Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 18 Dec 2013 Food Banks
"I have been told by the food banks in Widnes and Runcorn in my constituency that they are seeing an increasing number of people without gas or electricity, which means that the food they can supply is inappropriate. They are now having to consider what type of food they provide. …..." Derek Twigg - View Speech
"The Minister said that we are ignoring the potential benefits of his policy on overcrowded accommodation. Will he tell the House why his amendment includes the words “potential beneficial impact” and say how many people have been helped to date?..." Derek Twigg - View Speech
"There is no doubt that the bedroom tax is a brutal, callous and unfair policy that affects some of the poorest and most disadvantaged people in our communities, not least those who are disabled. They have been forced into arrears and further debt, and forced to go to food banks. …..." Derek Twigg - View Speech
"As usual, my hon. Friend makes an important point. Of course the council will have to pay again, and it is significant expenditure.
What about large families that have split up, where some of the children stay with their father for three or four days a week but he has …..." Derek Twigg - View Speech
"The Minister has mentioned programmes that help disabled people get into work, but how many of those people remained in work 12 months after they got a job?..." Derek Twigg - View Speech
"New clause 1 presents an opportunity. I congratulate my right hon. Friends on the Opposition Front Bench on getting it agreed with the Government, but of course there are weaknesses and flaws that my right hon. Friend the Member for Wythenshawe and Sale East (Paul Goggins) has outlined.
"Could the Minister clear something up? Does he believe that the Court’s judgment is basically about a technicality, or was there a serious oversight by the Department? Many of my constituents think that there was a serious oversight...." Derek Twigg - View Speech
"Is there not evidence in our constituencies of people being taken off benefits for no good reason? For example, a constituent who was attending the funeral of a close relative had her benefits stopped. People with mental health issues, particularly young men, are kicked off benefit for no good reason...." Derek Twigg - View Speech