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Metropolitan Police: Operational Independence
(6 months ago)
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Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
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Yvette Cooper (Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford) (Lab)
(Urgent Question): To ask the Home Secretary if she will make a statement on the operational independence of the Metropolitan police.
The Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire (Chris Philp)
About a month ago, Hamas perpetrated a sickening terrorist attack in Israel, murdering 1,400 innocent people, often in horrific circumstances. About 200 people remain held hostage by Hamas, a terrorist organisation, and I am sure that the thoughts of the whole House are with those hostages today. We have also seen, in the United Kingdom, thousands of people demonstrating in recent weeks. Thanks to the tireless work of the police, those incidents have largely passed without significant incident. However, a number of arrests, now nearly 200, have been made, where people have committed disorder, racially aggravated crimes or assaults on police officers. It is right that police officers have acted robustly in those cases.
It is also right that the police are operationally independent of government. That is a fundamental principle of British policing, as the Prime Minister made clear yesterday. The Metropolitan police asked protesters to postpone their planned protest this weekend, but the request was refused. The Prime Minister met the commissioner yesterday to seek reassurances that remembrance events will be protected. Of course, remembrance events play a special part in this nation’s long and proud history, and it would be a grave insult if they were to be disrupted in any way. It is for the Metropolitan police to decide whether to apply to the Home Secretary to ban any march. As of this morning, no such application has been received, but the Home Secretary will, of course, carefully consider one should it be made. I reiterate that the police retain the confidence of the Prime Minister, Home Secretary and myself in using all the powers available to them, under terrorism legislation and public order legislation, to prevent criminality and disorder, and hate speech.
Let me say to the House that I have been contacted this morning repeatedly by members of the Jewish community who are deeply apprehensive about what this weekend may bring, and I want to put on record that we expect the police to protect those members of communities in London, including the Jewish community, who are feeling vulnerable this weekend. There are comprehensive powers in place to do that. Hate has no place on London’s streets and we expect the police to ensure that the laws are upheld. There are powers in place to deal with people spreading hate or deliberately raising tensions through harassment and abusive behaviour. The police can impose conditions on marches, as indeed they have done to prevent pro-Palestine protesters from approaching the Israeli embassy, to give one example. The police have also used section 60AA conditions to require people to remove face coverings, but the use of those powers is, of course, an operational matter for the Metropolitan Police Service.
This weekend should first and foremost be about remembering those who gave their lives in defence of this country. Any disruption to remembrance services would be completely unacceptable and an insult to their memory. I have confidence that the Metropolitan police and other police forces will ensure that this weekend passes off peacefully and without disruption.
Yvette Cooper
Where is the Home Secretary? She has sent the Policing Minister here to refuse to repeat her words. We have seen her words this morning; she has been attempting to rip up the operational independence of the police, attacking their impartiality in the crudest and most partisan of ways, deliberately undermining respect for the police at a sensitive time, when they have an important job to do, and deliberately seeking to create division around remembrance, which the Policing Minister rightly said should be a time for communities to come together and to pay our respects. She is deliberately inflaming community tensions in the most dangerous of ways. She is encouraging extremists on all sides, attacking the police when she should be backing them. It is highly irresponsible and dangerous, and no other Home Secretary would ever have done this.
Remembrance events are really important to all of us. Those events need to be protected. That is the job of the police: to enforce and respect the law, while maintaining public safety, tackling hate crime and extremism and respecting rights in law to peaceful protest. They have to follow the law and the evidence, whatever politicians think, not be the operational arm of the Home Secretary, because whether she likes it or not, that is the British tradition of policing and I, for one, am proud of it.
We know what she is up to—claiming homelessness is a lifestyle choice, picking fights with the police to get headlines—but the job of the Home Secretary is to keep the public safe, not run an endless Tory leadership campaign. Cabinet colleagues refuse to agree with her and former police chiefs are lining up to condemn her, so I have two questions: does this Government still believe in the operational independence of the police and how can they do so while this Home Secretary is in post? And did the Prime Minister and No. 10 agree to the content of the article? Either the Prime Minister has endorsed this or he is too weak to sack her. If he cannot get a grip on her conduct, it means he has given up on serious government, and he and the Home Secretary should both let someone else do the job.
Chris Philp
I thank the shadow Home Secretary for her questions, as always. She asked about where the Home Secretary is. It may have been wise to ask that privately rather than publicly, but she is with a close family member who is having a hospital operation this morning. I have the Home Secretary’s permission to say that to the House in the event that somebody raised it, as the shadow Home Secretary has done, so I am passing that message on to the House.
As we consider this topic, the House should keep in mind the fact that many of our fellow citizens are feeling deeply uneasy about what is going on in the middle east and the domestic repercussions. We have seen a spike in Islamophobic offences—there have been 21 arrests in the last four weeks for Islamophobic offences. We have seen a surge in antisemitic offences—there have been 98 arrests for antisemitic offences in the last four weeks.
I have been contacted this morning by members of the Jewish community who are deeply uneasy about what this weekend will bring. I do not think it is acceptable that our fellow citizens feel scared or uneasy walking about the streets of London. It is reasonable for politicians—the Prime Minister, the Home Secretary and others, including, I am sure, some on the Opposition Benches as well—to raise those concerns and make sure that the police are protecting those communities. It is not acceptable to have fear and hatred on our streets. Let that message go out from this House today.
In relation to the question about operational independence, yes, of course the Government resolutely back operational independence, as the Prime Minister made clear yesterday, after his meeting with the commissioner at No. 10. But the Prime Minister also said after that meeting that he would hold the commissioner to account, as politicians are supposed to do—police and crime commissioners, including the Mayor of London, as London’s PPC, do that, and so do we, as Members of Parliament. That is perfectly proper and perfectly right.
In terms of the approval process with No. 10, I am afraid I do not have any visibility on that at all, but let us keep in mind that we are seeing a humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza, there are 200 people being held hostage, some 1,400 people were slaughtered by terrorists and members of our own community are feeling scared this weekend. Let us keep that at the front of our minds, not party political point scoring.
Sir Michael Ellis (Northampton North) (Con)
Of course there is a principle of operational police independence, but I am concerned that the Metropolitan Police Commissioner keeps saying he has no powers to stop the march or arrest people in these marches. He certainly has powers under sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Public Order Act 1986 and under sections 1, 12 and 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the commissioner’s predecessors certainly felt that they had the power to ban marches by the English Defence League in 2011 and 2012 under the same legislation that we are talking about now? Does he also agree that the Home Secretary has a power under section 40 of the Police Act 1996? That says that where the Home Secretary feels that the police are failing to exercise their discretion reasonably, she can demand special measures to take action herself.
Chris Philp
I thank my right hon. and learned Friend for his question. His knowledge of the law in this area, as in all areas, is immaculate. The commissioner does have powers under—I think—section I3 of the Public Order Act 1986 to ban marches in certain circumstances. As my right hon. and learned Friend says, it was last used about 11 years ago, so it is quite a rarely used power. It applies when the police think that they are unable to deal with disorder that may break out. That is quite a high threshold. The Metropolitan police have so far not made a request to the Home Secretary under that section, but, if they do so, it will be considered very carefully indeed.
As my right hon. and learned Friend said, the police have a wide range of powers that they have been exercising under anti-terrorism legislation. That legislation makes it an offence to glorify, promote and incite association with proscribed organisations, which of course includes Hamas. Section 18—I think—of the Public Order Act makes it an offence to use threats to incite racial hatred. There is a wide range of offences and they are being used. So far during these protests, 188 people have been arrested for hate crimes in relation to glorifying Hamas, inciting violence, and apparently praising the appalling terrorist atrocities that were committed, and we expect that wide-range of powers to continue to be used.
Chris Stephens (Glasgow South West) (SNP)
Let me make it clear that the evils of antisemitism and Islamophobia should be condemned wherever we find them.
More than 2.5 million Muslims fought for the British Empire in world war two to assert freedom, liberty and an end to fascism in Europe, using war to end all wars and promote peace through armistice. The protest for peace is far from the Cenotaph and starts later that day. The grandson of Winston Churchill, Nicholas Soames, has defended the right of people to march. Does the Minister agree with him? Does he empathise with the contributions of Muslims for peace, then and now?
Armistice Day has turned into Armistice Weekend, and a lot of discussion is focused on the Palestinian ceasefire march, when the police are more concerned about counter-protests from the far right, such as the English Defence League, and football hooligans, such as Football Lads Alliance. Will the Government also be looking to cancel the 10 premier league games scheduled this weekend, or the Lord Mayor’s parade that overlaps the two-minute silence?
Finally, the former Met assistant commissioner said this morning that this is
“the end of operational independence in policing”
after the Government sought to pressure and exert control to ban Saturday’s peace march, saying that they are on the verge of behaving unconstitutionally. Does that not mean that the Home Secretary is unfit for office and should be sacked?
Chris Philp
As I have said very clearly, I do not agree with the suggestion that operational independence is in any way compromised. The Prime Minister made that clear following his meeting with the Metropolitan Police Commissioner yesterday. None the less, I think that politicians on both sides of the House—both Members of Parliament and police and crime commissioners—are entitled to comment on matters of public policy and public order, as they have done over recent years. I do not think that offering comments undermines operational independence, which, as has been quite rightly said, is a sacrosanct principle of our system.
The hon. Gentleman mentioned sentiment in the Muslim community in the United Kingdom. I am sure that, like me, he has met the community in his constituency. We understand, I am sure, that there is huge concern, not just in the Muslim community, but beyond, about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. That is why this Government are providing additional aid. That is why they are calling for a humanitarian pause to allow aid to get in. That is why our Prime Minister has worked closely with others, including President Sisi of Egypt, to make sure the Rafah border crossing is open to allow aid in and certain citizens out. It is why our Prime Minister has renewed his public commitment to a durable, two-state solution. Those voices for peace are heard as well.
Let me repeat what I said at the start: operational independence of policing is a sacrosanct principle and this Government will not interfere with it.
Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet) (Con)
I know that the police are in a really difficult position, and that their powers to ban marches are constrained by law, but I have to say that I am deeply troubled by this march on Saturday. In all the many years that I have known the Jewish community, and in representing them in Chipping Barnet for 18 years, I have never known such fear and anxiety as I have seen over the past few weeks. Does the Minister agree that it is absolutely right that Members of this House and Ministers hold the police to account to insist that they deploy the full force of the law against any offences of hate crime and antisemitism at these protests?
Chris Philp
My right hon. Friend is a tireless campaigner for the Jewish community in Barnet and beyond. We of course expect the police to protect the Jewish community across London and across the whole country at a time when they feel deeply uneasy. In fact, describing the sentiment that the Jewish community are feeling as unease understates it; as I said earlier, I have received messages this morning from members of the Jewish community expressing fear about this weekend, and I will raise those fears with senior police officers later today to ensure that the Met are aware of them, and are policing that appropriately. There is no excuse for harassment. There is no excuse for inciting racial hatred. That has no place in a civilised country such as this one, and we will not let it happen.
Dame Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)
The Home Affairs Committee has spent many months scrutinising policing for a report that is due to be published tomorrow. That scrutiny has included the principles of policing by consent and the operational independence of the police, free from political interference, in upholding the rule of law, as set down by Parliament on protests and other matters. Alongside that, the Committee has been briefed on the policing of protests and will be looking to do more shortly. However, given the comments from the Home Secretary, the principles of operational independence of policing dating back to 1285, and the policing protocol, which the Home Secretary agreed in June this year, can the Minister confirm that if there is to be any discussion of these long-standing policy principles of policing, Parliament is the place to do it, possibly including the use of a royal commission? We should certainly not have these matters debated on the front page of newspapers at a time that is very challenging for communities in this nation.
Chris Philp
I thank the right hon. Lady for the work of her Committee. I look forward to reading her report greatly. I will give it close attention, as I always do. Scrutiny of action by the police, or indeed any other public body, is not the same as interference. Scrutiny is healthy and appropriate; interference is a different thing entirely. There is a distinction between scrutiny and interference. The operational independence principle is not one that we plan to revisit, but we look forward to discussing these questions, both with the right hon. Lady’s Committee and in this House.
Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney and Shetland) (LD)
On this Home Secretary’s watch, every day 6,000 crimes across England and Wales go unsolved, so does she trust the police to do their job or not? If the purpose of her article was to say that she knows better than the commissioner of the Metropolitan police, she should say so—and she should say so here in this Chamber. If not, what possible motive could she have for seeking to undermine public confidence in the police in this way?
Chris Philp
We do have confidence in the police, but it is perfectly reasonable to scrutinise the police and hold them to account for their actions, as police and crime commissioners do every day, and as Members of this House do every day as well. In terms of confidence in policing more widely, according to the crime survey for England and Wales, on a like-for-like basis crime is now 54% lower than it was under the last Labour Government.
Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)
This morning, a former chief constable of Durham warned that the storm being whipped up by the Home Secretary is diverting resources away from a very serious threat that might arise. Does the Minister not understand that the Home Secretary’s incendiary and inflammatory comments ahead of what will be a really complex and sensitive policing operation for the Met this weekend is making their job even harder? Is this not a deeply irresponsible way for a Home Secretary to behave?
Chris Philp
I do not accept the hon. Lady’s characterisation. The Home Secretary and other politicians on both sides of the House are perfectly entitled to hold policing to account, but of course this Government, as the Prime Minister said, accept—indeed, embrace—the principle of operational independence.
Jon Trickett (Hemsworth) (Lab)
We all know that many people will be on the march on Saturday. The organisers and participants have told me that they will be participating in ceremonies of remembrance and that their march has been organised in such a way that it will not impact on that. The truth is that the Government are attempting to draw the police into taking political sides in a very contentious matter in the country. There are millions of people who want a ceasefire. We are on a dangerous slippery slope, because the operational independence of the police to protect the right of assembly —the basic English right of liberty—is being challenged by the Home Secretary. She is not fit to hold that post, is she?
Chris Philp
I do not accept that characterisation. I am sure all of us—[Interruption.] Excuse me, Mr Speaker; I have a bit of a cold this morning. We all accept the right to protest, which, as the hon. Gentleman says, long predates the European convention on human rights. There are limits to that right concerning public order, incitement to racial hatred and so on, and it is for the police to police those laws, but it is reasonable for politicians to hold them to account for doing that, as many politicians on both sides quite rightly do.
Sir Chris Bryant (Rhondda) (Lab)
The fact that only two Conservative MPs have turned up to defend the Home Secretary shows that she has already lost the support of the House. The Minister is absolutely right when he says that there is no place for hate on our streets, but is not the truth of the matter that there is no place for hate in the Home Office either, and the problem with the present Home Secretary is that she is the person inciting hatred in this country? The Minister is right that it is perfectly fair for us to have scrutiny of the police, but that normally comes after an operational event, not before it. Is it not the case that this Home Secretary is really trying to command the police, which breaches every single understanding we have historically had of the operational independence of the police?
Chris Philp
I am slightly concerned that the hon. Gentleman said that there are only two Conservative Members in the House, when it is clear there are a great deal more than that—[Interruption.] Given his—
Mr Speaker
Order. I do not want to get into a tizzy about counts. I will help with a little clarification: there are more Conservative Members here, but only two have spoken. I think that was the point.
Chris Philp
That was not quite how it came across from the hon. Gentleman’s comment, but I will move on—
Mr Speaker
Order. We all have a judgment, and I have made mine.
Chris Philp
Which of course I accept without hesitation or reservation, as I always do.
I agree that hatred has no place on our streets and I have said that repeatedly, but this is an unfolding event. The hon. Gentleman talked about what happens after the event, but these protests have been going on for four weeks now. The Home Secretary was not commenting entirely before the events; she was also commenting after events that have been unfolding over the last four weeks, which have included 188 arrests and a number of communities, both Muslim and Jewish, but particularly the Jewish community, feeling very uneasy. It is reasonable for the Home Secretary to try to ensure that communities feel safe and protected, and that is what she was trying to do.
Ian Paisley (North Antrim) (DUP)
When women were treated brutally and unjustly by the Metropolitan police in this city in the wake of the Sarah Everard murder, Members came, correctly, to criticise the police, inside this House and out, for their failure and for their brutality. I remember people on the Opposition Benches calling on the Government to be more brutal on the police at that point. The hand-wringing hypocrisy and the pant-wetting that we are seeing over someone correctly criticising the police is amazing. I have witnessed Irish nationalists and republicans, who the Home Secretary referred to in her article, running too quickly to the support of Hamas, to Colombian terrorists, to Hezbollah and a whole host of others. The Home Secretary is correct to call that out and to say it as she sees it, and this House is right to back her.
Chris Philp
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his words. He is right to point out those examples where Members of this House, particularly on the Opposition Benches, have in the past criticised the police. No one on those occasions claimed that those criticisms impinged on the operational independence of the police; they were simply holding the police to account, as politicians on both sides are entitled to do. I am grateful to him for reminding the House of those previous occasions when Opposition Members have exercised their prerogative to hold the police to account.
Florence Eshalomi (Vauxhall) (Lab/Co-op)
I am thinking of the number of times I have spoken to criticise and call out the police for their behaviour in things that they have got wrong, but we are seeing the Home Secretary blatantly interfering with the operational day-to-day decisions of the police. We have to call that out; the police have to be independent. I have lost count of the number of people our Home Secretary has demonised, be they LGBT people, homeless people or minorities. Why? Why is there so much hate spewing from her? The organisers of the march have said that it does not coincide with Remembrance Day. Will the Minister correct that and stop conflating the two issues?
Chris Philp
I do not accept the hon. Lady’s characterisation; it is both unfair and unintentionally inaccurate. There are all kinds of risks that the police will have to manage on Saturday if the march goes ahead, including the risk that groups break away, which did in fact happen last Saturday—a group broke away and ended up in Trafalgar Square, where they set off fireworks, and 11 police officers were assaulted. Those are the kinds of risks that will have to be managed by the police on Saturday. That is not an easy job, but I am sure that the police have the House’s full support in doing it.
Samantha Dixon (City of Chester) (Lab)
The shadow Home Secretary’s question was whether the Minister could confirm that the Home Secretary’s intervention to undermine the operational independence of the police was signed off through the normal No. 10 process and therefore has the support of the Prime Minister. The Minister said that he has no sight of that, so what will he do to furnish the House with an answer to that question?
Chris Philp
I am afraid that communications between other Members of the Government are not a matter for me. I am responsible for policing, delivering record police numbers and falling crime. That is my job and I am doing it.
Jeff Smith (Manchester, Withington) (Lab)
Does the Minister agree with the Home Secretary that
“senior police officers play favourites when it comes to protesters”?
Chris Philp
It is up to the police to apply the law. It is important that the police apply the law even-handedly, and that is what I am sure all Members of the House want them to do.
Rachel Hopkins (Luton South) (Lab)
Words matter, so in the Home Secretary’s absence, can the Minister explain in what way protest marches in the UK relating to Israel and Gaza are “disturbingly reminiscent of Ulster”, and does he agree?
Chris Philp
That is not directly germane to the protests on Saturday. We have seen all kinds of protests in Ulster over the years—dissident Republicans among others. What we need to do is ensure that London’s streets are safe, and that we do not have an atmosphere of fear or intimidation, and that is what we expect the police to deliver.
UK Sanctions Regime: Russia and Belarus
(6 months ago)
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Stephen Doughty (Cardiff South and Penarth) (Lab/Co-op)
(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs if he will make a statement on the effectiveness of the implementation of the UK sanctions regime against Russia and Belarus.
The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Mr Andrew Mitchell)
The sanctions regime is dealt with by the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, my right hon. Friend the Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Anne-Marie Trevelyan), but I shall do my best to answer this most important question posed by the hon. Member for Cardiff South and Penarth (Stephen Doughty).
Sanctions are an important tool that we use to weaken Putin’s war effort and to underline our unyielding support for Ukraine. Britain alone has sanctioned more than 1,800 individuals and entities under the Russia sanctions regime, more than 1,600 of which have been sanctioned since Putin’s full-scale invasion. Although I cannot comment on individual cases, we are pleased that the High Court has in recent weeks recognised the Foreign Office’s expertise on deciding which persons should be sanctioned to ensure maximum effect.
We have frozen over £18 billion-worth of Russian assets through designations and over 60% of Russia’s central bank foreign reserves—assets that can no longer be funnelled back to Russia to fund its war machine. Rather than the surplus that the Russian Government predicted for 2022, Russia suffered an annual deficit of £47 billion—the second highest of the post-Soviet era. Its budget remains in deficit in 2023, despite tax increases. We have also targeted those who have enabled sanctioned persons to hide their assets in obscure and complex financial networks, and we are working to crack down on phoenix companies, which continue to operate after sanctions are imposed or which are developing fronts to avoid sanctions.
Just yesterday, we imposed 29 further sanctions targeting individuals and entities operating in and supporting Russia’s gold, oil and strategic sectors—critical sources of revenue for the Russian war machine. Those sanctions include Russia’s largest gold refiner, as well as international networks propping up Russia’s gold, oil and finance industries.
Our co-ordinated sanctions, working in line with our G7 partners, are having an impact. Without our sanctions and those of our partners, we estimate that Russia would have over $400 billion more to fund its war machine. We are starving Putin of the resources he needs to fund his illegal war on Ukraine. Sanctions are thwarting Russian access to western components and technology. Russia’s budget remains in deficit. Our oil price cap has contributed to a fall of 25% in Russian oil revenues between January and September 2023, compared with the same period in 2022, and our export bans have starved Russia of thousands of products needed for the battlefield.
His Majesty’s Government are fully aware, as Members will be, that sanctions are not static. We are constantly monitoring to see where and if they are being circumvented. Alongside our international partners, we are closing loopholes and tackling sanctions evasion, as Putin desperately scrambles to restructure the Russian economy and smuggle goods in through back channels. We will continue to isolate Russia’s financial system and support businesses that are seeking to divest from their links with Russia. We will bring forward further legislation in the coming weeks to deliver on our G7 commitments and further deprive Russia of lucrative remaining revenue sources, including banning imports of Russian diamonds and ending all imports of Russian copper, aluminium and nickel—
Mr Speaker
Order. I have tried coughing; I have tried different ways of indicating that the Minister is almost a minute over. We need to get speeches better timed in future to three minutes. I am sure he is coming to the end immediately.
Mr Mitchell
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Finally, we will continue to combat circumvention and seek to degrade Russia’s military capabilities by coming down hard on sanctions evaders and closing loopholes.
Mr Speaker
For the record, I want to say that we had a bit of drift over earlier. We are back in a new Session. The rules are quite clear: the time limit is three minutes for the Minister, and for those who have tabled the question, it is two minutes. Please adhere to it. Do not take advantage of the Chair, because you are taking advantage of the people I represent: they are called Back Benchers.
Stephen Doughty
I thank the Minister for his response. He will know that there is unity across the House in standing with Ukraine, but there are serious concerns about the effectiveness of our sanctions regime. Almost two years have passed since Putin began this phase of his illegal and barbaric invasion of Ukraine, but on Monday, it was revealed by The Times that a British company has allegedly continued to ship semiconductors to Russia since Putin’s war began and that these have been identified within at least one Russian tank deployed in the conflict against Ukraine. It also reported that the company only stopped shipping to its Russian distributor after the bank refused to process payments for these exports. There are clearly serious deficiencies in the implementation of our regime that must be addressed. I had these raised with me on my recent visit to Kyiv, and I draw attention to my declaration of interests.
I would like clarity from the Minister on a number of key points. Can he confirm whether there are loopholes within our regime that continue to allow for materials to be exported to Russia and Belarus that could be used in the production of military items? Why do those omissions still exist, and what steps are being taken to deal with them?
Secondly, can he set out what assessment has been made by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Treasury of the existence of alleged loopholes that allow indirect imports into UK markets of Russian or Belarusian origin steel, or indeed Russian origin crude oil that has been refined in third countries? These are very serious allegations.
Thirdly, City AM revealed this week that nearly 130 UK companies have admitted breaching Russia-related sanctions as a result of a freedom of information request by the law firm Pinsent Masons. It is good that those companies have come forward voluntarily, but it shows the scale of the problem.
Finally, according to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, only one financial penalty has been issued regarding a sanctions breach within the Russia and Belarus sanctions regimes since February 2022, and only three penalties have been published across all UK sanctions regimes since June 2021. That compares very unfavourably with the United States and other allies, which have been issuing fines and dealing with this issue. Labour stands unshakeably with our allies in providing military, economic, diplomatic and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine in the face of Putin’s illegal invasion, but that must include a robust sanctions regime.
Mr Mitchell
I thank the hon. Gentleman very much for his comments—I know the revelations in the British media to which he referred at the beginning of his remarks. I will write to him today on some of the technical points he has raised, giving him a very specific answer. On the general point he has made, I can tell him that Britain has prohibited the export to Russia of thousands of products, including semiconductors, and our trade with Russia is down over 96% from pre-invasion levels. We are also providing advice to UK businesses on how to identify methods of circumvention and have shared a list of products of particular concern that could end up on the battlefield.
Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)
I thank my right hon. Friend for the update, but he will probably be aware that there are backdoor routes that are leading to technology ending up in Russia. The most prevalent of those is British universities supplying technology to Iran that ends up on drones, which are then used by Russia to attack the brave Ukrainians. Will he undertake to investigate this practice and put a stop to it, and to apply appropriate sanctions accordingly?
Mr Mitchell
My hon. Friend accurately identifies dangers to the sanctions regimes that can cause them to be circumvented. We are, I think, good at identifying and closing down such dangers, but I should make it clear to him that UK sanctions prohibit a range of activities related to the movement of prohibited items to and from Russia, both directly and indirectly. In that context, I will consider carefully the point that my hon. Friend has made.
Peter Grant (Glenrothes) (SNP)
I thank the Minister for his answer. The SNP welcomes the extension of sanctions against the Russian regime, but we still think more needs to be done. For example, are there any plans to extend the sanctions that are currently in place against Hamas and other terrorist organisations operating in the middle east, which we know are forging closer and closer links with Putin and his criminal terrorist networks? In particular, the United States has already sanctioned a number of Hamas representatives and people close to Hamas operating in different countries in the middle east. Do the Minister and the Government have any plans to follow suit and sanction those same individuals?
The Foreign Affairs Committee recently described the UK Government’s efforts to sanction individuals and organisations linked to Russia’s Wagner terrorist group as “underwhelming in the extreme”. What action do the Government intend to take in response to that report, so that organisations such as Wagner and those who run them are effectively sanctioned? We know that Ukraine has imposed sanctions on the former KGB intelligence officer Alexander Lebedev. Do the UK Government have any plans to follow suit?
Mr Mitchell
I thank the hon. Gentleman very much for his comments. We do not give routine updates or a running commentary on sanctions, but he may rest assured that we are looking at Hamas in every respect. He drew attention to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee’s report; as he will know, we recently announced sanctions—both direct and indirect—against Wagner. While we are careful not to discuss specific cases, we take all potential breaches very seriously, and all businesses that are registered in the UK are bound by law to comply with the Russia sanctions regime.
Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD)
The Minister has given us a very informative statement. I am very interested in this business of intellectual knowledge getting to Russia via third parties. Can I take it that His Majesty’s Government have contacted and spoken with the vice-chancellors and principals of our academic institutions the length and breadth of the UK to advise them how this must be stopped?
Mr Mitchell
I thank the hon. Member for his comments about my informative—but overlong, Mr Speaker—answer to this urgent question, and I can assure him that we deal with all relevant areas. The point he makes about academic areas is a very good one, and we will make sure that that is fully taken into account.
Business of the House
(6 months ago)
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Lucy Powell (Manchester Central) (Lab/Co-op)
Will the Leader of the House give us the business for next week?
The Leader of the House of Commons (Penny Mordaunt)
The business for the week commencing 13 November will be:
Monday 13 November—Continuation of the debate on the King’s Speech, on building an NHS fit for the future.
Tuesday 14 November—Continuation of the debate on the King’s Speech, on securing high, sustained economic growth in every part of the country.
Wednesday 15 November—Conclusion of the debate on the King’s Speech, on reducing serious violence and violence against women and girls, and raising confidence in policing and the criminal justice system.
Thursday 16 November—Debate on the reports of the Speaker’s Conference on the employment conditions of Members’ staff, followed by a general debate on COP28.
Friday 17 November—The House will not be sitting.
The provisional business for the week commencing 20 November will include:
Monday 20 November—Remaining stages of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill.
Tuesday 21 November—Second Reading of the Media Bill.
Wednesday 22 November—My right hon. Friend the Chancellor will make his autumn statement, followed by a debate on the autumn statement.
Thursday 23 November—Continuation of the debate on the autumn statement.
Friday 24 November—The House will not be sitting.
The provisional business for the week commencing 27 November will include:
Monday 27 November—Conclusion of the debate on the autumn statement.
Lucy Powell
So there we have it: confirmation that the Government have given up on governing. The Prime Minister’s first and likely only King’s Speech, and what should be his moment of maximum power and authority—yet it was not, because he is too weak, he has no burning agenda, he cannot escape his Government’s own record and he certainly cannot be the change the country is crying out for. The verdict is in: “thin gruel”, “damp squib”, “dull as ditchwater”, “a series of gimmicks”, and a Prime Minister who had
“already checked out, his wheelie was at the door”.
Those are not my words, but those of Conservative Members. The Leader of the House knows it and they know it: yet another failed reset. They are out of ideas and out of road—“drifting to defeat”, as one has put it today.
The programme is so thin it is embarrassing. Of the few Bills announced, five are carry-overs, four are barely longer than a page, three we have seen before and the flagship crime Bill has already been shelved. Despite the big issues facing our country, the Government’s answers are so small. There is nothing to tackle the cost of living crisis, just a Prime Minister deluded that everything is going great, and even getting his own figures wrong. There is nothing on NHS waiting lists or mental health, despite a Bill being promised many times. Education has been consigned to lofty ambitions years away. There is nothing of substance on transport, despite Network North being the Prime Minister’s last big reset—another flunk. However, the Government have found time for the regulation of pedicabs and a Bill to make it easier to sack doctors. Do the Government really think that sacking doctors is the solution to an NHS crisis?
Other Bills are political stunts, not fixing problems. Take North sea gas and oil. Can the Leader of the House confirm that we already have regular North sea licensing and that it has not prevented the worst cost of living crisis in generations? Can she also confirm that, in the midst of that crisis driven by energy bills, the grand offer of this King’s Speech is a Bill that, by the admission of the Energy Secretary, will do absolutely nothing about bills? The only way to bring down bills and get energy security is by going further and faster on cheap renewables. Instead, this Government are retreating and spending billions subsidising gas, the price of which is set globally anyway. It is politics first, country second.
Then there is the so-called flagship crime Bill—a Bill that has had to go back to the drawing board. The Prime Minister is too weak to stand up to his Home Secretary, who wants to criminalise giving homeless people tents because she thinks it is a lifestyle choice—despicable. We all know what she is up to; it is naked. Instead of sacking her, the Prime Minister cowers next to her. He is cowering next to her today, too. She is out of control. She is utterly irresponsible, undermining the police while stoking up division ahead of a difficult and important weekend. She is unhinged. Does the Leader of the House agree with the Home Secretary that police officers are playing favourites in this case? But the Prime Minister is so weak that he cannot rein in the Home Secretary. He is so weak that he could not even get his own ideas into his own King’s Speech—
Mr Speaker
Order. I do not like the term “unhinged”. I understand that tensions are running very high, but I want us to try to moderate our language.
Lucy Powell
I will withdraw that, Mr Speaker, and I will ask my questions instead.
Nutrient neutrality has been dropped to avoid another embarrassing defeat. Whatever happened to the motorists Bill, briefed several times as the Prime Minister’s big idea? It is nowhere this week. The ban on conversion therapy? Dropped.
One of the Prime Minister’s pet projects did make it into the King’s Speech though: a Bill on autonomous vehicles. But the joke being made on the Tory WhatsApp groups is that it is their own Government that is the driverless car. I can tell the Leader of the House that Labour is revving up. There is much that we would do. We would bring in a fiscal responsibility lock, so that mortgage payers never again pay the price of Conservative failure. We would ban water bosses’ bonuses and clean up our rivers; end non-dom tax breaks and have more doctors and teachers; change planning laws to build more affordable homes; levy a proper windfall tax; and set up GB energy. We would make work pay, legislate for proper leasehold reform and rights for renters, tackle crime and violence against women and girls, introduce a skills and growth levy, and pass real rail and bus reform—the list goes on.
The Prime Minister was right about one thing: this country needs change. But his programme offers more of the same: weakness, failure, political stunts and division. This Government have given up on governing and are preparing for jobs in opposition, but take it from me: Opposition is not all it is cracked up to be. It is a privilege to have the power of Government and a majority in this place. Is not the biggest travesty of all that they do not even want it any more?
Penny Mordaunt
I start by thanking you, Mr Speaker, all Members and all staff of this House for making the State Opening and the King’s first Gracious Address to Parliament so successful.
I know that many right hon. and hon. Members will be taking part in remembrance services across the nation and overseas this weekend. Medals proudly worn by our veterans are not just thanks from a grateful nation; they are a message for the rest of us. We should remember their service and sacrifice, but also the lessons that made their service and sacrifice both necessary and possible. This weekend, as we attend services and lay wreaths beside memorials, we should reflect on how best to honour them and the freedoms we enjoy because of them, and protect their precious legacy.
The shadow Leader of the House started by talking about the cost of living. I am sorry that, as she did so, she did not recognise that this week we have paid out £2.2 billion in cost of living payments and that 99% of households eligible for the cost of living payment have already received it from this Government. I disagree with the hon. Lady, because I do not think that our cost of living issues are remotely helped by lessening our energy security, which is why we are bringing forward the Bill and why I ask her party to support it. It is not at all incompatible with investing in renewable energy and clean technology.
The hon. Lady is rather fond of criticising both our record and our plans for this Session, so it might be helpful to get the scores on the doors. She believes that our 43 Bills, 1,000 statutory instruments and record number of private Members’ Bills—24—passed in the third Session of this Parliament is a shabby record. I point out to her that only in two of the 13 parliamentary Sessions between 1997 and 2010 were more Bills put through than we put through in the last Session. In the last Sessions of Labour Administrations, the average number of Bills brought forward was 21. The hon. Lady cannot justify her charge against us about the amount we have got done. She might be relying on the time it took us—it did take us less time than we had allocated to pass a lot of that legislation and to do Government business—but that is not really a problem for those on the Government Benches; it is a more a problem for those on the Opposition Benches, although I have no complaints about that. Those on the Government side of the House have been pulling their weight, even in Opposition day debates—in debates on school safety and animal welfare, for example, there were more Conservative speakers than Opposition speakers.
Let me go into the specific points that the hon. Lady raised. On tents, the Home Secretary has no plans to ban Millets—we are not doing that. The Government have made the largest investment ever in tackling homelessness and rough sleeping, providing £2 billion to accelerate its mitigation and prevention, including preventing 640,000 people from becoming homeless in the last five years.
On conversion therapy, we have a manifesto commitment, and it is still a manifesto commitment. The Secretary of State will keep the House informed on the work she is doing on this important matter.
I was surprised to hear the hon. Lady raise nutrient neutrality. I had hoped she would support our measures, but the Secretary of State will no doubt update the House on the further work he is doing in that area. However, we are bringing forward many measures that will assist more developments to happen, including reforms at the valuation office.
At the heart of the charge the hon. Lady presents are values and the question of who is fit to govern for the people of this country, and I would ask her to undertake just a little self-reflection. She mentioned doctors, but 80% of the medical doctors in the House sit on the Government Benches, while 91% of the veterans in the House sit on these Benches, so I do not think there is a problem with our values, our service or our duty.
Yesterday, outside this place, Just Stop Oil activists held up an ambulance on Waterloo bridge. It was Government legislation, passed in this House, that enabled the police to arrest 40 of those protesters and get the traffic moving—legislation that the hon. Lady blocked, along with reforms to protect the public from strike action.
The hon. Lady supports the regressive tax policies of the London Mayor and the tax and spend policies of the shadow Chancellor, which would saddle every household with an additional £3,000 of tax per annum. The one-time party of “education, education, education” is now the party of “tax education, education, education”—the hon. Lady should think about that for a moment and about the values it represents.
I will take no lectures from a Labour party that puts politics before people. Labour Members talk of change, but I am afraid that the Labour party has not changed at all.
Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (Con)
Yesterday, I hosted the first ever parliamentary reception for Yorkshire Cancer Research—a fantastic charity that has been working for nearly 100 years in the fight against cancer, and not just in Yorkshire. It is a significant funder of research, and we have some very fine research institutions in the north. However, institutions in the north as a whole—the north-east and the north-west, as well as Yorkshire—can do more. Please could we have a debate about research funding and the process by which it is allocated?
Penny Mordaunt
I thank my hon. Friend for the work he is doing. He raises an important point, and if he were to apply for a debate, I am sure it would be well attended. The Department of Health and Social Care invests about £1 billion a year in research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, and that institution welcomes funding applications on any aspect of health research. Its expenditure on cancer research in the last financial year was over £100 million. I thank my hon. Friend for raising this important matter, and I shall draw the attention of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to what he has said.
Deidre Brock (Edinburgh North and Leith) (SNP)
Before her rapid rise to her current role as the Leader of the House, the right hon. Lady briefly served as Minister for Women and Equalities. There is—believe it or not—still such a role in this Tory Government. I raise that because recently there have been some absolutely shocking insights into the Government’s attitudes to women and equalities that give us an opportunity to assess her Government’s record, and—spoiler alert for her—it is grotesque.
First, we had the stomach-churning misogyny in language and behaviour described by witnesses at the covid inquiry. I imagine that even the Leader of the House would find it hard to defend the routine and disgraceful attacks on women in a Government she served. It told us so much. We then had the United Nations rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Oliver De Schutter, telling the right hon. Lady’s Government that their record on poverty was “simply not acceptable” and was violating international laws. That surprises no one who sees the effects of her Government’s cruel policies day in and day out. Then a former Tory chair joined the fray by saying that there was “rot at the heart” of the party she was once so proud to be a member of—a rot at the heart of Government.
What we are talking about is the Tory Government’s values, and those values are not Scotland’s values. Their values suggest that the way to help the homeless is to ban charities from supplying tents to rough sleepers—it is a “lifestyle choice” to be homeless, is it not? Those comments were so misjudged that even the Prime Minister was embarrassed. They have the values that say, “We don’t care if we break international laws on poverty and the human rights of the poorest”, and that women can be dismissed in the foulest way imaginable as a part of normal behaviour. Simon Case, the country’s most senior civil servant, said that he had
“never seen a bunch of people less well-equipped to run a country”.
He should know.
Can we have a debate on the Tory Government’s values and what 13 years under this “brutal and useless” Government have done to progress women and equalities and the interests of the most vulnerable among us in this far from United Kingdom?
Penny Mordaunt
I thank the hon. Lady for her questions. The powerful words this week of Susie Flintham of Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice should give us all pause for thought. That is why the Government have placed professionalism and care of each other at the heart of what we do. We are the first Government to have set up a ministerial human resources function in Whitehall—it is shameful that previously that did not exist. That is also why we are focused on more training and support for MPs, Ministers and officials, and it is why, in my evidence to the Standards Committee, I said that the only way we will make the nation proud of our conduct here is to recognise the responsibility and duty of care we have to each other across the hundreds of organisations that make up the political landscape—Parliament, political parties and Whitehall. The Government and I as Leader of the House take these matters incredibly seriously.
The hon. Lady talked about values and language. I hope that she will have a word with some of her party’s activists, who have intimidated those who stand against her or stand up for their own principles. I point out that, despite by-election losses, the Government did arrive back here with a new MP who sits on our Benches. A little self-reflection about some of the reasons why that MP made that transition would be appreciated.
The hon. Lady wants to talk about values. On women and equalities issues, it is the SNP that has torn the social fabric of the UK with its plans on gender recognition reforms. It is the SNP and the Labour party, which backed the SNP on that, that have backed the anti-free speech Bill that the Scottish Government have been so keen to push. The parties are in coalition together at a local level. Labour would give the SNP powers on foreign affairs and has indulged the First Minister of Wales’s separatist agenda.
The hon. Lady often comes here to say that the Government do not respect devolution. We do respect devolution; it is part of our values. Since the turn of the century, the UK Government have legislated for Scotland more than 200 times with the Scottish Government’s consent. It is the SNP that does not listen to local voices. The party that does not respect local people and local decision making is the SNP, which overrules 50% of councils on planning appeals, did not consult local authorities regarding its council tax policies, and does not pass on funding from the UK Government that is designed for Scotland’s local authorities. I think that our values are fine. The hon. Lady should look to her own party if she wants some improvement.
Mrs Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire) (Con)
Some of the Ukrainians housed in Mid Derbyshire under the Homes for Ukraine scheme are worried about their futures, as their visas are starting to expire. They include school pupils who are uncertain about whether they can continue their education here, attend British universities and receive home student fees and funding. Will the Government make a statement outlining the future of the Homes for Ukraine scheme and how students will be affected?
Penny Mordaunt
Many Members are hosting Ukrainian refugees, and we are acutely aware of how difficult it is for them to plan their lives in the situations that they find themselves in. We will give them as much certainty as we can so that they can start to make decisions about studies or where they might go in a year’s time. My understanding is that they must be given a year’s notice, so many will be given information next spring. I will write to both relevant Departments to flag the point that if we can do anything earlier it would be appreciated.
Paula Barker (Liverpool, Wavertree) (Lab)
The word “economy” was mentioned only once in the King’s Speech. Given that the country faces the highest tax burden since the second world war, not to mention the longest squeeze on wages in 200 years, does that not speak volumes about the Government’s lack of a long-term plan for our economy?
Penny Mordaunt
The hon. Lady will know that the biggest way we can help households is to curb inflation. That is the Chancellor’s priority, and it is why we have exercised restraint on spending. I am sorry that the hon. Lady did not support us in those efforts, but she will not have long to wait for the Chancellor’s autumn statement, which I announced in the business statement.
Dr Luke Evans (Bosworth) (Con)
Could we have a debate on the volunteers who support the Royal British Legion? I am lucky enough to be the honorary president of the Royal British Legion in Hinckley, 100 years since its formation, and my predecessor but three was also its honorary president. I have seen the work of the likes of Elaine Ward, who has been collecting for the poppy appeal for 50 years. I will be there in Hinckley on Friday. Could we have a debate about how magnificent this charity really is?
Penny Mordaunt
I am sure I speak for all Members of the House by thanking the hon. Gentleman for enabling us all to send our thanks to the Royal British Legion and its army of volunteers who assist all year round, not just during the poppy campaign. If we were to have a debate, it would be well attended and very long, because the work it does is tremendously diverse, helping families as well as veterans and serving members of the armed forces.
Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)
This summer I welcomed to Parliament teachers from Oldfield Park Infant School and Twerton Infant School. They told me how they were struggling with staff shortages, underfunding and an increasingly unmanageable workload. In the south-west, teacher vacancies have risen by 175% in the last five years. So far, the Government have committed only to a fraction of the recommended £15 billion needed for catch-up education. Can we have a debate in Government time to get to the bottom of the considerable underfunding of schools?
Penny Mordaunt
As the hon. Lady knows, we have protected the schools budget and increased the number of teachers substantially—I think we have an additional 30,000 since 2010. Clearly, recruitment is an issue in certain parts of the country. There have been a number of campaigns through local authorities to attract teachers from particular disciplines into areas that do not have enough of them. I will write to the Secretary of State on the hon. Lady’s behalf and ask her whether she and her Department could share some best practice with the hon. Lady and her local authority.
Ben Everitt (Milton Keynes North) (Con)
The Leader of the Opposition recently said that he would bulldoze local protests and opposition in order to build millions more homes, which has folk in my patch worried. Is there some way of finding Government time to have a debate to show that there always needs to be local consent and engagement to build the homes that we need? We need those homes to be affordable, proportionate, sustainable and appropriate.
Penny Mordaunt
I thank my hon. Friend for raising that important point. It is important to respect local decision making. We know from the neighbourhood planning forums we helped to establish that quite often they are more ambitious about building homes in their area than their own local authorities. We are on track to meet our manifesto commitment of 1 million new homes in this Parliament. Since 2010, we have delivered over 2.2 million homes, with millions moving into home ownership. Through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023, we are also improving the planning process. At the heart of it, I am very happy to say, we still have local people and local decision making.
Ian Mearns (Gateshead) (Lab)
Last Saturday I had the privilege of attending the launch of the north-east Field of Remembrance, run by the Royal British Legion, in Saltwell Park in my constituency. Will the Leader of the House join me in thanking and congratulating the Royal British Legion on an excellent ceremony? Saltwell Park is a massively brilliant venue for our north-east Field of Remembrance. I was also wondering how soon we might get an announcement that will lead to the recommencement of the Backbench Business Committee in this Session of Parliament.
Penny Mordaunt
First of all, I am very happy to join the hon. Gentleman in congratulating the Royal British Legion in his constituency on all the work they do all year round, but particularly at this time of year. I have been prodding my colleagues with regard to his request, and I hope to have some news for him this afternoon.
Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)
This weekend, the nation will fall silent to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the great war, the second world war and other conflicts. Next weekend at the Cenotaph, the Association of Jewish Ex-servicemen and Women will conduct its annual march. That will be a really important security operation for the Metropolitan police. Last year, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Cheltenham (Alex Chalk) became the first ever Minister to lay a wreath at that service. Will my right hon. Friend allow a debate in Government time on the contribution made by Jewish ex-servicemen and women, and will she prevail on the Defence Secretary or a Defence Minister to attend the service and lay a wreath?
Penny Mordaunt
I thank my hon. Friend for raising that very important point. It is right that we mark the contribution of all ex-servicemen and women. He mentions the—I think 120,000—Jewish servicemen who fought in world wars with our British armed forces. These are incredibly important events, and 19 November coincides with Mitsvah Day, a day when the Jewish community around the country will be supporting local charities and communities—another example of the service they give to their communities and this nation. I am very happy to ensure that there is ministerial attendance at that event. That tradition should continue. I cannot tell him which Minister, but I shall make sure that all relevant Departments remember the request.
Charlotte Nichols (Warrington North) (Lab)
The Leader of the House has assured the House time and again that it is the intention of the House of Commons Commission and herself to bring forward measures on risk-based exclusions, which we were meant to debate before the summer recess. It is now November. I am sure the right hon. Lady is bored of being asked this question, but not as bored as I am of having to keep asking it. With yet more recent reports alleging serious misconduct while measures to address them appear to be kicked into the long grass, when will time be found to discuss how to ensure Parliament is a safe workplace and to restore our reputation with the public?
Penny Mordaunt
When either the Committees of this House or the Commission bring forward proposals to be debated on the Floor of the House, we find time very swiftly—usually within a week. We did debate the proposals before the summer recess and there were some very legitimate comments from Members. The hon. Lady took part in that debate herself, if I remember correctly. The Commission is considering these things and as soon as it has finalised a proposal we will, just as we always have, bring it back to this House.
Nick Fletcher (Don Valley) (Con)
Since my election, I have liaised closely with the Environment Agency and City of Doncaster Council to ensure that we never again see as many flood victims as we saw in 2019. Storm Babet resulted in the flooding of 15 properties; far more were flooded in 2019. While that is an undoubted success and a testament to the hard work of the agency and the council, we in Doncaster are now being penalised for that success. For those 15 households who did suffer flooding, it is still a disaster, so may we hold a debate on my proposal that the Government’s excellent compensation scheme for flood victims should apply to all areas, not just those where a minimum of 25 properties are affected?
Penny Mordaunt
I am very sorry to hear about those households, and my sympathies go out to all who have been affected. I am pleased to hear that the floods have had less impact than in previous years. That is a very good development, but of course it is of no comfort to those who have suffered. I would encourage my hon. Friend’s local authority to contact the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities if it thinks that it is able to meet the criteria for support. I understand that the Department is open to listening and working with councils so that they receive proper support, and I think they have until late January next year to provide information on those criteria, but I will certainly ensure that the Secretary of State has heard my hon. Friend’s advocacy for the 15 flooded households in his constituency.
Jon Trickett (Hemsworth) (Lab)
The overwhelming majority of people in Yorkshire are proud and patriotic, love their families, and work hard. How can it be, then, that families had to approach food banks 75,000 times last year in order to feed their children? That is shameful, and doubtless it was in the UN rapporteur’s mind when he said that our country was in breach of its international treaty obligations under the international covenant on economic, social and cultural rights. May we have a debate about child poverty in Government time, and will the Leader of the House arrange for a Government Law Officer to be present to tell us what their legal defence is for the position in which the Government have put us?
Penny Mordaunt
This is an important matter, and one that the Government take extremely seriously. That is why we have a package of more than £90 billion to support people through these cost of living strains, and it is why we are working to combat and mitigate the causes. What is happening internationally has placed immense strain on our fuel prices and so forth. I think that we should debate these matters, and I hope that we debate them in all parts of the UK. I am sure that if the hon. Gentleman applied for a debate, it would be well attended. He might also like to read the Senedd’s report on the Welsh Labour Government’s track record on child poverty, which is out this week: I think he would find it an eye-opening read.
Anna Firth (Southend West) (Con)
Speeding and antisocial driving continue to blight Chalkwell and Leigh-on-Sea, with boy racers using illegal exhausts hurtling down our seafront at all times of the day and night. Even our local legend Linda Catling, who, despite being partially sighted, regularly knits woollen postbox toppers and has now created a speed camera topper, is considering moving out of Marine Parade owing to the dangerous driving. Given that road crime, including speeding, kills more people in Essex than all other crimes put together, may we please have a debate in Government time on speeding and antisocial driving?
Penny Mordaunt
I thank my hon. Friend for giving a plug to Linda Catling. I will have to google her knitted speed camera post box toppers—they sound very interesting indeed—and we send our best to her. I also thank my hon. Friend for raising such an important point. As she will know, one of the Bills that we announced in the King’s Speech will hopefully lead to much greater road safety in years to come, and I hope she will support that Bill as it makes its way through the House.
Andrew Western (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)
Last weekend, the Home Secretary turned her damaging and divisive rhetoric on the homeless, describing homelessness as a “lifestyle choice” and suggesting that her Government should prioritise stripping homeless people of their tents and fining the charities that provide them with that shelter. Although I am relieved that this disgraceful proposal did not make it into the King’s Speech, could I ask the Leader of the House to take this opportunity to apologise for her colleague’s callous remarks?
Penny Mordaunt
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. I have already given some statistics on this Government’s record on tackling homelessness, in terms of finance and how many people we have prevented from becoming homeless. Our Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 has already ensured that more than 6,000 people have been prevented from becoming homeless. I am here to answer for the Government’s record and the Government’s agenda, and I have.
Ian Paisley (North Antrim) (DUP)
Mr Speaker, may I, too, thank you and your staff for all the hard work that was done to make the state opening such a magnificent occasion? It was exceptional, as usual.
Since 3 November, I have been inundated with correspondence and calls both from my own constituents and from constituents who should be represented by MPs who unfortunately boycott this place. Cystic fibrosis kills far too many young people across the United Kingdom. According to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance, while Orkambi, Symkevi and Kaftrio are
“clinically effective treatments with important benefits”,
they are too expensive to be recommended for use. Such a decision robs suffering children and their parents of the hope of life. Does the Leader of the House think the four-week consultation is adequate so that representations can be made to see these drugs extended to suffering young people across the whole United Kingdom in order to save lives and give hope to parents?
Penny Mordaunt
I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising this question, which will be of concern to everyone who has this condition, their carers and their families. He will know that there is a very clear process to ensure the drugs that are available and approved by NICE are both cost-effective and clinically effective. There are appeal processes, and I am sure he will assist his constituents to make representations. Of course, even if a drug is not approved by NICE, patients can, in certain circumstances, still have access to it if it can be shown that the drug would disproportionately benefit that individual.
Dame Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)
Can we please have a statement from the Paymaster General to explain to the House why the very clear and final recommendations made by Sir Brian Langstaff in his report published in April—seven months ago—setting out the need to extend interim payments and to set up a compensation scheme this year, have effectively been trashed by the Government? Is it not shameful that, after setting up a five-year public inquiry and running a parallel compensation review so that the payment of compensation would not drag on for far too long, and with very clear recommendations from a well-thought-of, esteemed former High Court judge, the Government have decided not to implement any of those key recommendations?
Penny Mordaunt
I thank the right hon. Lady for her diligent campaigning on this matter. She rightly notes that the compensation study was set up to run concurrently in order to save time. I know that the Paymaster General is planning some engagement in the coming weeks with the groups that are campaigning. Having raised this at a previous business questions, the right hon. Lady will know that I have also raised it with the Paymaster General. I will make sure that he hears what she has said again today. I can tell her that he is committed to acting as swiftly as possible to ensure that all people, including those who should receive interim payments, do so.
Patricia Gibson (North Ayrshire and Arran) (SNP)
It has recently been announced that the two islands in my constituency, the Isle of Arran and the Isle of Cumbrae, are each to lose their Bank of Scotland branch. Following hard on the heels of that announcement, Brodick post office on the Isle of Arran is also set for closure. Will the Leader of the House make a statement setting out her support for these vital resources for the viability of our communities, especially rural and island communities? Does she agree that it is time to protect, in legislation, these crucial physical services in island and rural communities?
Penny Mordaunt
I am sorry to hear about the potential situation that some of the hon. Lady’s constituents will be in. She will know that the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has made funding available to find solutions to ensure that people have access to banking services or post office services, with those sometimes being run out of other premises. I am not across what might be available in her local area, but I can write to the Secretary of State to ask his officials to contact her office to signpost her to what support is available. Even if stand-alone facilities have to go, that does not mean that the services have to go, and there are some great examples of how those services have been able to continue running across the country.
Stephen Doughty (Cardiff South and Penarth) (Lab/Co-op)
May I, through you, Madam Deputy Speaker, thank Mr Speaker for facilitating the Constituency Garden of Remembrance, at which many of us have been laying memorials this week? I will be placing my own for constituents in Cardiff South and Penarth who have served and been lost or injured over generations of conflicts and wars. I think in particular of the diverse communities who have served—our diverse Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and Jewish communities, and indeed many others, including those from across our Commonwealth. I should also mention our merchant navy, which is specifically remembered on Saturday in Cardiff bay. May we have a debate on the excellent work of not only the Royal British Legion, which has been referred to by a number of Members, but other veterans’ organisations in our constituencies? I think of the work of Woody’s Lodge and the Welsh Veterans Partnership in my constituency, which do so much to support those who have served, often where there have been life-affecting issues. Those organisations do excellent work and it is right that we remember them, as well as all those we have lost.
Penny Mordaunt
I join the hon. Gentleman in thanking the House staff and all Members who have made use of the ways in which we can remember those from our constituencies who have fallen, such as the memorial garden and the service that took place yesterday against the war memorial at the top of the Westminster Hall stairs—it is much appreciated. He has got on the record what I am sure is just a fraction of the incredible organisations in his constituency, and I thank him for doing that. This is one reason why we have set up the Office for Veterans’ Affairs. We want to be able to commission services directly for veterans—something that could not be done as part of the Ministry of Defence. We must ensure that this country is the best place in the world to be a veteran, and I thank all Members who will be taking part in services and saying thank you to their veteran community this weekend.
Neale Hanvey (Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath) (Alba)
A recent ruling by the inner house of the Court of Session in Edinburgh put beyond any doubt that the ill-conceived Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill of the Scottish Government impinges significantly on the Equality Act 2010, the sex-based rights of women and the same-sex rights of lesbian, gay and bisexual people. We have had a debate in Westminster Hall to discuss redefining and having precision in law about the word “sex”. Will the Leader of the House discuss this matter, and the possibility of bringing in legislation to clarify the definition of “sex” in the 2010 Act in the future, with her Equalities and Justice colleagues?
Penny Mordaunt
I know that the Secretary of State is very across this issue, and I think that that judgment was a helpful thing to have taken place. We deeply regret the lack of understanding on these matters about the need—whatever the Governments and Administrations in other parts of the UK wish to do—to bear in mind the social fabric of the UK. Tearing at that social fabric, what it is to be a citizen and the values and norms that we live under is a bad thing. We also need to ensure that we are upholding what is in the 2010 Act. I shall make sure that the Secretary of State has heard what the hon. Gentleman has said.
Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)
I would welcome the Leader of the House’s advice on how to expedite a response from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office for my constituents who are desperate to return home from Kyiv with their newborn son, who was born in September in Ukraine through surrogacy and for whom they are seeking an emergency travel document. I totally understand the importance of completing the passport application process, but my constituents have a vulnerable baby who needs to be cared for at home and a three-year-old back here in the UK who desperately needs her parents back.
Penny Mordaunt
I am sorry to hear about that situation. If the hon. Lady liaises with my office after this session, to give me the details and information about what she has already done, we will give her advice about how we can try to speed the process up for her. As an advert to other Members, the Home Office still offers bespoke surgeries; caseworkers can sit down with them here or online, and go through cases that are stuck in the system.
Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD)
Wick harbour in my constituency suffered damage in the recent storms. If that is not dealt with very fast indeed, it could jeopardise the future use of the harbour. In the same storm, a section of sea defence beside the main railway line from Inverness to the far north fell away, so we had no trains, which are a vital transport link, for a length of time. The Leader of the House might say these are matters for the Scottish Government, but I would argue that they are strategic to the United Kingdom. Further to her previous answer, will she encourage officials at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to speak to the Scottish Government, and possibly the Highland Council, about these issues, so we can get them put right as fast as possible?
Penny Mordaunt
I am sorry to hear about that situation. The hon. Gentleman is right that unless these things are taken care of and mitigated, future bad weather will exacerbate the situation. I will make some inquiries on his behalf. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs may well be able to assist him more than some other Departments. In times of great crisis, we always ensure that the Scottish Government and local authorities across the UK are able to make a request for military aid to the civil authorities, in order to get assistance from UK armed forces to keep our communities safe. I will make some inquiries on behalf of the hon. Gentleman and contact his office.
Peter Grant (Glenrothes) (SNP)
This week, after three years of threatening journalists at The Guardian and elsewhere with legal action, wealthy business tycoons Douglas Barrowman and Michelle Mone finally admitted that they are indeed behind the dodgy covid company PPE Medpro Ltd. The Government have repeatedly promised to outlaw the practice of dodgy lawyers and dodgy clients using the threat of legal action to prevent the freedom of the press from reporting the truth in the public interest. Will the Leader of the House clarify which of the Bills announced in the King’s Speech will fulfil that promise and outlaw the practice once and for all?
Penny Mordaunt
I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising that important point. As someone who has been subject to such threats myself, I think these matters are very important. We did work on this in the previous Session. There is ongoing work in the Ministry of Justice and other Departments to ensure that people are able to whistleblow. In other parts of Government, we have moved to protect individuals who find themselves in different but similar sets of circumstances, particularly relating to issues of employment and sexual harassment.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)
I thank the Leader of the House for answering the business question.
Artificial Intelligence Safety Summit
(6 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology (Michelle Donelan)
With permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I shall make a statement about the Government’s artificial intelligence safety summit.
Today I update the House about a turning point in our history. With 1% of the world’s population, we have built the third largest AI sector. We have rocketed ourselves to a 688% increase in AI companies basing themselves here in less than a decade, and UK AI scale-ups are raising almost double that of France, Germany and the rest of Europe combined. But the sudden and unprecedented growth in the speed and power of artificial intelligence presents unlimited opportunities along with the potential of grave risks, which we cannot ignore.
I truly believe that we stand at a crossroads in human history. To turn the wrong way would be a monumental missed opportunity for mankind, which is why last week presented such a watershed moment. We convened leaders, Ministers, developers, scientists and academics from across the globe to discuss for the first time the risks and opportunities of frontier AI. Although the collection of countries and organisations that came to Bletchley Park was unprecedented, our goal from the start was to leave with tangible outcomes. Let me briefly outline a handful of actions that have resulted from the summit.
First, 28 countries and the European Union, representing the majority of the world’s population, signed up to an unprecedented agreement known as the Bletchley declaration. Despite some claiming that such a declaration would be rejected by many countries in attendance, we agreed that, for the good of all, AI should be designed, developed, deployed and used in a manner that is safe, human-centric, trustworthy and responsible. We agreed on the protection of human rights, transparency and explainability, fairness, accountability, regulation, safety, appropriate human oversight, ethics, bias mitigation, privacy and data protection.
We also agreed to measure, monitor and mitigate potentially harmful capabilities and the associated effects that may emerge—in particular to prevent misuse and issues of control, and the amplification of other risks—and that Turing prize winner Yoshua Bengio, credited as being one of the godfathers of AI, would lead on a state of science report to ensure that, collectively, we stay on top of the risks of frontier AI.
Countries with differing world views and interests, including China, signed the same agreement. Some had said that China would not come to the summit, but it did. They said that, if it does attend, China would never sign an agreement, but it did. Then they said that if China did sign the agreement, it would not agree to continue collaborating in the long term—but it did that as well. That alone would have made the summit a watershed moment in the history of AI safety, but we went further.
We surpassed all expectations by securing an agreement on Government-led testing pre-deployment of the models. This is truly a game changer to help ensure that we can safely harness the benefits of frontier AI while mitigating the risks. To facilitate it, the UK announced that the world-leading frontier taskforce will morph into the world’s first permanent AI safety institute, which will bring together the very best AI minds in the world to research future risks and conduct third-party testing of models.
This is just the start of the journey on AI safety, which is why we have also confirmed funding for the institute for the rest of the decade and secured future AI safety summits to be held in the Republic of Korea in six months’ time and in France in one year’s time, ensuring that the extraordinary pace of international action set by the summit last week is maintained into the future.
None the less, the summit is just one piece in the UK’s overall approach to AI safety. Our White Paper published earlier this year was praised for ensuring that the UK can be agile and responsive as risks emerge. I am sure that Opposition Members will call for a one-size-fits-all “snapshot in time” piece of legislation, but we must ensure that we deepen our understanding of the problem before we rush to produce inadequate legislation.
We also need to ensure that we are quick enough to act, which is why we have taken the steps to ensure that we can keep pace with the development of the technology, with the next set of models being released within six months. AI is the fastest emerging technology that we have ever seen, and we need a system that can identify, evaluate and understand AI to then allow us to mitigate the risks with the right guardrails. That is why it is such an achievement to agree the pre-deployment testing of models; we should not underestimate that achievement.
Companies need to do more too, which is why before the summit we managed to go further than any country ever has. We secured the publication of the main AI companies’ safety policies, along with a catalogue of the possible policies, ensuring transparency and a race to the top, complemented by the recent US executive order. It is also why I have been advocating for responsible capability scaling, which I often refer to as a kind of smoke alarm for AI developers.
The release of ChatGPT not even a year ago was a breakthrough moment for humanity. We were all surprised by the progress. We saw the acceleration of investment into, and adoption of, AI systems at the frontier, making them increasingly powerful and consequential to our lives. These systems could turbocharge our public services, saving lives in the NHS and tailoring education to every child’s needs. They could free people everywhere from tedious work and amplify our creative abilities. They could help our scientists to unlock bold new discoveries, opening the door to a world where one day diseases such as cancer will no longer exist and there will be access to near-limitless clean energy.
But these systems could also further concentrate unaccountable power in the hands of a few, or be maliciously used to undermine societal trust, erode public safety or threaten international security. The British people deserve to know that those who represent them in this place are driving forward the right guardrails and governance for the safe development and deployment of frontier AI systems. I firmly believe that it cannot be left to chance or private actors alone, nor is it an issue for party political squabbling or point scoring.
As we stand here today, what was once considered science fiction is quickly becoming science fact. Just a few years ago, the most advanced AI systems could barely write coherent sentences. Now they can write poetry, help doctors to detect cancer, and generate photo-realistic images in a split second, but with those incredible advances come potentially grave risks, and we refuse to bury our head in the sand. We cannot ignore or dismiss the countless experts who tell us plain and simple that there are risks of humans losing control, that some model outputs could become completely unpredictable, and that the societal impacts of AI advances could seriously disrupt safety and security here at home.
Countries entered the summit with diverse and conflicting views of the world. Some speculated that a deal between the countries invited would be impossible, but what we achieved in just two days at Bletchley Park will be remembered as the moment that the world came together to begin solving an unprecedented global challenge. An international approach is not just preferable, but absolutely essential. Some Members understandably questioned the decision to invite China to the summit, and I do not dismiss the very real concerns and grievances that many on both sides of the House might have had, but a Government who represent the British people must ultimately do what is right for the British people, especially when it comes to keeping them safe. I am firm that it was the right decision for the country in the long term. There simply cannot be a substantive conversation about AI without involving the world’s leading AI nations, and China is currently second in the world in AI.
AI is not some phenomenon that is happening to us; it is a force that we have the power to shape and direct. I believe that we have a responsibility—and, in fact, a duty—to act and to act now. I conclude by taking us back to the beginning: 73 years ago, Alan Turing dared to ask whether computers would one day think. From his vantage point at the dawn of the field, he observed that
“we can only see a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty there that needs to be done.”
For us in this place, there is indeed plenty that needs to be done, but we cannot do it in isolation, so I urge Members across the House to adopt the collaborative, constructive approach that the international community displayed at Bletchley last week. If we in this place put our differences aside on this issue and work pragmatically on behalf of the British people, this new era of artificial intelligence can truly benefit every person and community across the country and beyond. Our summit was a successful step forward, but we are only just getting started. I commend this statement to the House.
Matt Rodda (Reading East) (Lab)
I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of her statement. As we have heard, the opportunities of AI are almost endless. It has the potential to transform the world and deliver life-changing benefits for working people. From delivering earlier cancer diagnoses to relieving traffic congestion or providing personalised tuition to children, AI can be a force for good. It is already having a positive impact in the present: in NHS hospitals such as the Huddersfield Royal Infirmary, AI is being used to help patients, cut waiting lists and save lives. The Labour party wants that technology to be available in every hospital with our fit for the future fund.
However, to secure those benefits we must get on top of the risks and we must build public trust. We welcome the announcements made last week at Bletchley Park. The future summits in South Korea and France will hopefully lead to more agreement between nations about how we make this new technology work for everyone. The AI safety institute will play an important role in making this new technology safe. Labour supports its creation, but we do have some questions. It would be good to hear the Secretary of State explain why the new institute is not keeping the function of identifying new uses for AI in the public sector. As the institute is taking all the AI expertise from the taskforce, it is also unclear who in her Department will carry out the crucial role of identifying how the public sector can benefit from cutting-edge technology.
There are also questions about UK computer capability. The AI safety institute policy paper states:
“Running evaluations and advancing safety research will also depend on access to compute.”
Yet earlier this year, the Government had less computing power than Finland and Italy. Can the Secretary of State update the House on how much of the AI research resource to which the institute will get priority access is available and operational?
Of course, the main task of the institute is to understand the risks of the most advanced current AI capabilities and any future developments. The Prime Minister told the public two weeks ago that,
“AI could make it easier to build chemical or biological weapons. Terrorist groups could use AI to spread fear and destruction on an even greater scale. Criminals could exploit AI for cyber-attacks, disinformation, fraud, or even child sexual abuse.”
Those are stark warnings and demand urgent action from any Government. Keeping the public safe is the first duty of Government. Yet Ministers have chosen not to bring forward any legislation on the most advanced AI. All the commitments that have been made are voluntary, and that creates problems.
For example, if a new company is established with advanced capabilities, how will it be compelled to join the voluntary scheme? What if a company decides it does not want to co-operate any more? Is there a mechanism to stop that happening? The stakes are too high for those questions to remain open, so I look forward to the Secretary of State’s being able to offer us more detail.
There was a space for a Bill on pedicabs in London in the King’s Speech this year, but not for one on frontier AI. Other countries, such as the US, have moved ahead with mandatory regulation for safety and security. It is confusing for the public to hear a Prime Minister on the one hand tell the country that there are dangers to our way of life from AI, but on the other hand say that his Government are in no rush to regulate.
Labour has called for the introduction of binding regulation on those companies developing the most powerful frontier AI because, for us, the security of the British people will always come first. I hope that the Government will now consider taking action and I look forward to the Secretary of State’s response to these points.
Michelle Donelan
I agree with the hon. Gentleman on the importance of building trust among the public, which will also ensure the adoption of AI. In relation to ensuring that we deploy AI throughout our public services, it was this Government who just the other week announced £100 million to accelerate AI in our health missions, and more than £2 million to assist our teachers to spend less time with paperwork and administration and more time in the classroom. We will continue to work hand in hand with the Cabinet Office to ensure that we utilise AI in our public services, but to be able to do that, we must of course grip the risk, which is exactly why we called the summit.
On computing, the hon. Member will be only too aware that the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced earlier this year £900 million for an exascale programme, which we have allocated in Edinburgh. We have also dedicated £300 million—triple the original amount announced—to AI research resource facilities in Cambridge and Bristol, the first of which will come on stream this year.
The hon. Member also referenced the risk document that we published. We were the first Government in the world to be fully transparent with the British public, showcasing the risks that AI could present. That document was produced by scientists and our national security teams.
