despite the fact that the Supreme Court ruled that failure to do so is both discriminatory and incompatible with the European convention on human rights. Fourteen months after this ruling, I ask again: when will the Government finally do the right thing and obey this ruling?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for that question. As she knows, there is a simplified procedure for amending laws that are found by the Supreme Court to be incompatible with the European convention on human rights, and that is working its way through the system, though I do accept that, though the wheels grind fine, they sometimes appear to grind a little slow.