Mr Andy King: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if she will make a statement on the level of waste in the social security system. [877]
Mr Andy King: I congratulate my right hon. Friend on his well-deserved appointment as Minister for Welfare Reform—
Mr Andy King: Thank you. Will my right hon. Friend confirm that the Government will not tolerate so many people struggling to make ends meet while so many others are taking advantage of the social security system? What will the Government do to tackle fraud and bring back public confidence and support for the social security system? No reading there.
Mr Andy King: When?
Mr Andy King: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, for allowing me to use today's debate to make my maiden speech. I am extremely honoured and privileged to be here representing the constituency of Rugby and Kenilworth. I turn first to the person whom I have replaced, Mr. James Pawsey. He was a good constituency Member of Parliament and an extremely worthy opponent. I wish him and his family well. A Member of...
Mr Andy King: I am sorry, but I must speak directly. So far as I know, my remarks do not relate to Oxfordshire. I take no pleasure in making these points. We do better for our county if we work together and listen to, and take, advice. I do not claim false credentials in this matter. Two years ago, we fought successfully to raise the cap for Somerset. I see that the right hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr....
Mr Andy King: I find it offensive that, if the risks had not been taken, the county council could have accepted a perfectly sensible proposal for maintaining the cap and expenditure within it. Funding for education and social services could then have been protected properly. However, that amendment was rejected out of hand. We are back where we started—but £250,000 worse off. The county must now make...
Mr Andy King: The right hon. Gentleman knows perfectly well that the amendment put forward by the Conservative group, which would have enabled the waste of £250,000 to be avoided—[Interruption.] Will hon. Members who are not even Somerset Members contain themselves so that I may reply to the right hon. Gentleman? The amendment proposed by the Conservative group was voted down, calling the entire budget...
Mr Andy King: I know that the right hon. Gentleman has to leave, but I hope that he will not mind waiting a moment. I quote from the right hon. Gentleman's speech in reply to the Budget. He said: Under a Labour Government, my county of Somerset will have to sack 90 teachers this year."—[Official Report, 2 July 1997; Vol. 297, c. 328.] I give the right hon. Gentleman credit—he has said that before. The...
Mr Andy King: Hon. Members say that Somerset had the lowest increase of any county. That is, to say the least, economical with the truth. They do not go on to say that 16 other counties had the same level of increase. What they say is technically true, but grossly misleading. I hear it endlessly repeated by the leader of the Liberal Democrats that Somerset is the most efficient county in the country. I am...
Mr Andy King: I will deal with all those issues in my speech, but I am worried about the right hon. Gentleman. Will he tell me when he has to go? [Interruption.] He has come into the Chamber, intervened twice and threatened to leave at any moment. He has asked me a fair question, but I hope that in fairness he will allow me to reply in the right order. Some may consider these matters to be cause for...
Mr Andy King: The hon. Lady will understand that I have some background in and knowledge of these matters. I was Minister for Local Government for three and a half years. I have some interest in and understanding of the way in which assessments are made. I made an assessment myself—my own judgment—which proved to be correct, that two years ago we could produce a case that was convincing and could...
Mr Andy King: No, I am sorry. The county council is entitled to expect assistance from the Government because of the extra costs imposed by the Budget that were not provided for in the original local government settlement. I should like to reinforce the comments on pension funds made by my hon. Friend the Member for South Suffolk. The Minister for Local Government and Housing is right to say that the...
Mr Andy King: I am sorry, but I want to make this point. I have made my position on capping clear, and I have given advice to the county based on that position. I now find, however, that the Government have imposed costs that were not mentioned in their manifesto. They gave no indication that they would impose those costs or accelerate duty increases, which usually occur in November, by five months....
Mr Andy King: Any rural county council, whether in Somerset or West Sussex, must be concerned by the matter raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Mid-Sussex (Mr. Soames).
Mr Andy King: No, I am sorry. I will fight for Somerset's interests if I think that a case can fairly be made and won. Sometimes one is disappointed and sometimes one would like to have more money. The challenge will be to achieve proper changes in the area cost adjustment—an issue on which I think that Opposition Members will be able to stand as one. Yesterday the House held a debate on rural affairs...
Mr Andy King: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if she will make a statement on the Government's plans to improve services to claimants by sharing information within her Department relating to claimants. [9030]
Mr Andy King: I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for her answer. Time and again, people have come to my surgeries in despair at the amount of time and energy that they are wasting in trying to find their way through the very complex and inefficient system that we inherited from the previous Government. Will she confirm that, on average, some people who appeal against decisions must wait six months for...
Mr Andy King: It is a start.
Mr Andy King: rose—