14/12/2016 House of Commons


14/12/2016

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Statement, the Secretary of State education, secretary Justine

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Greening. With permission I would like to make

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a statement on the second stage of consultation on the government

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proposals to create a national funding formula for a schools,

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copies of which can be found on the government website. Since 2010, this

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comment has protected the core schools budget in real terms

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overall. But the system by which schools and high needs funding is

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distributed now needs to be reformed. To tackle the historic

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postcode lottery in school funding. These crucial reforms said at the

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heart of delivering the comment's placed to deliver a country which

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delivers for everyone. -- the government's pledge. The schools

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funding programme as it exists today is all pagan and outdated. The

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reality is that patchy and inconsistent decisions on funding

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Araf build up over many years on data that is sometimes decades or

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more out of date. Pot has been created over time is a funding

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system that allows similar schools with similar students to receive

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levels of funding so different that they put some young people at an

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educational disadvantage. For example, a school in Coventry can

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receive nearly ?500 more per pupil than a school in Plymouth. This is

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despite having the same proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil

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premium. A Nottingham School can attract ?460 more per pupil than one

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in Holton, despite having the same proportion of pupils eligible for

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the pupil premium. As these figures demonstrate, the funding system is

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broken and unfair and we cannot allow that to continue. Mr Speaker,

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our overall proposals for the principled and broad design of the

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schools and high needs funding system is set out in the first stage

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of the national funding formula consultation by my predecessor, the

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Right Honourable member for Loughborough, are widely welcomed.

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Today we set out our response to that and the next final stage of

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putting in place a final funding formula. Firstly, we are proposing a

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consistent base rate for every pupil at primary and secondary which

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steadily increases in value as they progress through the system. This is

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the largest factor in the formula accounting for 23 billion pounds of

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annual core schools funding and over 70% of the funding total. Secondly,

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we are proposing to protect resources per pupil to come from

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disadvantaged families and are taking a broad view to target ?3

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billion annually of funding for those most in need of support. Our

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formula will prioritise not only children in receipt of free school

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meals, but also those who living areas of disadvantage, helping to

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support many more families who are most likely to be just about

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managing to get by. And this is alongside our broader commitment to

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maintain the pupil premium funding for deprived pupils in full, which

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will be protected at current rate throughout the remainder of this

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Parliament. We have listened also to the responses received to the first

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stage of the consultation. Sauber funding formula will include a

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factor firm ability, reflecting the number of children who normally --

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often joined the school made here. This is responding to the

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consultation from London, which called particularly strongly for

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this. We will also protect those small rural schools which are so

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important to their local communities by inclusion of a sparsity factor.

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Thirdly, alongside a basic amount and an uplift for disadvantage, we

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will be directing ?2.4 billion per year in funding towards pupils with

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low prior attainment at both primary and secondary school. This will

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ensure they get the vital support that they need to be able to catch

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up with their peers. The proposed reforms will mean that schools and

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local authorities across England that have been underfunded for years

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will see their funding increase. Our proposed formula will result in more

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than 10,000 schools now gaining funding and more than 3000 of them

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receiving an increase of more than 5%. Of course, those that are due to

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see gains will see them more quickly. There will be increases of

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more than 3% in pupil funding and a further 2.5% in 1919-1920. At the

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same time restoring fairness to the funding system but also building

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significant protections into the formidable stop no school will face

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a reduction in more than 3% overall as a result of the new formula, and

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none will lose more than 1.5% per pupil per year. For high needs,

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which provides local authorities with the funding they need to

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deliver the extra support required by our most vulnerable children and

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young people, those with the most extreme special needs, whether they

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are in special schools or mainstream schools, we propose allocating more

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than ?5 billion in funding a year, and this will mean that no local

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authority will see their funding reduced as a result of the formula

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being introduced. We are also proposing to give local areas a

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limited flexibility to be able to redirect funding between their

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schools and high needs budget, through agreement between the local

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authority and the local schools to be able to support collaborative

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approaches to provision for special needs pupils. These protections will

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allow all schools and local authorities to manage the transition

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to fairer funding, while making the best use of their resources and

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managing -- ensuring every pound is used effectively to drive up

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standards and have the maximum impact for the young people we are

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investing in. In addition, to support schools to using their

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funding to the greatest effect, we are also putting in place and are

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continuing to develop a comprehensive efficiency package. As

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I said on the 21st of July, I recognise the importance of this

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reform. It is long overdue and I am also very keen to allow the proper

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amount of time for all schools and stakeholders to have a chance to

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reflect on what is a detailed for. The consultation will therefore be

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opened for 14 weeks until the 22nd of March, with final decisions to be

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made before the summer next year. It is our intention that once we reach

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a final design, the national funding formula will be properly introduced

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in 2018, 2019, and this will be a transitional year, during which

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local authorities will continue to be able to set local schools funding

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formula, before we then move in 2019-2020, to having our schools

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funding go directly to schools. So that the great majority of each

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schools' individual budget is determined on the basis of a

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national, single national for Miller. It is now -- no time for us

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to consult on the detailed make-up of that formula so we can get it

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right. We are keen to hear as many views as possible and I encourage

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members and their constituents to scrutinise and respond to the

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details consultation documents we are now issuing. The proposals will

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mean that all schools and local areas will now receive a consistent

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and a fairer share of the schools budget, so that they can have the

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best possible chance to give every child the opportunity to reach their

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full potential. Once implemented, the formula will mean that wherever

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a family lives in England, their children will attract a similar

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level of funding and one that properly reflects their needs. Mr

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Speaker, this government believes that the funding system we are

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proposing will ensure that the schools system works fairly. I

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commend the statement to the house. After so many delays the Secretary

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of State has finally come Ford with the fairer funding formula. I thank

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our forgiving site offer a statement. And the documents she

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sent me just half an hour ago. If only it lived up to its name as a

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fairer funding formula. Does she recall her commitment to continue to

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protect school funding in her party's manifesto? Does she accept

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that the National audit office have confirmed what we have been told,

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that the government will be cutting the schools budget by at least 8%?

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That is not changed at all by today's announcement. Does she

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remember that that same manifesto promised that under a Conservative

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government the amount of money following your child into school

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will be protected, yet the National Audit Office has made it clear that

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funding per pupil will also fall by 8%. Is the National Audit Office

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wrong or is the new unelected prime minister just ripping up the

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manifesto her predecessor put to the country? And the Secretary of State

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herself said that their so-called fairer funding formula would mean

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that no school would lose more than 1.5% of their funding per year. How

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could she possibly reconcile this with schools facing projected cuts

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of hope to 10%? Can the Secretary of State tell the house how exactly a

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funding formula can be fair when it means that a third of local

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authorities and around 10,000 schools serving more than 2 million

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children will be losing money? In a period where pupil numbers and

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inflation is rising in tandem, the pressure on school budgets will

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continue to increase. The National Audit Office have told us today that

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school budgets are facing a real terms reduction. Can the secretary

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of State tell the House what percentage of the schools budget

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will be cuts over the course of this Parliament, and how much that cut

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will be for the average secondary school? Will be Secretary of State

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tell the house at a time when the pressure on schools is increasing,

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how can she possibly justify that decision? Her own department has

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said that schools will need to make 3 billion in efficiency savings over

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the course of this Parliament, yet the National Audit Office has said

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the schools are not prepared for that scale and pace of change is,

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and that the department has failed to make this clear to them. So will

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the Secretary of State tell the House how exactly her department

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will ensure that schools can meet our demands? Is the suggestion that

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schools make 1.7 billion in savings by using staff more efficiently,

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just a euphemism for cutting the jobs of teachers, teaching assistant

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and vital support staff, just at the point that the workforce is already

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facing a crisis? Her department has said the funding formula will be

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about targeting on the basis of pupils' need rather than postcode.

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Can she explain why schools up and down the country will be losing out

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and that many in the most disadvantaged areas will be losing

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out the most? The only new money being offered is to expand the few

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remaining grammar schools. 80% of them in Tory held seats, regardless

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of where the need for places is. Does she accept that this means that

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only parts of Britain denied new funding are the comprehensive areas

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in England? Does she acknowledged that nearly 60% of secondary schools

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across the country already receive less funding than they spent on

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teaching and are already running at a deficit? Can she tell us

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projections for increasing pupil numbers over the spending review,

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and what her forecast is for the rate of inflation facing schools,

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and what therefore is the rising costs facing schools? The Secretary

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of State seems to believe that all of these savings and cuts can be

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managed without any impact on the education of our children. Can she

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tell the House how exactly she ensures this happens in practice?

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They used to say the Tories knew the value of nothing but the price of

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everything. Now they don't even know that. Failed on the economy. Failed

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on protecting the NHS. And now failed on our children.

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Mr Speaker, I have to say, I'm absolutely staggered at the response

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from the shadow Secretary of State for Education. There is cross-party

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support for reforming the national funding formula because I think we

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all know that it is impossible to justify the current approach. I

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think it would have been better if we had had a more thoughtful

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response rather than just a diatribe of political rhetoric from the

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dispatch box across. In relation to some of the points she was trying to

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make we have been trying to protect the schools budget in real terms.

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That is because we have a thriving economy that is generating the taxes

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that means we can continue to invest in our public services.

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She speaks about the funding then seems to have misunderstood or not

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listened to the statement I just made, Mr Speaker. Perhaps she had

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already written what she wanted to say then was not interested in the

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reality. This funding formula absolutely includes making sure we

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have the right amount of funding going towards children from more

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disadvantaged areas, and in fact we have taken a broader definition of

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disadvantaged to make sure it is not just children who are eligible for

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free school meals, who will be able to get additional support. We have

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also made sure this formula builds in a strong focus on low prior

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attainment, so the children who have fallen behind that we need to invest

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in and support to catch up and get that additional resource on, and

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schools with more of them get more. She seemed to fail to even hear the

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statement I made, and I have to say, Mr Speaker, I think based on the

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lack of engagement from the front bench I am going to sit down and

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give colleagues with more thoughtful questions at chance to contribute.

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Thank you, Mr Speaker. I certainly welcome this statement as many

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parents across the country were also welcome it. It is obviously long

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awaited, as she conceded, but it is the right tone and context and it is

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the right capacity, essentially, to make the changes. It will also of

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course enable schools to plan ahead and that will be very good for all

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schools in terms of teacher recruitment and teacher retention.

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That is something else we need to address. Can I ask the Secretary of

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State, will she be sure to accommodate the issues about the

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future of local government in this? There will be some changes. This is

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a national formula and therefore the future of national government has to

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be considered within that context. We are busy doing that already. But

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I felt it was quite important to make sure in the second stage of

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consultation that we recognised the need to understand how a little bit

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of local flexibility could help us make sure we got this formula

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working right on the ground, so that is why that is part of the

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consultation, as I set out. We have set out our plans for the 2018 -

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2019 transition year. We are asking about how to look at this more

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carefully in future years and that is precisely why I think it is

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important colleagues from around the house take the time now to engage

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with what is a lot of data we have published today, Mr Speaker. Thank

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you, Mr Speaker. Whilst we would all agree with the aims of a fairer

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funding formula, does the Secretary of State not recognise she is

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delivering this now in a context of dramatic and significant overall

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cuts to schools' budgets, and therefore even the so-called winners

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in her formula will also be facing school budget cuts? In a

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constituency like mine which is a loser under this formula, where I

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have over 50% of children living in poverty, the second-highest

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constituency in the entire country, losing money to their school budget,

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that will mean the one-to-one tuition going, the catch-up classes

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going, the extracurricular, the drama, the Shakespeare, all those

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vital things I want to see kids in Moss side and Mostyn doing, will be

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going as a result of her funding crisis, aside from this announcement

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today? I encourage you to actually look at the detail in relation to

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your own constituency and the documents will be published once we

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have got through this statement, as is the normal practice of this

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house. I would encourage her to look at that. What I would say is, yes,

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we do need to work with school to make sure they can deliver

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efficiencies but if one thing can be seen today, I'd funding formula

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across schools over the years, many schools are able to deliver

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excellent and outstanding results on a very different cost basis -- it is

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that a diverse funding formula across schools. We need to make sure

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this is being protected in terms of the core school funding in real

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terms over this parliament, need to make sure it was as far as it

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possibly can. I would also say to the honourable lady, in relation to

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this on schools, yes, the NAO report flags that up, but there are issues

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around introducing the living wage, for workers who are among the lowest

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paid in our country, some of them are in schools, who should benefit

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from that which being introduced, and the employer also, contribution

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to teacher pension schemes to make sure we can have sustainable

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pensions for teachers in the long run. I would hope the honourable

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members opposite would have welcomed those steps/ we can also work with

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schools to help them achieve efficiencies. I warmly welcome the

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statement -- steps. This is so keenly anticipated and looked

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forward to by underfunded local authority such as my own. We set out

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a very clear timetable today and in spite of the party opposite that

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clearly has no interest in having fairer funding and funding going to

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the most disadvantaged children, the ones who need to catch up, we will

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press on with this process. The Secretary of State is to be

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congratulated for grappling with this issue but as she has already

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indicated, the devil will be in the detail, and I look forward to

:20:21.:20:26.

looking at that. However, 16-19 -year-old education and 16 to

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19-year-olds in schools as well as colleges, there has been a cut over

:20:29.:20:34.

the last period of the coalition Government and there is a big

:20:35.:20:38.

difference in what they get compared with 14 to 16-year-olds at

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university as well -- and those that university as well. What will she do

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about that? We both share a deep interest and passion for technical

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education and improving that. As he will know we are looking very

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carefully, and my honourable friend, as well, to make sure we can have a

:20:56.:20:58.

skills strategy now implement that really does make sure our technical

:20:59.:21:03.

education system is at the same gold standard level we are steadily

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ensuring our education system is that. We have actually protected the

:21:07.:21:13.

per-pupil core funding for pupils post-16, but we want to look further

:21:14.:21:18.

at how we can make sure further education now improves its

:21:19.:21:20.

attainment levels in the same way we have seen happening across the

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broader school system. West Berkshire and walking education

:21:28.:21:31.

authorities which serve my constituency are some of the worst

:21:32.:21:37.

funded -- and walking. We welcome the statement, therefore. Can there

:21:38.:21:40.

be any transitional relief in 2017 because our financial need is now?

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My right honourable friend will know that the transitional relief we had

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in the previous year has been carried over to this forthcoming

:21:52.:21:55.

year and of course beyond that there are now setting up -- we are setting

:21:56.:21:58.

out the steps to make funding figure. It is important and in spite

:21:59.:22:02.

of the debate that no doubt will be kicked off Mike on the back of this

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consultation, I just do not think we can accept a situation where a

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similar child with similar needs will get such a different amount of

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funding put into their education -- kicked off on the back of this. This

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simply cannot be accepted and should not be accepted and that is what we

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are setting out today in the solution. Thank you, Mr Speaker. The

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Secretary of State will be aware that the transformation of London

:22:31.:22:36.

schools... In 1997 when Labour took power schools in my constituency

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were among the worst. By the time we left they had become among the best,

:22:40.:22:44.

and that has continued in the last Government as well. That is thanks

:22:45.:22:49.

to the London Challenge and continued investment. Can I ask the

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Secretary of State whether she can confirm that London achievement will

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not be damaged as part of this formula, and that the ?260 million

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we heard London schools would lose, that that is not going to happen,

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because we need to learn from London's success and replicate it in

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other parts of the country? Well, I think I can reassure her that London

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under this formula will continue to be well funded. In spite of the

:23:16.:23:19.

percentage of children on free school meals, eligible for that in

:23:20.:23:26.

London, following from 28% to 70% of the last ten years, London does

:23:27.:23:32.

remain one of the most deprived parts of our country in places -- Do

:23:33.:23:37.

I Drink Too Much? . The formula will ensure London still receives some of

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the best funding of any regions -- 28% to 17%. Other areas in other

:23:43.:23:50.

parts of the country have similar challenges in other areas.

:23:51.:23:53.

Additional prior attainment, not being funded, for no other reason

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than they are not London. It is no time to make sure we have a fair

:23:58.:24:01.

approach and that this is a fair approach for London as well. I

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wholeheartedly support this announcement. For too long Swindon's

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children have been short-changed by Labour's hopeless funding formula

:24:13.:24:15.

and the change cannot come soon enough. Can I also urge the

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Secretary of State to explore options on PFI schemes, frustrating

:24:20.:24:23.

improvements in lots of my local schools? This issue was raised in

:24:24.:24:28.

response to the original phase, so we are going to make sure that as

:24:29.:24:32.

part of that formula we reflect the fact there are PFI commitments that

:24:33.:24:36.

will continue in real terms. I have no doubt that will be good news to

:24:37.:24:40.

his local area. Obviously we do not want to perpetuate them when they

:24:41.:24:44.

have steadily run down. We do think it is important to reflect the

:24:45.:24:48.

reality of those cost pressures on schools in that particular position.

:24:49.:24:55.

The Secretary of State listed a number of factors, mobility,

:24:56.:24:58.

disadvantage, and prior attainment. Crucial factors in many

:24:59.:25:01.

constituencies, particularly in urban areas like the one I

:25:02.:25:04.

represent. Can she give more detail on how big a factor they will be?

:25:05.:25:08.

They will determine how far constituencies like my lose out and

:25:09.:25:11.

the concern in Liverpool will be that coming on top of substantial

:25:12.:25:15.

cuts to local government funding, our schools will lose out at a time

:25:16.:25:19.

when they are finding it challenging to recruit teachers and head. As he

:25:20.:25:28.

points out, in addition to the core base and mode of funding there is a

:25:29.:25:33.

further 25%, roughly, that is uplifted in relation to deprivation

:25:34.:25:37.

and additional needs, but also more vocational needs. We recognised that

:25:38.:25:43.

although mobility was not one of the original factors part of the first

:25:44.:25:47.

phase consultation. In other words, the challenge that some schools in

:25:48.:25:50.

local areas face when children arrive during the year, rather than

:25:51.:25:55.

growth, which of course is in relation to steady demographic

:25:56.:25:57.

change and sometimes in between years. We thought it was important

:25:58.:26:03.

to reflect that in the formula. So we have looked at the cost pressures

:26:04.:26:06.

we think their in relation to mobility, and we were originally

:26:07.:26:13.

going to base the formula of 2018 and 2019 on historic formers,

:26:14.:26:16.

because that is what we have evidence based at the moment but we

:26:17.:26:19.

need a sensible way to look at mobility going forward. Can I

:26:20.:26:24.

welcome this statement? Gloucestershire has been a properly

:26:25.:26:27.

funded local authority and this will be welcomed in my county. -- has

:26:28.:26:34.

been a poorly funded. Taking into account sparsity, something in rural

:26:35.:26:39.

constituencies like mean. -- like mine. Based on the timetable she has

:26:40.:26:43.

set out with the final position being reached in 2020, that we have

:26:44.:26:49.

will have delivered on our very clear manifesto commitment to have

:26:50.:26:53.

delivered their funding on this Parliament. I believe we will have

:26:54.:26:56.

done that. We will have brought in place a formula that works more

:26:57.:26:59.

effectively, we will have transitioned it inappropriately and

:27:00.:27:03.

I think that it will be a big step forward, particularly for schools

:27:04.:27:06.

that have been so underfunded for so long. Mr Speaker, the Secretary of

:27:07.:27:11.

State is right. This kind of funding has to be upgraded in time and I

:27:12.:27:18.

certainly welcome it. But is she also aware that it is the

:27:19.:27:21.

responsible day of this House to check the furnace, over time,

:27:22.:27:26.

through the committee system, and in this House. -- check the fairness.

:27:27.:27:32.

But would you also agree that overall the challenges in our

:27:33.:27:36.

education system are great, when a chief inspector about to retire can

:27:37.:27:39.

point out that so many bright children in our country, good

:27:40.:27:44.

through primary school to 11, we lose them to education post aged 11.

:27:45.:27:49.

Will she do something about that and do something about the fact that the

:27:50.:27:51.

Chief inspector is also deeply worried that many of the big towns

:27:52.:27:55.

and cities in the Midlands and the north that are severely

:27:56.:28:00.

underperforming their pupils? He does set out some of the challenges

:28:01.:28:04.

we continue to face in our education system and of course that is

:28:05.:28:08.

precisely why the National funding formula helps us make sure

:28:09.:28:11.

resourcing does go to those parts of the country and those schools in

:28:12.:28:13.

particular that are in more disadvantaged areas, and also have

:28:14.:28:19.

cohorts of young people and children perhaps starting from the furthest

:28:20.:28:22.

behind. That is not only the sensible approach, but it is the

:28:23.:28:27.

right thing to do for those children and those schools. For too long we

:28:28.:28:29.

have had an approach on school funding that does not build that in

:28:30.:28:36.

to the formula. That is what we are trying to resolve today. This is the

:28:37.:28:40.

second stage consultation. There will be 14 weeks now for everyone to

:28:41.:28:45.

look at whether they feel the way in which we blended together these

:28:46.:28:48.

different criteria is the right way. I think it is, but in addition to

:28:49.:28:52.

what we are announcing today of course he will be aware we have

:28:53.:28:57.

launched six already, six opportunity areas, looking at how we

:28:58.:29:00.

can make sure we have excellent education, especially in those parts

:29:01.:29:03.

of the country where we still have not seen enough improvement.

:29:04.:29:09.

Plymouth and Coventry were both heavily born -- bombed during the

:29:10.:29:16.

Second World War. Both have a similar demographic. Would she agree

:29:17.:29:24.

the discrepancy of premium pupil per year... Can I ask for maximum

:29:25.:29:27.

clarity at the earliest opportunity in terms of what schools will

:29:28.:29:31.

actually get in my constituency to help them prepare for the September

:29:32.:29:35.

2017 budget, which is likely to be challenging? We will be publishing

:29:36.:29:43.

after this statement to the House, Mr Speaker, a lot of detail in

:29:44.:29:52.

relation to individual schools. All members will be able to look at all

:29:53.:29:57.

of the schools in their constituencies to see notionally,

:29:58.:30:00.

illustrator Lee, how this formula would operate for them. --

:30:01.:30:08.

illustrative leave. We really did want to try and be very clear with

:30:09.:30:13.

the House in relation to how this funding formula will work on the

:30:14.:30:17.

ground, and I would encourage all members to look at the data for

:30:18.:30:22.

their own communities. I think what it shows is that no school is gone

:30:23.:30:25.

to get exactly the same under this new formula as perhaps it has in the

:30:26.:30:35.

past. But it will be is much fairer. The statement is by no means all

:30:36.:30:41.

bad. It is indisputable that school overheads are going up and more

:30:42.:30:46.

secondary schools will go into debt. Why are we continuing to squander

:30:47.:30:50.

money on pointless pet projects? Surely it is a huge though version

:30:51.:30:56.

now. I don't agree with what he has said. We have seen year-on-year

:30:57.:31:00.

improvements in the education system. As one of my predecessors

:31:01.:31:07.

said earlier this week, I do think it is important that we continue the

:31:08.:31:11.

reforms that we have got under way. That is precisely what we will be

:31:12.:31:18.

doing. Can I very much welcome the statement on behalf of schools in my

:31:19.:31:22.

constituency in Kent, who are significantly underfunded and

:31:23.:31:26.

disadvantaged by the current formal. I also welcome our commitment to a

:31:27.:31:31.

rapid introduction of a new formula. In the meantime, can I ask her to

:31:32.:31:35.

seriously consider whether there is any possibility of interim funding

:31:36.:31:38.

for schools onto the new formula is introduced? As I replied to an

:31:39.:31:44.

earlier honourable friend, the additional uplift that was provided

:31:45.:31:49.

last year will be continued to the following year, after which we will

:31:50.:31:54.

then move to the introduction of the funding formula starting in 2018. We

:31:55.:32:01.

are now coming forward with a fundamental solution to what has

:32:02.:32:05.

been a long-term problem, not just over the last decade, but has been

:32:06.:32:11.

building up arguably fur 30 years in the making, and it is neat -- no

:32:12.:32:17.

time to sort this out. Can the Secretary of State confirm whether

:32:18.:32:25.

an area adjustment multiplier will be applied? The funding gap between

:32:26.:32:30.

the national average and that of schools in the Northeast currently

:32:31.:32:36.

stands at ?45 million per year. Will we see that gap increasing or dink

:32:37.:32:41.

resit -- decreasing as a result of this formula? It doesn't include an

:32:42.:32:45.

area cost adjustment. It will be based on a hybrid measure which will

:32:46.:32:49.

look at not only general labour market costs but also those

:32:50.:32:52.

particularly in relation to teachers. This is the consultation

:32:53.:32:58.

feedback. It is also one of the reasons why extensive part of the

:32:59.:33:01.

country such as London will continue to be well funded even under this

:33:02.:33:09.

formula. I call Mr Julian Knight. I welcome the substance and tone of

:33:10.:33:15.

this statement. Schools in Solihull receive ?1300 a year less per pupil

:33:16.:33:19.

than nearby Birmingham. As a result we lose teachers to Birmingham. Can

:33:20.:33:24.

the Secretary of State assure me that at least some of this on

:33:25.:33:26.

fairness will be addressed this Parliament? I have set out the

:33:27.:33:33.

timelines for the rolling out of introducing this national funding

:33:34.:33:37.

formula. He sets out some of the by-products of having the current

:33:38.:33:41.

situation which is unfair, another reason why it is important we

:33:42.:33:46.

address it. It slightly pains me today to call an Everton supporter,

:33:47.:33:52.

but Mr Andy Burnham. Will keep the gloating to a minimum. She is

:33:53.:33:56.

dressing of up very well but isn't the reality of what is announced

:33:57.:34:00.

today that some of the schools in the most deprived parts of the

:34:01.:34:04.

country facing the biggest challenges will see money taken away

:34:05.:34:09.

from them, and that money given to other schools elsewhere? Wouldn't it

:34:10.:34:12.

be much fairer for her to go to the Chancellor and say, have some more

:34:13.:34:19.

money to bring the gap up that way? She is making teachers redundant to

:34:20.:34:24.

pay for this change. Again, there is a lot of rhetoric but in the end of

:34:25.:34:28.

the honourable member does not seem to have listened to the statement I

:34:29.:34:32.

made, which is very clear that this funding formula absolutely does

:34:33.:34:37.

reflect issues of deprivation and low prior attainment, and also

:34:38.:34:42.

issues in relation to local cost. I think it is a step forward in making

:34:43.:34:46.

sure we have a much fairer approach in the future than we have had in

:34:47.:34:50.

the past. I don't think he would be able to justify the current

:34:51.:34:53.

situation too many parents who simply don't understand why their

:34:54.:34:57.

children get less funding than other children purely because of where

:34:58.:35:03.

they are growing up. Can I tell my right honourable friend that I held

:35:04.:35:08.

a round table of the headteachers of my primary and secondary schools in

:35:09.:35:13.

North Dorset. One of the big issues they referenced was the recruitment

:35:14.:35:18.

of an retention of staff Imrul areas where the costs are higher, living

:35:19.:35:24.

costs are higher. -- in rural areas. This is a very welcome announcement.

:35:25.:35:29.

It will be warmly welcomed by those headteachers. On their behalf can I

:35:30.:35:35.

simply say thank you? I'm grateful for that. And as he points out, it

:35:36.:35:47.

is important that this for Miller is able to reflect the very different

:35:48.:35:52.

challenges that school space in different situations in our country.

:35:53.:35:56.

That is why the sparsity factor matters. The Secretary of State will

:35:57.:36:09.

be aware that all over the country schools are finding it difficult to

:36:10.:36:13.

recruit teachers because we are not training enough. But in Slough, for

:36:14.:36:17.

example, where we don't get as much resources, although we have the same

:36:18.:36:22.

kind of challenges as in London, the headteachers are desperate. House

:36:23.:36:27.

prices went up faster than anywhere else in the country in the past

:36:28.:36:34.

year. Can she assure me that schools in my constituency will actually not

:36:35.:36:38.

face a cut as a result of this formula, but will be rewarded for

:36:39.:36:45.

the brilliant work they do? I think she should welcome this formula

:36:46.:36:49.

because at the moment the way in which any amount of money that flows

:36:50.:36:54.

into our are schools takes place is done on and unfair basis. I think

:36:55.:36:59.

for a community like hers, the architecture that we are now

:37:00.:37:03.

proposing for this funding formula, will absolutely make sure that while

:37:04.:37:08.

principally it is a fair amount, an equal amount for children in primary

:37:09.:37:14.

and secondary, we do then have the main drivers of additional funding

:37:15.:37:21.

being deprivation 5 billion a year, but also then driven by low prior

:37:22.:37:26.

attainment. I think that's the right way to have structured this formula

:37:27.:37:29.

to make sure that whilst we have seen progress in many schools in

:37:30.:37:33.

many parts of the country, we have to make sure that re-sourcing flows

:37:34.:37:38.

towards those areas that need a lift as well.

:37:39.:37:45.

The Minister for schools was kind enough to meet with me recently to

:37:46.:37:50.

discuss funding for schools in my constituency. My pupil funding is

:37:51.:37:57.

just over ?4000. My small rural schools face severe challenges

:37:58.:37:59.

because of their small size and location. A heavy read of sparsity

:38:00.:38:07.

is vital if we are to ensure that schools can continue avoiding a

:38:08.:38:12.

brilliant education. She is absolutely right. And of course,

:38:13.:38:16.

when we looked at the National funding formula mechanism, there are

:38:17.:38:20.

some local authorities who don't use a sparsity factor. We will be having

:38:21.:38:27.

one that goes to all schools that should be getting additional

:38:28.:38:29.

support. That is why I think this formula should be welcomed.

:38:30.:38:39.

Children in my constituency start school up to 19 months behind where

:38:40.:38:46.

they should be in terms of development, without fantastic

:38:47.:38:50.

teachers and extra resources, they struggle to fulfil their potential

:38:51.:38:54.

and play catch-up for the rest of their lives. Can the Secretary of

:38:55.:38:59.

State tell me and the schools in my constituency, will they see their

:39:00.:39:05.

funding increase, yes or no? There is a greater focus in this formula

:39:06.:39:10.

on prior attainment, which should address the question she has just

:39:11.:39:20.

asked. Under the current funding formula, our schools are the third

:39:21.:39:27.

worst in London. So having campaigned for changes with

:39:28.:39:30.

teachers, parents and councillors for fairer funding, I look forward

:39:31.:39:34.

to responding to the face to consultation. Can my right

:39:35.:39:37.

honourable friend confirmed that the mobility factor we called the real

:39:38.:39:45.

pressure Londoners face by children joining midterm in large numbers?

:39:46.:39:51.

I think it can. Obviously he will want to look at the detail. This

:39:52.:39:57.

will see us put ?23 million it is supporting those schools and those

:39:58.:40:00.

children who move in the year. I know this has been an issue in

:40:01.:40:09.

London. Not just in London. This was a general response from the

:40:10.:40:12.

consultation document, that we needed to put this into the

:40:13.:40:15.

consultation in phase two and it should be part of the four Miller.

:40:16.:40:22.

That's why we have done that. -- the formula. I am grateful to the

:40:23.:40:25.

Minister of schools for a listing to the case for adding mobility and

:40:26.:40:30.

grateful to the Secretary of State for her announcement. Should she not

:40:31.:40:37.

have secured the support of the Chancellor to make sure that no

:40:38.:40:40.

school will see a cut in the funding per pupil for that school, given the

:40:41.:40:46.

cost pressures she has referred to? I make two points. One is that

:40:47.:40:52.

despite the need to reduce our deficit over time, which is what

:40:53.:40:57.

this comment has set about, we have protected the core schools budget in

:40:58.:41:02.

real terms. In real terms, I recognise there is a need for

:41:03.:41:06.

reducing the year-on-year reductions schools would face. And indeed the

:41:07.:41:12.

overall reduction that any per pupil and will faces no more than 3%. I

:41:13.:41:20.

hope he will welcome that. Following that particular point, in

:41:21.:41:23.

the health service there is a similar fairer funding formula. It

:41:24.:41:32.

never catches up because they are not prepared to reduce the funding

:41:33.:41:39.

the best funded debt. I am slightly worried that that is suggesting that

:41:40.:41:42.

sort of thing will creep into this system. Are we ever actually going

:41:43.:41:47.

to move to the formula? Our schools actually going to get the cash?

:41:48.:41:55.

As I set out, in the transition year and the first year the formula

:41:56.:42:01.

operates in full and properly, some schools will get 3% who are so far

:42:02.:42:06.

behind that they are eligible, and for those schools even further

:42:07.:42:10.

behind, they will get a further 2.5% of the following year. It is now

:42:11.:42:16.

important that the schools that have been underfunded, that we see those

:42:17.:42:22.

changes come through. Schools in areas such as mine have a

:42:23.:42:26.

combination of exceptionally high costs, not least recruitment and

:42:27.:42:29.

retention, and high levels of deprivation. Yet schools are already

:42:30.:42:34.

begging staff redundant. The Secretary of State has blamed

:42:35.:42:39.

policies such as the National Living Wage. Why is the government

:42:40.:42:42.

introducing policies they are not prepared to fund?

:42:43.:42:47.

I am not sure if she supports the Living Wage. From our perspective,

:42:48.:42:53.

we think it is important. But we also think it is important to

:42:54.:43:01.

introduce this funding formula and I hope that MPs can support it as a

:43:02.:43:04.

mechanism to make sure that whatever funding is flowing into schools is

:43:05.:43:09.

delivered fairly. I also hope she can reflect the fact that it does

:43:10.:43:13.

ensure that those communities and those children growing up in

:43:14.:43:17.

deprived areas do see additional funding, and those children wherever

:43:18.:43:20.

they are growing up, whether deprived or might not, that they

:43:21.:43:28.

will receive additional funding. I very much welcomed the statement

:43:29.:43:32.

from my right honourable friend. One group we are overlooking here are

:43:33.:43:38.

our parents. Parents often say to me, I am paying the same rate of tax

:43:39.:43:42.

as people in other areas, why am I getting less money for my children

:43:43.:43:47.

in the state school system? I welcome this statement. And can I

:43:48.:43:50.

arrange my honourable friend that when she gets the backlash to stand

:43:51.:43:55.

fast particularly in support for auroral schools and to deliver it in

:43:56.:43:56.

full? Well, we are at the beginning of a

:43:57.:44:05.

14 week consultation now and I think it is important everyone looks at

:44:06.:44:07.

the formula we are now proposing. I do think it is a formula where we

:44:08.:44:11.

have the right balance and I hope it can command the broad support of the

:44:12.:44:16.

House. Madame Deputy Speaker, thank you. I represent the 19th most

:44:17.:44:21.

disadvantaged constituency in the country and the Secretary of State

:44:22.:44:25.

did speak about this advantage and deprivation. I wonder, can she just

:44:26.:44:29.

confirm for parents and schools in my constituency that they will

:44:30.:44:32.

receive more funding under this formula that is being proposed

:44:33.:44:37.

today, or will it be less? She can look at the details for her own

:44:38.:44:41.

constituency once all of the data is published, but I hope she can

:44:42.:44:44.

reflect on what I said earlier, which is that we have built and

:44:45.:44:52.

ensure funding follows children from particularly disadvantaged

:44:53.:44:54.

backgrounds into this for now, and we have not just looked at formal

:44:55.:44:58.

deprivation factor is that many local authorities had in place, but

:44:59.:45:02.

also some local authorities were virtually all children were from

:45:03.:45:07.

deprived backgrounds and there was not necessarily a formal factor

:45:08.:45:11.

reflecting that, so we try to capture nevertheless if you like the

:45:12.:45:14.

hidden funding flowing through to help deprived children as also as

:45:15.:45:20.

part of that factor. I will sit down now. For decades Staffordshire has

:45:21.:45:27.

language 15 from the bottom in being funded, and may I say to my right

:45:28.:45:34.

honourable friend, I have heard it all before? From Tony Blair, and as

:45:35.:45:38.

the honourable lady so charmingly put it the unelected Prime Minister

:45:39.:45:46.