The hon. Member referenced legislation and regulation. It is not true that we have no regulation; in fact, we have multiple regulators. In the White Paper that we published earlier this year, we set out the principles that they need to work to. We should not minimise what we achieved just last week: that agreement to do testing pre-deployment is monumental. It is—absolutely—the start of a process, not the end. We could have waited and said, “Let’s just do our own piece of legislation,” which would have taken about a year, as he knows, but we do not have a year to wait, because the next set of models will come out with six months. We also need to deepen our understanding of the risks before we rush to legislate, because we believe that we need to better understand the problems before we insert long-term fixed solutions.
We need to concentrate on putting the safety of the British public first, which is what we have done, so that we can seize the limitless opportunities of AI. I hope that the hon. Member will see the foresight that this Government have had in putting that not just on the British agenda but on the agenda of the world.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)
I call the Chair of the Science and Technology Committee.
Greg Clark (Tunbridge Wells) (Con)
May I congratulate the Government on convening the summit and on its success? It is, as the Secretary of State said, a considerable achievement to get the US, the EU and China to agree a communiqué. It was good to have access to the frontier models that the summit agreed. Having future summits, in six months’ time, is also an important step forward.
As the Secretary of State said, the summit focused principally on frontier AI, but it is vital that we can deal with the here-and-now risks of the AI being deployed already. In the White Paper that they published in March, the Government said that they expected to legislate to have regulators pay
“due regard to the principles”
of that White Paper, but such a Bill was missing from the King’s Speech. Meanwhile, in the US, a very extensive executive order has been issued, and the EU is finalising its Artificial Intelligence Act.
Will the Secretary of State think again, in publishing the response to the White Paper, about taking this final opportunity before a general election to ensure that the good intentions and practice of the Government are not inadvertently left behind, with other jurisdictions’ legislation preceding our own and other people setting the rules rather than the United Kingdom setting a framework for the world?
Michelle Donelan
I thank my right hon. Friend for his important question. I think it is right that we do not rush to legislate, because we need to understand properly the risks that we are facing. That is why we have been investing in bringing on board the correct experts, both into Government and into the taskforce that will now morph into the institute. It is why we have also committed not just ourselves but our international partners to producing the “state of the science” reports, so that we can stay up to date with those risks.
Absolutely, we will eventually have to legislate, but as we said in the White Paper that we published earlier this year, we do not need to rush to do that; we need to get the timing right to ensure that we have the right solutions to match those problems. There is a lot that we can do without legislation. We demonstrated that last week by convening the world for collective action to secure pre-model deployment testing, to ensure that we work together to get a better handle on the risks, and to encourage partners such as America to go further, on which we have seen us and them acting in lockstep.
Richard Thomson (Gordon) (SNP)
I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of her statement. The Bletchley declaration provides a baseline and is useful as a starting point, but it will be ongoing engagement that counts as we develop our understanding of the opportunities and threats that AI presents.
I was very taken by the Secretary of State saying that this was not an opportunity for party political point scoring. In that vein, on reflection, does she share my disappointment that the UK Government seemed to actively take steps to exclude the involvement of the devolved Administrations from around these islands from participation in the summit? Any claim that the UK might have to global leadership in AI rests in large part on the work that goes on in all parts of these islands, particularly from a legal, ethical, regulatory and technological perspective. It would have been very valuable had the other Governments that exist on these islands had the opportunity to fully participate in the summit.
While the declaration is a useful starting point, it is the future work on this that will count, so may I have an assurance from the Secretary of State that the UK Government will not seek to curtail again the involvement of devolved Administrations around these islands in future national and international discussions on these matters?
Michelle Donelan
I met my counterpart—and my counterpart from Wales—just days before the summit, but as the hon. Member will appreciate, AI is not a devolved matter, and the people of Scotland were represented by the UK Government.
Katherine Fletcher (South Ribble) (Con)
I thank the Secretary of State for her statement and the frontier taskforce for all the work it has done to produce an important global moment not dissimilar to the COP process. My question is about the AI safety team. In Lancashire we have the National Cyber Force centre coming in Samlesbury, and there is already a big skills base in the region, with GCHQ in Manchester. Can she update me and my constituents on how AI safety will get fed into our national security and how she will work with the National Cyber Force centre?
Michelle Donelan
I know that my hon. Friend is a passionate advocate of cyber-security, which is one key area that we delved into at the summit. It is incredibly important that we maintain cyber-security throughout not just our Government and public services but our businesses, which is why we have been prioritising the area in the UK. I continue to talk to my hon. Friend and other Members about this work.
Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) (Lab)
I thank the Secretary of State for her statement. On her reference to poetry, may I remind her that AI creates nothing? It generates a facsimile of text, but it does not create poetry. On the 400th anniversary of the first folio, that can only be done by this quintessence of dust that we are.
On that point, why were the creative industries excluded from the AI summit, when the Secretary of State knows how bitterly disappointed they were not to be included and how profoundly existential this whole issue is for the creative industries—one of the most successful and fastest growing sectors of our economy? Instead, they have been offered the sop of a side roundtable in the future, which the platforms are not even attending. Will the Secretary of State think again about the importance of including our excellent creative industries in every discussion that the Government have about the future of artificial intelligence?
Michelle Donelan
Because the summit was only two days and was focused on a strategic conversation about frontier and the risks and opportunities, not everybody could be engaged and attend. We had an extensive programme called the road to the summit, where several roundtables were held with the creative industries, and both the Minister for Data and Digital Infrastructure and I attended. The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport led some roundtables as well. We are currently working on a code of practice, bringing together the creative sector and the AI sector, to identify and come up with some of the solutions in this area.
Ben Everitt (Milton Keynes North) (Con)
It was a great pleasure to join the Secretary of State, the Prime Minister, and business and Government leaders from around the world last week at the AI safety summit. Does the Secretary of State agree that Milton Keynes showcased that it was an excellent place to not only hold global events, but to invest in technologies such as AI and robotics?
Michelle Donelan
I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. I could not have thought of a better place to host this international summit than Bletchley Park. It is not just me who thinks so: all of our delegates remarked on how important it was to host it at such a historically significant venue, one so close to the vibrant tech capital of Milton Keynes.
Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD)
The Bletchley Park declaration is indeed to be welcomed. Given the more or less consensual response to the Secretary of State’s statement, it strikes me that taking this issue forward on a cross-party basis is going to be absolutely crucial. There was no mention of legislation in the King’s Speech, and although I partially accept the Secretary of State’s point about the time involved in legislating, Governments of all colours come and go, but this issue transcends those changes. Can we get an undertaking from the Secretary of State that there will be discussions right across the Chamber involving all the parties about where she sees things going and what legislation may have to be looked at in the future, in order to give continuity?
Michelle Donelan
I am more than happy to talk to anybody from around the House, and to convene a meeting with colleagues of all colours to discuss this important area and what the future may hold in terms of responses and action.
Dr Luke Evans (Bosworth) (Con)
It was in 1993 that the world wide web first became accessible to the public, and 30 years on, the world is still grappling with how to regulate and legislate for this industry. I am pleased that we heard from the summit that we are going to have proactive model checking, but I agree with the Chair of the Select Committee, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tunbridge Wells (Greg Clark), that much of this AI technology is already out there—that is the problem. How quickly will the safety institute be set up, and most importantly, how quickly will we see tangible results? Can we learn lessons from the vaccine, and from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency on how legislation and regulation can run alongside innovation in this sector?
Michelle Donelan
In fact, we are learning some of those lessons, because the taskforce itself was modelled on our world-leading vaccine taskforce. As to when the institute will be set up, to all intents and purposes it has already been set up, because it is the next chapter—the evolution—of the existing taskforce. That taskforce has already done research on safety, and has demonstrated to delegates at the summit the full potential of the risks that could be apparent. It has already begun testing those models, and I can assure this House that there will be pre-deployment testing of the models that are going to come out within the next six months.
Stephen Doughty (Cardiff South and Penarth) (Lab/Co-op)
The first folio has been quoted. I would like to quote a more recent famous science fiction series: one Commander Adama, who said,
“You cannot play God then wash your hands of the things that you’ve created.”
I absolutely agree that there are huge opportunities in AI, but we have already heard about the huge risks. The Secretary of State says that we should not rush to legislation, but the truth is that we have often lagged behind in this area—for example, in regulating social media—and we see others moving ahead, including the United States, as we have heard. The EU is also planning legislation by the end of the year. If we are not having legislation, can the Secretary of State at least assure us that an urgent assessment is being made of how hostile states are already weaponising AI for military and other purposes, including information, cyber and hybrid warfare, but also in the chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear spheres? Some hugely worrying stuff is happening out there. Are we urgently assessing it, and deciding how we will respond and defend this country?
Michelle Donelan
Let me pull up the hon. Member on one comment he made, which was about us lagging behind on legislation for social media. We are in fact leading the world with the world’s most comprehensive Bill—now Act—in that area. On the misuse of AI, this is one of the three pillars of risk that we discussed at the summit. The risk documents that we published just before the summit highlighted the fact that AI can amplify existing risks. There are already risks presented by the internet and other technologies in relation to biochemical warfare—they are present today and we are dealing with them. This could potentially amplify that, and we have certainly both talked about that internationally and are working on it domestically. We will be coming back to our White Paper within the year.
Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)
Historically, every revolution at a time of technology leads to threats of job losses—people not having opportunities to work, which is dreadful for people’s lives. However, here we are today with almost full employment in the UK, and there are opportunities for AI to increase that, as well as to make people’s lives easier, improve employment prospects and, indeed, conquer diseases. Will my right hon. Friend set out some of the advantages for the average individual of harnessing artificial intelligence for the benefit of all humankind?
Michelle Donelan
The opportunities from AI are limitless, and they can transform our public services. In fact, that is already happening. We see our doctors detecting cancer earlier, and we see us utilising the technology to try to tackle things such as climate change more quickly. In relation to jobs, my hon. Friend is quite right that AI, like any technology, will change the labour market. If we look back to 1940, we see that 60% of jobs we have now did not actually exist back then. AI will create new jobs, and jobs we cannot even think of, but it will also complement our jobs now, allowing us more time to do the bits of our jobs we actually train to do—for example, assisting teachers to have more time in the classroom and doctors to have more time with patients.
Neale Hanvey (Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath) (Alba)
During the covid pandemic, one of my greatest concerns was the over-reliance on and the promotion of lateral flow devices as a gold standard, as it were, of testing and surveillance. It was all the more frustrating because, during that time, I was aware of domestic businesses that were developing AI models to surveil not just covid, but other viruses, such as Ebola and dengue fever. I had a recent very constructive meeting with Health, which is now on board with AI and looking at domestic diagnostics. Will the Secretary of State meet me to discuss how these businesses can be brought forward as part of a co-ordinated strategy to develop AI testing and prepare effectively for any future pandemic?
Michelle Donelan
I would be more than happy to meet the hon. Member.
Deidre Brock (Edinburgh North and Leith) (SNP)
Sorry, but not only do I not buy the Secretary of State’s excuses for not including devolved Governments in the summit when my constituency alone is bursting with leading fintech, cyber-security and creative organisations, but I do not buy her excuses for not introducing regulation more rapidly. She has said herself that the game-changing ChatGPT was introduced a year or so ago, and the EU is rapidly approaching completion of its first AI Act. Why have her Government once again been caught napping on introducing regulation?
Michelle Donelan
To repeat the comments I made earlier, AI is not a devolved matter, and the people of Scotland were represented by the UK Government—by me and also by the Prime Minister of the UK. In relation to her urging us to do a copycat of EU legislation, may I point out that it was our White Paper that was praised for its innovation and its agility? It has allowed us to attract some of the leading AI companies to set up their first international offices here in the UK, creating the jobs not only of today, but of tomorrow.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)
I thank the Secretary of State for her statement.
Debate on the Address
Making Britain a Clean Energy Superpower
(6 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Claire Coutinho)
It is a pleasure to open today’s King’s Speech debate on behalf of His Majesty’s Government. Throughout history, economies have succeeded when they can source enough cheap and secure energy. Now, as we face a new challenge—the global challenge of climate change—it is important that we source enough clean energy too. We have been a coal superpower and an oil superpower; if the Opposition are looking for a clean energy superpower, they should look no further. Britain today is a clean energy superpower, and our plans will enable us to go much further.
While the Labour party never ceases to talk this country down, I am proud that we are leading the world in this great energy challenge. In the first quarter of this year, 48% of our power came from renewables, up from just 7% in 2010. We are a world leader in offshore wind. We have increased our country’s renewable energy capacity fivefold since 2010—more than any other comparable Government. We are building new nuclear for the first time since Margaret Thatcher’s Government, and this brilliant innovation nation is leading the world in new technologies like small modular nuclear reactors and fusion energy. As recently as 2012, coal was generating 40% of UK electricity, but we are now on course to be one of the first major economies with power that is coal-free.
This work led by the Conservatives is dramatically reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. We have had the fastest reduction in emissions of any major economy, down almost 50% since 1990. Meanwhile France is down 23%, the US has not changed at all, and China has increased its emissions by 300%. And we are not stopping here. Which is the major economy with the most ambitious target to cut emissions by 2030? Is it the US, at 40%? Is it the EU, at 55%? No, it is the United Kingdom at 68%.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
I am very conscious that the net zero targets are set for the United Kingdom, but unfortunately Northern Ireland cannot participate nor can we add our physical support to achieving those targets, because the contracts for difference scheme is not in place in Northern Ireland. I have spoken to our Ministers about this. Will the Secretary of State also look at this on behalf of all the constituents in Northern Ireland who want to contribute to achieving the net zero targets and be part of the contracts for difference scheme?
Claire Coutinho
I will happily look at that.
The UK was the first major economy to set a legally binding date for net zero. Our ambitions for 2030 are ahead of those of our peers and we have the plans in place to meet them. In fact, we have met every single one of our stretching targets to reduce carbon emissions, thanks in no small part to our clean energy success. Labour seems to have conveniently forgotten about the shameful state of our renewables sector when it left office. Just 7% of our power came from renewables in 2010; today, thanks to the actions of the Conservatives, that figure stands at near 50%. Never forget that it was the right hon. Member for Doncaster North (Edward Miliband) who described the idea of the UK getting to 40% renewables as “pie in the sky”.
Edward Miliband (Doncaster North) (Lab)
I had to correct the right hon. Lady’s predecessor on the point she has just repeated. Her mistake is quite basic, confusing electricity and energy. The Guido Fawkes blog—not an institution I often praise—pointed this out when her predecessor made this mistake. What I actually said—it comes from David Laws’ memoirs—was that it was pie in the sky to say we could have 40% of our energy provided by renewables. Currently, the figure is 18%. The Secy of State’s remark is inaccurate and wrong, and I would be grateful if she withdrew it.
Claire Coutinho
I will happily go and look at that, and take that point on board, but I will say that it sticks with the trend of the right hon. Gentleman talking our energy and power down.
Edward Miliband
I will read from David Laws’ memoirs. During the coalition talks, I said,
“all this stuff about getting 40% of energy production”—
energy production—
“from renewables by 2020 is just pie in the sky.”
Energy production from renewables is currently just 18%. I would be grateful if the right hon. Lady corrected the record.
Claire Coutinho
As I said, I will happily look at that, but the right hon. Gentleman has made comments about nuclear—
Edward Miliband
I ask the Secretary of State for the third time. She claims that I said that it was “pie in the sky” that 40% of our electricity could come from renewables. I did not say that, and I have pointed out to her the exact quote, where I talk about 40% of energy coming from renewables. When one has said something inaccurate about another hon. Member in the House, the right thing to do is not to just keep reading the Conservative campaign headquarters lines, but to correct the record.
Claire Coutinho
As I said, I am happy to do the right hon. Gentleman the courtesy of withdrawing on this occasion, but I would also suggest that he correct the record himself about the fact that he said we needed no new nuclear in the past.
Now that I am allowed to move on, let me say that energy security means national security, and that means powering Britain from Britain and making sure we never have to worry again about generating enough power to keep the lights on or heat our homes. We saw what happened last year when Putin weaponised energy, and the full impact his illegal war in Ukraine had on energy bills for households around the world. I am proud that the Government stepped in with an unprecedented level of support, paying around half of people’s energy bills. With continued global instability, I know that households are anxious about the coming winter. That is why we have the energy price guarantee until April 2024 and why we will always protect the most vulnerable in society with targeted support such as the winter fuel payment, cost of living payments and the warm home discount.
Mrs Sharon Hodgson (Washington and Sunderland West) (Lab)
The Secretary of State is talking about energy bills, and thousands of my constituents are really struggling to pay their energy bills and are petrified about what the winter holds. On the media round on Monday, the Secretary of State said there was nothing in this King’s Speech to help people with their energy bills. What will she to say to those thousands of my constituents and indeed other constituents?
Claire Coutinho
The Bill we are bringing forward will unlock billions of pounds in tax, which will go towards helping with the programmes I have just talked about—for example, the cost of living payments we are putting in place. It will also unlock billions of pounds of investment, which will go towards a greener transition, and I am sure the hon. Lady will agree that having more renewable energy in the future will contribute to lower bills for her constituents.
Our leadership is bringing wealth to our economy and to British workers. Since 2010, we have secured £200 billion in low-carbon investments, with potentially up to £375 billion on the way. Carbon capture will see 50,000 high-skilled British jobs in places such as Teesside and the Humber. Our world-leading offshore wind farms will see 90,000 jobs from Aberdeen to Cornwall by 2030. That is the difference between a Conservative Government, focused on attracting businesses, investment and jobs and creating livelihoods, and Labour, with its same old plans to borrow, borrow, borrow, intent on racking up billions of pounds of debt and then just leaving hard-working families to pick up the bill.
Let us look at the record and the Government’s plans to go further. We are a leader in offshore wind power. We do not just have the world’s largest offshore wind farm; we have the second, the third and the fourth largest, and we are now home to the fifth largest too. We expect growth in offshore wind to deliver enough energy to power the equivalent of every home in Britain by 2030 and to support 90,000 jobs. And it is not just offshore wind; it is floating offshore wind too.
We will generate enough solar energy to power 10 million electric vehicles by 2030.
Richard Thomson (Gordon) (SNP)
Will the Secretary of State tell us how much the UK’s offshore floating energy capacity will increase by as a result of the licensing round that has just closed?
Claire Coutinho
I would happily answer that point. The point the hon. Gentleman should understand is that a thriving oil and gas sector unlocks investment in other renewables. There are people interested in floating offshore wind who are part of the oil and gas sector now—the same subsea technology, the same people and the same skills will power our offshore wind and floating offshore wind sectors in the future.
We are also funding eight groundbreaking projects through our £1 billion net zero innovation portfolio to help us harvest the power of the sun from space. Space-based solar could provide clean energy day and night in all weathers and send it wirelessly to the Earth. Madam Deputy Speaker, I think you would agree that that is a superpower in itself.
Meanwhile, hydrogen hubs in places such as Teesside are not only creating the green hydrogen energy of the future, but bringing investment back to areas Labour left behind. By 2030, the sector could support up to 12,000 jobs and unlock up to £11 billion in private investment. However, hydrogen is not the only new technology we are supporting. In the last CfD allocation round, I was delighted to see that we had an unprecedented number of projects supporting emerging technologies such as tidal and, for the first time, geothermal energy.
So our green transition means up to £375 billion of investment and nearly half a million jobs across the UK. Of course, our plans also mean that by 2050 we could see our demand for electricity double, fuelled by our clean energy revolution, so we need to power up our electricity grid. I have made that my priority, and that is why I am ending the first come, first served approach to grid connections by raising the bar to enter the queue and ensuring that those who are ready first will connect first.
We will set out the UK’s first ever spatial plan to give industry certainty and every community a say, and we will speed up planning for the most nationally significant projects coming forward with our response to electricity networks commissioner Nick Winser’s review coming shortly. Those plans alone could unlock £240 billion of investment and support 130,000 jobs.
I turn to carbon capture and storage. We are investing £20 billion to make the most of our natural advantages in skills and geology. We have announced the first eight carbon capture networks that we will take forward, which are in the north-east, the north-west and Wales, and the next two carbon capture clusters, which are in north-east Scotland and Humberside. Those announcements put us on track to achieve between 20 million and 30 million tonnes of captured and stored carbon dioxide a year, which is equivalent to taking 4 million to 6 million cars off the road each year from 2030. Our plans will support 50,000 jobs by 2030 and add £5 billion to the economy by 2050. What is more, with 78 billion tonnes of potential storage in the continental shelf, the UK has the potential to become one of the greatest carbon storage bases in the world, thanks to the geological goldmine we are lucky to have on our doorstep.
Renewables are not always predictable, as they rely on the British weather—and, sadly, we have yet to develop a technology that can harness all of Labour’s hot air. That is why we are ramping up nuclear to help us become a clean energy superpower. The right hon. Member for Doncaster North, who for years sat at Gordon Brown’s side, did nothing to boost British nuclear, and other Labour Front-Bench Members have been naive enough to say that we do not need nuclear. We on the Government Benches are righting their wrongs. Earlier this year, we set up Great British Nuclear to spearhead our nuclear revival. We are building two new large-scale nuclear power stations. In fact, each and every operational nuclear power plant in Britain began its life under a Conservative Government. We are accelerating the development of small modular reactors, we are accelerating advanced modular reactors and we are leading the world in fusion energy. We are backing this vision with £700 million. The House may not realise it, but we have the hottest place in the solar system here in the UK, just under 50 miles away at the Culham Centre.
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (The Cotswolds) (Con)
My right hon. Friend is making an amazing speech, showing how much the Government have done for our environment. Could she give us an idea of the timetable for the small nuclear reactors and when the first one is likely to be licensed?
Claire Coutinho
I thank my hon. Friend. We are working at pace to have the fastest competition possible. We have just moved past the first part of the process and will be setting out more details in the new year.
As the Government continue to consider our long-term energy security of the future, it is only right that we support our British oil and gas communities. Even the Climate Change Committee acknowledges that oil and gas will be part of our energy mix when we reach net zero in 2050. So if we will need it, it is common sense that we produce as much of our own of it here.
Charlotte Nichols (Warrington North) (Lab)
As chair of the all-party parliamentary group on nuclear energy, I hear that one of the biggest barriers to nuclear is not the investment that the Secretary of State talks about but planning and people. What will she do on that? I have not heard anything so far in what has been proposed to stop things such as judicial reviews going in to stop nuclear power stations being built.
Claire Coutinho
The hon. Lady is right to raise skills, people and planning. We have been looking at ways to speed all of that up and will be setting out more details by the end of the year.
The King’s Speech included legislation for awarding oil and gas licences each year, giving industry the certainty it needs to invest in jobs here in the UK.
Nadia Whittome (Nottingham East) (Lab)
Will the Secretary of State give way?
Claire Coutinho
I will make some progress.
Oil and gas is an industry that supports 200,000 jobs and is expected to provide £50 billion of tax revenue in the next five years. That is the people and the money that the Labour party would send abroad, because it is not against oil and gas jobs, just against British oil and gas jobs—and for what? To increase our reliance on imports from foreign regimes with higher emissions and to send away billions of pounds of investment in carbon capture and hydrogen schemes. Opposition Members support those technologies but would rather the taxpayer footed the bill for them.
With our ambitions on net zero and for our energy security, it is critical that we make the most of our own home-grown advantages, but Labour and the SNP’s policy means jobs abroad, investment lost and energy security sabotaged. You do not have to take my word for it, Madam Deputy Speaker—the unions are sounding the alarm. It has been said that Labour “does not… understand energy”, is self-harming and “naive”, and that its policies would leave our oil and gas communities decimated, turning our oil and gas workers into the “coalminers of our generation”. Those are not my words but those of the GMB and Unite. We want to keep jobs and manufacturing here, but Labour has not understood that we needs natural gas supplies. Those are the words of industry. The important truth is that we know we need to transition to clean energy, but it is the same people, communities and expertise that will unlock the green transition. The skills of those working on oil and gas rigs today are the same skills that we will need for the offshore wind jobs of tomorrow.
Caroline Lucas (Brighton, Pavilion) (Green)
I am losing track of the number of times I have pointed out in this Chamber that just because we extract oil and gas from the North sea does not mean that it gets used here. It gets sold on global markets to the highest bidders, as we have said 100 times.
When it comes to annual licensing rounds, which the Secretary of State is flagging up, is it not the case that the North Sea Transition Authority was already licensing in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019? It only stopped because of the climate compatibility checkpoint. The tests that she sets out are not worth the paper that they are written on; she knows as well as we do that they are impossible not to meet, because they are set so low. Will she stop pretending that the Bill is serious, and just admit that it is nothing more than a gimmick?
Claire Coutinho
It is not a gimmick to protect 200,000 jobs. It is not a gimmick to protect the investment that will go into the cleaner energies of the future. On the hon. Lady’s first point, 50% for the gas supply that we use here comes from domestic production.
David Duguid (Banff and Buchan) (Con)
My right hon. Friend is being generous in allowing interventions. On the GMB leader’s quote about oil and gas jobs becoming the coal jobs of the future, is it not the case that the people with oil and gas skills, who we really need to deliver the energy transition, will not be left on the unemployment line, but will go and do their jobs overseas and deliver other countries’ energy security and energy transition?
Claire Coutinho
My hon. Friend makes an important point. We are lucky to have the skills, expertise and equipment in this country, which are the same skills that we need for a future in renewable energy. It is vital that we protect them and keep those skills here. To unnecessarily cut off those workers’ livelihoods in this country would wreck our clean energy ambitions. We remain resolutely committed to our ambitious net zero targets. More renewable energy; a nuclear revival; exciting new technologies such as hydrogen, carbon capture and fusion; and, where we need oil and gas, jobs for British workers—that is our vision for the future.
Nadia Whittome
A moment ago the Secretary of State quoted the Climate Change Committee, which also said that expanding fossil fuel production is not in line with net zero. By the Secretary of State’s own admission on Monday, not a single Bill in the King’s Speech will help families struggling with energy bills. How can the Government justify turbocharging new oil and gas, when that does nothing for the cost of living crisis and blows a hole in our climate ambitions?
Claire Coutinho
I am afraid the hon. Lady is quite mistaken. The Climate Change Committee’s own data shows that when we reach net zero in 2050, oil and gas will account for about 25% of our energy mix. That is why it is important to ensure that if we need it, it comes from here.
There are two futures here. One is the future I have just described, where we cut our emissions faster than any other major economy in the world; we drive hundreds of billions of pounds of private investment in wind, nuclear and hydrogen; we support UK industry with carbon capture; we create a world-class export opportunity in our continental shelf; we secure nearly half a million jobs, with our young people renowned globally for their expertise; we bring supply chains and manufacturing capability to our industry heartlands such as the Humber and Teesside; our coastal communities are renewed; and we protect our energy security and support families and businesses with the cost of energy. That is the future for Britain as a clean energy superpower.
There is another future: a bleak world. Imagine it is a grey day; the last private investor has just pulled out of the North sea. Those communities without the jobs to support them have disbanded. The right hon. Member for Doncaster North is explaining yet again why the Labour party has laden the country with debt. His mothballing of British oil and gas is seen as the worst handling of our natural resources since his old boss sold the gold. Norway, with its ongoing oil and gas licences, is forging ahead with its greener future. Meanwhile, jobs in Russia are booming. Our energy security has been jeopardised, as imports from unstable regions rise. That is the future we can expect from a party reliant on Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion for ideas. With an awful predictableness, this parallel world has once again proven the law of British politics: every single Labour Government in the past left unemployment higher.
Of course, that future is not a surprise to anyone. The right hon. Gentleman said, after all, that we should sacrifice economic growth to cut emissions. [Interruption.] He would like to borrow £28 billion in his blind ambition for 2030, no matter the cost to ordinary people. Just three days ago he said that protecting the British oil and gas industry, 200,000 jobs and £50 billion of tax revenue was a stunt. But it is not a stunt to want to keep jobs in the UK, it is not a stunt to want to protect billions of pounds of taxes and investment in this country, and it is certainly not a stunt to prioritise domestic security over the threat of dictators such as Putin.
The British people have rejected the right hon. Gentleman’s arguments before, and they will do so again. I am sure that he will today mention Great British Energy, a new Labour entity about which we know only one thing for sure: it will be run badly, funded by the shadow Chancellor who, when she is not borrowing other people’s words, is recklessly borrowing to fund Labour’s policy and leaving the British people to pick up the bill.
What will GB Energy really look like? Will it be like Labour Nottingham Council’s version, Robin Hood Energy, which collapsed in 2020 leaving local taxpayers with £38 million of debt? Will it be like Labour-run Bristol’s version, Bristol Energy, which also collapsed, leaving local people with losses of £43 million? Or will it be like Labour’s 50% stake in Warrington’s Together Energy—people will get the pattern by this point—which also collapsed, with a £37 million bill this time for local residents to pick up? Not content with bankrupting Birmingham and Croydon or skewering local taxpayers in Nottingham, Bristol and Warrington, Labour now wants to bankrupt Britain. One thing is for sure: when Labour is in charge of your energy you will pay the price.
Energy transitions do not happen very often and now we are on the brink of the most important one of all to reverse centuries of global warming and reach net zero and secure energy resilience by powering Britain from Britain. It is only the Conservatives who have the plans to protect this country’s energy security, to deliver the most ambitious 2030 emission cuts of any major economy, to promote jobs and investment in the UK, and to help this country stand tall on the global stage. We will do that all without forcing families to choose between protecting their family finances and protecting the planet.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
Edward Miliband (Doncaster North) (Lab)
This Gracious Speech takes place against a backdrop of three crises facing our country: the worst cost of living crisis in memory; the long-term failure of our economy to work for working people, with stagnant growth over a decade; and the climate and nature crisis we see all around us. The question at the heart of this debate is whether the Government’s legislative programme unveiled earlier this week in any way meets the scale of those challenges. The resounding answer is no. I am sure the Government think that they are being punished by the voters because the crises this country faces are so big, and that is probably true, but it is also because the politics they offer is so small. The King’s Speech demonstrates that in abundance and nowhere is that more true than on climate and energy.
Here we are, the last King’s Speech before the next general election and the Government release a two-clause political stunt of a Bill. They released it on Monday, during the worst cost of living crisis for generations, with energy bills still double what they were three years ago. Millions of people across our country—all of our constituents—are wondering what the Government are going to offer. On the day of the announcement, the Energy Secretary was asked a simple question by an interviewer: “Will it make a difference to energy bills?” For millions watching, surely the answer had to be yes, because, after all, that is what her job is all about. But this was her answer:
“it wouldn’t necessarily bring energy bills down, that’s not what we are saying”.
I commend the Energy Secretary for her outburst of candour. In a Government of fake news, it is good to have the occasional warrior for the truth.
Claire Coutinho
Does the right hon. Gentleman acknowledge that I said it would also help fund renewable energy? Does he disagree with the view that a future with renewable energy would help to bring bills down?
Edward Miliband
I think that that is what we call wriggling.
As I was saying, I commend the Energy Secretary on her outburst of candour. She is right—she is telling it like it is—and, by the way, she is in good company. Let me read this to the House:
“MYTH Extracting more North Sea gas lowers prices. FACT UK production isn't large enough to…impact the global price of gas.”
Who said that? Not somebody on this side of the House. [Interruption.] No, not a former Chancellor. It was the current chairman of the Conservative party, the right hon. Member for Chelsea and Fulham (Greg Hands), when he was the Energy Minister.
So here they are, they really are going to the country and saying with a straight face, after all the pain and anguish that the British people have faced, “Here is our grand offer to you: the ‘we won’t cut your bills’ Bill.” That is the offer from the Secretary of State: “Vote Conservative, and we promise we won’t cut your energy bills.” No wonder the Back Benchers are despairing. The Government could have done so much. They could have lifted the onshore wind ban to cut energy bills, but they did not. They could have legislated for a proper programme of energy efficiency to cut bills, but they did not. [Interruption.] I will happily give way to the Energy Secretary’s Parliamentary Private Secretary if he would like to intervene.
Edward Miliband
Never mind then. Keep quiet.
The Government could have legislated to change planning rules to speed up renewables and cut energy bills, but they did not. They do not seem to realise how tin-eared, how out of touch, how absurd they look.
So how did we end up with this Bill? The hon. Member for Bosworth (Dr Evans), who was not allowed to intervene, thinks it is about energy security, and that is what the Secretary of State said. The truth is, however, that she is trying to peddle an illusion, and I suspect that she knows it. Fossil fuels, with their markets controlled by petro-states and dictators and their price set internationally, cannot give us energy security. That is the obvious basic lesson of the past two years. Whether gas is produced in the North sea or imported from abroad, we pay the same price. How much did we import from Russia at the beginning of the crisis? It was 5% —but we were the worst hit country in western Europe, not because of our imports from Russia but because of the way in which the price is set on the international market.
I cannot put it any better than the National Infrastructure Commission, which said just three weeks ago:
“Reliance on fossil fuels means exposure to geopolitical shocks that impact the price of these internationally traded commodities.”
We have had North sea licensing for the last 40 years in this country. If more of it were the answer, the British people would not have faced the pain that they have. According to Energy UK, new oil and gas licences
“will not lower customer bills or significantly improve the UK’s energy security.”
David Duguid
The right hon. Gentleman made a very good point earlier about the difference between the percentage of renewables for electricity and the percentage of renewables for energy overall, including heat and transport. Does he acknowledge that the United Kingdom is currently 75% dependent on oil and gas, and does he agree with the members of the Climate Change Committee, who have stated that themselves, and who have predicted that by 2050, when we get to net zero, the proportion will still be about 20%?
Edward Miliband
I think the Climate Change Committee is actually saying that its most ambitious scenario, which we should be aiming for, is for us to cut the use of gas by 90%. Are we going to carry on using North sea oil and gas? The question for the hon. Gentleman, and for the whole House, is this: do we choose, for the future, to carry on drilling every last drop? That is the Government’s policy, in contravention of all the scientific advice, which is that we will end up in a 3° world—needing billions of pounds of taxpayer subsidy to bring about that investment through persuasion, and diverting investment from the private sector. Personally, I do not think that that is the right choice.
The lesson of this crisis is one that the Government should have learnt, and one that other countries around the world have learnt: the only way to get energy security is to sprint for clean power. That is why the Government’s onshore wind ban is such a disaster. That is why their offshore wind auction is such a disaster. That is why their energy efficiency failures are such a disaster. This Bill neither protects us on price nor gives us energy security.
Here is the thing, the Bill is not motivated by millions of people lying awake at night, worrying about the cost of living crisis; it is motivated by a Prime Minister lying awake at night, worrying about the Conservative party crisis. The interesting thing is that this Bill was planned well before the right hon. Member for East Surrey (Claire Coutinho) became Energy Secretary. It is the last desperate throw of the dice by what we might call the No. 10 galaxy brains, to use climate change as what they call a “wedge issue.” They say this to the newspapers all the time. Series 1 of this new strategy was aired in September, when the party of Churchill and Thatcher became the peddlers of wacky conspiracy theories they found on the internet: abolishing the mythical seven bins; ending the imaginary threat of compulsory car sharing; saying no to invented conspiracy theories on 15-minute cities; and fighting the fictional meat tax. And now we have a sequel. No longer a few throw-away conspiracy theories, this is now the central strategy of their legislative programme.
Members should not take my word for it. It is what the Prime Minister’s advisers brief to the papers day after day. One paper I read on Monday reported that the Prime Minister wants to “weaponise climate change” as a wedge issue. Where the British people see an energy crisis forcing up their bills, the Government see a wedge issue. Where the British people ask how they can have liveable towns and cities with good transport, the Government see a wedge issue. Where the British people worry about the effect of the climate crisis on their kids and grandkids, the Government see a wedge issue. The point is that the Government cannot really deny it, because they know this is what they are saying every day. “We think there is a big opportunity for the Conservative party to try to create division on climate change.” That is why the Prime Minister uses words like “eco-zealots.” It is all very transparent. They are locked in the boot of a strategy. Whether they agree with it or not, that is what is happening.
Duncan Baker (North Norfolk) (Con)
This is the problem. The right hon. Gentleman calls it a wedge issue but, in his own language, he boils it down to a binary issue. It is not a binary question of whether we have oil and gas or whether we have renewables; it is about an energy mix. Does he realise that, last year, there were 260 days—by my maths, that is getting on for nearly three quarters of the year—when there was not enough wind to generate enough power for this nation’s needs? Whether he likes it or not, we will need to have an energy mix. It is something that he just does not seem to understand.
Edward Miliband
I am afraid that all the hon. Gentleman is pointing out is the Government’s failure to go fast enough in driving towards renewables. Of course we need a mix of energy, but this is the question for the House and the country: do we decide that drilling every last drop, which is the Government’s position and which would be a climate disaster, is the right strategy? Or do we decide that the right way to go is home-grown clean power? We say it is home-grown clean power.
The problem is that all the nonsense the Government are coming out with really matters, and it worries me. By the way, I think it will be an electoral disaster for them, and we already see that because the intelligent Conservatives are asking, “Why are we doing all this?” Members on both sides of the House did this together. We built a consensus on climate over the past 20 years, to work across parties and not to weaponise it. People look at America and say. “Well, America has a culture war on climate. Thank goodness we do not have that in Britain.” That was the case until this Prime Minister—not the previous Prime Minister, or the Prime Minister before her—decided to do it.
On the day of the Prime Minister’s climate U-turns, the Home Secretary had a licence to go out and say that the danger of climate action is that it will “bankrupt” the country. The Home Secretary freelances on most issues, but on this issue she is actually speaking for the Prime Minister, because it is echoed by other Cabinet Ministers. This is a massive retreat from the position of both parties for two decades, that leadership on climate is not somehow a danger to our economy but is the way to seize and build our economic future. They have opened the door to the old, discredited idea that we can choose either our economy or the climate, but not both.
It is not just a retreat from the consensus; it is a retreat from reality. The reality is that there is a global race, with countries seeking to go further and faster to create the jobs of the future. No wonder business is horrified. Just last Monday, Amanda Blanc, the chief executive of Aviva, warned about the Government’s commitment to unlimited oil and gas drilling. She said that our climate goals as a country are “under threat”, which
“puts at clear risk the jobs, growth and the additional investment the UK requires”.
The Government try to claim that this is somehow consistent with climate leadership. I mean, come off it!
Seven hundred British climate scientists oppose the changes, and so do the International Energy Agency and the Climate Change Committee, which my hon. Friend the Member for Warrington North (Charlotte Nichols) quoted:
“Expansion of fossil fuel production is not in line with Net Zero.”
The Government’s own net zero tsar, the right hon. Member for Kingswood (Chris Skidmore), who is in his place, also opposes them. They appointed him to advise them on climate and energy. They said how brilliant he is, and I agree—sorry to ruin his career even further. He is a very intelligent guy. [Interruption.] He is denying it. He has great ideas, and what did he say?
“There is no such thing as a new net zero oilfield.”
Those are not my words, and they are not the words of eco-zealots or Just Stop Oil; they are the words of the right hon. Gentleman, who sits on the Government Benches. He signed the net zero target into law, for goodness’ sake. We have to grow up.
In contrast to the right hon. Gentleman, we have the Minister for Energy Security and Net Zero, whom I like —[Interruption.] I do. We have worked together on climate, but I will now say something not so nice about him. This is what he said yesterday:
“There is nothing fundamentally wrong with oil and gas, it’s emissions from oil and gas that are the problem”.
For goodness’ sake—what does that even mean? Here we are: the people who know what they are talking about do not speak for the Conservative party, and the people who speak for the Conservative party do not know what they are talking about.
I can tell the Secretary of State and her colleagues that this strategy is doomed to fail. The British people do not want a Government who say, “We are going to weaponise the climate crisis.” They do not want a Government who say, “We are desperate. We are behind in the polls”—I remember that feeling—“and we therefore have to turn this into a wedge issue.” They want a Government who will cut bills and tackle the climate crisis. All the Government are doing day after day with all this nonsense is proving that they are not the answer.
What would a Labour King’s Speech have done? Today, every family is paying £180 more on their bill as a result of the onshore wind ban that has been in place since 2015. The Government could have lifted the ban but, two months ago, they did not. They offered a weak, half-hearted compromise that will make no difference. As RenewableUK says,
“the planning system is still stacked against onshore wind”.
Why not lift the onshore wind ban? Why is it harder to build an onshore wind farm than an incinerator? The Government had to shell out billions of pounds in subsidies when the energy crisis hit. I think those subsidies would have been something like £5 billion less if we had not had the onshore wind ban. Then we have offshore wind and the disastrous auction, which added £2 billion to bills, according to the industry.
A Labour King’s Speech would legislate to lift the ban on onshore wind, to speed up the planning process and to sort out the grid, so we can decarbonise our power system by 2030. Clean power is the foundation, and next comes energy efficiency. I am afraid that here the Government have utterly failed, and their complacency is extraordinary. This is what the Climate Change Committee said about the whole sector:
“since 2010 progress has stalled, with no further substantive reductions in emissions.”
It has been a shambolic 13 years. We all know the litany: the disaster of the green deal, the green homes grant, David Cameron’s “cut the green crap”. Insulation measures were running at 1.6 million in 2010, and last year—any offers?—they were running at 78,000, which is 20 times lower. A Labour Government would do what the country is crying out for and have a proper plan, funded by public investment, ramping up to £6 billion a year to provide support for home insulation and low-carbon heating.
Next, let us talk about the green economy and building our economic future. The Government are never short of boasting about their record, but we are actually eighth out of eight major countries in Energy UK’s projections for renewable investment up to 2030. And get this: in the seven months after the passage of the US Inflation Reduction Act, which the Government do not like, the US created almost 10 times more green jobs than the UK created in the previous seven years. So in seven months, the US created 10 times more jobs than we did in seven years. What is the Government’s response to the Inflation Reduction Act? They say it is “dangerous”, “distortive” and “protectionist”. This is not some accident; they do believe that this is a role Government. I am afraid to say that that is a recipe for Britain losing the global race.
What would Labour do differently? We would have a national wealth fund, not with one-off, ad-hoc investments, but a proper plan. We would be investing in ports, our steel industry and electric battery factories. We would also have a new publicly owned energy company, GB Energy, which I am glad the Secretary of State mentioned. It would be partnering the private sector in the industries of the future. The Government object to GB Energy, because they say that we do not need public ownership of energy in Britain. I have to say to the House that the Government may not realise it, but we already have public ownership of energy in Britain, with EDF, Vattenfall, Ørsted and Statkraft. They are all companies wholly or partly owned by states—foreign states. They own our industry. In fact, nearly half of our offshore wind industry is owned by foreign states—by state-owned foreign companies. So the Government take the extraordinary position that it is okay for state-run companies to invest in Britain, so long as they are not British state-owned companies; let French, Swedish, Danish and Norwegian citizens get the wealth from our energy industry, just not British citizens. That is the Government’s position.
This makes me a nerd, but let me say that the late Ian Gilmour wrote an autobiography—[Interruption.] It is not that that makes me a nerd. [Laughter.] He wrote an autobiography about his time in Mrs Thatcher’s Cabinet, and some here will know that its title was “Dancing with Dogma”. That is what we are seeing here, because the Government are in favour of public ownership of our energy assets, so long as it is by foreign states. That does not sound very Conservative to me.
GB Energy would be investing in the industries of the future, partnering local communities to create jobs and wealth for Britain. A Labour King’s Speech would have contained an energy independence Act to make all of this possible: clean power by 2030 to cut bills; a proper energy efficiency plan; a national wealth fund; and GB Energy. That is an energy Bill equal to the scale of the crises we face.
Edward Miliband
I am going to finish.
The Prime Minister has been in the job for more than a year and he has been rumbled, just as his party has been in power for 13 years and it has been rumbled. For all his talk of change, the public know, as does the House, that he cannot bring the change this country needs. The Government’s pathetic, small legislative programme shows it, and they all know it. They are out of ideas and out of time, and the only solution for our country is for them to be out of office.
Dame Maria Miller (Basingstoke) (Con)
I warmly welcome this historic King’s Speech and the “clean energy superpower” theme of today’s debate. As the House will imagine, I will also look at the broader context within which this King’s Speech has to be viewed.
Before I go on to that, I wish to pick up on the comments of the right hon. Member for Doncaster North (Edward Miliband). I did agree with one thing he said: we should not play politics with climate change. I do not think the people we represent want that, but he just gave us a 20-minute masterclass in just that. I hope that he will reflect on his speech, because to be playing such petty politics with such an important issue was not worthy of the work that I know he has done over many years. It is just not credible for him to simply dismiss the past 10 years of achievements, as he did in one fell swoop. I am sure that on reflection he will wish that he had spent more time acknowledging what this Government have done.
Dame Maria Miller
If he does not, people will judge him all the more badly for that.
As I said, I warmly welcome this historic King’s Speech, which comes at a time when the challenges our country faces are starting to crystallise. We have had three major impacts to our economy in the past few years, and the doorstep conversations we were having at the time of the last general election in 2019 were nothing like the ones I am having with my constituents now. Whether we are dealing with the impact of the war in Ukraine, the appalling situation currently in Israel, our leaving the European Union or the impact of the global pandemic, the things that people are talking about now are interest rates and inflation—issues that have not been on the lips of our electorate for a number of years. I am pleased to see that the Government have understood this challenge and are looking at the long-term challenges our country now faces, rather than simply looking at what has happened in the past 10 years. We need to look forward to make sure that we are planning for the very different set of challenges that our economy faces. The King’s Speech will be just the beginning of that process.
When we consider clean energy, it is worth looking first at the track record of this Government. We were the first major economy to legislate for a net zero target, and since 1990 we have cut emissions by 48%. One could be forgiven for not understanding that, given the right hon. Gentleman’s initial contribution. We are aiming to reduce emissions by 68% by 2030. Until we start to agree that there is success we can talk about, the electorate will continue to be confused. When we look at the progress that is being made and applaud it, we can then start to plan properly for the future.
In the first quarter of this year, 48% of our energy came from renewables, which was an increase from just 7% when the Conservatives took power in 2010. Perhaps some of the questions the right hon. Gentleman should be answering are why we were in such a relatively poor situation in 2010 and why more had not been done by the previous Administration. We are now an acknowledged world leader in offshore wind. I will address that later in my speech, because we could be working more with our friends, particularly countries such as Canada, to see how we can make sure that our renewable energy goes from strength to strength.
Jim Shannon
One success story of the past few years has been Wrightbus, in Ballymena in North Antrim, and its advancements in hydrogen and renewables. Does the right hon. Lady agree that we do not hear enough about some of the good things? That is one of the good stories and we should hear more about it.
Dame Maria Miller
The hon. Gentleman makes a good point. I heard a great deal about the importance of hydrogen to our future on my recent trip to Canada as the Prime Minister’s trade envoy. There are a lot of complications associated with hydrogen and we need to do more work on it, but the hon. Gentleman is right to say that good things, such as those that he mentions, can be eclipsed by the Opposition’s rhetoric if we are not careful. I think also of new nuclear power stations, small modular reactors and fusion energy, for which we have the test bed at Culham, which is being used the world over for the development of that innovative technology. There is also the work being done by the Minister for Industry and Economic Security on critical minerals, which I will come back to later.
Gas and oil will continue to be part of the mix of energy that we use into the future, as they will for most developed countries. Our Bill in this area safeguards those domestic supplies, which is really important, because we cannot leave our country open to not having that safeguard in place, particularly given recent events. The King’s Speech clearly demonstrates a commitment to remaining at the forefront of the world’s transition to net zero, but the Government have also made sure that they have that safeguard in place through gas and oil.
I particularly wish to address the importance of making sure that as we transition to clean energy, the Government, and others, keep a close eye on its impact on our communities. I was reminded of that recently when there was an application for planning consent for an industrial lithium-ion battery plant in a sensitive part of my constituency, right next to a hospital and a river. Industrial lithium-ion batteries are an essential part of our transition to clean energy, because they help iron out the supply of energy, particularly wind energy. As one Member pointed out, the wind does not always blow at the right time and in the right place, so lithium-ion battery storage facilities can help to make sure that energy is available throughout the day, on every day of the year, but they need to be correctly located.
Our planning consents have not been updated to properly recognise the problems that such plants can cause. I am grateful that the Government listened to the arguments I made and have already made changes to planning guidance to introduce mandatory environmental permits soon, which will prevent the granting of planning permissions for those sorts of plants in inappropriate locations. I urge my right hon. and hon. Friends on the Front Bench to make sure that they continue to look for those sorts of issues as they arise.
New technology and a continued drive for clean energy will inevitably mean that further new technologies and processes will emerge. We need to ensure that our existing permitting systems are fit for purpose. Many hundreds of lithium-ion battery plants are planned for this country—I urge right hon. and hon. Members to look in their own constituencies to see if any are planned—and although they are a fire risk and an environmental risk, they are an essential part of the transition. We need to make sure they are safe when they are put in place.
The remarks made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State made me think about the importance of rare earth minerals, which are an essential part of our transition to clean energy. I know my hon. Friend the Minister for Industry and Economic Security has already put together an important strategy in that regard.
When I was in Saskatchewan recently, I met the chief executive officer of the Saskatchewan Research Council, Mike Crabtree, which runs the rare earth processing facility. He described the incredible work that is going on in Canada to make sure we have supplies of rare earth minerals that can help us continue to see the transition to clean energy in the future. Wind turbines need such rare earth minerals, and we need plans and treaties in place with countries like Canada that can safely ensure we have a supply of these minerals into the future, so that we are not held to ransom by countries that may not have such stable and democratic regimes in place.
Anthony Mangnall (Totnes) (Con)
Does my right hon. Friend agree that we should be using the Modern Slavery Act 2015 to review the supply chains for new technology, such as batteries? We know that modern slavery often takes place in countries producing those materials, such as those in Africa, so can we update the Act?
Dame Maria Miller
My hon. Friend makes an important point. When I speak to companies in Canada that are developing lithium mines and looking at mining rare earth metals, we talk about the importance of supporting indigenous people and of proper training. We should be doing business with countries that take the issues around modern slavery, which my hon. Friend raises, very seriously. That will be taken into account as we continue to negotiate our free trade agreement with Canada.
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State also mentioned skilled personnel associated with oil and gas. I reiterate the point she made in response to an intervention, drawing on my experience of a recent visit to Alberta. In that province, I saw how the skills of oil and gas personnel are already being used to develop renewable energy, whether that is expertise in pipelines, hydrogen— as mentioned by the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon)—chemicals, engineering or other forms of innovation. There are transferable skills and the Government need to urgently ensure we are not losing those skills to other countries; we must keep that expertise at home. We have made huge progress in greening our energy supplies but there is more to do. I hope that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State can ensure that we do not lose that expertise to other countries.
At the heart of the King’s Speech is resetting the dial for our country in the light of three enormous economic shocks. The new Trade (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership) Bill has enormous potential to expand both our import and export markets, making sure that communities such as mine in Basingstoke continue to have vibrant businesses into the future.
Within the Gracious Speech, I also welcome the leasehold and freehold Bill and the continuation of the Renters (Reform) Bill. In my constituency, almost two thirds of households are owned as opposed to rented, but it is important that those who are in leasehold flats or renting in other ways have better protection. The Government’s commitment to reform the rules around leaseholds, while not entirely in line with clean energy, is an important part of the Bill, as it will make it easier and cheaper for people to extend their leases and stay in the homes they love. That is important for my community and many others across the country.
My constituency of Basingstoke has seen historical overdevelopment, often at the hands of a Labour Government who put in place unrealistic housing targets. I have seen my community respond positively, but we have contributed our fair share. Will the Minister therefore confirm when the new national planning policy framework guidelines will be published? I think they are coming out soon. They will help communities like mine, including by better recognising the overdevelopment of the past, so I hope the Minister can give us a brief update on those guidelines. I know it is not just me on these green Benches who is interested in the timing.
In the Gracious Speech, we also heard the Government’s commitment to the NHS and to seeing an NHS at its very best. I was proud to receive notice from the Government that an incredible £900 million has been ringfenced by the Treasury for a new hospital in my constituency. In the spirit of hoping that these things are above politics, I hope that those on the Opposition Benches can get behind projects like that, which are in the interest of the whole community, and that they do not become political footballs. A new hospital of that magnitude—an exemplar—will be important not just for my constituents, but for many hundreds and thousands of people around the south-east. I hope the Government are able to continue to put out positive messages about their hospital programme.
Finally, the criminal justice Bill mentioned in the Gracious Speech will touch on an issue I have raised many times in this Chamber—intimate image abuse. I was delighted to see that the Bill will include intimate image abuse legislation, building on the legislation that has already been passed as a result of a great deal of good thought by Ministers in the Online Safety Act 2023. I am particularly grateful to my right hon. Friend the Member for Charnwood (Edward Argar) for championing the inclusion of more work on intimate image abuse.
In the Online Safety Act 2023, we criminalised the sharing of intimate images without consent. Now we need the rest of the Law Commission’s recommendations —that the making and taking of such images also be criminalised—to be enacted, and the Bill will give us the opportunity to do that. I am not sure that the Minister will be in a position to confirm the details of the Bill today, but if she knows anything about its timing, I would be most grateful to hear that.
I am grateful for the opportunity to take part in the debate. There are many Bills in the Gracious Speech that will make a real difference to the people I represent and to people across the country. I hope that talk of it not having content will be seen as it is—political rhetoric. There is a great deal in the King’s Speech that will make a real difference to people’s lives. I look forward to debating the Bills in the coming weeks and months, and to making sure that they are as good as they can be.
Dave Doogan (Angus) (SNP)
This Gracious Speech serves as a stark reminder that the Westminster Government cannot be trusted to deliver for the people of Scotland—certainly not in terms of energy. It is ludicrous that people living in energy-rich Scotland are having to grapple with unaffordable energy bills. As a solution, we have a King’s Speech that does nothing to address that. The only energy-related Bill that was referred to in the King’s Speech on Tuesday was the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill, which the Secretary of State herself admitted just a few days ago would not bring energy bills down. It is therefore incorrigible that, at a time when a record number of households are facing fuel poverty, the only concrete proposal mentioned in the King’s Speech is one that, by the Secretary of State’s own admission, will not help cash-strapped households across these islands. It could though, she says, release funds to support households with energy bills—the operative word there being “could”. But even in this vaguest of commitments, the mask slips. Let me reinterpret that comment. It basically means that, in the absence of additionality to the Exchequer, this Government will stand idly by while people freeze.
The speech also included reference to help
“attract record levels of investment into renewable sources”
and
“reform grid connections”,
but no Bills were specifically named that set out how that might be achieved. There were no plans, and no detail or funding, to deliver the transition network that is needed to lower bills and ruthlessly dial out gas from our generation systems, thereby protecting consumers. It is utterly hopeless. It is a blank cheque for new extraction based on maximising extraction in abstract, with very little strategic ambition or joined-up thinking, except that of maximising London’s receipts from Scotland’s hydrocarbon endowments. Old habits, it would appear, do indeed die hard.
This ambition also comes with the worst possible greenwashing nonsense as supposedly qualifying criteria, which are entirely permissive, including the carbon intensity test, which seeks to discern whether gas extracted from the North sea will have a lower carbon footprint than gas processed and shipped from around the world— I am pretty sure that you and I, Madam Deputy Speaker, can guarantee that it will. Then there is test that discerns whether the UK remains a net importer of both oil and gas. It seems that that, too, will be a fairly consistent position. It is not even clever or sly; it is almost an indignity to put criteria like that, which is so simple to meet or exceed, in the legislation.
With the same forked tongue that the Government used when they claimed that revenues could go to supporting household energy bills, they also claimed that tax revenues could go towards supporting renewable energy investment. If they meant that, they would be setting out exactly how that would happen; but they have not, because it will not happen under this Treasury or this Tory Government.
In Scotland, we know what the revenues from our oil and gas will be spent on. It is the same thing that they have been spent on by UK Governments over the past 40 years: infrastructure investment in the south-east of England and stemming the economic collapse of broken Brexit Britain. Scotland will not reap any endowment from this latest round of extraction. The Government claim that this is for energy security and to reduce our reliance on foreign oil and gas, when only last month they explicitly decided to prolong that very reliance on gas: through the rollback of the boiler replacement ambition; through the failure of auction round 5, resulting in even more gas generation, which will have to replace the offshore wind that did not happen as a result of that auction round; and through the rollback of the deadline to phase out internal combustion engine cars.
There is no progress on energy efficiency, home insulation, curtailing demand, protecting bills and keeping people safe in their homes—none of it—in this ambition. And the Government are now congratulating themselves on the gas front, because the gas that we will extract from the North sea is marginally less environmentally damaging than that which would have been shipped in from Asia or the middle east. It is the stuff of nonsense.
David Duguid
The hon. Gentleman says that the gas imported from overseas is only marginally more environmentally damaging. Does he not agree with the likes of the North Sea Transition Authority, Offshore Energies UK and other experts in the field that estimate that it could be anything between twice as much or up to five times as much the carbon footprint to take liquefied natural gas into this country, deliquefy it and then get it into our system?
Dave Doogan
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his contribution. I think that we actually agree: the gas that we extract from the North sea is less environmentally damaging than that which would be shipped in from around the world. The point that I am making, and the point that many other observers are making in this space, is that we should be running as far away as we can from yesterday’s hydrocarbon technologies and throwing everything that we have, including the kitchen sink, at getting into a renewable space, protecting bills and saving the environment from further damage. That is where we should be, so mithering over percentages here or there is not the way for us to proceed.
Neale Hanvey (Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath) (Alba)
The hon. Gentleman is making some really important points, many of which are to be applauded. One significant point is how do we make that transition away from hydrocarbons and deplete the carbon that is already being generated and stored in offshore carbon banks? Does he agree that one way to do that is to introduce a wellhead tax on all new oil and gas to fund carbon capture and storage offshore? Secondly, does he support the establishment of a publicly owned energy company in Scotland?
Dave Doogan
On the hon. Gentleman’s latter point, I say yes. On his initial point, we would not need to be overly sceptical to take a jaundiced view of the tax regime that operates in the oil and gas sector in the UK. Let me leave it at that.
The only way to achieve long-term energy security, which goes in some way to answering the hon. Gentleman’s question, is through renewable energy produced on and offshore in the North sea and all around these islands. Scotland’s future is at the heart of this green gold rush but we are, as usual in this so-called Union, held back by London doing to Scotland, never with, and talking at us but never for us.
Wind energy is demonstrably and by some margin the cheapest to produce of all the energy in the UK, but despite that, the UK Government managed in auction round 5 to offer a price for wind energy that was so low that not a single offshore wind producer could sign up to it. This is cack-handed arrogance from a Department that thought it knew better than industry—a Department that, rather than working in partnership with industry, deluded itself into thinking that it had the whip hand, that it held all the cards. In this, as with so much else, it was entirely wrong. It tried to call industry’s bluff, but the Westminster Government were forced to blink first—you could not make this up.
The interesting thing about that failure in auction round 5 is that when that generation capacity comes online—now it will come online I assume as a result of auction rounds 6, 7 and so on—the gap will still exist in the supply pipeline. We do not have the energy infrastructure to take that generation from where it is being generating and deliver it to industry and homes across Great Britain. That infrastructure is not there. The Government talk about how good they are on a global scale. They love to trumpet their record—this ridiculous debate heading “clean energy superpower” is specious nonsense—which betrays the fact that we cannot even deliver the energy that is being generated today. This Government are paying generators to switch their wind off, but the demand still exists, so where does this energy come from? Yes, gas. Every way that the consumer turns in this country, they are being let down and circumvented by this Government.
We could augment the grid and network infrastructure by properly supporting community energy ownership and generation. But let me be clear: there is £10 million for England only—perhaps the Minister could clarify whether that will be consequentialised for the devolved nations—which is not properly standing up for community generation. In Scotland, community-owned wind farms average £170,000 a year for community benefit payments per installed megawatt hour—an astonishing leverage of capital into communities, compared with £5,000 from standard community benefit payments.
Not only do communities fund those projects themselves —no public money is used in their construction—they solve the problems of the local community, including fuel poverty, improving home insulation and upgrading heating systems. Local communities know better than the UK Government what their priorities are, and are willing to fix them themselves. I would have thought that that was pretty consistent with Conservative ambitions—the hon. Member for Banff and Buchan (David Duguid) may want to intervene—of self-reliance and resilience, but apparently not.
Thankfully, the Scottish Government recognise the huge opportunity of community energy schemes to empower communities, solve those challenges, and reduce the need for vast infrastructure investment projects through the community and renewable energy scheme. In Scotland, the Government have provided more than £58 million. Contrast that with the £10 million from the English Government for England—it is not actually £10 million anyway, because £1 million is for administration; it is really only £9 million—and we can see which Administration are supporting community energy generation, and which are not.
Time and again, we hear from local community groups that there is no support for gaining connection to the grid, and that the Government are utterly apathetic regarding the benefits of community energy generation. Perhaps we can get an answer today on when the Government will launch the much-anticipated consultation on the barriers blocking growth in community energy generation, given their promise to do so back in September.
This debacle has needlessly set back wind production in auction round 5, and we need to see something very substantial in auction round 6. I assume that we will have a realistic strike price for offshore in auction round 6. I hope that it will be around 50% to 60% inflated over what was in auction round 5, in cognisance of supply chain constraints, construction price inflation, and the challenges of capital expenditure and attracting investor confidence in the UK, which of course has taken a real battering after the Prime Minister’s announcements to row back on climate emergency legislation.
Richard Thomson
My hon. Friend is making a marvellous speech pointing out the shortcomings of the Government’s approach to accelerating renewables and to the barriers onshore. Does he, as I do, detect the remnants of an anti-growth coalition living on among those on the Conservative Front Bench?
Dave Doogan
That would depend on what we want to grow. If we want to invest substantially in renewable energy and the technologies of the future, then yes, I do. If we want to invest in Chinese expertise, French reactors and nuclear power plants, then no, I do not. It is very much horses for courses with this Government, and I wish that my constituents, and everyone else in Scotland, did not have to rely on these misguided ambitions any longer than we absolutely must.
David Duguid
I want to ask a genuine question of the hon. Gentleman, if he does not mind. He mentioned that he was hoping for between 50% and 60% inflation on the strike price for AR6, as and when it comes around. Could he expand on how that is calculated?
Dave Doogan
I do not want to go into the calculation elements of it, but it looks at the disconnect between the strike price that was delivered in auction round 4 and the ambition for auction round 5, wraps it up in the inflation environment that we are in—bear in mind that these are 2012 prices, so it is not actually that number—and comes out with a figure within that range. It is an auction, as the hon. Gentleman will know very well, so there is an element of second-guessing to it. However, after this Government’s failure in auction round 5, we cannot allow something similar to happen in auction round 6, which will create a disinvestment in offshore wind that we cannot allow to happen.
Scotland is a well-established net exporter of electricity. In 2020, we created 31.8 TW of renewable electricity in Scotland, equivalent to powering all the houses in Scotland for three and a half years. That was in 2020, and we are now generating even more. Calls in Scotland are growing louder and louder, asking how it is possible that in our country of 5.5 million people, where we produce six times more gas than we consume, a staggering 50% of Scottish people aged 55 to 64 are living in fuel poverty. It is as well that they ask, because the answer lies in being handcuffed to Westminster.
Scotland is currently leading the world on floating wind, but only by a very slim margin. We need strategic ambition and significant investment to leverage our intellectual, engineering and geographic advantage into a systemic lead on this technology on a global scale, certainly for technology and design, and for manufacturing in the European sector. Until three months ago, Scotland had the world’s largest floating offshore wind installation, but that title now belongs to Hywind Tampen in Norway.
We are at a critical juncture for offshore floating wind in Scotland, with the potential to exploit our enormous growth opportunity, and to export our manufacturing expertise across the world, but only if we get the strike price right. It is therefore frustrating in the extreme to see the Tories talk about the need for economic growth while at the same time utterly failing to do anything ambitious to support this burgeoning industry of almost limitless potential for Scottish jobs, UK jobs and global sales. Contrast that investment posture with the rush to welcome Chinese expertise and French technology into England’s nuclear industry.
Floating wind must get an appropriate strike price in AR6 that reflects the enormous growth potential of the industry. The Department needs to stand up to the Treasury and secure an administrative strike price that reflects the rudimentary understanding that, as a new technology, floating wind will have a higher cost per megawatt-hour, but it will reduce over time. The price must reflect the advantage of having a more advantageous strike price that allows the supply chain to fall on these islands, not forcing developers to get their supply chain from abroad.
Deidre Brock (Edinburgh North and Leith) (SNP)
My hon. Friend mentioned standing up to the Treasury. The Secretary of State bragged about the Government’s support for tidal, but it is a peedie amount in comparison with their loving support for nuclear. It is very disappointing, when we consider how efficient, steady and reliable—and how much cheaper—that electricity source is. Does my hon. Friend agree?
Dave Doogan
I absolutely agree. I can only assume that it is due to the Conservatives’ blinkered reliance on nuclear. They cry, “We need baseload!” but we need a mix of energy storage and baseload solutions, just as we need a mix of generation. If they showed half the ambition for pumped storage, battery storage and hydrogen as they do for nuclear, we would be in a far better position and much less reliant on this grossly expensive generation technology.
On the pumped storage issue, I wrote to the Minister earlier this year and was informed that the Government were
“committed to putting in place an appropriate policy framework”,
but we saw nothing in the King’s Speech and we detect no sense of urgency regarding pumped storage. Long-term energy storage is yet another way to ensure energy security that the Government seem more than happy to ignore.
To maximise the efficiency of renewable energy generation while ensuring the lowest possible prices for consumers, we require a properly functioning energy grid, which will necessarily include long-duration energy storage. Industry has been super clear that future expansion of pumped hydro storage is achievable and affordable, and that crucially a number of projects already have planning permission, such as Cruachan in the west of Scotland. However, the UK Government’s current market mechanisms prevent the investment needed to ensure that those vital projects are delivered in a timely manner, consistent with the climate emergency and the ambition to lower consumers’ bills.
A cap and floor mechanism will fix pumped storage, and I would be very interested to hear the views of the Secretary of State on that, but when we take all these issues in the round, it is very clear to me and to the people of Scotland that we need control over our energy future. The only way to do that is with the full powers of independence.
Several hon. Members rose—
Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)
Order. There is not massive pressure on time, but as colleagues can see, a number of colleagues wish to get in. My advice would be that were everybody to speak for no longer than 12 minutes, everybody would get in and have sufficient time. If people go on for too long, it puts pressure on others.
Chris Skidmore (Kingswood) (Con)
I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for calling me in what is my last Gracious Speech debate. My constituency of Kingswood is being formally abolished in the boundary changes and there is nowhere for me to go, but I have had a great time participating in these debates over the past 13 and a half years.
I remember my first Gracious Speech debate. A loyal Back Bencher who knew no better, I was sitting in the Library, and a Whip came around and asked whether I might participate. I said, “Yes, sure, I’m happy to. Would five minutes be okay?” He said, “Yes, come in, but we actually need you to speak for 45 minutes, if that’s all right.” I am delighted that we have far more people in the Chamber now compared with that debate, when I was one of the few Members in the room. That demonstrates, I think, the interest and the enthusiasm on both sides of the House for focusing on the importance of the energy transition not just to tackling the climate crisis, but for the opportunity it presents the UK economy.
I was delighted to hear in the Secretary of State’s speech her enthusiasm for setting out in detail the UK’s progress internationally. We are a clean energy superpower. We can debate among ourselves the finer policy details, but the reality is that over the past 15 years we have decarbonised further than any other G20 nation. We have reduced our emissions by 50%, while at the same time growing our economy by 70% on 1990 levels.
That is a paragon and a model that all other nations look to, but it is important that once we have earned a reputation, we seek to preserve that reputation. Many countries now are following the UK, and we are now in a new global net zero race. We may have gone further and faster initially, which made us able to attract inward investment into this country as a result of our climate leadership, but other countries are following up further and faster in our tracks. I am reminded of the tale of the tortoise and the hare; the tortoises of the world are coming up, and we cannot just sit there pausing, thinking that this is good enough.
We have the United States Inflation Reduction Act, setting out £370 billion of investment in clean technologies, and the EU’s green deal, with the opportunity of up to €1 trillion of investment, but it is not just the investment that is important here—it is the certainty. I chaired the net zero review and published the “Mission Zero: Independent Review of Net Zero” report in January. We were very kindly granted a debate in both Chambers on the recommendations of those reports. Above all, the narrative that that mission zero report set out was that net zero is not a cost but an opportunity and an investment, and that there are two paths ahead of us.
The Secretary of State talked about two paths, and I will come on to that in a moment, but my own analysis is that the net zero path can potentially bring up to £1 trillion of inward investment and up to 480,000 new additional jobs by 2035, if we so wish. However, that path requires commitment from the Government to provide certainty, clarity, continuity and consistency—the four Cs that we identified—and a mission-based approach that provides long-term programmatic certainty. That certainty is almost more important than the money.
If we look at what the States has done, the 45Q and 45X tax credits are guaranteed until 1 January 2033. The Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau programme in Germany and the MaPrimeRénov’ energy efficiency programme in France are guaranteed over a decade. In contrast, in the UK we are still exposed to the tyranny of the spending review, and many of our programmes, whether in energy efficiency or clean energy, are bedevilled by the fact that they only last for three to four years at most and then have to start all over again. That does not provide the certainty to build out supply chains, it does not provide certainty for local authorities or regional Mayors to make investment, and it certainly does not provide the certainty needed for inward private investment to come to this country.
Let us be clear: of course there is a capital cost to energy transition and there is capital investment that needs to be made, but once the capital investment is made, the operational cost is far less than for fossil fuel technologies. However, that money will come above all not from the taxpayer, but overwhelmingly from private investors, who need certainty. Certainty does not come only from Government policy, legislation and regulation, although the net zero review was very clear in setting out 129 recommendations for how Government and Parliament can provide frameworks to ensure that investors have the opportunity to reduce delays and unblock the current problems whereby people cannot get grid connections until 2035. I welcome the progress that is being made on that, but certainty also comes from having cross-party consensus.
What is cross-party consensus? It does not necessarily mean that we will agree on everything. It is right in this democratic nation that we discuss the details of policies and hold each other to account, but let us understand that the consensus we need on climate was fought for by working closely together. The Climate Change Act 2008 was passed by the then Labour Government. The right hon. Member for Doncaster North (Edward Miliband) was the Secretary of State at the time, but he had the political courage to accept an amendment from the Conservative party, then in opposition, to raise our ambition from 60% emissions reduction on 1990 levels to 80%.
The legal framework that we had in place, with the carbon budgets process, and on top of that the Climate Change Committee acting as an independent advisory body—it does not make any policy recommendations, and to suggest that it does is deeply flawed, because all it does is to report back and advise on policy decisions, whoever makes them, whether it is the UK, Scottish or Welsh Government or even the Opposition—has been admired across the world as a paradigm of stability. Not only that, but it allowed me, as the Energy Minister back in 2019, to bring net zero into law.
Why was net zero so important for developing a clean energy superpower? Because it meant that there was nowhere to hide. No one could claim to be in that 20% that was too difficult to tackle. Net zero was everyone’s business, and with that came a moment when net zero went viral. If someone had told me back in 2019, I simply would not have believed that 93% of global GDP would have now signed up to a net zero target in some form.
However, for the UK that means that investment is now going elsewhere unless we raise our ambition. The terms of the game have changed in this year alone, partly due, obviously, to what has happened in geopolitics and the cost of oil and gas crisis generated by Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine. All countries in Europe have woken up to the fact that the answer to tackling the cost of gas crisis is to build out more renewable power. Even Ukraine has built 18 times more wind turbines than we have built onshore in the UK. There is only a finite amount of labour and investment, and we have a political choice to make whether we want that to come to UK, or whether we want to see it onshored elsewhere. I want to see it come to the UK.
We must set our priorities very clearly. Our priority must be that we want private investment to come to this country. We should retain that consensus and that ability to understand that, whoever becomes the next Administration at the next general election—I am not making a party political point here—we still need to work together. We all live under the same skies. We all operate under the same climate. Carbon dioxide does not care whether you are a Labour, Tory or SNP MP. All that matters is the real-terms emissions reductions we need to see.
When it comes to those emissions reductions, it is not about 2050; we cannot keep on kicking the can down the road. As COP28 will show, the globe will commit to a trebling of renewables and a doubling of energy efficiency measures in order to meet a halving of emissions by 2030. The UK needs to lead on the 68% emissions reduction target that it set in its own nationally determined contributions. The decisions we make today count not just for 27 years’ time, but for seven years’ time. That is what is at stake here.
That brings me, in conclusion, to the question of the future use of fossil fuels in this country. I understand that it is a closely fought debate, and unfortunately it has become politicised. I regret the decision that has been taken, but let us focus again on the evidence at hand. To start with, everyone in this Chamber, as far as I know, understands that we will need to continue using oil and gas. The Committee on Climate Change has set out the so-called balanced pathway, working alongside the North Sea Transition Authority, to recognise that we will still need to use oil and gas into the 2050s, but that we should do it with our existing wells and fields.
In reality, when it comes to looking at the future of oil and gas in this country, I do not belong to Just Stop Oil—I am not some eco-extremist just because I signed net zero into law, which was the bare minimum we could do. I saw net zero as a conservative mission, recognising that one of the priorities of the Conservative party, if anything at all, is to conserve. At the same time, it allowed us to generate economic growth and to ensure that all jobs, no matter the industry, were protected.
I am glad that we have raised the issue of jobs and people in oil and gas communities, because we must think about the individual communities and the people who work in those industries. They are highly talented and highly skilled, and we absolutely need their support to ensure that we can have a successful transition. The net zero review set out that we need an offshore industries passport; we need to make it far easier for individuals to move across into the industries of the future.
Politics is about priorities and deciding where investment goes. The Secretary of State mentioned the coalmines in the 1980, and in a way, I agree with her. Looking at what is left in the North sea, the decisions in the King’s Speech will mean, as Carbon Brief and a number of other environmental organisations have demonstrated, that instead of taking 95% of oil and gas out of the North sea basin, we will take out 97%—the equivalent of two weeks’ worth of oil and gas a year. That is the reality of what this energy security supposedly means.
It is not just me saying that. I have been handed this Conservative campaign headquarters brief, so I assume CCHQ wants me to read from it. It says:
“Even with continued licensing, production from the UK Continental Shelf is projected to decline at 7 per cent annually, this decline is faster than the average global decline”.
I even have the Conservative research department brief agreeing with me that there is not enough oil and gas in the North sea to make a difference; we will still be dependent on foreign oil and gas in future. It will predominantly be oil, and we do not have the refineries to be able to refine it, so it will still have to go the Netherlands and it will still be sold on international markets by foreign companies. Rosebank is operated by Equinor, a Norwegian company. I have nothing against Equinor, but we cannot pin a claim of energy security on the production of future oil and gas.
If we want to deliver effective energy security, we need to turn the debate on its head, because we have not really focused on what we need to achieve, which is a reduction in demand. We have been speaking a lot about supply, and that is fantastic, but if we want to be a clean energy superpower, we need to focus on our ability to reduce demand through energy efficiency measures such as heat pumps, and through understanding that we can reduce our gas demand, which is at the mercy of foreign petrostates and international markets, by up to 40%.
I know that the debate on oil and gas is emotive, and, to be honest, it is not helped by the performative protest of Just Stop Oil, which does not get anyone anywhere. No one in this Chamber supports Just Stop Oil. If we are honest, as democratically elected representatives, it is beneath us to suggest that any of us is in the same camp as Just Stop Oil. We are diametrically opposed, because we come to this Chamber to have democratic debate, across parties, about what is needed for the future, not to oppose for opposition’s sake. In understanding what needs to happen with the net zero transition, we need to ensure that we work together using the existing legislative apparatus—the CCC, the carbon budget process—and that we continue to lead, but that requires political certainty and political stability.
As I said, this is my last Gracious Speech debate, and, although I have so far supported every single such Speech in my parliamentary career, unfortunately this will be the first time that I am unable to vote for the King’s Speech. I apologise to His Majesty in advance— I hope that he does not mind—but I will not be put in a position of supporting new oil and gas licensing when it is not needed, either for environmental reasons, obviously, or for economic reasons.
This year alone, we have seen investment in oil and gas plummet. We have now seen investment in solar rise, to the point that it is at parity with oil and gas. If we continue to suggest that we can produce oil and gas forever, we will let down the communities that we need to transition. That is the point about the coalfields: we will end up being the Arthur Scargills of this world, claiming that we can forever continue mining coal. We cannot continue to drill for oil, because there is no oil left to drill. That is the economic reality that investors already understand. They are moving away from fossil fuels, and in 10 years’ time, people will look back at this debate and recognise that Westminster and Whitehall were behind the curve. The private sector and the markets are moving already. We need to listen now and clearly if we are to protect jobs for the future.
Barry Gardiner (Brent North) (Lab)
I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.
It is often said that it is a great pleasure to follow the previous speaker, and it could not be more of a pleasure for me to follow the final speech in a King’s Speech debate by the right hon. Member for Kingswood (Chris Skidmore), because he has been a champion in this House for a sensible way forward. His work on the Skidmore review was exemplary.
I also want to pick up on what the right hon. Member for Basingstoke (Dame Maria Miller) said about the need to maintain the cross-party consensus, which has been so vital to the progress that we have made over the past 10 years—and more than that, the past 15 years. Cross-party consensus has enabled us to progress. Yes, the past 10 years have been years of progress; the past 13 years have been years of progress. The foundation was laid very ably by my right hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster North (Edward Miliband), the Government took advantage of that, and we are now in a good place. We are in the lead, but we are not showing leadership. That is the difference: we need to show more leadership now.
Last winter, there were 4,706 excess winter deaths in Britain caused by living in cold, damp homes. That was 1,520 more than in the year before, and last winter was considered mild—let us all pray that this winter too is considered mild. I will examine what the King’s Speech will do for those in fuel poverty and those who will struggle in any winter because their property is simply draughty, damp, cold and un-insulated. How will this King’s Speech prevent even more excess deaths this winter?
It is often said that the first job of Government is to protect their citizens. That does not just mean from external threat or internal crime, but in the basics of life. What could be more basic than the warmth of a decent home? Thankfully, energy prices have fallen since last winter, but they remain 70% higher than in the year before, so what is the Government’s strategy? What demands have they made of the energy supply companies to help customers get through this winter? What measures are there to improve the energy efficiency of buildings? Some 21% of UK emissions—over a fifth of all our emissions—comes from heating leaky and inefficient buildings; 21% of emissions, but 100% misery for those living in those buildings.
The majority of those 4,706 excess deaths were pensioners, who are most vulnerable to the cold. What measures are the Government taking to ensure the uptake of pension credit? The Secretary of State worked at the Centre for Social Justice and at the Housing and Finance Institute, and she has been a Minister in the Department for Work and Pensions, so she knows the plight of pensioner poverty. Yet this King’s Speech holds no hope that the Government will tackle the problem of 37% of pensioners not getting pension credit.
Where is the Bill to retrofit energy efficiency measures in all our housing stock, to save money and save lives by making sure people can turn their heating down because their property is not losing every therm it pumps out? There is nothing—well, not quite nothing. Ahead of the King’s Speech, the Prime Minister announced that he was dropping the proposal to oblige landlords to ensure that the properties they rent to their tenants are brought up to a minimum energy performance certificate standard of C by 2028. That will ensure that 2.4 million privately rented homes continue to be cold, damp and energy-inefficient. It will ensure that 1.6 million children who we know are currently living in what are officially classed as “non-decent” homes have no relief for another seven years, until the new date set by the Prime Minister of 2035.
Of course, it is not the wealthy landlord who pays the heating bill. That means insulating the properties properly is not something they have an incentive to do, unless it is mandated by Government. It is calculated that the tenants, who do pick up the bill, will end up paying an extra £1 billion in their gas and electric bills because the Prime Minister wants to show that he is not an “eco-zealot”. I would not be proud to wear a badge of moderation on the backs of some of the poorest private sector renters in our country.
I am sure that Government Members will wish to point to the £400 payment from the energy bills support scheme, funded from the windfall tax on oil and gas producers last year. Of course, that still left bills twice as high as they had been previously and provided no relief for off-grid properties or those who had to use prepayment meters. Their alternative scheme for those 900,000 households reached just 2,000 bill payers and returned £440 million to the Treasury. Could the Government not even have the wit to put that money back into the system to provide energy efficiency measures for those properties?
What about the warm home discount? Two years ago, the Government revised the qualifications for it, which means that those 37% of pensioners who are not claiming pension credit do not get the warm home discount either. More than that, not all energy providers are obliged to offer the discount, and even those that are obliged have a limited obligation, which is used on a first come, first served basis.
The job of government is to get the help available to the people who need it. Winter is coming. The Government need to look at this again. They should be introducing a social tariff to protect our most vulnerable, struggling, fuel-poor citizens. They should get rid of the unfair and regressive standing charge and introduce a rising block tariff, so that those using less energy pay less per unit of energy, so that the principle of “polluter pays” applies and so that those who need to heat their swimming pools pay much more per unit to do so.
What we have in this King’s Speech is not the Bill to tackle fuel poverty that we need, but a Bill to shovel yet more public money to the oil and gas sector through the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill. The Government seek to justify the Bill by saying it will “enhance” this country’s energy security. It will not, because companies such as Shell and Siccar Point Energy sell their gas on the international markets and refine their oil abroad. The International Energy Agency has made it clear that we have already identified five times the amount of oil and gas that the world could possibly use if it is to keep within the 1.5° threshold of dangerous climate change.
These licences are part of a scramble to be the last country to sell the last barrel of oil. I gently remind the Secretary of State that the stone age did not end because of a lack of stone, and the oil age will not end because of a lack of oil—oh, but it will end! What my constituents living in cold, inefficient homes do not understand is why, under the tax rules devised by the Prime Minister when he was Chancellor, they are the ones who will end up paying to develop these licences. The taxpayer gives 92p in tax rebate for every £1 those companies spend developing these new fields in the North sea basin—companies such as Shell, whose own chief executive called his company’s profits “obscene”.
The Secretary of State tries to persuade the House and the public that these licences are justified because of the tax revenue they will bring. That might be an argument if the facts did not tell us that any tax revenues will not flow from these licences for the five to eight years that it will take to develop them. That might be an argument if the facts did not tell us that it will divert investment away from the real, cheaper, cleaner renewable energy that will actually reduce bills. It might be an argument if it were not the case that, even with the windfall tax, the tax take from oil and gas producers is less than the global average.
When the windfall tax expires next year, the UK tax take from oil and gas producers will fall back to the lowest tax rate in the world—not 10% less than the global average, and not 20% less, but 38% less than the global average. If we levied tax at the global average, we would get an extra £14 billion into the public purse that could address fuel poverty and retrofit those houses.
How does the Secretary of State explain that to the 4,706 families who lost loved ones to excess deaths, the 37% of pensioners not getting their warm home discount or the 2.4 million families now waiting an extra seven years for their landlord to insulate their homes properly? What will she tell them—that there was no time for a Bill to deal with the scourge of fuel poverty, but there was time to introduce a Bill to deal with the scourge of unlicensed pedicabs? Priorities; priorities.
Let me mention two further Bills in the Gracious Speech. I welcome unreservedly the Holocaust Memorial Bill and urge the Government to introduce it swiftly in the eight months before purdah sets in for the next general election. The significance of this Bill has only been heightened by the hideous terror attack on 7 October. Both sides of the House will give the Bill a speedy passage, so that we can build the memorial and learning centre. If there were ever a time that we needed such a learning centre against hatred, it is now.
Finally, I give a much caveated welcome to the leasehold and freehold Bill. If the Government see this Bill as a vehicle to end the feudal system of leasehold, they are wrong. It extends the right to enfranchise and own the freehold of one’s own home only to leasehold homes, not to the 5 million people who live in the misery of leasehold flats. England and Wales is the last redoubt of this antiquated and unjust property ownership. Every other country in the world has a commonhold or strata title system.
The fundamental problem with leasehold is the inequity of power. The leaseholder pays full market value for their apartment, but they have no power to take any of the key decisions that relate to it. They are told by the managing agent what repairs are required, who will do them and how much they will cost, but the leaseholder has to pay. It is not enough, as the Gracious Speech says, to improve leaseholders’ consumer rights. What we need is an abolition of leasehold. We need to abolish marriage value, and we need to enable enfranchisement, so that all leaseholders—not just leasehold house owners, but leasehold flat owners—are able to enjoy the full rights of property ownership, instead of being exploited as they are now.
David Duguid (Banff and Buchan) (Con)
It was my honour to attend the state opening of Parliament this week, representing the people of Banff and Buchan, particularly on this occasion of the first King’s Speech in over 70 years. I join others across the House in thanking His Majesty King Charles III for delivering the Gracious Speech.
In general terms, the King’s Speech shows that this Government are making the necessary long-term decisions to get this country on the right path for the future. One of the criticisms I am sure we all receive across the House is that politicians often focus too much on short-term outcomes, so this long-term approach is to be welcomed. This bright future will be delivered by growing the economy, strengthening society, keeping people safe and promoting our national interests.
The topic of today’s debate is making Britain a clean energy superpower, and it is on growing the economy and particularly the subject of energy security that I would like to focus. That will come as no surprise to most people in this House, as I have spoken at length in this place on the combined subjects of energy security and net zero even before that became the name of the Department headed by my right hon. Friend the Member for East Surrey (Claire Coutinho). The main thrust of my contributions has been, I believe, to reinforce the critical role played by oil and gas companies; their workers with their skills and expertise; the technology, supply chains and service companies; and, yes, the capital that those companies bring in making this country’s energy transition a success. I recognise that this appears counterintuitive to some across the House, but delivering on our energy security objectives and on our energy transition objectives are not mutually exclusive goals.
I therefore welcome the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill that was introduced this week. While this country continues to scale up our domestic, renewable and low-carbon sources of energy, data from the Climate Change Committee tells us that we are currently 75% dependent on oil and gas for our energy needs. As the right hon. Member for Doncaster North (Edward Miliband)—who is no longer in his place—mentioned earlier, that figure is not just for electricity generation, but includes transportation and heat. It was the Climate Change Committee that pushed for the very ambitious target of the UK getting to net zero emissions by 2050. That target was put into law by this Conservative Government—in fact, by my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingswood (Chris Skidmore)—making the UK the first major economy anywhere in the world to do so.
That data from the Climate Change Committee also tells us that by 2050, when we reach net zero, this country is predicted to still be at least 20% dependent on oil and gas. As has already been established, we have decarbonised faster than any other G7 country compared with 1990 levels: we have reduced emissions by almost 50%, with a target to reach a 68% reduction by 2030. We have almost completely transitioned away from coal, which provided 70% of our power generation in 1990 but provides less than 2% today, and the deadline for zero unabated coal power has been brought forward to 2024—just next year.
However, we have some way to go if we are to get to net zero. I make no apologies for saying this: we absolutely must continue to develop and install more and more renewable, low-carbon and sustainable sources of energy to generate the electricity and provide the heat and transport that our economy needs. We will continue to deliver more wind, solar, carbon capture and storage, hydrogen and other technologies to actively reduce the demand for oil and gas. We have come a long way, but we are not there yet. We need to get from where we are today to where we need to be in the future through the energy transition that we have already embarked upon—an transition that the oil and gas industry has been embarked upon for decades.
To give an example, we need look no further than Peterhead power station in my constituency. That power station came onstream in 1980, and is today the only dispatchable thermal power station north of Leeds. Originally designed to run on fuel oil, which already made it cleaner than coal-powered stations elsewhere in the country, it was operating fully on natural gas by the 1990s. In the 2000s, combined cycle gas turbine technology was installed, which made the station even more efficient. It is now towards the end of its life, and a new power station is planned to be built at the same site. With roughly two thirds of the capacity of the current power station, but linked to the Acorn carbon capture project at the nearby St Fergus terminal just up the coast, that new facility will generate power that is at least 95% emission-free. As many in the House will know, Acorn forms part of the Scottish CCS cluster, which will help decarbonise industrial processes at the Mossmorran liquefied natural gas plant in Fife and the petrochemical complex at Grangemouth in the central belt, among others.
As I have said, the energy transition is already happening, not just within the hydrocarbon production industry but by utilising the skills, technology and supply chains of that industry. I welcome this Government’s recognition of the vital role that oil and gas companies, and their more than 200,000 workers across the UK, will have to play in that energy transition.
The Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill will require the North Sea Transition Authority to run an annual process inviting applications for new production licences in the UK continental shelf. A licensing round would take place only if the UK was projected to import more oil and gas from abroad than it produces domestically—that is, to continue being a net importer. The carbon emissions linked to UK gas production would also need to be lower than the equivalent emissions from imported liquefied natural gas. Those two tests are already included in the Government’s climate tests for new licences, known as the climate compatibility checkpoint. The Bill would make the tests legally binding.
I have heard some Members say, including today—in fact, I think it is the official Opposition’s policy, or at least it has been their policy—that not only should we not award any new production licences, but we should simply keep producing from the wells we have. That shows a staggering lack of understanding of how oil and gas reservoirs work. According to Offshore Energies UK, the trade body for the offshore energies industry,
“There are currently 284 active oil and gas fields in the North Sea and by 2030 around 180 of those will have ceased production due to natural decline.”
OEUK has warned that without fresh investment, by 2030 the UK will be reliant on oil and gas imports not for 50% of its needs, as it is today, but for 80%. As I have said, more than 200,000 jobs depend on the continuity of North sea energy companies. That workforce has developed world-leading specialist skills since oil and gas production from the UKCS began in the 1970s. About 90% of those workers have skills that can be readily transferred to renewable energy production, and in the growing carbon capture, utilisation and storage sector that figure is probably closer to 100%.
To recap, why does the UK need more oil and gas licences? Data from the NSTA shows that the UK replaced only 3% of production with new reserves in 2022, meaning that only one new barrel was invested in for every 33 barrels produced today. The UK is expected to close production from 20 fields this year, while only two new fields will start producing, and for every oil and gas well drilled, around three are closed. Even with an increase in new wells, we will not be producing more oil and gas; even in the most optimistic projections, with new oil and gas, production is predicted to continue to decline by 7% a year. Let me repeat that: new oil and gas does not mean more oil and gas, but we do need to maximise the amount of oil and gas we get from the UKCS for as long as we need it. And need it we will —need it we do!
As I said earlier, as we grow our capacity for renewable, low-carbon and sustainable forms of energy, our demand for oil and gas is set to decline, from 75% today to 20% in 2050. As such, if we need oil and gas, it makes sense at the most basic level of understanding that we should produce it as locally as we can. The carbon footprint of importing liquified natural gas, for example, can be anything between two and five times that of domestically produced gas.
David Duguid
Norway is the two. Actually, it is broadly equivalent, but apart from Norway, any gas coming in from overseas has between two and five times the carbon footprint. New oil and gas capacity will reduce exposure to global instability—the kind of instability that we saw when Russia invaded Ukraine. This Bill means that we can reach net zero without unduly burdening families and businesses. Data from the North Sea Transition Authority and the Climate Change Committee tells us that if we produce as much oil and gas from the new wells as we can, that will still merely slow the decline in production. Even with an optimistic 7% year-on-year decline—I mean optimistic from a producer’s point of view—that decline is faster than the average global decline needed to align with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 1.5°C pathway.
Finally, if we follow the SNP’s presumption against new oil and gas or Labour’s Just Stop Oil approach and shut down this vital industry too soon, we will not see a massive transfer of workers to the renewables sector, as is predicted. We will not even see a bunch of unemployed oil and gas workers; we will see a massive exodus of those oil and gas workers, going where the oil and gas industry is being promoted.
Richard Thomson
I thank the hon. Member for giving way. In his haste to castigate the SNP for presumptions against oil and gas, will he not at least have the intellectual honesty to recognise that in the climate change compatibility checkpoints, his own Government are introducing a presumption against further development, no matter how weak and feeble that presumption might seem to anyone with a care for the subject?
David Duguid
I have heard the hon. Gentleman make that remark before, and I am sorry to say that I completely disagree. A presumption against new oil and gas development is a presumption against new oil and gas development; a climate change compatibility checkpoint is part of an assumption of new oil and gas, so it is not a presumption against new oil and gas. [Interruption.] I have just explained it.
Those workers with their skills and expertise, those supply chains and those service companies with their technology will simply go elsewhere—as I have said—and deliver someone else’s energy security and energy transition. I commend the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill for showing this Government’s commitment to not let that happen, and to make the right decisions for this country’s long-term future.
Caroline Lucas (Brighton, Pavilion) (Green)
I would like to start by saying what I think we can all clearly see: that the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill announced in the Gracious Speech is no more than a cheap and divisive gimmick. It is nothing but a last-ditch attempt to boost the Prime Minister’s ailing poll ratings and simultaneously prop up the dying oil and gas industry. It is a deeply dangerous attempt at that, because undermining the hard-won climate consensus for short-term electoral point scoring is simply reckless and threatens the progress that all of us in this House have worked so hard to achieve.
In reality, the Bill will make no difference at all. It will require the North Sea Transition Authority to run an annual process of inviting applications for new production licences. However, as the Minister well knows, the NSTA was already holding annual licensing rounds—most recently in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. This was only paused in 2020 when it said that it would await the so-called climate compatibility checkpoint before opening further rounds. Now that the checkpoint is in operation, we can expect the NSTA to resume regular licensing rounds, not least because it has the obscene legal duty to “maximise economic recovery” of petroleum from the North sea.
Instead of adding more obsolete and outdated legislation to our statute book, the Government should be bringing our laws up to date and ensuring that they help, rather than hinder, our transition to a zero-carbon society, especially when this embarrassment of a Bill will do absolutely nothing, as so many hon. Members have said, to help those struggling households facing energy bills that are double what they were two years ago, with a staggering 6 million households in fuel poverty as we head into the winter. Indeed, it was the Secretary of State herself who let the cat out of the bag earlier this week by almost immediately contradicting the Prime Minister’s claim that new licences would help to reduce bills by admitting, as we have heard, that
“it wouldn’t necessarily bring energy bills down, that’s not what we’re saying.”
Even the Prime Minister’s closest allies cannot stand by his falsehoods, and it is no wonder. Despite the Prime Minister’s failed attempts to present this legislation as “benefiting families”, the truth is that the only people it will help are the fossil fuel companies that pocket the profits, because any oil and gas that is extracted will be owned by private companies and sold on the global markets to the highest bidder—I really do not understand what is so difficult about getting one’s head around that—and because
“more U.K. production wouldn’t reduce the global price of gas.”
Those are not my words, but those of Tory party chairman and former Energy Minister, the right hon. Member for Chelsea and Fulham (Greg Hands).
If the Government genuinely cared about reducing households’ costs, they would look to urgently decouple the price of electricity from expensive gas. If they genuinely cared about people’s bills, they would work to get off costly fossil fuels altogether, including by bringing forward a much-needed and long-delayed nationwide, street by street, local authority-led energy efficiency programme to upgrade the UK’s cold and leaky homes. If the consequences were not so dreadful, the Prime Minister’s claim that his party is saving British families money would be frankly laughable, because the Climate Change Committee itself has been crystal clear that the callous decision to scrap the upgrade to the minimum energy efficiency standards for private rented homes
“will lead to higher household energy bills”.
In fact, at current prices, tenants of upgraded homes would stand to save over £300 a year, and would still save about £250 at so-called normal prices. What we have is an energy affordability crisis, not an energy supply crisis, so the Government’s decision to double down on the very thing that is driving high energy bills is not just negligent, but positively absurd.
Let me turn to some of the Government’s other misrepresentations. It is exasperating that, despite being told time and again that new oil and gas extracted from the North sea will not improve the UK’s energy security, Ministers continue to rehearse the same old tired line, with the Prime Minister once again pointing to energy security in Tuesday’s debate. Let me remind the Minister again why new licences will not deliver on that goal. First, 70% of the remaining North sea reserves are oil, not gas, the majority of which will be put in tankers and exported overseas because it is not suitable for UK refineries. Secondly, the hundreds of licences that have been issued already in the 13 years under Conservative Governments have provided the UK with a grand total of 16 days’ worth of gas, half of which was exported to the Netherlands. Thirdly, the NSTA has itself confirmed that new licences would only make a difference to gas production “around the edges”, given the age and geology of the basin. As I have said, the best solution to volatile gas prices is to reduce our dependence on gas altogether, not to redouble it.
When the Prime Minister announced this Bill on Tuesday, he emphasised its importance in
“supporting hundreds of thousands of British jobs.”—[Official Report, 7 November 2023; Vol. 740, c. 20.]
I very much share his concern for workers in the North sea, but the reality is that, while the Government have awarded more than 400 new licences in the last decade, over 200,000 jobs have been lost in the sector over that same time period, because—I say it again—the North sea is a declining basin. So may I urge Ministers to stop playing politics, and instead get on with delivering a proper just transition for workers and communities, alongside unleashing our abundant renewables to create good, well-paid green jobs for the long term?
May I also draw Ministers’ attention to the words of Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, who recently said that those expanding oil and gas production could be
“taking very unhealthy, unwise economic and climate risks”.
While they may profess the economic benefits of new oil and gas, we should not ignore the risk of stranded assets, as Mr Birol suggests, which it is estimated could exceed $1 trillion globally, nor the Office for Budget Responsibility’s warning that continuing to rely on gas at our current levels could cost more than double the public investment required for the transition to net zero.
Finally, it was utterly bizarre to hear the Secretary of State say earlier this week and again today that the tax revenues from future oil and gas production, which may not materialise for decades, could be invested in renewables. Why not just invest in renewables in the first place, and do it now?
Caroline Lucas
No, you are not. From a sedentary position, Ministers say, “We are”, but I would draw their attention to the last round for offshore wind. Tell us again how much that delivered? It was a big round zero —so let us be a little bit serious about this issue.
Moving to the specifics of the Bill, the Government’s proposed tests are simply not worth the paper they are written on. These tests are meant to ensure that a new licensing round supports the delivery of net zero, if indeed such a thing were possible with a new round. Let us look at the tests. The net importer test is supposed to ensure that the UK remains a net importer of both oil and gas, which clearly does not relate to the impact of oil and gas on our climate at all.
The carbon intensity test is to ensure that the average carbon intensity of domestic gas is lower than the average carbon intensity of imported liquefied natural gas. It is profoundly frustrating that the Government continue to point to LNG, the dirtiest form of gas imports, while ignoring the fact that more than half of our gas imports come via a pipeline from Norway, where gas production is half as polluting as in the UK. Worse, these tests ignore the fact that new oil and gas production can never be compatible with our climate targets.
The Climate Change Committee itself observed earlier this year:
“Expansion of fossil fuel production is not in line with Net Zero.”
Indeed, it went on to spell out:
“The UK will continue to need some oil and gas until it reaches Net Zero, but this does not in itself justify the development of new North Sea fields.”
I know the Minister may say that what they are proposing is not an expansion and that even with continued licensing, as we have heard, production from the UK continental shelf is projected to decline at 7% annually, while not proceeding with new licences increases reliance on imported LNG. Yet that thinking implies that this new production in the UK will replace expansion elsewhere, and we know that that is simply not the case.
However much the Government choose to ignore our climate reality, the truth is that there is already far more coal, oil and gas in existing developments than can be safely burnt if we, our children and our grandchildren are to have any hope of a liveable future. Indeed, I draw their attention the latest UN production gap report, which was published just yesterday. It revealed very plainly, as I say, that Governments already plan to produce more than double the amount of fossil fuels in 2030 than will be consistent with limiting heating to 1.5°C.
I do wish the Government would end the misinformation that they continue to promulgate. Instead, would the Minister confirm if these tests will be replacing the climate compatibility checkpoint, which is marginally more robust despite abysmally failing to take account of scope 3 emissions—in other words, those produced when the oil and gas is actually burnt, rather than just the extraction emissions—and if so, will she admit that this is a further weakening of our climate commitments, and heed the advice of the Climate Change Committee and halt this legislation all together?
Will Ministers also stop Rosebank, which was cynically approved during conference recess, when there was no opportunity for parliamentary scrutiny? The project is no less than a climate crime and would leave the UK’s climate record in tatters. At nearly 500 million barrels of oil and gas, this development is enormous—triple the size of neighbouring Cambo. If its contents were to be burned, they would produce over 200 million tonnes of CO2; that is more than the combined annual CO2 emissions of all 28 low-income countries in the world, which together are home to 700 million people. That is not to mention the fact that the British public would carry almost all the costs of developing Rosebank, thanks to the Government’s generous subsidy regime, which would hand Equinor over £3 billion in tax breaks, all while Equinor pockets the profit. In what world could that ever be justified, let alone in the context of the climate and cost of living crises?
Let us remind ourselves that this Bill has nothing to do with protecting households, and everything to do with populism and division. It is just part of the Government’s cynical attempt to stoke yet another culture war by falsely pitting meeting our climate targets against the cost of living scandal, rather than taking steps to address the very real concerns that families up and down this country face. Instead, we have this pitiful Bill, which will do nothing to help anyone except the fossil fuel companies.
Why are the Government not delivering the future we know is possible by, for example, bringing in a green new deal Bill to kick start the transformation we need: a future in which everyone has a warm and comfortable home to live in and the scourge of fuel poverty is eliminated; a future where everyone has access to good green jobs and a proper just transition has been delivered for workers and communities; a future that is powered by cheap and clean renewables, rather than the fossil fuels which are driving the climate crisis; a future in which the Government have responded to the urgency of the climate and ecological emergency, as we know the public are crying out for them to do? It is entirely possible to deliver this future, yet what has been made painfully clear by this King’s Speech is that this Government are neither capable nor willing to do it. We are out of time for our country and our climate. We need a general election now.
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (The Cotswolds) (Con)
It was wonderful to see His Majesty deliver his first Gracious Speech as King, announcing the Government’s priorities for this year. I am grateful to you, Mr Deputy Speaker, and the House for giving me the opportunity to participate in this important debate.
It is customary in this House to commend the previous speaker, but in this case, I think I will just leave it at that.
I would like to see the measures in the King’s Speech formed by the Government into a coherent narrative, so that my constituents in The Cotswolds have a clear understanding of the direction in which we wish to take this country over the next few years. This is an important opportunity to present a long-term vision.
Our foremost priority is to see our economy flourish and to alleviate the burden of the cost of living. A key component of economic growth will be securing our energy supply, including through the introduction of modular nuclear reactors, which I mentioned when I intervened on the Secretary of State. It is interesting to note that, despite the recent geopolitical tensions, gas and oil prices have stabilised to pre Russia-Ukraine conflict levels. That stability will translate into tangible relief for households this winter, as we anticipate a notable reduction in winter utility bills. The Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill, mentioned many times in this debate, will help to protect hundreds of thousands of jobs in the energy sector and support the Government’s bid to achieve energy security.
As the Secretary of State mentioned, we should use the revenue from licensing to help to fund the transition to clean energy and jobs and to support the Government’s pragmatic approach to reaching the goal of net zero by 2050, which I know is an important commitment to my constituents. The UK is one of the first countries to commit to ending unabated coal-fuelled generation and has cut emissions by more than 40% since the turn of the century. At the same time, our economy has grown by two thirds.
Inflation, as we all know, casts a wide shadow, affecting every facet of our lives and everyone from individuals and families to businesses, Government and local authorities. I am pleased that the King’s Speech opened and closed on a goal of reducing inflation to the Bank of England’s 2% target rate, but I am concerned that while the Bank of England unbundles quantitative easing, it is busily selling bonds at today’s yields, which will lock us into high interest rates for many years to come.
I cannot conclude my speech without making a plug for tax-free shopping, which I have been championing for many years, with the help of the Association of International Retail. I called a debate in September to discuss how extending tax-free shopping to EU visitors would create a new multibillion-pound shopping-led tourism market. Restoring tax-free shopping to foreign visitors to this country would directly create 78,000 new jobs in the UK, add up to £4.1 billion to UK GDP annually, and result in a net positive for His Majesty’s Treasury of £300 million each year. I hope the Ministers on the Treasury Bench heard that, because it is important. Such a policy would be a real win for retail businesses, manufacturers and hospitality venues up and down the country.
I want to take this opportunity to reassure my constituents that the Government are steadfast in their resolve to reduce inflation, which should create the opportunity to reduce interest rates. By the turn of the year, we expect to witness a significant decrease in the rising cost of essential commodities, including food and energy, which will shore up the finances of many households.
After the economy, the second biggest issue being raised with me on the doorstep is the NHS. I acknowledge the challenges, particularly in Gloucestershire, of prolonged ambulance waiting times and bed shortages. Strides have been taken to address those concerns and we are witnessing a commendable downward trend, but we are aware of the need to make further progress, particularly by strengthening social services to provide enhanced care at home for those who need it, so that people can be discharged from hospital quickly.
Despite growing waiting lists, the NHS is treating 10% more patients than before the pandemic, and 1.42 million people came off the waiting list in August compared with 1.29 million in August 2019. We have seen improvements in the backbone of our healthcare system—GPs and dentists—particularly in Gloucestershire, I am pleased to say. We have taken steps to improve the availability of NHS treatment, and from this month a number of local dentists will be providing some additional urgent capacity on a newly commissioned contract for both in and out-of-hours work, as well as a number of stabilisation appointments. Nevertheless, it is important to tackle the bottlenecks caused by strikes by junior doctors and consultants, which hinder waiting list reduction and harm patients’ prospects. Finally, I welcome the announcements in the King’s Speech on tobacco and vaping, which will be a step in the right direction of protecting the health of future generations.
The third biggest issue raised with me when I speak to constituents is education. I had the pleasure of a productive meeting with the acting head of Cirencester College, which stands at the forefront of T-level education —a Government initiative that has witnessed a commendable increase in enrolment. With the increase from 10 to 13 T-levels Cirencester College is thriving, with a record 3,300-strong student body coming from a 60 km radius, underscoring its importance to our community. I share the acting head’s enthusiasm for the proposed advanced British standard and for increasing apprenticeships. I know the college is keen to be at the forefront of the ABS policy’s introduction, leading the way in shaping policies on advanced education. This enthusiasm stems from a belief that a blend of academic and vocational education produces rounded individuals who are better equipped for both the workforce and higher education.
None the less, we must not overlook the pressing need to address mental health concerns and absenteeism among youngsters in our schools. Government figures indicate that 54% of secondary school pupils who have some involvement with the social care system are persistently absent from school. Among other children, the figure is only 28%.
Since covid, I have worked closely with a number of schools in my constituency that have faced a growing problem with absent children or with pupils who require mental health support. Many of our teachers provide excellent help, but deep-seated problems in our society are not always recognised. Young pupils are accessing social media with their phones and setting alarms to wake them up literally in the middle of the night to see the next episode of their chosen thing. That is just one aspect of what is happening in our society today.
Our ambition to nurture some of the most highly educated pupils in the world is rooted in our desire to harness the full potential of new technologies. From groundbreaking medical advancements to the integration of AI, which we heard about in the statement to the House earlier, we are committed to modernising regulation to facilitate the growth and competitiveness of major tech firms in the UK. That has the potential to revolutionise this country, particularly in respect of some of its deep-seated problems, such as how to decarbonise and meet our 2050 targets. A series of Bills, including the Automated Vehicles Bill, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill and the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill will be introduced to govern the actions of those global tech giants, ensuring a level playing field for established and emerging technologies.
Finally, after 15 years of campaigning for the A417 Missing Link/Air Balloon project in my constituency, I am glad to tell the House that construction is now beginning. The project will provide a safe dual road linking the M4 at Swindon to the M5 at Gloucester. What the House may not know, because I have not said this before, is that this is also an exciting project from an environmental perspective. Some 140,000 trees will be planted, a 38 metre-wide green bridge will span the road and a significant area of rare calcareous grasses will be planted. That should ensure that this big project produces a net biodiversity gain—among the first for a major road scheme in this country.
The Government must continue to build on their commendable environmental record; to lead the charge in combating climate change and particularly biodiversity loss, which has not been mentioned so far in the debate; to support developing nations in their transition to sustainable energy sources; and to hold other nations accountable for their own environmental commitment, as my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has so ably set out today.
Mrs Sharon Hodgson (Washington and Sunderland West) (Lab)
Unfortunately, as we have heard from other hon. Members, both today and yesterday, the King’s Speech failed to address some key policy areas, and I am going to highlight just three missed opportunities.
In 2024, automotive companies such as Nissan in my constituency will experience new financial and regulatory pressures, including the zero-emission vehicles mandate, which requires 22% of new cars sold in 2024 to be zero emission, and that will increase to 80% by 2030. Nissan, of course, is confident that it will meet all these new measures, but instead of helping manufacturers cope with the increased pressures, the Government have pulled the rug from under them by changing strategy and delaying their electric vehicles net zero 2030 commitment. That has inflicted uncertainty on investors, which will only delay the critical infrastructure that must be built for electric vehicle use. It also gives consumers less incentive to buy electric vehicles, which will simply leave manufacturers footing the bill as a result of decreased demand. That is the opposite of what should be happening: the Government are in the way of progress, not supporting it. We need them to move out of the way, get out of the seat of power and make way for a Government who have a plan, and indeed a mission, to reach net zero in a timely manner.
In the meantime, however, the Government must find a route forward that ensures that manufacturers are not left to deal with the consequences of Government indecision. The 2030 target is right for the public, right for manufacturers and right for the planet. We must ensure that the right signals are sent to investors and customers by delaying no longer and supporting the financing of key infrastructure such as much-needed battery gigafactories —I have one in my constituency, but we need at least another eight or nine to reach the 2030 target—and charging points at home and in public spaces.
As well as our manufacturing sector, the UK is known around the world for punching above our weight in music, theatre and sport. We as a country should be proud of our cultural industries, and that brings me to my second point. We are plagued by online touts who, often with the help of bots and other malicious software, buy tickets on an industrial scale and then resell them at hugely inflated prices. That is occurring everywhere, from local football games to our theatres, music venues and arenas and, sadly, even our much-loved Royal Albert Hall, where Ed Sheeran tickets originally costing £200 were resold for up to £6,000—30 times their original value. That comes despite Ed Sheeran and other artists, such as Taylor Swift before her forthcoming world tour, explicitly condemning inflated ticket resales and putting measures in place to prevent them. Ed Sheeran even wrote to all the seat holders at the Royal Albert Hall pleading with them not to resell their tickets at inflated prices. However, some still did.
Sites such as Viagogo, which resell huge numbers of tickets at vastly inflated prices, buy themselves to the top of every Google search by using paid-for ads. Regulatory bodies such as the Competition and Markets Authority—our enforcement body—lack the powers to tackle these secondary sites appropriately even when criminality is known to be present, and it is almost impossible to enforce against them. When the CMA asked the Government for much-needed extra powers in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill to tackle this ticket abuse, the Government said no. One can therefore only assume that they are on the side of the touts—they are certainly not on the side of the fans.
I am chair of the all-party parliamentary group on ticket abuse, and our demand is simple: ticket resales should be capped at face value plus a small amount up to a maximum of 10% to account for booking fees— I do not want this to affect anyone who genuinely buys a ticket and then cannot go to the event. These reforms have already seen great success in Ireland, where a version of my 2011 private Member’s Bill—the Sale of Tickets (Sporting and Cultural Events) Bill—became law a few years back, although my Bill was, sadly, talked out in this Chamber. It is time that we sent a clear message to touts that the UK cares about live events and genuine fans, not touts. When the Labour party is in government, I hope we will back that sentiment with legislation, as Ireland has.
Finally, since the pandemic, we have seen a public outcry of support for policies expanding school food programmes but almost nothing from our Government, including in this King’s Speech. As the cost of living crisis rages, more and more families are struggling with rising food costs. However, the cost of living crisis is affecting not only families; it is also crippling the catering services that deliver school meals to our children. The current funding allocation of just £2.53 per meal still massively fails to keep up with inflation and has increased only by 5% since 2014—that is 5% in almost a decade. In the same period, the national minimum wage has increased by over 60%, and rightly so.
Anthony Mangnall (Totnes) (Con)
I am sorry to interrupt the hon. Lady, but perhaps the reason why there is not a note in the King’s Speech about school food is that we introduced the Procurement Act 2023, which is very much designed to shorten those supply chains to make it easier for that food to get into our schools and public organisations. As I understand it, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has promised to look at models such as in Denmark, where there are these targets, to ensure that we can improve the quality and value of the food we are giving to children.
Mrs Hodgson
Absolutely, and that might help, but that does not take away from the fact that £2.53, which is what schools get to procure food from wherever they do so, is not enough. Every day, providers tell me they are having to start to cut back on the quality of ingredients and, at the same time, raise the prices for the children who pay for their school food; otherwise, literally the whole service will collapse. In my opinion, that is just unacceptable. Providers tell me that funding for free school meals and universal infant free school meals needs to be increased to well over £3 per meal just so that they can break even and provide the high-quality, nutritious meals that we all want to see our children eating in our schools.
Shockingly, 200,000 children in England are technically eligible for free school meals but are missing out on this important service because we do not have auto-enrolment. Implementing auto-enrolment would resolve that injustice quickly and easily. It would prevent more eligible children from slipping through the safety net that is there for them and be a great support for struggling families, meaning that they do not have to provide a packed lunch every day for their children when they are actually eligible for free school meals.
In an even more shocking statistic, there are 800,000 children whose families receive universal credit and are identified as living below the poverty line, yet they are ineligible for free school meals due to the ridiculously low earnings eligibility threshold of £7,400 before benefits. That threshold needs at least to be almost doubled to £14,000, which it currently is in Northern Ireland. With those 800,000 and 200,000 children I just spoke of, there are a million children in need being failed every day, with many going hungry. Our school food system is in crisis, and it cannot go on like this, but the King’s Speech did nothing to address any of that. In my opinion, that is shameful.
Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)
It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Washington and Sunderland West (Mrs Hodgson), who makes her points with great candour and is, as always, well researched. I was honoured to witness the first King’s Speech in more than 70 years, albeit from a tightly cramped room at the back of the House of Lords, not being able to see the King and just about able to hear him. However, it was a true landmark in British history.
I welcome the Government’s commitment to ensuring that we deal with long-term issues and change the country for the better. There is an agenda of exciting Bills that will have an exceedingly positive impact on the people of this country, but much of government, of course, does not have to be legislation; it can be good administration.
On energy, I well remember how in the 1980s, before I came to this House, I account managed the computer equipment that kept our power stations running, and indeed in the early 1990s I was responsible for the team who kept our power stations’ telecommunications running as part of my roles at Unisys and then BT. The transformation that has taken place in our power stations up and down the country is enormous. From having mainly coal-fired power stations, it is truly transformational that we now have renewables supplying so much more of our power, but what we have failed to do over successive Governments is invest in the new nuclear power stations required to replace the ageing ones. My hon. Friend the Member for The Cotswolds (Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown) mentioned small modular nuclear reactors. We must advance that technology rapidly, get it in place and ensure that nuclear plays its part, because it is vital for our energy security that we have a mixed supply of energy, with renewables, nuclear, and fossil fuels where required.
Bob Blackman
By the way, the hon. Member for Angus (Dave Doogan) referred to the title of this great debate, but he was wrong in that regard as it was chosen by the Opposition, not the Government. I will give way to him in a moment.
The reality is that we need to ensure a continuity of supply. We should understand that nuclear power is vital to keeping the baseload, and we build on that on the grid when demand increases. Of course, gas-fired power stations are often required at peaks and troughs when we need to get energy quickly into the grid. Unfortunately, it often seems that many colleagues do not understand the industry or the science behind it.
Dave Doogan
I am grateful to the hon. Member for his insight and education in the vagaries of this place—although I have no intention of hanging around long enough to become expert myself. He is an advocate of SMR, which he is entitled to be. What is his best guess for when the first megawatt of electricity from SMR will be generated in the United Kingdom?
Bob Blackman
I am not a clairvoyant, so I cannot predict when that will happen. However, I urge my hon. Friends on the Front Bench to get on with the job and ensure that we deliver that for the people of this country.
It is equally important that we ensure that we are not reliant on hostile regimes from abroad for the supply of our energy. The important point made by, I think, my hon. Friend the Member for Banff and Buchan, was that the new licences for drilling in the North sea that we are talking about are only replacing those going out of commission, so we continue to be in a position whereby we enable our net zero transition to take place. It is also important that, when we face hostile regimes such as those in Russia and Iran, we maintain our domestic supply as appropriate and, as has been said, safeguard 200,000 jobs in the UK as a result.
It is right that we take those sensible decisions to encourage the growth of renewables and utilise them, but, when the wind does not blow and the sun does not shine, we cannot always rely on renewables, so we need a mixed supply. That is my key message for the Government. We do not need legislation for much of what needs to be done; we need good administration, and I can rely on my hon. Friends on the Front Bench to deliver that.
I turn to other measures mentioned in the King’s Speech, the most exciting of which for me were those on smoking and youth vaping. I declare my interest as chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on smoking and health. Ever since I arrived in this place 13 and a half years ago, I have been leading debates on the scourge of smoking and trying to prevent young people from ever starting to smoke. I sponsored the original debate on standardisation of tobacco products packaging and met Ministers on that. I was opposed by the Government at the time, but of course we delivered that from the Back Benches and the Government took it up. Indeed, I have worked with Dr Javed Khan to establish the clear roadmap that we need to make England smoke-free by 2030.
I was delighted to hear the Prime Minister’s speech at party conference—and I looked back and saw that plagiarism had arrived, because much of it was gleaned from speeches I made either in this Chamber or in Westminster Hall. I was delighted to hear him take up those words of wisdom. I have also spoken to Professor Sir Chris Whitty on what we need to do to ensure that smokefree 2030 actually happens. Raising the age of sale will prevent people from becoming addicted to smoking in the first place. Government modelling suggests that we will avoid up to 115,000 cases of stroke, heart disease, lung cancer and other lung diseases—admittedly by 2075, but saving tens of thousands of lives in the process and billions of pounds for the national health service on treating people who smoke.
Once someone smokes, it is likely that they will carry on smoking for the rest of their lives, and find it very hard to quit. The damage they do comes in later life, in their 30s, 40s and 50s—that is when they suffer. Two thirds of the public support the measure. It is not a matter of free choice to smoke once people are addicted. Two in three people who try just one cigarette go on to become daily smokers. Most of them regret ever starting. I do not want any children to take up smoking. It is still the leading cause of preventable death and disease, responsible for a quarter of all cancers and 64,000 deaths a year. No other consumer product kills up to two thirds of its users. Once they start, four in five smokers become addicted before they turn 20. The reality is that we must raise that age rapidly—I would rather see it raised more rapidly, but at least we are making a great start.
Smoking has a direct cost to the public purse of £21 billion a year—more than double the £10 billion raised through revenue. The chief medical officer, Professor Sir Chris Whitty, made the point succinctly:
“The key points about vaping…can be easily summarised. If you smoke, vaping is much safer; if you don’t smoke, don’t vape; marketing vapes to children is utterly unacceptable.”
I welcome the measures to be introduced in the Bill. They cannot come soon enough, particularly for young people.
I move on to the leasehold reform Bill. We have yet to see the detail of the leasehold reform, and I echo the words of the hon. Member for Brent North (Barry Gardiner), my constituency neighbour. It is important that we make it cheaper and easier for leaseholders to extend their lease and take over management of their building. The Bill will definitely ban leaseholds for new houses, but not for new flats in England and Wales. Therefore, although the standard lease extension will increase to 990 years from the 90 years originally allowed, that will not achieve the enfranchisement and the abolition of leasehold that many of us in this House would dearly like to see.
I welcome the measures to be introduced, but we must remember that many young people who buy their first property do so on a leasehold basis. They are often not given proper legal advice about what happens and, as a result, they do not understand the consequences.
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown
I declare my interest as a chartered surveyor. There is a scourge that we need to deal with in the Bill. I have lots of constituents living in homes on housing estates built in the past 10 years that are leasehold and have escalating ground rents. As my hon. Friend said, they did not understand the consequences when they bought those homes. We need to address that problem.
Bob Blackman
I agree. The other measure that must be introduced is to stop the scam of property developers building properties, selling the leaseholds and then selling the freehold to finance companies, which rip off the leaseholders without the leaseholders even being told that their leasehold has been sold. I have been campaigning on this issue for some time. It is the policy of some house builders in this country to do that after six months without even notifying the leaseholders. Considering that individuals might not be given the proper advice about the potential consequences during conveyancing, it is absolutely disgraceful. The final thing I will say about the leasehold reform Bill is that we need to extend the measures in the Building Safety Act 2022 to ensure that freeholders and developers are not able to escape their liabilities for building remediation work required for fire safety and beyond.
I declare my interest as the co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group for ending homelessness. Let me be clear: homelessness is not a lifestyle choice. Every case of homelessness and rough sleeping is unique. All those individuals who, unfortunately, are forced into sleeping rough on our streets need help; they need to be sought out and given an opportunity to rebuild their lives. Many may have suffered accidents and are unable to work. Many may have been in a broken relationship that they were unable to sustain, and have nowhere to live.
Under my Homelessness Reduction Act 2017, which I note several Ministers claim to be a Government measure—it was my private Member’s Bill that the Government supported and we put on the statute book—every individual who is threatened with being homeless or is rough sleeping can go to their local authority and seek help. That local authority must give them assistance and provide them with help and advice to get them a place to live. I will put this on the record, as I have done in the media: we must not stigmatise people for being homeless. They must be helped and assisted. I want to see the long-promised abolition of the Vagrancy Act 1824, which makes it illegal to be homeless and to beg aggressively. I agree that we need measures to stop aggressive begging, but people must not be arrested for being homeless—instead, they must be assisted. Our language on these things is vital and has consequences.
Finally, the Holocaust Memorial Bill removes an obstacle that has been in the way of preparing the building. I declare my interest as chair of the all-party parliamentary group on holocaust memorial. We owe it to the survivors, the British people and future generations to ensure that the holocaust can never happen again. I would like to express my thoughts and prayers for the whole Jewish community as the war in Israel rages on, following the horrific attack by the Hamas terror group, causing the largest loss of life in a single day since the holocaust. The Bill is eagerly awaited; obstacles have been put in the way, and it is up to the Government to ensure that we progress it as quickly as possible.
Colleen Fletcher (Coventry North East) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman). I agree with some of his comments and the facts on smoking and vaping, and I certainly remember his private Member’s Bill.
This is certainly an underwhelming King’s Speech and Government programme. Not surprisingly, it is more notable for what is missing than what is included. Where is the coherent, long-term plan to fix the economy, tackle the cost of living crisis, make our streets safer, achieve net zero and rebuild our NHS? While the country is crying out for change, the Tories are simply offering more of the same: more empty words, broken promises, repackaged policies and sticking plaster politics.
This Government simply do not have any answers for the challenges facing my constituents or the country. Indeed, they are the architects of most of the challenges, due to their failed policies that have precipitated a decade-long national decline. Over the past 13 years, this Government have trashed the economy and eroded our much cherished public services. The NHS is a case in point: after 13 years of Tory Government, it is on its knees. It faces the most profound crisis in its history: waits of weeks and weeks to see a GP; patients finding it impossible to get an appointment with or register at an NHS dentist; ambulances unable to get people to hospital in time to save lives; dangerously long waits in A&E; a workforce crisis; more than 7 million on the waiting list for hospital treatment—it is a system at breaking point. Be in no doubt: my constituents deserve so much better, and so do our dedicated NHS workers, who do such a fantastic job in extremely difficult circumstances.
Just last week, I met staff and managers at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, which I am proud to have in my constituency—it is probably a stone’s throw from where I live. There can be no doubt about the passion and commitment of those workers. The challenges they face, though, are immense. They are now seeing record ambulance and patient attendances daily. There are growing challenges, such as dementia and the crisis in social care, and specific issues in recruiting paediatric nurses. All of that adds to the growing pressure on services.
The staff I spoke with would like to see investment not only in the workforce and buildings, but in new technology that will speed up procedures, decrease waiting times and create better outcomes. What they want is an NHS fit for the 21st century. They must feel very betrayed and demoralised by the Government’s failure to include measures in the King’s Speech to achieve that, and to ensure the NHS receives the investment and reform that is needed to get it back on its feet.
Let us be clear: my constituents and our health workers deserve a Government who will give our NHS the resources it needs, a Government who will build an NHS fit for the future that is always there when people need it, and a Government who have a plan to tackle the immediate crisis in our NHS and address the long-term challenges it faces. They deserve a Labour Government. Sadly, while this Tory Government remain in place, I fear the crisis in our NHS will worsen, and patients and staff will continue to be badly let down. Put simply, our NHS and our constituents cannot afford another five minutes of Tory failure, let alone another five years.
There are a couple of things in the King’s Speech that I agree with in principle, but there is little in it that will make a tangible difference to people in my constituency and they need that tangible difference. Certainly, when it comes to tackling the challenges in our NHS and rejuvenating our health service, the Conservatives are not part of the solution; they are, I am afraid, very much part of the problem.
Duncan Baker (North Norfolk) (Con)
On Monday, the Prime Minister visited a tiny coastal village on the far extremities of north Norfolk in my constituency, just a few hundred metres from the cliffs and the North sea. Unless they have heard one of the many times I have spoken about it in the House, many people will not have heard of the village of Bacton, but it is home to one of the most important gas processing sites in the UK. As we toured the site, we were met by the CEO of National Gas.
I made this point earlier to the shadow Secretary of State and I will repeat it, because it is a remarkable statistic. Last year, there were 260 days when there was not enough wind to generate our nation’s power. That is nearly three quarters of the year. Guess what it was that kept the lights on: gas. Whatever we think about fossil fuels, we have to recognise that renewables, at the moment, simply cannot operate solely on their own. That is why we need a pure mix of energy—a mix that will include oil and gas for the foreseeable future, as well as nuclear, alongside renewables. That is why I have spoken in this House time and again about the Bacton gas terminal.
The Bacton gas terminal is responsible for a third of the gas supply into this country, yet nobody seems to recognise how important it is. That is until Monday, when the Prime Minister saw it for himself and described it as Norfolk’s “hidden hero”—a bit of justice that puts north Norfolk on the map. For me, the Prime Minister’s recognition was just the tip of the iceberg, because of the amount of work that was done in the lead-up to his visit.
In my view, the need for an energy mix from various sources can be summed up in three words: security, employment and the economy. Clearly, the wind does not always blow and the sun does not always shine, but we do have our own natural resources. Instead of carting them halfway across the world, with the emissions that that leads to, it is pure common sense and practicality that we should continue to use them as part of the overall mix and for security. The Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill will ensure we do exactly that for the foreseeable future.
About 200,000 jobs are clearly linked to the oil and gas industry. Opposition Members seem sometimes not to recognise the stark reality that we need taxation going into the Exchequer to pay our way and fund the public services that help this country. Money does not grow on trees. Statistically, I think £50 billion is what is raised for the Exchequer from oil and gas companies. If we were to turn that off tomorrow, where on earth would we get the money to continue to run this country? We are in a transition and that is the whole point. We have made a far greater stab at decarbonisation than virtually every other nation on earth and we will continue to do that, but we have to do it in a way that does not risk the economy and the hundreds of thousands of jobs that are still dependent on that transition happening at a just rate.
Bacton epitomises all of that in miniature form. Not only does it process an enormous amount of gas through its pipelines; it is already making the transition. The site has a licence, which was given just a few months ago, to carry out carbon capture and storage. Eni was granted a licence for the depleted Hewett gas field, which is expected to be in operation in the next few years. That alone will have the capacity to store millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide. But that is just the start. Monday’s visit was all about getting the Prime Minister to recognise that Bacton can also be a green energy hub for the future. For heavy machinery and industry, it is the perfect site in the east of England to be a hydrogen hub. It is the only site in the east, I believe, with an interconnector into Europe—it goes to Belgium. If we start off small with blended hydrogen, it is quite feasible that over time the operation has the capacity to be a major hydrogen hub in the east of England.
I welcome what was said in the King’s Speech about securing our energy mix and security. With gas, CCS and hydrogen production all possibly happening in my constituency, it propels a small village on the north Norfolk coast into quite possibly being a major player in energy production in the east of England. It could be an energy hub for the future and it is on a journey to securing more green jobs for an area that typically just does not have them. Agriculture and tourism are the mainstays of the economy, but the site has the ability to secure the high-quality jobs of the future.
I thank the Prime Minister for visiting. I thank the CEO of National Gas, Jon Butterworth, who helped enormously in raising Bacton to prominence and securing the success we have had in the past six months, and I thank especially Jake Tudge for all his support. The next time the Prime Minister visits Bacton, I do not want it to be described as a “hidden hero” any more. I want it to be a flagship energy hub in the east, and not hidden at all.
Charlotte Nichols (Warrington North) (Lab)
The King’s Speech was interesting as much for what was in it as what was not. I welcome the announcement of measures to ensure that violent sex offenders serve their full sentence behind bars, for example. In fact, that was my ask in my first Prime Minister’s question, three Prime Ministers and four Home Secretaries ago, in March 2020. I hope the Government will focus on delivering the prison places we need for that commitment to be worth the paper it is written on, given our current context.
The announcement on leasehold reform is also something I have been calling for since I was elected. It will be warmly welcomed by many of my constituents who are affected, although we see that the proposals will not include new flats and it is unclear what they mean for retirement properties and park homes. I hope we can address those issues when they come before the House for debate to ensure that we get it right. The independent regulator for football is also long overdue, and warmly welcomed.
So the King’s Speech is not all bad. In fact, my largest criticism is its thinness. Even if we choose to ignore—as the Prime Minister conveniently does—the previous 12 years of Tory Government, with all the chaos of the last year in the House and in Whitehall, with the succession of different Prime Ministers, Secretaries of State and other Ministers cycling in and out of Departments, we have seen a year of inertia on some of the biggest issues facing our communities and our country.
This King’s Speech was an opportunity for the Government to show real ambition and purpose in the time that we have left before an election. Of course I hope we will see a change of Government at that election, but my constituents cannot wait for a change of Government. I remain as willing as I have always been to work across parties on the issues that affect them now to help them now, but trying to make meaningful change on the issues on which we do have cross-party consensus does not seem to be on the Government’s agenda.
The starkest example of that is the mental health Bill that was so shamefully missing from the King’s speech. Mental health is one of the issues about which I am contacted most frequently, and it comes up at every single weekly surgery and event that I hold in Warrington North, whether it involves carers, scouts, sports clubs, veterans’ groups, schools or faith groups. I have heard so many harrowing stories about how so many are being let down. I hear of young people languishing on child and adolescent mental health services waiting lists for years, only to drop back down to the bottom of the list—the adult list—when they turn 18. I hear of suicidal people finding themselves criminalised during their attempts to end their own lives, and of people who are told that they are not suicidal enough to access any support. I hear of specialist treatment for conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder being unavailable, or only accessible privately at huge cost. And I hear of the shameful ongoing detention of autistic people and those with learning disabilities, who would be better cared for and supported in the community. Harm is perpetuated every day that the outdated and unfit Mental Health Act 1983 remains on the statute book without reform.
It will be helpful if I set out the background. The Government announced an independent review of the Mental Health Act in 2017. The review completed its findings in 2018, and the Government published their response in the form of a White Paper in 2021. In 2022, they followed up the White Paper with a draft Mental Health Bill, on which pre-legislative scrutiny began last year. The Joint Committee on the Draft Mental Health Bill published a report on its findings in January 2023.
It is easy to understand why all those mental health charities such as Mind, patient advocacy groups and people with lived experience of our broken mental health system view the Bill’s exclusion from the King’s Speech as such a kick in the teeth. After more than six years of work and engagement and cross-party support for change, not only is mental health reform not a priority for the remainder of this Parliament, but the lack of its inclusion in the King’s Speech means that it is now highly unlikely that the legislation will be passed before a general election. Too many in this place, and in Government, seem to view mental health as something abstract that happens to other people. It is not good enough.
Another stark omission—I have had hundreds of emails from constituents about this, and it has broad cross-party support—is a ban on the abhorrent practice of so-called conversion therapy. If the Government are worried about a row with some of the crank elements within their own party, they can be assured that Labour Members will help to ensure that a Bill passes on to the statute book, thus securing the protection of some of the most vulnerable members of the LGBT community.
There was also nothing in the King’s Speech about a review leading to reform of personal independence payments, despite the fact that, 10 years since its introduction, the flaws in the scheme are well known and have a real impact on people who need support. People with multiple sclerosis and many other conditions are routinely failed by PIP assessments because their symptoms fluctuate from day to day. One of my constituents emailed me recently to say that he had not been able to receive PIP in the years since his diagnosis, despite the additional costs associated with his disability—which is exactly what PIP is meant to help people with. He wrote:
“I have to use crutches everywhere I go. My wife is an unpaid carer. I work from home and although I earn a wage, I feel like the application process is blaming me for having this disease. The condition can result in one day a change in my physical appearance, speech and completing simple day to day activities. Then the next day I can do the normal things and routines that people take for granted. MS is unpredictable hourly and at a moment’s notice”.
His experience is sadly not unique. The Department for Work and Pensions loses 70% of cases that it rejects on appeal, and in about 91% of those cases the claimant has won without any new evidence being provided. Getting the process right would mean that those who need help were not subjected to a dehumanising and often arbitrary process to secure the help to which they are entitled, and that valuable civil service time was not spent fighting clearly legitimate claimants. Surely that is something that all of us can agree should be a priority.
Despite reassurances that the measures in the dropped Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill would be returning, only one element of it was included as the sole animal welfare measure in the planned Bills announced for this Session, with other manifesto commitments left outstanding. Again, those measures had cross-party support, as well as widespread support from the animal welfare charity sector. I have had thousands upon thousands of items of constituency correspondence about animal welfare. I implore the Government: help us to help you make some progress, and bring more measures forward.
For the sake of brevity, and because the points have been made so cogently by colleagues on both sides of the House—including my right hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster North (Edward Miliband); the right hon. Member for Kingswood (Chris Skidmore), who, to his credit, was not just reading from the CCHQ brief; and my hon. Friend the Member for Washington and Sunderland West (Mrs Hodgson)—I will simply point to how much willingness there is to co-operate on making the UK a clean energy superpower. But the focus in the King’s Speech on oil and gas when new legislation is not actually needed to achieve the Government’s stated aims, in an attempt to use energy as a wedge issue, is beneath the Government when there is so much more we could be doing to accelerate new nuclear, renewables and hydrogen, which has not been prioritised in the same way in the parliamentary time that this will consume.
I am somewhat bemused by the prominence given to the Trade (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership) Bill in the King’s Speech, given that CPTPP membership is projected to add just 0.06% to Britain’s long-term GDP—welcome, of course, though any boost to the economy is. As a member of the Business and Trade Committee, frustrated, like many of my fellow members, by a lack of parliamentary scrutiny on trade, I would like to ask whether the Government have ensured that Parliament will have had the opportunity to debate the CPTPP trade agreement, and to vote on a substantive motion on the terms of our accession, before the Bill comes to the House.
I am grateful for the opportunity to respond to the Gracious Speech. I hope, perhaps naively, that its thinness will be corrected in the autumn statement with funded measures to help my constituents with the cost of living and the construction of a new hospital in Warrington, and to support the greening and growing of our economy locally and nationally as a priority. Let us not waste the opportunity to make progress in the time that we have left. If we are to maximise the potential of this Session, there are, as I have said, plenty of areas in which we can co-operate on a cross-party basis to do so, even if the King’s Speech itself missed the opportunity to set out a robust and ambitious framework for that purpose. With another year of more of the same, my constituents and I will be left wondering why this Government are so determined to cling to power to deliver so little, when Labour is ready and waiting to give Britain its future back.
Anthony Mangnall (Totnes) (Con)
It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Warrington North (Charlotte Nichols). Her faith in technology—she read her speech from it—is far greater than mine. I have seen many a speech kiboshed in mid-flow. I agree with much of what she said. There is certainly work that can be done on mental health and PIP. I have always been amazed by PIP assessors’ inability to understand the causes or symptoms of the issues from which people are suffering, and by their inability sometimes to understand whether or not a claimant’s circumstances might change. The constant need to reanalyse claimants throughout their lifetime causes a great deal of hardship for family members who have to do the applications. My office spends a great deal of time on the issue.
It is a pleasure to speak in this debate in support of the King’s Speech. I am surprised that we have not heard a little more positivity in today’s debate because, across the House, it is recognised that we have been a leader on energy markets, on growing our economy and on cutting emissions. The Vallance report, for example, identifies this country’s extraordinary growth. Between 1990 and 2019, we grew our economy by 78% and, at the same time, cut emissions by 44%, which shows the significant changes we have made in this country and our significant progress in creating a green economy.
We have to remind people, both in this Chamber and across the country, that we have cut emissions faster than any other country in the G7, which is something to be proud of and to build upon—and we forget it at our peril. It breeds hope among our people and our businesses that we can set up the infrastructure and the network to encourage more businesses to do the same.
I have heard from many Members on both sides of the House about how they hope to see oil companies become a dying breed. I say this with a little caution, but I do not think there is a single person in this room who, if we could flick a switch and transition immediately to a green economy—taking all the oil industry jobs and all the investment with us—would not gladly flick that switch. In the absence of a switch, we have to encourage and push the oil companies to go green, as so many of them are. The oil companies are part of the answer to a greener economy. Encouraging them to invest in solar, wind and marine power has to be part and parcel of that mix and structure.
I am also surprised that, in this debate, we have not spoken more about the Treasury’s position on incentivising businesses to do more to invest in green technologies in this country, whether through tax credits, encouraging research and development, innovation funds, the UK Infrastructure Bank—I can see the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury nodding; he knows a great deal about this—or the £22 billion of capital that has been made available for businesses to invest in this sector in the United Kingdom. We forget that at our peril, because it will create the certainty to help us transition to a cleaner, greener economy that addresses climate change.
That said, we can all recognise the opportunities. I will cite a few examples from my constituency of Totnes and South Devon. The first is marine energy. We have some of the strongest tides in the world, and we should use them. Until recently, I would have argued that our interest and investment in marine energy has been lacklustre, yet recent trials across the country, supported by the UK Government, have shown the huge potential to go green in our coastal areas. Indeed, a vicar in Dartmouth is trying to make his church the first marine energy-powered church in the country. Such things need to be promoted and supported.
