A Week in Parliament

Case Success

One of the best results my office has had was getting a constituent £11,500 in pension credit that was owed. It is such a great feeling when we get a “win” on such a scale. Of course, the issue here is the DWP wrongly stopped paying it. The UK Government obsesses about benefit fraud, but the reality is that unpaid or unclaimed benefits is a greater amount than that lost on fraud. Always remember to check and see what you may be entitled to, especially pension credit.

Petitions

Another way I use to bring matters up in the House of Commons is to lodge a petition. There are rules on the wording of MP petitions but other than that I can pretty much lodge on a variety of topics. In recent months I have lodged petitions about Dominic Cummings; support for the travel industry; support for the wedding sector (which covers hospitality, caterers, outfitters, photographers, car and coach hire companies and DJs/entertainment); making permanent the £20 Universal Credit uplift; Black Lives Matter and one on food standards. Each petition presented in parliament has to be answered by a Minister. If there is a subject someone that someone thinks worthy of a petition and ministerial response, then please get in touch.

School Meals

After calling for an extension of the school meal programme in Scotland, the Scottish Tory MPs promptly voted against a Labour motion for an extension of school meals at Westminster! Although technically an England only matter, the SNP MPs all supported the Labour motion as ultimately more money would also come to Scotland.

UK Government Financial Support

It is welcome that right at the death, the Chancellor has listened to our calls to extend the furlough scheme – well almost. It is not quite a full extension, but the replacement scheme is welcome. However, much greater targeted support is required for the hospitality industry. The industry is calling for it; I am backing Unite the Union’s hospitality recovery plan and also the FSB is calling for greater support for the hospitality industry. Yet, some unionists tell me that “Scotland gets enough money from Westminster” and “get on with it”. I find such an attitude baffling. Apart from the fact Westminster doesn’t just “gift” Scotland money, surely part of my remit is to fight for maximum funding for my constituency? When I have companies telling me they will go bust and more jobs could be lost I am going to continue to lobby the UK Exchequer for more money. The Scottish Government has already spent more money in support than they have been “given” by Westminster. With a fixed budget, they cannot do more - therefore the UK Treasury need to step up to the plate.  

Interestingly, this is the argument put forward by the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Labour’s Andy Burnham. When giving evidence to the BEIS Select Committee, Andy Burnham also called for fiscal autonomy. I look forward to Labour now arguing that as a minimum Scotland should have full fiscal autonomy i.e. control over all tax and spending.