Gordon Brown. Can I thank my honourable friend for coming up with

:45:47.:45:49.

a firm date for these reforms? Will she assured me the children of

:45:50.:45:52.

Staffordshire will no longer be disadvantaged? I believe this will

:45:53.:45:59.

be a fair funding formula that will be in everyone's and iss, including

:46:00.:46:06.

his constituents. Thank you, Madame Deputy Speaker. -- everyone's

:46:07.:46:12.

interests. I am extremely alarmed that pupils in Bishop Auckland are

:46:13.:46:16.

going to lose ?452 over the parliament. Could the Minister tell

:46:17.:46:22.

me what is going to happen in my constituency? She has reassured

:46:23.:46:26.

London MPs, has reassured the Home Counties, so in the interest of

:46:27.:46:32.

honesty, who are the losers out of the funding formula? I think in

:46:33.:46:41.

relation to the Nu T, we had terrible scaremongering from them in

:46:42.:46:44.

terms of numbers they put out -- the NUT. Which proved to be incorrect.

:46:45.:46:48.

They were seeing some schools would lose 10% under this funding formula.

:46:49.:46:53.

As I have set out that is absolutely not the case, and I would encourage

:46:54.:46:57.

her like all members to look at the data in relation to her own

:46:58.:46:59.

constituency. We will be publishing a lot of data ones this statement is

:47:00.:47:08.

done, as is the customary fashion, Madame Deputy Speaker, and that is

:47:09.:47:11.

because we want to be clear this is a big step forward in relation to

:47:12.:47:14.

schools funding and it is important we were clear with people about what

:47:15.:47:16.

the implications would be for their schools and that is what we have

:47:17.:47:23.

done. Thank you, Madame Deputy Speaker. I particularly welcome the

:47:24.:47:27.

reference to sparsity and mobility in her statement, great news for

:47:28.:47:31.

constituencies like mine. Would she agree with me that one of the most

:47:32.:47:36.

mobile populations are the families of Armed Forces? Will she say how

:47:37.:47:42.

she will promote the pupil premium we introduced in 2011 in the funding

:47:43.:47:50.

formula going forward? The pupil premium is largely unaffected by

:47:51.:47:53.

this but as he points out an element of it is now in place to ensure

:47:54.:48:01.

Forces families children do not get disadvantaged by people being posted

:48:02.:48:04.

to different places, as is often the case, and their children have to

:48:05.:48:07.

switch schools, one of the other reasons we were quite keen to make

:48:08.:48:11.

sure we had this issue of mobility carefully within the funding formula

:48:12.:48:26.

itself. I am so sorry... Let's just get some suspense into this debate!

:48:27.:48:32.

Let's just get some suspense into this debate!

:48:33.:48:38.

I met Helen Jones! Thank you. Schools in my constituency are among

:48:39.:48:50.

the worst funded in the country -- I meant. Schools are struggling now

:48:51.:48:54.

because of the actions this government is ticking. Cuts have

:48:55.:48:57.

taken money out of the dedicated schools grants. Schools are not

:48:58.:49:01.

adequately funded for legislation on special needs. What is the Secretary

:49:02.:49:10.

of State going to do to assist these schools now? Before the new funding

:49:11.:49:15.

formula comes in, and before it even more damage is done to the education

:49:16.:49:25.

of children in school now. She raises a number of different issues.

:49:26.:49:30.

In relation to local authorities, we have launched a strategic school

:49:31.:49:33.

improvement fund which makes sure we can see school improvement take

:49:34.:49:36.

place, particularly in those parts of the country where we have seen

:49:37.:49:39.

schools make less progress that we would have wanted. In relation to

:49:40.:49:45.

high needs, nor local areas will see reductions in the funding they get,

:49:46.:49:49.

but we will see those areas most underfunded get 3% gains of the

:49:50.:49:56.

2018, 2019 and 2020 years which I hope she will welcome -- no local

:49:57.:50:01.

areas will see reductions. I welcome this statement because Hampshire is

:50:02.:50:04.

the third lowest funded local authority in the country and faces

:50:05.:50:08.

significant pressures such as needing 9000 more secondary school

:50:09.:50:14.

places by 2025, and with a 40% of its schools largely not upgraded

:50:15.:50:21.

since the 1960s. Does the Secretary of State agree that what this

:50:22.:50:24.

proposal does is address the single biggest factor causing disparities

:50:25.:50:27.

around the country, that being the historical nature of the funding

:50:28.:50:32.

formula, and it will restore equality and fairness to the system?

:50:33.:50:38.

Yes, I do. It was not only arbitrary at central Government level but also

:50:39.:50:43.

at local authority levels for those formulas were set, eight bit in a

:50:44.:50:47.

second set of imbalances, so it is now time to tidy and clear that it

:50:48.:50:51.

but critically make sure it is fair and equal wherever children are.

:50:52.:50:57.

Thank you, Madame Deputy Speaker. She knows Nottingham schools face

:50:58.:51:01.

enormous challenges in raising educational standards in a city with

:51:02.:51:05.

high levels of deprivation. School leaders are already telling me they

:51:06.:51:07.

are struggling to cope and are facing huge difficulty in recruiting

:51:08.:51:11.

and retaining high-quality teachers. We know that all schools are facing

:51:12.:51:18.

a real terms cut in funding, but how does she suggest Headteachers and

:51:19.:51:23.

staff, parents and pupils, in Nottingham will feel when she says

:51:24.:51:26.

it is fair that their school is being cut even deeper to find

:51:27.:51:33.

increases in other places? I don't think anybody can really argue in

:51:34.:51:37.

favour of keeping a system in place that is simply a postcode lottery.

:51:38.:51:44.

That has very little, if any, relationship now between the needs

:51:45.:51:48.

of a school and indeed the underlying cost base often of the

:51:49.:51:54.

school is operating, baked how much the school and child then gets as

:51:55.:51:57.

funding. What we are setting out today is a formula I think genuinely

:51:58.:52:01.

addresses that. It is a 14 week consultation so there is plenty of

:52:02.:52:05.

time for members to look at the impact on their local area then take

:52:06.:52:08.

part in that consultation and I very much hope MPs will do that, Madame

:52:09.:52:14.

Deputy Speaker. Thank you. Can I warmly welcome this and a half of

:52:15.:52:22.

schools in Nottinghamshire who have been poorly funded role of them.

:52:23.:52:26.

Would she agree this is part of a lazy assumption in not addressing

:52:27.:52:32.

counties? Eye candy like Nottinghamshire has pocketed extreme

:52:33.:52:38.

deprivation, former coalfield communities -- places like

:52:39.:52:45.

Nottinghamshire. I agree strongly with him and I think this formula

:52:46.:52:49.

now enables us to have a proper validated evidence -based approach,

:52:50.:52:54.

including to deprivation, often driven by data, that is literally

:52:55.:53:00.

ten or more years out of date. It is time to fix that and that is what we

:53:01.:53:04.

are launching today. Thank you, Madame Deputy Speaker. Does she

:53:05.:53:07.

understand and recognise the grave concerns of schools in my

:53:08.:53:11.

constituency across Cumbria with above average numbers of children

:53:12.:53:20.

with high needs. The changes to the funding formula for teaching

:53:21.:53:24.

assistants for schools needing to fund now the first ten hours, rather

:53:25.:53:29.

than eight, is going to significantly impact on existing

:53:30.:53:33.

budgets and mean cuts in those schools? Is it not the case that the

:53:34.:53:45.

proposed floor and maintaining the existing budget will be of little

:53:46.:53:50.

help if current numbers of high needs pupils continue to rise? I

:53:51.:53:53.

would encourage him to look at the consultation and of course alongside

:53:54.:53:59.

having an element of funding for local areas based on historic

:54:00.:54:03.

spending levels which do vary, we will look at population and indeed

:54:04.:54:08.

needs within that. There are strong proxies for understanding how much

:54:09.:54:11.

funding we think should be flowing to different places and I think that

:54:12.:54:14.

will put us in a much clearer position but as I have been clear we

:54:15.:54:19.

will also as part of that make sure no area loses any funding as part of

:54:20.:54:26.

the transition. Thank you, Madame Deputy Speaker. Having wrestled with

:54:27.:54:30.

funding formula in education in local government for 20 years before

:54:31.:54:34.

I got elected to this place, I welcome the principle of fair

:54:35.:54:40.

funding and in particular sparsity and other elements contained. My

:54:41.:54:43.

right honourable friend as fellow London MP will know the cost of

:54:44.:54:46.

living in London is much higher than the rest of the country and clearly

:54:47.:54:52.

with 85% of the schools' budget typically spent on staffing, the

:54:53.:54:56.

need to pay staff extra star Laurie 's for recruitment and retention is

:54:57.:55:06.

paramount. -- extra wages. What will she do to protect schools from

:55:07.:55:12.

losing as a result? The area cost adjustment should enable us to do

:55:13.:55:16.

that effectively and as I said it is not just based on overall labour

:55:17.:55:21.

cost assumptions, but based on cost assumptions with teachers and so on

:55:22.:55:26.

so that should enable us to reflect that in the funding formula we now

:55:27.:55:29.

have in place. Of course he will be able to respond in the consultation

:55:30.:55:32.

but that is what we are trying to do. Thank you, Madame Deputy

:55:33.:55:37.

Speaker. I am grateful for the statement today from the Secretary

:55:38.:55:41.

of State. Would she underline and explain the flexible day between

:55:42.:55:45.

local authorities were for example in one of London tourist borrows, in

:55:46.:55:50.

2010 the funding for children services were ?102 million and will

:55:51.:55:58.

be on hundred and 46 ?9 when the populace has grown and the children

:55:59.:56:03.

are less needing, how will that be addressed in the consultation -- 140

:56:04.:56:13.

?6 million. In relation to the high needs fund we are now consulting on

:56:14.:56:17.

the ability for the local authorities who will still receive

:56:18.:56:19.

high needs funding to be able to share some of that with mainstream

:56:20.:56:23.

schools if that is how they feel there is a better way of creating to

:56:24.:56:27.

provide for special needs locally. Of course some special-needs

:56:28.:56:32.

children are in special schools and some are not. The figure was also

:56:33.:56:40.

about whether is funding for a local level that the funding should flow

:56:41.:56:43.

the opposite way from the schools' budget, perhaps because of the

:56:44.:56:48.

waiters delivered at a local level. That should be possible if there is

:56:49.:56:50.

agreement from the majority of schools on that -- because of the

:56:51.:56:56.

way it is delivered. There is a long-term approach that. But the

:56:57.:56:59.

whole point of this consultation is to get feedback on proposals. Thank

:57:00.:57:06.

you very much, Madame Deputy Speaker. I warmly welcome the

:57:07.:57:10.

statement on fairer funding for schools. It is not right

:57:11.:57:15.

constituency such as mine have a ?2000 difference per pupil to other

:57:16.:57:20.

constituencies. I noted with interest the Secretary of State

:57:21.:57:22.

identified one of the reasons was that the data is a decade out of

:57:23.:57:27.

date. Going forward it is absolutely fundamental we have the correct

:57:28.:57:31.

data. In areas of high growth, this is fundamentally important. Can she

:57:32.:57:35.

assure me in order to have the right number for the year going forward

:57:36.:57:40.

that the data will be collected sufficiently late in the year so we

:57:41.:57:44.

know the accurate figures for the following school year per pupil?

:57:45.:57:49.

Well, on deprivation we will be using, as part of the figures,

:57:50.:57:54.

essentially an index looking at how deprivation affects children and in

:57:55.:57:59.

particular that was last updated recently so it gives us fresh

:58:00.:58:01.

database to use. Of course in relation to broader characteristics,

:58:02.:58:08.

the census gets updated in October every year and that feeds into the

:58:09.:58:14.

following academic year gear's funding formula detail, so those two

:58:15.:58:19.

think should mean we can have up to date data -- the following academic

:58:20.:58:25.

year's funding formula. This reform to the funding formula, which many

:58:26.:58:29.

of us agree on, would have been much easier had the Chancellor given some

:58:30.:58:33.

additional money to fund some of these changes, which in a degree?

:58:34.:58:36.

Let me say, is it not the case that every single school in the country

:58:37.:58:41.

notwithstanding what she has said will face real term cuts in those

:58:42.:58:46.

doing in their budgets even those who think they have gained from the

:58:47.:58:50.

funding for not? And to pick up on something specific she has said,

:58:51.:58:54.

which she said was one of the ways of tackling disadvantage, the pupil

:58:55.:58:58.

premium, it is interesting what discussion took place around that.

:58:59.:59:04.

The Secretary of State said it will be protected at current rates

:59:05.:59:06.

throughout the remainder of this Parliament. Can she confirm whether

:59:07.:59:09.

that means current rates as they are now or in real terms increase

:59:10.:59:11.

through the Parliament? We will continue to put ?2.5 billion

:59:12.:59:21.

into the pupil premium. That is separate to the funding on top of

:59:22.:59:26.

core funding rates that is part of the consultation we are setting out

:59:27.:59:31.

today. Bowles -- both of these things indicate that the government

:59:32.:59:39.

is supporting children in the toughest part of the country and

:59:40.:59:44.

most likely not to emerge from the system with the outcomes to fulfil

:59:45.:59:51.

their potential. The people of Worcestershire will welcome this

:59:52.:59:54.

statement because funding per pupil is ?1000 per head lower than

:59:55.:59:59.

neighbouring areas. Does the Secretary of State recognise that

:00:00.:00:02.

not everybody who lives in the countryside is living in a rural

:00:03.:00:06.

idyll and that there are pockets of deprivation ride across the

:00:07.:00:10.

countryside, including my constituency? Investing in our

:00:11.:00:15.

children's future based on need and fairness is absolutely the right

:00:16.:00:20.

move. He is absolutely right. That is why it is so important that we

:00:21.:00:23.

move to a sensible approach on looking at how deprivation should be

:00:24.:00:29.

dealt with. We need to take a broader approach than just children

:00:30.:00:33.

eligible for free school meals. We will be looking at three components.

:00:34.:00:38.

Existing eligibility for free school meals. Children who have been ever

:00:39.:00:43.

-- eligible for free school meals in the last three years. And the

:00:44.:00:50.

broader definition of the index that captures a broader definition of

:00:51.:00:56.

deprivation. Teachers are increasingly telling me about the

:00:57.:01:04.

funding they receive. Young people in my constituency are at a

:01:05.:01:10.

disadvantage she specifically quoted Halton. Can I ask a specific

:01:11.:01:16.

question? What is the actual real terms increase going to be for

:01:17.:01:20.

wholesome pupils? She must know that. -- Halton. I quoted what the

:01:21.:01:30.

current position was. He will no doubt be interested to look at the

:01:31.:01:33.

details in relation to his own local community. When the statement is

:01:34.:01:47.

finally finished. Schools in York have some of the lowest it's not the

:01:48.:01:51.

lowest per pupil funding in the country. Some schools in London

:01:52.:01:57.

receive more than ?3000 per pupil more. Leaving schools in York on the

:01:58.:02:04.

brink of making some very difficult decisions despite delivering

:02:05.:02:07.

excellent education. What message will be Secretary of State give to

:02:08.:02:11.

schools that have been waiting for this announcement for far too long

:02:12.:02:15.

and wants to see it implemented as soon a spot of. --? This will be a

:02:16.:02:20.

fairer approach for all schools, including those in your. We are

:02:21.:02:26.

taking steps to introduce it rapidly during the course of this

:02:27.:02:28.

Parliament. Order. I hope that everyone who

:02:29.:02:33.

wishes to ask a question will have an opportunity. Now that the

:02:34.:02:36.

Secretary of State has been answering questions for more than an

:02:37.:02:39.

hour, it would be appropriate if questions were short and sharp, or

:02:40.:02:47.

we will be here all day. Funding should be related to need.

:02:48.:02:52.

This is a long-standing problem. But in Liverpool, one of the most

:02:53.:02:57.

deprived areas, over 58% of the budget has already gone. And the NUT

:02:58.:03:03.

say that over ?602 per year per pupil will be launched -- lost under

:03:04.:03:08.

the government programme. Can she guarantee that the students of

:03:09.:03:11.

Liverpool will not lose out in this redistribution of funds? I would

:03:12.:03:16.

encourage her to look at the details that we will release by area and by

:03:17.:03:22.

school and really just to give her some reassurance, this is a formula

:03:23.:03:27.

that absolutely wants to ensure that we direct funding fairly but also

:03:28.:03:32.

where there is need, whether in terms of disadvantage or low prior

:03:33.:03:35.

attainment. We also think it should be driven by data as has been seen

:03:36.:03:42.

-- that is more up-to-date. I would encourage her to look at the

:03:43.:03:50.

consultation and the details. Madam Deputy Speaker, I welcome the

:03:51.:03:53.

statement today. Schools in Cornwall will be grateful that at long last

:03:54.:03:57.

the historic underfunding of our schools in Cornwall is at last being

:03:58.:04:00.

addressed. I am pleased to be part of the government addressing this

:04:01.:04:09.

issue. I would like to talk about the issue of pupil premium based on

:04:10.:04:15.

eligibility for free school meals. It is difficult to get parents to

:04:16.:04:18.

register for free school meals because of personal choice or

:04:19.:04:22.

stigma. Yet this data is already held by other departments. Can we

:04:23.:04:29.

not ensure that people can be automatically -- pupils are

:04:30.:04:31.

automatically registered for free school meals? I think he raises an

:04:32.:04:37.

important point. We do want to see all children who are eligible for

:04:38.:04:41.

the pupil premium and free school meals properly registered. We have

:04:42.:04:44.

done a lot of work to make sure that is the case. There is still a

:04:45.:04:50.

challenge ahead of us. I am looking forward to that.

:04:51.:04:58.

Thank you to the Secretary of State for answering the questions so far.

:04:59.:05:02.

I do not resent at all the idea that members representing them --

:05:03.:05:09.

constituents. The problem I do have is that that should not be at the

:05:10.:05:13.

cost of urban schools, where significant levels of deprivation

:05:14.:05:18.

exist. In Oldham there will be a loss of ?400 per pupil under this

:05:19.:05:24.

new formula. For some schools it could be up to ?600 per pupil. The

:05:25.:05:30.

town is already struggling to recruit and retain good quality

:05:31.:05:34.

teachers. It is one of the areas being looked at under special

:05:35.:05:42.

prevention. Can I have a guarantee that we will not get into an

:05:43.:05:49.

argument about us versus them and ensure that every school has

:05:50.:05:51.

sufficient funding to meet demand and need? I have allowed the

:05:52.:05:57.

honourable gentleman some leeway because he has waited a long time to

:05:58.:06:01.

put his question. It doesn't therefore follow that he should take

:06:02.:06:07.

twice as long to put it. I don't criticise him specifically today but

:06:08.:06:09.

I hope that we can be a little faster now. Secretary of State. I am

:06:10.:06:16.

sure that he will want to see the impact on his own local

:06:17.:06:20.

constituency. But I think this formula is a step forward to ensure

:06:21.:06:31.

that... Money follows disadvantage and need.

:06:32.:06:36.

That is the right formula to take. I'm very grateful to the Secretary

:06:37.:06:40.

of State and the schools Minister for listening to my concerns and

:06:41.:06:43.

those of so many in the south-west. I congratulate them on addressing on

:06:44.:06:51.

fairness that schools in the wells constituency have had to ensure.

:06:52.:06:55.

Does she agree this is the start of a series of investment in the

:06:56.:07:00.

south-west that will create an imbalance in funding to our region

:07:01.:07:04.

and that the Secretary of State has blazed a trail that other

:07:05.:07:12.

departments will surely follow? That was a fantastic question. I

:07:13.:07:14.

would also like to take the opportunity to thank my right

:07:15.:07:19.

honourable friend, the Minister of schools, further work E has put into

:07:20.:07:22.

this relatively context piece of work that we have undertaken. We

:07:23.:07:28.

want to see children in the south-west achieve their potential.

:07:29.:07:32.

This is a funding formula that will mean there is fairer funding for the

:07:33.:07:38.

first time. That, I believe, will help children in his local

:07:39.:07:44.

community. Of course I'm delighted today

:07:45.:07:48.

speaking for the county of Cambridge, one of the lowest funded

:07:49.:07:54.

in recent decades. I don't wish to be ungrateful but last year the

:07:55.:08:00.

funding was swallowed by pension and national insurance increases. The

:08:01.:08:11.

number of pupils is going up. High cost of living. Please, please,

:08:12.:08:21.

please look at that funding again. We will be rolling forward. But I

:08:22.:08:27.

think it underlines why it is important we put place a final

:08:28.:08:32.

funding formula. That is what the consultation is on. It will affect

:08:33.:08:35.

areas that have been underfunded for a very long time. That is why we

:08:36.:08:37.

need to on with it. West Sussex has historically always

:08:38.:08:55.

suffered from very low funding and also very high costs outside of the

:08:56.:09:01.

London weighting. Can the Secretary of State give me any reassurance

:09:02.:09:07.

that we will benefit from cost adjustment? I hope he will see some

:09:08.:09:13.

improvement in the way in which funding is working following the

:09:14.:09:15.

adoption of this fair funding formula. He mentions costs. That is

:09:16.:09:20.

why one of the key factors building is an area of cost adjustment, to

:09:21.:09:25.

make sure that schools which are in locations with higher in eight cost

:09:26.:09:30.

bases have that reflected in the funding that pupils have attached to

:09:31.:09:34.

them. I welcome this statement. Does the

:09:35.:09:38.

Secretary of State agree with me that it starts to address the myth

:09:39.:09:41.

that constituencies like Cheltenham and Gloucester do not have areas of

:09:42.:09:48.

deprivation? Cheltenham has intense urban challenges and this addresses

:09:49.:09:52.

funding on the basis of need and not postcode. I strongly agree with him.

:09:53.:09:58.

Until now, school funding has been the ultimate postcode lottery.

:09:59.:10:02.

Funding is being overly determined by where children are growing up.

:10:03.:10:07.

That is completely unacceptable. If we're going to make Britain a

:10:08.:10:13.

country where all children can progress, we have to get on with

:10:14.:10:15.

fairer funding. And the prize for patients --

:10:16.:10:26.

patience goes to Jason McCartney. Thank you. Merry Christmas to you.

:10:27.:10:32.

How far will the inclusion of a sparsity factor go in protecting

:10:33.:10:40.

small and rural schools, which are so important particularly to my

:10:41.:10:44.

local community? I think it will help. It will go together with a

:10:45.:10:49.

fixed lump sum that is part of this formula. Overall we see that on

:10:50.:10:53.

average small rural schools will benefit from this formula.

:10:54.:10:59.

I thank the Secretary of State. Order. Point of order.

:11:00.:11:06.

I'm very grateful to you. On a point of order, last week government plans

:11:07.:11:12.

were announced this close Havant of Glasgow's jobs centres. They were

:11:13.:11:17.

supposed to be getting a consultation on several of these

:11:18.:11:20.

closures. I have raised this with the minister. It is now a week later

:11:21.:11:28.

and still it doesn't appear on the DWP website. Given it is happening

:11:29.:11:32.

over Christmas, you can understand my frustration and my constituents'

:11:33.:11:38.

frustration. I wonder if you can help me, madam Deputy Speaker, and

:11:39.:11:41.

give me some guidance as to how I can make the Minister gets US -- get

:11:42.:11:48.

it up on the website? It is not on that a week later it is not

:11:49.:11:53.

therefore public consumption. I thank the honourable gentleman for

:11:54.:11:56.

his point of order and for having indicated to me that he intended to

:11:57.:12:01.

make such a point of order. He will appreciate that of course it is not

:12:02.:12:04.

a matter that I can address from the chair. The chair, of course, has no

:12:05.:12:10.

power whatsoever to make ministers do what members are asking those

:12:11.:12:16.

ministers to do. But I do know that the honourable gentleman and his

:12:17.:12:23.

colleagues, with some passion and understandable commitment, have

:12:24.:12:26.

raised this matter several times in the House. I understand the

:12:27.:12:29.

honourable gentleman has an adjournment debate in Westminster

:12:30.:12:36.

Hall next week. I hope that is correct. That is the correct place

:12:37.:12:42.

in which to air a matter like this in some detail. But at the same

:12:43.:12:46.

time, in having raised the matter now at this busy time in the

:12:47.:12:50.

chamber, I'm quite sure that the Treasury bench will have noted what

:12:51.:12:55.

the honourable gentleman has said, will have appreciated that the

:12:56.:13:00.

matter is of great importance in the honourable gentleman's constituency,

:13:01.:13:04.

and that action will come soon from the relevant department.

:13:05.:13:13.

Point of order. Prior to the statement we heard just now, the

:13:14.:13:19.

member for Brighton Pavilion raised an important issue on Southern Rail

:13:20.:13:23.

and the present strikes victimising passengers. But the member for

:13:24.:13:29.

Brighton Pavilion failed to condemn the unions and also failed to

:13:30.:13:32.

declare an interest in the chamber as a recipient of funding from RMT.

:13:33.:13:38.

As a new member of Parliament, can you please advise me on the protocol

:13:39.:13:41.

of declarations of interest in the chamber?

:13:42.:13:50.

I am grateful for the honourable lady for raising an important matter

:13:51.:13:56.

like this. It is vital that in order to keep the proceedings of this

:13:57.:14:02.

place open and accountable, that where appropriate, a member should

:14:03.:14:06.

always declare an interest where that member has an interest. But it

:14:07.:14:12.

is not a matter for the chair or for me at the particular moment to make

:14:13.:14:16.

a judgment as to whether any particular member should have

:14:17.:14:19.

declared an interest at any particular moment. What I would say

:14:20.:14:21.

to the honourable lady and generally to the house, that members would be

:14:22.:14:29.

advised to on the side of and accountability. And where they think

:14:30.:14:34.

there might be an interest to declare, they really ought to

:14:35.:14:41.

declare that interest. Point of order Mrs Goodman. Madam Deputy

:14:42.:14:46.

Speaker, you will understand my delight and pleasure that for

:14:47.:14:53.

international trade and questions tomorrow, I came out at number two,

:14:54.:14:58.

my question was whether or not his department has made an assessment of

:14:59.:15:01.

the potential effect of leaving the EU customs union on level of

:15:02.:15:08.

employment? I subsequently received an e-mail from the Department saying

:15:09.:15:16.

that this matter has been transferred to another department.

:15:17.:15:22.

However Madam Deputy Speaker, the member for Sunderland Central has a

:15:23.:15:25.

question on the order paper, what is the impact of the customs union and

:15:26.:15:29.

levels of foreign investment into the UK. And another member has a

:15:30.:15:37.

question about the potential effect of leaving the custom union on

:15:38.:15:40.

future trade agreements? Madam Deputy Speaker, how can we know to

:15:41.:15:44.

which government department to address our questions? I can quite

:15:45.:15:50.

understand why the Department for International trade doesn't want to

:15:51.:15:53.

answer my question, because it is a very large increase in armed -- in

:15:54.:15:59.

unemployment that would be created. But can we have some consistency for

:16:00.:16:04.

the government benches. I fully appreciate the point that the

:16:05.:16:09.

honourable lady is making. But she also knows that it is not a matter

:16:10.:16:17.

for the chair to decide which department should answer which

:16:18.:16:22.

question. That is and always has been a matter for the government to

:16:23.:16:27.

allocate. I can understand the honourable lady's disappointment,

:16:28.:16:31.

that she was hoping tomorrow to have her question addressed here on the

:16:32.:16:38.

floor of the house. And she is understandably disappointed. I would

:16:39.:16:45.

say two things to her, the first is that regardless of which department

:16:46.:16:49.

her question is answered by, I am sure she will get the same answer.

:16:50.:16:58.

And secondly, that having so eloquently made her point today, I

:16:59.:17:05.

hope that Mr Speaker will look favourably on the honourable lady

:17:06.:17:10.

when he calls the honourable member for Sunderland Central and the

:17:11.:17:13.

others she mentioned to ask that question tomorrow of the Secretary

:17:14.:17:19.

of State for International state -- International trade, that she might

:17:20.:17:22.

have an opportunity to ask her question. Whether she gets an answer

:17:23.:17:26.

or not is not a matter for me. Order. If there are no further

:17:27.:17:33.

points of order, we will move swiftly on to the ten minute rule

:17:34.:17:44.

motion, Mr Neil Gray. I beg to move that leave be given to bring in a

:17:45.:17:50.

bill that requires contracts to be regulated by the Financial Conduct

:17:51.:17:55.

Authority and to amend the financial services and markets act of 2000

:17:56.:17:59.

accordingly. And for connected purposes. I rise to propose this

:18:00.:18:05.

bill as a result of a Scottish Government commission report

:18:06.:18:11.

entitled "Funeral poverty in Scotland." It was written about

:18:12.:18:18.

citizens in Scotland, from the working group on funeral poverty. It

:18:19.:18:22.

is a report Scotland has accepted and one of the recommendations is to

:18:23.:18:26.

address the regulation of prepaid funeral plans. I thank others for

:18:27.:18:33.

their work on this bill proposal. I also wish to thank the fair funerals

:18:34.:18:38.

campaign who have supported me in the run-up to today. Before I begin

:18:39.:18:43.

in earnest, I should say I am an advocate of funeral plans is the

:18:44.:18:48.

best means to avoid funeral poverty. They allow people to pay in advance,

:18:49.:18:52.

in full or in instalments for their own funeral. I've also had meetings

:18:53.:18:57.

with the SCA and the funeral planning authority which is the

:18:58.:19:01.

industries 's internal regulator to discuss this proposal. They were

:19:02.:19:05.

both constructive in their response to me. It was welcome to the

:19:06.:19:08.

supportive statements this morning from the National Association of

:19:09.:19:13.

funeral directors and from one of the largest funeral plan providers.

:19:14.:19:18.

It seems we approaching a consensus that change is required. I am

:19:19.:19:26.

proposing the bill of a 90% in the cost of funerals in the last decade.

:19:27.:19:31.

North Lanarkshire Council has increased burial and cremation

:19:32.:19:35.

charges by 30 numbers and busy, the steepest rise in Scotland. The

:19:36.:19:39.

average funeral has risen by 7% in Scotland as a result in the past

:19:40.:19:44.

year. An average funeral in the UK, you are unlikely to get much change

:19:45.:19:48.

from ?4000. The Scottish Government is taking action in these areas and

:19:49.:19:54.

will next year published a funeral costs plan to address the main

:19:55.:19:59.

drivers of funeral poverty. It is also committing to process

:20:00.:20:02.

application from the funeral payment in ten working days and to reach

:20:03.:20:07.

more of those in need to reduce the reliance on borrowing to pay for

:20:08.:20:15.

funerals. But the additional costs described earlier are placing an

:20:16.:20:18.

unfavourable burden on the already stretched finances of the aggrieved

:20:19.:20:23.

families now. Many of whom are getting into serious and

:20:24.:20:27.

unmanageable debt when they lose a loved one. Something that has been

:20:28.:20:31.

raised in this house before by honourable members for Belfast East

:20:32.:20:36.

and Swansea, who support this bill, as well as the honourable member for

:20:37.:20:43.

Blackpool and South Shields. People are rightly turning to funeral plans

:20:44.:20:47.

as a way of addressing this incredible financial press which

:20:48.:20:52.

often arises suddenly and is placed on family members. Funeral plans are

:20:53.:20:56.

like vouchers for funerals paid in advance for redemption when the

:20:57.:21:01.

policyholder passes away. People can sign a contract saying how they want

:21:02.:21:05.

the funeral to take place and pay for it in advance. There is also an

:21:06.:21:09.

added advantage that you can secure the funeral at today's prices.

:21:10.:21:16.

Funeral plans are described in part 59 of the financial services act in

:21:17.:21:22.

2000 and in 2001, and in clause 60 and details how these plans can be

:21:23.:21:26.

exempted from FCO regulation if the funeral plan company undertakes to

:21:27.:21:32.

secure the funds paid by the customer through life insurance or

:21:33.:21:35.

if they hold the funds in trust with some further stipulations about how

:21:36.:21:41.

that should be handled afterwards. The whole insurance, life insurance,

:21:42.:21:46.

for the over 50s market needs looking at. But it is not the focus

:21:47.:21:54.

of this particular proposal. I have spoken to the Chief Executive of the

:21:55.:21:57.

FPA and he understands my concerns and those raised by CAS. I also know

:21:58.:22:03.

he is not responsible for all funeral plans but it does its best

:22:04.:22:10.

to satisfy complaints when they arise. There is need for a debate on

:22:11.:22:14.

whether the current system is the best way to ensure consumer

:22:15.:22:19.

confidence in what will be a more important area of the market in

:22:20.:22:22.

coming years. Citizens advice Scotland in compiling the report

:22:23.:22:26.

found evidence of some mis-selling by some funeral salespeople. Some

:22:27.:22:33.

cover the associated costs for the funeral but others only cost basic

:22:34.:22:38.

funeral director costs. It has been suggested that some salespeople are

:22:39.:22:42.

misleading customers as to what is included in the contract they are

:22:43.:22:47.

signing up to. One person said "They were very pushy and I think trying

:22:48.:22:50.

to pull the wool over my eyes. I knew the amount was not enough to

:22:51.:22:57.

cover the cost so I think they can mislead people." This calls into

:22:58.:23:00.

question the practices of some of the salespeople involved in funeral

:23:01.:23:06.

plan contracts. Some of these are third-party salespeople who are paid

:23:07.:23:10.

on a commission basis which makes me a little uncomfortable as this can

:23:11.:23:14.

encourage people to chase harder for sales than two ensure the consumer

:23:15.:23:18.

is aware and happy what they have signed to. Indeed, Charles Flanagan,

:23:19.:23:24.

the manager of the McLaren funeral director in my constituency has said

:23:25.:23:27.

that when he asks is customers why they have chosen to take a plan with

:23:28.:23:32.

him, the majority say that apparently it is because they are

:23:33.:23:35.

fed up of cold calling by funeral plan companies. That is of major

:23:36.:23:41.

concern to me and will concern others in this house as well. He has

:23:42.:23:45.

also given me numerous examples of elderly people who have been coerced

:23:46.:23:49.

into buying plans that are either more expensive than necessary or

:23:50.:23:52.

where the customer has not been asked any questions of relevance and

:23:53.:24:00.

specificity over the funeral they desire. There is a cooling off

:24:01.:24:07.

period, one was told that the funeral director of choice had

:24:08.:24:11.

refused the funeral plans but others might carry it out. The gentleman

:24:12.:24:15.

had specifically purchased the plan in order to be with that particular

:24:16.:24:19.

funeral director, who informed him that he had been mis-sold the plan

:24:20.:24:24.

as it did not include all of what he had wished for his funeral. Mr

:24:25.:24:28.

