Oral Answers to Questions

Elizabeth Truss Excerpts

Tuesday 16th January 2018 Commons Chamber

[Michael Tomlinson (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (Con)]

12. What progress is being made on creating jobs and reducing unemployment.

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Elizabeth Truss)]

The unemployment rate is now the lowest since 1975, and 3 million more people are in jobs than in 2010. What that means is that they have the ability to use their talents to support their families and to get on in life.

[Mr Seely]

Will my right hon. Friend and the Treasury team work with me and the Isle of Wight Council to explore how the Island could benefit from a Treasury-supported enterprise zone in the Medina valley or from other regeneration policies that would help to drive the jobs and wealth creation agenda on the Isle of Wight?

[Elizabeth Truss]

My hon. Friend has done a fantastic job of championing the Isle of Wight since 2010, and we have seen a 55% reduction in unemployment on the Island. There are many issues that we need to address to ensure that the economy on the Island is competitive and dynamic. The Isle of Wight ferry is a vital service, and we need to ensure that the Competition and Markets Authority has the tools to deal with that. I would be very happy to meet my hon. Friend to talk about what more we can do to boost the Isle of Wight.

[Michael Tomlinson]

I am the chairman of the all-party parliamentary group for youth employment, and each month we track the jobs figures. Will my right hon. Friend update the House on the impact of this very welcome job creation on poverty levels and welfare dependency since 2010?

[Elizabeth Truss]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on his work. Since 2010, we have seen a 40% reduction in youth unemployment. Let us compare that with what happened under the Labour Government when, during an economic boom, youth unemployment rose and those young people were left on the scrapheap rather than joining apprenticeships and getting the training opportunities that they have under this Government.

[Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck (South Shields) (Lab)]

Here is a reality check for the Minister. Limited well-paid jobs and record levels of in-work poverty coupled with this Government’s unflinching assault on the welfare safety net have contributed to the United Nations estimating that 8 million households in the UK are food insecure. My cost-neutral household Food Security Bill will robustly measure these factors and lead to policy development that will eradicate hunger. Why will her Government not back it?

[Elizabeth Truss]

I am surprised that the hon. Lady is not interested in the news we heard earlier, which is that those on the lowest incomes have seen a 7% real-terms pay rise since 2015, enabling them to support their families.

[Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry) (DUP)]

Does the Chief Secretary agree that one of the best ways of creating employment is to simplify tax structures to help small and medium-sized enterprises to create employment right across the United Kingdom?

[Elizabeth Truss]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. This Government have cut red tape and taxes. We have cut basic rate tax by £1,000 for working people, which has encouraged more people to get jobs and more companies to take people on. That is why we are seeing economic success.

[Martin Vickers (Cleethorpes) (Con)]

Transport for the North has today published its strategic plan, which forecasts 850,000 new jobs if the plan is delivered. Although the document is disappointing for Cleethorpes and northern Lincolnshire, broadly speaking more investment in transport in the north will provide those jobs. Will the Minister give an assurance that resources will be made available to deliver the plan?

[Elizabeth Truss]

I am pleased to say that we are investing a record amount in economic infrastructure, and the Institute for Fiscal Studies said that such investment would be at a 40-year high by the end of this Parliament. We are giving money to improve transport in towns and cities, allocating £1.7 billion for that purpose at the Budget.

[John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington) (Lab)]

Thousands of Carillion workers will turn up to work tomorrow unsure whether they have a job, and they may not appreciate Conservative boasts about employment today. The workers face cuts to their pensions, and hundreds of small firms along the supply chain are also uncertain about their futures. The traditional role of the Treasury is to protect our public finances, so will the Minister explain to the House what involvement the Treasury had in the billions of pounds of contracts held by Carillion at the time of its liquidation? We know that Treasury approval is required for PFI contracts, so will she tell the House how many PFI and PF2 contracts were signed by the Treasury during the current Chancellor’s time in office? What will happen to those projects and to the staff working on them? When there were loud and clear worrying signs about Carillion, why did Treasury Ministers, instead of intervening, collude in the strategy of drip-feeding more contracts to Carillion to buoy up an obviously failing company?

[Elizabeth Truss]

What has happened at Carillion is regrettable, which is why we are ensuring that the people employed by Carillion have support from jobcentres and why our No. 1 priority is ensuring that we continue to supply public services. However, it would be completely wrong for a company that got itself in such a state to be bailed out by the state, and we are not doing that. We are making sure that we continue to supply public services at the same time as helping the people who work for the company.

If we look at the record of contracting, a third of those contracts were signed under the previous Labour Government, and one of the most recent contracts was signed by the Labour-led Leeds City Council. The fact is that we have £60 billion of contracts with private sector companies that deliver public services across this country, which is an important way of delivering our public services. When there is an issue, as we have had with Carillion, we have made the preparations, and we are sorting out the situation.

[John McDonnell]

We are asking questions about when it was obvious that this company was failing and what the Treasury’s role was. I put it no stronger than this: at this stage, there are real suspicions that the Government were too close to the company and too wedded to its privatisation role. We need full transparency on the meetings and discussions that took place between Ministers, civil servants and representatives of Carillion. What warnings were given to Ministers and what action was recommended, whether it was implemented or not? We need the Treasury to start playing its proper role and to provide an independent assessment of the potential costs and risks facing the taxpayer. As has already been mentioned, a Cabinet Office minute was published after the statement yesterday that established a contingent liability. We urgently need to know from the Treasury about the potential range of costs now facing the taxpayer.

