Oral Answers to Questions

Wayne David Excerpts

Wednesday 27th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Peter Hain (Neath) (Lab)]

3. What recent assessment he has made of the effects of the Government’s economic policies on Wales; and if he will make a statement.

[Wayne David (Caerphilly) (Lab)]

5. What recent assessment he has made of the effects of the Government’s economic policies on Wales; and if he will make a statement.

[Susan Elan Jones (Clwyd South) (Lab)]

11. What recent assessment he has made of the effects of the Government’s economic policies on Wales; and if he will make a statement.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Jones]

I will take no lessons from the right hon. Gentleman, whose party oversaw the trashing of the British economy and was responsible for the mess that we are having to clear up. The Government have created more than 1 million private sector jobs since we came to power, against the international trend, and we are proud of that.

[Wayne David]

Will the loss of the triple A status of the British economy be bad or very bad for Wales?

[Mr Jones]

The loss of the triple A status is a stark reminder of how important it is to develop sensible policies to fix the economy. I remind the hon. Gentleman that Moody’s recognises that the UK’s creditworthiness remains extremely high and points to the strong track record of fiscal consolidation. Were it not for that, we would be on a negative outlook, rather than a stable one.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise that issue. I am sure that there will be support throughout the House of Commons for all who took part in the Arctic convoys and all who served in Bomber Command.

It is not enough for us to have the excellent memorial to those who served in Bomber Command, in Green Park. It is right for us to have the medal for those who served in the Arctic convoys, and the clasp for those who served in Bomber Command. I have been stressing to Government colleagues how important it is for us to get on with handing out those medals and clasps as quickly as possible, because, tragically, we are losing more and more of the people who served all those years ago. They deserve their medals and their clasps, and I am proud that, under this Government, they will get them.

[Wayne David (Caerphilly) (Lab)]

Q4. Mr and Mrs Goodwin live in the Caerphilly borough. They are both registered blind, and rely heavily on their guide dogs, family and neighbours. Life is not easy for them, but from 1 April it will become even more difficult, because they will have to pay the Government’s bedroom tax on the home in which they have lived for 26 years. What justification can there be for that?

[The Prime Minister]

I will look at any individual case, and the Department for Work and Pensions will look at any individual case, but may I first make the point that this is not a tax? A tax is when someone earns money, it is their money, and the Government take some of it away. Frankly, the Opposition have got to engage with the fact that housing benefit now accounts for £23 billion of Government spending. That is a 50% increase over the last decade. We also have to address the fact that we have 250,000 families in overcrowded accommodation and we have 1.8 million people waiting for a council house.