Flanagan is particular keen to see closer involvement of funeral

:24:29.:24:32.

directors in the selling of funeral plans as to avoid the unintended

:24:33.:24:38.

issues in the contract arising. Heather Kennedy from the fair

:24:39.:24:40.

funerals campaign says there are excellent funeral companies who are

:24:41.:24:45.

rising to the challenge presented by funeral poverty. The prices are

:24:46.:24:50.

transparent and they talk openly about money and make different

:24:51.:24:54.

options available. Mike any other industry, there are others who do

:24:55.:24:57.

not and are charging too much for their plans and at need funerals. I

:24:58.:25:03.

hope that some of those concerns and some of those areas of concern may

:25:04.:25:08.

be addressed here. Another example of a case study was highlighted by

:25:09.:25:13.

the East of Scotland bureau which had a client complaint, the client

:25:14.:25:19.

felt that no matter what she does, she was not going to get the funeral

:25:20.:25:27.

she wanted or planned for. She was told it could be at any funeral

:25:28.:25:30.

director and would cover all the cost. It later turned out after she

:25:31.:25:34.

signed the contract that the nearest funeral director who would honour

:25:35.:25:37.

the contract was 30 miles away and she would only get the basics from

:25:38.:25:41.

the funeral director. The director she wanted to administer the funeral

:25:42.:25:45.

will not do it because it is with another company and it is said she

:25:46.:25:50.

will lose a lot of money if she cancels and she has got nowhere with

:25:51.:25:55.

the complaint. And finally, as provision of funeral plans is not

:25:56.:25:58.

covered by the financial services compensation is scheme that protects

:25:59.:26:03.

against insolvency events and poor they covered by the vital ombudsman

:26:04.:26:08.

service which provides independent complaints and adjudication service

:26:09.:26:13.

free to the customer. I do note that the FPA has taken action to address

:26:14.:26:17.

these criticisms. It would be a bonus if this was enacted by the

:26:18.:26:22.

government that is the schemes would be open to offer additional consumer

:26:23.:26:26.

confidence. In conclusion, what I hope is that by proposing this bill,

:26:27.:26:31.

in my view, a very reasonable bill, the UK Government will looks it was

:26:32.:26:34.

the at this issue and ensure dialogue to make sure that

:26:35.:26:40.

consumers, often in a vulnerable state, are protected adequately. The

:26:41.:26:46.

question is that the honourable member has lead to bring in the

:26:47.:26:51.

bill, as many of that opinion say I macro, to the contrary, no macro.

:26:52.:26:58.

The ayes have it. Who will bring in the bill. Liz Southwell Roberts,

:26:59.:27:05.

Dina Johnston, Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg, Sir David Amis, Debbie Robinson,

:27:06.:27:10.

Calum Harris, Rosie Cooper and myself, Madam Deputy Speaker.

:27:11.:27:36.

Find the regulation of funeral services bill. Second reading what

:27:37.:27:47.

day? 24th every sentence 2017. 24th every 2017. -- 24th of February. We

:27:48.:27:58.

come to the first of the opposition day 16th allotted Day motions on the

:27:59.:28:01.

affect on equality the Autumn Statement 2016. I informed the house

:28:02.:28:11.

that Mr Speaker has selected amendment a in the name of the Prime

:28:12.:28:18.

Minister. I call Sarah Champion. It is a real pleasure to be here today

:28:19.:28:22.

on this important topic. The advancement of equal rights for

:28:23.:28:26.

women is often associated with certain historical milestone such as

:28:27.:28:29.

the right to vote, the moment to end violence against women and girls and

:28:30.:28:34.

reproductive rights. While these are of the hugely important, the key

:28:35.:28:37.

facet of the ongoing battle for gender equality is gender economic

:28:38.:28:41.

equality. Many women never question the right to open a bank account,

:28:42.:28:45.

and property or even buy wine or beer in a pub. These rights are now

:28:46.:28:49.

taken for granted but they were hard-won.

:28:50.:28:57.

Years ago having a job was a sign of financial desperation. It was only

:28:58.:29:05.

in the 19th-century women were allowed to own their own homes.

:29:06.:29:10.

Common law in Britain deprived women of the right to have their own

:29:11.:29:15.

property or hold their own money. As late as the 70s, working women were

:29:16.:29:20.

refused mortgages in their own right and were only granted mortgages if

:29:21.:29:25.

they could secure a male guarantor. It is only since 1980 that women

:29:26.:29:31.

were able to apply for credit in their own names. Did wasn't until

:29:32.:29:36.

1982 that women were allowed to spend their own money in pubs with

:29:37.:29:40.

the confidence they would be served these changes involved their lives

:29:41.:29:46.

and outspoken people challenging the status quo and pushing governments

:29:47.:29:51.

and society to the realisation that economic equality and independence

:29:52.:29:56.

for women must be the norm. Labour are pushing for the next step today

:29:57.:29:59.

in this battle for economic equality. And for the government to

:30:00.:30:07.

make sure their policies advance. And not hinder progress.

:30:08.:30:10.

Unfortunately, all the evidence points to the party opposite turning

:30:11.:30:14.

back the agenda on economic equality and nowhere has it been more

:30:15.:30:18.

apparent than in their major announcements such as the Autumn

:30:19.:30:23.

Statement. Research from the House of Commons library commissioned by

:30:24.:30:29.

this side of the Has has revealed that 86% of net savings to the

:30:30.:30:34.

Treasury through tax and benefit changes since 2010 will come from

:30:35.:30:38.

women. That's up from last year 's Autumn Statement but it has remained

:30:39.:30:44.

the same as the budget from earlier that year. If you are a woman black

:30:45.:30:49.

minority ethnic background you are set to lose out even more by this

:30:50.:30:55.

government. Joint analysis has shown that low income black and Asian

:30:56.:30:59.

women are paying the highest price for this government's failed

:31:00.:31:04.

austerity agenda. Which she agree that when we talk

:31:05.:31:11.

about the disproportionate cuts from women, what it is in practice so

:31:12.:31:17.

often is the children going without and that's why we've seen the huge

:31:18.:31:22.

spike in charge poverty turning back all the good work the previous

:31:23.:31:26.

Labour government did. My honourable friend has long been a campaign in

:31:27.:31:32.

this area and she is right. I don't understand why people don't consider

:31:33.:31:37.

the economic impact on the entire country if we hold back sectors of

:31:38.:31:42.

our population. Will the Honourable lady except that

:31:43.:31:48.

we have more women who have jobs than in the rest of Europe? And we

:31:49.:31:52.

want them to reach their full economic potential rather than at

:31:53.:31:58.

the moment when they get paid less than they ought. Individuals in the

:31:59.:32:05.

poorest households lose most fun tax benefit changes but from every

:32:06.:32:11.

income group, these women will lose a disproportionate amount. The

:32:12.:32:19.

women's budget group has highlighted analysis such showing disabled

:32:20.:32:25.

people lose significantly more as a result of tax and benefit changes

:32:26.:32:29.

than non-disabled people and disabled women lose more than

:32:30.:32:34.

disabled men. Disabled men are losing nine times as much income as

:32:35.:32:38.

non-disabled men. Disabled women lose twice as much income as

:32:39.:32:42.

non-disabled women. Families with disabled adults and children will

:32:43.:32:50.

lose over 5000 a year by 2020 as a result of tax and benefit changes.

:32:51.:32:55.

Families with both disabled adults and disabled children will lose

:32:56.:33:01.

services valuing 9000 year up to 2020. I would ask the minister

:33:02.:33:06.

whether they believe the figure is acceptable and in line with

:33:07.:33:10.

assertions from the Prime Minister and Chancellor that their party

:33:11.:33:13.

other champions of equality and fairness. We know that budget and

:33:14.:33:18.

policy decisions are simply not gender neutral.

:33:19.:33:24.

Thank you. That she recognise that what she seems to be suggesting is

:33:25.:33:33.

no plan, no sustainability? Will she accept that welfare spending tripled

:33:34.:33:42.

in real terms between 1980 and 1981 to 2014 and 2015 and that science

:33:43.:33:48.

does -- unsustainable. What you propose doesn't balance the books. I

:33:49.:33:54.

think I thank the honourable lady for her intervention. Does she

:33:55.:33:58.

recognise that there are groups in our society now that are being made

:33:59.:34:03.

more poor by this government? That is the position we are at and that's

:34:04.:34:10.

what statistics show us. It has been proven that gender differentials are

:34:11.:34:14.

not recognised by this government and assumptions are made that

:34:15.:34:20.

includes diocese. Women are particularly burnable to being hit

:34:21.:34:25.

hard by Gulf -- government policies. Social Security payments make up the

:34:26.:34:29.

greater share of women's income than men. Women pay less direct tax than

:34:30.:34:40.

men. Also because they tend to and less. Women make greater use of

:34:41.:34:46.

public services than men. And use care services. Because a higher

:34:47.:34:52.

proportion of women's employment is in the public sector than men's

:34:53.:34:55.

also. How are these factors taken into account in the draft of the

:34:56.:35:02.

most recent Autumn Statement? Labour has committed to a gender audit

:35:03.:35:06.

statement in government and the game would be for gender equality to be a

:35:07.:35:09.

significant element in considering policy options to ensure that the

:35:10.:35:16.

option contains no legal, economic social cultural constraints in the

:35:17.:35:23.

measures it proposes. It assures the policy is implemented in a gender

:35:24.:35:28.

sensitive and equitable manner. This process is often referred to as

:35:29.:35:33.

gender auditing now takes place in more than 40 countries and was

:35:34.:35:38.

originally inspired by countries such as Australia and given further

:35:39.:35:41.

momentum is by the United Nations commitment to gender monitoring. I

:35:42.:35:47.

would like to draw attention to the house of two examples of best

:35:48.:35:52.

practice. Sweden and Spain. Gender impact assessment is a common --

:35:53.:35:59.

relatively common instrument. It is strongly embedded in carried out by

:36:00.:36:06.

different levels of government. Gender impact assessments are most

:36:07.:36:11.

regularly performed when drawing up documents such as government bills

:36:12.:36:14.

and in terms of reference for enquiry committees. The impact

:36:15.:36:21.

assessment is conducted in the gender mainstreaming strategy. In

:36:22.:36:26.

Spain, gender impact assessments are required by law in the Basque

:36:27.:36:34.

country since 2005. Since 2007, gender impact assessment reports

:36:35.:36:38.

have been issued on more than 500 decrees and laws and after seven

:36:39.:36:43.

years it is a consolidated practice strongly embedded in the Basque

:36:44.:36:47.

regional government. These are just two examples to demonstrate that

:36:48.:36:55.

when it comes to wider policy, party opposite is light years behind some

:36:56.:37:00.

of our European colleagues. Can I ask what gender impact

:37:01.:37:03.

assessment she has made of the credit crunch and the record deficit

:37:04.:37:08.

we inherited? Does she not recognise the decisions we had to take word to

:37:09.:37:14.

restore the nation's finances which Irene everyone's interests are not a

:37:15.:37:21.

narrow interest group? I hear what you are saying but can I question

:37:22.:37:26.

him that why it is that women need to bear the brunt of this

:37:27.:37:29.

government's posterity? Will the Minister agree that macro I'm sorry,

:37:30.:37:35.

I'm not having a conversation. Following the example set by any

:37:36.:37:42.

other nations, will the Minister produce recommendations on how

:37:43.:37:44.

equality considerations can be better integrated -- integrated into

:37:45.:37:50.

their policy-making process? I think she mentioned Spain as a country

:37:51.:37:54.

doing the gender impact assessment. According to the global gender in

:37:55.:38:01.

Dax of 2016, what did she think about Britain ranking higher than

:38:02.:38:10.

Spain? Then how much better we would be if we actually actively audited

:38:11.:38:18.

what we were doing. The legal and international obligations on this

:38:19.:38:22.

government need to protect and advance women's economic equality.

:38:23.:38:29.

Chapter one of the qualities act 2010 brought forward by this side of

:38:30.:38:33.

the house enshrined public sector equality duties required by public

:38:34.:38:39.

authorities do have due regard to the number of equality

:38:40.:38:40.

considerations when exercising functions. Section 149 of the

:38:41.:38:49.

qualities act, Labour enshrined that any public body must have due regard

:38:50.:38:53.

to the need to eliminate discrimination and advance equality

:38:54.:38:59.

and it includes gender and ethnicity. The case of bragging

:39:00.:39:05.

versus the Secretary of State for work and pay insurance... The

:39:06.:39:10.

principles outlined in the Jesmond were recently summarised by Mr

:39:11.:39:21.

Justice Gilbert. Crucially, they include the following. The relevant

:39:22.:39:25.

duty is upon the Minister or other decision-makers personally. A

:39:26.:39:31.

minister must assess the risk and the extent of any adverse impact and

:39:32.:39:35.

the ways that may be eliminated before the adoption of a proposed

:39:36.:39:40.

policy and not simply as a rearguard action following a concluded

:39:41.:39:45.

decision. The duty of due regard requires public authorities to be

:39:46.:39:49.

properly informed before taking a decision. If the relevant material

:39:50.:39:54.

is not -- available there will be a duty to acquire it. Therefore, very

:39:55.:40:01.

specifically, I ask the Minister today to outline had the most recent

:40:02.:40:05.

Autumn Statement as well as policy announcement since the party came to

:40:06.:40:09.

government come polite with section 149 of the equality act and the

:40:10.:40:15.

requirements laid out by Mr Justice Gilbert. Assumptions and

:40:16.:40:19.

reassurances will not suffice and the public demand to see how the

:40:20.:40:23.

Autumn Statement and government policies comply under relevant

:40:24.:40:27.

sections of the equality act and case law. I would ask the Minister

:40:28.:40:30.

to make this information available to the house through the House of

:40:31.:40:34.

Commons library at the earliest opportunity. We should not have two

:40:35.:40:40.

hold the government's feet to the fire is showing that their policies

:40:41.:40:45.

aren't disproportionately impacting one group and reversing the progress

:40:46.:40:53.

already made on economic equality... But sadly previous words from the

:40:54.:40:57.

party opposite do not feel as with hope. In November 2012, the then

:40:58.:41:02.

Prime Minister spoke at the Confederation of British industry 's

:41:03.:41:06.

annual conference aimed at government departments would no

:41:07.:41:10.

longer be required to carry out equality impact assessment is. He

:41:11.:41:15.

referred to the impact assessment as "Reams of bureaucratic nonsense and

:41:16.:41:22.

tick box stuff". I would like to ask whether the current Prime Minister

:41:23.:41:25.

and Chancellor agree with this? I give way. What does she think about

:41:26.:41:33.

the fact that the gender pay gap is at a record low, virtually

:41:34.:41:38.

eliminated for women under 40 and that we have more women led

:41:39.:41:43.

businesses than ever before? Doesn't she had to acknowledge that process?

:41:44.:41:50.

-- progress? It pains me it is a woman member asking this so shall I

:41:51.:41:55.

ask my constituents to be grateful that it will only take another 60

:41:56.:42:00.

years before they are on parity of pay? If the government is set to

:42:01.:42:05.

continue in its contemptuous attitude on equality impact

:42:06.:42:08.

assessments, with a minister explain how well the due regard has been

:42:09.:42:14.

given to the Autumn Statement? The government knows how to conduct a

:42:15.:42:20.

product -- proper audit. The qualities and human rights

:42:21.:42:26.

commission and the Briege Wright has outlined suggested methodologies. We

:42:27.:42:32.

have to ask why in the light of these methodologies, does the

:42:33.:42:37.

government continued to be evasive on this. We will continue to

:42:38.:42:42.

commission and publish our own analysis at every future budget and

:42:43.:42:46.

spring statement for as long as it takes until the government does

:42:47.:42:50.

their duty. The question has to be, how long the government will

:42:51.:42:55.

continue to stick their hats -- heads in the stand with regard to

:42:56.:43:03.

their policy impact on women and minority background when the impact

:43:04.:43:09.

rises from 86 to 89%? Or maybe we have to reach 100% before the

:43:10.:43:15.

government carries out an audit? The situation is increasingly

:43:16.:43:17.

embarrassing as the government continues to let women down time and

:43:18.:43:22.

time again. The Treasury refuses to send a minister to appear before the

:43:23.:43:28.

women and equality select committee. They have provided insubstantial

:43:29.:43:32.

data and voted down a motion on this side of the Has last year to

:43:33.:43:34.

public... This document provides no overall

:43:35.:43:46.

analysis on the measures announced on women or black and minority or

:43:47.:43:51.

indeed disabled people. A few days before the Autumn Statement, the

:43:52.:43:55.

women and equality is that committee published a report criticising the

:43:56.:43:58.

government for their lack of clarity. On how the 2015 spending

:43:59.:44:04.

review affected black and the minorities, women and disabled

:44:05.:44:07.

people. And how impact assessments had not been undertaken. The chair

:44:08.:44:11.

of the committee, the highly regarded conservative Right

:44:12.:44:14.

Honourable member from Basingstoke said "Without the information we

:44:15.:44:18.

have asked for, all ministerial evidence, it has not been possible

:44:19.:44:22.

to form a view on the government's work on the public duty quality. It

:44:23.:44:29.

is a central aim of the public sector equality duty requirements.

:44:30.:44:33.

The select committee and numerous organisations and indeed this side

:44:34.:44:38.

of the House have all made clear, that the distribution analysis

:44:39.:44:41.

produced by the government is simply inadequate to be able to judge their

:44:42.:44:45.

compliance with the equalities act. Today, the evasiveness must stop.

:44:46.:44:50.

Women and those with protected characteristics of an done the

:44:51.:44:52.

country deserve and indeed expect better. Various government ministers

:44:53.:44:57.

have refused to accept the analysis produced by the House of Commons

:44:58.:45:01.

library, quoted in the motion today. I would like to ask the Minister, if

:45:02.:45:05.

you disagree with the Independent House of Commons analysis, with the

:45:06.:45:08.

gun being that macro government be willing to produce their own? It is

:45:09.:45:15.

not good enough to criticise the analysis without producing your own.

:45:16.:45:20.

As stated earlier, I will give way. I thank her for giving way. Could

:45:21.:45:28.

she clarify whether the House of Commons analysis includes the

:45:29.:45:29.

national living wage because two thirds of women will benefit from

:45:30.:45:38.

the national living wage policy? The problem with the national living

:45:39.:45:45.

wage is that it is a misnomer. It is a welcomer that it is increased but

:45:46.:45:50.

what we are looking for is a real living wage which actually brings

:45:51.:45:53.

people out of poverty and we are not saying that at the moment. I will

:45:54.:46:00.

give way. The macro I am grateful to her for giving way but if you

:46:01.:46:09.

represent a party whose policy is to preserve the wealth of those who

:46:10.:46:12.

have orally got it but it is inevitable those people are silver

:46:13.:46:15.

bottom of the pile as long as they remain in government. I do agree

:46:16.:46:20.

with that and I am also very proud that I am from a party that wants

:46:21.:46:24.

wealth shared around and for everyone to reach their potential.

:46:25.:46:29.

As stated earlier, I will make some progress. I stated earlier that the

:46:30.:46:35.

government know how to conduct an adequate equalities audit of their

:46:36.:46:38.

financial statements and policies. Clear methodologies have been

:46:39.:46:42.

produced by the equality and human rights commission and they are just

:46:43.:46:45.

choosing not to. Would the Minister today agreed to present to the House

:46:46.:46:48.

how future announcements can be properly taken into account the

:46:49.:46:55.

impact on women, particular those from BME backgrounds. Will the

:46:56.:47:00.

government agreed to put an end to the ducking and diving and send the

:47:01.:47:04.

Minister to the women and equality select committee to answer questions

:47:05.:47:07.

on this matter. Will the government agreed to publish a full impact

:47:08.:47:11.

analysis of their policies since 2010. Will the government outline

:47:12.:47:16.

how this Autumn Statement and future financial policy announcements will

:47:17.:47:19.

demonstrate compliance with the UK's legal and international obligations?

:47:20.:47:26.

I have outlined in my opening remarks gender economic equality has

:47:27.:47:28.

been at the heart of the fight for equal rights in this country.

:47:29.:47:32.

Progress has been all too slow and the victories hard-won. On the side

:47:33.:47:36.

of the House, we can be proud that almost every major piece of

:47:37.:47:41.

legislation that has improved the lives of working women has been

:47:42.:47:45.

introduced by a Labour government. It was a Labour government that

:47:46.:47:49.

introduced legislative protection for women under the equal pay act,

:47:50.:47:54.

the sex and dissemination act and the equalities act. Labour became

:47:55.:47:57.

the first administration since the Second World War to accept state

:47:58.:48:01.

responsibility for developing childcare policy. Introducing

:48:02.:48:06.

paternity leave and maternity leave. Sure start centres, working tax

:48:07.:48:11.

credits and all women short lists. And we have more women MPs than all

:48:12.:48:14.

the other parties in the House combined. But in 2016, under this

:48:15.:48:19.

government, women in the UK are more likely to be working for less pay

:48:20.:48:24.

than men. They are more likely to be in chronically low paid and insecure

:48:25.:48:29.

sectors of the economy and they are disproportionately affected by

:48:30.:48:32.

unprecedented cuts to public services. I'm not going to give away

:48:33.:48:35.

because we have other speakers who want to come in. Unlawful maternity

:48:36.:48:39.

discrimination is becoming an increase under this government's

:48:40.:48:45.

watch. 54,000 pregnant women and mothers forced out of their jobs

:48:46.:48:51.

every years, according to the equality and humans were -- equality

:48:52.:48:53.

and human rights commission for just 1% of those women have taken their

:48:54.:49:02.

case to a tribunal. As I stated at the beginning of my remarks, as of

:49:03.:49:06.

the most recent Autumn Statement, 86% of savings to the Treasury

:49:07.:49:11.

through tax and benefits changes from 2010 will have come from women.

:49:12.:49:15.

Today the government has the chance to decide whether it wants this to

:49:16.:49:19.

be its lasting legacy when it comes to the fight for gender economic

:49:20.:49:23.

equality. He ministers have the choice, does the government stand by

:49:24.:49:27.

and invade its responsibilities and make life worse for women in this

:49:28.:49:32.

country or do they put their warm words into action and rectify their

:49:33.:49:37.

mistake and create a new Iraqi and see and accountability on the impact

:49:38.:49:41.

of government policy on women, disabled and black and ethnic

:49:42.:49:46.

minority people? Minister, we expect you to make the right choice. The

:49:47.:49:59.

question is as on the order paper,. Thank you Madam Deputy Speaker, very

:50:00.:50:07.

proud to do it in the name of a female Prime Minister as well. It is

:50:08.:50:10.

the foremost aim of this government that this is a country that works

:50:11.:50:15.

for everyone in our society. Wherever you are from, gender, age,

:50:16.:50:20.

race or background. To deliver that objective, we need a strong and

:50:21.:50:23.

stable economy by boosting productivity, creating jobs and

:50:24.:50:26.

bringing public finances under control. That is how we will be in

:50:27.:50:30.

the best position to create a sustained rise in living standards

:50:31.:50:35.

for all British people. Our entire economic approach has been based on

:50:36.:50:38.

the determination to make people better off now and in the future in

:50:39.:50:42.

all parts of the United Kingdom and the full breadth of society. That is

:50:43.:50:46.

why we reject the assumptions made in today's motion and believe

:50:47.:50:50.

instead that the plans we have set out will deliver a stronger economy

:50:51.:50:56.

that works for everyone. I want to reflect, I will just make little

:50:57.:51:01.

progress and then I will give way. I want to reflect on the measures we

:51:02.:51:04.

have taken to strengthen our economy in this way. People, regardless of

:51:05.:51:10.

their race or gender will benefit from our work to restore the economy

:51:11.:51:13.

to long-term health. That starts with bringing public finances under

:51:14.:51:18.

control. With UK debt soon reaching a 50 year high of 90.2% of GDP, we

:51:19.:51:26.

must assume a credible fiscal path to get it falling. In the last six

:51:27.:51:29.

is, we have cut the deficit by almost two thirds to four percent of

:51:30.:51:35.

our GDP. We confirmed in the recent Autumn Statement that we will do

:51:36.:51:42.

live a surplus as soon as is in the interim bringing in 2% of the end of

:51:43.:51:47.

the parliament and getting public services net debt falling in this

:51:48.:51:54.

armament as well. People across our society also benefit from our

:51:55.:51:57.

business led recovery that has been at the heart of our economic

:51:58.:52:00.

approach. We have been making sure that Britain is open for business

:52:01.:52:04.

from our competitive tax regime to cutting over ?10 billion worth of

:52:05.:52:09.

red tape and are at stencil investment in infrastructure, skills

:52:10.:52:13.

and research. The Autumn Statement took this further with a host of

:52:14.:52:20.

measures, including the new national productivity investment fund of ?23

:52:21.:52:24.

million over the next five years. It is a result of measures like these

:52:25.:52:29.

that we are seeing over 1 million new businesses started since 2010 by

:52:30.:52:34.

taking us up to a record 5.5 million small businesses at the start of the

:52:35.:52:38.

year. And by the way, I am pleased to say that around 1.2 million SMEs

:52:39.:52:44.

in the KR majority women lead, this is more than ever before and they

:52:45.:52:50.

contribute ?115 billion to the economy in total. I will give way. I

:52:51.:52:56.

thank the Minister for giving way. In regards to the infrastructure

:52:57.:53:00.

spending which he heralds as being part of the recovery, can I ask how

:53:01.:53:03.

we are the jobs created by that will go to women? I can't say exactly how

:53:04.:53:10.

many will be women or men but Ishii objecting to the infrastructure

:53:11.:53:13.

spending because she believes it won't go to women? I will happily

:53:14.:53:19.

give way again. And yellow macro I will be making a more substantive

:53:20.:53:23.

speech about this shortly that currently in the construction

:53:24.:53:27.

industry, 1% of jobs goes to women. 1%. I ask him again, what percentage

:53:28.:53:31.

does he think of the jobs on infrastructure spending will be

:53:32.:53:37.

spent on women. Can I just point out to the honourable member that there

:53:38.:53:41.

are more women now doing stem available subjects than ever before.

:53:42.:53:47.

Which is about ensuring more people go into that. I am trying to

:53:48.:53:52.

understand the point she is making. Is she saying we should not be

:53:53.:53:55.

spending money on infrastructure because it will have a

:53:56.:53:57.

disproportionate effect favouring men? The purpose by the way of

:53:58.:54:03.

infrastructure spending is to improve our infrastructure and to

:54:04.:54:07.

improve productivity. That is why we are doing that. Productivity that

:54:08.:54:11.

House men and women. I will give way again. I am absolutely not saying we

:54:12.:54:15.

shouldn't spend money on infrastructure, what I am saying is,

:54:16.:54:19.

what is the government going to do to make sure that all of the

:54:20.:54:22.

infrastructure spending out of the Autumn Statement is equally shared

:54:23.:54:31.

between men and women's jobs. I welcome back to the question but I

:54:32.:54:34.

will give way to right honourable friend. You lie my honourable friend

:54:35.:54:39.

will surely be aware that Alan Griffith construction based in my

:54:40.:54:42.

own constituency which build motorways as received a

:54:43.:54:45.

Parliamentary award for its commitment to championing women in

:54:46.:54:48.

the construction industry. Perhaps I've could suggest we should make

:54:49.:54:53.

sure that companies like that are considered carefully. There is an

:54:54.:54:59.

important point on how we encourage more women to become involved in

:55:00.:55:04.

engineering and construction. It is the case that there are more

:55:05.:55:09.

employers taking more steps to do that. I think Ross Royle is another

:55:10.:55:16.

example where that is happening. -- Crossrail. The point she is making

:55:17.:55:23.

is that she seems to object to infrastructure spending which seems

:55:24.:55:30.

a strange position. The global entrepreneurship... And develop mid

:55:31.:55:38.

index has also ranked Britain. Order. I can hear the honourable

:55:39.:55:42.

lady and she should not be speaking so loudly, especially when I am

:55:43.:55:47.

speaking, when she is sitting down. She will have an opportunity to

:55:48.:55:54.

speak soon. Minister. Sylla macro thank you Madam Deputy Speaker.

:55:55.:56:00.

Britain has been ranked as the best place in Europe for female

:56:01.:56:04.

entrepreneurs, something this House will welcome and want us to build

:56:05.:56:10.

further on. Our start-up loans programme helping entrepreneurs set

:56:11.:56:13.

up a business or become self-employed, not only through a

:56:14.:56:19.

loan but access. This programme issues a high proportion of loans to

:56:20.:56:26.

BME applicants, ra presenting 24% of start-up loan recipients with almost

:56:27.:56:32.

10,000 loans issued to BME recipients so far. Support

:56:33.:56:36.

businesses goes hand-in-hand with the high employment rate that we

:56:37.:56:38.

currently have in the UK with today's numbers confirming that the

:56:39.:56:45.

unemployed at rate remains at an 11 year low with employment remaining

:56:46.:56:49.

at near record highs. Will he agree with me that the way this government

:56:50.:56:54.

is really helping women at work is by introducing shared parental

:56:55.:56:58.

leave, flexible working hours and 30 hours free childcare. Those are

:56:59.:57:03.

being pioneered by this government, putting women first in the

:57:04.:57:09.

workplace. Indeed, she raises an important point. I will turn to

:57:10.:57:13.

those measures in a moment or so. It is worth pointing out that as well

:57:14.:57:19.

as impressive employment numbers, this is accompanied by rising living

:57:20.:57:23.

standards which last year grew at their fastest rate in 14 years and

:57:24.:57:26.

currently stands at their highest ever level. The benefits of this

:57:27.:57:30.

affects people across society but this House should note the benefits

:57:31.:57:36.

for women and people from black and minority ethnic groups. The number

:57:37.:57:40.

of women in work has increased by over 1.2 million since 2010. The

:57:41.:57:44.

rate has gone up more in the last parliament than in any of the

:57:45.:57:48.

previous three combined. That comes as the gender pay gap also forced to

:57:49.:57:55.

the lowest on record. More women are on boards or leading businesses than

:57:56.:57:58.

ever before. There are no longer any all-male boards in the FTSE 100. I

:57:59.:58:06.

will give way. On the subject of pay and reference to the excellent

:58:07.:58:11.

intervention by the member for Rochester, the honourable lady

:58:12.:58:14.

talked about national living wage and said it was not adequate, is he

:58:15.:58:19.

aware that the only international comparison of minimum wage is the

:58:20.:58:24.

Economist bitmapped index, the own country with a more generous living

:58:25.:58:25.

wage and this one is Luxembourg. I am grateful to him. The national

:58:26.:58:42.

living wage that was brought in by this government is having an effect

:58:43.:58:47.

and disproportionately benefits women. If you look at the number of

:58:48.:58:57.

black and minority ethnic women in work it is at a near record high

:58:58.:59:02.

with nearly 4000 women finding work since 2010 and the employment rate

:59:03.:59:08.

for people in BME groups is at its highest level since records began in

:59:09.:59:16.

2001. I am very grateful to the Minister

:59:17.:59:22.

for outlining what companies are doing to help women and the black,

:59:23.:59:30.

Asian and Minos -- minorities. But the debate is about what this

:59:31.:59:34.

government is doing and how the austerity is adversely affecting

:59:35.:59:43.

these groups. I think the logic of a point that the honourable member

:59:44.:59:47.

makes is that there is no leak between what happens in the economy

:59:48.:59:51.

and government policies but what has been demonstrated over the last ten

:59:52.:59:56.

years is that there is a clear link between government policy and what

:59:57.:00:00.

happens in the economy and it is because of the policies... We are

:00:01.:00:04.

the fastest-growing economy in the G7 at the moment so it's going quite

:00:05.:00:09.

well given we were the economy that was most affected by the crash in

:00:10.:00:15.

2008 amongst the major economies. The reality is that we've put in

:00:16.:00:20.

place and environment where we create jobs, where we're seeing

:00:21.:00:24.

living standards improving and that is happening across the economy for

:00:25.:00:30.

men, women and children. It is right that we continue our work to address

:00:31.:00:35.

long-standing barriers to work for BME people. New support in school

:00:36.:00:42.

and new guidance from job centres and we've set a public target to

:00:43.:00:45.

increase the proportion of apprenticeship starters for people

:00:46.:00:53.

in BME backgrounds to 20% in 2020. We are strengthening our economy by

:00:54.:01:01.

managing our public finances, backing business and creating jobs

:01:02.:01:05.

and we're helping people, regardless of gender or race, make the money go

:01:06.:01:10.

further in their day-to-day lives. That's why we confirmed in the

:01:11.:01:14.

Autumn Statement that we will raise the personal allowance to ?12,500 by

:01:15.:01:20.

the end of parliament and by 2020 we will have increased by over 90% by

:01:21.:01:27.

-- since 2010 and taking millions out of the lowest pay. We've also

:01:28.:01:35.

introduced the national living wage ?7 20 per hour. And we announced

:01:36.:01:44.

that the Autumn Statement we would raise it to ?7 50 in 2017. The

:01:45.:01:50.

national swimming -- living wage also... And the honourable member

:01:51.:01:56.

should know that women account for two thirds of those who will benefit

:01:57.:02:00.

from this with people from BME communities also expected to gain.

:02:01.:02:07.

I understand what he's saying about the national living wage and the

:02:08.:02:15.

increase, but the 40% tax rate... Only 27% of higher rate taxpayers

:02:16.:02:22.

are women said that changes there will disproportionately affect men

:02:23.:02:24.

and not women so what is the government doing about that? When it

:02:25.:02:30.

comes to income tax that is a matter, is got them, that will be a

:02:31.:02:35.

matter for the Scottish Government and I look forward to seeing what it

:02:36.:02:41.

will do on that. From early 2017 we will also introduced tax-free

:02:42.:02:47.

childcare to help working parents with their childcare costs. Parents

:02:48.:02:52.

will be able to receive up to ?2000 child support each year and we're

:02:53.:02:58.

helping around 3 million households to further increase incentives for

:02:59.:03:01.

people to increase the number of hours they work and earn their way

:03:02.:03:06.

out of functional -- financial insecurity and dependency. With our

:03:07.:03:11.

sustained investment in public services, such as our focus on

:03:12.:03:15.

quality schools with the highest ever proportion of children being

:03:16.:03:19.

taught in good or outstanding schools, the pupil premium to

:03:20.:03:25.

support pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, and an investment of

:03:26.:03:29.

?23 billion in the school estate over the next five years. Our

:03:30.:03:34.

investment in infrastructure will help all, from roads and rails to

:03:35.:03:40.

the homes we live in, and the recent Autumn Statement contributed to

:03:41.:03:43.

tackling a long-standing challenge to deliver more homes with a further

:03:44.:03:50.

?5.3 billion investment in housing, including a ?2.3 billion housing

:03:51.:03:52.

infrastructure fund to deliver it infrastructure to unlock new homes

:03:53.:04:00.

and to deliver 40,000 new affordable homes. So our economic plans are

:04:01.:04:04.

based on delivering an economy that works for everyone and that means an

:04:05.:04:09.

economy that benefits all races and genders. I note the efforts to

:04:10.:04:14.

analyse the effect on measures we've taken on BME groups and our members

:04:15.:04:20.

will be aware of research of the House of Commons library and the

:04:21.:04:24.

Women's Budget Group on which the premise of today's motion is based.

:04:25.:04:28.

But a cautious approach should be made when analysing specific impact.

:04:29.:04:33.

Findings should not be considered without making an honest assessment

:04:34.:04:39.

on the flaws inherent in the methodologies. First, the House of

:04:40.:04:44.

Commons library looks only at taxes and benefits which means it

:04:45.:04:48.

overlooks key part of the broader economic picture including benefits

:04:49.:04:53.

for women and people from BME groups. It also fails to take into

:04:54.:05:00.

account the public services that families values such as support for

:05:01.:05:05.

childcare, spools -- schools exaggerate. Assumptions are made on

:05:06.:05:10.

how income is shared in any household. For example, is not

:05:11.:05:17.

reasonable to assume that the measure to reduce child tax credit

:05:18.:05:21.

to the first two children will affect a overwhelmingly women

:05:22.:05:28.

because women are usually the nominal payee. That is what the

:05:29.:05:32.

