Contributions
3,765 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Spending Review 2020 and OBR ForecastMy hon. Friend is right to say that this is about making difficult decisions so that we can prioritise the things that our constituents want us to prioritise. He will be pleased…25 Nov 2020HANSARD Spending Review 2020 and OBR ForecastWe have made available £1.6 billion, which means that, at this moment, 80% of high-rise buildings with aluminium composite material cladding have work under way or complete. That…25 Nov 2020HANSARD Spending Review 2020 and OBR ForecastMy hon. Friend is absolutely right. This spending review is about focusing on the priorities of our constituents. I am sure that he and his constituents will be pleased to know…25 Nov 2020HANSARD Spending Review 2020 and OBR ForecastObviously those businesses will be able to use the generous terms of the furlough scheme for their staff through the winter period. The more than £1 billion of funding that we…25 Nov 2020HANSARD Spending Review 2020 and OBR ForecastI will address all the points made by the hon. Lady in turn, but it is important to note, up front, that despite her criticisms, there is actually a lot that she and her…25 Nov 2020HANSARD Spending Review 2020 and OBR ForecastWe will publish further details on how the levelling-up fund will work in due course. It is for those smaller, deliverable, everyday infrastructure projects that I have talked…25 Nov 2020HANSARD Spending Review 2020 and OBR ForecastI am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for welcoming the £900 million in Barnett funding for Northern Ireland. He will be pleased to know that we have had productive…25 Nov 2020HANSARD Spending Review 2020 and OBR ForecastAt the beginning of this crisis, we made changes to the way in which statutory sick pay operates, ensuring that it was payable from day one rather than day four, and payable to…25 Nov 2020HANSARD Spending Review 2020 and OBR ForecastI am grateful to my right hon. Friend for his comments. I would distinguish between two things. The borrowing that we are carrying out this year, which is, as he knows, at a…25 Nov 2020HANSARD Spending Review 2020 and OBR ForecastI am enormously grateful to my right hon. Friend for the approach that he has taken, and I appreciate our conversations on this topic. Of course he rightly feels passionately…25 Nov 2020HANSARD Spending Review 2020 and OBR ForecastThe OBR and others have said that our economic interventions have helped to keep down unemployment and protected jobs, and that is part of the reason why our unemployment rate is…25 Nov 2020HANSARD Spending Review 2020 and OBR ForecastI thank my hon. Friend for his support. He makes an important point: this spending review is about delivering on the British people’s priorities. Yes, we have made some tough…25 Nov 2020HANSARD Spending Review 2020 and OBR ForecastBusiness rates are, of course, a devolved competence, and I am sure the hon. Gentleman can talk to the Scottish Government about their plans. They will receive £2.4 billion of…25 Nov 2020HANSARD Spending Review 2020 and OBR ForecastMy hon. Friend makes a passionate case, and a right case, for our ability to help provide immunisation to the world’s poorest children. It is something that I proudly support, and…25 Nov 2020HANSARD Spending Review 2020 and OBR ForecastI am thankful to my hon. Friend for his comments and, indeed, the constructive conversations I have had with him on our aid budget, our defence budget and, more generally, our…25 Nov 2020HANSARD Spending Review 2020 and OBR ForecastAs a former local government Minister, which was my first job, I am happy to tell the hon. Lady that there is nothing smoke and mirrors about core spending power. It is the metric…25 Nov 2020HANSARD Spending Review 2020 and OBR ForecastI know about my hon. Friend’s passion for this subject and I am pleased to be able to tell him that £300 million has been allocated for new school places for children with special…25 Nov 2020HANSARD Spending Review 2020 and OBR ForecastThe hon. Lady mentioned the relative pay premium. It is worth bearing in mind that there still is a pay premium. The latest numbers we have, from 2019, show a 7% pay premium…25 Nov 2020HANSARD Spending Review 2020 and OBR ForecastI know that this is a topic about which my hon. Friend feels passionately, and rightly so. As she will have heard me say, we do this with a heavy heart. It enables us to make…25 Nov 2020HANSARD Spending Review 2020 and OBR ForecastI look forward to hearing from my hon. Friend about the plans and the ambitions he has for his local hospital. The Secretary of State for Health will also be interested. My hon.…25 Nov 2020