PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES - United Kingdom Parliament
PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES - United Kingdom Parliament
PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES - United Kingdom Parliament
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Wednesday Volume 545<br />
9 May 2012 No. 1<br />
HOUSE OF COMMONS<br />
OFFICIAL REPORT<br />
<strong>PARLIAMENTARY</strong><br />
<strong>DEBATES</strong><br />
(HANSARD)<br />
Wednesday 9 May 2012<br />
£5·00
© <strong>Parliament</strong>ary Copyright House of Commons 2012<br />
This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the <strong>Parliament</strong>ary Click-Use Licence,<br />
available online through The National Archives website at<br />
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/our-services/parliamentary-licence-information.htm<br />
Enquiries to The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 4DU;<br />
e-mail: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk
Chronology of<br />
The <strong>Parliament</strong>ary Debates<br />
The <strong>Parliament</strong>ary History contains all that can be collected of the Legislative History of this country from the<br />
Conquest to the close of the XVIIIth Century (1803), 36 vols. The chief sources whence these Debates are derived<br />
are the Constitutional History, 24 vols.; Sir Simonds D’Ewes’ Journal; Debates of the Commons in 1620 and 1621;<br />
Chandler and Timberland’s Debates, 22 vols.; Grey’s Debates of the Commons, from 1667 to 1694, 10 vols.;<br />
Almons Debates, 24 vols.; Debrett’s Debates, 63 vols.; The Hardwicke Papers; Debates in <strong>Parliament</strong> by Dr. Johnson,<br />
&c. &c.<br />
THE <strong>PARLIAMENTARY</strong> <strong>DEBATES</strong> commenced with the year 1803, and the contents are set forth in the<br />
following Chronological Table:—<br />
HISTORY<br />
CONQUEST TO 34 GEO. II.—1066 to 1760<br />
Vol.1to15.1Will.Ito34Geo.II<br />
1066-1760<br />
REIGN OF GEO. III.—1760 to 1820<br />
Vol. 15 to 35. Geo. III to 40 Geo. III.<br />
1760—1800<br />
PARLIAMENTS OF UNITED KINGDOM OF<br />
GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND<br />
(FIRST PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 35.........................41 GEO. III. ...........1801<br />
— 36.........................42 — ...........1802<br />
(SECOND PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 36.........................42 GEO. III. .......1802-3<br />
<strong>DEBATES</strong><br />
First Series<br />
(SECOND PARLIAMENT—cont.)<br />
Vol. 1 & 2....................44 GEO. III. .......1803-4<br />
— 3 to 5 ...................45 — ...........1805<br />
— 6 & 7....................46 — ...........1806<br />
(THIRD PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 8 & 9....................47 GEO. III. .......1806-7<br />
(FOURTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 9 to 11 .................48 GEO. III. .......1807-8<br />
— 12—14 .................49 — ...........1809<br />
— 15—17 .................50 — ...........1810<br />
— 18—20 .................51 — ......1810-11<br />
— 21—23 .................52 — ...........1812<br />
(FIFTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 24 to 26 ...............53 GEO. III. ......1812-13<br />
— 27 & 28................54 — ......1813-14<br />
— 29—31 .................55 — ......1814-15<br />
— 32—34 .................56 — ...........1816<br />
— 35 & 36................58 — ...........1817<br />
— 37—38 .................58 — ...........1818<br />
(SIXTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 39 & 40................59 GEO. III. ...........1819<br />
— 41.........................60 — ......1819-20<br />
Second Series<br />
REIGN OF GEO. IV.—1820 to 1830<br />
(SEVENTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 1 to 3 .....................1 GEO. IV. ...........1820<br />
— 4 & 5 .....................2 — ...........1821<br />
— 6— 7......................3 — ...........1822<br />
— 8— 9......................4 — ...........1823<br />
— 10—11 ...................5 — ...........1824<br />
— 12—13 ...................6 — .......1825-6<br />
— 14—15 ...................7 — ...........1826<br />
(EIGHTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 16 ..........................7 GEO. IV. ...........1826<br />
— 17 ..........................8 — ...........1827<br />
— 18 & 19..................9 — ...........1828<br />
— 20—21 .................10 — ...........1829<br />
— 22 to 25 ...............11 — ...........1830<br />
Third Series<br />
REIGN OF WILLIAM IV. —1830 to 1837<br />
(NINTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 1 to 3 .....................1 WILL. IV. .......1830-1<br />
(TENTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 4 to 8 .....................2 WILL. IV. ...........1831<br />
— 9—14.....................3 — ...........1832<br />
(ELEVENTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 15 to 20 .................4 WILL. IV. ...........1833<br />
— 21—25 ...................5 — ...........1834<br />
(TWELFTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 26 to 30 .................6 WILL. IV. ...........1835<br />
— 31—35 ...................7 — ...........1836<br />
— 36—38 ...................8 — ...........1837<br />
REIGN OF VICTORIA. —1837 to 1901<br />
(THIRTEENTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 39 to 44 .................1 VICTORIA ...........1838<br />
— 45—50 ...................2 — ...........1839<br />
— 51—55 ...................3 — ...........1840<br />
— 56—58 ...................4 — ......(a)1841<br />
(FOURTEENTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 59 ..........................4 VICTORIA ......(b)1841<br />
— 60 to 65 .................5 — ...........1842<br />
— 66—71 ...................6 — ...........1843<br />
— 72—76 ...................7 — ...........1844<br />
— 77—82 ...................8 — ...........1845<br />
— 83—88 ...................9 — ...........1846<br />
— 89—94 .................10 — ......(a)1847<br />
(FIFTEENTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 95.........................10 VICTORIA ......(b)1847<br />
— 96—101 ...............11 — ...........1848<br />
— 102—107..............12 — ...........1849<br />
— 108—113..............13 — ...........1850<br />
— 114—118..............14 — ...........1851<br />
— 119—122..............15 — ......(a)1852<br />
(SIXTEENTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 123.......................15 VICTORIA ......(b)1852<br />
— 124 to 129............16 — ...........1853<br />
— 130—135..............17 — ...........1854<br />
— 136—139..............18 — ...........1855<br />
— 140—143..............19 — ...........1856<br />
— 144.......................20 — ......(a)1857
ii<br />
CHRONOLOGY OF THE <strong>PARLIAMENTARY</strong> <strong>DEBATES</strong>—cont.<br />
(SEVENTEENTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 145 to 147............20 VICTORIA ......(b)1857<br />
— 148—151..............21 — ...........1858<br />
— 152 & 153 ............22 — ......(a)1859<br />
(EIGHTEENTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 154 & 155 ............22 VICTORIA ......(b)1859<br />
— 156 to 160............23 — ...........1860<br />
— 161—164..............24 — ...........1861<br />
— 165—168..............25 — ...........1862<br />
— 169—172..............26 — ...........1863<br />
— 173—176..............27 — ...........1864<br />
— 177—180..............28 — ...........1865<br />
(NINETEENTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 181 to 184............29 VICTORIA ...........1866<br />
— 185—189..............30 — ...........1867<br />
— 190—193..............31 — .......1867-8<br />
(TWENTIETH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 194 to 198............32 VICTORIA .......1868-9<br />
— 199—203..............33 — ...........1870<br />
— 204—208..............34 — ...........1871<br />
— 209—213..............35 — ...........1872<br />
— 214—217..............36 — ...........1873<br />
(TWENTY-FIRST PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 218 to 221............37 VICTORIA ...........1874<br />
— 222—226..............38 — ...........1875<br />
— 227—231..............39 — ...........1876<br />
— 232—236..............40 — ...........1877<br />
— 237—243..............41 — ...........1878<br />
— 242—249..............42 — .......1878-9<br />
— 250 & 251 ............43 — ......(a)1880<br />
(TWENTY-SECOND PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 252 to 256............43 VICTORIA ......(b)1880<br />
— 257—265..............44 — ...........1881<br />
— 266—273..............45 — ......(a)1882<br />
— 274 & 275 ............45 — ......(b)1882<br />
— 276 to 283............46 — ...........1883<br />
— 284—292..............47 — ...........1884<br />
— 293—301..............48 — .......1884-5<br />
(TWENTY-THIRD PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 302 to 307............49 VICTORIA ...........1886<br />
(TWENTY-FOURTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 308 & 309 ............49 VICTORIA ......(b)1886<br />
— 310 to 321............50 — ...........1887<br />
— 322—332..............51 — ...........1888<br />
— 333—340..............52 — ...........1889<br />
— 341—348..............53 — ...........1890<br />
— 349—356..............54 — .......1890-1<br />
Fourth Series<br />
(TWENTY-FOURTH PARLIAMENT—cont.)<br />
Vol. 1 to 6 ...................55 VICTORIA ...........1892<br />
(Twenty-Fifth <strong>Parliament</strong>)<br />
Vol. 7 ..........................56 VICTORIA ...........1892<br />
— 8 to 21 .................57 — .......1893-4<br />
— 22—29 .................57 — ...........1894<br />
— 30—35 .................58 — ...........1895<br />
(TWENTY-SIXTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 36.........................59 VICTORIA ...........1895<br />
— 37 to 44 ...............59 — .......1895-6<br />
— 45—52 .................60 — ...........1897<br />
— 53—65 .................61 — ...........1898<br />
— 66—76 .................62 — ...........1899<br />
— 77.........................63 — ...........1899<br />
— 78—83 .................63 — ...........1900<br />
— 84................63 & 64 — ...........1900<br />
— 85—87 .................64 — ...........1900<br />
(TWENTY-SEVENTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 88.........................65 VICTORIA ...........1900<br />
REIGN OF EDWARD VII.—1901 to 1910<br />
(TWENTY-SEVENTH PARLIAMENT—cont.)<br />
Vol. 89 ..........................1 EDWARD VII. ...........1901<br />
— 90 to 100 ...............1 — ...........1901<br />
— 101..................1 & 2 — ...........1902<br />
— 102—117 ...............2 — ...........1902<br />
— 118—128 ...............3 — ...........1903<br />
— 129—140 ...............4 — ...........1904<br />
— 141—151 ...............5 — ...........1905<br />
(TWENTY-EIGHTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 152 to 168..............6 EDWARD VII. ...........1906<br />
— 169—182 ...............7 — ...........1907<br />
— 183—199 ...............8 — ...........1908<br />
Fifth Series—Official Report<br />
Lords Debates<br />
(TWENTY-EIGHTH PARLIAMENT—cont.)<br />
Vol. 1 to 4 .....................9 EDWARD VII. ...........1909<br />
(TWENTY-NINTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 5 & 6....................10 EDWARD VII. ...........1910<br />
and1GEO. V.<br />
Commons Debates<br />
(TWENTY-EIGHTH PARLIAMENT—cont.)<br />
Vol. 1 to 13 ...................9 EDWARD VII. ...........1909<br />
(TWENTY-NINTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 14 to 20 ...............10 EDWARD VII. ...........1910<br />
and1GEO. V.<br />
REIGN OF GEORGE V.—1910 to 1936<br />
Lords Debates<br />
(THIRTIETH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 7 to 10 ............1 & 2 GEO. V. ...........1911<br />
— 11—13..............2—3 — ......1912-13<br />
— 14.....................3—4 — ...........1913<br />
— 15—17..............4—5 — ...........1914<br />
— 18—20..............5—6 — ......1914-16<br />
— 21—23..............6—7 — ...........1916<br />
— 24—28..............7—8 — ...........1917<br />
— 29—32..............8—9 — ...........1918<br />
Commons Debates<br />
(THIRTIETH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 21 to 33 ..........1 & 2 GEO. V. ...........1911<br />
— 34— 49 ............2—3 — ...........1912<br />
— 50— 57 ............3—4 — ...........1913<br />
— 58— 67 ............4—5 — ...........1914<br />
— 68— 79 ............5—6 — ......1914-16<br />
— 80— 88 ............6—7 — ...........1916<br />
— 89—102............7—8 — ...........1917<br />
— 103—111..........8—9 — ...........1918
CHRONOLOGY OF THE <strong>PARLIAMENTARY</strong> <strong>DEBATES</strong>—cont.<br />
iii<br />
(THIRTY-FIRST PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 33 to 38.........9 & 10 GEO. V. ...........1919<br />
— 39—43..........10—11 — ...........1920<br />
— 44—47..........11—12 — ...........1921<br />
— 48 (2nd Session) ..12 — ...........1921<br />
— 49—51..........12—13 — ...........1922<br />
(THIRTY-SECOND PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 52 (2nd Session) ..13 GEO. V. ...........1922<br />
— 53—55..........13—14 — ...........1923<br />
(THIRTY-THIRD PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 56 to 59.......14 & 15 GEO. V. ...........1924<br />
(THIRTY-FIRST PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 112 to 124.....9 & 10 GEO. V. ...........1919<br />
— 125—137 ......10—11 — ...........1920<br />
— 138—148 ......11—12 — ...........1921<br />
— 149 (2nd Session).12 — ...........1921<br />
— 150—158 ......12—13 — ...........1922<br />
(THIRTY-SECOND PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 159 (2nd Session).13 GEO. V. ...........1922<br />
— 160—168.....13 & 14 — ...........1923<br />
(THIRTY-THIRD PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 169 to 178 ...14 & 15 GEO. V. ...........1924<br />
PARLIAMENT OF UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND<br />
(THIRTY-FOURTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 60 to 62.......15 & 16 GEO. V. ......1924-25<br />
— 63—65..........16—17 — ...........1926<br />
— 66—69..........17—18 — ...........1927<br />
— 70 & 71 ........18—19 — ...........1928<br />
— 72 to 74 ........19—29 — ......1928-29<br />
(THIRTY-FIFTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 75 to 78.......20 & 21 GEO. V. ......1929-30<br />
— 79—82..........21—22 — ......1930-31<br />
(THIRTY-SIXTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 83 to 85.......22 & 23 GEO. V. ......1931-32<br />
— 86—89..........23—24 — ......1932-33<br />
— 90—94..........24—25 — ......1933-34<br />
— 95—98..........25—26 — ......1934-35<br />
(THIRTY-SEVENTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 99.........................26 GEO. V. and ......1935-36<br />
EDWARD VIII.<br />
(THIRTY-FOURTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 179 to 190 ...15 & 16 GEO. V. ......1924-25<br />
— 191—201 ......16—17 — ...........1926<br />
— 202—212 ......17—18 — ...........1927<br />
— 213—221 ......18—19 — ...........1928<br />
— 222—228 ......19—20 — ......1928-29<br />
(THIRTY-FIFTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 229 to 243 ...20 & 21 GEO. V. ......1929-30<br />
— 244—258 ......21—22 — ......1930-31<br />
(THIRTY-SIXTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 259 to 271 ...22 & 23 GEO. V. ......1931-32<br />
— 272—282 ......23—24 — ......1932-33<br />
— 283—294 ......24—25 — ......1933-34<br />
— 295—306 ......25—26 — ......1934-35<br />
(THIRTY-SEVENTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 307.......................26 GEO. V. ......1935-36<br />
REIGN OF EDWARD VIII.—1936<br />
Lords Debates<br />
(THIRTY-SEVENTH PARLIAMENT—cont.)<br />
Vol. 99 to 102 ................. EDWARD VIII. ...........1936<br />
— 103 .......................... — ......1936-37<br />
Commons Debates<br />
(THIRTY-SEVENTH PARLIAMENT—cont.)<br />
Vol. 308 to 316 ............... EDWARD VIII. ...........1936<br />
— 317 .......................... — ......1936-37<br />
REIGN OF GEORGE VI.—1936 to 1952<br />
Lords Debates<br />
(THIRTY-SEVENTH PARLIAMENT—cont.)<br />
Vol. 104 to 106..............1 GEO. VI. ......1936-37<br />
— 107—110 ........1 & 2 — ......1936-38<br />
— 111—114..........2—3 — ......1938-39<br />
— 115—117..........3—4 — ......1939-40<br />
— 118—120..........4—5 — ......1940-41<br />
— 121—124..........5—6 — ......1941-42<br />
— 125—129..........6—7 — ......1942-43<br />
— 130—133..........7—8 — ......1943-44<br />
— 134—136..........8—9 — ......1944-45<br />
(THIRTY-EIGHTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 137 to 143.....9 & 10 GEO. VI. ......1945-46<br />
— 144—151 ......10—11 — ......1946-47<br />
— 152—158 ......11—12 — ......1947-48<br />
— 159—165 ......12—14 — ......1948-49<br />
(THIRTY-NINTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 166 to 168............14 GEO. VI. ...........1950<br />
— 169—173.....14 & 15 — ......1950-51<br />
(FORTIETH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 174 ..............15 & 16 GEO. VI. and ......1951-52<br />
1ELIZ. II.<br />
Commons Debates<br />
(THIRTY-SEVENTH PARLIAMENT—cont.)<br />
Vol. 318 to 327..............1 GEO. VI. ......1936-37<br />
— 328—340 ........1 & 2 — ......1937-38<br />
— 341—354..........2—3 — ......1938-39<br />
— 355—366..........3—4 — ......1939-40<br />
— 367—375..........4—5 — ......1940-41<br />
— 376—384..........5—6 — ......1941-42<br />
— 385—394..........6—7 — ......1942-43<br />
— 395—405..........7—8 — ......1943-44<br />
— 406—412..........8—9 — ......1944-45<br />
(THIRTY-EIGHTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 413 to 429.....9 & 10 GEO. VI. ......1945-46<br />
— 430—442 ......10—11 — ......1946-47<br />
— 443—456 ......11—12 — ......1947-48<br />
— 457—471 ......12—14 — ......1948-49<br />
(THIRTY-NINTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 472 to 479............14 GEO. VI. ...........1950<br />
— 480—492.....14 & 15 — ......1950-51<br />
(FORTIETH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 493 to 495 ...15 & 16 GEO. VI. and ......1951-52<br />
1ELIZ. II.
iv<br />
CHRONOLOGY OF THE <strong>PARLIAMENTARY</strong> <strong>DEBATES</strong>—cont.<br />
REIGN OF ELIZABETH II.—1952 to<br />
Lords Debates<br />
(FORTIETH PARLIAMENT—cont.)<br />
Vol. 174 to 178..............1 ELIZ. II. ...........1952<br />
— 179—183 ........1 & 2 — ......1952-53<br />
— 184—189..........2—3 — ......1953-54<br />
— 190—192..........3—4 — ......1954-55<br />
(FORTY-FIRST PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 193 to 199.......4 & 5 ELIZ. II. ......1955-56<br />
— 200—205..........5—6 — ......1956-57<br />
— 206—211..........6—7 — ......1957-58<br />
— 212—218..........7—8 — ......1958-59<br />
(FORTY-SECOND PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 219 to 225.......8 & 9 ELIZ. II. ......1959-60<br />
— 226—234....... 9—10 — ......1960-61<br />
— 235—243 ......10—11 — ......1961-62<br />
— 244—252 ......11—12 — ......1962-63<br />
— 253—260 ......12—13 — ......1963-64<br />
(FORTY-THIRD PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 261 to 269 ...13 & 14 ELIZ. II. ......1964-65<br />
— 270—273 ......14—15 — ......1965-66<br />
(FORTY-FOURTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 274 to 285 ...15 & 16 ELIZ. II. ......1966-67<br />
— 286—296 ......16—17 — ......1967-68<br />
— 297—304 ......17—18 — ......1968-69<br />
— 305—310 ......18—19 — ......1969-70<br />
(FORTY-FIFTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 311 to 324 ...19 & 20 ELIZ. II. ......1970-71<br />
— 325—335 ......20—21 — ......1971-72<br />
— 336—345 ......21—22 — ......1972-73<br />
— 346—349 ......22—23 — ......1973-74<br />
(FORTY-SIXTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 350 to 353............23 ELIZ. II. ...........1974<br />
(FORTY-SEVENTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 354 to 365 ...23 & 24 ELIZ. II. ......1974-75<br />
— 366—377 ......24—25 — ......1975-76<br />
— 378—386 ......25—26 — ......1976-77<br />
— 387—395 ......26—27 — ......1977-78<br />
— 396—399 ......27—28 — ......1978-79<br />
(FORTY-EIGHTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 400 to 414 ...28 & 29 ELIZ. II. ......1979-80<br />
— 415—424.....29 & 30 — ......1980-81<br />
— 425—435.....30 & 31 — ......1981-82<br />
— 436—442.....31 & 32 — ......1982-83<br />
(FORTY-NINTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 443 to 456 ...32 & 33 ELIZ. II. ......1983-84<br />
— 457—467.....33 & 34 — ......1984-85<br />
— 468—481.....34 & 35 — ......1985-86<br />
— 482—487.....35 & 36 — ......1986-87<br />
(FIFTIETH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 488 to 501 ...36 & 37 ELIZ. II. ......1987-88<br />
— 502—512.....37 & 38 — ......1988-89<br />
— 513—522.....38 & 39 — ......1989-90<br />
— 523—531.....39 & 40 — ......1990-91<br />
— 532—536.....40 & 41 — ......1991-92<br />
(FIFTY-FIRST PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 537 to 549 ...41 & 42 ELIZ. II. ......1992-93<br />
— 550—558 ......42—43 — ......1993-94<br />
— 559—566 ......43—44 — ......1994-95<br />
— 567—574 ......44—45 — ......1995-96<br />
— 575—579 ......45—46 — ......1996-97<br />
Commons Debates<br />
(FORTIETH PARLIAMENT—cont.)<br />
Vol. 495 to 506..............1 ELIZ. II. ...........1952<br />
— 507—519 ........1 & 2 — ......1952-53<br />
— 520—534..........2—3 — ......1953-54<br />
— 535—541..........3—4 — ......1954-55<br />
(FORTY-FIRST PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 542 to 559.......4 & 5 ELIZ. II. ......1955-56<br />
— 560—576..........5—6 — ......1956-57<br />
— 577—593..........6—7 — ......1957-58<br />
— 594—611..........7—8 — ......1958-59<br />
(FORTY-SECOND PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 612 to 628.......8 & 9 ELIZ. II. ......1959-60<br />
— 629—647....... 9—10 — ......1960-61<br />
— 648—665 ......10—11 — ......1961-62<br />
— 666—683 ......11—12 — ......1962-63<br />
— 684—700 ......12—13 — ......1963-64<br />
(FORTY-THIRD PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 701 to 719 ...13 & 14 ELIZ. II. ......1964-65<br />
— 720—726 ......14—15 — ......1965-66<br />
(FORTY-FOURTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 727 to 752 ...15 & 16 ELIZ. II. ......1966-67<br />
— 753—771 ......16—17 — ......1967-68<br />
— 772—789 ......17—18 — ......1968-69<br />
— 790—802 ......18—19 — ......1969-70<br />
(FORTY-FIFTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 803 to 824 ...19 & 20 ELIZ. II. ......1970-71<br />
— 825—844 ......20—21 — ......1971-72<br />
— 845—862 ......21—22 — ......1972-73<br />
— 863—869 ......22—23 — ......1973-74<br />
(FORTY-SIXTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 870 to 879............23 ELIZ. II. ...........1974<br />
(FORTY-SEVENTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 880 to 900 ...23 & 24 ELIZ. II. ......1974-75<br />
— 901—920 ......24—25 — ......1975-76<br />
— 921—937 ......25—26 — ......1976-77<br />
— 938—956 ......26—27 — ......1977-78<br />
— 957—966 ......27—28 — ......1978-79<br />
(FORTY-EIGHTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 967 to 993 ...28 & 29 ELIZ. II. ......1979-80<br />
— 994—1000...29 & 30 — ......1980-81<br />
Sixth Series<br />
Vol. 1 to 12 .................30 ELIZ. II. ......1980-81<br />
— 13—30 ........30 & 31 — ......1981-82<br />
— 31—43 ........31 & 32 — ......1982-83<br />
(FORTY-NINTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 44 to 66.......32 & 33 ELIZ. II. ......1983-84<br />
— 67—85 ........33 & 34 — ......1984-85<br />
— 86—104.......34 & 35 — ......1985-86<br />
— 105—117.....35 & 36 — ......1986-87<br />
(FIFTIETH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 118 to 141 ...36 & 37 ELIZ. II. ......1987-88<br />
— 142—161.....37 & 38 — ......1988-89<br />
— 162—179.....38 & 39 — ......1989-90<br />
— 180—197.....39 & 40 — ......1990-91<br />
— 198—206.....40 & 41 — ......1991-92<br />
(FIFTY-FIRST PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 207 to 232 ...41 & 42 ELIZ. II. ......1992-93<br />
— 233—249 ......42—43 — ......1993-94<br />
— 250—266 ......43—44 — ......1994-95<br />
— 267—283 ......44—45 — ......1995-96<br />
— 284—293 ......45—46 — ......1996-97
CHRONOLOGY OF THE <strong>PARLIAMENTARY</strong> <strong>DEBATES</strong>—cont.<br />
v<br />
REIGN OF ELIZABETH II.—1952 to<br />
Lords Debates<br />
(FIFTY-SECOND PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 580 to 594 ....46—47 ELIZ. II. ....1997-98<br />
Vol. 595 to 606 ....47—48 ELIZ. II. ....1998-99<br />
Vol. 607 to 619 ....48—49 ELIZ. II. 1999-2000<br />
Vol. 620 to 625 ....49—50 ELIZ. II. 2000-2001<br />
(FIFTY-THIRD PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 626 to 640 ....50—51 ELIZ. II. 2001-2002<br />
Vol. 641 to 654 ....51—52 ELIZ. II. 2002-2003<br />
Vol. 655 to 666 ....52—53 ELIZ. II. 2003-2004<br />
Vol. 667 to 671 ....53—54 ELIZ. II. 2004-2005<br />
(FIFTY-FOURTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 672 to 686 ....54—55 ELIZ. II. 2005-2006<br />
Vol. 687 to 695 ....55—56 ELIZ. II. 2006-2007<br />
Vol. 696 to 705 ....56—57 ELIZ. II. 2007-2008<br />
Vol. 706 to 714 ....57—58 ELIZ. II. 2008-2009<br />
Vol. 715 to 718 ....58—59 ELIZ. II. 2009-2010<br />
(FIFTY-FIFTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 719 to 736 ....59—61 ELIZ. II. 2010-2012<br />
Commons Debates<br />
(FIFTY-SECOND PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 294 to 320 ....46—47 ELIZ. II. ....1997-98<br />
Vol. 321 to 338 ....47—48 ELIZ. II. ....1998-99<br />
Vol. 339 to 358 ....48—49 ELIZ. II. 1999-2000<br />
Vol. 359 to 369 ....49—50 ELIZ. II. 2000-2001<br />
(FIFTY-THIRD PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 370 to 393 ....50—51 ELIZ. II. 2001-2002<br />
Vol. 394 to 414 ....51—52 ELIZ. II. 2002-2003<br />
Vol. 415 to 427 ....52—53 ELIZ. II. 2003-2004<br />
Vol. 428 to 433 ....53—54 ELIZ. II. 2004-2005<br />
(FIFTY-FOURTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 434 to 452 ....54—55 ELIZ. II. 2005-2006<br />
Vol. 453 to 466 ....55—56 ELIZ. II. 2006-2007<br />
Vol. 467 to 484 ....56—57 ELIZ. II. 2007-2008<br />
Vol. 485 to 500 ....57—58 ELIZ. II. 2008-2009<br />
Vol. 501 to 509 ....58—59 ELIZ. II. 2009-2010<br />
(FIFTY-FIFTH PARLIAMENT)<br />
Vol. 510 to 544 ....59—61 ELIZ. II. 2010-2012
House of Commons<br />
Alphabetical List of Members<br />
[Returned at the General Election, 6 May 2010]<br />
A<br />
Abbott, Diane Julie (Hackney North and Stoke<br />
Newington)<br />
Abrahams, Debbie (Oldham East and Saddleworth)<br />
[By-election, January 2011]<br />
Adams, Gerard (Belfast West) [Resigned, January 2011]<br />
Adams, Nigel (Selby and Ainsty)<br />
Afriyie, Adam (Windsor)<br />
Ainsworth, Rt Hon. Robert William (Coventry North<br />
East)<br />
Aldous, Peter (Waveney)<br />
Alexander, Daniel Grian (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch<br />
and Strathspey)<br />
Alexander, Rt Hon. Douglas Garven (Paisley and<br />
Renfrewshire South)<br />
Alexander, Heidi (Lewisham East)<br />
Ali, Rushanara (Bethnal Green and Bow)<br />
Allen, Graham William (Nottingham North)<br />
Amess, David Anthony Andrew (Southend West)<br />
Anderson, David (Blaydon)<br />
Andrew, Stuart (Pudsey)<br />
Arbuthnot, Rt Hon. James Norwich (North East<br />
Hampshire)<br />
Ashworth, Jonathan (Leicester South) [By-election, May<br />
2011]<br />
Austin, Ian Christopher (Dudley North)<br />
B<br />
Bacon, Richard Michael (South Norfolk)<br />
Bagshawe, Louise Daphne (Corby)<br />
Bailey, Adrian Edward (West Bromwich West)<br />
Bain, William Thomas (Glasgow North East)<br />
Baker, Norman John (Lewes)<br />
Baker, Steven John (Wycombe)<br />
Baldry, Antony Brian (Banbury)<br />
Baldwin, Harriett Mary Morison (West Worcestershire)<br />
Balls, Rt Hon. Edward Michael (Morley and Outwood)<br />
Banks, Gordon Raymond (Ochil and South Perthshire)<br />
Barclay, Stephen Paul (North East Cambridgeshire)<br />
Barker, Gregory Leonard George (Bexhill and Battle)<br />
Baron, John Charles (Basildon and Billericay)<br />
Barron, Rt Hon. Kevin John (Rother Valley)<br />
Barwell, Gavin Laurence (Croydon Central)<br />
Bayley, Hugh (York Central)<br />
Bebb, Guto ap Owain (Aberconwy)<br />
Beckett, Rt Hon. Margaret Mary (Derby South)<br />
Begg, Anne (Aberdeen South)<br />
Beith, Rt Hon. Sir Alan James (Berwick-upon-Tweed)<br />
Bell, Sir Stuart (Middlesbrough)<br />
Bellingham, Henry Campbell (North West Norfolk)<br />
Benn, Rt Hon. Hilary James (Leeds Central)<br />
Benton, Joseph Edward (Bootle)<br />
Benyon, Richard Henry Ronald (Newbury)<br />
Bercow, Rt Hon. John Simon (Buckingham)<br />
Beresford, Sir Alexander Paul (Mole Valley)<br />
Berger, Luciana Clare (Liverpool Wavertree)<br />
Berry, Jake (Rossendale and Darwen)<br />
Betts, Clive James Charles (Sheffield South East)<br />
Bingham, Andrew Russell (High Peak)<br />
Binley, Brian Arthur Roland (Northampton South)<br />
Birtwistle, Gordon (Burnley)<br />
Blackman, Robert John (Harrow East)<br />
Blackman-Woods, Roberta Carol (City of Durham)<br />
Blackwood, Nicola Claire (Oxford West and Abingdon)<br />
Blears, Rt Hon. Hazel Anne (Salford and Eccles)<br />
Blenkinsop, Thomas Francis (Middlesbrough South and<br />
East Cleveland)<br />
Blomfield, Paul (Sheffield Central)<br />
Blunkett, Rt Hon. David (Sheffield, Brightside and<br />
Hillsborough)<br />
Blunt, Crispin Jeremy Rupert (Reigate)<br />
Boles, Nicholas Edward Coleridge (Grantham and<br />
Stamford)<br />
Bone, Peter William (Wellingborough)<br />
Bottomley, Peter James (Worthing West)<br />
Bradley, Karen Anne (Staffordshire Moorlands)<br />
Bradshaw, Rt Hon. Benjamin Peter James (Exeter)<br />
Brady, Graham Stuart (Altrincham and Sale West)<br />
Brake, Thomas Anthony (Carshalton and Wallington)<br />
Bray, Angie (Ealing Central and Acton)<br />
Brazier, Julian William Hendy (Canterbury)<br />
Brennan, Kevin Denis (Cardiff West)<br />
Bridgen, Andrew James (North West Leicestershire)<br />
Brine, Stephen Charles (Winchester)<br />
Brokenshire, James Peter (Old Bexley and Sidcup)<br />
Brooke, Annette Lesley (Mid Dorset and North Poole)<br />
Brown, Rt Hon. James Gordon (Kirkcaldy and<br />
Cowdenbeath)<br />
Brown, Lyn Carol (West Ham)<br />
Brown, Rt Hon. Nicholas Hugh (Newcastle upon Tyne<br />
East)<br />
Brown, Russell Leslie (Dumfries and Galloway)<br />
Browne, Jeremy Richard (Taunton Deane)<br />
Bruce, Fiona Claire (Congleton)<br />
Bruce, Rt Hon. Malcolm Gray (Gordon)<br />
Bryant, Christopher John (Rhondda)<br />
Buck, Karen Patricia (Westminster North)<br />
Buckland, Robert James (South Swindon)<br />
Burden, Richard Haines (Birmingham, Northfield)<br />
Burley, Aidan (Cannock Chase)<br />
Burnham, Rt Hon. Andrew Murray (Leigh)<br />
Burns, Conor (Bournemouth West)<br />
Burns, Simon Hugh McGuigan (Chelmsford)<br />
Burrowes, David John Barrington (Enfield, Southgate)<br />
Burstow, Paul Kenneth (Sutton and Cheam)<br />
Burt, Alistair James Hendrie (North East Bedfordshire)<br />
Burt, Lorely Jane (Solihull)<br />
Byles, Daniel Alan (North Warwickshire)<br />
Byrne, Rt Hon. Liam Dominic (Birmingham, Hodge<br />
Hill)<br />
Cable, John Vincent (Twickenham)<br />
Cairns, Alun Hugh (Vale of Glamorgan)<br />
Cairns, John David (Inverclyde) [Died, May 2011]<br />
Cameron, Rt Hon. David William Donald (Witney)<br />
Campbell, Alan (Tynemouth)<br />
Campbell, Gregory Lloyd (East Londonderry)<br />
C
viii Alphabetical List of Members 9 MAY 2012<br />
Alphabetical List of Members<br />
Campbell, Rt Hon. Sir Walter Menzies (North East<br />
Fife)<br />
Campbell, Ronald (Blyth Valley)<br />
Carmichael, Alexander Morrison (Orkney and Shetland)<br />
Carmichael, William Neil (Stroud)<br />
Carswell, John Douglas Wilson (Clacton)<br />
Cash, William Nigel Paul (Stone)<br />
Caton, Martin Phillip (Gower)<br />
Chapman, Jennifer (Darlington)<br />
Chishti, Atta-Ur-Rehman (Gillingham and Rainham)<br />
Chope, Christopher Robert (Christchurch)<br />
Clappison, William James (Hertsmere)<br />
Clark, Gregory David (Tunbridge Wells)<br />
Clark, Katy (North Ayrshire and Arran)<br />
Clarke, Rt Hon. Kenneth Harry (Rushcliffe)<br />
Clarke, Rt Hon. Thomas (Coatbridge, Chryston and<br />
Bellshill)<br />
Clegg, Rt Hon. Nicholas William Peter (Sheffield,<br />
Hallam)<br />
Clifton-Brown , Geoffrey Robert (The Cotswolds)<br />
Clwyd, Rt Hon. Ann (Cynon Valley)<br />
Coaker, Vernon Rodney (Gedling)<br />
Coffey, Margaret Ann (Stockport)<br />
Coffey, Therese Anne (Suffolk Coastal)<br />
Collins, Damian Noel (Folkestone and Hythe)<br />
Colvile, Oliver Newton (Plymouth, Sutton and<br />
Devonport)<br />
Connarty, Michael (Linlithgow and East Falkirk)<br />
Cooper, Rosemary Elizabeth (West Lancashire)<br />
Cooper, Rt Hon. Yvette (Normanton, Pontefract and<br />
Castleford)<br />
Corbyn, Jeremy Bernard (Islington North)<br />
Cox, Charles Geoffrey (Torridge and West Devon)<br />
Crabb, Stephen (Preseli Pembrokeshire)<br />
Crausby, David Anthony (Bolton North East)<br />
Creagh, Mary Helen (Wakefield)<br />
Creasy, Stella Judith (Walthamstow)<br />
Crockart, Michael Bruce (Edinburgh West)<br />
Crouch, Tracey Elizabeth Anne (Chatham and<br />
Aylesford)<br />
Cruddas, Jonathon (Dagenham and Rainham)<br />
Cryer, John Robert (Leyton and Wanstead)<br />
Cunningham, Alexander (Stockton North)<br />
Cunningham, James Dolan (Coventry South)<br />
Cunningham, Thomas Anthony (Workington)<br />
Curran, Margaret Patricia (Glasgow East)<br />
Dakin, Nicholas (Scunthorpe)<br />
Danczuk, Simon Christopher (Rochdale)<br />
Darling, Rt Hon. Alistair Maclean (Edinburgh South<br />
West)<br />
Davey, Edward Jonathon (Kingston and Surbiton)<br />
David, Wayne (Caerphilly)<br />
Davidson, Ian Graham (Glasgow South West)<br />
Davies, David Thomas Charles (Monmouth)<br />
Davies, Edward Glyn (Montgomeryshire)<br />
Davies, Geraint Richard (Swansea West)<br />
Davies, Philip Andrew (Shipley)<br />
Davis, Rt Hon. David Michael (Haltemprice and<br />
Howden)<br />
de Bois, Geoffrey Nicholas (Enfield North)<br />
De Piero, Gloria (Ashfield)<br />
Denham, Rt Hon. John Yorke (Southampton, Itchen)<br />
Dinenage, Caroline Julia (Gosport)<br />
Djanogly, Jonathan Simon (Huntingdon)<br />
Dobbin, James (Heywood and Middleton)<br />
Dobson, Rt Hon. Frank Gordon (Holborn and<br />
St Pancras)<br />
D<br />
Docherty, Thomas (Dunfermline and West Fife)<br />
Dodds, Nigel Alexander (Belfast North)<br />
Doherty, Pat (West Tyrone)<br />
Donaldson, Rt Hon. Jeffrey Mark (Lagan Valley)<br />
Donohoe, Brian Harold (Central Ayrshire)<br />
Doran, Francis (Aberdeen North)<br />
Dorrell, Rt Hon. Stephen James (Charnwood)<br />
Dorries, Nadine Vanessa (Mid Bedfordshire)<br />
Dowd, James Patrick (Lewisham West and Penge)<br />
Doyle, Gemma (West Dunbartonshire)<br />
Doyle-Price, Jacqueline (Thurrock)<br />
Drax, Richard—see Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax, Richard<br />
Grosvenor<br />
Dromey, Jack (Birmingham, Erdington)<br />
Duddridge, James Philip (Rochford and Southend East)<br />
Dugher, Michael Vincent (Barnsley East)<br />
Duncan, Alan James Carter (Rutland and Melton)<br />
Duncan Smith, Rt Hon. George Iain (Chingford and<br />
Woodford Green)<br />
Dunne, Philip Martin (Ludlow)<br />
Durkan, John Mark (Foyle)<br />
Eagle, Angela (Wallasey)<br />
Eagle, Maria (Garston and Halewood)<br />
Edwards, David Jonathan (Carmarthen East and<br />
Dinefwr)<br />
Efford, Clive Stanley (Eltham)<br />
Elliott, Julie (Sunderland Central)<br />
Ellis, Michael Tyrone (Northampton North)<br />
Ellison, Jane Elizabeth (Battersea)<br />
Ellman, Louise Joyce (Liverpool, Riverside)<br />
Ellwood, Tobias Martin (Bournemouth East)<br />
Elphicke, Charles Brett Anthony (Dover)<br />
Engel, Natascha (North East Derbyshire)<br />
Esterson, William Roffen (Sefton Central)<br />
Eustice, Charles George (Camborne and Redruth)<br />
Evans, Christopher James (Islwyn)<br />
Evans, Graham Thomas (Weaver Vale)<br />
Evans, Jonathan Peter (Cardiff North)<br />
Evans, Nigel Martin (Ribble Valley)<br />
Evennett, David Anthony (Bexleyheath and Crayford)<br />
Fabricant, Michael Louis David (Lichfield)<br />
Fallon, Michael Cathel (Sevenoaks)<br />
Farrelly, Christopher Paul (Newcastle-under-Lyme)<br />
Farron, Timothy James (Westmorland and Lonsdale)<br />
Featherstone, Lynne Choona (Hornsey and Wood<br />
Green)<br />
Field, Rt Hon. Frank (Birkenhead)<br />
Field, Mark Christopher (Cities of London and<br />
Westminster)<br />
Fitzpatrick, James (Poplar and Limehouse)<br />
Flello, Robert Charles Douglas (Stoke-on-Trent South)<br />
Flint, Rt Hon. Caroline Louise (Don Valley)<br />
Flynn, Paul Phillip (Newport West)<br />
Foster, Donald Michael Ellison (Bath)<br />
Fovargue, Yvonne Helen (Makerfield)<br />
Fox, Liam (North Somerset)<br />
Francis, David Hywel (Aberavon)<br />
Francois, Mark Gino (Rayleigh and Wickford)<br />
Freeman, George (Mid Norfolk)<br />
Freer, Mike (Finchley and Golders Green)<br />
Fullbrook, Lorraine (South Ribble)<br />
Fuller, Richard Quentin (Bedford)<br />
E<br />
F
Alphabetical List of Members<br />
9 MAY 2012<br />
Alphabetical List of Members<br />
ix<br />
G<br />
Gale, Roger James (North Thanet)<br />
Galloway, George (Bradford West) [By-election, April<br />
2012]<br />
Gapes, Michael John (Ilford South)<br />
Gardiner, Barry Strachan (Brent North)<br />
Garnier, Edward Henry (Harborough)<br />
Garnier, Mark Robert Timothy (Wyre Forest)<br />
Gauke, David Michael (South West Hertfordshire)<br />
George, Andrew Henry (St Ives)<br />
Gibb, Nicolas John (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton)<br />
Gilbert, Stephen David John (St Austell and Newquay)<br />
Gildernew, Michelle (Fermanagh and South Tyrone)<br />
Gillan, Cheryl Elise Kendall (Chesham and Amersham)<br />
Gilmore, Sheila (Edinburgh East)<br />
Glass, Pat (North West Durham)<br />
Glen, John Philip (Salisbury)<br />
Glindon, Mary Theresa (North Tyneside)<br />
Godsiff, Roger Duncan (Birmingham, Hall Green)<br />
Goggins, Rt Hon. Paul Gerard (Wythenshawe and Sale<br />
East)<br />
Goldsmith, Frank Zacharias Robin (Richmond Park)<br />
Goodman, Helen Catherine (Bishop Auckland)<br />
Goodwill, Robert (Scarborough and Whitby)<br />
Gove, Michael Andrew (Surrey Heath)<br />
Graham, Richard (Gloucester)<br />
Grant, Helen (Maidstone and the Weald)<br />
Gray, James Whiteside (North Wiltshire)<br />
Grayling, Christopher Stephen (Epsom and Ewell)<br />
Greatrex, Thomas James (Rutherglen and Hamilton<br />
West)<br />
Green, Damian Howard (Ashford)<br />
Green, Kate (Stretford and Urmston)<br />
Greening, Justine (Putney)<br />
Greenwood, Lilian Rachel (Nottingham South)<br />
Grieve, Dominic Charles Roberts (Beaconsfield)<br />
Griffith, Nia Rhiannon (Llanelli)<br />
Griffiths, Andrew James (Burton)<br />
Gummer, Benedict Michael (Ipswich)<br />
Gwynne, Andrew John (Denton and Reddish)<br />
Gyimah, Samuel Phillip (East Surrey)<br />
H<br />
Hague, Rt Hon. William Jefferson (Richmond (Yorks))<br />
Hain, Rt Hon. Peter Gerald (Neath)<br />
Halfon, Robert Henry (Harlow)<br />
Hames, Duncan John (Chippenham)<br />
Hamilton, David (Midlothian)<br />
Hamilton, Fabian (Leeds North East)<br />
Hammond, Philip (Runnymede and Weybridge)<br />
Hammond, Stephen William (Wimbledon)<br />
Hancock, Matthew (West Suffolk)<br />
Hancock, Michael Thomas (Portsmouth South)<br />
Hands, Gregory William (Chelsea and Fulham)<br />
Hanson, Rt Hon. David George (Delyn)<br />
Harman, Rt Hon. Harriet (Camberwell and Peckham)<br />
Harper, Mark James (Forest of Dean)<br />
Harrington, Richard (Watford)<br />
Harris, Rebecca Elizabeth (Castle Point)<br />
Harris, Tom (Glasgow South)<br />
Hart, Simon Anthony (Carmarthen West and South<br />
Pembrokeshire)<br />
Harvey, Nicholas Barton (North Devon)<br />
Haselhurst, Rt Hon. Sir Alan Gordon Barraclough<br />
(Saffron Walden)<br />
Havard, David Stewart (Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)<br />
Hayes, John Henry (South Holland and The Deepings)<br />
Heald, Oliver (North East Hertfordshire)<br />
Healey, Rt Hon. John (Wentworth and Dearne)<br />
Heath, David William St John (Somerton and Frome)<br />
Heaton-Harris, Christopher (Daventry)<br />
Hemming, John Alexander Melvin (Birmingham,<br />
Yardley)<br />
Henderson, Gordon (Sittingbourne and Sheppey)<br />
Hendrick, Mark Phillip (Preston)<br />
Hendry, Charles (Wealden)<br />
Hepburn, Stephen (Jarrow)<br />
Herbert, Nicholas Le Quesne (Arundel and South<br />
Downs)<br />
Hermon, Sylvia Eileen (North Down)<br />
Heyes, David Alan (Ashton-under-Lyne)<br />
Hillier, Meg (Hackney South and Shoreditch)<br />
Hilling, Julie Ann (Bolton West)<br />
Hinds, Damian Patrick George (East Hampshire)<br />
Hoban, Mark Gerard (Fareham)<br />
Hodge, Rt Hon. Margaret Eve (Barking)<br />
Hodgson, Sharon (Washington and Sunderland West)<br />
Hoey, Catharine Letitia (Vauxhall)<br />
Hollingbery, George Michael Edward (Meon Valley)<br />
Hollobone, Philip Thomas (Kettering)<br />
Holloway, Adam James Harold (Gravesham)<br />
Hood, James (Lanark and Hamilton East)<br />
Hopkins, Kelvin Peter (Luton North)<br />
Hopkins, Kristan Frederick (Keighley)<br />
Horwood, Martin Charles (Cheltenham)<br />
Hosie, Stewart (Dundee East)<br />
Howarth, Rt Hon. George Edward (Knowsley)<br />
Howarth, James Gerald Douglas (Aldershot)<br />
Howell, John Michael (Henley)<br />
Hoyle, Lindsay Harvey (Chorley)<br />
Hughes, Simon Henry Ward (Bermondsey and Old<br />
Southwark)<br />
Huhne, Christopher Murray Paul (Eastleigh)<br />
Hunt, Jeremy Richard Streynsham (South West Surrey)<br />
Hunt, Tristram Julian William (Stoke on Trent Central)<br />
Hunter, Mark James (Cheadle)<br />
Huppert, Julian Leon (Cambridge)<br />
Hurd, Nicholas Richard (Ruislip, Northwood and<br />
Pinner)<br />
Illsley, Eric Evelyn (Barnsley Central) [Resigned,<br />
February 2011]<br />
Irranca-Davies, Ifor Huw (Ogmore)<br />
I<br />
J<br />
Jackson, Glenda May (Hampstead and Kilburn)<br />
Jackson, Stewart James (Peterborough)<br />
James, Margot (Stourbridge)<br />
James, Siân Catherine (Swansea East)<br />
Jamieson, Catherine Mary (Kilmarnock and Loudoun)<br />
Jarvis, Dan (Barnsley Central) [By-election, March<br />
2011]<br />
Javid, Sajid (Bromsgrove)<br />
Jenkin, Bernard Christison (Harwich and North Essex)<br />
Johnson, Rt Hon. Alan Arthur (Kingston upon Hull<br />
West and Hessle)<br />
Johnson, Diana Ruth (Kingston upon Hull North)<br />
Johnson, Gareth Alan (Dartford)<br />
Johnson, Joseph Edmund (Orpington)<br />
Jones, Andrew Hanson (Harrogate and Knaresborough)<br />
Jones, David Ian (Clwyd West)<br />
Jones, Graham Peter (Hyndburn)<br />
Jones, Helen Mary (Warrington North)
x Alphabetical List of Members 9 MAY 2012<br />
Alphabetical List of Members<br />
Jones, Kevan David (North Durham)<br />
Jones, Marcus Charles (Nuneaton)<br />
Jones, Susan Elan (Clwyd South)<br />
Jowell, Rt Hon. Tessa Jane Helen Douglas (Dulwich and<br />
West Norwood)<br />
Joyce, Eric (Falkirk)<br />
Kaufman, Rt Hon. Sir Gerald Bernard (Manchester,<br />
Gorton)<br />
Kawczynski, Daniel Robert (Shrewsbury and Atcham)<br />
Keeley, Barbara Mary (Worsley and Eccles South)<br />
Keen, Alan (Feltham and Heston) [Died, November<br />
2011]<br />
Kelly, Chris (Dudley South)<br />
Kendall, Elizabeth Louise (Leicester West)<br />
Kennedy, Rt Hon. Charles Peter (Ross, Skye and<br />
Lochaber)<br />
Khan, Rt Hon. Sadiq Aman (Tooting)<br />
Kirby, Simon Gerard (Brighton, Kemptown)<br />
Knight, Rt Hon. Gregory (East Yorkshire)<br />
Kwarteng, Kwasi Alfred Addo (Spelthorne)<br />
K<br />
L<br />
Laing, Eleanor Fulton (Epping Forest)<br />
Lamb, Norman Peter (North Norfolk)<br />
Lammy, Rt Hon. David Lindon (Tottenham)<br />
Lancaster, John Mark (Milton Keynes North)<br />
Lansley, Andrew David (South Cambridgeshire)<br />
Latham, Pauline Elizabeth (Mid Derbyshire)<br />
Lavery, Ian (Wansbeck)<br />
Laws, David Anthony (Yeovil)<br />
Lazarowicz, Marek Jerzy (Edinburgh North and Leith)<br />
Leadsom, Andrea Jacqueline (South Northamptonshire)<br />
Lee, Jessica Katherine (Erewash)<br />
Lee, Phillip James (Bracknell)<br />
Leech, John (Manchester, Withington)<br />
Lefroy, Jeremy John Elton (Stafford)<br />
Leigh, Edward Julian Egerton (Gainsborough)<br />
Leslie, Charlotte Ann (Bristol North West)<br />
Leslie, Christopher Michael (Nottingham East)<br />
Letwin, Rt Hon. Oliver (West Dorset)<br />
Lewis, Brandon Kenneth (Great Yarmouth)<br />
Lewis, Ivan (Bury South)<br />
Lewis, Julian Murray (New Forest East)<br />
Liddell-Grainger, Ian Richard (Bridgwater and West<br />
Somerset)<br />
Lidington, David Roy (Aylesbury)<br />
Lilley, Rt Hon. Peter Bruce (Hitchin and Harpenden)<br />
Lloyd, Anthony Joseph (Manchester Central)<br />
Lloyd, Stephen Anthony Christopher (Eastbourne)<br />
Llwyd, Elfyn (Dwyfor Meirionnydd)<br />
Long, Naomi Rachel (Belfast East)<br />
Lopresti, Giacomo (Filton and Bradley Stoke)<br />
Lord, Jonathan George Caladine (Woking)<br />
Loughton, Timothy Paul (East Worthing and Shoreham)<br />
Love, Andrew McCulloch (Edmonton)<br />
Lucas, Caroline (Brighton, Pavilion)<br />
Lucas, Ian Colin (Wrexham)<br />
Luff, Peter James (Mid Worcestershire)<br />
Lumley, Karen Elizabeth (Redditch)<br />
M<br />
Malhotra, Seema (Feltham and Heston) [By-election,<br />
December 2011]<br />
Maskey, Paul (Belfast, West) [By-election, June 2011]<br />
McCabe, Stephen James (Birmingham, Selly Oak)<br />
McCann, Michael (East Kilbride, Strathaven and<br />
Lesmahagow)<br />
McCarthy, Kerry Gillian (Bristol East)<br />
McCartney, Jason Alexander (Colne Valley)<br />
McCartney, Karl Ian (Lincoln)<br />
McClymont, Gregg (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and<br />
Kirkintilloch East)<br />
McCrea, Robert Thomas William (South Antrim)<br />
McDonagh, Siobhain Ann (Mitcham and Morden)<br />
McDonnell, Alasdair (Belfast South)<br />
McDonnell, John Martin (Hayes and Harlington)<br />
McFadden, Rt Hon. Patrick Bosco (Wolverhampton<br />
South East)<br />
McGovern, Alison (Wirral South)<br />
McGovern, James (Dundee West)<br />
McGuinness, Martin (Mid Ulster)<br />
McGuire, Rt Hon. Anne Catherine (Stirling)<br />
McKechin, Ann (Glasgow North)<br />
McKenzie, Iain (Inverclyde) [By-election, June 2011]<br />
McKinnell, Catherine (Newcastle upon Tyne North)<br />
Macleod, Mary (Brentford and Isleworth)<br />
McLoughlin, Rt Hon. Patrick Allen (Derbyshire Dales)<br />
MacNeil, Angus Brendan (Na h-Eileanan an Iar)<br />
McPartland, Stephen Anthony (Stevenage)<br />
MacShane, Rt Hon. Denis (Rotherham)<br />
Mactaggart, Fiona Margaret (Slough)<br />
McVey, Esther Louise (Wirral West)<br />
Mahmood, Khalid (Birmingham, Perry Barr)<br />
Mahmood, Shabana (Birmingham, Ladywood)<br />
Main, Anne Margaret (St Albans)<br />
Mann, John (Bassetlaw)<br />
Marsden, Gordon (Blackpool South)<br />
Maude, Rt Hon. Francis Anthony Aylmer (Horsham)<br />
May, Rt Hon. Theresa Mary (Maidenhead)<br />
Maynard, Paul Christopher (Blackpool North and<br />
Cleveleys)<br />
Meacher, Rt Hon. Michael Hugh (Oldham West and<br />
Royton)<br />
Meale, Joseph Alan (Mansfield)<br />
Mearns, Ian (Gateshead)<br />
