Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what steps the Government are taking to agree and publish national targets for training in appropriate IT skills. [207]
Margaret Moran: I wish warmly to respond to my hon. Friend's positive note. I know that national standards will help young people in Luton to obtain access to jobs in future. I commend to my hon. Friend particularly a project involving Luton council and the Luton-Dunstable partnership, which involves IT skills and standards, and which is of particular benefit in helping women in my constituency to gain...
Margaret Moran: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to make my maiden speech in this important debate. As the first woman Member of Parliament for Luton, South, I must first thank all the voters in that constituency for the trust that they have placed in me and in our new Labour Government. I speak as one who trained as a teacher, and also as a governor of two Luton schools, Cardinal Newman...
Margaret Moran: Does my hon. Friend agree that the Bill will benefit not only the 4,700 families who are homeless and on housing waiting lists in my constituency, but the economy and employment opportunities by potentially creating 30,000 jobs nationally for every £1 billion spent in each of two years? As more than half of that cost could be recouped through tax and benefit savings over that period, does...
Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if she will make a statement on the Government's proposals to improve services to those claiming benefit. [4339]
Margaret Moran: I thank my right hon. Friend for that reply. Does she agree that it is very slow and inefficient for people to have to wait on average six months, or up to a year in some instances in my constituency, for an appeal or a decision on appeal? Is not that the direct responsibility of the previous Government? Does she further agree that by simplifying the decision and appeals system, the...
Margaret Moran: Will my right hon. Friend give way?
Margaret Moran: I apologise for elevating the hon. Gentleman well above his station, but I want to draw his attention to certain facts. He speaks eloquently on the level of local authority debt, but he should perhaps be reminded that, during the period from 1990 to 1996, his Government allowed public sector debt to double from the equivalent of £2,200 per head to £5,600 per head; yet, in the same period,...
Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will make a statement on the Northern Ireland peace process. [5892]
Margaret Moran: I thank the Secretary of State for her reply. Will she join me in regretting the damage that has been done to the Northern Ireland peace process by the events of last weekend? Will she accept my support and, I am sure, the support of the majority in the House, for all her efforts in trying to seek amelioration and reconciliation on this issue? What action does my right hon. Friend intend to...
Margaret Moran: I am sorry that only one Conservative Member is present, because my hon. Friend was making a point about the legacy of the past 18 years. The remains of the Conservative party have made great play of saying that the Bill is inherited from them. I listened to that argument with growing irritation, because the previous Government failed over 18 years to implement any of the things that they now...
Margaret Moran: Will the Prime Minister join me in welcoming not only the IRA ceasefire but moves by all parties who have at their heart the interests of peace in Northern Ireland? Will he confirm that the timetable that he set out previously for the substantive talks that he just mentioned will be adhered to and will progress with all speed?
Margaret Moran: Does my right hon. Friend agree that the previous Government's abject failure to enable lone parents to return to work was to the detriment not only of those families but of the nation's purse? For example, this year's £100 million housing benefit bill has been escalating. Does she further agree that, by helping lone parents into work, the new deal will release some resources for those in...
Margaret Moran: Some hon. Members have been slightly reserved in expressing their appreciation of the Bill—but I say three cheers, primarily because we can celebrate the end of internment. I understand the reservations that have been expressed by some hon. Members, but, with this Bill, we are rapidly moving in the direction that most hon. Members desire. The Bill represents the first opportunity that our...
Margaret Moran: : I welcome the opportunities that my hon. Friend outlined to move the poorest from welfare to work. As part of his review, will he consider the opportunity for substantial housing benefit savings that might be afforded through rent reductions? Does he accept that a 10 per cent. rent reduction would not only afford substantial housing benefit savings, but could offer many households the...
Margaret Moran: What plans she has to take action to reduce the numbers of false national insurance numbers in circulation. [23056]
Margaret Moran: I thank my right hon. Friend for that helpful reply and ask that he investigates an issue raised with me by members of the Luton jobcentre and Benefits Agency, with whom I recently worked for a day. They expressed concern about the estimated 14 million to 17 million national insurance numbers in circulation, which might be subject to abuse. I am sure that he will want to address that issue,...
Margaret Moran: Is my right hon. Friend aware that, in my constituency of Luton, South, the incidence of tuberculosis is twice the national average and is clearly linked, despite the comments of Conservative Members, to unemployment, bad housing and poverty? Will he join me in commending one of our local preventive health projects, called "Our House", which works primarily with women and children from the...
Margaret Moran: If he will make a statement on the progress of the Economic Secretary's discussions in respect of mis-selling of pensions. [27206]
Margaret Moran: I warmly welcome the progress that my right hon. Friend has just described. Is he aware that, in some companies, the problem remains of temporary, untrained staff pyramid-selling pensions, which is the root cause of many of the mis-selling problems that we have had? Will he ensure that the views of responsible practitioners are taken on board so that the scandal of mis-selling, the legacy of...