Kirsten Oswald: Let me begin by congratulating the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent North (Ruth Smeeth) and the other Members who have made their first speeches so well today. It is with a great sense of honour that I make this speech in this important debate here today, and with a deep sense of gratitude and responsibility to the people of East Renfrewshire. I chose to live in East Renfrewshire with my...
Kirsten Oswald: Does the Minister agree that strong trade unions are vital if we are to ensure that people receive fair pay for the work they do? What steps is he taking to work with Scotland’s trade unions to promote the living wage in Scotland?
Kirsten Oswald: Could we have a statement or debate in Government time on when the request for proposals for maritime patrol aircraft will be issued, and could that statement include a commitment to base such aircraft in Scotland?
Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) desktop, (b) laptop and (c) tablet computers were lost by his Department in 2014-15.
Kirsten Oswald: May we have a statement on what steps are being taken to prevent companies funded by the Department for International Development from pursuing policies and contract terms that lead to systemic food wastage?
Kirsten Oswald: I very much agree with what the hon. Gentleman has said. I have had email upon email from my constituents saying that they are hugely worried about what will happen in the Chancellor’s Budget. They are people with disabilities, their carers and their families—people in the most difficult of circumstances who are suffering huge anxiety and are feeling stigmatised, too. They do not want to...
Kirsten Oswald: I noticed that last year the Minister ran out of time so this question could not be answered. May we have a statement giving information on which recruitment agencies have received the largest amount of money from the Ministry of Defence and its executive agencies and bodies over the past five years?
Kirsten Oswald: rose—
Kirsten Oswald: Thank you, Sir Edward. I also thank my hon. Friend the Member for Rutherglen and Hamilton West (Margaret Ferrier) and the Minister. My hon. Friend has made many important points this morning. Like her, I have substantial concerns about the transportation of nuclear weapons around the UK. Weapons of mass destruction have absolutely no place on our busy roads; in fact, they should have no...
Kirsten Oswald: Does the Minister not accept that that will be cold comfort to our constituents, given that it would take a minimum of four hours for those emergency activities to manifest themselves in our constituencies should an incident occur?
Kirsten Oswald: I put it to the Prime Minister again that in his manifesto for England, which was the only part of the UK where he won the election, he promised on English votes for English laws to: “Consult the House of Commons Procedure Committee prior to seeking approval from the whole House to the proposed Standing Order changes.” We all know that the Committee’s membership has not been agreed by...
Kirsten Oswald: May we have a debate in Government time on the incredibly distasteful statement in yesterday’s Budget, which means that a woman who has a third child as a result of rape will need to prove this to the Department for Work and Pensions in order to be eligible for tax credits?
Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what change there has been in the rate of employment and self-employment among (a) working age adults with a disability and (b) working age adults with no disability in the last three years.
Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with small business representatives on support for meeting the costs of regulation 1272/2008 on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures.