Public Trust in National Politics
Debate between Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent and Baroness Watkins of Tavistock(5 days, 22 hours ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)
My Lords, the noble Lord raises an interesting point, and I will write to him about the details of it. Obviously, one of the basic tenets of the British values I have talked about is free and fair elections. Making sure that the Electoral Commission can facilitate those across the United Kingdom is very important.
Baroness Watkins of Tavistock (CB)
My Lords, the greatest mistrust in politics at the moment is among young graduates, who have seen all three parties renege on promises in relation to student loans. Significantly high interest rates, with repayment at 9%, mean that the majority of young graduates are paying much more tax than the other generation. How will we restore the trust in politics among young graduates, who are central to our future?
Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)
The noble Baroness raises a genuinely important point about the next generation, which will be dealing with some of these issues for decades to come. With regards to the specifics of her question about our plans for student fees, I am afraid that I do not have that information available, but I will write to the noble Baroness.
Public Sector: Working From Home
Debate between Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent and Baroness Watkins of Tavistock
Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)
I thank the noble Lord for his question. He is right to raise it. In 2023-24 HMRC answered only 66.4% of phone calls when customers wanted to speak to an adviser. I can update the House that, according to the most recent figures we have, in quarter 3 of last year handling was 85%, so we are making significant advances. One of the things that has been most effective is that we are now giving the majority of people an answer on their first call and 80% of customer correspondence is now being issued within 15 days.
Baroness Watkins of Tavistock (CB)
My Lords, the Select Committee on Home-Based Working, of which I am a member, is receiving evidence from private sector employers that they are looking at innovative ways to measure productivity, but more importantly, to see what happens in the kind of telephone call the Minister has just referred to, because accurate information is not always given. What plans do the Government have to measure productivity in a more sophisticated way for public sector workers working from home?
Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)
The noble Baroness raises an important point. The Government are currently reflecting on how we should do it. The House of Lords Select Committee on Home-Based Working has a call for evidence which closes on 25 April, and we look forward to seeing its report in November to reflect on its recommendations.