Sue Hayman: It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Davies. I will raise just a few of the significant concerns that Cumbria County Council has spoken to me about regarding the provisional local government finance settlement. I am sure that everyone is aware that Cumbria suffered very badly in the flooding before Christmas, but what people perhaps do not realise is that it is ongoing....
Sue Hayman: The fundamental point of argument, which I will come to, is about the way that funding is decided on need. That relates to what my hon. Friend says. Cumbria has one of the fastest-growing populations of older people in the whole country, which will put extra pressure on the council in the future. This is about not just the funding formula now but the proposals for future years, and that is...
Sue Hayman: The hon. Gentleman makes an extremely pertinent point. People who live in rural areas often have very low expectations of the level of service they should receive, so they often put up with receiving an awful lot less. That is not sufficiently taken into account. I will briefly touch on the topic of social care, about which my hon. Friend the Member for Leicester West made some powerful...
Sue Hayman: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of mineral rights on mortgage lending.
Sue Hayman: What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport and Ministers of the Scottish Government on the effect on communities in Scotland of the partial closure of the west coast main line.
Sue Hayman: I apologise for my lack of voice. The closure of the west coast main line has a huge impact not only on the economy of southern Scotland, but on Cumbria, too, as it is a strategic cross-border crossing on which many businesses in my constituency rely. I was pleased to hear the Secretary of State say that it will be open in the first week of March, as it is so important. Will he confirm that...
Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much funding the Government has allocated to the continued assessment of options for plutonium management in the financial years (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18 and (c) 2018-19.
Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether her Department plans to begin a procurement process for a technology to reuse plutonium stored at Sellafield before 2020.
Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many dairy farmers have gone out of business in each of the last five years.
Sue Hayman: I am delighted to be able to speak in this important debate, secured by the hon. Member for Fylde (Mark Menzies). As far as I am concerned, high streets are only going to survive as long as the shopping experience they offer is better than the one offered elsewhere. To me, that experience includes an element of convenience, such as affordable close parking, which hon. Members have mentioned,...
Sue Hayman: We certainly are. Despite all that has happened in recent years, Maryport still struggles. It has some excellent independent shops, but it also has a lot of charity shops, which have been mentioned, and too many empty units to be the thriving centre that it deserves to be. Last time I was there, a local shopkeeper said to me that she was fed up with people thinking that her shop was a charity...
Sue Hayman: The hon. Gentleman makes an excellent point, and I completely agree. Cockermouth also has a beautiful high street. It is well known for speciality shops and art galleries, and its tree-lined Main Street has a statue of Lord Mayo, who was formerly the MP—he was later assassinated, so I am hoping that history does not repeat itself. What would I particularly like the Government to do? The...
Sue Hayman: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether death duties apply to mineral estates; and if he will make a statement.
Sue Hayman: Does my hon. Friend agree that it is completely inconsistent to include employees of companies operated by the private sector? My constituents who work at Sellafield are very worried about the proposed redundancy cap. I am concerned that it will lead to highly skilled, experienced workers leaving the industry, which would undermine our ability to deliver the safe decommissioning of our...
Sue Hayman: It is also important to point out that the Treasury did not actually allow the employees of those companies to remain in public sector pension schemes when they were privatised, so it is completely inconsistent now to call them in.
Sue Hayman: Will my hon. Friend give way?
Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of abolition of attendance allowance on people living in rural communities.
Sue Hayman: Yesterday, in his Budget announcement, the Chancellor made much capital out of the economic recovery and the rate at which unemployment was falling, but he needs to understand that not every part of Britain is enjoying this economic recovery. In my constituency, not only do we have above-average unemployment, but the latest figures from the House of Commons Library show that unemployment...
Sue Hayman: Does my hon. Friend agree that the NHS’s problems in recruiting and retaining staff is one of the most critical issues facing our national health industry and our ability to manage our hospitals properly?
Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have had their motability cars withdrawn due to changes in disability benefits in each of the last five years.