Menzies, Mark Andrew (Fylde)<br />
Mercer, Patrick John (Newark)<br />
Metcalfe, Stephen James (South Basildon and East<br />
Thurrock)<br />
Michael, Rt Hon. Alun Edward (Cardiff South and<br />
Penarth)<br />
Miliband, Rt Hon. David Wright (South Shields)<br />
Miliband, Rt Hon. Edward Samuel (Doncaster North)<br />
Miller, Andrew Peter (Ellesmere Port and Neston)<br />
Miller, Maria Frances Lewis (Basingstoke)<br />
Mills, Nigel John (Amber Valley)<br />
Milton, Anne Frances (Guildford)<br />
Mitchell, Andrew John Bower (Sutton Coldfield)<br />
Mitchell, Austin Vernon (Great Grimsby)<br />
Moon, Madeleine (Bridgend)<br />
Moore, Michael Kevin (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and<br />
Selkirk)<br />
Mordaunt, Penelope Mary (Portsmouth North)<br />
Morden, Jessica Elizabeth (Newport East)<br />
Morgan, Nicola Ann (Loughborough)<br />
Morrice, Graeme (Livingston)<br />
Morris, Anne Marie (Newton Abbot)<br />
Morris, David (Morecambe and Lunesdale)<br />
Morris, Grahame Mark (Easington)<br />
Morris, James George (Halesowen and Rowley Regis)<br />
Mosley, Stephen James (City of Chester)<br />
Mowat, David John (Warrington South)<br />
Mudie, George Edward (Leeds East)
Alphabetical List of Members<br />
9 MAY 2012<br />
Alphabetical List of Members<br />
xi<br />
Mulholland, Gregory Thomas (Leeds North West)<br />
Mundell, David Gordon (Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and<br />
Tweeddale)<br />
Munn, Margaret Patricia (Sheffield, Heeley)<br />
Munt, Tessa Jane (Wells)<br />
Murphy, Conor Terence (Newry and Armagh)<br />
Murphy, Rt Hon. James Francis (East Renfrewshire)<br />
Murphy, Rt Hon. Paul Peter (Torfaen)<br />
Murray, Ian (Edinburgh South)<br />
Murray, Sheryll (South East Cornwall)<br />
Murrison, Andrew William (South West Wiltshire)<br />
N<br />
Nandy, Lisa Eva (Wigan)<br />
Nash, Pamela (Airdrie and Shotts)<br />
Neill, Robert James MacGillivray (Bromley and<br />
Chiselhurst)<br />
Newmark, Brooks Philip Victor (Braintree)<br />
Newton, Sarah Louise (Truro and Falmouth)<br />
Nokes, Caroline Fiona Ellen (Romsey and Southampton<br />
North)<br />
Norman, Alexander Jesse (Hereford and South<br />
Herefordshire)<br />
Nuttall, David John (Bury North)<br />
O’Brien, Stephen Rothwell (Eddisbury)<br />
O’Donnell, Fiona (East Lothian)<br />
Offord, Matthew James (Hendon)<br />
Ollerenshaw, Eric (Lancaster and Fleetwood)<br />
Onwurah, Chinyelu Susan (Newcastle upon Tyne<br />
Central)<br />
Opperman, Guy (Hexham)<br />
Osborne, George Gideon Oliver (Tatton)<br />
Osborne, Sandra Currie (Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock)<br />
Ottaway, Richard Geoffrey James (Croydon South)<br />
Owen, Albert (Ynys Môn)<br />
O<br />
P<br />
Paice, James Edward Thornton (South East<br />
Cambridgeshire)<br />
Paisley, Ian Richard Kyle (North Antrim)<br />
Parish, Neil Quentin Gordon (Tiverton and Honiton)<br />
Patel, Priti (Witham)<br />
Paterson, Owen William (North Shropshire)<br />
Pawsey, Mark Julian Francis (Rugby)<br />
Pearce, Teresa (Erith and Thamesmead)<br />
Penning, Michael Alan (Hemel Hempstead)<br />
Penrose, John David (Weston-Super-Mare)<br />
Percy, Andrew (Brigg and Goole)<br />
Perkins, Matthew Toby (Chesterfield)<br />
Perry, Claire Louise (Devizes)<br />
Phillips, Stephen James (Sleaford and North Hykeham)<br />
Phillipson, Bridget Maeve (Houghton and Sunderland<br />
South)<br />
Pickles, Eric Jack (Brentwood and Ongar)<br />
Pincher, Christopher (Tamworth)<br />
Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax, Richard Grosvenor (South<br />
Dorset)<br />
Poulter, Daniel Leonard James (Central Suffolk and<br />
North Ipswich)<br />
Pound, Stephen Pelham (Ealing North)<br />
Primarolo, Rt Hon. Dawn (Bristol South)<br />
Prisk, Mark Michael (Hertford and Stortford)<br />
Pritchard, Mark Andrew (The Wrekin)<br />
Pugh, John David (Southport)<br />
Q<br />
Qureshi, Yasmin (Bolton South East)<br />
R<br />
Raab, Dominic Rennie (Esher and Walton)<br />
Randall, Alexander John (Uxbridge and South Ruislip)<br />
Raynsford, Rt Hon. Wyvill Richard Nicolls (Greenwich<br />
and Woolwich)<br />
Reckless, Mark John (Rochester and Strood)<br />
Redwood, Rt Hon. John Alan (Wokingham)<br />
Reed, Jamieson Ronald (Copeland)<br />
Rees-Mogg, Jacob William (North East Somerset)<br />
Reevell, Simon Justin (Dewsbury)<br />
Reeves, Rachel Jane (Leeds West)<br />
Reid, Alan (Argyll and Bute)<br />
Reynolds, Emma Elizabeth (Wolverhampton North<br />
East)<br />
Reynolds, Jonathan Neil (Stalybridge and Hyde)<br />
Rifkind, Rt Hon. Sir Malcolm Leslie (Kensington)<br />
Riordan, Linda June (Halifax)<br />
Ritchie, Margaret (South Down)<br />
Robathan, Andrew Robert George (South Leicestershire)<br />
Robertson, Angus Struan Carolus (Moray)<br />
Robertson, Hugh Michael (Faversham and Mid Kent)<br />
Robertson, John Webster (Glasgow North West)<br />
Robertson, Laurence Anthony (Tewkesbury)<br />
Robinson, Geoffrey (Coventry North West)<br />
Rogerson, Daniel John (North Cornwall)<br />
Rosindell, Andrew Richard (Romford)<br />
Rotheram, Steven Philip (Liverpool Walton)<br />
Roy, Frank (Motherwell and Wishaw)<br />
Roy, Lindsay Allan (Glenrothes)<br />
Ruane, Christopher Shaun (Vale of Clwyd)<br />
Rudd, Amber (Hastings and Rye)<br />
Ruddock, Joan Mary (Lewisham, Deptford)<br />
Ruffley, David Laurie (Bury St Edmunds)<br />
Russell, Robert Edward (Colchester)<br />
Rutley, David Henry (Macclesfield)<br />
S<br />
Sanders, Adrian Mark (Torbay)<br />
Sandys, Laura Jane (South Thanet)<br />
Sarwar, Anas (Glasgow Central)<br />
Scott, Lee (Ilford North)<br />
Seabeck, Alison Jane (Plymouth, Moor View)<br />
Selous, Andrew Edmund Armstrong (South West<br />
Bedfordshire)<br />
Shannon, Richard James (Strangford)<br />
Shapps, Grant V (Welwyn Hatfield)<br />
Sharma, Alok (Reading West)<br />
Sharma, Virendra Kumar (Ealing, Southall)<br />
Sheerman, Barry John (Huddersfield)<br />
Shelbrooke, Alec (Elmet and Rothwell)<br />
Shepherd, Richard Charles Scrimgeour<br />
(Aldridge-Brownhills)<br />
Sheridan, James (Paisley and Renfrewshire North)<br />
Shuker, Gavin (Luton South)<br />
Simmonds, Mark Jonathan Mortlock (Boston and<br />
Skegness)<br />
Simpson, Keith Robert (Broadland)<br />
Simpson, Thomas David (Upper Bann)<br />
Singh, Marsha (Bradford West) [Resigned, March 2012]<br />
Skidmore, Christopher James (Kingswood)<br />
Skinner, Dennis Edward (Bolsover)<br />
Slaughter, Andrew Francis (Hammersmith)<br />
Smith, Rt Hon. Andrew David (Oxford East)
xii Alphabetical List of Members 9 MAY 2012<br />
Alphabetical List of Members<br />
Smith, Angela Christine (Penistone and Stocksbridge)<br />
Smith, Chloe Rebecca (Norwich North)<br />
Smith, Henry Edward Millar (Crawley)<br />
Smith, Julian Richard (Skipton and Ripon)<br />
Smith, Nicholas Desmond John (Blaenau Gwent)<br />
Smith, Owen (Pontypridd)<br />
Smith, Sir Robert Hill (West Aberdeenshire and<br />
Kincardine)<br />
Soames, Arthur Nicholas Winston (Mid Sussex)<br />
Soubry, Anna Mary (Broxtowe)<br />
Soulsby, Sir Peter Alfred (Leicester South) [Resigned,<br />
April 2011]<br />
Spellar, Rt Hon. John Francis (Warley)<br />
Spelman, Caroline Alice (Meriden)<br />
Spencer, Mark Steven (Sherwood)<br />
Stanley, Rt Hon. Sir John Paul (Tonbridge and Malling)<br />
Stephenson, Andrew (Pendle)<br />
Stevenson, Andrew John (Carlisle)<br />
Stewart, Iain Aitken (Milton Keynes South)<br />
Stewart, Robert Alexander (Beckenham)<br />
Stewart, Rory (Penrith and The Border)<br />
Straw, Rt Hon. John Whitaker (Blackburn)<br />
Streeter, Gary Nicholas (South West Devon)<br />
Stride, Melvyn John (Central Devon)<br />
Stringer, Graham Eric (Blackley and Broughton)<br />
Stuart, Gisela Gschaider (Birmingham, Edgbaston)<br />
Stuart, Graham Charles (Beverley and Holderness)<br />
Stunell, Robert Andrew (Hazel Grove)<br />
Sturdy, Julian Charles (York Outer)<br />
Sutcliffe, Gerard (Bradford South)<br />
Swales, Ian Cameron (Redcar)<br />
Swayne, Desmond Angus (New Forest West)<br />
Swinson, Jo (East Dunbartonshire)<br />
Swire, Hugo George William (East Devon)<br />
Syms, Robert Andrew Raymond (Poole)<br />
T<br />
Tami, Mark Richard (Alyn and Deeside)<br />
Tapsell, Sir Peter Hannay Bailey (Louth and Horncastle)<br />
Teather, Sarah Louise (Brent Central)<br />
Thomas, Gareth Richard (Harrow West)<br />
Thornberry, Emily (Islington South and Finsbury)<br />
Thurso, John Archibald (Caithness, Sutherland and<br />
Easter Ross)<br />
Timms, Rt Hon. Stephen Creswell (East Ham)<br />
Timpson, Anthony Edward (Crewe and Nantwich)<br />
Tomlinson, Justin Paul (North Swindon)<br />
Tredinnick, David Arthur Stephen (Bosworth)<br />
Trickett, Jon Hedley (Hemsworth)<br />
Truss, Elizabeth Mary (South West Norfolk)<br />
Turner, Andrew John (Isle of Wight)<br />
Turner, Karl (Kingston upon Hull East)<br />
Twigg, John Derek (Halton)<br />
Twigg, Stephen (Liverpool West Derby)<br />
Tyrie, Andrew Guy (Chichester)<br />
Umunna, Chuka Harrison (Streatham)<br />
Uppal, Paul Singh (Wolverhampton South West)<br />
U<br />
V<br />
Vaizey, Edward Henry Butler (Wantage)<br />
Vara, Shailesh Lakhman (North West Cambridgeshire)<br />
Vaz, Rt Hon. Keith Anthony (Leicester East)<br />
Vaz, Valerie (Walsall South)<br />
Vickers, Martin John (Cleethorpes)<br />
Villiers, Theresa Anne (Chipping Barnet)<br />
W<br />
Walker, Charles Ashley Rupert (Broxbourne)<br />
Walker, Robin Caspar (Worcester)<br />
Wallace, Robert Ben Lobban (Wyre and Preston North)<br />
Walley, Joan Lorraine (Stoke-on-Trent North)<br />
Walter, Robert John (North Dorset)<br />
Ward, David (Bradford East)<br />
Watkinson, Angela Eileen (Hornchurch and Upminster)<br />
Watson, Thomas Anthony (West Bromwich East)<br />
Watts, David Leonard (St Helens North)<br />
Weatherley, Michael Richard (Hove)<br />
Webb, Steven John (Thornbury and Yate)<br />
Weir, Michael Fraser (Angus)<br />
Wharton, James Stephen (Stockton South)<br />
Wheeler, Heather Kay (South Derbyshire)<br />
White, Christopher (Warwick and Leamington)<br />
Whiteford, Eilidh (Banff and Buchan)<br />
Whitehead, Alan Patrick Vincent (Southampton, Test)<br />
Whittaker, Craig (Calder Valley)<br />
Whittingdale, John Flasby Lawrance (Maldon)<br />
Wicks, Rt Hon. Malcolm Hunt (Croydon North)<br />
Wiggin, William David (North Herefordshire)<br />
Willetts, David Lindsay (Havant)<br />
Williams, Hywel (Arfon)<br />
Williams, Mark Fraser (Ceredigion)<br />
Williams, Roger Hugh (Brecon and Radnorshire)<br />
Williams, Stephen Roy (Bristol West)<br />
Williamson, Chris (Derby North)<br />
Williamson, Gavin Alexander (South Staffordshire)<br />
Willott, Jennifer Nancy (Cardiff Central)<br />
Wilson, Philip (Sedgefield)<br />
Wilson, Robert (Reading East)<br />
Wilson, Samuel (East Antrim)<br />
Winnick, David Julian (Walsall North)<br />
Winterton, Rt Hon. Rosalie (Doncaster Central)<br />
Wishart, Peter (Perth and North Perthshire)<br />
Wollaston, Sarah James (Totnes)<br />
Wood, Mike (Batley and Spen)<br />
Woodcock, John Zak (Barrow and Furness)<br />
Woodward, Rt Hon. Shaun Anthony (St Helens South<br />
and Whiston)<br />
Woolas, Phillip James (Oldham East and Saddleworth)<br />
[Declared not duly elected by Election Court,<br />
December 2010]<br />
Wright, David (Telford)<br />
Wright, Iain David (Hartlepool)<br />
Wright, Jeremy Paul (Kenilworth and Southam)<br />
Wright, Simon James (Norwich South)<br />
Y<br />
Yeo, Timothy Stephen Kenneth (South Suffolk)<br />
Young, Rt Hon. Sir George Samuel Knatchbull (North<br />
West Hampshire)<br />
Z<br />
Zahawi, Nadhim (Stratford-on-Avon)
HER MAJESTY’S GOVERNMENT<br />
MEMBERS OF THE CABINET<br />
(FORMED BY THE RT HON. DAVID CAMERON, MP,MAY 2010)<br />
DEPARTMENTS OF STATE AND MINISTERS<br />
PRIME MINISTER, FIRST LORD OF THE TREASURY AND MINISTER FOR THE CIVIL SERVICE—The Rt Hon. David Cameron, MP<br />
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER AND LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL—The Rt Hon. Nick Clegg, MP<br />
FIRST SECRETARY OF STATE AND SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS—The Rt Hon. William<br />
Hague, MP<br />
CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER—The Rt Hon. George Osborne, MP<br />
LORD CHANCELLOR AND SECRETARY OF STATE FOR JUSTICE—The Rt Hon. Kenneth Clarke, QC, MP<br />
SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT AND MINISTER FOR WOMEN AND EQUALITIES—The Rt Hon. Theresa<br />
May, MP<br />
SECRETARY OF STATE FOR DEFENCE—The Rt Hon. Philip Hammond, MP<br />
SECRETARY OF STATE FOR BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS—The Rt Hon. Vince Cable, MP<br />
SECRETARY OF STATE FOR WORK AND PENSIONS—The Rt Hon. Iain Duncan Smith, MP<br />
SECRETARY OF STATE FOR ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE—The Rt Hon. Edward Davey, MP<br />
SECRETARY OF STATE FOR HEALTH—The Rt Hon. Andrew Lansley, CBE, MP<br />
SECRETARY OF STATE FOR EDUCATION—The Rt Hon. Michael Gove, MP<br />
SECRETARY OF STATE FOR COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT—The Rt Hon. Eric Pickles, MP<br />
SECRETARY OF STATE FOR TRANSPORT—The Rt Hon. Justine Greening, MP<br />
SECRETARY OF STATE FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS—The Rt Hon. Caroline Spelman, MP<br />
SECRETARY OF STATE FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT—The Rt Hon. Andrew Mitchell, MP<br />
SECRETARY OF STATE FOR NORTHERN IRELAND—The Rt Hon. Owen Paterson, MP<br />
SECRETARY OF STATE FOR SCOTLAND—The Rt Hon. Michael Moore, MP<br />
SECRETARY OF STATE FOR WALES—The Rt Hon. Cheryl Gillan, MP<br />
SECRETARY OF STATE FOR CULTURE, OLYMPICS, MEDIA AND SPORT—The Rt Hon. Jeremy Hunt, MP<br />
CHIEF SECRETARY TO THE TREASURY—The Rt Hon. Danny Alexander, MP<br />
LEADER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS AND CHANCELLOR OF THE DUCHY OF LANCASTER—The Rt Hon. Lord Strathclyde<br />
MINISTER WITHOUT PORTFOLIO—The Rt Hon. Baroness Warsi<br />
DEPARTMENTS OF STATE AND MINISTERS<br />
Business, Innovation and Skills—<br />
SECRETARY OF STATE AND PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF TRADE—The Rt Hon. Vince Cable, MP<br />
MINISTERS OF STATE—<br />
The Rt Hon. David Willetts, MP (Minister for Universities and Science)<br />
John Hayes, MP (Minister for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning) §<br />
Mark Prisk, MP<br />
The Rt Hon. Greg Clark, MP §<br />
Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint (Minister for Trade and Investment)<br />
<strong>PARLIAMENTARY</strong> UNDER-SECRETARIES OF STATE—<br />
Norman Lamb, MP<br />
Edward Vaizey, MP §<br />
Baroness Wilcox<br />
Cabinet Office—<br />
MINISTER FOR THE CABINET OFFICE AND PAYMASTER GENERAL—The Rt Hon. Francis Maude, MP<br />
MINISTER OF STATE—The Rt Hon. Oliver Letwin, MP<br />
<strong>PARLIAMENTARY</strong> SECRETARIES—<br />
Mark Harper, MP<br />
Nick Hurd, MP<br />
Communities and Local Government—<br />
SECRETARY OF STATE—The Rt Hon. Eric Pickles, MP<br />
MINISTERS OF STATE—<br />
The Rt Hon. Greg Clark, MP §<br />
The Rt Hon. Grant Shapps, MP (Minister for Housing and Local Government)<br />
<strong>PARLIAMENTARY</strong> UNDER-SECRETARIES OF STATE—<br />
Andrew Stunell, OBE, MP<br />
Robert Neill, MP<br />
Baroness Hanham, CBE
ii<br />
HER MAJESTY’S GOVERNMENT—cont.<br />
Culture, Media and Sport—<br />
SECRETARY OF STATE FOR CULTURE, OLYMPICS, MEDIA AND SPORT—The Rt Hon. Jeremy Hunt, MP<br />
<strong>PARLIAMENTARY</strong> UNDER-SECRETARIES OF STATE—<br />
John Penrose, MP<br />
Hugh Robertson, MP (Minister for Sport and the Olympics)<br />
Edward Vaizey, MP §<br />
Defence—<br />
SECRETARY OF STATE—The Rt Hon. Philip Hammond, MP<br />
MINISTER OF STATE—Nick Harvey, MP (Minister for the Armed Forces)<br />
<strong>PARLIAMENTARY</strong> UNDER-SECRETARIES OF STATE—<br />
Gerald Howarth, MP<br />
The Rt Hon. Andrew Robathan, MP<br />
Peter Luff, MP<br />
Lord Astor of Hever, DL<br />
Duchy of Lancaster—<br />
LEADER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS AND CHANCELLOR OF THE DUCHY OF LANCASTER—The Rt Hon. Lord Strathclyde<br />
Education—<br />
SECRETARY OF STATE—The Rt Hon. Michael Gove, MP<br />
MINISTERS OF STATE—<br />
Sarah Teather, MP<br />
Nick Gibb, MP<br />
John Hayes, MP (Minister for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning) §<br />
<strong>PARLIAMENTARY</strong> UNDER-SECRETARIES OF STATE—<br />
Tim Loughton, MP<br />
Lord Hill of Oareford<br />
Energy and Climate Change—<br />
SECRETARY OF STATE—The Rt Hon. Edward Davey, MP<br />
MINISTERS OF STATE—<br />
Charles Hendry, MP<br />
Gregory Barker, MP<br />
<strong>PARLIAMENTARY</strong> UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE—Lord Marland<br />
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs—<br />
SECRETARY OF STATE—The Rt Hon. Caroline Spelman, MP<br />
MINISTER OF STATE— The Rt Hon. James Paice, MP<br />
<strong>PARLIAMENTARY</strong> UNDER-SECRETARIES OF STATE—<br />
Richard Benyon, MP<br />
Lord Taylor of Holbeach, CBE<br />
Foreign and Commonwealth Office—<br />
SECRETARY OF STATE—The Rt Hon. William Hague, MP<br />
MINISTERS OF STATE—<br />
Jeremy Browne, MP<br />
The Rt Hon. David Lidington, MP (Minister for Europe)<br />
The Rt Hon. Lord Howell of Guildford<br />
<strong>PARLIAMENTARY</strong> UNDER-SECRETARIES OF STATE—<br />
Henry Bellingham, MP<br />
Alistair Burt, MP<br />
Government Equalities Office—<br />
MINISTER FOR WOMEN AND EQUALITIES—The Rt Hon. Theresa May, MP §<br />
MINISTER FOR EQUALITIES—Lynne Featherstone, MP §<br />
Health—<br />
SECRETARY OF STATE—The Rt Hon. Andrew Lansley, CBE, MP<br />
MINISTERS OF STATE—<br />
Paul Burstow, MP<br />
Simon Burns, MP<br />
<strong>PARLIAMENTARY</strong> UNDER-SECRETARIES OF STATE—<br />
Anne Milton, MP<br />
Earl Howe<br />
Home Office—<br />
SECRETARY OF STATE AND MINISTER FOR WOMEN AND EQUALITIES—The Rt Hon. Theresa May, MP §<br />
MINISTERS OF STATE—<br />
Damian Green, MP (Minister for Immigration)<br />
The Rt Hon. Nick Herbert, MP (Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice) §<br />
Lord Henley (Minister for Crime Prevention and Antisocial Behaviour Reduction)<br />
<strong>PARLIAMENTARY</strong> UNDER-SECRETARIES OF STATE—<br />
Lynne Featherstone, MP (Minister for Equalities) §<br />
James Brokenshire, MP
HER MAJESTY’S GOVERNMENT—cont.<br />
iii<br />
International Development—<br />
SECRETARY OF STATE—The Rt Hon. Andrew Mitchell, MP<br />
MINISTER OF STATE—The Rt Hon. Alan Duncan, MP<br />
<strong>PARLIAMENTARY</strong> UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE—Stephen O’Brien, MP<br />
Justice—<br />
LORD CHANCELLOR AND SECRETARY OF STATE—The Rt Hon. Kenneth Clarke, QC, MP<br />
MINISTERS OF STATE—<br />
The Rt Hon. Lord McNally<br />
The Rt Hon. Nick Herbert, MP (Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice) §<br />
<strong>PARLIAMENTARY</strong> UNDER-SECRETARIES OF STATE—<br />
Crispin Blunt, MP<br />
Jonathan Djanogly, MP<br />
Law Officers—<br />
ATTORNEY-GENERAL—The Rt Hon. Dominic Grieve, QC, MP<br />
SOLICITOR-GENERAL—Edward Garnier, QC, MP<br />
ADVOCATE-GENERAL FOR SCOTLAND—The Rt Hon. Lord Wallace of Tankerness, QC<br />
Leader of the House of Commons—<br />
LEADER OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS AND LORD PRIVY SEAL—The Rt Hon. Sir George Young, MP<br />
<strong>PARLIAMENTARY</strong> SECRETARY—David Heath, CBE, MP<br />
Northern Ireland—<br />
SECRETARY OF STATE—The Rt Hon. Owen Paterson, MP<br />
MINISTER OF STATE— The Rt Hon. Hugo Swire, MP<br />
Privy Council Office—<br />
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER AND LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL—The Rt Hon. Nick Clegg, MP<br />
Scotland Office—<br />
SECRETARY OF STATE—The Rt Hon. Michael Moore, MP<br />
<strong>PARLIAMENTARY</strong> UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE—The Rt Hon. David Mundell, MP<br />
Transport—<br />
SECRETARY OF STATE—The Rt Hon. Justine Greening, MP<br />
MINISTER OF STATE—The Rt Hon. Theresa Villiers, MP<br />
<strong>PARLIAMENTARY</strong> UNDER-SECRETARIES OF STATE—<br />
Norman Baker, MP<br />
Mike Penning, MP<br />
Treasury—<br />
PRIME MINISTER, FIRST LORD OF THE TREASURY AND MINISTER FOR THE CIVIL SERVICE—The Rt Hon. David Cameron, MP<br />
CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER—The Rt Hon. George Osborne, MP<br />
CHIEF SECRETARY—The Rt Hon. Danny Alexander, MP<br />
FINANCIAL SECRETARY—Mark Hoban, MP<br />
EXCHEQUER SECRETARY—David Gauke, MP<br />
ECONOMIC SECRETARY—Chloe Smith, MP<br />
COMMERCIAL SECRETARY—Lord Sassoon<br />
<strong>PARLIAMENTARY</strong> SECRETARY—The Rt Hon. Patrick McLoughlin, MP<br />
LORDS COMMISSIONERS—<br />
Michael Fabricant, MP<br />
Angela Watkinson, MP<br />
Jeremy Wright, MP<br />
Brooks Newmark, MP<br />
James Duddridge, MP<br />
ASSISTANT WHIPS—<br />
Philip Dunne, MP<br />
Stephen Crabb, MP<br />
Robert Goodwill, MP<br />
Shailesh Vara, MP<br />
Bill Wiggin, MP<br />
Mark Hunter, MP<br />
Greg Hands, MP<br />
Jenny Willott, MP
iv<br />
HER MAJESTY’S GOVERNMENT—cont.<br />
Wales Office—<br />
SECRETARY OF STATE—The Rt Hon. Cheryl Gillan, MP<br />
<strong>PARLIAMENTARY</strong> UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE—David Jones, MP<br />
Work and Pensions—<br />
SECRETARY OF STATE—The Rt Hon. Iain Duncan Smith, MP<br />
MINISTERS OF STATE—<br />
The Rt Hon. Chris Grayling, MP<br />
Steve Webb, MP<br />
<strong>PARLIAMENTARY</strong> UNDER-SECRETARIES OF STATE—<br />
Maria Miller, MP<br />
Lord Freud<br />
Her Majesty’s Household—<br />
LORD CHAMBERLAIN—The Rt Hon. Earl Peel, GCVO, DL<br />
LORD STEWARD—The Earl of Dalhousie<br />
MASTER OF THE HORSE—Lord Vestey, KCVO<br />
TREASURER—The Rt Hon. John Randall, MP<br />
COMPTROLLER—The Rt Hon. Alistair Carmichael, MP<br />
VICE-CHAMBERLAIN—The Rt Hon. Mark Francois, MP<br />
CAPTAIN OF THE HONOURABLE CORPS OF GENTLEMEN-AT-ARMS—The Rt Hon. Baroness Anelay of St Johns, DBE<br />
CAPTAIN OF THE QUEEN’S BODYGUARD OF THE YEOMEN OF THE GUARD—Lord Newby, OBE<br />
BARONESSES IN WAITING—Baroness Garden of Frognal, Baroness Northover, Baroness Rawlings, Baroness Stowell,<br />
Baroness Verma<br />
LORDS IN WAITING—Earl Attlee, Lord De Mauley, TD, Lord Wallace of Saltaire<br />
§ Members of the Government listed under more than one Department<br />
SECOND CHURCH ESTATES COMMISSIONER, REPRESENTING CHURCH COMMISSIONERS—Tony Baldry, MP
HOUSE OF COMMONS<br />
THE SPEAKER—The Rt Hon. John Bercow, MP<br />
CHAIRMAN OF WAYS AND MEANS—Lindsay Hoyle, MP<br />
FIRST DEPUTY CHAIRMAN OF WAYS AND MEANS—Nigel Evans, MP<br />
SECOND DEPUTY CHAIRMAN OF WAYS AND MEANS—The Rt Hon. Dawn Primarolo, MP<br />
PANEL OF CHAIRS<br />
Mr David Amess, MP, Hugh Bayley, MP, Mr Joe Benton, MP, Mr Clive Betts, MP, Mr Peter Bone, MP,<br />
Mr Graham Brady, MP, Annette Brooke, MP, Martin Caton, MP, Mr Christopher Chope, MP, Katy Clark, MP,<br />
Mr David Crausby, MP, Philip Davies, MP, Jim Dobbin, MP, Nadine Dorries, MP, Sir Roger Gale, MP,<br />
Mr James Gray, MP, Mr Mike Hancock, MP, Mr Dai Havard, MP, Mr Philip Hollobone, MP, Mr Jim Hood, MP,<br />
The Rt Hon. George Howarth, MP, Mr Edward Leigh, MP, Dr William McCrea, MP, Miss Anne McIntosh, MP,<br />
Mrs Anne Main, MP, Sir Alan Meale, MP, Sandra Osborne, MP, Albert Owen, MP, Mrs Linda Riordan, MP,<br />
John Robertson, MP, Andrew Rosindell, MP, Mr Lee Scott, MP, Jim Sheridan, MP, Mr Gary Streeter, MP,<br />
Mr Andrew Turner, MP, Mr Charles Walker, MP, Mr Mike Weir, MP, Hywel Williams, MP<br />
SECRETARY—Simon Patrick<br />
HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION<br />
The Rt Hon. The Speaker (Chairman), Sir Paul Beresford, MP, Mr Frank Doran, MP, Ms Angela Eagle, MP,<br />
MP, John Thurso, MP, The Rt Hon. Sir George Young, MP<br />
SECRETARY OF THE COMMISSION—Robert Twigger<br />
ASSISTANT SECRETARY—Joanna Dodd<br />
ADMINISTRATION ESTIMATE AUDIT COMMITTEE<br />
Alex Jablonowski (Chairman), Ms Angela Eagle, MP, The Rt Hon. Sir Alan Haselhurst, MP, John Thurso, MP,<br />
Stephen Brooker, Mark Clarke<br />
SECRETARY OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE—Gosia McBride<br />
CLERK OF THE HOUSE AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE—Robert Rogers<br />
PRIVATE SECRETARY—Gosia McBride<br />
PERSONAL SECRETARY—Caroline Nicholls<br />
LIAISON COMMITTEE<br />
The Rt Hon. Sir Alan Beith, MP (Chair), Mr Graham Allen, MP, The Rt Hon. James Arbuthnot, MP,<br />
Mr Adrian Bailey, MP, The Rt Hon. Kevin Barron, MP, Dame Anne Begg, MP, Mr Clive Betts, MP,<br />
The Rt Hon. Malcolm Bruce, MP, Mr William Cash, MP, Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, MP, Mr Ian Davidson, MP,<br />
DavidTCDavies, MP, The Rt Hon. Stephen Dorrell, MP, Mrs Louise Ellman, MP, Natascha Engel, MP,<br />
Dr Hywel Francis, MP, The Rt Hon. Sir Alan Haselhurst, MP, The Rt Hon. Margaret Hodge, MP,<br />
Mr Bernard Jenkin, MP, The Rt Hon. Greg Knight, MP, Miss Anne McIntosh, MP, Andrew Miller, MP,<br />
Mr George Mudie, MP, Richard Ottaway, MP, Mr Laurence Robertson, MP, Mr Graham Stuart, MP,<br />
Mr Robert Syms, MP, John Thurso, MP, Mr Andrew Tyrie, MP, The Rt Hon. Keith Vaz, MP, Joan Walley, MP,<br />
Mr John Whittingdale, MP, Mr Tim Yeo, MP<br />
CLERKS—Andrew Kennon, Philippa Helme<br />
MANAGEMENT BOARD<br />
Robert Rogers (Clerk of the House and Chief Executive), David Natzler (Clerk Assistant and Director General,<br />
Chamber and Committee Services), John Pullinger (Director General, Information Services), Andrew Walker<br />
(Director General, HR and Change), John Borley, CB (Director General, Facilities), Myfanwy Barrett (Director of<br />
Finance), Joan Miller (Director of <strong>Parliament</strong>ary ICT) (External Member), Alex Jablonowski (External Member)<br />
SECRETARY OF THE MANAGEMENT BOARD—Matthew Hamlyn<br />
OFFICE OF THE SPEAKER<br />
SPEAKER’S SECRETARY—Peter Barratt<br />
ASSISTANT SECRETARY TO THE SPEAKER—Ian Davis MBE<br />
TRAINBEARER—Jim Davey<br />
DIARY SECRETARY—Briony Potts<br />
SPEAKER’S COUNSEL—Michael Carpenter<br />
SPEAKER’S CHAPLAIN—Rev. Rose Hudson-Wilkin
vi<br />
HOUSE OF COMMONS—cont.<br />
<strong>PARLIAMENTARY</strong> COMMISSIONER FOR STANDARDS<br />
<strong>PARLIAMENTARY</strong> COMMISSIONER FOR STANDARDS—John Lyon, CB<br />
REGISTRAR OF MEMBERS’ FINANCIAL INTERESTS—Heather Wood<br />
<strong>PARLIAMENTARY</strong> SECURITY CO-ORDINATOR<br />
<strong>PARLIAMENTARY</strong> SECURITY DIRECTOR—Peter Mason<br />
ASSISTANT TO <strong>PARLIAMENTARY</strong> SECURITY DIRECTOR—Emily Baldock<br />
PRIVATE SECRETARY—Leonora Chiddicks<br />
OFFICE OF THE CHAIRMAN OF WAYS AND MEANS<br />
SECRETARY TO THE CHAIRMAN OF WAYS AND MEANS—Sara Howe<br />
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE<br />
HEAD OF OFFICE—Matthew Hamlyn<br />
CORPORATE RISK MANAGEMENT FACILITATOR—Rachel Harrison<br />
HEAD OF CENTRAL COMMUNICATIONS—Marianne Cwynarski<br />
HEAD OF INTERNAL AUDIT—Paul Dillon-Robinson<br />
HEAD OF <strong>PARLIAMENTARY</strong> PROGRAMME AND PROJECT ASSURANCE— Jane Rumsam<br />
STRATEGY, PLANNING AND PERFORMANCE MANAGER—Jane Hough<br />
DEPARTMENT OF CHAMBER AND COMMITTEE SERVICES<br />
CLERK ASSISTANT’S DIRECTORATE<br />
CLERK ASSISTANT AND DIRECTOR GENERAL—David Natzler<br />
PERSONAL ASSISTANT—Charlotte Every<br />
DIRECTOR OF DEPARTMENTAL SERVICES—Nick Walker<br />
Overseas Office——<br />
PRINCIPAL CLERK—Crispin Poyser<br />
DELEGATION SECRETARIES—Nick Wright, Jyoti Chandola<br />
INWARD VISITS MANAGER—Susan Pamphlett<br />
NATIONAL PARLIAMENT REPRESENTATIVE, BRUSSELS—Edward Beale<br />
DEPUTY NATIONAL PARLIAMENT REPRESENTATIVE, BRUSSELS—Sarah Clarkson<br />
Vote Office——<br />
DELIVERER OF THE VOTE—Catherine Fogarty<br />
DEPUTY DELIVERER OF THE VOTE—Owen Sweeney (<strong>Parliament</strong>ary), Tom McVeagh (Production)<br />
COMMITTEE DIRECTORATE<br />
Committee Office——<br />
CLERK OF COMMITTEES—Andrew Kennon<br />
CLERK OF DOMESTIC COMMITTEES—Robert Twigger<br />
PRINCIPAL CLERKS OF SELECT COMMITTEES—Philippa Helme, Mark Hutton, Chris Stanton<br />
BUSINESS MANAGER—Kevin Candy<br />
OPERATIONS MANAGER—Karen Saunders<br />
Departmental Select Committees——<br />
BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS: CLERKS—James Davies, Neil Caulfield<br />
COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT: CLERKS—Glenn McKee, Edward White<br />
CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT: CLERKS—Elizabeth Flood, Sarah Heath<br />
DEFENCE: CLERKS—Alda Barry, Judith Boyce<br />
EDUCATION: CLERKS— Lynn Gardner, PhD, Elisabeth Bates<br />
ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE: CLERK— Sarah Hartwell-Naguib<br />
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS: CLERKS—Richard Cooke, Lucy Petrie<br />
FOREIGN AFFAIRS: CLERKS— Kenneth Fox, Eliot Barrass<br />
HEALTH: CLERKS—David Lloyd, Martyn Atkins<br />
HOME AFFAIRS: CLERKS— Tom Healey, Richard Benwell,<br />
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT: CLERKS—David Harrison, Marek Kubala<br />
JUSTICE: CLERKS—Tom Goldsmith, Sarah Petit<br />
NORTHERN IRELAND AFFAIRS: CLERK—Mike Clark<br />
POLITICAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM: CLERK – Joanna Dodd<br />
REGULATORY REFORM: CLERK—Neil Caulfield<br />
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: CLERK—Stephen McGinness
HOUSE OF COMMONS—cont.<br />
vii<br />
SCOTTISH AFFAIRS: CLERK—Eliot Wilson<br />
TRANSPORT: CLERKS—Mark Egan, PhD, Jessica Montgomery<br />
TREASURY: CLERKS—Chris Stanton, Lydia Menzies<br />
WELSH AFFAIRS: CLERK—Adrian Jenner<br />
WORK AND PENSIONS: CLERKS—Carol Oxborough, Catherine Tyack<br />
Domestic Committees——<br />
ADMINISTRATION: CLERK—David Weir<br />
FINANCE AND SERVICES: CLERK—<br />
Other Committees——<br />
ARMS EXPORT CONTROLS (COMMITTEES ON): CLERK—Keith Neary<br />
ENVIRONMENTAL AUDIT: CLERKS—Simon Fiander, Nick Beech<br />
JOINT COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RIGHTS: COMMONS CLERK—Mike Hennessy<br />
LIAISON: CLERKS—Andrew Kennon, Philippa Helme<br />
PUBLIC ACCOUNTS: CLERK—Phillip Aylett<br />
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION: CLERKS—Emily Commander, Charlotte Pochin<br />
Scrutiny Unit——<br />
HEAD OF UNIT—Chris Shaw<br />
DEPUTY HEAD OF UNIT (FINANCE)—Larry Honeysett<br />
CHAMBER BUSINESS DIRECTORATE<br />
CLERK OF LEGISLATION—Jacqy Sharpe<br />
Public and Private Bill Office<br />
CLERK OF BILLS, EXAMINER OF PETITIONS FOR PRIVATE BILLS AND TAXING OFFICER—Simon Patrick<br />
James Rhys, Steven Mark, Kate Emms, Sarah Thatcher, Alison Groves<br />
PRIVATE BILL OFFICE—Annette Toft<br />
Committees—<br />
COURT OF REFEREES: CLERK—Simon Patrick<br />
SELECTION: CLERK—Annette Toft<br />
STANDING ORDERS, UNOPPOSED BILLS: CLERK—Sara Howe<br />
Delegated Legislation Office<br />
EUROPEAN SCRUTINY COMMITTEE: CLERK—Sarah Davies<br />
CLERK ADVISERS— Peter Harborne, David Griffiths, Leigh Gibson, Terry Byrne<br />
JOINT COMMITTEE ON STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS: COMMONS CLERK—Charlotte Littleboy<br />
Journal Office——<br />
CLERK OF THE JOURNALS—Liam Laurence Smyth<br />
Mark Etherton, Elizabeth Hunt, Eve Samson, Huw Yardley, Lloyd Owen, Anne-Marie Griffiths (Clerk of Public<br />
Petitions)<br />
PROCEDURE COMMITTEE: CLERK—Huw Yardley<br />
STANDARDS AND PRIVILEGES COMMITTEE: CLERK—Eve Samson<br />
SPEAKER’S COMMITTEE FOR IPSA: CLERK—Elizabeth Hunt<br />
SPEAKER’S COMMITTEE ON THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION: CLERK— Elizabeth Hunt<br />
Table Office——<br />
PRINCIPAL CLERK—Paul Evans<br />
Rob Cope, Sue Griffiths, Tracey Jessup, Gordon Clarke, Francene Graham, Robin James, Richard Ward,<br />
Lynn Lewis (Editorial Supervisor of the Vote)<br />
BACKBENCH BUSINESS: CLERKS— Sue Griffiths<br />
OFFICIAL REPORT DIRECTORATE<br />
EDITOR—Lorraine Sutherland<br />
DEPUTY EDITOR—Alex Newton<br />
DIRECTOR OF BROADCASTING—John Angeli<br />
MANAGING EDITORS—Paul Hadlow, Clare Hanly, Deborah Jones, Ann Street, Jon Prawer, Vivien Wilson,<br />
Jack Homer, Ross Gunby, Adele Dodd<br />
SUB-EDITORS—Eira Gregory, Kate Myers, Juliet Levy, Victoria Hart, Tony Minichiello, Emma Kirby, Paul Kirby,<br />
David Hampton, Jez Oates, Barry Geall, Jonathan Hoare, Portia Dadley, Elaine Harrison, Joanna Lipkowska,<br />
Richard Purnell, Bran Jones, Patricia Hill<br />
SENIOR REPORTERS—Emily Morris, Mayah Weinberg, Jude Wheway, Felicity Reardon, Paul Underhill,<br />
Angus Andrews, Saul Minaee, Jim Barr, Cara Clark, Ian Oakhill, Steve Habberley, Will Holdaway,<br />
Paul Owen, Luanne Middleton, Tom Martin, Keith Brown<br />
LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT OFFICER—Jon Prawer<br />
HEAD OF ADMINISTRATION—Stephen O’Riordan
viii<br />
HOUSE OF COMMONS—cont.<br />
SENIOR HANSARD ADMINISTRATORS—John Brake, Brian Harrison<br />
HANSARD PRODUCTION MANAGER—Stuart Miller<br />
ANNUNCIATOR SUPERINTENDENT—Richard Quirk<br />
SERJEANT AT ARMS DIRECTORATE<br />
SERJEANT AT ARMS—Lawrence Ward<br />
DEPUTY SERJEANT AT ARMS—Mike Naworynsky, OBE<br />
ASSISTANT SERJEANT AT ARMS—<br />
CLERK IN CHARGE—Laura Castillo<br />
ADMISSION ORDER OFFICE—Samantha Howlett<br />
PRINCIPAL DOORKEEPER—Robin Fell<br />
PASS OFFICE MANAGER—Hannah Evans<br />
MEMBERS’ STAFF VERIFICATION OFFICE MANAGER—Guy Turner<br />
LEGAL SERVICES OFFICE<br />
SPEAKER’S COUNSEL—Michael Carpenter<br />
COUNSEL—Peter Davis (Legislation), Paul Hardy (European Legislation)<br />
DEPUTY COUNSEL—Peter Brooksbank, Philip Davies, Daniel Greenberg<br />
ASSISTANT COUNSEL—Helen Emes, Debbie Sayers<br />
DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION SERVICES<br />
DIRECTOR GENERAL/LIBRARIAN—John Pullinger<br />
DIRECTOR OF SERVICE DELIVERY—John Benger<br />
Curator’s Office—<br />
CURATOR OF WORKS OF ART—Malcolm Hay<br />
<strong>Parliament</strong>ary Office of Science & Technology (POST) —<br />
HEAD—Chandy Nath (temporary)<br />
Central Support Services—<br />
HEAD OF CENTRAL SUPPORT—Ed Potton<br />
Office Services—<br />
OFFICE SERVICES MANAGER—Gabrielle Hughes<br />
RESEARCH AND LIBRARY DIRECTORATE<br />
DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH SERVICES—Bryn Morgan<br />
Business and Transport—<br />
HEAD OF SECTION—Tim Edmonds<br />
LIBRARY CLERKS—Louise Butcher, Antony Seely, Djuna Thurley, Jacky Parker<br />
Economic Policy and Statistics—<br />
HEAD OF SECTION—Adam Mellows-Facer<br />
LIBRARY CLERKS—Grahame Allen, Lorna Booth, Daniel Harari, Lucinda Maer, Christopher Rhodes,<br />
Gavin Thompson, Dominic Webb<br />
Home Affairs—<br />
HEAD OF SECTION—Pat Strickland<br />
LIBRARY CLERKS—Sally Lipscombe, Lorraine Conway, Catherine Fairbairn, Gabrielle Garton-Grimwood,<br />
Melanie Gower, Alexander Horne, Philip Ward, PhD, John Woodhouse, Jacqueline Beard<br />
International Affairs and Defence—<br />
HEAD OF SECTION—Vaughne Miller<br />
LIBRARY CLERKS—Louisa Brooke-Holland, Jon Lunn, DPhil, Ben Smith, Arabella Thorp<br />
SENIOR LIBRARY EXECUTIVES—Emma Clark, Julia Keddie<br />
<strong>Parliament</strong> and Constitution Centre—<br />
HEAD OF SECTION—Oonagh Gay<br />
LIBRARY CLERKS—Paul Bowers, Richard Kelly, Keith Parry, Chris Sear, Isobel White<br />
Reference Services—<br />
HEAD OF SECTION—Dora Clark<br />
LIBRARY CLERKS—Katharine Gray, Mark Sandford<br />
SENIOR EXECUTIVE OFFICERS—Amina Gual, John Prince, Catrin Owens<br />
DEPOSITED PAPERS &RESOURCE MANAGER—Greg Howard<br />
Science and Environment—<br />
HEAD OF SECTION—Christopher Barclay<br />
LIBRARY CLERKS—Elena Ares, Oliver Bennett, Farrah Bhatti, Grahame Danby, Emma Downing, Patsy Richards,<br />
Louise Smith
HOUSE OF COMMONS—cont.<br />
ix<br />
Social and General Statistics—<br />
HEAD OF SECTION—Richard Cracknell<br />
LIBRARY CLERKS—Gavin Berman, Paul Bolton, Rachael Harker, Oliver Hawkins, Matthew Keep,<br />
Feargal McGuinness, Rod McInnes, Tom Rutherford<br />
Social Policy—<br />
HEAD OF SECTION—Christine Gillie<br />
LIBRARY CLERKS—Manjit Gheera, Susan Hubble, Tim Jarrett, Steven Kennedy, Robert Long, Tom Powell,<br />
Wendy Wilson<br />
DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION MANAGEMENT—Steve Wise<br />
Indexing and Data Management—<br />
HEAD OF SECTION—Gini Griffin/Catherine Meredith<br />
Library Resources—<br />
HEAD OF SECTION—Katharine Marke<br />
PUBLIC INFORMATION DIRECTORATE<br />
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC INFORMATION—Edward Wood<br />
House of Commons Information Office/<strong>Parliament</strong>ary Outreach—<br />
HEAD OF PUBLIC INFORMATION & OUTREACH—Clare Cowan<br />
Web and Intranet Service—<br />
HEAD OF ONLINE SERVICES—Tracy Green<br />
Media & Communications Service—<br />
SENIOR MEDIA AND COMMUNICATIONS ADVISER—Lee Bridges<br />
PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT DIRECTORATE<br />
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT—Aileen Walker<br />
Public Engagement and Events<br />
HEAD OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT AND EVENTS—Tom O’Leary<br />
Education Service—<br />
EDUCATION SERVICE MANAGER—Emma-Jane Watchorn<br />
Visitor Services—<br />
HEAD OF VISITOR SERVICES—Deborah Newman<br />
Spire Programme—<br />
SPIRE PROGRAMME DIRECTOR—Helen Wood<br />
DEPARTMENT OF HR & CHANGE<br />
Director General’s Office—<br />
DIRECTOR GENERAL OF HR&CHANGE—Andrew Walker<br />
ASSISTANT TO DIRECTOR GENERAL—Tara Cullen<br />
PERSONAL ASSISTANT—Yvonne Carson<br />
DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS AND CAPABILITY—Janet Rissen<br />
DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES SERVICES—Heather Bryson<br />
DIRECTOR OF CHANGE—Selven Naicker<br />
DEPARTMENTAL BUSINESS AND FINANCE MANAGER—Andy Vallins<br />
HEAD OF PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT—Patricia Macaulay-Fraser<br />
HEAD OF EMPLOYEE RELATIONS, PAY AND POLICY—Reg Perry<br />
HEAD OF HR OPERATIONS—Alix Langley<br />
HEAD OF DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION—Anne Foster<br />
BUSINESS PARTNERS—James Bigwood, Johan van den Broek, Soraya Ounssi<br />
Members’ Advisory Service and Members’ Personnel Advice Service (PAS) —<br />
SENIOR HR MANAGER—Dapo Coker<br />
Information Rights and Information Security Services (IRIS)—<br />
HEAD OF IRIS—Victoria Payne<br />
Safety, Health and Wellbeing—<br />
HEAD OF SAFETY, HEALTH AND WELLBEING—Marianne McDougall<br />
CONSULTANT OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH PHYSICIANS—Dr Ira Madan, Dr Mary Sherry<br />
HEALTH AND SAFETY ADVISERS— Elizabeth Cameron-Taber, Amanda Hastings<br />
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING MANAGER—Anne Mossop<br />
WELFARE OFFICER – Tanya Harris<br />
CLINICAL NURSE ADVISERS—Karen St Cyr, Lucy Walsh, Sally Nightingale
x<br />
HOUSE OF COMMONS—cont.<br />
Trade Union Side—<br />
TRADE UNION SIDE ADMINISTRATORS—Sandra Deakins, Denise Eltringham<br />
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE<br />
DIRECTOR—Myfanwy Barrett<br />
PERSONAL ASSISTANT—Yvonne Carson<br />
Pensions Unit —<br />
HEAD OF PENSIONS— Lucy Tindal (Acting)<br />
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT DIRECTORATE<br />
DIRECTOR OF FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT—Christopher Ridley<br />
HEAD OF FINANCIAL PLANNING—Anthony Hindley<br />
FINANCIAL CONTROLLER—Julia Routledge<br />
CORPORATE ACCOUNTANT—Debra Shirtcliffe<br />
SYSTEMS ACCOUNTANT—Colin Lewis<br />
COMMERCIAL SERVICES DIRECTORATE<br />
ACTING DIRECTOR OF COMMERCIAL SERVICES—Veronica Daly<br />
PROCUREMENT MANAGERS—Sue Parr, Sheila Brightwell<br />
SAVINGS DIRECTORATE<br />
DIRECTOR OF SAVINGS — Elizabeth Honer<br />
HEAD OF SAVINGS REVIEWS – Martin Trott<br />
DEPARTMENT OF FACILITIES<br />
DIRECTOR GENERAL—John Borley, CB<br />
EXECUTIVE OFFICER—Katy Gray<br />
COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER— Rina Odedra<br />
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE—Philip Collins<br />
DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT—John Greenaway<br />
<strong>PARLIAMENTARY</strong> ESTATES DIRECTORATE<br />
<strong>PARLIAMENTARY</strong> DIRECTOR OF ESTATES—Mel Barlex, BSc, MBA, MCR, MRICS, MBIFM<br />
DEPUTY DIRECTOR &HEAD OF PROJECTS—Christine Sillis, MBA, DipBldgCons, FRICS<br />
HEAD OF DIRECTOR’S OFFICE— Georgina Holmes-Skelton<br />
DEPUTY HEAD OF DIRECTOR’S OFFICE AND BUSINESS MANAGER—Deborah Taylor<br />
HEAD OF MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS—Lester Benjamin, BEng, CEng, MCIBS<br />
HEAD OF PROGRAMME &PLANNING MANAGEMENT—Steve Beck<br />
HEAD OF FIRE, SAFETY &ENVIRONMENT—Charlotte Simmonds<br />
FIRE SAFETY MANAGER—David Kaye, GIFireE<br />
PRINCIPAL, INTERIOR DESIGN AND FURNISHING— Mary-Jane Tsang (Acting)<br />
PRINCIPAL ARCHITECT —Adam Watrobski<br />
PRINCIPAL ESTATES MANAGER—Helen Arkell<br />
PRINCIPAL ENGINEER—Keith Gregory, BTech, CEng, MCIBSE<br />
PRINCIPAL SURVEYOR—Jon Prew, BSc, MIStrucE, MAPM<br />
ASSET MANAGER—Andrew Geehan<br />
ESTATES ARCHIVIST—Dr Mark Collins<br />
CATERING AND RETAIL SERVICES<br />
DIRECTOR OF CATERING AND RETAIL SERVICES—Sue Harrison<br />
EXECUTIVE CHEF—Mark Hill<br />
OPERATIONS MANAGER—Robert Gibbs<br />
CATERING MANAGER, TERRACE COMPLEX—Denise Durkin<br />
BANQUETING &EVENTS MANAGER— Lee Holt<br />
BANQUETING &EVENTS OFFICE MANAGER—Jason Bonello<br />
FOOD &BEVERAGE MANAGER (ACTING)— Martyn Westcott-Wreford<br />
CATERING MANAGER, 1PARLIAMENT STREET &PRESS COMPLEX —James Ellis<br />
CATERING MANAGER, 7MILLBANK—Vacancy<br />
RETAIL MANAGER—Eric Darengosse<br />
PURCHASING &STORES MANAGER—Antony Avella
HOUSE OF COMMONS—cont.<br />
xi<br />
ACCOMMODATION AND LOGISTICS SERVICES<br />
DIRECTOR OF ACCOMMODATION AND LOGISTICS SERVICES—James Robertson<br />
<strong>PARLIAMENTARY</strong> LOGISTICS MANAGER—Wesley Auvache<br />
MEMBERS ACCOMMODATION MANAGER—Fiona Channon<br />
ACCOMMODATION MANAGER—Susanna Lumsden<br />
HEAD OFFICE KEEPER—Brendon Mulvihill<br />
SENIOR OFFICE KEEPERS—Doreen Irving, Simon Mansfield (Acting), Les Stockwell<br />
CLEANING MANAGER—Carol Hill<br />
POSTMASTER—Mark Morrish<br />
<strong>PARLIAMENTARY</strong> ICT SERVICE (PICT)<br />
DIRECTOR OF PICT—Joan Miller<br />
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS AND MEMBER SERVICES—Matthew Taylor<br />
DIRECTOR OF RESOURCES—Fergus Reid<br />
DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY—Steve O’Connor<br />
DIRECTOR OF NETWORK PROGRAMME—Innis Montgomery<br />
DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMMES AND DEVELOPMENT—Simon Nicholls<br />
MEMBERS’ COMPUTING OFFICER (COMMONS)—Andrew Morrison<br />
MEMBERS’ COMPUTING OFFICER (LORDS)—Loraine Midda<br />
TELECOMMUNICATIONS MANAGER—Caroline Robertson<br />
OTHER PRINCIPAL OFFICERS<br />
CLERK OF THE CROWN IN CHANCERY—Sir Suma Chakrabarti, KCB<br />
COMPTROLLER AND AUDITOR GENERAL—Amyas Morse<br />
<strong>PARLIAMENTARY</strong> AND HEALTH SERVICE OMBUDSMAN—Ann Abraham<br />
9 May 2012
THE<br />
<strong>PARLIAMENTARY</strong> <strong>DEBATES</strong><br />
OFFICIAL REPORT<br />
IN THE SECOND SESSION OF THE FIFTY-FIFTH PARLIAMENT OF THE<br />
UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND<br />
[WHICH OPENED 18 MAY 2010]<br />
SIXTY-FIRST YEAR OF THE REIGN OF<br />
HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH II<br />
SIXTH SERIES VOLUME 545<br />
FIRST VOLUME OF SESSION 2012-2013<br />
House of Commons<br />
Wednesday 9 May 2012<br />
The House met at twenty-five minutes past<br />
Eleven o’clock<br />
PRAYERS<br />
[MR SPEAKER in the Chair]<br />
MESSAGE TO ATTEND HER MAJESTY<br />
Message to attend Her Majesty delivered by the Gentleman<br />
Usher of the Black Rod.<br />
The Speaker, with the House, went up to attend Her<br />
Majesty; on their return, the Speaker suspended the sitting.<br />
Speaker’s Statement<br />
2.30 pm<br />
Mr Speaker: The House has agreed that the Speaker<br />
should make a statement at the beginning of each<br />
Session about the duties and responsibilities of hon.<br />
Members. May I begin by reminding Members of the<br />
House’s code of conduct, which we recently agreed to in<br />
a revised form? All Members are under a duty to<br />
observe it in letter and in spirit. Members are answerable<br />
for their conduct in this place, not just to the House but<br />
to the public.<br />
Our ancient privileges allow us to conduct our debate<br />
without fear of outside interference. <strong>Parliament</strong>ary privilege<br />
underpins proper democratic debate and scrutiny. It<br />
will be under renewed scrutiny over the next few months,<br />
with the Government’s consultation on the subject. In<br />
particular, we enjoy freedom of speech in Committee<br />
proceedings and in debate. Freedom of speech in debate<br />
is at the very heart of what we do here for our constituents,<br />
and it allows us to conduct our business without fear of<br />
outside interference. But it is a freedom that we need to<br />
exercise responsibly in the public interest and taking<br />
into account the interests of others outside this House.<br />
It is also important that our constituents feel free to<br />
come to us no matter what the circumstances, and that<br />
they suffer no disadvantage as a result. Each hon.<br />
Member is here to represent the views of his or her<br />
constituents and to participate in the process of<br />
parliamentary democracy. We should ensure that every<br />
Member is heard courteously, regardless of the views<br />
that he or she is expressing. I and my Deputies seek to<br />
ensure that as many Members as possible can participate<br />
in our proceedings. That ambition will be greatly aided<br />
by brevity in questions, speeches and interventions by<br />
all hon. Members.<br />
Every member of the public has a right to expect that<br />
his or her Member of <strong>Parliament</strong> will behave with<br />
civility, in the best traditions of fairness, with the highest<br />
level of probity and with integrity. We are also under an<br />
obligation to try to explain to our constituents how<br />
<strong>Parliament</strong> works. In this mission we are ably assisted<br />
by the staff of the House. House staff, who are vital in<br />
supporting the work of this House and who do so with<br />
dedication and courtesy, are likewise entitled to be<br />
treated with dignity, courtesy and respect.<br />
Finally, I should like also to remind all hon. Members<br />
that the security of this building and those who work<br />
and visit here depends upon all of us. Please be vigilant<br />
and tell the Serjeant at Arms about any concerns you<br />
have on the subject. Wear your photo identity pass<br />
while you are on the parliamentary estate—this is<br />
particularly important over the next 24 hours, as there<br />
will be a number of police officers on duty, covering for<br />
absent security officers, who cannot be expected to<br />
recognise Members. Remember that you are responsible<br />
for the behaviour of your visitors and for ensuring that<br />
they are escorted in non-public areas of the estate.<br />
Before moving to the first business of the new Session,<br />
I would like to express my very best wishes to all hon.<br />
Members and staff for the 2012-13 Session of <strong>Parliament</strong>.<br />
OUTLAWRIES BILL<br />
A Bill for the more effectual preventing Clandestine<br />
Outlawries was read the First time, and ordered to be read<br />
a Second time.
