Stephen Crabb: May I thank the Minister and especially the Secretary of State for really pushing for the cut to the universal credit taper rate that we saw in the Budget? It will make a real difference to families on low incomes. There are more than 1 million job vacancies right now, plus the Budget measures to strengthen work incentives—cutting the withdrawal rate, boosting the work allowance and...
Stephen Crabb: It is a pleasure to be called on the final day of the Budget debate. I thought it was a good Budget; not only was it a responsible and appropriate response to the economic challenges created by the pandemic and the lockdowns, but it took major steps forward to tackle some of the longer term, more deep-seated issues that have at times held our economy back in recent years. It was a Budget...
Stephen Crabb: What recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Plan For Jobs in supporting people into work.
Stephen Crabb: Right now, in this country, about 1 million children are growing up in long-term workless households. Does my hon. Friend agree that the measures the Chancellor took in the Budget last week to boost the national minimum wage and the work allowance, and to lower the universal credit withdrawal rate when people move into work, mean that we have the best opportunity in more than a generation to...
Stephen Crabb: I am grateful to the Minister for his remarks and those clear statements of his understanding of the position regarding Iran’s nuclear programme. I am pleased that there seems to be agreement in the Chamber this afternoon on the facts on the ground. We have independent verification of those facts. I believe there is a strong measure of consensus in the room about just how serious the...
Stephen Crabb: I do not wish to take up too much of the time left for this debate, as I would like other colleagues to have a chance to speak. I have taken a considerable amount of time to set out some of my arguments and concerns around the strategy that Iran appears to be pursuing. I spoke of my encouragement from comments made by the new Foreign Secretary. I spoke about the importance of being...
Stephen Crabb: I beg to move, That this House has considered Iran’s compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. May I start by saying what a pleasure it is to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Nokes? I refer colleagues to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I am grateful for having secured the time for this important debate, which is timely given Iran’s escalating...
Stephen Crabb: I thank my right hon. Friend for that intervention. He is entirely correct. The truth is that the situation has moved on at some pace in the 10 months since we last debated this subject, which is why it is so timely to bring it back to the House this afternoon. It is an uncomfortable truth that Iran can now be described as a threshold nuclear weapons state. The regime is enriching uranium to...
Stephen Crabb: My right hon. Friend is correct. The JCPOA has done nothing to dissuade the Iranian regime from conducting those wider activities in the middle east, undermining democratic states and the social and economic order of countries in the region, and sponsoring proxies. Last week, the scenes of street battles that we saw in Beirut raised the distressing possibility of a much-feared civil war in...
Stephen Crabb: My right hon. Friend is right to draw attention to the position of Israel and the fears and concerns within Israel. However, it is not just Israel; numerous other countries throughout the region live in fear of an Iranian regime armed with nuclear weapons. It is a view widely held in security and academic circles that Iran’s breakout time—the time required to produce enough weapons-grade...
Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the impact on operations at St Pancras Station of the introduction of the entry-exist system for the Schengen border in 2022.
Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that smooth flows of passengers are maintained at St Pancras after the introduction of the new entry-exist system for the Schengen border in 2022.
Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average universal credit award is in (a) Preseli Pembrokeshire constituency and (b) the UK.
Stephen Crabb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of people furloughed continuously from 1 March 2020.
Stephen Crabb: The Secretary of State is entirely right that the UK is far better placed than most other European countries when it comes to the sources and diversity of its gas supplies, not least thanks to the two major liquefied natural gas terminals in my constituency at Milford Haven. Will he join me in paying tribute to the teams working at the South Hook and Dragon LNG terminals and also make a...
Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of a short transition period from the 1 October 2021 deadline to allow for EU citizens to travel to the UK using a national ID card.
Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with her European counterparts on the potential merits of a short transition period from 1 October 2021 to allow for EU citizens to travel to the UK using a national ID card.
Stephen Crabb: I will keep my remarks fairly short. My views have not really changed since the last time we debated and voted on this issue. On that occasion I voted against the Government for the first time ever, because I felt so strongly about the course of action that we were intending to follow and the impact that it would have on workers on low incomes and their families up and down the country. The...
Stephen Crabb: I will give way just to give myself a bit more time.