Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Shailesh Vara and Neil Carmichael

Tuesday 8th December 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Vara]

We have a legal aid budget of £1.6 billion, which is one of the largest in the world. By comparison with other common law jurisdictions such as Australia, Northern Ireland and Canada, we have double the expenditure per inhabitant. We have started a process and we will see it through. I can assure the hon. Gentleman that those in need of legal aid will be able to have it where it is necessary.

[Neil Carmichael (Stroud) (Con)]

15. What the Government’s policy is on the UK remaining party to the European Convention on Human Rights.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Shailesh Vara and Neil Carmichael

Monday 7th December 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Vara]

It is always helpful if, when Front Benchers say things at the Dispatch Box, they are accurate. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has visited food banks. As far as sanctions are concerned, may I just tell the hon. Lady that the Oakley review said that 71% of people found sanctions helpful in encouraging them to find jobs?

[Neil Carmichael (Stroud) (Con)]

5. What steps he is taking to encourage people on low pay to progress through training.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mr Shailesh Vara)]

For the first time, universal credit will support claimants in work to earn more. Work coaches will provide tailored support to claimants on low wages to improve their pay. To help to develop our package of support for people in work, we are implementing a comprehensive test and learn strategy to understand better the impact that labour market policies can have on helping people on low incomes to get jobs in which they earn more.

[Neil Carmichael]

Does the Minister agree that having a high-skill, high-pay economy is exactly the way to drive up productivity and, crucially, social mobility, which is the key thing underpinning the Government’s strategy?

[Mr Vara]

I am most grateful to my hon. Friend for making that point. The latest figures show that the employment rate for young people who have left full-time education is above the UK average and is at its highest level for a decade at 74.3%.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Shailesh Vara and Neil Carmichael

Tuesday 15th May 2012 Commons Chamber

[Neil Carmichael]

I have just got a new BlackBerry and I was so impressed with it.

What is the Minister’s overall assessment of the recent Brighton declaration in terms of the European Court of Human Rights?

[Mr Shailesh Vara (North West Cambridgeshire) (Con)]

I thank my hon. Friend for that question. It is fair to say that the Brighton declaration was an excellent achievement for Britain. In his speech to Strasbourg on 25 January the Prime Minister outlined three achievements that he hoped for, the first of which was that there should be subsidiarity, with more decision making at the national level in the courts. That has been achieved. The second was that there should be more efficiency in the whole court structure, and that has been achieved. Thirdly, he hoped we would have a greater and better quality of judges in the Court, and that too has been achieved. We are going to have fewer cases going to Strasbourg and those that go will be dealt with efficiently. We dealt with 46 other countries, representing a total population of 800 million citizens, and I think it is a wonderful achievement on the part of Britain’s chairmanship to have got agreement between so many countries.