3 9 MAY 2012 Queen’s Speech<br />
4<br />
Queen’s Speech<br />
Mr Speaker: I have to acquaint the House that this<br />
House has this day attended Her Majesty in the House<br />
of Peers, and that Her Majesty was pleased to make a<br />
Most Gracious Speech from the Throne to both Houses<br />
of <strong>Parliament</strong>, of which I have, for greater accuracy,<br />
obtained a copy.<br />
I shall direct that the terms of the Gracious Speech<br />
be printed in the Votes and Proceedings. Copies are<br />
available in the Vote Office.<br />
The Gracious Speech was as follows:<br />
My Government’s legislative programme will focus on<br />
economic growth, justice and constitutional reform.<br />
My Ministers’ first priority will be to reduce the deficit<br />
and restore economic stability.<br />
Legislation will be introduced to reduce burdens on<br />
business by repealing unnecessary legislation and to limit<br />
state inspection of businesses.<br />
My Government will introduce legislation to reform<br />
competition law to promote enterprise and fair markets.<br />
My Government will introduce legislation to establish<br />
a Green Investment Bank.<br />
Measures will be brought forward to further strengthen<br />
regulation of the financial services sector and implement<br />
the recommendations of the Independent Commission on<br />
Banking.<br />
My Government will introduce legislation to establish<br />
an independent adjudicator to ensure supermarkets deal<br />
fairly and lawfully with suppliers.<br />
A Bill will be introduced to reduce burdens on charities,<br />
enabling them to claim additional payments on small<br />
donations.<br />
My Government will propose reform of the electricity<br />
market to deliver secure, clean and affordable electricity<br />
and ensure prices are fair.<br />
A draft Bill will be published to reform the water<br />
industry in England and Wales.<br />
My Government will bring forward measures to modernise<br />
the pension system and reform the state pension, creating<br />
a fair, simple and sustainable foundation for private saving.<br />
Legislation will be introduced to reform public service<br />
pensions in line with the recommendations of the independent<br />
commission on public service pensions.<br />
A draft Bill will be published setting out measures to<br />
close the Audit Commission and establish new arrangements<br />
for the audit of local public bodies.<br />
My Government will strive to improve the lives of<br />
children and families.<br />
My Government will propose measures to improve<br />
provision for disabled children and children with special<br />
educational needs. New arrangements will be proposed to<br />
support children involved in family law cases, reform court<br />
processes for children in care and strengthen the role of<br />
the Children’s Commissioner.<br />
Measures will be proposed to make parental leave more<br />
flexible so both parents may share parenting responsibilities<br />
and balance work and family commitments.<br />
A draft Bill will be published to modernise adult care<br />
and support in England.<br />
My Government will continue to work with the fifteen<br />
other Commonwealth Realms to take forward reform of<br />
the rules governing succession to the Crown.<br />
Legislation will be brought forward which will introduce<br />
individual registration of electors and improve the<br />
administration of elections.<br />
A Bill will be brought forward to reform the composition<br />
of the House of Lords.<br />
My Government will continue to work constructively<br />
and cooperatively with the devolved institutions.<br />
Members of the House of Commons<br />
Estimates for the public services will be laid before you.<br />
My Lords and Members of the House of Commons<br />
My Government is committed to reducing and preventing<br />
crime. A Bill will be introduced to establish the National<br />
Crime Agency to tackle the most serious and organised<br />
crime and strengthen border security. The courts and<br />
tribunals service will be reformed to increase efficiency,<br />
transparency and judicial diversity.<br />
Legislation will be introduced to protect freedom of<br />
speech and reform the law of defamation.<br />
My Government will introduce legislation to strengthen<br />
oversight of the security and intelligence agencies. This<br />
will also allow courts, through the limited use of closed<br />
proceedings, to hear a greater range of evidence in national<br />
security cases.<br />
My Government intends to bring forward measures to<br />
maintain the ability of the law enforcement and intelligence<br />
agencies to access vital communications data under strict<br />
safeguards to protect the public, subject to scrutiny of<br />
draft clauses.<br />
My Government will seek the approval of <strong>Parliament</strong><br />
relating to the agreed financial stability mechanism within<br />
the euro area.<br />
My Government will seek the approval of <strong>Parliament</strong> on<br />
the anticipated accession of Croatia to the European Union.<br />
My Government will work to support a secure and<br />
stable Afghanistan, to reduce the threat of nuclear<br />
proliferation, including in Iran, and to bring greater stability<br />
to the Horn of Africa.<br />
In the Middle East and North Africa, my Government<br />
will support the extension of political and economic freedom<br />
in countries in transition.<br />
My Government has set out firm plans to spend nought<br />
point seven per cent of gross national income as official<br />
development assistance from 2013. This will be the first<br />
time the <strong>United</strong> <strong>Kingdom</strong> has met this agreed international<br />
commitment.<br />
My Government will build strategic partnerships with<br />
the emerging powers.<br />
The <strong>United</strong> <strong>Kingdom</strong> will assume the Presidency of the<br />
G8 in 2013: my Government will use this opportunity to<br />
promote international security and prosperity.<br />
In the year of the Diamond Jubilee, Prince Philip and<br />
I will continue to take part in celebrations across the<br />
<strong>United</strong> <strong>Kingdom</strong>. The Prince of Wales and other members<br />
of my family are travelling widely to take part in festivities<br />
throughout the Commonwealth. Prince Philip and I look
5 Queen’s Speech<br />
9 MAY 2012<br />
6<br />
forward to the London Olympic and Paralympic Games<br />
and to welcoming visitors from around the world to London<br />
and venues throughout the country.<br />
Other measures will be laid before you.<br />
My Lords and Members of the House of Commons<br />
I pray that the blessing of Almighty God may rest upon<br />
your counsels.<br />
Debate on the Address<br />
[1ST DAY]<br />
Mr Speaker: Before I call the mover and seconder, I<br />
want to announce the proposed pattern of debate during<br />
the remaining days on the Loyal Address: Thursday<br />
10 May—home affairs and justice; Monday 14 May—<br />
business and the economy; Tuesday 15 May—foreign<br />
affairs and international development; Wednesday 16 May<br />
—cost of living; Thursday 17 May—jobs and growth.<br />
2.35 pm<br />
Nadhim Zahawi (Stratford-on-Avon) (Con): I beg to<br />
move,<br />
That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, as<br />
follows:<br />
Most Gracious Sovereign,<br />
We, Your Majesty’s most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Commons<br />
of the <strong>United</strong> <strong>Kingdom</strong> of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,<br />
in <strong>Parliament</strong> assembled, beg leave to offer our humble thanks to<br />
Your Majesty for the Gracious Speech which Your Majesty has<br />
addressed to both Houses of <strong>Parliament</strong>.<br />
In this year of the Queen’s diamond jubilee, I am<br />
deeply honoured to move the Loyal Address. For six<br />
decades, Her Majesty has provided us with a peerless<br />
example of duty, dignity and service to the nation. And<br />
it was the subject of “peerlessness” that was immediately<br />
on my mind when I was called into the Chief Whip’s<br />
office last week. I really thought that he wanted to have<br />
a full and frank discussion with me on the reform of<br />
the other place. I ran to No. 9 Downing street, in the<br />
pouring rain, clutching my folder of briefing notes,<br />
while continuously repeating, “More effective, but not<br />
elected. More effective, but not elected.” I can announce<br />
to this House that having a small glass of water, without<br />
the biscuits, with the Chief Whip has allowed us to<br />
reach agreement; as our manifesto demanded, a consensus<br />
on this thorny issue has been reached.<br />
It was only later that I remembered something important:<br />
the accepted convention is that this Address is usually<br />
delivered by an hon. Member of this House just as their<br />
illustrious career is starting to approach its expiry date—<br />
perhaps my right. hon. Friend the Prime Minister was<br />
gently hinting that I had a great future behind me.<br />
Equally, the Loyal Address is usually seconded by a<br />
young, ambitious, thrusting Back Bencher who is hungry<br />
for promotion, and it is in that spirit that I warmly<br />
congratulate the right hon. Member for Gordon (Malcolm<br />
Bruce), who has that happy role today.<br />
Although I have rarely seen the Chamber this full,<br />
this will probably not be my most watched speech. Not<br />
many Back-Bench MPs can boast more than 130,000<br />
downloads on YouTube, for a few lines uttered during<br />
an Opposition day debate. To any colleagues in the<br />
House seeking a wider audience for their speeches, my<br />
advice is: spend less time thinking about what you are<br />
going to say and more time thinking about what you are<br />
going to wear. I recommend a loud tie—preferably one<br />
with a soundtrack.<br />
The last person to move this motion was my right<br />
hon. Friend the Member for Hitchin and Harpenden<br />
(Mr Lilley), and I seem to recall that he informed this<br />
House that he was able to trace his lineage back to the<br />
village of Lilley, which has existed in his constituency<br />
since Anglo-Saxon times. With a name like mine, I was<br />
never going to convince the voters of Stratford-on-Avon
7 Debate on the Address<br />
9 MAY 2012<br />
Debate on the Address<br />
8<br />
[Nadhim Zahawi]<br />
that my ancestors fought the Normans at the battle of<br />
Hastings. In fact, Stratford-on-Avon is a constituency<br />
in the heart of England, in the county of Warwickshire,<br />
that is 90% white. If I may say so, Mr Speaker, this is<br />
not a kaleidoscope county. But it is testament to the<br />
values of that constituency, and of this country, that it<br />
chose me as its representative, and it is on its behalf that<br />
I deliver this address.<br />
During the election, I canvassed every one of Stratfordon-Avon’s<br />
79 villages and hamlets, as well as its four<br />
principal towns. It became clear to me that people were<br />
not interested in my ethnicity, or in where I had gone to<br />
school. What they wanted to know was: was I on their<br />
side, and was I up to the job? For us politicians, and for<br />
this Government, those are the questions that really<br />
matter. Our different backgrounds were certainly a point<br />
of curiosity, but what made the difference was our<br />
shared values, and in that the people of Stratford represent<br />
the very best of modern Britain.<br />
Mr Speaker, my family arrived on these shores with<br />
only £50 in their pockets—immigrants from a land in<br />
the grip of a cruel and murderous regime. This great<br />
country offered us the priceless gifts of freedom and<br />
opportunity, and the ultimate proof of that opportunity<br />
is that I can stand before you today as a Member of<br />
this, the oldest and greatest of all <strong>Parliament</strong>s.<br />
Today, the task before us all is to spread that opportunity<br />
further. To do so, we must strengthen enterprise and<br />
deliver a more affordable state. It will not be easy. As<br />
my hon. Friend, and co-author, the Member for West<br />
Suffolk (Matthew Hancock) well knows, over the past<br />
decade or more our banks have been managed not by<br />
the masters of the universe, but by the masters of<br />
nothing. I am therefore pleased that the Gracious Speech<br />
has announced measures to implement the Vickers<br />
recommendations on banking reform. We should not<br />
make the mistake of thinking that this is merely a<br />
technical issue, of no interest to the public. It matters to<br />
people, because they want a fairer and stronger financial<br />
system, not one of cosy cartels and taxpayer bail-outs.<br />
What is happening right now in the eurozone will<br />
matter, too. In Greece, hardliners and extremists are<br />
threatening to take over the political mainstream, but it<br />
is comforting that there are early signs of a reverse<br />
trend here in the UK. In Britain, extremists and hardliners<br />
are rejoining the mainstream. Only yesterday my right<br />
hon. Friend the Business Secretary issued a clarion call<br />
for the repatriation of powers from Brussels. After such<br />
a far-sighted and decisive intervention, by such a senior<br />
member of the Government, no one can say that this<br />
coalition is not working. But there is a serious point<br />
here. People at home watching the political mayhem in<br />
Europe would be utterly dismayed if we failed to maintain<br />
a strong and focused Government to deal with this<br />
crisis.<br />
There is a real opportunity beyond the crisis, and I<br />
therefore welcome the Government’s commitment to<br />
build strategic partnerships with the emerging powers.<br />
Over the next 10 years the global economy is forecast to<br />
grow by $9 trillion—and $6 trillion of that growth will<br />
come from one country: China. In fact, China is growing<br />
so quickly that it creates an economy the size of Greece<br />
every three months. On current trends, we might have to<br />
revise that upwards.<br />
In my own constituency, I see even small businesses<br />
grabbing hold of the opportunities that those huge<br />
numbers represent. Reforms that unleash the creative<br />
power of our small and medium-sized businesses are<br />
the best growth strategy that this country could possibly<br />
have.<br />
In business, we soon learn that the world owes us<br />
nothing; historic ties, patient diplomacy, shared values<br />
and even shared language will not get us that contract<br />
unless we can also beat our rivals on quality, service and<br />
price. That is a lesson that we ignore at our peril. Yet<br />
there is one area in which the world does owe Britain—one<br />
field in which we remain both a net creditor and a<br />
leading exporter. It is more stable than finance and<br />
more enduring than oil. I am describing our extraordinary<br />
cultural industries. Indeed, as the Member for Stratfordon-Avon,<br />
I cannot proceed any further without a mention<br />
of William Shakespeare, my most famous former<br />
constituent.<br />
Members of the House will doubtless be familiar<br />
with Shakespeare’s warning in Act I of “Hamlet”:<br />
“Give thy thoughts no tongue,<br />
Nor any unproportion’d thought his act”—<br />
valuable advice indeed for those of us who use Twitter,<br />
Mr Speaker.<br />
The House will be aware of not only Shakespeare the<br />
playwright and poet, but Shakespeare the industry—another<br />
area in which our fame resounds across the world.<br />
When the Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao, visited Britain<br />
for two days last summer, one day was reserved for<br />
high-level strategic talks in Whitehall, but the other—at<br />
his own request—was spent with the Shakespeare Birthplace<br />
Trust in Stratford. The thought of one of the world’s<br />
most powerful men wearing special white gloves, so that<br />
he could handle a Shakespeare first edition with reverence,<br />
is a striking reminder of just how far our cultural reach<br />
extends. And the traffic is not just one-way; for the<br />
many Chinese visitors to Stratford, a park bench where<br />
Premier Wen took a short rest has become a major<br />
tourist attraction.<br />
In summing up, I should say that it is Shakespeare the<br />
man who resonates with me the most. As well as creating<br />
great art, Shakespeare built a great business. Uniquely<br />
among Elizabethan playwrights, he owned a share in<br />
the theatre company for which he wrote. Like all good<br />
business owners, he invested in his company. In 1608, he<br />
helped to finance a second theatre in Blackfriars, just<br />
across the river from the more famous Globe. Lacking<br />
family connections, but possessed of a great grammar<br />
school education, his achievement is all the more<br />
remarkable.<br />
As well as being the greatest writer in our language—in<br />
any language, I would say—there is no better embodiment<br />
of British values than this self-taught, self-made, and<br />
indeed self-created, man. He was a man who worked his<br />
utmost to put on earth and in our hearts a source of<br />
wealth that endures to this day. In fact, more than that,<br />
I would go as far as to say that the great bard was in his<br />
soul and actions a natural Tory. I commend the motion<br />
to the House.<br />
2.47 pm<br />
Malcolm Bruce (Gordon) (LD): I am very privileged<br />
to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Stratford-on-Avon<br />
(Nadhim Zahawi); the House will be glad that he left his
9 Debate on the Address<br />
9 MAY 2012<br />
Debate on the Address<br />
10<br />
loud tie and accompanying soundtrack behind. But he<br />
did manage to make a powerful and entertaining speech.<br />
I remind him, however, that he and I would be considerably<br />
disadvantaged in our task today had we not been elected<br />
to this House. Law-makers should be held accountable<br />
to law-obeyers.<br />
It is an honour to be asked to second the Loyal<br />
Address and a great surprise to be doing so. I realise I<br />
am the old guard following the young blood, but I hope<br />
that the kinder Members of the House might see a little<br />
wisdom tempering youthful exuberance. A great deal<br />
has changed in the 29 years since I entered the House,<br />
but some things do not change. I made my maiden<br />
speech in a Queen’s Speech debate on the health service.<br />
The Health Minister who replied was the right hon. and<br />
learned Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Clarke), who has<br />
proved himself a survivor in Government, even if he is<br />
now more rounded and more mellow—even if we are<br />
talking only about his shoes and his figure.<br />
I represent part of the north-east of Scotland, which<br />
is characterised by a dry, understated sense of humour.<br />
For the past 30 years, we have been entertained by a<br />
talented trio known as Scotland the What? and they<br />
invented a number of kooky characters, one of whom<br />
was the Member of <strong>Parliament</strong> for Aucherturra wi’<br />
Clatt, which is a name that resonates across Gordon, if<br />
nowhere else; indeed, I think that you are looking at<br />
that hon. Member. Less salubrious was Councillor Swick,<br />
which means “swindle” in the local dialect. In one<br />
sketch, he plays a justice of the peace, and he instructs<br />
the procurator fiscal to bring in the first criminal. When<br />
he is told that the accused is innocent until proved<br />
guilty, he demands of the procurator fiscal, “Whose<br />
side are you on?” At the end of his presiding over the<br />
court, he concluded, “In my court, justice has not only<br />
to be done but has to be seen to be believed.”<br />
The constituency of Gordon has changed a great<br />
deal. For a start, it has experienced four boundary<br />
changes. Nevertheless, the voters of Gordon have done<br />
me the honour of electing me seven times. Currently,<br />
one third of the population lives in the northern part<br />
of the city of Aberdeen, which includes the airport—<br />
the fastest-growing airport in the UK. That airport<br />
is crucial to our dynamic economy. We have two<br />
renowned universities and food and agricultural research<br />
centres of world repute, while Rowett research institute<br />
has produced no fewer than three Nobel laureates,<br />
and of course there is the global energy industry. Like<br />
most people in Gordon, I did not support the oil tax<br />
changes in last year’s Budget, but I appreciate the<br />
engagement with the industry by all relevant Ministers<br />
and Departments, which led to further tax measures in<br />
this year’s Budget that have gone a long way towards<br />
restoring confidence.<br />
The other two thirds of the population of Gordon<br />
live in central Aberdeenshire—a productive farming<br />
and food producing region notable for prime beef promoted<br />
by ANM Group, Scotch Premier Meat, and innovative<br />
mail order pioneer Donald Russell. We also have quality<br />
ice cream makers Mackie, who also produce a range of<br />
crisps, and Rizza’s of Huntly, which is also the home of<br />
Dean’s, makers of melt-in-the-mouth shortbread and<br />
biscuits. [Interruption.] They did not pay me to say<br />
that, I promise. Many of those food producers, and our<br />
mixed livestock and arable farmers, will welcome the<br />
Bill to establish a groceries code adjudicator.<br />
People often ask me where Gordon is. The trouble is<br />
that the constituency derives its name not from a place<br />
but from the Gordon family. Lady Aberdeen, June<br />
Gordon, who died in 2009 at the age of 95, was well<br />
beloved as a great patron of the arts at Haddo house. At<br />
an event shortly after my re-election in 1997, she told<br />
me that she was delighted that I had been re-elected<br />
given my small majority in 1983. “I was so concerned<br />
that you might not get back”, she said, “that I nearly<br />
voted for you.” The Gordon family have also produced<br />
one Prime Minister, the fourth Earl of Aberdeen, who<br />
led a Liberal-Conservative Government and included<br />
Palmerston and Gladstone in his Cabinet.<br />
Of course, we are also famous for fine malt whisky.<br />
[HON.MEMBERS: “Hear, hear!”] That is going down well<br />
at the back. One commentator described me as the<br />
Member for Gordon, the home of malt gin; and in fact<br />
it is the same Gordon family who were responsible for<br />
that most English of drinks—gin. We have some fine<br />
distilleries, including Glendronach, Ardmore and Glen<br />
Garioch, which won an award for the best Highland<br />
single malt this March—so go out and get it!<br />
Scotland’s First Minister has stated that he will not<br />
wear a kilt in Scotland until independence has been<br />
achieved. Of all the economic, historical, legal, cultural<br />
and social arguments for rejecting independence, surely<br />
the most overwhelming must be to protect the people of<br />
Scotland from the sight of Alex Salmond in a kilt.<br />
No Member on the Government Benches needs telling<br />
that this is a difficult time to be in government. We<br />
inherited an unsustainable level of public debt and a<br />
recession across developed economies. The coalition<br />
agreement took as its mantra “freedom, fairness and<br />
responsibility” and we must work harder on that.<br />
In the two years since the first Queen’s Speech of this<br />
<strong>Parliament</strong>, a great deal of heavy lifting has been carried<br />
out. When there is no money left, it is impossible not to<br />
make painful decisions to turn around a huge debt and<br />
lay the foundations of a more sustainable future. However,<br />
I believe that we have strived hard to be fair. Raising the<br />
tax threshold to £9,205 a year by the end of this Session<br />
and increasing pensions and most benefits with inflation<br />
at a time of no growth is, I believe, an extraordinary<br />
achievement.<br />
On the core agenda, the coalition has still much to<br />
do. This is not a time to be distracted by unproductive<br />
arguments between left and right or to deepen our<br />
divisions with the rest of Europe, whose problems<br />
profoundly affect us. There is more than enough that<br />
unites us.<br />
Our reform agenda, far from being some right-wing<br />
conspiracy to destroy our welfare system and public<br />
services, is aimed at ensuring that we can maintain in<br />
the long term the viable, fair and inclusive welfare<br />
system on which our civilised society depends. For that<br />
to happen, we need to secure growth in the private<br />
sector. I therefore welcome the Government’s commitment<br />
to banking and financial services reform. Apart from<br />
restoring confidence in retail banking and preventing<br />
casino banking from bringing down our financial system<br />
again, we must find more ways to stimulate investment<br />
and bank lending to get the economy moving. I also<br />
welcome the commitment to electricity market reform<br />
and to getting the Green investment bank and the green<br />
deal fully invested.
11 Debate on the Address<br />
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Debate on the Address<br />
12<br />
[Malcolm Bruce]<br />
I have long argued that Governments tend to produce<br />
too much legislation, often to placate the “something<br />
must be done” school or cultivate the tabloids, and we<br />
know where that has led us. I therefore strongly welcome<br />
the repeal of statute law that will get rid of more than<br />
200 unnecessary laws. However, I do not accept the<br />
argument that the economic crisis means we should set<br />
aside our commitment to political reform in the shape<br />
of the recall of MPs or the democratisation of our<br />
second Chamber, which has been deferred for nearly<br />
100 years.<br />
Twenty years ago, the Loyal Address was seconded<br />
by the current Secretary of State for International<br />
Development. I suppose that encouragingly demonstrates<br />
that seconding it can lead to greatness, but as the<br />
current Chair of the Select Committee on International<br />
Development, an honour I very much cherish, I am<br />
disappointed at the omission of legislation to enact the<br />
UK’s commitment to 0.7% of gross domestic product<br />
being provided for overseas development assistance.<br />
However, I recognise that legislation is not required for<br />
us to meet that commitment next year, and I very much<br />
welcome the fact that it was reinforced in the Queen’s<br />
Speech.<br />
As chair of the all-party group on deafness, may I<br />
pay tribute to Jack Ashley following his passing? He<br />
was a great support and encouragement to me, and he<br />
was always courteous, charming and humorous. He will<br />
be missed by many, but especially by the deaf community.<br />
It is 50 years ago this year that I joined the Liberal<br />
party and almost 29 years since I entered the House, so<br />
for all but the last two years I have been in opposition.<br />
The Leader of the Opposition is about to make his first<br />
reply to the debate on the Loyal Address. I know from<br />
experience that it is often easier to oppose, but the left in<br />
Europe is about to be tested on whether it has coherent<br />
and credible alternative policies. We need deficit reduction<br />
and growth. We are living through perhaps the most<br />
challenging times in living memory, but I came into<br />
politics to make a positive difference, to promote reform<br />
and to achieve a fairer, more liberal society. That remains<br />
my objective, and I commend the Loyal Address to the<br />
House.<br />
2.58 pm<br />
Edward Miliband (Doncaster North) (Lab): I am sure<br />
the whole House will wish to join me in paying tribute<br />
to those who have died in Afghanistan since we last<br />
met: Guardsman Michael Roland of 1st Battalion<br />
the Grenadier Guards, and Corporal Andrew Roberts<br />
and Private Ratu Silibaravi of 23 Pioneer Regiment, the<br />
Royal Logistics Corps. They all showed the utmost<br />
bravery, and our thoughts are with their family and<br />
friends. Let me also say from this House that we support<br />
our mission in Afghanistan and will also support<br />
the Prime Minister in the important efforts that he is<br />
making to secure a political settlement there for when<br />
our troops have left.<br />
As is customary, I would also like to pay tribute to<br />
those Members who have died since the last Queen’s<br />
Speech. First, Alan Keen was hugely popular with<br />
Members of all parties. A football scout turned MP, he<br />
had faith in the power of sport and politics to change<br />
lives. He is missed sorely by his wife, Ann, and his<br />
family and friends.<br />
I also pay tribute to David Cairns, who was able to<br />
enter the House only because the law was changed to<br />
allow a former Catholic priest to sit in <strong>Parliament</strong>. He<br />
was funny, warm and principled, and his death one year<br />
ago today was a tragedy particularly for his partner,<br />
Dermot, and his many, many friends.<br />
In her diamond jubilee year, I would also like to pay<br />
tribute to Her Majesty the Queen. We are reminded yet<br />
again today of her tireless service to the people of this<br />
country, and we are all looking forward to the national<br />
celebrations later this year.<br />
My understanding is that, by tradition, the Loyal<br />
Address is proposed by a rising star of the governing<br />
party, who is thrusting his way forward on to the rungs<br />
of the ministerial ladder. Hon. Members of all parties<br />
can therefore agree that there could be no better choice<br />
than the hon. Member for Stratford-on-Avon (Nadhim<br />
Zahawi). He spoke eloquently, movingly and with<br />
confidence, and I congratulate him on his remarks.<br />
I believe that the hon. Gentleman is the first Member<br />
of the House to have been born in Iraqi Kurdistan. He<br />
spoke about the people of Stratford-on-Avon and said<br />
that his background was not the issue. However, he said<br />
in an interview that I read:<br />
“What Britain gave my family was freedom and opportunity…to<br />
my family they weren’t just words, they changed our whole life.”<br />
He brings to the House a perspective that enriches us<br />
all.<br />
The hon. Gentleman also has the distinction of being<br />
the founder of the polling company YouGov. Let me<br />
say that I have spent much of the past 18 months<br />
thinking that he has a lot to answer for. No doubt, after<br />
recent weeks, the Prime Minister feels the same.<br />
I am used to seeing the hon. Gentleman as an enthusiastic<br />
Back Bencher—if I can put it like that—braying at me<br />
with particular vigour from a sedentary position during<br />
Prime Minister’s questions, so I am very happy to give<br />
him the endorsement he no doubt craves and recommend<br />
unequivocally that the Prime Minister give him ministerial<br />
preferment whenever the reshuffle comes. It would be<br />
his gain and mine.<br />
I also congratulate the seconder of the Loyal Address,<br />
the right hon. Member for Gordon (Malcolm Bruce).<br />
He brought his years of distinguished service and wisdom<br />
to the job. He brings great skill and experience to the<br />
House, including, as he said, as an assiduous and<br />
enthusiastic Chairman of the International Development<br />
Committee. In doing research on his background, I got<br />
extremely excited when someone in my office turned up<br />
a biography from the internet, which stated:<br />
“Malcolm Bruce also worked early in his career with Ozzy<br />
Osbourne and recently performed a Jimi Hendrix Birthday tribute.”<br />
Sadly for me and for him, it turned out to be a different<br />
Malcolm Bruce.<br />
However, the right hon. Gentleman continues to serve<br />
the Liberal Democrats in important ways, not least as<br />
their president in Scotland—I am sure he is very proud<br />
of that just now. No doubt he will play a crucial role in<br />
the inquest into that local election result in Edinburgh,<br />
where the Liberal Democrat candidate was beaten by a<br />
penguin. [Laughter.] Tory Members should not laugh<br />
too much because there are more pandas than Tory<br />
MPs in Scotland. I gently say to the right hon. Gentleman<br />
that he will have to do better than the explanation<br />
offered locally in Edinburgh that<br />
“it wasn’t a target ward”.
13 Debate on the Address<br />
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Debate on the Address<br />
14<br />
The right hon. Gentleman has had a long and<br />
distinguished parliamentary career, which, under normal<br />
circumstances, would end up with service in the House<br />
of Lords, if it was not for his leader’s determination to<br />
abolish it. However, I pay tribute to him for his excellent<br />
speech.<br />
On the Gracious Speech, first, let me say that we will<br />
work with the Government on the Green investment<br />
bank, the defamation Bill and flexible parental leave, all<br />
of which sound remarkably like Labour ideas—because<br />
they are Labour ideas.<br />
This is the speech that was supposed to be the<br />
Government’s answer to the clear message from the<br />
electorate last week, but on today’s evidence, they still<br />
do not get it. For a young person looking for work, this<br />
speech offers nothing; for a family whose living standards<br />
are being squeezed, this speech offers nothing; for the<br />
millions of people who think the Government are not<br />
on their side, this speech offers nothing. “No change, no<br />
hope” is the real message of this Queen’s Speech.<br />
The Prime Minister and the Chancellor appear to<br />
believe that people are turning against them because<br />
they have not understood the Government’s economic<br />
policy, but the truth is that people have turned against<br />
them because they have understood it only too well.<br />
What did the Government promise two years ago? The<br />
Chancellor could not have been clearer in his emergency<br />
Budget, when he said there would be<br />
“a steady and sustained economic recovery, with low inflation<br />
and falling unemployment…a new model of economic growth”.—<br />
[Official Report, 22 June 2010; Vol. 512, c. 168.]<br />
What has he delivered? He has delivered the worst<br />
unemployment in 16 years, 1 million young people out<br />
of work and the first double-dip recession for 37 years.<br />
They promised recovery, but they delivered recession—a<br />
recession made in Downing street. They have failed.<br />
As if a failing plan was not bad enough, the Government<br />
added insult to injury in the Budget, by making millions<br />
pay more so that millionaires could pay less. There is no<br />
change on that in the Queen’s Speech either. I say to the<br />
Prime Minister that he should listen to people such as<br />
Linda Pailing, the deputy chair of Harlow Conservative<br />
party, who said of her constituents:<br />
“They don’t like the fact that he didn’t keep the 50p tax…people<br />
feel here that he is not working for them, he is working for his<br />
friends”.<br />
She said these elections are<br />
“to do with what Cameron and his cronies are doing”.<br />
It comes to something when even lifelong Tories do<br />
not believe that this Prime Minister is on their side. Last<br />
Thursday, the British people delivered a damning verdict<br />
on the Prime Minister, the Chancellor and their economic<br />
strategy. The Prime Minister says he gets it, but if he<br />
really does, the first thing—[Interruption.] Government<br />
Members say, “What about London?”, which is interesting.<br />
What did the Mayor of London say? He said he had<br />
“survived” the wind,<br />
“the rain, the BBC, the Budget and the endorsement of David<br />
Cameron”—[Laughter.]<br />
I think they walked into that one.<br />
Tony Baldry (Banbury) (Con): The right hon. Gentleman<br />
talks about the 50p tax, but I am slightly confused as to<br />
why he did not vote against the change when he had the<br />
opportunity to do so.<br />
Edward Miliband: We had a whole amendment on<br />
that. I wish the hon. Gentleman, having listened to his<br />
constituents, had joined us in the Division Lobby to<br />
vote against the 50p tax change.<br />
The Prime Minister says he gets it. If he really did get<br />
it, the first thing he would have done in this Queen’s<br />
Speech was drop his tax cut for millionaires, but he has<br />
not done so. They are carrying on with a Finance Bill to<br />
put the 45p tax rate into law. Why are they doing that?<br />
Because they really believe that their problems are not<br />
those of policy, but those of public relations.<br />
What did the part-time Chancellor say at the weekend?<br />
He said:<br />
“I know the way the Budget was presented meant this message<br />
wasn’t heard.”<br />
The Deputy Prime Minister said:<br />
“An impression has formed that this was a budget for the rich”.<br />
It is insights like that which got him where he is today.<br />
The Government just do not get it. The problem is<br />
not the presentation of a tax cut for millionaires; it is<br />
the reality: £40,000 for every millionaire in Britain. It<br />
is not the presentation of cuts in tax credits; it is the<br />
reality. On the granny tax, the churches tax, the charities<br />
tax and the whole Budget omnishambles, it is not the<br />
presentation; it is the reality.<br />
Several hon. Members rose—<br />
Edward Miliband: I will give way later.<br />
Yes, the Government have a communication problem,<br />
as the Prime Minister said this morning: the problem is<br />
that the electorate have spoken, and they are not listening.<br />
But to solve his communication problem, the Prime<br />
Minister has a new way of explaining his policy. To the<br />
policeman or woman being fired, to the young people<br />
looking for work, to the small business going under,<br />
what was his message yesterday? He said:<br />
“You call it austerity, I call it efficiency.”<br />
Here it is from the Prime Minister, Cameron Direct, to<br />
hundreds of thousands of people being made redundant:<br />
“The bad news is you’ve lost your job. The good news is<br />
you’re a key part of our efficiency drive.” In two years,<br />
he has gone from David Cameron to David Brent. That<br />
is the reality.<br />
Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con): If<br />
the right hon. Gentleman is on the side of hard-working<br />
people, why does he oppose the benefit cap equivalent<br />
to a salary of £35,000 a year?<br />
Edward Miliband: This is very interesting. I will tell<br />
the hon. Gentleman why we wanted it done a different<br />
way—[HON.MEMBERS: “Ah!”] I will tell him. It is because<br />
the Secretary of State for Communities and Local<br />
Government said, in a letter to his colleagues, that the<br />
way in which the benefit cap was done would cost more<br />
money, put more people into temporary accommodation<br />
and fail to solve the problem. The Government did not<br />
listen to advice because they wanted to grab a political<br />
headline—typical of this Prime Minister.<br />
If the Government did not have the courage to reverse<br />
their Budget, they should have put an economy that<br />
works for working people at the centre of this Queen’s
15 Debate on the Address<br />
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Debate on the Address<br />
16<br />
[Edward Miliband]<br />
Speech, but they have not. Utility bills, water bills and<br />
the cost of getting to work are worrying families up and<br />
down the country—<br />
Several hon. Members rose—<br />
Edward Miliband: Opposition Members should calm<br />
down: I will give way later.<br />
What have the Government got to say about those<br />
issues? Absolutely nothing. The energy Bill has nothing<br />
to help people struggling to make ends meet. No legislation<br />
this year on water or on train fares—nothing to relieve<br />
the squeeze on ordinary families.<br />
Charlie Elphicke (Dover) (Con): I, too, am concerned<br />
about utility bills—we are all concerned about utility<br />
bills—but let me remind the right hon. Gentleman that<br />
when he was Secretary of State for Energy and Climate<br />
Change he proposed the renewable heating initiative<br />
that would have put £193 on people’s bills. Why was<br />
that not in his alternative Queen’s Speech?<br />
Edward Miliband: I will tell the hon. Gentleman what<br />
we did in government: we introduced the winter fuel<br />
allowance and took action on pre-payment meters—far<br />
more than this Government have ever done.<br />
Let us talk about those at the top of society, executive<br />
pay and multi-million pound bonuses—[Interruption.]<br />
It is very interesting that Conservative Members are<br />
groaning about that, because a few months ago, the<br />
Prime Minister said that he was outraged about crony<br />
capitalism. He told us that he was grossly offended by it<br />
and that it was not what he believed in. Such was his<br />
strength of feeling that in the entire Queen’s Speech, the<br />
issue did not merit a single mention.<br />
I have a suggestion for the Prime Minister. He should<br />
accept the recommendation of the High Pay Commission<br />
to put an ordinary worker on the remuneration committee<br />
of every company in Britain. I say, “If you can’t look<br />
one of your employees in the eye to justify that you’re<br />
worth it, then you shouldn’t be getting the salary.” Come<br />
to think of it, why not start with the Government? I<br />
have the ideal candidate to be the employee on the board<br />
judging the Cabinet. She stands ready to serve—the hon.<br />
Member for Mid Bedfordshire (Nadine Dorries). Let us<br />
remind ourselves why she is so well qualified. She said:<br />
“They are two arrogant posh boys who show no remorse, no<br />
contrition, and no passion to understand the lives of others.”<br />
She is only saying what so many people are thinking: it<br />
is high time the shareholder spring came to the Conservative<br />
party.<br />
On the economy, on living standards, and on executive<br />
pay—<br />
Louise Mensch (Corby) (Con): The right hon. Gentleman<br />
is coming on to the economy, so, since the shadow<br />
Chancellor cannot enlighten us, will he tell the House<br />
how he is coming along with costing his economic<br />
programme?<br />
Edward Miliband: I am glad that the hon. Lady<br />
intervened, because this is what she said about the<br />
election results:<br />
“As Conservatives, we have to learn lessons…In the spirit of<br />
non-spin, my benchmark for Labour was 700 seats”.<br />
I think we slightly outperformed her expectations.<br />
Several hon. Members rose—<br />
Edward Miliband: I have been generous in giving way.<br />
On all the major issues, the Government have shown<br />
that they are out of touch. If we need any further proof,<br />
let us consider what they have done on crime—taking<br />
police off the streets with 20% cuts and stripping back<br />
powers on antisocial behaviour.<br />
Let me turn to one of the biggest omissions in the<br />
Queen’s Speech. There is no bigger challenge facing<br />
families up and down the country than care for elderly<br />
relatives, and there was no clearer promise from the<br />
Government than that they would legislate on it.<br />
[Interruption.] I know Government Members do not<br />
want to talk about what is happening in the Government,<br />
but in their foreword to the health White Paper, the<br />
Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister said that<br />
there would be<br />
“legislation in the second session of this parliament to establish a<br />
sustainable legal and financial framework for adult social care”.<br />
Instead, we have nothing. [Interruption.] The Prime<br />
Minister says there is a draft Bill, but he said he would<br />
legislate in this Session, and he has failed to do so. They<br />
have totally failed to do so. There was a clear promise.<br />
[Interruption.] The Prime Minister should calm down.<br />
They promised a Bill on social care, but they chose not<br />
to include one.<br />
There is room in the Queen’s Speech for House of<br />
Lords reform, however. I am a supporter of House of<br />
Lords reform and a referendum, but I thought that a<br />
Queen’s Speech was supposed to define a Government’s<br />
priorities. So there is a mystery that the Prime Minister<br />
needs to explain in his reply. Over the weekend, the<br />
Chancellor said that House of Lords reform<br />
“is certainly not my priority, it is not the priority of the Government.”<br />
So it is not the Conservative party’s priority. But the<br />
mystery deepens, because the Deputy Prime Minister<br />
said yesterday that there were many, many other things<br />
he cared far more about. So apparently it is not his<br />
priority either. [Interruption.] Government Members<br />
ask if it is our priority. No, it is not. I am bound to ask,<br />
though: if it is not a priority, how on earth did it end up<br />
in the Queen’s Speech? I thought the Queen’s Speech<br />
was supposed to define the priorities for the Government’s<br />
legislative programme. Why is it in there? How did it get<br />
into the speech?<br />
What about the things that did not make it into the<br />
Queen’s Speech? How about the manifesto promise—the<br />
Prime Minister’s detoxification promise—to enshrine<br />
in law spending 0.7% of national income on aid.<br />
[Interruption.] They are not putting it in law. [Interruption.]<br />
The Prime Minister keeps saying he is doing it, when all<br />
he is doing is publishing draft Bills. And what has<br />
happened to something that used to be a big priority for<br />
the Prime Minister? He said in 2010 that lobbying was<br />
“the next big scandal waiting to happen.”<br />
He was right. It did happen—to him: Adam Werritty,<br />
whose lobbying caused the downfall of the Defence<br />
Secretary; Peter Cruddas, Tory party treasurer, offering
17 Debate on the Address<br />
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Debate on the Address<br />
18<br />
Downing street dinners to donors; and Fred Michel and<br />
the 163 pages of e-mails. Three lobbying scandals, but<br />
no Bill!<br />
Last week, the Prime Minister applied to have prior<br />
access to the evidence of Leveson as a core participant.<br />
I have to say that he is one of the few people left who<br />
did not already think he was a core participant in the<br />
whole News Corporation scandal: he hired the editor,<br />
he sent the texts, he even rode the horse, and his Culture<br />
Secretary backed the bid. It does not get much more<br />
core than that. This is not just a Westminster story because<br />
it shows whose side the Prime Minister is on. What did<br />
he say to Rebekah Brooks after she was forced to resign<br />
following revelations that Milly Dowler’s phone had<br />
been hacked? We learn from the newspapers that he said:<br />
“Sorry I couldn’t have been as loyal to you as you have been to<br />
me.”<br />
That goes to the very heart of the problem with this<br />
Government and this Prime Minister: they stand up for<br />
the wrong people. Two years ago in the rose garden they<br />
promised change. Yesterday in the tractor factory all<br />
they could offer was more of the same. The Prime<br />
Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister: two leaders<br />
out of touch with the country, out of touch even with<br />
their own parties, locked together not on principle or<br />
policy but in determination to hang on to office for<br />
another three years. So halfway through this Government<br />
and particularly after last Thursday, is it not time that<br />
the Government stopped governing for the few and<br />
started listening to the many?<br />
3.19 pm<br />
The Prime Minister (Mr David Cameron): Let me begin,<br />
as the right hon. Member for Doncaster North (Edward<br />
Miliband) did, by paying tribute to those servicemen<br />
who have tragically lost their lives in Afghanistan:<br />
Guardsman Michael Roland of 1st Battalion the Grenadier<br />
Guards, and Corporal Andrew Roberts and Private<br />
Ratu Silibaravi of 23 Pioneer Regiment, the Royal<br />
Logistic Corps. They acted heroically and died serving<br />
their country, and we must always honour their memory.<br />
We have just finished the longest Session of <strong>Parliament</strong><br />
for more than 100 years, and I am proud to say that<br />
in that Session we brought down the deficit, capped<br />
welfare, scrapped ID cards, introduced free schools,<br />
accelerated academies, brought in the pupil premium,<br />
binned the jobs tax, raised the personal allowance and<br />
froze the council tax. That was just the start of clearing<br />
up the mess left by the Labour party and demonstrating<br />
that this will be a Government on the side of people<br />
who work hard and do the right thing.<br />
Let me say something that I hope will unite hon.<br />
Members on both sides of the House. The last Session<br />
of <strong>Parliament</strong> also made an impact not just at home but<br />
around the world. We fed more than 2.5 million people<br />
facing famine and starvation, we supported over 5.5 million<br />
children to go to school in the poorest countries of our<br />
world and we immunised a child against diseases every<br />
2.5 seconds of the last parliamentary Session. And, yes,<br />
it was in the last Session that <strong>Parliament</strong> stood up to<br />
Colonel Gaddafi, backed the action that stopped him<br />
slaughtering his own people and showed once again<br />
that when it comes to the cause of democracy, all sides<br />
of this <strong>Parliament</strong> can unite in defence of freedom.<br />
As the Leader of the Opposition said, during the last<br />
parliamentary Session we also lost two much-respected<br />
and hard-working Members of the House. David Cairns<br />
gave up his first vocation as a Catholic priest for his<br />
second, which was to serve his constituents and sit on<br />
these Benches. He was an exceptionally kind man whose<br />
quick wit enlivened our debates, and I know that he is<br />
widely missed. Alan Keen served in this House for<br />
almost two decades and made many firm friendships on<br />
all sides of the House. He was passionate about the way<br />
in which sport can change young people’s lives, and his<br />
leadership of the all-party parliamentary football group<br />
is remembered with much affection. I am sure that he<br />
will be looking down at the incredible months of sport<br />
that lie ahead over the next few months. Both Members<br />
represented the very best of this House.<br />
I also think that the Leader of the Opposition was<br />
right to pay tribute in his remarks to Her Majesty the<br />
Queen. It is one of the greatest privileges of this job to<br />
see Her Majesty every week to discuss what has happened<br />
here and across the world. In terms of service and<br />
dedication to our nation, she quite simply has no equal.<br />
Let me turn now to the proposer of the Gracious<br />
Speech. When the Chief Whip phoned me and told me<br />
his suggestion for the role, it came as a bit of a shock. It<br />
was a slightly bad line, and I thought that he had said,<br />
“I’ve asked Nadine to do it.” Although I am always<br />
ready to take it on the chin, there was a slight sense of<br />
relief when he explained that he was talking about my<br />
hon. Friend the Member for Stratford-on-Avon (Nadhim<br />
Zahawi) rather than my hon. and close Friend the<br />
Member for Mid Bedfordshire (Nadine Dorries).<br />
In the past, there has been a tradition that the proposer<br />
should be a shy and retiring type—the type who keeps<br />
their head down, gets on with the job and loathes the<br />
limelight. I am pleased to say that, on this occasion,<br />
that tradition has been well and truly broken. As my<br />
hon. Friend the Member for Stratford-on-Avon told us,<br />
he has a remarkable story. In the 1970s, his family fled<br />
Iraq and the tyranny of Saddam Hussein, arriving at<br />
Heathrow with literally only the bags they carried and<br />
the clothes on their backs. But they picked themselves<br />
up and made an incredible future in this country. My<br />
hon. Friend put himself through university, built a<br />
business from scratch and in just one generation has<br />
made it here to <strong>Parliament</strong>. There is such a thing as the<br />
British dream, and he embodies it.<br />
My hon. Friend’s name has, at times, caused confusion.<br />
As a new Member of <strong>Parliament</strong>, he was invited to a<br />
dinner in honour of a delegation from Iraq, and was<br />
seated next to my predecessor but one in Witney, the<br />
former Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd. During the<br />
main course, Lord Hurd turned to him and asked, “So,<br />
Mr Zahawi, what do you do?” My hon. Friend replied,<br />
“I’m a Member of <strong>Parliament</strong>,” to which Lord Hurd<br />
inquired, “And which constituency in Iraq do you<br />
represent?” Not surprisingly, my hon. Friend replied,<br />
“Stratford-on-Avon.”His speech was in the finest traditions<br />
of the House—witty, wise, entertaining and erudite.<br />
I praise him for what he said.<br />
Let me turn to the seconder of the Gracious Speech.<br />
Again, when I was told the name, I was not too sure.<br />
The first things I heard were “Scottish MP” and<br />
“Gordon”—I see some nervous looks on the Opposition<br />
Front Bench, too. I refer to one of the House’s most<br />
distinguished Members, the right hon. Member for<br />
Gordon (Malcolm Bruce) who, as a Liberal Democrat,<br />
takes very seriously the motto inspired by his namesake<br />
Robert the Bruce: “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try<br />
and try again”—although as he told us in his case he
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[The Prime Minister]<br />
has tried and succeeded in no fewer than seven general<br />
elections. He lives in a charming constituency dotted<br />
with the finest whisky distilleries. I want to be absolutely<br />
clear that when he was shadow Treasury spokesman<br />
and frequently advocated extraordinary cuts in whisky<br />
duty at each and every Budget, he was speaking wholly<br />
in the national interest.<br />
From my researches, I can tell the Whips something<br />
else, which I hope they realise: my right hon. Friend<br />
does not always respond well when people do him a<br />
favour. He asked—and the request was granted—the right<br />
hon. Member for Ross, Skye and Lochaber (Mr Kennedy)<br />
to be best man at his wedding in 1998, and a year later<br />
he stood against him for leadership of the Liberal<br />
Democrat party. As the Leader of the Opposition can<br />
testify, things can get worse—you could, of course, be<br />
brothers. My right hon. Friend has been forthright in<br />
his views: he has been a powerful voice for the disabled<br />
and a passionate advocate of foreign aid. I hear absolutely<br />
what he says about a Bill for 0.7% of GDP on aid, but<br />
what I would say is that what matters most of all is that<br />
we reach the target in terms of the money spent.<br />
Both speeches were in the very best traditions of this<br />
House, and I pay tribute to the people who gave them.<br />
The Gracious Speech sets out our foreign policy<br />
priorities, and the first of these is, of course, Afghanistan.<br />
Let me be clear: our troops will no longer be in a<br />
combat role beyond the end of 2014. That is our deadline<br />
and I will not waver from it.<br />
Mr Denis MacShane (Rotherham) (Lab): The Prime<br />
Minister generously rolled out the red carpet for Mr Jaroslaw<br />
Kaczynski, the candidate of his sister party in Poland<br />
who was badly defeated. In February, the Prime Minister<br />
endorsed Mr Sarkozy, who was defeated on Sunday.<br />
Will the Prime Minister, from this Dispatch Box, endorse<br />
Governor Mitt Romney—and thus ensure that the curse<br />
of Cameron gets President Obama re-elected?<br />
The Prime Minister: If the right hon. Gentleman is<br />
not careful, I might endorse him. When the Conservatives<br />
take Rotherham, modernisation will be complete.<br />
Let me tell the House that by the middle of next year<br />
British forces will have shifted their focus from combat<br />
to support in all three of the districts of Helmand for<br />
which we are responsible: Lashkar Gah, Nad Ali and<br />
Nahri Sarraj. So the Afghans will have lead responsibility<br />
for security a full year before our troops leave their<br />
combat role. When we came to that country, there was<br />
no one to hand over to—no proper army, no proper<br />
police force. Today we have built up the Afghan national<br />
security forces and we are on track and on target for<br />
them to take over full security responsibility.<br />
From the outset, our approach has been hard-headed<br />
and strategic, overseen in detail by the new National<br />
Security Council I established on my first day in office.<br />
The role of that council is to ask which areas of the<br />
world pose the greatest threat to Britain. Just last week,<br />
we were advised that the most immediate international<br />
terrorist threat to our country now comes not from<br />
Afghanistan, but from Yemen—and that is clearly<br />
confirmed by the news from the US yesterday.<br />
Andrew Selous: Does the Prime Minister agree that,<br />
given the details of the Yemen plane bomb plot, we<br />
need to expand the range of measures available to us to<br />
combat terrorism, while also protecting our historic<br />
freedoms?<br />
The Prime Minister: I do agree with my hon. Friend<br />
about that. Perhaps we will come on to discuss what is<br />
difficultandcontentiouslegislationondatacommunications;<br />
I know this will be debated and there will be draft<br />
clauses. The point I make to the House is that what we<br />
are trying to do here is not to look at the content of<br />
people’s telephone calls, but to update the necessary<br />
measures for finding out who called whom and when,<br />
because it is that information that has solved almost<br />
every serious crime and certainly almost every serious<br />
terrorist offence.<br />
I say to people, let us of course look at the detail, let<br />
us of course consult, but I do not want to be the Prime<br />
Minister standing at this Dispatch Box saying “I could<br />
have done more to prevent terrorist acts, but we did not<br />
have the courage to take difficult steps”. Imagine, for a<br />
minute, what would have happened if, when mobile<br />
phones came along, the House had simply said “No, we<br />
will stick to data communications on fixed-line phones;<br />
we will not touch mobile phones”. If we had done that,<br />
there would be many, many unsolved cases in comparison<br />
with what we have experienced.<br />
Keith Vaz (Leicester East) (Lab): Will the Prime Minister<br />
give way?<br />
The Prime Minister: Iamhappytogivewaytomy<br />
right hon. Friend. [Interruption.]<br />
Keith Vaz: I am most grateful to the Prime Minister<br />
for giving way, and I am glad that he has kept the focus<br />
on Yemen. In the context of what has happened this<br />
week, will he confirm that both London and Washington<br />
will be supporting the new Government of Yemen? The<br />
front line against terrorism is not our country, but<br />
Sana’a and Aden, and without that practical support<br />
we cannot defeat al-Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula.<br />
The Prime Minister: The right hon. Gentleman is<br />
entirely right, and we are supporting the new Government<br />
in Yemen. We are helping them with their transition, we<br />
are helping to build up the Yemeni security forces, and<br />
we are supporting the development of more effective<br />
state institutions. That is absolutely vital work. We will<br />
also remain focused on the challenges in Iran and Syria.<br />
These are the critical months during which the world<br />
must deal with the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran.<br />
While we take nothing off the table, we have specifically<br />
said to Israel, both publicly and privately, that the<br />
option of further pressure and further sanctions on the<br />
regime is the right way forward. We have led the imposition<br />
of an EU oil embargo, which many believed would not<br />
be possible, and we are ready to negotiate in good faith.<br />
I know that everyone in the House is appalled by the<br />
violence that is taking place in Syria and frustrated that<br />
we cannot do more to stop it, but I believe that the Annan<br />
plan of getting more observers in to stop the killing is<br />
the right answer. Today there are just 60 observers in a<br />
country more than 70,000 square miles in size. We are
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22<br />
working with our allies, including the Turks and the<br />
Arab League, to get hundreds more into that country to<br />
stop the bloodshed.<br />
Caroline Lucas (Brighton, Pavilion) (Green): The Prime<br />
Minister talks of threats to our national security. In that<br />
context, can he explain why, given the urgency of the<br />
climate crisis that faces us, the Queen’s Speech contains<br />
nothing to deal with it except provision for a Green<br />
investment bank that will still not be able to borrow,<br />
and a Bill that is likely to lock us into high-cost,<br />
high-carbon gas production? Is it because he does not<br />
want to show climate leadership, or because he has been<br />
overruled by his Chancellor?<br />
The Prime Minister: I am a bit disappointed by what<br />
the hon. Lady has said, because the Green investment<br />
bank has £3 billion to spend on green investments. This<br />
is the sort of proposal that has been included in Labour<br />
manifestos, Conservative manifestos and Liberal Democrat<br />
manifestos for years. Now we are delivering it on the<br />
ground, and that will make a difference.<br />
We should always, in this country, stand on the side<br />
of freedom, and we should remember that it is 30 years<br />
since our taskforce landed on the Falkland islands to<br />
defend the islanders’ right to remain British. I am sure<br />
that the House will join me in paying tribute to the<br />
255 British servicemen who gave their lives in the defence<br />
of freedom. Three decades have not dimmed our memories<br />
of their bravery, nor have they dimmed this country’s<br />
resolve. Make no mistake: for as long as the people of<br />
the Falkland islands wish to remain British, that is<br />
exactly how it will be.<br />
Let me say exactly what this Queen’s Speech is about.<br />
It is about a Government making the tough, long-term<br />
decisions to restore our country to strength—dealing<br />
with the deficit, rebalancing the economy, and building<br />
a society that rewards people who work hard and do the<br />
right thing.<br />
Toby Perkins (Chesterfield) (Lab): The Prime Minister<br />
will be aware that the Minister for Immigration said last<br />
week, in the wake of the election results, that the<br />
Government must start to demonstrate more competence.<br />
Was the Prime Minister disappointed to discover yesterday<br />
that the Deputy Prime Minister does not understand<br />
the difference between the debt and the deficit?<br />
The Prime Minister: What the Deputy Prime Minister<br />
said yesterday, and what I said yesterday, is that we<br />
inherited a deficit that was bigger than the deficits of<br />
Greece, Spain or Portugal. What we have had to do is<br />
deal with that deficit, deal with the debt, and get our<br />
country moving again. We are recovering from the mess<br />
that the hon. Gentleman’s party left.<br />
We are reforming welfare so that it pays to have a job,<br />
but we want to do more to reward responsibility. We are<br />
lifting 2 million people out of tax, but we want to go<br />
further to help Britain’s strivers. We have introduced<br />
free schools and created more than 1,000 academies,<br />
but we want to do more to spread opportunity. That is<br />
what this Queen’s Speech is about.<br />
Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington) (LD): I am<br />
sure that the Prime Minister listened as carefully as I<br />
did to the speech of the Leader of the Opposition. Did<br />
he detect anything resembling a solution to the problems<br />
that the country faces?<br />
The Prime Minister: I listened very carefully. There<br />
was almost nothing in terms of a costed, credible alternative.<br />
The Opposition have now had two years to work out<br />
what their alternative is, and we heard absolutely nothing<br />
apart from a string of press releases put together, which<br />
we have all read over the last few weeks.<br />
Mr Dave Watts (St Helens North) (Lab): Can the<br />
Prime Minister explain to the nation why he is pursuing<br />
economic policies that have led to a double-dip recession<br />
and have frozen every inch of growth out of the economy?<br />
The Prime Minister: As I have said, we have been<br />
dealing with an economy that had the biggest boom<br />
and bust in our banks, the biggest deficit in Europe and<br />
the longest and deepest recession in anyone’s memory.<br />
What we have to do is get our economy to rebalance,<br />
and I will explain exactly how the Queen’s Speech is<br />
going to help, because it is a Queen’s Speech for the<br />
doers, the strivers and those who work hard and play by<br />
the rules.<br />
On cutting the Budget deficit, all across Europe the<br />
countries being hit are the ones that do not have proper<br />
plans in place. In the last Session, we cut the nation’s<br />
overdraft—the gap between what we receive in tax and<br />
what we spend—by £30 billion. With this Queen’s Speech<br />
we continue that work with, for instance, the vital<br />
public service pensions Bill. Not only does that offer<br />
guaranteed pensions that are still more generous than<br />
those in the private sector, but it saves tens of billions of<br />
pounds over the coming decades. Through this Queen’s<br />
Speech we are also making sure the UK is taken out of<br />
the eurozone bail-out fund. We are not in the euro, we<br />
are not joining the euro, so we should not be bailing out<br />
the euro.<br />
The reason why we are doing these things on the<br />
