Drew Hendry: ...but have only 0.4% of the population across the nations of the UK. They have higher than average bills, yet they get the highest levels of fuel poverty and extreme fuel poverty. The hydro benefit replacement scheme does not do the job that it was supposed to do. It needs to be updated, and there is an opportunity to do that by combining it with the Chancellor’s scheme to get a rebate...
Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department spent on exempt accommodation in each of the last three years.
Liam McArthur: ...UK can make the just transition to a decarbonised energy system. The motion rightly acknowledges the vital role that oil and gas play in Scotland’s energy mix, as well as the jobs and economic benefit that it supports. It will continue to play that role going forward, but our reliance on oil and gas needs to come down for environmental and economic reasons. The OBR, which has been...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton: ...for seven years. My last job was six years, so there are 13 years between us, and we are both looking forward to many more years in these posts. Today has been an opportunity for me genuinely to benefit from the accumulated wisdom and experience that resides in this Chamber, and it really has been a fascinating debate. We have ranged from Nigeria to Armenia, from universal jurisdiction to...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton: ...for seven years. My last job was six years, so there are 13 years between us, and we are both looking forward to many more years in these posts. Today has been an opportunity for me genuinely to benefit from the accumulated wisdom and experience that resides in this Chamber, and it really has been a fascinating debate. We have ranged from Nigeria to Armenia, from universal jurisdiction to...
Patrick Brown: ...Tyrone for bringing this to the Chamber. I hope that the debate contributes to a renewed sense of momentum behind this important, major road project. We could say a lot about the scheme and its benefits to the area and to the major towns of Omagh and Strabane. However, perhaps the most important factor to reflect on is that, since the original plans for the road were launched in 2007,...
Lord Stirrup: My Lords, it is a great pleasure to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Ashton of Upholland, and to benefit from her considerable personal experience. In recent years, the Government have undertaken two detailed analyses of foreign policy: the 2021 integrated review and the 2023 refresh. It was, and is, difficult to argue with any of the individual propositions made in either document. The...
Lord Stirrup: My Lords, it is a great pleasure to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Ashton of Upholland, and to benefit from her considerable personal experience. In recent years, the Government have undertaken two detailed analyses of foreign policy: the 2021 integrated review and the 2023 refresh. It was, and is, difficult to argue with any of the individual propositions made in either document. The...
Gareth Davies: ...my good friend, my hon. Friend the Member for Colchester (Will Quince), on securing the debate and on the attendance that he has achieved. I recognise the strength of feeling on this across the House and in particular in this Chamber today. I completely share his support for our broader alcohol sector. Not only is it a significant contributor to our gross national product, but I would...
Gary Middleton: ...the Minister's economic vision. He highlighted the loss of EU funding and the inadequacy, from his point of view, of the Shared Prosperity Fund and the gap that it has left. He highlighted the benefits of nursing apprenticeships to that sector. He also highlighted the potential that the green sector and the energy strategy have to create additional jobs. Mike Nesbitt highlighted the...
Alistair Carmichael: ...not good enough, and that reform is required. On the basis of the debate we had in the Chamber yesterday, the good news for the Government is that there is already a fairly broad consensus in the House, both from people representing rural seats and those representing urban seats, about what that reform should achieve. The Competition Commission’s report identified what was essentially a...
Lord Harlech: ...any war widows who believe that they are eligible for this claim who have not yet already claimed to access the application form, which is available from GOV.UK or to call Veterans UK. For the benefit of the House and any war widows watching, I will outline now the eligibility criteria for payments: “The eligibility criteria for the scheme are that the claimant … forfeited their...
Lord Harlech: ...any war widows who believe that they are eligible for this claim who have not yet already claimed to access the application form, which is available from GOV.UK or to call Veterans UK. For the benefit of the House and any war widows watching, I will outline now the eligibility criteria for payments: “The eligibility criteria for the scheme are that the claimant … forfeited their...
Anthony Browne: I thank everyone who has contributed to this incredibly enjoyable debate. It is always enjoyable when there is a remarkable degree of consensus across the House. I note that Labour, the Scottish National party and the Liberal Democrats all support this legislation. There was a large degree of consensus on the various issues, with almost everyone who spoke agreeing that this legislation could...
Cathy Mason: ...by debt every year because uniforms and PE gear cost hundreds of pounds for just one child. It is an experience that I, as a parent, have been challenged by as well, and, I am sure, many in the House have been too. Some of the stark findings from Parentkind are a clear signal that families need help to tackle the huge cost of school uniforms. In the North, 71% of parents surveyed claimed...
Nick Mathison: Alliance is pleased to support the motion. We hope that the House will also accept our amendment, which, as I will set out, will help to further tackle extortionate uniform costs. I am delighted to see the motion being debated. I think that we all know just how many families in our constituencies are suffering as a result of the ever-rising cost of school uniforms. Every August, the media...
Patrick Brown: ...for improvements since her son was tragically killed in a collision near Banbridge in May 2018. While phase 2 of the A1 junction scheme will improve travel time on that key route, its primary benefit, much like that of the A5, will be to enhance road safety and prevent further loss of life. It should rightly be prioritised in the Department for Infrastructure's major roads programme. The...
Rebecca Pow: ...cover an area of approximately 1.8m ha. Natural England has developed a Nutrient Mitigation Scheme that has so far secured approximately 257 ha of land to reduce nutrient pollution from new housing development. This land will also be managed for the purposes of nature conservation and, where appropriate, public access. Natural England is currently investigating other sites across...
Viscount Younger of Leckie: ...employment, particularly where its full time, reduces the risk of poverty. In 2021/22, working age adults living in workless households were seven times more likely to be in absolute poverty after housing costs than working age adults in households where all adults work. The Government is putting significant additional support in place for those on the lowest incomes from April. Subject to...
Lord Markham: ...Association (BMA) and Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA) committees last month, during which the consultants did not take up industrial action, I am pleased to inform the House that I have made a revised formal offer to both unions, which includes a package of reforms to be applied from 1st March 2024. Both unions will recommend this revised offer to their members. ...