[Elizabeth Truss]

We already publish all those minutes and details of meetings. We are a transparent Government, and we make decisions in an objective fashion. Those decisions are signed off by the Treasury, and they are signed off by the Cabinet Office. Recent decisions on Carillion contracts have been made on the basis of joint and several liability to make sure the taxpayer is protected. We always look for value for money in the way we set up our contracts. The Government are dealing with this in a responsible and measured way, rather than making cheap political shots at a time when people’s jobs are in question and when we are working to sort that out.

[Rachel Maclean (Redditch) (Con)]

11. What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on the effect of Government investment in education on pupil outcomes since 2010.

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Elizabeth Truss)]

We are investing a record £41 billion in our schools this year. For the first time ever, we are putting in place a fair national funding formula. We are seeing standards rising. In the recent Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, we saw England gain its highest ever score in reading.

[Rachel Maclean]

Thanks to the incredible hard work of staff, children and parents in Redditch, 92% of our secondary schools are currently rated outstanding. Receiving a great education in maths is critical to equipping children in Redditch for future jobs in the economy. What financial support is the Treasury giving to enable our children in Redditch to have that education?

[Elizabeth Truss]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that maths is vital for the future of our economy. We know there is huge demand for people with science, technology, engineering and maths skills, which is why at the Budget we allocated a £600 maths premium that schools will receive for every student who does maths from age 16 to 18.

[Nigel Mills (Amber Valley) (Con)]

13. What progress he has made on reducing the level of corporate tax evasion and the tax gap.

--- Later in debate ---

[Tony Lloyd (Rochdale) (Lab)]

T5. With Carillion now the poster child for dodgy market capitalism, what duty does the Treasury owe to the wider public to prevent Government spending Ministers from engaging in inappropriate contracts, and what steps did the Treasury take?

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Elizabeth Truss)]

We have very clear rules about managing public money. Let me point out to the hon. Gentleman that we are not bailing out this company. It has gone into liquidation, and we are taking the proper steps to protect public services, which is the right approach to take.

[Alex Chalk (Cheltenham) (Con)]

Since 2010, unemployment in Cheltenham has fallen to just over 1%. Does my right hon. Friend agree that, to secure that jobs pipeline, the Government are right to continue backing Cheltenham’s GCHQ-supported cyber-innovation centre, which is creating opportunities for my constituents?

[Elizabeth Truss]

I completely agree with my hon. Friend. I am shortly due to visit the centre in Cheltenham and I look forward to seeing him there.

[Mohammad Yasin (Bedford) (Lab)]

T6. The East of England Ambulance Service experienced its busiest ever Christmas, and it had to rely on taxis to take patients to the hospitals. At least one patient died while waiting for an ambulance. How much worse does it have to get before this Government can meet the funding needed by the East of England Ambulance Service so that it can operate safely and efficiently?

[Elizabeth Truss]

It is important to note that we have 2.9 million more people visiting A&E than we had in 2010. That is why, as well as making sure that we are putting in place a proper modernisation of the health service, we are also investing more money, and we allocated £6.3 billion more at the Budget.

[Nicky Morgan (Loughborough) (Con)]

There are many small and medium-sized enterprises in the Carillion supply chain, as both contractors and direct suppliers. What discussions will the Government have with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and other businesses to make sure that these companies are able to continue to pay the tax liabilities and their employees?

[Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)]

T7. Greater Manchester police has faced eight years of real-terms cuts and has lost 2,000 officers. Week after week, constituents come to my surgery in deep distress over antisocial behaviour, muggings and burglaries to which the police cannot attend. As a former police officer myself, I know that they are doing the best that they can. Will the Minister commit to giving more funding for Greater Manchester police?

[Elizabeth Truss]

The hon. Gentleman will have noticed that, in the draft local government settlement, we have given police authorities the power to raise additional precept to be able to deal with those issues. Ultimately, it is a decision for Greater Manchester police.

[Neil O'Brien (Harborough) (Con)]

The current funding formula for local government is opaque, historical and disadvantages Leicestershire. Does the Minister agree that it would be attractive to move to a transparent formula based on the real drivers of costs?

[Dr Philippa Whitford (Central Ayrshire) (SNP)]

T9. Yesterday saw the successful Second Reading of the Space Industry Bill, which could see Prestwick in my constituency become the UK’s first spaceport, but the Ayrshire growth deal is central to ensuring the widest economic impact from that development. The three local authorities and the Scottish Government are backing it, so will the Chancellor now commit to the Ayrshire growth deal?

[Elizabeth Truss]

I can assure the hon. Lady that I am in regular discussions with the Secretary of State for Scotland about the growth deals across Scotland. We have already committed to a number of growth deals and are certainly looking at further ones.

[Mr Speaker]

We are very time constrained today. One sentence—Alex Burghart.

--- Later in debate ---

[Vernon Coaker (Gedling) (Lab)]

Councils such as Gedling Borough Council and Nottinghamshire County Council are setting their budgets now, and they face a funding crisis. What are the Government going to do about it?

[Elizabeth Truss]

We have given councils the power to raise more funds in the draft local government finance settlement, but councils also need to look at how they can become more efficient, share back offices and use modern technology.

[Tom Pursglove (Corby) (Con)]

Unemployment in my constituency is down by over 50%, but will my right hon. Friend consider a new round of enterprise zone bidding opportunities to help further that success story?