deficit is simple: we want to keep interest rates down for<br />
hard-working families up and down the country. Let us<br />
be clear: higher interest rates would mean higher mortgages,<br />
lower employment and more of people’s money, which<br />
they have worked so hard to get, wasted by being spent<br />
on interest on our national debt. Two years ago, Britain<br />
had exactly the same interest rates as Spain; today, its<br />
interest rates were touching 6% and ours were below<br />
2%. That is because we have a credible plan to get the<br />
country out of the mess it was left in by the last<br />
Government.<br />
Jesse Norman (Hereford and South Herefordshire)<br />
(Con): I am very appreciative of the Prime Minister’s<br />
words today. On the issue of Lords reform, the Government<br />
have made long and strenuous efforts, including through<br />
a draft Bill, a White Paper and a Joint Committee. Does<br />
the Prime Minister share my view that since a consensus<br />
has not proved to be available, Lords reform cannot be<br />
a priority now, and does he also share my view that any<br />
measures presented to this House should be put to the<br />
people in a referendum?<br />
The Prime Minister: First, let me make this point,<br />
answering also the Leader of the Opposition: reforming<br />
the House of Lords is not the most important priority
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24<br />
[The Prime Minister]<br />
for the Government—that is dealing with the deficit,<br />
getting our economy moving, increasing the level of<br />
responsibility in our society and getting on the side of<br />
hard-working people. Those are the things that matter<br />
the most, but I think it is perfectly possible for <strong>Parliament</strong><br />
to do more than two things at the same time. At the last<br />
election, all political parties put forward in their manifestos<br />
proposals for a partly, or mainly, elected House of<br />
Lords, but let me say this: this is only going to proceed if<br />
the political parties will agree to work together and take<br />
a responsible attitude towards this reform. I think it is<br />
possible, and it would be a good reform if we could<br />
achieve it; it would be better if we had a smaller House<br />
of Lords and if it had an elected element. So I ask<br />
people to work together across party lines to try to<br />
make that happen.<br />
Sir Stuart Bell (Middlesbrough) (Lab): The Prime<br />
Minister referred to the deficit in Europe, and he will<br />
recall that he declined to sign the fiscal compact entered<br />
into by 25 of the 27 EU member states. I presume he<br />
will go to the conference on 23 May with his fellow<br />
leaders in Europe, who will begin working on a growth<br />
compact. Will he be prepared to sign that?<br />
The Prime Minister: I want to work with everyone in<br />
Europe to try to deliver better policies for growth. That<br />
is why we have been saying, “Let’s complete the single<br />
market in energy; let’s finish the single market in services;<br />
let’s complete the single market in digital.” Those are<br />
the things we are putting on the table. Britain is not in<br />
the euro, so we are not bound by the terms of the fiscal<br />
pact; I have made that very clear.<br />
Several hon. Members rose—<br />
The Prime Minister: I will give way in a moment, but<br />
I want to make one point about the Leader of the<br />
Opposition’s response. They have had two years to work<br />
out what their answer is. What is their answer to too<br />
much borrowing, too much spending and too much<br />
debt? Their answer is more borrowing, more spending<br />
and more debt. Because the right hon. Gentleman did<br />
not mention his alternative Queen’s Speech, let me go<br />
straight to its centrepiece. The centrepiece of the alternative<br />
Queen’s Speech is, I believe, a bonus tax to pay for a<br />
jobs fund. Never mind that the last Chancellor in the<br />
Labour Government said that a bonus tax would not<br />
work; let us look at the detail. The deputy leader of the<br />
Labour party was asked in a big set-piece interview how<br />
much money that would raise, and this was her response:<br />
“I haven’t got quite the, er, er, I know that we have worked out<br />
that figure. I’ll have to get back to you on that.”<br />
She went on to say:<br />
“I haven’t got that actual figure to hand but I can absolutely<br />
assure you that Ed Balls has”.<br />
Ah—[Interruption.] The plot thickens. The shadow<br />
Chancellor was interviewed this weekend—I know, I<br />
need to get out more—and he said that he was sorry,<br />
but<br />
“I have not costed the whole programme”.<br />
So there we have it. We have a deputy leader who<br />
does not have a clue and a shadow Chancellor who does<br />
not have the figures, and I can tell the House why: they<br />
have spent their bonus tax 10 times over. They have<br />
used it to reverse the VAT increase, to reverse the child<br />
benefit change, to reverse the tax credits change, to<br />
boost the regional growth fund, to boost capital spending<br />
and even to turn empty shops into community centres.<br />
They have no idea whatsoever about how to deal with<br />
this deficit. They give in to every single interest group—it<br />
is the bank tax that likes to say yes from the Front<br />
Benchers who cannot say no.<br />
Mr Jack Straw (Blackburn) (Lab): May I take the<br />
Prime Minister back to what he said about reform of<br />
the House of Lords? As someone who spent four years<br />
working very co-operatively with his colleagues and the<br />
Liberal Democrats to find a solution, I say to him that<br />
it is palpable that each party is divided on the issue and<br />
work between the Front Benchers will not resolve it. It<br />
is right in principle that the British people should<br />
decide, and that would also avoid a train wreck in the<br />
business of this House. Will the Prime Minister look<br />
carefully and positively at the idea of having a pre-legislative<br />
referendum on reform of the Lords?<br />
The Prime Minister: I very much respect the work—often<br />
painstaking, careful and difficult—that the right hon.<br />
Gentleman did in a range of different roles to try to<br />
move House of Lords reform on. He is absolutely right<br />
that all parties are divided on this matter—we should<br />
be frank about that—so we will only achieve reform if<br />
people work together. I do not believe that a pre-legislative<br />
referendum is a good move. On the whole, that is a<br />
weapon that has been used by slightly unsavoury regimes<br />
over the years. On the question of a referendum more<br />
generally, I will merely say that every political party<br />
went into the election with a pledge to reform the<br />
House of Lords so I do not personally see a referendum<br />
as having much to recommend it. The House of Commons<br />
can discuss this matter and the House of Commons<br />
must decide. If we are going to achieve reform, we will<br />
have to work together across the parties to try to deliver<br />
what I think will be progress for our constitution—a<br />
reformed and smaller House of Lords.<br />
Mr Tom Clarke (Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)<br />
(Lab): The Prime Minister might be aware that I was<br />
one of those who, since last July, served on the Joint<br />
Committee that considered the future of the House<br />
of Lords. We were not given any indication of the<br />
Government’s thinking on funding or costing. Can he<br />
tell us today what costing has taken place on the proposal<br />
in the Queen’s Speech and will he share that with the<br />
House?<br />
The Prime Minister: Certainly, the cost of a stand-alone<br />
referendum would be significant and it is worth taking<br />
that into account.<br />
Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op): Will<br />
the Prime Minister take it from me, after a lot of<br />
canvassing last week, that many people in this country<br />
are astounded that in the Queen’s Speech there is nothing<br />
about youth unemployment or providing jobs, no higher<br />
education Bill and nothing to address the large number<br />
of unemployed graduates we now have in this country?<br />
The Prime Minister: The youth contract, which is<br />
going to do enormous amounts on youth unemployment,<br />
started last month. We achieved 450,000 apprenticeships
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26<br />
last year. The Work programme is well under way now,<br />
helping half a million people, and it is the biggest<br />
back-to-work programme in this country since the 1930s.<br />
Let me explain that there are a number of important<br />
measures in this Queen’s Speech to promote growth and<br />
jobs. As well as the Work programme and the youth<br />
contract, we have the national loan guarantee scheme,<br />
with £20 billion to get cheaper loans flowing to small<br />
businesses. The most important work of the Government<br />
is implementing all those schemes and programmes, but<br />
we must do more to rebalance our economy. It is clear<br />
what went wrong. The public sector grew too large, our<br />
economy became unbalanced between north and south<br />
and we ended up too dependent on financial services.<br />
So we know what we need to do as a country. We must<br />
revive the private sector, spread growth and jobs across<br />
the country and make sure that financial services truly<br />
serve the economy—not the other way around.<br />
To expand the private sector we need to cut the<br />
burdens on business and make it easier for employers to<br />
take people on. That is in our enterprise Bill. To make<br />
the most of growth in the energy sector, including gas,<br />
nuclear and renewables, we need to reform the energy<br />
market, and that is what the energy Bill will do. To<br />
make the most of green investment, we need to legislate<br />
properly for the Green investment bank, with £3 billion<br />
of money in its coffers. That will be done through the<br />
measures announced in the Queen’s Speech as well.<br />
Another key issue is the need to clean up the financial<br />
system, and I have to say to the shadow Chancellor,<br />
who sat and did nothing while the financial sector<br />
melted down, that he ought to focus on this part of the<br />
Queen’s Speech. As the Governor of the Bank of England<br />
said last week, there are three vital steps to take, and we<br />
will be taking all of them: proper regulation at last by<br />
the Bank of England, the banks being made to hold<br />
enough capital to keep them safe, and a regime that<br />
means that if they do fail they can fail without the<br />
taxpayer picking up the bill. Those are all things that<br />
the shadow Chancellor never did when he was the City<br />
Minister.<br />
Meg Hillier (Hackney South and Shoreditch) (Lab/<br />
Co-op): The right hon. Gentleman talks about supporting<br />
small and medium-sized businesses, but the loan guarantee<br />
scheme is a very small drop in the ocean, because the<br />
banks simply will not lend to small businesses in my<br />
constituency. If they will not lend at the current percentages,<br />
they will not lend at lower percentages. That is the<br />
problem. When will he wake up to the fact that Operation<br />
Merlin did not wave a magic wand and did not work?<br />
The Prime Minister: I make two points to the hon.<br />
Lady. First, she may not believe that the national loan<br />
guarantee scheme is big enough, but it is £20 billion of<br />
lending. That is far bigger than anything contemplated<br />
by the previous Government. Secondly, the Merlin<br />
agreement did secure additional lending to big and<br />
small businesses; lending went up. As ever, the shadow<br />
Chancellor is wrong.<br />
As well as introducing vital measures such as banking<br />
reform and the Financial Services Bill, the Government’s<br />
mission is to help families who work hard and do the<br />
right thing. We have cut fuel duty and frozen council tax<br />
and we are lifting 2 million people out of tax. In the<br />
coming months people will see more. There will be a<br />
benefit cap so that people cannot get more on benefits<br />
than the average family earns; there will be higher tax<br />
thresholds so that hard-working families keep more of<br />
their money; and our pensions Bill, announced in the<br />
Queen’s Speech, is set to deliver a £140 basic state<br />
pension that will massively reduce means-testing and<br />
reward those who work hard and save hard all their<br />
lives.<br />
Brandon Lewis (Great Yarmouth) (Con): Was the<br />
Prime Minister as disappointed as I was that the Leader<br />
of the Opposition again refused to support the benefits<br />
cap, which is already at a level above the average wage<br />
of people in Great Yarmouth who work hard? Will<br />
my right hon. Friend confirm that the Government will<br />
continue to make sure that it will always pay to work?<br />
The Prime Minister: I have to say that this was about<br />
the only interesting point in the Leader of the Opposition’s<br />
speech. When he is asked very clearly whether he supports<br />
a benefit cap and whether he thinks it is right that<br />
people can get more than £26,000 a year on benefits, his<br />
answer is that it is just fine—carry on claiming. That is<br />
Labour’s message to the hard-working people of this<br />
country.<br />
As the Leader of the Opposition covered so little of<br />
the detail, for the benefit of the House I want to run<br />
through some of the Bills in the Queen’s Speech and the<br />
steps we are taking. One thing we are doing is helping<br />
the most vulnerable of all in our society—children who<br />
do not have a family, who are stuck in the care system<br />
and who, in too many cases, have been left there for too<br />
long. That is why we are legislating on adoption, as set<br />
out in this Gracious Speech. We are going to publish<br />
detailed information on how councils perform, setting<br />
clear time limits for cases to get through the courts and<br />
making it illegal to turn down an adoptive family on the<br />
basis of race. We say it is time to end the patronising,<br />
politically correct prejudice that says that black parents<br />
cannot bring up white children and that white parents<br />
cannot bring up black children. It is time to make the<br />
system colour blind.<br />
Mr Wayne David (Caerphilly) (Lab): Given the recent<br />
scandals that have engulfed the Government, why is a<br />
lobbying Bill not included in the Queen’s Speech?<br />
The Prime Minister: The hon. Gentleman’s party had<br />
13 years to produce a register of lobbyists. We have now<br />
published our proposals for a register of lobbyists and<br />
we will legislate for a register of lobbyists. [Interruption.]<br />
I hate to add to hon. Members’ misery, but we have a<br />
Queen’s Speech for the 2012-13 Session that is packed<br />
with great Bills and we will have one for the 2013-14<br />
Session that is packed with great Bills. We will also have<br />
one for the 2014-15 Session that is packed with great<br />
Bills, and when we have beaten the rabble in opposition<br />
at the next election, we will have another one all over<br />
again.<br />
Barbara Keeley (Worsley and Eccles South) (Lab):<br />
Another group of vulnerable people are the 800,000 who<br />
struggle without care and the millions of over-burdened<br />
carers. They will be disappointed if not angry that there<br />
is no Bill in this Session, as promised, to legislate for a
27 Debate on the Address<br />
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28<br />
[Barbara Keeley]<br />
new financial framework, so they will have to struggle<br />
on. What does the Prime Minister say to those vulnerable<br />
people?<br />
The Prime Minister: It is vital that we take action on<br />
social care. That is why there are proposals for a draft<br />
Bill in the Queen’s Speech. It is something that has been<br />
getting worse for decade. The previous Government<br />
had 13 years to deal with the issue and they did absolutely<br />
nothing. Within two years, we are producing proposals<br />
and a draft Bill, and taking action.<br />
Sarah Newton (Truro and Falmouth) (Con): Does my<br />
right hon. Friend agree that it is essential that we have<br />
all-party support for this critically important issue? It is<br />
essential to have a draft Bill so that we do the hard work<br />
in this <strong>Parliament</strong> to make sure that we can legislate for<br />
carers in our country.<br />
The Prime Minister: My hon. Friend makes a very<br />
good point. Genuinely to crack the issue, which has<br />
dogged Governments for decades, we will need cross-party<br />
working to deliver the social care changes we need.<br />
Let me turn to some of the crime measures, as they<br />
are extremely important. The police do a fantastic job,<br />
and we should pay tribute to their work, but we need to<br />
accept that there are some crimes that our existing<br />
police forces cannot deal with on their own: the cyberattacks<br />
that threaten our national security, the organised<br />
gangs supplying drugs to children on the streets and the<br />
massive industry of human trafficking. Today, we have<br />
seen the horrific case in Rochdale of children being<br />
groomed for sex—modern-day slavery in our own country.<br />
That is why we need a national crime agency—a British<br />
FBI, if you like—and with this Queen’s Speech we will<br />
deliver it.<br />
I want to see tough community sentences that are a<br />
real punishment, and we shall be legislating for them as<br />
well. Without such measures, we will never convince the<br />
police, the courts or the public that these sentences are<br />
proper alternatives to prison.<br />
Steve Rotheram (Liverpool, Walton) (Lab): The Prime<br />
Minister has mentioned a couple of doubles today. He<br />
quite rightly referred to the mover and the seconder of<br />
the speech; there was also the double-dip recession.<br />
In 1970, Lynn Anderson sang about promises in a<br />
rose garden:<br />
“Smile for a while and let’s be jolly<br />
Love shouldn’t be so melancholy<br />
Come along and share the good times while we can.”<br />
Given that the Prime Minister and his Deputy made<br />
promises of transparency in the rose garden, does he<br />
now regret not releasing the risk register for the NHS?<br />
The Prime Minister: In terms of the money we spend<br />
and the decisions we make, this Government have been<br />
the most transparent in our country for the last 50 years.<br />
That is what matters.<br />
Gavin Barwell (Croydon Central) (Con): On behalf<br />
of my constituents Gary and Natasha Groves, whose<br />
daughter Lillian was killed outside her home by a driver<br />
who was under the influence of drugs, I thank the<br />
Prime Minister for meeting them at No. 10, listening to<br />
what they had to say and including in the Queen’s<br />
Speech measures to tackle the menace of drug driving.<br />
Will he join me in paying tribute to Gary and Natasha<br />
for responding to a personal tragedy by trying to make<br />
it less likely that other people endure the terrible loss<br />
they suffered?<br />
The Prime Minister: My hon. Friend is entirely right<br />
to raise the case again. I pay tribute to his work. We will<br />
be legislating properly for drug-related driving. It is<br />
right that it is put on to the statute book in the same<br />
way as drink driving, and it would not be happening<br />
were it not for the very strong campaign he has fought.<br />
The context for the Queen’s Speech is a world that is<br />
becoming ever more competitive. The countries that<br />
succeed will be those that know they have to deal with<br />
debts and deficit, and that in a competitive world they<br />
have to have competitive tax rates and the best climate<br />
for business investment. They have to back entrepreneurs.<br />
They need light regulation and lean government. They<br />
need to reform every part of government, from schools<br />
to the planning system, so that they get on the side of<br />
wealth creation, job creation and a growing economy.<br />
That is what we are doing.<br />
This is a Government who confront the long-term<br />
challenges we face, and that is what our country needs—a<br />
Government who roll up their sleeves to deal with the<br />
deficit, not an Opposition who think they can borrow<br />
their way out of debt. We are a coalition Government<br />
determined to unleash the private sector, spread growth<br />
around our country and sort out our financial services,<br />
not a Labour one who bloated the public sector and sat<br />
back while an unregulated banking sector brought our<br />
country to its knees. This is a Government who are<br />
backing hard-working people, not an Opposition who<br />
say they are on their side but refuse to make work pay,<br />
refuse to cap welfare and want to heap debts on to our<br />
children. This is a Government taking the tough decisions<br />
to help families who work hard and do the right thing.<br />
We are acting for the long term and governing in the<br />
national interest. This is a Queen’s Speech to rebuild<br />
Britain, and I commend it to the House.<br />
3.55 pm<br />
Mr David Lammy (Tottenham) (Lab):All hon. Members<br />
will have spent the past few weeks and months knocking<br />
on doors and will recognise that this Queen’s Speech is<br />
hugely important for many families across our country.<br />
Also, many in this House who are baby boomers—that<br />
does not include our current political leaders—and have<br />
benefited from free education, affordable housing and<br />
pretty good pensions will recognise that for those of<br />
younger generations, many of whom are currently<br />
unemployed, this is a critical Queen’s Speech. It is<br />
against that backdrop that I wish to make my comments.<br />
I will start by welcoming the aspects of the Queen’s<br />
Speech that deal with family policy. It is absolutely right<br />
that we do something to support the many families in<br />
this country struggling with children with disabilities.<br />
Frankly, it is poor that successive Governments have<br />
not done enough, so I am pleased to welcome changes<br />
in that area of policy. Love is a key ingredient for any<br />
parent raising a child, and the hearts of all Members of<br />
the House must go out to young people who find
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30<br />
themselves in circumstances in which they do not have<br />
parents. For that reason, it must be wrong that children<br />
from black and ethnic minority backgrounds languish<br />
in local authority queues waiting for adoptive parents.<br />
As the parent of two children from a mixed-race<br />
background, I know that such children fare particularly<br />
badly on those adoption lists. I welcome the changes<br />
that will make it easier for parents of any background<br />
to adopt young people in need of a loving home.<br />
Mr Edward Timpson (Crewe and Nantwich) (Con): I<br />
join the right hon. Gentleman in welcoming wholeheartedly<br />
the measures to try to improve adoption in this country<br />
for children from all backgrounds. Does he agree that it<br />
is also important not to forget that there are children<br />
who are brought into the care systems who might have<br />
other permanency solutions to their upbringing that<br />
might involve long-term fostering or residential care<br />
and that we must also do more for those children to<br />
ensure that they do not miss out on the best possible<br />
childhood we can give them?<br />
Mr Lammy: The hon. Gentleman makes an important<br />
point about foster care and the need to support the<br />
many people across this country who give up their<br />
homes and time and offer love to the many children<br />
who pass through their homes.<br />
May I also say, as chair of the all-party group on<br />
fatherhood, that it is important that in this House, on a<br />
cross-party basis, we make a renewed commitment to<br />
the importance of fatherhood? I also welcome the changes<br />
to care proceedings. If it is right and in the interests of a<br />
child, we must make it easier for fathers to have contact<br />
with their children. It is now well understood that the<br />
outcomes for young people without fathers are not<br />
good enough. In parts of this country and in parts of<br />
constituencies such as mine there is the phenomenon of<br />
the “baby-father”, whereby it is acceptable to have<br />
children but not be a father to them, and I welcome any<br />
moves in legislation to deal with that issue.<br />
Mr Stewart Jackson (Peterborough) (Con): I pay<br />
tribute to the right hon. Gentleman’s courageous stance<br />
on many of those issues over the years. Does he echo<br />
my view that we should also pay tribute to the love, care<br />
and courage of grandparents and extended kin, and<br />
that we should remove the impediments that they have<br />
to caring for their flesh and blood, owing to various<br />
difficult circumstances involving their own children,<br />
including drug and alcohol abuse?<br />
Mr Lammy: The hon. Gentleman has taken up those<br />
issues in his constituency, and I too underline my support<br />
for grandparents, particularly given the complexities<br />
within families of drug and alcohol addiction.<br />
But in the end the critical issues for most people, in<br />
relation to this Queen’s Speech and over the coming<br />
years, will be the reality that we are in a double-dip<br />
recession, will be what we are doing to get to grips with<br />
growth in this country, to provide jobs and to support<br />
small businesses, and will be how we are supporting<br />
young people. I am afraid that there has just not been<br />
enough in this Queen’s Speech to address those issues.<br />
I do not have to tell the Prime Minister what happened<br />
in my constituency, as we have spoken on many occasions,<br />
but I say to him that currently in Tottenham 6,500 people<br />
are unemployed and 28,000 are on out-of-work benefits.<br />
The figures have actually got worse since the riots, and,<br />
although I have heard him at the Dispatch Box speaking<br />
about the Work programme, the youth contract and<br />
apprenticeships, I find that in all three policies there are<br />
weaknesses and flaws.<br />
The Work programme is straining at the edges,<br />
particularly with the third sector attempting without<br />
funds to provide placements, and in Tottenham 90% of<br />
those who are unemployed are not eligible for it. How<br />
can it be the biggest programme since the 1930s, when<br />
most people who are unemployed in Britain are not<br />
eligible to participate in it? While the right hon. Gentleman<br />
lauds the youth contract, I warn him of a previous era,<br />
when we saw the failed youth training scheme and, as a<br />
consequence, many young people who graduated with<br />
certificates but no jobs. People in my constituency have<br />
a long memory, and what they want are genuine jobs.<br />
As a former skills Minister, I am pleased to see the<br />
growth in apprenticeships, but the right hon. Gentleman<br />
will know that the scheme, to reach the figure of 450,000,<br />
includes many that people would not recognise as an<br />
apprenticeship. An apprenticeship should surely be a<br />
programme that lasts for at least one year. Currently,<br />
apprenticeships last for a maximum of 16 weeks, and<br />
many young people do not want something that is,<br />
in fact, a very short opportunity in customer services<br />
dressed up as a genuine apprenticeship, so I ask the Prime<br />
Minister to look at what is behind such apprenticeships<br />
if we are genuinely to retain the trust of young people.<br />
I and other Opposition Members will of course scrutinise<br />
the enterprise Bill in its entirety, but, when I think of<br />
those shopkeepers on Tottenham high road who saw<br />
their businesses destroyed, I recall, as will the Prime<br />
Minister, that they faced hardships even before the riots.<br />
There were hardships with business rates and with<br />
footfall on the high road, and they were concerned<br />
about issues such as regulation—2,900 of them in the<br />
Tottenham constituency, paying their VAT and employing<br />
30,000 people.<br />
The number of self-employed people in my constituency<br />
has fallen from 14% to 7% in the past year. It is going in<br />
the wrong direction. I warn him that his absolute dedication<br />
to slashing public services is having a major effect in<br />
adding to the dole queues in constituencies such as mine.<br />
We are not seeing more businesses flourishing or<br />
coming in and taking up the slack from the public sector;<br />
we are seeing something much worse. Look underneath<br />
the figures. The whole House should have serious concerns<br />
about anyone—young people, particularly—who faces<br />
unemployment. However, when the unemployment rate<br />
is three times higher among young black men, we<br />
should be gravely concerned.<br />
We should also be particularly concerned that many<br />
women—older women, often black—are now joining<br />
their sons on the unemployment queues, having been<br />
employed in the health service, local government or other<br />
areas. I say to the Prime Minister that some communities<br />
depend on those mothers being employed and I am<br />
worried about the emergence of a picture worse than<br />
some of the scenes that hon. Members will recognise<br />
from the <strong>United</strong> States of America.<br />
That is why we needed a Queen’s Speech that would<br />
seriously address those issues—stimulate the economy<br />
in the way required; wrestle with the issue of growth;
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32<br />
[Mr Lammy]<br />
and move our economy from over-dependence on financial<br />
services and retail. When I heard the Business Secretary<br />
arguing the case for the Sunday trading Bill, it was<br />
again apparent that the Government would rely once<br />
more on retail, consumerism, shopping and spending to<br />
get us out of this mess. We will need far more than that<br />
in this economy if we are to respond to the problems in<br />
constituencies such as mine.<br />
What about the gaps in the Queen’s Speech? Given<br />
the importance of higher education to the UK economy<br />
and all we have invested to support young people making<br />
their way to university, why have the Government decided<br />
that a higher education Bill is not appropriate? The<br />
issue has been kicked into the long grass. Vice-chancellors<br />
and young people face uncertainty because we have not<br />
seen any Bill in that area of policy at all. Why are we<br />
going to spend hours, in this House and the other place,<br />
debating House of Lords reform when every Member<br />
knows that no one raised that issue with any political<br />
party on the doorstep during the campaign of the past<br />
few weeks? Is House of Lords reform really where our<br />
priorities should be?<br />
Mrs Eleanor Laing (Epping Forest) (Con): Does the<br />
right hon. Gentleman agree that the whole matter of<br />
House of Lords reform could be dealt with quickly in<br />
this House if, as the Prime Minister said a short while<br />
ago, the Government brought forward a Bill that simply<br />
brought the House of Lords into the 21st century<br />
without trying to create another House of Commons at<br />
the other end of the corridor?<br />
Mr Lammy: I get where the hon. Lady is coming<br />
from, but I want to bring the Government into the<br />
21st century. For that to happen, we need some real<br />
answers for the millennial generation who face decades<br />
of unemployment in this country. We have to say something<br />
about what we can expect for our graduates; we must<br />
not just talk the talk in terms of families, but recognise<br />
that the cost of living is going up, and we expect a<br />
Queen’s Speech that will address those issues.<br />
Against that backdrop, this Queen’s Speech fails. I<br />
suspect that there are areas that the Opposition will be<br />
able to accept, but there are many holes in this Queen’s<br />
Speech. As the Prime Minister reflects and gets into the<br />
detail, I hope that the House can expect a bigger, more<br />
ambitious and more visionary legislative framework in<br />
the next Queen’s Speech.<br />
4.9 pm<br />
Mr David Davis (Haltemprice and Howden) (Con): It<br />
is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for<br />
Tottenham (Mr Lammy). While I may differ with his<br />
analysis, there is never any doubt that he holds his views<br />
passionately. He certainly supports his constituency<br />
and community passionately, and has done so in the<br />
past several years in which I have watched him in this<br />
House.<br />
Let me say to the Prime Minister that it is also a<br />
pleasure to talk about the real Queen’s Speech as against<br />
the one that I and others proposed last week. This<br />
Queen’s Speech has enormous merits to it, particularly<br />
in the context of growth. I am particularly supportive,<br />
as he will be unsurprised to hear, of his proposals on<br />
bank reforms, competition law, and joint enterprise law<br />
reform, including labour law reform. He will be happy<br />
to hear me mention those, but I am afraid that it goes<br />
downhill from here on in. [HON. MEMBERS: “That was<br />
less than a minute!”] Well, I will make up the whole<br />
minute by saying that the Government can be proud of<br />
most of their record in the past couple of years on the<br />
issues of liberty and justice, which the Prime Minister<br />
knows I hold very dear. Their actions on identity cards,<br />
on cutting down on the amount of detention without<br />
charge, and on the misuse of counter-terrorism stop-andsearch<br />
powers are all matters of pride for them.<br />
Beyond that, however, I have three concerns: one<br />
about a constitutional issue, one about state power, and<br />
one about justice. Let me start with the constitutional<br />
issue on which the right hon. Member for Tottenham<br />
finished—the House of Lords. One of my concerns<br />
about our whole approach to the House of Lords is that<br />
we are arguing about its composition without worrying<br />
enough about its purpose, which we have not done<br />
enough to consider. There is a great deal of talk about<br />
the House of Lords as a revising and reforming Chamber,<br />
but it has a much greater function than that. Historically,<br />
the House of Lords has been a serious check on excessive<br />
Executive power. It was a check on the Government of<br />
Margaret Thatcher when she had a very large majority,<br />
on the Government of Tony Blair, and on the Government<br />
of the right hon. Member for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath<br />
(Mr Brown), and no doubt it will be a check on this<br />
Government as time goes on.<br />
It is very important in Britain that we have this check,<br />
because we are different in one respect from most other<br />
democracies. Without any separation of Executive and<br />
legislature, the power of the Executive in this House<br />
means that this House is less good than it could be at<br />
defending the rights of individuals when the Executive<br />
impinge too much on them. We saw that very often with<br />
the previous Government. There were a great number<br />
of occasions when I am sure that many Labour Members<br />
did not want to support some of their Government’s<br />
more illiberal actions. That is why the House of Lords is<br />
incredibly important.<br />
Mr Stephen Dorrell (Charnwood) (Con): My right<br />
hon. Friend is making a case from a Conservative point<br />
of view against reforming the make-up of the House of<br />
Lords. If the House of Lords has the distinguished<br />
record of preventing excessive use of Executive power<br />
that he is suggesting, why does he think that Margaret<br />
Thatcher’s first Lord Chancellor, Lord Hailsham, delivered<br />
a speech roughly 50 years ago in which he said that we<br />
did not have sufficient checks and balances in our<br />
constitution, which he characterised as an elective<br />
dictatorship?<br />
Mr Davis: I am grateful to my right hon. Friend,<br />
because he goes right to the central point. The House of<br />
Lords is not perfect, and there are many things that it<br />
has wrongly allowed to happen. I am in favour of<br />
reform of the House of Lords, but we must be very<br />
careful to get it right. If, in our reform, we do away with,<br />
or weaken or mitigate to any great extent, the check that<br />
it provides, that check will never be returned, because<br />
no Government will ever bring back a restraint on their<br />
own powers.<br />
I think it was the Deputy Prime Minister who<br />
characterised his preferred state of the House of Lords<br />
as being one that more reflected the political composition
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34<br />
of the House of Commons. That is precisely what I<br />
would not want it to do. A House of Lords that exactly<br />
reflected the political composition of the House of<br />
Commons would not be very much of a check on the<br />
Executive, and that would be a really serious problem.<br />
We must be very careful about what we do.<br />
I do not believe that a referendum, of itself, will solve<br />
the problem, because it is a subtle and difficult matter<br />
and will be very hard to argue in public. However, it is<br />
very important.<br />
Mrs Laing: I agree with my right hon. Friend that<br />
providing a check on the Government is <strong>Parliament</strong>’s<br />
most important role. Does he agree that having an<br />
elected House of Lords would undermine the position<br />
of the elected Members of the House of Commons and<br />
make them less likely to be able to hold the Government<br />
to account in this House, where the Prime Minister sits?<br />
Mr Davis: I take my hon. Friend’s point, although I<br />
believe the greater problem would be legislative gridlock<br />
if too much legitimacy were given to the House of<br />
Lords. The simple fact is that over the course of the past<br />
century, these Houses have managed a pretty effective<br />
balance without crippling government. The position<br />
that we have arrived at still needs reform, but very<br />
careful reform.<br />
Chris Bryant (Rhondda) (Lab): I agree with the right<br />
hon. Gentleman that we have to consider two things<br />
hand in hand, the composition of the House of Lords<br />
and its function. Although I am passionately in favour<br />
of an elected second Chamber, one of my criticisms of<br />
the draft Bill is that clause 2 will not reinforce the<br />
primacy of this Chamber. Some kind of concordat<br />
would have to be agreed by both Houses and written<br />
into their Standing Orders. Does he accept, though,<br />
that the current situation is unsustainable? We already<br />
have far too many Members down the other end of the<br />
building, and if there is no reform, there will be another<br />
200. There will be more than 1,000 Members, the vast<br />
majority of them appointed by party leaders on a party<br />
Whip. Surely that is unsustainable.<br />
Mr Davis: I agree with the last point, but the hon.<br />
Gentleman should not let the best be the enemy of the<br />
good.<br />
I will finish my points about the Lords, because I<br />
want to talk about two other significant issues of justice<br />
and freedom. For me, the test is to look back and see<br />
what would have happened in the past decade if we had<br />
introduced whatever new reform we will come up with.<br />
As the Deputy Prime Minister will be only too conscious,<br />
in the past decade the Lords have stopped the curbing<br />
of jury trials and a number of other measures, including<br />
the extension of detention without charge. That would<br />
not have happened if we had had too politically similar<br />
a House of Lords. When the House considers the<br />
matter in some detail, my test will be whether a reform<br />
will achieve the same check on the Government.<br />
John Cryer (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab): Will the<br />
right hon. Gentleman give way?<br />
Mr Davis: I want to move on, but I will give way later<br />
if the hon. Gentleman still wishes to intervene.<br />
The second issue that I want to mention is state<br />
power and what has become known colloquially as the<br />
snooper’s charter. The Queen’s Speech stated that the<br />
Government intended<br />
“to bring forward measures to maintain the ability of the law<br />
enforcement and intelligence agencies to access vital communications<br />
data under strict safeguards to protect the public, subject to<br />
scrutiny of draft clauses.”<br />
I take the last part to mean that how it will happen is up<br />
for argument. That is a good thing, because I am afraid<br />
the proposal is very similar to what the Labour Government<br />
came up with. I will give way to the Deputy Prime<br />
Minister if he really wants to argue the point, but I do<br />
not recommend it, because the Government have already<br />
consulted heavily with internet service providers and<br />
producers and talked to them about what they want to<br />
do. They want to require companies to maintain large<br />
databases of contact information. If I have telephoned<br />
somebody, there will be information about who the call<br />
was to, when it was made and where from. That will<br />
lead to extremely large databases, which the state then<br />
wants to be able to access relatively freely.<br />
Frankly, I am surprised that the Government have<br />
made the proposal, because both coalition parties opposed<br />
it in opposition, and as far as I can see, it goes against<br />
the thrust of the coalition agreement. It certainly goes<br />
against the thrust of a comment that my right hon. Friend<br />
the Prime Minister made when we were in opposition.<br />
He said:<br />
“Faced with any problem, any crisis—given any excuse—Labour<br />
grasp for more information, pulling more and more people into<br />
the clutches of state data capture…And the Government doesn’t<br />
want to stop with the basic information…Scare tactics to herd<br />
more disempowered citizens into the clutches of officialdom, as<br />
people surrender more and more information about their lives,<br />
giving the state more and more power over their lives. If we want<br />
to stop the state controlling us, we must confront this surveillance<br />
state.”<br />
We opposed those measures in opposition, not just<br />
because they were illiberal or risked turning our country<br />
into a nation of suspects, but because we believed that<br />
they were ineffective. Nearly every measure that we<br />
opposed when I was my right hon. Friend’s shadow<br />
Home Secretary we opposed because we thought that it<br />
would not work against terrorism. That is also true of<br />
the measure that we are considering.<br />
I took advice from experts. I asked them a simple<br />
question: “If you were a terrorist, how would you avoid<br />
this scrutiny?” I stopped them when they got to the fifth<br />
method. It is pretty straightforward: for terrorists, everything<br />
from proxy servers to one-off mobile phones means<br />
that such scrutiny is easy to avoid. For criminals, it is<br />
also easy and quite cheap to avoid. However, for ordinary<br />
citizens, that scrutiny is not easy and cheap to avoid. We<br />
will therefore create something, which some Ministers<br />
said will cost £2 billion—the London School of Economics<br />
suggests that it will cost £12 billion—that will not be<br />
effective against terrorism, but constitutes general-purpose<br />
surveillance of the entire nation.<br />
Bob Stewart (Beckenham) (Con): Sometimes terrorists<br />
make a mistake. If we save lives through having the<br />
information, that balances my right hon. Friend’s argument.<br />
Mr Davis: The simple truth is that when the House<br />
reacted understandably to the horrific events of 9/11<br />
and the preceding terrorist events, such as the USS Cole
35 Debate on the Address<br />
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36<br />
[Mr David Davis]<br />
and the east African embassy bombings, and introduced<br />
a couple of measures: the Regulation of Investigatory<br />
Powers Act 2000 and the Anti-terrorism, Crime and<br />
Security Act 2001, it took away many previous protections.<br />
Before RIPA, the agencies would approach British Telecom<br />
or Cable & Wireless and ask for the data, which were<br />
sometimes—not always—handed over voluntarily. The<br />
companies exercised some responsibility. In about two<br />
thirds of cases, the agencies got warrants, and the<br />
information had to be handed over. The central, though<br />
not the only issue is whether the databases are available<br />
to the agencies of the state without a warrant. They are<br />
currently available without a warrant. If we want to<br />
make such practices acceptable in a civilised, liberal<br />
state, we should have warrants first.<br />
Martin Horwood (Cheltenham) (LD): As a Liberal<br />
Democrat, but also as the MP for Cheltenham, I ask the<br />
right hon. Gentleman whether he agrees that it should<br />
be possible to strike a perfectly good balance between<br />
the absolute need to protect civil liberties and traditional<br />
British freedoms and apply the principles behind the<br />
existing legislation that he mentioned to new and fastdeveloping<br />
technologies to prevent our security services<br />
from falling behind.<br />
Mr Davis: Of course, but frankly, talk about falling<br />
behind is a bit of a red herring. The security services<br />
today can collect more data by several orders of magnitude<br />
than they could when I first became a Member of<br />
<strong>Parliament</strong>, simply because technology allows that. In<br />
1987, one pretty much had to get a BT engineer to plug<br />
in a bug in the local exchange. People do not do that<br />
now—they could almost do it from my office through<br />
software. I could listen to all hon. Members at once—<br />
[Interruption.] Hon. Members’ conversations are too<br />
boring to bother with.<br />
Of course, the hon. Member for Cheltenham (Martin<br />
Horwood) is right and there is a balance to strike. No<br />
one has ever been foolish enough to suggest that I<br />
favour helping terrorists, making it easier for them or<br />
harder for our agencies. However, we must act under<br />
judicial control and return to the prior warrant process<br />
that applied before RIPA for the systems to work.<br />
Anna Soubry (Broxtowe) (Con): Will my right hon.<br />
Friend give way?<br />
Mr Davis: No, I am about to finish that part of my<br />
speech. The prior warrant process would ensure that we<br />
stop the great overuse of the new powers, which has<br />
happened dozens of times in the past decade. If we do<br />
not, the public reaction will be one of outrage, because<br />
the measure will affect not just a few people, but tens of<br />
millions of people, and they will not take it quietly.<br />
My last point is on a justice measure, but it is not a<br />
measure like the snooper’s charter, which will create a<br />
tsunami of reaction as it goes through the House—I am<br />
confident of that, because we already have 137,000<br />
signatures on the online petition. Secret courts affect<br />
only tens and perhaps hundreds of people, but they<br />
bring against those people a serious injustice. I take the<br />
view—a very unfashionable one in modern politics,<br />
with too many polls and focus groups—that an injustice<br />
against one is an injustice against all, and the secret<br />
court proposals undoubtedly propose an injustice.<br />
I say that with complete confidence, but for a rather<br />
obscure reason. A secret court procedure is proposed,<br />
but we already have such procedures. They are called<br />
special immigration appeal courts—SIAC—and they<br />
have existed since 1997, when the Labour Government<br />
introduced them to deal with people they thought they<br />
could not deal with in open court. Of course, no hon.<br />
Member has ever been in one or seen one in operation.<br />
No hon. Member knows how they work, including all<br />
Ministers of this Government and the previous one.<br />
One group alone understands how those courts work:<br />
special advocates. There are 69 special advocates, of<br />
whom 32 have had detailed exposure to the proposed<br />
closed material procedure. The procedure involves<br />
the Executive—a Minister—saying to a court: “This<br />
information can be heard only in very close camera.” It<br />
cannot be heard in court as a whole in secret: the judge<br />
and the Government advocate of the argument can<br />
hear the evidence, but only the special advocate—a<br />
lawyer who cannot talk to the defendant or litigant in<br />
the case—can challenge it.<br />
Tony Baldry: We had a system of special advocates in<br />
courts in Northern Ireland for a very long time—a<br />
number of members of my chambers were special advocates<br />
in such circumstances—and I do not recall my right<br />
hon. Friend when we were in government ever complaining<br />
about those procedures, which we had to use in Northern<br />
Ireland given the particular circumstances there.<br />
Mr Davis: I am sorry to correct my hon. Friend’s<br />
memory, but I did complain. I actually appeared in a<br />
Diplock court as a witness, so I know exactly how they<br />
work from that point of view.<br />
The simple truth is not my view, but the view of the<br />
32 special advocates who have had such experience.<br />
Virtually all of them signed a document that challenged<br />
the Government’s Green Paper, in quite robust terms.<br />
The special advocates said that closed material procedures<br />
“represent a departure both from the principle of natural justice<br />
and from the principle of open justice. They may leave a litigant<br />
having little clear idea of the case deployed against him, and<br />
ultimately they may prevent some litigants from knowing why<br />
they have won or lost. Furthermore, and crucially, because the SA<br />
appointed on his behalf is unable to take instructions in relation<br />
to that case, they may leave the SA with little realistic opportunity<br />
of responding effectively to that case. They also systematically<br />
exclude public, press and <strong>Parliament</strong>ary scrutiny of parts of our<br />
justice system…Our experience as SAs involved in statutory and<br />
non-statutory closed material procedures leaves us in no doubt<br />
that CMPs are inherently unfair; they do not ‘work effectively’,<br />
nor do they deliver real procedural fairness. The fact that such<br />
procedures may be operated so as to meet the minimum standards<br />
required by Article 6 of the ECHR, with such modification as has<br />
been required by the courts so as to reduce that inherent unfairness,<br />
does not and cannot make them objectively fair.”<br />
That is the view of the only people who understand this<br />
system.<br />
The secret courts measure is being held up as a<br />
proposal to improve our security. It would undermine<br />
and corrode our justice system, and it would not improve<br />
our security, because the other point made by special<br />
advocates is that the public interest immunity system as<br />
it now stands—again this is not properly understood by
37 Debate on the Address<br />
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Debate on the Address<br />
38<br />
Ministers—works perfectly well, and much better than<br />
what is proposed. Indeed, one special advocate has<br />
pointed out that this proposal is less good than that<br />
available to the terrorist suspects in Guantanamo Bay.<br />
That is how poor this procedure is. In fact, there are<br />
many other procedures abroad that would work better<br />
than this one. Sadly, this is not a measure that I will<br />
support in the coming months.<br />
The Government came in with a grand, important<br />
and liberal—both small “l” and big “l”—tradition to<br />
uphold. That tradition supported both freedom and<br />
justice in this country. These two measures—putting the<br />
Lords to one side, as that is a matter for argument—would,<br />
if we are not very careful, undermine that tradition and<br />
our reputation, and do nothing to improve the protection<br />
of Britain against terrorism. Indeed, just the reverse—they<br />
would make it worse.<br />
4.31 pm<br />
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North) (DUP): I am pleased<br />
to follow the right hon. Member for Haltemprice and<br />
Howden (Mr Davis). He has eloquently set out the<br />
arguments on the balance between the need to protect<br />
national security and the need to protect individual<br />
freedoms. He mentioned internet surveillance and my<br />
party will look closely at the proposals and support<br />
whatever measures are necessary to protect national<br />
security, but we will also be conscious of the need to<br />
protect individual freedoms and privacies. That means<br />
not giving the Government any more powers than are<br />
absolutely and strictly necessary in the fight against<br />
terrorism, but if powers are thought to be absolutely<br />
necessary, we would be remiss if we did not proceed to<br />
implement them.<br />
At the outset, I join others in paying tribute to Her<br />
Majesty the Queen in her diamond jubilee year. We in<br />
Northern Ireland look forward to her coming to the<br />
Province later this summer, and I have no doubt that she<br />
will be welcomed as warmly as she has been on previous<br />
visits.<br />
I also wish to join the Prime Minister and other right<br />
hon. and hon. Members in paying tribute to the service<br />
in the two years of this <strong>Parliament</strong> of our brave servicemen<br />
and women in theatres of conflict abroad and in the<br />
work that they do to protect us all here in this country<br />
and in the fight against terrorism.<br />
I welcome several measures in the Queen’s Speech.<br />
The briefing that went on before the Gracious Speech<br />
referred to a greater focus on family-friendly measures.<br />
My party welcomes measures to support and strengthen<br />
families and family life, such as speedier adoption and<br />
help for parents of children with disabilities to cut<br />
through red tape. We will support such measures, because<br />
strong families are important and supporting them is<br />
key. The Government have been slow so far to implement<br />
tax allowance changes for married couples, which were<br />
in the Conservative manifesto and the coalition agreement.<br />
We look forward to their coming forward with proposals<br />
in that area in due course.<br />
We also welcome the banking reform Bill, which will<br />
split the retail and investment sides of businesses. That<br />
is overdue, it is good news for consumers and will help<br />
to protect them, and so will receive our support. There<br />
are issues with the speed of implementation—we would<br />
like the reforms to happen a little quicker—but we will<br />
come to that during the debate on the Bill.<br />
Sammy Wilson (East Antrim) (DUP): Banking reform<br />
is important for the <strong>United</strong> <strong>Kingdom</strong> as a whole but<br />
especially important for Northern Ireland. We have a<br />
dysfunctional banking system, because so many banks<br />
have been caught up with bad property loans and so on.<br />
Does my right hon. Friend agree with me and people in<br />
Northern Ireland that the Government need to focus<br />
more on how measures to ease banking will affect<br />
banks in Northern Ireland and ensure that we get our<br />
fair share of credit easing and so on?<br />
Mr Dodds: As Minister for Finance and Personnel in<br />
the Northern Ireland Executive, my hon. Friend deals<br />
with such issues on a daily basis, and he and his colleagues,<br />
including Arlene Foster, the enterprise Minister, and<br />
others are working hard to deal with them. He points,<br />
rightly, to the particular issues in Northern Ireland.<br />
Two of our banks are based in the Irish Republic. The<br />
property collapse in the Irish Republic and its eurozone<br />
problems are impacting strongly on the Northern Ireland<br />
economy. He is right, therefore, that particular attention<br />
needs to be given to how credit easing plays through to<br />
Northern Ireland, where we have peculiar circumstances<br />
that do not affect other parts of the UK.<br />
One reason we have been pushing strongly—we have<br />
received a reasonably warm response—on the need to<br />
reduce corporation tax in Northern Ireland is that we<br />
share a land frontier with the Irish Republic, which has<br />
a much lower rate of corporation tax. I look forward to<br />
an announcement on that and other issues in this Session<br />
and perhaps to legislation in the next Session.<br />
We welcome the emphasis on cutting business regulation.<br />
The Business Secretary’s remarks yesterday about the<br />
need to roll back the EU regulatory burden were also<br />
most welcome. We also support moves on executive pay.<br />
The recent revolts by shareholders in companies such<br />
as Aviva and Barclays brought cheer to hard-working<br />
families, but more needs to be done to empower<br />
shareholders through binding votes on pay at the top<br />
level. Such measures matter to people out there in the<br />
country, and they want action taken on them. That is<br />
where the focus needs to be.<br />
We welcome the fact that driving under the influence<br />
of drugs will become a specific offence with appropriate<br />
punishment. I have received communication on that<br />
issue, as other right hon. and hon. Members will have,<br />
and although this measure will be of little comfort to<br />
those who have already lost family members in tragic<br />
circumstances—we have heard some very brave people<br />
speaking in the media about this—it will, I hope, prevent<br />
more deaths and injuries on our roads in the future.<br />
Likewise, I welcome the much-needed groceries code<br />
adjudicator Bill. It will be warmly welcomed by farmers<br />
and other suppliers in my part of the world—not necessarily<br />
in my constituency, because at last count only three<br />
farmers were living within its boundaries, but in Northern<br />
Ireland, which is largely a rural area, it will be warmly<br />
welcomed.<br />
Neil Parish (Tiverton and Honiton) (Con): I, too,<br />
much support the groceries code adjudicator Bill. If<br />
there is no problem with how our big buyers and<br />
supermarkets use their muscle, they will have nothing<br />
to fear from the adjudicator. It will be a check and<br />
balance.
39 Debate on the Address<br />
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40<br />
Mr Dodds: Absolutely, but the adjudicator must have<br />
teeth. We look forward to hearing the details as they<br />
come forward. However, if that and other measures we<br />
have talked about are implemented, they will receive<br />
broad welcome.<br />
Having said that, I want to come to several areas on<br />
which I disagree with the Government. Some relate to<br />
issues that were in the Queen’s Speech, but some relate<br />
to matters that were not. The verdict on the Gracious<br />
Speech must be that, although it contains useful measures<br />
that we will support, overall it lacks substance in heavyweight<br />
measures to deal with the big issue confronting<br />
us. There is to be a measure on House of Lords reform.<br />
Many people call me or come to my constituency office,<br />
but few, if any, have ever raised that issue with me. Even<br />
in these days of e-mails, Twitter and Facebook, very<br />
little of our correspondence relates to the matter.<br />
There are, however, many issues on which I get a large<br />
amount of e-mails and other correspondence. People<br />
are concerned about our net contribution to the European<br />
Union, for example. They are worried about the cost of<br />
implementing regulations from Brussels. They are angry<br />
about our inability to reject unwanted EU law, and they<br />
want <strong>Parliament</strong> to be able to decide on behalf of the<br />
people of the <strong>United</strong> <strong>Kingdom</strong> what our laws should be,<br />
who we should have in our country and who we should<br />
be able to deport. Those are the issues that people raise<br />
with Members of <strong>Parliament</strong> all the time. They might<br />
not be the issues that Members want to face up to, but<br />
unless we face up to the concerns that people raise on a<br />
daily basis, we shall become ever more disconnected<br />
from the people we are supposed to represent.<br />
Gloria De Piero (Ashfield) (Lab): A couple of weeks<br />
ago, some small business owners from my constituency<br />
came down to see me. They talked about the difficulties<br />
relating to bank lending and to the high rate of VAT.<br />
Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that they will take<br />
little comfort from what has been said in today’s Queen’s<br />
Speech?<br />
Mr Dodds: I agree with the hon. Lady. I shall come to<br />
the issue of VAT shortly, as people have raised that with<br />
me. VAT and fuel costs are of real concern to them. The<br />
hon. Lady also mentioned banking. It is clear that a real<br />
problem for economic growth in this country is that<br />
many viable businesses that have a future and an order<br />
book and that can trade are having to deal with banks<br />
that are moving the goalposts on lending conditions<br />
and what they require businesses to pay. They often do<br />
that at short notice, having agreed on a programme of<br />
repayments and interest rates only a few months previously.<br />
Suddenly, the goalposts are moved and the businesses<br />
are bereft of any means of continuing. They are forced<br />
into liquidation and into laying people off. Much more<br />
needs to be done about the lack of bank lending to<br />
businesses, because that is strangling a great deal of the<br />
potential growth in our economy.<br />
Meg Hillier: Does the right hon. Gentleman agree<br />
that the fact that banks have become so far removed<br />
from the communities that they serve is causing some of<br />
these challenges? There is agreement across the House<br />
on the need for reform of the banking system. Would he<br />
welcome more mutualisation in the banking sector, and<br />
does he share my regret that that does not appear in the<br />
Gracious Speech?<br />
Mr Dodds: The hon. Lady puts forward an important<br />
issue for our consideration. Many of the banks are<br />
largely owned by the public at the moment. One leading<br />
business man in Northern Ireland told me recently that<br />
he regretted that we had not gone the whole way and<br />
taken complete control of the banks, to ensure that all<br />
the necessary lending could take place. Members of<br />
the public, taxpayers, ordinary hard-working families,<br />
individuals and businesses are pumping billions of pounds<br />
into the banking system, yet the banks are not doing<br />
what needs to be done to ease credit and lend in the way<br />
that they should.<br />
I was talking about House of Lords reform, and<br />
other Members have rightly raised issues that are of real<br />
concern to the people and the communities that they<br />
represent. Before we get on to the reform of the House<br />
of Lords, I would like to see this House deal with an<br />
issue relating to the House of Commons. The Prime<br />
Minister and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland<br />
said on record during the last Session that they believe<br />
that it is wrong that Members who do not take their<br />
seats in the House of Commons are still able to receive<br />
full expenses, allowances and representational moneys,<br />
which puts them in a much more advantageous position<br />
than those of us who do take our seats. Sinn Fein, for<br />
instance, gets the equivalent of parliamentary Short<br />
money—what is called representative money—and is<br />
free to spend it, not on parliamentary activities, of<br />
course, because they do not engage in any parliamentary<br />
activities, but on party political activities. Whereas we<br />
as right hon. and hon. Members would rightly be called<br />
to account by the authorities for any spending—even a<br />
penny’s worth—for party political purposes, a group of<br />
Members who do not take their seats are quite free to<br />
spend that money to the disadvantage of their political<br />
opponents. Let us be frank: it does not particularly<br />
affect our votes, but it affects those of others in the<br />
House who are not here today and no doubt can speak<br />
for themselves in due course. The fact is that Members<br />
who do not take their seats are given an enormous<br />
advantage.<br />
We know that back in 2001, Betty Boothroyd, the<br />
former great Speaker of the House, resisted all this for a<br />
long time. Ultimately, the decision was taken to proceed<br />
with the concessions because the then Labour Government<br />
said—it was bitterly opposed by Conservative Members—<br />
that it was important to bring people into the peace<br />
process and the political process. Whatever the arguments<br />
at that time, the fact of the matter is that there is no<br />
longer any need for this special category of expenditure<br />
on the basis of encouraging people to be part of the<br />
peace process. It is clear that people are involved in the<br />
Executive and in the Assembly at Stormont. I welcome<br />
that, and think it enormously to the credit of parties in<br />
this House and in Northern Ireland that progress has<br />
been made, but it would not make the slightest difference<br />
to the political process—nobody believes that it would—if<br />
these special arrangements were withdrawn in line with<br />
what was promised before the election and in the last<br />
parliamentary Session.<br />
Bob Stewart: I thank the right hon. Gentleman for<br />
giving way. I want entirely to endorse every single point<br />
he has made on the matter of Short money for people<br />
who do not take their seats in this House. Those days<br />
are over; let us get this sorted out.