House of Commons library did in previous analyses. That assumes that

:05:33.:05:39.

other sources of income, such as earnings, are not shared within a

:05:40.:05:42.

household in response to benefit changes. Their analysis compares to

:05:43.:05:48.

a world where benefits are upgraded between 2010 and 2015 by the retail

:05:49.:05:53.

price in set -- in text but that is a flawed measure of inflation. So

:05:54.:06:02.

there are a range of issues and methods to calculate the impact on

:06:03.:06:06.

the findings should be seen in this light. But it is right that we

:06:07.:06:10.

assess carefully the effects of any new fiscal measures on any group

:06:11.:06:15.

across our society and we carefully consider the implications of all our

:06:16.:06:20.

measures and protect -- protected groups which includes gender, race

:06:21.:06:25.

and disability in line with our principal of a fairer society but

:06:26.:06:29.

our legal responsibilities also under the equality act of 2010. We

:06:30.:06:33.

publish information alongside the Autumn Statement on the impact of

:06:34.:06:42.

tax measures and also the impacts on households on our decisions on tax,

:06:43.:06:49.

welfare and spending. That is on a range of different incomes. Madam

:06:50.:06:53.

Deputy Speaker, our commitment to fairness runs through everything and

:06:54.:06:57.

goes to the heart of our economic approach we've taken since 2010. The

:06:58.:07:02.

Prime Minister could not have been clearer about her good determination

:07:03.:07:06.

to take every action to make this country that works for everyone.

:07:07.:07:11.

That is why we've launched at an audit to look at racial disparity in

:07:12.:07:17.

public services that stretches across government, health,

:07:18.:07:18.

education, employment skills and justice. So this government is fully

:07:19.:07:24.

resolved to make this a country that works for all races and genders.

:07:25.:07:29.

That is exactly what we work to deliver through our work to build a

:07:30.:07:33.

stronger economy and to help people in their day-to-day lives. That is

:07:34.:07:38.

what last month's Autumn Statement continued to support.

:07:39.:07:44.

Before I call the spokesman for the Scottish National party, I should

:07:45.:07:49.

warn the house that a great many people want to speak. There were

:07:50.:07:53.

lots of interventions on the opening speeches and quite rightly so

:07:54.:07:57.

because that is how you have a heated debate. I make no criticism

:07:58.:08:02.

but it means there will have to be a three minute time limit on backbench

:08:03.:08:07.

speeches. That doesn't apply of course to our next week.

:08:08.:08:17.

Thank you. I am pleased to take part in this debate particularly since

:08:18.:08:21.

figures recently indicate that there have been 455 female MPs in the

:08:22.:08:27.

history of this House. The same number of male MPs present in the

:08:28.:08:34.

house today. That is an important point in terms of policies this Has

:08:35.:08:39.

pursues because policies are not always in the interests of women as

:08:40.:08:43.

they have not been well was that represented over the years. The

:08:44.:08:52.

women we have here today make their voices known and those of their

:08:53.:08:56.

constituents. I'm very grateful to the member for Rotherham who spoke

:08:57.:09:01.

passionately on this issue and I support her calls for a gender audit

:09:02.:09:06.

because it would make a massive government -- difference in the way

:09:07.:09:10.

government policies are analysed. I noted that women's income will be

:09:11.:09:16.

hit twice as hard by men in 2020 and they will be ?1000 worse off by

:09:17.:09:24.

2020. We know that women up -- of below average income will end up

:09:25.:09:32.

?1600 worse off under this government. For female lone parents

:09:33.:09:36.

they will be ?4000 per year worse off. That is a significant amount.

:09:37.:09:46.

From 2010 to 2020, 80 6% of cuts to social security will cut -- come

:09:47.:09:50.

from women's incomes and I don't understand how anyone can make up

:09:51.:09:56.

that difference. Kurt -- research comes bleaker when we consider women

:09:57.:10:05.

from BME backgrounds. Madam Deputy Speaker, those on the benches

:10:06.:10:11.

opposite love their sound bites. They had a long-term economic plan

:10:12.:10:15.

for a long time which has been abandoned because it is Ivan

:10:16.:10:23.

long-term -- it is neither long-term nor a plan. This was not an Autumn

:10:24.:10:28.

Statement that works for everyone and I attend -- in tender highlight

:10:29.:10:34.

a few missed opportunities. I come to the debate with some degree of

:10:35.:10:38.

frustration. The statement was an opportunity for the government to

:10:39.:10:42.

make changes and start a new cause with a new female Prime Minister.

:10:43.:10:46.

The example I have spoken about many times is that it is 526 days since

:10:47.:10:59.

the 26th -- 26 team budget what it will bring into force next April. It

:11:00.:11:08.

will come Powell survivors of rape to... This policy has been widely

:11:09.:11:14.

condemned by felt -- faith leaders as well as organisations such as the

:11:15.:11:18.

union -- United Nations committee on the rights of the child. They would

:11:19.:11:23.

do well to reflect on the seriousness of the widespread

:11:24.:11:28.

contamination. The Orthodox Jewish community has done research as well.

:11:29.:11:32.

Their figures suggest this policy would push 200,000 more children

:11:33.:11:39.

into poverty which is a significant figure. There is a trap inherent in

:11:40.:11:45.

this policy where families will not be able to earn enough to get

:11:46.:11:50.

themselves out of the trap. In telling reckon for every ?1 extra

:11:51.:11:57.

family and they will use a 5p. The Prime Minister spoke about helping

:11:58.:12:05.

families in our society -- they will lose 75p. When she was Home

:12:06.:12:13.

Secretary, a call to action to tackle gender issues and genital

:12:14.:12:20.

mutilation but her actions gave me some hope that perhaps it's rape

:12:21.:12:26.

clause was utterly unworkable as well as immoral. Perhaps when the

:12:27.:12:30.

consultation reports back it will finally be tackled because I can't

:12:31.:12:35.

see how it compulsively work. In stead of using the Autumn Statement

:12:36.:12:39.

as a means of ditching this rape clause, the government it out to

:12:40.:12:47.

consultation. I await the government's response. I wonder what

:12:48.:12:54.

the government expects the consultation to come back with. What

:12:55.:12:59.

do they expect vulnerable women to say to a question that seems to ask

:13:00.:13:05.

how do you intend to prove your child was born out of rape? The

:13:06.:13:13.

government 's agenda disproportionately impact on women

:13:14.:13:17.

and there was missed opportunity for some women. There are estimates that

:13:18.:13:23.

there are thousands of women affected by campaigners.

:13:24.:13:36.

Those women are not having that injustice dealt with. My

:13:37.:13:46.

mother-in-law is also a victim. The woman in that age bracket herself,

:13:47.:13:52.

the women she is not open with this policy. The government could have

:13:53.:13:56.

done more in the Autumn Statement to address the issue of my honourable

:13:57.:14:04.

friend, who is not well, and we sent her our best wishes. She has been

:14:05.:14:07.

highlighting in recent weeks, the child maintenance service, a 4%

:14:08.:14:13.

administration fee for the collect and pay service which is only

:14:14.:14:16.

imposed on families who don't share bank details. The implication of

:14:17.:14:23.

this is that women who have fled domestic abuse situations are the

:14:24.:14:26.

ones who are disproportionately impacted by this situation. They are

:14:27.:14:34.

trying to rebuild family life, the Autumn Statement was a chance to

:14:35.:14:38.

correct this unfurnished and I call on ministers opposite to make

:14:39.:14:44.

progress on this significant matter. Half of Glasgow's job centres are

:14:45.:14:51.

too close, and discussion last week, Glasgow elected ribs and Steve said

:14:52.:14:53.

the impact assessment on these plans would only be done after the

:14:54.:14:58.

consultation, after the consultation. Which is completely

:14:59.:15:02.

inadequate. Only three of eight are going to consultation, the others

:15:03.:15:08.

will not be consulted on. The plans were drawn up to see how far one job

:15:09.:15:14.

centre was from another and with buses we might get, some of the

:15:15.:15:19.

buses referred to the given exist because they have been withdrawn.

:15:20.:15:27.

Women have been working and finding it difficult to meet their

:15:28.:15:32.

obligations, dropping off their kids and adding the extra burden of

:15:33.:15:36.

travelling across Glasgow on more than one bus will put them at

:15:37.:15:41.

serious risk of being sanctioned and it is an explicit bull that that

:15:42.:15:46.

would not be taken into account by the consultation is being released.

:15:47.:15:50.

It is almost as if the government is making it so hard for people to

:15:51.:15:53.

claim what they are actually entitled to. Another thing missed

:15:54.:16:03.

out was the under 25 's. They are keen to advance the national living

:16:04.:16:08.

wage but if you are under 25, you are not entitled to the same pay.

:16:09.:16:13.

Your days work is not seen as much of value as if you are over 25. They

:16:14.:16:18.

say it is about experience but it is not. If you will can do your job on

:16:19.:16:23.

your first day at the age of 25, the differential is ?3 45 as to somebody

:16:24.:16:30.

who is 16, starting on the same day in the same job. That is unfair. The

:16:31.:16:37.

national living wage is not an actual living wage, it is a revised

:16:38.:16:41.

minimum wage which is out of touch with the true cost of living in this

:16:42.:16:45.

country. The real living wage set by living wage foundation is being

:16:46.:16:51.

implemented by the Scottish Government and we now have 693

:16:52.:16:55.

companies in Scotland, across a wide range of sectors and sizes of

:16:56.:17:02.

companies that now believe that a fair day 's work deserves a fair day

:17:03.:17:09.

's pay. The government's pretend living wage will not deliver that.

:17:10.:17:15.

In discriminating against under 25s, the government doesn't acknowledge

:17:16.:17:19.

that they will not get a discount on their rent or their cost of living.

:17:20.:17:25.

Also to compound this, they are not entitled to the same benefits as

:17:26.:17:29.

those who are over 25. It is completely ludicrous. There is also

:17:30.:17:43.

an issue of the camp on tax. -- tampon. The then financial Secretary

:17:44.:17:55.

to the Treasury seem to think it was nigh on impossible to achieve and I

:17:56.:17:57.

am glad they have made progress on this. And I thank the honourable

:17:58.:18:03.

member for Dewsbury and my honourable friend on this side of

:18:04.:18:06.

the House who have campaigned on this issue. Without cross-party

:18:07.:18:11.

support, I don't think we would have got nearly as far as we have with

:18:12.:18:15.

the government. In the Autumn Statement, the announcement on the

:18:16.:18:20.

tampon tax was welcomed, when the minister comes to the dispatch box,

:18:21.:18:24.

can he tell us how groups in Scotland have benefited from this

:18:25.:18:30.

and can he tell us when these changes will lead to the abolition

:18:31.:18:36.

of the tampon tax. Every month goes by, the government is still saying

:18:37.:18:41.

that revenue come in. I want to know when I'm not going to have to pay

:18:42.:18:45.

that any longer. I am conscious that other colleagues wish to speak and I

:18:46.:18:53.

want to conclude with agreeing that the Autumn Statement was a missed

:18:54.:18:57.

opportunity. It was a missed opportunity on pay equality, a

:18:58.:19:02.

missed opportunity for the Waspy women and a missed opportunity for

:19:03.:19:07.

all women, thank you. Gray before I call the next Speaker, I have two

:19:08.:19:15.

announced the result of today's decide division, in relating to

:19:16.:19:19.

financial services and markets, the iMac weres 297 and the nos were 151

:19:20.:19:23.

so the iMac rows have it. -- the ever since the Tory party which did

:19:24.:19:42.

stand for the old landed interest was taken over in the 1800 by a

:19:43.:19:47.

mixture of free traders and Unionists and liberals, this

:19:48.:19:49.

Conservative Party has been absolutely committed to the

:19:50.:19:53.

principle of equality of opportunity. A society where anyone

:19:54.:19:56.

can succeed based on their merit with no regard at all for their race

:19:57.:20:01.

or sexual orientation or their gender. That is absolutely right, a

:20:02.:20:04.

principle which we maintain to this day. As the father of two daughters,

:20:05.:20:09.

I want them to be able to succeed in education and the workplace and in

:20:10.:20:12.

the public space. I am delighted with the progress the government is

:20:13.:20:16.

making so far and that society is making so far. The lowest gender pay

:20:17.:20:21.

gap on record, record numbers of women in employment. If all in and

:20:22.:20:25.

implement announced today, bringing it well below 5% something which

:20:26.:20:30.

both men and women can benefit from and increases in the minimum wage.

:20:31.:20:34.

Yes we have more to do as well but the Autumn Statement was not an

:20:35.:20:38.

opportunity to start spending money from the magical money tree that

:20:39.:20:45.

members think is unlimited. It is an opportunity to maintain the sound

:20:46.:20:47.

financial direction in which we have been going which has led the

:20:48.:20:51.

Guardian to admit that we now have the highest growth rate in the whole

:20:52.:20:55.

of the G-7. It would be disastrous for everyone in this country, men

:20:56.:20:58.

and women, if the government were to go back on that. There are problems

:20:59.:21:04.

out there. The Casey report which came out a week or two ago

:21:05.:21:07.

highlighted some of the many problems we still face in the

:21:08.:21:13.

challenge of getting equality in our society. I am glad the motion

:21:14.:21:18.

mentions the problems faced by black and ethnic minority women which was

:21:19.:21:21.

also referred to in the Casey review. The most worrying statistic

:21:22.:21:26.

in here was that the biggest problems being faced by women who

:21:27.:21:32.

are of Bangladeshi and cultural heritage and that cultural and will

:21:33.:21:37.

adjust attitudes are having an effect here. People popped up to say

:21:38.:21:40.

that it was a disgrace and we shouldn't be worried about drawing

:21:41.:21:44.

attention to this due to fears of being called racist but some of us

:21:45.:21:48.

have been pointing it out in this chamber for many years. I was on the

:21:49.:21:51.

home affairs select committee in 2008 when it had a report into

:21:52.:21:55.

forced marriage, female genital mutilation and so-called honour

:21:56.:22:00.

crimes. That report was horrifying, we had evidence of girls who had

:22:01.:22:03.

been forced to marry rapists and were unable to prevent British

:22:04.:22:07.

authorities to give visas to the rapists because they were unable to

:22:08.:22:11.

speak out in public for fear of what would happen to them at the hands of

:22:12.:22:16.

their own families. We heard about female genital mutilation. We heard

:22:17.:22:20.

that schools were refusing to put up the forced marriage helpline in this

:22:21.:22:24.

country because of concerns it would alienate the local community. We

:22:25.:22:27.

know there are political meetings taking place addressed by members

:22:28.:22:32.

opposite, senior members of the party opposite where men and women

:22:33.:22:35.

are segregated. I pointed out a few weeks ago in this chamber that the

:22:36.:22:38.

Muslim come so for Britain, one of the so-called moderate Muslim groups

:22:39.:22:42.

was linking to a good site which told women that they should not be

:22:43.:22:47.

able to travel more than 48 miles without a male chaperone. I have

:22:48.:22:51.

drawn attention in this to the fact that some girls in schools are

:22:52.:22:56.

expected to wear full dress as part of the uniform. They are worried

:22:57.:23:08.

about the increase of the burqa and the pressure girls are being put

:23:09.:23:11.

under to wear it in some parts of London at the moment. I very much

:23:12.:23:17.

hope Madam Deputy Speaker that people will hope that it is not the

:23:18.:23:20.

Autumn Statement causing a lot of these problems but backward cultural

:23:21.:23:24.

attitudes portrayed by men in certain commute is to the women in

:23:25.:23:29.

those amenities. I am very glad the government announced in the Autumn

:23:30.:23:32.

Statement that the ?3 million tampon tax is going to be used to support

:23:33.:23:35.

women's charities. I would urge them to put it towards charities for

:23:36.:23:42.

campaigns against forced marriage, one law for all who are campaigning

:23:43.:23:46.

against Shara Law and other charities that are reaching out to

:23:47.:23:51.

women in ethnic minorities to bring out the ethnic equality we also

:23:52.:23:58.

want. I rise to speak in this debate because the reality is that this

:23:59.:24:01.

government's so-called long-term economic plan has failed, is failing

:24:02.:24:05.

and continuing to fail women in particular. In the text of the

:24:06.:24:10.

motion before us today, we see that 86% of the net savings from the

:24:11.:24:13.

Treasury come through tax and benefit measures that are coming

:24:14.:24:17.

from women. The Minister questioned that and said it was maybe not the

:24:18.:24:21.

full picture. It is not the full picture because it doesn't take into

:24:22.:24:24.

account the many hours of unpaid caring work that women in our

:24:25.:24:27.

communities do, often plugging the gaps left by cuts to local services,

:24:28.:24:32.

again caused by this government. Some women are paying more than

:24:33.:24:35.

others and it is women in low-paid jobs from the black and minority

:24:36.:24:39.

ethnic communities and women with disabilities that are

:24:40.:24:41.

disproportionately taking the hit from this government. When it comes

:24:42.:24:46.

to social care that is paid for poker, we know that many employers

:24:47.:24:53.

are women and the hourly wage is ?7 ten. That often does not take into

:24:54.:24:56.

account the time taken to travel between employment so it can top as

:24:57.:25:01.

low as 75, well below the national minimum wage of ?6 70. For this

:25:02.:25:06.

Autumn Statement to say nothing on social care, health, the NHS mental

:25:07.:25:10.

health is quite frankly missing the point and not attacking the issue we

:25:11.:25:14.

face as a country. There is nothing in this Autumn Statement for the 2.6

:25:15.:25:18.

million women who have had their lives changed by this government's

:25:19.:25:21.

attitude towards the equalisation of the pension age. These Waspy women

:25:22.:25:26.

have campaigned with dignity but they got nothing from this Autumn

:25:27.:25:29.

Statement. As this government continues to refuse to act for those

:25:30.:25:36.

women. On the tampon tax, I would like to ask the Minister if she

:25:37.:25:39.

could confirm whether the ?3 million announcement in the statement is new

:25:40.:25:42.

funding or the remainder of the allocation from the 2015 fund? I

:25:43.:25:46.

don't know where to begin with the tampon tax because quite frankly,

:25:47.:25:50.

the fact that women have deep pay a tampon tax does not negate the

:25:51.:25:54.

injustice of a tax that is then given to women's charities. Women

:25:55.:25:59.

should not be funding our own refuges and it is a tax we want to

:26:00.:26:03.

abolish, we would like to abolish it we stand with you on that. It does

:26:04.:26:07.

not offer secure funding for refuges which need long-term secure funding

:26:08.:26:10.

and the government need to step up to the mark on that issue. We should

:26:11.:26:15.

not be needing to have this debate because quite frankly, we should

:26:16.:26:21.

have seen this government publish and equality impact statement before

:26:22.:26:34.

the Autumn Statement. To make some concluding remarks, there is nothing

:26:35.:26:39.

in this debate that is new, quite frankly it has been known for years,

:26:40.:26:43.

decades even. That cuts to public services have a disproportionate

:26:44.:26:46.

impact on women because women are more likely to be working in the

:26:47.:26:50.

public sector, more likely to use services provided by the public

:26:51.:26:53.

sector but yet again, they are the women who are picking up that

:26:54.:27:04.

underpaid work therefore they are now being disproportionately impact

:27:05.:27:13.

on the cuts made by this government. Given this fundamental analysis, one

:27:14.:27:16.

can only assume that this government deliberately presented in Autumn

:27:17.:27:20.

Statement that would disproportionately impact women. A

:27:21.:27:24.

future Labour governed would ensure that women would be gender audited

:27:25.:27:28.

to make sure things work truly for all. Not only has austerity Felder

:27:29.:27:38.

country but a political choice was made for ideological reasons rather

:27:39.:27:39.

than any economic necessity. The opposition's motion today is to

:27:40.:27:56.

attack the government agenda on equality and rape. I am saddened but

:27:57.:28:01.

surprise was that it is typical and frankly and unfounded attack. I

:28:02.:28:05.

would like to ask the opposition to change the record. Any to dump the

:28:06.:28:13.

1980s retro socialism and face the facts. The Conservative Party I have

:28:14.:28:19.

been elected to represent as a woman and as an ethnic minority bears no

:28:20.:28:22.

resemblance to the picture they are trying to paint in this motion. In

:28:23.:28:29.

philosophy or in policy. In fact, quite the contrary. I am proud that

:28:30.:28:33.

on this side that our values of fairness, meritocracy and service

:28:34.:28:36.

inform our policies. We say it doesn't matter where you

:28:37.:28:51.

come from. You can rise up by using the ladder the Conservatives

:28:52.:28:54.

provide. Not hand-outs and dependency and the key to that is

:28:55.:29:00.

working because it engenders teamwork, build confidence and

:29:01.:29:03.

creates responsibility. We believe in the individual and not the state.

:29:04.:29:11.

Taxation stifles enterprise, not powers and that's what the Autumn

:29:12.:29:15.

Statement to pick somewhat attract record reflects. Labour's default

:29:16.:29:21.

position of increasing taxation, spending is unsustainable, it is

:29:22.:29:30.

disempowering to women, disabled people and ethnic minorities. If we

:29:31.:29:36.

want to keep and empower women and ethnic minorities and disabled

:29:37.:29:39.

people we need a strong economy and we get that by managing the books

:29:40.:29:45.

and the finances in a prudent way. This Autumn Statement is a real

:29:46.:29:56.

reflection of how we do that. The commitment to raising the tax-free

:29:57.:30:00.

personal allowance to ?12,500, raising the national living wage up

:30:01.:30:05.

to ?7 50 in April, national insurance thresholds for employees

:30:06.:30:11.

and employers will be aligned, rolling at 30 hours of tax-free

:30:12.:30:15.

childcare, introducing shared parental leave and flexible working.

:30:16.:30:22.

Those are all the conditions that empower women and when you get the

:30:23.:30:25.

conditions right you get the results. The results speak for

:30:26.:30:31.

themselves. Granted, there's more to do, but we can see the gender pay

:30:32.:30:35.

gap is at its lowest on record with more led businesses than ever

:30:36.:30:41.

contributing ?80 billion to the economy per year. We see there are

:30:42.:30:50.

no more all-male boards in the FTSE 100 top companies. Britain has been

:30:51.:30:54.

voted the best country in Europe for women to set up a business. This is

:30:55.:31:00.

a government that creates the conditions to help make work pay and

:31:01.:31:04.

strengthen our economy in a strengthening -- sustainable and it

:31:05.:31:08.

prudent way and in doing so we are all empowered. As women, ethnic

:31:09.:31:15.

people, disabled people and people from a disadvantaged background we

:31:16.:31:19.

are all empowered and that's why we'll -- I will vote against this.

:31:20.:31:24.

It doesn't matter what your background is comic you can achieve

:31:25.:31:27.

your potential and that's why I will vote against the opposition motion

:31:28.:31:32.

today. As of 2016's Autumn Statement, 86%

:31:33.:31:40.

of net savings to the Treasury through tax and benefit measures

:31:41.:31:43.

will have come from women. So here I go again, speaking up for the 2.6

:31:44.:31:49.

million women at first the affected by this government's chaotic

:31:50.:31:55.

mismanagement of the pension age increased. Action to address those

:31:56.:32:01.

who've lost out now is necessary to ensure that everyone is treated

:32:02.:32:06.

fairly by increasing the state pension age for women. An estimated

:32:07.:32:12.

500,000 women born in the 1950s are being affected by these changes in

:32:13.:32:19.

state pension. Changes to state and public sector pensions will

:32:20.:32:21.

disproportionately affect women who already make up two thirds of the

:32:22.:32:28.

UK's poorest pensioners. I have nothing new to say because you've

:32:29.:32:32.

heard it all before. It needs no further explanation as we all

:32:33.:32:38.

acknowledged on the side of the house that a gross injustice to the

:32:39.:32:45.

1950s women. The WASPI generation who are currently experiencing this

:32:46.:32:48.

gross injustice. Today we talked about equality. Those women are not

:32:49.:32:55.

having equality. This government has an opportunity to redress that

:32:56.:33:00.

inequality, to do the right thing and make the appropriate

:33:01.:33:04.

transitional payments for the nineteen fifties WASPI women.

:33:05.:33:11.

Thank you. I welcome any support for women. They make up half the

:33:12.:33:17.

population and contribute so much to our economy, but we need to focus on

:33:18.:33:21.

ensuring we have a strong economy because that way we protect women as

:33:22.:33:27.

well as men, disabled people as well as able-bodied people and people of

:33:28.:33:32.

all races. Through that, all of those people will prosper. I'm

:33:33.:33:37.

pleased our growth is second only to the US under this government. It is

:33:38.:33:42.

unfortunate that the bench opposite focuses on the negatives and not the

:33:43.:33:48.

positives and don't seek to raise ambition and aspiration for all

:33:49.:33:52.

society. I would like to highlight for positives in relation to women.

:33:53.:33:58.

Those who are young, those who are on low wages, those who are more

:33:59.:34:03.

skilled and by way of international comparison. In relation to young

:34:04.:34:06.

women, I don't think it's appropriate to talk down your own

:34:07.:34:12.

women. Girls often do better in school than boys. More women than

:34:13.:34:18.

men go to university. I'd like to recognise the benefit this

:34:19.:34:23.

government's policies have had on those women on lower salaries

:34:24.:34:27.

because men as when is women benefit from the national living wage going

:34:28.:34:38.

up to ?9 by 2020. If, as the opposition pay -- say, women are

:34:39.:34:43.

less pagan men, this will disproportionately affect women. Let

:34:44.:34:47.

us not forget the strides made for those who are higher paid. Now we

:34:48.:34:55.

had -- have no all-male FTSE 100 boards. The number of women on these

:34:56.:35:01.

boards has gone up to 26% in 2015 from 13% in 2011. Firstly, it's

:35:02.:35:08.

important to consider how we are doing in comparison to other

:35:09.:35:13.

countries internationally. The World Economic Forum gender gap measures

:35:14.:35:20.

and ranks the level of equality of opportunity between men and women.

:35:21.:35:27.

We are 20th out of 144, ranking above Canada, the US and Australia.

:35:28.:35:32.

The member for Rotherham stated she was proud of successive Labour

:35:33.:35:39.

achievements. She failed to mention that according to a Fabian Society

:35:40.:35:44.

only are women and only 16% are only are women and only 16% are

:35:45.:35:52.

council leaders and only 11% as senior Labour star. I want an

:35:53.:35:57.

economy and a society that works for everyone of every race, any gender

:35:58.:36:10.

and of every religion. Thank you. I will talk about the productivity gap

:36:11.:36:16.

and I will stick to the Autumn Statement because that was the

:36:17.:36:21.

subject on the motion today. The product he -- productivity gap is

:36:22.:36:26.

one of the things we pale -- fail on because we forget half of the

:36:27.:36:31.

population. So talking of the infrastructure spending announced in

:36:32.:36:35.

the Autumn Statement, we all know that that will mainly create jobs

:36:36.:36:40.

that are filled with men. What I am asking for the government is to do

:36:41.:36:45.

something about it. The women and equality select committee enquiry

:36:46.:36:50.

into the gender pay gap at minister pledging their desire to do

:36:51.:36:53.

something about it and enquiry found clear evidence that segmentation of

:36:54.:36:59.

jobs is what exacerbates the gender pay gap. Ministers have sat in front

:37:00.:37:04.

of me who were on the bench earlier and said they wanted to see more

:37:05.:37:13.

women in Stem subjects to -- and talk about how brilliant the UK was

:37:14.:37:18.

doing in that field... I am grateful. Does she recognised the

:37:19.:37:23.

question asked by one of my colleagues yesterday that if the

:37:24.:37:29.

half a million jobs from the industrial strategy were all given

:37:30.:37:33.

to disabled, it still wouldn't close the disability gap let alone the

:37:34.:37:39.

gender gap? I do indeed recognise that and I thank her for the

:37:40.:37:43.

intervention. What we have two recognises we all have so much more

:37:44.:37:48.

to do in this area. In the Autumn Statement the announcement of

:37:49.:37:52.

billions of pounds of extra pounds represents an opportunity for the

:37:53.:37:54.

government to invest in construction and ended -- engineering jogs and

:37:55.:38:04.

tech and innovation. It is an opportunity to achieve other aims,

:38:05.:38:07.

aims they have travelled the world saying they care about. I set about

:38:08.:38:12.

asking ministers how they will make sure this money, taxpayers money,

:38:13.:38:17.

included all those women who paid taxes and would it be spent on our

:38:18.:38:22.

prosperity? I asked the Chancellor if he had targets for women's

:38:23.:38:27.

employment and I wonder if we can guess what he said? He is said and I

:38:28.:38:36.

quote, "The government has no plans to step -- set targets for women's

:38:37.:38:45.

employment". It's clear that are not only women losing out in the Cats,

:38:46.:38:49.

we also make no gains from the government when the government

:38:50.:38:54.

finally decides to spend money. There's a huge amount of research

:38:55.:38:58.

that shows that instead of always reaching for the shovels when

:38:59.:39:02.

spending on infrastructure, we need to see investment in child car and

:39:03.:39:08.

target services and that creates more jobs than any road building and

:39:09.:39:12.

has double the effect on productivity by freeing up adults of

:39:13.:39:18.

working age than the responsibilities they have which

:39:19.:39:21.

stopped them from work. That is mainly done by women. I'm asking for

:39:22.:39:28.

the commissioning of all of that money, all the contracts have a

:39:29.:39:34.

condition in the tendering process that providers have to provide a

:39:35.:39:38.

plan of how they will attract more women into the roles. I would ask

:39:39.:39:42.

the government to set targets and quotas. I know they will not do that

:39:43.:39:50.

in opposition to all the evidence. No contract should be allocated

:39:51.:39:54.

without a workable plan being submitted. I also asked the

:39:55.:39:58.

government monitors how many jobs are created by the National

:39:59.:40:02.

productivity investment funds that we women taxpayers can see what we

:40:03.:40:06.

are getting back for our investment and monitoring this will allow the

:40:07.:40:10.

government to see if they are doing a good job for half the population.

:40:11.:40:18.

Government policy cannot be based on the basis of Triumph over hope and

:40:19.:40:26.

experience. Experience and evidence shows that only 1% of direct

:40:27.:40:30.

construction jobs are held by women and 14% across the entire

:40:31.:40:35.

construction industry including Administration and in that field

:40:36.:40:40.

there is a 16% gender pay gap. So we are investing in a sector where

:40:41.:40:44.

women don't have jobs and when they do get them they can be expected to

:40:45.:40:48.

pay -- get paid considerably less than male colleagues. I want this

:40:49.:40:54.

investment but I just want the benefits to be shared equally. Women

:40:55.:41:01.

get 1% at the moment 199% goes elsewhere. I am not sure out waving

:41:02.:41:09.

as we get called on this side of the House. I am literally standing here

:41:10.:41:14.

waving hoping that the government notices that in productivity there

:41:15.:41:21.

is a female of the species. Thank you. While the motion talks

:41:22.:41:28.

about the Autumn Statement, I think we have to except it isn't just the

:41:29.:41:32.

Autumn Statement because we're talking about the key relative

:41:33.:41:38.

effects over a decade. What we see is that the lowest 10% on income

:41:39.:41:46.

stand to lose 21% of their income by 2020. This will affect people with

:41:47.:41:50.

disability. We have debated in this place, the cuts and the changes to

:41:51.:42:02.

PIP that stop someone with disability getting work and we've

:42:03.:42:07.

heard about the impact on black and ethnic minorities. Changes to tax

:42:08.:42:11.

have definitely helped mend. If you are right at the bottom, sadly you

:42:12.:42:16.

are probably not paying tax 08 change in tax threshold does not

:42:17.:42:23.

help you. 72% of those on 42% tax are men so they benefit. In case the

:42:24.:42:27.

government has forgotten some of the things that have been happening in

:42:28.:42:31.

recent years I will put my spectacles on and read the list.

:42:32.:42:35.

Changes to child benefit and important because it is usually paid

:42:36.:42:40.

to the mother. A cat in childcare support within working tax credits,

:42:41.:42:45.

the baby element of tax credits removed, working tax credits or

:42:46.:42:50.

couples with children increased from working 16 hours to 24 hours.

:42:51.:42:57.

Reduction in housing benefit support and most houses with a single adult

:42:58.:43:03.

women so it hits them. The lone parents on income support, once the

:43:04.:43:08.

child is by they need to move to Job Seekers Allowance and 92% of women.

:43:09.:43:18.

The health and pregnancy act axed. Charges for access to child

:43:19.:43:23.

maintenance services and to employment tribunal 's, also

:43:24.:43:26.

affecting women when they are trying to bring in equality cases. And if

:43:27.:43:35.

it Cats and freezes will hit 89% of the people who are hit by these are

:43:36.:43:40.

households with children and 50% are lone parents. Again, 92% of lone

:43:41.:43:46.

parents are women. We know about cuts in universal credits to cut.

:43:47.:43:54.

They reverse U-turn on tax credits which is simply comes in as

:43:55.:43:59.

universal credit being rolled out. Paid to one person in the household

:44:00.:44:02.

and having come from a family where domestic abuse and manipulation was

:44:03.:44:08.

part of that it's a real danger. The key issue is we've not had a key

:44:09.:44:12.

relative impact assessment on all the changes added together for

:44:13.:44:18.

gender, for effortless at a younger disability.

:44:19.:44:28.

The lone parents, as we learned earlier, stand to lose ?4000, that

:44:29.:44:36.

is eye watering, of their income. Women pensioners, 19% pay gap over

:44:37.:44:42.

their lifetime. That means less savings and a bigger reliance on the

:44:43.:44:48.

state pension. And of course we come to the Waspi issue. What this

:44:49.:44:53.

results in is a health impact, the government talk about NHS

:44:54.:44:56.

sustainability but what we have is that the biggest driver of ill

:44:57.:45:03.

health is actually poverty. We talk around smoking and weight and the

:45:04.:45:09.

things people should do but if you look at the marmot report, the

:45:10.:45:14.

differences poverty. The biggest change that ever came previously for

:45:15.:45:19.

public health was changing the London sewers. What we should be

:45:20.:45:22.

trying to do is eliminate poverty and give children a decent start in

:45:23.:45:33.

life. Order. I would like to thank the honourable member for Rotherham

:45:34.:45:36.

for proposing this the bait and highlighting the issue on this

:45:37.:45:41.

matter. Since 2010, women have been hit three times harder by tax and

:45:42.:45:46.

benefits changes than men. 86% of tax and benefit savings have been

:45:47.:45:49.

taken from women. This is an increase of a further 5% since last

:45:50.:45:54.

year 's Autumn Statement. This will affect female headed households the

:45:55.:45:57.

most. They will see the largest rock and standards from 2010 to 2020

:45:58.:46:03.

under a Conservative led government. The Prime Minister, in her maiden

:46:04.:46:07.

speech on the steps of Downing Street said "If you're a woman, you

:46:08.:46:12.

will earn less than a man. Those quote this is absolutely true. The

:46:13.:46:16.

gender pay gap is an issue that needs to be tackled now. Under the

:46:17.:46:21.

Labour government, we have closed it by a third but now, according to the

:46:22.:46:25.

United Nations, on the current rate of progress, it will take Britain

:46:26.:46:30.

another 70 years to bridge the divide between men's and women's

:46:31.:46:36.

pay. I have highlighted that women are being paid less but they are

:46:37.:46:40.

also paying the price of austerity. The effects of the Autumn Statement

:46:41.:46:44.

according to the women's budget group show that women in work will

:46:45.:46:48.

be an average 1000 pounds a year worse off. Compare to the male

:46:49.:46:57.

counterparts, who will still lose ?555 a year. As has already been

:46:58.:47:03.

highlighted, low earning women will be the most affected of any group.

