Oral Answers to Questions

Ruth Jones Excerpts

Wednesday 18th May 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend, who is a massive champion for his constituency of North West Durham. I am delighted that he has been a supporter of County Durham’s city of culture bid—culture in its widest interpretation. I support him in everything he does.

[Ruth Jones (Newport West) (Lab)]

Q6. I am sure the Prime Minister knows that this is Dementia Action Week, and I am proud that the UK Dementia Research Institute now calls Wales home. In 2019, the Tory manifesto promised to double funding for dementia research, but the researchers are still waiting for this money. So can the Prime Minister tell me, in Dementia Action Week, when the dementia moonshot will be delivered?

[The Prime Minister]

We intend fully to deliver the dementia moonshot, but never forget that Labour was the party that voted against £13 billion a year extra for the NHS.

Oral Answers to Questions

Ruth Jones Excerpts

Wednesday 7th October 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

What discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on supporting job retention in Scotland during the covid-19 outbreak.

[Ruth Jones (Newport West) (Lab)]

What estimate he has made of the number of self-employed people in Scotland who have not received support from the Government’s covid-19 financial support schemes.

[Julie Marson (Hertford and Stortford) (Con)]

What discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on supporting job retention in Scotland during the covid-19 outbreak.

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[Ruth Jones [V]]

I note that the Government’s latest package of measures for the self-employed slashes their support from 70% of income to just 20%. And that is only for those who are eligible—many self-employed people have not received any help at all from the Chancellor. How many self-employed people in Scotland have fallen through the financial safety net, and what is the Secretary of State doing to help them?

[Mr Jack]

The hon. Lady will know that we have brought in a new set of measures, as she said. There is the self-employed support scheme and the new job retention scheme. We have made a cut in VAT for the tourism and hospitality sector, and introduced the kickstart scheme. The self-employed income support scheme was a broad scheme. By definition, in a broad scheme it is inevitable that some people will sadly miss out, but I would say that in Scotland 283,000 grants were given, which came to some £777 million of support. The scheme now continues for another six months.

Oral Answers to Questions

Ruth Jones Excerpts

Wednesday 9th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Stewart Hosie (Dundee East) (SNP)]

What discussions he has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) the Scottish Government on legislative proposals for a UK internal market.

[Ruth Jones (Newport West) (Lab)]

What discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the UK internal market White Paper.

[The Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr Alister Jack)]

I have frequent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of matters relating to the UK internal market. The UK internal market is vitally important for our economy. As I have said a number of times over the past five minutes, sales produced in Scotland to the rest of the UK are £51.2 billion per year and over 60% of our exports.

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[Mr Jack]

We are leaving the EU—I do not know if that point has been wasted on the hon. Gentleman. When we were on the Treasury Committee, we saw many projections about what would happen if the UK voted for Brexit, and all those projections had one thing in common: they were wrong. I do not recognise his figures. I believe that with good trade deals and this UK legislation, we will strengthen the Scottish economy.

[Ruth Jones]

Like many people in Newport West, I was astonished by the comments of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland at the Dispatch Box yesterday in relation to the Government’s willingness to break international law. Legislation is important and so is the Government’s ability to obey it, so will the Secretary of State commit to a UK-wide framework that protects workers’ rights and environmental standards within the internal market, and will he pledge to stick to it?

[Mr Jack]

There are over 42 frameworks—I have not studied them all in detail, but I am sure that those subjects will be covered. When we have frameworks, it is by consensus. It is up to each member state of the United Kingdom—the four nations—to adhere to those. They do have an opt-out and, as I say, the UKIM legislation underpins that and protects producers, suppliers, manufacturers and consumers alike.