Wendy Chamberlain
Main Page: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)Department Debates - View all Wendy Chamberlain's debates with the Leader of the House
Business of the House
Wendy Chamberlain Excerpts(1 day, 9 hours ago)
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Sir Alan Campbell
I absolutely join my hon. Friend in paying tribute to Liz. Fifteen years is a wonderful achievement; clearly, she did a great job. Volunteers like Liz are the absolute backbone of our communities. It is right that they get a mention in this place and that we celebrate the work they do.
Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)
The child maintenance system presents a number of challenges for MPs. The fact that the Minister for the CMS is in the other place is one of those challenges, and it means that we have not debated the child maintenance system in Government time for some time. It is also a challenge from a Scottish perspective, because it does not seem to work properly with the Scottish process of sequestration, and there is no power to compel needed information. I have a constituent who is currently owed £40,000, despite the CMS’s involvement over five years. I commend the work of Fife Gingerbread and Fife Young Carers to promote awareness of the fact that, in Scotland, children themselves can apply for child maintenance support, which takes out some of the challenges in the system that we sometimes see. Given the challenges that I have outlined, will the Leader of the House schedule a debate in Government time so that we can talk about something that causes such sadness at Christmas, no matter what side of the parental divide people are on?
Sir Alan Campbell
I will certainly give the hon. Lady’s request due consideration. This is a question not just in Scotland, of course, but across the country, and many of our surgeries will be testaments to that. I will raise her concerns straightaway with the Department for Work and Pensions to see whether we can get an answer on some of those points. However, I gently point out to her that just because a Minister sits in the Lords does not mean that there is not also a responsible Minister in this place; it therefore ought to be the case that any statements can be made, or questions answered, in this place.