41 Debate on the Address<br />
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42<br />
Mr Dodds: I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s<br />
support. What I am proposing does not require legislation,<br />
so I did not necessarily expect it to be reflected in the<br />
Queen’s Speech today, but I look forward to steps being<br />
taken in this Session to tackle this long overdue issue.<br />
I want to come to another issue on which we have not<br />
received many demands for legislation, but about which<br />
we have heard many complaints and expressions of<br />
concern. The issue has not been raised in the debate so<br />
far, but it received an enormous amount of coverage in<br />
the run-up to the Gracious Speech: so-called gay marriage.<br />
I have to say that I am pleased that no Bill on so-called<br />
gay marriage has been proposed for this Session, but I<br />
understand that it is the Government’s clear intention<br />
to introduce a Bill at some point. I hope that they will<br />
reconsider that in light of the fact that well over<br />
500,000 people have signed the Coalition for Marriage’s<br />
petition against changing the definition of marriage.<br />
That is more people than have signed any petition on<br />
the Government’s own website. I hope that there will be<br />
a solemn and sincere reconsideration of any suggestion<br />
to bring forward such a measure.<br />
Once again, this issue highlights the question of<br />
whether we are prepared to connect with the views of<br />
the vast majority of the people we purport to represent<br />
in this House or we remain disconnected from the<br />
concerns of ordinary people in the community. We have<br />
already legislated for civil partnerships, and this issue of<br />
gay marriage does not have the support of people out in<br />
the country. Rather than fixating on issues like that, if<br />
the Prime Minister were to come to my constituency—no<br />
doubt other hon. Members will hear the same thing in<br />
their constituencies—he would hear about the issues<br />
that matter, such as the high and rising price of petrol<br />
and diesel, and the high and rising price of energy. In<br />
Northern Ireland, where we suffer higher petrol and<br />
diesel costs than any other part of not just the <strong>United</strong><br />
<strong>Kingdom</strong> but the European Union—hard as that is to<br />
believe—this is a very important matter indeed, but I<br />
am sorry to say that the Gracious Speech contained no<br />
reference to any measure that would tackle the high and<br />
rising price of fuel.<br />
I know that people will say that the Government have<br />
taken action to deal with the problem, and I accept that<br />
measures have been taken that have made the price of<br />
fuel lower than it would otherwise have been. However,<br />
people are inundating me and other DUP Members<br />
with complaints about the proposed 3p rise in fuel duty<br />
next August, which will undoubtedly make things very<br />
difficult for families and businesses. It will, for instance,<br />
have knock-on effects on the price of food. People<br />
simply cannot understand why we are seeing these taxes<br />
go up while taxes on millionaires are coming down.<br />
There is no doubt that the increase in VAT, which has<br />
already been mentioned today, has added enormously<br />
to the burden on families. In November 2008, the present<br />
Chancellor said that he would remind the then Government<br />
about the Labour party’s plans to increase VAT from<br />
18.5%<br />
“every single day between now and the next general election.”—<br />
[Official Report, 26 November 2008; Vol. 483, c. 741.]<br />
He said that it was a shame, and all the rest of it. The<br />
tune has changed dramatically since the Opposition<br />
became the Government, but what was said then about<br />
the burden that the increase would inflict on individuals,<br />
businesses and families was absolutely true, and it is still<br />
true today. The VAT increases have added considerably<br />
to the cost of living, but I do not believe that VAT has<br />
been used to help stimulate the economy.<br />
Businesses are facing extreme pressures as a result of<br />
bank lending policies and credit tightening. The Greek<br />
and French elections have taken place in recent days,<br />
and the results have shown a desire to move away from<br />
nothing but austerity to an emphasis on growth. Of<br />
course we need to deal with the deficit, but I for one am<br />
glad that emphasis is now being placed on the need to<br />
secure growth in the economy. We cannot deal with the<br />
deficit only by cutting expenditure or raising taxes; we<br />
must have economic growth as well. The priority of this<br />
parliamentary Session must be growth, growth, growth,<br />
and we will support the Government in respect of<br />
measures that deliver that essential, but so far elusive,<br />
piece of the economic jigsaw.<br />
4.52 pm<br />
Simon Hughes (Bermondsey and Old Southwark)<br />
(LD): It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member<br />
for Belfast North (Mr Dodds), and it is a privilege to be<br />
the first Liberal Democrat to speak in this Session of<br />
<strong>Parliament</strong>. [Interruption.] Apart, that is, from my right<br />
hon. Friend the Member for Gordon (Malcolm Bruce),<br />
to whom I am about to pay tribute. Let me start, however,<br />
by paying tribute to the soldiers whom we remembered<br />
at the beginning of the Session—and all who serve in<br />
places of danger in Afghanistan and elsewhere—and to<br />
our colleagues who died during the last Session.<br />
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Stratford-on-<br />
Avon (Nadhim Zahawi) for his speech, and for his<br />
reminder of how diverse a country we are and how we<br />
benefit from that. I also thank my right hon. Friend the<br />
Member for Gordon, whom I ignored only accidentally<br />
and briefly, for his speech. He has served in this place<br />
continuously for nearly 29 years, and has been the most<br />
loyal and steadfast friend and colleague for all that<br />
time. He has been a wonderful representative of Aberdeen,<br />
of Aberdeenshire, of his constituency and of his country.<br />
He has served this <strong>Parliament</strong> with great distinction,<br />
not least today. We are very grateful for his public<br />
service, and I think we would all like to put that on the<br />
record. [HON. MEMBERS: “Hear, hear.”] He is a very<br />
valued colleague.<br />
On the second Wednesday in May two years ago, the<br />
coalition agreement was signed—within five days of the<br />
last election result being declared and within 24 hours<br />
of the new Prime Minister taking over at the request of<br />
the Queen, the deal was done. Two years later, I say on<br />
behalf of all my colleagues that I am perfectly clear that<br />
that was the right decision at the time. It was the right<br />
decision at the time for us to enter the coalition, in the<br />
national interest; and it was the right decision to continue<br />
for the past two years in the coalition, in the national<br />
interest; and it will continue to be the right decision to<br />
remain in the coalition, in the national interest, for the<br />
remaining three years of this <strong>Parliament</strong>. When we<br />
joined together, we did so knowing it would be a five-year<br />
programme, and knowing we were committed to seeing<br />
it through, and it absolutely is in the national interest<br />
thatwedoso.<br />
It was obvious from the beginning that returning<br />
Britain to economic stability would not be achieved in<br />
one year or in two years, and that instead a full five-year<br />
<strong>Parliament</strong> would be needed. That was the truth then
43 Debate on the Address<br />
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[Simon Hughes]<br />
and that is the truth now. We were therefore right to<br />
legislate to make the constitutional reform necessary to<br />
have a fixed-term <strong>Parliament</strong>, in order to give the certainty<br />
that the county needed. If anyone does not believe that<br />
political certainty is a good thing, they should look at<br />
what is happening on the other side of this continent at<br />
this very moment. In five days, we were able to bring<br />
certainty to our country, despite an indecisive election<br />
result.<br />
May I remind the House what the election achieved?<br />
The Conservatives won 306 seats, and got the support<br />
of just over a third of those who voted.<br />
Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op): Are we<br />
talking about the council elections?<br />
Simon Hughes: No, this was two years ago. Labour<br />
won 258 seats and just under 30% of public support. We<br />
won 57 seats with 23% of public support. Labour and<br />
the Liberal Democrats combined did not make a majority.<br />
Indeed, Labour and the Liberal Democrats along with<br />
the next largest party, the Democratic Unionists, would<br />
not have made a majority—we would still have been<br />
short—whereas the Conservatives plus the Liberal<br />
Democrats made a majority, and the country needed a<br />
majority Government. We therefore did our duty, by<br />
agreeing to work with people who were normally our<br />
opponents, in the national interest, to deliver a common<br />
programme. We have done that twice in Scotland, working<br />
with Labour in the national interest, and once in Wales,<br />
again working with Labour in the national interest. I<br />
believe it was right to do so on all those occasions, and<br />
that it was right to do so on this occasion, too.<br />
Meg Hillier (Hackney South and Shoreditch) (Lab/<br />
Co-op): Given the Prime Minister’s not-so-ringing<br />
endorsement of Lords reform from the Dispatch Box, is<br />
the right hon. Gentleman absolutely sure that the coalition<br />
is still joined together in a common purpose?<br />
Simon Hughes: The answer is yes, and if the hon.<br />
Lady will bear with me, I will deal later with Lords<br />
reform, as it is in the Queen’s Speech and the programme<br />
for the coming year.<br />
We need to remember where we were two years ago:<br />
there was turmoil in Greece and in the eurozone, and<br />
our constituents were paying out of their money—not<br />
our money—£120 million a day just in servicing the<br />
interest repayments on our debt. That is not a way to<br />
use taxpayers’ money for the good. There was a financial<br />
crisis caused by a banking system that was entirely<br />
focused on short-term gain for the people at the top—as<br />
my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business,<br />
Innovation and Skills said regularly in the previous<br />
<strong>Parliament</strong>—rather than on creating long-term value<br />
for the many small businesses that provide work for<br />
most people across the country. The public finances<br />
were out of control, we had the largest public deficit in<br />
the developed world and the living standards of those<br />
on low and middle incomes were being eroded, which<br />
had been gradually reducing the spending power of the<br />
British consumer over the previous decade. The cost of<br />
living was spiralling; for younger people, certainly in<br />
constituencies such as mine, a home had become an<br />
unaffordable dream. The economic system often encouraged<br />
people to take as much as possible for themselves rather<br />
than incentivising them to create long-term value and<br />
spread wealth and work as widely as possible, and the<br />
economy was reliant on energy from scarce resources,<br />
the price of which was rising year after year.<br />
Two years later, we are still not where we need to be.<br />
We have unacceptably high unemployment, especially<br />
youth unemployment, which started long before this<br />
Government came to office and was on a significant upward<br />
trend in the last years of the Labour Administration.<br />
We are in an economic recession and banks are still not<br />
lending enough to viable small businesses, as we all<br />
know from our constituency casework, whereas the pay<br />
of those at the top is rising more than can possibly be<br />
justified by their performance. We heard the figures just<br />
this week: an 11% increase in salaries at the top last<br />
year, whereas the increase for the working population as<br />
a whole was 1%.<br />
It is therefore absolutely right that the Government<br />
continue to focus on doing all we can to promote<br />
economic growth and recovery, it is right that we continue<br />
with the programme we set out and it is right that we<br />
have a programme that, as the last Budget did, seeks to<br />
put more money into the pockets of those low and<br />
middle income working people and to make work pay.<br />
The programme should regulate the banks, encourage<br />
the growth of renewable energy and put the public finances<br />
back on a sustainable footing so that the spending<br />
priorities of the Government, about which we care—health<br />
care, education and support for the less well-off—can<br />
be adequately financed. No Government have ever invested<br />
in better schools or hospitals by bankrupting themselves.<br />
It has been difficult and we on the Liberal Democrat<br />
Benches know that. There was no parliamentary majority<br />
for getting rid of tuition fees and we were not able to<br />
deliver that—it just became undeliverable. The Health<br />
and Social Care Bill, the Welfare Reform Bill and the<br />
Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders<br />
Bill needed significant changes and we changed them<br />
and made them hugely better—all of them. The evidence<br />
is there in the legislation that is now on the statute book.<br />
The Budget was grossly misrepresented. Its most<br />
significant element was that many millions of people<br />
were taken out of paying tax. Many more will be lifted<br />
out of tax next year and the year after, so that nobody<br />
will have to pay anything in tax on their first £10,000 of<br />
income. It was also forgotten that last month pensioners<br />
had the largest increase ever in the state pension since it<br />
was introduced by the post-war Government. Then there<br />
was the youth contract, the huge growth in the number<br />
of apprenticeships, and the support for further education.<br />
There has already been huge success, but we must<br />
ensure that we focus on the priorities. The Gracious<br />
Speech started by setting them out very clearly: economic<br />
growth, justice and constitutional reform. We are proud<br />
on the Liberal Democrat Benches that the Secretary of<br />
State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon.<br />
Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), will<br />
see through the creation of the Green investment bank<br />
in Edinburgh, for which some of us, as members of an<br />
environmental party, have argued for many years and<br />
will now see delivered. We are proud that the Secretary<br />
of State for Energy and Climate Change, our right hon.<br />
Friend the Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey),<br />
will introduce an energy Bill to give us low-carbon<br />
energy generation and to develop renewables, which
45 Debate on the Address<br />
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46<br />
have a fantastic future—not just onshore, but offshore,<br />
tidal, wind and wave, and not just around Scotland but<br />
in the whole of the <strong>United</strong> <strong>Kingdom</strong>. We are determined<br />
to deliver cheaper electricity and greater security of supply.<br />
My hon. Friend the Member for St Ives (Andrew George)<br />
and others have campaigned for ages for a grocery code<br />
adjudicator Bill, and we are delivering that. It will<br />
ensure that farmers, local suppliers and local growers<br />
get good value for their products and are not trampled<br />
on by the power of the monopoly supermarket in their<br />
area. The Minister of State, Department for Work and<br />
Pensions, my good and hon. Friend the Member for<br />
Thornbury and Yate (Steve Webb)—a Liberal Democrat<br />
Minister for Pensions—and his right hon. Friend the<br />
Secretary of State, with whom he works so well, are<br />
determined to deliver the new single tier pension to ensure<br />
that by the end of this <strong>Parliament</strong> people will have,<br />
rather than the sum of just under £100 a week they get<br />
as the state pension at the moment, about £140 a week.<br />
That is particularly valuable to women, the low paid<br />
and those who have been self-employed. After 30 years<br />
of work, people will have a citizen’s pension, for which<br />
we have always fought.<br />
The Minister of State, Department for Education,<br />
my hon. Friend the Member for Brent Central (Sarah<br />
Teather)and others are determined, as the Deputy Prime<br />
Minister has been, that we should have flexible parental<br />
care leave, flexible parental leave and the right to flexible<br />
working. Why? They are not just good for the parent<br />
and the child, but they allow the parent to stay in work<br />
rather than giving it up and to be able to mix work,<br />
home, children and a career. That is really important for<br />
women’s equality in this country. Why do we not have<br />
many women in this place or on boards? It is partly<br />
because we do not have those flexible arrangements.<br />
Mrs Helen Grant (Maidstone and The Weald) (Con):<br />
Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that those provisions<br />
on shared parental leave also provide choice for families<br />
at a very important time, when they are having children?<br />
Simon Hughes: Absolutely, and I pay tribute to my<br />
hon. Friend for her commitment to families and women<br />
in her profession. She is right—we absolutely need to do<br />
that.<br />
We outline in the Gracious Speech the support for<br />
those with special educational needs, adding to early-years<br />
places for the rising fives so that there is a commitment<br />
that 40% of rising fives will be able to have support<br />
before they go to school. So, there is much for hard-working,<br />
ordinary families and their children in the programme.<br />
It is not a programme without legislative plans at all—quite<br />
the reverse.<br />
A defamation Bill will deal with the fact that our libel<br />
laws still restrict the liberty of speech in this country. I<br />
pay tribute in particular to my hon. Friend the Member<br />
for Cambridge (Dr Huppert), who has worked very<br />
hard to make sure that this Bill is in the legislative<br />
programme. There is a strong proposal for a National<br />
Crime Agency to deal with terrorists and people who do<br />
not have the interests of this country at heart. We also<br />
have proposals for community sentences for restorative<br />
justice. My right hon. Friend the Member for Berwickupon-Tweed<br />
(Sir Alan Beith) has been absolutely clear<br />
about the value of such sentences not just in reforming<br />
people but in value-for-money terms.<br />
We have been careful about the difficult issue that<br />
the right hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden<br />
(Mr Davis) raised about data and how to deal with it. It<br />
is perfectly reasonable, as my hon. Friend the Member<br />
for Cheltenham (Martin Horwood) said, to respond to<br />
the security services’ request that we make all species of<br />
communication areas of consideration for regulation of<br />
data control—not so that people can know what one is<br />
saying but so that we do not have no-go areas for the<br />
security services. We on the Liberal Democrat Benches<br />
will not sign up to legislation that will add to the<br />
intrusion into citizens’ lives that we saw so often from<br />
the Labour party when it was in government. Under<br />
Labour, we had a Big Brother state with identity cards<br />
and proposals for 90-day detention. Neither we nor the<br />
Conservatives are going down that road, and that is why<br />
there is a draft proposal, which we will look at carefully.<br />
Only if it is acceptable will it get through.<br />
Let me say a word about the comments of the right<br />
hon. Member for Belfast North (Mr Dodds) on gay<br />
marriage. May I say, as a member of the Church, that I<br />
think it is entirely reasonable that in a modern society in<br />
which we have accepted that both gay and straight<br />
couples should be able to have permanent, recognised<br />
relationships, the state should allow that to happen in<br />
an equal way? It happens in many other places in the<br />
world and it does not mean that any denomination of<br />
the Church or any other faith group has to accept that,<br />
endorse it or carry out such ceremonies in its buildings—it<br />
is simply about saying that the state recognises it when<br />
two people want to live their lives as adults together.<br />
This is not in the Gracious Speech and was never going<br />
to be, because the consultation has not ended. However,<br />
we should recognise that there is a civil liberties issue at<br />
stake for many of our constituents. We should not<br />
forget that. I bet there are people in every constituency<br />
in the <strong>United</strong> <strong>Kingdom</strong> who want us to make sure that<br />
this issue remains on the agenda.<br />
Dr Andrew Murrison (South West Wiltshire) (Con):<br />
Many people will have written to the right hon. Gentleman,<br />
as they have written to me, about this issue. Does he<br />
agree that when it is explained to people that there is a<br />
clear difference between a civil marriage and a religious<br />
marriage in terms of what is proposed, most of them<br />
are reassured? It is our duty to point that out.<br />
Simon Hughes: The hon. Gentleman is exactly right;<br />
that is exactly the experience I have had. I have Evangelical<br />
Christian friends who are concerned about this issue,<br />
but when one explains that it does not suddenly make<br />
something sacramental if that is not what the Church<br />
or what the individual believes, they are reassured. It is<br />
a similar issue—I say this respectfully—as that of tax<br />
advantages for people who are married and those who<br />
are not married. In our book, if a couple have lived<br />
together for 25 years but have not married, they should<br />
enjoy the same position in the tax system as those who<br />
have chosen to marry. We have to respect people’s different<br />
life choices as adults.<br />
Those issues are all important, but the most important<br />
legislative proposal for my constituents in a constituency<br />
that faces the City of London from across the river is<br />
none of those—it is banking reform. It is about making<br />
sure that we divide the banks into retail banks that will<br />
deal with people’s day-to-day business and separate
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[Simon Hughes]<br />
them from the speculative, international playing with<br />
money that has brought us to the state we are in. In my<br />
view, the most important aspect of that Bill, for which<br />
my right hon. Friend the Business Secretary’s Department<br />
is also responsible, is that which allows shareholders to<br />
control the scandal of executive pay. This week, we have<br />
at last seen the beginning of a change in attitudes at the<br />
top; shareholder power has at last begun to be exerted.<br />
We absolutely need to give shareholders the power not<br />
only to advise and express their view but to say, “I’m<br />
sorry—if you don’t perform, you are not getting the<br />
money.” What has happened previously has resulted<br />
from an “if you scratch my back I’ll scratch yours”<br />
attitude in the boardrooms, with people offering each<br />
other packages and salaries that are beyond the<br />
comprehension of most of our constituents. It was<br />
obscene and it is unacceptable, but it was allowed,<br />
encouraged and developed under a Labour Government,<br />
and that should be to their eternal shame.<br />
Malcolm Bruce: Does my right hon. Friend agree that<br />
shareholders have come to their senses? They recognise<br />
that paying directors bonuses for reduced share prices<br />
and dividends is not a good deal for anybody.<br />
Simon Hughes: Absolutely. If we can have a real rise<br />
of shareholder power over the next few years—individuals<br />
and pension funds—it will be a really good thing.<br />
There are two more things I want to say. The first is<br />
about constitutional reform, in part to answer the hon.<br />
Member for Hackney South and Shoreditch (Meg Hillier).<br />
We are right not to forget constitutional reform. The<br />
Liberal Democrat party is a party of reform. We have<br />
agreed fixed-term <strong>Parliament</strong>s—a good thing. We have<br />
agreed that there should be no transfer of powers to the<br />
European Union without a referendum, which is an<br />
absolutely reasonable thing. We have agreed that whatever<br />
the number of constituencies, they should at least have<br />
the same size electorate—a good thing. We have agreed<br />
to look at devolution to England, which I have argued<br />
for a long time, because there is unequal devolution.<br />
Since I have been in this place we have had fantastically<br />
successful devolution in Wales, Scotland and Northern<br />
Ireland, and I welcome it. England needs a bit of the<br />
same.<br />
We have agreed that Back Benchers should be more<br />
powerful in determining the agenda in this place—a<br />
good thing. We have agreed that there will be a change<br />
in the laws of succession to the Crown—absolutely a<br />
good thing. I hope it will soon be part of the legislative<br />
programme. We have more work to do, to make sure we<br />
scrutinise legislation better in this place. We do not do it<br />
well enough in either place; often we do not have<br />
enough time here and we leave it to the other end of the<br />
building. That is not a plea for more legislation. In<br />
every <strong>Parliament</strong> I have sat in, we have asked for less<br />
legislation and I am glad that we are not trying to jam in<br />
all sorts of things that the public do not want. We want<br />
fewer regulations and less legislation, but we want to do<br />
it better.<br />
Tony Baldry: Does my right hon. Friend think that<br />
the Opposition have suddenly started mischief-making<br />
over Lords reform, by asking for a referendum? Is it<br />
because they hope that in so doing they will cause<br />
Liberal Democrat Members to go slow on the equalisation<br />
of constituency boundaries? As Labour Members do<br />
not want equalisation of constituency boundaries, they<br />
hope that by frustrating Lords reform they can frustrate<br />
that idea. Can my right hon. Friend assure the House<br />
that he and his colleagues are committed to ensuring<br />
that a vote in Southwark is worth the same as a vote in<br />
Banbury, or in Wales or Scotland?<br />
Simon Hughes: I am keen that we have a system whereby<br />
votes in all parts of the country are fair. Of course<br />
I would like a proportional system, but I accept that I<br />
shall not have that in this <strong>Parliament</strong>. Friends on the<br />
Plaid and other Benches know of my Welsh background.<br />
The Welsh have the most advantageous position at the<br />
moment, because many constituencies have far fewer<br />
electors. We need a fair system.<br />
I do not know what the motives of Labour Members<br />
are, but if they try to play silly games and prevent the<br />
other place from changing from an entirely nominated<br />
or hereditary Chamber to a democratic one, it will be to<br />
their eternal discredit. This is the best opportunity they<br />
have ever had—especially as they did not do it—to<br />
change our <strong>Parliament</strong>. Why? There are only 15 countries<br />
in the world that still have a predominantly appointed<br />
second Chamber; I am sure Labour Members would<br />
think that Belize and Burkina Faso are good examples.<br />
In only one other country is heredity a determinant for<br />
membership of the legislature—Lesotho. It is a lovely<br />
country, but I am not sure that it is the best model for<br />
democratic, 21st-century politics.<br />
There are more Members down the other end of<br />
the corridor who are over 90 than under 40. There are<br />
818 Members there already—92 hereditary—and the<br />
balance between men and women is 638 to 180. The<br />
Chamber is not representative by gender, ethnicity or<br />
age. It is not representative in any way. Why not? Because<br />
it exists by patronage and heredity. We just have to<br />
move on. It has been on the agenda for 100 years and<br />
we have to finish the business.<br />
John Cryer (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab): Will the<br />
right hon. Gentleman give way?<br />
Simon Hughes: No.<br />
I say to hon. Friends on the Conservative Benches<br />
who are not entirely persuaded about Lords reform that<br />
I understand that it is a lovely place, that they look<br />
lovely, some of them are lovely, and that it is part of our<br />
great, historic constitution and offers a job for life—<br />
I am not going there, but they might want to—so I<br />
understand why it touches a soft spot, but come on,<br />
guys: we have to move on. If the Tory party is to be the<br />
modern party that it wants to be and that the Prime<br />
Minister says it needs to be, it, too, must deliver. We can<br />
talk about the detail, the percentages and the length of<br />
the term of office, but we must end up with a second<br />
Chamber that is predominantly democratically elected.<br />
Mr Russell Brown (Dumfries and Galloway) (Lab):<br />
The right hon. Gentleman mentioned that the regional<br />
variations are significant. On the point his hon. Friend<br />
the Member for Banbury (Tony Baldry) made about the<br />
reduction in the number of constituencies, is the right<br />
hon. Gentleman telling the House this afternoon that
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50<br />
what we are all seeing on social network websites is<br />
wrong and that there will be no frustration as a result of<br />
that reduction?<br />
Simon Hughes: First, I am surrounded by colleagues<br />
who say that those who believe social network websites<br />
are in trouble. Secondly, most things on them are wrong.<br />
Thirdly, they are sometimes libellous. Seriously, I understand<br />
the general point the hon. Gentleman is making. I am<br />
not a member of the Government and so cannot speak<br />
for them, but I can speak for my colleagues here. What<br />
we want is a package of constitutional reform that has a<br />
fair constituency system. There is an argument about<br />
how many constituencies there should be—I was never<br />
in favour of the number going down quite as far as it<br />
has done, but there was an argument for making it<br />
smaller—and there is a strong argument for having<br />
equal numbers, but there is an equally strong argument<br />
for Lords reform. I hope that Labour will support us in<br />
delivering both, and we will be watching.<br />
Meg Hillier: Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?<br />
Simon Hughes: No, because other colleagues wish to<br />
speak and I am bringing my comments to a close.<br />
The new President of France said after he was elected<br />
on Sunday that his two priorities were a fairer country<br />
and support for the next generation, the young people<br />
of France. I think that those are good things for us to<br />
champion for our country from these Benches. We need<br />
a redistribution of wealth and of work, an end to the<br />
obscenity of top pay and a closing of the gap between<br />
rich and poor. We need to make sure that work always<br />
pays, to create more apprenticeships and a more skilled<br />
work force, to give more opportunities for employment<br />
and self-employment and to build the largest opportunity<br />
for infrastructure investment that we can manage, in all<br />
countries and regions of the UK, and the largest affordable<br />
programme for housing that we can deliver, particularly<br />
social rented housing, which is desperately needed in<br />
my constituency and elsewhere. I guess that there is not<br />
a single colleague who does not have constituents coming<br />
to their surgery every week pleading with them to find<br />
somewhere where they and their partner, or they and<br />
their parents, or they and their children can live. Young<br />
people need a decent careers and youth service, decent<br />
work experience, decent mentoring, good apprenticeships<br />
and good further and higher education.<br />
To the Prime Minister and the Chancellor, I say,<br />
“You were right, of course, to take as many poor people<br />
out of tax as you have, but please do not again reduce<br />
tax rates for the well-off.” Whatever the balance of<br />
equity, it came across very badly, it did not look as if we<br />
are all in this together and the evidence does not show<br />
that any further reduction will do any greater good for<br />
the economy. We have had one Budget which does this<br />
and we know the outcome, but no more please. Let us<br />
take the poorer out of tax, not the people at the top.<br />
To colleagues here who sometimes have disagreements<br />
with the Government—we all do—I say that we have to<br />
remain strong, united, determined, liberal and radical.<br />
We have to be committed to the things we came here<br />
for: the spreading of wealth and power and a cleaner,<br />
greener, safer and, above all, fairer Britain.<br />
To the people outside who wonder what we are doing<br />
in this difficult coalition, I say that we are clear that we<br />
cannot achieve everything we want because in a coalition,<br />
by definition, that is not possible, but it is better to be in<br />
government influencing a huge amount than in opposition<br />
influencing nothing. We are determined to use our<br />
influence not unfairly, disproportionately or unreasonably,<br />
but this is a partnership of two parties. That is the deal<br />
and that is what we will stick to.<br />
We won 16% of the vote in the local elections the<br />
other day; we won 23% in the general election. It is not<br />
an impossible task over three years to build confidence,<br />
but it depends on whether we can get the economy going,<br />
help growth, make sure that we are seen to be economically<br />
competent and deliver a fairer Britain.<br />
I think that we can do it, and Asquith gave us something<br />
100 years ago this year as an encouragement on our<br />
way. In his speech in Nottingham to our party conference,<br />
at a time when he was leading one of the greatest<br />
Governments in British history, he said this—<br />
Mr Iain Wright (Hartlepool) (Lab): Were you there?<br />
Simon Hughes: I was not there, no—not even in my<br />
previous life!<br />
Asquith said:<br />
“If we have—and I believe you will see that we have—concentration<br />
of purpose, unity of spirit, and unshaken firmness of resolve,<br />
then, long and stormy though the voyage may have been before it<br />
comes to an end, the ship will find her way with a full cargo into<br />
the desired haven.”<br />
Liberal Democrats are determined to deliver us safely<br />
on the other side and, much more importantly, to<br />
deliver our constituents to a better Britain, with better<br />
prospects, higher employment, lower unemployment<br />
and a much more secure economy for the five years<br />
following 2015 than the one we inherited when we took<br />
over in 2010.<br />
5.20 pm<br />
Mr Iain Wright (Hartlepool) (Lab): It is a pleasure to<br />
follow the right hon. Member for Bermondsey and Old<br />
Southwark (Simon Hughes), who I know takes a great<br />
interest in Hartlepool—largely because he spent most<br />
of the 2004 by-election there trying to stop me becoming<br />
a Member.<br />
In his opening and closing remarks, the right hon.<br />
Gentleman mentioned elections both general and local,<br />
and I have to tell him that after Thursday’s local elections,<br />
on Hartlepool borough council the Liberal Democrats<br />
now have no representation whatever, which shows the<br />
scale of the challenge that he and his party face in terms<br />
of getting into bed with the Conservatives.<br />
Mike Crockart (Edinburgh West) (LD): I am confused<br />
by this continuing slur of “getting into bed with the<br />
Conservatives”, because in Scotland we now have coalitions<br />
of every possible hue, including Labour and Tory coalitions.<br />
Does the hon. Gentleman attack those coalitions with<br />
the same vigour that he attacks this one here?<br />
Mr Wright: I use the phrase “getting into bed with<br />
the Tories” not because it is of my own making, but<br />
after speaking to my constituents and people elsewhere<br />
who were thinking about voting Liberal Democrat, who<br />
might have fallen out of love with Labour following the<br />
2005 general election and who wanted to consider<br />
something else in 2010, but who now feel let down and
51 Debate on the Address<br />
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52<br />
[Mr Iain Wright]<br />
betrayed. That is the scale of the challenge that the hon.<br />
Gentleman’s party faces with regard to reinvigorating<br />
the trust of the people.<br />
Almost the first words that Her Majesty said in her<br />
speech today were:<br />
“My Ministers’ first priority will be to reduce the deficit and<br />
restore economic stability.”<br />
Those words were almost identical to the ones that the<br />
Queen uttered in the first Session of this <strong>Parliament</strong>,<br />
two years ago, when she stated:<br />
“The first priority is to reduce the deficit and restore economic<br />
growth.”<br />
In the intervening two years, the Government have<br />
done little that they set themselves on both counts. They<br />
have had to borrow about £150 billion more than they<br />
originally forecast back in 2010, and they have failed to<br />
deal effectively with the deficit and to restore economic<br />
growth, because they have focused exclusively—some<br />
might say almost obsessively—on the former, reducing<br />
the deficit, instead of giving sufficient priority to the<br />
latter, economic growth. It should not be an either/or<br />
game. Tax revenues are lower because of weak demand<br />
and reduced consumer spending, while expenditure is<br />
rising because of the need to pay out more in unemployment<br />
benefits. The British economy is now in a more perilous<br />
state than when the Government took office two years ago.<br />
The Prime Minister and the Chancellor will trot out<br />
the excuse of the difficulties experienced in the eurozone,<br />
and there is some truth in that, but they cannot escape<br />
the fact that the retreat into recession has been caused<br />
almost directly by their actions and policies. We are<br />
experiencing this country’s longest downturn since the<br />
1920s. Britain is emerging from the deep global recession<br />
of 2008-09 more slowly than from previous recessions and,<br />
crucially, more slowly than our main economic competitors,<br />
meaning that our rivals in the global marketplace are<br />
stealing a march on us. The actions of this Government<br />
today are compromising our competitiveness in the<br />
global economy of tomorrow.<br />
The US economy grew by 3% in the last quarter of<br />
2011 and by 2.2% in the first quarter of this year.<br />
Alongside Greece and Italy, Spain is generally—almost<br />
universally—acknowledged to be one of the economic<br />
basket cases of the eurozone, but even the Spanish<br />
economy grew more in 2011 than Britain’s. Today’s<br />
publication of UK retail figures, which show a 3.3% fall<br />
year on year—the largest fall in more than a year—<br />
demonstrates the general weakness of the economy, the<br />
lack of demand and the fragility of consumer confidence.<br />
Mel Stride (Central Devon) (Con): Will the hon.<br />
Gentleman congratulate the Government on maintaining<br />
our triple A credit rating status and acknowledge the<br />
fact that we have among the lowest long-term interest<br />
rates in the world at the moment? That is a major<br />
achievement.<br />
Mr Wright: We do have those things, but we have no<br />
growth. I fear that the rehashing of phrases in the<br />
Gracious Speech today—often word-for-word repeats<br />
of what was said in 2010—will mean that the Government<br />
will continue to insist on economic policies that consign<br />
the country to a decade of stagnation, anaemic growth,<br />
mass unemployment and rising social division.<br />
Dr Andrew Murrison (South West Wiltshire) (Con):<br />
Will the hon. Gentleman explain how high interest rates<br />
will stimulate growth?<br />
Mr Wright: High interest rates do not stimulate growth,<br />
but, equally, low interest rates indicate that there is no<br />
economic stimulus whatever. We need a rounder, more<br />
holistic approach to economic policy that focuses not<br />
solely on reducing the deficit, but on making sure that<br />
we can stimulate the economy to embark on jobs and<br />
growth.<br />
Meg Hillier (Hackney South and Shoreditch) (Lab/<br />
Co-op): Does my hon. Friend agree that one of the<br />
challenges is the issue of businesses not being able to get<br />
loans? The Prime Minister spoke with enthusiasm about<br />
Project Merlin and the loan guarantee scheme, but that<br />
is not delivering to businesses. There is no contradiction<br />
between cutting a deficit and getting banks to lend. It is<br />
in the Government’s power to do so, but they are not<br />
acting.<br />
Mr Wright: I absolutely agree. Later, I want to mention<br />
that we need more investment and to unlock investor<br />
confidence and provide more business investment. That<br />
is at terminally low rates at the moment.<br />
Emphasis should have been given to a new finance<br />
Bill with measures to boost demand in the economy<br />
and put more money in the pockets of millions, rather<br />
than prioritising tax cuts for millionaires and tax rises<br />
for pensioners. Communities such as mine in Hartlepool<br />
and the wider north-east see a Government presiding<br />
over unprecedented cuts to income, living standards<br />
and public services, huge rises in unemployment and<br />
matters being made worse by Government measures<br />
such as the rise in VAT, hikes in student fees, cuts to tax<br />
credits and increased taxes for pensioners.<br />
At the same time, the Chancellor is insisting that the<br />
country can afford to give those earning more than<br />
£150,000 a year a tax cut and that, in the current<br />
climate, millionaires should be given priority and pay<br />
about £40,000 a year less in tax. A new finance Bill<br />
could have set about repairing some of the damage<br />
from the previous Finance Bill, which has been carried<br />
over into this Session; it could have put us on the path<br />
to economic recovery, jobs and growth.<br />
Andrea Leadsom (South Northamptonshire) (Con)<br />
rose—<br />
Mr Wright: I hope that the hon. Lady will agree.<br />
Andrea Leadsom: It seems rather astonishing that the<br />
hon. Gentleman should be suggesting that the Government<br />
should be spending more money. Does he run a household<br />
budget as I do? When people are trying to feed a family,<br />
it is clear that if they borrow lots of money and pay<br />
extremely high interest rates—because their intention is<br />
to borrow even more money—that will not get them<br />
into any position to balance their budget or move on<br />
from the parlous state in which they find themselves. Is<br />
the hon. Gentleman not aware that we are already<br />
paying £200 million a day in interest, just to service the<br />
debt that his Government incurred?<br />
Mr Wright: What I am suggesting is that if the<br />
Government were serious about economic growth and<br />
promoting the conditions for competitiveness and enterprise,
53 Debate on the Address<br />
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54<br />
they would be doing a lot more to stimulate growth and<br />
job creation. For example, they could have announced a<br />
British investment bank Bill, which would have provided<br />
a clear and welcome acknowledgement that active<br />
partnership between Government and productive businesses<br />
will allow the state to ensure that growth capital is<br />
provided to the small and medium-sized businesses that<br />
need it, for which the market has failed.<br />
Active partnership between Government and businesses<br />
can work. Successful modern economies such as Singapore<br />
and Germany do it, and their economies will see long-term,<br />
sustainable business success and economic growth as a<br />
result. Even the US, supposedly the most free market<br />
economy on earth, does it; we saw the likes of fast-growing<br />
young companies such as Apple and Intel receive growth<br />
funding through the US Government’s small business<br />
investment company programme. On the subject of<br />
active government in the US, why did not the Gracious<br />
Speech include the British equivalent of President Obama’s<br />
Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, which is designed<br />
to increase the number of jobs and to kick-start initial<br />
public offerings for companies and ensure that they<br />
have access to finance for growth? We should be doing<br />
the same here.<br />
Mel Stride: Does the hon. Gentleman recognise that<br />
according to Companies House there were more new<br />
business start-ups in the last quarter than at any time<br />
since this Government came to office?<br />
Mr Wright: You will never hear from me, Mr Deputy<br />
Speaker, any criticism of trying to get as many start-ups<br />
as possible. I would welcome a culture of enterprise and<br />
allowing businesses to grow, but firms that are starting<br />
up are being penalised by not being given access to<br />
finance and capital to allow them to do so.<br />
The Gracious Speech referred to the introduction of<br />
“legislation to reform competition law to promote enterprise and<br />
fair markets.”<br />
I hope that the Government will confirm that that Bill<br />
will contain measures to curb excessive executive<br />
remuneration and encourage increased shareholder activism,<br />
as that was not specifically mentioned in the Queen’s<br />
Speech. I also hope that they will legislate to implement<br />
all—I emphasise all—the sensible and widely accepted<br />
recommendations of the High Pay Commission earlier<br />
this year on matters such as simplification of executive<br />
remuneration, standardisation of reporting to ensure<br />
that meaningful comparisons can take place, and,<br />
importantly, the inclusion of employee representation<br />
on remuneration committees. Recent events at the likes<br />
of UBS, Trinity Mirror, Barclays, AstraZeneca and<br />
Aviva have shown that there is shareholder appetite for<br />
ensuring that poor performance is not rewarded through<br />
excessive pay. I hope that the High Pay Commission’s<br />
recommendations will be implemented in full.<br />
I hope that the reference in the Queen’s Speech to<br />
“repealing unnecessary legislation”will not mean stripping<br />
away workers’ rights. Making it easier to fire people<br />
does not create jobs, employment or economic growth;<br />
instead, such an environment creates a Victorian-mill-owner<br />
culture of bad bosses being accepted and enshrined in<br />
legislation. It will do nothing to stimulate consumer<br />
confidence or growth in demand, which are so very<br />
vital. It is also wrong to suggest that the level of<br />
employment protection and rises in unemployment are<br />
closely correlated, as David Blanchflower points out in<br />
his article in The Independent today. He argues that<br />
Germany and the Netherlands have much higher levels<br />
of employment protection than the UK but experienced<br />
a much smaller rise in unemployment during the recession<br />
and its aftermath.<br />
Andrea Leadsom rose—<br />
Mr Wright: I hope that the Government will recognise<br />
that point in taking forward legislation, and that the<br />
hon. Lady will recognise it as well.<br />
Andrea Leadsom: I agree that we have got into a<br />
position in this country whereby certain big businesses<br />
have behaved extremely badly towards their employees,<br />
and towards capitalism itself. That has not been about<br />
true entrepreneurism but just money for old rope. Does<br />
the hon. Gentleman agree that the answer to that is to<br />
change the way in which we do corporate governance by<br />
introducing new powers for shareholders to ensure that<br />
they can hold to account the chief executives and boards<br />
of such companies?<br />
Mr Wright: I would certainly agree with making<br />
improvements to this country’s corporate governance<br />
model. Germany has a good model, and although it<br />
cannot be replicated exactly, it is something that we<br />
should consider. I have mentioned the recommendations<br />
of the High Pay Commission, which referred to employee<br />
involvement in remuneration. I hope that that approach<br />
will continue. By having a responsible capitalist agenda,<br />
we can make improvements to secure long-term sustainable<br />
growth in this country. Perhaps the hon. Lady and I can<br />
agree on that.<br />
Mrs Grant: Does the hon. Gentleman agree that<br />
extreme and unreasonable levels of employment protection<br />
can be a disincentive to enterprise?<br />
Mr Wright: I speak to businesses in my constituency<br />
and elsewhere virtually every day, and they are not<br />
telling me that they are hindered in that way. This goes<br />
to a wider point about the Queen’s Speech and about<br />
the Government’s having the wrong priorities and the<br />
wrong values in this respect. I am arguing that we<br />
should be concentrating on increasing employment and<br />
having a system whereby we can secure long-term<br />
sustainable business growth for this country. We should<br />
be making it easier for people to hire workers, not fire<br />
them.<br />
I hope, too, that the reference in the Queen’s Speech<br />
to the limiting of state inspection of businesses will not<br />
serve as a cover for further cuts to the Health and Safety<br />
Executive’s budget or an undermining of the safety<br />
regime in the workplace. On 28 April we commemorated<br />
workers memorial day and were reminded that<br />
20,000 people would die prematurely this year from<br />
injuries sustained or diseases contracted as a result of<br />
unsatisfactory health and safety in the workplace. Fatalities<br />
in the construction industry have risen in the past year,<br />
and responsible Governments and businesses recognise<br />
that a comprehensive safety regime, suitably audited,<br />
actually enhances productivity and efficiency and ultimately<br />
has a beneficial effect on the bottom line. I therefore<br />
hope that workers’ health and safety rights will not be<br />
stripped away.
55 Debate on the Address<br />
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56<br />
[Mr Iain Wright]<br />
The Queen’s Speech referred to the Government’s<br />
commitment to<br />
“improve the lives of children and families”,<br />
with which the whole House would agree. However,<br />
today’s report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation forecasts<br />
that child poverty will increase in the next decade. It<br />
concludes by stating that the Government should take a<br />
more targeted approach to employment programmes<br />
and aim them at families in my constituency and elsewhere<br />
who often have not seen meaningful or sustained work<br />
for three generations or so. That could break the cycle<br />
of unemployment, poverty, deprivation and the loss of<br />
ambition and aspiration. There was nothing in the<br />
Queen’s Speech to allow that to take place.<br />
The most serious issue facing Hartlepool both socially<br />
and economically is the level of unemployment, which<br />
is higher now than it was at the height of the global<br />
recession in 2008. Youth unemployment is a particular<br />
concern. One in four young men in my constituency are<br />
out of work, which will cause immense social and<br />
economic problems in the next 20, 30 or 40 years. The<br />
Government really need to deal with that, and measures<br />
such as the abolition of the future jobs fund, the cancellation<br />
of education maintenance allowance and the hike in<br />
tuition fees do not help young people in my constituency.<br />
I wanted to see in the Gracious Speech something like a<br />
future jobs fund or a skills and retraining Bill, to ensure<br />
that my constituency and others were best placed to<br />
come out of their economic difficulties in a better<br />
position than when they went into them. Sadly, the<br />
Queen’s Speech was lacking in that regard.<br />
Mrs Grant: Does the hon. Gentleman not agree,<br />
though, that policies on flexible working and shared<br />
parental leave will have the effect of keeping people in<br />
work?<br />
Mr Wright: I believe the balance that the Labour<br />
Government struck was probably about right. There<br />
will always be different emphases, but I reiterate the<br />
point that I made in answer to a previous intervention.<br />
Businesses say to me, “We want to have the conditions<br />
for growth. We want to be able to hire workers. The issue<br />
is not about being able to fire workers more easily—that<br />
is not what we are about.” The emphasis and priorities<br />
that the Government have set out in the Gracious<br />
Speech and elsewhere are completely wrong.<br />
It astonishes me that after only two years, the<br />
Government seem to have run out of steam. The rehashing<br />
of words and phrases in the Queen’s Speech is evidence<br />
of that. It is difficult to think of the big reforming<br />
Governments of the past century—the right hon. Member<br />
for Bermondsey and Old Southwark mentioned Asquith,<br />
and we can think about Attlee, Thatcher or Blair—being<br />
devoid of policy areas only 24 months after being elected.<br />
Governments used to talk about relaunches after two<br />
terms of office, not after two years. The Government<br />
have no sense of national mission and have not set out<br />
the values that are really needed or what they want the<br />
British economy to look like in 2020 or 2030. They lack,<br />
in the eloquent words of the Business Secretary, a<br />
“compelling vision” of where they want to take the<br />
economy.<br />
As The Sunday Times stated this weekend:<br />
“People now regard this as a government that fails on the three<br />
i’s: it is incoherent, incompetent and has run out of ideas.”<br />
Today’s Queen’s Speech provided the opportunity for a<br />
true and meaningful relaunch, which could have ensured<br />
that the Government reassessed their values and priorities<br />
and tried again. They failed to do that. This country<br />
and my constituency, particularly its young people, will<br />
suffer the consequences of that missed opportunity for<br />
decades to come.<br />
5.39 pm<br />
Mr Stephen Dorrell (Charnwood) (Con): The hon.<br />
Member for Hartlepool (Mr Wright) was on stronger<br />
ground when he talked about the importance of policies<br />
and opportunities to create growth to address the<br />
unemployment that affects his constituency and many<br />
others. Although I did not agree with many of his policy<br />
prescriptions, I agreed with his definition of the challenge—I<br />
think, from his speech earlier, that my right hon. Friend<br />
the Prime Minister did, too. However, I did not follow<br />
the hon. Gentleman into the closing stages of his speech<br />
because he is simply wrong to say that the Government<br />
do not have a clear view about what they are trying<br />
to do.<br />
I welcome the Queen’s Speech precisely because it<br />
refocuses the minds of hon. Members and supporters of<br />
the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties, and<br />
more importantly, of those beyond the political world,<br />
on the objectives that we set ourselves when the coalition<br />
Government were formed. To me, that is the key win in<br />
the Queen’s Speech.<br />
Some members of my party have, in the past few weeks,<br />
and particularly in the past few days, sought opportunities<br />
to strengthen the Conservative flavour, as they see it, in<br />
the coalition. I want to offer one or two responses to<br />
that, based on the Queen’s Speech, and comment on<br />
one or two specific proposals.<br />
As a lifelong Conservative, I have no problem in<br />
arguing the case for Conservative ideas. However, I have<br />
a problem with those who seek to reinterpret the<br />
Conservative case excessively narrowly. There is nothing<br />
in the Queen’s Speech that cannot be argued full heartedly<br />
as a mainstream Conservative proposal. All the measures<br />
can be traced to proper Conservative roots and, indeed,<br />
to roots in the Liberal Democrat tradition.<br />
There has been much debate, including in the House<br />
this afternoon, about House of Lords reform and whether<br />
there is a proper Conservative narrative for it. I argue<br />
strongly that there is. I intervened on my right hon.<br />
Friend the Member for Haltemprice and Howden<br />
(Mr Davis) to remind him that it is nearly 50 years since<br />
Lord Hailsham, who happened to be Margaret Thatcher’s<br />
first Lord Chancellor, described our system of government<br />
as possessing inadequate checks and balances on the<br />
powers of the Executive. He described it as an “elective<br />
dictatorship”, so when my right hon. Friend the Leader<br />
of the House of Lords is quoted in today’s Financial<br />
Times as arguing the case for reform of another place<br />
on the ground that it will make that Chamber,<br />
“‘stronger, more independent’ and better able ‘to challenge the<br />
decisions of the Commons’”,<br />
I allow myself a gentle cheer. I think that Lord Hailsham,<br />
from his grave, would cheer the prospect of our seeking<br />
a structure that allows <strong>Parliament</strong> to be a more effective<br />
check on the Executive.
57 Debate on the Address<br />
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58<br />
We either believe in the case for less and better<br />
government, and more checks and balances in government<br />
—as a Conservative, I do; that Governments should be<br />
subject to checks and balances and accountability is a<br />
core Conservative belief—or we do not. My right hon.<br />
Friend the Leader of the House of Lords clearly does. I<br />
am delighted that the Government, from both Conservative<br />
and Liberal Democrat traditions, believe in the case for<br />
more effective checks and balances and accountability<br />
to <strong>Parliament</strong>. I look forward to the conversion of that<br />
big idea into precise legislation as the Session goes on.<br />
Mr Elfyn Llwyd (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC): I am<br />
listening carefully to the right hon. Gentleman, who<br />
makes a strong case. I do not know what we will end up<br />
with, but does he agree that one way of improving the<br />
checks and balances would be through avoiding the<br />
strict timetabling of every single measure that comes<br />
before the House?<br />
Mr Dorrell: I have much sympathy for that point of<br />
view. I have been here for perhaps rather more years<br />
than I should, but I remember long debates when<br />
parliamentary scrutiny was more effective than it often<br />
is now. Before the last general election, there were<br />
repeated occasions on which complex legislation passed<br />
through on a timetable that suited the Government<br />
rather than provided for proper parliamentary scrutiny.<br />
There will be those—I am certainly among them—who<br />
will look for ways to strengthen the voice of the House<br />
of Commons, as we should. I agree with my right hon.<br />
Friend the Member for Bermondsey and Old Southwark<br />
(Simon Hughes), who referred to the strengthening<br />
during this <strong>Parliament</strong> of the Back-Bench voice, which<br />
has been a step forward and a good thing. However,<br />
those who look for effective checks within the legislature<br />
on Executive enthusiasms do well to look at another<br />
place as part of the answer to that, in addition to reform<br />
of House of Commons procedure.<br />
Therefore, to those in the Conservative party who<br />
ask, “Where is the Conservative provenance for House<br />
of Lords reform?” I say, “Read the history books.” I<br />
will certainly be uncomfortable if we are manoeuvred<br />
into a position in which we appear to defend what I<br />
regard as a wholly unacceptable Blairite compromise,<br />
which we opposed vigorously at the time of the legislative<br />
proposals at the beginning of the Labour Government.<br />
Having said all that, it is clearly true that such reform<br />
is an important internal process within the Westminster<br />
village, but not the key issue that our constituents look<br />
to the Government, the Queen’s Speech and the House<br />
to address. To again pick up a theme developed by my<br />
right hon. Friend the Member for Bermondsey and<br />
Old Southwark, we should remind ourselves that the<br />
Government are a coalition. Because they are a coalition,<br />
they have a large working majority in the House of<br />
Commons, which is a good thing in terms of the stability<br />
and strategic purpose it provides. However, the majority<br />
is more important in another respect: the two parties<br />
that make up the coalition have a broader electoral base<br />
in the community outside Westminster than has been<br />
the case for any recent Government. We have a stable<br />
Government with a clear purpose, which was redefined<br />
and re-emphasised in the Queen’s Speech and in the<br />
speech of my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, and<br />
not just a Government cobbled together in the immediate<br />
aftermath of the last general election.<br />
At the very heart of the purpose of the coalition<br />
Government is the intention to create a stable economic<br />
base not merely to address the deficit, but to move on<br />
from that to create the environment in which growth<br />
begins to re-emerge, as the hon. Member for Hartlepool<br />
said. The purpose of economic policy is not to make the<br />
books balance—as the Prime Minister said over the<br />
weekend, it is not an exercise in accountancy—but to<br />
create the environment in which interest rates are low,<br />
confidence returns, and growth starts the process of<br />
creating jobs in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency and<br />
elsewhere.<br />
I find the argument of the shadow Chancellor wholly<br />
unpersuasive. He appears to believe that we lack a<br />
Government appetite to borrow. How a British Government<br />
deliver stability in the Europe of 2012 by building on<br />
their already excessive borrowing rate and building<br />
more borrowing into our public finances is simply beyond<br />
me. I believe that that is unrealistic, but more seriously,<br />
I also believe that the shadow Chancellor knows it is<br />
unrealistic. If he does, it is not only unrealistic, but dishonest.<br />
The purpose that brought the Government together,<br />
which enlists the support of every Conservative and<br />
Liberal Democrat Member of <strong>Parliament</strong>, is the prime<br />
objective of recreating economic stability to create growth,<br />
so that we can deliver the wealth required to deliver<br />
improving standards of living and improving public<br />
services. How do we do that? The hon. Member for<br />
Hartlepool argued that what we need is a state bank<br />
that would make better investment decisions than the<br />
private banking sector. I do not agree with that.<br />
What I do agree with are the two key Bills in the<br />
Queen’s Speech, one of which is the Bill on banking<br />
reform, to address some of the failings that have been<br />
identified, not just by politicians but by the Governor of<br />
the Bank of England last week and by many commentators.<br />
One of the learning experiences of the events of 2005-09<br />
was that the banking system did not have proper risk<br />
assurance to reduce the risks that the taxpayer ended up<br />
picking up. The process of banking reform is important<br />
and I welcome the fact that the Government are pressing<br />
forward with it.<br />
I also welcome the fact that the Government are<br />
pressing forward with the reform and accentuation of<br />
competition policy, because I strongly believe that, once<br />
the Government’s finances are under control, the real<br />
answer to the question of how to recreate growth,<br />
confidence and prosperity in the economy is through a<br />
banking system that works and a competitive, free-enterprise<br />
economy. That is at the heart of the Queen’s Speech. It<br />
has obvious provenance in the Conservative tradition,<br />
and it has equally obvious provenance in the Liberal<br />
Democrat tradition, and that is why this stream of ideas<br />
comes together to create a strong coalition Government.<br />
The Government are not, I am pleased to say, just<br />
about economics. They also have a broad-based programme<br />
for the reform of public service delivery—in which my<br />
right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education<br />
in particular is carrying forward a programme of reform<br />
that will deliver strong improvements in our school<br />
system and our wider education system as a result of<br />
the ideas that we share across the coalition. We also<br />
have a shared commitment to the promotion of<br />
environmental policies through the Green investment<br />
bank. That such ideas are shared across the coalition is<br />
the key point that I want to draw out of the Queen’s<br />
Speech.
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[Mr Dorrell]<br />
I wish to focus on one specific policy—social care.<br />
This is a more techy point than a political ideas point,<br />
but it is an extremely important point from the perspective<br />
of the people who rely on our health and social care<br />
system. There was, of course, an expectation of legislation<br />
on social care reform in this Session. What we now have<br />
is a commitment in the Queen’s Speech to a draft Bill<br />
reflecting a continuing thinking process within the<br />
Government—I am pleased to see that the hon. Member<br />
for Sutton and Cheam (Paul Burstow), the Minister<br />
with responsibility for social care, is in his place. I shall<br />
not seek his comments on what I am about to say, but<br />
I am glad that he will hear it.<br />
Tony Baldry: In the briefing that hon. Members were<br />
sent before this debate by organisations including Carers<br />
UK, they actually asked for a draft Bill so that it could<br />
be properly considered before final legislation was eventually<br />
brought forward.<br />
Mr Dorrell: My hon. Friend leads me neatly to my<br />
next point. It seems to me to be an odd argument to<br />
suggest that if the Government have not yet clearly<br />
made up their mind precisely how they propose to<br />
deliver the important issue of social care reform, it then<br />
becomes a source of criticism that there is not a Bill<br />
with a commitment to legislate. I am old-fashioned<br />
enough—as my hon. Friend suggests most of us interested<br />
in this issue are—to think that the most important issue<br />
is to deliver a clear policy and then to legislate. I do not<br />
criticise the insistence that we have a clear policy before<br />
we have a Bill and a commitment to legislate.<br />
I welcome the fact that the process of clarification of<br />
policy is continuing, provided that it takes us beyond<br />
discussion about funding. While Dilnott made some<br />
important points about the need for a fairer system of<br />
distributing the cost burden among those who pay for<br />
social care—some of those ideas will be part of the<br />
eventual conclusion on health and social care—the<br />
problem is that he was asked to answer the wrong<br />
question, and that is becoming increasingly obvious as<br />
the public discussion continues. The question put to<br />
Dilnott was how to restructure the payment arrangements<br />
for the existing structure of social care. But if we step<br />
back from the question of funding and look at how care<br />
is actually delivered in each locality—between the social<br />
care system, the primary health care system and the<br />
community health care system—the inescapable conclusion<br />
is that the structure is no longer fit for purpose. It was<br />
designed primarily to deliver health care to people who<br />
had a burden of disease that was the pattern 30, 40 or<br />
50 years ago, whereas today’s health and care system<br />
needs to meet the needs of a very different group of<br />
patients. It is a difficult thing to measure, but depending<br />
on how one chooses to do so, between two thirds and<br />
three quarters of the resources employed in the health<br />
and care system are devoted to people with long-term,<br />
complex needs. Their requirement is for joined-up care<br />
that supports them and enables them to lead lives that<br />
are as full as possible during the period of their longer<br />
life expectancy.<br />
Meg Hillier: As a former carer for two adults with<br />
complex needs, I counted that at one point I was dealing<br />
with 13 different agencies to provide their care. The<br />
right hon. Gentleman seems to suggest that simplification<br />
of the system is as important as proper funding. Funding<br />
may be a big challenge, but simplification is vital if we<br />
are to deliver the domiciliary aspect of care.<br />
Mr Dorrell: I entirely agree with the hon. Lady’s view.<br />
Reform of social care is not the same thing as reforming<br />
the funding system. In my view, we cannot deliver a<br />
good value, high quality health and care system just by<br />
changing funding flows. What is required is something<br />
more fundamental, which is changing the way in which<br />
care is delivered in each locality, in order—as the hon.<br />
Lady rightly says—to reduce the number of competing,<br />
and often non-communicating, bureaucracies in the system.<br />
If the time that the Government are taking will be<br />
used to answer the question of how to deliver more<br />
integrated, joined-up care, and then how to pay for it, it<br />
will be time extremely well spent. If it is simply a delay<br />
while we try to solve the problems of how to pay for the<br />
existing system, we will continue to ask the wrong,<br />
unanswerable question.<br />
On social care, I have made a specific point, but on<br />
the Queen’s Speech as a whole, I have made a more<br />
important point with a broader political reach. The<br />
Government have a clear purpose, both in our economic<br />
policy and in our broader views about the type of<br />
society that we are seeking to create. It is not a coincidence<br />
that my right hon. Friend the Member for Haltemprice<br />
and Howden spoke today about liberty and justice, or<br />
that the right hon. Member for Bermondsey and Old<br />
Southwark focused on the importance of individual<br />
responsibility and rights as opposed to the collective<br />
tradition that comes from parties on the political left. I<br />
support the Queen’s Speech and this Conservative-led<br />
coalition, because it already has achievements of which<br />
both Conservatives and Liberal Democrats can be<br />
proud. The Queen’s Speech makes clear the continuing<br />
commitment on the part of the Government to build on<br />
and follow through the achievements of our first two<br />
years.<br />
5.59 pm<br />
Mr Elfyn Llwyd (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC): It is a<br />
great pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for<br />
Charnwood (Mr Dorrell), who has once more shown<br />
that he is a master of his brief. His remarks about care<br />
were thoughtful. Over the coming weeks, we can develop<br />
some of the thoughts he has expounded, and undoubtedly<br />
he will make an important contribution to this debate, if<br />
he has not done so already.<br />
I am tempted into the arena of reform of the other<br />
place. I will be honest: it is the least of my worries. As<br />
we all know, it began in 1911, and for all I know, in the<br />
next century we will still be talking about it—well, we<br />
will not, but others will be. I recall the valiant efforts of<br />
the late Robin Cook, for example, who was effectively<br />
stitched up to fail by the Labour Whips. There are very<br />
powerful forces at work within and without the usual<br />
channels, so let us not get too excited about sudden<br />
reform.<br />
I am sure that Members will recognise, however, that<br />
the other place needs reform. Clearly, any Chamber<br />
with even a partly hereditary principle has got to be<br />
wrong and due for reform, but how do we reform it?<br />
Each suggestion seems to have consequences we have<br />
not thought about. For example, would elected or appointed
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Members next door have the same validity, legitimacy<br />
and so on? If we empower the other Chamber, will we<br />
have a political boxing match with them all the time as<br />
we often have within this Chamber? I am sure that we<br />
will address those questions, but personally I will not<br />
hold my breath in expectation of imminent reform—<br />
although I might be wrong, as I often am.<br />
That is not to say that I favour the status quo, but I<br />
do foresee problems—some visible ones, some undercurrents<br />
—that could stymie our debate. We might come up with<br />
wonderful solutions, but with the best will in the world,<br />
will they happen? [Interruption.] Does the hon. Member<br />
for South West Wiltshire (Dr Murrison) wish to intervene?<br />
I would be pleased to accept an intervention. [Interruption.]<br />
It was just the way he was sitting. I beg his pardon.<br />
Dr Murrison: I thank the right hon. Gentleman for<br />
his invitation to intervene. He referred to excitement in<br />
his remarks. How much did he detect across the country<br />
in the run-up to the recent elections? I looked but could<br />
not find any.<br />
Mr Llwyd: The hon. Gentleman has hit an interesting<br />
note. The good people of Dwyfor Meirionnydd were<br />
hugely underwhelmed at the thought of House of Lords<br />
reform, given that there were at least another 210 subjects<br />
they wanted to talk about first.<br />
For what they are worth, I shall leave those comments<br />
on Lords reform up in the air—pointless, as they may<br />
well be.<br />
The Gracious Speech contained several interesting<br />
proposals, but as always the devil is in the detail.<br />
Nevertheless, I shall speak on the basis of what I know<br />
now of the speech. First, though, I would like to<br />
congratulate Her Majesty on her reign and on having<br />
been an excellent monarch for many years. I fully welcome<br />
the Government’s intention to bring in the groceries<br />
ombudsman—I think that is what it is called—in the<br />
Gracious Speech. Many of us throughout the House have<br />
championed such a thing for a long time. I first came to<br />
it in about 2004—2005 possibly—and many people in<br />
the Chamber and outside have argued similarly.<br />
As we know, a draft Bill was published and scrutinised<br />
during the last Session and might well be the basis of<br />
the legislation coming before us shortly. Ministers in the<br />
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs,<br />
I and everyone in the Chamber are aware of the crisis in<br />
the milk industry, for example. We need an ombudsman<br />
with real powers and teeth to tackle these problems, as<br />
the right hon. Member for Belfast North (Mr Dodds)<br />
said. We owe it not only to the farming community but<br />
to the many other suppliers to ensure that the ombudsman<br />
can act to good effect. Unless we do that, I am afraid<br />
that the measure might prove a damp squib.<br />
Gavin Shuker (Luton South) (Lab/Co-op): Does the<br />
right hon. Gentleman agree that it would be sensible to<br />
seek amendments to ensure that the ombudsman’s powers<br />
are in the Bill and not kept in reserve?<br />
Mr Llwyd: I am always in favour, where possible, of<br />
putting the powers in the Bill, because many things<br />
happen by way of secondary legislation that slip through<br />
on the nod, and suddenly we have unintended consequences<br />
and law that is not as workable or useful as we might<br />
have thought. I agree, therefore, with the hon. Gentleman.<br />
I have heard it said that there will be a power to name<br />
and shame. That is one thing that supermarkets, for<br />
example, would be concerned about, but equally there<br />
must be a power to impose substantial financial penalties.<br />
Small financial penalties will not do the office justice;<br />
they must be substantial if they are to mean anything<br />
at all.<br />
I referred to the dairy industry. The problems are not<br />
unique to Wales—they are across the board—but since<br />
1999 the number of Welsh dairy farmers has halved.<br />
This week’s tuppence cut by Dairy Crest has wreaked<br />
havoc on many people in north, mid and south Wales. It<br />
is said that a cut of between 3p and 4p, for example,<br />
means a loss of £65 million to the Welsh dairy sector. I<br />
would like the EU dairy package on contracts introduced<br />
on a compulsory rather than a voluntary basis, and<br />
I hope that DEFRA Ministers will hold a full and frank<br />
discussion with devolved Ministers on that basis.<br />
This issue does not only concern dairy farmers, however;<br />
suppliers in general are being hammered by the unfair<br />
contract terms and pressures being applied. I remember<br />
seeing several Ministers about this matter, including Lord<br />
Bach, who said, candidly, “I need six or seven names and<br />
examples of pressure being applied”, but dairy farmers,<br />
concerned about being victimised and losing their contracts,<br />
were not prepared to put their heads above the parapet.<br />
As one said to me, “Half a loaf is better than no loaf at<br />
all.” So, there we are. I understand that there will now<br />
be a right to complain anonymously.<br />
I will give the House the example of a farmer in the<br />
constituency whom I have the privilege to represent<br />
who bottles water—the purest water in Wales, apparently.<br />
On occasion, I have even drunk it.<br />
The <strong>Parliament</strong>ary Under-Secretary of State for Justice<br />
(Mr Crispin Blunt): When desperate.<br />
Mr Llwyd: Well, with something else. [Interruption.]<br />
The farmer came to an agreement with one of the<br />
large supermarkets. Believe it or not, it came out like<br />
this: the supplier was allowed 1.5p profit per litre of<br />
water, but the water was sold by the supermarket for<br />
more than 80p. He declined to do it. That 1.5p included<br />
travelling from mid-Wales across to Shropshire to deliver<br />
the water every day. It simply was not worth his while,<br />
yet apparently those terms are typical. We need to get to<br />
grips with these issues, otherwise all our home producers<br />
—of good vegetables, apples and so on—will say, “Well,<br />
it’s not worth it. We’re packing up.” That is the last thing<br />
we want.<br />
Dr Murrison: I agree absolutely with the right hon.<br />
Gentleman’s remarks about producers and farmers. Of<br />
course, my constituents, many of whom farm, would<br />
expect me to say that. However, my constituents also<br />
require good value for money from supermarkets. Does<br />
he agree that it is important that supermarkets can<br />
apply pressure to large multinational chains that produce<br />
goods and from which consumers need good value?<br />
There is a clear difference between the two.<br />
Mr Llwyd: Yes, and one hopes that the ombudsman<br />
will be involved in that scenario as well. We shall no<br />
doubt consider the Bill shortly, and I hope that that<br />
aspect will be covered; otherwise, we will be doing only<br />
half the job. I agree with what the hon. Gentleman says.
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[Mr Llwyd]<br />
I shall move on swiftly to the notion of televising<br />
court proceedings, which has not yet been mentioned.<br />
As a lawyer, I am not in favour of televising advocates,<br />
because there could be a danger of their playing to the<br />
gallery. I am not saying that many would do so, but<br />
some might. I understand, however, that the proposals<br />
will follow the Scottish model, which would be very<br />
sensible. They would confine the televising to the judge’s<br />
summing up and sentencing remarks. That would be<br />
helpful, because sentencing remarks give out not only a<br />
warning to the public but an indication to practitioners<br />
of the penalties that certain offences attract. A period<br />
of experimentation would be helpful in this regard.<br />
Much has been said about the recent flurry of activity<br />
from active shareholders in companies such as Trinity<br />
Mirror and Aviva. I will not rehearse those arguments,<br />
but I hope that we will see a strengthening of shareholder<br />
democracy. It is abominable that share values can go<br />
down while bonuses go up. That makes no sense whatever.<br />
We also believe in a maximum wage, with a set differential<br />
between those at the top of a company and those at the<br />
bottom. That is not a new idea. In fact, it was first floated<br />
by the successful financier J. P. Morgan more than<br />
100 years ago. It seems to work well in many spheres,<br />
and I would like to see it happening in this context. I<br />
would also support workers’ representation in the<br />
boardroom, to provide perspective for companies on<br />
remuneration and on the business of the company in<br />
general. Perhaps we can learn from structures that are<br />
already in place in successful countries such as Germany.<br />
I wholeheartedly welcome the notion of the separation<br />
of retail and investment banking. The Chancellor will<br />
know that that proposal has the support of the whole<br />
House; it is long overdue.<br />
Proposals have been put forward for a single-tier<br />
pension and, from what I have heard, that seems a good<br />
idea. We floated the idea in 2010, with what we called<br />
the living pension. This seems to be a similar idea and,<br />
whatever it is called, if it is pitched reasonably, it will be<br />
a good measure. We all have examples of widows telling<br />
us that they have missed three or four years’ work while<br />
they brought up their children, and that they are now<br />
condemned to receiving a much lower state pension. A<br />
single-tier pension would be simpler to administer and<br />
better all round. I welcome the notion, at least, although<br />
we will need to look into the details that will no doubt<br />
appear before long.<br />
On the proposals for procedural changes to adoption,<br />
there is certainly a case for ensuring that youngsters<br />
who come up for adoption are taken care of with the<br />
minimum of fuss and delay. Delay only adds to the<br />
heartache. I have no doubt that we all have the best<br />
interests of the children at heart, but we must remember<br />
that 40% of our courts have now been shut down and<br />
tens of thousands of court staff have been laid off.<br />
Those staff would have assisted families in their first<br />
encounter with the court process. In addition, hundreds<br />
of people at the Children and Family Court Advisory<br />
and Support Service—which prepares reports on families<br />
involved in placement and, ultimately, adoption—have<br />
also gone, and there have been huge cuts in the probation<br />
service. There have been cuts in social services as well.<br />
How are we going to improve the adoption service<br />
against the background of those cuts? I think that there<br />
will be problems ahead. I hope that we will be able to<br />
achieve those improvements, because there is certainly<br />
a case for doing so, but I am afraid that there will be<br />
problems.<br />
I can add nothing to what the right hon. Member for<br />
Haltemprice and Howden (Mr Davis) said about the<br />
proposals for internet surveillance. He put forward his<br />
views on them in the clearest possible way. I actually<br />
believe that there is a case for surveillance to enable the<br />
security services to carry out their work, but there must<br />
be safeguards in place. I am sure that we will be able to<br />
discuss that matter further. The proposals for secret<br />
courts are doomed to failure from the beginning. What<br />
the right hon. Gentleman did not say—unintentionally,<br />
no doubt—was that several special advocates have resigned,<br />
over the years, because they find the concept so one-sided<br />
and unjust that they do not want to be part of it.<br />
Should we be perpetuating and extending that system?<br />
The answer, quite frankly, is no, and anyone with any<br />
concern for the court process would undoubtedly say<br />
that that is the proper response.<br />
I am surprised that there was no mention in the<br />
speech of the High Speed 2 rail link. We have heard a<br />
lot about it over the past few months, but it seems to<br />
have gone to ground for the time being. I was rather<br />
looking forward to Wales receiving a Barnett formula<br />
consequential of around £1.9 billion, which could be<br />
spent on improving transport infrastructure across Wales<br />
and electrifying the lines that sorely need it.<br />
Geraint Davies: I agree that we should be campaigning<br />
for that £1.9 billion consequential for Wales. Does the<br />
right hon. Gentleman agree that, in addition to the case<br />
for electrification, there is a case to be made for a<br />
reduction in the Severn bridge toll? Traffic across the<br />
bridge was reduced by 7% last year, but we need that<br />
connectivity to the south-west if we are to build the<br />
economy of south Wales.<br />
Mr Llwyd: The hon. Gentleman is right; that is<br />
becoming an issue. The decrease in traffic across the<br />
bridge in the past two years has been quite stark, and<br />
that is not going to help anyone’s economy. I am sure<br />
that there is a case for such a reduction, and we should<br />
look carefully at it. Otherwise, there could be a drag on<br />
further development in that part of Wales, if not the<br />
whole of the country.<br />
I would have welcomed further steps towards devolving<br />
powers relating to energy generation projects over 50 MW<br />
to the Welsh Government. Some of us who took part in<br />
the deliberations on the last Wales legislation did not<br />
understand how the figure of 50 MW had been arrived<br />
at. The result has been that potential developers, often<br />
multinationals, can get their developments—windmills,<br />
for example, which not everyone is in favour of—pushed<br />
through on the nod by the Department in London over<br />
the heads of those in the Welsh Government. That is<br />
not right. The other side of that coin is that several<br />
thousand people in mid-Wales make their living out of<br />
developing sustainable energy materials and projects.<br />
I would like to see that expanded, which is why I would<br />
like the limit of 50 MW to be removed. We need to<br />
develop that industry further. It is already moving forward;<br />
mid-Wales is like a mini-silicon valley, with thousands<br />
of jobs involved. We need to carry on encouraging that,<br />
and we are well placed to do so.
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I would also like to see Jobcentre Plus devolved to<br />
Wales, provided that the relevant budget was also devolved,<br />
and there has been talk of that happening. The closer to<br />
home that all these matters can be dealt with, the better.<br />
The buzz word in European circles used to be “subsidiarity”.<br />
The devolution of the jobcentre system to Wales would<br />
be an example of subsidiarity at work. There was no<br />
mention of it in the Queen’s Speech, but I understand<br />
that there is talk of it happening. I can tell the House<br />
that, if the system had been devolved, the Remploy<br />
factories in Wales would not now be under threat; that<br />
is for sure. I believe that that provides a stark example of<br />
what not to do in such circumstances.<br />
I do not see any one particular policy in the Gracious<br />
Speech to develop economic growth, as the hon. Member<br />
for Hartlepool (Mr Wright) said in a speech that<br />
concentrated on that point. I think economic growth<br />
should have been in there. That said, there are some<br />
good elements in the Gracious Speech, and I look<br />
forward to participating in the debates over the coming<br />
months to strengthen some aspects and bring them<br />
forward. There is, however, precious little to work on<br />
when it comes to creating growth. I believe, as the hon.<br />
Member for Hartlepool and others believe, that if cuts<br />
are necessary, we need a parallel movement to increase<br />
economic growth—otherwise we are tilting to just one<br />
side. However, as I said, there are some good things in<br />
this Queen’s Speech and I look forward to participating<br />
in the debates over the coming weeks and months.<br />
6.20 pm<br />
Tony Baldry (Banbury) (Con): I think that Members<br />
of all parties would endorse the support of the right<br />
hon. Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd (Mr Llwyd) for<br />
the Queen’s Speech proposal to introduce legislation to<br />
establish an independent adjudicator to ensure that<br />
supermarkets deal fairly and lawfully with suppliers. That<br />
is clearly one of many proposals that will have all-party<br />
support.<br />
In reflecting on the Queen’s Speech, it is probably<br />
sensible to consider where we are and where we have<br />
been. In recalling where we are, it is important to<br />
remember that the Prime Minister’s party does not have<br />
a parliamentary majority. After the general election, it<br />
was clearly in the nation’s interest to form a coalition. A<br />
coalition, however, requires compromise every day. To<br />
govern, the Prime Minister has to agree policy initiatives<br />
with a political party very different from his own. In<br />
practice, the coalition is working a lot better than many<br />
would have imagined. The fact is that the Conservative<br />
party did not win enough seats or votes to enable us to<br />
deliver all our manifesto pledges. The solution is not<br />
to blame the coalition, but to seek to win more votes<br />
next time.<br />
Notwithstanding the challenges of the coalition, the<br />
Government have, since the general election, embarked<br />
on a vast reforming programme unprecedented in modern<br />
times to reduce the structural deficit and to put through<br />
reforms of the NHS that will enable GPs better to<br />
design local NHS services for their patients. The<br />
Government have reformed primary and secondary<br />
education, introduced a new system of university tuition<br />
fees and completely overhauled the welfare system to<br />
ensure that as many people as possible can live responsible<br />
and worthwhile lives free of state dependency. The<br />
Government have capped housing benefit and passed<br />
the European Union Act 2011 so that in future any<br />
EU treaty that transfers powers to the European Union<br />
will be subject to a referendum, and never again will a<br />
Government be able to surrender sovereignty to Brussels<br />
without the full consent of the British people. On<br />
Europe, too, the Prime Minister and the Government<br />
have vetoed the fiscal pact. Ministers have swept away<br />
pages and pages of planning regulations, but in so<br />
doing have still managed to protect the green belt, while<br />
providing local councillors and local communities with<br />
the opportunity to design and develop their own local<br />
plans free of top-down Whitehall directives such as<br />
regional spatial strategies.<br />
The Government are introducing elected police<br />
commissioners and reforming public sector pensions<br />
thatwouldotherwisebecomeunaffordableandunsustainable.<br />
Importantly, the Government have taken millions of the<br />
low paid out of income tax and have cut corporation<br />
tax. We inherited corporation tax at 28% , but by 2014, it<br />
will be reduced to 22%. As a result, the UK will have the<br />
lowest main corporation tax rate in the G7 and the<br />
fourth lowest in the G20. To help businesses further, the<br />
Government have introduced a £20 billion national loan<br />
guarantee scheme to get cheaper loans to businesses.<br />
These have been bold reforms and they have all been<br />
achieved without a Conservative majority.<br />
It is not only that the Prime Minister has had to<br />
govern with a party that does not have a parliamentary<br />
majority, as the second reality is that the Government<br />
have no money—and it is not unreasonable to think<br />
that a Government with no majority and no money will<br />
have problems. We should never forget that the Labour<br />
Government left Britain with a deficit that, at £160 billion,<br />
was bigger than Greece’s. The Labour Government gave<br />
us the longest and deepest recession on record, so that<br />
we were one of the first countries into recession and one<br />
of the last countries coming out of recession. We should<br />
never forget the telling letter left to his successor by the<br />
former Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the right hon.<br />
Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill (Mr Byrne):<br />
“Chief Secretary, I’m afraid there is no money. Kind regards—and<br />
good luck!”<br />
That pithy 13-word message—whether it was tongue in<br />
cheek or not—well summed up the 13 years of the Labour<br />
Government.<br />
Greg Mulholland (Leeds North West) (LD): Does my<br />
hon. Friend think it important to remind the House and<br />
the country that we are only two years into this historic<br />
coalition Government, and considering the economic<br />
mess that we were left, it is remarkable how many<br />
positive things are in this Queen’s Speech?<br />
Tony Baldry: Yes, this Government have probably<br />
achieved more in two years than the Blair Government<br />
achieved in the whole of the first term of the Blair<br />
Government.<br />
Gavin Shuker: Why does the hon. Gentleman believe<br />
that we are in the first double-dip recession for 37 years?<br />
Tony Baldry: The hon. Gentleman has just heard me<br />
comment on the legacy of his Government, so I find it<br />
extraordinary that he has the cheek and audacity to ask<br />
such a question. The Labour Government left the country<br />
with no money and the biggest debt crisis of our lifetime.