We need to review things like tidal lagoons. It has been far too long since we have had a proper debate in this place on the Swansea tidal lagoon and the power it would have generated. There are mechanisms out there to support these things, and we have to explore them to make sure we have a diverse mix—not just solar and wind but marine and, as others have said, nuclear, and using the last vestiges of oil and gas where necessary.
I do not know whether he is still sponsoring this Bill but, two years ago, my hon. Friend the Member for Wantage (David Johnston) presented the Local Electricity Bill. Many of us on both sides of the House supported the Bill, which would have allowed electricity generators to become local electricity suppliers. I very much welcome what the Secretary of State said in her opening remarks, because she talked about upgrading the grid. If we can upgrade the grid, the possibilities of the Local Electricity Bill would be immense and we could find all sorts of innovative ways to power local communities.
An example in my constituency is Sustainable South Brent, which has erected a wind turbine that is powering parts of the village and helping to reduce the costs for those buildings. We should be trying to replicate these things across the country, but we can only do so if we upgrade the grid and encourage and embolden local communities to take such action.
It was a privilege to hear the speech of my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingswood (Chris Skidmore), and I agreed with much of it, although I am sorry that he will not be voting for the King’s Speech. He is right that we are a paragon and a model to the rest of the world, and that we have been a leader in this area. Where I disagree with him is that I think we are still a leader.
Of course, we have to take people with us. We are in this place only because people have sent us here to represent their views, and there is a great deal of scepticism out there. The Prime Minister is right to be honest with people about the cost of the green transition. He is right to make sure that we are realistic about our plans and proposals, and he is right to try to minimise the significant costs that might end up on people’s doorstep. Those things are to be applauded, and I do not think they are watering down our green agenda.
I wish to make a few remarks about other parts of the King’s Speech. I serve on the Select Committee on Business and Trade, having served on the former Select Committee on International Trade. We have to inject a bit more energy—literally—into our trade deals. A number of countries want to sign up to free trade agreements with the UK, including Morocco. It wants to introduce a solar and wind interconnector to the UK, and an FTA can help to facilitate that. The fact that it is rumoured that the connecting point will be in Devon has nothing to do with my raising this matter, because I do not believe it would be in my constituency. This does show the power and potential in our trade agreements to find new ways in which we can co-operate on an international scale to help harness the power of our natural resources.
Our trade agreements are the perfect way in which we can help harness and create technology here and trade it with like-minded countries around the world. We have already heard the important points made by my right hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Dame Maria Miller) about battery power and battery technology in this country, and the relationship the UK has with Canada. We need more of that, because that is what our FTAs can facilitate.
David Duguid
My hon. Friend knows more about trade than many people in this place. In addition to all the different renewable and sustainable energy technologies we could be exporting that we develop here, does he agree that an opportunity is provided by the mere act of having a successful transition from 75% oil and gas dependency today to 20% oil and gas in the future? Being seen to be able to do that and our showing how to do that can, in itself, be an exportable commodity?
Anthony Mangnall
My hon. Friend is spot on. If we can help and support those emerging democracies and economies around the world to leapfrog the intensive carbon industries that they think they might need, and to go in a green direction, it will be to the benefit of not just our countries and economies, but the whole world. We should absolutely be talking about this stuff.
The hon. Member for Warrington North mentioned the CPTPP and trade scrutiny. I have caused the Government constant angst by talking about scrutiny. The debate on CPTPP is welcome and I look forward to seeing as many Members as there are in the Chamber now when that Bill comes before the House. I firmly believe that if this House is denied proper scrutiny, we are all poorer off in our constituencies, with our respective businesses, farmers and fishermen. It should be part of our due process that we make sure that a proper, significant level of scrutiny is provided in this place.
With that in mind, I have a proposal: it is time to update Labour’s Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 to make sure, now that we are outside the European Union, that we have a proper debate on it, with a votable motion if that is required. Let me add an aside: it would be advisable to give Privy Counsellor status to all members of the Business and Trade Committee —I declare my interest on that front. There is an important point to this, which is that we can do better, as we have seen with the trade agreements that have come before. We need greater attendance, scrutiny and ability to talk up the benefits of the trade deals.
I am sorry to focus on the hon. Member for Warrington North, but she said that 0.8% was not a lot. I urge caution on forecasts, because on trade deals they are often wrong. They are judged at a static point, rather than on the basis of how businesses take advantage of them. In nearly every instance of a trade agreement that is signed—such as the North American free trade agreement, which was predicted not to be worth a significant amount to the United States economy but turned out to be worth a great deal more—we should not necessarily go with the forecasts. There are enough quotes out there to say why economists are wrong. However, I welcome the Bill and the opportunity for more discussion about joining one of the fastest growing regions in the world.
Let me make a couple more points. I have already spoken before in this place about the Renters (Reform) Bill. We do badly when we pass pieces of legislation quickly. I welcome the fact that we have committed to repealing section 21 evictions in that Bill, but we need to make sure that we have a Bill that works for both landlords and tenants. We have to have that balance, because at it stands we are about to present a Bill into Parliament that will deter people from putting properties into the long-term rental market. It will incentivise the short-term market over the long-term rental market, which will be a disadvantage to the millions of tenants in this country. We must be careful about that. It is easy for us to clip small parts of our speeches in this place and put them out because they say the right thing, but the devil is in the detail and we have to get it right.
It is fantastic to see the Prime Minister double down on apprenticeships, T-levels and what we can do with further education. South Devon College, in my constituency, is the absolute exemplar of what can be done in further education. It trains people in subjects from photonics to boat building, bricklaying to hospitality and tourism—the range is staggering—and it has Government funding and support. The more we can encourage businesses and students to take advantage of the opportunities in their areas that lie within our agenda for further education, the better off people will be in finding jobs and the more likely we will be to find ways in which we can create businesses, not just in centralised parts of the country but across all the regions of the UK.
Finally, over the last few days we have spoken a lot about what the King’s Speech says about keeping people safe. There is no doubt that it is right that we have a robust response to those who have committed the most heinous crimes. As ever, we can do far more to tackle antisocial behaviour and rural crime in areas across the south-west and other parts of the country. Local initiatives have been set up across the south-west that the Government would do well to support, not least the councillor advocate scheme, set up by Alison Hernandez, the police and crime commissioner for Devon and Cornwall, in which she liaises with councillors across the area to enhance police visibility and engagement, or my own initiative to create police hubs in village halls across South Devon, driving up visibility, disrupting rural crime and antisocial behaviour and inspiring more confidence that the police are there to help and serve, as we all know they are.
It is a pleasure to be able to support the King’s Speech and to speak up about the proud record this country has in addressing climate change, reducing emissions and creating new technologies and industries. We should be proud of that, talk it up and never let the fearmongers win.
Nadia Whittome (Nottingham East) (Lab)
I am sorry to put a downer on the debate, but frankly the King’s Speech shows that the party in Government is completely out of ideas.
Some 1.5 million food parcels have been given out by the Trussell Trust in the last six months, thanks to this Government’s policies. I am regularly contacted by constituents living in cold, damp homes, thanks to this Government’s policies. NHS waiting lists are the longest on record, thanks to this Government’s policies. And in the midst of this crisis, what is the Government’s response? The Conservative party is more worried about preventing key workers from exercising their right to strike and cracking down on pedicabs in London than cleaning up the mess it has made of the country after 13 years in Government.
Not only are the Government failing to tackle the biggest challenge of our future, but they are intent on escalating it. Already catastrophic flooding turns millions of lives upside down every year, including thousands in the UK, while droughts are affecting food production, causing prices to soar. The climate crisis will only make that worse. The science is clear: without decisive action, our future is under threat. But as we have seen throughout the course of today’s debate, this Conservative Government are in thrall to fossil fuel companies and are attempting to turn the race to net zero into a culture war. There is no other explanation for their decision to water down climate policies and turbocharge new oil and gas, announcing legislation for a new annual system for awarding drilling licenses.
We must not be fooled: it is working-class people who will suffer the greatest consequences if we fail to lower our emissions. The climate crisis and cost of living crisis are two sides of the same coin, and there are solutions that can tackle both at the same time. A just transition is possible if the super-rich and polluters are made to pay their fair share. We should see the sprint to net zero as an opportunity to redistribute wealth and power in our communities.
Public ownership is an important way of doing that, and it is popular too. Recent polling shows that 65% of people support public ownership of energy, so I am pleased that a Labour Government are committed to setting up a new publicly owned energy company that will create jobs and help us to reach 100% clean energy by 2030. A Labour Government would also insulate 90 million homes, cutting bills and emissions at the same time. I am thrilled, too, that our party is serious about preparing young people for their future, with teaching about the climate and sustainability throughout the curriculum in schools and colleges across the country.
This was not the King’s Speech that our country deserved. My constituents deserve action on the climate, the cost of living, and decent jobs. This Government have shown that they will not deliver on any of them. Perhaps in her winding-up speech, the Minister can tell us when the Prime Minister will be putting the country out of its misery and calling a general election.
Neale Hanvey (Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath) (Alba)
There is not an awful lot to talk about in this King’s Speech. Certainly there is not a lot to encourage the people of England, Wales, Ireland or, indeed, Scotland. In fact, there is really nothing in the King’s Speech for Scotland other than more pain. Today’s debate is about making Britain a clean energy superpower. That sounds grand, but it will not help the people who are struggling to pay their energy bills, and what is the cost to Scotland? The Government’s North Sea Transition Authority is concerned only with the transition of Scotland’s wealth south into His Majesty’s Treasury.
In 2014, we were told that our oil was running out and that we needed the broad shoulders of the United Kingdom. Those broad shoulders were built on the poverty and deprivation of generations of Scots, and that is a price that we are still paying. We often hear the words—and we heard them today from the SNP spokesman, the hon. Member for Angus (Dave Doogan)—“energy-rich Scotland and fuel-poor Scots”. Let us take a look at that. There is no doubt that Scotland has vast energy wealth. According to the Office for Budget Responsibility, as of April 2023, the projected cumulative tax receipts from North sea oil and gas for the year 2022-23 was £11 billion. Throughout my lifetime, Scotland has bankrolled the UK Treasury and global corporations to the tune of billions and billions of pounds.
In 2019, oil and gas production in Scotland accounted for 82% of the total UK production. By 2030, Scotland will be sending south 124 billion kWh of energy—all for nothing. That is 12.5 times the amount of energy that Scotland requires. With 8.1% of the UK population, Scotland is responsible for almost a quarter of the UK’s green energy production, 85% of its hydro production, 82% of its oil and gas, 90% of its surface fresh water and 50% of the world’s tidal stream capacity. Despite that, we have fuel-poor Scots.
In 2019, a quarter of Scottish households were estimated to be living in fuel poverty. Speaking to Energy Action Scotland yesterday, I learned that, as of 31 October 2023, fuel poverty now sits at a disgraceful 34% in energy- rich Scotland. One in three households live in fuel poverty. That is why, in a Tory-made cost of living crisis, independence is the only urgent priority for the people of Scotland.
For some time this winter, Tory mismanagement will be a matter of life and death. None of this is hyperbole. We need only look at Norway, our direct comparator across the North sea. We know that the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund is equivalent to £1,175 billion— I repeat, £1,175 billion. The Scottish equivalent is zero. The UK equivalent is zero. We know that successive Labour and Conservative Governments hid the McCrone report from the people of Scotland and hid the truth along with it. Gavin McCrone spoke of an “embarrassment of riches”. He rightly predicted the riches that Norway currently enjoys, but that Scotland has been denied all along. In return, we are chided by Conservative and Labour Members as scroungers. The destruction of our economy and our communities has happened under Westminster’s rule, and still the robbery goes on.
In the past, Scotland enjoyed some crumbs from the table. When I was younger, there was employment in manufacturing and supply chains. Offshore, there were jobs. People were content with that, despite the robbery. I listen very carefully to UK Government Ministers when they talk about the great bounty of Britain’s energy, which is truly Scotland’s energy. There is no surprise from me there, but I also listened to the leader of the former party of Scottish independence, the hon. Member for Aberdeen South (Stephen Flynn). All he could muster was a plea for more devolution; he did not mention independence once. That is not all that his party has abandoned. The hon. Member for Moray (Douglas Ross) was right that it has abandoned North sea oil and gas. That is unthinkable for any Scottish MP, let alone one from Aberdeen, north or south.
Scotland faces challenges on two distinct fronts: first, our southerly Government in London and their well-established rapacious greed; and secondly, a Scottish Government who have abandoned North sea oil and gas, sold off ScotWind for a song, capitulated to Tory tax havens on the Forth and Moray estuaries, and driven the case for independence up a cul-de-sac in the UK Supreme Court. They have parked the vehicle of independence and walked away from the aspirations of the people who want to live in a normal independent country. I plead with SNP Members to get back on track.
The Minister is free to correct me, but there is nothing in the King’s Speech for my Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath constituents, or for the people of Scotland. Scotland needs something more than this. We need more than a party that comes to London waiting for independence to fall into its lap. It is time for Alba to lead Scotland.
Kate Osborne (Jarrow) (Lab)
People are sitting at home unable to buy food or pay their energy bills, while watching the King’s Speech in its all pomp and ceremony —so much money spent for the King’s Speech to be so vacuous and void of policies, with barely any Bills, announcements that have already been shelved, and no answers for the majority of the country. The speech was a wasted opportunity. The Government have no new ideas, no plans to improve the country, and nothing for small businesses, or for the majority of people in the UK. The Government have made no attempt to help the 14 million people living in poverty, no attempt to tackle rising unemployment, and no attempt to fix our broken benefits system.
The empty promises will not tackle the housing crisis, the NHS crisis or the cost of living crisis, or lift any of the 6,000 hungry kids in my constituency of Jarrow out of poverty. It is not right that in one of the richest countries in the world families are having to turn to food banks. The Trussell Trust has delivered 1.5 million food parcels in just six months. We have a Government who have given up on governing. They have wasted the last 18 months in Parliament. On 100 days, the Government finished early, cancelling planned legislation and votes as they made U-turns and broke promise after promise. In 2022, they announced 29 Bills, more than a third of which were abandoned or not introduced. In this King’s Speech, they announced just 21. We have to wonder how many of those will ever see the light of day.
The Government’s failed economic policies have resulted in £2.6 trillion of public debt—the highest debt the country has ever faced, alongside the highest rate of inflation in 41 years. Decades of inaction have left us with runaway rents, rising evictions and record levels of homelessness, and Ministers are blaming everyone but themselves. Despite the worst energy bill crisis in a generation, they admit that their lauded flagship plans will not cut energy bills by a single penny. There was nothing in the King’s Speech that will help people to pay their bills and stay warm this winter, no help for pensioners and children in cold homes, and no help for the record numbers of people currently in debt on their energy. With more than 75% of people saying that they are very concerned or somewhat concerned about affording energy bills this winter, we need a Labour Government that will bring down energy bills once and for all and make Britain energy-independent.
We have a morally compromised Government attempting to gaslight the country. Their sleaze, cronyism and failure to deliver on promises have left the country in a mess, degraded Parliament and eroded trust in politicians. Their new oil and gas plans will not deliver energy security. Their housing plans will not tackle the housing crisis, help renters or ban no-fault evictions. There is no sign of local housing targets or of the reform needed to our planning system.
The Government say that inflation has finally started to fall, in the full knowledge that that will not help with the cost of living crisis. The damage has already been done, and it will be even worse for most people this winter. They talk up their Victims and Prisoners Bill, when the reality is that they have destroyed our policing and criminal courts, with 90% of crimes going unsolved and prisons already full. Their plans to reduce or scrap sentences for abuse, harassment and stalking, in order to tackle the overcrowding crisis in prisons, is just appalling. Although the Government have repeatedly said that ending violence against women and girls is a priority, it continues at epidemic proportions, with an estimated 1.7 million women experiencing domestic abuse last year. Women and girls should not be put further at risk, yet those plans could see thousands of abusive men released.
The Government blame NHS workers for the crisis in the NHS, when it is their drive to privatise and underfund it that caused issues far before the pandemic or any strike action. The King’s Speech failed to address the NHS nursing workforce crisis, and the NHS and patients will continue to pay the price until at least the next general election. We need investment in the NHS, not the introduction of minimum service levels. Only the Conservative party thinks that the answer to the shortage of doctors and nurses is to sack NHS staff. After the past few years, it sums up how out of touch this Government are that one of the only things they promised to do in the King’s Speech was to sack doctors.
Ministers have doubled down on their anti-worker rhetoric, when the right to strike is a fundamental human right, protected in UK and international law. They have failed to tackle those making billions in profit while simultaneously leaching money from our public services and dumping raw sewage in our waterways, and they hope that people will not realise that the taxes they are paying are the highest they have been for 70 years.
Unfortunately, neither the King’s Speech nor yesterday’s statement called for a ceasefire in Gaza. People in Gaza are without food, water, electricity, fuel and communications, and the death toll is now more than 10,000. I agree with Oxfam, the United Nations Secretary-General and many others that a ceasefire is the only real solution. A cease- fire is essential to ending the huge daily loss of innocent lives, to ensuring that aid gets into Gaza and to ensuring the safe return of the Israeli hostages. We must have a path to peace out of the conflict in Israel and Gaza.
Instead of plans to improve people’s lives, what we get from this Government is divisive rhetoric, a “war on woke”, attacks on benefit claimants, attacks on minorities, attacks on refugees and attacks on the LGBTQ+ community—attacks designed to make us hate each other instead of hating this Government’s actions. The Home Secretary talks about “decent British people” at the same time as playing politics with our police force and wanting to remove tents from the homeless. Those plans may have been dropped by the Prime Minister, but they portray the callous and contentious way the Conservatives view people.
The Government’s failure to ban so-called conversion therapy shows a vile disregard for LGBTQ+ people living in this country. So-called conversion therapy is not therapy; people cannot consent to abuse. The decision to leave LGBTQ+ people suffering that torture, and at the mercy of bigots and abusers, is despicable. The Government have previously described conversion practices as “abhorrent”. They first pledged to outlaw them in England and Wales in 2018, as part of their LGBT+ action plan. That was pledged again by the then Prime Minister in 2019, then again in the 2021 Queen’s Speech, and then again in the 2022 Queen’s Speech, and yet again by Ministers in January this year.
Neale Hanvey
I thank the hon. Member for giving way on that point. This matter is important to us both, although I accept that we have very different views on it. One point that I struggle with when it comes to the discussion about conversion therapy is what to say to young gay men who have gone along with transition without talking therapy and then discovered that transition was actually completely wrong for them. They now find themselves with complete sexual dysfunction and have in some cases had their genitals removed surgically, and the same is true of young women who have gone through that. If we call talking therapy “conversion therapy”, and pursue an affirmation-only model, what hope is there for young gay people, or young people who are questioning their gender, to be able to get the support they need to have a decent puberty and grow up successfully?
Kate Osborne
I think the hon. Gentleman is conflating the issues here. We are talking about so-called conversion therapy, which starts from a place where it has already been decided that people need to be converted. What people need is support and understanding to help them through whatever process is best for them.
Multiple promises have been made by five different Ministers and four Prime Ministers in five years, and all of them have been broken. The work on the legislation has been completed; it has been worked on for years. The Women and Equalities Committee has said to Ministers that
“conversion practices are abhorrent and need to be stamped out.”
It is time to stop making empty promises, take action and make the ban a reality. With that aim in mind, I have tabled amendment (f) to the King’s Speech. I hope that as many Members as possible will agree to back it, including the hon. Member for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (Neale Hanvey), and that Mr Speaker sees fit to select it.
As I say, the work has been done. The Government know that the legislation is vital. The Leader of the House said this morning that
“it is still a manifesto commitment”,
and that they will update us on progress, but we cannot wait any longer. They should take action. They must accept my amendment and find a way to bring forward legislation to ban so-called conversion therapy as soon as possible.
Labour will ban those conversion practices in full. I hope that the next general election is very soon so that Labour can get on with passing the legislation. Many LGBTQ+ people are suffering now and need the ban to be put in place immediately. I plead with Members to back my amendment, and with the Minister to take action.
Simon Lightwood (Wakefield) (Lab/Co-op)
Last year I delivered my maiden speech during debate on the Energy (Oil and Gas) Profits Levy Act 2022. It had taken seven long months of dither and delay for the Government finally to accept Labour’s calls for a windfall tax. Instead, they spent that time attacking us—proof that the Tories are out of touch. Months on, and we are still in the middle of a Conservative cost of living crisis: stagnant growth, soaring energy bills and skyrocketing mortgages. To tackle it, the Government have responded by announcing the fewest Bills in a state opening of Parliament for almost a decade—again, a Government who are out of touch.
The Tories have yet again doubled down on oil and gas licences as their solution, but that does nothing to fight the climate crisis, and even the Energy Secretary cannot say that it will bring bills down. Our communities have been hit harder than anywhere else in western Europe, and last summer the price of gas was nine times higher than that of renewables. To add to this, their ban on onshore wind, as well as their scrapping of the energy efficiency programme, has added hundreds of pounds to every family’s bills. The King’s Speech also made no mention of the community energy sector, which would build renewable energy capacity and put communities in control.
It is time we had cheaper energy bills and higher living standards, and that is what Labour’s plan for energy would deliver, establishing Great British Energy so that we can have clean and cheap power produced in Britain; starting a national warm homes plan to insulate millions of homes across the country; and tearing down the barriers to clean power in our communities. Those measures will create high-skilled and well-paid jobs, such as over 19,000 jobs upgrading homes in Yorkshire and the Humber alone. That is exactly the type of investment—with jobs—that our communities are crying out for, to bring long-term growth to our towns and cities.
On that note, the King’s Speech referred to regenerating our towns, but the Government did not announce any legislation to get on with the job. Does the Prime Minister really think that the people of Wakefield will trust him after his track record in office—“Hunger Games”-style funding pots, pitting town against town; services that continue to be cut to the bone, with more cuts; and money being handed out so late and inefficiently that not a single council in the north could spend all their shared prosperity funding? These sticking-plaster funding pots do not deliver the long-term change that we need in our town centres. We must replace the business rates system and level the playing field between online corporations and the small traders who are the beating heart of our high streets. That is the difference a Labour Government would make.
That cannot be done without people feeling safe on our streets, but serious violent crime has risen. I recently went on patrol with the hard-working policing team in Wakefield city centre to see at first hand the challenges they face. Antisocial behaviour in Ossett and Wakefield has seen buses diverted and passengers left stranded, and constituents reach out to me all the time to say they are not seeing enough police officers on the streets. That is the Tory record on crime and antisocial behaviour.
As I mentioned in my maiden speech last year, the shockingly high levels of sexual assault and violence are being made worse by the abject failure of our criminal justice system under this Government. The proposed sentencing Bill cannot work if victims—including many of my constituents—are having to wait months, if not years, for justice to be served. Some rape victims heard a senior judge saying that their perpetrators may have to stay on bail because our prisons are too full. This is a Government with the wrong priorities, failing to protect our communities.
To conclude, last June the voters of Wakefield sent a message to Boris Johnson that they had simply had enough. Over the last year, voters from Tadcaster to Tamworth have agreed with that verdict, and they have voted overwhelmingly for a fresh start with Labour. Instead, we face a zombie Government who have so little to offer the public that they sent MPs home early on half of all sitting days in the last Session. They really are the dementors of British politics, sucking the life out of this mother of all Parliaments, draining the hopes and aspiration of our great country over the past 13 long years. This is a King’s Speech from a Government who are out of energy, out of ideas and out of time. The British people have had enough. Change is coming.
Richard Thomson (Gordon) (SNP)
It is a pleasure to speak in a debate about energy, because it feeds into the most pressing crisis that all our constituents face at this point in time: the cost of living crisis. We know that higher interest rates are not the answer to the inflation they face. Brexit has certainly made things a great deal worse by increasing the cost of imports, but the cost of living crisis has at its core the massive increase that we have seen in the cost of energy. That taps into our energy security and, as we have heard, it taps into the climate crisis, but it also taps into the opportunities for economic transformation as we industrialise—at least, we have the opportunity to industrialise —through the green revolution.
The Government seem to be failing to provide answers in this area. I agree with the right hon. Member for Doncaster North (Edward Miliband)—words that I do not say very often—that I cannot think of a Government, certainly in my lifetime, who have been so ill suited to facing up to the challenges of the era we all face. No matter how graciously it happened to be delivered, the King’s Speech revealed that we have a Government who are not guided by principle, by strategy or by science, whether woke or otherwise. Instead, they appear to have made a lifestyle choice—if I can put it that way—to be guided by the whims of a few hundred voters in Uxbridge, where they squeaked a very narrow by-election victory, in the vain hope that by pandering on the issues that they thought brought them success in that corner of suburban London, they might find a wedge issue that will allow them to progress in the culture war they are waging against everyone in the UK except their core supporters, to try to protect them from the electoral wrecking ball that appears to be coming their way with increasing force and momentum.
To genuinely be a clean energy superpower, three things are needed. First and foremost, we need an energy market that works. We also need a genuine energy transition, not one that just pays lip service to the idea, and we need Governments who are prepared to invest in making that happen. On the first point—having energy markets that work—one of the reasons we have heard for energy bills being so high is the artificial link mandated by Government between the price of electricity and the price of gas, which the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas) mentioned in her substantive contribution. That completely distorts the market, artificially inflating the cost of electricity, which hits both industry and consumers hard.
Another reason why our electricity markets do not work is the inadequacy of not just the energy grid, but grid pricing, particularly when it comes to electricity. That means that anybody generating electricity in the north of Scotland pays a subsidy for the privilege of feeding it into the grid, whereas the further south we go in the UK, generally speaking, that turns into a subsidy for the generator. We are left with the utterly ludicrous situation of somebody who wishes to promote a wind farm in the north of Scotland having to pay handsomely to get that energy into the grid, whereas if they were able to reactivate Battersea power station and burn coal in it, they would end up with a subsidy because of the locational pricing structure we have. That is an absolute nonsense. I can see the brows being beetled feverishly on the Government Benches; I encourage Members to think on that, because it is the situation that the national grid pricing structure has given us for years, and it is holding Scotland back.
Turning to the storage of energy, the UK foolishly did away with most of its storage capacity for gas, on the flawed assumption that it would always be able to buy gas whenever it was needed at the price that was right. We have seen the folly of that in recent times, but of course, it is not just gas storage that is important; we need the means of storing electricity, whether through electrolysis at peak times to generate hydrogen that can be stored and released back into the energy system at other times, the greater use of batteries on an industrial scale, or using pumped storage hydroelectric power. I should confess a particular interest in pumped storage hydropower, because my father was an engineer at Cruachan power station in Argyle, and that is where he met my mother. If it was not for that pumped storage power station in Scotland, I would not be here, so I put that interest on the record. [Laughter.]
There are proposals to double the capacity at Cruachan power station, and to develop a very large pumped storage facility at Coire Glas. It is the regulatory role of the UK Government in those projects, or the oversight they have, that will decide whether or not they go ahead. I encourage the Minister—it might be worth her listening to this—to make progress on those projects, because that is one of the ways in which we will deal with the fluctuations of renewable energy to meet the baseload requirement.
That takes me to my second point, which is on how to be a clean energy superpower. We need a genuine energy transition, and that starts with a bit of basic honesty about the role that oil and gas need to play. The unlimited extraction of oil and gas is simply not compatible with our climate obligations. However, we also need to recognise that, even if there was not a pressing climate change catastrophe looming, our domestic capacity is in long-term decline. Any new licences that are issued and actually come to fruition are only going to slow the rate of overall decline, and we need to be making an impact where we really can, which is in licensing new renewables.
The right hon. Member for Basingstoke (Dame Maria Miller) gently chided us about playing politics on this issue. I must say that I always enjoy it very much when the Conservatives decide not to play politics with energy, particularly when it comes to the debate in Scotland. While it is tempting to say that the Labour party now appears to have the policy on oil and gas that the Scottish Conservatives have long accused my party of having, we really need to raise the debate from that level.
In an exchange with the hon. Member for Banff and Buchan (David Duguid), I pointed out the Conservative policy that dare not speak its name: the Government’s own presumption against further oil and gas development. It prompts the question that if any new oil and gas developments do not meet their tests, what then happens? My presumption would be that they fail, and I understand that also to be the presumption of the Government.
David Duguid
It is really very simple: the difference is between a presumption in advance of deciding whether we even want new oil and gas and a caveat that we put in place after a decision that we want to produce more oil and gas. A presumption—a “pre-sumption”—is different from a caveat.
Richard Thomson
I am not sure I am any the wiser after that intervention. Either a development passes or it fails, and presumably if it fails, it does not go ahead. I will leave the hon. Gentleman to dance on the head of that particular pin.
On the Government deciding to license new fields, we need to recognise that not all of those licences will be taken up and not all of them will produce any significant amount, so when it comes to mitigating where we are, renewables are the only way forward. That is the way to lock in low prices for the future and the way to guarantee energy security.
The Secretary of State, who is now back in her place, was good enough to take an intervention from me, just as she was reaching a rhetorical zenith about floating offshore wind. The answer to my question, which she quite understandably chose not to give, is that the last round of floating offshore wind options would increase capacity by absolutely nothing because not a single bid came in. The reason for that is embarrassing. It yielded absolutely no bids because the price was wrong. The industry told the Government that, and the UK Government persisted in thinking that they knew best. The auction, rather predictably, fell flat on its face, and the result of that auction round was that the increase in offshore wind capacity was net zero.
The final point I wish to make is on the need to invest in making this happen. We need to learn the lesson that future oil and gas can only slow the rate of decline, and that we need to be doing much better in incentivising the technologies of the future. When Prime Minister Boris Johnson paid a visit to the Moray East offshore wind farm, he made a predictably vacuous and facetious remark, saying that Margaret Thatcher was a green pioneer through her virtual destruction of the coal industry. Just as we know there was no just transition for the miners, it looks unlikely that there is a just transition planned for steelworkers who may be affected by recent announcements. We need to make absolutely sure that there is a just transition for the oil and gas sector, but it does not look as though there is anything in prospect from anything the Government are planning, other than that it will be everybody for themselves.
That is in stark contrast to the approach of the Scottish Government, who have earmarked £500 million exclusively to aid the transition, onshore and off, in the north-east of Scotland. That sum is equivalent to the amount that both the Scottish and the UK Governments are putting into the Aberdeen city region deal. The failure —the repeated failure—of the UK Government to match that is not only, I believe, a betrayal of the communities of the north-east of Scotland, but a complete abrogation of the UK’s constitutional and moral responsibilities.
I shall wrap up. What was needed was a King’s Speech that delivered on the means by which we would achieve energy security, that tackled the climate crisis and that delivered the potential for economic transformation, as well as giving relief to hard-pressed energy users. The evidence is that this is not going to happen in Westminster, and it should be devolved. We should be independent, which would be a better place for Scotland to be, so that we can get on with taking the right decisions for the right reasons, off the back of our own decisions mandated by the electorate of Scotland.
Jonathan Reynolds (Stalybridge and Hyde) (Lab/Co-op)
It is always a privilege to close one of these debates, but to do so in response to a debate on the first King’s Speech in 70 years is truly historic. I thank each and every one of the 19 Members of Parliament who have taken part today. These debates are not just a part of our history or our pageantry, or a simple act of ceremony; they allow a Government to set their direction, to frame their agenda and to explain to the public what the Government will be doing on their behalf, and that is an amazing and privileged thing to be able to do. On behalf of those of us who have only ever sat on the Opposition side of the House, I have to express a sense of genuine envy for the power and opportunity that Conservative colleagues have, as the Government, to shape the future of this amazing country of ours, although to be frank I think they sometimes forget how blessed they are to have that opportunity.
What is it that we have been presented with? The Government’s major announcement in the weekend preceding the King’s Speech was a proposed ban on homeless people having tents, because the Home Secretary believes that homelessness is a lifestyle decision. I am pleased that that shameful proposition has been dropped, but should not the Government have a better story to tell than that? I was very pleased to hear some colleagues, including the hon. Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman), explicitly say that those comments did not carry their support.
As we heard the Gracious Speech, we realised that the Government’s programme is not only incredibly thin, but completely incoherent. It was a speech that promised record investment in renewable energy, just weeks after the Prime Minister abandoned climate leadership and dropped key targets for the transition. It was a speech that promised a more competitive Britain, without acknowledging the huge increase in red tape facing so many of our exporters, for which this Government are responsible. It was a speech that promised long-term decisions, just days after the country’s flagship long-term infrastructure project was cancelled. Most of all, it was a speech that offered no change, despite the Prime Minister himself saying that after 13 years of Conservative Government, change is essential. On that score, he is surely right. This Conservative Government over the last 13 years have been one of the least successful in British history, and now we know that this latest Prime Minister will fail on his own terms, because he is only offering more of the same.
I admire the Prime Minister’s candour about his own party’s record over the past 13 years. Our public realm is literally crumbling, we have the lowest business investment in the G7, we have had over a decade of poor economic growth, people are struggling to pay their bills, we are not getting the basics right—we are short of houses and infrastructure—and we face big and complex challenges like net zero and charting a course to a prosperous post-Brexit future. All those things require the very best of Government. We need a Government who come to this House with urgency and passion, courage and ambition; a Government who want to work with industry and workers to get the transition right; a Government who will put the interests of working people ahead of the hobby-horses of their own Back Benchers; and Ministers with vision, drive and determination. But that is not this Government, and it never will be.
The subject of today’s debate is making Britain a clean energy superpower, and Britain could and should be that clean energy superpower. We are entering an age that will be dominated by offshore wind, solar, nuclear and carbon capture, and we have several competitive advantages that should make us the envy of the world. We genuinely have the potential to do things that no other country could do, but that is not going to happen by accident. We need to deploy political and economic capital to make it happen. The Climate Change Committee says that there is a policy gap that amounts to a fifth of the emissions that need to be reduced to meet the 2030 target, yet I think only one Conservative MP even mentioned that in the debate.
The only way to insulate ourselves from future energy crises is to minimise our exposure to volatile fossil fuel prices. Before the invasion of Ukraine, we were never dependent on Russian gas, but we were heavily exposed to the price of all gas—more exposed, in fact, than any other nation. That must never happen again, but it will happen again under the Conservatives.
The North sea is an incredible source of British pride and success, and it will continue to have a role in the energy mix for decades to come. But the belief that more oil and gas licences are the answer to Britain’s energy security, lower bills or more jobs is evidently false and risks both our prosperity and national security—the right hon. Member for Kingswood (Chris Skidmore) made that case extremely well in his speech, and I pay tribute to him in what he believes will be his final King’s Speech.
There were many references to the legacy of the coalmines and the difficult transition in the 1980s and 1990s—I am from one of the areas affected and I grew up there, and I recognise those issues—but the job of Government is to recognise that, when change comes, they will help people to make the transition. I have listened to all the speeches today, but what is the Government’s plan, knowing that a transition will have to come at some point? At what point will they stop further oil and gas licences? Do they even recognise that those decisions have to be made? If every country in the world maximises its own domestic resources, all of this agenda will be for nothing, and 3° and beyond will be the reality of the world we live in.
There is so much that this King’s Speech could and should have said. At the top of my list would have been having a real industrial strategy so that we get the benefits of being a clean energy superpower when we achieve that. Such a strategy would give investors confidence after the frequent and disastrous changes of policy over the last few years, deal comprehensively with the problems that hold investment back, and see public investment used to leverage in the private investment we are lacking.
We need the planning system sorting out urgently so that it does not take 13 years to build a wind farm. We need reform of the apprenticeship levy so that more money goes into the skills and retraining that the transition requires. We need a new deal for working people so that they have the security they need to provide for their families. We need greater devolution, power and control to go to our towns and cities. We have to improve our deal with the EU as part of a proper trade strategy that stands behind our great British exporters and strengthens Britain on the world stage. All those things would bring wealth, opportunity and pride back to Britain.
Many of my Opposition colleagues made excellent speeches, which I want to reference. My hon. Friend the Member for Brent North (Barry Gardiner) lamented that the UK is no longer showing leadership on this issue. He talked about the need to decarbonise buildings and pointed out correctly that the Government’s retreat on energy efficiency standards for domestic properties, particularly in the private rented sector, will cost people money. That was one of the most glaring points where the Prime Minister got it wrong in his speech.
The hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas) summed up the Government’s two-clause Bill by saying it would have no impact on bills or energy security and that it represents a gimmick at a time when we need seriousness. If I may say so, I thought she deserved a more gracious response to her speech from those on the Government Benches.
My hon. Friend the Member for Washington and Sunderland West (Mrs Hodgson) highlighted three particularly significant points she wanted to see action on. She talked first about the problem of the Government changing their target for phasing out petrol and diesel vehicles, while local businesses in her constituency, such as Nissan, had already invested as part of the Government’s existing timetable. That is a prime example of what we have seen time and time again over the last 13 years: deadlines are changed, and the private sector cannot rely on what the Government will do. That is one reason why investment is so poor in the UK.
My hon. Friend talked of the music and sport sectors and her lengthy campaign against online touts, and I would love the chance, as a Business Secretary, to work with her to fulfil her long-standing campaign aims. She also talked about school food and the need to recognise the pressures on the school food procurement system, and her points were well made.
My hon. Friend the Member for Coventry North East (Colleen Fletcher) demanded a coherent long-term plan, and she is right that that was at the heart of what we needed from the King’s Speech. In what I thought was a very fair-minded speech, my hon. Friend the Member for Warrington North (Charlotte Nichols) recognised that there were parts of the King’s speech that we would all give a warm welcome to, such as the demand for tougher sentences, but she was right to ask how that is consistent with the Government not having sufficient prison places for people already committing crimes. She also talked of the fundamental lack of ambition in the King’s Speech and the missed opportunity it represents.
My hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham East (Nadia Whittome) talked about how the King’s Speech was completely incongruous with the reality of the problems that the UK faces, and about how the energy and net zero agenda is fundamentally an opportunity—on that she is surely right.
The hon. Member for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (Neale Hanvey) said that there was not much to discuss in the King’s Speech; I thought that was a good line. On the points we heard about the relationship between this agenda and Scottish independence, I think it is fair to point out that at the time of the Scottish independence referendum, even the independence White Paper proposed keeping a UK-wide energy market. That is because surely the right way to develop Scotland’s incredible potential is to match the chance to develop that with a UK-wide subsidy regime. That case, which was made at that time by adherents of independence, should be acknowledged.
My hon. Friend the Member for Jarrow (Kate Osborne) was right to call the speech “vacuous” and a wasted opportunity. She also compared it to the scale of the challenges we face and pointed out how the Government did not even use the last Session of Parliament well. The Government have not just run out of steam in relation to this agenda; they ran out of steam some time ago.
My hon. Friend the Member for Wakefield (Simon Lightwood) pointed out the need to address the real, practical things that are holding the country back. He mentioned business rates reform, and a commitment and desire to see greater community safety. That is what Labour has done, and that is why he is just one of many new Members of Parliament on the Labour Benches, adding to the by-election victories that we are totting up.
Finally, the hon. Member for Gordon (Richard Thomson) gave us in his speech not only points about the fundamental failure of Government policy but energy policy as a family love story, which I thought was wonderful; I am sure that we send his family all the best in that.
The desire for change and real practical ways in which we can deliver it flowed through every speech made by Opposition Members. We can offer that change because we have had the courage to change ourselves. We have acknowledged our defeat in 2019 and put our own house in order. As those speeches reflected, we have focused on the priorities that matter most to the British people and the need always to put our country first in a way that is true to the best Labour Governments of the past. In contrast, I see a Conservative party that is not only tired and out of ideas but, unfortunately, increasingly beholden to cranks and extremists.
This may have been the first King’s Speech for 70 years, but it is clear that our country needs it to be the last Conservative one in quite a while. The contrast between the Conservatives and Labour could not be starker: it is failure versus hope, the past versus the future, and short tactical gimmicks from a dying Government versus a long-term plan for national renewal.
I have the deepest of respect for every colleague who comes to this place, makes a speech in a debate such as this and represents their community. I believe that the overwhelming majority of us do so in good faith and with good intentions. That is why being a Member of this House is, and always will be, an honour and a privilege. But the combination of national decline and the erosion of standards in public life over the last few years, so visibly illuminated in the evidence we have heard from the covid inquiry, is nothing short of a disgrace. This is a Government who are not living up to the potential of the country or the job our constituents need them to do, so we do need change—the Prime Minister is right on that—but it has got to be real change. The only way that real change can come is by giving the people what they want and what they need, and that is a general election.
Let’s let the people decide on the future and the change they want. Only then will we get the King’s Speech, and the change and hope, that this country needs and deserves, and which we on the Labour Benches fully intend to give it.
The Minister for Industry and Economic Security (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
It is a pleasure to close today’s debate on the King’s Speech on behalf of the Government and even more of a joy to be representing Wealden, my constituency, in doing so. There have been fantastic and insightful speeches from Members on both sides of the House—19 in total—and I will do my best to run through all the points raised. These debates are a moment for both anticipation and reflection; we welcomed King Charles to open Parliament for the first time, and looked forward to his reign, while remembering the late Queen and her many decades of public service.
The last time a King opened Parliament was back in 1951. Because I do not sleep much, I glanced through Hansard to see what was discussed then, when the Government’s focus was—as it is now—on protecting prosperity, safeguarding key industries and protecting UK interests at home and abroad. Just like Winston Churchill’s Government seven decades ago, we must turn our minds to similar issues, finding 21st century solutions to age-old questions, many of which were addressed by colleagues today.
Let me turn to my right hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Dame Maria Miller), who has huge experience and secures respect on both sides of the House. It was interesting that she reflected on the political sketch by the right hon. Member for Doncaster North (Edward Miliband), who politicised the energy debate just as he politicised the NHS back when he was running for leader. We were hoping for a grown-up conversation, but unfortunately he turned it into a political sketch—[Interruption.] And he is continuing to do so now, which is a shame.
It was good to hear my right hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke acknowledge that we are world leaders in offshore wind and other renewables, especially small modular reactors and fusion energy, and to hear about her recent experience in Canada as our trade envoy. She reflected on battery plants and storage, and will be pleased to know that I will publish the battery strategy shortly. She reflected on critical minerals—she knows I published a critical minerals strategy recently—because we cannot have a net zero agenda without them. She also asked about the NPPF; we got a note back to say that it is on its way. Of course, that is not within my remit, but I do not doubt that her words have been acknowledged.
Let me reflect on the comments made by my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingswood (Chris Skidmore) and his tremendous work on the Skidmore review. I agree that we have earned a reputation in the UK as leaders in achieving net zero, and now that reputation needs to be preserved. It is indeed a race, and we started off fast so we need to ensure that we continue ahead of the game. He also reflected on the Inflation Reduction Act, which has changed the game plan—I know that, as the Industry Minister—and the challenges it poses for supply chains. It is unfortunate that this will be his last King’s Speech debate, but I do not doubt that we will hear his voice on this agenda.
The hon. Member for Brent North (Barry Gardiner) talked about cross-party consensus—who can disagree with that?—and about energy bills; a huge amount of work has been done to cover energy costs, and we will continue to provide people with support as we can.
My hon. Friend the Member for Banff and Buchan (David Duguid) talked about long-term decisions. Stability should be at the forefront of our minds, not the short-term decisions with short-term outcomes that seem to be the most popular. He reflected on growing the economy; on energy security; on being measured, which means having a mix of energy in the system; and on the dependence on gas and oil, and ensuring that they are in the mix. He talked about protecting power stations, including the one in his constituency, and about the importance of having oil and gas to ensure that we are not reliant on imported fuel but can rely on ourselves.
The hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas), gave a speech that was far more ideological than embedded in the reality of people’s lives, and did not reflect at all on our track record on getting to net zero and reducing emissions. I always find it curious that people talk about resilience but are prepared to let other markets boom at the cost of markets being invested in and jobs being grown here in the UK.
My hon. Friend the Member for The Cotswolds (Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown), who is a dear friend and an incredibly powerful treasurer of the 1922 committee, spoke about tax-free shopping. I am sure that Treasury Ministers were listening and will respond in due course.
The hon. Member for Washington and Sunderland West (Mrs Hodgson) spoke about Nissan; later I will speak about the investments made by the automotive sector, including Nissan, and some of the challenges not only around energy but fundamentally around supply chains. I have been working with industry and the automotive sector on providing more resilience in supply chains to get the minerals and critical products needed into the UK, so that we can continue to manufacture.
My hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman), who is also a member of the 1922 committee, talked about good administration versus having lots of policy. He is absolutely right; we need to ensure that we can administrate well, and if that requires working in collaboration, it must be done. He mentioned the lack of previous investment in nuclear, and said that we need to move at pace to ensure an energy mix in the UK. He must also be commended for his work on tackling homelessness and dealing with leasehold issues.
The hon. Member for Coventry North East (Colleen Fletcher) felt underwhelmed by the policies set out in the King’s Speech. Hopefully she will be overwhelmed by the work now being done by the Government to ensure we deliver for our constituents across the country.
My hon. Friend the Member for North Norfolk (Duncan Baker) talked about Bacton gas terminal, which the Prime Minister visited very recently. My hon. Friend fundamentally believes the site should be the most senior hydrogen hub in the UK. No doubt his campaigning will enable that to be delivered for his constituents.
The hon. Member for Warrington North (Charlotte Nichols) is a fellow member of my Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee. She said that the King’s Speech was not all bad—I always think that is a good place to start. She spoke about mental health and many other issues, but I look forward to continuing to work with her, as we did previously on steel and the supply chain.
Charlotte Nichols
I thank the Minister for giving way. She referred earlier to the politicisation of energy. Unfortunately, the Secretary of State inadvertently misled the House in her own opening remarks with the comments she made about Warrington Council’s exposure in the administration of Together Energy. The £37 million bill she quoted is entirely wrong, something I have had confirmed as one of Warrington’s MPs. Will the Minister take the opportunity to correct the record on behalf of the Secretary of State?
Ms Ghani
I am sure that putting that forward now means that the record will reflect it. If it was not £37 million, I dread to think what it was.
My hon. Friend the Member for Totnes (Anthony Mangnall) made a fantastic comment that maybe all the members of the Business and Trade Committee should be Privy Counsellors—yes, but only if previous members of the BEIS Committee are offered that, too. He spoke about the fact that we should not forget about the growth in our economy—it has grown by 78% since 1990—and the 46% reduction in emissions. We must be positive and promote what we have been able to achieve. He spoke about marine energy and maritime power linking into a local church. I am intrigued—I want to be invited to come by and take a look.
There were contributions from the hon. Member for Nottingham East (Nadia Whittome) and—forgive my pronunciation—the hon. Member for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (Neale Hanvey). I think it is best that the SNP Members reflect on the points that he raised. The hon. Member for Jarrow (Kate Osborne) spoke, as did the hon. Members for Wakefield (Simon Lightwood) and for Gordon (Richard Thomson). I never thought we would end up on an SNP love story, but we are all going to be thinking about that over the weekend.
I am anxious about how much time I have left to speak. I am closing the debate as a Business and Trade Minister, and have many more opportunities coming up to help ensure that we deliver on growing the economy and achieving net zero. We have a couple of programmes of work that were reflected in the King’s Speech in the Trade (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership) Bill and the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill.
Turning to the subject of today’s debate, the Government are already turning the country into a clean energy superpower. “Already” is the important word there, because while the Opposition might try to claim otherwise, this work is well under way. Let me remind the House of the formidable record we are building on. The UK achieved the fastest rate of greenhouse gas emission reductions of all G7 countries, while renewables already generated over 48% of our electricity in the first quarter of this year—the highest ever level. Of course, we know we can and must go further, which is why the UK has one of the world’s most ambitious 2030 targets. However, the Government are also acutely aware that we cannot ask our citizens and businesses to pay undue burdens for achieving our net zero goals, particularly in these challenging economic times. Nor can we ignore the fact that Putin’s war of aggression means that we are living in a more dangerous world with far more complicated supply chains. As the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero has already explained, it is only right that we reduce our reliance on volatile international energy markets and hostile regimes. She will be doing so through legislation such as the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill.
The Opposition talk about strategies and plans, so let me remind the House that the Government have them in abundance. In fact, the Government’s green strategies aim to drive £100 billion of private sector investment into our green industrial base by 2030, supporting around 480,000 jobs by the same date. I am surprised the Opposition are not welcoming that.
However, the Government are not just focusing on words; they are taking action. Between 2020 and 2023, my Department alone supported more than £28 billion of net zero-related inward investment, creating 30,000 jobs. Thanks to our work, the country’s economic geography is also shifting—from clean technology development in the midlands, offshore wind in the north-east and Scotland and turbine manufacturers in Hull, to innovative hydrogen-powered buses in Northern Ireland. With the North sea transition deal, the Government are helping workers, businesses and the supply chain in fossil fuel-related industries to adapt to a net zero future, providing £20 billion of funding to encourage the early deployment of carbon capture, usage and storage, and to unlock private investment and jobs. Whether we are talking about our recently announced plans for carbon capture clusters in the north-west and north-east, the first 15 winning projects to receive investment from the Government’s £240 million net zero hydrogen fund, the port towns that stand to benefit from the £160 million-worth of floating offshore wind manufacturing schemes, or our freeports and investment zones, our policies are creating jobs, reinvigorating communities and opening horizons the length and breadth of the country.
It would be remiss of me not to talk about my own brief, which covers industries and, fundamentally, the automotive, aerospace and maritime sectors. Here again, my Department is playing an instrumental role. We recently announced a joint investment package with Tata Steel, worth £1.25 billion, to replace end-of-life blast furnaces with electric arc furnace steel production. That will preserve steelmaking for generations to come and enable green steel production to take place in the UK. While we are helping manufacturers, including steel producers, to access lower-cost hydrogen through the net zero hydrogen fund, we are also enabling our world-renowned automotive sector to seize the opportunities of the net zero transition. For instance, we have the automotive transformation fund from the Advanced Propulsion Centre, and the Faraday battery challenge. That has unlocked investment into the UK. Stellantis is producing electric vans at its Ellesmere Port plant, the first factory to be dedicated to the manufacture of electric vehicles, BMW Group is investing £600 million to bring two new all-electric Mini models to Oxford by 2026, and Tata has announced a £4 billion investment in Europe’s largest here in the UK. All that shows what our strategies are already providing.
Chris Skidmore
I thank the Minister for making an important point about job creation. As I said in my speech, the net zero review pointed to the 480,000 additional jobs resulting from green industries. When it comes to green steel both in Port Talbot and in Ellesmere Port, and the future of electric arc furnaces, does the Minister agree that, as politicians on both sides of the House, we need to fight the corrosive disinformation that green steel is somehow costing jobs—there would otherwise have been 6,000 job losses in Port Talbot rather than 3,000 potential job transfers—and point out that it is green industries that are keeping jobs alive? If we stick with the status quo, we will simply lose every job.
Ms Ghani
That is a valuable point. The most frustrating aspect of being a Minister is the lack of sufficient time and space to talk about some of the challenges and how we respond to them. If we had not provided support to enable Port Talbot to have those electric arc furnaces, thousands of jobs would have been lost. Unfortunately, however, there are always some people who argue that change inevitably brings challenge, and we get stick on that point. However, our investment means that those jobs are now secure, as are, I believe, more than 10,000 jobs in the supply chain. That will give people the reassurance that they need about their continued ability to produce steel or products in the supply chain.
Jonathan Reynolds
Owing to the importance of this issue, I must add something to the record. As the Minister and the Secretary of State know, electric arc furnaces are not the only way to decarbonise the steel industry. There are examples around the world of the use of ammonia and hydrogen in what is known as the direct reduced iron process, and other technologies are under way. Are we to be the first developed country to lose the capacity to make virgin steel? That appears to be Government policy, but I am not sure that the Minister could deliver the necessary votes for that on her own side of the House. I think she should clarify whether it is indeed Government policy, because she would not say so during yesterday’s exchanges on the urgent question.
Ms Ghani
We were talking about Port Talbot and the change to electric arc furnaces there. There is, of course, the DRI hydrogen option, but it will not come online within the time that is required to provide the change from blast to electric arc furnaces. That was a commercial decision taken, with the unions, at Port Talbot. When a technology involving hydrogen is advanced and can be commercialised, that will no doubt become an option, but we are where we are. People might think we can jump from one to another without a transition, but we are providing support for the transition to support jobs in these communities.
I believe I have until 5 o’clock, but that might distress our colleagues. I will conclude, although I am prepared to continue.
The Minister for Defence Procurement (James Cartlidge)
They are all listening.
Ms Ghani
They are all listening.
Just over 70 years ago, in 1951, Churchill’s Government stood on the cusp of an extraordinary era of innovation that heralded the computer and the space race, and today we are on the edge of a new, equally significant age of green technology and innovation. It is thanks to this Government’s hard work and focus that we are ready to seize the opportunities with both hands as we grow the economy, ensure our energy security and provide a prosperous future for the country and its people. Our policies will turn this country into a green powerhouse, which will not only transform our communities but provide leadership to the world.
Ordered, That the debate be now adjourned.— (Mr Mohindra.)
Debate to be resumed on Monday 13 November.
Funding for Canals
(6 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
David Morris (Morecambe and Lunesdale) (Con)
It is always a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Madam Deputy Speaker.
I draw the House’s attention to the funding of canals, particularly in an area of my locality called the Northern Reaches, just north of Carnforth in a place called Tewitfield—a place I know very well. Back in January 2011, I tabled an early-day motion highlighting the need to restore the canal system between Carnforth and Kendal known as the Northern Reaches. The EDM read:
“That this House notes that the Northern Reaches is an historic waterway begun in 1792 linking Preston, Lancaster, Kendal and the Lune Estuary via a branch to Glasson Dock; further notes that since the Second World War the waterway has declined and parts have been filled in; applauds the work of the Lancaster Canal Restoration Partnership in working towards reopening the Northern Reaches; and calls on the whole community to support this important project, rebuilding a unique part of the UK’s industrial heritage.”
I thought it was a shame that part of our heritage was lost to time and transport changes in the last mid-century. The Northern Reaches was not in my constituency, so I could not do anything constructive to help the growing number of volunteers dedicated to restoring this heritage gem until now, as the Northern Reaches is coming into the new constituency of Morecambe and Lunesdale.
Last Friday I was invited to celebrate the completion of the Stainton aqueduct and Lancaster canal towpath trail project, hosted by the Canal & River Trust. The successful £2.5 million project was made possible by the generous grants of £1.3 million from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and £400,000 from the Rural Payments Agency, and by contributions from Cumbria County Council and the Ramblers Association.
I met the volunteers and explained that, over the years, I have been watching their amazing efforts and progress in restoring the local waterways. I showed them the research I have commissioned over the years from the House of Commons Library and the obscure books I have collected about the Northern Reaches, as little is known other than the rumour that it was filled in with rubble from the building of the M6 motorway back in the 1950s and ’60s.
The volunteers have an encyclopaedic knowledge, and they have already restored a significant portion of the reaches over the years at the Kendal end. Post covid, the jobs, tourism and general wellbeing that can be realised by the restoration of this facility are now needed more than ever, especially with the Eden Project on the horizon in my constituency, as the original towpath can be reutilised as a walking path or rural cycle lane concocting Lancaster and Kendal, which fits in with my holistic vision of the green tech and tourism that my area can offer to the rest of the UK.
The volunteers I spoke to were astonished that the “Eden MP”, as I was flatteringly called, has been deeply interested in their cause. They were also amazed that I had already secured a debate in the House of Commons on canal funding in the week of the King’s Speech. I told them it will focus on the Northern Reaches, and I touched on my idea of water security distribution for the population via the canal system.
The Lancaster canal was constructed between 1792 and 1819, a very long time ago, with the Glasson branch link to Glasson dock being added in 1826.The canal originally extended from Kendal, in the north, to Aspull, near Wigan, in the south. The Lancaster canal was constructed primarily to move coal and limestone. The merchants of Lancaster wanted to improve the supplies of coal from around Wigan into north Lancashire and to supply the south with limestone. Another import from Wigan was me, into my constituency, but that is for another time.
The Act of Parliament
“for making and maintaining a navigable Canal from Kirkby Kendal in the County of Westmorland to West Houghton in the County Palatine of Lancaster”
was obtained in 1792. In the following year, another Act was obtained to build a branch from the canal near Galgate to the recently completed Glasson dock. When first built, the Lancaster canal was 69 miles long. The canal between Preston and Tewitfield, just north of Carnforth, was opened in November 1797. The route north from Tewitfield to Kendal—the Northern Reaches, as we now know it—was built from 1813 and was completed in 1819. Coal was the most important commodity carried on the canal, but in practice anything was carried. Several packet boats were established specially to move people and small parcels. Speed was of the essence, especially when the canal was competing with the railway lines from the 1830s onwards.
A little-known aspect of the canal’s history is that in 1940 its central section was fortified to form a defensive stop line—this was relatively common in the south but perhaps unexpected in the north-west. The purpose was to protect the north-south communication lines. Many of the bridges were altered, and tank traps and other impediments were installed, many of which are still visible to this day. The final half mile of canal into Kendal was closed in the early 1940s.
Sadly, in 1947, the last commercial boat sailed on the canal carrying coal from Preston to Lancaster. The canals were nationalised in 1948 and the Lancaster canal became part of the Docks and Inland Waterways Executive of the British Transport Commission. The canal was closed above Stainton Crossing bridge, above Stainton aqueduct, following the Transport Act 1953. This is all very technical and it all started in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Then, during the 1960s, as I alluded to before, the construction of the M6 motorway cut the canal above Tewitfield in several places. Later, the canal was further cut by the construction of the A590 link road to Kendal.
The canal between Preston and Tewitfield remained classed as a “cruising waterway”, whereas the Northern Reaches was deemed to be “remainder waterway”, following a 1955 Act of Parliament, and the canal was carved up by further road transport. If restored, the Northern Reaches would connect to the Millness to Stainton section of the Lancaster canal. The name Northern Reaches refers to a 14 mile stretch of the Lancaster canal that was isolated during the 1960s when the M6 motorway was built. Importantly, the Fraenkel report recommended that the towpath be kept clear from the amenity development by local authorities at this time. However, with hindsight, most will see all this as cultural vandalism. Obviously, I would like to ask my friend the Minister whether there are any costings on the reinstatement of the Northern Reaches canal network. The Lancaster Canal Trust stated in its 2019 restoration report that it had raised £13,000 for the restoration of the “first furlong” of the Northern Reaches, which I will talk about later. Are any further funds in place to improve the towpath in its entirety, as outlined in the 1950s Fraenkel report?
The Lancaster Canal Trust is planning a strategy to maximise the opportunities to secure the funding likely to be required to make the restoration of the Northern Reaches to Kendal a reality. Originally founded to oppose the closure of the canal to navigation in the 1960s, the trust is now dedicated to its restoration. I believe that work is complete to restore the “first furlong”, a 200 metre section between bridges 172 and 173, near Stainton. I believe further works are being planned for a further 400 metres. This trust is exemplary; it actually gets things done, which I really like to see in my community.
Indeed, I was excited to be invited to the celebration of the completion of the Stainton aqueduct and Lancaster canal towpath, hosted by the Canal & River Trust. The successful £2.5 million project was made possible by a generous £1.3 million grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Lancaster Canal Regeneration Partnership has arranged funding to upgrade the towpath between Hincaster and Stainton to a multi-use route, and it is already a public right of way.
In June 2023, Westmorland and Furness Council awarded the trust a lawful development certificate, as I mentioned, confirming that it could line and rewater another 400 metre section between bridge 173 and the A590. These may just be points on a map to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, but they are very important to my community.
Separately, the Lancaster Canal Regeneration Partnership was registered as a community interest company in December 2022. The LCRP includes the Lancaster Canal Trust, the Canal & River Trust, the Inland Waterways Association and local authorities. The LCRP had previously sought to fully rewater the Northern Reaches and restore it to cruising standard. However, its current focus is on restoring the towpath along the canal between Lancaster and Kendal. Background to those proposals and progress to date are set out in a report to South Lakeland District Council.
Our canals have truly seen a renaissance over the past 70 years, and recovered from the dark days of decline and dereliction of the mid-20th century. With more boats on the waterways and the use of the towpaths more popular than ever, we are seeing their benefits realised on a grand scale once again, repurposed for leisure and recreation, health and wellbeing. That must be made permanent.
Canals play a wider role. At a time when our water supply has never been more critical, because of our changing climate and the increased risk of drought, the trust’s canals improve the resilience of the nation’s water security. They have inadvertently come back into fashion because of global warming. They currently move water around the country to support water supplies for approximately 5 million people, including those in Bristol and parts of Cheshire, and the trust can support more such water transfer schemes.
About half the trust’s planned asset spend is now on reservoir safety, adding nearly £100 million to its priority expenditure over the next five years to 2027. As a not-for-profit charity, the Canal & River Trust is arguably the largest urban blue space provider in the UK. A rigorous evaluation, summarised in the recently released “Valuing our Waterways” report, evidenced that it delivers £4.6 billion-worth of social welfare value for the nation each year, plus £1.5 billion per year in economic value, supporting 80,000 jobs. That is very significant.
Our inland waterways are a national treasure and a critical part of our national infrastructure. As outlined, I would like to see the Northern Reaches restored in its entirety, but I realise that it has taken the brave volunteers decades to preserve and improve in part what is already there. Will the Minister write to me with an estimated cost for the full restoration and a breakdown of what can be achieved in the short term, for example with the towpath? What funding streams are available to assist the trust and volunteer groups?
I will soon dedicate a full day to taking a walk along the Northern Reaches—I can’t wait—with Bill Froggatt, from the Canal & River Trust, who has helped me immeasurably with this speech, along with chief executive officer, Richard Parry. In the future, I am sure they, along with the fantastic volunteers, will become like a new family to me, post Eden campaigning.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Trudy Harrison)
What an absolute delight it was to listen to my good friend, my hon. Friend the Member for Morecambe and Lunesdale (David Morris), speak with such passion about the value of England’s waterways. It made me think about my nana, Nana Alice, one of the famous Robinsons from Kendal. In 1947 she would have been living just outside Kendal, at Brigsteer, and will certainly have known, and possibly travelled on, that canal, so it means something to me personally to see this project fulfilled.
Although I am not the Minister responsible for inland waterways, I am the Minister responsible for access in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Perhaps my hon. Friend would be so kind as to invite me along when he spends his day in the area? If my diary allows, I will certainly prioritise that but, if not, I will make another trip to visit the volunteers. It is the volunteers my hon. Friend described who are really making the most of the inland waterways, including through partnerships and working with local authorities.
May I take this opportunity to let the House know that we are introducing local nature recovery strategies across 48 upper-tier authorities? These will prioritise how those authorities can create more access, and that will be done in partnership with our legal commitment that everyone, wherever they live in England, will be able to access a blue or green space within a 15 minute walk.
Matt Rodda (Reading East) (Lab)
I am extremely grateful to the Minister for giving way. I do appreciate her help with this. I also wish to commend the hon. Gentleman’s work on this matter. From another corner of England, in my constituency of Reading and Woodley, we are very fond of the Kennet and Avon canal, which is a significant waterway. Sadly, some of the access has deteriorated a little in recent times and we have had some issues with the Environment Agency not removing sunken boats, and also problems with litter. Residents appreciate the ability to access waterways. They are a wonderful part of our heritage and are important to neighbourhoods. I thought the hon. Gentleman’s speech about his area was wonderful. Can the Minister advise me on how we can better work together on this important matter? I realise that the funding has unfortunately been cut, but there are partnerships in place. Perhaps she or a colleague could write to me to update me and my local council on some of the funds that are available.
Trudy Harrison
Certainly, and I will come on to just how much funding has been made available. I draw the hon. Gentleman’s attention to the National Lottery Heritage Fund, which has provided £454 million recently to a couple of projects. Moreover, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, through levelling-up funding, has provided more than £33 million to another couple of projects. That is perhaps an area that my hon. Friend could also look into. I know very well that he has previously been incredibly successful in securing levelling-up funding. As a champion of the Morecambe Eden project, I understand that £50 billion has been raised through the levelling-up project in his area, so I am well aware of his capability in that field.
In response to the hon. Member for Reading East (Matt Rodda), let me say that I would be delighted to look into funding opportunities, specifically around access. I will write to him about that, because I am not familiar with what might be available at this time.
On the wider funding for canals and inland waterways, we know—because my hon. Friend has just explained—how important these national heritage assets are, providing many public benefits. I am also fully aware of how important it is to have access to water and green spaces for our physical health and mental wellbeing, not to mention the benefits that they provide for nature. Those benefits are set out in our Environmental Improvement Plan. Halting the decline of nature by 2030 and increasing its abundance thereafter is the apex priority following the Environment Act 2023. Canals and waterways, rivers, lakes, coastal areas and streams are fundamental to that. People enjoy being by canals and waterways and using them for leisure and recreation, as well as, in the case of canals, for their historical value. They form an important part of our natural environment by providing the green corridors along which biodiversity can flourish, as well as contributing to the growth of local economies, such as through domestic tourism.
The Canal & River Trust reports that there were nearly 900 million visits to its canals last year, many of which were repeat visits—with around 10 million individual users each month. That gives us a real sense of the scale and popularity of our canals.
I pay tribute to the Canal & River Trust for the work that it does day in, day out to look after the network. Our navigation authorities have an important role to play into the future as well, because they will make sure that our nation’s key infrastructure is resilient to climate change. As we have set out in our national adaptation plan of how we will mitigate and adapt to the risks set out by Climate Change Committee, these waterways may suffer the consequences of climate change more than others.
Importantly, the work that the navigation authorities do will help us meet our net zero targets through sustainable transport and energy generation, and help to achieve water security through flood mitigation measures and water transfers.
I will write to my hon. Friend the Member for Morecambe and Lunesdale with the specifics of any funding analysis that has been done. As I say, I am not the Minister responsible for inland waterways, but I will take the time to write a detailed analysis if I can. I may require further information from the volunteers and the partnerships that he mentioned.
The Canal & River Trust and the Environment Agency are the two bodies that receive direct funding, and it is important to be clear that we will continue to provide significant funding. The Canal & River Trust was set up in 2012 as a charity independent of Government. The idea was to replace the publicly owned British Waterways and free it from public spending constraints. The trust owns and manages a network of some 2,000 miles of canals and rivers in England and Wales. The original endowment in 2012 was £450 million, but it is now worth £1 billion. From 2027, £400 million is proposed to be granted over a 10-year period. We will continue to support the Canal & River Trust, but we certainly encourage it to work with others to make the most of the commercial opportunities as well.
Now that the trust is free of public sector financing constraints, it can source alternative revenue streams, including charitable donations and legacies, charity tax relief, third-party project funding and borrowing on the financial markets, while continuing to receive a substantial Government grant. The trust was also endowed by the Government with a significant property and investment portfolio from British Waterways. As I said, it was originally worth £450 million and is now worth over £1 billion. That is the result of sound investment management by the trust. To provide further support and financial certainty for the trust while it was becoming established, the Government agreed in 2012 to provide a 15-year grant of around £740 million.
An important part of the 2012 transfer from British Waterways was the memorandum of understanding signed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the trust, which contained a clear objective that the trust would progressively move towards greater self-sufficiency and reduced reliance on public funding, through its £1 billion property and investment portfolio and freedom from public sector financial constraints. Following a Government review of current grant funding that was announced in July this year, a further substantial grant funding package has been announced that will provide £400 million across the 10-year period from 2027. Importantly, that will bring the total amount of Government support for the trust to around £1.1 billion since 2012.
I also want to discuss the funding for the Environment Agency; as I mentioned, there are two bodies that look after the network of canals and rivers. The Environment Agency’s 630 miles of navigations are funded in the form of an annual grant in aid. For the three-year period from 2022-23 to 2024-25, that amounts to £73 million. I hope I have set out that this Government really have supported canals and rivers, whether through the Canal & River Trust or the Environment Agency, but that there are other ways in which those organisations can bring in additional funding, as we have heard.
To focus on the project that my hon. Friend is progressing, which is the most important thing, I cannot commend too highly the volunteers and their ambitions for their area. The project has such importance for the local community, because it will not only bring back something that was last used in 1947, but will bring benefits such as tackling climate change, improving people’s physical and mental wellbeing, and supporting biodiversity. That is absolutely what we should be doing. It supports the targets of the environmental improvement plan and the work of groups such as Sustrans, public rights of way and national trails. We all recognise the benefits of being near water and appreciating nature—and, goodness me, we all need to get a little bit more active.
I confirm that I will write to my hon. Friend with the detailed analysis of the funding for the project so far, and I will take a look at other funding streams as well. Most importantly, I look forward to visiting him, perhaps in Kendal, to congratulate the volunteers on their hard work and success to date. It is brilliant to end today’s sitting with some wonderful good news about a really successful big society mission.
Question put and agreed to.
Written Statements
Higher Education update
(6 months ago)
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The Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education (Robert Halfon)
My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education, Baroness Barran, has made the following written ministerial statement.
Today I am announcing the introduction of regulations to allow plan 2 (undergraduate), plan 3 (postgraduate) and plan 5 (undergraduate) student loan interest rates to be capped automatically each month, where they would otherwise exceed comparable prevailing market rates. This ensures ongoing compliance with requirements in primary legislation and removes the need to lay time limited regulations, as has previously been the case, whenever student loan interest rates would otherwise have exceeded comparable prevailing market rates.
