"I also congratulate the hon. Member for Copeland (Trudy Harrison) on a fine maiden speech and thank her for her well-deserved compliment to her predecessor on his service. She spoke with passion, wit and understanding of her beautiful constituency, as well as of Peter Rabbit. None of us envies her …..." Andrew Smith - View Speech
"Let me take the Minister back to the important point made by his hon. Friend the Member for Enfield, Southgate (Mr Burrowes) in a measured speech in which he reminded us of the Prime Minister’s clear commitment just weeks before the general election:
"I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing this debate on an important issue. I resisted intervening on the bedroom tax and so on because I wanted to make this point. Does he share my concern, notwithstanding what he said about raising the allowance, that the impact of the tapers on …..." Andrew Smith - View Speech
"My understanding is that the rates are higher for people working more hours, for 35 hours or more. The hon. Gentleman is right in that the rates are lower for people working fewer hours. That is my worry—the perverse incentive for people to work less...." Andrew Smith - View Speech
"I should correct that. It is not that the rate is lower; it is that people will be better off working fewer hours, as compared with the position under tax credits, whereas those who are working 35 hours or more will be slightly worse off under universal credit than they …..." Andrew Smith - View Speech
"I join the congratulations to my hon. Friend on securing this enormously important debate. On the care sector, does she agree that such vulnerable contracts are exactly the opposite of what we need to build the status, training and career structure of care workers? Is it not a scandal that …..." Andrew Smith - View Speech
"What will the Government do to ensure that HMRC’s enforcement unit steps up enforcement in this area of the minimum wage, because it is being abused?..." Andrew Smith - View Speech
"I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing this debate on an important subject. I want to take him back to the point that he was making about tax credits supposedly allowing employers to pay lower wages. Presumably the basis for that argument is that tax credits raise the take-home pay …..." Andrew Smith - View Speech
"The hon. Gentleman refers—rightly, I am sure—to the importance of part-time, often low-paid workers in his constituency, but does he accept that the coalition’s withdrawal of working tax credit from part-time workers has hit those workers very hard and represented a disincentive to work, which is contrary to his argument?..." Andrew Smith - View Speech
"My hon. Friend is doing a very good job of batting off the attacks from Conservative Members. Does she agree that the hon. Member for Aberconwy (Guto Bebb) must not be allowed to rewrite history? The Conservative party argued vigorously against not just the level of the minimum wage, but …..." Andrew Smith - View Speech