Oral Answers to Questions

Steven Paterson Excerpts

Wednesday 26th April 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

May I first pay tribute to my right hon. Friend not just for his service to his constituents over the years, but for his service to the House when he took the Chair as Deputy Speaker? He has been a stalwart and a champion of the people of Saffron Walden over the years—for 40 years, as you said, Mr Speaker.

My right hon. Friend is right to raise issues of infrastructure spending. We included £40 million for the east of England in the Budget, but, as I think he implied in his question, such spending is only possible with the strong economy that comes from a strong and stable Government, and for Saffron Walden that will mean the election of a Conservative Government on 8 June.

[Steven Paterson (Stirling) (SNP)]

Q13. My constituent, Mr Buchanan, has suffered several serious strokes and requires extensive care. He was deemed to have missed his appointment for an Atos assessment when Atos arrived early for the appointment and his carers had not yet helped him to get up. As a result, his benefits were stopped. Why is the Government’s welfare regime punishing vulnerable people like my constituent?

[The Prime Minister]

We want to ensure that we have a system that properly assesses people who apply for benefits. As the hon. Gentleman has said, and as other Members will know, there have been issues relating to the way in which the system has operated. The Department for Work and Pensions has been looking very carefully at it to ensure that it makes proper assessments and delivers the right results for people.