:47:04.:47:08.

Women who are employed and earn below-average incomes will find

:47:09.:47:18.

themselves ?1678 a year poorer. The effects of the Autumn Statement have

:47:19.:47:21.

also been detrimental to women relying on the welfare system for

:47:22.:47:26.

support. Including the reduction to the benefits cap, cutting tax

:47:27.:47:32.

credits and child support and carers allowance heavily affect single

:47:33.:47:35.

parents. Nine out of ten the single parents are women. And for women in

:47:36.:47:40.

work, the government trumpets the raising of the personal tax

:47:41.:47:44.

allowance as lifting people out of tax. Yet it ignores the 43% of

:47:45.:47:49.

people who do not earn enough to even pay income tax. 66% of whom are

:47:50.:47:54.

women and whom this measure benefit not one bit. Since coming into

:47:55.:48:00.

government in 2010, the Conservatives have stated repeatedly

:48:01.:48:03.

that they have a long-term economic plan. And with a new Chancellor and

:48:04.:48:10.

Prime Minister, in the Autumn Statement, they seem to have changed

:48:11.:48:16.

course. They have now promised to target the just about managing. All

:48:17.:48:20.

I can see is that they are getting themselves into a long-term economic

:48:21.:48:26.

jam. I would ask, who are these people who are just about managing?

:48:27.:48:31.

Are they just about managing needing inheritance tax to be scrapped on

:48:32.:48:35.

homes worth up to ?1 million? Is it helpful to give 21 billion in tax

:48:36.:48:39.

cuts to the richest half of households. Are they just about

:48:40.:48:44.

managing? Is it just about managing to be able to blow ?1000 on design

:48:45.:48:49.

and accessories. Many of my constituents can no longer just

:48:50.:48:53.

about manage, they are in fact not coping at all. Having borne the

:48:54.:48:56.

unfair burden of this government's austerity policy. And if this is a

:48:57.:49:02.

government that once a Britain that works for everyone, it should not be

:49:03.:49:06.

allowing them into the paid less while paying the price for their

:49:07.:49:12.

unequal policies. I would ask, in the spirit of positivity, that the

:49:13.:49:15.

government should begin with addressing the mass inequality that

:49:16.:49:20.

has been dealt to UK women. I would recommend to this House that they

:49:21.:49:25.

start with a gender audit of their own policy and gender analysis of

:49:26.:49:29.

future budgets so we can at least begin to eradicate the imbalance

:49:30.:49:38.

that burdens women here in the UK. Thank you Mr Deputy Speaker. Quite a

:49:39.:49:44.

lot has been talked about in relation to some of the percentages

:49:45.:49:47.

and things and some of the stats around. I will throw a few more in

:49:48.:49:52.

but not that many. In the hope that we don't bamboozle everybody too

:49:53.:49:56.

much. The government has been saying that things are getting better for

:49:57.:50:02.

women and that this Autumn Statement must be OK. It glosses over the fact

:50:03.:50:11.

that it was written without considering the impact on the

:50:12.:50:16.

different genders. Afterwards they have tried to fudge a response to

:50:17.:50:21.

the question that inevitably came. It is not good enough for the

:50:22.:50:28.

government to just fudge this issue. Women are starting from a position

:50:29.:50:33.

of an uneven playing field. We are starting from a position where over

:50:34.:50:38.

90% of lone parents are female. The gender pay gap in the UK is still

:50:39.:50:44.

13.9% for full-time employees. Women make up 60% of those who earn below

:50:45.:50:50.

the living wage. The real living wage, not the pretence living wage.

:50:51.:50:56.

Women make up 27% of higher rate taxpayers. We are starting from a

:50:57.:51:02.

position we are disadvantaged. There is a gender pay gap and the

:51:03.:51:06.

government can't say they are not doing anything bad in regards to

:51:07.:51:09.

women. Only to stand up and say they are doing good things for women,

:51:10.:51:13.

institute policies that make the situation better rather than just

:51:14.:51:20.

trying to stand still. We are not starting as I said from an even

:51:21.:51:23.

playing field. The other thing the government should be really

:51:24.:51:28.

criticised for is the fact that they keep standing there and saying that

:51:29.:51:35.

many things are wrong. You can't say the evidence is wrong because you

:51:36.:51:40.

disagree with it. That doesn't make it wrong, it just means you disagree

:51:41.:51:44.

with it. Just like the National living wage, the government cannot

:51:45.:51:47.

call it a national living wage and expect people to be able to live on

:51:48.:51:51.

it just because they have called it that, that is not how these things

:51:52.:51:57.

work. What the government needs to do is to actually make these

:51:58.:52:03.

changes. In November 2013, a website produced a piece of work looking at

:52:04.:52:10.

Labour's work around the gender pay gap and the policy. One of the

:52:11.:52:14.

things the website said was "Women just tend to be in those groups more

:52:15.:52:19.

affected by benefit changes." That is absolutely the case, because of

:52:20.:52:25.

the percentage of women who are lone parents and those managing

:52:26.:52:27.

households on their own and the reduction in the numbers of the

:52:28.:52:31.

benefit being given to people with children. Because of all those

:52:32.:52:35.

changes, women are disproportionately affected by

:52:36.:52:39.

these. We are starting off in a position of less privilege and less

:52:40.:52:42.

opportunity and less advantage in society. The government needs to be

:52:43.:52:46.

doing the opposite of what it is doing. It needs to be making

:52:47.:52:50.

positive interventions. The speech made about the ladder and people

:52:51.:52:54.

being able to climb up the ladder is frankly rubbish. People can't climb

:52:55.:52:58.

up the ladder. It seems now that people of my generation are having

:52:59.:53:02.

more trouble climbing up the ladder than the previous generation. Things

:53:03.:53:05.

are going backwards and getting worse. People from less affluent

:53:06.:53:09.

backgrounds, people who are female, people from black and ethnic

:53:10.:53:13.

minority back-ups, people who are disabled particularly, are

:53:14.:53:16.

struggling even more in the last few years to climb up that ladder than

:53:17.:53:22.

they were 20 or 30 years ago. When there was a possibility of that

:53:23.:53:25.

dream and getting out. The government has talked a lot about

:53:26.:53:31.

the FTSE 100 and the fact that 26% on FTSE 100 boards are women, first

:53:32.:53:35.

art that is nowhere near 50%. The only women heading up FTSE 100

:53:36.:53:45.

companies is just five women. I would like can graduate my

:53:46.:53:49.

honourable friend, the member for Rotherham for securing this debate.

:53:50.:53:52.

I am pleased that in her excellent opening contribution she referred to

:53:53.:53:57.

maternity and paternity leave. I would like to focus in particular on

:53:58.:54:02.

the plight of parents of premature babies who really are a group

:54:03.:54:05.

struggling to manage. It feels to me that the Autumn Statement was a

:54:06.:54:10.

missed opportunity to offer them the better help that they need. While

:54:11.:54:16.

maternity provision in the UK is generally good by international

:54:17.:54:19.

standards, it doesn't work that macro work for parents who are born

:54:20.:54:25.

long before their due date. They can often be on life in Inca baiters

:54:26.:54:29.

weeks or months. The parents are unable to hold them because they are

:54:30.:54:34.

in case in machinery with wires, tubes and bleeping monitors. They

:54:35.:54:37.

are quite literally fighting for their lives. Paid maternity leave

:54:38.:54:43.

lasts for around six months but it is triggered the moment the child is

:54:44.:54:47.

born. There is no flexibility allowed if the baby spends several

:54:48.:54:50.

of those first vital months inside an incubator in a special care unit.

:54:51.:54:56.

That means the child is doubly disadvantaged. First by being born

:54:57.:55:00.

too weak and frail to live without medical support and with illnesses

:55:01.:55:04.

that can often go on for years. At secondary by being denied the full

:55:05.:55:08.

period of time that healthy babies get to physically bond with their

:55:09.:55:12.

parents. Holding, cuddling and breast-feeding are vital to a baby's

:55:13.:55:15.

healthy development but a premature baby never gets the time they spent

:55:16.:55:22.

in an incubator. In are watching their baby struggle to live leaves

:55:23.:55:24.

one in every five mothers of premature babies with mental

:55:25.:55:30.

ill-health. Another issue that the Autumn Statement chose to ignore. On

:55:31.:55:33.

average, the parents of premature babies spent an extra ?2000 on the

:55:34.:55:38.

cost of overnight accommodation, hospital parking and eating in a

:55:39.:55:43.

defensive hospital cafeterias. For many parents, that is simple in

:55:44.:55:47.

money they don't have and it pushes many of them into debt that they

:55:48.:55:50.

struggle to get out of afterwards. It is not just difficult for mums

:55:51.:55:54.

but for dads as well. They still only get ten days paid paternity

:55:55.:55:59.

leave, even if their baby is born months early. At the time where the

:56:00.:56:03.

newborn child is fighting for its life, and the child's mother needs

:56:04.:56:08.

help the most, many dads are sent straight back to work. These parents

:56:09.:56:16.

need an extension of paid maternity and paternity leave that takes into

:56:17.:56:21.

account how premature their baby is. It would be a relatively small

:56:22.:56:25.

upfront cost for the government but it will save or public money in the

:56:26.:56:30.

long-term by keeping parents in work, helping vulnerable babies

:56:31.:56:33.

develop more healthily by having that vital time to bond. Reducing

:56:34.:56:37.

mother 's mental ill-health and reducing the need for a later

:56:38.:56:43.

medical intervention for the child. And the human benefit for those

:56:44.:56:48.

families is way beyond any financial calculation. I took a group of

:56:49.:56:52.

campaigners and mums of premature babies to share their stories with

:56:53.:56:56.

the Minister of State for business a couple of weeks ago. I look forward

:56:57.:57:01.

to her views on what she heard. I do hope the government will reflect on

:57:02.:57:05.

the damage they have done for families in these past six years and

:57:06.:57:10.

in this case at least do the right thing and support these parents who

:57:11.:57:13.

need us to do the right thing for them so they can do the right thing

:57:14.:57:20.

for their families. Thank you Mr Deputy Speaker, I would like to

:57:21.:57:23.

thank the member for Rotherham for championing this issue so very well

:57:24.:57:27.

today. I would also like to thank all of today's fantastic speakers,

:57:28.:57:31.

we have heard from the honourable members for Glasgow Central,

:57:32.:57:34.

Monmouth, Lancaster and Fleetwood, Fareham, Swansea East, South East

:57:35.:57:39.

Cambridgeshire, Yardley, Central Ayrshire, Hayward and Milton,

:57:40.:57:43.

Aberdeen North and Croydon North. And we have heard from them on a

:57:44.:57:47.

range of issues from the gross injustice faced by the Waspi women,

:57:48.:57:52.

the disability work up, the productivity gap, the benefit gap

:57:53.:57:56.

and the universal credit cuts and paternity rights. And ultimately,

:57:57.:58:00.

the fact that austerity and cuts have largely fallen on the shoulders

:58:01.:58:05.

of women in recent years. Last month's Autumn Statement was an

:58:06.:58:09.

opportunity for the new Chancellor to signal a change of direction and

:58:10.:58:13.

repair some of the damage caused by six years of Conservative failure.

:58:14.:58:17.

We were told that our cumulative deficit would be ?122 billion by

:58:18.:58:25.

2021, which is a far cry from the eradicated deficit we were promised

:58:26.:58:26.

by 2015. We've seen six wasted years of

:58:27.:58:45.

pernicious cuts and schemes aimed at dismantling and market housing our

:58:46.:58:47.

public services so that there are no teetering on the edge of a cliff and

:58:48.:58:53.

six years where the wealthiest enjoyed tax giveaways whilst the

:58:54.:58:57.

most vulnerable saw their incomes savagely cut. How did women fare in

:58:58.:59:03.

all of this? Well, I was quietly optimistic before the statement

:59:04.:59:08.

given that we've got a female Prime Minister and she waxed lyrical in

:59:09.:59:11.

the day 's lyrical preceding the statement that the government would

:59:12.:59:25.

help the so-called Jans. But there was nothing for the so-called Just

:59:26.:59:37.

About Managing and no reversal of some cuts and no mess -- mention of

:59:38.:59:45.

social care nor the NHS. Analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies

:59:46.:59:47.

shows that real wages will not have recovered to their 2008 levels even

:59:48.:59:56.

by 2021. This is unprecedented in modern British history and that's

:59:57.:59:58.

before we start looking at the gender pay gap. It was more

:59:59.:00:04.

noteworthy for what it missed rather than what it achieved but what was

:00:05.:00:09.

most disappointing was the Chancellor's failure to address the

:00:10.:00:13.

disproportionate impact of the past six years on women. He had his

:00:14.:00:18.

chance. I made it clear we would support him should he fully support

:00:19.:00:23.

cuts to universal credit but he chose not to and announced a meagre

:00:24.:00:26.

changed to the tapering which would changed to the tapering which would

:00:27.:00:29.

do little to mitigate the effects of the wider cuts which affect women

:00:30.:00:36.

disproportionately. The House of Commons library modelled these

:00:37.:00:41.

changes in different situations and are lone parent with one child on a

:00:42.:00:45.

national minimum living wage is set to experience a net loss of ?2600

:00:46.:00:53.

even with the reduced taper rate. That's a desperate situation for any

:00:54.:00:59.

family to be in, but further analysis shows that single, female

:01:00.:01:05.

adults make up 88% of total single adults in receipt of child and/ or

:01:06.:01:16.

forward -- working tax credits. Not only was the discrepancy not

:01:17.:01:20.

addressed, the systematic failure to properly fund our public services

:01:21.:01:26.

impact on women also. The social care sector is in crisis. It is on

:01:27.:01:33.

the brink of collapse even, which puts even greater pressures on our

:01:34.:01:38.

already creaking NHS. Yet the Autumn Statement did not provide a single

:01:39.:01:44.

penny. Not only is this situation untenable for all in need of care,

:01:45.:01:50.

the chronic underfunding excessively impacts on women. They are the main

:01:51.:01:54.

recipients of social care services and constitute the majority of paid

:01:55.:02:00.

and unpaid carers. About 80% of all jobs in adult social care are held

:02:01.:02:05.

by women and the majority are not well paid, let's be honest. The

:02:06.:02:10.

government seems to suggest that allowing local authorities to raise

:02:11.:02:13.

council tax will address the situation but we know that such a

:02:14.:02:19.

solution creates severe geographical discrepancies that will go nowhere

:02:20.:02:26.

near lagging begat. In my own constituency, it won't even touch

:02:27.:02:29.

the sides of what we need to fund our social care system. I began my

:02:30.:02:35.

remarks by saying that the Autumn Statement was an opportunity for the

:02:36.:02:39.

new Chancellor to change direction. Sadly, he missed that chance. The

:02:40.:02:46.

Minister has another chance today to correct the gender imbalance the

:02:47.:02:51.

economic policies have created over the last six years. Tonight, in my

:02:52.:02:57.

constituency, women will struggle in some cases to put themselves to bed

:02:58.:03:01.

because they've got no access to social care or they will be the

:03:02.:03:05.

unpaid carers putting their loved ones to bed. Women will stay late at

:03:06.:03:12.

work just to counteract the entrenched gender stereotypes in our

:03:13.:03:16.

dog eat dog working lives and often work longer and harder than their

:03:17.:03:20.

male counterparts for less pay and some others who've been hit by the

:03:21.:03:24.

pernicious cuts we've seen in the last six years will struggle to feed

:03:25.:03:30.

their children and themselves. All of these memory and will dream of a

:03:31.:03:35.

future for their daughters, a future that takes them away from the

:03:36.:03:39.

desperation and shattered ambition that has seeped into society over

:03:40.:03:44.

the last six years. The government talks a lot about aspiration. We've

:03:45.:03:49.

heard some of their words today but they are hollow and the clock has

:03:50.:03:53.

been turned back on gender equality over the last six wasted years. An

:03:54.:03:58.

economic plan that has failed Britain and it has failed women.

:03:59.:04:05.

Thank you very much, Mr Deputy Speaker. We've certainly had a

:04:06.:04:14.

wide-ranging debate today, a bit curtailed perhaps, but touching many

:04:15.:04:19.

subjects which are fundamentally important to our society and to this

:04:20.:04:23.

government so I would like to thank members on all sides for their

:04:24.:04:27.

contributions. I think we all want to see an economy that works for

:04:28.:04:34.

everyone, women, men, people from black minority ethnic backgrounds.

:04:35.:04:39.

It's right we scrutinise our success in delivering that. Nevertheless,

:04:40.:04:45.

women and minority ethnic groups have historically been

:04:46.:04:48.

disproportionately represented in lower income groups. What we haven't

:04:49.:04:51.

heard today from the opposition is more about broad action to address

:04:52.:04:56.

that long term historical trend and how we address that in the

:04:57.:05:01.

long-term. I thought my honourable friend for Fareham touched on this.

:05:02.:05:05.

We've heard that aspiration is an empty word from the opposition. But

:05:06.:05:13.

it is aspiration that will at -- address the long-term trend and some

:05:14.:05:19.

of the actions we've taken to raise people's aspirations and ensure the

:05:20.:05:22.

next generation does better than the current one in some of those income

:05:23.:05:27.

groups. What are some of the things we've done? Fundamental to

:05:28.:05:31.

everything, and I realise this is something the opposition will never

:05:32.:05:35.

really engage with this, it is a stronger economy and it underpins

:05:36.:05:40.

doing the best for everyone in our society to enjoy a greater level of

:05:41.:05:45.

prosperity and higher living standards. That is the reality.

:05:46.:05:51.

Their failure to engage with this and a mental issue of having a

:05:52.:05:57.

credible plan for our economy and for bringing down debt over time,

:05:58.:06:02.

putting public finances on a sustainable basis, it's that failure

:06:03.:06:07.

to engage with a credible plan on the economy that perhaps explains

:06:08.:06:11.

why only five Labour backbenchers were in this chamber for them

:06:12.:06:16.

beginning of this opposition Day debate and it perhaps explains why

:06:17.:06:20.

Leitch parts of the Labour Party have lost faith in their own front

:06:21.:06:25.

bench -- large parts and is their failure to engage with a fundamental

:06:26.:06:33.

truth of our economy. We've heard nothing about some of these key

:06:34.:06:38.

issues from the Labour opposition. In stark contrast to that, what

:06:39.:06:43.

we've heard from this side of the Has is what we're doing to on the

:06:44.:06:50.

country where someone can grow a business, can succeed we can provide

:06:51.:06:54.

more jobs and opportunities for all working people. There is a start

:06:55.:06:59.

contrast with the Labour record which saw female unemployment rise

:07:00.:07:05.

by a quartered. -- a quarter. We have seen 1.2 million women find

:07:06.:07:11.

work since 2010 and that includes 400,000 women from black and ethnic

:07:12.:07:17.

minority groups. The Has should also note with pleasure that the gender

:07:18.:07:23.

pay gap has fallen to eight new low. All we got was sarcasm from the

:07:24.:07:31.

opposition. Instead of saying, yes, we have made progress. It is all

:07:32.:07:35.

about laying the foundations for rising well for all working people

:07:36.:07:41.

and it means a sensible fiscal plan, it means backing British business to

:07:42.:07:46.

deliver strong growth in our economy and without that we can't create

:07:47.:07:51.

jobs for anyone. I'm slightly mystified at the dismissive tone

:07:52.:07:55.

taken by the Mendip -- member for Birmingham Yardley regarding

:07:56.:08:02.

infrastructure. To dismiss the investment in road-building as being

:08:03.:08:13.

about creating jobs in construction. Mag that bunny in infrastructure is

:08:14.:08:21.

directly intended to help people start businesses and grow businesses

:08:22.:08:26.

quicker. In particular, if you look at the kind of businesses many women

:08:27.:08:31.

have started in this country over the last six years, and I will

:08:32.:08:38.

finish this point and take interventions, if you look at the

:08:39.:08:42.

kind of businesses started by women over the last six years, it's

:08:43.:08:48.

absolutely evident that investment in improving our digital

:08:49.:08:51.

infrastructure is key to some of those businesses because women have

:08:52.:08:55.

been entrepreneurial when it comes to starting new online businesses. I

:08:56.:09:01.

thank the honourable lady forgiving way. In innovation and take it is

:09:02.:09:08.

only 17% of jobs held by women but we can look at that again.

:09:09.:09:12.

Repeatedly words have been put wrongly in my mouth. I have never

:09:13.:09:17.

once said I didn't want infrastructure spending on roads.

:09:18.:09:23.

But that I wanted on care also and I wanted that infrastructure spending

:09:24.:09:27.

to be spent equally on women's jobs and men's jobs. All I'm asking is

:09:28.:09:34.

because the data so we can see if it works. I respond to that point.

:09:35.:09:39.

Investment in infrastructure is about enabling the creation of more

:09:40.:09:44.

jobs and more jobs to grow so we have a point of agreement in that

:09:45.:09:50.

regard, but it's nonsense to say that disproportionately benefits men

:09:51.:09:53.

are not women. We know more women are in employment so things we are

:09:54.:09:58.

doing to enable people to grow businesses and create jobs are

:09:59.:10:03.

directly benefiting workers of all kinds and that is fundamentally what

:10:04.:10:08.

we are about. You've heard from some of my colleagues around the number

:10:09.:10:15.

of women who are going onto boards the number of women in employment,

:10:16.:10:20.

the number of businesses started by women and it is impossible to have

:10:21.:10:24.

this kind of debate if the opposition will not acknowledge any

:10:25.:10:28.

of this. Not acknowledge the fact that when the personal allowance

:10:29.:10:35.

rises to 12,500 next year, 1.3 million people will be taken out of

:10:36.:10:40.

income tax and 59% of whom are women. We've heard from colleagues

:10:41.:10:49.

here about tax free of the credit taper, funding for more info audible

:10:50.:10:54.

homes, more children in good or outstanding schools. But mention of

:10:55.:11:00.

that comes their none and it's as if none of these things have happened.

:11:01.:11:03.

We do consider carefully the applications of all our measures

:11:04.:11:09.

both for protected equality groups and for household that different

:11:10.:11:15.

points of the income distribution. I refer honourable members to the

:11:16.:11:18.

comprehensive analysis we published alongside the Autumn Statement which

:11:19.:11:26.

shows that only the wealthiest households will experience modest

:11:27.:11:32.

losses. That is why in our society today the top 1% of income tax

:11:33.:11:36.

payers pay a greater share of income tax than in any year under the

:11:37.:11:40.

previous Labour government but we don't hear about that either. We

:11:41.:11:45.

want to see women and men of all races, ages in all parts of our

:11:46.:11:50.

country grow increasingly prosperous but the key to doing that is by

:11:51.:11:55.

investing in a strong economy that produces jobs for working people.

:11:56.:12:00.

That's what we'd been working to deliver and that's why today we have

:12:01.:12:03.

more women in work than ever before, while -- more women led businesses

:12:04.:12:08.

than ever before and that's why we've increased support for families

:12:09.:12:12.

and individuals in their day-to-day lives which has said readily been

:12:13.:12:19.

dismissed across the chamber. Or whether by cutting income tax for

:12:20.:12:24.

millions of people. Crucially, women are a much more important part of

:12:25.:12:28.

this country's economy than the opposition give us credit for. We

:12:29.:12:31.

are so much more than they would have it be. I want to make this

:12:32.:12:38.

point that we are here to improve the lot of all working people in

:12:39.:12:44.

this country and, in particular, to support the ever-increasing

:12:45.:12:46.

contribution women make to our economy and long may it be so. This

:12:47.:12:51.

government remains committed to ensuring that this continues into

:12:52.:12:57.

the future. The question is that the original words at stand part of the

:12:58.:12:58.

question. Vote-macro. As many as are of the opinion, say

:12:59.:13:13.

"aye". To the contrary, "no". Any of the people opinion say aye.

:13:14.:13:21.

The contrary no. Order. The ayes to the right, 234.

:13:22.:21:12.

The noes to the left, 307. The ayes to the right, 234, the noes

:21:13.:25:21.

to the left, 307. The noes have it, the noes have it. Unlock. The

:25:22.:25:28.

question is that the proposed words be added. As many of that opinion

:25:29.:25:37.

say aye. To the contrary no. The ayes have it. We now come to the

:25:38.:25:43.

second opposition day in the name of the Leader of the Opposition. I

:25:44.:25:47.

informed the house that selected the amendment in the name of the Prime

:25:48.:25:51.

Minister, I now call for John Healey to move.

:25:52.:25:55.

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. With ten days to go before Christmas a

:25:56.:26:05.

record number of homeless people are sleeping on our streets, in shop

:26:06.:26:11.

doorways and on park benches. More than 100,000 children will spend

:26:12.:26:16.

Christmas Day in temporary accommodation. Children with no

:26:17.:26:22.

home. Young lives scarred by insecurity and impermanence. Mr

:26:23.:26:28.

Deputy Speaker, this shames us all. Homelessness is not inevitable in a

:26:29.:26:34.

country as decent and as well off as ours. And this is a problem we can

:26:35.:26:41.

solve. We know what works because we've done it before. Our last

:26:42.:26:47.

Labour government reduced rough sleeping by three quarters, and cut

:26:48.:26:51.

statutory homelessness to levels which led the independent audit from

:26:52.:26:59.

crisis and the Joseph Rowntree foundation to declare an

:27:00.:27:03.

unprecedented decline. Mr Deputy Speaker I had hoped this debate,

:27:04.:27:07.

called in the face of rapidly rising homelessness on all fronts would be

:27:08.:27:13.

the basis for fresh thinking and a new national will to put an end to

:27:14.:27:16.

the scandal of people sleeping rough on the street for want of anywhere

:27:17.:27:27.

to stay. I still do, but I'm so disappointed the government has

:27:28.:27:31.

rejected our motion which simply sets out the facts. And I say to

:27:32.:27:36.

ministers and members behind them who may support them two-day, you

:27:37.:27:42.

can delete our motion but you can't deny the facts. And the facts speak

:27:43.:27:48.

for themselves. Rough sleeping fell by around three quarters under

:27:49.:27:52.

Labour. It has doubled under the Conservatives since 2010. The number

:27:53.:28:01.

of households accented legally as homeless fell by two thirds under

:28:02.:28:04.

Labour but has risen by nearly half since 2010. And the total number of

:28:05.:28:09.

children in temporary accommodation has risen every year since 2010

:28:10.:28:15.

2/100 thousand in England, and 120,000 across the UK.

:28:16.:28:22.

For the avoidance of doubt the source of these figures is the

:28:23.:28:30.

community's centre -- secretary himself. If he needs to check or his

:28:31.:28:35.

colleagues need to check the tables are number one, number 770 and

:28:36.:28:42.

number 775. Let's look in comparison at the feeble facts and figures in

:28:43.:28:53.

the Government's replacement motion. The Government pleased with the

:28:54.:28:56.

provision of temporary accommodation, when this can mean

:28:57.:29:02.

all families sleeping in one bed, it can mean lights that do not work, no

:29:03.:29:07.

fridge, cooker, no locks on the doors. Government spending more

:29:08.:29:18.

money on homelessness when the 315 million, hundred 50 million, the

:29:19.:29:21.

totals of one full year of parliament simply are dwarfed by the

:29:22.:29:25.

scale of cuts, five buildings housing benefit and the supporting

:29:26.:29:36.

people funding of. -- cut in half. And the Government committed to

:29:37.:29:40.

building more homes when number of affordable homes being built has set

:29:41.:29:44.

the lowest level in 24 years and the number of new social rented homes in

:29:45.:29:48.

this country is at its lowest level since the Second World War. In case

:29:49.:29:55.

ministers have any doubt, table 1000, published by the community

:29:56.:29:59.

secretary himself. Let me warn members opposite, picked with a

:30:00.:30:05.

large pinch of salt whatever their front bench are saying, housing and

:30:06.:30:12.

homelessness. Simply ask, is it working? I give way to Housing

:30:13.:30:15.

Minister. The honourable gentleman says we

:30:16.:30:18.

should take what the front bench seat with a pinch of salt, what does

:30:19.:30:22.

he have to say to Labour Mayor of London says that this Government has

:30:23.:30:27.

just given London a record level of funding for affordable housing?

:30:28.:30:30.

I'd say two things, first of all, a large part of that is underspend

:30:31.:30:34.

from the previous period rolled over, and secondly, the Government

:30:35.:30:40.

is in total boost your spending ?1 billion in building new homes we

:30:41.:30:43.

need in this country, in the last year of the last Labour Government

:30:44.:30:46.

when I was a Housing Minister it was ?3 billion. I said earlier that

:30:47.:30:55.

rapidly rising homelessness shames us all. It does what it should shame

:30:56.:31:02.

Government ministers most of all. -- but it should. The hard truth for

:31:03.:31:06.

Tory ministers as it is their decisions since 2010 but have course

:31:07.:31:11.

this homelessness crisis. Record all levels of affordable rented housing,

:31:12.:31:17.

last year at the lowest since 1991. Lack of action to help private

:31:18.:31:21.

renters while eviction or default from a private tenancy is now the

:31:22.:31:24.

biggest single cause of homelessness. And deep cuts to

:31:25.:31:30.

housing benefit and charity funding and helps the most vulnerable

:31:31.:31:35.

people, including homeless. The motion does mention the

:31:36.:31:41.

honourable member for Harrow East's private members bill, I am

:31:42.:31:44.

disappointed he is not in the chamber, but we do back this

:31:45.:31:49.

cross-party bill. We have set to task for the Government. Two tests,

:31:50.:31:54.

if you like, we all hold ministers to account on. First, fund the costs

:31:55.:32:00.

of the new legal duties in full and, secondly, tackle the causes of the

:32:01.:32:05.

growing homelessness crisis. I do welcome the bill because it

:32:06.:32:12.

draws on similar legislation that the Labour led Government in Wales

:32:13.:32:19.

introduced in 2014. Early days, but it seems successfully to have

:32:20.:32:23.

prevented two thirds of all households assessed at the risk of

:32:24.:32:26.

being homeless actually losing their home. This is what good councils are

:32:27.:32:34.

doing the in and day out across the country, despite the toughest

:32:35.:32:38.

funding cuts and toughest service pressures. Exeter Council have cut

:32:39.:32:45.

the number of rough sleepers against the national trend with a new state

:32:46.:32:50.

audits and the firm approach to Street outreach to make sure people

:32:51.:32:56.

can't opt out or help. Manchester Council, they have got to go

:32:57.:32:59.

charities, faith groups and businesses and universities,

:33:00.:33:02.

residents groups in the partnership to end homelessness. Enfield Council

:33:03.:33:11.

set up the Council owned company to purchase 500 properties over five

:33:12.:33:16.

years to house homeless Enfield residents. And, of course, to act as

:33:17.:33:24.

a model landlord. I will give way. I wonder whether his contacts with

:33:25.:33:28.

any of those councils they have highlighted to him what they think

:33:29.:33:31.

the impact of withdrawing housing benefit from under 21s might be?

:33:32.:33:41.

It is a good question. I have not met or talked with anyone who

:33:42.:33:49.

believes that such deep cuts, sort targeted, so harshly on young people

:33:50.:33:55.

will do anything else but compound the growing crisis of homelessness

:33:56.:33:59.

in this country. It is one of the causes of the spiralling scandal and

:34:00.:34:04.

we see -- that we see in this country and one of the things

:34:05.:34:10.

ministers believe must tackle. -- ministers really must tackle. In the

:34:11.:34:14.

media interviews I have done today before this debate the presenter

:34:15.:34:20.

said she was shocked the other day to see someone almost pitching a

:34:21.:34:25.

tent in the middle of central London. It will not shop might

:34:26.:34:32.

Honourable friends on the site. -- it will not shop. You may remember

:34:33.:34:36.

the mass homelessness of the 1980s and 90s with tent cities in central

:34:37.:34:40.

London but in one of the biggest forgotten successors of the last

:34:41.:34:46.

Labour Government which reduced rough sleeping to record levels. We

:34:47.:34:52.

introduced the National rough sleepers unit, the comprehensive

:34:53.:34:56.

intervention plan, ground-breaking legislation, fresh investment and a

:34:57.:34:58.

target to cut rough sleeping by two thirds, which we hit a year early.

:34:59.:35:08.

The time is now, to do better. And to end the rough sleeping so low one

:35:09.:35:12.

lead sleep on the streets. This is unfinished business for Labour. I

:35:13.:35:18.

have today made a pledge on behalf of the Labour Party we will and

:35:19.:35:21.

rough sleeping with them or first-term back in Government. --

:35:22.:35:27.

and rough sleeping. This is backed by a plan to double the capacity of

:35:28.:35:31.

housing scheme, ring fenced for people with a history of rough

:35:32.:35:38.

sleeping. Moore Street rescue schemes, better health care access,

:35:39.:35:43.

more secure hostel funding is only that but you cannot help the

:35:44.:35:46.

homeless if you do not build the homes. Under our plan 4000

:35:47.:35:54.

additional housing association homes would be earmarked for rough

:35:55.:35:57.

sleepers to help them move out of hostels and rebuild their lives,

:35:58.:36:03.

with Government funding and new social rented homes to replace them.

:36:04.:36:07.

This would be the first part of a new National rough sleeping

:36:08.:36:12.

strategy. It would in fact renew new install the programme started by a

:36:13.:36:16.

Conservative Housing Minister, Sir George Young, 1991. This scheme

:36:17.:36:22.

works across London pop has never been set up in some of the other

:36:23.:36:27.

large cities in this country, cities like Birmingham, Liverpool, Bristol

:36:28.:36:33.

or Leeds. In conclusion, Mr Deputy Speaker a

:36:34.:36:39.

Prime Minister who promises on the steps of Downing Street the country

:36:40.:36:42.

that works for everyone simply should not tolerate the scandal of

:36:43.:36:48.

today's scandal in -- spiralling homelessness. The Government could

:36:49.:36:52.

do this now. It would have wide support. The National Housing

:36:53.:36:56.

Federation today said about Labour's new plan, it will enable them to

:36:57.:37:03.

boost their offer to the increasing numbers of rough sleepers. The

:37:04.:37:07.

largest homeless charity supplied support for rough sleepers said, we

:37:08.:37:10.

strongly welcome this commitment to ending rough sleeping and the call

:37:11.:37:19.

for rough sleeping strategy. We too would back the Government if it

:37:20.:37:25.

acted on Labour's plan. I say to ministers and members opposite,

:37:26.:37:31.

homelessness can and should be a cross-party commitment. With a new

:37:32.:37:34.

national will to solve what is a growing problem. Let us hope this

:37:35.:37:44.

debate helped start to forge exactly that shared determination.

:37:45.:37:48.

As many I call them to move the movement.

:37:49.:38:00.

The Minister will just be as welcome to move the amendment in the name of

:38:01.:38:05.

the Prime Minister. It gives me great pleasure to move the amendment

:38:06.:38:08.

and the Prime Minister's name. Let me start by saying on these benches

:38:09.:38:12.

we welcome this debate. No one is hiding from the facts. Both

:38:13.:38:17.

statutory homelessness and rough sleeping are rising and it is right

:38:18.:38:20.

we discuss why it is happening and what must be done to put it right. I

:38:21.:38:26.

want to start with a couple of party political points responding to some

:38:27.:38:29.

of the points the shadow Housing Minister made and then move on to

:38:30.:38:32.

talk about the substance of the issue and what must be done. The

:38:33.:38:38.

motion that is before us today gives a slightly rose tinted view of the

:38:39.:38:42.

record of the last Labour Government and I am happy to give credit where

:38:43.:38:47.

it is due some members will bear with me I will happily then take

:38:48.:38:50.

interventions. The motion would have to be believed from the moment the

:38:51.:38:52.