I am also announcing a change to the calculation of the overseas fixed instalment repayments for plan 1 student loans—available to new borrowers from 1998 to 2012. Fixed instalments are due by student loan borrowers residing overseas who fail to submit their income details to the Student Loans Company (SLC) with the result that income-contingent repayments cannot be made. The amended fixed instalment rate will increase, and will now be equivalent to the monthly repayments of a plan 1 student loan borrower earning twice the median working age graduate salary in England. This removes a perverse incentive whereby higher earning borrowers residing overseas may have chosen not to submit their earnings information to the SLC in order to reduce their monthly payments.
[HCWS25]
Investigatory Powers (Amendment) Bill
(6 months ago)
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The Minister for Security (Tom Tugendhat)
The Government introduced the Investigatory Powers (Amendment) Bill in the House of Lords yesterday, as committed to in the King’s Speech at the start of this parliamentary Session.
Building on the recent statutory report published by the Home Secretary on the operation of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA) since it came into force— https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-on-the-operation-of-the-investigatory-powers-act-2016 —this Bill will make urgent and targeted amendments to the IPA to ensure that our security and intelligence agencies have the right tools at their disposal to keep the country safe.
The key elements of the Bill include:
Making changes to the bulk personal dataset regime, which will improve the security and intelligence agencies’ ability to respond with greater agility and speed to existing and emerging threats to national security.
Expanding the oversight regime to support the Investigatory Powers Commissioner to effectively carry out their role, including putting more of their functions on a statutory basis. This will maintain the robust, transparent, and world-leading safeguards in the investigatory powers regime.
Reforming the notices regimes, which will help the UK anticipate the risk to public safety posed by the rolling out of technology by multinational companies that precludes lawful access to data. This would reduce the risk of the most serious offences, such as child sexual exploitation and abuse or terrorism, going undetected.
Updating the conditions for use of internet connections records to ensure that these can be used effectively to target the most serious types of criminal activity and national security threats without a corresponding increase in levels of intrusion.
Increasing the resilience of the warrantry authorisation processes which will allow for greater operational agility for security and intelligence agencies, as well as for the National Crime Agency, in its investigations and support it to tackle the most serious national security and organised crime threats.
These new measures will:
Update the IPA to reflect that the world has changed significantly since 2016. Technology has rapidly advanced, and the type of threats the UK faces continue to evolve.
Enable the security and intelligence agencies to keep pace with a range of evolving threats, against a backdrop of accelerating technological advancements that provide new opportunities for terrorists, hostile state actors, child abusers and criminal gangs.
Ensure that the security and intelligence agencies can develop the necessary tools and capabilities to rapidly identify intelligence insights from vast quantities of data, allowing them to better understand and respond to threats to the UK.
These limited and targeted reforms to the IPA do not create new powers but, instead, recalibrate elements of the current regime to ensure that it remains fit for purpose to respond to modern threats.
This Bill has been developed in close partnership with the security and intelligence agencies, law enforcement agencies and the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office. The measures being taken forward have also been driven by the recommendations made in the Home Secretary’s review and the independent review by Lord Anderson KBE KC which was published in June 2023: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-review-of-the-investigatory-powers-act-2016--2
[HCWS24]
Death of Jalal Uddin: Statutory Inquiry
(6 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Suella Braverman)
Today I am announcing the establishment by the Home Office of a statutory inquiry, under the Inquiries Act 2005, to investigate the death of Mr Jalal Uddin on 18 February 2016 in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.
The inquiry will be chaired by His Honour Edward Thomas Henry Teague KC, Chief Coroner of England and Wales.
In accordance with the provision of section 3(1)(a) of the Inquiries Act 2005 His Honour Judge Teague will sit alone as chair.
I am establishing a statutory inquiry after careful deliberation and on the advice from the Chief Coroner that this is necessary to permit all relevant evidence to be heard.
The formal setting up-date of the inquiry is today. I will place a copy of the terms of reference for the inquiry in the Libraries of both Houses.
The direction of the inquiry’s investigation will be a matter for the chair. As the sponsoring Department, the Home Office will provide support and ensure that the inquiry has the resources needed to fulfil its terms of reference.
[HCWS23]
Intergovernmental Relations Quarterly Transparency Report: 1 April to 30 June 2023
(6 months ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (Felicity Buchan)
Today, the Government published the second of 2023’s quarterly reports summarising our engagement with the devolved Administrations on gov.uk.
This report covers a period of engagement between the UK Government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government, and Northern Ireland Executive from 1 April to 30 June 2023. During this reporting period the Administrations worked together on a number of key areas, such as ways to tackle the cost of living, supporting the NHS, and marking key milestones such as the 25th anniversary of the Belfast agreement. The report highlights that through our collective work we demonstrate a stronger ability to face and tackle big changes and challenges.
The report is part of the Government’s ongoing commitment to transparency of intergovernmental relations to Parliament and the public. The Government will continue with publications to demonstrate transparency in intergovernmental relations.
[HCWS26]
Leasehold Reform: Ground Rent Consultation
(6 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (Michael Gove)
The Government are committed to promoting fairness and transparency in the residential leasehold sector, and giving homeowners a fairer deal.
Today we have published a consultation on capping existing ground rents. It cannot be right that leaseholders can be required to make payments that require no service or benefit in return, have no requirement to be reasonable, and can cause issues when people want to sell their properties.
Today’s publication builds on the success of the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022, which put an end to ground rents for new, qualifying long residential leasehold properties in England and Wales as part of the most significant changes to property law in a generation.
There are nearly 5 million leasehold homes around the country and 86% of owner-occupier leaseholders report paying a ground rent. Historically, ground rents were typically small sums, even a peppercorn. But in this century, we have seen an increase in these rents, often rising at frequent intervals. This can blight people’s homes and lives, leaving them facing ever rising costs yet unable to sell the property easily due to these charges.
Service charges offer a way for freeholders to charge leaseholders for legitimate expenses. The measures we are bringing forward as part of our leasehold reforms will make them transparent to leaseholders and make it easier to challenge unfair or unreasonable charges.
We know that there are ways to manage buildings effectively without exploiting leaseholders—many free- holders are already effective, responsible building owners; others need help in adjusting their business models so that they are fit for the 21st century, and I want to hear views from all interested parties on how we can help them do that.
I understand that this is a complex area, with many different interests including leaseholders, freeholders and investors, and I want to hear those views through this consultation to inform our decision.
In this consultation, I outline five options to reform ground rent for people who already pay it. We must make sure that leaseholders are better protected from some of the egregious examples of poor practice we have seen in recent years. This Government believe that all leaseholders should be treated fairly and equally, with greater confidence about the costs of managing property. Where they pay money, they should receive something in return.
Through this consultation we want to understand better the challenges these options may present. This includes understanding any blockers to moving towards a fair and transparent model of charging for legitimate expenses through the service charge, and how we can address them.
Subject to this consultation, we will look to introduce a cap through the leasehold and freehold reform Bill.
[HCWS22]
AI Safety Summit
(6 months ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology (Paul Scully)
I am providing the House with an update following the UK’s AI safety summit on 1 and 2 November 2023 at Bletchley Park—the birthplace of computer science.
As the Prime Minister set out in his speech on 26 October, the world stands at the crossroads of a technological revolution, and if we are to seize the benefits of AI, we must tackle the risks. AI is developing at an unprecedented speed, driven partly by greater computing power and innovations in model design. The capabilities of powerful AI systems will only increase, with profound economic and societal consequences, bringing unprecedented opportunities and risks. I am proud to share what the UK has achieved at this defining moment.
The summit was a first-of-its-kind event that has firmly established the UK as a global leader on AI safety. We brought the world’s leading powers, and major AI industry, academia and civil society organisations together to build a shared understanding of the risks and opportunities of frontier AI; to acknowledge the need for action; and to agree to work together to address these in the interest of all humanity. These common goals and shared principles were encapsulated in the Bletchley declaration, signed by 28 Governments representing not only the current world leaders in AI development, but also a majority of the world’s population and economy.
Over the two days, an unprecedented range of attendees agreed a raft of measures to support those objectives. These included:
A joint agreement for frontier AI models to be tested for safety both before and after they are rolled out;
A shared ambition to invest in public sector AI capability, to ensure that Governments can both steward industry effectively and directly scrutinise from a technical standpoint;
A “State of the Science” report, led by one of the “Godfathers of AI” Yoshua Bengio, which will collate and distil the latest insight from across the global community help build a shared understanding of the capabilities and risks posed by frontier AI.
The UK also used the leadup to the summit to gather feedback and insights from hundreds of UK stakeholders, and work with and encourage leading frontier AI organisations to publish their safety policies. We also launched the world’s first AI safety institute, which will build public sector capability to conduct safety testing and research into AI safety, in partnership with countries around the world.
I am pleased to share more details of the Bletchley declaration and our work against each of our summit objectives.
The Bletchley declaration by countries attending the AI safety summit
The landmark Bletchley declaration agreed an initial, mutual understanding of frontier AI, and the risks associated with it, and set out that countries will work in an inclusive manner to ensure the deployment of responsible, trustworthy, and human-centric AI that is safe. It committed countries to further collaborate on establishing a shared scientific and evidence-based understanding of the relevant risks.
Objective 1—a shared understanding of the risks posed by frontier AI and the need for action; and
Objective 2—a forward process for international collaboration on frontier AI safety, including how best to support national and international frameworks.
Informed by demonstrations from the UK’s frontier AI taskforce and a discussion paper on the capabilities and risks of frontier AI, summit attendees learned of the impact and urgency of the key risks from frontier AI. They recognised that potential harms from misuse, loss of control, and the potential for leaps in capability were particularly pressing.
Attendees engaged in substantive discussions on the impact of AI on wider societal issues, including potential harms caused by disinformation and the amplification of existing inequalities. Participants expressed a range of views on which risks should be prioritised, noting that addressing risks at the frontier of AI is not mutually exclusive from addressing existing AI risks and harms.
With the speed of technological change, participants affirmed the importance of continued collaboration and agreed on the urgency of establishing a shared international consensus on the capabilities and risks of frontier AI. In order to maintain public trust, attendees agreed that future decisions on AI safety must be underpinned by appropriate evidence, and recognised the necessity of fast, flexible and collaborative action by all actors, in particular Governments and frontier AI developers, to further understand those risks and ensure effective oversight.
All countries in attendance welcomed the UK’s initiative to deliver a first-of-its-kind state of the science report on frontier AI. Building on the commitment for scientific and evidence-based collaboration as set out in the Bletchley declaration, the report will facilitate a shared science based understanding of the risks and capabilities associated with frontier AI. The UK has commissioned Yoshua Bengio, a pioneer and Turing award winning AI academic, to chair the delivery of the report. He will be supported by a group of leading AI academics and advised by an inclusive, international expert advisory panel made up of representatives from participating countries.
Objective 3—appropriate measures that individual organisations should take to increase frontier AI safety; and
Objective 4—areas for potential collaboration on AI safety research, including evaluating model capabilities and the development of new standards to support governance.
As set out in the Bletchley declaration, no single part of society can address the impacts of frontier AI alone; delivering on the potential of AI requires sustained attention of Governments, businesses, academia, and civil society, with a particularly strong responsibility for actors developing frontier AI capabilities.
Ahead of the summit, the UK published an overview of emerging frontier AI safety processes and associated practices to share best practice on how such AI systems can be developed in a safe manner. The UK was, therefore, pleased to see leading frontier AI organisations (Amazon, Anthropic, Google DeepMind, Inflection, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI) respond to this by publishing their own AI safety policies. This formalises their own position on AI safety to enable public scrutiny of their outputs and encourages all frontier AI developers to consider how they can build trust through the further development and publication of such policies.
Building on this, countries and leading AI companies agreed on the importance of bringing together the responsibilities of Governments and AI developers and agreed to a plan for safety testing at the frontier. Participating countries committed, depending on their circumstances, to the development of appropriate state-led evaluation and safety research, while participating companies agreed that they would support the next iteration of their models to undergo appropriate independent evaluation and testing.
As an initial contribution to this new collaboration, the UK detailed its launch of the world’s first AI safety institute, which will build public sector capability to conduct safety testing and research into AI safety. In exploring all the risks, from social harms including bias and misinformation, through to the most extreme risks of all, including the potential for loss of control, the UK will seek to make the work of the safety institute widely available. The UK welcomed commitments from companies in attendance to work with the institute to allow for pre-deployment testing of their frontier AI models and commitments to work in partnership with other countries’ institutes, including the US.
Objective 5—showcase how ensuring the safe development of AI will enable AI to be used for good globally.
Attendees together recognised a shared ambition to unlock the significant potential of frontier AI, which has the ability to transform economies and societies for the better.
Participants welcomed the exchange of ideas and evidence on current and upcoming initiatives, including individual countries’ efforts to utilise AI in public service delivery and elsewhere to improve human wellbeing.
The UK will continue to be a leader on AI for good, and I welcome the announcements of our new £100 million fund for an AI life sciences accelerator mission to bring cutting edge AI to bear on some of the most pressing health challenges facing society, and a £32 million philanthropic partnership to shape the future of our best-in-class UK biobank. AI also has extraordinary potential to support teachers and students, which is why the Government are investing £118 million into the AI skills base, including postgraduate research centres, a new visa scheme, and postgraduate AI scholarships.
Many participants at the summit set out that for AI to be inclusive, it must also be accessible. I was pleased to announce that the UK, with Canada, the United States of America, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and other partners, announced £80 million for a new AI for development collaboration, working with innovators and institutions across Africa to support the development of responsible AI.
Keeping up momentum
With the frontier of AI constantly moving, the ambitions of the Bletchley declaration and the summit discussions cannot be rooted in a single moment.
I am pleased that the Republic of Korea has agreed to co-host a mini virtual summit on AI in the next six months, with France to host the next in-person summit a year from now.
The summit would not have had this level of success without the engagements we had in the weeks leading up to it. Ministers and senior officials led an inclusive public dialogue on international safety. These substantive, practical discussions not only informed and enriched our conclusions and conversations at the summit, but also allowed a range of voices to be heard in shaping the key policy decisions.
We will continue these conversations with key stake- holders, to ensure that we build on the conclusions reached at the summit and ensure that international agreements are underpinned by a robust domestic regulatory framework for AI.
We will be publishing the AI regulation White Paper response by the end of this year to further set out our next steps on our approach to this fast-paced and transformative technology.
[HCWS21]
Channel Incident of 24 November 2021: Inquiry
(6 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for Transport (Mr Mark Harper)
On 24 November 2021 there was a tragic mass-casualty incident, resulting in at least 27 fatalities, from a small boat attempting to cross the channel. Our thoughts are with the loved ones of those who died, and with those who responded to an extremely distressing event.
Incidents such as this continue to demonstrate the danger inherent in illegal crossings and underline the importance of putting a stop to them.
When events such as these occur, there is a legal obligation to investigate. While this would normally be the remit of a coroner, in this case the bodies of the deceased were recovered to France, and this does not allow for a coroner’s inquest. Therefore, I am announcing the establishment of an independent, non-statutory inquiry into this incident.
The inquiry will be modelled on a coroner’s inquest and will allow a full and independent investigation into the circumstances of the deaths to take place, following the Marine Accident Investigation Branch’s report published today.
The inquiry will focus on investigating this individual incident, with the aim of ensuring that the rights of those affected are upheld and allowing the survivors and family members of the deceased to be heard. Crucially, it will also examine the circumstances in which the deceased lost their lives and what lessons can be learned to prevent incidents like this in the future.
The Department for Transport is working at pace to finalise the appointment of the chair and the terms of reference, both of which I will announce in due course.
It will be for the chair, in due course, to make decisions concerning the inquiry’s processes and procedures. In particular the chair will consider the most effective way to establish what happened and make recommendations for the future.
[HCWS27]
House of Lords
Oaths and Affirmations
Death of a Member: Lord Judge
(6 months ago)
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The Lord Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)
My Lords, the former Convenor of the Cross-Bench Peers, the noble and learned Lord, Lord Judge, died on 7 November. On behalf of the House, I extend our condolences to the noble and learned Lord’s family and friends.
Lord Judge was one of the wisest and kindest men I have ever met. He was never one to use two words where one would suffice, and was always keen to hear all sides before forming an opinion. Igor had a marvellous ability to listen intently, reflect quietly and then interject, usually with a brief few words that brought clarity to a discussion. I valued greatly his advice and support to me as Lord Speaker. His lifelong history of service as a Queen’s Counsel, a judge, the President of the Queen’s Bench Division, the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, and an active Member of this House—including, most recently, the Convenor of the Cross Benches until earlier this year—speaks for itself. How fortunate we were to serve alongside him. He will be much missed by noble Lords and, I know, by the staff of the House.
Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)
My Lords, I know that noble Lords from across the House were deeply shocked and saddened to learn yesterday of the passing of the noble and learned Lord, Lord Judge. I add my sadness and deepest condolences to his family.
I enjoyed nearly a year with him as Convenor of the Cross Benches. Whatever the great matters of state that we should have been discussing, we usually ended up just talking about our families. My oh my, he loved his family so much—that is probably the one takeaway I had from him.
As is normal, we will now hear tributes from the usual channels. I know that many noble Lords have passed their heartfelt remarks on to the leaders and convenor, who will, I am sure, do their best to reflect the outpourings of admiration and sadness that they have received. I am also aware that some other noble Lords may feel that they want to pay tribute today. It is customary for the focus of tributes to come from the leaders and usual channels but, if other noble Lords would like to contribute, I respectfully ask that their contributions be as brief as possible. I expect any Back-Bench remarks to be no more than a minute long, as we have seen with other similar tributes.
Noble Lords may also find it helpful to know that the Office of the Convenor of the Cross Benches is co-ordinating written tributes and regards for Lord Judge’s family, should noble Lords wish to pass those on. I have no doubt that, in the fullness of time, they will be very warmly received.
The Lord Privy Seal (Lord True) (Con)
My Lords, on happier mornings than this one, after I became the Leader of your Lordships’ House, there would from time to time come a knock on my door and a smiling, spectacled face would somewhat hesitantly edge round it. “May I have a word?”, that gentle, quiet-spoken voice would ask. How readily I always welcomed in the late Lord Judge, mildly puzzled that I would be so deferred to by someone so much more gifted than me.
Of course, infinite courtesy was a mark of his, as was that genial humility that belied his remarkable career. He was born in Malta in 1941 and, as a baby, was almost killed during the fascist siege; thank goodness for the errant hand of that Axis bomb aimer. He became a brilliant scholar. He was called to the Bar in 1963, took Silk in 1979 and, as we know, went on to become a great judge, first in the High Court in 1988, and then as a Justice of Appeal in 1996. He became the President of the Queen’s Bench Division in 2005 and was the Lord Chief Justice from 2008 to 2013.
Beyond the bare bones, I am not qualified to speak of that very great legal career but, when he retired as Lord Chief Justice, he became, I would submit, a very great parliamentarian. Noble Lords know how it is in this place: no one ever reads a speech. You sometimes struggle to calculate, as yet another page of typed script is turned, how long it is going to go on. But with Igor it was so different. He would appear with a few notes on a couple of sheets of letter paper, often written down not much before, and would speak for four minutes or so in the simplest and most beautiful English, forged into arguments of steel and illumined by humour, quote or anecdote. He would seize the whole House by the scruff of the neck and compel its attention.
He became Convenor of the Cross-Bench Peers in 2019 and, as Cabinet Office Minister responsible for the constitution and later as Leader of your Lordships’ House, I regularly met him. My predecessor, my noble friend Lady Evans of Bowes Park, and my noble friend Lord Ashton of Hyde, who both much regret not being able to be here, have asked me to express their fondest appreciation of their own exchanges with Lord Judge in the usual channels and how they ever valued his charm and sound sense—as they saw it, a mentor, counsellor and friend. Once, my noble friend Lord Ashton remembers that, in a very British manner, they conducted a whole negotiation with a House of Lords mouse which neither of them mentioned sitting motionless on the chair behind Lord Judge’s right ear. Igor, it seems, like Orpheus, could even charm the animals.
Certainly, to discuss an issue with him was a joy, whether you agreed or disagreed. His keen intelligence, good humour and firmness of principle were always there, but with that open mind. He was a man of utter integrity; he had a profound passion for the common law, the ancient liberties of our land, parliamentary sovereignty and the rule of law—on which, of course, we agreed. Where we differed, which I hated, the most usual point of difference was over the prerogative or the role of the Executive. Igor was an admirer of the great jurist and parliamentarian Sir Edward Coke and, being a bookish man and fathoming another such in me, he generously gave me Coke’s biography, which he thought might persuade me during his differences with the Government over the repeal of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act. One thing I could agree with Coke on was his dictum “Lex est tutissima cassis”—the law is our safest shield. Igor took that as a title for a book and a watchword for life; and, in his sure, safe judgment in court and in this place, he was the living embodiment of it.
His deeply rooted constitutionalism rested in a lifelong interest in history, which it so happened we had both read at the same university. When the business was done, he would enjoy a talk of history or cricket—or music, a love he inherited from a gifted mother, who we can deduce admired Stravinsky. Your Lordships may allow me one anecdote. When, as Leader, within a matter of days, I was plunged into having to do one of the most difficult things I have ever had to—pronounce the eulogy for our late Queen—I was struggling alone an hour before in my office wondering if I would be able to say what I thought the House would want to hear without actually breaking down. Then came that gentle knock on the door and the smiling face came round. It was Igor. “How are you getting on?”, he asked kindly. I told him my problem. “Just read the difficult bits aloud four or five times,” he said, “and then you will know them by heart or be familiar. That will get you through.” Of course, as ever, Igor’s advice was right.
Baroness Smith of Basildon (Lab)
My Lords, I thank the Lord Privy Seal for what I thought was a remarkable tribute to Igor Judge. I thought he entirely captured the essence of the man, who was a greatly esteemed colleague and much-admired friend of us all. A towering figure in the legal world as an advocate and judge, he brought his profound intellect and great humanity to the many landmark cases he was part of. He is rightly admired as having been a truly great Lord Chief Justice. But it was his personal qualities of kindness and decency, which came with a somewhat mischievous wit and sense of humour, that he used to great effect both in his legal career and in your Lordships’ House.
I must say that as I was drafting notes for my comments today, taking the advice of the Lord Privy Seal and Igor previously, I found I was smiling at so many memories we had. Even through sadness, he can bring a smile to us. Like the noble Lord, Lord True, I so well remember that he would pop his head round the door with what I remember as a somewhat cheeky grin, and “May I have a word?”, he would say with absolute, very genuine courtesy. Such was the pleasure of a conversation with him that it often lasted a little longer than a word; it would meander around so many different issues and subjects over the course of the time we were talking. I greatly valued his advice on constitutional and legal issues and many others.
His patience was never condescending or patronising. I would enjoy our discussions, and at times he would half-jokingly say to me, “You politicians”. Yet he had a natural, instinctive gift for the best of politics. I could hear his protestations as I suggested that he really was a politician—but he was a great parliamentarian. I was not alone in being in awe of his intellect. In debate, his mild and gentle use of language could pack one powerful punch. When others came armed with sheaves of paper, he would hold a few notes in front of him and speak with honesty, integrity and great authority. I do not think we will ever have a debate in your Lordships’ House that covers the issue of Henry VIII powers without reflecting on what Lord Judge would have said.
His interests away from your Lordships’ House were wide. He loved his garden; he told me what he liked the most was the feel of the earth in his hand, and you can just picture that. His discussions of important parliamentary matters and great affairs of state with the noble Lord, Lord Kennedy of Southwark, would often digress into football. One supported Leicester City and the other Millwall; no prizes for guessing which one was which. They would watch out for each other’s weekend scores and then enjoy the rivalry between them in the following week.
To describe somebody as larger than life is usually taken to mean a very loud, physical and noisy presence, yet Igor was undoubtedly a larger-than-life presence through his intellect, his modesty, wit and decency. I did not take his advice enough. Our thoughts are with his much-loved wife Judith, his family and his friends.
Lord Newby (LD)
My Lords, like other Members of your Lordships’ House, it was with great shock and sadness that I heard of Lord Judge’s death. I know that he was a devoted father and grandfather; he once told me with great pride that his role when the family went sea-bathing was to hold all the towels—he never dreamed of getting in the sea himself. Our thoughts today are primarily with his family as they mourn his loss.
I had my first long conversation with Lord Judge while sitting next to him at the first Queen’s Speech he attended as Convenor. He told me that he had been a great collector of 15th century manuscripts. We then spoke about the history of the period and the start of the Tudor dynasty. It was this great love and knowledge of the period that had alerted him to Henry VIII’s role in taking from Parliament some of its traditional legislative power. From this understanding sprang his deep antipathy for the current use of such powers, on which he spoke with such passion and persistence.
His speeches exhibited the hallmarks of a fine legal mind. He was crystal clear. He could explain the most complex arguments in language that everyone could readily understand. He was succinct: Igor rarely, if ever, made a long speech. He got straight to the point and when he had made it, he sat down. And he was ruthless: he was the master of asking Ministers the unanswerable question. As they floundered in response, he would pin them with a quizzical frown.
But he was much more than a great legal brain. He was witty. He saw the ridiculous side of some of the things we do in your Lordships’ House with a clear eye, a despairing shake of the head and an often hilarious response. He was a great reader of people. He had the measure of us all and would sometimes, in an unguarded moment, let a privileged few know what he really thought of some of his colleagues. It was not always totally complimentary, but it was usually correct.
He was wise. His reading and understanding of history, coupled with his long and distinguished career at the Bar, gave him a broad perspective from which to make judgments and give opinions—not just on the great issues of state, but also on the many arcane issues on which he was expected to express an opinion on the innumerable internal committees of your Lordships’ House on which he sat.
Finally, he was kind. There was a warmth about him, which was expressed with a sympathetic smile, a slightly cocked listening ear and a kind word.
I fear that he did not completely succeed in his campaign to expunge Henry VIII powers from new pieces of legislation. It now falls on the rest of us to pick up this baton. In doing so, we will not just be doing it for the good governance of the country: we will be doing it for Igor.
The Earl of Kinnoull (CB)
My Lords, there is no such thing as a speech too short; a maxim I first heard from Igor before I entered the House. I thank the three speakers so far on behalf of our Benches—I need the advice as well—for the contributions, which have been so measured and have brought a lot of pleasure in listening to them.
Igor, of course, was born in Malta in 1941 during the siege that lasted 18 months. Malta was the most bombed place in Europe and was devastated. He told me he ascribed his humility and, I think, his kindness to the fact he lived in this wasteland for the first few years of his life. I always wondered how someone could go through his career and be so successful and yet have that humility and kindness. Of course, we know that Igor’s father, Raymond, was called Judge, but what most people do not know is that his remarkable mother, Rosa, had a maiden name of Micaleff, which is the Maltese word for judge. Igor observed to me that he had, therefore, very little choice in his chosen profession.
At 13, he came to school in England at the Oratory, where a fellow pupil was the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley of Knighton, who reminded me last night of Igor’s prowess at cricket, and said he had a reputation from that early age for sagacity and integrity. From there he went to Magdalene, Cambridge, and he was called to the Bar in 1963. He met Judith shortly after this; many people have already said what a strong marriage that was and how founded in love. I have been in touch with Judith; I hope she is watching today, and I know that some of her family are. Igor described her as his better half, which was a lovely way of doing so. He took enormous pride in his three children and that great clutch of grandchildren. In my many discussions with him over the past few months as he was mentoring me, the conversation—just like the noble Baroness, Lady Smith, was saying—immediately wandered across to his grandchildren and the great pride that he had in their careers.
His legal career meant that he spent 32 years sitting on various Benches. I know that many will want to speak today to talk about appearing before him at the various levels. Everyone always felt that not only was he utterly competent but that he was prepared to listen to whatever the barrister concerned had to say. Anyway, to achieve presidency of the Queen’s Bench Division and go on to Lord Chief Justice was something amazing. To then come here and be such a great parliamentarian and colleague, who was always patient and always there, is something we should all aspire to, and I suspect we will not see it again in our lives.
When he arrived here, he did not shirk the challenge: he concentrated his political energies on the great balance between Parliament and the Executive. His weapons of choice were wit and that lethal logic. He briefly held the record for the size of a government defeat on one of the amendments in the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill, but he took no pleasure in that. He took pleasure only when, eventually, the point that he wanted to have included was conceded by the Government. I recently spent some time discussing Cross-Bench voting patterns with Igor—something that has come up in speeches over the last couple of days. He was of the view that a vote against the Government was motivated either by opposition to that Government or by a desire to improve law; he voted only using this latter principle.
Igor had many great passions and interests. He loved cricket, having captained the Oratory, and was naturally considering whether to challenge the Government to a match given the recent addition of the noble Lord, Lord Botham, to our ranks. He discussed this in some detail with his private personal physician and equal cricket fan, the noble Lord, Lord Patel. He loved poetry, especially TS Elliot, and used to come bouncing into the Cross-Bench office reciting Elliot’s poems, which are incredibly complicated, but he never had a problem with that.
He loved Leicester City. Among his fellow fans are the noble Baronesses, Lady Henig and Lady Fraser, and the noble Lord, Lord Bourne. I know he was hopeful of trying to persuade the noble Lord, Lord Kennedy, to renounce and give up Millwall and come over to the blues.
The Lord Bishop of Gloucester
My Lords, these Benches echo all that has been said so movingly about this remarkable and learned man, the noble and learned Lord, Lord Judge. As has been expressed, I and others felt a deep sadness on hearing the news of his death.
On behalf of these Benches, I have stood and given tributes on a number of occasions and, each time, very poignantly for me, I followed Lord Judge. He was wise, kind, humble, gracious and, as has been said, he always had a twinkle in his eye. His life was one of devoted public service to the greater good, be it in the law or the courts, as President of the Queen’s Bench Division and later as Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, or as a Member of this House. He was a source of wisdom to me personally in my role as Anglican Bishop for HM Prisons. He would always greet me in the corridors with Shakespearean references to Gloucester. I will personally miss him.
As Convener of the Cross Benches he was a great friend of this Bench. Reference has been made to his speeches, not least on constitutional matters, and I hope that we will return to those so that we keep on listening to his words. As has been said, his interventions were always short; he would just stand up without any notes and he would always hit the nail on the head with just a few words. I said to him on numerous occasions, when I had spoken after him in debates, that I usually just wanted to say, “What he said”.
He contributed to a vast number of journals and books over his career, not least one entitled Christianity and Criminal Law, which brought theologians, lawyers, judges and historians together to discuss the Christian traditions of the law. He never shied away from addressing tricky issues and he often brought a fresh take to a problem of law. He was indeed ruthless, but always with that twinkle in his eye.
His insights and friendships will be greatly missed from all sides of the House. Our condolences go to his beloved family. May he rest in peace and rise in glory.
Baroness Deech (CB)
My Lords, my late noble and learned friend Lord Judge was, in my view, the judges’ judge, the Lords’ judge and the people’s judge. As judges’ judge, he championed the judiciary, filling a gap that we have sustained ever since the abolition of the old Lord Chancellor post. He kept up morale, not least mine. On my regular visits to him when I was as chair of the Bar Standards Board, he would say, “What’s the matter, Ruth?” As the Lords’ judge, he got to the essence of what we Lords should do and will always be remembered as the upholder of the rule of law by ensuring that parliamentary sovereignty held executive sovereignty in check. As the people’s judge, he followed in the footsteps of Lord Denning, Lord Bingham and Lord Mansfield, in reminding us that we are here to protect everyone from an overmighty executive. If only he were here to greet the first Lady Chief Justice.
Baroness D'Souza (CB)
My Lords, the noble and learned Lord, Lord Judge, was a great man and a wise man. He was funny, tough and, as so many have said, extremely kind. He and I were in Oman together, about three or four years ago. At a formal meeting of the State Council, which is the Omani equivalent of this upper House, I was asked a question by one of its Members. It was a long and complicated question, in very rapid and totally incomprehensible English. I had no understanding or clue of what exactly I was being asked, but I floundered on until I was rescued by Igor. He swept down and, with his very graceful words, said, “Perhaps I may add”, which immediately made everything extremely clear. He will be missed immeasurably. Perhaps the best and most lasting tribute we in this House can give him is to challenge wherever and whenever we see Henry VIII powers.
Lord Lisvane (CB)
My Lords, Igor Judge was a man of warmth, courtesy, humour and wisdom. He moved seamlessly from being a giant of the law to a doughty defender in this House of the constitution. I got to know him when I was Clerk of the House of Commons and he eagerly embraced the proposal that there should be regular meetings between senior members of the judiciary and senior officials of the Commons, which proved to be invaluable.
When my wife was a high sheriff, Igor came down to deliver a superb and memorable high sheriff’s lecture on the threats to our constitution. Away from that serious subject, it was a weekend when the four of us laughed a very great deal. I was privileged to have him, with Betty Boothroyd, as a supporter for my introduction to this House. Thereafter, he was a friend, guide and mentor, as he was to so many.
During what we hoped would be his convalescence, he and I exchanged books by post—on cricket, naturally. My profound sympathies go to Judith and his beloved family. Igor’s loss will be deeply mourned and long felt.
Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd (CB)
My Lords, on behalf of the other former judges who cannot be here, I would like to add a short word, as I had the privilege of working closely with my noble and learned friend for 25 years. As has been said, he was unfailing in his kindness to everyone, whatever their position. He had a willingness to listen, but always with an acute understanding of the problem being presented to him and in doing all he could to help.
He led the judiciary in the transformation necessary after the reform of the office of Lord Chancellor. He established new working relations with Parliament and the Government on broad issues, but some involved detailed work, such as going over with the Lord Chancellor—jackets off, late into the night—the drafting of the legislation establishing the current Sentencing Council. He was a man of great learning, but it was lightly worn. It was always evident here, but he often used it to add humour to ceremonies, such as when he opened a court in Chester; he had his own volume of the yearbooks, with their Middle Age cases, which was entirely apposite to that city.
In short, he was a great Chief Justice—a servant of justice with a sense of duty that was wholly unsurpassed.
Lord Lexden (Con)
My Lords, I want to tell your Lordships how glad I am that Lord Judge, with others, secured the total repeal of the wicked laws that turned homosexuals into criminals. When I was a young barrister, I defended a number of them and well remember their pain and suffering. This wonderful man possessed such great humanity.
Viscount Stansgate (Lab)
My Lords, I met Lord Judge only at the end of his life. I will regard him as a parliamentarian who spoke with such eloquence, precision and brevity on issues relating to the powers between the Executive and the legislature. He was so kind to me as a new Member; I find this reflected in all the things that everyone has said about him so far, and I pay tribute to him for that alone. I am also very proud of a House that can pay such tribute to such a man.
Baroness Hayman (CB)
My Lords, like others who have spoken, I corresponded with Lord Judge during his illness. It was mainly about books—he was, indeed, a bookish man—although there was the odd foray into the need for further agitation on secondary legislation. I worried when I sent him a book, because I knew what an erudite man he was, and it was not about cricket or history. It was more frivolous but very important: I sent him Lessons in Chemistry. He absolutely loved it. He wrote back to me about how many of his family he had given it to, including the men in the family as much as the women. The last thing he said was that he was very lucky because he had a father who had instilled in him the importance of the education and empowerment of women. He was a great feminist as well as everything else. He ended that note about his father by saying, “He was a lovely man”. So was Igor.
Baroness Chakrabarti (Lab)
My Lords, I first knew Igor in my mid-20s as a young Home Office lawyer and later had the privilege of working with him on legislation in your Lordships’ House. He was unchanging in the interim period. We did not always agree but, goodness me, he was a master of disagreeing well. When we did agree, I felt the warmth of his solidarity and wisdom and felt, ridiculously sometimes, almost invincible. He sent notes on both my books—I will not tell noble Lords what he said. I shall miss him hugely.
Lord Forsyth of Drumlean (Con)
My Lords, I had the great privilege of working quite closely with Igor in my role as chairman of the Conservative Peers. My noble friend the Leader of the House and others have said everything about his qualities. I will not repeat them; if he were here, he would tell me off for doing so. But I will make this point: in the course of our lives, we all meet someone whom we will never forget, who made an impact on us. For me, that was Igor Judge. It had something to do with his combination of integrity and kindness but, above all, his respect for Parliament and our constitution, and his ability to try to do everything he could to maintain those little conventions that are our constitution. The other striking thing about him was that he could take a really divisive issue, where daggers were drawn on all sides, and somehow find a compromise that everyone could agree to. Blessed are the peacemakers. We will miss him.
Lord Bird (CB)
My Lords, I talked to Lord Judge only about the fact that I went to school very near the Oratory. We were the rough Catholic school, St Thomas More. We would go up to his school and fight with people from there, just because we were awkward. He asked me, “Why was it Catholic fighting Catholic?”, and I said, “I really don’t know”. He was an absolutely magnificent, kindly and thoughtful person. I once made him giggle when I said, “You would have made a brilliant probation officer”.
Lord Hacking (Lab)
My Lords, I found myself as a fellow pupil barrister with Lord Judge. There were just two of us in chambers in 2 Crown Office Row in October 1963, almost exactly 60 years ago. I have known and admired him ever since. I remind your Lordships—and myself—that he had a dark head of hair in those days, which he preferred me not to talk about in later life. When I returned to this House two years ago, he kindly recalled in the Chamber the jousts we had had together as young barristers in the Bedfordshire Quarter Sessions. I am not sure that they were jousts, because he was not a flamboyant, noisy advocate but a quiet, penetrating one and, when he took Silk, a strong and courageous one. So much can be said about the witty and persuasive Igor, who, in a debate not long ago in this House, solemnly read a letter that he had written to himself. He had made his point and made it very well. Golly, he will be missed.
Lord Cormack (Con)
My Lords, for me, Lord Judge was the personification of patriotism. I saw this in a particular sphere that nobody has touched on. For the last decade or so, he was the chairman of a group of people who make an annual award for responsible capitalism. He did that because he believed in the highest standards in all walks of life. The time that he gave to reading the submissions and guiding the judges was just remarkable. I can see the noble Baroness, Lady Bull, who is a recent addition to the judges, nodding. Goodness shone through everything that he did. We shall all be the richer for knowing him and the poorer for his passing.
Lord Hendy (Lab)
My Lords, I had the privilege of knowing Igor for just short of 40 years. We first met in that bitter industrial dispute, the miners’ strike of 1984 to 1985, in the raft of litigation: I was in one case for the National Union of Mineworkers, and he was for the Union of Democratic Mineworkers. The bitterness between the two can be imagined. Out of court he was charm itself, such an easy man to deal with. We co-operated as barristers should, for the benefit of our clients and, of course, the court. But in court—my word—he was a lethal advocate, as has already been said and, indeed, as your Lordships know from his interventions in this House.
I also had the privilege of appearing before him several times in the Court of Appeal in some leading cases that time does not permit a discussion of. He was a wonderful judge: courteous, charming, attentive, concise and, of course, just—as one would expect. Before I met him in this House, I also had dealings with him in another context: I was one of the founders of an organisation called the Free Representation Unit, which arranges young barristers to represent people who would not otherwise be represented in employment tribunals, social security tribunals and so on. Igor was its patron and an ardent supporter. Those qualities demonstrated to me things that I saw so many times when he spoke in this House: his humanity, his empathy for those less fortunate than ourselves, and his respect for the rule of law. I am pleased to say that last night we had an event marking the 51st anniversary of the founding of the FRU and a minute’s silence for Igor. We will miss him, and I will miss him.
Lord Patel (CB)
My Lords, I am probably the last speaker, as time is running out. My tribute is very personal. Igor treated me as if I were his confidant, not just about his health but about other things, and we spoke regularly. I last spoke to him last Saturday. He had come out of hospital at the time. He regarded me as a friend, and it was a great privilege. He gave me the impression that I was his personal friend. That is the memory that I will keep of Igor. I shall miss my friend.
Occupied Palestinian Territories: Humanitarian Situation
(6 months ago)
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Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)
My Lords, I wanted to wait a few moments for people to leave because we are moving from one sad and serious subject to another very sad and serious subject.
Yesterday, I met the brother of one of the hostages. He showed me a photograph of his brother’s family, all of whom had been murdered. It is shocking that that horror was four weeks ago. I cannot believe how that man is able to stay so sensible and concerned about the future of his brother. But it is also hard to comprehend the scale of the devastation in Gaza: 1.5 million people displaced and more than 10,000 killed. We need to stress that every one of those lives matters—every one. We also have to appreciate that two-thirds of the dead are women and children. These civilian deaths are shocking and cannot be ignored. There is a desperate need in Gaza for food, water, medicine and fuel. Although it is welcome that 93 trucks went through Rafah on 6 November, they are totally inadequate to meet the humanitarian emergency that Gaza faces.
Yesterday, in response to my honourable friend Lisa Nandy, Andrew Mitchell acknowledged the importance of fuel, as without it water cannot be pumped, hospitals cannot power their incubators and food cannot be cooked. He said:
“We are negotiating for it”.
Could the Minister explain where we are in these negotiations to get fuel into Gaza? What is his assessment of their likely success? Can he explain where we are in terms of routes for access? Andrew Mitchell referred to the efforts of the American envoy, Mr Satterfield. He also indicated that the FCDO would continue to do all it can to work out whether we can speed up other routes, using Kerem Shalom and Rafah. Again, what is the Minister’s assessment of whether this will happen? What is his view of Lisa Nandy’s call for us to follow the US example and appoint a humanitarian co-ordinator to scale up the passage of aid?
We have heard a lot of debate recently about ceasefires. With Hamas leaders doubling down on their determination to attack Israel, and Israel ruling out a ceasefire until hostages are released, the reality is that humanitarian pauses are, as Martin Griffiths wrote last week, the “only viable” prospect. Andrew Mitchell said that he was arguing for humanitarian pauses, but said we needed to be cautious
“when vulnerable people were brought together whom we were unable to protect”.
He said that they would not be viewed as stand-alone events. Can the Minister provide an update on the recent meeting of G7 Foreign Ministers to discuss the prospects of pauses?
It is essential that humanitarian aid gets through and that we protect not only the people we seek to help but those people who are working to help the people of Gaza. It is truly shocking that a higher number of UN aid workers have been killed in this conflict than in the history of the UN. I am sure the whole House will join in mourning their loss and paying tribute to their bravery and humanity.
I share the concerns in the Statement about the settler violence in the West Bank. As the Minister knows, I visited the West Bank in May and I saw the level of violence then. I have read that that violence has continued unabated. In fact, supplies of arms have gone to those settlers to attack Palestinian villages. Can he elaborate on the Government’s engagement with Israeli counterparts over the situation in the West Bank?
Echoing the comments of Lisa Nandy, the Minister Andrew Mitchell said that
“support for Israel is not a blank cheque”.
He argued:
“Good friends deliver hard messages, and they are able to do so precisely because they are good friends”.—[Official Report, Commons, 8/11/23; col. 142.]
The Statement acknowledged the importance of international law, so can the Minster state when the protection of hospitals, schools and refugee camps was raised with the Israeli Government? What response was given?
Lisa Nandy called on the Government to join Labour in calling for
“an emergency plan to support the children of Gaza”.—[Official Report, Commons, 8/11/23; col. 141.]
More children have died in Gaza in four weeks than in all of the world’s conflicts in each of the last three years. It is a children’s war, with a million caught up in the devastation, orphaned and displaced, sleeping outside as the weather grows colder, short of food and forced to drink dirty water. In his response, Andrew Mitchell mentioned that he had met UNICEF yesterday. I hope the Minister can tell us what the outcome of those discussions were. How will the Government ensure that the priority of children, which Andrew Mitchell mentioned, is recognised fully in all the humanitarian work we do? Without a long-term, co-ordinated plan for the children of Gaza, the cycle of violence will not be broken. We must do more, and show that we are doing more and that we care.
Lord Purvis of Tweed (LD)
My Lords, I too thank the Government for the Statement. I commend its tone and the way that the Minister for Development responded in the House of Commons. I am sure the Minister in this place will do so in his characteristic way today. I wish to say at the outset that this is in stark contrast with the polarising terms used by the Home Secretary this week.
On 19 October, on behalf of these Benches, I called for us to support the UN Secretary-General’s call for a cessation of hostilities so that life-saving aid, food and water are provided and restored to Gaza, and to allow for this to be enduring, to lead to a ceasefire and for intense diplomatic activity to be carried out to prevent a wider escalation. We know, and we are hard-headed enough to know, that this is incredibly difficult, because we do not accept Hamas’s legitimacy to continue within Gaza and we also wish to see a situation where the rockets can stop and the hostages are released, but equally we need the killing of children to end. Since 19 October, a further 2,500 children have been killed—now totalling over 4,100. More than 2,500 women have been killed. As the noble Lord, Lord Collins, referred to, according to the United Nations, since 7 October 147 Palestinians, including 44 children, have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces, and eight, including one child, by Israeli settlers. I hope the Government are working hard to de-escalate the tensions within the West Bank.
There was only one passing reference to the United Nations in the Minister’s Statement. But as we have heard, since the beginning of 7 October, more than 70 further UNRWA staff have been killed, the total now being 92. This is the highest number of UN aid workers killed in any conflict in the history of the United Nations. I hope that others may consider it appropriate that this Parliament has a book of remembrance for the United Nations staff, who work so hard on behalf of world peace and who are suffering so greatly.
I repeat my call for the full replenishment of UNRWA funding, which was halved between 2018 and 2021. I have welcomed the £30 million referenced in the Statement, but why has this not increased since two weeks ago, when it was announced, as the humanitarian crisis has grown? I call for a full restoration of OPT funding to pre-cut levels and I remind the Chamber that, even with the increase mentioned in the Statement, this is still less than 20% of pre-cut levels.
In the Statement, the Minister says:
“I wish also to pay tribute to our diplomats and development experts who are striving to make a difference in the most difficult of circumstances”.
I agree; I have met many in the region on countless visits in recent years. The Government also say in the Statement:
“We will do everything we can to ensure that all remaining British nationals in Gaza can leave safely”.
What is the current estimate of the number of British nationals still in Gaza who have not left? Can the Government estimate how many British nationals in Lebanon have followed some of the diplomats and left the country after the guidance and advice from the Government?
The Statement also says that the Government have
“repeatedly stressed that Israel must take every precaution to minimise civilian casualties in line with international humanitarian law”.
Why did the Government feel it necessary to remind the Israeli Government of this? The Statement says:
“We continue to press Israel to ensure that its campaign is targeted against Hamas leaders, militants and military infrastructure”.
I am equally concerned that the Government feel the need to stress this regarding the Israeli Government’s tactics and actions. Will the Government publish their legal position on what they consider to be international humanitarian law regarding this conflict? We have seen atrocities by Hamas; they are clear and determined. Those responsible need be prosecuted and if necessary brought to the ICC, but we also need clarity on international law.
Finally, the Government say:
“The urgency of a political track—extraordinarily difficult today—has never been more clear”.
I agree, but it can only be done during a cessation and then an enduring ceasefire with monitoring and verifiable progress, which not only removes Hamas’ military capacity but, as I saw in Mosul when I visited northern Iraq many times, creates the hope for civilians in Gaza that there will be a future without Hamas—that it will be safe and secure, and services will be restored.
In 2018, the UK endorsed the Safe Schools Declaration after many years of campaigning by many Members of this House. We welcome the Government’s endorsement of the declaration. The Government of Israel continue not to endorse that. We know that Hamas leaders need to be prosecuted for abusing schools and other learning facilities, particularly those operated by the UN. Will the Government make this a priority to ensure that the learning areas and children of Gaza are the absolute focus of a humanitarian presence? There is no reference to this in the Minister’s Statement, so will he state who the UK representative is at today’s Paris conference on humanitarian relief co-ordination?
I close by asking the Minister if he will agree with me on one point—the quote from the Government when we endorsed the Safe Schools Declaration. They said:
“The provision of education in conflict zones and humanitarian situations puts affected populations back on track, establishes routine and purpose, shapes belief in the future, and supports the process of reconstruction”. [Official Report, Commons, 23/4/18; col. 18WS]
We will desperately need that, and if the UK can do anything, it can be a lead on these issues.
The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon) (Con)
My Lords, I thank both noble Lords. As we know, the situation is desperate for those in Gaza, but we also reflect that it is one month on from the horrendous and abhorrent attacks that took place in Israel, which shook a country built on many pillars, including security, and impacted many communities directly. It is a poignant note to remember.
We see the scale of human suffering in Gaza every day on our screens, and I am obviously in the midst of this. I will seek to answer some of the questions asked and issues raised in the time allocated, but I assure both noble Lords that we will continue to update the House regularly. I pay tribute to my right honourable friend the Development Minister for the proactive Statement, and for support on many issues. We continue to brief colleagues. I welcome the opportunity to brief Members of His Majesty’s Official Front Bench in my office and will continue to update them.
I myself visited Israel recently. I also visited the West Bank, so I will reflect on that. The noble Lord, Lord Purvis, asked who was attending the Paris conference. The Second Permanent Under-Secretary, Nick Dyer, is in attendance there; the Foreign Secretary is returning from the G7 meeting, which I will come on to.
Of course, we endorse the Safe Schools Declaration; I personally championed it, and it is important that we do not lose sight of it. However, there are key priorities that we are focused on, which the noble Lord, Lord Collins, addressed, specifically the humanitarian issue of access. I agree with the noble Lord, Lord Purvis, that ultimately, whatever is asked for—the pauses, the cessation of hostilities—no conflict ends until there is a ceasefire. We need to ensure that we build in the conditionalities, safeties and securities that are required to allow that humanitarian access to happen.
The noble Lord, Lord Collins, asked about Kerem Shalom. I have been involved quite directly in this during my conversations in Israel, and we need to really be concerned. Everyone points to the Rafah border crossing, but anyone who knows its operation knows that it was not the main crossing point. There are limitations at the Rafah crossing, so we are working with the Israeli authorities on the Kerem Shalom crossing in particular, and with other key partners. A number of announcements were made by Gulf partners, for example. I asked directly about some of the work done on our co-ordination on the ground, particularly in Gaza, so that we can also see what other partners are doing and support them. This needs to be a co-ordinated effort.
The shock and challenge being met by Israel was also very much at their hearts when I went to the West Bank. I commend the Palestinian Authority for condemning Hamas’ abhorrent actions. As I said, we must frame our discussions from a UK perspective—that we regard Hamas as a terrorist organisation. Hamas is not the future for the Gaza Strip. It is not the future for the Palestinian people. It is not a partner for peace. We need to stress that at each and every step. In doing so, we are supporting the Palestinian Authority on key issues, including the release of funds to ensure its sustainability. That was a key priority in my discussions with the Israeli interlocutors when I visited.
I will share information with noble Lords without going into a great deal of detail. On the issue of hostages, for example, the noble Lord, Lord Collins, will appreciate that we are in quite sensitive discussions and negotiations. I cannot say any more than that, but we are working to do our utmost. We have seen a large number of British nationals, more than 150, leave Gaza. A number—again, I will not go into detail—are currently still in Gaza, but I assure the noble Lords, Lord Purvis and Lord Collins, that we are working on that issue as a priority. I am personally engaging with it at the highest level, as is my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary. Indeed, the Prime Minister is engaging with many issues at the highest level, including in his meetings with President Abbas and Prime Minister Netanyahu.
I share the feelings of the noble Lord, Lord Collins: who cannot do so, when you turn on your TV screen and see, as a father of three, the devastation being inflicted on ordinary civilian Palestinians in Gaza? We want to bring their suffering to an end. They are not the ones who committed these abhorrent attacks. I was quite direct with our friends and partners. I agree totally with my right honourable friend Andrew Mitchell that, as a friend, partner and ally to Israel, we are of course communicating quite directly, but we are also ensuring that on issues such as IHL, they also recognise their responsibility. They are a state and must take that responsibility; they recognise that fully and I assure noble Lords that we will continue to stress that upon them. When you are a friend and partner to a country, that also means that you deliver quite direct and candid messages. There are many in Israel who recognise that a sustainable peace in the region, the cessation of hostilities and ultimately, the realisation of stability, security, peace and justice for all can only be reached through the pathway to the two-state solution that we all continue to strive for.
The noble Lord, Lord Collins, asked about the West Bank. It was part of my discussions in the West Bank and with the Israeli Government. We have seen that more than 155 people have died through settler violence, including 45 children. That echoes the point made by the noble Lord. That is why my right honourable friend the Development Minister also reiterated that there is no blank cheque. No country would offer a friend or a partner, whoever that friend or partner might be, a blank cheque, but our friendship and relationship with Israel means that we are able to highlight these issues. Reining in settler violence was a key focus of my engagement and that of the Foreign Secretary, and it continues to be the case.
Noble Lords will have seen the level of diplomatic engagement from day one, and that continues. I have just returned from Morocco, which is chair of the Arab League. I was there for a few hours to ensure that the meeting taking place there this week reflects that the UK is playing a direct role. My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary, on his way back from the G7, is in the region engaging on this very issue.
On what happens next, we are working with key partners in the region. Allocations are already being made. The noble Lord, Lord Purvis, asked about UNRWA. We are now at £57 million and looking at additional funding. We also need to ensure that the funding that is getting through is delivered in a secure and sustainable manner to those who need it and is in no way being taken for other purposes. The rigid process we need to follow currently is not enough. There were 500 to 600 trucks a day going into Gaza before the conflict. We need that sustained, and that must be a first priority.
Ultimately, we will achieve peace and security only when it is peace and security for all people. Our relationship with Israel and the Palestinian Authority and our friendships with near neighbours also lends itself. That the situations in Lebanon and the wider Gulf should not escalate remains part of our key priorities. I share with both noble Lords the shocking statistic—it should not be a statistic: real lives are being lost—that more than 90 UNRWA staff have lost their lives, as well as 73 other UN agency staff elsewhere in the world. That puts the nature of this conflict into perspective.
Lord Ricketts (CB)
My Lords, I commend the Minister for the huge effort he is putting into efforts to reduce the tension, as have other Ministers. I also support the Government on humanitarian pauses, which I believe is the best and only practical first step. The Minister will be aware that Mr Netanyahu has spoken about Israel retaining overall security responsibility for Gaza when the fighting stops. Does he understand that also to mean that Israel will therefore be responsible for humanitarian efforts and for restoring basic services to Gaza, such as health, education and welfare, and for reconstruction? These are massive tasks. If not Israel, who will administer Gaza in the interests of the people of Gaza when the fighting is over?
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
I recognise and reflect on some of the comments the noble Lord has made from his insight and experience on this issue. I agree with him. You can have the noble intent of a ceasefire. Ultimately, in any conflict that is where we should be aiming. We are having a structured response to ensure that we deliver what we can. I am sure noble Lords have followed the progress being made even as I speak on this issue.
On who governs Gaza, that is an active discussion in which we are involved. It has been very clear, as has Antony Blinken, that this is not Gaza first. A complete settlement for the Palestinian people needs to happen. It means that reoccupation is not an option. While this operation persists, we are talking directly. It is not just us; the US, in particular, and other key partners are delivering those messages. We are seized of this and are working with key partners on the immediate priorities of ensuring that aid goes through, that people get out and that we create spaces for humanitarian aid to be delivered. The second priority is the interim period. That is why we are working on boosting and supporting the Palestinian Authority to ensure that n there is Palestinian Authority oversight supported by all key partners, including many Arab states. The noble Lord will know how complex this is, but I assure him that we are treating this as a priority.
Lord Pickles (Con)
My Lords, I draw attention to my interests in the register, particularly those related to friendship with Israel. Last week in Washington, I saw the full, unexpurgated photographs of the murder of children. I do not think I will ever lose from my mind the sight of those burned corpses. We should not forget that Hamas has consistently oppressed the people of Gaza. Prior to the 7 October assaults, it destroyed water pipelines and electricity. That is one reason why children are drinking dirty water now. It is stockpiling 760,000 litres of fuel. That is one reason why hospitals are running short of power. Earlier this week, it attempted to smuggle a non-medical oxygen compressor during the aid convoy. What are we doing to ensure that the aid we are supplying, which is so desperately needed, is going into the hands not of the corrupt terrorists but of the people of Gaza?
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
Just a point of reflection: when I was in Israel, I too saw the shock and some of the images, the videos of ordinary Israelis who were attacked during the terror attack. Equally, I was in the West Bank: we see the tragic nature of what conflict brings when we see children being buried under rubble. That means that we must be seen to be acting in a co-ordinated way. There is no option. We need now to use this extremely dark cloud over the Middle East to ensure that we get focus and pull out all the stops to ensure that there can be lasting and sustainable peace. I have already said what the Government’s vision is to ensure that happens.
On my noble friend’s point, and I recognise it, we are working directly with the Israeli authorities. He will be aware that aid going through Rafah is being co-ordinated by the Egyptians and the Israeli authorities to ensure that there is no smuggling, as the noble Lord rightly pointed out, of items. The noble Lord, Lord Collins, asked about fuel. We are seeing how we can create conditions for fuel to be delivered efficiently and effectively. We are talking to the Israelis about that. The Israelis’ checks and balances ensure that it is delivered through the agencies we are working with on the ground to the people who need it most.
Baroness Blackstone (Lab)
My Lords, I welcome many aspects of the Statement and that at last the Government are properly acknowledging the calamitous effects of the Israeli bombardment on Palestinian civilians in Gaza. I regret that the Statement makes no reference to the terrible toll on children, not just the many deaths and the serious injuries but the trauma they are suffering which will affect their lives for ever. Does the Minister agree with UN Under-Secretary Martin Griffiths that a war crime is being committed by the Israeli Government in Gaza? Does he also accept that far more pressure needs to be exerted on the Government of Israel, who for more than a week have resisted the call by the US and many others for humanitarian pauses? Can he tell the House how long the pauses need to be and how many are needed for there truly to be an effective and lasting impact on what is happening in Gaza?
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
My Lords, I listened very carefully to what the noble Baroness said. I do not think in any Statement, or indeed in subsequent questions, such as we are doing now, that we have in any way underplayed any conflict, and this is particularly about the impact on children and children’s lives. We see it, we hear it directly and we are focused on ensuring that children are provided that glimmer of hope, but we are far from that point right now. That is why it is important that we engage directly. I talked about the additional crossing at Kerem Shalom. That is needed to allow the level of support that is currently needed because again I stress that Rafah was not the primary route for delivering humanitarian support to Gaza.
The impact on children is primary in our minds. Ensuring that we mitigate that is at the forefront of our discussions with our Israeli partners. The noble Baroness asked about the timeline. That is why we have experts deployed in Rafah right now. We have teams deployed in Jerusalem in Israel and in Rafah to ensure that the expertise, in terms of both logistics and the time needed, is amplified.
We are working directly with the likes of Martin Griffiths and others within the UN because of the time needed, for example, to establish a field hospital or to access a particular level of support for an existing facility. A cessation is required to allow time for that to be delivered. This is a matter not of minutes but of effective, well-managed and secured pauses so that delivery of aid can be sustained. I emphasise that, once it starts, it has to be sustainable.
Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (LD)
My Lords, the Statement quite properly recognises the need for Israel to be proportionate in its response, but the law provides no definition of “proportionate”. Might I suggest a practical definition in the context of what we are discussing? The methods must be proportionate, but so too must be the outcomes of these methods. Particularly with regard to the second of these, are the Government satisfied that Israel is fulfilling its obligation?
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
I agree with the noble Lord about the issue of us reminding Israel of its responsibilities under IHL. I have said a number of times in public statements that we need to unpack it. It is not just a label; there are conditions and quite specific elements. This includes the forceful movement of people, for example. We are focused on that. The issue of how Israel is currently operating is also important. It is important to remind Israel of its obligations. I come back to a point I made in response to a question from the noble Lord, Lord Purvis. Israel is a state; in its operation it has obligations that it needs to stand by. Our job, as a friend and partner, is to work with Israel to ensure that those obligations are at the forefront of its operations.
I do not deny for a moment that the human cost of this conflict is immense. It is shocking to look at what happened on 7 October and to see the subsequent loss of life in Gaza currently. We have also seen what is happening in the West Bank. That is why we must focus on ensuring that contagion is prevented. The loss of life—every life, irrespective of who it is, whether Israeli, Arab, Christian, Muslim or Jewish, mother or child—matters. Every innocent life matters, and we are focused on that.
The Lord Bishop of Gloucester
My Lords, I too thank the Minister for all he has said and all he is doing. As we have heard, international humanitarian law exists to protect humanity at times of conflict and to shield us from acts of barbarism. In very different ways, as we have heard, both sides continue to flout that law; it is shocking. I want to return to the situation in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. Does the Minister agree that the rising settler violence and movement restrictions are a matter of real concern, in terms not only of individuals killed but of families displaced and the undermining of UNRWA’s ability to deliver much-needed humanitarian support there? The reports we are receiving from the Anglican diocese in Jerusalem indicate a perilous situation, and one that is going to worsen if steps are not taken to uphold the rule of law.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
My Lords, I thank the right reverend Prelate. The insight of the faith communities is extremely important. The right reverend Prelate will know the personal prioritisation I give to this issue. Together with the political dialogue and the political track, we must ensure that communities are fully immersed. Ultimately, it is communities that deliver the outcomes.
The right reverend Prelate may be aware that I met my dear friend Archbishop Hosam when I visited Jerusalem, along with other Christian leaders. I have also engaged with other faith leaders. It is important that we keep the strength of what community and faith bring. I have visited Jerusalem on many occasions, and it was very sad for me that the silence of Jerusalem was deafening.
It is important that we once again look at how communities are working together. Faith leaders, particularly in the Holy Land, have a key role in ensuring that we return to that vision of sustainable peace. Let us not forget that in Israel 21% of the population is Arab; it is Christian and Muslim. We have very fine examples of how communities are working together. I have said it before and I will say it again: the exemplary example of what we see in Haifa is demonstrable. I have always said—I stand by this, and I challenge anyone to say it—that, even with the challenges in our country today, our country and any country is judged by the strength of its communities and the resilience and cohesion they bring. By God, we have challenges, but working together is how we solve them.
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (GP)
My Lords, to follow the evidence presented by the right reverend Prelate, this morning I received a message from a Medical Aid for Palestinians worker in Gaza, who for safety reasons I will not name. She said, “This work is not about humanitarian aid any more. It is about where to get wood for fire in order to cook. It is about water queues, bread queues and how long the walk is in search of water or bread. Our work and advocacy are centred on dignity for Palestinians, and there is no dignity”. Many Members of your Lordships’ House have spoken about the aid workers from many different groups who are struggling so hard to survive themselves and support people in Gaza. Does the Minister agree with me that they cannot do humanitarian work unless there is a ceasefire, as was called for last night in a vote in the Senedd?
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
My Lords, I agree with the noble Baroness about the phenomenal role that aid workers, agencies and doctors are playing on the ground. I know that some British doctors are still serving in the hospitals under such intense pressures; I pay tribute to them. There are doctors lining up to go into Gaza to provide support.
I also agree with the noble Baroness that we need to take stock of the human tragedy unfolding in Gaza. It is for us all not just to contemplate but to act upon. That is why the nature of the cessation required needs to ensure that support can get in, but it must also be done in a safe and secure manner. If we look at the example of the field facilities we are discussing with partners, including field hospitals within Gaza, they must satisfy the issues of security for Israel and for those working there. The access and supply routes should be equally secured. Those are some of the key priorities we are currently working on.
Baroness Deech (CB)
My Lords, I call on the Minister to make his first port of call the international Red Cross, whose job it is to take care of hostages. If it gets out the hostages and Hamas comes out from hiding behind civilians, the temperature will cool. It is also the job of the surrounding Middle East countries—among the richest countries in the world—to come to the aid of the Palestinians, not least through Egypt opening the border. But first, the hostages.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
My Lords, I assure the noble Baroness—I have said this before about the hostages—that we are working with many of the countries she highlights. Qatar, for example, as the noble Baroness will know, is playing a key role in this respect. That is a key focus for us in our priorities. There are three areas. We want those who need to leave Gaza to leave, the hostages to be released and the aid to go in. Those three things require that we work towards ensuring that the conditions on the ground sustain that. Let me reassure the noble Baroness, in terms of not just the hostage release but the future, that the near neighbours to Israel need to play a role as partners in peace. I can assure the noble Baroness that, from our conversations and the discussions and diplomatic engagement we are having, they are very seized of that priority.
Lord Grocott (Lab)
My Lords, sooner or later there will be a ceasefire. The only question is: how many people will get killed between now and when the ceasefire takes place? We all know the pattern after that. It will not end the conflict: there will be a period of quiet and then another flare-up, which we hope will not be as bad as this one. There is no prospect of any peace in this part of the world until the Palestinians have what the Israelis have long had: a state of their own. I want to hear from the Minister an assurance that he will not turn his back, as the rest of the world tends to as soon as the immediate conflict is over, and that he will ensure that the British Government—despairing as they must currently sound about a two-state solution—realise that you cannot have two states when you recognise only one. The Palestinians deserve no less.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
I can assure the noble Lord. I have been a Minister for a while, but I will share with noble Lords that this is probably one of the most challenging and toughest not only briefs but occasions when I am standing before your Lordships’ House, speaking about what is currently happening and the shocking events in Israel on 7 October. Subsequently, we have seen what is being endured by innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza—this has to stop. I mentioned this being sustained in my opening comments; I will not turn my back, and I hope that noble Lords will not turn theirs. There will not be a short-term solution; this will require long-term focus. Looking around this Chamber, I am sure that whoever stands in my place in the months and years to come will also reflect the importance of finding a lasting solution—it is not papering over the cracks, as the noble Lord said, because this will erupt again. We need to ensure that terrorist organisations such as Hamas are not in governance positions, which is why we support the Palestinian Authority. Ultimately, as we, the Americans, the Europeans and the Gulf states have said, sustainable peace can be achieved only when there are two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side—not just independent but ultimately, we hope, learning that coexistence is the way forward.
Lord Cormack (Con)
My Lords, we are all grateful to the Minister for how he is handling this, and he has the admiration of the House. We all have to bear in mind that Hamas has ultimate responsibility for every drop of blood shed over the last month, but we also have to remember that Israel is a mature democracy, and it is very important that a mature democracy exercises its power in such a way that the innocent are not massacred.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
Suffice it to say that I totally agree with my noble friend. I assure noble Lords that putting humanity at the centre of our approach—in diplomacy, in the support, and in the private and public conversations and statements we are making—is the essence and heart of finding a solution. I have often talked about my considered responses, but I again thank all noble Lords for their considered positions on this important issue.
Pakistan: Evacuation of Afghans
(6 months ago)
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Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede (Lab)
My Lords, in response to the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban, the UK rightfully offered resettlement to those who had shown support and loyalty to British aims. For many who have made it here—some have come in small boats—this means being put into hotels and potentially facing homelessness. Reportedly, others who have been granted resettlement in Britain are stuck in Pakistan, facing deportation back into the hands of the Taliban. I have a number of questions for the Minister. Why have there been such delays in settling people under the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme? Has he confirmed whether any of those about to be expelled from Pakistan to Afghanistan are eligible for the ACRS? What assurances has he received from the Pakistani Government that those eligible for the ACRS will be allowed to remain in Pakistan until chartered flights can be completed? Finally, what measures is he taking to ensure that our asylum backlog is cleared and that suitable accommodation is secured for those applicants?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Sharpe of Epsom) (Con)
The noble Lord is right: the Government have reacted decisively and swiftly to relocate people to safety in the United Kingdom following the collapse of Afghanistan the year before last. The Government remain committed to relocating eligible Afghans and their families under the ARAP scheme and the ACRS—we continue to honour this promise. The Government’s policy was to ensure that eligible Afghan families had secured accommodation in the UK before travel was facilitated for their relocation but, as a result of changing conditions on the ground, we are changing that policy. The Ministry of Defence has worked hard to stand up a total of over 700 service family accommodations for mixed purposes, or transitory and settled accommodation. I pay tribute to my friend in the other place, the Minister for Armed Forces, for his work on this. Our new plans will see approximately 2,800 ARAP-entitled personnel move from Pakistan to the UK by the end of December 2023.
The answer to the question on deportations is: not as far as we are aware. On conversations with the authorities in Pakistan, the British high commission is obviously monitoring the situation closely and is in frequent contact with the Pakistani authorities to ensure that no eligible ARAP or ACRS individuals are negatively affected while they await relocation to the UK—we are seeking assurances to that effect. On 27 October, the Foreign Secretary received assurances from Foreign Minister Jilani that they would be safe.
The noble Lord asked about the backlog. We referred to this in the humble Address debate yesterday to some extent. I will not go over old ground but, as he knows, we have increased the recruitment of decision-makers and committed to dealing with the backlog by the end of the year.
Baroness Smith of Newnham (LD)
My Lords, this is a UQ, so I will be brief. The Minister in the Commons said yesterday that he was working “night and day” to make sure that the Pakistani Government stuck with the commitment not to deport those who are ACRS-eligible. Could the Minister here say how promptly we can get the ACRS people out? Will the 2,300 include everyone, or should there be more flights as soon as possible?
Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)
My Lords, I am not qualified to comment on the operational dimensions of this policy, but I reaffirm the commitment to make sure that everyone who is eligible, without exception, is relocated by the end of this year.
