Spending Review 2020 and OBR Forecast

Debate between Rishi Sunak and Darren Jones

Wednesday 25th November 2020 Commons Chamber

[Rishi Sunak]

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point and it is a topic that she knows very well. I hope that she was heartened to hear what I said earlier about £500 million of the increase of £3 billion for the NHS this year being specifically targeted on mental health to address all the things she said. She is right about the difference they will make for many people in our country.

[Darren Jones (Bristol North West) (Lab)]

Over 4 million children are in poverty in the UK. Under successive Conservative Chancellors, Sure Start centres have closed, child trust funds have been slashed, nurseries today are on the brink of collapse and the number of children falling into poverty increases month after month. It is an unnecessary national tragedy, so why, especially at these difficult times, could the Chancellor not today commit to eradicating child poverty in his economic statement?

[Rishi Sunak]

On the last numbers, there are 100,000 fewer children in absolute poverty than in 2010 and 750,000 fewer children living in workless households than in 2010. The hon. Gentleman asked about nurseries and early years. He will be pleased to know that an above-inflation increase in the hourly rate for nursery providers is contained in the spending review.

Economic Update

Debate between Rishi Sunak and Darren Jones

Wednesday 8th July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Rishi Sunak]

I am very grateful to my hon. Friend for those comments, and he is absolutely right about how I have approached this. As I have said, for me, it is a question not just of economics but of values, and we demonstrate those through the actions we take and the people that we prioritise. He is also right to highlight the importance of sustainability in our public finances, which he knows I passionately care about and have spoken about repeatedly from these Benches. He can rest assured that as we come to the autumn, we will set our public finances on a path back to sustainability.

[Darren Jones (Bristol North West) (Lab)]

The Chancellor failed today to set out sector-specific help for British manufacturers. In doing so, he is gambling with an important industry and making the UK less competitive compared with countries such as Germany, France and the United States. Perhaps the Chancellor can set out for the House today what it is that he has against British workers making British aeroplanes, British cars and British steel?

[Rishi Sunak]

I am not entirely sure about the tone of the hon. Member’s question. The support schemes we have put in place have benefited equally all sectors and all workers in every region and part of our United Kingdom. Manufacturing companies have been large users of the furlough scheme and are very grateful for it. They are now in the process of bringing those workers back and adding shifts, and they are grateful also for the flexibility that that scheme provides. What they are more interested in when I speak to them are our ambitious commitments, such as our plans to double research and development investment. We will be working closely with the private sector to do that, helping create the innovations that will drive growth, productivity and employment tomorrow.