Parliamentary Democracy and Standards in Public Life

Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe Excerpts

Thursday 11th January 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Featherstone, for prompting this debate.

In October it will be 30 years since the Committee on Standards in Public Life was established. I sat on the original committee in 1994—I think I was its youngest member—and our first report in May 1995 set out the seven Nolan principles of public life, which were enumerated by the noble Baroness. Their purpose was to ensure the highest standards of propriety in public life. As a code of conduct, they are still a lodestar for all those who serve the public in any way.

Yet, 30 years on, the need for scrutiny seems ever greater. I want to believe that having the Nolan principles has made people more aware and thus more likely to call out poor standards. I am reluctant to accept that malpractice, chancing your arm or even headline-hitting scandals, which we have unfortunately had close to home in this House, are inevitable. However, while it would be naive not to acknowledge the tensions that exist between power and doing the right thing, the last few years have exposed too many instances where those in political life have fallen short of the Nolan principles. The litany includes lying, bullying, poor leadership, the breaching of lockdown rules, dubious lobbying practices, the Owen Paterson issue, public procurement scandals and partygate. While these fall foul of just about every one of the seven principles, what links them all is a lack of integrity in recent leadership.

Frankly, I am not surprised by the current dismal standing of our parliamentary democracy. A recent World Values Survey from the Policy Institute at King’s College London shows that the percentage of the British public who had confidence in Parliament has halved since 1990, from 46% that year to 23% in 2022. Among young people—millennials and Generation X—the percentages are even lower.

In 2021, the CSPL reported on

“the importance of high ethical standards, the continuing relevance of the”

Nolan principles,

“and the effectiveness of the rules, regulators, policies and processes related to upholding standards”.

It made 34 recommendations for reform, including a call for more power to be given to the independent adviser on ministerial standards. This recommendation was rejected. Can the Minister give us any assurance that the Government will keep the CSPL’s remaining recommendations under review, particularly that the independent adviser should have the authority to determine breaches of the Ministerial Code?

In July last year, the Opposition in the other place outlined their plans for a new independent ethics and integrity commission. I hope that this remains a high priority for any future change in government. Integrity is the overriding principle without which none of the others can be sustained. Redressing the lack of integrity in recent leadership is vital, not just for our parliamentary democracy but for our international reputation. We must not allow the damage done in the last few years to lead to any further weakening of trust in public institutions and those who work in them.

Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill

Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe Excerpts

Committee stage
Wednesday 3rd May 2023 Lords Chamber

Lastly—and sorry for the length of this introduction —our Amendments 364 and 364A are tabled to probe how the Minister intends to assess the proposed impact of the infrastructure levy on the delivery of affordable housing. These amendments are very important because it is not indicated how levelling up, and therefore the building of more affordable housing which will help levelling up, is going to be achieved through the process of the infrastructure levy. I beg to move.

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (Lab)]

My Lords, this is the second group of amendments today on the new infrastructure levy. While there is clear scope to reform and improve the existing system for developer contributions, it is none the less responsible for a huge proportion of new affordable and social homes. As its proposed replacement, the infrastructure levy represents, as I said in the earlier debate, a radical shift in how such housing will be funded and delivered.

There are 4.2 million people currently in need of social housing in England—I do not think that fact can be repeated too often. Our efforts to house them have so far been abysmal. Against this backdrop of acute housing need, changes to the planning system must at a minimum protect current levels of new affordable housing. In the earlier debate, the Minister emphasised that the Government aim to do just that but also said that these were decisions for local authorities and offered little confidence that this aim could be guaranteed.

The Daily Express on 29 April had a startling statistic that nine in 10 local authorities failed to build a single council house last year and no region in England saw an increase from 2021. As many as five locations in England did not complete a single social home last year, including the City of London. My noble friend Lady Taylor cited the evidence from Homes for the North, which provided us with an excellent briefing. Through its research with Liverpool University, it has shown that those most in need of levelling up, based on the Government’s own definition, are likely to have the least capacity to generate investment for affordable housing through the infrastructure levy, and it goes on to offer more data on that. The Minister expressed hope that more social housing would be built, but as targets are to be dispensed with and as local authorities and housing associations are clearly struggling to deliver any social housing at all, there is a singular lack of ambition to help the 4.2 million people in real need.

I have three amendments in this group—Amendments 326, 327 and 334. Each of them seeks to strengthen protections for affordable housing in this legislation and ensure that the infrastructure levy does not lead to a net loss of affordable housing. I am pleased to have received support for the amendments from the Labour and Lib Dem Front Benches, the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Chelmsford and the noble Baroness, Lady Watkins of Tavistock.

I move to my first amendment, Amendment 326. One of the main concerns with the infrastructure levy, raised by stakeholders from across the housing sector, is the risk to on-site delivery of affordable and social housing. While imperfect, Section 106 has facilitated a well-integrated mix of housing tenures to support households of different sizes, ages and incomes. We have a proud history in this country of people living side by side. These mixed communities are a rare success story in housing and planning policy and must be retained if we move from Section 106 to the levy. But by moving us away from an in-kind system of affordable and social housing, as with Section 106, towards a financed-based system, the infrastructure levy risks undoing important progress in this area.

