Oeddech chi'n golygu to child benefit can?
Nicola Sturgeon: ...about forced adoptions, and I hope that we will, in the interests of building a better future, continue to address and help to heal the past injustices that women have suffered. We have also made childcare and support for families integral to our economic and social policies with policies including the baby box, the expansion of childcare, extra support for carers and the Scottish child...
Wendy Chamberlain: ...another cold snap this week, so it certainly is not over yet. While the energy price guarantee has protected families from the worst increases, some households have seen their bills increase two, three or possibly even four times in the past year. We know from the scandal of the forced instalment of prepayment meters that many people have been unable to keep up with those bills, and that...
Shona Robison: In March 2022, we published analysis that suggests that the Scottish child payment could reduce relative child poverty by an estimated 5 percentage points in 2023-24, lifting 50,000 children out of relative poverty in Scotland. Of course, the United Kingdom Government could use its powers to tackle child poverty and the cost of living crisis by—just to name a few measures—introducing a...
Nicola Sturgeon: ...much with Emma Roddick. I think that the Conservatives should be deeply ashamed of the impact of their welfare policies. We have known for a long time that the current United Kingdom Government benefits system is not fit for purpose. People across the country are paying the price for that every day in ways that Emma Roddick has pointed out. Over many years, we have called for improvements....
Fleur Anderson: The hon. Member had plenty of time to speak; I have only two minutes. He has just made provocative statements completely detached from the facts as I have seen them at my local food bank and from visiting so many people in my constituency. In Southfields and in Roehampton with its Community Box, food banks are doing a fantastic job, but no one going to them wants to go there; they want to be...
Philippa Whitford: ...Others who are suffering with long covid face losing their pay or their job, and we should be ashamed of that. The covid pandemic had a massive impact on all four health services across the UK. The two biggest challenges are the backlog and the workforce we need to deal with it. However, there were underlying problems before covid. We had 10 years of Tory austerity: up to 2010, the annual...
David Linden: ...went further: to support better those who are the most vulnerable financially, the kind of folks I see at my Friday surgeries at Baillieston, Easterhouse, Parkhead and Cranhill. The harsh yet inescapable reality is that many of the structural problems that the very poorest in our society face are the result of a policy framework put in place by this British Government: policies like the...
Tim Farron: ...passionate about. The hon. Lady made an excellent speech. I just want to say a few words—I will hopefully take less than six minutes—to contribute to the debate. The Government’s position on childcare is clearly that the best way to tackle poverty is to have people in work, and therefore providing childcare is about making sure that people can work. It is also about the vital...
Baroness Lister of Burtersett: ...'s Government, further to the remarks by Viscount Younger of Leckie on 24 January (HL Deb cols 93–94), what plans they have, if any, (1) to publish regular data on the numbers of families and children affected simultaneously by the benefit cap and the two-child limit, and (2) to monitor the impact on these families and children.
Maggie Chapman: The old adage “You wouldn’t start from here” applies to the social security system that we are trying to create in Scotland. We have had more than a decade of austerity; the two-child limit, also known as the rape clause; the benefits cap; and cuts to universal credit. Each of those decisions or policies, and so many more, were taken or implemented by the UK Government, and they make...
Jim Shannon: ...to the debate. Inflation and the cost of living are really hurting people in Northern Ireland. The right hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell) set the scene when he referred to child poverty and adult poverty in Northern Ireland, and he was right. I have a staff member who deals with nothing else but benefits, five days a week, and other staff members fill in. That gives...
Jim Shannon: ...that we do so. We were hoping to present a ten-minute rule motion on this issue in the near future. Our slot is probably in July of this year. I and my party feel that it is grossly unfair that the child benefit cap has remained the same for 10 years, while the price of bread has risen by 30% in Northern Ireland in this year alone. The cost of the diesel needed for people to get to work is...
Fulton MacGregor: ...cannot be accused of playing on safe ground. Inflation has soared to its highest level in nearly 40 years, hitting 10.5 per cent in December. Brexit added almost £6 billion to UK food bills in the two years to the end of 2021, disproportionately affecting the poorest households. I see that today Mark Carney was again criticising the effect of the Brexit decision on the UK economy. In...
Universal Credit: Benefit Cap and Two Child Limit - Question
Tom Pursglove: ...and cover a broad range of contingencies, like the recovery of fines to prevent incarceration, the continuation of supply of electricity or gas, payment of rent arrears to prevent homelessness, child maintenance liabilities to their children, and provision for one-off items of expenditure through advances and the repayment of debts. Given this broad range of circumstances, there is no...
Humza Yousaf: ...and they should hang their heads in shame. I could not agree more with Emma Harper, and I share her concerns. A series of UK Government welfare reforms has eroded the real-terms value of reserved benefits. I am deeply concerned about the UK Government’s welfare policies as the rising costs of essentials are far harder for people on the lowest incomes to afford. We have repeatedly called...
Christina McKelvie: ...Government analysis highlighted that, if key Westminster welfare reforms were reversed, it could put £780 million into the pockets of Scottish households and lift 70,000 people, including 30,000 children, out of poverty in 2023-24. The Scottish Government stands by its call to the UK Government to increase universal credit by £25 per week and extend it to the means-tested legacy...
Ben Macpherson: ...UK Government to target additional support to those people who are already struggling. That support should include a £25 uplift in universal credit, which should be extended to means-tested legacy benefits, and, of course, an end to the benefit cap and the two-child limit. We will continue to press the UK Government to undertake those changes and use all the levers at its disposal to...
John Swinney: ...cost of living crisis. Taken together, in 2022-23, the Scottish Government has allocated almost £3 billion to help to mitigate the cost of living crisis in these difficult days. However, there are two key points that I must advise Parliament about in relation to the budget for this current financial year. First, despite reductions in spending of £1.2 billion, the financial pressures are...