Baroness Coussins (CB)
My Lords, when I asked a Question on this topic on 18 October, the Minister said that there were then 3,000 Afghans in Pakistan who were eligible under ARAP and the other schemes and were awaiting relocation to the UK. Although I appreciate that some flights have begun to get some of them out, can the Minister please guarantee that every one of those 3,000 eligible Afghans and their immediate families will be relocated before the Pakistani authorities deliver them back to the Taliban in Afghanistan? One thing we can be sure of is that they are already suffering adverse conditions while they are waiting in Pakistan, and these are almost as bad as, if not worse than, those they were suffering under the Taliban: some live in hiding and are threatened.
Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)
I have already made that commitment that the Government will move all those people to the United Kingdom by the end of this year. After the noble Baroness asked the last Question, the policy changed: we are no longer shipping people only when they have accommodation already approved. The object of the exercise is to get them out as quickly as we can.
Lord Browne of Ladyton (Lab)
My Lords, on 18 October, during the Question of the noble Baroness, Lady Coussins, on the ARAP scheme, I and the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Stirrup, raised the need for an urgent review of the rejected or rescinded approvals of settlement applications of members of the Afghanistan Commando Force 333. I understand that some of these applicants sought refuge in Pakistan, and their forced return to Afghanistan may, quite simply, mean a death sentence for them. I commend the Minister on his continued engagement with me after that Question. If he is now in a better position to answer our respective questions, can he confirm that all rejected applications or rescinded approvals are now being actively reviewed, considering the true context of CF 333’s relationship with UK forces and policies?
Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)
I confirm to the noble Lord that I remember the question. At the time, I committed to write to the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Stirrup. That letter is being prepared and I will share it with him in due course if he will allow me a little more time.
Baroness D'Souza (CB)
My Lords, there is evidence that the Taliban are pursuing ethnocentric policies by ensuring that Hazara and Indo-Tajik people repatriated from Pakistan are settled among Pashtun communities, which has long-term consequences. Are His Majesty’s Government in touch with Pakistan about what it is effecting, because there will be future consequences of this policy in Afghanistan?
Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)
I am afraid that I am not really qualified to answer on that matter, which I would imagine falls very much within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, but I will take the question back and ask whether it can shed some light on it.
Viscount Stansgate (Lab)
My Lords, I know of an individual case of an Afghan interpreter who is safely here but his family, to my knowledge, is not. His wife and young son got almost as close as they could to the airport hotel in Kabul a year ago and I do not know whether they have got out. Is the noble Lord the appropriate Minister to write to about an individual case, or would he direct me to somebody else to make inquiries about that person, who gave great service to the military, and his family?
Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)
The honest answer is that I do not know whether I am the right person. It would depend on whether it is an immigration and visa situation or a defence-related situation, so I suggest that the noble Viscount write to me, and I will make sure that it ends up in the right place.
Metropolitan Police: Operational Independence
(6 months ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Sharpe of Epsom) (Con)
My Lords, with the leave of the House, I shall now repeat in the form of a Statement an Answer given in another place:
“Mr Speaker, since Hamas’s sickening terrorist attack in Israel, we have seen thousands of people demonstrating on our streets in the UK. Thanks to the tireless work of the police, the majority of those events have passed without incident. Sadly, however, we have seen examples of suspected criminality, including arrests for assaults on officers, racially aggravated public order offences and support for a terrorist organisation. As the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary have said, it would be disrespectful and demonstrably wrong for protests to take place on Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday.
It is right that the police are operationally independent of government. This is a fundamental principle of British policing. The Metropolitan Police asked protesters to postpone, but the request was refused. The Prime Minister has sought reassurances from the Metropolitan Police Commissioner that remembrance events should be protected. It is for the Metropolitan Police Service to decide whether to apply to the Home Secretary to ban any march. An application has not been received. However, the Home Secretary will of course fully consider any application if one is made.
The police have comprehensive powers to deal with individuals who vandalise or damage our cultural monuments. It is a criminal offence for a person without lawful excuse intentionally or recklessly to destroy or damage any property belonging to another. The police have a duty to protect the public by detecting and preventing crime, including offences of this nature. The police also have powers to deal with activities that spread hate or deliberately raise tensions through harassment or abusive behaviour. This includes the power to impose conditions on protests where they reasonably believe the protest may result in serious disorder, serious damage to property or serious disruption to the life of a community, or where the purpose of the protest is to intimidate others. The police can impose any condition they deem necessary to prevent these harms occurring, including setting the location, route and duration of the protest. The use of these powers is an operational matter for the Metropolitan Police Service. It has deployed significant resources to recent protests, and we have seen it take action to prevent vandalism as part of its response to protests in this area.
This weekend should be about remembering those who made the ultimate sacrifice in defence of our country. The Home Secretary, Policing Minister and I will always back the police to take action to prevent serious disruption and to take a zero-tolerance approach towards criminality.”
Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede (Lab)
My Lords, the Home Secretary’s article in today’s Times newspaper brands the Metropolitan Police as biased over pro-Palestinian protests, and she reportedly refused to tone down her article at the request of the Prime Minister’s office. It is extremely unusual for the Prime Minister’s official spokesman to say that the article was not cleared by their office and air their dirty washing in public. Does the Minister believe that the Metropolitan Police is biased? Does he believe that the Home Secretary’s article breaks the policing protocol? Does it constitute improper political interference? Does the Minister agree with me that the police must be given proper support to facilitate remembrance events, to continue to provide protection and reassurance to communities facing the threats of hate and extremism, and to maintain order at peaceful protests? Stoking division and undermining the police will not achieve these ends.
Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)
My Lords, the noble Lord has raised operational independence—in effect, therefore, the policing protocol—and I shall go into that in some detail. The police are operationally independent, but the concept of operational independence is not defined by statute. However, it remains a fundamental principle of British policing. The Policing Protocol Order 2023 sets out how the various actors in the system—the Home Secretary, PCCs, mayors with PCC functions and chief constables—should exercise their roles and responsibilities. It seeks to clarify the operational independence of chief constables, noting that operational decisions on the deployment of police officers are matters for chief constables. The order also makes it clear that:
“The Home Secretary is ultimately accountable to Parliament and charged with ensuring the maintenance of the King’s Peace within all force areas, safeguarding the public and protecting our national borders and security”.
There are no plans to change the policing protocol; that is incredibly clear. I of course agree with the noble Lord that protecting our communities and keeping them safe should be the primary responsibility of the police, and it is incumbent on all of us to give them the support they need. However, we must also acknowledge that operational independence does not provide a blanket exemption from criticism about broader policing issues.
Lord German (LD)
My Lords, the words of the Home Secretary have consequences for our policing and our police services and for the safety that people feel in our country. Will the Minister therefore confirm that the Metropolitan Police has followed the law and the evidence and has made a judgment which sits, and rightly so, within the operational independence of the police services? Will the Home Secretary concentrate on running the Home Department rather than running her leadership campaign? If she cannot, she should be replaced.
Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)
My Lords, I have already spoken about the operational independence of the police, which I think we all regard as sacrosanct. The Answer that I repeated included the line:
“it would be disrespectful and demonstrably wrong for protests to take place on Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday”.
Actually, I do not think that my right honourable friend the Prime Minister used the word “demonstrably”, but what he did say was “disrespectful”. However, he went on to say:
“part of that freedom is the right to peacefully protest. And the test of that freedom is whether our commitment to it can survive the discomfort and frustration of those who seek to use it, even if we disagree with them. We will meet that test and remain true to our principles”.
I happen to think that is exactly right and describes the country I am proud to be a citizen of.
Lord Sandhurst (Con)
My Lords, as we have heard, Peel’s fifth principle requires the police to demonstrate complete independence of policy. Of that, it is equally plain that my noble friend the Minister is well aware. Will he therefore remind the Home Secretary of this principle, since her public criticisms of the Metropolitan Police make it impossible for the commissioner to retain his operational independence or at least the appearance of operational independence, which is vital to public confidence? The Home Secretary seems either to be ignorant or to be flouting it.
Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)
My Lords, I have already referred to the policing protocol, which governs all the actors’ principal responsibilities. We should focus on taking steps to reassure the various communities that are coming under pressure; —the police are definitely doing that. Police forces up and down the country have stepped up neighbourhood patrols to support local Jewish and Muslim communities, including visiting schools, synagogues and mosques. Sadly, we have seen a significant increase in hate crime reported since Hamas’s terrorist attack in Israel, and the Metropolitan Police has made a number of arrests to date linked with that. That shows that the Metropolitan Police is more than capable of exercising its responsibilities and is doing a good job.
Perhaps I may say from a personal point of view that the virulent anti-Semitism that we have seen makes me feel physically sick. My Jewish friends are afraid, and in this country that is disgusting.
Lord Harris of Haringey (Lab)
My Lords, I refer to my policing interests in the register. The tone of what the Home Secretary has said implies that she thinks that she should have received a request from the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. Does she therefore think, given that the threshold is set sensibly at a high level to protect freedom of protest, that the definition and the threshold should be changed, and if so, to what? What advice did she receive on the consequences of trying to prevent a march, in terms of policing resources, compared with a more targeted approach to deal with troublemakers in a march?
Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)
The noble Lord invites me to speculate on what the Home Secretary thinks, which obviously I am not capable of doing. I refer him back to the comments that I have just repeated, made by the Prime Minister, and the fact that I have restated the policing protocol, which governs all these responsibilities very clearly.
Lord Hogan-Howe (CB)
My Lords, first, I apologise that I did not hear the Minister’s Statement—I was unaware that it had begun until I came into the Chamber.
To some extent, I will repeat what I said in last night’s speech. It is disappointing that all this debate is taking place in public. These are difficult decisions for politicians, as I have acknowledged in the past, and for police officers, to decide where they draw the line about either preventing protests or allowing a protest that might cause offence. It is not at all easy, particularly with such an emotional issue as the Cenotaph and Remembrance Day. There is an awful lot of passion involved on all sides.
However, as the noble Lord, Lord Harris, said, the process is that the police should decide whether they can police this march and whether they can apply conditions which would make the march less of a problem. Only if that will not work could they then consider having a ban, providing that it meets the high threshold of serious violence. What concerns me is that the making of these fine distinctions and wise judgments is taking place in public. It seems that rocks have been hurled across the press, when I would hope that these conversations could be had privately, for better effect and for the reassurance of the public.
Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)
I commend the noble Lords, Lord Hogan-Howe and Lord Paddick, for their comments last night in the humble Address debate, when they outlined the challenges of operational policing in these contexts. I agree that, in a perfect world, these conversations should be held in private. However, this is a very difficult international situation, and passions are running high.
Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Con)
My Lords, I draw the House’s attention to my own policing interests. Would the Minister recapitulate his comments earlier that operational independence is not an absolute, either in legislation or in practice, and that the Home Secretary is quite entitled, under Section 40 of the Police Act 1996, to direct senior police officers in the public interest, and that that will always be subject to judicial oversight?
Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)
I would say to my noble friend that the powers conferred on the Home Secretary by Section 40 of the Police Act 1996 are quite specific and rarely used. The Home Secretary has statutory powers to give directions to local policing bodies, but they are limited to circumstances where she would consider that remediation is required because the force, or part of it, is failing to fulfil its functions effectively, and the police force and HMICFRS have been given the opportunity to make informed representations and proposals. As far as I am aware, that power has been used only on a couple of occasions, which were very specific. In 2012, the then Home Secretary required all forces to collaborate on the provision of air support and, in 2019, those powers were used to require Warwickshire and West Mercia police to take a little longer to unentangle themselves from their previous collaboration.
King’s Speech
(6 months ago)
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Lord McInnes of Kilwinning
That an humble Address be presented to His Majesty as follows:
“Most Gracious Sovereign—We, Your Majesty’s most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament assembled, beg leave to thank Your Majesty for the most gracious Speech which Your Majesty has addressed to both Houses of Parliament”.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Care (Lord Markham) (Con)
My Lords, on behalf of all noble Lords, I thank His Majesty for his gracious Speech. I am truly honoured to be a Minister in his Government and to open this debate.
I always said that I wanted to be a different kind of Minister, and today is no different. Over the past few days, I have thought a lot about the sort of speech that I wanted to give. I could not quite make up my mind, but it finally clicked late last night, as I leaned over my five year-old son, Xavi, as he slept in his bed. I thought that, if I am making a speech about the long-term changes that this Government want to make in health, education, housing and welfare, I need to explain what kind of country we want to build for Xavi and his generation—so forgive me if this is a bit unconventional.
As I have told Xavi when he asks me about work, the National Health Service is probably our country’s most beloved institution. It represents how we think of ourselves as a nation: caring, compassionate, and a place where everyone will have their needs cared for at no cost, according only to need. It touches so many lives every day. It saved Xavi’s brother, Sam, when he was born more than 20 years ago and, more recently, it saved Xavi’s grandfather with an emergency operation.
However, it is a health service that faces huge challenges. It is a health service that must care for an ageing population that is growing rapidly and has rapidly growing needs, where it costs five times more to care for 70 year-olds than for 20 year-olds. It is a health service that is still recovering from a once-in-a-generation pandemic, which stretched it more than ever before and created health needs both physical and mental, which even now we are only just beginning to understand. So it is a health service where we need to make decisions for the long-term, to change how it operates and how we approach it, so that it is there for Xavi’s generation and the one after, just as it has been for ours.
That means we will all have to have to take more responsibility over our health, and that government must empower us all to make long-term decisions that benefit our health. That means diagnosing and treating conditions faster, but it must start with prevention. The single biggest thing that Xavi and his generation can do to protect their health is to never start smoking, and this Government are going to help them do that. We are making it illegal for Xavi and his friends, and anyone who is 14 or younger, to ever be sold tobacco. This will save thousands of lives and prevent thousands more people suffering from cancer. Vaping is, of course, much safer than smoking, and it helps many smokers to quit for good, but that does not mean that Xavi and his friends should ever take up vaping. That is why, following a consultation, we will bring forward measures to restrict the availability of vapes to our children, targeting sweet flavours, colourful packaging, eye-catching displays and disposable vapes, making sure that we do not replace a generation of nicotine addicts who smoke with another who vape.
We are not only taking steps to prevent Xavi’s generation suffering major illnesses but steps that will allow them to take more responsibility for their health. Just as we use apps and technology to manage our finances, retail preferences and social lives, they will be able to manage their health using technology, through the NHS app. As we speak, we are loading more features which will allow patients to understand their health needs through accessing their health records, and to navigate and decide whether they are best served by seeing a pharmacist through our Pharmacy First programme, seeing a nurse or a doctor, or referring themselves straight to a specialist at one of our 160 new community diagnostics centres. Patients will be able to make appointments from the app and then get their results directly to their phones. If they need follow-up treatment with a specialist, at a hospital or at a CDC, they will be able to exercise choice to find an appointment that suits them, whether that is seeing a particular doctor, getting care closer to home, or getting a shorter waiting time.
Artificial intelligence and technology are already allowing us to do great things. AI is allowing us to halve the time that it takes to treat people with strokes, making it more likely to recover completely. It is allowing radiologists to read lung and breast scans to detect cancers more quickly and more accurately than ever before. For Xavi’s generation, AI can do so much more. It could help us to discover medicines and cures that have defeated us so far, and it could analyse health records, helping us to join the dots between what links different generations and different conditions, to allow scientists to develop medicines and treatments to target the causes of major diseases.
All the work that we are doing to improve the nation’s health is underpinned by our long-term workforce plan—ground-breaking in its purpose—ensuring that we have the right numbers of nurses, doctors and specialists, and the right training and pathways into the profession, whether that is by expanding degrees, apprenticeships, or more on-the-job development. Underlying all our work is the need to focus our most precious resource, our people, on getting upstream of the problem. Rather than just focusing on hospital treatment centres and primary care, we are focusing resources on prevention and increasing the use of technology.
At this stage, I want to emphasise the Government’s commitment to creating parity between mental and physical heath and to introducing the mental health Bill in the future, when parliamentary time allows. In the meantime, we are taking decisive action. We are eliminating dormitory accommodation, so that people with mental health conditions are treated where they can be best cared for—in the community. We are making sure we have mental health ambulances available to answer 999 calls where we need a mental health response. We are also investing an additional £2.3 billion to support 2 million more people to receive mental health treatment.
As well as building a sustainable future for the NHS for our children, we are making sure it is ready for winter. Average category 2 ambulance response times were over 10 minutes faster in September than in the same month last year—and we are going further. This year, we are investing an additional £600 million into our discharge fund, supporting hospitals to discharge patients when they are ready, with the right support, and stopping patients who do not medically need to be in hospital from taking up important beds and delaying ambulance handovers. We are also providing 5,000 additional permanent staffed beds, introducing 800 new ambulances and using our 10,000 hospital-at-home beds to keep thousands of patients out of hospital.
As well as protecting the health of Xavi and the next generation, we are getting them ready for their futures. We are proud of our education record to date. Xavi and his friends are far more likely to go to a school rated good or outstanding. When we took office, just 70% of schools met this standard; today, that figure is 90%. Our nine and 10 year-olds lead the western world in reading, and our 15 year-olds perform significantly above the OECD average for reading, maths and sciences. However, the parallel nature of A-levels and technical qualifications limits the breadth of young people’s education, stops progression in maths and English far too early and prevents parity of esteem between academic and technical qualifications. Furthermore, we are an international outlier from 16 to 19 in terms of subjects taken and the number of hours taught. The advanced British standard will ensure that, when Xavi and his friends turn 16, they will face a world-class system, placing equal value on technical and academic knowledge, giving them depth and breadth of knowledge to succeed in further study and the world of work.
I now turn to housing and the world that we want to create for Xavi’s generation and those that follow. First, we understand the vital role of housing supply. Since 2010, we have delivered nearly 2.3 million homes, realising dreams of home ownership and delivering decent rented accommodation. We are on track to deliver our manifesto commitment of building 1 million more homes over this Parliament. At some point, all of us, including Xavi, are likely to rent their home, maybe as a stepping stone to home ownership, or maybe for the long term. Whatever the circumstance, we have acted to make renting better and fairer by cracking down on those 400,000 non-decent homes and banning tenant fees. With the Renters (Reform) Bill, we are going further. We will ban no-fault evictions that carry just two months’ notice, empower tenants to raise concerns about the quality of their property and give them greater security. At the same time, we want to be fair to landlords, making it easier for them to evict tenants who display anti-social behaviour or wilfully do not pay their rent.
We also want to help people like Xavi and young people today into home ownership. For some of us, that will mean buying a leasehold property. This Government are committed to improving the experience of the owners of the 5 million leasehold dwellings in England and Wales. We have already capped ground rents in most new leases at very low rates and we will deliver further leasehold reform with the leasehold and freehold reform Bill, which will ban the sale of new leasehold houses. Where leaseholds are required for practical purposes, such as in flats and apartments, we will extend their lease to 990 years and cap new ground rents, with the intention of giving future leaseholders the equivalent experience as if they owned the freehold on their home. We will also launch a consultation to see how we can further improve leaseholder rights. This legislation will fundamentally reform the leaseholder system, ensuring that families have the right fully to enjoy their homes and giving them increased opportunities to pass them on to their children.
While this Government are committed to supporting our society in health, education, housing and living and working independently, I want Xavi to know that we take care of those who need our support—now more than ever with the heightened cost of living. We spend £31 billion on supporting renters with housing costs and £276 billion in total through the welfare system in 2023-24, including providing more than 8 million low-income households with cost of living payments totalling up to £900. For those who need it most, we have increased benefits and the state pension by 10%, in line with inflation. We have made strong progress towards halving inflation by the end of the year, thereby reducing cost of living pressures. I am proud to say there are 1.7 million fewer people in absolute poverty than in 2010, including 200,000 fewer pensioners and 400,000 fewer children.
While we must support people who cannot work, it is vital that we give a leg up to those who can. As well as bringing economic benefits to a person, work boosts their confidence and well-being. The Government have made work pay with the introduction of a national living wage and by ensuring that those earning £12,570 or less pay no income tax or national insurance. These steps led to record employment rates before the pandemic and, last year, the lowest level of unemployment for 50 years. At the same time, there are 2.6 million people who are economically inactive due to disability or long-term sickness. Over a quarter of those who are long-term sick want to work, to the benefit of themselves and the economy. With flexible working and the ability to work from home, we want to help these people into the types of work that they can do, while understanding their conditions. That is why we have launched a consultation to change the work capacity assessment to come into force by 2025 and to provide tailored support for people to safely move into employment, to benefit them, their health, well-being and confidence and, of course, our economy.
I finish by addressing an issue of utmost importance, given the ongoing events in the Middle East. The aftermath of Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October demonstrates a clear link between anti-Israel sentiment and anti-Semitism. In the 21 days following this attack, the Community Security Trust recorded more than 800 anti-Semitic incidents—the highest ever recorded in a 21-day period. We know that boycotts and sanctions are divisive and undermine community cohesion. Many target Israel, under the banner of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions—or BDS—movement. There is evidence that this movement has contributed to the horrific rise of anti-Semitism in the UK. Yet we have seen taxpayer-funded bodies attempt such boycotts. In 2014, Leicester City Council passed a BDS motion on boycotting goods from Israeli settlements; that same year, Gwynedd Council passed a BDS motion calling for a trade embargo with Israeli settlements; and, in 2021, Lancaster City Council passed a motion in support of the BDS movement.
Taxpayer-funded public bodies should never interfere in foreign policy. That is why this Government have carried over the Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill into this parliamentary Session. It will deliver on our 2019 manifesto commitment to ban public bodies from imposing boycotts, divestments or sanction campaigns against foreign countries. It will prevent them pursuing divisive policies that undermine community cohesion and stoke anti-Semitism, ensure that the UK speaks with one voice internationally and guarantee that taxpayers only pay for foreign policy once.
Across housing, welfare, health and employment, this Government are taking the long-term decisions to help give Xavi and young people across the country a brighter future. We will create a health system that puts patients first, give more families a quality home, get more people into work and grow our economy. My noble friend Lord Younger and I look forward to hearing noble Lords’ valuable reflections on the measures that I have outlined today on how we can all take the long-term decisions needed to create brighter future for Xavi and all our young people.
Baroness Twycross (Lab)
My Lords, I thank the Minister for introducing today’s debate on the humble Address with such a personal and heartfelt speech. It was a privilege to be present to hear the King’s first Speech of his reign to this House earlier this week, and it is a privilege to open this debate for His Majesty’s Opposition. I declare an interest as one of London’s deputy mayors as I will refer to London in relation to housing.
The gracious Speech unfortunately demonstrated that this Government have run out of steam, have few new ideas and are rehashing old ones in the hope that nobody will notice. The Prime Minister started his introduction to the background notes to the King’s Speech by stating that he has delivered on his promise a year ago to deliver “Integrity, professionalism, accountability” in government, ignoring the fact that his party has been in power since 2010 and that his road to being Prime Minister led him from No. 11 to No. 10, and ignoring the fact that the King’s Speech was held against a backdrop of the Covid-19 public inquiry in which the Government in whom he served appear to have lacked any integrity or professionalism and felt themselves to be above accountability.
This King’s Speech regrettably lacks substance. With only 20 Bills announced, it is also seriously lacking in ambition. I will leave my noble friend Lady Merron to speak on health and social care in her closing remarks. However, I would like to highlight the lack of reform of the Mental Health Act 1983, which is outdated and discriminatory. People do not have trust in it and reform is long overdue. The Government first announced a review in 2017 and published its findings in 2018. Can the Minister explain why, given the Conservative manifesto pledge to reform the Mental Health Act, this was not included in the King’s Speech? We have a mental health crisis and the Government know this.
In the background notes to the Speech, the Prime Minister states that the Government are
“continuing to roll out our mental health support teams in schools and colleges across the country so that 50 per cent of pupils are covered by 2025”.
Place2Be, a leading children’s mental health charity in schools, is clear that by intervening early we can help prevent problems becoming more serious. How, then, is 50% cover by 2025 acceptable? Pupil absences are on the rise, not least due to stress and anxiety. Can the Minister tell us why this Government are failing to do more to tackle mental health issues among children and young people?
It also seems staggering that, with schools literally crumbling and teacher recruitment and retention falling, the only announcements on education were rehashing previous ones. There is no sign of further legislation on schools and no sign of ambition for our children. Instead, we got a repeat announcement of the advanced British standard. Planned for 10 years in the future, this proposed reform of exams is at least two general elections away. Plans for a DfE workforce plan have apparently been delayed because of work on the advanced British standard, but the Government need to address teacher shortages now. It is simply not good enough.
The King’s Speech also referred to proposals to
“reduce the number of young people studying poor quality university degrees and increase the number undertaking high quality apprenticeships”.
A former adviser to Tory Ministers is quoted in the Times Higher Education as saying:
“On an occasion when the UK pulls out all the stops to impress the world with tradition and pageantry, it is beyond belief that the UK government would even contemplate asking His Majesty the King to speak negatively of the national asset that is our world-leading higher education and research sector”.
Labour believes that people should have the opportunity to get well-paid jobs, whatever their background and whatever part of the country they come from. For the Conservatives, it seems, limited opportunity to get well-paid jobs and a cap on aspiration are things that happens to other people’s children. There are already mechanisms to assess the quality of courses and limit recruitment for low-progression courses through the Office for Students.
Labour would be delighted if the Government, having run out of their own ideas on education to put in the King’s Speech, wanted to borrow some from these Benches. We have plans to reform childcare and early years support and plans for breakfast clubs in every primary school. With 1.9 million children in the UK facing challenges in talking and understanding words, Labour will ensure that every child develops a strong foundation in speech and language. Labour will boost maths teaching in primary schools; we will have a curriculum and assessment review; we will establish regional improvement teams and implement a body to ensure that schools can recruit and retain the staff they need now. We will transform existing FE colleges into technical excellence colleges. Labour plans to break down barriers to opportunity in every part of our system, in every year of a child’s life and in every corner of our country. Aspiration and ambition should be for everyone, and so should excellence and opportunity.
On housing, Labour is clear that the Government should support the aspiration of home ownership and be more ambitious on what they aim to do. However, this Government promise a lot and are delivering little on housing for local communities. They are failing to give councils the tools and resources to deliver housing. It is hugely disappointing that, despite all the promises, the Government have dropped major housing pledges and failed to support housebuilding.
It is also of deep concern that homelessness apparently does not come into this debate: it was covered yesterday by the noble and learned Lord, Lord Bellamy, in the context of a debate largely focused on crime. Homelessness is not a crime and being destitute should not be criminalised. Can the Minister explain why this Government apparently believe that tackling homelessness should come under the Home Office and not under the relevant department covering housing?
Despite promises to radically overhaul the housing system, the Government have watered down leasehold pledges first made six years ago, and U-turned on promises made to private renters four years ago. The leasehold and freehold Bill comes after six years and 115 further press releases or announcements on leasehold reform. It has been watered down to not even include those living in flats. If you want people to feel that they effectively have freehold, you could give them freehold. This Bill will not deliver on the Government’s commitments. It will benefit developers, not leaseholders.
The Renters (Reform) Bill claims to deliver on a four-year promise to abolish Section 21 no-fault evictions, but the Government’s own briefing reveals that they will not commence these parts
“until stronger possession grounds and a new court process is in place”,
and renters are facing problems now. In London, City Hall analysis reveals that an average of 290 London renters a week have faced a no-fault eviction since the Government promised an end to them in 2019. Based on the figures from 2023 so far, every further six-month delay could mean almost 15,000 more Londoners facing no-fault evictions. This picture is repeated across the country.
A Labour Government will get Britain building and boost home ownership through a housing recovery plan. This will combine policy and regulation, including reversing changes to the National Planning Policy Framework announced in December 2022; reinstating compulsory local targets; strengthening requirements to maintain a deliverable supply of housing land; and a presumption in favour of sustainable development. Labour in government will build and is committed to more action on housing in the first six months of office than the Conservatives have delivered in the past six years.
We can already see how Labour in power is delivering, with a new golden era of council house building in London, where more council homes are being built than at any time since the 1970s, through partnership between the Mayor of London and local councils including Southwark, Newham, Ealing and Brent. As we have seen in the past nationally—for example, under Harold Wilson in the 1960s—high levels of private housebuilding and high levels of social housebuilding can and should go hand in hand. Labour’s policy on housing will enable this, and we on these Benches are now, once more, the party representing the aspiration of the British people.
Finally, I turn to the subject of communities. With denial and distortion of the Holocaust rising and anti-Semitism increasing over the past few weeks, we all have a responsibility to tackle misinformation and hate. Discussion of communities in this debate comes at a time when we see parents anxious about their children even wearing their Jewish school uniform, and British families have missing or dead family members in Israel and Gaza. From these Benches, Labour looks forward to supporting the Holocaust Memorial Bill through the parliamentary process, having supported the memorial from the outset, as I know Members across this House do. The memorial and learning centre will be a truly fitting tribute to the 6 million Jewish men, women and children who were murdered during the Holocaust, and will also offer a place to learn about more recent genocides. It is indeed right that such a memorial will sit at the heart of our democracy, next to Parliament.
I look forward to an interesting day’s debate.
Lord Allan of Hallam (LD)
My Lords, I will largely speak to the health and care aspects of the gracious Speech, while colleagues who are more expert will cover some of the other areas.
I have been very struck that, when talking about the gracious Speech, whatever question the Health Secretary is asked, his answer is the new measures on tobacco control. This was echoed to a certain extent by the Minister today, although he does it far more graciously than his colleague down the way. We have all done media training and know the tactic whereby whatever you are asked you try to talk about the thing you want to talk about. However, in this case it feels entirely inappropriate. It feels as though the Health Secretary is using the fig leaf of the new tobacco control measures to cover up his naked embarrassment at the paucity of serious health and care measures in the gracious Speech.
I am inclined to support the new measures, but they are not a cover for inaction elsewhere and should not be used as such. It does not help the families of people being held in inappropriate mental health facilities, who have been waiting for the legislative reform that they need, to be told that children will no longer be able to buy cigarettes. For someone who cannot get a rapid scan of a potentially cancerous lump because there is a lack of scanners and trained staff to operate them, there may be some comfort in knowing that we will reduce the number of people suffering cancer in future but it does not get them the help they need today, and the longer they wait, the higher the risk is to them and the less likelihood that they will survive. There is small comfort for an older person struggling to find the social care they need, who believed the former Prime Minister when he said that he would fix social care, to know that although their grandchildren may be protected from the temptation of vaping—that is a good thing—it does not get them the social care they need today. These measures all could and should have been in the gracious Speech.
The other focus in the gracious Speech is long-term planning, particularly long-term staffing planning, as the Minister touched on. These Benches called for that long-term plan and have welcomed it, but we must recognise that a long-term plan is necessary but not sufficient. The journey towards a better health and social care system requires three things: a road map to the destination, but also a vehicle fit for the rigours of the journey and a driver with the skills and energies to get us there. The recent performance of this Government hardly inspires confidence.
I recognise that the Covid inquiry still has a long way to go, but the picture so far has us alternating between horror and shame at the way in which our health system has been managed. The image it paints is of a car veering from side to side, with the former Prime Minister behind the wheel while his passengers—Messrs Hancock, Sunak and Cummings, the latter using choice expletives as though he were an extra from “The Thick of It”—shout conflicting directions at him and so he jerks the wheel from one way to another. The car occasionally veers off into the VIP lane when it gets flagged down by its mates, but it can hardly be described as a picture of good management. We should give some leeway to the Government, because there was no road map for the specifics of the Covid pandemic we suffered. However, we must also ask what all that civil contingencies legislation and planning was for, given that it appears to have given us very little benefit when we hit the crisis. The driving of that vehicle seems to have been appalling and that is all on the Government, past and present—the same people are in government today, with a few notable exceptions, as those who were driving at that point.
The bright spot is that the vehicle held up remarkably well. That is all to the credit of the staff of our health and social care systems, who went above and beyond. We gave them credit and thanks for it then and should continue to reiterate that today. We have moved on from that episode but it now feels as though the Government are parked up in a lay-by doing route planning but very little else.
Their record on vehicle maintenance is also not looking good. We have record waiting lists that are still growing in many areas. Access to GPs and dentists—the fundamental building blocks of our system—is a daily source of complaint and frustration for millions of people up and down the country, as recognised by the Government when they issue papers describing NHS dental deserts, which are a real thing in many parts of the country today. We have a hospital building programme that will not meet the promises made at election time and staff who are demoralised by a Government who seem to prefer confrontation to conciliation and threats to settlements—settlements which Governments in the devolved parts of the United Kingdom have been able to reach because they approached them with a very different attitude.
This gracious Speech shows us that this Government have lost interest in making real improvements to health and care. If these were a priority, there would be a mental health Bill and long-term reforms to the provision of social care. The Minister said there will be a mental health Bill when parliamentary time allows. Forgive me, but the time of the gracious Speech is precisely when the parliamentary calendar is empty. If this were a higher priority than pedicabs and self-driving vehicles, there would be parliamentary time. It is a choice that the Government have made. We would also be seeing serious efforts to address and update the primary care contracts so that people can get easier access to GPs and NHS dentists. I hope the Minister in summing up may indicate that there is some action in that area. It is clear that this Government prefer to deal with other legislation, which I presume they think is sexier to the electorate, than with the stuff we need to get our health and social care right.
While the Minister may not want my sympathy, I praise him for his ability to defend this very thin gruel with quite a helpful speech. I believe that he personally is sincere in his interest in improving health and care and that he is making valuable contributions to those road maps, particularly on staffing and the new hospital programme. However, his, our and the country’s problem is with the drivers at the other end of the building. They are not a new Government—however hard they try to push the message otherwise—but a Government who have been in power as a single party for the last eight years. The people in charge now—the drivers at the other end—have been at the heart of that poor Administration and they are now too tired and unfocused to give us the solutions we need.
I hope that, over the coming year, the Government will keep working on these long-term road maps for where health and social care need to go, as these are valuable. Can the Minister in responding say whether that includes looking at GP and dental contracts, which are a priority? I hope they will face up to the maintenance challenge, so that this incredible vehicle that is our NHS is not allowed to deteriorate beyond repair. Will he say how they will deal with the deficits that are publicly building up in NHS trusts across the country? That needs to be dealt with this year—it is not a long-term issue—as they are facing real deficits and cash crises.
I will happily travel down the tobacco control lane with the Government to explore the effectiveness of the measures, but I can close only with a statement with which I know the Minister will have to disagree: the best way now to improve health and care in the United Kingdom is for this Government to hand the keys over to somebody else so that they can drive, as soon as possible.
Baroness Watkins of Tavistock (CB)
My Lords, it is a pleasure to contribute to this debate on the King’s gracious Speech, and to acknowledge His Majesty’s Government’s commitments for this Session. I declare my interests as chair of Look Ahead, a housing association that supports homeless people, and as a non-executive director at NHS England.
First, I turn to education. The Children’s Commissioner emphasises that school attendance is an absolute priority if children are to be offered the best start to further their ambitions, relationships and learning when in school. However, current data demonstrates that, since schools have reopened after the pandemic, one in five children remains persistently absent, on average missing at least one day in school a fortnight or 1/10th of the academic year. This means that 1.8 million children are regularly missing education.
It is suggested that the social contract between schools and parents had been broken following the lengthy period of school closure and that many children are waiting for mental health support and education, health and care plans. The wait is reportedly two years in some situations. So, while I support the Government’s intention to introduce a register of children not in school, can the Minister explain how this information will be used to support those children and their families to increase school attendance? Will there be a national or local authority register of waiting times for assessment for education, health and care plans, with clear targets for achievement in the way that there is, for example, for NHS cancer targets? We know that the future health and happiness of those children regularly missing school are severely impacted if mental health intervention and tailored educational support are not available within—shall we say, conservatively—six months of regular absence.
Secondly, what early years entitlement will be made available for younger children? The Early Education and Childcare Coalition reports that only 17% of nursery managers say that they are likely to increase the number of places they provide due to the difficulty in recruiting staff. Can the Minister say whether it is the Government’s intention to re-establish a career development hub at the Department for Education for a national apprenticeship scheme in early years education that will encourage not only women but men into this important area of work? There is probably a need to restart the graduate-led grant scheme.
The King’s Speech was deeply disappointing in having no reference to reforming the Mental Health Act 1983. Others have spoken about this, but in 1983 I was a junior lecturer introducing the changes to staff in the Lambeth health authority. I distinctly remember a slide that said, “This is a really interesting review, but remember that it is only a review of the 1959 Act, and we will have a proper, new Mental Health Act soon”. That was 40 years ago. There was a manifesto commitment in both 2017 and 2019 to reform this. It seems to me that this particular revision has been on a waiting list for a minimum of 40 years. Yet over 53,000 people were detained under the Mental Health Act in 2021-22, many, of course, for appropriate assessment, support and treatment.
However, significant disparity between ethnic diversity and detention under the Act continues, with white people five times less likely to be detained than those from different racial communities. Does the Minister agree that, while reforming the Act is long overdue, that should not stop us enhancing patients’ rights and strengthening safeguards for those admitted to hospital much sooner than an Act might come? I believe it is essential that we find sufficient resources to ensure that we can deliver high-quality, compassionate care—which is often in the community—before we review the Mental Health Act, if we are not to get it in this Session.
We know that many people with significant mental health needs are in prison, when many would be far better served by proper community support and treatment in safe, secure housing—particularly before they offend. Sometimes, individuals who have significant mental health challenges offend because they are homeless and have difficulty in claiming benefits and accessing the healthcare system.
I acknowledge other noble Lords’ contributions to this debate on the proposed reforms associated with housing, leasehold and renters; I will leave it to others to speak on that. I hope that this will result in fairer systems, but it will not result in a significant increase in social housing, which is completely vital to improve healthcare in this country.
Finally, I welcome the Government’s commitment to supporting the NHS workforce plan and hope that, in the longer term, this will have a positive effect on current waiting lists, which are in part due to a shortage of qualified staff as well as the Covid pandemic. However, I was concerned to hear the Minister say that he believes that the pandemic was a once-in-a-generation situation; I only hope that he is right, because we need to be ready in case we get a second wave. Do not let us be complacent; we need the right social care to support people if that happens.
I commend the proposals relating to tobacco and vapes. As many noble Lords know, my concern about the use of alcohol by young people remains, and I wish that there had been something about that too in the Speech.
The Lord Bishop of London
My Lords, it is a pleasure to participate in this debate on the gracious Speech. I declare my interests as recorded in the register.
I begin by joining noble Lords across the House in welcoming the indication in the Speech that the Government will legislate for a ban on smoking. As we have heard, smoking is the single biggest preventable killer in the UK, but it is also an example of pronounced health inequality. The Chief Medical Officer gave this evidence to the Commons Health and Social Care Select Committee:
“Smoking is usually twice as high in people with lower incomes and more than twice as high in people living with mental health issues”.
He went on to say:
“The cigarette industry goes absolutely unerringly for the most vulnerable in society”.
So I welcome the decision by the Government, which will undoubtedly account for significant reductions in preventable cancers. However, there are many things that determine our health, and we have been discussing the social determinants of health for years. They were highlighted as early as 1980 in the Black report, yet we seem to be having the same conversations about the same statistics, with the same consensus again and again. The differences in life expectancy and healthy life expectancy remain truly shocking.
The failure to publish the health inequalities White Paper in the previous Session is lamentable, and I seek assurances from the Minister that health inequalities will be a key focus of the major conditions strategy. For the NHS to have the future that the Minister speaks about, we are dependent on reducing inequalities in health. Inequalities in health outcomes between racial and ethnic groups also persist. The most recent CQC State of Care report highlights these, especially in maternal and neonatal care and in mental health care. The report lists instances in which patients are not listened to and how their symptoms are not recognised due to the poor teaching of certain conditions that present in ethnic minority patients. The CQC report also highlights, as did the noble Baroness, Lady Watkins, that there are ethnic differences in the detention of mental health patients.
I add my voice to the disappointment that a mental health Bill has not been brought forward as part of the gracious Speech. As we have heard, reform of the Mental Health Act is long overdue, and the inequalities that people face under it need serious attention. There is much work to be done here, including in resourcing community care and increasing patients’ ability to make choices about their care. The Joint Committee on the draft Bill found that this would be a significant factor in the reduction of detention and inequalities. It is a great shame that the work already undertaken is not being taken forward.
We are all aware that the health service is straining. I too welcome the long-term workforce plan, but there are questions that remain unanswered, and I expect that its implementation will be challenging. The NHS staff experience remains one of exhaustion, overwork and understaffing, and I continue to remain concerned about the state of industrial relations following the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act. If we are to exercise choice in our future, as the Minister rightly said, we need a workforce that is not tired, is appropriately trained and is valued.
Some 22 years ago, I commissioned the Chief Nursing Officer’s Black and Minority Ethnic Advisory Group, which has carried out truly inspiring work. However, the work is not done. The CQC report highlights the experience of not just ethnic-minority patients but staff. Midwives from ethnic-minority groups described a culture of tolerated discrimination and unchallenged stereotyping. This is something that we all need to work to reduce.
It is disappointing to see no mention of social care in the gracious Speech. Skills for Care’s latest report estimated a 28.3% staff turnover rate in 2022-23. With 400,000 people working in social care over the age of 55 and likely to retire within the next 10 years, we are desperate for a workforce strategy. Carers are finding it difficult to get by in the cost of living crisis, and the sector represents 5% of the entire economy.
The Archbishops’ Commission on Reimagining Care sets out the type of ambitious vision that I had hoped to see in the gracious Speech. The commission identified the need for a fundamental change in the way in which care is thought about, organised and delivered, with a national care covenant at the heart of a new approach that truly incorporates the views, voices and experiences of the people most affected. Social care should enable everyone, regardless of age or ability, to lead a life of purpose and fulfilment.
I also note the disappointment of many that the gracious Speech did not contain news of a ban on conversion therapy. The General Synod of the Church of England voted to call on the Government to ban conversion therapies in 2017; it remains firm that abuse of power in this way must be prevented.
What underpins everything I say today and will say in the coming Session is that people are made in the image of God and are immeasurably valued. Recognising that value, we must do more to pursue health equality and provide adequate resources. As Nye Bevan famously said in 1948:
“Illness is neither an indulgence for which people have to pay nor an offence for which they should be penalised, but a misfortune the cost of which should be shared by the community”.
Baroness Cumberlege (Con)
My Lords, it is a great pleasure for me to follow Sarah Mullally, the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of London. She has a very interesting—I was going to say “past” but I think they call it a “back story” today. She has done a huge amount in the National Health Service. We know that she was the Chief Nursing Officer; she did so much for all of us who work in the service and especially for the patients who use it.
I want to say something about Sarah because we so often dismiss people; we just think that they are in a certain position, and that that is their life and how they run it. However, Sarah has three distinguished university doctorates and was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her contribution to nursing and midwifery. She was of course much admired when she was the Chief Nursing Officer in the Department of Health, where she made a great contribution to the NHS. I must say that it is a great pleasure to have you, Sarah, in this House and on these Benches, making the sort of contribution that you have made this afternoon.
I want to put forward to noble Lords an idea to correct a terrible shame and injustice. When medicines and devices do harm, redress or compensation is too often withheld. Sadly, many victims are dead before they could receive any contribution. The Government have urged people to settle their claims—they mention pharmaceutical companies in particular—in court. That is quite a cruel, unjust proposition because redress and compensation are often withheld until many of the victims are no longer alive; we have seen exactly what can happen all too clearly with the infected blood tragedy. Pharma companies have huge powers and resources to delay proceedings, which can bankrupt a charity or group, pending the settlement of ginormous legal costs. The United Kingdom is not the only country to experience harm caused by sodium valproate, vaginal mesh and Primodos—the subjects that I studied for my report, First Do No Harm. We must find a solution for people in need of redress that is delivered speedily when it is needed. Unreasonable and unnecessary delays inflict more agony for individuals, their families and their friends.
When considering the then Medicines and Medical Devices Bill, I and my team concluded, after very careful consideration, that there should be a new post in the management of the NHS: a person whom we named the Patient Safety Commissioner, because we were back thinking about the patients all the time, we wanted to ensure their safety and we thought a commissioner would have a standing that would actually make a difference. The Bill was enacted in February 2021. Dr Henrietta Hughes was appointed in June 2022, and she took up her post last September. She is a force for good, and she has already embarked on—embraced, indeed—her new role and made a difference to professionals and to patients; and after all, it is the patients we must all think about.
I and my colleagues suggested that the Patient Safety Commissioner should explore the redress options for those who have already been harmed by pelvic mesh and sodium valproate. Those were the areas I studied with my team. I understand her report is due to be launched in the new year, and I urge the Government to respond with speed, as there are still too many women who have been waiting and suffering for too long. Our report, which we entitled First Do No Harm, discovered scandals that had already happened, but a number of our recommendations were not looking at the past but looking forward. We recommended a redress agency to administer funds provided to cover future harms. This was not acceptable to the Department of Health, and I felt it was really an opportunity lost. Even the best pharmaceutical producers may, despite their clinical trials, fail to realise that a product may, especially after time, prove to be harmful. The funds I am suggesting will provide a safety net when this happens. We also suggested that no medical product should be approved for sale without a levy paid into a fund wholly independent of the Government. At the very least, it should be a condition of sale in the UK. Where Governments bear some responsibility for approving harmful products, they should contribute to the fund.
Also, there should be an expert team to assess the claims of harm that have been clearly recognised by producers and make them clear to people, especially the users. They need to know what is going on with the products they are taking, and to understand the huge impact of marketing, which is on a global basis. Is not it time to work with our neighbours in Europe and possibly worldwide to seek specialist input and views on the harms caused by these products? The fund I am suggesting would provide redress to those who are harmed by medicines and devices, without them having to go through long, drawn-out adversarial lawsuits. We saw, first-hand how litigation had failed women who had already been failed by the healthcare system. We must provide a better way for the future, particularly regarding the blood issues.
I suggest that the fund be administered independently of both government and industry to ensure that it can command the confidence of injured patients. I urge the Minister to consider this and to act with speed on the points I have made.
Baroness Jay of Paddington (Lab)
My Lords, I follow other noble Lords, in welcoming and supporting the measures to reduce smoking, but like the right reverend Prelate, I am most concerned this afternoon about the lack of any broad-based public health programmes in the gracious Speech. Public health, after all, is central to successful healthcare in this country and, indeed, to the overall health of the nation, yet it has been neglected for many years and is neglected again. I repeat my welcome for the tobacco products Bill, but one Bill does not create a strategy. In every area we look at, the need for a broad-based programme to meet the public health crisis we are facing is urgent. In every problem you look at—from obesity to sexual health, from children’s dentistry to disease caused by damp housing—the situation is getting worse and worse. At the same time, we have seen the capacity of the NHS fall. Sadly, it has become a struggling health sickness service, rather than a positive health service. If we want the NHS to be renewed and restored to its proper role, we must primarily focus on avoiding preventable disease and promoting healthy living through cross-government programmes.
At the Labour conference last month, the shadow Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, promised that a Labour Government would deliver a prevention-led revolution. He insisted that a broad revolution, putting prevention first, could be delivered through social, economic and environmental change. This, he said, must lead to less illness and therefore less pressure on the NHS. Now there is no doubt that achieving this type of change is complex, difficult, expensive and long term. But under the Conservative Government, many prevention initiatives have been greeted with the cliched expression, “a nanny state” calling for intervention in our private lives. I understand that even the new anti-smoking Bill, which has the Prime Minister's personal endorsement, has already been criticised by his own MPs on this basis.
In the last 13 years, many of the specialised institutions that focused on promoting good health have disappeared or been marginalised. The Government abolished Public Health England, which had a global reputation for its expertise and research. The grandly titled Office for Health Improvement and Disparities has been recently set up, but so far no grand practical statement of environmental activity has been announced. Today, many of the responsibilities for public health have been devolved to local authorities; at first sight that seems a good idea as so many services that can affect people’s general health are provided at a local level. However, the Treasury’s public health grant to local authorities has been reduced by a staggering 26% in the last years; not surprisingly, basic services have suffered badly or completely collapsed. Apart from the financial cutbacks, the connections between organisations commissioned by individual councils and the health service can be weak and can reduce vital capacity. Services have sometimes been outsourced to independent bodies, which do not have the necessary expertise to deliver them. This has been recently drawn to my attention in relation to HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. There has recently been an alarming increase in many of these infections, some of which are growing by as much as 50%. These must require medical care, which is often lacking in an outsourced clinic. For example, only half the clinics can now offer face-to-face appointments for individual advice and treatment—they simply cannot deliver good practice.
However, even if the Government have somewhat neglected the needs of good public health, it is encouraging to see the current level of parliamentary interest and engagement with these issues. The well-established All-Party Group on Health in all Policies has been able to broaden the discussion about reducing health inequalities and promoting healthy lives in ways that go way beyond traditional concerns about, for example, working conditions and safety. The Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 could have been an opportunity to put some of these policies into legislation, specifically in the area of poor housing. There were several attempts to amend the Act in this way but all failed, although it must be remembered that the health effects of inadequate housing already cost the NHS about £1.4 billion a year. In this House, the noble Lord, Lord Crisp, with his vast experience in public health, pursued his amendment on healthy new homes to the point of ping-pong proceedings and still he did not succeed. In final exasperation he said:
“I have taken the key message that the Government do not want to … ensure that new homes and neighbourhoods promote health, safety and well-being. I think this is extraordinary.”—[Official Report, 23/10/23; col. 437.]
I must say that I agree with him.
Meanwhile, our very active Peers for the Planet organisation is urging an even broader approach to public health, which I support. It argues that the crises of climate change and threats to nature have a profound impact, and there are calls for the WHO to declare this a global health emergency. As far as the UK is concerned, the effects of higher temperatures have already been observed. In 2022, heat-related mortality in this country was up by as much as 42%, which is well over the five-year average. The very respected journal the Lancet has suggested that we should act immediately in this country on cleaner energy, improved air quality and access to green space. It is a vast agenda, but it should not be overwhelming. It needs a new clear strategic approach by the Government and resources to match. Given their record, I do not expect the present Government to give priority to this in the last months before a general election. On the other hand, the Labour Party has already published ambitious plans for its prevention and revolution in health. I am confident that there will be manifesto commitments on public health in all social policy. We can then have a programme that both improves health and renews the NHS. I look forward to discussing a new approach in the debate on the next gracious Speech.
Baroness Barker (LD)
My Lords, a gracious Speech is a helpful indicator of a Government’s position and their intended programme for the coming years. This speech is quite clear: it is a series of individual bits and pieces with not a strategy in sight. That is something we should pay a great deal of attention to when we think about the run-up to the next election because we are desperate for a Government who will take seriously the issues facing all our public services, addressing the growing demands on them and the likelihood that there will be fewer resources in real terms to provide them.
I spent the last two years in various Select Committees of your Lordships’ House—one on social care, one on scrutinising the mental health Bill and one, which is about to conclude, on the integration of community and primary care. Across those three pieces of work, there have been a number of recurrent themes.
The most fundamental to this is the need for an informed public debate about sharing personal data. Our personal data will be the basis on which the future of health and public services is built. At the moment, we have a great deal of confusion, not least on the part of practitioners, about the status of data protection laws and the importance of public health. Time and again in those different committees, we heard frustration on the part of practitioners, service planners and patients at the utter impossibility of getting data on individuals, or even at a community level, in a manner that is timely and makes for the effective and efficient provision of services.
I wonder whether the Minister will take from this the urgent need to revisit the Caldicott principles and update them in the light of technological information advances, and to begin the process of having a public debate about the ethics and principles of sharing data. In that way, we might move quickly towards an improved performance of public services, particularly health and social care, based on the resources that we have at the moment.
It is regrettable and a great shame that the Government have turned their back on the widespread consensus on how mental health law should be reformed that has developed since Sir Simon Wessely produced his report. Nevertheless, a great deal of work has been done, which will be there waiting for an incoming Government to do it.
There are three things that the current Government should do now, which do not require legislative change. First, there should be mandatory training for all mental health professionals in the recognition and diagnosis of autism and learning disabilities. That would stop the inappropriate treatment of people with learning disabilities and autism, which sometimes not only leads to them being inappropriately detained at length under mental health legislation but results in them going into the criminal justice system when they should not.
Secondly, with a number of long-term conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, there is a great incidence of mental illness. I wonder whether the Minister will look at the major conditions strategy and the need to make sure that practitioners, in certain physical conditions, understand the mental health aspects of those conditions.
Finally, when we worked on the mental health Bill, we looked time and again at the disproportionate effect of mental health legislation on people from black and brown communities. They are far more likely to be detained inappropriately than other groups. We were told by all the people to whom we spoke that one thing that would have a direct impact on that is the introduction of an electronic system of advance choice documents. Advanced work is being done on that, based on work done in the field of palliative care by people at South London and Maudsley, the psychiatrists at Guy’s and so on. It needs only the Minister’s department to swing in behind the work already being done for pilots to be rolled out, ready for an incoming change in the legislation.
Let us be honest: none of us can see a time when local authorities will suddenly have new, massive amounts of money to put into social care. It is already underfunded and is subsidised by individuals. The one key thing that the Government could do is make sure that local government retains the requirement to give people assessments of their needs and to tell them what is available to them, wherever they choose to get their help from. Funding those independent assessments, and not leaving it to providers of services, is the one critical thing that might make a difference to the increasing number of people who will be living in the community with long-term conditions and really need help to stay in their homes—which I hope will be built to a lifetime standard in the future, so that people can stay in their home whatever the tenure of the home in which they live, whether rented or private.
I take the opportunity to say one final thing: King’s Speeches are about Governments’ priorities and choices. When the Government can find the time to license pedicabs but cannot be bothered to bring in a ban on conversion therapy, the lesbian and gay community understands the message. We get it: we are not safe while this Government continue to be in office. It is absolutely time that they went.
Lord Best (CB)
My Lords, I declare my various housing interests on the register, including as chair of the Devon Housing Commission, whose work informs my comments today. I welcome the Government’s proposals in the Renters (Reform) Bill and the announcement of important legislation on leasehold reform. I am sure that there will be significant work for your Lordships when these legislative measures reach us in the months ahead. But today I will concentrate on the bigger picture and the need for a longer-term national housing strategy to address a housing situation that, I believe, has taken a serious turn for the worse, even in the last few months.
I suggest that there are three areas crying out for long-term forward planning. First, we must dramatically increase the amount of new accommodation created each year; the 300,000 homes per annum target is a start. Secondly, we must have a plan for upgrading the standards and energy efficiency of outdated existing properties to address health inequalities, fuel poverty and climate change imperatives. Thirdly, in respect of building new homes and upgrading existing homes, we must target that half of the population where incomes are below the median.
My starting point for believing that the situation has become more urgent over recent months is the evidence from the temporary accommodation statistics. The numbers in this predicament have seen an alarming increase. We have the extraordinary statistic that one in 50 Londoners, and one in 23 children, are classified as homeless. But this phenomenon has spread nationwide. For example, the position in the unitary council covering Cornwall demonstrates the crisis: from having to house 200 households in temporary accommodation before Covid, the figure today is around 800. This has a drastic impact on local authority finances at a time when, as we all know, these are badly stretched. The national bill for temporary accommodation—which is often entirely unsuitable and far from friends and family—is now approaching £2 billion per annum across the country.
Of course, housing shortages, while most painful for those on the lowest incomes, also affect many people who have expected to become home owners. The number of first-time buyers has fallen by 22% this year. The cost of becoming a home buyer has doubled as a percentage of earnings, now compounded by higher interest rates. But, because of supply shortages, prices have not fallen. Overall, home ownership has declined to around 64%, from its peak of over 71%. Some 4.9 million people in the 25 to 34 age group are now living with their parents. Even where a couple have been able to purchase on their combined income, the price has often been paid in being unable to start a family.
Private renting will be the only option, but there is recent evidence that even the private rented sector is proving unable to help the next generation. Although rents are up 27% since the pandemic, the industry reports an average of 24 would-be tenants for every vacancy. For 23 of the applicants, there is nothing but disappointment if not the horrors of homelessness. The reason is that demand has risen but landlords are exiting the market. This is because of taxation arrangements rightly intended to deter speculative investors, necessary requirements for higher standards, the higher interest rates that affect the two-thirds of PRS properties that have mortgages, and much-reduced prospects of making capital gains.
I should add, drawing on the work of the Devon Housing Commission, that the decline of private renting has been exacerbated by the advantages of switching to short-term lettings of the Airbnb kind. This is hastening the loss of homes for locals to rent in almost all rural and seaside locations. Although remedies are in the pipeline, they will close the stable door only after this horse has, I fear, bolted.
This is the background to my contention that we need a long-term plan to massively increase production of new homes, while embarking on a programme of modernisation of poor-quality existing accommodation. Although these are necessary measures, they are not sufficient to ensure that the benefits reach those in the lower half of earnings. It is the not-for-profit sector—the housing associations, councils and community-led housing providers—that has the potential to step up new production and, indeed, to acquire and modernise existing substandard properties, but even this sector faces new challenges. It must invest heavily in its own existing housing stock to rectify building safety problems, to upgrade outdated council housing of yesteryear and to decarbonise homes. It is hit by both inflation, with building costs rising by more than rents, and escalating interest rates, so, regrettably, boosting this sector will not come cheap.
In conclusion, there will be valuable changes for this House to make to improve forthcoming housing legislation, but a much more ambitious, longer-term national housing strategy is required to address the underlying issues of land acquisition, planning, construction skills and so on—a road map with a timeline to chart progress over the next 25 or 30 years. Action to bring this together desperately needs to start now.
Lord Young of Cookham (Con)
My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Best. A wise political party would cut and paste his speech and put it in its next election manifesto under housing.
I warmly welcome three of the Bills relevant to today: the leasehold and freehold Bill, the Renters (Reform) Bill, and the tobacco and vapes Bill. The leasehold Bill will make progress towards phasing out a feudal system of tenure that exists nowhere else in the world and crystallises the tension between freeholder and leaseholder. But the Bill bans new leasehold only for houses, of which hardly any are built. Most of the new leaseholds are in blocks of flats. If we are to achieve the Secretary of State’s ambition of abolishing leasehold, we need to make commonhold the default tenure for all new developments of flats. I hope the Government will consider an amendment to that effect, which I might conceivably table.
There is also unfinished business on the Building Safety Act, which protects leaseholders against remediation costs for which they are wholly innocent. As the noble Earl, Lord Lytton, and I have consistently pointed out, that Act has crucial omissions. The leasehold Bill offers an opportunity to provide the protection that Ministers originally promised, but never delivered, to groups of people such as those living in buildings under 11 metres, those who have enfranchised and those who have invested in buy to let. All those—thousands of them—live in buildings that they cannot mortgage or sell, and they are exposed to high service charges. There is an opportunity to build on the BSA and make it a more comprehensive piece of legislation.
On housing, I welcome the Renters (Reform) Bill, but we need clarity on the timetable for implementation. I read the Secretary of State’s speech on Second Reading and he was pressed on this. This is what he said:
“The sooner the Bill is on the statute book, the sooner we can proceed. Alongside that, we of course need to ensure that the justice system … is in a position to implement it effectively”.—[Official Report, Commons, 23/10/23; col. 638.]
Does this mean Section 21 will not be abolished until the court backlog has been cleared? In June, the mean time from claim to repossession in London was 40 weeks, and the backlog also disadvantages tenants who want to take action against their landlord. Can my noble friend put some timeframe on Section 21 abolition and also give an assurance that the MoJ has the necessary resources to tackle the backlog?
On the rental market, which the noble Lord, Lord Best, referred to, we need to reduce our overreliance on the small private landlord and replace it with what happens nearly everywhere else, where rented accommodation is funded by long-term institutional finance with professional management, and where tenancies are not terminated simply because the owner wants to sell.
Finally on housing, we need to increase the local housing allowances, which have been frozen in cash terms since 2020, while rents have risen by up to a fifth. Low-income households are being forced to find, on average, £1,900 for a two-bedroom flat, out of the resources not covered by the LHA. These shortfalls are nearly double what they were a year ago. Many tenants cannot pay, leading to evictions for non-payment. Data published in July shows that more than 104,000 households were in temporary accommodation at the end of March 2023—the highest figures since records began in 1998. The Autumn Statement should increase the local housing allowances, along with the discretionary housing payments, as more and more local authorities have exhausted their budgets.
Along with others, I regret the Home Secretary’s remarks about rough sleepers. I launched the original rough sleepers initiative in 1990 as Housing Minister, and met many rough sleepers, along with the noble Baroness, Lady Casey, whose work in this area I applaud. I never met anyone who was sleeping rough as a lifestyle choice, and I commend the letter which the noble Lord, Lord Bird, wrote in Tuesday’s Times.
If I may say a quick word on education, I welcome the commitment in the Speech to
“strengthen education for the long term”,
with steps to be taken to ensure young people have the necessary knowledge. But young people will only get this if they actually go to school—a point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Watkins. One of the adverse consequences of the pandemic was to weaken that contract between children and parents, on the one hand, and schools, on the other, with a quantum leap in non-attendance. Persistent absenteeism has more than doubled in the last four years to 22.5%. A recent report by the Children’s Commissioner found that just over a third of all pupils were either persistently or severely absent in either Year 10 or 11, with correspondingly poor GCSE results. So we do need to reset that relationship between families and schools, and build on the extension of attendance hubs, with perhaps more national training for national attendance officers.
I commend the commitment to introduce the tobacco and vapes Bill, as would the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, had she been able to be here. I hope that this short measure might be introduced very early in the Session. Its key recommendation of progressively raising the age at which it is legal to sell cigarettes was a recommendation in last year’s Khan report. It puts England, along with New Zealand, ahead of the pack in the campaign to phase out smoking over time and re-establishes our reputation as a pioneer in this particular field of public health. But its impact is essentially long-term. In the short term, if we are to hit the Government’s target of a smoke-free England by 2030, we need additional measures. As the noble Baroness, Lady Jay, has just said, the public health budget has been hit hard. Khan proposed a levy on tobacco company profits, ring-fenced for public health to give it the boost it needs. I hope the Treasury will reflect on that for the Autumn Statement.
Finally, I turn to social care. The gracious Speech said the
“priority is to make the difficult but necessary long-term decisions to change this country for the better”,
but there was no mention of social care. We need reform of how social care is funded and a workforce plan for social care to complement that for the NHS workforce. If this is now not going to happen in this Parliament, then the Autumn Statement should ensure that local authorities have the necessary resources to fund the current system adequately, while work goes on for fundamental reform in the next Parliament, ideally on an all-party basis.
To conclude, I welcome the measures I have spoken about, but I will seek to make them even better by tabling some amendments.
Lord Howarth of Newport (Lab) [V]
My Lords, there is no vision in the gracious Speech to remedy the poverty and injustice that blight our nation. The Minister spoke of the miscellaneous measures the Government intend to take, but they fall far short of what is needed in relation to the challenge. The plans to reform leasehold and rents will doubtlessly be beneficial as far as they go—they will not actually abolish leasehold—but they will do nothing to address the fundamental problem of supply. There are severe shortages of housing, whether to rent or to buy. The dream of the property-owning democracy has turned sour. The Government have again funked serious reform of the planning system. They have no strategy to ensure over time that everyone will be able to live securely in a healthy, safe, environmentally suitable home that meets their needs. The noble Lords, Lord Best and Lord Young of Cookham, spoke about this, and it is a pleasure to follow them with their deep knowledge of housing issues.
The promise of a ban on no-fault evictions has been made before but broken. As the Government have said that it will not go ahead until significant progress has been made to improve the courts, nothing will happen soon. Ill-judged reform of the tax regime for private landlords and rising mortgage costs have reduced supply at a time when demand has been strongly increased. Local housing allowance has been frozen since 2020, while rents have soared. The provision of new social housing has been minimal. Young people seeking a roof over their head at a price they can afford, particularly in London and the south-east, are in a desperate plight.
A study for the National Housing Federation has found that 800,000 people are spending more than one-third of their net income on mortgages, 600,000 are spending an equally unaffordable proportion of their income on rent, all too often for accommodation that is in an unhealthy and even dangerous condition, 2 million people are living in homes that are not adapted or accessible for their needs, 131,000 children are living in emergency accommodation—bed and breakfast and hostels—and 270,000 people are homeless. The Home Secretary, horribly, has inveighed against rough sleeping as a lifestyle choice and has proposed to ban homeless people putting up tents and to fine charities for providing tents.
A housing crisis deepens inequality, destroys communities and undermines the economy. The physical and mental effects of homelessness or unaffordable accommodation have an impact on health. A devastating combination of economic mismanagement, hostility to local government and an ideological commitment to a small state and minimal public expenditure means that the Government have no strategy to reduce health inequality by improving the conditions in which people live. They have cut funding for public health, as the right reverend Prelate and my noble friend Lady Jay mentioned. The upshot has been that the healthy life expectancy gap between people in the poorest and the richest areas is now 18 years for men and 20 years for women. People in the most deprived areas of England are more than four times as likely to die from a health condition that could have been prevented or treated.
The regions of England and local communities within them have been denied opportunity to thrive by central government’s hoarding of power. Power has been released only, grudgingly and inconsistently, to combined authorities. In an act which exemplifies the controlling, insulting attitude of central government, the Local Government Minister the other day actually threatened local authorities with penalties if they choose to move their staff on to four-day working. Mayoralties and local authorities have been denied the powers they need to raise taxes in their areas if they are to exercise responsibility meaningfully and accountably and improve public services, and they have been impoverished by central austerity. Expensively and humiliatingly, they have been made to beg for pots of funding, some distributed according to political bias rather than objective need. Dilatory decision-making and central bureaucracy have made it impractical for local authorities to spend some of the money handed down to replace EU funding.
Well-managed authorities are now financially precarious. County councils are buckling under the rising cost of children’s services, while private providers are making fat profits. Inspectorates and charities report poor conditions in privately run children’s homes and a shortage of places. District councils are buckling under the costs of provision for the increasing numbers of homeless.
The Speech says nothing about reform of the social care system. Some 400,000 people left social care jobs in the last year, with a third of them leaving the sector altogether. Achieving a sustainable financial basis for social care, including adequate pay and career progression for care staff, as well as reforming the fragmentation and complexity of the system, are essential not only for the well-being and safety of those in need of care but to take unnecessary pressure off the NHS.
The litany of failure continues when we consider transport. We have seen the fiasco of the mismanaged HS2 project, while motorists and rail travellers have their lives blighted by gridlock and erratic services. This has been an aspect of the Government’s failure to develop a coherent strategy to address the poor economic productivity, which militates against improving our national competitiveness, incomes and public services.
Education is crucial to productivity, as well as to personal fulfilment and social flourishing, yet the Government have reduced spending per pupil in schools. School attendance has fallen worryingly. Only 21% of children from the poorest fifth of households get five good GCSE passes. The Government have also induced a crisis in our universities by freezing fees for a decade, which are now down 30% in real terms. Despite constant chopping and changing of policy, successive Education Secretaries have failed to design a satisfactory system of further, adult and vocational education, and the Treasury has starved the chaotic system we have.
As a result of the Government’s ministrations, the number of people who are destitute—unable to meet the basic needs to stay warm, dry, clean and fed—has increased to 3.8 million, including 1 million children. Inequalities of incomes and wealth, and regional, ethnic and generational, have greatly increased. The state to which the Government have reduced our country is truly shocking.
Baroness Tyler of Enfield (LD)
My Lords, the central theme of the gracious Speech was long-term decisions to change this country for the better, but so very much was missing. I particularly liked the description we heard of it as thin gruel.
As other noble Lords have said, in appropriately trenchant terms, and my key point today, where was the long-awaited mental health Bill? It is beyond disappointing that a new mental health Bill to reform the 1983 Act was not part of the King’s Speech. Coupled with the abandonment of the 10-year mental health plan earlier this year, many in the sector and beyond are now understandably concerned that mental health is no longer a political priority.
I will just give a quick reminder of the facts. A new mental health Bill was a manifesto commitment from this Government in both 2017 and 2019. As we have already heard from the noble Baroness, Lady Watkins, and my noble friend Lady Barker, there is a totally unacceptable disparity between the white population and black and other racial groups when it comes to detention under the Act. This cannot go on. The 2018 independent review of the Mental Health Act, chaired by Sir Simon Wessely, set out very clear recommendations for modernisation, including greater legal recognition of detained people’s treatment choices. The Act simply does not work for children and young people, with many having bad experiences when detained in hospitals. Much time and effort has already taken place to reform the Act, including a White Paper, and a draft mental health Bill introduced last year, which underwent pre-legislative scrutiny, as we have heard, in a Joint Committee chaired by the noble Baroness, Lady Buscombe, earlier this year.
Given all of this, is it any wonder that Sir Simon Wessely expressed his deep disappointment in the summer at the prospect of the Bill being delayed yet again, when, to use his own words,
“we’re so close to the finishing line”?
He added:
“Lots of people have put a lot of work into this. It’s not controversial. Nobody seems to disagree with what we’re trying to do”.
I cannot help wondering whether that is at the heart of its non-appearance.
Can the Minister say when the Government will issue their response to the Joint Committee report and explain what they intend to do in the absence of this much-needed reform? Will the Minister explain precisely why the Government have reneged on their commitment?