It is welcome that the Government have acknowledged this risk. In a policy paper published alongside the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill on 11 May 2022, the Government committed to:

“Introduce a new ‘right to require’ to remove the role of negotiation in determining levels of onsite affordable housing. This rebalances the inequality between developers and local authorities by allowing local authorities to determine the portion of the levy they receive in-kind as on-site affordable homes”.


This was a very welcome commitment. In their recently published technical consultation on the infrastructure levy, the Government again confirmed their intention to bring forward a mechanism for on-site delivery. However, it is disappointing that not a single mention of the right to require mechanism is made in this Bill. Ministers have said it will instead be introduced via secondary legislation. This mechanism for on-site delivery is a highly significant aspect of the new levy and should not be left out of the Bill altogether. It should be subject to proper parliamentary scrutiny and a rigorous consultation and piloting process. I hope the Minister will comment on that.

My Amendment 326 would place a duty on the Government to bring forward infrastructure levy regulations which would introduce a mechanism for the delivery of on-site affordable housing as an in-kind levy payment. Put simply, my amendment would ensure that the Government abide by their own stated policy intentions and hold Ministers to their commitment to safeguard the future of mixed communities.

Again, this amendment does not seek to transform radically the design of the levy; it would simply put stated government policy in the Bill. It does not bind the Government to an onerous or cumbersome interpretation of the right to require; it merely ensures that such a mechanism is introduced. For these reasons, I hope that the Government will consider supporting this amendment.

Amendment 327, coupled with Amendment 328 in the name of my noble friend Lady Hayman of Ullock, seeks to place in primary legislation clear exemptions from payment of the infrastructure levy for registered providers of social housing. My amendment would provide for an exemption from liability to pay IL in respect of a development which contains 100% affordable housing. I support also the amendment tabled by my noble friend Lady Hayman which would exempt developments containing 75% affordable housing. Charging levy rates against such developments would clearly disincentivise new affordable housing and undermine the levy’s stated purpose. There are already such exemptions in place in the current system for developer contributions, most notably in the community infrastructure levy.

The Government have indicated that they will introduce such an exemption. It would be preferable to see this commitment included in primary legislation. At Commons Committee stage, the Housing Minister confirmed that the Government

“do not expect to charge the levy on exclusively affordable housing developments; we will explore that matter further in consultation”.—[Official Report, Commons, Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill Committee, 6/9/22; col. 638.]

It would be preferable to see this commitment in the Bill.

No argument has been forthcoming about why it is preferable to introduce such an exemption via regulation. This is particularly concerning as an exemption is provided for charities in new Section 204F, to be inserted by Schedule 11, which could encompass most registered providers of social housing. Further clarification is required as there is a risk of overlapping exemptions and confusion about criteria for housing associations. I hope the Minister can provide more clarity and certainty about the Government’s intention to bring forward exemptions from the levy for affordable housing.

My Amendment 334 would strengthen the requirement for local planning authorities to set infrastructure levy rates at a level which would not result in a loss of affordable housing. It would ensure that the infrastructure levy delivers baseline levels of affordable housing, thus removing the risk of a net loss of affordable housing under the new system.

In a public letter to the Secretary of State in February, 19 leading organisations from across the housing sector set out significant concerns about the impact that the proposals for a new infrastructure levy will have on the supply of new affordable housing. Signatories included Shelter, Crisis, the Church of England, the National Housing Federation and the Greater London Authority.

Cabinet Manual: Revision (Constitution Committee Report)

Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe Excerpts

Friday 16th December 2022 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lady Drake for introducing the debate in such a masterly way. The work of the Constitution Committee is largely unsung, but it provides a vital service to the House, and it reminds us, among other things, of the seriousness of our constitutional role. I will open my contribution as she ended hers. She concluded with a quote from the Cabinet Secretary on culture and referred to the role of the manual in the proper conduct of public and political life and to the public’s trust in government. I come to the report through the prism of culture to ask: what can the public expect from us as parliamentarians, and what behaviours are they entitled to expect? What are the cultural norms that generate trust in the public and the electorate?

I was a member of the Nolan committee, the first Committee on Standards in Public Life. I was invited to serve by the then Prime Minister, John Major, in the wake of the exposure of a number of dubious activities by Members of Parliament, culminating in the so-called cash-for-questions scandal that was perceived to threaten the stability of the then Government. My contact with parliamentarians until that point had largely been as an advocate, but I knew only a small number of MPs and committees, and I was definitely in awe of Parliament and its responsibilities. I remember the huge responsibility I felt, and how difficult but important the task ahead seemed. Nevertheless, the seven principles of public life which the committee produced have subsequently been embedded in the standards landscape across the public sector and elsewhere. In Parliament, they have required Ministers, parliamentarians and officials to adhere to certain standards of behaviour articulated in different codes and all brought together in the Cabinet Manual. As such, I feel a certain proprietary interest in how the manual is used and developed.

