Oral Answers to Questions

Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd March 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gauke]

The Government do all they can to support businesses the length and breadth of the United Kingdom in all sectors. My point is that we are able to take action and support the oil and gas sector because we are the United Kingdom. Had Scotland become independent, it would be facing a very substantial loss of revenue and have great difficulties absorbing that.

[Ms Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh (Ochil and South Perthshire) (SNP)]

3. What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the effects of the Government’s welfare programme on social and economic inequalities in Scotland.

[The Minister for Employment (Priti Patel)]

I meet my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and counterpart Ministers in the Scottish Government on a regular basis to discuss devolution of welfare programmes to the Scottish Government.

[Ms Ahmed-Sheikh]

Last week’s Budget saw one of the most iniquitous measures proposed by this Government, which was to cut the personal independence payment for 40,000 disabled people in Scotland. When did the Secretary of State for Scotland, and Ministers, first realise that that was the wrong thing to do? Was it around the Cabinet table, during the Budget statement or on Sunday when the Prime Minister was forced to backtrack?

[Priti Patel]

The Government’s position on PIP and disability reforms is clear, and was announced by my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and the Chancellor.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes an important point, which is that it is worth while benchmarking our education system against those of other advanced countries. What we have seen in recent years is that the competition is very tough. When we look at the countries that are succeeding, whether it is the Republic of Korea or Finland, we see that they have well-paid teachers, proper accountability systems for results and rigour in terms of discipline, and that is exactly what we are introducing in our country with the new curriculum coming in right now.

[Ms Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh (Ochil and South Perthshire) (SNP)]

Q14. The women of this country are tired of waiting—waiting for equal pay, waiting for an end to maternity and pregnancy discrimination, and waiting for a fair deal for WASPI pensioners. It is 2016. How much longer?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady is right to raise these issues. It is good that the pay gap is now at an historic low. It has almost evaporated for under-40s but there is more to be done in the public sector and in the private sector to bring that about. On pensions, we have introduced a pensions system which will benefit many, many women in years to come, because we have a single-tier pension without a means test, uprated by prices, earnings or 2.5%. We were able to do that only because we raised the pension age, saving over the long term something like half a trillion pounds—a difficult decision but the right one, because it means that we can look our pensioners in the eye, knowing that they are getting dignity and security in old age.