Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Virendra Sharma and Mel Stride(9 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mel Stride)
Food banks are independent organisations, with DWP having no direct role in their operation. We do, however, monitor the use of food banks through the family resources survey, and the next instalment of that will be later this month.
Mr Sharma
Nearly 50,000 people needed help from Ealing Foodbank last year. Some 38% of them were children under 16. It is amazing that the food bank and its volunteers are there to help, but it is a national shame that it is needed. What are the Government’s plans to reduce dependence on food banks?
Mel Stride
This is the Government who have overseen a 400,000 reduction in the number of children in absolute poverty since 2010. Despite the chuntering from the Opposition Front Bench, unfortunately the figures were far worse under the last Labour Government than they may be at the moment. The hon. Gentleman asks directly what we are doing. We are again putting up the national living wage by substantially more than inflation this April. The Chancellor has already brought in national insurance cuts that will be worth £900 to the average earner. Benefits themselves are going up by 6.7% next month. We have also changed the arrangements for local housing allowance, which means that 1.6 million people, many of whom are on very low incomes, will be better off by an average of £800 a year.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Virendra Sharma and Mel Stride(5 years, 9 months ago)
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Mr Virendra Sharma (Ealing, Southall) (Lab)
The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mel Stride)
The steps we are taking to protect our manufacturing in the event of no deal include supporting the Prime Minister’s deal and the negotiations to make sure that we have a smooth exit from the European Union, and the Treasury itself has made available in excess of £4 billion by way of contingency funding for Departments right across Whitehall.
Mr Sharma
I thank the Minister for that response. Last month, I surveyed businesses in my constituency and they overwhelmingly said that they wanted Brexit cancelled. Will the Chancellor stand up for British businesses, end the uncertainty and use his immense personal prestige in the Cabinet and with the Prime Minister to stop Brexit once and for all?
Policy for Growth
Debate between Virendra Sharma and Mel Stride(14 years, 1 month ago)
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Mr Virendra Sharma (Ealing, Southall) (Lab)
I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in this important debate. Economic growth in the UK in the months and years ahead is extremely uncertain for two reasons. First, the Government’s reckless gamble to eliminate the structural deficit in four years by reducing public spending by £81 billion is resulting in 500,000 public sector job losses and a further 500,000 private sector job losses are likely. This will impact on growth, causing a double-dip recession at worst and stagnation in the UK economy at best.
Mr Sharma
Let me make some progress and the hon. Gentleman can try again.
Secondly, having been caused by international factors, the current economic uncertainty and any prospects of growth are still going to be greatly determined by what happens in the international economic arena. Let me begin, then, with the international dimension.
Only yesterday, the Governor of the Bank of England warned:
“The outlook for growth is highly uncertain”,
explaining:
“The contribution of net trade to growth has so far been weaker than the Bank of England Monetary Committee had expected, and it is unclear how persistent that weakness will prove to be.”
In other words, Britain’s exports and trade with the world are not boosting our hopes for economic growth, despite a 25% reduction in sterling over the last three years.