Debbie
Abrahams MP, Labour’s Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, responding to Philip Hammond’s
comments to the Treasury Select Committee about the impact of disabled
people in the workforce on productivity measurements, said:

“It is
disgraceful that Philip Hammond is scapegoating disabled people for a
productivity crisis created by the Conservatives’ failed economic
policies. 

"This
is coming from a Government that has forced disabled people to pay the price of
their failed austerity agenda, including by cutting measures that help disabled
people into the workforce and scrapping their own manifesto commitment on
halving the disability employment gap. 

"We
should be increasing disabled people’s access to employment, not denigrating
their contributions. The Chancellor should apologise immediately." 

Gordon Marsden MP, Shadow Higher Education
Minister, commenting on the Government’s announcement of a sale of part of the
student loan book at an apparent loss of £800 million, said:

“Today’s announcement is proof that this Government
is utterly incapable of getting a fair deal for taxpayers.

“In the last Budget Philip Hammond made clear that any sale of the student loan book would have to pass an assessment of
value for money, and it tells you everything you need to know about this
Government’s economic incompetence that they think a loss of £800 million is
good value for money.”

“This sale will simply leave taxpayers worse off,
as the Government desperately try to flatter their terrible record on our
public finances.”

Rebecca Long-Bailey MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, commenting on the Life Sciences Sector Deal, said:

“The Government’s embarrassing and shambolic approach to Brexit compromises many of the policies outlined in today’s Life Sciences Sector Deal and in last week’s White Paper.

“The European Medicines Agency has already been relocated to Amsterdam as a result of the Government’s approach, despite Labour’s warning that failure to ensure continued membership of the EMA would cause massive disruption to the pharmaceutical industry.

“Labour’s industrial strategy will bring the private and public sectors together to deliver the skills, infrastructure and business policies which will radically transform our economy for the many, not the few.’’

Melanie Onn MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister, responding to new figures on the number of children set to be homeless this Christmas, said:

“It is heart-breaking that 128,000 children will wake up on Christmas morning with no place to call home. The Conservative Government is failing them.

“This shames us all. Ministers must back Labour’s national plan to end this homelessness crisis.”

Peter Dowd MP, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, responding to the Government’s announcement of an updated £600 billion for national infrastructure investment, said:

“The Government has no shame, as after a year of Tory claims that Labour would bankrupt the country with our 10 year £500 billion investment plans, they are now presenting their own as a supposed £600 billion scheme.

“However, the truth is that many of these are just re-announcements of projects the Government has previously committed itself to, and is actually not new money. With only one in five projects in the 2016 National Infrastructure Pipeline under construction, this is just another reminder of how poor their record on delivering on their investment plans has become.

“The reality is that despite all the hype from the Government, this announcement will really end up being more like an infrastructure pipe dream.”