67 Debate on the Address<br />
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68<br />
[Tony Baldry]<br />
Indeed, over many years, this country built up massive<br />
debts, which we have to pay off. Of course, it is much more<br />
difficult to do that when so much of the rest of Europe<br />
is in recession. As I suspect France will soon demonstrate,<br />
trying to pile debt upon debt is what got Britain and<br />
Europe into such difficulties in the first place. It did not<br />
work for Britain over 13 years of a Labour Government<br />
and would not work now. The eurozone’s troubles are<br />
caused by too much debt, the burden of excessive public<br />
spending and the burden of excessive public borrowing.<br />
It is not surprising that Government are seeking the<br />
approval of <strong>Parliament</strong> relating to the agreed financial<br />
stability mechanism within the euro area.<br />
It is no mean task recovering from the deepest recession<br />
in living memory, accompanied as it was by a debt<br />
crisis. Our banks had too much debt; our households<br />
had too much debt; and the Government had too much<br />
debt. As Sir Mervyn King, commenting on the performance<br />
of the last Government, observed in “The Today Lecture”<br />
that he gave last week while the House was in recess:<br />
“Bailing out the banks came too late though to prevent the<br />
financial crisis from spilling over into the world economy. The<br />
realisation of the true state of the banking system led to a<br />
collapse of confidence around the world...unemployment in Britain<br />
rose by over a million....to many this will seem deeply unfair and<br />
it is. I can understand why so many people are angry.”<br />
One can speculate only that perhaps more than a million<br />
people may have lost their jobs unnecessarily because<br />
the previous Government failed to act on warnings<br />
from the Bank of England.<br />
Notwithstanding the challenge, Britain has so far<br />
hung on to our triple-A credit rating. We have kept a lid<br />
on borrowing costs and, compared with other countries<br />
in the eurozone, many of which are in the process of<br />
changing leaders or just starting to tackle their debts,<br />
we are thriving.<br />
John Cryer: I thank the hon. Gentleman—or is it<br />
right hon. Gentleman? [Interruption.] Well, I am sure<br />
he should be right hon., and I shall put down an<br />
early-day motion tomorrow to achieve it! Returning to<br />
the last election, is the hon. Gentleman aware that at<br />
that time both unemployment and the deficit were<br />
falling, yet they are both now rising? The Office for<br />
Budget Responsibility predicts that the deficit is going<br />
to be a lot higher at the end of this <strong>Parliament</strong> than was<br />
predicted two years ago.<br />
Tony Baldry: I think we need a bumper book of excuses<br />
from the Labour party, explaining why it was not responsible<br />
for getting us into the difficulties we face. Let us develop<br />
a bumper book of excuses and put all these various<br />
contributions into it, saying “Nothing to do with us, guv”!<br />
That would be impressive. We must not be complacent.<br />
The UK has to rebalance its economy. We need a bigger<br />
private sector; we need more exports; and we need more<br />
investment. In short, we need to do everything possible<br />
to boost growth, competitiveness and jobs.<br />
Geraint Davies: Does the hon. Gentleman accept that<br />
the big debate is the balance between the need for<br />
growth and the need for cuts to lower the deficit? Does<br />
he accept that, as we entered 2010, two thirds of the<br />
deficit was caused by the banks and the remaining third<br />
by the then Labour Government—who had invested<br />
more than they were earning, but who had done so with<br />
good reason to project a positive growth trajectory? In<br />
hindsight, does he accept that the balance between<br />
growth and cuts is wrong, and that we should act on the<br />
mandate in Europe and invest more in growth and less<br />
in cuts?<br />
Tony Baldry: Since the general election the Labour<br />
party has engaged in a wonderful exercise in propounding<br />
the motif that cuts are being made too far and too fast.<br />
In his autobiography, the former Chancellor of the<br />
Exchequer responsibly acknowledges the mistakes made<br />
by the last Labour Government. Opposition Members,<br />
however, have tried to develop a line that will enable<br />
them simultaneously to go around the City of London<br />
saying “We are being sensible and responsible about the<br />
deficit and about the need to reduce public spending”<br />
and, when campaigning, to present the impression privately,<br />
on the doorstep of every household in the country, that,<br />
given their own way, they would not reduce any individual<br />
item of public expenditure. That is a circle that the<br />
Opposition cannot square, and until they get real in<br />
explaining to the country and the markets how they will<br />
actually tackle the budget deficit, they will not be taken<br />
seriously as an Opposition, let alone as a Government<br />
in waiting.<br />
We must never forget that the present Government<br />
inherited a budget deficit of 11%—bigger than Greece’s,<br />
bigger than Spain’s, and bigger than Portugal’s. We all<br />
know that if we do not deal properly with our debts and<br />
with the nation’s deficit it will be impossible to keep<br />
interest rates low, and that, quite apart from the benefit<br />
that low interest rates provide for businesses and those<br />
paying mortgages, they offer us the best prospects of<br />
getting out of our present difficult economic situation.<br />
The Government and the Chancellor inherited a deeply<br />
dysfunctional economy in which, all too often, the taxes<br />
generated by the financial and property sectors in the<br />
south paid for higher public spending in the north. As<br />
Sir Mervyn King so tellingly testified in his speech last<br />
week, it was an economy in which the City had been<br />
poorly policed, and in which growth was too dependent<br />
on debt. Making clear that we intended to have a<br />
credible fiscal plan has helped us in Britain to maintain<br />
our top international credit rating and has brought<br />
interest rates to record lows, making family mortgages<br />
and business loans cheaper. Sticking to the deficit plan<br />
means that, having inherited a deficit larger than those<br />
of Spain or Greece, we have interest rates similar to<br />
those in Germany. Indeed, the IMF’s latest forecast for<br />
the UK expects it to grow faster than France or Germany.<br />
In considering where we are now, we should not forget<br />
that the recent Budget cut taxes for 24 million working<br />
people.<br />
Chris Bryant: Will the hon. Gentleman give way?<br />
Tony Baldry: I love the hon. Member for Rhondda<br />
(Chris Bryant)! He left the Chamber for a considerable<br />
period, has been back for two seconds, and now wants<br />
to intervene. However, because he is very supportive on<br />
Church matters, I am happy to give way to him.<br />
Chris Bryant: So much excitement was being engendered<br />
by the hon. Gentleman that I felt the need to return to<br />
the Chamber. Then I started to listen, which is where
69 Debate on the Address<br />
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70<br />
I made my mistake. I think the hon. Gentleman said<br />
that the present Government had cut interest rates. Can<br />
he tell us when they did so? My understanding is that<br />
they have been entirely flat since they changed under a<br />
Labour rather than a Conservative Government.<br />
Tony Baldry: The hon. Gentleman was so excited by<br />
my speech that he misheard me. I made no reference to<br />
the Government’s cutting interest rates. What I said was<br />
that the Government’s financial and economic policies<br />
had enabled us, and were still enabling us, to keep<br />
interest rates low, while also ensuring that our interest<br />
rates compared with those of Germany. I have absolutely<br />
no doubt that if we followed the economic policies<br />
advocated by Opposition Front Benchers, we would<br />
soon see interest rates, including mortgage interest rates,<br />
soaring as a consequence.<br />
The Government have taken 2 million people out of<br />
tax, they have continued to freeze council tax, and—as<br />
I have already observed—they have cut corporation tax<br />
so that we can compete with the rest of the world.<br />
Moreover, notwithstanding the challenges at home, Britain<br />
is meeting its commitments overseas. We are behaving<br />
as one would expect of a permanent member of the UN<br />
Security Council, honouring our obligations in Afghanistan,<br />
seeking to reduce the threat of nuclear proliferation—<br />
particularly with Iran—and helping to bring greater<br />
stability to the horn of Africa. We are supporting<br />
democrats in Libya, and, through the Department for<br />
International Development, we are helping to tackle<br />
poverty around the world.<br />
We should be proud that Britain is sticking to its aid<br />
promises. We are a friend to the world’s poorest, and<br />
giving aid represents the best of British values. Some<br />
40 years after they first promised to give 0.7% of their<br />
national income in aid, rich countries are less than<br />
halfway there. Among the major economies, only we in<br />
the UK are on target to meet our commitments. Some<br />
of the more Poujadist elements of the press claim that<br />
public support for aid is diminishing. I suspect that that<br />
is because some two thirds of the public think that we<br />
spend up to 20 times more on foreign aid than we<br />
actually do. Once people know that our aid budget is<br />
just over a single penny in every pound spent by the<br />
Government, they are much more supportive.<br />
Understandably, the Session of <strong>Parliament</strong> since the<br />
general election has been unusually long, but it is still<br />
impressive that the Government have passed more than<br />
30 main programme Bills since the election to help to<br />
reduce the UK’s budget deficit and reform our public<br />
services. Their programme has been guided by the three<br />
core values of responsibility, fairness and freedom. The<br />
new Session will be shorter, so it will provide scope for<br />
fewer Bills. I do not think that there was any doubt on<br />
the doorsteps about what our constituents want us to<br />
focus on. They want us to continue to get the economy<br />
going, continue to improve the NHS, and continue to<br />
sort out welfare and education; and, importantly, they<br />
want us to demonstrate that we are on the side of those<br />
who are working hard and doing the best they can for<br />
their families.<br />
One of the best kept secrets of the last Budget is that<br />
the Chancellor raised personal allowances—the amount<br />
that people can earn before being taxed—so that 24 million<br />
middle-earning taxpayers will keep more of their money,<br />
and, from next April, 2 million low-paid people will not<br />
pay income tax at all. I can tell those who call for tax<br />
cuts that this year we have already made the largest tax<br />
cuts for more than a decade. I think everyone would<br />
agree that we should be doing all that we can to help<br />
families who are trying to do the best for themselves.<br />
Of course we need to focus on jobs and economic<br />
growth. I am very glad that the proposals in a report by<br />
my constituent Adrian Beecroft for streamlining of the<br />
rules that make it hard for businesses to hire and fire<br />
employees are to be taken up. Redundancy rules,<br />
employment tribunals and rules about unfair dismissal<br />
all need to be changed, as Adrian Beecroft’s well-researched<br />
and well-argued report clearly demonstrates. We should<br />
be doing everything possible to encourage employers to<br />
expand and employ more people.<br />
It is good news that the Government will reduce burdens<br />
on businesses by repealing unnecessary legislation and<br />
legislating to limit the state inspection of businesses. It<br />
is also good news that they will reform competition law<br />
in order to promote enterprise and fair markets. I think<br />
that many businesses will welcome the news that there is<br />
to be strengthened regulation of the financial services<br />
sector, and that the recommendations of the Independent<br />
Commission on Banking are to be implemented.<br />
I also welcome the proposals relating to pensions.<br />
I think everyone agrees on the need to modernise the<br />
pensions system and reform the state pension, and on<br />
the importance of creating a fair and sustainable foundation<br />
for private saving. Governments must always seek to be<br />
on the side of those who save for retirement. I do not<br />
think that anyone seriously believes that it is possible to<br />
avoid reforming public service pensions in line with the<br />
recommendations of the Independent Public Service<br />
Pensions Commission.<br />
As co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on<br />
carers, I particularly welcome the news that a draft Bill<br />
is to be published to modernise adult care and support<br />
in England. The health White Paper of July 2010 promised<br />
legislation on adult social care in a second session of<br />
the present <strong>Parliament</strong>. We have all had plenty of time<br />
in which to read and digest the Dilnot report, which<br />
recommended a system under which people would pay<br />
the first chunk of nursing care costs and the state would<br />
pay after that. Given our increasingly ageing population,<br />
we need clarity, and cross-party talks have been taking<br />
place for a long time.<br />
I also welcome the news that this is to be a draft Bill.<br />
Given such a major overhaul of social care legislation<br />
that needs to stand the test of time, and given the<br />
number of Select Committee reports on the issue, it is<br />
vital that we have an opportunity to get it right by<br />
co-operating with the Government, the Opposition and,<br />
indeed, every party in the House to produce legislation<br />
that seeks to achieve the right outcomes for everyone<br />
concerned.<br />
Mark Tami (Alyn and Deeside) (Lab): I agree about<br />
the need for cross-party agreement on care for the<br />
elderly. We do not want a repeat of what the Conservatives<br />
did when they were in opposition, however; they played<br />
games over this issue to try to gain short-term political<br />
advantage. What we need is a long-term solution.<br />
Tony Baldry: I think we all want a long-term solution,<br />
which is why it is sensible for a draft Bill to be published<br />
so that everyone can agree the way forward, and so that<br />
when a Bill is presented to the House it has all-party<br />
support.
71 Debate on the Address<br />
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72<br />
[Tony Baldry]<br />
May I say in my capacity as Second Church Estates<br />
Commissioner that I welcome the introduction of a Bill<br />
to reduce the burdens on charities by enabling them to<br />
claim additional payments on small donations? Many<br />
Members of <strong>Parliament</strong> are involved in charities, perhaps<br />
as trustees or patrons. Church groups often rely on<br />
Sunday collections and small giving by large numbers<br />
of people. This move will allow extra support for charities.<br />
Like all Members of <strong>Parliament</strong>, a fair amount of my<br />
constituency casework involves helping families with<br />
disabled children and children with special educational<br />
needs, so I greatly welcome the proposals in the Queen’s<br />
Speech to introduce measures to improve provision<br />
for such children, and the arrangements for supporting<br />
children in family law cases and reforming court processes<br />
for children in care. That is important, painstaking and<br />
detailed work that should improve the lives of many<br />
children.<br />
I do not think too much should be read into the fact<br />
that the Queen’s Speech does not contain a specific<br />
proposal for a hybrid Bill on High Speed 2. The matter<br />
is now before the High Court, which is having to<br />
consider several applications on judicial review involving<br />
points of law on both the process and substance of<br />
the HS2 project. Notwithstanding any judicial review<br />
proceedings, however, I continue to hope that the<br />
Government will reflect that the economic case for HS2<br />
simply does not stack up.<br />
It is clear that in this Session of <strong>Parliament</strong> the<br />
Government will continue to strive for smaller government,<br />
freer competition and greater international trade, and<br />
they will continue to pursue policies that have been<br />
proven to work in the past and that will also work in<br />
the future.<br />
Chris Bryant: On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker.<br />
On 25 April, I told the House that the Leveson inquiry<br />
had published certain information regarding meetings<br />
that had been held between Rupert Murdoch and the<br />
Prime Minister. I believed at the time that that was the<br />
case, but it has subsequently turned out not to be true.<br />
I have, of course, apologised to Lord Justice Leveson,<br />
but I thought I should take this opportunity to apologise<br />
to the House as well. I hope the apology will be accepted.<br />
I had no intention of misleading the House; that was<br />
purely inadvertent.<br />
Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans): I am grateful<br />
to you, Mr Bryant, for your point of order and for<br />
putting that apology on the record.<br />
6.42 pm<br />
Meg Hillier (Hackney South and Shoreditch) (Lab/<br />
Co-op): I had not intended to talk about Lords reform<br />
today, but I have been provoked to do so by the right<br />
hon. Member for Bermondsey and Old Southwark<br />
(Simon Hughes). He said that one of the reasons for<br />
House of Lords reform was to encourage more gender<br />
diversity in the Lords. He is no longer in his place, but I<br />
would point out to him that there are more men in the<br />
House of Commons today than the number of women<br />
ever elected. We must look at parliamentary reform<br />
across the board, not just in the House of Lords.<br />
Greg Mulholland: I agree with the hon. Lady’s point,<br />
but does she also agree that we should have a fairer<br />
system of voting for Members of both Houses of<br />
<strong>Parliament</strong>?<br />
Meg Hillier: Will the hon. Gentleman allow me to<br />
continue for a short while?<br />
One of my principal objections to the current House<br />
of Lords reform proposals is that I do not agree with<br />
the argument that we are making the House of Lords<br />
more accountable by having Members elected for a<br />
single term of 15 years without being able to stand for<br />
re-election. I cannot see how, in a democratic system,<br />
that is accountable. Members of the House of Commons<br />
have to face the electorate once every five years, and we<br />
have witnessed colleagues losing their seats as the electors<br />
have made that decision based either on the individual<br />
or their party. That is true accountability, although it<br />
has been weakened by proposals to change the boundaries<br />
every five years, as some electors will therefore never<br />
have the chance to vote again for the MP who has<br />
represented them. The Government are doing great<br />
damage by reducing the accountability of the Members<br />
of both Houses. That is a backward step, but it is being<br />
dressed up as reform. We must reflect and improve on<br />
these proposals if we are to have real change.<br />
I come at this subject as a democrat. I believe that it is<br />
beyond the pale to have even an element of heredity in<br />
the House of Lords, and that that is rightly out of kilter<br />
with modern attitudes. We must not rush headlong into<br />
trying to improve the situation and see any change as<br />
an improvement. Instead, we must take measured steps<br />
and ensure that <strong>Parliament</strong> properly represents the people,<br />
and that we do not fill the House of Lords with stooges<br />
who have been selected by party leaders and who never<br />
have to face the electorate.<br />
Although I look forward to our debates on this<br />
subject, I have to say that it was not raised even once on<br />
the doorsteps in my constituency during the most recent<br />
election campaign. Indeed, I am usually out on doorsteps<br />
while on roving surgeries a couple of times every month,<br />
and the last time I canvassed opinion on this topic<br />
everybody said they supported a democratically elected<br />
House of Lords save for one person who was of Nigerian<br />
origin and believed there was some merit in the hereditary<br />
principle. His was a lone voice, however. We need<br />
democracy, but not in the way that is being proposed.<br />
The Queen’s Speech was a big disappointment. When<br />
I was watching it, I suddenly realised that it was nearly<br />
over, but many of the issues I had hoped it would<br />
address had not been mentioned. It is flimsy and expresses<br />
no compelling vision of what the Government want to<br />
achieve for this country. We agree with the opening<br />
sentence, but its sentiments were not backed up by<br />
proposed legislation. There is also no strategic approach<br />
to the economic crisis. We repeatedly hear about the<br />
need to tackle the deficit, but there are other issues that<br />
need to be tackled alongside dealing appropriately with<br />
the Government’s finances.<br />
The Queen’s Speech demonstrates that the Government<br />
are out of touch and unfair, and we are also increasingly<br />
seeing signs of incompetence. The Prime Minister<br />
acknowledged that the economy is a higher priority<br />
than House of Lords reform, but the Queen’s Speech<br />
does little to tackle the economic problems, and I am<br />
particularly concerned for the businesses in my constituency<br />
and about unemployment.
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74<br />
The unfairness is seen in the retention of the cut in<br />
the 50p tax rate, helping the top 1% of earners in this<br />
country, while many of my constituents are keen to<br />
work but are unable to find the extra eight hours they<br />
will need to continue to receive tax credits. At one end,<br />
therefore, families who are doing everything they should—<br />
they are working hard and trying to work more, but are<br />
unable to find those extra hours—are losing out. What<br />
they need is some extra hours from their employer, as it<br />
is currently very hard to find another job. At the other<br />
end, however, millionaires are saving thousands of pounds<br />
in tax. That does not strike me or my constituents<br />
as fair.<br />
Fortunately for the Government, I do not have sufficient<br />
time to dwell on their increasing incompetence. I might<br />
mention, however, the border controls fiasco that has<br />
been going on since last autumn. It is continuing now,<br />
which is especially serious given that we are in the<br />
run-up to the Olympics. I might also mention the youth<br />
unemployment figures. The Government’s incompetence<br />
in that regard will affect a generation of our young<br />
people and their families. There are also the ministerial<br />
dalliances with BSkyB, which demonstrate a real lack of<br />
appropriateness, to put it politely.<br />
There were some announcements in the Gracious<br />
Speech that I welcome. I have long been a supporter of<br />
the Green investment bank. My big concern is that it<br />
is being introduced too late, even though there will be<br />
£3 billion of funding—although not all of it is certain.<br />
Will the bank be able to move quickly enough to ensure<br />
we secure the green investment required to help businesses<br />
grow and create the jobs we so desperately need? The<br />
environmental ship might have already sailed to other<br />
ports in Germany, China and other countries, whose<br />
Governments are far ahead of ours.<br />
I also welcome the flexible parental leave proposals.<br />
It is important that people have that choice, but it must<br />
be couched in the right way so that women do not feel<br />
forced to go back to work and pass over the care of the<br />
child, whom they may still be nursing, to their partner.<br />
The principle of allowing families freedom over how<br />
they manage their own affairs is important, however.<br />
Overall, the Government’s economic policy is hurting<br />
and it is not working—not in my constituency.<br />
Unemployment is rising. It is the worst we have seen for<br />
16 years and of course, youth unemployment—I am on<br />
the record as having spoken about this a number of<br />
times before—is a real scourge of our society.<br />
There are a couple of proposals I welcome. I welcome<br />
the intention to ensure through the children and families<br />
Bill that there is an all-through assessment for children<br />
and young adults. Too often, my constituents have<br />
experienced breaks in the support for their children,<br />
either at the age at which they transfer to a different<br />
school or when they transition into adulthood. Personal<br />
budgets provide a real opportunity for those young<br />
people and their families to have control as long as there<br />
are safeguards for the many families with whom I deal<br />
who would not be able to manage those budgets themselves.<br />
We must not throw out the baby with the bathwater and<br />
although I welcome the personal budgets, we must<br />
ensure that there is a safety net and support for those<br />
who are unable to do the necessary paperwork and to<br />
manage the employment side of it. The detail will<br />
matter if the good intentions in the Bill are to be met,<br />
and I look forward to working with my colleagues on<br />
my Front Bench to ensure that those needs are considered.<br />
I hope that the children and families Bill will talk<br />
about ensuring that children are protected and supported.<br />
That seems to be the general feeling. I am concerned,<br />
however, that although the Government are considering<br />
protecting and supporting certain groups of children<br />
on the one hand, actions by other Ministers on<br />
safeguarding—such as the suggestion that faith leaders<br />
should be exempt from vetting and, if necessary, exempt<br />
from being barred from working with children—are a<br />
very worrying step. We must be vigilant about ensuring<br />
that we do not throw out the baby with the bathwater.<br />
The Government are very keen to talk about rolling<br />
back the frontiers of the state and rolling back red tape,<br />
but as far as the protection of children is concerned,<br />
when we put our children—and vulnerable adults, too—in<br />
the presence of a stranger, we need some surety that<br />
that stranger has been properly vetted. It is not acceptable<br />
to rule out one group simply on the basis that they are<br />
faith leaders.<br />
Businesses in Hackney have been struggling for<br />
some time. We have had some great successes—Silicon<br />
roundabout is in my constituency—but they are largely<br />
small start-ups and are finding it hard to grow. We have<br />
some very innovative business models in a very innovative<br />
part of London, but businesses in Hackney are struggling<br />
to get loans and even, in many cases, an overdraft<br />
facility from their bank. The Prime Minister spoke<br />
earlier about Project Merlin, saying that it had worked<br />
and that the loan guarantee fund was generous. It is not<br />
so much the level of a loan that is an issue, however, but<br />
the fact that banks will not loan in the first place. There<br />
is an opportunity that has perhaps not yet been missed<br />
in the Gracious Speech—we will see whether it has<br />
when we have the detail of the legislation—to consider<br />
alternative funding methods for businesses. Innovators<br />
out there are prepared to fund innovative businesses in<br />
a different way and we must ensure that they are properly<br />
supported and regulated so that investors and businesses<br />
are protected. There are opportunities for more mutuals<br />
in the banking sector, which ought to focus on investment<br />
in their own areas, helped by their understanding of<br />
their locality. They would, of course, be owned by their<br />
members.<br />
That brings me on to one thing that was missing from<br />
the Gracious Speech. As a Co-op and Labour MP, I<br />
was keen to hear the co-operatives consolidation Bill<br />
debated during the next Session, but it is not here.<br />
Where has that Bill gone? It would have been supported<br />
across the House. The previous Government did a great<br />
deal to change the law on co-operatives and to provide<br />
new legislation that made it easier to set them up, but<br />
as that was done piecemeal through different Acts of<br />
<strong>Parliament</strong>, there was room to bring it all together.<br />
Consolidation Bills, by their nature, are complicated<br />
and difficult, but it would have provided the platform<br />
for the introduction of yet more opportunities for mutuals<br />
and co-operatives. There is a feeling across this House,<br />
shared by members within every party—although it is<br />
not necessarily the view of every party—that there<br />
needs to be a different way of doing business in this<br />
country. If there is a better way of doing business than<br />
mutuals, which are owned by their members, who benefit<br />
from and see the direct outcomes of that ownership,<br />
Idonotknowwhatitis.<br />
There is no commitment in the Queen’s Speech to<br />
introduce any mutual models at all, as far as we can see.<br />
The water Bill would have offered such an opportunity
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[Meg Hillier]<br />
and the energy Bill might have offered opportunities for<br />
some mutual solutions, as would, of course, the banking<br />
Bill. We need new measures on demutualisation and we<br />
have already missed an opportunity through the selling<br />
off to the highest bidder, rather than remutualisation,<br />
of Northern Rock. If the House is united on the need<br />
for banking reform, why not join that up with the idea<br />
of the mutual model and ensure that businesses as well<br />
as individuals are supported by mutuals?<br />
Another element missing from the Bill that is a concern<br />
to my constituents and to me is the antisocial behaviour<br />
legislation that we had hoped might be introduced. The<br />
message is very confused. One whole year ago, the<br />
Government’s consultation on antisocial behaviour finished.<br />
They have done the work, yet 12 months on there is no<br />
Bill in the Gracious Speech to deal with those issues. A<br />
year ago, the Government all but announced their<br />
intention to end antisocial behaviour orders, but there is<br />
no Bill to do that and the police and residents are left<br />
confused about where they stand.<br />
The Government regularly pass the buck to local<br />
police forces when challenged on crime issues, but they<br />
are robbing them of the tools to do the job. We know<br />
that ASBOs require better enforcement and we accept<br />
that they are not perfect in every way, but they could be<br />
strengthened to deal better with the problem of repeat<br />
victimisation. The Government should be trying to<br />
build on what is in place and on what has been shown to<br />
work, rather than starting again from scratch. We hear<br />
that the Government has a plan for a community trigger,<br />
which would only guarantee action if five different<br />
households reported the same incident. For me, if one<br />
person complains that incident of antisocial behaviour<br />
needs to be tackled. It should be taken seriously and<br />
investigated.<br />
We also have an alphabet soup of other proposals.<br />
The crime prevention injunction and criminal behaviour<br />
orders do not do what they say on the tin. I know from<br />
experience with gang injunctions in Hackney that it can<br />
take a very long time for agencies on the ground to get<br />
used to the new powers, for the Crown Prosecution<br />
Service to deal with them properly, for courts to understand<br />
them and for them to embed. ASBOs might not have<br />
been perfect, but they were in the language of my<br />
constituents and of constituents up and down the country.<br />
People understood them and so did the system. To<br />
throw them out without having proper plans in place to<br />
replace them is a big mistake.<br />
My constituency has a number of challenges. We<br />
have heard from others about youth unemployment. In<br />
my constituency, one in four young people under the<br />
age of 24 is out of work. Our overall unemployment<br />
rate is 12.7%. Those challenges have a major impact on<br />
child poverty. There are still children in my constituency<br />
who turn up to school after a long summer holiday<br />
malnourished in September because their parents have<br />
chaotic lifestyles and have been unable to get them fed.<br />
We all support measures to get people into work, but to<br />
have a whole generation of young people who are<br />
unable to get work or work experience will, I fear, lead<br />
to greater challenges for their children.<br />
I do not have time to go into the figures for the ethnic<br />
breakdown of unemployment, but let us just take the<br />
example of young black men. About 55% of young<br />
black men are out of work, which is a staggering figure<br />
and much higher than the general norm. It risks becoming<br />
a real divide in this country if it is not tackled. It might<br />
not be an issue for every hon. Member in this House—as<br />
the hon. Member for Stratford-on-Avon (Nadhim Zahawi)<br />
said, his is not a kaleidoscope county—but let me tell<br />
hon. Members that my constituency is a kaleidoscope<br />
constituency, as are many others. It is a great strength of<br />
our area, but we must not have one group of people so<br />
badly affected by Government policy.<br />
Other issues have not been tackled. Housing benefit<br />
levels have been cut, rents have continued to rise by a<br />
great deal in my constituency and house prices have<br />
risen, too. That means that my constituents face a real<br />
challenge on housing and homes and nothing in this<br />
Queen’s Speech will tackle that, which is a serious<br />
mistake. It demonstrates again how the Government<br />
are very much out of touch with what really matters to<br />
people. Families want to be in a position to support<br />
themselves and my constituents’ requirements are very<br />
limited in many respects. They are not as demanding as<br />
they should be, I believe, but they want a job, a good<br />
school for their child, a health service that will work<br />
and to know that they can afford a roof over their<br />
heads. The job and the roof over their heads are particular<br />
challenges at the moment, so although we have these<br />
esoteric debates in the Westminster village about House<br />
of Lords reform—an issue not once raised on the<br />
doorstep—and as much as I think we need to reform<br />
the House of Lords, right now the energy of this place<br />
should be focused on how to move this country forward,<br />
invest in jobs and growth and ensure that we create job<br />
opportunities and homes for constituents in my constituency<br />
and up and down the country.<br />
6.59 pm<br />
Mr David Amess (Southend West) (Con): I congratulate<br />
the Government on the Gracious Speech and the measures<br />
in it. There are two proposals about which I am<br />
concerned—House of Lords reform and the televising<br />
of court proceedings—which I shall address in a moment.<br />
First, however, I have to say how lucky we are to have a<br />
monarchy in this country. We tried a presidency under<br />
Tony Blair, and what a disaster it was: indeed, we are<br />
still suffering the consequences of that presidency, which<br />
took us into an illegal war with Iraq, destroying the<br />
<strong>United</strong> <strong>Kingdom</strong>. How I wish that I and the other<br />
17 Members of the House who wished to impeach him<br />
at that time had been successful. Now, he is going<br />
around not only our country but the rest of the world<br />
still earning money at our expense.<br />
Charlie Elphicke: Has my hon. Friend noticed that as<br />
well as earning money at our expense Tony Blair does<br />
not seem to pay an awful lot of tax either?<br />
Mr Amess: My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Of<br />
course, Tony Blair gave evidence at the inquiry last year<br />
and I hope that when the report comes out, the matter<br />
will be dealt with. To have him as a special peace envoy<br />
in the middle east is absolutely ridiculous.<br />
So, I rejoice in the fact that we have a monarchy. I<br />
always think that Conservative Queen’s Speeches are<br />
better than Labour Queen’s Speeches and today is no<br />
exception. I am delighted that we heard today that the<br />
Prime Minister is determined to reduce the deficit and
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restore economic stability. I enjoyed the speech of my<br />
hon. Friend the Member for Banbury (Tony Baldry)<br />
who was right to remind the House what a disastrous<br />
economic legacy Labour left us.<br />
I absolutely agree with the remarks that a number of<br />
Members made about policies that we talk about in this<br />
House that are not mentioned on the doorstep by our<br />
constituents. Last Monday, some Conservative Members<br />
got together and had a party to celebrate the 20th<br />
anniversary of the election of a Conservative Government<br />
on 9 April 1992. At that party, which the Prime Minister<br />
attended, we were delighted to launch a pamphlet called<br />
“Basildon—Against all Odds”. The Prime Minister<br />
generously referred to the victory in Basildon, and I was<br />
delighted that he visited my old constituency yesterday<br />
and talked broadly about policies because I think we<br />
need to reflect on the things that took us back to<br />
government in 1992. There in Basildon, 20 years ago,<br />
voters locally wanted to support what were then the<br />
Conservative party’s policies. What were those policies?<br />
Giving every woman, man and child the opportunity to<br />
make the most of their God-given talents. I know that<br />
20 years later our country and the world have changed<br />
but I say to my Conservative colleagues that we should<br />
reflect on the policies that brought us back to government<br />
in 1992 and I recommend that they read “Basildon—<br />
Against all Odds”, which is a very good pamphlet.<br />
Meg Hillier rose—<br />
Geraint Davies rose—<br />
Mr Amess: Ladies first.<br />
Meg Hillier: The hon. Gentleman might regret giving<br />
way. It seems to me that he is living in the past. Why is<br />
he having to celebrate an electoral victory from 1992? Is<br />
it because there were not enough electoral victories to<br />
celebrate on Thursday?<br />
Mr Amess: I am very happy to talk about Thursday.<br />
I think that during the whole day the BBC’s parliamentary<br />
programme broadcast pieces about the 1992 election. It<br />
was something worth celebrating.<br />
Speaking of irrelevant issues, last week I got a phone<br />
call from someone about the Leveson inquiry and so<br />
I got quite excited.<br />
Geraint Davies: On the 1992 election, will the hon.<br />
Gentleman give way?<br />
Mr Amess: Of course.<br />
Geraint Davies: Does the hon. Gentleman agree that<br />
in 1992 his party was laying the siege for 1997—doubling<br />
crime, cutting the health service and having 15% interest<br />
rates with soaring debt and unemployment? That is<br />
precisely the same template as his Government are<br />
adopting now, so for once I find myself agreeing with<br />
him.<br />
Mr Amess: I do not accept what the hon. Gentleman<br />
says but I am sure that you would get a little tired,<br />
Mr Deputy Speaker, if I were to rehearse all that has<br />
gone on in this place in terms of the Conservative party<br />
leadership.<br />
I hope that the House will be interested in the telephone<br />
call I got regarding the Leveson inquiry. I thought,<br />
“Fantastic—someone has hacked my phone: I’m in the<br />
money.” But instead I was told that my phone number<br />
had been found in a journalist’s phone book. Well, for<br />
goodness’ sake—so what. I am sure that many journalists<br />
have our phone numbers. I was very disappointed to<br />
learn that my phone had not been hacked. Frankly, I<br />
cannot think that some of the politicians whose phones<br />
were hacked would have had any conversation worth<br />
listening to. I am interested in colleagues’ phone calls<br />
only if they happen to concern me. There is an obsession<br />
with hacking at the moment. The hon. Member for<br />
Rhondda (Chris Bryant) just came and apologised about<br />
something to do with the Leveson inquiry, but none of<br />
our constituents are raising these matters on the doorstep.<br />
Honestly, the amount that this inquiry is going to cost<br />
us—millions of pounds—is crazy.<br />
Similarly, no one on the doorstep is mentioning House<br />
of Lords reform. I go back to the point that what<br />
people were concerned about in 1992 was the fact that<br />
they did not trust the noble Lord Kinnock and the<br />
Labour party to run the country because of their economic<br />
policies.<br />
John Cryer: On economic competence, I hope that<br />
the hon. Gentleman had a good celebration in 1992 but<br />
does he remember that a few months later we had Black<br />
Wednesday when £20 billion was spent on propping<br />
up the currency and interest rates rose twice in a day,<br />
ending up at 15%? Does he recall that with the same<br />
fondness?<br />
Mr Amess: I remember that only too well because I<br />
happened to be in Japan with the now Foreign Secretary<br />
who was then the parliamentary private secretary to the<br />
Chancellor, whereas I was the PPS to Michael Portillo,<br />
and we got called back. The hon. Gentleman wants to<br />
lead me down a track to do with Europe and shadowing<br />
the Deutschmark, but I shall not succumb to that.<br />
I congratulate the Government on the banking reform<br />
Bill. Shortly after the election, the Chancellor announced<br />
the creation of the Independent Commission on Banking,<br />
which was asked to consider structural and related<br />
non-structural reforms to the UK banking sector to<br />
promote financial stability and competition. Any reforms<br />
should be implemented by 2019. No doubt there will be<br />
lots of discussion about this legislation, which I hope<br />
will at long last bring about fundamental reform of the<br />
banking system. It will include the ring-fencing of retail<br />
banking and measures on capital adequacy requirements.<br />
There will be radical reforms in the Bill which are<br />
needed entirely because the Labour Government and<br />
the previous Prime Minister completely destroyed the<br />
banking sector through what went on with the Financial<br />
Services Authority. They should be absolutely—<br />
[Interruption.] Some Labour Members, although not<br />
all, have a very short memory about what happened at<br />
that time. The financial crisis originated in the financial<br />
sector and so I believe that regulation is very important.<br />
London is the capital of the financial world and we<br />
need to lead the globe in these reforms.<br />
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP): The hon. Gentleman<br />
has mentioned the legislation on changes to banking,<br />
which we agree with and look forward to. Does he think
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[Jim Shannon]<br />
the banks should be listening to what is happening now<br />
so that they can make changes in anticipation of the<br />
legislative changes to enable small and medium-sized<br />
businesses to acquire the money they should already<br />
be able to get but which is being denied them at the<br />
moment? We hope the new legislation will give those<br />
businesses that opportunity.<br />
Mr Amess: I absolutely agree with the hon. Gentleman.<br />
Some of the banks have forgotten everything that happened.<br />
They are not lending particularly to small businesses<br />
and I agree with him that they should act now rather<br />
than waiting until the Bill becomes an Act.<br />
The right hon. Member for—it is a Welsh constituency<br />
—[HON. MEMBERS: “Dwyfor Meirionnydd.”] Well, it is<br />
in Wales. I am glad that the right hon. Member for<br />
Dwyfor Meirionnydd (Mr Llwyd) mentioned the draft<br />
Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill. In 2008, the Competition<br />
Commission conducted an inquiry into the UK grocery<br />
market, because of concerns that supermarkets were<br />
exploiting their supply chains. The right hon. Gentleman<br />
was spot-on with the points he raised. The draft Bill was<br />
published last year and will establish an adjudicator.<br />
The right hon. Gentleman expressed some concerns<br />
about the powers, and another Member—I think it was<br />
the hon. Member for Luton South (Gavin Shuker)—asked<br />
whether they should be in the Bill. It is good that an<br />
adjudicator will be appointed, with the power to investigate<br />
a grocery firm with revenue in excess of £1 billion if it is<br />
suspected of breaching the code relating to its suppliers.<br />
It is vital that we do everything we can to help small<br />
businesses in these troubling times of austerity. That<br />
certainly includes grocery suppliers that are often family-run<br />
local businesses. There is no doubt that the major<br />
supermarkets have a monopoly in the <strong>United</strong> <strong>Kingdom</strong><br />
grocery market, so I welcome any steps to prevent them<br />
from using their powers to leave their suppliers out of<br />
pocket.<br />
Jim Shannon: The hon. Gentleman is right to mention<br />
the importance of having a grocery ombudsman. Over<br />
the last three years, 3,000 small businesses related to<br />
farming and the supply of large stores have gone out of<br />
business. That is a real concern. Does he feel that<br />
legislative change will prevent that and does he think it<br />
will come quickly?<br />
Mr Amess: I believe that the Bill will achieve that end<br />
and that it will be effective. I know how tough things<br />
have been for farmers, particularly in Northern Ireland.<br />
It is important to have a balanced grocery market,<br />
where suppliers get a fair deal. There will be further<br />
benefits for consumers, because they will be able to buy<br />
the best of British produce, which will make the market<br />
more sustainable.<br />
The hon. Member for Hackney South and Shoreditch<br />
(Meg Hillier), among others, mentioned adoption and<br />
family matters. Pro-life Members will have been sad to<br />
hear that Phyllis Bowman died at the weekend. With the<br />
late Lord Braine, she did iconic work on pro-life matters<br />
and I pay tribute to her.<br />
I was delighted to see that there will be a Bill on<br />
adoption and family matters. Some years ago, my hon.<br />
Friend the Member for Canterbury (Mr Brazier) introduced<br />
a measure on adoption, but we badly need updated<br />
legislation. It will remove the absurd barriers that make<br />
the adoption process difficult. A new six-month limit<br />
on care proceedings will be introduced in England and<br />
Wales, and the law will be changed to ensure that more<br />
children have a relationship with their father after family<br />
break-up. All Members get letters from constituents<br />
about that difficult issue.<br />
I welcome the provision for mothers and fathers to<br />
swap their parental leave allowance after the birth of a<br />
child. The Leader of the Opposition said that the<br />
Opposition would support the measures. The Prime<br />
Minister is right to be passionate about giving children<br />
a good start in life.<br />
I welcome the measures to deal with the royal succession<br />
that were announced by Her Majesty in the Gracious<br />
Speech. Very much in the future, when there is a change<br />
of monarch we shall have King Charles, but if Princess<br />
Anne had been the oldest child she would not have<br />
succeeded. Anyone who knows Princess Anne applauds<br />
her hard work; she does a wonderful job. I am delighted<br />
that there will be a change to the law on royal succession.<br />
As a Catholic, I suppose I am biased, but I am also<br />
delighted that Catholics will finally be allowed to marry<br />
into the royal family.<br />
I am already sick to death of hearing about Lords<br />
reform, even before we spend 18 months going on about<br />
it. If anyone wants to know what is wrong with the<br />
House of Lords, it is the Labour party, which completely<br />
messed up the House of Lords without a plan for<br />
dealing with it. I do not address my remarks to Labour<br />
Members elected in recent years, but it was a bit rich to<br />
listen to speech after speech from Labour Members<br />
who condemned the House of Lords and everything it<br />
stood for, when the next minute they accepted a peerage.<br />
There is no consistency.<br />
When the Labour Government took office in 1997,<br />
they thought for narrow class reasons that they would<br />
get rid of the House of Lords—all those hereditaries,<br />
all terribly posh—but there was no actual plan for<br />
reform. As a Conservative Member of <strong>Parliament</strong>, I am<br />
totally against the Americanisation of our system, so<br />
I am opposed to a wholly elected second Chamber,<br />
which would definitely be in competition with this<br />
place. I agree with the hon. Member for Hackney South<br />
and Shoreditch who asked how it could be fair to have<br />
Members elected for 15 years. It certainly is not fair. I<br />
hope that we shall not waste hours and hours of precious<br />
time arguing about House of Lords reform. I know that<br />
the Liberals are keen on it—<br />
Martin Horwood rose—<br />
Mr Amess: Herewego.<br />
Martin Horwood: On the subject of consistency, House<br />
of Lords reform was in the Conservative manifesto.<br />
Surely, if we all agree on a predominantly elected second<br />
Chamber, it should not take that much time.<br />
Mr Amess: I suppose the get-out clause is that we did<br />
not have a solely Conservative Government, but a coalition,<br />
so there was a compromise. I certainly was never in<br />
favour of reform. In the other place, there are women<br />
and men of wonderful experience, who bring great
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value as a revising Chamber. I am totally opposed to<br />
having the second Chamber in competition with this<br />
place.<br />
Charlie Elphicke: My hon. Friend is being extraordinarily<br />
generous in taking interventions. Is not part of the<br />
problem that the House of Lords used to be a brilliant<br />
revising Chamber but then Tony Blair, who is now to be<br />
found in various parts of the world making money and<br />
not paying tax, stuffed it full of cronies and wrecked the<br />
flavour and excellence of that House? He made it the<br />
broken place it is today because of Labour’s galactic<br />
incompetence in government.<br />
Mr Amess: I agree with my hon. Friend that there are<br />
now so many peers that apparently they cannot all even<br />
find a place for prayers. It is crazy. There are too many<br />
Members in the House of Lords—nearly 1,000. It is a<br />
complete mess and I do not want this Chamber to waste<br />
hours and hours talking about something on which we<br />
will never agree. It is certainly not No. 1 in the list of<br />
priorities of the British people.<br />
I welcome the proposal for a national crime agency.<br />
My right hon. Friend the Member for Haltemprice and<br />
Howden (Mr Davis) is an expert in such matters and I<br />
shall not compete with him; I will speak in more simplistic<br />
terms. Phasing out the National Policing Improvement<br />
Agency is a good thing. Creating a new national crime<br />
agency will help further to tackle serious crime in the<br />
UK. As we have seen over the past year, our border<br />
forces and urban police forces can be overwhelmed, so<br />
the establishment of the agency will help to ease the<br />
burdens and protect us against one of the most serious<br />
threats facing this country—organised crime. It costs<br />
the <strong>United</strong> <strong>Kingdom</strong> between £20 million and £40 million<br />
in social and economic terms, and affects the most<br />
vulnerable people in society. Only yesterday, we heard<br />
the judgment in the terrible case of girls who had been<br />
groomed. I hope that the Bill can deal with that sort of<br />
issue and tackle it head-on. I hope the whole House will<br />
come together to support such welcome measures.<br />
On the defamation Bill, I do not know how honourable<br />
colleagues feel, but I am certainly libelled morning,<br />
noon and night but do not have the money to defend<br />
myself. A range of concerns has been raised about the<br />
detrimental effects that the current law on libel is having<br />
on freedom of expression, particularly in academic<br />
and scientific debate, the work of non-governmental<br />
organisations and investigative journalism, and about<br />
the extent to which this jurisdiction has become a<br />
magnet for libel claimants. I do not want to upset my<br />
hon. and learned Friend the Member for Torridge and<br />
West Devon (Mr Cox), who is a Queen’s counsel, but<br />
the law has become so expensive in this country that I<br />
do not know how ordinary women and men can possibly<br />
defend themselves.<br />
Freedom of speech is a cornerstone of our constitution,<br />
but it does not mean that people should be able to ride<br />
roughshod over the reputations of others. When someone<br />
writes to the newspapers these days, the letter is published<br />
on the internet and in no time at all there are very<br />
insulting comments posted on the website, particularly<br />
if the letter is about a politician, and we do not seem to<br />
have any legislation to deal with that. Therefore, our<br />
defamation laws must strike the right balance between<br />
protecting freedom of speech and protecting people’s<br />
reputations, and that includes those of Members of<br />
<strong>Parliament</strong>. I know that we are No. 1 on some people’s<br />
hate list, but the overwhelming majority of Members of<br />
<strong>Parliament</strong> are here for the right reason and do a jolly<br />
good job, and I am getting a little fed up with our being<br />
continually insulted and considered fair game, which<br />
I think is very wrong indeed. I want slander on the<br />
internet to be prevented. Her Majesty said that legislation<br />
would be laid before us. I know that we already have<br />
14 Bills and four further measures, but I hope that there<br />
will be time to introduce legislation to deal with slander<br />
on the internet relating to comments on media articles.<br />
I think that there should be much tighter controls and<br />
more severe punishments.<br />
There is no point in any of us being Members of<br />
<strong>Parliament</strong> unless we have some real power, and over<br />
recent years our heads have been down and we have lost<br />
so much of our power, so we need to reassert it. I hope<br />
that the Government will consider introducing a measure<br />
to enable far greater scrutiny of public bodies. I will give<br />
the House one example. I have been on a mission in<br />
relation to Essex police—two Essex colleagues on the<br />
Government Benches are present—because I knew from<br />
the outset that the chief constable of Essex was chosen<br />
from a shortlist of one, which is absolutely outrageous.<br />
It has happened and nothing has been done about it; we<br />
just accepted it because we are more concerned about<br />
hacking and reform of the House of Lords. How could<br />
the Essex police authority allow the chief constable to<br />
be chosen from a shortlist of just one? That is unacceptable.<br />
Charlie Elphicke: Is that not why elected police and<br />
crime commissioners are such a good idea, because we<br />
can get the right chief constables and make police forces<br />
much more effective and responsive in cracking down<br />
on crime?<br />
Mr Amess: My hon. Friend is absolutely right and<br />
that is what I was about to say. I hope that in November<br />
there will be a huge turnout in Essex and we will elect a<br />
very good commissioner.<br />
Another point about Essex police is that I have had to<br />
resort to using the Freedom of Information Act to get<br />
confirmation that the chief constable was chosen from<br />
a shortlist of one. Why should a Member of <strong>Parliament</strong><br />
have to use the Freedom of Information Act? Then<br />
there is the closure of police stations. When the Leighon-Sea<br />
police station was closed there was no consultation.<br />
The consultation took place in the car park of a large<br />
supermarket in the constituency of my hon. Friend the<br />
Member for Rochford and Southend East (James<br />
Duddridge), which is on the other side of town, and<br />
received about 20 responses, which meant that they<br />
could close the police station. That is not good enough,<br />
which is why I think Members of <strong>Parliament</strong> should get<br />
power back from some of these public bodies. I have<br />
been trying to find out more information about Essex<br />
probation service, the Crown Prosecution Service in<br />
Essex and a range of public bodies. Members of <strong>Parliament</strong><br />
are scrutinised all the time and have to submit themselves<br />
to the electorate. Why cannot we have more scrutiny of<br />
at least the management of public bodies? I hope that<br />
the Government might consider introducing a Bill to<br />
deal with that matter.<br />
I said earlier in my speech that I was concerned about<br />
the proposal to introduce the televising of sentencing in<br />
major criminal trials. I thought that the right hon.
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Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd, who mentioned it<br />
earlier, was going to agree with me entirely, but he threw<br />
me when he said that it works well in Scotland. As far as<br />
I am concerned, once the TV cameras get into our<br />
courts it will not end there. Coverage will get wider and<br />
soon we will be like America, with coverage for the trial<br />
of the basketball player who shot someone, or whatever<br />
it was he did, and the cameras panning across to see the<br />
jurors. I think that cameras would be a very retrograde<br />
step.<br />
Mr Llwyd: I clearly understand the hon. Gentleman’s<br />
fears, but if he looks at what has happened in Scotland<br />
over the past seven or eight years, he will see that<br />
televised coverage is strictly confined to sentencing remarks<br />
and possibly the summing up by the judge and there is<br />
nothing whatsoever outside that remit. Given that there<br />
will be only an experimentation period, his fears might<br />
well be allayed. Clearly, I would share his concerns if<br />
coverage were to be extended in any way, but it is<br />
limited to an experimental period and confined strictly<br />
to such use.<br />
Mr Amess: I hope that the right hon. Gentleman is<br />
right—he obviously knows much more about the proposal<br />
and where it came from than I do—but I am puzzled<br />
about who thought it was a good idea; has the proposal<br />
somehow come from the media? At first, televising this<br />
place was going to be static, but all that has gone out<br />
the window. Once we let the TV cameras into our<br />
courts, it will become an opportunity for voyeurism of<br />
the worst possible kind. I cannot understand why we<br />
need to see the judge deliver the sentence. Will it be<br />
shown on “News at 10”, or will there be a dedicated<br />
channel?<br />
Mr Llwyd: The limited televising would help with<br />
legal education and it would help practitioners. For<br />
example, when we had the awful riots in August, some<br />
courts were not sure how to deal with the circumstances,<br />
which were exceptional. If anything of that kind happened<br />
again—God forbid—televised remarks of sentencing in<br />
the courts would be available so that people would<br />
know exactly where they are going and what the going<br />
rate is. It would be a deterrent to those members of the<br />
public who might otherwise get involved and it would<br />
also have an educative process. I seem to be defending<br />
the Government on this, and I really should not be.<br />
Mr Amess: I hope that the right hon. Gentleman is<br />
right, but I have grave concerns about the proposal.<br />
Will it be like the guillotine, with everyone standing<br />
around gathering heads, and will it become gory? We<br />
will have to see what happens.<br />
In conclusion, I welcome the measures in the Gracious<br />
Speech concerning the energy Bill, the interception of<br />
communications Bill—I thought that a co-operative<br />
Bill would be included—public sector pensions, individual<br />
electronic registration, EU accession treaties and the<br />
justice and security Green Paper. I think that this will be<br />
a year of real celebrations for our country. We have the<br />
diamond jubilee, the Olympic games and the Gracious<br />
Speech leading our country back to recovery.<br />
7.29 pm<br />
John Cryer (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab): It is always<br />
a pleasure to follow the sane and balanced observations<br />
of the hon. Member for Southend West (Mr Amess).<br />
Given that the hon. Gentleman brought up the issue of<br />
the Iraq war and the former Prime Minister, Tony Blair,<br />
I remind him that I voted against the war—I think<br />
seven times, but certainly six. I did not have any particular<br />
prescience or a crystal ball, but some of us could very<br />
early on see that it was going to be an horrendous<br />
mistake. It was entirely wrong, and we opposed it every<br />
step of the way.<br />
I remember the hon. Gentleman asking the then Prime<br />
Minister during Prime Minister’s questions:<br />
“What plans he has to visit Southend, West.”<br />
The answer was:<br />
“I have no plans to visit Southend—and I rather think that the<br />
hon. Gentleman did not either, until he saw the writing on the<br />
wall in Basildon.—[Official Report, 19 May 1999; Vol. 331,<br />
c. 1061.]<br />
That might explain his criticism of the former Prime<br />
Minister.<br />
I, like many hon. Members, note that House of Lords<br />
reform is not exactly the centre of my universe. I do not<br />
lie awake at night fretting about it, but a number of<br />
speeches today have prompted me to make a few comments<br />
on it. The right hon. Member for Bermondsey and Old<br />
Southwark (Simon Hughes), at the end of his remarks,<br />
seemed to imply that the Government will come along<br />
with proposals meaning that the new upper House,<br />
whatever it is called, will be 100% elected. I suspect that<br />
that is wrong, and that the proportion will be 60%, 70%<br />
or perhaps 80%—a range of options, just like the previous<br />
Government gave the House some years ago.<br />
I have always voted for 100% elected when the<br />
opportunity has come along. I have never sought that<br />
opportunity, but when it has come along I have always<br />
voted for 100% and against anything less than that, and,<br />
if the opportunity arises again, I personally—I do not<br />
speak on behalf of my party—will oppose anything less<br />
than 100% elected, although I would rather not spend<br />
any time on the issue at all.<br />
On a related issue, the Chamber that requires more<br />
urgent reform than the House of Lords, which after all<br />
is just a revising Chamber, is this one. I agree with the<br />
earlier comments of my hon. Friend the Member for<br />
Hackney South and Shoreditch (Meg Hillier), but another<br />
problem with this Chamber—to which many references<br />
have been made for many years—is that power has<br />
flowed from it to Whitehall, Downing street and Brussels<br />
for about 40 years or even more.<br />
In conversation a while ago with the right hon. Member<br />
for Haltemprice and Howden (Mr Davis), I mentioned<br />
that power had been flowing from the elected Chamber<br />
to unelected institutions for the past 40 years, but he<br />
said, “It’s been much longer than that. Power has been<br />
taken away from the House of Commons since roughly<br />
1880.” I do not know whether he was around in 1880;<br />
I certainly was not! I am sure that if he had been he<br />
would have told MPs then that their proposals were an<br />
absolute outrage and a betrayal of the parliamentary<br />
principle, but prior to that Back Benchers dictated all<br />
business on the Floor of the House. It never happened<br />
again; it was taken away during that period.
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In the relatively recent past, we have had the Jopling<br />
proposals, in 1994 under John Major’s Government,<br />
followed by the more rigid measure of timetabling,<br />
which was introduced post 1997 and which, by the way,<br />
I also voted against. Those two things—particularly the<br />
Jopling proposals—have cemented a relationship between<br />
this place and Whitehall which is entirely unbalanced<br />
and needs to be brought back into balance.<br />
That leads me on to an incident that occurred when<br />
I was an MP previously, for Hornchurch, with Eric<br />
Forth, the much missed, late Member for Bromley and<br />
Chislehurst, who was a great parliamentarian and a<br />
terrific speaker. He was speaking against everything<br />
that had happened since 1994, against timetabling and<br />
guillotining, and I pointed out from a sedentary position<br />
on the Government Benches that he had actually supported<br />
the Jopling proposals. I probably used some fairly Anglo-<br />
Saxon language when doing so, but Eric’s response was,<br />
“Well, I regret it now and wish I had voted against<br />
them.” Funnily enough, he was in opposition at the<br />
time.<br />
I shall move on to two issues that do concern my<br />
constituents. Like many in the Chamber, I have worn<br />
myself out over the past few months knocking on<br />
doors, and, as everybody else who has spoken today has<br />
said, nobody on the doorstep or at street surgeries<br />
mentioned House of Lords reform, but two issues that<br />
were mentioned day in, day out were, first, housing and<br />
the appalling state of accommodation—certainly in my<br />
constituency and many others in England, Scotland<br />
and Wales—and, secondly, economic insecurity. Those<br />
two things were right at the top of the agenda day in,<br />
day out during the campaign.<br />
The Queen’s Speech mentions housing in passing,<br />
I suppose. It states:<br />
“My Government will strive to improve the lives of children<br />
and families.”<br />
The problem is that the lives of children and families in<br />
my constituency are not being improved; they are going<br />
in the opposite direction. In Leyton and, to some extent,<br />
in Leytonstone, both of which are in my constituency,<br />
we are seeing almost Victorian levels of overcrowding,<br />
with appalling cowboy private landlords treating people<br />
terribly, and the waiting list in Waltham Forest, which<br />
makes up most of my constituency, is now more than<br />
20,000.<br />
Meg Hillier: I do not know whether my hon. Friend<br />
has the same problem in his constituency as I have in<br />
mine, but, with the housing benefit cap, many of my<br />
constituents, including working families and those with<br />
children, are being forced out of their homes and I am<br />
not sure where in London they can go to find<br />
accommodation at the right level in the private sector.<br />
Surely this too is a concern and rather flies in the face of<br />
his generous reading of that one line in the Queen’s<br />
Speech.<br />
John Cryer: I completely agree, and I see exactly the<br />
same experience. Owing also to the acute shortage of<br />
public housing in my constituency, people are being<br />
told, “You’ll have to move to Walsall,” “You’ll have to<br />
move to Derby,”—here, there, right across the country.<br />
One woman who was in emergency accommodation<br />
and had suffered a bereavement—her husband had died<br />
and her daughter was in a terrible state—came to see<br />
me, having been told, “You’ve got to move to Walsall,<br />
and next Tuesday, by the way.” That was on a Thursday,<br />
and she was being told that she had to move to Walsall<br />
the following Tuesday. In a civilised society, that is a<br />
pretty appalling way to treat somebody.<br />
That brings me on to economic insecurity. Since the<br />
general election alone, 70,000 to 80,000 construction<br />
jobs have been lost in Britain, and in fact it is probably<br />
more than that by now; those are the latest figures I<br />
have. The stagnation of the economy is also an enormous<br />
worry to an awful lot of my constituents.<br />
On the eurozone, the Government, rather than helping<br />
to prop up a currency that is clearly collapsing, should<br />
encourage countries such as Greece to leave the euro<br />
and get their economies moving again, because that is<br />
the best way to stimulate our economy—through exports<br />
to eurozone countries, which at the moment do not have<br />
the cash or resources to buy goods from this country or<br />
others, such as Germany and North America. The idea,<br />
which the Prime Minister reiterated this afternoon, that<br />
we are not bailing out the eurozone is simply a myth.<br />
We are giving increasing amounts of money to the<br />
International Monetary Fund, which then hands over<br />
increasing amounts of money to the eurozone, so the<br />
idea that we are not in one way or another bailing out<br />
eurozone countries is an absolute myth. It simply is<br />
happening.<br />
There was also a line in the Queen’s Speech that quite<br />
disturbed me. It stated:<br />
“My Government will seek the approval of <strong>Parliament</strong> relating<br />
to the agreed financial stability mechanism within the euro area.”<br />
There must be elements of the fiscal compact within<br />
that stability mechanism, and as sure as eggs is eggs the<br />
fiscal compact will be included in the Bill that this place<br />
and the other place will have to pass. In reality, that too<br />
will go in the direction of the eurozone, meaning the<br />
centralisation of power in Brussels, increased austerity<br />
throughout Europe and increased poverty. I find it<br />
extraordinary that Governments in western Europe will<br />
do almost anything to prop up the euro.<br />
Charlie Elphicke: The hon. Gentleman has long been<br />
known in this place for his passion on the matter of<br />
Europe. Does he believe that, with the elections in<br />
Greece and France and the problems in Spain, the euro<br />
is sustainable however much money is now pumped<br />
into it?<br />
John Cryer: My own view is that, no, the euro is not<br />
sustainable, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, rather<br />
than helping to sustain what is effectively a broken<br />
system, should encourage countries such as Greece and<br />
Spain to find a way out and a way of exerting power<br />
over their own economies, because that is how the<br />
eurozone more disparately is going to move forward.<br />
I remember listening to an interview with a European<br />
Commissioner on the “Today” programme a few months<br />
ago, just as Greece was being plunged into the crisis<br />
that it is still in. The questioner said that there was<br />
increasing unemployment and poverty in Greece—even<br />
then, there were reports of malnutrition among Greek<br />
children—and asked whether it was fair that the people<br />
involved should pay the price for saving the euro. The<br />
Commissioner said, “Well, life’s not fair.” That is<br />
extraordinary. She expanded on the comment, because<br />
she realised that she had made a mistake and let the cat
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[John Cryer]<br />
out of the bag, but her initial comment was that life was<br />
not fair—in other words, that ordinary people had to<br />
pay the price for mistakes made by the wealthy and<br />
powerful.<br />
Sadly, our Government are pursuing a slightly less frenetic<br />
version of the “Eurosadist” economic policy practised<br />
in Greece, Spain, Portugal and one or two other countries.<br />
Yet what we are seeing everywhere across Europe is a<br />
rebellion against that austerity. The latest example, obviously,<br />
is France, where Hollande has specifically rejected the<br />
austerity programme. In Greece, the party that came<br />
from nowhere to second in the poll has specifically<br />
rejected the programme and is now in the process of<br />
trying to form a Government.<br />
What people told me continually on the doorsteps<br />
during the recent campaign was that those who caused<br />
the crisis and who made the decisions years ago—the<br />
bankers, the wealthy and the powerful—are getting<br />
away with it and that those paying the price are the most<br />
vulnerable and least able to pay during this crisis.<br />
Increasingly, I see home repossessions, economic<br />
insecurity and less confidence in spending money because<br />
of that economic insecurity. Just to make the situation<br />
that bit more insecure, the Government now propose to<br />
attack rights at work, make it easier to sack people and<br />
reduce health and safety inspections at work. That will<br />
make people even less confident, because they will be<br />
worrying about losing their jobs. It will be easier to sack<br />
people and there will be fewer health and safety controls,<br />
particularly in the construction industry and other<br />
dangerous industries. The result will be an increasing<br />
turn in the downward spiral, further into recession—and<br />
perhaps, over the next couple of years, even into depression.<br />
What really worries me, although not so much in<br />
respect of this country, is that in many countries across<br />
western Europe—particularly Greece, Spain and Portugal<br />
—we are starting to see the beginnings of the rise of the<br />
far right. Take Golden Dawn in Greece, for example. If<br />
we think that the British National party and the English<br />
Defence League are a dangerous bunch of fascists, we<br />
should see what Golden Dawn are like—they are 10 times<br />
worse. For the first time ever, Golden Dawn has<br />
representation in the Greek <strong>Parliament</strong>. That is a direct<br />
result of the appalling austerity measures unleashed on<br />
the Greek people. Unless there is a change of direction<br />
in the eurozone and this country, my fear is that right<br />
across Europe we will see the rise of the far right.<br />
7.42 pm<br />
Andrew Percy (Brigg and Goole) (Con): It is a delight<br />
to be called to speak in this debate on the Gracious<br />
Speech. I want to dwell on one or two of its themes that<br />
are of great interest to my constituents and on one that<br />
is of absolutely no interest to them. Before I do, I<br />
should reflect a little on what has been achieved by the<br />
Government and where there is still room for improvement.<br />
Like most Members, I came to the House to do<br />
good—not as a do-gooder, but to do good for my<br />
constituents. I came here as a Conservative in the belief<br />
that I would be able to rebalance how hard-working<br />
folk in Brigg and Goole, and beyond, are treated. In some<br />
respects, the Government have made progress; some of<br />
the changes to the benefit system have made work pay,<br />
and I support those wholeheartedly, as do my constituents.<br />
When they speak to me in the street or I knock on their<br />
doors, they generally say that they support the benefit<br />
cap and changes to entitlement programmes. Similarly,<br />
I am delighted that the Government have been able to<br />
freeze council tax, which doubled under the previous<br />
Government, for the past two years.<br />
However, there have also been things that I have not<br />
felt comfortable with and which I do not think have in<br />
any way rebalanced fairness or rewarded those who try<br />
hard and want to do the best for themselves and their<br />
families. That is why I have voted against a number of<br />
measures, although I have voted with the Government<br />
on the vast majority of occasions—about 90% of the<br />
time. In any other job, I would be a slavish loyalist out<br />
for promotion, but in this place if a Government Member<br />
votes a couple of per cent. of the time against the<br />
Government, they are a serial rebel.<br />
On issues such as the bedroom tax and changes to<br />
council house tenancies, I think that the Government<br />
got it wrong. Similarly, I do not yet think that the<br />
Government have rebalanced things as they should<br />
have in favour of hard-working citizens on issues such<br />
as immigration and law and order. Some of that, of<br />
course, is because we find ourselves in a coalition<br />
Government.<br />
The other day, I was asked on Radio Humberside,<br />
which I am sure many hon. Members listen to, whether<br />
it was right for my colleagues to say that the Government<br />
were not Conservative enough. I said that that was<br />
right. It is a simple fact. Just as the Government are not<br />
Lib Dem enough for Lib Dems, they are not Conservative<br />
enough for Conservatives.<br />
I say to Conservative Front Benchers that many of<br />
the pitfalls and traps into which we seem to have walked<br />
in the past few months—indeed, the past couple of<br />
years—have been those that our coalition colleagues<br />
have advised us to advance towards. Perhaps the message<br />
should be that sometimes we should stick with our gut.<br />
I hope that, in so far as anybody in this place listens to<br />
speeches from Back Benchers, that message will be<br />
taken back to the powers that be in Whitehall and<br />
elsewhere.<br />
I welcome much in the Gracious Speech. I mentioned<br />
the themes of particular interest to my constituents.<br />
I welcome the draft social care Bill. Social care is the<br />
biggest challenge facing our country and, like many<br />
Members who have spoken, I hope that we will be able<br />
to advance on it on a cross-party basis. In my view,<br />
there is one opportunity to get the issue right. There are<br />
huge pressures, not only on the NHS but on local<br />
authorities, and they will only increase. I say to Front<br />
Benchers that we must advance in a way that protects<br />
those who have tried to make provision for themselves<br />
and have worked hard.<br />
Many in my constituency have worked hard, got a<br />
private pension and tried incredibly hard during their<br />
working lives but now face the prospect of having to sell<br />
their homes to pay for care. That absolutely has to be<br />
taken into account. Labour Front Benchers have made<br />
it clear that the matter should not be kicked into the<br />
long grass, and they are right—although I question<br />
whether they made any progress on the issue when they<br />
were in power. We must not rush, either, because we<br />
must get it right.
