This week saw two long standing Bills come through some of their later stages in the House. The Scotland Bill will give Scotland much greater fiscal responsibility by dropping 10p in the pound for every rate of income tax in Scotland and dropping the grant from Whitehall to Scotland equally. The idea is that the Scottish Parliament will then be able to set a Scottish tax on top of that, allowing appropriate adjustments to tax rates in Scotland and linking the decisions of the Scottish Parliament to growth and revenue creation. The European Union Bill meanwhile is designed to reaffirm the supremacy of Parliament over Brussels. The “Big Bill” of the week however was the Welfare Reform Bill.
The Welfare Reform Bill will simplify the benefits system to create one universal credit in place of the 30 plus individual benefits. The items covered will be the same. Most important, it will ensure people are always better of in work than on benefit. The conditionality of benefit will be strengthened so that anyone receiving benefit must actively look for work and accept a reasonable job offer. Any breach will see entitlement to benefits forfeited for up to three years. The Bill will also introduce the already well publicised changes to Disability Living Allowance, Child Benefit, Housing Benefit and a Benefit Cap. There will be transitional protection to ensure no one will be worse off just because the system has changed.
Lobbying for Change
I am very pleased to say we also had a debate this week on Water and Water Sewerage Charges in the South West Water Area. OFWAT is to allow South West Water to increase prices to reflect inflation and investment in new technology. South West customers need some protection and I have called on the Minister to put a cap on what South West Water can charge. With South West customers paying on average 43% more than the rest of the UK it cannot be right to allow such a huge potential rise – 8.1%! While I am pleased with measures to help the less well off I am still adamant that proper consideration must be given to addressing the unfairness of these charges which are a result of underfunding for the South West at privatisation.
Financial Education for Young People is very important. How do credit cards work? How does a bank account work – and what are bank charges? All of these are the basics of being able to cope with the challenges of everyday life. The recently formed All Party Parliamentary Group on Financial Education for Young People of which I am a member met this week to look at just these issues and what we can do to ensure young people have the knowledge and the skill to deal with these things in a responsible way to ensure they manage a financially sustainable future for themselves and ultimately for their families. We have launched an enquiry on the Board of which I sit. All schools will be getting a questionnaire to complete which will be followed by oral evidence taken from all relevant stakeholders including the banks, Citizens Advice Bureau and Insolvency Practitioners.
Out and About
Another busy Friday starting early with a business breakfast meeting with the larger businesses in Newton Abbot to talk about recent Government policy developments and the budget. Then on to meet up with Teignbridge District Council to talk about their plans for Economic Regeneration. I was delighted to have the opportunity later in the day to talk about the future of our Childrens Centres and Sure Start with the team at Teignmouth who do such a great job. I have been very concerned to ensure the future of Sure Start and have lobbied the County Council and the Minister accordingly. Finally I was privileged to present certificates of achievement to learners at Inverteign Family Learning Centre in Teignmouth who gained national qualifications in IT, Literacy, Numeracy, Creative Writing and Volunteering. This is a credit to the local schools and volunteers who supported these learners. I am so impressed at what is going on in the community to celebrate as well as support families. And I am so pleased to see Dads such a key part of it all.
Finally I have spoken to the Primary Care Trust about the closure of the El Nashar Dental Practice to NHS patients and been assured that the PCT are doing their utmost to ensure that everyone that wants to have NHS Dental care can continue to do so. The Dental helpline for advice is 0845 002 0034 or 01392 822 348.
Surgeries and Getting Together
My next surgeries will be in Teignmouth on Saturday 19th March at 10.00am at the Library and then in Kingsteignton at the Community Centre at 11.30am. Please phone 01626 368277 for an appointment or for immediate help with issues that can’t wait until the next surgery. My next surgery in Dawlish will be at 10.00am on Saturday 2nd April at the Manor House and in Newton Abbot at 12 noon at the Courtenay Centre. My next “Face to Face” pub meeting will be on Friday 1st April at 6.30pm at The Rising Sun, Woodland –I should love to see you there so do come along for a chat!