Perhaps I was naive in those early days, but I still feel the same awe at the importance of the concept of parliamentary democracy, have the same belief that parliamentarians must earn the public’s trust, and have the same respect for the many honourable, hard-working and inspirational parliamentarians I have known in both Houses. However, there is no doubt that, over the last few years, we have again seen an upsurge in dubious behaviour by Ministers and others— particularly during the crisis of the pandemic—which has been covered extensively in the press and is clearly causing concern among the public, potentially undermining their trust in the honesty and integrity of Parliament. An up-to-date and transparent Cabinet Manual is a key instrument in addressing that.

In its report, the Select Committee quotes the current Cabinet Secretary, Simon Case, and, like my noble friend Lady Drake, I will quote what he said, because it seems to be the essence of the Select Committee’s report. He said that the manual and codes

“set out … the norms by which government operates, the standard expected of ministers and the civil service … They are important and should be kept in the forefront of people’s minds … It is about culture and people wanting to uphold those basic principles”.

The Constitution Committee agreed, as my noble friend said in her introduction to the debate; as did two former Cabinet Secretaries, the noble Lords, Lord O’Donnell and Lord Sedwill. Simon Case added that it

“has to belong to the Prime Minister and Cabinet of the day, to articulate their view of how government should, and can, work”.

To my mind, it is important that the Prime Minister and the Cabinet have a contemporary understanding and agreement on how they are required to behave to generate public confidence, and that this is also widely understood. So, when I read the Constitution Committee’s report, I was forcefully struck by the stark fact that the Cabinet Manual has not been updated for 11 years. That is nothing less than irresponsible, given what seems like a tsunami of recent allegations of misconduct in public life, the kind of misconduct which the codes—which the manual embodies—are intended to address. The committee, with understandable constraint, merely cites a few in a footnote, but every newspaper reader is familiar with recent cases. They include: the finding by the independent adviser on ministerial interests that the then Home Secretary, Priti Patel, broke the Ministerial Code, but was exonerated by the Prime Minister; that there were investigations into the refurbishment of the former Prime Minister’s residence in Downing Street; that the same former Prime Minister nominated a life Peer, the noble Lord, Lord Cruddas, contrary to the advice of the independent House of Lords Appointments Commission; and that Ministers made misleading statements and relied on inaccurate statistics, and are not held to book. All that undermines public trust, and suggests, to paraphrase “Hamlet”, that the Cabinet Manual is less honoured in the observance than in the breach.

I am therefore pleased that the Government have accepted the recommendation of the Constitution Committee that the manual be updated before the end of this Parliament. However, I hope the Minister will go further today and agree that, in the interests of improving public confidence and reinforcing adherence to proper standards in public life, the manual will be updated at the beginning of each Parliament and endorsed by the then Cabinet. That will give some confidence that the manual and codes will not be, as the Constitution Committee warns,

“swept aside or ignored to suit the convenience of the executive.”

Early Years Interventions

Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe Excerpts

Wednesday 1st December 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen (Con)]

As part of the Covid recovery strategy, we have invested £17 million in the delivery of the Nuffield Early Language Intervention programme, improving the language skills of reception-age children who need it most—language skills are so important. Of course, it will not be possible to put that in place unless we have the workforce to do it. The department is committed to supporting the sector to develop a workforce with the appropriate knowledge, skills and experience to deliver high-quality early education and childcare. We are investing £20 million in a high-quality, evidence-based professional development programme for practitioners to target disadvantaged areas and a further £10 million in funding a second phase of the programme, which will be announced shortly.

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (Lab)]

My Lords, children in deprived areas benefit most from early years education and childcare. Problems can be identified and appropriate interventions arranged. They are better prepared for school and learn valuable social and cultural skills. Big nursery chains are expanding when they can charge fees. Poorer children’s needs are often met by smaller, stand-alone nurseries that cannot survive without adequate local authority funding. The projected increase next April will not be enough to cover the increases in costs of the minimum wage, national insurance, energy, pensions, resumption of business rates and so on.

[The Lord Privy Seal (Baroness Evans of Bowes Park) (Con)]

My Lords, may I please remind noble Lords that this is Question Time, not speech time? Can we please have pithy questions so that everybody can ask what they want?

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (Lab)]

How do the Government hope to sustain those nurseries’ vital contribution to social mobility if their funding remains inadequate?

[Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen (Con)]

Of course it is very important that the independent nursery schools carry on. We are investing additional funding for the early years entitlement worth £160 million in 2022-23. This is for local authorities to increase the hourly rates paid to childcare providers for the Government’s free childcare entitlement offers and reflects cost pressures as well as anticipated changes in the number of eligible children. The Government have confirmed the continuation of the maintained nursery schools supplementary funding throughout the SR period, providing the sector with long-term certainty. For 2022-23, we will increase the MNS supplementary hourly funding rate by 3.5%.