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I look forward to the reforms on special educational<br />
needs and support for disabled people. As I know from<br />
my previous employment as a schoolteacher, those issues<br />
definitely need to be addressed. We have to improve<br />
how the statementing process works and that is why I<br />
welcome its replacement with the integrated education,<br />
health and care plans. If those simplify the process for<br />
families and young people, as I hope a single assessment<br />
will, that will be all to the better. I also say to Ministers,<br />
whom I am sure are listening, that we must ensure that<br />
those plans are supported with proper statutory obligations<br />
across the various agencies involved, including academies<br />
and free schools.<br />
I look forward to the changes to access rights for<br />
divorced fathers, and I hope that they will provide<br />
another opportunity for us to push forward the issue of<br />
grandparents’ rights, which are supported on both sides<br />
of the House.<br />
What are the most important issues? I have heard a<br />
lot from people on my side about what happened in the<br />
local elections last week. We did not have any on my<br />
patch, but I have heard a great deal about them. People<br />
have talked about House of Lords reform and other<br />
issues, but such matters are not why the coalition parties<br />
did so badly. The people of Brigg and Goole are not<br />
worried about House of Lords reform or other matters;<br />
they are worried about the economy and job creation,<br />
both of which are struggling at the moment.<br />
As I have watched this debate in my office and in the<br />
Chamber, I have been surprised by some of the comments<br />
from Labour Members about what they left to this<br />
country. I know that they will attempt to gloss over<br />
their record, but given the area that I represent—the<br />
Humber, east Yorkshire and north Lincolnshire; only<br />
two or three Members representing that area were born<br />
and bred there—I do not recognise the glory days of the<br />
previous Administration. During their time in power,<br />
the Humber lost manufacturing jobs and the number of<br />
private sector jobs was lower in 2010, when they left<br />
office, than it was in 1997. We also faced the prospect of<br />
Labour’s dreaded ports tax, which would have killed<br />
jobs in our successful ports such as Goole, Immingham<br />
and Hull. We also saw no action regarding the Humber<br />
bridge, which, since its creation, has divided our sub-regional<br />
economy. Now this Government have acted to halve the<br />
tolls on the Humber bridge.<br />
Ministers are absolutely right to tell us that they want<br />
to prioritise jobs and economic growth, and I hope that<br />
they will continue do so. I have two warnings for them<br />
from my region, one of which they will have heard<br />
plenty about recently—the prospect of the caravan tax.<br />
Some 90% of manufacturing in this industry is located<br />
in east Yorkshire, and thousands of jobs are involved.<br />
Many of the people working in that industry are already<br />
on three-day weeks. The Government’s own projections<br />
for the impact of the tax suggest a further 30% reduction<br />
in static caravan sales. This is a successful industry,<br />
most of which is deployed in the <strong>United</strong> <strong>Kingdom</strong>. The<br />
supply chain is almost wholly within the UK, and there<br />
are thousands of jobs on caravan parks up and down<br />
the country. I hope that the Government will listen to<br />
what is being said about this, and I think that they are<br />
starting to do so.<br />
I completely support a lot of the changes that have<br />
been made in the public sector, including on pensions.<br />
I would be happy to defend those to my former colleagues,<br />
some of whom are probably not too keen to drink with<br />
me these days as they see the proposed changes to<br />
teachers’ pensions. I defend all those changes, because it<br />
is clear that in the past few years the state became too<br />
big and the gap between public sector pensions and<br />
private sector pensions became too wide. However, the<br />
Government need to proceed extremely carefully on<br />
regional pay. In the Humber, we have struggled to<br />
attract people into teaching. When I was a local councillor<br />
in Hull, we had to come up with the so-called Hull offer<br />
whereby we had to pay people more to come and teach<br />
in local schools. A few weeks ago, when my hon. Friend<br />
the Member for Cleethorpes (Martin Vickers), the hon.<br />
Member for Great Grimsby (Austin Mitchell), the hon.<br />
Member for Scunthorpe (Nic Dakin) and I were at a<br />
meeting with our local hospital trust, we were told that<br />
the trust was unable to attract doctors to come and<br />
work in our NHS trust area and would possibly have to<br />
consider paying more as a consequence.<br />
Some people in the public sector understandably feel<br />
that they are being targeted at the moment. There is<br />
undoubtedly an issue with pay in the south-east of<br />
England, but it would be morally wrong to take money<br />
from public sector workers in the north of England to<br />
solve a problem that exists in the south. Taking money<br />
out of the public sector in an area such as Yorkshire<br />
and northern Lincolnshire, which is very reliant on it,<br />
can only have a knock-on effect on the private sector.<br />
Ministers need to be very careful as they move forward<br />
on this issue. I do not rule the policy out completely, but<br />
we need to see more detail. When the previous Government<br />
introduced academies, they conceded the principle of<br />
allowing schools to set their own pay and conditions,<br />
and they introduced that in HM Courts and Tribunals<br />
Service.<br />
House of Lords reform is one issue in the Gracious<br />
Speech that is of absolutely no interest to my constituents.<br />
I have not been regularly stopped while doing my<br />
shopping in Goole and elsewhere by people saying,<br />
“But Andrew, what we really want is for you to get on<br />
and reform the House of Lords.” As it happens, I think<br />
that the Government are right to raise the issue, as I<br />
support reform of the House of Lords. When I came<br />
here, I was told that it was packed full of talent and the<br />
debates were wonderful. Doubtless there are some very<br />
good people in there, but there are also people who have<br />
absolutely no legitimacy and no right to sit there, and<br />
are perhaps not necessarily as in touch with the country<br />
as it is today as they should be. However, by reforming<br />
something one can make it a lot worse. The Government’s<br />
proposals for 15-year non-renewable terms would do<br />
nothing to inject democracy into the House of Lords. I<br />
would like a 90% to 100% elected Chamber with those<br />
elections taking place at the same time as the general<br />
election and people serving five-year terms. I say that as<br />
a history teacher and somebody who does not like to see<br />
traditions swept aside lightly. Indeed, were it not for the<br />
House of Lords in these past few months, the Government<br />
might not have seen sense on matters such as the chief<br />
coroner and, recently, on mesothelioma.<br />
I understand the important role that the House of<br />
Lords plays in our democracy, but the Government’s<br />
proposals do not stand up to much scrutiny and would<br />
not do much to inject democracy. They should press<br />
ahead with having a debate on the issue, but the current<br />
proposals would not enjoy my support, especially as
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[Andrew Percy]<br />
they involve using a voting system—the single transferable<br />
vote—on which the public have had no say. I think that<br />
we can safely say after last year’s referendum on the<br />
alternative vote that the public have voted against moving<br />
to a more proportional system and want to retain first<br />
past the post; certainly, that was their choice.<br />
I look forward to many of the proposals in the<br />
Queen’s Speech, which has three policy areas of which I<br />
am particularly supportive. I commend the Government<br />
for prioritising jobs and the economy. I also commend<br />
them for taking the action that we have already seen in<br />
the Humber, where in many areas they have done an<br />
awful lot of good—although there is a risk that that<br />
could be undone by the caravan tax and regional pay.<br />
Broadly speaking, I welcome this Gracious Speech and<br />
look forward to the forthcoming debates.<br />
7.56 pm<br />
Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op): I was<br />
interested to listen to the hon. Member for Brigg and<br />
Goole (Andrew Percy), whose speech was remarkable<br />
for one thing, as has been the case with so many<br />
speeches. We are currently seeing a fundamental clash<br />
in Europe between democracy and austerity that has<br />
been reflected in the polls in France and Greece, and<br />
indeed in Britain in the local government elections, with<br />
a choice between growth and making cuts to get down<br />
the deficit. There seems to be no acknowledgement of<br />
the fact that we are hurtling towards a fundamental<br />
change that will mean the end of the euro and perhaps<br />
the end of Europe as we know it. We need to focus on<br />
the need for proactive growth to invest in the capacity<br />
for productivity across Europe and to change course<br />
while we see the emergence of the far-right-wing parties<br />
that have been mentioned by my colleagues. Instead,<br />
however, the main preoccupation is still with the House<br />
of Lords.<br />
I am sure that people like to talk about the intricacies<br />
of the House of Lords—about whether having someone<br />
elected for 15 years without re-election is really democracy,<br />
whether there will be a clash of democracies between<br />
the different Chambers and so on—but I think we all<br />
know that this is a very difficult issue, and that this is<br />
not the time to confront it when we are facing such<br />
severe economic issues on our doorsteps and such<br />
fundamental changes in the nature of Europe and our<br />
exporting prospects.<br />
Andrew Percy: I am not sure whether my accent was<br />
the problem, but I think I made it very clear that House<br />
of Lords reform was a completely marginal issue of<br />
absolutely no interest to my constituents. As I said time<br />
and again, my constituents expect that the economy<br />
and growth should be the priority.<br />
Geraint Davies: I am not talking about whether the<br />
hon. Gentleman and others referenced growth, but<br />
whether they took any notice at all of the fact that<br />
across Europe we are seeing these fundamental changes.<br />
The economic orthodoxy wants to ignore the wishes of<br />
people who are being downtrodden by these austerity<br />
measures, and we are facing a real challenge as regards<br />
the future of democracy in parts of Europe, the future<br />
of the euro, and the future of the European Community.<br />
In this year of her diamond jubilee, the Queen should<br />
have been given the opportunity to demonstrate that<br />
the Government are showing greater leadership by example<br />
in developing a proper, coherent strategy for delivering<br />
growth instead of cuts to get the deficit down. Instead,<br />
we have had the same old medicine with the familiar<br />
side effects of less money being spent in the public<br />
sector, leading to less money in the private sector and a<br />
downward spiral of unemployment and poverty. We<br />
have seen that across Europe.<br />
What we need in the UK and Europe is a combination<br />
of fiscal stimulus and co-ordinated investment. The<br />
party with the best record on growth is of course the<br />
Labour party. Between 1997 and 2008 there was<br />
unprecedented and continuous growth that we had not<br />
seen since the war. In 2008, of course, we faced the<br />
financial tsunami, and to the credit of my right hon.<br />
Friend the Member for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath<br />
(Mr Brown) and Barack Obama, the introduction of<br />
the fiscal stimulus enabled the world to avoid depression<br />
and deliver shallow growth into 2010. Then the<br />
Conservatives took over a deficit that was two-thirds<br />
caused by financial institutions and one-third caused by<br />
the Labour party investing beyond earnings to continue<br />
growth. Their immediate response was to announce<br />
half a million job cuts, which deflated consumer demand<br />
and led to negative growth. Indeed, the deficit projection<br />
is up by £150 billion.<br />
Mr Geoffrey Cox (Torridge and West Devon) (Con):<br />
Does the hon. Gentleman think an 11% annual budget<br />
deficit was sustainable?<br />
Geraint Davies: No, of course not. The question is<br />
what is the most effective way of reducing the deficit is<br />
and what the balance should be between growth and<br />
cuts. By way of a simple example, I spoke to a business<br />
person in Uplands in Swansea, and he said, “I run a<br />
business. If I were to make a loss and I sold my tools<br />
and laid off all my workers, I’d have no business. I need<br />
to tighten up my costs and focus on developing more<br />
products and selling them in the marketplace”. The idea<br />
that we can solve the deficit just through making cuts is<br />
barmy. The focus should be on balancing the books<br />
through jobs and growth.<br />
Let us examine the situation in Greece. Given the<br />
draconian cuts to pensions and jobs, it is no surprise<br />
that people cannot see any obvious upside. The money<br />
that is being put into Greece is being used to pay down<br />
the debt rather than to invest in productive infrastructure<br />
that can generate growth. I am not saying that there<br />
should be extra money for Greece, but we must consider<br />
the balance between the two.<br />
The EU could invest in solar forests in Greece to<br />
generate energy for the rest of Europe, in connectivity<br />
such as railways and roads to boost the holiday industry,<br />
in infrastructure in the holiday industry, or in broadband<br />
across Greece. At the moment, the £13 billion a year<br />
that the EU spends on research and innovation is all<br />
spent in the north of Europe. The centres of excellence<br />
in Germany, at Oxford and Cambridge and the like get<br />
the money, and Greece is regarded as having underdeveloped<br />
academic resources. Such policies need changing,<br />
because we are a community, not just a market. The<br />
way through for Greece is to negotiate a settlement in<br />
which debt reduction is balanced by investment in<br />
productive infrastructure that can deliver growth and
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help Greece pay its way. It is not for the EU simply to<br />
say, “You are poor, you’ve spent too much, we’ll make<br />
you poorer”.<br />
Britain should take a lead and invest in growth in our<br />
own backyard and in team GB. We should work together<br />
to provide coherence about economic growth. In my<br />
area, I am instrumental in bringing together stakeholders<br />
from the Swansea bay city region. Swansea council,<br />
Neath Port Talbot council, which is next door, and<br />
Pembrokeshire and Cardiganshire have made a joint<br />
submission to the Welsh Government saying that they<br />
want to work together within a city region of some<br />
750,000 people rather than operate independently. They<br />
want to have joint marketing and inward investment<br />
strategies and put more pressure on the Government to<br />
provide the infrastructure to deliver growth.<br />
The right hon. Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd<br />
(Mr Llwyd) mentioned that if Wales had the £1.9 billion<br />
that is equivalent to what is being spent on High Speed 2,<br />
it could invest in, for example, the electrification of the<br />
railway to Swansea or reducing the toll on the Severn<br />
bridge, as the Government have done on the Humber<br />
bridge. That would stimulate trade coming into south<br />
Wales and enable a coherent, joined-up approach to<br />
economic development, working in tandem with industry<br />
and academia to move economic growth forward. Alongside<br />
a fiscal stimulus, such joining up of the economic<br />
capabilities of councils across Britain, targeting emerging<br />
consumer markets, is the basis of a coherent growth<br />
plan that can move us forward. That is better than the<br />
Conservative party’s preoccupation with savage cuts<br />
affecting the most vulnerable, which are also happening<br />
in Greece.<br />
I hope that there is a golden future for the Swansea<br />
bay city region. Increasingly, people will realise that it is<br />
a great location to go to. It has environmental beauty,<br />
and the roll-out of broadband means that people can<br />
move out there. The costs of setting up a business are<br />
much lower than in London, and I hope that Swansea’s<br />
premier division status—it has the premier football<br />
team in Wales—will help us move forward. I say that<br />
with no disrespect to Cardiff, who I know did not get<br />
into the premier league, so there is just one premier<br />
league team in Wales.<br />
The region is a cultural centre. It was the birthplace<br />
of Dylan Thomas, whose centenary will be acclaimed in<br />
2014. It is a centre for tourism and for sport, so there is<br />
a package of activity that makes people want to visit the<br />
Swansea bay city region, invest in it and move there.<br />
The future is bright. We ask the Government for a bit<br />
more support for infrastructure, as part of a growth<br />
plan, so that we can work together to create jobs and<br />
wealth. That is the only real solution to getting the<br />
deficit down, rather than simply cutting again and<br />
again.<br />
What we need now is to follow the example given in<br />
2008 by Obama and my right hon. Friend the Member<br />
for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, who averted a depression.<br />
We must have a co-ordinated approach across Europe<br />
so that we can move forward together before it is too<br />
late. We all know the adage: give a man a fish—I should<br />
say give a person a fish, or in this case give Greece a<br />
fish—and he can eat for a day, but give him a rod and he<br />
can eat for a year. Now, we are cutting the fish in half so<br />
that he is hungry by lunchtime. We need to get the<br />
balance right between investment in infrastructure and<br />
cuts. I would have liked at the centre of the Queen’s<br />
Speech bold new initiatives for Britain that could provide<br />
leadership for Europe and help us move forward in the<br />
world.<br />
8.7 pm<br />
Charlie Elphicke (Dover) (Con): It is a pleasure, as<br />
ever, to follow the hon. Member for Swansea West<br />
(Geraint Davies), who gave a particular view of economic<br />
theory and how to get economies growing. He will not<br />
be surprised to know that I completely disagree with<br />
most of his prescriptions.<br />
Geraint Davies: I’m an economist and you’re not.<br />
Charlie Elphicke: He is an economist.<br />
Andrew Percy: All the more reason to ignore him.<br />
Charlie Elphicke: Yes, and no doubt five different<br />
views could be advanced.<br />
We all agree about the key point of the Queen’s<br />
Speech and the challenge facing this country. When I<br />
talk to my constituents in Dover and Deal and ask,<br />
“What is your priority?”, they say, “It’s the economy,<br />
stupid”—President Clinton made much of that point in<br />
his first election campaign. The economy is the heartland,<br />
and it is essential that we have more jobs and money in<br />
Britain. We have had a very difficult time for the past<br />
four years, and the situation is challenging for many<br />
families in my constituency, who are struggling to get by<br />
and have not had a pay rise for a very long time. They<br />
are struggling to keep hold of a job while we seek to<br />
rebuild out of the mess that went before. I therefore<br />
particularly welcome the fact that the Government’s<br />
first priority is to reduce the deficit and restore economic<br />
stability.<br />
The hon. Member for Swansea West has a prescription<br />
along the lines of saying that if we did not cut so far and<br />
so fast, all would be fine. The difficulty with that is that<br />
we would need to borrow more money. If we did that,<br />
we would threaten our economic credibility, which would<br />
mean rising interest rates on Government debt. If that<br />
happened, interest rates would increase for businesses<br />
and home owners.<br />
We have been lucky because we have same level of<br />
deficit as Greece, but the markets trust our economic<br />
policy and our cracking down on and reducing the<br />
deficit. That means that our interest rates are similar to<br />
those in Germany, while we still have a deficit the size of<br />
Greece’s, albeit one that is falling.<br />
Andrew Percy: There is another point to be made.<br />
The Opposition position is almost like telling someone<br />
with a £10,000 credit card bill, “Go and get another<br />
£5,000 on the credit card because you’ll feel a bit better<br />
today.” However, at some time in the future, the credit<br />
card company will come knocking. The Labour party<br />
wants us to increase the £120 million in debt interest<br />
every day by borrowing even more, which would mean<br />
that we had even less to invest in the public services that<br />
our constituents want and deserve.<br />
Charlie Elphicke: My hon. Friend is right. One does<br />
not fix a debt crisis by borrowing more money—it<br />
makes no sense. It is the economics of the madhouse,
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[Charlie Elphicke]<br />
because we would have more debt to service over the<br />
long term. It would take us longer to pay it, thereby<br />
mortgaging our children’s futures for longer, and interest<br />
rates would rise. Under the Government, interest rates<br />
have fallen, and that has done much to ensure that we<br />
have more money to invest in public services than would<br />
have been the case under the previous Government.<br />
Geraint Davies: Does not the hon. Gentleman accept<br />
that, because we do not have growth, deficit projections<br />
have risen by £150 billion? Secondly, interest rates are<br />
the same as those inherited from Labour. Under the<br />
previous Tory Government, they were 15%. The hon.<br />
Gentleman’s comments are simply factually untrue.<br />
Charlie Elphicke: The hon. Gentleman supposes that<br />
if the previous Government’s economic policies had<br />
continued, the markets would have played along, and<br />
the music would have kept playing. Greece, Ireland,<br />
Spain, Portugal and Italy are evidence against that. We<br />
are very lucky that we had a change of Government. We<br />
had a close shave, but we have managed so far, goodness<br />
willing, to escape the position into which we would<br />
otherwise have fallen. Without a shadow of a doubt,<br />
the previous Government would have taken us the way<br />
of Greece and we would have been plunged into serious<br />
economic chaos. We would not be talking about a<br />
technical double-dip recession, but a minus 5 or minus<br />
6 double-dip recession, of the sort and on the scale that<br />
is happening in Greece. I hope that when the Office for<br />
National Statistics reviews the figures in a few months,<br />
we will see that we skirted recession, but were not in<br />
recession. Many of us feel that confidence is already<br />
rebuilding. From other surveys, many of us suspect that<br />
the ONS figures will be revised upwards, and we will<br />
find that we did not go into recession and that we may<br />
just be starting to recover.<br />
I hope that that is the case because our constituents<br />
have had and are having a difficult time trying to keep<br />
hold of their jobs, get a pay rise and pay their bills,<br />
which have been increasing ever faster. The Government’s<br />
policies, which focus on the economy like a laser beam,<br />
are right. We need a more flexible labour market—not a<br />
right-wing, “Let’s have the ability to hire and fire at<br />
will” policy. The OECD growth project investigated the<br />
matter at length and in detail and concluded that a<br />
flexible labour market was a key driver of economic<br />
growth. It identified another key driver as lower corporation<br />
taxes, which the Government are delivering. It also said<br />
that a certain and credible financial services and competition<br />
regulation regime, which we are rebuilding, was another<br />
key driver.<br />
I think that the House accepts that the Financial<br />
Services Authority system—the tripartite regulation<br />
system—was an unmitigated disaster. The brainchild of<br />
the former Prime Minister and the shadow Chancellor,<br />
when it was put to the test, it was found entirely<br />
wanting. The Bank of England managed to save the<br />
secondary banking system and our general banking<br />
system in the 1970s, but this time, we had to have<br />
massive state-funded bail-outs, which cost the taxpayer<br />
a fortune. That need not and would not have happened<br />
had the FSA and the tripartite regulatory regime not<br />
been in place.<br />
The OECD growth project is also clear that increased<br />
competition to promote enterprise and fair markets is<br />
also important. Promoting competition, free enterprise,<br />
fair markets and a level playing field for market entrants<br />
is vital. We have pro-growth policies on all those. I make<br />
no bones about the fact that I should like the Government<br />
to be more pro-growth to get the economy moving even<br />
quicker. I should like them to lever in more private<br />
investment sooner so that we can grow more quickly.<br />
However, I recognise that all government is a negotiation,<br />
and it is clearly a challenge in a coalition to have<br />
everything that we would like. From a Conservative<br />
point of view, I would like a more pro-growth policy so<br />
that we grow the economy even more quickly.<br />
I am realistic about what we can do, but I think that<br />
we are doing a lot, and as much as we can. I can look<br />
my constituents in the eye and say that we are trying to<br />
get the economy growing as quickly as possible, that we<br />
are focused on it and that nothing matters to us more<br />
than jobs and money.<br />
It is real cheek for the Opposition to talk about youth<br />
unemployment, for two reasons. First, it rose massively<br />
under the previous Government. Although it has increased<br />
under this Government, it has done so at a much slower<br />
rate than in the previous <strong>Parliament</strong>. Secondly, when I<br />
knock on the doors in Dover and ask people what their<br />
key concern is, they reply, “Immigration and I want my<br />
kid to have a future.” They are furious that the open<br />
borders policy that the previous Government pursued<br />
means that their children are finding it harder to get<br />
a job.<br />
Andrew Percy: When my hon. Friend talked about<br />
youth unemployment figures rising under the previous<br />
Government, he failed to mention that they increased<br />
when unemployment generally was falling. For youth<br />
unemployment to be increasing now is bad enough, but<br />
for it to rise when unemployment generally is falling is a<br />
national tragedy. We have heard no apology for that.<br />
Charlie Elphicke: My hon. Friend is right. Not only<br />
that, but if we examine the figures for job creation since<br />
the early 2000s, we see that people from the EU accession<br />
eight countries had a massive increase in the number of<br />
jobs, that that also applied among foreign nationals—people<br />
born overseas—but that employment hardly increased<br />
at all for those born in the UK.<br />
Priti Patel (Witham) (Con): Does my hon. Friend<br />
agree that one of the previous Government’s biggest<br />
failures was to address the skills deficit in this country,<br />
and that they also failed to tackle apprenticeships? Is it<br />
therefore any wonder that, at the time, the jobs were not<br />
going to British-born workers?<br />
Charlie Elphicke: I agree with my hon. Friend. That is<br />
the central point, which I was about to address. Employers’<br />
difficulty is finding the right person with the skills for<br />
the job. It is incumbent on the Government to create a<br />
framework whereby people—particularly our young<br />
people—can get the skills so that they qualify and are<br />
eligible for a job, and that they have the skills that<br />
employers need. Instead of dealing with the skills deficit<br />
in our population, the previous Government thought it<br />
was easier to put sticking plaster on it and have an open<br />
borders policy to enable employers to take people with
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the skills that they wanted from anywhere, rather than<br />
ensuring that our children and young people had the<br />
skills for the labour market and therefore a better<br />
future.<br />
It is important to have stronger border control in the<br />
UK. It is also important to skill up our children because<br />
the previous Government sold us a pass on the hopes<br />
and aspirations of our young people and people who do<br />
not have great skills to get a job, promotion, more<br />
money and more skills. The Government’s emphasis on<br />
apprenticeships is essential. That is what I hear on the<br />
doorsteps in Dover. For many in the House and in<br />
the metropolitan elite, that is a difficult message, but the<br />
opinion polls show that unemployment and immigration<br />
are linked, and we should be honest about that. We<br />
should be honest with people, and tell them that we<br />
understand their concerns and are acting on them. One<br />
of the greatest things about the Government is that we<br />
have taken such strong action on apprenticeships to<br />
ensure that our people have the skills to have a job and<br />
do well in life.<br />
The Government are nothing if they are not about<br />
aspiration, but they are also about understanding the<br />
pressures of utility bills and the costs of modern life.<br />
One really important policy in that respect is the proposed<br />
reform of the electricity market to deliver clean, secure<br />
and affordable electricity and ensure that prices are fair.<br />
The Leader of the Opposition chooses these days to<br />
forget that he was Secretary of State for Energy and<br />
Climate Change, and that he planned, with the renewable<br />
heat initiative, to load £193 on to the bills of every<br />
household in this country. He chooses to forget that,<br />
with the electricity renewable energy obligation to which<br />
he signed up, he was going to increase our power prices<br />
by 20%, and those of businesses by 30%. He goes on<br />
about the costs of living and the pressure on households,<br />
and yet chooses to forget that the responsibility for<br />
much of the increase in the cost of living lies at his door,<br />
because when he was Secretary of State, he loaded bills<br />
and balanced our carbon commitments on the backs of<br />
the poor, which was a disgusting and disgraceful thing<br />
to have done.<br />
We cannot balance our carbon commitments on the<br />
backs of the poor, as the Labour Government wanted.<br />
We need to ensure that our carbon commitments are<br />
executed in the most cost-effective way. That means not<br />
that we should back winners or favour this or that<br />
technology, but that we should favour technologies that<br />
reduce carbon emissions at the most effective and best<br />
possible price, regardless of whether we happen to like<br />
or dislike them. That is what we owe the least well-off in<br />
our communities, and our hard-pressed families and<br />
electors.<br />
From the detailed list of Bills in the Queen’s Speech,<br />
I want to pick out the children and families Bill, which<br />
contains an acceptance of the important principle I<br />
proposed in a ten-minute rule Bill last year: that children<br />
have the right to know, and have a relationship with,<br />
both their parents following separation. I believe that<br />
that is right and in the interests of the child and their<br />
welfare, but let me explain why. The Bill does not set out<br />
with complete clarity reasons for that provision or for<br />
the shared parental leave provision, but they are linked,<br />
because families have changed. There is a new norm,<br />
and we need to accept modern families.<br />
Let me set out how families have changed. One can<br />
have an “olde worlde” image of the family—a bloke<br />
goes to work while the mother bounces the child on her<br />
knee or does the washing up at home. That is perhaps<br />
how it was in the 1950s, but things have not been like<br />
that for a very long time. Just about everyone I know<br />
from my generation joint works. I looked at the figures,<br />
because many of our policies seem to be aimed at<br />
people who live that kind of traditional family life,<br />
rather than at families who joint work, which is the<br />
reality.<br />
Some things jump out from the figures on parental<br />
employment rates. Back in 1986, half of partnered<br />
mothers were in the workplace; today, 71% of them are.<br />
Whereas 25 years ago five out of 10 partnered mothers<br />
went to work; seven out of 10 now do so. The overwhelming<br />
majority of couples with children under the age of 16<br />
both work, which has led to a wider change in respect of<br />
juggling the work-life balance.<br />
It is not just that there are more mothers in the<br />
workplace. What about the number of men who work<br />
part time? Some people go around saying, “Only women<br />
ever look after children,” but that is also old fashioned<br />
and archaic. Things have been changing. Notably, the<br />
number of all parents in part-time work has changed,<br />
which is basically accounted for by the fact that the<br />
number of men in part-time work has risen. Official<br />
statistics from the Office for National Statistics show<br />
that 25 years ago, 696,000 men were in part-time work.<br />
That number has risen nearly fourfold to more than<br />
2 million today. To my mind, that indicates that parents<br />
are increasingly juggling work and child care, and that<br />
there has been something of a seismic shift.<br />
Many think, “Mothers go back to work when the<br />
child is a bit older,” but let us look at the figures. When<br />
do people go back to work? Do they wait until the child<br />
is about five and going to school, or do they go back<br />
before that? Twenty-five years ago, 27% of partnered<br />
women went back to work when the youngest child was<br />
under three years of age. In other words, two thirds of<br />
women stayed at home and brought up the child until<br />
they were at least three, and then considered going back<br />
to work. That position has reversed. Now, 63% of<br />
partnered women go back to work when the youngest<br />
child is under three.<br />
There has been a massive social change, and we need<br />
to understand modern families and how they live. If<br />
most women are going back to work when the child is<br />
pre-school age, there is a lot of juggling and work-life<br />
balancing. Who takes the kid to school or nursery?<br />
Who collects the kid? Who looks after the child? Who<br />
takes primary responsibility in the workplace and in the<br />
home? Increasingly, most people whose children are<br />
grown up will know from their children’s lives that there<br />
is much more of a juggle and a balance of work and life.<br />
The rate of increase of lone parents has been very<br />
great. In 1986, 15% of lone parents went back to work<br />
when their child was under three; by 2011, that had<br />
doubled to 32%. We can therefore see substantial change<br />
in families, which has consequences for family policy.<br />
The flexible parental leave provision in the children and<br />
families Bill is justified because it is necessary. It is a<br />
recognition that families juggle work and child care. It<br />
is not just a case of saying, “The mother has a baby,<br />
therefore she has maternity leave.” The situation is
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[Charlie Elphicke]<br />
much more complicated, and provision should be balanced<br />
so that men and women in a family can balance that<br />
equation.<br />
More work needs to be done on child care, for two<br />
reasons. First, the number of child care places has been<br />
broadly static for years. In 2001, there were more than<br />
300,000 places with child minders and about 300,000 day<br />
nursery places—about 600,000 places in total. The number<br />
of places with child minders stayed static, but the number<br />
of nursery places—full day care—increased to about<br />
600,000. In 2001, there were 600,000 places in total, but<br />
in 2008, there were around 900,000 places. The number<br />
has remained static since.<br />
What does it mean if there are now 900,000 places?<br />
Are we catering for all the children in the country who<br />
are in need of child care? I did some back-of-the envelope<br />
calculations, and it struck me that there is potentially a<br />
shortage of child care places. There are about 13 million<br />
children in the UK, of whom roughly 3 million are<br />
pre-school age. The numbers indicate that 55% of children<br />
at pre-school have parents who both work. In other<br />
words, about 2 million children need child care, but<br />
there are only 900,000 child care places. What is happening<br />
to the other million children? Who is looking after<br />
them? Is it grandparents or neighbours? There is a kind<br />
of child care apartheid. On the one hand, there is a<br />
system of nurseries that are so heavily regulated that<br />
most people cannot afford them, and on the other hand<br />
there is a system of child care for the other half that is<br />
completely unregulated. We know nothing about what<br />
is going on in that half. The right balance would be to<br />
reduce the regulation on our nurseries, increase the<br />
number of places and bring the cost of child care down<br />
so that more people can access it, because one of the<br />
biggest pressures on modern families is affording the<br />
cost of child care for pre-school children. It is an<br />
absolute nightmare—<br />
Andrew Percy: My hon. Friend questions whether it<br />
is grandparents doing the caring and, as I said a few<br />
moments ago, they are increasingly involved in families<br />
and are the unsung heroes of child care. Does he agree<br />
with my hope that additional rights for grandparents<br />
will be introduced in the next Session?<br />
Charlie Elphicke: My hon. Friend is a passionate<br />
campaigner on behalf of grandparents. When grandparents<br />
are constructive, they can make a powerful contribution,<br />
but a balance inevitably needs to be struck. Some<br />
grandparents like to interfere and meddle, and they can<br />
be really annoying. All parents know that some<br />
grandparents are not quite the saints that my hon. Friend<br />
suggests. Nevertheless, if grandparents play a constructive<br />
role in a child’s life, there is a lot to be said for them. My<br />
hon. Friend has been a passionate and trenchant<br />
campaigner in the cause of constructive grandparents—as<br />
opposed to destructive grandparents, whom we could<br />
all do without. We all know people who know them—I<br />
hope my hon. Friend understands where I am coming<br />
from on that point.<br />
We need more availability of nursery places and<br />
deregulation of the system. The figures show that dads<br />
are more involved in children’s lives than ever before.<br />
Father is no longer sitting behind a newspaper at the<br />
breakfast table, oblivious to the world: instead, dads are<br />
deeply engaged in children’s lives. So when it comes to<br />
separation, the question is what is in the interests of the<br />
children. What best serves the child’s welfare? I think<br />
that it is stability and the continuation of what they<br />
have known. So if a parent who has been heavily involved<br />
in the child’s life—as they are in the overwhelming<br />
majority of families—suddenly disappears off a cliff<br />
edge, it makes no sense. That is why the Government are<br />
right to enshrine in legislation the principle that children<br />
have the right to know and have a relationship with their<br />
parents. The way in which modern families live indicates<br />
strongly that that is what best serves child welfare.<br />
I recognise that the judiciary and the legal system are,<br />
as always, about 30 years out of date and are astonishingly<br />
weak-kneed when it comes to ensuring the rights of<br />
children to know both their parents. That is wrong, and<br />
we need to send a clear legislative message, not just to<br />
anti-dad social workers but to the court system, that<br />
society has changed. We in <strong>Parliament</strong> get that society<br />
has changed. We get that we need stability for our<br />
children and that child welfare is best served by having<br />
minimum disturbance to that which they have been used<br />
to. If we send that message, real and positive change could<br />
be made.<br />
Tessa Munt (Wells) (LD): The hon. Gentleman<br />
mentioned that in some way the status quo might be<br />
maintained. Does he agree that in fact there is evidence<br />
that one parent is often excluded from the life of the<br />
child by the parent with care, and that therefore the<br />
status quo may become a pattern of one-parent family<br />
life as opposed to two-parent? Does he therefore agree<br />
that the Government should say that children have an<br />
absolute right to life with both their parents unless that<br />
is unsafe?<br />
Charlie Elphicke: Yes, I do. If I understand her correctly,<br />
the hon. Lady refers to the concept of shared parenting.<br />
I am personally a fan of that, but it is a difficult<br />
argument to advance at the moment because the Norgrove<br />
report looked into what happens in Australia and managed<br />
to become completely and utterly muddled about the<br />
difference between quantity of time and quality of time.<br />
Every parent knows that quality of time is what counts.<br />
In Australia, it seems to have become an issue of quantity<br />
of time and an insistence on 50:50 time, but that misses<br />
the point altogether and, therefore, misled the entire<br />
Norgrove report. Before the report was published, I<br />
spent an hour putting that case passionately to members<br />
of the panel, but they published it anyway. It will<br />
therefore be difficult to persuade the legislature that<br />
shared parenting is the right way to go, but the social<br />
changes in modern families will mean that it is almost<br />
certain to end up that way in five years’ time.<br />
For now, the best win that can be had is to ensure that<br />
children have the right to know, and a right of access to,<br />
both their parents. If the parent with care tries to<br />
subvert that, they are not having a go at the parent<br />
without care but undermining their child and attacking<br />
the rights that their child should have. If we frame it<br />
that way, parents with care will more quickly understand<br />
that they need to think about their children, rather than<br />
themselves.<br />
Tessa Munt: Does the hon. Gentleman agree, therefore,<br />
that the courts have the ultimate solution in that, if a<br />
parent with care prevents a child from accessing his or
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her other parent, the care can be taken up by the parent<br />
who is excluded, and that that is the ultimate sanction<br />
and might encourage parents to stick to the rules and<br />
ensure that their children have absolute access to both<br />
parents?<br />
Madam Deputy Speaker (Dawn Primarolo): Order.<br />
May I remind the hon. Lady of Mr Speaker’s<br />
announcement at the beginning of the debate about<br />
parliamentary convention for this Session and the need<br />
for interventions to be brief, not substantive speeches or<br />
long points, interesting as they may be?<br />
Charlie Elphicke: I thank the hon. Lady for her<br />
interesting intervention. The full tool box needs to be<br />
available to the court system, but the legislature also<br />
needs to send a strong message to the court system,<br />
social workers and everyone involved in child care and<br />
child care access about what we expect it to look like,<br />
which is that people who stand in the way of their<br />
children’s rights should have the book thrown at them<br />
and should not be allowed to do so anymore.<br />
I want to make a brief point about the education of<br />
children with special educational needs. These children<br />
have been badly let down for too long. They find it very<br />
hard to access the right school. I chaired a summit<br />
recently to which, I am delighted to say, came the leader<br />
of Kent county council, a cabinet member for Kent<br />
county council and a group of parents of children with<br />
severe special educational needs—many of them high<br />
on the autistic and Asperger spectrums—who have had<br />
a very difficult time. It is wrong in principle that parents<br />
facing the significant challenges of looking after a child<br />
with special educational needs should, on top of that,<br />
have to battle the education system to get the right<br />
education for their child. It is wrong in principle that, in<br />
many cases, it has taken two or three years for those<br />
parents to find the right school for their children.<br />
Several things became clear to me during the summit.<br />
The statementing process is too slow and cumbersome.<br />
That is wrong. It should be more fast-tracked, efficient<br />
and effective in looking at children’s needs and diagnosing<br />
them correctly. Once that is done, each county council<br />
or education authority needs to maintain a decent<br />
database of which schools in their authority area can<br />
cater for which needs. Too often, it seems, there is<br />
muddle and confusion in the bureaucracy over which<br />
schools can cater for which needs. The whole system<br />
should be fast-tracked so that parents are offered schools<br />
appropriate to their child’s needs, rather than schools<br />
that are not appropriate. That happens in many education<br />
authorities. Everyone knows that. It is wrong and needs<br />
to be dealt with.<br />
Furthermore, on special educational needs, there must<br />
not be an apartheid between the state sector and the<br />
private sector. We need to put the children first. If a<br />
private, independent school caters best for the special<br />
needs of children, parents should be offered that school<br />
and not just told that a maintained school has to take<br />
yet more pupils because the education rules and laws<br />
are such that pupils can be shoved into a school, whether<br />
the school likes it or not or does not have enough places.<br />
In my constituency, there is the perverse situation in<br />
which one independent school catering brilliantly for<br />
special educational needs has 20 spare places, while<br />
another special needs school doing an outstanding job<br />
in the maintained sector needs a portakabin in the<br />
playground to cater for the number of special educational<br />
needs children, because it has been told by the education<br />
authority to take yet more children. We need to strike<br />
the right balance: we need to give parents much greater<br />
say and choice, use the places available in the system<br />
most appropriately and ensure that the statementing<br />
process is as quick as it can be. In education, when it<br />
comes to looking after our children, we need to put the<br />
parents first. We need to ensure that they can make the<br />
decisions that are right for their children, because, broadly,<br />
they know best because they know their children best<br />
of all.<br />
I am delighted to support the Queen’s Speech. It<br />
focuses on the economy, on utility bills, on the cost of<br />
living and on helping hard-pressed families. It focuses<br />
on families and children, and on helping families to<br />
bring forward the next generation.<br />
8.39 pm<br />
Mr Gareth Thomas (Harrow West) (Lab/Co-op): It is<br />
a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Dover (Charlie<br />
Elphicke). I enjoyed his speech very much—even the<br />
more provocative parts. I suspect that many of our<br />
constituents who have children with special needs will<br />
empathise with his comments. I confess that I did not<br />
understand his reference to grandparents occasionally<br />
being annoying, but perhaps that is Conservative party<br />
code for something else. I also empathised with his<br />
description of many of his constituents not having had<br />
a pay rise for years and struggling to keep their jobs. I<br />
therefore say gently to him that I do not understand<br />
how he can say with a straight face that the Budget was<br />
good for those families. Nevertheless, I enjoyed listening<br />
to his speech.<br />
Two years into the coalition, it is striking that the<br />
Queen’s Speech has so little to offer to solve the challenges<br />
that our country faces. Its measures show that the<br />
Prime Minister and the Chancellor did not listen to the<br />
anger of Britain’s citizens last week and that they are<br />
ignoring the now considerable economic evidence that a<br />
new direction is needed. Equally clearly, the confident<br />
communities that our constituents want to live in will<br />
seem further away than ever, with declining levels of<br />
social capital, public services under greater pressure<br />
than ever, and the opportunity to have real influence<br />
over how key services are run at local level growing ever<br />
more distant.<br />
My constituents tell me that they are now seeing<br />
fewer police officers than for a long time. The fact that<br />
the Government are announcing legislation to set up<br />
the new National Crime Agency when police numbers<br />
are dropping, and that the Metropolitan police want to<br />
close all the cells at Harrow police station with little<br />
notice and even less discussion, suggests that Ministers<br />
are out of touch with what is happening at the grass<br />
roots to the services that our constituents depend on.<br />
Given the present Home Secretary’s now notorious<br />
description of the Conservative party, it is perhaps<br />
appropriate to wonder, in the light of the Queen’s<br />
Speech and the Budget, whether the “nasty party” is<br />
very much back in evidence. Over the next 12 months,<br />
we will see more cuts that will once again hit the most<br />
vulnerable and those least able to help themselves. If the<br />
measure in the Queen’s Speech goes through, it will<br />
become easier to sack the strivers, the hard workers,
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[Mr Gareth Thomas]<br />
those who speak out, those who blow the whistle on bad<br />
practice and those who, for just one period in their lives,<br />
are at their most vulnerable through illness, if their face<br />
does not fit.<br />
There has also been a tax cut for millionaires, which<br />
hard-working families and pensioners are being made<br />
to pay for. To cap it all, the Conservative party is<br />
agonising once again about all things foreign. It is again<br />
anti-European in tone, and predominantly anti-aid,<br />
too. Above all, it is on the economy that the Prime<br />
Minister needs to tell the Chancellor to change course.<br />
Bank lending continues to fall as businesses continue to<br />
struggle. Year on year, net lending to businesses has<br />
now fallen in every single month since the coalition<br />
came to power. How many times have we heard the<br />
Prime Minister promise to get the banks lending? Despite<br />
all the hype that Project Merlin and, then, banking<br />
reform were the answer, bank lending continues to fall;<br />
it was down 3.5% last year alone.<br />
My right hon. Friends on the Opposition Front Bench<br />
have consistently warned that the Government’s austerity<br />
plan was self-defeating, and that cutting spending too<br />
far and too fast at the same time as putting up taxes<br />
such as VAT would backfire. America, and indeed a<br />
series of countries in Europe, have taken a far more<br />
balanced approach to reducing their deficits, with strong<br />
plans to produce jobs and deliver economic growth.<br />
Why could the Chancellor and Prime Minister not have<br />
listened to and looked at what is happening in those<br />
countries? As a result of their mistakes, my constituents<br />
are suffering. Their bills are up because Ministers will<br />
not really challenge the big energy companies. There is<br />
certainly a Bill to introduce electricity market reform,<br />
but it will come far too late in this <strong>Parliament</strong> to make a<br />
real difference to the size of the bills my constituents<br />
will have to pay.<br />
In many cases, mortgage rates are rising, while tube<br />
fares have never been so expensive. In Harrow town<br />
centre in the heart of my constituency, I have never seen<br />
as many empty shops as there are now—a daily<br />
demonstration of a recession that has been made in<br />
Downing street. Harrow council, told by the Mayor of<br />
London to plan for a huge increase in housing units<br />
over the next decade or so—half in Wealdstone and<br />
Harrow-on-the Hill—is seeking to use this open door<br />
policy for developers to try to redesign, reinvigorate<br />
and redevelop the heart of our borough, despite the<br />
recession. It is, however, striking how difficult it is at the<br />
moment to persuade developers to put affordable housing<br />
at the centre of their plans—for example, on the Kodak<br />
site, set to be home to a potential 3,000 housing units.<br />
For those in Harrow who want to get on the housing<br />
ladder, the prospect of being able to buy their first<br />
home in the Harrow community where they grew up seems<br />
ever further away.<br />
The next generation, hammered by the high cost of<br />
tuition fees from October this year, will wonder why<br />
there is so little to help them in this Queen’s Speech.<br />
There is nothing to make the cost of going to university<br />
easier—just cuts in the funding that their university is<br />
receiving. They face higher living costs while they are at<br />
university, and now there is the possibility, as announced<br />
in the Budget, of a tax give-away for private universities,<br />
many of which are run by hedge funds.<br />
Equally striking is the recent absence of “big society”<br />
language from the rhetoric of the Prime Minister’s<br />
speeches. Community groups that were championed<br />
when the Conservatives were in opposition are now left<br />
very much on the sidelines. Huge cuts in funding that<br />
began to hit hard last year will hit even harder this year.<br />
Last week, the head of Volunteering England warned<br />
that the network of volunteer centres across the country<br />
is beginning to fragment, with a number set to close this<br />
year. Why, at a time when we need national renewal, are<br />
we set to make it harder for people to give something<br />
back through volunteering? The National Children’s<br />
Bureau has warned that 25% of the charities it contacted<br />
that help young people and children believed that they<br />
might have to close next year. Charities that were promised<br />
Government contracts will now know that they were<br />
hollow words when Ministers spoke them.<br />
The Work programme, run by the Department for<br />
Work and Pensions, has seen the private sector winning<br />
90% of the prime contracts. Charities that were told<br />
that they would get 35% to 40% of the referrals under<br />
the Work programme are seeing at best half that—fewer<br />
than under the Future Jobs Fund. More than 100 charities<br />
have lost confidence and walked away, yet there is<br />
nothing in the Queen’s Speech to seek to address those<br />
problems. Indeed, an independent audit published by<br />
Civil Exchange and the Joseph Rowntree Charitable<br />
Trust at the weekend argued that there is<br />
“an implicit bias towards the private sector in tendering”<br />
and that<br />
“it is particularly hard for small, local voluntary organisations to<br />
compete for contracts.”<br />
I suggest that this is the Serco society, not the big<br />
society, so it is hardly surprising that some 70% of<br />
charity chief executives did not think that the Government<br />
respected or valued their sector.<br />
Arguably, the most fundamental challenge identified<br />
by the audit is how to extend social action to a younger<br />
population and across socio-economic groups. The core,<br />
it says, of those who provide the majority of volunteering<br />
are more likely to be middle-aged, to have higher educational<br />
qualifications, to practise their religion actively and to<br />
have lived in the same neighbourhood. There is nothing<br />
in the Queen’s Speech to suggest that the Government<br />
understand how to get more people enrolled in their<br />
communities or even the desire to do so.<br />
Where, indeed, is the co-ops Bill that the Prime<br />
Minister once promised? This comes on the back of no<br />
serious effort to remutualise Northern Rock over the<br />
past 12 months, no serious interest in encouraging more<br />
energy co-ops to emerge, no sustained effort to encourage<br />
real involvement in the running of football clubs by<br />
football fans through football supporters’ co-operatives,<br />
and no requirement to promote a diverse market in<br />
financial services for the Financial Services Authority<br />
or its replacement to help financial mutuals. Sadly, the<br />
Queen’s Speech confirms that once again the Government<br />
have walked away from the real practical measures that<br />
could have helped the co-op and mutual movement to<br />
grow.<br />
One of the Bills that will be before the House during<br />
this Session will be a crime and courts Bill, the details of<br />
which I shall examine especially carefully. As I made<br />
clear earlier, my constituents will be sceptical about the<br />
benefits of such a top-down change when they are<br />
seeing fewer police officers on the ground. I recently
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organised meetings between constituents who are<br />
experiencing challenging antisocial behaviour problems<br />
near the Racecourse estate in Northolt, which my hon.<br />
Friend the Member for Ealing North (Stephen Pound)<br />
will know particularly well—<br />
Stephen Pound (Ealing North) (Lab): It wasn’t me.<br />
Mr Thomas: It also occurs in south Harrow. What<br />
frustrated those residents was the lack of visibility, at<br />
key times, of police officers who could have moved on<br />
local troublemakers, and, indeed, could have deterred<br />
them from gathering in the first place. Constables are<br />
routinely deployed away from their wards, and are<br />
rarely available for standard safer neighbourhood team<br />
duties in those areas.<br />
What is most worrying, however, is the threat to close<br />
the custody suite at Harrow police station. With no<br />
consultation, the Metropolitan police have decided to<br />
shut the custody suite, which consists of 13 cells, in<br />
mid-September. There will then be no more cell capacity<br />
in Harrow. All those who are arrested will have to be<br />
transported to out-of borough police stations—to Kilburn<br />
and Wembley—by a minimum of two officers, more if<br />
there is a possibility that the prisoners could turn violent.<br />
Given the number of annual visits to Harrow’s cells by<br />
alleged criminals—an average of 5,000, I believe—and<br />
given the time that it takes to travel from my constituency<br />
to Kilburn and Wembley, that represents a loss of<br />
between 10,000 and 20,000 police officer hours. Officers<br />
will be wasting time by acting as transport couriers for<br />
alleged criminals when they could be investigating, detecting<br />
and, better still, preventing crime in Harrow.<br />
Stephen Pound: I do not want to hijack the Queen’s<br />
Speech into matters of custody accommodation in west<br />
London, but is my hon. Friend as surprised as I was to<br />
learn that a place called Polar Point has opened at<br />
Heathrow airport to receive those who used to be in<br />
custody in Harrow and Ealing, and that the decision was<br />
made by a company called Emerald, which is apparently<br />
the privatised cell provider and which doubtless refers<br />
to the prisoners as “customers”?<br />
Mr Thomas: I am indeed very surprised by that<br />
information. One is always grateful when additional cell<br />
capacity is provided elsewhere in London, but it is<br />
hugely disappointing that there is still a threat of closure<br />
of the custody suite in Harrow.<br />
I have not received any formal explanation from the<br />
Metropolitan police of why they think that the closure<br />
is necessary, let alone been consulted. Given that CID<br />
officers tend to be based where custody suites are housed,<br />
and given that space is to be set aside at Wembley police<br />
station for Harrow CID officers, it does not look good<br />
for the future of borough-based policing in Harrow,<br />
and it certainly does not look good for the long-term<br />
future of the 110 CID officers who are currently based<br />
there. Almost a third of our own police officers will<br />
have to spend some of their time out of the borough if<br />
the cells shut. Let me ask this question of the Metropolitan<br />
police, and indeed of Ministers: why should my constituents<br />
have any confidence that those 110 CID officers will<br />
continue to be based in Harrow in the long term? I hope<br />
that, even at this late stage, the Home Secretary will<br />
encourage the Metropolitan police to think again.<br />
This Gracious Speech is striking in that it does not<br />
include a Bill to fulfil the commitment that 0.7% of our<br />
national income should be spent on development assistance.<br />
The three major parties all committed to legislating on<br />
that. Indeed, before the last general election, I had the<br />
honour of taking such a Bill through the pre-legislative<br />
scrutiny process. There is a strong case for Britain<br />
continuing to set an example on the provision of<br />
international aid for people in less well-off countries.<br />
We should think of the current west Africa food crisis<br />
and the huge numbers of people at risk of dying of<br />
hunger there, and of the considerable remaining health<br />
challenges in respect of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and<br />
malaria.<br />
The lack of action by the Government parties in<br />
respect of the ancient, yet still very important, <strong>United</strong><br />
Nations commitment that every rich country should<br />
give 0.7% of its income to help the world’s poorest is a<br />
huge missed opportunity. In the forthcoming debate on<br />
the Gracious Speech, I look forward to hearing the<br />
Secretary of State for International Development give a<br />
clear and detailed explanation as to why he has failed to<br />
convince his colleagues to introduce legislation to that<br />
effect.<br />
8.55 pm<br />
Priti Patel (Witham) (Con): It is an honour to follow<br />
the hon. Member for Harrow West (Mr Thomas). I<br />
listened to his speech with great interest.<br />
I shall focus on three specific sets of proposals in the<br />
Queen’s Speech that build on many of the strong reforms<br />
the Government introduced in the previous Session: the<br />
measures on children and families—which my hon.<br />
Friend the Member for Dover (Charlie Elphicke) has<br />
already touched on—crime and the courts, and enterprise<br />
and regulatory reform.<br />
As a Conservative, I believe in stronger families forming<br />
the foundation of a stronger society, so I welcome the<br />
measures to support families. As my hon. Friend said,<br />
arranging child care is one of the biggest challenges<br />
working parents face. Those of us who daily do the school<br />
run know all about the pressures of juggling child care<br />
commitments with work. For households in which both<br />
parents are working, that can be a great struggle. Whether<br />
in respect of babysitting toddlers, looking after unwell<br />
children, doing the school run or attending school<br />
assembly, it can be very difficult for working mums and<br />
dads, especially those in traditional working arrangements,<br />
to support their children fully and meet their needs. We<br />
must not forget that young children—whether attending<br />
nursery, pre-school or school—have active lives and<br />
social lives, too, and that there are therefore also other<br />
commitments such as taking kids to after-school activities<br />
Many households now need two parents to be working<br />
and bringing in full-time incomes in order to pay the<br />
bills because—let us face it—life is tough at the moment<br />
and the cost of living is high and is rising. Many<br />
Members have spoken about the rising utilities and fuel<br />
bills.<br />
Suitable child care provision in this country is incredibly<br />
costly. Many of us could give examples of the average<br />
bill for sending a child to nursery in normal working<br />
hours exceeding £800 a month. That is equivalent to a<br />
monthly mortgage repayment in some households, so is<br />
it any wonder that two parents have to go out to work to<br />
cover child care costs in addition to the cost of living?