Labour Party was elected homelessness began to fall and

:38:53.:38:56.

continue to fall during the appeared on others but the facts are 1990s

:38:57.:39:01.

there was 104,000 accepted as homeless and that figure rose rights

:39:02.:39:06.

were Labour's first term in Government through through into the

:39:07.:39:11.

second term, peaking at 135,000 in 2003 and then, to their credit, it

:39:12.:39:18.

fell significantly, falling to 41,780 by 2010. It has risen, not

:39:19.:39:24.

insignificant at all -- that is not insignificant and I have to give

:39:25.:39:29.

credit. It has risen since then 256,500, not as much the motion

:39:30.:39:33.

suggests but certainly nowhere near the record peak reached in Labour's

:39:34.:39:37.

second term. There are two other measures we should look at. One is

:39:38.:39:43.

the measure of housing supply and the best measure of that is the net

:39:44.:39:48.

additions to the housing stock each year. I will cover the three points

:39:49.:39:52.

and then take interventions. Over the course of the Labour, in the

:39:53.:40:03.

first year 149,000 140,000, 140 6000, 174 185 platoon into --... And

:40:04.:40:12.

not one you the last Labour Government building up homes and in

:40:13.:40:16.

only three of these years that the bill is more than the current

:40:17.:40:18.

Government is achieving and that was at the height of an unsustainable

:40:19.:40:24.

housing boom that ended up crashing our economy. The third measure by

:40:25.:40:28.

which I would suggest we should assess the housing record of the

:40:29.:40:31.

last Labour Government is on affordability. In 1997 the ratio

:40:32.:40:36.

between median earnings and the median house prices in this country

:40:37.:40:44.

was 3.5 four. By 2010 that have increased to 7.0 one. I am happy to

:40:45.:40:48.

acknowledge any subsequent five years of the coalition government

:40:49.:40:52.

increased further to 7.63 but if you look at all of those three points,

:40:53.:40:57.

while there are some good things the Labour Government did and I have no

:40:58.:41:00.

problem giving credit for those, the record is far less rosy than the

:41:01.:41:06.

motion suggests. He sounds like he is rehearsing to

:41:07.:41:08.

become the Chancellor giving an Autumn Statement or a budget

:41:09.:41:15.

statement. This Government has promised in its

:41:16.:41:19.

manifesto in 2015 to seek 1 million new homes built in this country and

:41:20.:41:24.

it is so far off track that it could take until 2025, five years late, to

:41:25.:41:29.

build the number of homes that are needed. The number of new affordable

:41:30.:41:34.

homes built is the lowest on record. Finally, we're talking about

:41:35.:41:39.

homelessness. It is absolutely the case when Labour came into

:41:40.:41:43.

Government in 1997 we were faced with a rapidly rising trend of

:41:44.:41:48.

homelessness then, just like we are faced with a rapidly rising trend of

:41:49.:41:52.

homelessness now. The difference was that Labour acted, it peaked in 2003

:41:53.:42:00.

other homelessness over that period was cut by two thirds. The question

:42:01.:42:05.

for the Minister is, will the act now, will the Government do anything

:42:06.:42:11.

about this rapidly rising and scandalously spiralling levels

:42:12.:42:14.

homelessness we see today? But is a long intervention but let

:42:15.:42:19.

me deal quickly with each of the points. Firstly, on supply, the

:42:20.:42:24.

Government is behind but not way behind as he suggested. In 2015-16,

:42:25.:42:30.

the first year of the five years in Parliament we delivered an hundred

:42:31.:42:36.

90,000. -- 190,000 and two meet the target we need to get 200,000. The

:42:37.:42:44.

fundamental point I was trying to make it we could do with a little

:42:45.:42:47.

bit less complacency from the opposition front bench. Bear with me

:42:48.:42:53.

for a second. There is no room for complacency on the side of the

:42:54.:42:59.

house. Homelessness... Let me develop the point and then I will

:43:00.:43:03.

give way. Homelessness and rough sleeping are both rising, the right

:43:04.:43:09.

honourable gentlemen quartered the Prime Minister, her speech on the

:43:10.:43:11.

steps of Downing Street but she said the mission is to make this country

:43:12.:43:18.

work for everyone of us and, sorting out our feeling housing market and

:43:19.:43:22.

tackling the moral stain of homelessness is central to that

:43:23.:43:25.

mission and I want to spend the rest of my speech setting out how to

:43:26.:43:26.

propose to do that. Today, as yesterday, I agree with

:43:27.:43:37.

him, Labour did not build enough housing. Those of us on the

:43:38.:43:39.

backbenches pleaded with the government to do so. And I welcome

:43:40.:43:44.

in the amendment from the Conservatives the recognition that

:43:45.:43:48.

supply is absolutely crucial on this issue. Could I tempt the Minister to

:43:49.:43:51.

go further and announced that they will abandon the plan is that

:43:52.:43:56.

they've had to keep jacking up demand by processes such as helped

:43:57.:44:00.

by which simply increases prices and homelessness thereby. Up until his

:44:01.:44:06.

last point I was in complete agreement. He is definitely right to

:44:07.:44:10.

say that the main focus on housing policy should be on supply. And when

:44:11.:44:14.

he sees the White Paper the Secretary of State and I are working

:44:15.:44:17.

on, you will see that is the case. What I would say to him, even if

:44:18.:44:22.

tomorrow we could start building in this country at the level we need to

:44:23.:44:27.

build, we would have to do that for a number of years before we saw an

:44:28.:44:31.

impact on affordability. And to do as he is suggesting in the interim

:44:32.:44:34.

and give up any measures that are trying to help people bridged the

:44:35.:44:37.

gap would be a mistake in my opinion. If honourable members will

:44:38.:44:42.

bear with me, if I could make a bit of progress then I will happily take

:44:43.:44:47.

her intervention. I want to set out now the measures that the government

:44:48.:44:51.

is taking to address this issue. First we want to broaden the safety

:44:52.:44:54.

net and have more focus on prevention rather than cure. Current

:44:55.:44:59.

homelessness legislation gives local authorities responsibility in

:45:00.:45:02.

relation to families, admin people, single people who are vulnerable,

:45:03.:45:07.

other people fall through the gaps. The legislation also encourages

:45:08.:45:11.

councils to intervene at the point of crisis, not upstream when

:45:12.:45:14.

problems are first apparent. I'm not sure if my honourable friend the

:45:15.:45:17.

member for Harrow East is in the chamber but I think we would all say

:45:18.:45:21.

to give him great credit for the legislation he is bringing forward

:45:22.:45:25.

and the government is very proud on what is the 50th anniversary of

:45:26.:45:29.

Cathy come home to support this fundamental and important change to

:45:30.:45:34.

our legislation. I will give way and then come back as I promised. Thank

:45:35.:45:39.

you for giving way. Would he agree with me that on the private members

:45:40.:45:44.

bill, when both sides of the chamber came together to support the member

:45:45.:45:50.

for Harrow's member Bill it was a really positive day and a good sense

:45:51.:45:54.

and indication that both sides can and are coming together to tackle

:45:55.:45:58.

this issue. There is actually much more that unites us on these issues

:45:59.:46:02.

than sometimes would become apparent from our debates and I understand it

:46:03.:46:05.

is the job of the opposition front bench to hold the government to

:46:06.:46:12.

account. Thank you for effing way. Just one rough sleeper is too many

:46:13.:46:15.

and there was one rough sleeper in Ashfield in 2010 when we left

:46:16.:46:20.

office. That has now gone up to eight. When you look at statutory

:46:21.:46:24.

homelessness that has risen from 42 to 93. The record of the Labour

:46:25.:46:27.

government considerably better for those vulnerable people than under

:46:28.:46:32.

his government. Does he accept responsibility, what his answer, why

:46:33.:46:36.

has it happened? I'm the housing minister so of course I accept

:46:37.:46:40.

responsibility. I think I'll speak for the Secretary of State as well,

:46:41.:46:43.

we were appointed to these positions in July and our focus is on solving

:46:44.:46:48.

the housing problems this country faces which I think are deep-seated.

:46:49.:46:51.

The truth is that we have not been building enough homes in this

:46:52.:46:54.

country for 30 or 40 years under governments of both colours, and

:46:55.:46:58.

that is the fundamental driver of the housing problems that we now

:46:59.:47:03.

experience. I thank my honourable friend for giving way. He referred

:47:04.:47:06.

earlier to the homelessness bill that is currently going through this

:47:07.:47:11.

house. I wonder whether he agrees the most important thing is that it

:47:12.:47:16.

mandates councils to provide 56 days of support to homeless individuals

:47:17.:47:20.

for the first time, a really intense programme to ensure that actually

:47:21.:47:26.

instead of no second night sleeping out, there is no first night

:47:27.:47:30.

sleeping out. I think there are two fundamentally important things about

:47:31.:47:32.

the bill my honourable friend has brought forward. One is that it

:47:33.:47:36.

broadens the safety net and ensures single people do not fall through

:47:37.:47:40.

the gap, and the second is it encourages councils to intervene

:47:41.:47:44.

upstream. I will make progress and then take further interventions.

:47:45.:47:49.

I'll come next to my honourable neighbour from Carshalton and

:47:50.:47:53.

Warrington. The second thing the government is doing as the Right

:47:54.:47:56.

Honourable gentleman acknowledges that we are protecting homelessness

:47:57.:48:00.

prevention funding for local authorities, nearly ?390 million in

:48:01.:48:04.

this Parliament. The third thing is that we have increased central

:48:05.:48:08.

government funding for programmes. The Chancellor of the Exchequer

:48:09.:48:10.

announced an extra ?10 million in the Autumn Statement bringing the

:48:11.:48:14.

total to ?150 million over the course of this Parliament. In

:48:15.:48:18.

relation to welfare reform we've increased discretionary housing

:48:19.:48:22.

payments which are so important to ?870 million over this Parliament,

:48:23.:48:26.

that's a 55% increase. I was surprised when I was being briefed

:48:27.:48:31.

to see that 60% of local authorities are not currently spending their

:48:32.:48:35.

full allocation. The fifth area that we are looking at is replacing the

:48:36.:48:40.

way that the government funds local authorities in relation to temporary

:48:41.:48:44.

accommodation which is critical. Replacing what is currently the DWP

:48:45.:48:47.

accommodation management fee with a grant from my department which will

:48:48.:48:53.

more than be an equivalent amount of funding and crucially will introduce

:48:54.:48:56.

a lot greater flexibility. Some honourable members may have received

:48:57.:49:00.

a briefing from the Mayor of London specifically welcoming that change.

:49:01.:49:04.

Since the Secretary of State was appointed we've taken a fresh

:49:05.:49:07.

approach in relation to supported housing, ensuring that the LH a cap

:49:08.:49:11.

won't apply, and we will move to a new model of funding based on

:49:12.:49:15.

current levels but topped up crucially by ring fenced grants. I

:49:16.:49:20.

think we would all acknowledge in our constituencies the fundamental

:49:21.:49:25.

role that supported housing place in relation to some of the most

:49:26.:49:27.

vulnerable people in our community and it is absolutely crucial that we

:49:28.:49:31.

get the detail of this new funding regime right, and I would encourage

:49:32.:49:35.

all honourable members to take part in the consultation because we are

:49:36.:49:39.

determined as a ministerial team to make sure that we get that right.

:49:40.:49:42.

The right honourable gentleman talked about a pledge that he had

:49:43.:49:46.

made today but actually to a degree developed something that the former

:49:47.:49:50.

Chancellor said in the budget 2016 when he announced a ?100 million

:49:51.:49:55.

fund to create 2000 places in low-cost rented accommodation for

:49:56.:49:58.

rough sleepers in hostels and crucially for domestic abuse victims

:49:59.:50:02.

to ensure that we can move people on from short-term accommodation into

:50:03.:50:07.

permanent solutions. I will happily give way. I thank my neighbour for

:50:08.:50:14.

giving way. I appreciate what he's just said in terms of supporting

:50:15.:50:17.

vulnerable people. He'll be aware of what this intervention is about

:50:18.:50:21.

because I made it earlier, on the question of housing benefit for

:50:22.:50:24.

under 21. I don't quite understand how that fits into the government

:50:25.:50:29.

eventually programme in terms of preventing homelessness. Does he

:50:30.:50:32.

recognise the figure put forward by charities that if just 140 extra

:50:33.:50:36.

people are made homeless as a result of this change it will cost more

:50:37.:50:40.

than the government will save. My right honourable friend will be

:50:41.:50:45.

aware because he served with us in coalition for five years that what

:50:46.:50:48.

this government is trying to do is to switch from the high tax, high

:50:49.:50:54.

welfare, low-wage economy that we inherited in 2010 to ensure that

:50:55.:50:58.

people are paid more, that they can keep a great portion of what they

:50:59.:51:04.

earn. I'm still trying, to be fair, to answer the right honourable

:51:05.:51:08.

gentleman's question. What we are looking to do is have a welfare

:51:09.:51:11.

system that is fair, that does provide help and support, that

:51:12.:51:15.

doesn't treat the more generously than equivalent people that are not

:51:16.:51:19.

on welfare can expect. I'll make a bit of progress and then I will

:51:20.:51:23.

happily come to the honourable member. I was working my way through

:51:24.:51:26.

this list of measures the government is taking and next up is trying to

:51:27.:51:31.

deal with the upfront cost of accessing the private rented sector.

:51:32.:51:36.

One of the really shocking things that really underlines the point the

:51:37.:51:39.

honourable member for Wolverhampton South West made is that the main

:51:40.:51:43.

cause of statutory homelessness now is losing a private sector tenancy.

:51:44.:51:51.

That shows how the supply issue is absolutely what is driving the

:51:52.:51:54.

rising statutory homelessness. Rough sleeping is a different matter.

:51:55.:51:58.

Nearly always the acute housing people face when sleeping on our

:51:59.:52:03.

street is a symptom of a wider problem in terms of mental health or

:52:04.:52:06.

drug or alcohol addiction. The briefing I had from my official

:52:07.:52:11.

suggested in London nearly 60% of rough sleepers are not UK nationals,

:52:12.:52:15.

so there are issues in relation to our migration system. But in terms

:52:16.:52:21.

of statutory homelessness, accessed to a private rented sector is key,

:52:22.:52:24.

and that's why the announcement the Chancellor made in the Autumn

:52:25.:52:27.

Statement in ratio to letting agencies which I'm sure the

:52:28.:52:30.

opposition welcome is a really important step. I was going to give

:52:31.:52:35.

way to the honourable lady but she has moved sleep 's. I thank the

:52:36.:52:40.

Minister for giving way. He's a London MP like myself. Does he find

:52:41.:52:44.

increasingly in his surgeries cases of families that are having to be

:52:45.:52:49.

moved to hostels, entire families, cases with no recourse to public

:52:50.:52:53.

funds which is entirely illogical, and also does he not recognise the

:52:54.:52:58.

dismay there will be in Ealing today at the mention of the borough in

:52:59.:53:03.

PMQs today, whether Prime Minister appeared to blame the local

:53:04.:53:07.

authority for ?180 million cut to its budget. We've got 12,000 on our

:53:08.:53:14.

waiting list and it's got very high average cost of buying a home. So

:53:15.:53:20.

can he not recognise why people will be dismayed at what's coming out of

:53:21.:53:25.

this government today? I wasn't at Prime Minister's Questions, I'm

:53:26.:53:29.

embarrassed to say. There was a memorial service for victims of the

:53:30.:53:33.

Croydon champ creche which is why I am dressed in this way, so I can't

:53:34.:53:38.

respond to the point the honourable lady made about PMQs, but I can say

:53:39.:53:42.

as a London MPI see every single week in my surgeries and in the case

:53:43.:53:48.

I deal with the consequences of this long-standing failure of this

:53:49.:53:50.

country for 30 or 40 years to build the homes that we need. It's

:53:51.:53:55.

happened under governments of all kind. Let me just finished making

:53:56.:54:00.

the point. And London is the part of the country where the gap between

:54:01.:54:04.

what we need to build and what we are building is most acute. I'm sure

:54:05.:54:08.

I speak for the Secretary of State when I say that I get up every

:54:09.:54:11.

morning thinking about what we can do to sort out this problem. It is

:54:12.:54:16.

my sole focus and I'm going to come on in a second to address the issue

:54:17.:54:21.

of supply, but I'm happy to give way to another fine south London MP.

:54:22.:54:27.

Thank you Mr Speaker. I find it absolutely remarkable how the

:54:28.:54:32.

Minister is trying to absolve the previous government of any

:54:33.:54:34.

responsibility for the housing crisis that we now face. It's my

:54:35.:54:40.

recollection in 2011 that his government cut the national

:54:41.:54:45.

affordable house-building programme by 63%. Can he set out what the

:54:46.:54:49.

consequences of that were on supply of genuinely affordable homes? If

:54:50.:54:55.

the honourable lady will bear with me I will return at the end of my

:54:56.:55:02.

speech to that central question. What I would say, I can't be any

:55:03.:55:05.

more clear about this, if she thinks that I'm trying to absolve the

:55:06.:55:08.

responsibility of the previous government, that is absolutely not

:55:09.:55:12.

what I'm trying to do. Let me say one more time so that nobody can be

:55:13.:55:16.

in any doubt about it, we have not built enough homes in this country

:55:17.:55:21.

for 30 or 40 years. And all of the governments covering that time share

:55:22.:55:25.

some responsibility. If you want me to make some defences, what I would

:55:26.:55:30.

say in defence of the previous Prime Minister in the previous Chancellor

:55:31.:55:33.

and some of my predecessors as housing minister, is that they

:55:34.:55:36.

inherited a situation after the worst economic crash in generations

:55:37.:55:41.

where the priority had to be to reduce the deficit. I'll come onto

:55:42.:55:44.

affording housing numbers and hopefully my answer will satisfy.

:55:45.:55:56.

I'll give way one more time. He was ignoring me but I'm sure he wasn't.

:55:57.:56:01.

I'd like to commend a positive approach and constructive approach

:56:02.:56:07.

to the debate as the opposition front bench have also taken. He

:56:08.:56:11.

talks about rough sleeping and the need to move away from crisis

:56:12.:56:15.

measures to effective measures. Will he reflect on that about the

:56:16.:56:18.

fragmentation of alcohol and drug rehabilitation services taking place

:56:19.:56:23.

when local authorities have been conditioning those, and how they are

:56:24.:56:26.

completely disengaged from what happens in mental health trusts and

:56:27.:56:30.

the NHS, and how people are falling through the cracks and it does need

:56:31.:56:34.

to be addressed. Mr Speaker I'm very glad that I took my honourable

:56:35.:56:37.

friend's intervention because he speaks with real authority and he is

:56:38.:56:41.

absolutely right to say that we need to look at ways to better

:56:42.:56:46.

integration of services. Many of the people we are talking about have

:56:47.:56:50.

profound multiple needs and we need to make sure all of the agencies are

:56:51.:56:55.

working together. I want to make some final remarks addressing the

:56:56.:57:01.

particular question the honourable lady made. The fundamental thing we

:57:02.:57:04.

need to do is drive up supply. And we will be setting out in a White

:57:05.:57:08.

Paper in the New Year exactly how we propose to do that. Let me say it

:57:09.:57:12.

would specifically about affordable housing that the honourable lady was

:57:13.:57:16.

pushing me on. The Autumn Statement included three really key

:57:17.:57:19.

announcements. First on flexibility of tenure. We inherited an

:57:20.:57:24.

affordable housing programme that was solely focused on shared

:57:25.:57:28.

ownership. We have switched that so that the housing association can bid

:57:29.:57:31.

for affordable rent or whatever is most appropriate in the area. The

:57:32.:57:35.

Chancellor has added an extra ?1.4 billion into that affordable housing

:57:36.:57:41.

programme. As I made clear, we announced the London allocation,

:57:42.:57:45.

?3.15 billion, 43% of the national budget. If honourable members don't

:57:46.:57:50.

wish to take my word from it, let me quote from the Labour Mayor of

:57:51.:57:55.

London, this is the largest sum of money ever secured for affordable

:57:56.:57:59.

housing. And he made that statement before London gets its share of the

:58:00.:58:03.

extra ?1.4 billion that the Chancellor announced in the Autumn

:58:04.:58:06.

Statement. Now let me end just by dealing with this issue of

:58:07.:58:09.

affordable housing supply because the right Honourable gentleman was

:58:10.:58:12.

right on one statistic at least. Last year 's figures in terms of

:58:13.:58:17.

affordable housing were very low, an acceptably low. And the result of

:58:18.:58:20.

that is because the previous year which finished one programme had

:58:21.:58:24.

been moved to the start of the new programme, and it was late starting.

:58:25.:58:29.

It's a feeble excuse and the Secretary of State and I are

:58:30.:58:31.

determined to make sure it doesn't happen again.

:58:32.:58:37.

In three of the five years of the coalition government we build more

:58:38.:58:43.

affordable homes than any of the nine last years of the Labour

:58:44.:58:47.

Government. The records of this Government since 2010, and I are

:58:48.:58:52.

happy to give some credit to our coalition partners, is we have been

:58:53.:58:56.

delivering significantly more affordable housing that was

:58:57.:59:02.

delivered on average on those nine years of the Labour Government and

:59:03.:59:05.

we have now put extra money into the budgets will be should be able to

:59:06.:59:08.

drive up supply and I will end by making this point, and I will drop

:59:09.:59:15.

my remarks to a close. What we need in this country and the honourable

:59:16.:59:20.

lady was quite correct, we need more homes of every single kind, more

:59:21.:59:25.

homes for people to buy, more for private rent, more affordable homes

:59:26.:59:31.

for rent and more shared ownership, more homes and every single kind.

:59:32.:59:36.

That is what we are determined to do and, at the same time, provide the

:59:37.:59:40.

crucial support on our streets to deal with the immediate crisis. And

:59:41.:59:45.

I hope, to enter the positive note, we can build a coalition about this

:59:46.:59:51.

vital change we need. -- to end on a positive note. To get us this change

:59:52.:59:55.

we need. The question is as on the order paper sense when an amendment

:59:56.:00:00.

has been proposed. The question is the original words stands part of

:00:01.:00:08.

the question. I am grateful for the opportunity to

:00:09.:00:12.

speak in this debate on homelessness and I thank the Labour Party from

:00:13.:00:15.

bringing it to the house and I congratulate the honourable member

:00:16.:00:23.

for his contribution. Can I see it is a pleasure to follow my

:00:24.:00:26.

parliamentary football College, the Minister, and can I say from these

:00:27.:00:35.

benches our thoughts are with the families of the Croydon tram crash

:00:36.:00:37.

on the best day of the memorial service. While we would have

:00:38.:00:43.

preferred this motion to be a lot more focused on the causes of

:00:44.:00:46.

homelessness including the brittle benefit sanctions regime, years of

:00:47.:00:53.

impose austerity. We will support the motion tonight in solidarity and

:00:54.:00:58.

we believe action must be taken by the UK Government to drive down

:00:59.:01:01.

homelessness and that includes moving urgently to address the

:01:02.:01:04.

progress of cuts in the system that were supposed to support, not

:01:05.:01:09.

punished, the disadvantage. I wish to highlight one aspect of the

:01:10.:01:13.

motion that is particularly troubling for me and others across

:01:14.:01:18.

this house. That is the prospect of children without a safe, warm and

:01:19.:01:23.

secure housing at anything, but particularly at Christmas. Before we

:01:24.:01:26.

had agreed party political trenches I hope we can agree this is

:01:27.:01:32.

unacceptable and must be addressed. In Scotland's children living in

:01:33.:01:36.

temporary accommodation has fallen since 2007. I am happy to give way.

:01:37.:01:45.

I noted in his speech the honourable member reference the Government

:01:46.:01:49.

should be doing more to reduce homelessness. Will he accept we're

:01:50.:01:54.

working on a cross-party bill committee at Bill, Coward stage in

:01:55.:01:57.

order to reduce homelessness on the homelessness reduction that is

:01:58.:02:04.

supported by the Government. -- at the bill stage. I acknowledge that

:02:05.:02:08.

and my colleague from Glasgow Central sets on that committee so

:02:09.:02:13.

that is something working constructively on but I will come to

:02:14.:02:16.

some of the areas I believe the Government should be doing more and

:02:17.:02:21.

other areas to address some of the issues we face. Housing matters are

:02:22.:02:26.

devolved to each nation of the UK and this debate offers me the

:02:27.:02:31.

opportunity to focus on what actions the Scottish Government have taken

:02:32.:02:34.

with these powers to attempt to address the problem, both of

:02:35.:02:39.

homelessness itself when it does arise, and prevent it from opening

:02:40.:02:43.

in the first place. While housing policy is devolved the reasons for

:02:44.:02:48.

homelessness are largely in a public policy says the result of decisions

:02:49.:02:51.

taken is here. Homelessness is a problem that can take many forms and

:02:52.:02:56.

has a variety of causes and consequences. Whilst that is

:02:57.:02:59.

sometimes thought of as only referring to those living rough on

:03:00.:03:03.

the streets there is an assortment of circumstances that would lead an

:03:04.:03:06.

individual being classed as homes. Many live in temporary accommodation

:03:07.:03:12.

or state on a friend's floors of a family, sometimes in precarious

:03:13.:03:16.

arrangements and under the house in Scotland act 1987 a person should be

:03:17.:03:24.

treated it would not be reasonable for the person to continue to occupy

:03:25.:03:28.

it. Similar to the types of people have enforced cashback find

:03:29.:03:33.

themselves forced to seek asylum when circumstances change

:03:34.:03:36.

homelessness can affect almost anyone eventually and for a number

:03:37.:03:41.

of reasons, domestic abuse, marital breakdown, the treatment of a family

:03:42.:03:46.

member, disputes with neighbours, among others. All reasons why

:03:47.:03:49.

someone could find themselves unable to remain at the cover property will

:03:50.:03:54.

stop in Scotland the key difference in approach that is currently in

:03:55.:03:57.

place regarding homelessness prevention, that from the other

:03:58.:04:03.

three nations of the UK, is local authorities have a duty towards all

:04:04.:04:07.

unintentionally homeless households, irrespective of whether or not they

:04:08.:04:10.

are classed as being a priority need. This is because for any

:04:11.:04:17.

individual family, regardless of other criteria, facing the prospect

:04:18.:04:21.

of losing the rift over one's head means one should be entitled to all

:04:22.:04:26.

possible support -- the roof over one's head. The abolition of the

:04:27.:04:31.

priority need goateed was described by Shelter is providing, the best

:04:32.:04:37.

homelessness law in Europe. According to figures from

:04:38.:04:41.

homelessness in Scotland has been on, earmarked down the path for the

:04:42.:04:45.

past five years. They have also accredited this decline to the

:04:46.:04:49.

introduction of the housing options model which is a process that starts

:04:50.:04:53.

with housing advice when someone approaches the local authority with

:04:54.:04:58.

the housing problem looking at an individual's options, given the

:04:59.:05:01.

circumstances, to best match these up and spot at an early stage in the

:05:02.:05:05.

warning signs for potential problems. The most significant

:05:06.:05:09.

action in this regard has been the abolition of the right to buy scheme

:05:10.:05:15.

in Scotland. The director of Shelter Scotland argues, as the decades

:05:16.:05:18.

passed it became clear at the impact of a right to buy was to create more

:05:19.:05:23.

losers than winners in our housing system, significantly undermining

:05:24.:05:26.

wider efforts to improve social justice. It sorts of the social

:05:27.:05:32.

homes being sold for every new one built. Representing the value for

:05:33.:05:36.

increasingly limited public money. He added, during the right by ever

:05:37.:05:42.

homelessness sword and still today remains at a level beyond those of

:05:43.:05:48.

the 1980s. -- homelessness increased. It is important to ensure

:05:49.:06:00.

that this day supply of social housing and alleviating some of the

:06:01.:06:03.

problems that come with private rented such as short-term tenancy

:06:04.:06:08.

agreements. The SNP are already committed to investing over ?3

:06:09.:06:12.

billion of investment over the life of this Parliament to deliver at

:06:13.:06:18.

least 50,000 affordable homes were 35,000 being for social reds and

:06:19.:06:21.

housing supply is key to the matter before us today and that is why I am

:06:22.:06:27.

heartened by the statistics for Scotland released this week that

:06:28.:06:31.

show host bolding, social house-building, is up by 77% in

:06:32.:06:38.

April- June this year and by 26% on council homes to September. As well

:06:39.:06:43.

as right to buy the SNP Government also have attempted to address

:06:44.:06:46.

another factor behind homelessness by using its limited powers to

:06:47.:06:52.

mitigate the impact of the Tory bedroom tax. Numerous homeless

:06:53.:06:59.

charities have said that hated policy is partly responsible for the

:07:00.:07:02.

rise in homelessness seen since the start of the decade across the UK

:07:03.:07:07.

and UK Government's own research from December 2015 found on average

:07:08.:07:11.

only 0.5% of those affected by the bedroom tax have been able to move

:07:12.:07:15.

from their home and this means the vast majority of those with the cuts

:07:16.:07:18.

have had to live with this reduced income, unable to move due to family

:07:19.:07:23.

proximity is, school and work and also the shortage of appropriate

:07:24.:07:28.

housing. Last year the Scottish Government provided an additional

:07:29.:07:30.

?35 million to further mitigate the cost of the bedroom tax, 90 million

:07:31.:07:38.

being invested -- being invested since 2013 and 72,000 households in

:07:39.:07:41.

Scotland have been helped through this additional funding with around

:07:42.:07:47.

80% being disabled adults and an round 11,000 households with one or

:07:48.:07:51.

more children. Abolishing the bedroom tax and fuel will be one of

:07:52.:07:55.

the first priority is the transfer of some limited powers to the social

:07:56.:08:00.

system -- of Social security powers to the Scottish Government is

:08:01.:08:05.

completed. Concerning the current state of the Social security system,

:08:06.:08:18.

in Ken Loach's current form and going back to a previous work of his

:08:19.:08:25.

dogma that is clearly a connection in these two works in highlighting

:08:26.:08:31.

the strong social security system to avoid homelessness and what happens

:08:32.:08:37.

when a Government's approach for the Phils take into account individual

:08:38.:08:43.

circumstances. The SNP supported my friend's Bill on the 2nd of December

:08:44.:08:49.

which sought to do that by establishing a review system whereby

:08:50.:08:52.

an individual circumstances would be taken into account before a sanction

:08:53.:08:57.

decision can be made, this would include considering if someone is at

:08:58.:09:00.

risk of homelessness and would go some way to personalising the

:09:01.:09:04.

sanctions system although we would prefer it to be scrapped altogether.

:09:05.:09:13.

The Tory Government's system of sanctions has had many catastrophic

:09:14.:09:16.

consequences for families across the UK and clearly the increase in

:09:17.:09:18.

homelessness must be considered amongst the most serious of these.

:09:19.:09:26.

Leading families and individuals who are often with vulnerable at the

:09:27.:09:30.

time when they are often being hounded by predators such as payday

:09:31.:09:33.

loan companies and can often lead to rent arrears and -- hounded by -- on

:09:34.:09:42.

December 2015 research for the homelessness charity Crisis filed

:09:43.:09:50.

21% of people sanctioned in the last became homeless as a result and 16%

:09:51.:09:58.

of those sanctioned were forced to sleep rough. Only last month, in

:09:59.:10:02.

response to the National Audit Office report that suggested there

:10:03.:10:07.

is no evidence sanctions worth -- what the chief executive of Crisis

:10:08.:10:12.

said the no benefit -- benefit sanctions are a cause of

:10:13.:10:15.

homelessness and have had significant impact on vulnerable

:10:16.:10:18.

people, including those with the homeless and people with mental

:10:19.:10:23.

health problems. For anyone in this position losing support benefits can

:10:24.:10:28.

be disasters admitted even harder to find work. The SNP is clear about

:10:29.:10:34.

the very damage caused by UK Social security cuts and we will keep

:10:35.:10:37.

working with stakeholders to understand the impact of the UK

:10:38.:10:41.

Government's plan local housing allowance changes on social tenant

:10:42.:10:46.

in Scotland. The capping will block those who need support from either

:10:47.:10:55.

sitting be able to afford it. Sanctions of those with mental

:10:56.:11:00.

health issues and those homes, would welcome the recent announcement from

:11:01.:11:03.

the secretary of state to provide discretionary funding are built to

:11:04.:11:05.

help support when they are at their most vulnerable?

:11:06.:11:10.

It is acknowledged that the system has not worked for those people and

:11:11.:11:15.

saw any move to get rid of the sanctions is obviously going to be

:11:16.:11:18.

welcome but there is far more must be done with respect to the

:11:19.:11:24.

honourable member. The proposed capping of the local housing

:11:25.:11:26.

allowance will lock also need support from either sitting it ought

:11:27.:11:32.

be able to afford it and the gap between the gap in support of

:11:33.:11:35.

housing could see many individuals at risk and not to receive the

:11:36.:11:38.

support they need from a residential tenancy. If Apple study carried out

:11:39.:11:45.

-- a sample study found associations in Scotland have provided supported

:11:46.:11:51.

accommodation could lose between 5.2 million and ?14.3 million per year.

:11:52.:11:55.

From 2019 the resources for supported accommodation while

:11:56.:11:58.

transfer to the Scottish Government which leaves us with great concern

:11:59.:12:05.

around, the Scottish Government have said when they have further detail

:12:06.:12:08.

we will work with our partners to ensure supported accommodation in

:12:09.:12:12.

Scotland is put on a secure and sustainable future for the

:12:13.:12:15.

long-term. At a time when the cost of living is set to rise and a

:12:16.:12:19.

damning forecast for the UK economy and little cheer in the Autumn

:12:20.:12:24.

Statement, as we heard earlier, it is important the UK Government

:12:25.:12:27.

realises the damaging impact austerity is having an the country

:12:28.:12:33.

in a variety of ways and this debate has helped to highlight this damage

:12:34.:12:38.

in a particularly crucial area such as homelessness. They should have

:12:39.:12:42.

little to ponder when they consider the emergence and growing emergence

:12:43.:12:46.

of people just about managing. I wish to touch briefly on a more

:12:47.:12:52.

general discussion about homelessness, looking at things from

:12:53.:12:56.

individual's point of view and understanding of the underlying

:12:57.:12:59.

causes and consequences of homelessness, which can be harder to

:13:00.:13:02.

quantify and address. Prices have carried out numerous pieces of

:13:03.:13:09.

important research on the causes and consequences and have uncovered some

:13:10.:13:11.

particular depressing statistics but I wish to mention some. On average,

:13:12.:13:18.

homeless people die at 47 years old, 30 years before the national

:13:19.:13:24.

average. However, poorer physical or mental health, along with dependency

:13:25.:13:28.

issues are problems for the entire homeless population, were that they

:13:29.:13:31.

are sleeping rough on the streets, in hostels or in temporary

:13:32.:13:33.

accommodation. Physical... Yes. He is making a powerful case in

:13:34.:13:43.

respect of this but just to correct a point, it is a rough sleepers who

:13:44.:13:48.

are likely to die at the age of 46 which is a tragedy in this day and

:13:49.:13:54.

age. But the figures the honourable gentleman is probably looking at is

:13:55.:13:59.

of course the problems we have of so-called sofa sleepers, sleeping

:14:00.:14:03.

with friends, family, or anywhere else they can find. The figures for

:14:04.:14:10.

those people, we need to narrow down onto the problems being faced by

:14:11.:14:15.

rough sleepers on the streets. I thank the honourable gentleman for

:14:16.:14:21.

his intervention and I'm happy I've said homeless people die at 47 years

:14:22.:14:26.

old, and I think there are life chances issue is whether people are

:14:27.:14:30.

rough sleeping or whether they are living in varying standards of

:14:31.:14:34.

temporary accommodation. I think that is a point that he will agree

:14:35.:14:40.

with. Physical disabilities, mental ill-health can trigger or be part of

:14:41.:14:43.

a chain of events that lead to someone becoming homeless. Problems

:14:44.:14:48.

such as these can make it more difficult for people to engage with

:14:49.:14:51.

services and get the help and support they need. Too often

:14:52.:14:56.

services are not set up to respond to the particular individual lies

:14:57.:15:02.

needs of homeless people. Two thirds of homeless people cite drug or

:15:03.:15:05.

alcohol use as a reason for becoming homeless and those who use drugs are

:15:06.:15:10.

seven times more likely to be homeless. There are high levels of

:15:11.:15:14.

stress and mental health issues associated with being homeless and

:15:15.:15:19.

it is not uncommon to seek solace in drug or alcohol abuse thereafter.