The gracious Speech mentions that “record levels of investment” are expanding mental health services. This is of course to be welcomed, but that is only part of the picture. Simply put, the current levels of investment do not in any way match the level of increasing need. Mental health has not received any of the additional funding committed to bring down elective waiting lists. As a result, over 1.2 million are stuck waiting for mental health support and targets contained in the NHS Long Term Plan are slipping backwards on perinatal mental health, children and young people’s services, NHS talking therapies and mental health crisis care. On top of this, there are chronic shortages in the mental health workforce, with 20% of mental health nursing posts currently vacant.
It is welcome that the Government are restating their commitment to deliver on the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan. However, the plan is much weaker on retention measures and fails to address many issues that contribute to high attrition rates across the whole NHS workforce. As others have said, implementation of the long-term workforce plan simply will not work without an accompanying social care workforce strategy. We urgently need a national workforce strategy that raises the status of the social care workforce and ensures that career progression, pay and rewards attract and retain the right people in the right numbers. Can the Minister say if and when the Government will commit to such a plan?
The CQC State of Care annual report, published only last month, received surprisingly scant attention in this Chamber, despite drawing attention to how the combination of the cost of living crisis and workforce pressures has led to what it termed “unfair care”, with longer waits, reduced access and poorer outcomes for some people in accessing health and care services. Most worryingly, it reported that “unfair care” really means that those who can afford to pay for treatment do so and those who cannot face longer waits and reduced access. Research by YouGov shows that eight in 10 of those who used private healthcare last year would previously have used the NHS, with separate research showing that 56% of people had tried to use the NHS before using private healthcare.
As we have heard, smoking is a big contributory factor in health inequalities, particularly for people with mental illnesses. That is why I welcome legislation to create a smoke-free generation by restricting the sale of tobacco and e-cigarettes to children. But other than that, sadly, there was little of real substance to address the difficult and persistent issues facing many babies, children and young people. Although the Speech contained a pledge to
“ease the cost of living for families”,
there was no specific commitment to support the 4.2 million children living below the poverty line. According to ONS polls, the cost of living remains the most pressing issue facing the country, with 89% of respondents reporting it as an important issue. What plans do the Government have to tackle child poverty?
On financial inclusion, we have heard so much about people’s problems and concerns about the cost of living and about their lack of financial resilience. We urgently need clear leadership from the Government, with a national financial inclusion strategy joining up the work of government and industry, and building the long-term financial resilience of the country.
In conclusion, there is simply so much more to do to change this country for the better for all our fellow citizens. This requires a radically new approach.
Baroness Browning (Con)
My Lords, health and social care did not feature prominently in the gracious Speech. The mental health Bill, about which we have heard, was a much-needed reform, as was social care reform. I welcome the measures to reduce smoking, both for individuals and for the cost benefit this would bring to the NHS.
Here lies my concern. I worked in the National Health Service in the 1970s, and my family have been regular users of the NHS. Like many, we have much to be grateful for. However, we should not allow that to cloud our judgment: the NHS is not what it was; reform is needed. There are too many critical incidents across the country and in different disciplines. Only today, we heard the BMA state that NHS Wales is not fit for purpose.
It is not just health and social care that need to be integrated; within the health service itself, people work in silos. Bureaucracy rules. It saps time and resources; it affects the delivery of the all-important health service free at the point of use. I fully agree with the noble Baroness, Lady Barker, about the need to sort out the data problems. Until that is done, we will not have a fully integrated computer system within the NHS, which would almost certainly be of great benefit not just to patients but to those who work in the NHS.
Across too many disciplines, the standard of service fails. I want to emphasise just one of those services: that for the elderly at the end of life. Our generation, if I may call it that, has seen the rapid development of technology, genetics, pharmacology and, now, AI, but little is said about how we as a nation will manage the results of those advances. People will continue to live longer and the age of the retired population will be even higher than it is now. But how and where will people die? Marie Curie states today that one in four people does not receive the care they need at the end of life. With old age comes frailty, disease and loneliness. At primary care level, the lack of continuity fails older people. The “family doctor” is now just a euphemism. In hospitals, people in the final year of life have endless waits in A&E, overlong stays in noisy wards and delayed discharges.
I looked up the NICE guidance on this. NG142, on the last year of life, states:
“There are wide ranging benefits to be gained from identifying people who may be nearing the end of life … Reducing the burden of treatments that may be unnecessary and minimising the risk of inappropriate hospital admission are potential benefits to be gained from effective identification of this cohort”.
I quite agree with that, but, in practice, where do the eyes on the patient come from to identify what is a very complex and sensitive area?
On care homes, I am particularly concerned that people funded by local authorities cannot be guaranteed that they will stay in the care home to which they were originally admitted, not because there has been a significant change in their circumstances but purely because the funding does not follow the patient. Frankly, when there is just a reassessment for the purpose of moving somebody somewhere else when they are in their 80s or 90s, that is an act as predictable as smoking to kill you.
An NHS free at the point of use needs major reform. It may be the last year of this Parliament, but I really regret that the Government did not grasp this nettle. I say to my noble friend that there are solutions, particularly for people at the end of life, which will not necessarily be the most expensive things that the Treasury has ever had to contemplate. For example, a coalition of health and social care organisations is calling on the Government to tackle failings in the way that older people are cared for in their final years of life. The new Coalition of Frontline Care for People Nearing the End of Life, which includes Care England, the British Geriatrics Society and the Gold Standards Framework Centre, is calling for enhanced core training in end-of-life care for the UK’s 3 million front-line health and social care workers. It also wants a step change in health and care integration from the new integrated care boards and heightened recognition of end-of-life care by the regulator, the CQC.
While people are dying in conditions and circumstances that are very often a great burden to carers trying to do their best for them, at home particularly, we cannot honestly say that in serving this group of people the NHS that we see today is the gold standard or a national treasure. I hope that my noble friend, whether this is the final year of this Parliament or not, will take that on board and try to move things along for this group of people.
Baroness Donaghy (Lab)
My Lords, it is always a pleasure to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Browning. I found myself in the position that she has just described only last year.
I appreciated the tone of the Minister’s introduction to the debate. The gracious Speech referred to delivering on the NHS workforce plan, the first long-term plan to train the doctors and nurses that the country needs. If I had taken 13 years to produce a workforce plan, I would not want to crow about it—and if I had possibly fewer than 12 months in which to deliver it, I would expect a sceptical response.
To give equal weight to minimum service levels to prevent strikes undermining patient safety is a useful electioneering point, but it neglects the fact that most people do not blame the NHS staff for fighting their corner but they do blame this Government for bringing the health service to its knees.
I want to concentrate on two omissions in the gracious Speech relating to the health service. One omission, for which I am profoundly grateful, is that there is no major reorganisation of the health service planned. How much time, money and effort have been put into reorganisations by this Government in the last 13 years, which could have been spent on positive progress?
The second omission is any reference to osteoporosis care. If mental health is the Cinderella service, treatment for the prevention and care of osteoporosis is even further behind. I want to press the Minister on what steps the Government intend to take to end the postcode lottery, whereby some people access a world standard of care while others are fixed up and forgotten in A&E fracture clinics, leaving them at high risk of further injury.
On 14 September this year, we had an excellent debate led by the noble Lord, Lord Black of Brentwood, on improving access to and quality of services in England for people with osteoporosis and those at risk of fractures. The Minister, the noble Lord, Lord Evans of Rainow, said in his summing up:
“We are proposing to announce, in the forthcoming Autumn Statement, a package of prioritised measures to expand the provision of fracture liaison services and improve their … quality”.—[Official Report, 14/9/2023; col. GC 241.]
Some of us were pleased and, frankly, quite surprised by the positive response from the Minister to the debate. However, the following day we sank back down into the slime of low expectation and inaction when we received a “what I should have said” letter from the Minister. I should emphasise that this is not a personal attack on the noble Lord, Lord Evans of Rainow, who sent a detailed response to all those who took part in the debate and who was positive and constructive throughout—perhaps too positive for HM Treasury, which does not like what it regards as premature announcements. The letter from the noble Lord to participants said:
“I should have said ‘the Government will continue to consider options for further work to support those with osteoporosis and at risk of fractures’”.
He concluded by saying:
“I hope this clarification is of use”.
I am prepared to swallow my disappointment at the retraction and even accept that there may have been a breach of Treasury etiquette, but the real issue is whether the Treasury will fund a proposal for a package of funding to support fracture liaison services. This is currently offered to only 51% of NHS trusts in England.
If funding for the package is included in the Autumn Statement, it will be possible to free up 750,000 hospital bed days by 2028, including prevention of 31,000 life-threatening hip fractures. This is an invest-to-save measure that would free up hospital beds—1 million acute hospital bed days are taken up by hip fracture patients—and would prevent disability, or further disability. A universal fracture liaison service would reduce re-fracture levels by up to 40% and improve the chances of providing anti-osteoporosis medications. The stark and horrific fact is that two-thirds of people at risk are missing out on anti-osteoporosis medication—that is 90,000 people.
Fractures caused by osteoporosis affect half of women over 50 and one-fifth of men. They are the fourth most consequential health condition measured in disability and premature death. Hip fracture care costs £2 billion per year, and family carers give 227 hours per year to sufferers. Preventing fractures can help the economy, because 2.62 million sick days a year are caused by osteoporosis fractures, and can help levelling up, because people from lower-income households have a 25% higher risk of fractures and a higher mortality rate following hip fractures.
The Sunday Express has been running a Better Bones campaign, which has attracted widespread support. This needs some strong, visible leadership from the Government and NHS, so that everyone over 50 should have access to quality-assured services. There is already a ministerial model available, adopted in Wales from February 2023. Osteoporosis sufferers have missed out because of the short-term planning forced on the NHS. With focused funding and determined leadership, we might just catch up with the best providers.
Baroness Walmsley (LD)
My Lords, I too thank the Minister for the tone of his introduction to this debate, but a King’s Speech is an opportunity for a Government to take stock of progress towards their objectives. One might therefore have expected that this Government would have looked at their earlier manifesto promises when drafting the gracious Speech and considering whether their 13-year tenure had in fact improved the health of the nation. Covid, of course, was an unexpected roadblock, but the very fact that it was unexpected is an issue in itself. One hopes that lessons are being learned from the Covid inquiry.
There are pluses and minuses in the Government’s thin programme for their last year in office. Like many other Lords, I regret that, despite all the work done on proposals for revising the Mental Health Act, including a White Paper, the Government have still not fulfilled the revision promised in successive manifestos, nor their promise to implement the recommendations of the Infected Blood Inquiry. Instead, despite that inquiry’s strong interim recommendations that compensation be paid now, the Government still insist on waiting until the final report.
There is, however, one measure in the gracious Speech of which I approve: the proposal to raise every year the age at which retailers can legally sell tobacco products to young people by one year. This does not ban smoking as such, but it should deter more people from starting. We know that most smokers start young and that tobacco is unique in that it either kills or shortens the lives of two-thirds of those who use it for any length of time. I have always supported measures to reduce smoking because it is different from all other ways in which people freely choose to damage their own health. It is addictive, harmful when used as recommended, can harm other people and costs us and the NHS millions every year. That is why there is overwhelming public support for, for example, the ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces.
There will also be consultation on measures to tackle the widespread illegal sale of disposable vapes to children. Vapes have their place. They are of value to adult smokers who wish to quit, and are rightly sometimes provided free on prescription, but I believe that the vaping industry has cooked its own goose by the reckless and widespread promotion—and sometimes the free supply—of single-use vapes to children. That undoubtedly has to stop, because these things are addictive and not without danger. The massive environmental damage done by these brightly coloured gadgets, with their sickly-sweet flavours and colours obviously aimed at children, has been well-rehearsed elsewhere, so I do not need to elaborate. I hope that, after the consultation, the Government will clamp down firmly on this already illegal practice. Of course, public health budgets have also been cut and this has resulted in fewer smoking cessation services, which must also be addressed.
The Government have announced an NHS workforce plan. This is a step in the right direction, but many of us would have preferred the proposal of the noble Baroness, Lady Cumberlege, during the Health and Care Act 2022, supported by us. This provided for an independent review of current supply, an assessment of need of the right staff in the right places in the future, and a plan for how to fulfil that need over five and 10 years. The Prime Minister mentioned doctors, nurses and dentists, and of course we need more of those, especially in disadvantaged areas. However, current resources could be used better. Many of the care problems that patients experience are about systems, processes and communication. There is much efficient good practice, and I agree with the noble Baroness, Lady Donaghy, about the very cost-effective fracture liaison clinics, which save a lot of time and NHS bed days but are available in only half of trusts—that is the problem. Will the Minister ensure that the workforce plan includes staff skilled in designing and implementing efficient systems and processes which make the most of the resources we have?
Taking stock means looking to the future and focusing on the major challenges to the NHS. Three things are needed. The first, as has been said, is sorting out social care and integrating it with health services. Despite Boris Johnson’s promise of an oven-ready plan, which never materialised, social care is still suffering from lack of funding and enough properly paid staff with opportunities to develop their skills. If there ever was an oven-ready plan, it is well past its sell-by date and should be thrown in the bin. The recent Covid inquiry has exposed how very important this is, especially at times of extra stress on the system, but it did not feature in the gracious Speech.
The second is the need for more prevention of ill health. Preventable diseases, as has been said, are now the major causes of death, since modern sanitation and vaccination have conquered many of the communicable diseases. If Wes Streeting focuses on this, he will get my support. The three main factors needed here are action on healthy diets, clean air and healthy homes. The Government are failing on healthy diets despite having legislated for, but not implemented, several important measures that would have helped people make good food choices. Everyone, especially children, should have access to good, affordable food, and the Government should be doing a lot more to ensure that.
We have had many debates on clean air, but the legal limit for particulates in our air in the UK is still much higher than in other developed countries. Dirty air kills people through respiratory and cardiac diseases and interferes with the development of children’s brains. More action is needed on this now, rather than using it as a wedge issue at by-elections. Unhealthy, damp, cold homes also lead to respiratory diseases. It is a national disgrace that too many lower-income families are living in homes with mould growing on the walls and cannot pay their heating bills, and I did not hear anything positive in the gracious Speech about this.
The last factor is earlier diagnosis and treatment, and here there has been some progress. I welcome the units going around the country to check for early liver cancer, heart valve disease, lung cancer, et cetera, but what is needed is widespread access to treatment. I want to mention minimally invasive cancer therapies. These were invented here and are highly cost-effective. Can the Minister let us know what progress there is in extending these right across the country, instead of in only about half of it?
Baroness Deech (CB)
My Lords, the Holocaust Memorial Bill has been carried over from the previous Session. I speak with a heavy heart. Since the brutal mass slaughter undertaken by Hamas against innocent communities in Israel, there has been a worldwide outbreak of anti-Semitism, not least in this country. On our streets, people fear for their safety as bloodcurdling mobs call for jihad and the elimination of 7 million Jews in Israel and others around the world. We know that “from the river to the sea” means the complete elimination of Israel, because the presence of Jews in the Middle East has never been accepted by their neighbours, who killed, dispossessed and expelled Jews from nearly all Middle Eastern countries in the 1940s.
Among the worst offenders have been in our universities. At Nottingham Trent, Jewish freshers were attacked; at Bristol, the slogan is “Death to Zionists”; at Edinburgh people say “Heil Hitler” and at UCL “Intifada until victory”. I remind the House that last year the president of the National Union of Students was sacked for anti-Semitism. The same is true of some of our schools. These young people have had compulsory Holocaust education, but the only result seems to be that if they want to upset Jews then they resort to swastikas and references to gas and crematoria. They know nothing of modern Jews or Israel because they have been taught only that Jews are victims and that it was all the fault of the Nazis.
The late and much missed Lord Jonathan Sacks said of anti-Semitism: “In the past they hated us for our religion; then they hated us for our race; and now they hate our one and only state, our safe haven, Israel”. The old anti-Semitic slurs of the past have transferred themselves seamlessly to attacks on Israel, anti-Semitism dressed up as anti-Zionism.
In this country we have the National Holocaust Centre in Newark, the Holocaust Centre North in Huddersfield, the Holocaust Galleries at the Imperial War Museum, the Kindertransport Memorial at Liverpool Street and others in Hyde Park, Harwich and Swanage. We have Holocaust Memorial Day, Kristallnacht commemoration and outstanding Holocaust education centres at the Wiener Holocaust Library, the Sir Martin Gilbert Learning Centre, the British Library’s “Voices of the Holocaust”, the Holocaust Educational Trust and the Hull History Centre. Depending on how you count, there could be as many as 80 museums and collections.
What have they achieved? The history of the Holocaust is well documented and ongoing, for example in the Channel Islands, and the memories of the survivors are recorded. What is missing is the link to Jews today and their homeland and safe haven of Israel. Holocaust memorialisation tends to package up that genocide and consign Jew hatred to the past—nothing to do with us today and no mention of how the survivors went on to establish the state of Israel. In Britain, those memorials are designed to project Britain as a liberal democracy where nothing like that can happen and where all genocides are equally awful and in the past—Kosovo, Darfur, Rwanda and so on.
The proposed memorial in Victoria Tower Gardens will continue this, despite what we see in the streets right now. Its location is built on a false premise. It will fail to educate people about Israel and anti-Semitism today. I have watched politicians who are arch-enemies of Israel’s existence queuing up to sign the remembrance day book here in Parliament. Hypocrisy is too mild a word. As the American Dara Horn said, everyone loves dead Jews—the living, not so much.
Not only that, but to spend £138 million on a memorial to the dead of various genocides when the one and only Jewish museum in London has closed for lack of funds is a disgrace. We could and should have a splendid Jewish museum in central London dealing with the entire history of Jews in this country over a thousand years, triumph and tragedy, and with the Holocaust in context, as Lord Sacks wanted. The learning centre planned for here is a shallow specimen, ironically to be created by digging down two storeys at huge cost in funds and to the environment.
Given the protests in London recently, it will be a focus for graffiti and worse in no time. That is not a reason not to build it, but, if it is built, parliamentarians must prepare themselves for barriers and armed guards there, as well as disturbances and defacement. The children in the playground there will bear the brunt of it. How tin-eared is it to place a playground and café on top of a memorial to children who had no childhood and who starved to death? Would it be appropriate to have a café and playground right by the Cenotaph?
It is well meaning, but naive and misguided to go ahead with this. It will not improve the situation for the persecuted Jews of today. It will enable the sponsors to say, “Look what we have done for you. No more complaints please; it is all sorted”. It will provide a photo backdrop for politicians who like to say that they do not have a racist bone in their bodies—and give them carte blanche to join the Israel-haters.
I plead with those behind the Bill to educate themselves before pretending to educate others. Abandon the design for the current memorial, which is meaningless; it has been called a giant toast rack. It was designed by an architect who is now in disgrace for his sexual assaults and has been dropped by his clients. How could one stand in reverence before such a monument? Instead, we could have a figurative memorial that means something, like the one at Liverpool Station, or the Warsaw ghetto. We could have a new Jewish museum that includes the Holocaust and its impact on Britain. We could have all that without the expense and legislation before us, which will result in the spoiling of the only decent green space near us without any compensating features. I urge noble Lords as strongly as I can to change course on this.
Lord Touhig (Lab)
My Lords, I join others in saying that I appreciate greatly the tone in which the Minister introduced the debate. I very much regret that I cannot say the same thing about the grief he was required to articulate.
When thinking about what I should say today, I came across the following: “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give”. Those words were spoken by Winston Churchill, and they are at the heart of what I want to say. The voluntary and charitable sector has been part of the British way of life for as long as I can remember. Giving makes us all feel good and contributes to building and strengthening our communities, but the future is looking bleak for many charitable organisations. A recent survey carried out by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations showed that some 85% of charities believe that the coming winter will be tougher than last year. Without more help, one in five charities could disappear, leaving people and communities at risk.
The NCVO statement revealed that over £16.8 billion of income for the charitable and voluntary sector comes from the Government and local government. However, these contracts are not uplifted each year to reflect the rising costs of delivering these vital services. Ahead of the Autumn Statement, the NCVO is asking the Government to ensure that contracts for services it provides, and direct grants to charities, are uplifted. Like the NCVO—and, I am sure, like many in this House—I endorse that.
Why is that so important? If nothing is done, people will not be able to access the vital services they need. I spent 20 years as a member of Gwent County Council before entering the House of Commons, where I served as chair of the Finance Committee. I saw first-hand how important public funding support was for local charitable initiatives. Unfortunately, all too often local council grant support was very short-term, covering one, two or a maximum of three years. I soon discovered that many local charities, having secured funding and employed staff, had, within a year, to use the staff as fundraisers in order to continue the service they were trying to provide. Public funding for charities is still too short-term; I strongly believe that five years is the minimum that will be required.
The contribution each of us makes as an individual is vital in building and strengthening communities, but, as the NCVO report has shown, the bedrock of income for many voluntary and charitable groups comes from local councils and government. More than that, the NCVO said that costs are increasing, income is falling and demand is increasing. In addition to the cost of living crisis, it now finds that there is a cost of giving crisis. For many, despite their resilience and ingenuity, the cost of giving crisis has created a melting pot of pressures as they continue to support their communities.
There is no doubt that the Covid pandemic left many voluntary and charitable organisations in a far worse position than we first thought. Now they are struggling while faced with falling income, increased costs and a growing demand for services. This cost of living crisis has hit very hard. Evidence of that can be seen in every supermarket. I am sure that I am not alone in this but, in recent months, when shopping I have noticed that the large crates at every exit, put there so that we can donate to local food banks, are now more often empty than full. In fact, there is hardly anything in there at all because people are feeling the pinch and cannot give as they did before.
This brings me back to a point I made earlier. In these circumstances, more government and local government financial support is necessary. I accept that many will say that public funding is already overstretched and is not a bottomless pit. I know that—we all know that—but, in these circumstances, the Government and local government will have to decide priorities. I passionately believe that increased financial support for contracts for and work done by the charitable sector should be a top priority for both the Government and local government.
Why do I feel this? As I said, I spent 20 years as a county councillor. I was a Member and Minister in the other place for nearly 16 years and I have been in this House for about 13 years. In that time, I have learned one important thing: no matter how good the Government and local government are at providing services, without the services provided by the voluntary sector, the quality of life of many people in our country would not be what it is today. Looking around the Chamber now, I suspect that many of us have at one time or another turned to the voluntary and charitable sectors for help or advice. We know how important their work is. Many of us are demonstrating it right now. Most of us in the Chamber are wearing poppies; each one bought provides help and financial support for one of the greatest charities in our country, the Royal British Legion.
The Government must ensure that contracts and grants for charities delivering services are uplifted to meet the costs of delivery. If this does not happen, people will not be able to access the vital services that they need. I sincerely hope that the Minister and the Government will be prepared to listen.
Baroness Burt of Solihull (LD)
My Lords, in the time available to me, I would have liked to address my remarks to the effect that the new legislation will have on two of my main areas of interest: equalities and prisoner welfare. However, that would have made a very short speech indeed. The word “equality” does not feature once in the gracious Speech and one government equalities pledge, made more than five years ago, has still not found its way into proposed legislation. I refer, of course, to a conversion therapy banning Bill.
I should not have been surprised. After coming first as the most LGBTI-friendly country in the Rainbow Europe rankings between 2011 and 2015—this coincides with the time when the Liberal Democrats were in the coalition Government—we have since slumped to 17th place today. But do not worry: I have a cunning plan to help the Government out. Reading the runes, I feared that this Bill might drop off the parliamentary agenda, so I entered the ballot for Private Members’ Bills to bring in my own Bill—and guess what? My conversion therapy prohibition Bill came first in the ballot. This is definitely meant to be; we will be able to debate this issue in Parliament, as we should.
It is a shame that a mental health Bill has also been omitted from the Government’s agenda. I do not need to take up the House’s time to spell out how much of an effect poor provision and lack of resources are having on those suffering from mental illness as my noble friend Lord Allan has already more than done that issue justice today. Compared with crowd-pleasers such as pedicab regulations and a football regulator, which I am sure are important to many—well, football is at least—the Government have chosen to put mental health in the “too difficult to tackle” box before they lose the next general election.
However, we have the criminal justice Bill, some aspects of which are very welcome, such as taking steps to equip our police and criminal justice systems to better tackle violence against women and girls, criminalising the sharing of intimate images and introducing a statutory aggravating factor at sentencing for offenders who murder partners at the end of a relationship. However, long sentences and mandatory terms of imprisonment may well be contrary to some of the Government’s other worthy aspirations for prisons. You cannot grow your way out of an increasingly overcrowded penal system by locking up more and more people for longer and longer periods. In this country we lock up more people per head of population than many other countries, even those more right wing than this one. In fact, we lock up 50% more per head of population than the EU average. While mandatory sentencing and increased length of sentences might look good to right-wing voters on an election leaflet, they will be counterproductive in the longer run—not that this Government need necessarily worry about the longer run.
Every pound we spend housing prisoners is a pound less to spend on rehabilitation and support to help ensure that, on release, prisoners can take their place in society as citizens and do not end up back in prison, costing the taxpayer even more money and causing victims of crime even more suffering in future.
Finally, I want to tackle race hate, which is of course an equality issue. This feels particularly timely given the impact the horrific Israel-Gaza conflict has had in the UK. The Home Secretary has only added fuel to the fire with her divisive rhetoric and declarations of “hate marches”, which have incensed our Muslim communities and many others, while British Jews continue to feel unsafe, as well they might. Since 7 October anti-Semitic incidents have increased by more than 600%, while Tell MAMA, an organisation that measures Islamic hate crimes, has recorded a similar sixfold increase. This month is Islamophobia Awareness Month, and perhaps the Government should realise that backing one side against another here in the UK is harmful, not least further damaging their prospects in the next general election with the votes they will lose from the Muslim community. All our communities deserve our protection and support, not only in times of conflict. At this time, when we remember all those who suffered and continue to suffer in war, please let us learn the lessons of the past. Never forget what war can do to humanity.
The Earl of Lytton (CB)
My Lords, it is a great privilege to take part in this debate on the first King’s Speech in more than 70 years from a gracious sovereign who as Prince of Wales did so much to bring people together in purposeful collaboration; that will be much of my theme.
Noble Lords will know that I am a chartered surveyor and a member of other property-related bodies. I have three principal points to raise in the debate. Two are related in one sense or another to housing and the third to community. The first is general. I am not normally prone to quoting the Leader of the Opposition, but I did take to a point she made on Tuesday in her opening remarks in this debate, when she said she was an optimist
“and government does not have to be about just managing or looking to see where an issue can be exploited to maximise votes. Government can and should be a force for good: an innovator, an enabler and an investor”.—[Official Report, 7/11/23; col. 12.]
That really caught my attention. Going from that was the sense of needing to seize the moment. We have a new monarch, and in 12 months we will possibly have a new Government. I do not suggest of which persuasion they may be; other noble Lords with more partisan views can work that out for themselves.
I too am an optimist. A welcome reference was made in the gracious Speech to long-leasehold matters, but there is a need to go well beyond make good and mend and the constant patching which has been going on for decades. The whole panoply of self-interest from central government downwards needs to change to something that I might describe as a more settled climate of contentment, with less adversarial conduct and fewer polarised positions—because none of those do any good.
I may be old-fashioned, but I believe in ethics. I am sorry to be mentioning this just before the right reverend Prelate gets up and makes her contribution, but I do not do so in any religious sense; I do so because I believe in the decent treatment and respect of fellow human beings. Residential accommodation should be delivered as a service built on trust and transparency, without avarice or creating trauma, without generating fear or other adverse consequences, and looking towards those desirable commonalities of gains in health and productivity on all sides. This may sound altruistic but I believe it also adds value and security in property terms; it is of benefit all round. I agree with so much of what the Government propose and more, but some of those purposes and rationales are quite unclear to me and risk making matters difficult in new areas.
Any analysis starts with good data, but I am unclear on the sufficiency of what has been undertaken. To give one example, take the long-term effects of a 999-year lease extension in a building that may be obsolete in less than 150 years and what that means further down the road, and whether the transfer of asset by eliminating marriage value for the enfranchisement costs of a block benefits householders or, as I am told, a significant proportion of those who are in fact investors with renters in occupation. Is that what was intended? I simply ask the question; I do not make a value judgment on it. I turn to the proposed future threshold for block enfranchisement of 50%. What are the consequences for investment in mixed-use development, for post-development investment in the block, for block management and for the business tenant element of confidence in somebody who understands their particular aspect? I am not sure the question is one that the Government have asked.
The private rented sector is one in which I am, in a small way, a player. I lament the reputational damage done by those who abuse tenants financially and emotionally and who are careless of the basic fitness of their properties. But where is the support and nurturing of the gold standard of service delivery, in which renters have confidence and are met with openness, collaboration and respect? I beg to differ with the noble Lord, Lord Young of Cookham, when he suggested that perhaps private landlords should be phased out and it should become some sort of institutional thing. I do not agree with him on that; I think a lot of individual private landlords, of which a large percentage own perhaps one or two properties, have valuable and good relationships with their tenant and a personal interest in what goes on. I believe that the renters are my eyes and ears. They are not only people who pay rent but personal friends. I try to do things for them and they try to do things for me, and we are not worried about asking each other for a favour ever now and then. This is absolutely critical. The ethics are personal, corporate, municipal, professional and political, and we must bear that in mind.
If that all sounds odd coming from a professional, I underline for noble Lords that this underpins transactional analysis at all levels, fosters confidence in the marketplace and is a benefit to investors and all those who participate. I believe that a reset and a new vision are needed, and that opportunity now exists.
My second theme refers to building new housing and I will make only one comment here. Before noble Lords proceed down the road of land value capture, which is so often put forward as necessary, I ask them to be aware of just how much is paid to the original landowner as a proportion of gross development value. It is much less than one might think, and before we rush to policy we should make that explicit by doing some research.
My final quick point comes out of my vice-presidency of the National Association of Local Councils and relates to the proposals following the Manchester Arena attack. Parish and town councils welcome these but, as providers of venues, they urgently need an impact assessment of how this will work for them, guidance, financial assistance and other resources, and a better communications campaign. I hope the Government are listening to all those requests.
The Lord Bishop of Gloucester
My Lords, it is a privilege to speak in this debate and I thank the Minister for his thorough introduction.
In the Old Testament there is a beautiful vison of the prophet Isaiah of the perfect future with God:
“Never again will there be an infant who lives but a few days … No longer will people build houses for others and not live in them … People will not labour in vain, nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune”.
Whether or not you are a person of faith, I believe most of us would say yes to those words in the gracious Speech about the Government seeking, in all respects, to make long-term decisions in the interests of future generations. But how will that be realised? We need interconnectedness across disparate Bills and government departments, and a commitment to the well-being of individuals, always set within the big picture of people belonging together as interdependent human beings—hence that word “community” and its importance in the gracious Speech being picked up in the themes of today’s debate.
The gracious Speech spoke not only of delivering a plan to regenerate towns and to put local people in control of their future but of the Government’s commitment to keep communities safe. All of this is possible only if there is joined-up, holistic and long-term thinking. Discussions around local communities, housing, health and public services cannot be boxed separately from that stated commitment to keep communities safe.
I will unashamedly mention prisons again today, and declare my interest as Anglican Bishop for His Majesty’s Prisons. I was delighted to hear the speech of the noble Baroness, Lady Burt. Prisons hold up a mirror to so much that is needed regarding housing, education and training, health and public services. On my most recent prison visit, a couple of weeks ago, the group of men I met shared their stories, mainly owned their failings, and named things that had contributed to their offending—mental health problems, broken relationships, constant movement through the care system, a lack of housing which could be called “home”, addiction to numb the pain of poverty, lack of education and training, learning about crime in prison, and the consequences of a criminal record when even attempting to turn their lives around on accessing work and housing on release. A focus on rehabilitation in prisons and beyond the gate is broadly lacking. Given that two-thirds of people in prison are there for non-violent offences and that over half go on to reoffend within a year of leaving custody—rising to almost two-thirds among those sentenced to less than 12 months—prison is failing everyone, not least victims, families and whole local communities, and it is not addressing serious contributory factors.
For example, we know that the instability created by lack of, or inadequate, housing puts strain on families and communities and can create a domino effect, impacting health, education, and many of those underlying causes of criminal behaviour. We also know that a high percentage of people who leave prison do so with no home to go to and, unsurprisingly, soon return through the revolving door of prisons. It is an expensive way to house people.
In Gloucester, there is a business creating modular, eco-friendly homes which, incidentally, employs prisoners. These homes could be the answer to so much homelessness but, despite the enthusiasm of police and crime commissioners and councillors, bureaucratic processes and funding stymie the possibilities. Combine lack of appropriate housing with poor education and training and a lack of adequately resourced addiction and mental health services, and the risk of offending is increased.
This is about asking not for more money but for redistribution of finance. On top of the annual cost of prison at over £50,000 per person, the social and economic cost of reoffending has been estimated at £18 billion per annum, while the cost to victims, families and communities is impossible to estimate and undoubtedly impacts on the pressure on health and public services, not least regarding the health and mental health needs of prison staff and their families. It is vital to see the big picture and refocus the finance.
The very welcome government commitment to sensible presumption against short sentences will require redirecting funding to substantially supporting probation and community alternatives, which again link with the themes of today’s debate: for example, community sentence treatment requirements aiming to reduce reoffending by improving access to mental health and substance misuse treatment in the community. There is some good early data from pilot areas.
Incidentally, as other noble Lords have said, it is disappointing that the gracious Speech did not include plans to take forward reforms to the Mental Health Act. Many women in particular are still sent to prison as a place of safety or for their own protection. This is inappropriate, expensive and does not lead to change, and prison staff are not equipped to deal with the levels of self-harm and disturbing behaviour.
In my recent engagement with the justice system in the Netherlands, I have been struck by the focus on integration and reintegration, which is so different from the vocabulary of being tough and more punitive. There, people in prison work on their reintegration from day one. This includes plans for housing, purposeful work, health and care plans, plus a focus on a prisoner’s social networks and family ties. The rate of crime continues to decline in the Netherlands.
That wording of “long term”, which was used in relation to regenerating towns in the gracious Speech, needs to be writ large across all policy and decision-making in the themes of today’s debate. There are no short-term, quick solutions here. We need courageous, data-driven and joined-up decision-making if we are to truly change this country for the better. It does not begin with tough, law-and-order rhetoric.
Lord Aberdare (CB)
My Lords, I will speak about education and skills. Although the King’s Speech included an encouraging paragraph on this topic, there was rather a dearth of specific action, legislative or otherwise. It is good to hear that:
“My Ministers will strengthen education for the long term”.
But we need to know more about how this goal will be pursued in the shorter term, beyond a consultation and White Paper, which could presumably take us close to the end of the current Session, if not of the Parliament.
The principle of introducing an advanced British standard, bringing technical and academic routes into a single qualification, sounds like a promising move towards a baccalaureate-style system. But how will it be brought about, and in the time available?
Seeking an answer, I consulted the public policy paper on the advanced British standard published last month, and I was delighted to read that:
“Education is the closest thing we have to a silver bullet. It is the best economic policy, the best social policy and the best moral policy”.
I strongly agree—so how is the silver bullet going to be forged?
The paper sets out some excellent aspirations. Greater parity of esteem between academic and technical routes has long been a sort of holy grail, and the Government are right to pursue it, even if defunding well-regarded existing qualifications such as BTECs in favour of T-levels may not be the right answer, at least in the short term. More teaching hours for pupils, as in other countries, must be good, especially if that enables them to study a broader range of subjects than at present—but how will teachers to deliver those extra hours be recruited, motivated and retained? The paper also sensibly envisages alternative qualifications for the so-called forgotten third of pupils who find it hard to pass GCSE exams in English and maths at 16, and as a result are condemned to an often prolonged cycle of morale-sapping resits before they can make further progress.
The gracious Speech spoke of increasing the number of young people undertaking high-quality apprenticeships. I say amen to that, but what are the Government’s plans to make it happen, given the poor take-up of apprenticeships to date, particularly among 16 to 19 year-olds, and widespread employer concerns that the apprenticeship levy is not flexible enough, and that few small businesses find the support available to them adequate to persuade them to offer apprenticeships? I hope the Minister can tell us.
I will also say something about education for 11 to 16 year-olds, as a member of the House’s committee on this subject. We have heard from many witnesses about issues that badly need to be addressed. These include the baleful impact of the English baccalaureate measure in crowding out subjects not included in the five EBacc pillars, notably arts and creative subjects such as music. Another concern is the unreasonable pressures imposed by GCSEs, resulting from their excessive content, their rigorous assessment and the resulting high level of stress that they impose on pupils and their mental health. GCSEs are also far from ideal for many less academic subjects—the more practical subjects.
A further concern is the current imbalance between knowledge and skills, with insufficient focus on key technical subjects such as digital and green skills. I am confident that the committee will come up with excellent ideas for tackling such issues when it publishes its report shortly, but I am less confident of the Government’s likely commitment to implementing them beyond “looking at further improvements to GCSEs”. Perhaps the Minister can reassure me.
There is only a passing mention in the ABS paper of the importance of careers advice and guidance. Much progress has been made in this area over recent years, thanks to the efforts of the Careers & Enterprise Company, the National Careers Service, local careers hubs, and careers leaders in individual schools and colleges. But there is still some way to go to ensure that all students are made aware of the range of career pathways available to them, including through employer encounters and work placements. What plans do the Government have to produce an updated careers strategy, building on the success of the previous one in 2017, and to ensure that schools deliver the minimum number of employer encounters required by the Skills and Post-16 Education Act?
I accept that forging a silver bullet to deliver a world-class education system is a long-term project which could indeed take up to 10 years. That underscores the need to seek a strong consensus on the approach to be taken, across government departments, across the devolved nations and regions—some of which, including Wales, Scotland and Manchester, are pursuing ambitious education ideas—across education institutions, teachers, parents and pupils, and, of course, across political parties. This should not be a party-political issue. I hope that the Minister will be able to tell us how the Government’s laudable commitment to a world-class education and skills system will aim to set a clear and widely agreed long-term direction, rather than one open to abandonment or redesign with each change of Administration, as has happened too often in the past.
The theme of the debate today, given that so much of the King’s Speech was about long-term laudable aims, is: what can actually be achieved in the current Session that does not then find itself becoming a dead end?
Baroness Blower (Lab)
My Lords, it is a great pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Aberdare, particularly because he has covered much of what I might have said, had I had 14 minutes rather than only seven.
Responding to the King’s Speech, the Association of Directors of Children’s Services was mainly concerned by what was not in the Speech. Its president said:
“Unfortunately the speech missed an opportunity to focus on a significant long term challenge affecting children, their health, wellbeing and their ability to learn in school”.
That is, of course, poverty. In saying this, he echoed points made by the National Education Union about the need for a plan to tackle, among other things, the root causes of persistent post-Covid absence, a plan that should focus on the impact of poverty, insecure housing and mental health—all absent from the Speech.
After years of austerity and cuts to school funding, there needs to be a concerted effort to rebuild local authority services, including SEND support and mental health services, to be available to children and families in a truly timely fashion, as well as rebuilding pastoral support in schools. This question of poverty is set against the background of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation reporting that 1 million children are living in destitution in our country, as we were reminded yesterday by the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of York.
The lack of government funding continues to have a major impact on schools and children’s learning. Ministers claim that they have restored per-pupil funding to 2010 levels in real terms. That is not good enough. No net growth in over 13 years represents a considerable squeeze on school resources in all respects. I remind your Lordships that last month, the Government admitted to a £370 million error in their school funding. This will cause further cuts at school level. Perhaps the Autumn Statement will be the moment to reinstate that £370 million.
What might be welcome, as has been referenced by the noble Lord, Lord Aberdare, is the signalled intention to create parity of esteem between academic and vocational education, especially as the OECD continues to report that there is much to do on skills in this country. However, it is not at all clear that the so-called advanced British standard is the answer, not least because it is unlikely to be taken up in Scotland or Wales, and possibly not in Northern Ireland, so is not really British. A better way to encourage more students to achieve would be for the Government—the noble Lord, Lord Aberdare, has already mentioned this—to reverse the decision on applied general qualifications and to continue to fund them. They are a tried and tested qualification which provides a pathway for disadvantaged students into employment or higher education.
The advanced British standard would also face a challenge, in that there are currently insufficient teachers in our schools, with future prospects not looking good. While the Schools Minister Nick Gibb talks about this being the best time to be a teacher, recruitment figures to the profession seem to give the lie to that. The Government recruited only 59% of their target for trainee secondary teachers this year, with a projection of only 50% for next year. Retention continues to be a big problem. Some 25% of teachers leave within three years and about a third within five years, and only 60% remain after nine years. That is not good enough. The Government will say that the number of teachers has increased by 27,000 since 2010, but the number of pupils has increased by close to 995,000. The NEU calculates that that equates to 37 extra pupils for every extra teacher. Clearly, more teachers are needed.
I could give chapter and verse on the number of teachers who are not properly qualified to teach the subjects on their timetable, but I will just say this about English and maths: one in six English teachers and one in five maths teachers has no post A-level qualification in the subject—yet another indication that the advanced British standard may well have problems.
Turning to the state of our school buildings, reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete—RAAC—is, as the NEU says, just the tip of the iceberg of the acute problems caused by the real-terms decline in capital spending of 44% between 2009-10 and 2019-20. The Office of Government Property has calculated that to maintain the school estate in line with best practice—and surely our children deserve conditions in which to learn that represent best practice—the Government should be spending £7 billion a year. The current figure is £2.6 billion, so perhaps that is another idea for the Autumn Statement.
Finally, I return to poverty. A key way to improve children’s capacity to learn would be to legislate for universal free school meals. Hungry children cannot learn. If work and potentially the dignity of work is beyond the reach of many, particularly single parents, because of childcare costs, the Government need to address the fact that what is currently on offer to so many is simply not adequate. What proposals might they have in this direction?
Just before I sit down, where is the long-promised employment Bill?
Baroness Harris of Richmond (LD) [V]
My Lords, there was nothing in the gracious Speech about the most debilitating and underreported health problem which has arisen as a result of the pandemic, known as long Covid. It has become a serious health matter, especially since the Office for National Statistics stopped reporting on long Covid in March this year. Following the outbreak of Covid-19, the NHS committed to providing centralised funding specifically allocated to fund specialised long Covid services across the country. This funding has now been removed, meaning that the services are being absorbed back into local integrated care boards, which are now deciding service by service whether they will continue to fund and run a specialised long Covid service.
Yet it is now that we need to know the extent of the problem, as we know it affects 1.9 million people in the UK, which is 2.9% of the population. This figure comes from research done by the all-party parliamentary group on long Covid. People have been unable to get back to work because of the devastating side-effects they have experienced following a bout of the Covid virus. More will follow, as the latest information on the government website tells us that 6,832 people tested positive for the virus in the week to 28 October. This is almost certainly wildly inaccurate, as there are no free testing kits any more and people are unlikely to go out to buy them, so those reporting that they have Covid are likely to be people with smartphones or tablets who are sufficiently civic-minded to report themselves if they have the disease.
Many people have suffered after contracting the virus and their symptoms are so varied that I wonder what research is being done to support them. Some 1.82 million days were lost by healthcare workers alone suffering from long Covid, from March 2020 to September 2021, across 219 NHS trusts. A survey carried out by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development found that one-quarter of UK employers cited long Covid as one of the main causes of long-term sickness absence among staff. Clearly, this is an alarming figure.
I wonder if the Minister can tell me what research is going on in this country to try to mitigate the effects of long Covid on our own population? In Canada, for instance, research by the Ontario Covid-19 rapid research fund found that an MRI technique developed by Western University was able to see how tiny branches of air tubes in the lungs were moving oxygen into the red blood cells. They know that this happens in long Covid patients and are now researching to find out why this occurs, as they believe it has an important bearing on why long Covid happens in some people and not in others.
I have been introduced to an interesting programme by the English National Opera called ENO Breathe. It is a breathing and well-being programme developed specifically for people recovering from Covid-19 who are still suffering from breathlessness and associated anxiety. It is delivered in collaboration with Imperial College healthcare teams and is entirely online. It focuses on breathing retraining through singing. Would the Minister undertake to look at this programme and see how this sort of approach could be used more widely in the national health system?
I have a very personal interest in this subject, as one of my grandsons is a sufferer, having been unable to attend school since November 2020, having caught Covid-19 earlier. It is only because of the amazing help and support he had from his school, the Royal Grammar School in High Wycombe, his headmaster Mr Philip Wayne and some members of his staff, that he has been able to pass his GCSEs and enter the sixth form. Although still capable of doing only a fraction of what he had been able to do pre-Covid, Tate has been very lucky. Not every child will have had the parental and school support he has.
We know that school attendance has been plummeting; we have already heard that. The Children’s Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, has stated that one in five children were persistently absent from school, which is equivalent to 1.8 million children regularly missing. Has any research been done to see if long Covid has a part to play in these absences?
Recommendations on long Covid from the APPG include: launching specialised care pathways for children living with the illness; that guidance is issued to schools and educational settings on the management of and support for pupils living with long Covid; and that the UK Government issue urgent guidance to medical practitioners on long Covid in children. May I ask that the Government look urgently and favourably on these recommendations so that our young people, having endured two years of disruption to their studies already, should not have to worry further if they contract this awful virus?
Baroness Verma (Con)
My Lords, I draw attention to my interests in the register. It is a great privilege to be able to partake in this debate. I was pleased that my noble friend the Minister opened with his own personal remarks because I want to shape what I am going to say around my personal experiences.
I want to talk about hate in schools. When I was growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, it was hate because of the colour of your skin; today, sadly, most of the hate is because of the faith you belong to. It is so important to raise this because schools should be a place where children go to learn, to be happy, to have well-being and not—like as I experienced when I was a child—a place of dread. Every single day going to school was: were they going to be nice to me? Were they going to call me names? Were they going to beat me up or try to beat me up?
Sadly, earlier this year I saw a report on anti-Hindu hate in schools. Hate of any kind, for any faith, is unacceptable, but 1.6% of the population of this country is British Hindu. It is a community that does not make a noise or raise its voice against things because, by and large, it just gets on. But it was so sad when I came across parents who had moved their children several times because they had been called names, identified as non-believers, told they would burn in hell and had different types of meat chucked at them. I say this because we all have a duty of care, but local authorities were put in charge of reporting bullying or hate incidents. I worry because, when you give a local authority that authority, I do not know how much it can fairly find time to investigate. It is critical that every single child going to school feels that everyone is on their side.
After I read the report, I went out to speak to parents, and I found that this was not a small but a large problem. I have stood up and fought against discrimination all of my life, and I will fight for every faith and for every child to be able to go to school and have a safe haven, where the teachers will not stand by and allow this practice to carry on. But when I found that some parents had reported their children telling them that the teachers had not intervened to stop it, that raised some red flags. I hope that my noble friend the Minister will take this back to the Department for Education because it is critical that, in this day and age, we should respect each other’s faith and have tolerance—I do not like that word—or respect for each other’s identities, which is so important.
I know how difficult it was to go to school and the knotted feeling I had in my stomach, thinking, “Will they be my friend today or not? Will the teacher be nice to me or not?” It is not acceptable that that is still happening all of these years later. So, in his response, can my noble friend the Minister assure me that the concerns I raise will be taken to the Department for Education and the Secretary of State?
I have raised many times in this Chamber my concerns about the disadvantage that children from low-income families face, particularly those from minority communities and those, like those in my city of Leicester, where there are incredibly disadvantaged people from the white, Asian and black communities. When we talk about the digital age and all of these things being part of our lives, I do not want those children to miss out. So I would appreciate an assurance about how we work to ensure that they are part and parcel of our discussions, so that no child is at a disadvantage in being able to aspire to their full potential.
The important thing for me, like the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, and many people who have come from the Indian subcontinent, is that this country has given us an opportunity because of education and how social mobility enables us to enjoy this country’s wealth and growth. I do not want children growing up today to miss out on those opportunities. So it is critical—I repeat this—that the parents are part of the solution. Mothers and fathers from minority communities need to be able to speak English and understand the services available to them. They cannot integrate if they cannot communicate.
I therefore urge my noble friend the Minister to make sure that my concerns are heard. Too many communities are still left behind because of inability in language skills, which then reduces all the other possibilities that those young people could have.
I am glad that there were not lots of Bills in the King’s Speech, because I want quality, not quantity; I want it to be based on delivery and not because we want to tag everything on to a Bill. However, I would like all religious places and all places with charitable status, if they are teaching children, to have Ofsted inspections, because it is critical that we know that children are not being taught in an environment that encourages hate.
Lord Rennard (LD)
My Lords, in the seven minutes in which we are asked to speak today, seven people will have hospital appointments because of their smoking habit. The Department of Health and Social Care estimates that this amounts to around 450,000 hospital appointments in England every year. In the seven hours we expect to debate today, around 700 GP appointments will be made because of smoking. Cancer Research UK estimates that around 900,000 GP appointments are made every year because of smoking. In England alone, nearly 200 people will die every day because of smoking.
The tobacco manufacturers try to suggest that the frequent ill health and the 50% death rate of those who smoke are a simply a matter of their personal choice, but smoking tobacco has consequences for many other people beyond those trapped by nicotine addiction.
Aged 16, I was woken by my younger brother, as our mum had overslept and we were late for school. I got up, but I could not wake her. She was just 53, and she never woke up. She was a heavy smoker and severely disabled. She died of hypertensive heart disease, and smoking was a significant contributory factor in her death. She did not choose to die that way; she was addicted. She did not choose for her children to become orphans and for us to lose our home—and becoming homeless at that time was not a “lifestyle choice”. So, yes, the issue is a personal one about the consequences of smoking: it is not a choice but an addiction, and one which the vast majority of smokers, having started in their youth, come to regret.
There was little in the gracious Speech to inspire anyone, including those on the Government Benches. Change is not change when little more is promised than bland slogans about a brighter future but with the same people and the same policies. But praise must be given where praise is due; and the latest in a lengthy line of successful measures to help reduce the prevalence of tobacco smoking is to be heartily welcomed. Lives will be saved; people will be healthier and wealthier, and the whole country will benefit.
This year, the cost to the public purse of early deaths due to smoking will be £31 billion. This year, the cost of lost productivity due to smoking will be £38 billion. This year, the cost due to smoking in terms of lost tax receipts, increased social security spending and extra costs to public services such as the NHS will be more than £9 billion, and that is after the tax receipts from tobacco are taken into account.
Meanwhile, the tobacco companies continue to make enormous profits. This year, the four biggest tobacco companies in the UK will make around £900 million in profits. It is no wonder that they spend so much money on desperate tactics to deceive people about every single measure that we have ever introduced to reduce the prevalence of tobacco smoking. We should listen instead to medical advice. Sir Chris Whitty, the Chief Medical Officer for England, spoke recently about the plan to gradually raise the age at which you can be legally sold tobacco. He said:
“The overwhelming majority of the medical profession, the nursing profession and all the health charities support this”.
He described claims from the tobacco industry that the policy would not work as “bogus”. He told the BBC:
“As a doctor I’ve seen many people in hospital desperate to stop smoking because it’s killing them and yet they cannot—their choice has been removed”.
The Bill has support from the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, the Royal Society of Public Health, the UK Faculty of Public Health, Asthma + Lung UK, and Alzheimer’s Research UK, among all the many organisations putting public health above the vast private profits of the tobacco companies. However, using their well-funded front organisations, the tobacco companies are orchestrating their usual deceptive and devious techniques to try to protect those profits. They have a few champions, such as Liz Truss and the Institute of Economic Affairs, which helped her to crash our economy—and Boris Johnson, whose judgment and integrity are well known, who says that the plan is a ban.
The plan is not a ban on smoking, because no smoker will be banned from their habit. What will be made illegal is underage sale, in the same way that a few years ago we extended the minimum age for someone who can be sold cigarettes from 16 to 18. The plan will extend this further year by year. The measure offers great hope to everyone below the age of 14, for whom it will never be legal to be sold cigarettes. The evidence is that such measures will not increase the illicit market. When the age of sale increased from 16 to 18 in 2007, it had no negative impact on this market, which continues to fall.
The issue of moving to a more smoke-free Britain, and seeking to be smoke-free by 2030, does not involve a choice between restricting sales of tobacco and more public health activity to help smokers quit. We need both. Two-thirds of those people trying just one cigarette, usually as children, go on to become daily smokers, and daily smokers are addicted smokers. The plan to limit cigarette sales further has strong public support; it does not divide the Government and the Opposition Front Benches—and I hope that pressure from the tobacco lobbyists will be firmly resisted across both Houses, as it clearly has been in this House today.
Lord Bird (CB)
That was a very interesting speech about cigarettes—good. It is interesting, because what you are going to try to do is stop people smoking. What I know about smoking is that most of the people who smoke—and I work with homeless people—are great smokers. Most of the other people I know who live in poverty are great smokers. I am interested in looking at it another way: what about getting rid of poverty? If we get rid of poverty, we can get rid of the driving force that turns people into addictive persons.
I am addicted to red wine. I gave up the addiction to cigarettes 30 years ago, but I still find I need to have a few drinks every now and then, and I do not always stick to two glasses. That is largely because I come from poverty. I know those addictive powers. I know the way that you almost feel that you need to hide somewhere, and the palliatives provide one of the best ways. Virtually all the homeless people I have worked with have been smokers and users of drugs and all sorts of things. I always tell people that one reason I came into the House of Lords was to get rid of poverty.
When I look at the King’s Speech, I feel sorry for the guy. He had to say that he wants to do things such as hand out licences to extend the amount of oil that we are getting, and so on. There was not an awful lot to encourage us that, in this year before the election, the Government would say, “Okay, let’s do something original and new; let’s inspire the electorate”, thinking that they might be voted in for another four or five years.
This week, I had a run-in with Suella Braverman after she came up with the incredibly mad idea—I do not think anyone in the Government would agree with her—that people who are homeless and sleeping in tents, the street homeless, have made a lifestyle decision to become a part of the homeless fraternity because they want to give up on paying taxes and live off begging and so on. I find this really difficult and I have written about this; I do not know of any piece of research that I or any other people have been involved in over the past 30 years—or 32 years since the Big Issue started—that shows the kind of data that the Home Office must have turned up to find this out. Why would you talk like that without the data? But the data is not there. If you talk to most people who are caught in the trap—the bastille—of homelessness, they will talk to you about all the reasons why they ended up homeless. They will not say that they simply decided it at some stage.
What Suella may have done wrong is to have got a number of people around her who said, “Yes, we talked to a homeless person the other day; they said they like to be on the streets”. I know those people. I have met a few of them. Some of them are ex-members of the Armed Forces who have been caught in bivouacking and all those things—I knew three or four of them who used to live on Wimbledon Common, up there with the Wombles, for years, even decades. Most of the people who say “I want to be on the streets” do not want to be in the hostels; they do not want to be controlled. Unfortunately, hostels—even those run by the best charities—are very hostile places to be. They are not places of safety. Quite a number of people who move away from them end up on the streets, because it is the less bad choice.
What I am worried about when I see the Queen’s Speech—I mean the King’s Speech, the gracious, what do you call it?
Lord Bird (CB)
Forgive me; I will get it right by next year, I promise. One thing that worries me is the talk of giving tenants a better ride. The Government say they are going to protect tenants. Earlier this year, they said that they were not going ahead with the banning of Section 21, but I hear from the noble Lord, Lord Markham, that they will in fact do something about it. What does that mean though? This has been in the manifesto since 2019 and there has been no movement in the last four years.
Yet if we look at the reasons people end up on the streets, Suella is right about one thing. I checked with a friend of mine who runs a church in Hounslow only the other day and said, “Who is coming to you who is most desperate?” I will tell you who it is: a new cohort of homeless people who have been given asylum and then told to leave their hostels or their hotels within a matter of a week or two. Actually, Suella is right: there is a new group of people coming on the streets, but driven there by the Home Office. At the same time, there are people on the streets who are there because they are not getting the correct social help that would address their mental health and all the other problems.
I wanted to talk about other things but I just say, lastly, that I came into this world to do something about homelessness; I came into this House to do something about homelessness. What is happening in Gaza really frightens me. Everywhere I go and whoever I talk to—and I speak at many places—I do not meet people who are siding with His Majesty’s Government and siding with Israel. Most of them are saying, “A ceasefire, please”. If I am walking around and I go to a meeting in Norwich and there are 100 people, most of them say to me, “John, we’ve got to stop the bombing”. It may not make military sense to stop the bombing, but what worries me is the possible outburst of anti-Semitism—the most evil thing, that I as a child was taught to embrace, because I came from an anti-Semitic Catholic family. I am seeing it. I want to head off that anti-Semitism and I think we may be walking into a trap. I am sorry; I might be the only person in the House who believes this, but I worry about the homelessness that is being created and I worry about the long-term effect on Jewish people in this country, because people are turning away, and that really worries me.
Lord Sandhurst (Con)
My Lords, I shall address two matters today. Each concerns education, on which this Government have rightly placed a premium, but there remain significant areas which the proposed legislative programme does not address. Indeed, we do not have an education Bill. I hope that time may yet be found to address them none the less.
The first point I make concerns the right of parents and prospective parents to know what their children are being taught in schools. In RSE, too many schools still have contracts with outside providers of teaching materials whose terms purport to forbid teachers from showing copies to parents or others who want to know what is being taught. That is often because the provider is really a lobby group promoting unorthodox ideas in sex education or race theory. They do not want the public to see what is being taught. I do not need to cite examples; the press in recent months has been full of this.
When the now defunct Schools Bill came before the House last year, I, with other noble Lords from across the House, from all four Benches—three anyway—tabled an amendment in Committee which would have given parents the statutory right to see such materials. That came to nothing when the Bill died but, on 31 March this year, the department wrote to schools saying that parents should be able to view all curriculum materials. That has gone further now: the department sent a stronger circular on 23 October, three weeks ago. The first letter said:
“The Department is clear that parents should be able to view all curriculum materials. This includes cases where an external agency advises schools that their materials cannot be shared due to restrictions in commercial law, or a school’s contract with the provider prohibits sharing materials beyond the classroom”.
I welcome that, but it is not a substitute for legislation. First, legislation has a permanence which cannot be provided by departmental guidance. Secondly, a letter from a Minister does not bind the courts; it is possible that the propositions of law set out in a circular will fail to stand up in some future litigation. Thirdly, the experience to date has been that circulars and guidance from the department have not been enough to secure compliance with the policy of transparency. Fourthly, it does not address the position of prospective parents—those who have yet to send their children to a school—only the rights of parents of current pupils. Finally, the propositions in the circular themselves are subject to some limitations and qualifications.
The right way to provide for the rights of parents and prospective parents hoping to make an informed choice of school is a parental rights Bill. This will properly protect their rights under Article 2 of Protocol 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights, as reinforced by the court in Strasbourg. Such a Bill is to be found on the website of the Society of Conservative Lawyers, whose chair of research I am. I commend it to the House. Failing that, there is the Bill recently presented in the other place by Miriam Cates MP, which I believe deserves support. A critical point in its favour compared to the circular is that it would require all RSE teaching materials from external providers to be either published in the public domain or obtainable on payment of a modest fee.
I move briefly to my second topic, the vital life skill of financial awareness. I have addressed the House on this before but I want to urge the Government forward. There is a clear and pressing need to include financial education in primary schools, not just secondary schools. As the Centre for Social Justice has explained, money habits and behaviours that will stick for life are formed by the age of seven. However, two-thirds of primary school children receive no financial education. The Centre for Financial Capability has made the same points in its report this month on financial literacy in the community. We know as adults that we have to manage rent, mortgages and a range of household bills. Children must be equipped for this and it must start young. Too many school leavers still leave ill equipped because the grounding has not been laid at the outset. These skills must be embedded young. While financial education is now taught in secondary schools, many teachers say that too many leave school with an inadequate grasp of it. We must do something about it. It must start in primary schools and I urge this Government to do something now.
Baroness Wilcox of Newport (Lab)
My Lords, today’s debate covers some of the important areas so vital to a well-functioning society, but it is regrettable that the measures announced in the gracious Speech do precious little to make a real difference to the ambitions and opportunities available to our country’s most precious resource—our children and young people. I have worked in education for much of my career, and I hope that experience will bring a helpful contribution.
Schools and further and higher education institutions continue to be impacted by the after-effects of the pandemic. It is well documented that there is a disparity in this impact between schools in deprived areas and those in the most affluent areas of our nations and regions. The biggest disparity is the epidemic of low attendance.
We face a lost generation of children. More than 1.5 million children were persistently absent across both the autumn and spring terms, which is almost double the number for the same period five years ago. Every day of education matters, so tackling persistent absence would be at the heart of Labour’s mission for education, as there appears to be no plans from this Government to get to grips with this epidemic.
A main education focus in the forthcoming legislation, if you look hard enough for it, is the proposition to replace A-levels and T-levels with the advanced British standard—although I would argue that it is an advanced English standard. During my teaching and examining career, I was fortunate to be part of the development of Curriculum 2000, which extensively rewrote A-level specifications and introduced the AS-level. I understand significant change and how carefully it needs to be implemented, and I believe that this is the wrong policy at the wrong time.
Admittedly, the post-16 curriculum in England is narrow by international standards, but that partly reflects the chronic underinvestment in sixth-form education, which is 15% lower in real terms than in 2010. Furthermore, under Conservative Governments, young people have experienced a narrowing of the curriculum far earlier than 16; it therefore makes little sense to broaden it from 16 onwards without doing more for earlier age groups. Ofsted has repeatedly warned against teaching to the test, but this is exactly what this Government have prioritised. These reforms do nothing to take on the attainment gaps that are established in the early part of the education system and only widen as young people progress through school.
The other area that was given scant attention in the Speech was the idea of low-value degrees. It is important for the Government to remember that we already have controls, so the regulator can impose sanctions for courses which breach certain minimum thresholds for continuation, progression and completion. If the Government really feel that those controls are not enough, they have had over 13 years to deal with this. Let us treat universities as a public good, not a political battlefield.
Persistent absence, crumbling schools, a recruitment and retention crisis and a postcode lottery of standards are some of the immediate issues that need to be dealt with. An extensive reconfiguration of the post-16 landscape and an attack on our universities is another unnecessary distraction. Fix the roof first, stop the rain pouring in and replace the crumbling concrete. Let us stop teachers leaving the profession in droves and ensure a proper teacher recruitment drive, so that we can fully staff our education establishments and give them the decent pay and conditions deserving of a professional workforce.
I was glad to see that Labour has commissioned the respected former chief inspector of Ofsted, Sir David Bell, to deliver an early years review to consider how to deliver new places, a motivated, well-trained workforce for high standards, and more accessible childcare; that will happen under Labour’s plans. In Breaking Down the Barriers to Opportunity, Keir Starmer set out clearly our fifth mission in government: breaking down the barriers to opportunity for every child, at every stage, and shattering the class ceiling. We will track this progress through three stages of education—boosting child development, with half a million more children hitting the early learning goals; achieving a sustained rise in young people’s school outcomes; and building young people’s life skills with an expansion of high-quality education, employment and training routes—so that more people than ever are on pathways with good prospects.
Nevertheless, I agree that it is a positive step that the Government will continue to act on concerns about the increasing number of children receiving an education outside the classroom. If we have the proposed register for all home educators, it will ensure that children are receiving a suitable education in a safe environment, with the tools and flexibilities for local authorities to check that.
In conclusion, I have spent my life as a public servant and I genuinely despair at the Government’s legislative plans for health and social care, education, welfare and public services; they are lacking in ambition and vision. I would have hoped that in at least one of these Bills, we might have seen something of true substance in one of the areas that are so crucial to a well-functioning society. As it is, it will fall to us parliamentarians to probe, push and negotiate our way to legislation that delivers real outcomes and some hope for the public. If that means sitting here until the early hours of the morning to defend the indefensible, so be it. After too many years of Conservative Governments, that is our democratic duty, and we will willingly contest for what is right and proper for the people of Britain.
Baroness Gohir (CB)
My Lords, I will focus on three areas in relation to the gracious Speech: children who are not in school; the quality of courses in higher education; and mental health inequalities.
I support having a register for children who are not in school. As the recent case of Sara Sharif highlighted, children being home-schooled drop off local authorities’ radar and become invisible. However, a register alone will not solve the problem of safeguarding the well-being and healthy development of children. Although many parents provide a stimulating and safe learning environment at home, not all do. For example, children with special educational needs may not receive the educational support that they require. Furthermore, the surge in online schooling that accelerated during the Covid pandemic poses additional risks to children. Who is monitoring the quality and content of these online courses?
Legislation should be strengthened to include: the establishment of a regularly updated register; the authority routinely to monitor children’s educational progress and well-being; and the power to scrutinise reasons for home-schooling and even relocating to a different jurisdiction, including overseas. For example, some girls from ethnic-minority communities could be at increased risk of female genital mutilation and forced marriage.
It is really important to understand the current situation and fully establish the facts. The Government should therefore publish the rates of home-schooled children over the past several years, the demographics, the hotspots and the reasons for home-schooling. No doubt some of the reasons may include bullying, mental health, subpar education or curriculum-related apprehensions. How do the Government propose to address these concerns? If they are not addressed, we will see a further rise in home-schooling.
Next, I want to address the quality of university courses. The Government want to tackle the growth of low-quality courses, apparently, but I am concerned about the criteria used to determine what these are; they might even take away opportunities from minority-ethnic students who are already disadvantaged in higher education. For example, the criteria might be the ability to be employed. Some students may live in areas where there is a lack of jobs or wages are low and may not have the means or the freedom to move away to a different locality. In some communities the burden of caring is much higher, which may hinder a student’s ability to move away or go into full-time employment. Some people study courses because they enjoy the subject and it may be a way for them to stay local, have some freedom from home life and socialise.
Finally, I want to talk about mental health. I too am disappointed that a mental health Bill was excluded from the King’s Speech. As has been mentioned several times already, a higher proportion of black and Asian people have poor mental health outcomes and they are more likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act. Under the Equality Act, health and social care providers have a legal duty to reduce inequalities between patients in terms of access to health services and the outcomes achieved. There is enough existing data and information telling us that minority-ethnic people are overrepresented in secondary care and underrepresented in primary care. If they get the care they need at an earlier stage, they are less likely to be detained.
We do not need to wait for a new Bill. The Government can act now, implement policies and put greater effort into the following: improving access to primary healthcare; increasing trust and confidence in mental health services; improving educational awareness in minority communities to recognise poor mental health symptoms and know how to get help; tackling the stigma associated with mental health, which may be greater in some communities; improving training and capacity so that mental health is not dismissed due to stereotypes; and improving the availability of culturally sensitive counselling rather than limiting treatment to medication only, the rate of which seems to be higher in ethnic-minority communities.
The final point I want to make is about people with autism, and I declare an interest here: I have a teenage son who has autism. He developed severe anxiety over the summer and also self-harmed. I had to take him to mental health professionals, and I was really appalled by the way he was treated. He was routinely dismissed, and more than once I was told, “Take him to an autism charity”. I then asked whether the health professionals had autism training; most had not. It makes a difference, because when I finally came across a doctor who understood autism, she understood that you can have autism and anxiety, which a lot of the other health professionals did not understand. I want to mention her by name: I thank Dr Lily Abedipour. Because of her, my son received the right treatment and is doing better than he was in the summer. So autism training matters; it makes a difference. I finish my contribution with a question to the Minister: when will all health professionals receive autism training according and appropriate to the needs of their roles?
Lord Lexden (Con)
My Lords, I follow a most moving speech. Despite being the son of a superb medical practitioner and the grandson of another, I rarely speak at any length about health issues. I think this restraint owes something to my failure to master the subjects that would have enabled me to follow the family tradition and serve the community in my turn as a doctor. However, as a close observer of the many grave issues confronting our health service today, I have recently been impressed by the determined efforts of the Royal Osteoporosis Society to direct public attention to the very patchy provision of fracture liaison services in our country. It is an urgent and pressing matter that calls for action by the Government in this new Session, as the noble Baroness, Lady Donaghy, made clear in her important speech. I agree with all that she said and I support from these Benches the case that she made.
The Royal Osteoporosis Society deserves much credit for the way it has heightened awareness of the situation through its Better Bones campaign, conducted over many weeks in partnership with the Sunday Express. Thanks to this campaign, we know that fracture liaison services, the world standard for diagnosing osteoporosis at an early stage, are not provided by more than half of NHS trusts. In areas where they are not available, those with fractures generally receive treatment in A&E departments, but they are often not told that osteoporosis was the cause. That means that they do not receive the treatment they need and disappear from the system, inevitably to suffer another fracture in due course.
The royal society’s estimate of the cost of filling the gaps where fracture liaison services are not currently provided would be a not-unthinkable £27 million a year. The potential savings are large, not just in reduced healthcare costs but in ensuring that people can continue to work until later in their lives. It is a common misconception that action to tackle osteoporosis mainly involves preventing hip fractures in people over the age of 70, like me. Osteoporosis and fractures can have a huge effect on younger people’s professional lives. One in every 12 women over 55 experiences a spinal fracture, rising to one in 10 for those over 60.