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[Priti Patel]<br />
The Government are to be congratulated on recognising<br />
the challenges families face and the barriers to family<br />
life in this country, but more needs to be done across<br />
government and all the political parties. We must take a<br />
pragmatic and rational approach and introduce some<br />
positive, proactive measures to alleviate the struggles<br />
and challenges families face and to remove the barriers<br />
that are often in place in respect of child care and<br />
employment.<br />
I know that many households across the country, and<br />
certainly in my constituency, will welcome the proposals<br />
outlined today. We need to give parents more flexibility<br />
over working time and over maternity and paternity<br />
leave, too. I can only speak from my own personal<br />
experience, but I was one of those parents who went<br />
back to work three weeks after having my son and,<br />
quite frankly, had I had the opportunity to swap with<br />
my husband, that really would have been great.<br />
The Government should be commended for considering<br />
relationships between children and both parents. Fathers<br />
should absolutely have equal, fair and the right kind of<br />
access to their children when the family relationship has<br />
broken down. In my time as a Member of <strong>Parliament</strong><br />
thus far, brief though it has been, many fathers have<br />
come to me who feel that their children are being used<br />
in the court system as an emotional and financial<br />
weapon, which is unacceptable. We need to bring some<br />
sanity back to the situation. Shared parenting is absolutely<br />
the right thing and, if nothing else, we have to start<br />
putting the rights of children first, not the rights of<br />
warring parents or warring mothers against warring<br />
fathers. Children come first and children’s rights are<br />
key.<br />
That brings me on to adoption. In my view, the<br />
Government should be congratulated on their commitment<br />
to supporting the adoption process. I personally feel<br />
that it is nothing short of scandalous that the number of<br />
adoptions last year totalled just 60 when thousands of<br />
children are going through the care system in local<br />
authorities up and down the country. That is simply<br />
wrong. They deserve loving families and loving homes<br />
and hundreds of loving families want to provide good,<br />
stable homes for children. It is a shame on our society<br />
and on the system that red tape and bureaucracy get in<br />
the way and prevent children from being put into loving<br />
families. I welcome the change and hope that the<br />
Government will ensure that we can start to address the<br />
scandal and start to put children into proper loving<br />
homes.<br />
My hon. Friend the Member for Dover talked about<br />
bureaucracy and red tape and I welcome the steps being<br />
taken to support children with special educational needs.<br />
As a local MP I have met dozens of families who have<br />
been let down by the system. Those mums and dads<br />
naturally want the best for their children but all too<br />
often bureaucracy, officialdom and, sometimes, bad<br />
practice in schools and local authorities let them down<br />
and damage the prospects of their children. They are<br />
left fighting hard, going through assessment after<br />
assessment, just to get the extra help that their children<br />
need. More often than not, in many cases, the needs of<br />
their children are recorded or summarised through some<br />
sort of tick-box process. The real understanding of the<br />
emotional or physical needs of the child is often ignored.<br />
One school in my constituency has a very poor record<br />
on special educational needs provision and is the source<br />
of many complaints from parents to me. Rather than<br />
helping an autistic child, the school has classified him<br />
as having average communication skills. It is completely<br />
failing that poor child and failing to understand his<br />
needs because the school does not want to be seen to<br />
have too many children with special educational needs<br />
on its books, which is wrong and appalling. I would like<br />
more to be done to empower parents and I welcome the<br />
proposals to do that and to simplify the assessment<br />
process with the introduction of the single assessment<br />
process and education, health and care plans.<br />
We also need to encourage the spread of best practice<br />
to get good results in the running of special educational<br />
needs services in other schools. A very positive example<br />
of that in my constituency is set by the inspirational<br />
head teacher, Jane Bass, at Powers Hall junior school in<br />
Witham. She sets a good leadership example and works<br />
tirelessly to help children with learning difficulties and<br />
special educational needs. I think she should be commended<br />
for her work. She has a strong track record of supporting<br />
children who have come to her school with very challenging<br />
problems and seeing them through their time there so<br />
that they leave with more skills and greater independence.<br />
That is good for the children and is genuine relief for<br />
their parents. Importantly, the parents know that their<br />
children’s needs are being met. In taking through the<br />
relevant Bill that will be introduced this Session, we<br />
should learn from schools that have a good track record<br />
of working with children and their parents to understand<br />
how to meet a child’s needs and relate that to the<br />
legislation. We need more head teachers like Jane Bass and<br />
I am optimistic that the legislative programme can deliver<br />
positive changes to special educational needs provision.<br />
I welcome the Government’s tough stance on drug<br />
drivers, which I hope will lead to robust legislation. It is<br />
shameful that our criminal justice system sentences<br />
perpetrators for these offences—people who have taken<br />
away lives and ruined the lives of victims’ families—to<br />
just a few weeks behind prison bars instead of the<br />
lengthy spells in prison totalling many years that they<br />
should receive. I know that Ministers have listened<br />
closely to people’s concerns about this issue. Indeed, my<br />
right hon. Friend the Prime Minister today spoke about<br />
the many representations from families that he has<br />
listened to and the campaigns fought by victims’ families.<br />
Clearly, the Government have responded positively to<br />
those representations, but many more victims of other<br />
crimes have been excluded by the criminal justice system.<br />
Ministers need to listen to their concerns and introduce<br />
positive changes.<br />
Victims and the public are being put in danger by a<br />
criminal justice system that, from the top down, sets<br />
free far too many offenders so that they end up roaming<br />
our streets and committing more crimes. There are<br />
more than 250 offenders with more than 100 convictions,<br />
more than 3,500 with 50 or more convictions and more<br />
than 2,000 offenders who have served 25 or more separate<br />
spells in prison. In addition, there are rapists and sex<br />
offenders who are never sentenced to serve a day behind<br />
bars. That should change. Some 20,000 offenders who<br />
are let off with community orders are out on the streets<br />
committing 50 crimes a day, including offences against<br />
children. The Government’s reforms to community<br />
sentences are a positive step forward, but there are tens
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of thousands of offenders on our streets for whom prison<br />
is the best place. Importantly, if they are in prison the<br />
public will know that they are being kept safe. Keeping<br />
the public safe should be fundamental to any criminal<br />
justice reforms we make in this Session.<br />
We should also do more to support the victims of<br />
crime. I have seen from the work I have done with<br />
victims—let me refer hon. Members to my private Member’s<br />
Bill in the previous Session on championing victims’<br />
rights—that victims are fed up with seeing policy makers<br />
and the courts focusing their efforts on appeasing offenders<br />
instead of helping victims to get through the horrific<br />
experiences they have faced. The former victims<br />
commissioner, Louise Casey, did a good job of highlighting<br />
this issue alongside charities such as Victim Support,<br />
the National Victims Association and Support After<br />
Murder and Manslaughter Abroad. The Government’s<br />
response to the consultation on its “Getting it right for<br />
victims and witnesses” strategy is due later this year,<br />
and I very much hope that they will recognise where the<br />
proposals need beefing up and that they will show some<br />
flexibility and deliver the new and improved services<br />
that victims of crime need. At the moment, my constituent<br />
Marie Heath and her family are being subjected to the<br />
horrendous ordeal of travelling to Germany every week<br />
for the ongoing trial of the defendants alleged to have<br />
brutally murdered her son. The family face huge logistical<br />
challenges and thousands of pounds in costs. The<br />
Government are aware of that case and I hope that in<br />
the Bill they will learn from the experience of the<br />
Heaths and many other victims of crime.<br />
Dr Thérèse Coffey (Suffolk Coastal) (Con): My hon.<br />
Friend is making a powerful point about people’s need<br />
to feel secure, to feel that sentencing is appropriate and<br />
to feel that those who should be behind bars are. Does<br />
she, like me, want the Government to take steps to<br />
ensure that sentences mean that if someone is sentenced<br />
to four years, for example, they serve those four years as<br />
opposed to perhaps just two?<br />
Priti Patel: My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We<br />
are talking about public confidence in the criminal<br />
justice system, which should do what it says on the tin.<br />
If an offender is sentenced to four years, the public do<br />
not want them released within 18 months or a shorter<br />
time. They want to know that the full sentence will be<br />
served. This is a good opportunity for the Government<br />
to restore public confidence in our criminal justice system.<br />
I welcome the proposals the Government have outlined<br />
to free up businesses and scrap costly and unnecessary<br />
burdens on them. I refer to regulation. As the daughter<br />
of a small shopkeeper, I have recognised throughout my<br />
adult and teenage working life how important small<br />
businesses are for jobs and economic growth. I have<br />
also become very aware of regulation. As shopkeepers,<br />
my parents have owned a range of small shops—post<br />
offices, supermarkets and newsagents. We have been<br />
through many iterations of health and safety legislation,<br />
business and small shop regulation, Sunday trading,<br />
opening hours and particularly employment legislation.<br />
You name it, Madam Deputy Speaker, and we have<br />
been there, seen it and done it.<br />
Small and medium-sized enterprises are the bedrock<br />
of our economy. We were once described as a nation of<br />
shopkeepers, but we do not feel like that any more, as<br />
small and independent retailers are decimated in our<br />
high streets. More needs to be done. SMEs support two<br />
thirds of jobs throughout the country. In my constituency,<br />
the figure rises to 83%, which is high and I should like it<br />
to be higher. With greater economic liberalisation and<br />
less regulation I am sure that will happen.<br />
The ability of business owners and entrepreneurs to<br />
create even more jobs has been compromised by the<br />
unrelenting growth of regulation from both Whitehall<br />
and Brussels. In 2011, 84% of businesses reported that<br />
they spent more time dealing with legislation than in<br />
2009. The annual cost to SMEs of that compliance is<br />
about £17 billion, which is equivalent to the cost of<br />
Crossrail, and 12 times the Government’s budget for<br />
apprenticeships.<br />
The Government are committed to the red tape challenge;<br />
they have already identified more than 600 regulations<br />
to be scrapped or overhauled. The sooner the process<br />
begins, the better. Freeing business from the costs imposed<br />
by regulation will allow them, importantly, to invest in<br />
more jobs and economic growth.<br />
I urge the Government to take more robust action on<br />
EU red tape. For me as a new Member of <strong>Parliament</strong>,<br />
one of the most disappointing aspects of EU regulation<br />
was the enforcement in the previous Session of the<br />
agency workers regulations, which unfortunately the<br />
Government could do nothing about because the previous<br />
Government had done the deal. That has cost business<br />
£1.5 billion. Such regulations do far more to create<br />
unemployment and block job creation than they do to<br />
support workers’ rights.<br />
In my constituency and throughout Essex, more people<br />
are prepared to take risks and set up their own business.<br />
As many Members may have seen in the news over the<br />
past 24 hours, there has been a great deal of political<br />
focus on Essex; one might argue that the only way is up<br />
in Essex. It is indeed a county of dynamic entrepreneurs.<br />
Many of my constituents are prepared to go out on a<br />
limb and do the right thing, which is to take risks and<br />
set up a business. In the county of entrepreneurs, there<br />
are 6,000 new enterprise births a year. The figure is<br />
high, and I hope that it will grow higher.<br />
As the Prime Minister saw on his visit yesterday,<br />
those wealth creators will be key to the future economic<br />
success not just of the county of Essex but of our<br />
country. By taking steps to empower them to create<br />
more wealth, jobs and prosperity, we can once again<br />
restore dynamism and strength in the British economy,<br />
and as a country we shall start to regain our rightful<br />
place in the world economic league tables. That is why I<br />
support the Queen’s Speech and everything the Government<br />
are doing on economic and regulatory reform.<br />
9.14 pm<br />
Chris Skidmore (Kingswood) (Con): It is an honour,<br />
although a daunting one, to follow that excellent speech<br />
by my hon. Friend the Member for Witham (Priti<br />
Patel), who speaks with a wealth of expertise as both a<br />
parent of young children, a job she juggles very well<br />
with her other abilities, and an excellent parliamentarian.<br />
She spoke about businesses in Essex, again with a<br />
wealth of expertise as the daughter of shopkeepers, and<br />
gave a thorough going over of the Queen’s Speech.<br />
It also feels odd to speak on the first day of a<br />
parliamentary Session. It reminds me of when I turned<br />
up here in the previous Session hoping to make my
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[Chris Skidmore]<br />
maiden speech. I wanted to make it as soon as possible<br />
so that I could get into the cut and thrust of debate, so<br />
I put in and waited to make it on several occasions. I<br />
will never forget my first moment in <strong>Parliament</strong>. I was<br />
sitting in the corner of the Chamber and waiting, and<br />
new Members on both sides bobbed up and down to say<br />
how beautiful their constituencies were—it was funny<br />
how that theme kept coming up. I waited from half-past 2,<br />
without having a drink of water or going to the toilet,<br />
until half-past 10. I sat there for eight hours, so afterwards<br />
I went over to the Chairman of Ways and Means and<br />
explained that I had hoped to be called that day. “Oh<br />
no”, he replied, “You weren’t going to be called at all.<br />
You should have come and seen me and I could have<br />
told you that you were never going to make it today.”<br />
That was the first lesson I learnt here.<br />
Priti Patel: Welcome to <strong>Parliament</strong>.<br />
Chris Skidmore: Absolutely. There is a lot of waiting<br />
going on here, but we do not have to wait long for the<br />
contents of the Queen’s Speech, which I will come to<br />
shortly.<br />
To continue with my anecdote for a moment, I remember<br />
still wanting to make my maiden speech as soon as<br />
possible, and sitting in the Tea Room looking through<br />
the draft of what I hoped to say when a more senior<br />
Conservative Member came over and asked, “Oh boy,<br />
you’re looking to make your maiden speech, are you?” I<br />
replied that I was and explained that I had waited to be<br />
called for eight hours the day before. “Oh well, there’s<br />
only one piece of advice I can give you about making<br />
your maiden speech,” he said. I was a young newbie and<br />
so asked what it was. “Well, just don’t muck it up,” he<br />
said, before wandering off laughing. He actually used<br />
stronger language, but I will not use it in the Chamber—<br />
[Interruption.] Yes, indeed, it rhymes with muck.<br />
Stephen Pound: Don’t say it.<br />
Chris Skidmore: Oh dear; hopefully the Hansard reporters<br />
can delete that for me—<br />
Madam Deputy Speaker (Dawn Primarolo): Order.<br />
To help the hon. Gentleman, I think that his colleague<br />
was telling him, “Good luck in making your maiden<br />
speech.”<br />
Chris Skidmore: Indeed, and I wish the hon. Member<br />
for Ealing North (Stephen Pound) the best of luck in<br />
contributing to this excellent debate on the Queen’s Speech.<br />
The first line of the Queen’s Speech refers to the<br />
importance of growth in the economy, but one of the<br />
sectors in which we know there will certainly be growth<br />
is social care, because we have an ageing population. We<br />
used to say that there are two certainties in life: death<br />
and taxes. We now know that our population is getting<br />
ever older; by 2030 the number of 85-year-olds will<br />
double and 11% of the population living today will<br />
reach 100. Therefore, we have an enormous cost—not a<br />
burden—that society will face as a result of the population<br />
getting older, which is inevitably a good thing. The<br />
Queen’s Speech recognises this, importantly, by proposing<br />
a draft Bill that will seek to modernise adult social care<br />
and support, which I absolutely welcome, but it is worth<br />
reflecting on the word “modernise” and on what we<br />
need to do to modernise adult social care and support.<br />
The Government recognise that tackling social care is<br />
not just an issue of tackling the funding of social care,<br />
important though that is. The Health Committee, of<br />
which I am a member, has already produced a report on<br />
the Dilnot commission and recommended it to the<br />
Government, and I hope that the Government will look<br />
at it in the forthcoming White Paper and that we will<br />
have proposals on the table. I know that there is cross-party<br />
support for looking at the Dilnot commission proposals<br />
and that we had a Backbench Business debate on that in<br />
the previous Session. Members from across the House,<br />
regardless of their party colours, are passionate about<br />
tackling this issue and the impending crisis.<br />
Dr Coffey: My hon. Friend makes a really important<br />
point, but is he concerned that the Dilnot commission<br />
and the risk of open liabilities could make the process<br />
unaffordable, or are Members being misinformed on<br />
that?<br />
Chris Skidmore: The Dilnot issue, which is one of<br />
presentation, is that the Government commissioned a<br />
report that addressed the specific question, “How do we<br />
fund social care as it currently stands?” That is why I<br />
want to turn to the issue of modernisation, but we have<br />
to remember the important tenet that Dilnot does not<br />
cover all forms of social care. It does not cover domiciliary<br />
care or living costs, so it is not a panacea, and we as<br />
parliamentarians must ensure that we work together<br />
and at the same time—Dilnot was very strict on this—come<br />
up with a proper system by which we can inform not<br />
only elderly people now but the elderly people of tomorrow<br />
that they need to begin to save. Only by developing a<br />
savings culture and a culture of contribution, which I<br />
shall turn to also in my speech, will Dilnot work and<br />
will we ensure that the social care system works tomorrow<br />
as well as today—although today it is beginning to fail,<br />
as I shall explain.<br />
In modernising social care, we need to recognise that<br />
the current system is not working on several levels.<br />
Personally, I feel that local authorities are becoming not<br />
the best places in which to deliver social care. Last week<br />
I published a report on local authorities and their<br />
delivery of social care, demonstrating from a series of<br />
freedom of information requests to every local authority<br />
in the country that local authorities have already written<br />
off £400 million of debts owed to them by families—and<br />
are still owed more than £1 billion.<br />
Put simply, we have a system in which local authorities<br />
are not only struggling to provide care, but for financial<br />
reasons have lowered the bar and reduced their eligibility<br />
criteria. They have done so principally because they<br />
have to juggle social care with the services on which<br />
people really want to focus when they pay their council<br />
tax. For instance, people want their bins emptied or<br />
potholes filled, and that, for democratically elected<br />
local authorities, can take priority over those citizens<br />
who are most vulnerable but who, unfortunately for<br />
them, form a small minority. So roads and bins take<br />
precedence over social care. That should not be the case,<br />
but at the same time local authorities are deeply mired<br />
in debt because of their services, and we desperately<br />
need them to break out of that.
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The current system also does not work because the<br />
failure of social care ends up rebounding in only one<br />
place: the NHS. We need to make the point strongly<br />
that the NHS and social care are two sides of the same<br />
coin, and that if there is a crisis in social care there will<br />
soon be a crisis in the NHS. Even the IMF has produced<br />
figures on the NHS will look by 2050 if we do not<br />
manage our ageing population and work out ways of<br />
prevention. We must also look not only at how elderly<br />
people can be given the life and dignity that they<br />
deserve, but at early intervention. If any problems that<br />
they may have, such as diabetes or a disability, are dealt<br />
with soon enough, it costs the NHS less. The IMF<br />
predicts that the NHS will end up costing £230 billion<br />
by 2050, and that is completely unaffordable. It means<br />
that the NHS will go broke unless we solve the social<br />
care crisis now.<br />
Dr Coffey: Does my hon. Friend agree that cross-party<br />
consensus on the draft social care Bill is critical? That is<br />
why a draft Bill is appropriate. Does he agree also that,<br />
as long as somebody is in hospital the NHS pays for<br />
them, the draft Bill needs to tackle the key issue whereby<br />
local authorities sometimes delay a person’s exit from<br />
hospital so that they do not have to pick up the bill in<br />
the interim?<br />
Chris Skidmore: That is an interesting point. Obviously,<br />
one of the first moves that the Government made when<br />
they came into office was to create an output measure<br />
of 30 days’ discharge from hospital. Although that was<br />
created in August 2011, it is already controversial because<br />
we are seeing the scale of the problem. The problem is<br />
not new; it has always been there, but the Government<br />
are for the first time providing the figures on how many<br />
people are leaving hospital and rebounding back into<br />
hospital. We should have solved that problem sooner.<br />
My hon. Friend argued for a cross-party approach,<br />
and I entirely agree. We must achieve cross-party support<br />
on social care. We are talking about a settlement that<br />
must last decades, so it cannot be a patchwork solution<br />
or a plaster over a wound that might open up in several<br />
years’ time. We need to come up with a binding compact<br />
on social care. I hope that the draft Bill will aspire<br />
to that.<br />
I have talked about the relationship between the NHS<br />
and social care. The Government have recognised that<br />
the future of saving the NHS will come through a<br />
consideration of social care. We focus very much on the<br />
NHS, and the Health and Social Care Bill of the<br />
previous Session tried to address the matter. Funds<br />
were placed in the hands of GPs; for the first time, GPs<br />
are taking responsibility for patients. Rather than sending<br />
patients directly to hospital, GPs have to look at what<br />
preventive measures they must take to cure illness or<br />
disability. Over the past three years, the number of<br />
over-80-year-olds who have been admitted into A and E<br />
has risen by about 40%. We know that 65% of unplanned<br />
NHS bed admission stays involve the elderly. If we can<br />
solve that, we will solve a huge issue within the NHS.<br />
I am a member of the Health Committee, which<br />
recently wrote a report on social care. We visited Torbay,<br />
which was instructive. The authorities there have ensured<br />
complete integration between social care and health<br />
care services. They have done that by pooling budgets;<br />
when they have team meetings, there is no empire<br />
building in which people say, “This is my budget for the<br />
primary care trust, this is mine for the GPs and this is<br />
mine for the hospital.” People sit down and consider<br />
their overall budget. They have in mind an 85-year-old<br />
lady called Mrs Smith, and they ask what treatment<br />
pathway they could create to ensure that Mrs Smith<br />
gets the best possible care.<br />
The authorities in Torbay recognise that social and<br />
community care is the best way to prevent unplanned<br />
admissions to NHS hospitals. The result is that Torbay<br />
has the fastest-decreasing and lowest number of unplanned<br />
hospital bed day admissions in the country. The approach<br />
there clearly works, so the modernisation of social care<br />
must also be about proper, true integration between<br />
social care and health care.<br />
We also need to recognise that to modernise social<br />
care is not to speak of the elderly as some homogenous<br />
group. Above all, senior citizens are individuals with<br />
individual needs. Each will have their own particular<br />
pathway through the later years in life. As a Government,<br />
we must recognise that to ensure that the individual has<br />
the best possible life in old age, we must give them a<br />
chance to lead their life as they would like to.<br />
To do that, the Government have built on the work of<br />
the previous Government in introducing personalised<br />
services. Above all, we have seen the rise of personal<br />
budgets. In England, their uptake doubled, from April<br />
2010 to March 2011, to almost 340,000 service users.<br />
That is still only about 35% of eligible users and carers.<br />
Although the increase in personal budgets is welcome, it<br />
has come in the form of local authority managed budgets,<br />
rather than individual direct payments, which make up<br />
only 26% of that 340,000—that is, 26% of the 35% of<br />
eligible users.<br />
Although there has been an increase in personalisation,<br />
there has not been a proper increase in individuals<br />
being given freedom in how they would like to use their<br />
budgets. In other words, councils are offering a menu<br />
to choose from but they are not offering a choice of<br />
restaurants.<br />
Key to the modernisation of social care will be the<br />
introduction of direct cash payments. At present, individual<br />
budgets cannot be paid to a spouse or partner to<br />
provide care, and that limits uptake and entrenches the<br />
difficulty that millions of people have in wanting to care<br />
for a loved one in their old age. If we look across to the<br />
continent, we see that places such as Germany have a<br />
far more liberalised social care system. In Germany,<br />
people are assessed as needing care at one of three<br />
levels, and they are then offered a choice between an<br />
individual budget cash payment with services in kind,<br />
including residential care, and a tailored combination<br />
of the two. Interestingly, the individual budget cash<br />
payment is of significantly lower value than the social<br />
care package. In 2007, people who needed considerable<br />
care, or care level 1, received ¤384 per month; those in<br />
need of intensive care, or level 2, received ¤921 per<br />
month; and those in need of highly intensive care, or<br />
level 3, received ¤1,432 per month. They were also<br />
offered the choice of claiming direct individual budget<br />
cash payments that were about two thirds lower than<br />
the payments in the social care package, which meant<br />
that people at care level 1 received ¤205 per month,<br />
those at care level 2 received ¤410 per month and those<br />
at care level 3 received ¤665 per month.
115 Debate on the Address<br />
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Debate on the Address<br />
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[Chris Skidmore]<br />
One might have expected the population to opt for<br />
the higher payment, given that the social care package<br />
seems to be more sophisticated and pays more in euros,<br />
but in fact 49% of Germans decided instead to opt for<br />
the direct cash payment, which gave them greater choice<br />
and freedom in how they spent the money, or spent it<br />
for their relative. That control is every bit as valuable to<br />
individuals as money. It gives them the opportunity to<br />
stay in their own home and receive informal care from<br />
relatives. They can purchase the service they need without<br />
an additional layer of bureaucracy getting in the way.<br />
We can learn from what Germany did in modernising<br />
social care. Local authorities have traditionally focused<br />
on a one-size-fits-all response, in effect acting as a<br />
single, inflexible state supplier that cannot hope to offer<br />
the choice that people approaching their old age<br />
nowadays—baby boomers who have lived their lives<br />
having choice—will want equally as they get older.<br />
What would happen if we introduced such a system<br />
in this country? In 2009-10, local authorities spent<br />
£3.4 billion on residential elderly care. On that basis, if<br />
the same thing happened here as in Germany, with half<br />
this group opting instead for cash payments and staying<br />
at home, we would save £1.14 billion a year, with people<br />
receiving £566 million instead of £1.7 billion. We could<br />
free up £1.1 billion or £1.2 billion a year, which could go<br />
a significant way towards producing the money that<br />
might then implement Dilnot.<br />
Above all, the way in which people contribute to their<br />
care must be something that they can control rather<br />
than something that is done to them. We need to ensure<br />
that in modernising social care we make the best possible<br />
services available. People will not put up with paying for<br />
the current levels of services if they do not think that<br />
they are good enough. If we are going to expect people<br />
to pay more for their social care in old age, knowing, as<br />
we do, that it has never been free of charge—it is a bit of<br />
a nasty shock for some people when they find out that it<br />
is not provided free—then they need to have the best<br />
possible services for their money, and that, essentially,<br />
means choice.<br />
With choice comes competition. We must ensure that<br />
there is thriving competition between social care providers.<br />
We must not only introduce direct cash budget payments<br />
but ensure that agencies are available to guarantee a<br />
level playing field. The Good Care Guide website is a<br />
fantastic resource, but we should be looking to introduce<br />
a TripAdvisor-type service into social care so that people<br />
can analyse which are the best care homes and write<br />
about their own experiences of what they are like. We<br />
should trust the people to make those judgments.<br />
I want to end by reflecting on this year. Many Members<br />
have spoken about it being the year of the diamond<br />
jubilee, but it is also 70 years since William Beveridge<br />
published the Beveridge report on 1 December 1942.<br />
On that day, there were queues at the shops to purchase<br />
the report, and in the first week 600,000 people did so.<br />
The report set out what the welfare state would look<br />
like for most of the 20th century.<br />
In many ways, Beveridge still casts a shadow over us.<br />
The NHS and pensions were established, but when<br />
Beveridge wrote his report the average life expectancy<br />
was 69. When people received their pension at 65, their<br />
pensionable age was only meant to last an average of<br />
four years. Beveridge never gave any thought to how we<br />
should care for the elderly. It was assumed that families<br />
would look after their elderly loved ones. Somewhere<br />
along the line, we have gone wrong. I am not blaming<br />
any one political party, but why is it that in many<br />
countries it is a mark of honour for people to look after<br />
those who have brought them into this world? Why do<br />
we pay people child benefit in recognition of being<br />
parents but not focus on rewarding carers who look<br />
after their parents? There is an imbalance, and I hope<br />
that by focusing on social care, as all parties must in this<br />
<strong>Parliament</strong>, we can try to redress the balance.<br />
I wish to end with a quote from Beveridge. The odd<br />
thing is, the Beveridge report cannot be found online,<br />
but I managed to dig out from the Library a copy of the<br />
original 1942 report. Everyone remembers the five giants—<br />
Idleness, Squalor, Want, Ignorance and Disease—but<br />
in the passage after that famous part Beveridge stated<br />
that<br />
“social security must be achieved by co-operation between the<br />
State and the individual. The State should offer security for<br />
service and contribution. The State in organising security should<br />
not stifle incentive, opportunity, responsibility; in establishing a<br />
national minimum, it should leave room and encouragement for<br />
voluntary action by each individual to provide more than that<br />
minimum for himself and his family.”<br />
Beveridge understood 70 years ago that we needed a<br />
contributory principle in our public services. Somewhere<br />
along the line, that has been lost. Only through individuals<br />
making contributions towards their elderly care will we<br />
achieve the best social care services. I hope that as we<br />
consider how to modernise social care, the draft Bill<br />
that will be published as a result of the Queen’s Speech<br />
will focus on all the matters that I have mentioned.<br />
Much of the media’s focus has been on the other<br />
place, which we might call a retirement home for rather<br />
successful eminent politicians, but what we actually<br />
need to focus on, and what our constituents want to<br />
focus on, is retirement homes for the elderly population<br />
as a whole and what is happening to them. We would do<br />
well to remember that. I recognise that I have spoken<br />
only about one specific point in the Queen’s Speech, but<br />
I believe it was possibly the most important one.<br />
Ordered, That the debate be now adjourned.—(James<br />
Duddridge.)<br />
Debate to be resumed tomorrow.
117 9 MAY 2012 Universal Credit<br />
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Universal Credit<br />
Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House<br />
do now adjourn.—(James Duddridge.)<br />
9.38 pm<br />
Chris Leslie (Nottingham East) (Lab/Co-op): May I<br />
say what a lucky honour it is to have the first Adjournment<br />
debate of the new Session?<br />
In October 2013, we will see one of the biggest<br />
changes to the welfare benefits system since the second<br />
world war with the introduction of the new universal<br />
credit. The Welfare Reform Act 2012 has gone through,<br />
and there was a lot of focus on the fairness and unfairness<br />
of various benefit changes, but there was not much<br />
focus on the administrative changes involved in the<br />
move to universal credit—the changes to the process of<br />
applying for benefits and being assessed for them. We<br />
should all welcome to some extent the rationalisation of<br />
a series of disparate benefits that have grown up over<br />
the decade. The administrative components of universal<br />
credit will include the tax credit system, housing benefit,<br />
income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance,<br />
employment and support allowance and so on.<br />
Tonight, we are not debating the principle of universal<br />
credit, but considering the roll-out of the administration<br />
for the new arrangement and, of course, the massive<br />
consequences for our constituents. If it goes well—hopefully,<br />
it will—they may not notice anything untoward, but<br />
there are massive risks if the administrative transition is<br />
not handled competently and carefully. That is essentially<br />
the purpose of my set of questions for the Under-Secretary<br />
in the short time available today. I sent a list of the<br />
issues that I broadly wanted to raise to her private office<br />
earlier today because some of the questions are technical.<br />
I hope that we can get a little more on the record<br />
because there has not been that much opportunity to<br />
debate those issues so far, and we are talking about a<br />
change that will affect a million people in the first six<br />
months of the roll-out of universal credit from October<br />
2013.<br />
One of the most interesting facets of universal credit<br />
is the Government’s decision that it should be digital by<br />
default: in other words, they are working on the assumption<br />
that the vast majority of claimants will access their<br />
claims online. I think that the Government’s assessment<br />
is that 80% of those claims will be made online. My first<br />
question therefore is whether the Under-Secretary can<br />
reaffirm that that figure still represents the Government’s<br />
assumption. Could she perhaps also give us a logical<br />
explanation of how that beautifully neat and round<br />
figure of 80% was reached?<br />
Many people who apply for universal credit are not<br />
exactly frequent internet users: 15% of council tenants<br />
have no access to the internet; one in six adults generally<br />
have never used it—that figure is as high as one in four<br />
in Northern Ireland, and one in five in the north-east<br />
and in Wales—and 4 million disabled people have never<br />
used it. Consumer Focus research shows that 69% of<br />
people want the ability to have face-to-face transactions<br />
for benefit claims at post offices and so on. I therefore<br />
want to get a sense from the Under-Secretary of her<br />
contingency plan if the 80% target is missed. How will<br />
we move towards such a major shift in the way in which<br />
people apply for their benefits? We are considering the<br />
livelihoods of many people.<br />
Universal credit will be a household, not an individual<br />
benefit. It will be assessed on a whole household, so a<br />
vast amount of supporting documentation will have to<br />
be processed when individuals change their entitlements.<br />
Again, how can that supporting documentation be assessed<br />
online? How will it be assessed centrally, given that we<br />
will move away from the localisation of many applications?<br />
That online assumption must be tested significantly.<br />
As a corollary, the next issue is the extent to which<br />
the Government commit resources for the minority,<br />
whom they accept will struggle with applying online.<br />
What resources will be available for face-to-face advice<br />
and support for claimants who cannot go down the<br />
digital route? I understand that the Department is planning<br />
some sort of 0845 hotline numbers, but they are expensive,<br />
especially for people with mobile phones. However, I<br />
am particularly interested in knowing how much money<br />
has been put aside for the face-to-face service.<br />
A recent survey of the many district councils in<br />
England and Wales suggests that they believe that 50%<br />
of people coming through their doors and applying, for<br />
example, for housing benefit, need to do that face to<br />
face. Obviously, that is at odds with the Government<br />
assessment of presumably only 20% needing some sort<br />
of support other than the online arrangement. Investing<br />
so much in the online arrangement is clearly a dangerous<br />
ambition. I understand the logic of wanting greater<br />
take-up of digital applications, but I am anxious that<br />
the target is so high, and I want to get a sense of the<br />
scenario planning and the arrangements that the<br />
Government have considered if it is simply not deliverable.<br />
We should cast our minds back to the difficulties with<br />
online tax credit arrangements. There was significant<br />
fraud, which had to be addressed and meant the<br />
arrangements had to be changed. Will the Minister say<br />
on the record that she is happy with the anti-fraud<br />
measures and the robustness and security of the new<br />
online universal credit system? Clearly, it would be a<br />
tragedy if so many people were directed to an online<br />
system that had to be scaled back at the last minute<br />
because individuals found a way of fraudulently fleecing<br />
it because it was not secure or robust.<br />
Will the Minister give an assurance—her noble Friend<br />
Lord Freud was unable to do so during the passage of<br />
the Welfare Reform Act 2012—that the Government’s<br />
intention to move to a monthly payment arrangement<br />
will have a degree of flexibility? In theory, it is desirable<br />
for everybody to plan their budgets and household<br />
expenditure on a monthly basis, to mimic in-work salary<br />
arrangements, but the trouble is that it is not the experience<br />
to date of many people. Many of my constituents in<br />
Nottingham, who have suffered a great deal of deprivation<br />
or who are not on significant amounts of money take<br />
the parcels of money that come in housing benefit or<br />
other benefits and hypothecate them for rent, bills or<br />
other things. We are asking a great deal of people,<br />
sometimes later on in their lives, to change their habits<br />
and take payments at the beginning of the month and<br />
ensure that they budget so that their rent is fully paid<br />
for the rest of the period and beyond.<br />
The danger that people will accumulate increasing<br />
arrears to pay for the roof over their head worries<br />
me significantly, never mind local authorities, which<br />
already say that they have concerns about the collection<br />
of rent payments. Currently, housing benefit can be<br />
paid directly to the landlord, the local authority or the
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120<br />
[Chris Leslie]<br />
housing association, but that is ending, so there is a<br />
great deal of anxiety about the continuity of housing<br />
entitlement.<br />
As I have said, 15% of council tenants do not have<br />
access to the internet. In fact, 15% have no access to a<br />
bank account and a further 15% have only a basic post<br />
office account with limited functionality. Therefore,<br />
nearly a third of social tenants might not have mainstream<br />
banking capabilities available to them, yet we expect<br />
them to move in fairly short order to that monthly<br />
budgeting arrangement. Hundreds of thousands of people<br />
up and down the country, particularly those who do not<br />
have bank accounts, are massively mistrustful of the<br />
banking system—they are fearful of the overdraft charges<br />
that can hit them if they are unable to plan or manage<br />
their cash flow over that monthly period.<br />
It is with those points in mind that I ask the Minister<br />
this: is there any flexibility in the roll-out of universal<br />
credit to allow weekly or fortnightly payments for those<br />
who absolutely need them, or is she absolutely firmly<br />
sticking to monthly payments for everybody? That is a<br />
crucial question and I would be grateful if the Minister<br />
addressed it.<br />
It would also help if the Minister could give us a<br />
better sense of the dates for transition to the central system<br />
as we move away from local authority administration.<br />
There are currently 380 localised IT systems in local<br />
authorities up and down the country, largely to deal<br />
with housing benefit. They will be phased out as we<br />
move towards a central system, with one IT system at<br />
the Department for Work and Pensions and one at Her<br />
Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. What resources have<br />
been available for the transition for councils that have a<br />
residual responsibility for some activities over the period—it<br />
will be 2017 before full roll-out?<br />
We are starting the process of passing over responsibility<br />
to the DWP in October 2013, but some councils will<br />
process housing benefit until April 2014, and full migration<br />
will not happen until 2017. How will councils be able to<br />
do this? It will remain a significant burden for local<br />
government, and local council tax payers need to know<br />
whether Ministers will meet those costs. It is not necessarily<br />
as big an issue in my area as Nottingham city council is<br />
a unitary metropolitan authority that has several different<br />
functions, but for some district councils housing benefit<br />
is 25% of their turnover, so it is a somewhat mission-critical<br />
activity. They need to know to what extent they will still<br />
be in the business of such administration. What really is<br />
the commitment of the Government to a local roll-out<br />
of universal credit? Will it still be a local service or will<br />
they shift in short order to that central arrangement?<br />
As I read through the documentation, several secondary<br />
issues arose. What about pensioners? Many are still<br />
reliant on housing benefit, but universal credit is an<br />
in-work benefit, so who will be responsible for the<br />
administration of housing benefit to pensioners? That<br />
is a specific question and I would be grateful for the<br />
Minister’s clarification. Obviously, if local authorities<br />
are no longer involved in the administration of housing<br />
benefit, how will pensioners continue to receive it?<br />
There will be two vast centralised computer systems,<br />
and the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee and<br />
the National Audit Office are already voicing anxieties<br />
about these arrangements. The DWP is moving to the<br />
“Agile” methodology, and Computer Weekly had a report<br />
recently in which it said that a leaked report from the<br />
Cabinet Office major projects authority suggested that<br />
the<br />
“Agile methodology remains unproven at this scale”.<br />
An amber risk rating was attached. Is that the case?<br />
What is the Government’s assessment of the risks of the<br />
change to this system by the DWP? The HMRC computer<br />
system will take a real-time approach to the PAYE<br />
process, but again reports suggest that the timescale has<br />
slipped beyond the April 2013 target. Can the Minister<br />
say whether that is true?<br />
If we are to contract out much of this activity, will it<br />
be sent offshore? Will the work under these new<br />
arrangements be done in the UK, or will much of the IT<br />
or contact centre work be done in India or other countries?<br />
That would be another helpful clarification.<br />
Another important issue has to be the many thousands<br />
of staff who currently work on housing benefit in local<br />
authorities up and down the country. Unison and other<br />
representatives of the work force have also asked about<br />
this. I gather that the Government have decided that<br />
TUPE will not apply to those who work in housing<br />
benefit administration in local authorities. So there will<br />
be a massive redundancy programme in local authorities<br />
and no take-up of those staff in the new, centralised<br />
arrangements. If that is the case, how will the Government<br />
respond to the massive redundancy costs involved? Will<br />
the Government compensate local authorities for those<br />
costs? Can the Minister say how much that will cost and<br />
how many staff will be affected? A lump of money was<br />
set aside at the beginning of the spending review period<br />
for the transition to universal credit. Have the assumptions<br />
behind that sum stayed the same or have they changed?<br />
As the Minister will know, the Opposition have spotted<br />
that she and many of her colleagues are under the<br />
shadow of the omnishambles and that the Government’s<br />
record on competence has already been questioned.<br />
When it comes to universal credit, their reputation for<br />
competence is definitely on the line, and it has to be<br />
proven that they can fulfil their promises. This is a<br />
major risk not only to the Government’s reputation but<br />
to all our constituents, especially the most needy.<br />
9.55 pm<br />
The <strong>Parliament</strong>ary Under-Secretary of State for Work<br />
and Pensions (Maria Miller): I congratulate the hon.<br />
Member for Nottingham East (Chris Leslie) on securing<br />
this debate. He is fortunate to have secured such an<br />
important debate.<br />
It is fitting that the first Adjournment debate of the<br />
Session is on universal credit, because the Gracious<br />
Speech today underlined the Government’s commitment<br />
to building a fairer, more responsible society, to supporting<br />
families to do the right thing, to making work pay and<br />
to ending the something-for-nothing culture that gained<br />
a foothold in this country for too long under the previous<br />
Administration. Universal credit is at the heart of delivering<br />
on that commitment.<br />
Universal credit will deliver a simpler and fairer<br />
system, and our reforms will put work, whether full<br />
time, part time or for just a few hours a week, at the<br />
centre of the welfare system. As such, it will extend a<br />
ladder of opportunity to those previously excluded or<br />
marginalised from the world of work. The current
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system has an array of 30 different benefits, each with<br />
its own rules and criteria and characterised by overlaps,<br />
duplication and complication. We all know from our<br />
constituency surgeries how bewildering that can be for<br />
many individuals.<br />
Claimants need to submit several claims to different<br />
agencies to get the support they need and are required<br />
to communicate changes in their personal and financial<br />
circumstances time and time again. Universal credit will<br />
create a much simpler system, by reducing the number<br />
of benefits and agencies people have to work with,<br />
smoothing their transition into work and making it<br />
easier to understand the available support. From 2013,<br />
universal credit will provide a new single system of<br />
means-tested support for working-age people, whether<br />
in or out of work, and will include housing, children,<br />
child care costs and additions for disabled people and<br />
carers.<br />
As I set out, the main purpose is to help people into<br />
work. The new system will remove the distinction between<br />
in-work support for those working 16 hours a week or<br />
more and out-of-work support for those working fewer<br />
than 16 hours a week, eliminating some of those problems<br />
we have seen in our constituencies and the need to claim<br />
a different set of benefits when starting or ending a job,<br />
or when changing working hours.<br />
How a benefit is paid to claimants is important<br />
because it will encourage people to manage their budgets<br />
in the same way as households. Claimants should be<br />
treated as they would if they were experiencing working<br />
life. The greater the difference between being out of<br />
work and in work, the greater the barrier to returning to<br />
work. Universal credit will therefore be administered in<br />
one single monthly payment, as the hon. Gentleman<br />
mentioned. We will be able to administer the payment<br />
on a more frequent basis, where necessary, but we will<br />
work closely with the people advising claimants to<br />
ensure that the support is there to keep this sort of<br />
atypical payment to a minimum. I think he would<br />
accept that that is important.<br />
The greater simplicity of universal credit will result in<br />
a substantial increase in the take-up of currently unclaimed<br />
benefits, with the greatest impact being on poorer families.<br />
As I am sure that Members know, the combined impact<br />
of this increased take-up will lift 900,000 individuals<br />
out of poverty, including more than 350,000 children<br />
and about 550,000 working-age adults.<br />
The hon. Gentleman did not touch on one child care<br />
issue that I would like to bring to the attention of the<br />
House. I am sure he will know that child care costs can<br />
often be a significant issue for people trying to remain<br />
close to the work place. Universal credit will introduce a<br />
new way of supporting families. An extra 80,000 extra<br />
families will be eligible to receive support for the first<br />
time, because people who are working shorter hours<br />
will be able to claim child care support.<br />
The hon. Member for Nottingham East rightly talked<br />
about the importance of the digital process—<br />
10 pm<br />
Motion lapsed (Standing Order No. 9(3)).<br />
Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House<br />
do now adjourn.—(James Duddridge.)<br />
Maria Miller: As I was saying, the hon. Gentleman<br />
rightly picked up on the importance of the online<br />
aspect of universal credit. It is designed to be an online<br />
service, providing access and support to claimants 24 hours<br />
a day. Importantly, it will also provide the service where<br />
constituents are, as opposed to where jobcentres are.<br />
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP): I thank the Minister<br />
for giving way, and I apologise for not being here for the<br />
beginning of the debate. I was at another engagement<br />
down below, and I did not realise that the Adjournment<br />
debate had started.<br />
I feel that certain people in the middle class are going<br />
to fall into the child poverty bracket as a result of the<br />
introduction of universal credit. What assurance can<br />
the Minister give me that such people will not be<br />
adversely affected by the changes that the Government<br />
are proposing?<br />
Maria Miller: I welcome the hon. Gentleman’s<br />
intervention. At the point of transition to universal<br />
credit, we want to ensure that people will continue to<br />
receive the support that they were receiving before, if<br />
there have been no changes to their circumstances. It is<br />
important for everyone to understand that, as a result<br />
of universal credit, we will be making work pay. We will<br />
ensure that more people can stay close to the labour<br />
market, which will help them not only to get out of<br />
poverty but to stay out of it. We all know that families<br />
can cycle in and out of poverty; it does not affect a<br />
static group of people. It is therefore important that we<br />
have that support in place.<br />
I want to get back to the digital nature of universal<br />
credit. We make no apology for the fact that this is<br />
designed to be an online service. It is designed to be<br />
available 24 hours a day, and to be available where<br />
claimants are and when it is most convenient for them<br />
to use it. The hon. Member for Nottingham East is<br />
right to say that that will not be the right approach for<br />
absolutely everyone, but let me stay with the group for<br />
which it will be the right approach. Estimates show that<br />
about 80% of individuals are already accessing services<br />
in an online scenario. We are not assuming that 80%<br />
will use the online service at the outset; we have always<br />
recognised that not everyone will be able to claim online.<br />
However, we expect that the proportion who do so will<br />
grow over time. We will supplement all of that with a<br />
face-to-face and telephone service that will always be<br />
available, for just the kinds of groups of people whom<br />
the hon. Gentleman referred to.<br />
To ensure that we resolve any issues in advance of the<br />
system going live, and that we have the right kind of<br />
support in place, we are already working with local<br />
authorities on a number of pilot schemes. I urge the<br />
hon. Gentleman to look at the work that we are doing<br />
with the Local Government Association. We have also<br />
recently issued a joint prospectus calling on local authorities<br />
to deliver pilots to support residents in preparation for<br />
the introduction of universal credit in 2013. The pilots<br />
are expected to start in the autumn of this year and to<br />
end by September 2013. We will focus on delivering the<br />
kind of face-to-face support that individuals might<br />
need when claiming universal credit. I hope that he will<br />
agree that we will have a wide range of support available.<br />
It will be available online, as well as face to face and on<br />
the telephone.
123 Universal Credit<br />
9 MAY 2012<br />
Universal Credit<br />
124<br />
[Maria Miller]<br />
The hon. Gentleman is right to say that it is important<br />
to get the IT right for this, and we are well under way in<br />
our designs and in testing the system to ensure that<br />
universal credit is introduced in 2013. Our ambition<br />
will, of course, always be to move the majority of people<br />
on to use of the online system, and we are working<br />
closely with other Government Departments and beyond<br />
to ensure that the best possible support is there to<br />
enable access to the internet for many people, supporting<br />
claimants to get even more value from being online.<br />
The hon. Gentleman expressed an interest in the<br />
issue of fraud and the work being done to ensure that<br />
safeguards are in place. It will come as no surprise to<br />
him to hear that we take the issue of fraud very seriously<br />
indeed. Its prevention has been built into the heart of<br />
all policy and service design development. Universal<br />
credit will be protected by comprehensive and sophisticated<br />
cyber-defence and counter-fraud systems, which are<br />
currently under development with leading suppliers. I<br />
am sure that the hon. Gentleman will want to stay close<br />
to the sorts of issues that we are dealing with, but he<br />
will understand if I do not go into the details of those<br />
systems, as they are sensitive and not for open discussion.<br />
The hon. Gentleman raised the issue of monthly<br />
payments, which I have touched on a little already. To<br />
be absolutely clear, we believe it important for universal<br />
credit to reflect what people experience in the workplace<br />
when they are working full time. For the most part, that<br />
means being able to budget around a monthly payment,<br />
a monthly salary or a monthly amount of money coming<br />
in. We will ensure that there is flexibility in the system<br />
for those who find that exceptionally difficult, but we<br />
believe that this will be an exception and not the rule.<br />
Jim Shannon: I can see the logic behind the change to<br />
monthly payments, but it is clear that some who get<br />
weekly payments are not knowledgeable enough to<br />
know how to manage their moneys. Will the Government<br />
give any help to those who will depend on single weekly<br />
payments to start with, who will then have to manage<br />
on monthly payments, on how best to manage their<br />
money?<br />
Maria Miller: The hon. Gentleman will be reassured<br />
to know that my noble Friend Lord Freud is looking at<br />
exactly those issues. We know that changing people’s<br />
behaviour cannot happen overnight. People need support<br />
and we will make sure that we understand the sort of<br />
support that will prove the most effective, as the hon.<br />
Gentleman would expect us to do.<br />
The hon. Member for Nottingham East talked about<br />
the importance of banking in this process. Direct payments<br />
to bank accounts are an important part of helping<br />
people to prepare for work. We will encourage claimants<br />
to use bank accounts, and we are discussing this very<br />
issue with the British Bankers Association. We recognise,<br />
however, that it will not be suitable for everybody, so we<br />
expect to continue to pay rent directly to landlords in<br />
some cases and we will continue to ensure that suitable<br />
payment arrangements are in place for everybody. The<br />
hon. Gentleman is right that we need that nuanced<br />
approach for some individuals. The bulk of individuals,<br />
we believe, should be able to cope with the sort of<br />
monthly payments that I mentioned earlier.<br />
Chris Leslie: I am sorry to intervene, as I know we are<br />
getting short of time. The analysis of the support needs<br />
of an individual, either face to face at the first point of<br />
application or subsequently in recognition of exceptions<br />
such as weekly payments or direct payments for landlords,<br />
is a key point. How will it be done? Will it be a local<br />
service? Is it assumed that predominantly local authorities<br />
will pick up those responsibilities? I want to gain a sense<br />
of who will be dealing with these things, as the Department<br />
for Work and Pensions in Whitehall will not be doing<br />
the face-to-face work.<br />
Maria Miller: I think the hon. Gentleman is right,<br />
and in the pilots we shall pick up some of those issues,<br />
particularly the sorts of support that local authorities<br />
could provide. Jobcentre Plus will also be involved from<br />
the launch of universal credit as an on-site, readily<br />
available resource. The hon. Gentleman is right that we<br />
have to make sure that the appropriate support is there<br />
for the people who might need it, and we want to ensure<br />
that such systems are available so that universal credit<br />
becomes the success we know it will be.<br />
The hon. Gentleman spoke of the importance of<br />
understanding the phased migration fully. We recognise<br />
that the move from one welfare system to another needs<br />
to be managed carefully, so that no one is left without<br />
the support that they need. The transition from the old<br />
benefit system to universal credit will therefore take<br />
place in three phases over four years, ending in 2017<br />
when between 12 million and 13 million benefit and tax<br />
credit claims will become 8 million universal credit<br />
claims.<br />
In the first phase, beginning in October 2013, all new<br />
claims to the current benefits and credits will be phased<br />
out by April 2014, with new claims to housing benefits<br />
and tax credits being the last to end in that month.<br />
Natural migrations to universal credit as a result of a<br />
significant change of circumstances will also be taken<br />
from October 2013.<br />
In the second phase, which will begin in April 2014,<br />
existing claimants whose circumstances have not changed<br />
will start to be transferred to universal credit through<br />
managed change. It is expected that, as most of the<br />
households whose members are actively seeking work<br />
will have been moved through the new claims or natural<br />
changes route by April 2014, the households involved in<br />
that phase will generally be those with people in part-time<br />
work and those that are economically inactive. Priority<br />
will be given to households the nature of whose work<br />
makes them most likely to benefit from universal credit.<br />
In the third and final phase, from the end of 2015<br />
until the end of 2017, the remaining households will be<br />
moved into the new system. Local circumstances, such<br />
as staffing turnover, contractual obligations and<br />
demography, will be taken into account. The households<br />
will be moved on to universal credit in good time before<br />
housing benefit loads become too small to be viable.<br />
Within those parameters, the focus on work and poverty<br />
will be retained. That should allow local authorities to<br />
plan with more certainty over the medium term.<br />
The hon. Gentleman rightly sought clarification of<br />
the important issue of housing benefit for pensioners.<br />
Following the abolition of housing benefit, help with<br />
rent and child costs will be provided through pension<br />
credit, and will broadly follow the existing rules.
125 Universal Credit<br />
9 MAY 2012<br />
Universal Credit<br />
126<br />
The hon. Gentleman mentioned a number of information<br />
technology issues. I am not sure that I can cover all of<br />
them today, but I can assure him categorically that there<br />
will be no offshore outsourcing of the administration of<br />
universal credit, that the Department will send no existing<br />
British jobs overseas, and that no personal data are held<br />
or can be accessed outside the <strong>United</strong> <strong>Kingdom</strong>. Many<br />
sub-contractors started using overseas staff under the<br />
last Government. We are considering how jobs that<br />
used to be sent offshore could be moved back to the UK<br />
in the future. I hope that the hon. Gentleman would<br />
welcome such a move.<br />
I do not think that the hon. Gentleman raised the<br />
issue of real-time information, but I shall bring him up<br />
to date in case he is interested. Real-time information is<br />
being introduced in HMRC to improve the operation of<br />
the pay-as-you-earn system, which will make it easier<br />
for employers and HMRC to share information. Under<br />
universal credit, entitlement for people who pay tax on<br />
their earnings through PAYE will correspond directly<br />
with earnings information received through HMRC’s<br />
automatic real-time information PAYE data transfer.<br />
HMRC began pilot-testing RTI in April, and has<br />
already introduced 10 employer schemes representing a<br />
range of sizes with the aim of ironing out any wrinkles.<br />
I understand that the initial pilot stage has gone well,<br />
and that a further 310 employers joined the pilot yesterday.<br />
We are working closely with HMRC to ensure that<br />
systems are in place for the introduction of universal<br />
credit.<br />
The hon. Gentleman rightly mentioned the important<br />
role of local authorities. They have been, and will<br />
continue to be, integral to the development of universal<br />
credit. We have undertaken extensive work with authorities<br />
to ensure that they help us to develop universal credit,<br />
and to tap into their expertise. I would like to take this<br />
opportunity to thank the local authorities associations<br />
of England, Scotland and Wales for their constructive<br />
engagement with us, especially those authorities that<br />
have already committed time and resources to helping<br />
to make universal credit a success.<br />
On 21 March the permanent secretaries of my<br />
Department and the Department for Communities and<br />
Local Government wrote to chief executives informing<br />
them that local authorities will be expected to provide<br />
face-to-face support for certain universal credit claimants<br />
who will need more intensive help to access the new<br />
benefit.<br />
The hon. Gentleman raised the important issue of<br />
staff. Local authorities will want to ensure that they<br />
deal with that issue correctly. When universal credit<br />
comes into force in October 2013, local authorities will<br />
have an important role to play, and that role will begin<br />
to change, too, so they will go through a period of<br />
transition. They will need to make sure they continue to<br />
work with us through this process. The Local Government<br />
Association and the DWP recently issued a joint prospectus<br />
calling on local authorities to work on the pilots I have<br />
mentioned. We recognise that costs will be associated<br />
with that process and the wind-down of housing benefit,<br />
and we will discuss that with DCLG and the local<br />
authorities in due course.<br />
Chris Leslie: The Minister says that there will be a<br />
negotiation and that she will discuss this matter with<br />
local authorities, but she has to accept that central<br />
Government have decided to introduce the universal<br />
credit, and that a number of housing benefit and local<br />
authority staff will be made redundant. In a sense, the<br />
Government are forcing local authorities to make their<br />
staff redundant. The Minister has to accept that they<br />
must be compensated by central Government for that.<br />
Maria Miller: The hon. Gentleman has made a number<br />
of assumptions. As I have outlined, the introduction of<br />
universal credit will take place over a number of years.<br />
Local authorities already know it is coming, so it would<br />
be prudent of them to be planning for the changes and<br />
to make sure that they cause as little disruption as<br />
possible to their staff. Local authorities will have an<br />
important role to play in the future, whether in respect<br />
of their staff or of minimising any costs associated with<br />
the change. I urge the hon. Gentleman not to make<br />
assumptions as to how local authorities will deal with<br />
this process. I think most of them will want to plan the<br />
transfer sensibly and avoid any unnecessary costs.<br />
I hope I have covered the majority of the points the<br />
hon. Gentleman raised. This debate has provided us<br />
with a tremendous opportunity to discuss an important<br />
part of the Government’s reform agenda, which is based<br />
on making sure that work pays, and that we have a<br />
strong and robust benefit system that supports families<br />
in the right way in order to make sure they can lift<br />
themselves out of poverty and that people, both disabled<br />
and non-disabled, have the opportunity to go to work.<br />
These reforms are a central plank of Government policy.<br />
Question put and agreed to.<br />
10.18 pm<br />
House adjourned.
1P<br />
Petitions<br />
9 MAY 2012<br />
Petitions<br />
2P<br />
Petitions<br />
Wednesday 9 May 2012<br />
OBSERVATIONS<br />
COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT<br />
Emergency Fire Control Services in Cumbria<br />
The Petition of residents of Cumbria,<br />
Declares that the Petitioners oppose the decision by<br />
Cumbria County Council to outsource services currently<br />
provided by Cumbria Emergency Fire Control to Cheshire<br />
in 2012 and eventually a regional facility in 2014.<br />
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of<br />
Commons urges the Government to encourage Cumbria<br />
County Council to re-consider their decision to outsource<br />
Cumbria Emergency Fire Control services and ensure<br />
that before any further decisions are made, all plans,<br />
including a full breakdown of the financial business<br />
case are made available through a public consultation.<br />
And the Petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Tim<br />
Farron, Official Report, 17 April 2012; Vol. 543, c. 291.]<br />
[P001017]<br />
Observations from the Secretary of State for Communities<br />
and Local Government, received 8 May 2012.<br />
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local<br />
Government is aware that a consortium of Fire and<br />
Rescue Authorities in the North West (Cumbria, Greater<br />
Manchester, Lancashire and Cheshire) are seeking to<br />
use the control centre building in Warrington, procured<br />
as part of the terminated FiReControl Project, as a<br />
shared control service for the four authorities.<br />
Decisions to share control services and use the<br />
Warrington building are entirely a matter for the four<br />
authorities.<br />
Following closure of the previous Government’s failed<br />
FiReControl programme, which wasted half a billion<br />
pounds of taxpayers’ money, the Coalition Government<br />
consulted on the best way to improve the resilience and<br />
efficiency of fire and rescue control services in England.<br />
This established that there was broad support for a<br />
localist approach with locally determined and delivered<br />
projects.<br />
The Secretary of State is clear that it is for Fire and<br />
Rescue Authorities to deliver local control services in<br />
the way that best meets the needs of their communities<br />
and provides value for the taxpayer. Decisions should<br />
be made by local elected representatives, accountable to<br />
the local electorate.<br />
Fire and rescue authorities should be open and<br />
transparent in their dealings, including following the<br />
“Code of Recommended Practice for Local Authorities<br />
on Data Transparency”.<br />
HOME DEPARTMENT<br />
Police Cuts (Humberside)<br />
The Petition of residents of Hull,<br />
Declares that the Petitioners believe that the Government<br />
have a duty to protect citizens from crime; that the<br />
significant increase in police officers over the past 10 years<br />
has helped reduce crime and make people feel safer;<br />
notes that under Government proposals the police budget<br />
will be cut by 20%, that over 16,000 police officers will<br />
be lost and that for Humberside Police Force cuts will<br />
be even greater than the national average, with a 25%<br />
reduction in the police budget; further notes that<br />
Humberside police force is projected to have 250 fewer<br />
police officers in March 2012 than in March 2010; and<br />
declares that the Petitioners believe that this will hamper<br />
the efforts of the police to prevent crime and keep<br />
citizens safe.<br />
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of<br />
Commons urges the Government to support the work<br />
of the police in ensuring that the downward trend in<br />
overall crime continues by at least maintaining 2010<br />
levels of uniformed police officers in England and Wales.<br />
And the Petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Diana<br />
Johnson, Official Report, 7 February 2012; Vol. 540,<br />
c. 276.]<br />
[P001005]<br />
Observations from the Secretary of State for the Home<br />
Department:<br />
The Government support the work of the police,<br />
both in Humberside and across England and Wales as a<br />
whole.<br />
The reductions in funding for the police are challenging<br />
but manageable. This Government inherited the largest<br />
peacetime deficit in Britain’s history, and have had no<br />
option but to take urgent action. As a service spending<br />
£14 billion per year, the police cannot be exempt from<br />
the requirement to save public money.<br />
However, Government funding is not the only source<br />
of income for the police. About a quarter comes from<br />
the police precept (element of council tax). The level of<br />
police precept is set by the police authority and, from<br />
2012, the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC).<br />
Humberside Police Authority has taken the decision to<br />
increase their precept by 3.99% for 2012-13. If future<br />
precept decisions of the Police and Crime Commissioner<br />
for Humberside follow a similar pattern to those taken<br />
by the Police Authority in recent years, the force will<br />
face at most a 7% cash reduction in overall funding over<br />
the spending review period.<br />
The effectiveness of a police force depends not on<br />
overall numbers but on how well it deploys its resources.<br />
Recorded crime fell by 4% over the last year, while total<br />
police officer numbers reduced over the same period.<br />
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary have made<br />
clear that there is no simple link between officer numbers<br />
and crime levels, between numbers and the visibility of<br />
the police in the community, or between numbers and<br />
the quality of service provided.<br />
We do know, however, that forces can do more to<br />
ensure that frontline services are prioritised. Her Majesty’s<br />
Inspectorate of Constabulary has shown that, on average,<br />
only 12% of officers and PCSOs are visible and available<br />
at key times. Additionally, in March 2010 there were<br />
around 25,000 police officers and PCSOs working in<br />
non-frontline functions, including over 7,000 police officers<br />
working in back office jobs.<br />
The Government are aware that forces are already<br />
doing more on this agenda. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate<br />
of Constabulary have found that police forces are planning<br />
to increase the proportion of police officers and staff
3P<br />
Petitions<br />
9 MAY 2012<br />
Petitions<br />
4P<br />
working on the frontline from 68% in 2010, to 70% by<br />
March of this year, with that trend expected to continue.<br />
Nevertheless, forces can go further and organise their<br />
resources better while ensuring they are focused on<br />
what the public wants. Smarter deployment; shift patterns<br />
that better reflect demand for services from the public;<br />
reducing bureaucracy and increasing the scope for officers<br />
to use their professional judgment will all help improve<br />
efficiency. Collaboration between forces, better IT, and<br />
better procurement will help reduce costs whilst maintaining<br />
services. This Government are aware that all police<br />
forces are taking steps to reduce spending, while striving<br />
to improve the service they deliver for the public. With<br />
transformational changes in the way police forces work,<br />
savings of over £2 billion a year are possible—exceeding<br />
the reductions in police funding.
PETITIONS<br />
Wednesday 9 May 2012<br />
Col. No.<br />
COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT . 1P<br />
Emergency Fire Control Services in Cumbria ....... 1P<br />
Col. No.<br />
HOME DEPARTMENT........................................... 1P<br />
Police Cuts (Humberside) ...................................... 1P
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Volume 545<br />
Wednesday<br />
No. 1 9 May 2012<br />
CONTENTS<br />
Wednesday 9 May 2012<br />
List of Government and Principal Officers and Officials of the House<br />
Speaker’s Statement [Col. 1]<br />
Queen’s Speech [Col. 3]<br />
Debate on the Address (First day) [Col. 6]<br />
Debate adjourned<br />
Universal Credit [Col. 117]<br />
Debate on motion for Adjournment<br />
Petitions [Col. 1P]<br />
Observations