:15:20.:15:23.

27% of homeless people surveyed reported having or recovering from

:15:24.:15:27.

an alcohol problem. 39% reported taking drugs or recovering from a

:15:28.:15:35.

drug problem. Whilst it is a small percentage of those classed as

:15:36.:15:38.

homeless sleeping rough on the street, all too high a percentage

:15:39.:15:42.

nevertheless, it is worth remembering the particular

:15:43.:15:46.

challenges and problems that such a problem brings and what needs to be

:15:47.:15:54.

done to address it. The report helped to highlight the fact that

:15:55.:15:59.

extreme forms of homelessness and other support needs with nearly half

:16:00.:16:06.

of service reporting substance misuse and street activities is

:16:07.:16:10.

begging as well as homelessness. So in conclusion, these additional

:16:11.:16:16.

challenges and underlying issues mean that was everything must be

:16:17.:16:20.

done by both the Scottish and UK governments to ensure there is a

:16:21.:16:24.

strong safety net in place for those facing the prospect of homelessness,

:16:25.:16:28.

and measures to deal with this as a society, we must also understand and

:16:29.:16:31.

seek to address these underlying causes and consequences that some of

:16:32.:16:35.

those caught up in this horrendous situation face by ensuring that all

:16:36.:16:39.

individuals are able to access support from the agency 's best

:16:40.:16:45.

placed to assist them. On account of the nub of would-be contributed to

:16:46.:16:48.

this debate I'm afraid there will have to be a time limit on backbench

:16:49.:16:52.

speeches with immediate effect of five minutes each. But we will do

:16:53.:17:00.

our best to accommodate everybody. Mr David McIntosh. I welcome this

:17:01.:17:04.

debate from the opposition. I have always said one person homeless is

:17:05.:17:08.

one too many, so every opportunity we have two highlight this problem

:17:09.:17:12.

is helpful. As we approach Christmas I know that all of those taking part

:17:13.:17:16.

in this debate will be particularly mindful of the human stories behind

:17:17.:17:20.

the statistics. And I have one story at the forefront of my mind. On the

:17:21.:17:25.

31st of October I took part in a sleep-out organised by a charity at

:17:26.:17:32.

Lord's cricket ground. I left here after the late-night Monday votes

:17:33.:17:34.

and then slept rough for the night. In reality this gives us some

:17:35.:17:38.

insight into the horrible realities but I knew this was only for one

:17:39.:17:42.

night and that I'd be back in a warm bed the following night. So after

:17:43.:17:45.

sleeping rough I was a little tired and a little jaded but I was back

:17:46.:17:49.

here the following day and my first job was speaking at a conference on

:17:50.:17:53.

homelessness taking place at the hotel just over Westminster Bridge.

:17:54.:17:58.

As I walked over with my assistant, we both saw that a homeless person

:17:59.:18:03.

was on the street. It was clear to us that they had sadly passed away.

:18:04.:18:08.

I don't know the name of that person, who they were, where they

:18:09.:18:11.

came from or anything about that person. But I know that whilst I was

:18:12.:18:15.

sleeping rough a few miles away, this person had been out in the cold

:18:16.:18:19.

and wet and died in sight of Parliament and in the earshot of big

:18:20.:18:25.

Bend. My assistant and I were shocked to witness this visible

:18:26.:18:28.

example of the plight of homeless people on our streets, and I have

:18:29.:18:31.

read of other cases in other cities in recent weeks. I don't profess to

:18:32.:18:37.

have all the answers to solve this problem, but I do know we should not

:18:38.:18:41.

let these people die in vain and for their memories say we should

:18:42.:18:44.

continue to do all we can to prevent people from becoming homeless and to

:18:45.:18:48.

address the many complex causes and challenges that lead to people

:18:49.:18:51.

becoming homeless in the first place. We should also recognise the

:18:52.:18:56.

work that we collectively have already done. As already mentioned

:18:57.:19:01.

in this debate, on the 20th of October, honourable members from

:19:02.:19:04.

both sides of the house agreed the private members bill on homelessness

:19:05.:19:11.

reduction. We all know how important Fridays are for constituency work,

:19:12.:19:15.

to see over 150 MPs here on that day was proof that the issues are being

:19:16.:19:19.

taken seriously by all members and that government support this bill is

:19:20.:19:23.

part of a package of measures which I welcome. I am pleased to be

:19:24.:19:26.

serving with members on both sides of the house on the homelessness

:19:27.:19:30.

reduction committee which is being looked at in great detail with house

:19:31.:19:33.

party support and a positive approach to improving things. The

:19:34.:19:38.

bill will ensure that councils can help even more people but will

:19:39.:19:42.

introduce a duty on local housing authorities to take recent steps to

:19:43.:19:48.

retain or secure accommodation and 56 days before they become homeless.

:19:49.:19:52.

The bill will also require councils to take reasonable steps to provide

:19:53.:19:56.

support to any eligible people who find themselves homeless for a

:19:57.:20:02.

further period of 56 days to help secure accommodation. Alongside

:20:03.:20:04.

support for the Bill I'm pleased the government has also announced a

:20:05.:20:07.

number of other measures and funding to help address homelessness and its

:20:08.:20:12.

causes. The government is providing ?500 million to prevent and reduce

:20:13.:20:15.

homelessness over this Parliament as well as a number of other schemes.

:20:16.:20:20.

Department for Work and Pensions temporary accommodation is being

:20:21.:20:25.

replaced by a grant. This means current levels of funding will be

:20:26.:20:29.

protected with an additional ?10 million of funding introduced for

:20:30.:20:32.

areas with the highest pressures. The new grant will give local

:20:33.:20:37.

authorities more flexibility in managing homelessness pressures.

:20:38.:20:41.

Central government funding of ?149 million will target prevention, and

:20:42.:20:43.

reduction programmes in different ways. The ?20 million Trailblazer

:20:44.:20:50.

programme for example will enable councils to work together with other

:20:51.:20:53.

agencies to prevent homelessness in their area. The ?29 million rough

:20:54.:20:58.

sleeping fund will help those at imminent risk of homelessness while

:20:59.:21:04.

the ?10 million social impact fund will help those rough sleepers with

:21:05.:21:09.

complex needs. In addition a total of ?100 million will also write 2000

:21:10.:21:14.

places in low-cost rented accommodation to help people move on

:21:15.:21:18.

from hostels and domestic abuse refuges towards independent living.

:21:19.:21:23.

Young people are particularly vulnerable and it's important that

:21:24.:21:26.

they are supported into education and employment. ?40 million worth of

:21:27.:21:30.

funding for the homelessness change a platform for life programme will

:21:31.:21:35.

support young people to improve their lives. And please the

:21:36.:21:38.

homelessness reduction Bill will give local authorities new

:21:39.:21:42.

responsibility and funding. Despite these challenges I'm pleased local

:21:43.:21:44.

authorities have also help to prevent over a million people

:21:45.:21:49.

becoming homeless since 2010. I recognise there is more work to be

:21:50.:21:52.

done and debates like this help to keep the issue at the forefront of

:21:53.:21:56.

all of our minds. We know homelessness is often the result of

:21:57.:21:59.

not one factor, it is very compact and I'm pleased we are talking about

:22:00.:22:05.

this today. I thank my honourable friend for their continued focus on

:22:06.:22:10.

the initiative in respect of a commitment to tackle rough sleeping.

:22:11.:22:14.

And as a member of Parliament for the borough of Westminster, nobody

:22:15.:22:18.

would welcome that more than me because Westminster Council is at

:22:19.:22:21.

the front line of the National crisis in rough sleeping. And there

:22:22.:22:27.

is a draft rough sleeping strategy under consideration which reminds us

:22:28.:22:31.

they have 3000 people sleeping rough over the course of a year at the

:22:32.:22:34.

moment, 300 roughly on any given night. And the many complex causes

:22:35.:22:44.

and drivers of homelessness that has led to the recent rise. One

:22:45.:22:49.

particular figure, because other colleagues have mentioned some of

:22:50.:22:52.

those factors, one particular issue jumped out at me as being an example

:22:53.:22:56.

for the government to learn about the importance of interconnecting

:22:57.:23:01.

services and the role that other government departments actions play

:23:02.:23:06.

in all of this. 32%, a third of rough sleepers in Westminster, have

:23:07.:23:11.

been in prison, a third. It is absolutely extraordinary that we are

:23:12.:23:13.

incapable of preventing people who have come out of prison from ending

:23:14.:23:17.

up on the streets. And one in four of rough sleepers in Westminster are

:23:18.:23:22.

from the register of high risk for reoffending. So it is clearly in our

:23:23.:23:26.

public interest to make sure that this crisis does not continue. We

:23:27.:23:30.

all know also that rough sleeping is only the tip of the iceberg. I just

:23:31.:23:35.

wanted to concentrate for a couple of minutes on the issues that have

:23:36.:23:39.

been brought out particularly by the report into temporary accommodation

:23:40.:23:44.

in London. Because this report by Julie rug from the University of

:23:45.:23:49.

York tells us what is going on, it is a driver of priority and family

:23:50.:23:52.

homelessness in London. And this report points out there are now one

:23:53.:23:58.

in ten Londoners on social housing waiting lists, which of course is a

:23:59.:24:03.

driver of the challenges that we face. There has been a 77% rise in

:24:04.:24:10.

homelessness since 2010. And why is that? Well, we have already spoken

:24:11.:24:13.

about the issue of supply and compared records and so forth and I

:24:14.:24:18.

don't want to do that again. But one of the issues that has to be

:24:19.:24:21.

understood by the government properly is the issue of

:24:22.:24:25.

affordability. So even if supply grows, welcome though that will

:24:26.:24:29.

become if that accommodation is not affordable to people at the lower

:24:30.:24:32.

end of the income spectrum, it will not solve homelessness and the

:24:33.:24:36.

homelessness reduction Bill, which we are all coalescing around and

:24:37.:24:39.

want to see succeed, will be swimming against the tide. Now what

:24:40.:24:43.

we know, and this helps us understand what this is about, is

:24:44.:24:48.

that the various cuts in social security benefits and the benefit

:24:49.:24:51.

cap and others are driving homelessness, they are making it

:24:52.:24:54.

impossible for people on blowing comes to afford accommodation. And

:24:55.:24:57.

they are leading to landlords withdrawing from the market of

:24:58.:25:01.

letting private rented accommodation to people on low incomes with a

:25:02.:25:08.

staggering 81% of landlords are unwilling to consider people on

:25:09.:25:13.

housing benefit because of the threat of universal credit to their

:25:14.:25:18.

income. And we know in inner London I think it's either 7% or 9%, a

:25:19.:25:25.

ridiculously small proportion of accommodation is available to people

:25:26.:25:29.

on lower incomes. We were told when the welfare we form Bill went

:25:30.:25:32.

through Parliament that rents would fall as cuts to housing benefits

:25:33.:25:36.

were applied, the opposite has happened, rents in London went up by

:25:37.:25:42.

32% in outer London and 39% in inner London. So this is a cause of

:25:43.:25:45.

homelessness and unless we do something about this, it is going to

:25:46.:25:49.

get worse. And it is costing local authorities money as well as leading

:25:50.:25:57.

to individual homelessness with 600 62 ?5 million being spent by London

:25:58.:25:59.

local authorities on homelessness alone. Discretionary housing

:26:00.:26:04.

payments which are always brought forward by the government as being

:26:05.:26:07.

the solution to all these problems are simply not because they are by

:26:08.:26:11.

definition temporary. And until the government understands that local

:26:12.:26:15.

authorities will not use discretionary housing benefits to

:26:16.:26:20.

solve the crisis we will end up repeating the problem. I have no

:26:21.:26:24.

time unfortunately to talk about the fact that temporary accommodation

:26:25.:26:29.

is, because of the squeeze put on local authorities, leading to

:26:30.:26:31.

families spending this Christmas in appalling conditions. I would ask

:26:32.:26:34.

the Minister in particular to help me deal with the problem of a two

:26:35.:26:40.

dominion, one particular housing association, leaving residents in

:26:41.:26:44.

many occasions in damp and mouldy accommodation. Children and families

:26:45.:26:48.

should not be spending Christmas homeless on the streets or in

:26:49.:26:51.

bed-and-breakfast, insecure accommodation. They are doing so in

:26:52.:26:55.

record numbers and the government has two act. Mr Speaker firstly may

:26:56.:27:02.

pass it's a pleasure to follow the pass it's a pleasure to follow the

:27:03.:27:07.

member for Westminster North and I entirely agree when she says that

:27:08.:27:10.

Christmas particularly this type Mageean nobody likes to think

:27:11.:27:14.

anybody sleeping rough. Of course rough sleeping is the most visible

:27:15.:27:17.

element of homelessness but as she rightly point out we must not forget

:27:18.:27:21.

those that are sofa surfing and in temporary accommodation up and down

:27:22.:27:25.

the country. So far I must say I have been impressed by the tone of

:27:26.:27:28.

this debate because I think it's important to note that there is no

:27:29.:27:32.

one party that has a monopoly on compassion. Let me be absolutely

:27:33.:27:36.

clear, there is no honourable member in this house that wants to see

:27:37.:27:38.

anybody sleeping rough on our streets or not having a home. In

:27:39.:27:45.

order to tackle homelessness I think we really need to get to the bottom

:27:46.:27:49.

of it and understand it, that's not about attributing blame but it is

:27:50.:27:52.

about understanding complex issues and circumstances which lead to

:27:53.:27:58.

homelessness. 50 years on from the gritty BBC drama Cathy come home

:27:59.:28:03.

where we saw life events such as homelessness, family breakdown,

:28:04.:28:07.

losing her children, 50 years on, surely in the fifth largest economy

:28:08.:28:11.

in the world, how can we have people sleeping rough on our streets? And

:28:12.:28:16.

as Cathy comes home brought homelessness to the attention of the

:28:17.:28:19.

public through their TVs and gave the issue nationwide awareness, now

:28:20.:28:24.

50 years on, can we say we've forgotten? Do we walk past and

:28:25.:28:28.

actually see the people sleeping on cardboard on our streets?

:28:29.:28:37.

Do we judge those who BC shooting up or drinking high-strength lager in

:28:38.:28:45.

doorways. Are they someone else's problem, is it the result of bad

:28:46.:28:50.

life choices and nothing to do with us? Do not think for one minute I am

:28:51.:28:55.

being sanctimonious or in some a patronising because I openly admit I

:28:56.:28:58.

have done it too. Sometimes it is easier to walk on, close our eyes,

:28:59.:29:03.

and pretend we do not see the great stain on our humanity is rough

:29:04.:29:09.

sleeping. The fact that this -- in the stability relatively wealthy

:29:10.:29:13.

country people are sleeping on our streets in below freezing

:29:14.:29:17.

temperatures open to the elements, assault, abuse, violence, sexual

:29:18.:29:20.

assault. Two year we have actually gone further, and much further than

:29:21.:29:26.

just closing our eyes, councils up and down the country of all

:29:27.:29:30.

political clubbers are finding homeless people just for being

:29:31.:29:39.

homeless. -- -- political councils are finding homeless. They are

:29:40.:29:43.

erecting and people rough sleeping spikes in doorways. Have we lost our

:29:44.:29:48.

humanity? I am pleased to say I do not think we have because there are

:29:49.:29:51.

charities and voluntary groups all over the country at work tirelessly

:29:52.:29:58.

late and the running soup kitchens, shelters, facilities up and down the

:29:59.:30:03.

country will stop I have a vision experience whilst waiting for the 91

:30:04.:30:07.

boss offer -- opposite charring station as a woman approached me. We

:30:08.:30:13.

talked for ten or so minutes and she asked if she could have a hug. I

:30:14.:30:20.

said, of course. I was a little bemused, if I'm being honest and it

:30:21.:30:25.

took me back but what she was really saying was, thank you for treating

:30:26.:30:29.

me like a human being and not just stopping and ignoring me. She never

:30:30.:30:34.

asked for money. She was just the woman down on her luck with the

:30:35.:30:38.

isolated and forgotten by a society and reaching out in hope some one

:30:39.:30:42.

would see her and action listen to her plight. As I said, the issues

:30:43.:30:48.

are numerous and complex and I am proud to serve on the committee for

:30:49.:30:54.

ending homelessness and set on the Bill committee along with my

:30:55.:31:00.

honourable friend for Northampton and Harrow East. This bill is one

:31:01.:31:05.

part of the solution to tackling homelessness and we know the leading

:31:06.:31:09.

cause of homelessness is the ending of a shop full tenancy and this will

:31:10.:31:12.

mean councils will have to give consistent advice and no longer

:31:13.:31:18.

advise tenants to stay put until the bailiffs arrive.

:31:19.:31:23.

I would be delighted to. As my friend back a Greek section 21

:31:24.:31:29.

notices are often because of problem for people becoming homeless -- does

:31:30.:31:35.

he agree that section 20 one. I do agree the biggest cause for

:31:36.:31:39.

homelessness is ending of the tenancy often via these notices. A

:31:40.:31:49.

system should, from the council when they got into trouble in the council

:31:50.:31:52.

says come back when the bailiffs are at your door. At that point you have

:31:53.:31:58.

arrears and you will never be able to rent again in the private sector,

:31:59.:32:02.

that is filling those individuals and it must stop. The Government is

:32:03.:32:09.

has already taken a large number of steps to tackle homelessness and I

:32:10.:32:13.

will not repeat them because my honourable friend for Northampton

:32:14.:32:17.

South has made those clear. Is it enough? Clearly not. There is always

:32:18.:32:21.

more we can do but in the interest of time I want to touch on the

:32:22.:32:27.

private rented sector. It is part of the problem and we do need to look

:32:28.:32:32.

at security of tenure, we have got to look at rent deposit schemes. We

:32:33.:32:36.

have a scheme for mortgages and we should look at help to rent or a

:32:37.:32:45.

help to rent ice. We need to work with insurers to lift the

:32:46.:32:47.

restriction means they will not allow those buy to let mortgages to

:32:48.:32:54.

a low in the 70s of over one year. I would just say prevention is key and

:32:55.:33:01.

providing assistance at the first available opportunity is so

:33:02.:33:05.

important. This Bill is a step in the right direction but that is much

:33:06.:33:12.

more to do. 29th of November, a young man froze

:33:13.:33:19.

to death in central Birmingham. Sadly, in Birmingham, there is worse

:33:20.:33:22.

to come. If the Government goes ahead with the biggest cuts to any

:33:23.:33:28.

council and local government history and in particular cuts to supported

:33:29.:33:32.

housing, in the words of the chief executive of the YMCA, more will

:33:33.:33:38.

die. In the words of the Chief Executive of Birmingham City

:33:39.:33:41.

Council, there will be catastrophic consequences. I was born under

:33:42.:33:48.

Clement Attlee and I grew up under Harold Macmillan. In an error where

:33:49.:33:54.

Conservative Government -- in the era with the Conservative Government

:33:55.:33:59.

followed the of Labour and building homes on a grand scale I never

:34:00.:34:02.

thought in my life than we would see, first in the 1960s, then in the

:34:03.:34:08.

1970s office blocks, speculation in London was homelessness was rapidly

:34:09.:34:13.

rising. I was one of those who occupied Centrepoint in opposition

:34:14.:34:18.

to that. For those of us on both sides are people who are passionate

:34:19.:34:22.

about the cause of housing over many years I see this, I am proud of what

:34:23.:34:27.

we did in Government, even if we did not do enough. I am proud of the 2

:34:28.:34:35.

million houses that were built, the 1 million more homeowners, 1.8

:34:36.:34:41.

social homes brought up to a decent standard. And the fact we cut rough

:34:42.:34:44.

sleeping by three quarters. A generation of drug arrests. Just

:34:45.:34:51.

when this Government -- a generation of progress. This Government should

:34:52.:34:55.

have invested in a major house-building programme to get the

:34:56.:34:58.

economy moving what we saw the reverse. Home ownership falling,

:34:59.:35:06.

social housing in crisis, 140,000 fewer homes, and the rapidly growing

:35:07.:35:11.

private rented sector characterised by its soaring rents for 2000 more

:35:12.:35:15.

over the last five years paid by the average tenants, and and often poor

:35:16.:35:22.

accommodation. All of which contribute towards growing

:35:23.:35:25.

homelessness. And also the doubling of rough sleeping. Mr Speaker, you

:35:26.:35:30.

were good enough to preside over the opening session of the first of

:35:31.:35:34.

homeless young people's parliament but I organised in 2012. It was a

:35:35.:35:39.

deeply moving occasion including challenging the current idea that

:35:40.:35:45.

somehow all young homeless people are drug addicts, drunks and

:35:46.:35:49.

dropouts. Many were condescension at Middle England and Middle Scotland.

:35:50.:35:53.

Whose lives have fallen apart -- many were quintessentially. What

:35:54.:36:02.

came out of that wearers -- was, you're our voice, more affordable

:36:03.:36:06.

homes and do not cut the desperately needed benefit in particular for

:36:07.:36:10.

young people. The secretary of state, after that young man died in

:36:11.:36:14.

Birmingham, said, it was wrong and we should do more. The problem is

:36:15.:36:20.

the Government is doing less. Coming back to the city I am proud to

:36:21.:36:26.

represent Birmingham, ?800 million being cut from its budget, 14

:36:27.:36:31.

charges wrote only yesterday to the secretary of State for two minutes

:36:32.:36:33.

and local government saying the council has been able to predict the

:36:34.:36:38.

local housing budget but will not be able to continue to do so. The

:36:39.:36:43.

consequences will be serious ones, to which I referred earlier on. The

:36:44.:36:48.

risk another young man by John woman dies a terrible, called death on the

:36:49.:36:53.

streets of the city. -- another young man John woman dies a cold

:36:54.:37:01.

there. The UK Government could look to the

:37:02.:37:06.

Welsh Labour Government which in the Housing act 2014 pledged 5.6 million

:37:07.:37:10.

in the first year, 3 million in the second year, despite cuts from UK

:37:11.:37:15.

Government to fund affordable rent as well as affordable homes to buy.

:37:16.:37:20.

Not force local authorities to sell vacant properties to the highest

:37:21.:37:24.

bidder. The cost of homelessness, both

:37:25.:37:31.

financially and inhuman terms, an infinitely greater than investing in

:37:32.:37:34.

preventing homelessness in the first place. So the honourable lady is

:37:35.:37:39.

absolutely right and I applaud what the administration on wheels hold

:37:40.:37:41.

on. Mr Speaker, in conclusion, it is too

:37:42.:37:51.

late, as Christmas looms, to bring back that young man. It is too late

:37:52.:37:59.

to sadly avoid what my honourable friend referred to earlier, the

:38:00.:38:04.

tragedy of 120,000 children waking up on Christmas Day in temporary

:38:05.:38:13.

accommodation. Much of it inferior, cramped, looking forward from school

:38:14.:38:17.

to going home, looking forward to celebrating the day, to be in

:38:18.:38:22.

temporary accommodation. That is too late, but the Government can do

:38:23.:38:28.

more. And, crucially, at the next stages needs to do precisely that,

:38:29.:38:32.

starting with the announcement tomorrow of the communities and

:38:33.:38:35.

local government settlement for the great city of Birmingham and then at

:38:36.:38:39.

the next stage and we on the site will be a champion of this, a great

:38:40.:38:46.

national will to build the homes that our country needs. To create

:38:47.:38:54.

jobs at building homes will achieve. Security, warmth, all of those

:38:55.:38:57.

things that matter to us and matter to the people that we represent.

:38:58.:39:02.

Never again must somebody like that young man by what it means the

:39:03.:39:12.

Government must act and do more. Then my constituency pens and is

:39:13.:39:16.

often referred to as being at the end of the line and despite the

:39:17.:39:21.

beauty and charm people attracted to when they choose their holiday

:39:22.:39:24.

destination we are not spirit in Penzance from some of the challenges

:39:25.:39:30.

that exist, not least the problems of rough sleeping. The reason we are

:39:31.:39:34.

described as the end of the wine is because people get on the train and

:39:35.:39:37.

they stay there until they get to Penzance and the sleep rough and the

:39:38.:39:43.

living homeless in my beautiful but a lot of hidden poverty part of the

:39:44.:39:48.

world. In a civil society it cannot be right some have no choice but to

:39:49.:39:52.

sleep rough. The challenge is much greater than providing a roof over

:39:53.:39:57.

someone's head. In recent months I have looked closely at the rough

:39:58.:40:02.

sleeping issues in Penzance and other towns are my constituency and

:40:03.:40:05.

looking more closely at the issues faced by rough sleepers and talking

:40:06.:40:09.

to the police and the rough sleepers themselves, I spent a couple of days

:40:10.:40:13.

during the recess going out early in the morning talking to them and

:40:14.:40:17.

finding out what issues were and how they got to that place. Also to

:40:18.:40:21.

charities and church groups that provide support and we an incredible

:40:22.:40:24.

amount of resources and services available for people in far west

:40:25.:40:30.

Cornwall but also talking to host providers. There are many reasons

:40:31.:40:33.

why people become homeless. For some, the struggles of adjust, their

:40:34.:40:42.

job changes. I'm a fisherman who wanted -- could not settle into what

:40:43.:40:46.

we could describe as a normal life. Many foreign nationals, transit

:40:47.:40:54.

workers, part-time workers, at the end of that they often find

:40:55.:40:58.

themselves sleeping rough. Many former prisoners. I've met one who

:40:59.:41:01.

simply could not find the help needed to be established his life.

:41:02.:41:06.

We also find because of the end of the one situation some very highly

:41:07.:41:10.

skilled highly paid people who just want a change of life and come to

:41:11.:41:14.

Cornwall looking for that and it does not go right, money disappears

:41:15.:41:17.

and the find they have nowhere to go and they have given up and birds

:41:18.:41:24.

every bridge, if you like. -- and every bridge. As far as the causes

:41:25.:41:29.

of rough sleeping and homelessness we talk about the family break-up,

:41:30.:41:36.

many families break up and young people and even partners find

:41:37.:41:39.

themselves having to find somewhere to live when there is nothing

:41:40.:41:43.

available at the stage in life when they never expected it. I have met

:41:44.:41:52.

people who lived, just about managing, but suddenly an accident

:41:53.:41:55.

and the family is something happens and defined themselves with the loss

:41:56.:41:59.

of earnings and it quickly was Don Howe. Domestic violence, drug and

:42:00.:42:03.

alcohol dependency, mental health will stop -- quickly goes downhill.

:42:04.:42:14.

We have a particular issue with high living costs. If you take into

:42:15.:42:20.

account council tax band C is ?130 per month that is 9% of a full-time

:42:21.:42:25.

workers earnings if they are earning ?10 an hour. We are in an

:42:26.:42:31.

environment where to become homeless camp, very quickly because of the

:42:32.:42:38.

costs of living. -- can happen very quickly. We must also support people

:42:39.:42:41.

at their point of need with their skills they need, help and support

:42:42.:42:48.

couples and families, we must reduce the drug and alcohol dependency

:42:49.:42:51.

situation we have. We must adequately provide mental health

:42:52.:42:56.

services, push up earnings, reduce the burden of tax and low earners.

:42:57.:43:00.

The greatest challenge is to support people to be independent and the

:43:01.:43:05.

fool lives. If we feel in this week will never genuinely address the

:43:06.:43:11.

nation's homeless problems. -- if we fail in this. I would like to give

:43:12.:43:15.

the Minister more detail about how the Government intends to prevent

:43:16.:43:17.

homelessness and use the money they are setting aside to support the

:43:18.:43:24.

organisations and charities in place that can help so many people have

:43:25.:43:25.

the life they deserve. Thank you Mr Speaker. I have two so

:43:26.:43:35.

since first being elected last year, the largest amount of people who

:43:36.:43:40.

come to me and my surgery, and I attend to in my is housing and

:43:41.:43:46.

homelessness issues. I wanted to share a couple of these with you. A

:43:47.:43:51.

28-year-old contacted me, who has been homeless for nine years. A lack

:43:52.:43:57.

of help means that he fell into a life of crime, substance misuse and

:43:58.:44:01.

rough sleeping. Last year at Christmas he was attacked and had to

:44:02.:44:05.

have a metal plate in his jaw. This is not a life that he wants to live.

:44:06.:44:10.

He wants to make changes and does not want to constantly be scared.

:44:11.:44:15.

A mother of an eight-week-old baby contacted me after she was placed in

:44:16.:44:21.

temporary accommodation till hours away from her local community. She

:44:22.:44:26.

does not know a single person -- two hours. The accommodation is filthy,

:44:27.:44:31.

unhygienic and she is worried about breast-feeding her baby because of

:44:32.:44:37.

it. The first few months of a child's life are crucial. She is

:44:38.:44:42.

scared, lonely and disconnected from her support network in south London.

:44:43.:44:47.

These are just two examples of the hundreds and hundreds of cases that

:44:48.:44:56.

I received. A homeless charity in my constituency, Deptford 999 Club,

:44:57.:45:01.

they see about 50 people a day, tell me that they've seen a rise in the

:45:02.:45:06.

number of young and vulnerable adults in their winter night

:45:07.:45:08.

shelters. The 23-year-old brought up in care

:45:09.:45:14.

and made homeless after a breakdown with his adoptive family is sofa

:45:15.:45:19.

surfing until he ran out of places to stay. He began to sleep rough. At

:45:20.:45:26.

Deptford 999 Club, they housed him locally and he now attends

:45:27.:45:31.

university. Thankfully, it is a success story but sadly, this is a

:45:32.:45:36.

rarity. Too many people are having to rely on the goodwill of charities

:45:37.:45:40.

like these, and we should be doing more. Deptford 999 Club have had

:45:41.:45:47.

some of their vital resources decommissioned due to a lack of

:45:48.:45:52.

council funding currently available. These cuts in local authority

:45:53.:45:56.

budgets mean that they are forced into making decisions that have

:45:57.:45:59.

detrimental knock-on effects and it is these knock-on effects that have

:46:00.:46:04.

led to the situation that we are in. The budget of Lewisham Council has

:46:05.:46:09.

been cut by 121 million since 2010 and funding is going to be cut again

:46:10.:46:16.

by one quarter until 2020. These cuts are creating holes in our

:46:17.:46:23.

services and cost us more long term. The number of households in

:46:24.:46:27.

temporary accommodation have gone up by 91% since 2010 that the supply of

:46:28.:46:32.

affordable lets has decreased by 40% since 2010. These numbers quite

:46:33.:46:39.

simply do not add up. How on earth are they expected to help these

:46:40.:46:45.

people? I looked at the homeless reduction Bill, which I welcome. But

:46:46.:46:49.

I do have some real concerns in terms of how it will deliver and how

:46:50.:46:53.

local authorities will be able to fund some of the things they are

:46:54.:46:57.

expected to do. They will be required to carry out an assessment

:46:58.:47:02.

of what led to every applicant's homelessness but without additional

:47:03.:47:06.

money. Local authorities are required to have secure

:47:07.:47:09.

accommodation for eligible households threatened by

:47:10.:47:14.

homelessness. No additional money. I thank the honourable lady for giving

:47:15.:47:19.

way. She makes a powerful case. Does she not understand under the new

:47:20.:47:24.

burdens doctorate, that because of these measures are under the face of

:47:25.:47:28.

the homelessness reduction Bill, the government must provide funding to

:47:29.:47:34.

provide those services? I thank the honourable member for his

:47:35.:47:37.

intervention, and if the government were providing that funding? I think

:47:38.:47:41.

we would welcome it. But we've seen no evidence of them providing

:47:42.:47:45.

funding and every single thing that they seem to be giving two councils

:47:46.:47:49.

additionally to do, they are not adding extra funding for it. They

:47:50.:47:54.

are ring fencing in different areas. Local authorities will also be

:47:55.:47:58.

required to provide for those who find themselves homeless with

:47:59.:48:01.

support for a further period of 56 days to help secure accommodation.

:48:02.:48:08.

Again, without additional funding. Whilst these all sound good in

:48:09.:48:13.

principle, I must ask the question again... How on earth is this

:48:14.:48:17.

possible when the current government are not properly resourced and local

:48:18.:48:20.

authorities to deliver this? As we sit here and debate this, thousands

:48:21.:48:26.

of people across Britain do not have a roof over their head or a place to

:48:27.:48:29.

call home. No shelter and no warmth. Rough

:48:30.:48:35.

sleeping has doubled since 2010. Homelessness is up by one third.

:48:36.:48:38.

Things have to change if we want to reverse the trend. We need more

:48:39.:48:43.

affordable housing. We need to tackle spiralling high cost rent.

:48:44.:48:49.

And we need to ensure that local authorities are given the proper

:48:50.:48:52.

funding that they need to deliver and tackle these issues.

:48:53.:49:00.

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. When we discuss homelessness here we

:49:01.:49:06.

should always keep in mind that like the country at large we have

:49:07.:49:09.

different circumstances but I wonder how little it needs to go wrong to

:49:10.:49:14.

find ourselves in dire straits. Just a missed rent or mortgage

:49:15.:49:17.

payment, and especially if we do not have family or friends to take us

:49:18.:49:21.

in. Homelessness can come suddenly and for a number of reasons. But

:49:22.:49:26.

homelessness and rough sleeping should not rob individuals of

:49:27.:49:30.

individuality or hopes and dreams. We do not want people to fall from

:49:31.:49:34.

society. Homelessness is more than the availability of houses.

:49:35.:49:39.

That is why the homelessness Reduction Bill and children and

:49:40.:49:42.

social work Bill is good news. I will return to those later. Good

:49:43.:49:49.

work is being done already. In my area, the council has received 168

:49:50.:49:54.

homelessness presentations in the last year. Of those, 527 were

:49:55.:50:00.

accepted and in 110 cases, homelessness prevented and in 183,

:50:01.:50:05.

advice and assistance alone was sufficient for the applicant.

:50:06.:50:10.

Portsmouth has a strong record of finding permanent and secure

:50:11.:50:12.

accommodation. Three months in temporary

:50:13.:50:15.

accommodation is the average wait for a family with some housed much

:50:16.:50:19.

sooner. It is very positive but there and are to be some pressures.

:50:20.:50:26.