We should be deeply troubled by the extent to which osteoporosis goes undiagnosed. It is estimated that some 2.6 million women and men endure the effects of undiagnosed spinal fractures. They inevitably find themselves reducing their hours of work or being pushed into early retirement due to vague back pain that is often the result of undetected fractures. This is borne out in the statistics. Every year in England, there are around 67,000 fractures in the working-age population. As a result, some 2.6 million working days are lost every year, according to the International Osteoporosis Foundation. Drug therapies can reduce the rates of refracture by up to 90% for the most common fractures.
Both business leaders and trade unions are firmly behind this year’s hugely informative Better Bones campaign in its call for universal fracture liaison services. How can that be achieved? The Government are being urged by the experts in this field to establish a transformation fund to fill the stubborn gaps in existing provision. Such a fund would enable us to keep up with the rest of the world in diagnosing osteoporosis early, before the disease has the chance to inflict grave damage on individuals and society. This is a proposal to which the Government should give the most serious consideration in this new Session, as the noble Baroness, Lady Donaghy, and I, and no doubt other noble Lords across the House, will agree.
As other noble Lords have noted, there is a most welcome reference in the gracious Speech to the need to
“strengthen education for the long term”.
Those words will attract wide cross-party support in both Houses, along with a strong desire to know more about the Government’s thinking and intentions. A succession of authoritative reports from highly respected bodies have in the last few years made major proposals for the reform of the existing education system, and a large degree of consensus has emerged about what should be done. It will be reinforced shortly by a report from a Select Committee of your Lordships’ House on Education for 11-16 Year Olds. I am a member of this committee but an infinitely less distinguished one than the noble Lord, Lord Aberdare, and indeed the noble Baroness, Lady Blower. Reform should proceed, as far as possible, on a cross-party basis to ensure that it provides the stability and confidence that schools, teachers and families need for the long term.
There is, sadly, one highly contentious matter on the education agenda: the Labour Party’s proposal to slap VAT on independent school fees. In the 1990s, the party buried this idea, which it had kept putting in its election manifestos; now it has dug it up again. It is a total myth that the independent sector of education is stacked with wealthy, well-endowed schools, educating the children of wealthy parents who can easily afford a sudden 20% fee increase. I declare my interest as president of the Independent Schools Association. Its 650 member schools are virtually unknown outside their own local communities, which they serve faithfully alongside colleagues in the state sector. The hard-working families without financial reserves who send children to these mainly small, unpretentious, but highly successful schools do not deserve to be hit by a brutal tax increase. Some will be forced to move their children to schools in the state sector. Why should they be uprooted in this way?
Lord Wallace of Saltaire (LD)
My Lords, the 2019 Conservative manifesto, on which this Government’s programme was based, devoted well over a page to constitutional reform, democratic accountability and the rule of law. This King’s Speech is entirely silent on the subject, except for the promise to focus on long-term decisions instead of the repeated short-term changes in policies and Ministers from which the UK has suffered in the past four years.
The Prime Minister’s introduction to the briefing on forthcoming Bills gives the game away. His reiteration that “integrity, professionalism and accountability” will mark his Government’s approach underlines the absence of these qualities under his immediate predecessors. Since 2017, the constitutional conventions that structure the way Britain is governed have been seriously damaged by competing factions and populist politicians within the Conservative Party. Boris Johnson claimed to govern by “the will of the people”, that dangerous phrase, rather than by parliamentary consent. Ministers challenged the rule of law. The Commons has been sidelined to a point where, in the last Session, it sat for fewer hours per week than the officially part-time House, this Chamber. Constitutional guardians established by former Conservative and Labour Governments have been ignored or overruled, or their independence threatened. These include the Committee on Standards in Public Life, the Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, the House of Lords Appointments Commission and the Electoral Commission. The Covid inquiry is now informing the public of the chaos that has characterised this Government, the disregard for rules and due process, and the errors and corruption to which all this has led.
Decent Conservatives must be as worried about this move away from constitutional democracy as the rest of us, and I hope they share our concern around the decline of public trust in Westminster politics to which it has led. Multiple studies of public attitudes indicate that trust in national politics and politicians in Britain is now lower than any comparable advanced democracy except the United States, and that it has sunk further since the Covid lockdown and the Johnson premiership and now hovers between 5% and 10% in an otherwise disillusioned and disengaged public. The comment of the noble Lord, Lord Hayward, on the two most recent by-elections—that the winners on a low turnout were disengaged non-voters rather than the Labour Party—ought to concern and worry all of us.
It ought also to concern partisans of the current Government that, in answer to public opinion pollsters, voters say that they trust local government significantly more than Downing Street and Westminster, trust judges and courts far more than politicians and Ministers, and trust the Civil Service more than the Ministers who so often rubbish it. Oh, and a majority trust the BBC as a source of unbiased news a great deal better than they trust the Government’s information services.
The only Bill in the agenda set out for this Session that touches on our structures of democratic government is the Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill. That seeks to tighten even further detailed ministerial direction of what directly elected local councils may do. I suggest that this is totally unacceptable to democratic accountability.
Local government has been the nearest governing body to which most of our citizens relate, dealing with issues that affect their communities and daily life. Local government has been undermined, reorganised and starved of financial resources for many years. The Covid inquiry has heard that Ministers bypassed the network of public health officers across England’s cities and towns, who could have managed the response to the epidemic, in order to outsource Covid testing to multinational companies—with disastrous results. Any incoming Government should make the revival of local democracy an urgent priority to rebuild public trust and effective local administration.
This exhausted Government have abandoned their promise to strengthen our constitution, so it will be up to whichever Government emerge after the election to take up the task of rebuilding our constitutional safeguards and attempting to rebuild public trust. They should do their best to build cross-party consensus—I note that the noble Lord, Lord Lexden, talked about the desirability for good policy—on the changes that are needed, rather than impose the partisan perspectives that right-wing think tanks such as Policy Exchange have urged on this Government. In opposition, after all, Conservatives will discover again that electoral dictatorship is hateful when imposed against them, and may then support reform.
The Constitution Unit has provided a list of rapid changes that any new Government could introduce; for example, a cross-party business committee for the Commons to loosen the Government’s control of the timetable, statutory status for constitutional guardians, cuts in the size of the Government’s bulging parliamentary payroll, and tighter rules on political finance. The Institute for Government has also proposed a Joint Committee on the constitution to oversee executive adherence to constitutional rules. I am very glad to hear that our Constitution Committee will examine that proposal further.
If all the next election leads to is a change of government, without significant changes in how we are governed and our democracy works, public distrust of Westminster will fester. Where this King’s Speech is silent, the next Government must commit to a broad reform programme of our overcentralised and Executive-dominated structures, to rebuild competence and trust in constitutional democracy.
Baroness Bull (CB)
My Lords, it is a privilege to have been present at the first King’s Speech in over seven decades and to take part in this debate. I declare my interests as set out in the register.
With the spotlight currently on the Covid inquiry and the mistakes made, damage done and lessons to be learned, it was heartening to see the opening of the Speech set government plans in the context of the long-term challenges that Covid has created for the UK. Unfortunately, optimism that it might include necessary measures to address the pandemic’s wickedly long tail faded as the pages turned.
To understand the real damage wrought by the pandemic, we need not to look back but to the future: to the challenges of long Covid for individuals and the NHS, to the impact of isolation and loss on mental health, and to the future success of a generation of children whose education was so severely disrupted by lockdowns.
Most children lost half a year of schooling through Covid. That is about 5% of their overall learning. The effect of this will echo through their lives, on career options, earning potential and, by extension, tax revenues available for public services. As ever, children from disadvantaged backgrounds suffered the most.
The full-blown pandemic may be behind us, but its impact on young people’s education goes on. Many have simply not returned to the classroom, which is a scenario described by the Children’s Commissioner as
“the issue of our time”.
In the last autumn term before the pandemic, 4.7% of all children were absent from school. In 2023, the figure was 7.5%. Persistent absence, which is when a child misses at least 10% of possible sessions, has also risen sharply, from 13.1% to 24.2% over the same period.
There is nothing in the gracious Speech to tackle this, despite strong evidence linking school absenteeism with various life-course problems, including risky behaviours, teenage pregnancy, psychiatric disorders, delinquency and substance abuse. The commissioner’s latest report highlights the link between absence and attainment; the likelihood that persistently absent children will end up not in education, employment or training; and the fact that 81% of children entering the criminal justice system have a history of persistent absenteeism.
The causes of absenteeism are complex and diverse, but it does seem to be a particular issue where additional vulnerabilities are present, particularly in children with special educational needs, physical disabilities and behavioural, emotional and social difficulties. This means that the failure to deal with absenteeism is another route by which the already disadvantaged are disproportionately affected, and that the gap between the more and less fortunate in our society grows ever wider. As the gracious Speech was silent on this issue, can the Minister perhaps tell the House how the Government plan to tackle this epidemic of absenteeism and the causes that lie behind it?
The introduction of the advanced British standard makes it into the gracious Speech, with a promise that increasing the number of subjects at key stage 5 to a minimum of five, expanding overall taught hours and introducing maths and English as mandatory until 18 will
“ensure young people have the knowledge and skills to succeed”.
It is unclear whether the evidence supports those assertions. Studies from Switzerland and Germany suggest that increasing instruction time has, yet again, the effect of widening the gap between high- and low-performing students and benefits only the students who already do better at school. It also flies in the face of OECD principles for curriculum redesign, one of which is to allow for flexibility and choice for teachers and students.
Of course, numeracy—and, indeed, financial literacy and budgeting—are important skills for employment and for life. But improvements need to be targeted across all stages of education. The key question is what kind of maths is to be included post-16, given that so many students achieve excellent results in GCSE maths but go on to struggle with A-level. It is vital, too, that reforms carefully consider the impact on the 6% of UK children who suffer from dyscalculia, a specific learning disability that impacts the ability to understand, learn and perform maths and number-based operations.
Children are already concerned about what this means for them. I have been lobbied by a 10 year-old relative who argued cogently and passionately that her educational experience and outcomes would be impacted by these reforms, given her learning style and needs. Significant improvements have been made in the teaching of children with dyslexia and other reading disabilities, but despite the Department for Education’s assertion:
“All teachers are teachers of special educational needs and disabilities”,
there is currently no formal requirement for maths teachers to learn about dyscalculia as part of their training. Regardless of whether the advanced British standard is progressed, does the Minister agree that training needs to be updated so that maths teachers can recognise dyscalculia and better support students affected by this condition?
I shall finish by echoing concerns already expressed around the House about the absence from the gracious Speech of a mental health Bill. This is a bitter blow for the 2,000 people with a learning disability and/or autism currently locked away in mental health in-patient units, who often receive poor-quality, and sometimes horrific, treatment, as has been revealed in numerous undercover investigations and Select Committee reports.
Our understanding of mental health has changed a great deal since the Mental Health Act received Royal Assent in 1983. There has been some updating, but legislation still lags behind ambition, and the fact that laws currently allow people to be detained for no other reason than that they have a learning disability or autism is, in itself, evidence of the need for change. So I hope the Minister will be able to tell the House why the Government chose to omit this Bill from the gracious Speech. There is widespread agreement, and cross-party consensus on the need for reform. Surely the Government should be using the last Session of this Parliament to deliver a manifesto commitment on which they were elected—not once, but twice—to bring this Bill before the House?
Lord Truscott (Non-Afl)
My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Bull, and her thoughtful and thought-provoking speech. I also agreed with the noble Baroness, Lady Deech, on her powerful speech about the Holocaust Bill. I support a Holocaust memorial and learning centre, but the current proposals reflect the fact that it is the wrong location and the wrong design, at an exorbitant cost of £139 million.
I am here in your Lordships’ House today to speak about housing. In that case, I need to declare an interest in that I have been a landlord in the private rented sector since the 1990s and before that I was a renter in the private rented sector up until my mid-30s. I have seen renting from both sides of the fence.
I welcome His Majesty’s Government’s determination in the gracious Speech to proceed with both the Renters (Reform) Bill and the leasehold and freehold Bill. Both are long overdue, in my view. However, in almost 30 years of being a private landlord, I have never known the situation facing both landlords and private renters to be so bad. We are moving towards an inheritocracy, where only those who inherit will own property and wealth. Social inequality will increase as a result. Better to tax unearned inherited wealth, rather than everyone else, to provide the housing that is so badly needed.
One of the fundamental problems we have heard today in your Lordships’ House is the shortage of property to rent. The Government thus urgently need to increase the supply of socially rented housing to make it affordable for people, as the noble Lord, Lord Howarth of Newport, said earlier today. It is a simple question of demand and supply. When demand outstrips supply, prices, or in this case rents, go up. There are of course other contributing factors; recent rises in mortgage rates mean landlords with buy-to-let mortgages—and there are 1.7 million of them—have seen their mortgages triple or even quadruple. In that event, it is not surprising to see rents in some cases go up by 30% to 40%. There are other factors; tax changes have meant that buy-to-let landlords are the only business owners I know to be taxed on their turnover, rather than profits. Increasing regulation, often necessary, has nevertheless meant costs have been piled on landlords, which they pass on to their tenants.
Let us look at these private landlords. Profits are at their lowest for 14 years. Over the last year, the level of landlords defaulting on their mortgages has doubled, so arrears have been building up. Most landlords just have one or two properties, which they have worked hard to buy, to provide for them in their old age. In the past, property capital growth has enabled landlords to cross-subsidise tenants in lean times, but this is no longer the case.
On the specifics of the Bills, I welcome the abolition of Section 21, so giving security to tenants. But His Majesty’s Government should be careful of the unintended consequences of introducing periodic tenancies to replace assured shorthold tenancies. In city centres and resort areas, short-term tenancies and increased use of Airbnb-type ultra-short tenancies will mean less property is available to local residents and students, not more, as the noble Lord, Lord Best, already mentioned. It does seem bizarre to me that His Majesty’s Government will outlaw longer tenancies, so guaranteeing more security of tenure when both parties want it.
I am glad that pets, particularly dogs, will be banned when the lease forbids them. That should remain at the discretion of the landlord. Dogs may be appropriate in houses, but in flats they can cause nuisance and even be dangerous. We have seen a massive increase in dangerous dog attacks and fatalities in recent years; my wife and I were on the receiving end of one in our own garden from tenants who had a dog in breach of the lease. I would not recommend the experience.
In terms of the leasehold Bill, I welcome His Majesty’s Government’s intention to abolish the feudal and archaic leasehold system, as the noble Lord, Lord Young of Cookham, referred to previously. For centuries, freeholders and their agents have had a licence to fleece leaseholders, with little or no chance of redress. In particular, I agree leaseholders should be given greater rights to self-manage, ending the opportunity for freeholders and their agents to exploit vulnerable leaseholders with excessive service and other charges.
It is time that lease extensions and valuations were made more transparent, quicker, cheaper and easier, rather than the theatrical system we have today, which is designed to benefit everyone except the leaseholder. The opaque lease extension system in place, its absurd marriage value and other calculations mean leaseholders have little or no control over the process or the cost.
It is regrettable, as the noble Lord, Lord Best, has mentioned on numerous occasions in the past, that property management agents remain wholly unregulated. What other body sometimes dealing with millions of pounds is totally unregulated and requires no professional qualifications and standards whatsoever? On balance, His Majesty’s Government should be supported in reforming the private rented sector and leasehold. They should be awarded six out of 10, but need to do better still.
Lord Carrington (CB)
My Lords, I welcome much that is in the gracious Speech but would like to concentrate on the housing measures, both new and carried forward from the previous Session. In this respect, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Truscott, for his remarks and would like to build on some of them. I therefore declare my own interests in the private rented sector, as set out in the register.
As the Secretary of State Michael Gove has said in the other place, the best solution to our housing problem in this country would be a greater supply of housing, which I hope this Government and future Governments will address. However, in the meantime there are challenges in the housing market that need to be addressed urgently. In this respect, one of the biggest problems is the private rented sector. I am greatly looking forward to the swift arrival of this Bill in this House, as it will belatedly address some very real issues that are causing significant pain to those who rent and unnecessary uncertainty among those who provide rental properties to the degree that some are exiting this important market which serves many important roles in the economy. Indeed, the rental sector is approximately 20% of the housing market. Our debates at Second Reading and in Committee will look into these issues in depth and from the side of both the renters and the owners of rental property and, hopefully, we will be able to improve the Bill.
In the meantime, I want to highlight the cross-departmental aspects of this legislation that are already causing concern—certainly that concern is not unique to this legislation but affects other Bills across the spectrum. In respect of housing, it is correct that the lead should be the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, but in the instance of the Renters (Reform) Bill there is the necessity of huge input from the Ministry of Justice and the Department of Energy and Climate Change. I will be grateful if the Minister will explain how exactly this interministerial involvement works, how commitments made in the Bill are actually delivered and in what timescale. It is clearly unacceptable that a housing Bill is conditional on the involvement of another ministry that perhaps does not see its work on a housing Bill as a priority focus.
The principal issues before the Ministry of Justice are Section 21, which allows no-fault evictions and Section 8 which is the alternative legal route for evictions and repossessions. The noble Lord, Lord Markham, outlined what needs to happen, and the noble Lord, Lord Young, and others highlighted some problems of the Government’s approach. With the Renters (Reform) Bill, the Minister of State has made it clear that unless landlords have confidence in systems that underpin the justice system, we will not have good landlords to provide properties available to rent throughout the country. She emphasised that work to provide that confidence remains a priority for the department and for the Ministry of Justice, but absolutely no timeframe is given. It all sounds like, in the words of Lewis Carroll,
“jam to-morrow and jam yesterday—but never jam today”.
Meanwhile, until improvements are agreed and Section 8 is fit for purpose, no-fault evictions under Section 21 will continue with all the associated misery caused by unscrupulous landlords. At the same time, good landlords may take the opportunity provided by the delay and the uncertainty about the outcome of legal reforms to exit the sector. The CLA has already suggested that this is happening with the direct consequence of there being fewer houses available to rent and continued pressure on rental levels.
A similar issue is the involvement of the Department of Energy which has withdrawn the current minimum energy efficiency standards, which were certainly not fit for purpose in a large proportion of our older homes, but no new standards have been proposed nor any timetable given. Surely this, together with other proposals related to the promised decent homes standards, should have been part of this or another Bill and been included in the gracious Speech.
The issue of interdepartmental co-operation, or lack thereof, is certainly not unique to housing. As a cautionary tale, we passed the Agriculture Act in 2020 and the Environment Act in 2021, but we still await clarification from the Treasury on the tax treatment of farmers and landowners for environmental schemes developed and encouraged by those Acts. Tax issues relating to VAT, income tax, capital gains tax and inheritance tax are involved. Treasury consultation has taken place and closed back in June, but we still have no decisions. Inevitably, lack of information on tax has caused farmers and landowners to sit on their hands, thereby delaying measures designed to address carbon emissions.
The interrelationship of housebuilding, environment and tax will all come to a head very soon when the Government’s policy on biodiversity net gain is finally introduced. Failure by the Treasury to resolve tax issues will severely limit the incentive for farmers and landowners to offer land for biodiversity net gain and consequently affect housebuilding numbers, leaving aside lost biodiversity opportunities in the process.
I have tried to highlight the importance of interdepartmental co-operation, which has the power to make or break good legislation unless it operates in a strict timeframe, and warn of the consequences of not co-operating. I look forward to the Minister’s response on this issue.
Lord Shinkwin (Con)
My Lords, I apologise to the noble Lord, Lord Carrington, for jumping the gun. I had looked around for my noble friend Lord Carrington of Fulham, so it was entirely my mistake.
As someone who went through the torturous process of extending the lease on a property I used to own, I too welcome the Bill to reform the housing market by making it cheaper and easier for leaseholders to purchase their freehold. However, I hope the House will indulge me if I confine my remarks to a housing-related issue that compromises my ability as a severely disabled parliamentarian to keep my promise made in this Chamber to speak truth to power without fear or favour.
When I joined your Lordships’ House almost eight years ago, I could never have imagined that I would encounter a double whammy of discrimination not only on account of my disability but as a severely disabled parliamentarian. Yet that is the sad and bizarre situation in which I now find myself and which I am taking this opportunity to bring to the attention of noble Lords.
It was my severe disability that informed my recent decision to move to a housing development where accessibility is an integral part of the design. Credit for that must go, ultimately, to the Earl of Moray, the landowner who conceived the exciting vision that is Tornagrain. My acute vulnerability as a severely disabled parliamentarian also informed my need for privacy, which email exchanges show I communicated to the developers almost two years before I reserved my house. Emails show not only that that need was expressly acknowledged in writing but that I was advised as to the possible suitability of various plots on that basis. Noble Lords might therefore imagine my surprise when I discovered on moving in that my house lacked any privacy and created genuine security concerns. As a result, I do not feel safe in my own home.
I was grateful to Police Scotland for issuing a crime prevention assessment survey report that made recommendations as to how the situation should be remedied. In doing so, it made specific reference both to my additional vulnerability as a severely disabled parliamentarian and to the Equality Act 2010, particularly with regards to the duty to make reasonable adjustments.
Unfortunately, Moray Estates, acting on behalf of the landowner—and, specifically, the Tornagrain Conservation Trust, whose managing director sits on the trust board—have seen fit to reject the most important recommendations made in Police Scotland’s report, despite my having made clear in writing that this would void my privacy and security. My neighbours, with whom I am keen to enjoy good relations—and who, it was confirmed in writing, had previously approved a compromise proposal by the developer—suddenly changed their minds, following an approach by the Tornagrain Conservation Trust. I can assume only that this was done on the premise that, if I do not feel safe, as a severely disabled parliamentarian, in my own home, I will have to sell up and leave. In other words, sit tight, do nothing and the problem will disappear because I will have been forced out. The point here is that if I, as a disabled Member of the House of Lords, am having such a challenging experience securing the accessible housing in which I can feel safe, what does that say for a disabled person who does not have a voice, particularly given the evidence of the challenges that people who have disabilities find in accessing accessible accommodation?
For the avoidance of doubt, my experience is not a planning dispute. It is actually far more serious because it is impacting directly on my ability to carry out my parliamentary duties. I am encountering two organisations, the Tornagrain Conservation Trust and Moray Estates, that give every impression of ignoring their legal duty to make reasonable adjustments to policies, procedures and practices on account of disability—and of acting in a manner that I think most people would say belonged to feudal times. To be clear, the trust exercises what would generally be recognised as, effectively, planning authority powers, without either transparency or accountability. No minutes of meetings are published, requests for the trust board to visit sites of residents applying for permissions go unheeded and residents are discouraged from attending the AGM.
Housing is a devolved matter, so I conclude by respectfully suggesting that the Scottish Parliament might want to look again at the Title Conditions (Scotland) Act 2003 and consider specifically whether the spirit of the legislation, particularly as it pertains to the 2016 amendment order, which added the Tornagrain Conservation Trust to the list of prescribed conservation bodies, is being honoured in practice. In light of my experience, I respectfully suggest that it ensures that an equality impact assessment, which was not undertaken at the time on the basis that the policy does not have any impact on equality issues, is now undertaken.
I close with this point. It is surely wrong that in 2023 a severely disabled parliamentarian should be placed in the utterly invidious position of having to bring such an issue to the attention of your Lordships’ House and our fellow parliamentarians in Scotland. I hope this will be resolved quickly so that I may keep my promise to speak truth to power, on whatever issue, without fear or favour.
Lord Shipley (LD)
My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Shinkwin, who talked twice of his obligation to speak truth to power. Perhaps I may say to the House and to him that I think he did that rather well.
This has been a wide-ranging and very interesting debate. I hope that the noble Lord, Lord Markham, will forgive me if I say that I thought his introduction, which was also wide-ranging, put a rosy gloss on the Government’s performance in the fields of health, education and housing in particular. The debate has rather demonstrated that the evidence for that is lacking and that in all those areas and others that we have heard about there are some serious structural and resourcing problems.
The gracious Speech proposed a number of Bills. I missed a proposal for audit reform and hope that it will appear in the not-too-distant future. I thought that we might get something on adult social care and children’s social care, and we did not, but it is possible that something is proposed for the Autumn Statement.
I had hoped for something to promote dentistry and healthy teeth, particularly in children. As my noble friend Lord Allan pointed out, NHS dentistry services are in serious trouble. Perhaps something will be said in the Autumn Statement because the Minister talked about the importance of prevention of illness. It is not happening in terms of the state of the nation’s teeth.
I had also hoped for something to promote real devolution in England. England is too centralised, but while all control of resources and tax raising lies with the Treasury, devolution to combined authorities will prove problematic, because they will end up competing with one another for the favours of the Treasury. What happened, I wonder, to the blueprint produced by the Northern Powerhouse Partnership in March this year on how to devolve tax to the regions of England, which was launched by the noble Lord, Lord O’Neill, a few months ago? It seems to be commanding support from members of all parties, but it may require a new Government to get implemented.
The Prime Minister said that the King’s Speech would not contain gimmicks, so I am pleased that it contained no proposals to ban tents occupied by homeless people. As we have heard from a number of speakers, homelessness is not a lifestyle choice; tents are given to homeless people for good reason. It can make them feel safer, and keeping people safe is a stated objective in the gracious Speech.
The noble Lord, Lord Howarth of Newport, reminded us that 130,000 children live in temporary accommodation; it is the highest figure ever. The cost of temporary homes, including bed and breakfast costs, has risen to £1.7 billion a year—which could, of course, be used to promote social housing. Demand from young people aged 16 to 24 for advice on homelessness has increased by 5% in the past year, with 135,000 young people a year accessing homelessness services. Homelessness among all ages rose by 50% between May 2022 and May 2023. We know that the affordable homes programme is not delivering the volume of homes needed. We know that we need more housing that is truly affordable, with rents tied to local income. That means that we need more homes for social rent.
Only the state can provide protection to citizens. A public housing crisis needs public, and not private, solutions. There are some appalling conditions in the private rented sector, which is not properly regulated. There have been record rises in rents—the fastest annual rate now since records started seven years ago. Private rents are up by 5.6%.
I welcome the Renters (Reform) Bill. Section 21 has increased the number of evictions without a reason, and the proposals in the Bill will certainly help. But I am very concerned, as was the noble Lord, Lord Young of Cookham, about the delay in implementation of the ban on Section 21 evictions. How long is that likely to take? I hope that selective licensing schemes will continue to allow local authorities to improve private rented sector properties. I hope that a future Government will amend the Housing Act 2004 to remove the requirement for councils to seek approval for larger selective licensing schemes. I should declare my vice-presidency of the Local Government Association. The problem is that England is too centralised for everything to come to Whitehall for decision.
Finally, I am very pleased by the leasehold and freehold Bill. I think that is generally the view in your Lordships’ House, because it represents a huge step forward. It will make it easier for existing leaseholders to extend their lease or buy their freehold. As the Secretary of State said, the current system is reminiscent of a feudal system, which is against the interests of consumers. There will be many issues to test when the Bill comes before the House; it needs to be part of a major reform of property law. As we have heard from the noble Lord, Lord Truscott, we need better regulation of managing agents, and we must address the need for commonhold in flats.
I look forward in the months ahead to taking on many of these issues to improve the Bills we have, as the noble Lord, Lord Young of Cookham, said.
Lord Thurlow (CB)
My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Shipley, and I applaud his comments on homelessness and the desperate need for social housing. I thank the Minister for his particularly interesting introduction to today’s debate, with his apparent investment in the themes of today’s subjects. That approach will be very helpful as the Bills come through, and we will achieve a finer, more fruitful result.
In response to the gracious Speech, I want briefly to address the leasehold and freehold Bill and the Renters (Reform) Bill. I shall try to do so without repetition; then, I shall follow with comments on health. I declare my interests as a former chartered surveyor and as the owner of a buy-to-let property, as detailed in the register.
The principal problem for the freehold, leasehold and renters Bills is the inefficiencies and bad practices of landlords and agents, some aspects of which have been cleaned up through Bills that have been through this House, but it is a sector that desperately needs reform. However, interfering with the status quo after generations of evolution is not without difficulties, and those challenges will be met in our forthcoming debate. As the noble Lords, Lord Shipley and Lord Young, have reminded us, commonhold is a very important option, and it should be trumpeted as an objective by the Government. It provides an alternative to the traditional tenure patterns, and we need to focus more carefully on that when the time comes.
Both Bills aim to simplify and introduce fairness into the residential property market, but these Bills alone, as we have heard from so many speakers this afternoon, will not provide more homes. My disappointment with the declared legislative programme is the lack of reference to the promised planning Bill, also referred to today. Current arrangements are not working and are an impediment to housebuilding. The huge Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill that occupied so much of the last Session included planning matters, but no attempt to speed up the process at service delivery level. Planning departments are frequently understaffed and underfunded and experience a high turnover of case officers. Those case officers may change during the progress of a single application, making life extremely difficult for an applicant. The background, detail and relationships that are important to efficient service delivery and outcomes are at stake—and that itself is a brake on new housing numbers.
Housing provision is a crisis that the Government repeatedly promise to resolve, but I see no reference to one of the really very straightforward solutions, in my opinion, which is to develop on brownfield land. This resource of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of acres of sterile land needs money invested in it to bring it forward. However, it is ignored, as the Government appear to continue to favour the quick-fix, green-belt or agricultural land solution for more housing. Why? What a missed opportunity. Brownfield land is substantial in towns and cities throughout the UK. There is infrastructure—public transport, schools, hospitals, roads, everything—already in place; unlike agricultural land, it does not need the extra billions of investment to develop on a wholesale scale.
I turn to health. Like several others, I am disappointed that there was no reference to a mental health Bill. Forty years is a very long time since the last substantial Act and, during that time, understanding, general knowledge and care in the mental health arena has grown hugely, to such an extent that the Mental Health Act is now terribly out of date. We need to improve services in this area, as the numbers suffering are also growing very rapidly, particularly since Covid.
I particularly want to raise the difficulties of care and treatment for those suffering from or living with Huntington’s disease and chorea. The difficulty is within the NHS. This is a neurological condition and often falls between mental health and organic brain disorder. Too often, these labels appear to be mutually exclusive in the context of services provided by the NHS, denying Huntington’s sufferers access to mental health support, when it is desperately needed by those with this condition. The condition has physical, cognitive and psychiatric symptoms, and, without support, mental health issues spiral. In turn, there is a ripple effect on family and carers—frequently, of course, the families are the carers.
Mental health services are supposed to be accessible to all, no matter the root cause of the mental health issue. I hope that the Government will resolve the NHS exclusion for those struggling with this and other neurological conditions—we know of motor neurone disease, Parkinson’s and MS, and there are many others—and thus end the dilemma facing those who suffer, and their families, from exclusion from NHS mental health services. We should be ashamed that the problem of definitions is allowed to become a barrier to treatment and care. The most likely psychiatric disorders that Huntington’s sufferers experience are depression, anxiety, changes in personality and mood, irritability, apathy or disinhibition. How can those within the NHS who analyse medical conditions possibly deny these as mental health criteria?
I thank the Huntington’s Disease Association for its help in preparing my comments. I ask the Minister to ensure that all mental health support services are available, UK wide, to those living with this condition. Through definitions, and perhaps misunderstandings within the NHS, these people are often excluded. That is unforgivable.
Lord Naseby (Con)
My Lords, it is a privilege to follow the noble Lord, Lord Thurlow, not least in his highlighting of the huge potential difficulties with the two new Bills in the housing area of freehold and rent.
The gracious Speech, in my judgment, reflects that at least now we have a Prime Minister who understands economics, who is determined to listen to what the general public, and indeed obviously our own party, wants to happen, and to give leadership. There is no better demonstration—and I admit to being one of those who campaigned hard to keep the ticket offices open, alongside the best part of a million others—than him being brave enough to say, and thank goodness, “Right, they are staying open”. For me, that is the sort of action I expect to see from a Prime Minister. I have had the privilege of serving in the other House for 23 years and in your Lordships’ House for a good few years since, and quite frankly this is the first time, since that fateful date of 31 January 2020, following the vote that was taken on Brexit—I understand why it went the way it did but the construction of the vote was wrong; there should at least have been a safeguard if we wanted to change—that I am getting it, and I am thrilled. We had lost leadership from the subsequent Prime Ministers.
I shall speak mainly on housing, but there are three issues on energy that I would like to raise. First, I welcome the fact that we are going to drill in the North Sea, for the future. It is a crucial decision to safeguard our supplies. Secondly, I am following Rolls-Royce’s efforts on mini nuclear reactors. We could have signed a document and had those mini reactors being built now—nobody suggested that it should have an exclusive right to the mini reactor market, but at least we could have got going. But we have not. Will my noble friend on the Front Bench at least try to move this forward, so that we get some decision on mini reactors? They are important. Thirdly, on hydrogen, we all know that Infrastructure UK appeared to be totally anti-hydrogen. We have only to look at our German colleagues. Germany has now got to a state where it believes it can do tests, and that there is a market for a combination of gas and hydrogen for domestic premises. If we think back to the period when we went from coal to LPG for our heating, we see that no wonder it is a big project—it affects the vast majority of homes in the United Kingdom. We know that Germany is doing the work. Imperial College has come out with a report saying that it is going to move things forward, and there are a host of others doing work in that area. I would like to see some support from His Majesty’s Government in that area.
That brings me to housing. It is my privilege to have been in public service for 50 years. I was the first leader of the London Borough of Islington and chairman of its housing committee. I have saved squares in Islington, along with my colleagues. We got rid of the Crumbles, which was a terrible old Victorian tenement block, with not even bathrooms or toilets on the floors—people had to go down to the ground floor. Thanks to the architect in Islington, we built low-level, high-density council housing and encouraged young people to get grants to renovate the infrastructure that they bought. In 1974, I was elected in Northampton, a new town, which I support totally, and I once wrote a pamphlet called The Disaster of Direct Labour. The challenge that every family faces is housing. So many of my colleagues here today have raised the issue, and I certainly believe that it is key to the future.
The Secretary of State produced his vision in his speech of 24 July 2023. He talked about:
“The regeneration and renaissance of the hearts of 20 of our most important towns and cities … Building beautiful … Greener homes … A new deal for tenants”—
he has this Bill coming forward—
“And extending ownership to a new generation”.
Unfortunately, we have lost the right to buy, so I am not quite sure how we will encourage new generations. It sounds wonderful, but in reality we find the Grenfell problem. Only 9% of those affected have been restored. That is not good progress. It is not helping tenants. Many must be in dire worry about where they are living.
What about tenanted properties? In Bedford and half a dozen other places, there are empty properties all the way down the high street, yet we charge 20% VAT on anybody who wants to renovate them. If we want to renovate those properties, for heaven’s sake let us offer local authorities the option not to have to pay that 20%. I notice that the Secretary of State does not think that Marks & Spencer, as a key retailer in Oxford Street, should be allowed to alter its building, although everybody else accepts that it is a good idea.
The time taken on planning has trebled since 1990, which is not that long ago. No wonder it is taking time to get moving on anything. The Home Builders Federation points out that some of the hardest hit are our smaller builders, who have to grapple with this time dimension. The number of new homes forecast for 2024 is just 120,000—a record low—compared with 204,530 in 2022. With a demand of 340,000—not 300,000—and people wanting their own home, lifetime ISAs needing modifying because they are out of date and the whole population having gone up by 600,000, we now have a real need for 380,000. We have to take action. I hope my noble friends on the Front Bench and those who can make a difference will do so. Two of us in this room know about new towns in particular. Why not have perhaps 50 new garden towns around the United Kingdom, with the benefit of single-family homes at low density, alongside a successful town? That would produce really good homes for the future.
Baroness Hollins (CB)
My Lords, I will focus my response to the gracious Speech on mental health, learning disability and autism. I remind the House that I have autistic family members and have had a long career as a psychiatrist.
The recent Royal College of Psychiatrists report Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health: The Case for Action urgently draws to our attention that children under five in the United Kingdom are at risk of suffering from lifelong mental health conditions that could be prevented with the right support and that 50% of mental health conditions arise before the age of 14. Prevention and early intervention are essential, and the truth is that every family in the land is affected in one way or another.
For people of all ages who develop mental illness, the right health and social care must be provided within the right legislative framework. I was a member of the Joint Committee that reported on the urgently needed Draft Mental Health Bill in January. A government response is still awaited. The absence of a mental health Bill will affect so many families.
Last year, 50,000 people—I do not apologise for repeating that: 50,000 people—were detained in hospital under mental health legislation, including more than 2,000 people with a learning disability and autistic people, who were often detained without any therapeutic benefit. Years have been spent working on legislative reform, beginning with the 2018 independent review chaired by Professor Sir Simon Wessely, which was commissioned in part because of rising rates of detention under the Act. New legislation is needed to promote the least restrictive practices and to prioritise good mental health care at home. A key element of the draft Bill was to remove learning disability and autism as reason enough to be detained under Section 3. We are no longer a society that sees a learning disability and/or autism as a problem to be treated or fixed, and our legislation must reflect this change.
We need to see more effective progress against the target in the NHS long-term plan to close half of in-patient beds by March next year for people with learning disabilities and autism. Mencap’s analysis suggests that, at the current rate, this target would not be hit until 2028. Although learning disability admissions and discharges are reducing, the detention of people with autism is going up, which may be due to better awareness and recognition of autism.
We must not lose momentum; it is urgent to reform adult social care and the Mental Health Act. The Government’s building the right support action plan made it abundantly clear that reforming the Mental Health Act was key to reducing the number of autistic people and people with learning disabilities being inappropriately detained in psychiatric hospitals. How do the Government now expect to meet the objectives of the action plan, if the mental health Bill has been shelved?
At the request of the Secretary of State, in 2019 I agreed to chair an oversight panel on long-term segregation for people with a learning disability and autistic people. We finished our work in March this year—I say “finished”, but the work is not finished. There are still about 115 people detained in long-term segregation in in-patient mental health care. Yesterday, a Written Ministerial Statement was published about my report, and I am grateful to the Minister for tabling it. My report is entitled My Heart Breaks—Solitary Confinement in Hospital Has No Therapeutic Benefit for People With a Learning Disability and Autistic People. My letter to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and Minister Caulfield’s response were published alongside my report.
Our task was to oversee and report on the effectiveness of a Department of Health programme of independently chaired care, education and treatment reviews. The reviews were for people with learning disabilities and/or autistic people who have been detained in long-term segregation under mental health legislation. We found that it was often social care failings and inadequacies in community mental health that led to admissions. Our recommendations are wide ranging. We suggested that long-term segregation should be named “solitary confinement”, hence the use of that term in the title of my report; that it should be notifiable, which requires changes to CQC regulations; that it should become a never event for children and young people; and that it should be severely curtailed for adults, with stringent standards for accommodation and care. This would require changes to the code of practice to the Mental Health Act, but the urgent changes needed are unlikely to be considered until His Majesty’s Government bring forward a new mental health Bill or at least agree to review the code of practice.
Where is this Government’s commitment to improving the nation’s mental health? The omission of a new mental health Bill is particularly poignant in circumstances where legislation is needed to protect some of the people in the most vulnerable circumstances and where it is being repeatedly sidelined. The strapline of the Royal College of Psychiatrists is:
“No health without public mental health”.
I have tabled a Private Member’s Bill—although I have not seen the result of the ballot—to address some of the recommendations in the oversight panel report, in lieu of a mental health Bill in the Government’s programme of work. If I am unsuccessful, I hope that a Member in the other place will be willing to pick it up. We need urgent clarity on the future of social care reform and a commitment to a funded national workforce plan. Workforce pressures, a cost of living crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic and escalating waiting times are increasing the demand for mental health support. There has never been a more urgent time to reform mental health care.
The Minister began his speech today by saying that mental health and parity of esteem with physical health are priorities. This needs to include public mental health as well. I see no sign of that commitment. I hope that the Minister will at least commit to looking at the code of practice for the Mental Health Act so that some urgent changes can be implemented, including some of the recommendations from my report.
Baroness Finn (Con)
My Lords, it has been a pleasure to listen to so many eloquent, insightful and passionate contributions in this debate on the gracious Speech. I rise to speak in favour of the Government’s leasehold and freehold reform Bill, which represents a crucial step in eliminating the opaque management fees, exploitative ground rents and short leases associated with leasehold tenure. Many noble Lords and Members in the other place have campaigned on this for many years. I pay particular tribute to my noble friend Lord Young, the noble Earl, Lord Lytton, and the noble Lord, Lord Kennedy, for their tireless advocacy.
In moving the Motion for an humble Address, my noble friend Lord McInnes pointed out that leasehold reform was first announced in 1952 and that too little has happened in the intervening years. My daughter, who is pretty apolitical, announced that she would vote for any party that finally ended the unfairness of leaseholds; I am pleased that we are possibly giving her a reason to vote Conservative.
We say that an Englishman’s home is his castle, but that is sadly not the case for the owners of more than 5 million homes across England and Wales that languish under leasehold covenants. Some examples of exorbitant charges include: a £60 consent fee for replacing a doorbell; a £360 charge for a new doormat; and, unforgivably, a £250 consent fee to have a pet dog. The leasehold system has been described as feudal, but such mercenary practices would give even the Sheriff of Nottingham a run for his money.
This has been a long debate and several noble Lords have already spoken on these points, so I will restrict my comments to three important reforms in this Bill. The first concerns service charges and management fees. The Bill will bring such opaque fees into the light by requiring transparent, standardised service charges. This will end exploitative practices, such as charging a 50% commission on buildings insurance, and will prevent management companies treating service charges as profit-making schemes.
Secondly, I turn to ground rents. In the past decade, developers of new-build homes have sold leaseholds to unsuspecting customers, promising low ground rents while auctioning the freehold to investors. These investors can then exploit the new home owners with unfair and opaque service charges, as well as charging them a fortune to rectify the situation. This Government have already legislated to cap all new ground rents at a peppercorn rent; this Bill takes the next step. In England and Wales, all new houses will be freehold. This will ultimately sound the death knell for leasehold houses and put an end to sharp practices by predatory developers and investors.
Thirdly, on short leases, ending the creation of leasehold houses is welcome but will do nothing for existing leaseholders. Currently, leaseholders have a right to extend their tenure by 90 years, but that is perilously close to the 80-year cut-off where people face exorbitant marriage value costs to secure their home. This has been tolerated by the housing system for too long, so I welcome confirmation that the Bill will abolish marriage value. This Bill will increase the standard lease extension tenfold, from 90 to 990 years, and will remove the requirement for two years’ ownership from eligibility for lease extensions. These are all welcome changes, but they beg the question as to why the Government do not simply finish the business and abolish the leasehold system entirely.
On that note, I turn to the main area of weakness in the Bill. Of the 5 million leasehold properties in the UK, 70% are flats. I am disappointed that this Bill neither stops the creation of new leasehold flats nor sets out a path out of leaseholding for existing flats. There is an alternative system, as many noble Lords have pointed out, which is commonhold. Unlike leasehold, with commonhold there is no limited tenure and no requirement for a third-party overseer, while the home owners have total control over the management and administration costs. In 2021, the then Secretary of State committed that the legislation was the beginning of even more fundamental change to English property law through the widespread introduction of the commonhold tenure.
Despite the commonhold model being widespread in Scotland—they abolished their feudal rent and feu duties in 2004—we have only 20 commonhold developments. The Law Commission’s 2020 report into commonhold states that it is the preferred alternative to leasehold. I would therefore have welcomed a commitment by the Government, by the Minister, to restate that we are moving towards the commonhold tenure system and to implement the Law Commission’s recommendations in full. Is that indeed the Government’s final intention?
The debate today also encompasses public services. Like many people, I have been dismayed by the accounts of the growing debacle of HS2. It is a sorry story of poor planning, mismanagement and overspending. I read that the Cabinet Secretary had received a request from a senior government adviser for an investigation into the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Transport over the mismanagement of this project. Astonishingly, it is alleged that he forwarded the request directly to the Permanent Secretary for a response. I cannot verify whether such an account is correct, but the root cause of this debacle is a lack of accountability, which is felt through our increasing inability to get the basics of public services right or to build large infrastructure products on time or on budget. My noble friend Lord Maude recently—well, actually, a while ago—completed his review into the governance and accountability of the Civil Service. We look forward to the recommendations with keen anticipation, and I hope that the Government will not delay its publication any longer.
Baroness Pinnock (LD)
My Lords, it has been a really interesting, wide-ranging and well-informed debate. I hope Ministers have been listening carefully, because they have been given plenty of ideas, freely given, for them to take up and introduce as part of their bid to create a better Britain—or whatever the phrase is. What has become crystal clear during this debate is the disappointment expressed by many at the paucity of the Government’s ambition. The Government have run out of energy and ideas, but what has not diminished is the scale of the challenges facing people who are delivering vital public services. For people who are waiting for an operation, waiting for years on the housing list or waiting for a GP appointment, these challenges have direct and personal consequences. The failure of the Government to show some understanding of the situation many people face by addressing the immediate issues they are facing in the gracious Speech is leading so many to complete despair.
As my noble friend Lady Barker said, there is not a strategy in sight in this gracious Speech. As the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Gloucester said, where is the long-term vision that is promised? That leads me to the NHS. We are all now going to remember the wonderful image provided by my noble friend Lord Allan of the Government in the driving seat of the NHS car. It is veering across all the lanes, doing many U-turns, running out of fuel and failing to reach its destination. It is memorable, but what is sad is that it resonates so much to so many: that that is where we are with our National Health Service.
On the long-promised reform to the Mental Health Act, I had not realised it was 40 years since the previous Mental Health Act was passed. That has raised concerns across the House, including by my noble friends Lady Tyler, Lady Walmsley and Lady Burt—all my noble friends and many others as well. There does not seem to have been any justification for not introducing that in the gracious Speech. There is cross-party support and consensus has been arrived at, so where is the Bill? It will be genuinely important for us all to hear why the Government have chosen not to include it in their programme for government.
My noble friend Lady Barker made the very important point about data sharing across the health service, local government, social care and children’s social services; I hope the Minister will respond to that query.
There is growing pressure on primary care, which some Members have raised. We know that there is a grave recruitment struggle for general practitioners, which obviously has a consequential impact on hospital care. We have the long-term workforce plan for the NHS, but we also need some short-term change to fill the gap until we reap the benefits of it. Meanwhile, people across the country are not able to get a GP appointment when they need one. My noble friend Lady Harris spoke eloquently—as did the noble Baroness, Lady Bull—about long Covid and the impact it is having on many people across the country. The Government perhaps need to give more attention to dealing with that.
I was pleased that my noble friend Lord Shipley raised dentistry and the failure of many families to find NHS dental care. It is shameful that some communities where I live rely on a third-world charity called Dentaid to access free dental care. Perhaps we all ought to be ashamed that this is the case in the seventh richest country in the world, so I am really pleased that my noble friend drew attention to that.
My noble friends Lady Burt and Lady Barker and the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of London all raised the issue of the Bill to ban conversion therapy: where is it? I will leave it at that because it is very important for a section of our society, and for some of us who have a commitment to equality across all our communities. I repeat, where is it?
One area that received good support across the House was the plan to reduce the availability of tobacco and to ban vapes for children. My noble friends Lord Rennard and Lady Walmsley, who have been constant campaigners on this issue, have spoken for us all. We are going to welcome it because we believe in cutting disease and early death. There is a green light for it. I will reflect what the noble Baroness, Lady Jay, said about the 26% cut to the public health grant. Without public health you cannot reduce health inequalities, which was raised by the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of London.
This brings me to adult social care. Reform has been promised and promised, but where is it? Too many families tell me that they are struggling to find appropriate home or residential care, particularly for those suffering from dementia. Somebody has to grasp this issue. There is not enough funding going into it and it is causing councils to teeter on the brink of bankruptcy. We are asking council tax payers to pay into this social care premium. In my council area, people are paying an average £200 a year extra on their council tax for adult social care that is not being reformed. That is disgraceful and needs to change.
I will say a word on local government finance, which is important and I hope will be addressed in the Autumn Statement. Today, another major council is on the brink of issuing a Section 114 notice of impending bankruptcy. Without local government to deliver public services locally, we are all bereft. My noble friends Lord Wallace of Saltaire and Lord Shipley both pointed to the importance of local democracy and the need to shake off the shackles of central control to allow it to flourish and do what it does best.
That brings me to housing. We are all glad that tents have not been banned, but we are not happy about everything in the Renters (Reform) Bill. Although the Bill is good, it is not good that Section 21 evictions are not being ended and banned straight away and will still be hanging over private sector tenancies.
The noble Lord, Lord Best, was right to talk about the housing crisis, as we did all through the debates on the levelling-up Bill and we are still having to deal with it. I agree with the noble Lord, Lord Young of Cookham, that it is about time the local housing allowance is thawed and raised, so that people do not have to sub the cost of their rent from meagre benefits.
The leasehold reform Bill gets a muted welcome from me, because it does not deal with the abolition of leasehold for flats. Without that, we cannot deal with the other big issues that are raised in that potential Bill about the Building Safety Act, which is unfinished business.
It has been a really good debate. It is a pity that the Government’s programme is not as good as the debate we have heard.
Baroness Merron (Lab)
My Lords, it is a great honour to be closing this important debate on behalf of His Majesty’s Opposition. This is a new chapter for our sovereign and our country and, with it, His Majesty brings the optimism and sureness that we need in these times of division and instability—both in people’s lives and across the world.
The Coronation was a visible illustration of the King’s determination to mark his reign as one celebrating the strength of our multifaith nation. For me, it was the greatest honour to make history by being a part of the ceremony, representing the Jewish community, alongside the noble Lords, Lord Patel, Lord Kamall and Lord Singh, who represented other faiths.
In declaring my interests in the register that relate to the Jewish community and in turning to the gracious Speech, I say how warmly I appreciated the acknowledgement of anti-Semitism and the need to remember the horrors of the Holocaust. Recognition of the barbaric acts of terrorism against the people of Israel exactly one month before the gracious Speech, the facilitation of humanitarian support into Gaza and support for the cause of peace and stability in the Middle East all sent a clear and welcome message.
The areas for debate across the days are crying out for the
“competence, optimism, confidence and vision,”—[Official Report, 7/11/23; col. 11.]
underpinned by good governance, of which my noble friend Lady Smith spoke on the day of the gracious Speech. But what did we get? Ambition, not for the country but for this Government to stay in office; little to inspire or give confidence that the Government really understand the seriousness of the challenges that households and our country face; and widespread cause for profound disappointment, as we have heard today and as my noble friend Lady Twycross set out so clearly in opening this debate.
I would like to focus on the health and social care aspects of the gracious Speech. Let me start with something we can receive well. From these Benches, we look forward to the passage of the tobacco and vapes Bill, although at present it seems that the Government still do not know how to tackle vaping. We are sleepwalking into a new generation of young people being hooked on nicotine through vaping, when the Government should have been coming down hard on the industry, starting with banning the branding, advertising and marketing of vapes to children, actions to which Labour has committed. It is worth reminding ourselves that an amendment to the Health and Care Bill in 2021 that proposed getting the ball rolling in this way was voted down.
Professor Sir Chris Whitty has put it very well:
“The key points about vaping … can be easily summarised. If you smoke, vaping is much safer; if you don’t smoke, don’t vape; marketing vapes to children is utterly unacceptable.”
Reports not so long ago suggested that the Government were considering an outright ban, but now they are exploring and consulting on options. I look forward to hearing from the Minister about when we can expect a clear plan from the Government.
I turn to just some of the glaring omissions from the gracious Speech. The NHS workforce plan, on which the gracious Speech leant heavily, has failed to consider social care, even though the two services are inextricably linked. Social care reform needs to be system-wide, long term and joined up around the needs of those being cared for, so that comprehensive and integrated care at home and in the community can be properly provided. But when will we receive a plan to do this? After all, as the noble Lord, Lord Young, remarked, does social care not come into the Government’s category of necessary long-term decisions?
In all this, the role of paid and unpaid carers is crucial, as is that of charities, as highlighted by my noble friend Lord Touhig. So where was the long-term social care workforce plan to overcome the severe staff shortages in the care sector? I venture to suggest that Labour’s new deal for care workers could be an essential first step in tackling the staffing crisis. It will be the first ever fair pay agreement collectively negotiated across the sector.
The gracious Speech could have addressed retention and the issues that contribute to high attrition rates across the NHS workforce, but it did not. I am concerned that this is at a time when a recent NHS survey reports that nearly one-third of staff often think about leaving their job, while the workforce plan also fails to address the maintenance and building backlogs that bedevil the ability to have enough physical capacity with which to deliver services. I note that my noble friends Lady Blower and Lady Wilcox made similar comments about inadequate retention and recruitment plans for teachers, another significant staffing group who are crucial to success.
The Government have promised to deliver their plan to cut waiting lists. But where is the actual plan? We on these Benches stand ready with a commitment to provide 2 million more appointments by paying staff extra to work evenings and weekends, which will be paid for by abolishing the non-dom tax status. Is that something the Government would consider doing? If so, we would be pleased to have provided the inspiration.
Instead, what we have is regressive legislation in the form of the Strikes (Minimum Services Levels) Act. It seems that the Government’s answer to the shortage of doctors and nurses is to sack NHS staff. They say they want minimum service levels on strike days, but what is their plan to provide minimum service levels on non-strike days? Had Ministers not spent months refusing to negotiate with NHS staff, there might not have been more than 1 million operations and appointments cancelled due to strike action this year, and NHS England would not be asking for £1 billion extra from the Treasury. We all want minimum standards of service and staffing, but it is this Government who consistently fail to provide them.
It is significant that so many noble Lords, including the noble Baroness, Lady Hollins, have criticised the absence of a Bill to provide the desperately needed reform of the outdated, untrusted and discriminatory 1983 Mental Health Act. As the noble Baroness, Lady Watkins, so aptly observed, this Bill has been on a wating list for 40 years. Since the Government published, in 2018, the findings of their own commissioned review, more than 200,000 people have been detained under the Act—many inappropriately, including those with autism and learning difficulties—and more than 20,000 people have been subjected to a community treatment order.
A White Paper responding to the review was published in 2021. Last year a draft Bill was published, and pre-legislative scrutiny got under way. A huge amount of valuable and informed cross-party work has been undertaken, with wide consultation among stakeholders. The failure to bring forward those long overdue reforms, including changes to the criteria for detaining patients, is letting down our most vulnerable. This cannot continue.
Health and social care is not the only area of omission. In the gracious Speech there is no legislation to build the homes we need or the education system that people of all ages need, or to tackle the increasing level of persistent absenteeism in schools—which was noted by the noble Baronesses, Lady Gohir and Lady Bull, and many other noble Lords.
There were two general themes underlying the debate today, about which many noble Lords have spoken, and on which I shall conclude my remarks. First, inequalities run ever deeper across our society, whether we look at maternity care, life expectancy, the quality of health throughout life, or detention on mental health grounds. As the noble Lord, Lord Best, said, there are also inequalities in housing availability, affordability and quality. We are seeing an increasing divide on the basis of social determinants, of which the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of London spoke, whether they be because of race or colour, or where people live, their income, their education and/or their start in life.
Secondly, as my noble friend Lady Jay said, one Bill a strategy does not make. The gracious Speech provides a disconnected programme, with no strategy to address the deep-rooted fractures in people’s lives to which my noble friend Lord Howarth referred.
I listened closely to the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Gloucester, who spoke of the very real impact of disjointed government on victims, families and communities. What a missed opportunity this gracious Speech has been. I can only hope that the next gracious Speech will be different and will grasp every opportunity for change.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Viscount Younger of Leckie) (Con)
My Lords, I start by echoing the opening comments made by the noble Baroness, Lady Merron. It is a great honour for me as well to close this debate on His Majesty’s gracious Speech. I also take this opportunity to echo her points, and the points made by other Peers, on anti-Semitism. It was an important point that she made, and we are all very aware of what is going on in that particular area. I also thank noble Lords for their very valuable contributions and thank my noble friend Lord Markham for opening this important debate with, if I may say so, his very personal approach. As the noble Baroness, Lady Donaghy, pointed out, he did indeed hit the right note.
I am very aware that I am speaking at the end of an extraordinary day—an extraordinarily sad, sombre and emotional day, as we continue to remember the late noble and learned Lord, Lord Judge. Despite his huge loss, as we have seen this afternoon, this House sails on, and there have been a great number of varied and eloquent remarks made, covering at least four departments—so I have a lot of work to do. As noble Lords might expect, there will be a long letter coming, because I suspect I will not be able to cover everything.
My noble friend Lord Markham and I are aware of the plethora of health-related questions that have been raised this afternoon, all thoroughly relevant and important, ranging from end-of-life care, osteoporosis, long Covid, autism, dentistry, smoking—which I will touch on later—and conversion therapy. I will take this opportunity to congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Burt, on securing her Private Member’s Bill. That is hot off the press for me, so I am sure we will be happy to engage with her on that particular Bill.
On rather a different note, I want to pick up on what my noble friend Lady Verma said. She devoted her speech to a most important subject: hate in schools. She is absolutely right that every child must be able to go to a school where there is always 100% respect for every individual in the school, but also within that community. That includes pupils and teachers. I will indeed pass her points on to the Department for Education, with my own endorsement and, I am sure, the endorsement of the rest of the House. This chimes with the comments made by the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Gloucester. I listened carefully to her points, which admittedly were linked to prisons but did focus on the very important subject of communities.
At the heart of the gracious Speech—here I might have been lucky, but was not in the end, to have some words from the noble Baroness, Lady Pinnock, but here goes—are long-term decisions that will deliver a brighter future for millions of people around the country, whether by providing greater security for home owners and tenants, getting people the care they need more quickly, protecting the health of future generations and ensuring that every young person has the education they need to succeed, or strengthening society by ensuring that public bodies are focused on delivering for the communities they serve.
I will just go straight in and talk about housing, which was one of the key themes this afternoon. Whether you are a home owner, private renter or social tenant, as a result of actions already taken, more people are benefiting from a secure and decent home. But, as has been pointed out this afternoon, there is more to do. I am acutely aware of comments made by Peers such as the noble Lords, Lord Howarth and Lord Best. The gracious Speech builds on our progress to make the leasehold system fairer and ensure that home ownership is a more affordable reality, while also delivering a new deal for the private rented sector. Banning the sale of new leasehold houses, for example, will help to restore true home ownership, meaning that, other than in exceptional circumstances, every new house in England and Wales will be freehold from the outset.
That brings me to questions that were raised by my noble friend Lord Young of Cookham and a question raised by my noble friend Lady Finn who asked about leasehold reforms and noted that commonhold should be the default for new build. We think the best way forward is to help leaseholders by making existing leases fairer and more affordable. A rapid transition from leasehold to commonhold will not work for everyone, and we are not going to force uncertainty on to people. The Bill delivers what leaseholders need, which is true home ownership experience. We are making it cheaper and easier for leaseholders to purchase the freehold of their building or a long 990-year lease on their property. We are also empowering leaseholders who will be able to buy out their ground rents and take control of their building’s management from the freeholder so that they have greater control of their property, including management fees, as raised by my noble friend Lady Finn.
Through our Renters (Reform) Bill, abolishing no-fault evictions will also give tenants much more security while delivering a fairer deal for responsible landlords, who deserve to know that their rights are protected and their investments are safe. Questions were raised by the noble Lords, Lord Best and Lord Thurlow, and were touched on by my noble friend Lord Naseby. They were concerned that there was no long-term planning for housing. I hope I can reassure the House that we do indeed have a long-term plan for housing because the Government have committed to a new era of regeneration and housing delivery across England with transformational plans to supply safe and decent homes in partnership with local communities. Some £800 million will be allocated from the brownfield, infrastructure and land fund to unlock new homes on brownfield sites. We are also funding Homes England with £550 million and providing investment of £150 million to Greater Manchester and the same to the West Midlands. Additional reforms to the planning system will speed up new developments, put power in the hands of local communities and unlock planning decisions.
I want to pick up on some comments made about homelessness, which I know is a subject close to the heart of the noble Lord, Lord Bird, and which was also raised by the noble Baroness, Lady Twycross, earlier in the debate. We are determined to end rough sleeping and prevent people ending up on the streets in the first place. That is why last year we published our strategy to end rough sleeping for good and have already made an unprecedented £2 billion-worth commitment over three years to accelerate these efforts. This includes more specialist accommodation to make sure people have a route off the streets, including 6,000 move-on homes, through the rough sleeping accommodation programme, which is the biggest-ever investment in housing for people sleeping rough. I am sure the noble Lord, Lord Bird, knows about those statistics.
A point was made by my noble friend Lord Young of Cookham and the noble Lord, Lord Carrington, about cross-departmental work in the area of renters reform. I will just give a very short answer to that. We are very clear we need to proceed at pace with our court improvements, so we are working very closely with the MoJ to make sure that both landlords and tenants can benefit as quickly as possible. However, we are ensuring that an improved court system meets the needs of users and has been thoroughly tested prior to launch. We are also very aware of the overloading of the justice system, and that is something we are certainly working through. If it is any consolation, landlords will need to go through the courts in only a small minority of cases where a tenant does not leave at the end of the notice period.
Moving on now to health and social care services, which is another major theme for this afternoon, the gracious Speech underlines the Government’s commitment to ensuring that people can access the care that they need as well as taking the long-term decisions that will support and protect the NHS for the future. In meeting immediate challenges, we are providing record levels of funding to help the NHS continue to recover from the pressures caused by the pandemic, also a subject raised this afternoon, and to support the NHS through this winter. Last year, we virtually eliminated long waits of two years or more for elective procedures and by June this year waits of more than 78 weeks.
The right reverend Prelate the Bishop of London, who is not in her place, raised the subject of minimum service levels, and I think it was touched upon by other Peers. Our top priority is to protect the life and health of patients and the public. The aim is to keep patients safe, give the public much-needed assurance that vital health services can continue through strike action and ensure that emergency, urgent and essential care are there when patients need them most.
It is for employers to decide what, if any, disciplinary action is taken if workers choose to strike when they are expected to work in order to provide a minimum service level. We hope that employers will be fair and reasonable and take this sort of action only where it is really necessary.
To further reduce pressures, through our primary care recovery plan we are making it easier to see a GP. We are investing an additional £600 million this year and £1 billion next year to reduce delays in discharging patients who would receive better health outcomes outside hospital. Through the first ever comprehensive NHS long-term workforce plan, we are putting staffing on a sustainable footing, ramping up the number of training places for doctors, GPs, nurses and dentists.
I will pick up on a number of perhaps rather negative comments that the noble Lord, Lord Allan, made, supported by the noble Baroness, Lady Pinnock. I think the noble Lord used a number of driving analogies—basically saying that he was concerned about the long-term workforce plan and that it did not nearly go far enough. Perhaps I can give some sort of reassurance to him. The long-term plan for the NHS workforce is the first of its kind in the history of the NHS—so I would argue that it is a brand new, quality car.
The 15-year plan developed by the NHS will put the NHS workforce on a sustainable footing for the long term. The Government are backing the plan with over £2.4 billion over the next five years to fund additional education and training places. Taken with retention measures, the NHS plan could mean that the health service has 60,000 extra doctors, 170,000 more nurses and 71,000 more allied health professionals in place by 2036-37—which I admit seems rather a long way off.
Through the tobacco and vapes Bill, by effectively ensuring that anyone turning 14 or younger this year will never legally be sold tobacco, we will protect future generations from the harms of smoking and reduce future demand on the NHS. There has been—I think it is fair to say I am on safer ground with this—a general welcome for this. I appreciate the comments from the House, with a very personal speech from the noble Lord, Lord Rennard. This was also spoken to by the noble Baroness, Lady Walmsley, and the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Gloucester. This Bill will also tackle vaping among young people by taking measures currently under consultation, which was mentioned, to reduce the appeal and availability of vapes.
I move on to tackle some points raised by a number of Peers—I am going on a different track here—on the mental health Bill. This was raised by the noble Baronesses, Lady Twycross, Lady Watkins and Lady Bull, the noble Lord, Lord Thurlow, and others. I am aware of the strength of feeling on this. I recognise the disappointment that the mental health Bill was not included in the King’s Speech. I reassure noble Lords that the Government are committed to seeing that mental health is treated on par with physical health. I recognise the time and effort dedicated by the Joint Committee on the draft Bill. We are reviewing its pre-legislative scrutiny report and we will respond to it in due course.
In the meantime, the Government will continue to take forward non-legislative commitments to improve the care and treatment of people detained under the Act. This includes continuing to pilot models of culturally appropriate advocacy, providing tailored support to hundreds of people from ethnic minorities to better understand their rights when they are detained under the MHA. We also show our commitment through the historic levels of investment in NHS mental health services and will invest at least £2.3 billion more funding by March 2024, allowing an extra 2 million people to benefit.
The sharing of data was raised by the noble Baroness, Lady Barker, and my noble friend Lady Browning. Again, to give some reassurance, in June 2022 we published Data Saves Lives, our data strategy for health and social care. We are committed to demonstrating that the health and social care system is a trustworthy data custodian. One of the ways we will do this is by increasing levels of transparency about how data is used, both for individual care and for improving population health, planning, innovation and research. Our strategy set out plans for a transparency hub, the beginnings of which are now live on NHS.UK. We are currently developing phase 1 of a transparency statement for publication in the autumn and winter. This will be followed by a series of large-scale engagement events from 2024 with members of the public.
A number of Peers raised points to do with funding for social care, not least the noble Lords, Lord Allan and Lord Howarth, and my noble friend Lord Young. The Government are delivering a significant reform programme to make progress towards our 10-year vision for adult social care, backed by up to £700 million of investment. We are supporting workforce development, sector digitisation and innovation, and helping people to remain independent at home. The Autumn Statement includes £1 billion of new grant funding in 2023-24 and £1.7 billion in 2024-25, as well as £1.3 billion leading on into the next three years, made available through the social care grant and further flexibility for local authorities on council tax.
Sustained government investment has helped local authorities steadily increase their spending on adult social care, which reached £21.4 billion in 2021-22. This is an average increase of 2.5% per year in real terms between 2014-15 and 2021-22. We are also improving care workers’ skills and supporting career progression, investing in technology and digitisation and adapting people’s homes to allow them to live independently. We have always acknowledged that our reforms will not solve all problems in social care, but they are a significant step in moving us towards a new vision that the whole of government is committed to.
I will touch briefly on osteoporosis, which was raised by my noble friend Lord Lexden, the noble Baroness, Lady Donaghy, and others. Services for those with musculoskeletal conditions, including osteoporosis, are commissioned locally by ICBs, which are best placed to plan and provide services in line with local priorities and funding. NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time programme has a workstream on MSK help, and there are ongoing assessments of the accessibility of fracture liaison services, using data captured in the national falls and fragility fracture audit programme. These will help to reduce inequities in provision. I hope that gives a short answer to that.
My noble friend Lady Cumberlege and the noble Baroness, Lady Walmsley, raised infected blood, on which I will write to the House. Briefly, we will act swiftly in response to the final report of the infected blood inquiry, following the interim payments we have already made. The use of infected blood and blood products was an appalling tragedy and a dreadful failure.
Just as we are protecting the next generation’s health, so too are we ensuring that today’s young people gain the knowledge and skills required to succeed in tomorrow’s world of work and beyond—so I now turn to the education measures in the gracious Speech. Over the past decade, this Government have made significant improvements. Our nine and 10 year-olds are the best in the western world at reading, and the performance of 15 year-olds in England in reading, maths and science is significantly higher than the OECD average.
However, we must do more to ensure that our post-16 approach is more ambitious and internationally competitive in its breadth and depth. By introducing a new advanced British standard—ABS—for 16 to 19 year-olds, we will establish a world-class system that places equal value on technical and academic knowledge and skills by combining the best of A-levels and T-levels into a single qualification.
The noble Lord, Lord Aberdare, the noble Baroness, Lady Wilcox, and my noble friend Lord Lexden asked how we would deliver the scale of reform. Perhaps I can reassure the House that this is a long-term reform, and A-levels and T-levels will remain until it is fully rolled out. We are retaining apprenticeships as the gold standard for young people who want to move straight into on-the-job training. It will need careful development in partnership with students, teachers, leaders, schools, colleges, universities and employers, as well as the public. As mentioned by my noble friend Lord Markham, we will consult extensively and in detail over the coming months on the design of the new qualification, informing a White Paper next year setting out our plan for delivery, accompanied by a programme of stakeholder engagement.
The noble Lord, Lord Aberdare, touched on careers and made important points; I know that he speaks frequently on this subject. We will publish a strategic action plan for careers in 2024. It will be based around the three priorities of a single, unified careers system; skills, training and work experience; and social justice.
School attendance was another theme raised, not least by the noble Baronesses, Lady Watkins and Lady Wilcox. The Government are rightly focused on helping pupils attend school. We have expanded attendance hubs across 800 schools, benefiting over 400,000 pupils. A wealth of wider activity also supports attendance, including £5 billion of investment in education recovery.
I can see that time is marching on quickly. I wanted to focus on my own department, the DWP, which was not raised too much today. If I may, I shall include that in a letter, in which I shall be very pleased to cover many of the points raised in respect of other departments.
Before closing, I remind noble Lords that I will write a letter, which will be quite a long one, on all the points that were not answered by me today; conversion therapy springs to mind.
As His Majesty’s gracious Speech demonstrates, this Government are committed to delivering on the issues that really matter to the people of the United Kingdom, improving lives, prospects and opportunities, and strengthening society in every part of the country now and in the future.