-- undoubtably. She speaks very movingly of the fact that, for the

:50:27.:50:32.

grace of God, this could happen to anyone of us but I wonder whether

:50:33.:50:37.

she would agree, the work done by local councils across the country,

:50:38.:50:41.

such as the one in West Oxfordshire where I still serve, is absolutely

:50:42.:50:45.

critical and moreover, the fact that 4% more people are being prevented

:50:46.:50:49.

from becoming homeless since last year shows local councils are, in

:50:50.:50:54.

fact, tackling homelessness prevention very effectively? I thank

:50:55.:50:58.

the honourable friend for his intervention and I was disappointed

:50:59.:51:02.

not to hear from the opposition benches about what Labour councils

:51:03.:51:05.

are doing across the country rather than blaming the government every

:51:06.:51:12.

time. There are pressures like private landlords, domestic

:51:13.:51:18.

violence, and the council is coping well with demands made of it in

:51:19.:51:22.

Portsmouth but we have to think about how we can stop these

:51:23.:51:26.

circumstances happening in the first place.

:51:27.:51:28.

Sleeping rough is not something anyone would undertake lightly. It

:51:29.:51:36.

would blow 1's self-esteem and dignity can be hard to maintain. I

:51:37.:51:41.

want to praise Portsmouth City Council's work in their support, the

:51:42.:51:46.

homeless day service run by the Society of Saint James run seven

:51:47.:51:49.

days a week and provides advice on how to find a home. More than this

:51:50.:51:53.

it offers access to free shower and laundry services, and breakfast.

:51:54.:52:01.

There are 37 rough sleepers in the city and as cold weather is setting

:52:02.:52:06.

in, their predicament is more acute. The council recognises this. They

:52:07.:52:12.

can call upon 36 beds for rough sleepers from 8am until 8pm. During

:52:13.:52:19.

periods of severe cold, this can increase up to 44 beds. Meaning

:52:20.:52:23.

there is a bed, Bath and breakfast available to nearly every rough

:52:24.:52:26.

sleeper in our city during the coldest months of the year. I hope

:52:27.:52:31.

we can all agree on how important it is that local authorities support

:52:32.:52:35.

these services. There is much praise for the charity sector in my city as

:52:36.:52:40.

well. On Christmas Day, there will be two Christmas lunches for the

:52:41.:52:47.

homeless in the city. The lunch will be catered by the excellent food

:52:48.:52:53.

cycle Pompey. Volunteers prepare a three course meal from food that

:52:54.:52:58.

would otherwise be thrown away by supermarkets. The Salvation Army

:52:59.:53:01.

will hold their Christmas lunch where some of the people who have

:53:02.:53:06.

been referred to by the Council's homeless day service. I would like

:53:07.:53:10.

to thank everybody involved by with putting on those lunches. At

:53:11.:53:15.

Christmas, the burden of social exclusion can be unbearable and

:53:16.:53:18.

efforts to keep people in touch with others in the true spirit of the

:53:19.:53:22.

season. Ending the breakdown of the corporate family is the business of

:53:23.:53:26.

the children and social work Bill. As I've said before, parental duties

:53:27.:53:34.

do not lapse when I child -- when a child reaches adult. I am delighted

:53:35.:53:40.

that the bill looks to extend the duty of responsibility in care to

:53:41.:53:45.

the age of 25, and keeps care leavers off the streets. The home is

:53:46.:53:49.

this reduction Bill that I am pleased to served does similar work

:53:50.:53:54.

and I support the duties of local authorities who are involved before

:53:55.:53:57.

people become homeless. It would double the period of time supporters

:53:58.:54:02.

available. I have not focus today on bricks and mortar or hard cash of

:54:03.:54:05.

homelessness. They have been well ventilated by others but indeed, I

:54:06.:54:12.

hope to stress that there is more to homelessness than just being an

:54:13.:54:16.

housed. Families and their breakdowns, humans and their welfare

:54:17.:54:20.

and human dignity. In closing, let me urge those overtaken by these

:54:21.:54:25.

affairs to seek help as soon as possible and reiterate my thanks for

:54:26.:54:29.

those in Portsmouth and around the country, showing homeless people

:54:30.:54:36.

that they are valuable members of society. It is a national disgrace

:54:37.:54:41.

that we have got to a position as one of the most advanced nations on

:54:42.:54:45.

earth where so many people are faced with homelessness this winter.

:54:46.:54:47.

Honourable members across the house have seen the terrible human

:54:48.:54:51.

consequences of this on an individual scale in their own

:54:52.:54:55.

surgeries in my constituency is no different. Last official statistics

:54:56.:54:58.

show that we have six rough sleepers in my area but apart from the

:54:59.:55:04.

underestimation problem, that is six to many and we know that with over

:55:05.:55:10.

400 statutory homelessness cases since 2015, and over 2000 prevention

:55:11.:55:15.

and relief cases, gives an idea of the scale of the problem, even in an

:55:16.:55:21.

area well away from inner cities. I thank the Honourable member for

:55:22.:55:25.

giving way, the figure of six is pertinent, last years C LG said that

:55:26.:55:28.

there were six rough sleepers in my borough. The real figure is about

:55:29.:55:34.

five times that. Does she agree with me that part of solving the problem

:55:35.:55:38.

of homelessness and rough sleeping is for the government to know

:55:39.:55:41.

exactly be scared of the problem in the first place? I thank my

:55:42.:55:45.

honourable friend for that intervention and I will go on to

:55:46.:55:50.

talk about the hidden scale of homelessness, and it is incredibly

:55:51.:55:53.

imperative to do more research into finding more about that. Let me draw

:55:54.:55:58.

particular attention to the plight of homeless women and unique

:55:59.:56:01.

challenges that they face. We know there are different causes of

:56:02.:56:04.

homelessness for different groups and it is stark that Crisis estimate

:56:05.:56:11.

four fifths of women who are homeless in England are fleeing

:56:12.:56:16.

domestic violence. When I saw statistics to do with the scale of

:56:17.:56:21.

domestic violence, it was chilling to be told by some mangoes and

:56:22.:56:25.

Crisis that it was impossible to estimate for the reason that so many

:56:26.:56:30.

homeless women remain invisible because they are in fear of their

:56:31.:56:43.

lives. -- St Munos. -- St Mungo's. When women and couples with children

:56:44.:56:46.

and without children are factored in, over two thirds of that plug-ins

:56:47.:56:50.

were female, nearly 50,000 women in one year. Most of these are parents

:56:51.:56:54.

and there's a clear relation to the equally stark fact that there are

:56:55.:56:59.

120,000 children homeless this Christmas according to Shelter, a

:57:00.:57:02.

figure that we should all feel ashamed of in this house. Venting

:57:03.:57:07.

the problem is vital but let me talk about the reality of life for those

:57:08.:57:10.

women who, forward have reason, find themselves homeless.

:57:11.:57:17.

This highlights the problem faced by women when they acquire sanitary

:57:18.:57:22.

products. Whereas homeless shelters have allowed the government to

:57:23.:57:27.

provide items such as condoms, they have no allowance for female

:57:28.:57:31.

sanitary products. I have been horrified by the reports coming out

:57:32.:57:34.

of the campaign with the conditions in which homeless women are forced

:57:35.:57:39.

to live. Women faced with the choice of buying food or tampons, which is

:57:40.:57:45.

less dignified? Stealing sanitary products or doing without? It is

:57:46.:57:49.

enough of an affront to human dignity for a person to be homeless

:57:50.:57:53.

in the first place but it is multiplied by this fear and four

:57:54.:57:56.

women forced to sleep rough, it's a very real fear. It places a risk of

:57:57.:58:06.

health problems that women can ill afford when they are in one of the

:58:07.:58:10.

most vulnerable positions imaginable. I met Lara Compton who

:58:11.:58:13.

campaigned excessively on the tampon tax. They are calling for donations

:58:14.:58:20.

of sanitary products to food banks and homeless shelters so that no

:58:21.:58:23.

woman in such desperate circumstances is forced to suffer

:58:24.:58:27.

the indignities I just described. Let me place on record my thanks to

:58:28.:58:31.

law and those campaigning on this vital issue for the work they are

:58:32.:58:34.

doing to improve the lives of some of the most vulnerable women in

:58:35.:58:37.

society. I'm pleased to be able to tell the house that just this week I

:58:38.:58:42.

have worked with Boots to set up a pilot scheme where they will

:58:43.:59:02.

donate then Terry Brooks to food banks and encourage donations from

:59:03.:59:05.

their customers in store. We start this in my own constituency this

:59:06.:59:08.

winter and if it is successful I hope it can be replicated up and

:59:09.:59:11.

down the country. But Madam Deputy Speaker it is not enough to simply

:59:12.:59:13.

rely on charity. The government must intervene sooner rather than later,

:59:14.:59:16.

it is not for them to choose between tackling between symptom or cause.

:59:17.:59:18.

When I began to campaign in this house on the tampon tax, some

:59:19.:59:20.

members recalled, while others did not want to talk about periods or

:59:21.:59:23.

tampons as if the words themselves were obscene. Do not regret such

:59:24.:59:26.

providing a -- I do not regret providing a culture shock, but

:59:27.:59:31.

access to sanitary care is a widespread and terribly

:59:32.:59:33.

underestimated issue. As the campaign says, it does not bear

:59:34.:59:37.

thinking about and that is the problem. Too close, I hope the

:59:38.:59:41.

honourable member is on all sides and in particular the minister today

:59:42.:59:44.

will bear thinking about it today and will not only acknowledge the

:59:45.:59:47.

problem that begin to find solutions.

:59:48.:59:51.

It is a great, great pleasure to follow the honourable member of the

:59:52.:59:57.

Dewsbury and absolutely fantastic in terms of the work she is doing in

:59:58.:00:01.

the area of tampons and feeding the homeless. As a member of the

:00:02.:00:06.

community and local Government select committee, I have seen for

:00:07.:00:08.

myself the challenges of homelessness. Nobody should have to

:00:09.:00:12.

live on the streets and not only do too many do so, but many more --

:00:13.:00:17.

many more this paycheques from joining them are any one or two

:00:18.:00:24.

missed paycheques. So few people have savings in place and so many of

:00:25.:00:31.

us are so close to death and when we do find ourselves in rental arrears,

:00:32.:00:39.

C CJs, which stop you from getting further tenancy agreements, blight

:00:40.:00:42.

the lives of thousands across this country. I thought my honourable

:00:43.:00:45.

friend the Minister made a very brave speech earlier on in terms of

:00:46.:00:51.

saying that there were failings and actually, rough sleeping is not good

:00:52.:00:55.

enough in this country, in this economy and this time. I thought

:00:56.:00:59.

that was very brave in the face of a very poised and also very political

:01:00.:01:05.

speech from the spokesman opposite in that respect, so I can graduate

:01:06.:01:09.

of the Minister in that regard. But his point stands. I do genuinely

:01:10.:01:12.

believe there is a step change going on right now and I think that many

:01:13.:01:17.

of the statistics that have been mentioned in this debate, I won't

:01:18.:01:21.

rehash them because of limited time and we don't need to go through it

:01:22.:01:24.

all again, so to speak, but the realities are that I believe there

:01:25.:01:28.

is this step change and what we all need to see is working together, as

:01:29.:01:32.

the Member for Westminster North mentioned, interconnectivity, people

:01:33.:01:38.

need to stop working in silos and on that I will finish. Does he agree

:01:39.:01:44.

with me that it is important that local authorities work together with

:01:45.:01:48.

the LGA to tackle the pernicious practice, born of desperation, of

:01:49.:01:53.

local authority shackling their homeless people around the country

:01:54.:01:56.

to other local authorities, sometimes in the hands of rapacious

:01:57.:02:00.

private landlords who use housing benefit regulations loopholes to get

:02:01.:02:05.

more money and that sometimes means serving a section 21 notices on

:02:06.:02:10.

existing tenants? He makes a good point. I know for a fact that this

:02:11.:02:14.

is something that occurs within his own constituency and he has seen the

:02:15.:02:19.

dramatic effects on people. I think the clearest example of the

:02:20.:02:26.

Government's determination to tackle rough sleeping is to support the

:02:27.:02:30.

homeless reduction Bill, which was tabled by my friend the Member for

:02:31.:02:35.

Harrow East, drawn up by colleagues on the committee and based on

:02:36.:02:39.

independent research and findings. The bill seeks to mandate councils

:02:40.:02:43.

to provide 56 days of support to homeless individuals and make sure

:02:44.:02:48.

that other services refer people at risk of homelessness to the

:02:49.:02:52.

council's Housing team. Most importantly, Madam Deputy Speaker,

:02:53.:02:56.

it will enquire local -- require local authorities to help at risk

:02:57.:02:59.

individuals find accommodation before they end up on the streets.

:03:00.:03:04.

Not no second night sleeping out, no first night sleeping out. This sort

:03:05.:03:09.

of early intervention is absolutely crucial, Madam Deputy Speaker, to

:03:10.:03:14.

tackling these problems for the cost, both financial and human,

:03:15.:03:21.

start to mount. In my Patchell Solihull, it aims to meet the needs

:03:22.:03:25.

of those already on the streets. But prevention has become the sole

:03:26.:03:30.

central focus of the current strategy, with the council and

:03:31.:03:35.

partners cooperating to identify and assist vulnerable households, those

:03:36.:03:38.

who are in immediate danger of a member of that household becoming

:03:39.:03:44.

homeless. I am pleased to report that our council is now past the

:03:45.:03:47.

first stage to achieving the goal stand it for homeless and housing

:03:48.:03:53.

advice services -- gold standard. They have pledged not to rest until

:03:54.:03:57.

they reach the goal and so little support services are needed and

:03:58.:04:06.

deservedly so. As my colleagues have said before, there is a lot of

:04:07.:04:09.

hidden homeless, even in seemingly well-to-do areas and in terms of

:04:10.:04:14.

sofa surfing etc. Unfortunately, this standard of care is not

:04:15.:04:19.

universal and I was shocked by what was mentioned by the honourable

:04:20.:04:22.

member for Erdington that earlier this month, many of my constituents

:04:23.:04:25.

were shocked to hear of a young man freezing to death in neighbouring

:04:26.:04:30.

Birmingham and I hope and believe the homeless reduction Bill will

:04:31.:04:35.

help to focus minds on the human cost of homelessness and guide local

:04:36.:04:40.

authorities towards effective policies, remedial where necessary.

:04:41.:04:44.

Passing the homelessness reduction Bill into law will be a great step

:04:45.:04:48.

towards tackling homelessness in the best way, by stopping people

:04:49.:04:52.

becoming homeless in the first place. That has to be drawn up

:04:53.:04:57.

usually via select committee. It demonstrates the depth of concern

:04:58.:05:01.

this has and outside right now, that we need to rise for the challenge as

:05:02.:05:08.

a Government, as a country and opposition parties together and the

:05:09.:05:10.

Government supporters homelessness bill is proof they share that

:05:11.:05:19.

mission as well. I am speaking in this debate today because I am

:05:20.:05:22.

angry, angry that in one of the richest countries in the world, the

:05:23.:05:27.

number of people sleeping rough on our streets is going up. I'm angry

:05:28.:05:33.

because the number of families faced in temporary accommodation is

:05:34.:05:37.

increasing and I'm angry that the cuts to housing benefit mean more

:05:38.:05:40.

and more of my constituents are unable to cover their rent and find

:05:41.:05:45.

themselves out on the streets with their belongings. I am angry, but I

:05:46.:05:54.

am also sad. I am sad that if you are on the minimum wage in an area

:05:55.:05:57.

like mine and you don't have a council or hosing Macca delete

:05:58.:06:02.

Housing Association property, your chances of finding somewhere decent

:06:03.:06:07.

or affordable to live are close to zero and I am also sad that it is

:06:08.:06:12.

children that often paid a highs prize. Families placed in B and Bs,

:06:13.:06:18.

miles away from their children's school, because the authority is

:06:19.:06:23.

unable to source local properties at an affordable rent. When I became an

:06:24.:06:27.

MP six years ago, it was uncommon for anyone to visit my advice

:06:28.:06:31.

surgery, because they were rough sleeper. One common but not unknown.

:06:32.:06:36.

Men who would ride night buses trying to keep warm, some finding

:06:37.:06:41.

shelter in disused garages or in parks. Now it is commonplace. At one

:06:42.:06:48.

advice surgery in October, I saw four people in the space of as many

:06:49.:06:53.

hours, all of whom were set to sleep outside that evening. It could be

:06:54.:07:01.

the people my constituents see on a daily basis, on a mattress,

:07:02.:07:05.

underneath the Arches, next to Lewisham station, in sleeping bags,

:07:06.:07:10.

or huddled called on wet cardboard outside the BP garage on Lee high

:07:11.:07:15.

Road. It is all too easy. It is easy to walk by and think it is someone

:07:16.:07:20.

else's problem. It is not, though, it is our problem and as a country,

:07:21.:07:28.

we need to fix it. Doshi share my view that this is not a problem that

:07:29.:07:33.

drops out of the sky? This problem of homelessness and the explosion of

:07:34.:07:38.

people using food banks is consequent on the Government policy

:07:39.:07:42.

of the last six years. There is a consensus in the House about doing

:07:43.:07:46.

something about homelessness, it has come from Government policy. I

:07:47.:07:51.

totally agree with my honourable friend and I said in my intervention

:07:52.:07:57.

on the minister earlier, the fact that the previous Government cut the

:07:58.:08:01.

National affordable housing building programme by 63% in 2011 as an awful

:08:02.:08:08.

lot to answer for. I want to share one story with colleagues which

:08:09.:08:11.

underlines the need for change. A few weeks ago at my advice surgery

:08:12.:08:18.

in Dagenham, I met a man called Terry. Terry isn't his real name,

:08:19.:08:21.

but for reasons that will become obvious, he doesn't want his real

:08:22.:08:27.

name known. Terry is in his 60s and works with young men at risk of

:08:28.:08:30.

getting into trouble with the law. He has lived alone for the last few

:08:31.:08:33.

years, having gone through a divorce. Terry used to pave ?650 a

:08:34.:08:41.

month for a one-bedroom flat, cheap by Lewisham standards, but then the

:08:42.:08:45.

rent doubled overnight. He couldn't afford it and he had to move out.

:08:46.:08:51.

Terry now sleeps in Navan. He hasn't told his children because he is too

:08:52.:08:55.

embarrassed -- in a van. He can't get help on the council because he

:08:56.:09:01.

is not deemed to be in priority need. When I hear Conservative

:09:02.:09:05.

politicians say if you can't afford to live in London, you should move

:09:06.:09:08.

out, I wonder whether they mean people like Terry, people who

:09:09.:09:14.

haven't done anything wrong and quite a lot right. When I met

:09:15.:09:22.

Terry... I will give way. Name the Conservative politician, was at a

:09:23.:09:25.

council or a member of Parliament? I just wondered where that quote came

:09:26.:09:29.

from. Thank you for that intervention. Anyone listening to

:09:30.:09:32.

the rhetoric of the last parliament will be under no illusions about

:09:33.:09:37.

what certain members of the past Government were saying. Madam Deputy

:09:38.:09:41.

Speaker, I say this to Government on behalf of my constituents - wake up.

:09:42.:09:46.

Wake up and invest in social housing. Wake up and build homes

:09:47.:09:51.

people can afford to live in. Wake up and stop pumping money into the

:09:52.:09:57.

bank accounts of private landlords and Bill social housing instead --

:09:58.:10:03.

build social housing instead. I have spoken before in this chamber about

:10:04.:10:08.

the disparity that can exist between a housing benefits paid out on

:10:09.:10:11.

Private rented property and social housing. I won't give way because I

:10:12.:10:17.

think I have already had my injury time. Madam Deputy Speaker, if you

:10:18.:10:23.

take to families in receipt of full housing benefit in my constituency,

:10:24.:10:27.

one in a two bedroomed Private rented flat and one in a two bed

:10:28.:10:32.

council flat, the annual benefit paid on the Private rented property

:10:33.:10:40.

is almost ?9,000 for than that paid on the Council flat. We can't afford

:10:41.:10:45.

to go on like this. We all know, and the Chancellor confirmed as much a

:10:46.:10:50.

few weeks back, that the public finances are likely to be shot to

:10:51.:10:55.

pieces as a result of Brexit. I fear for my constituents in of these

:10:56.:11:01.

circumstances and it makes it all the more important that the

:11:02.:11:05.

Government makes the right choices. The fund local authorities

:11:06.:11:11.

adequately, shift the public subsidy from benefits to bricks and mortar

:11:12.:11:16.

and build social housing. Until we do that, Madam Deputy Speaker, any

:11:17.:11:21.

attempts to tackle homelessness will always be destined to fail. Bob

:11:22.:11:29.

Blackman. Thank you Madam Deputy Speaker and a pleasure to follow the

:11:30.:11:32.

honourable member for Lewisham East who made such a powerful case on

:11:33.:11:36.

behalf of her area and I draw the House's attempts to my entry in the

:11:37.:11:43.

register. The cause of homelessness is varied. It is all too easy for us

:11:44.:11:49.

to centre on one particular issue. I apologise that I wasn't present for

:11:50.:11:55.

the front bench speech, I was in another committee meeting elsewhere

:11:56.:11:58.

and because of the timing of the debate, I was held up, but the

:11:59.:12:02.

reality is this, that under the last Labour Government, homelessness

:12:03.:12:09.

peaked in 2003-4 at over 300,000 applications. By 2010, because of

:12:10.:12:14.

action the Labour Government took, it had dropped dramatically and it

:12:15.:12:18.

has been rising steadily ever since. It is quite clear that we have do

:12:19.:12:24.

address that. Now, I'm very thankful to all the comments that have been

:12:25.:12:28.

made about by homelessness reduction Bill and I thank everyone who has

:12:29.:12:32.

spoken in the debates at second reading and is serving on the Bill

:12:33.:12:37.

Committee as we still take that bill through, and I look forward to it

:12:38.:12:42.

returning to this place early in 2017, going to the House of Lords

:12:43.:12:46.

and eventually becoming law. That is only one part of the jigsaw puzzle

:12:47.:12:52.

to actually solve homelessness. I am quite clear that we have to deal

:12:53.:12:56.

with the problem of supply above or else and it is clear that we need to

:12:57.:13:01.

do other things as well -- above all else. If we don't build proper

:13:02.:13:06.

affordable housing, quite clearly, we are never going to solve this

:13:07.:13:12.

problem. I thank my honourable friend way and also commend him on

:13:13.:13:15.

the work he is doing with this bill and on the point he just made, would

:13:16.:13:21.

he with me that a zeal for private home ownership at all costs is at

:13:22.:13:24.

the very root of this problem if we are going to tackle this longer term

:13:25.:13:29.

and we do need to have more affordable homes and a genuine

:13:30.:13:31.

housing mix and that is the only way we are going to help people in the

:13:32.:13:35.

future to manage to stay away from homelessness and a sustainable

:13:36.:13:36.

solution. Quite clearly, we have a problem

:13:37.:13:45.

that governments of all persuasions, as the minister rightly said, had

:13:46.:13:49.

failed to build another housing for almost 40 years. We have a problem

:13:50.:13:54.

that the reality is, the private sector will never build enough

:13:55.:13:59.

housing alone. I think that we have had the announcement of the

:14:00.:14:04.

settlement for London with ?3.15 billion for 90,000 affordable homes

:14:05.:14:08.

to be built across London in the next three years. That is a great

:14:09.:14:12.

settlement. Now incumbent on everyone to get on with building

:14:13.:14:17.

those properties. Public land is available where those properties can

:14:18.:14:21.

be built and it can help. But, I will also say that homelessness, we

:14:22.:14:27.

must divide it into two categories. Rough sleepers on the street and at

:14:28.:14:34.

severe risk. Their health is bad, they are likely to be attacked,

:14:35.:14:37.

these people are on the streets for the first time and rich creamy

:14:38.:14:42.

-- are extremely bleak vulnerable. They could die as a result of

:14:43.:14:49.

sleeping rough and it is a scandal in this day and age. They cost the

:14:50.:14:56.

health services huge amount of money and are likely to be addicted to

:14:57.:15:00.

drugs, alcohol or tobacco and you cannot blame them for that. They are

:15:01.:15:05.

in a spiral of despair. We had to come together as a house to make

:15:06.:15:09.

sure nobody gets to the stages of sleeping rough. We also have the

:15:10.:15:14.

problem of the hidden homeless. So for sleepers, people staying with

:15:15.:15:18.

family and friends until they exhaust all of them and end up on

:15:19.:15:22.

the streets. Unless we address that issue, we will not solve the problem

:15:23.:15:26.

and equally, dealing with rough sleepers. I was out last night with

:15:27.:15:32.

a brilliant team from St Mungo's. Identifying people in the streets of

:15:33.:15:36.

the City of London sleeping rough. It is quite clear that those

:15:37.:15:41.

individuals have complex needs. There is no magic solution to say,

:15:42.:15:45.

let's give them somewhere to live or to sleep, and that is the end of the

:15:46.:15:50.

problem. They need counselling, support, a whole package of measures

:15:51.:15:56.

to help them get back on their feet and live what we would all call a

:15:57.:16:02.

normal life. Unfortunately, just providing accommodation is not

:16:03.:16:05.

sufficient and I think that is very important. And equally it is quite

:16:06.:16:09.

clear one of the problems in society now is private sector landlords are

:16:10.:16:15.

reluctant to give homes for rent to those people who are homeless. I

:16:16.:16:18.

would ask the government to look at a national deposit scheme so that

:16:19.:16:23.

people who are in need of housing in the private sector can get that

:16:24.:16:31.

deposit provided at a national level rather than relying on local

:16:32.:16:34.

authorities identifying the deposit. So actually then, we can secure by

:16:35.:16:39.

that rented accommodation for people who are not in priority need. I

:16:40.:16:45.

think it would make a huge difference to the numbers of people

:16:46.:16:48.

currently declared as homeless and not assisted because we know that

:16:49.:16:53.

one of the challenges is when you are in difficulty here, finding the

:16:54.:16:57.

deposit to either buy a house, if you are trying to do that, or in a

:16:58.:17:01.

private rented area. That is something I think that the

:17:02.:17:04.

government should be looking at. I am looking forward to the

:17:05.:17:08.

publication of the White Paper, that we are going to see on developing

:17:09.:17:13.

new homes and the Housing strategy. I think one of the issues we must be

:17:14.:17:18.

clear on is that housing is a market and if you begin to interfere with a

:17:19.:17:22.

market you have unintended consequences. I trust my honourable

:17:23.:17:27.

friend, my right honourable friend is on the front bench, have

:17:28.:17:31.

considered all of these aspects and rather than tinkering with some of

:17:32.:17:35.

these measures, we will get on with a national house-building programme

:17:36.:17:39.

that we can all be proud of. We can get on with measures that help to

:17:40.:17:45.

alleviate those prices and I look forward to other announcements that

:17:46.:17:49.

will no doubt follow and measures to reduce rough sleeping, I think, are

:17:50.:17:54.

absolutely paramount. If we do not address it quickly, we are going to

:17:55.:18:02.

lose too many people too early. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Let

:18:03.:18:07.

me take the opportunity to applaud my honourable friend is on the front

:18:08.:18:10.

bench in their efforts for delivering this important and timely

:18:11.:18:16.

debate today. I've witnessed the problem of homelessness first-hand

:18:17.:18:19.

volunteering with Crisis at Christmas, handing out hundreds of

:18:20.:18:23.

turkey dinners to vulnerable people. I saw homelessness to what -- for

:18:24.:18:29.

what it is. It is not because of addicts or mental health issues, it

:18:30.:18:32.

is summing that can happen to us all. We are only three steps away

:18:33.:18:37.

from homelessness. You lose your job, your partner and your house. It

:18:38.:18:44.

can happen to anyone. After years of what is being called unprecedented

:18:45.:18:48.

decline, homelessness is back on the rise. Rough sleeping has doubled,

:18:49.:18:53.

families living in emergency bed and breakfast and hostel rooms in

:18:54.:18:57.

Britain is up by 18% in one year. Homeless households have increased

:18:58.:19:03.

by 44% and 120,000 children are homeless this Christmas. We see it

:19:04.:19:07.

every day on our way in and out of work. People sleeping in the

:19:08.:19:11.

entrances to Parliament in cardboard boxes and in sleeping bags. It is

:19:12.:19:16.

not confined to city centres. My constituency is not somewhere one

:19:17.:19:21.

would normally associate with homelessness. As I have said before

:19:22.:19:29.

Madam Deputy Speaker in this house, when I was six, my family fell

:19:30.:19:33.

behind on mortgage repayments and we had to hand the keys back to the

:19:34.:19:37.

building society of our home. The council stepped in and found us a

:19:38.:19:44.

new home. 14,000 people on the council housing waiting list. If

:19:45.:19:47.

what happened to us then happened now, I do not know what would have

:19:48.:19:52.

become of me and my family. Perhaps we too would have had to rely on the

:19:53.:19:57.

kindness of strangers in an emergency bed and breakfast or on

:19:58.:20:01.

the streets. We know that the situation is getting worse, not

:20:02.:20:06.

better. I was told just yesterday that a centre has seen a 15%

:20:07.:20:11.

year-on-year increase in the people coming through their doors. What

:20:12.:20:15.

stood out for me was the conversation that we had, not all of

:20:16.:20:18.

those who use the centre is what we would normally deem as being

:20:19.:20:22.

homeless. They are not sleeping on the streets, most of them, they are

:20:23.:20:26.

actually sofa surfing until goodwill runs out and they need to move onto

:20:27.:20:31.

other friends. His explanation for the increases threefold. At the

:20:32.:20:36.

church, for two days the week, they do not have to pay for heating. They

:20:37.:20:40.

get a hot meal and a food parcel to take away. Let us not forget that

:20:41.:20:45.

they also get companionship. Something that must be thin on the

:20:46.:20:48.

ground as you are forced by circumstance to keep moving on. As

:20:49.:20:54.

the honourable members spoke just earlier, one third of households who

:20:55.:21:00.

become homeless did so when their private rented tenancy ended.

:21:01.:21:03.

Meaning that we need to adapt to the needs of the growing number of

:21:04.:21:07.

families who rent. Longer term, secure tenancies with affordable

:21:08.:21:11.

rent increases are essential because homelessness is not always due to a

:21:12.:21:15.

loss of a home but often due to an inability to find a new one. With

:21:16.:21:20.

Crisis telling us that deposit is averaged nearly ?1200 with agency

:21:21.:21:26.

fees on top, it is easy to see how a family ends up in financial

:21:27.:21:29.

difficulties. I applaud the honourable members called for those

:21:30.:21:36.

faced with homelessness because although the government's support

:21:37.:21:40.

for the homelessness reduction bill in Harrow is welcomed, as long as it

:21:41.:21:47.

is fully funded it does not address lack of support for private renters

:21:48.:21:51.

or a chronic lack of investment in affordable homes. I welcome my

:21:52.:21:56.

honourable friend Falls Road worth and donors pledge to eradicate rough

:21:57.:22:00.

sleeping in the first term of Labour government. I know that he has sent

:22:01.:22:04.

his proposals to the Prime Minister and I hope members opposite can give

:22:05.:22:07.

assurances that they will be seriously considered. Every single

:22:08.:22:12.

expert, organisation and member of this house knows that the only

:22:13.:22:16.

long-term solution to homelessness is to build genuinely affordable

:22:17.:22:19.

homes for families to live in. A home that they can afford is not

:22:20.:22:24.

just bricks and mortar but stability and security. Let's not find

:22:25.:22:28.

ourselves back in this place at this time next year debating the same

:22:29.:22:35.

issues. Those 120,000 children deserve better and we cannot let

:22:36.:22:44.

them down. What does homelessness actually entail? In the words of

:22:45.:22:48.

Rachael Morrison in her excellent book, the word homeless seems to

:22:49.:22:54.

present the condition as a single lack. But it is many individual

:22:55.:23:00.

deficiencies combined. The worst are emotional, but mentioning physical

:23:01.:23:06.

challenges first, one aspect is exhaustion. Caused by several

:23:07.:23:09.

different factors, including sleep deprivation, hunger and a constant

:23:10.:23:18.

need to remain on the move. This explanation is insightful because it

:23:19.:23:27.

shows how. It is a struggle that homeless people content with on a

:23:28.:23:34.

daily basis. Sleeping on one friend's sofa, then it's a day and

:23:35.:23:40.

another day. Then, a doorway is used, probably nearby, and then you

:23:41.:23:45.

drift. You have to acknowledge then that you are homeless. It did not

:23:46.:23:50.

start this way. We never expect that we will become a homeless person.

:23:51.:23:59.

How damaging to your self-esteem and health visit when you realise that

:24:00.:24:03.

homelessness has become a reality? In Scotland, the number of

:24:04.:24:07.

homelessness applications is decreasing. 294 applicants are in my

:24:08.:24:18.

constituency, which is 294 to many. We have made progress, and Shelter

:24:19.:24:25.

have indicated that there is no change in the number of

:24:26.:24:28.

homelessness. Almost those who made applications are single males, and

:24:29.:24:35.

16% are single females with a child. Shamefully, many of those people are

:24:36.:24:40.

ex-service personnel, people who made the highest commitment to serve

:24:41.:24:43.

their country and have not received the support they deserve. Although

:24:44.:24:46.

homelessness is primarily tackled by the UK,. The right to buy was not

:24:47.:24:58.

reinforced by a need to build. According to Scotland's statistics,

:24:59.:25:03.

we have lost 250,000 homes as a result of the right to buy,

:25:04.:25:08.

thousands that are of dubious quality remain, one in ten are

:25:09.:25:13.

affected by dampness or condensation, it is estimated.

:25:14.:25:17.

Scotland ended right to buy, 16,000 were built in the last year. I hope

:25:18.:25:27.

to see this issue prioritised as a matter as homelessness is increasing

:25:28.:25:32.

and being stigmatised. Crisis spoke to 450 people sleeping rough, or had

:25:33.:25:36.

done in the last year, and they said they were facing ever more hostile

:25:37.:25:42.

straits. Councils, developers and businesses are employing defensive

:25:43.:25:47.

architecture. Concrete studs placed on flat areas to prevent homeless

:25:48.:25:51.

people from finding a place to sleep. It makes you wonder about the

:25:52.:25:55.

threat and why we need to defend ourselves from it. A compassionate

:25:56.:26:00.

society should not implying the deal. Strategies -- medieval

:26:01.:26:09.

strategies. Being told to disappear, you are not wanted. It is an issue

:26:10.:26:14.

of priorities. Some apartments are brought up as investments, and we

:26:15.:26:20.

should be building social housing. In these to be dealt with in a

:26:21.:26:25.

compassionate way. To help people build their own lives. The current

:26:26.:26:27.

system does not provide that support. Addressing social ills,

:26:28.:26:34.

protect the most honourable from becoming homeless. We should explore

:26:35.:26:40.

the possibility as the system is in need of fundamental reform.

:26:41.:26:44.

Homelessness is a complex issue. It cannot be eliminated through money

:26:45.:26:49.

and legislation. It is not about housing but it -- a product of

:26:50.:26:59.

domestic abuse, and addiction. It can happen to anyone from any

:27:00.:27:04.

background. We should never allow ourselves to accept homelessness in

:27:05.:27:08.

a modern society. It does not need to happen. Complacency in the

:27:09.:27:13.

government will result in a failure to tackle this issue. The mismanaged

:27:14.:27:19.

welfare system is producing increased pressure on homelessness

:27:20.:27:22.

services. My fear that progress being made at Holyrood is undermined

:27:23.:27:28.

by what is happening at Westminster. They do not care that local

:27:29.:27:36.

authorities -- about local authorities but need support. We

:27:37.:27:39.

need to ensure that they receive that support. Thank you Madam Deputy

:27:40.:27:42.

Speaker. I'm very proud of the Welsh

:27:43.:27:50.

Government's record on tackling homelessness. The Welsh Government

:27:51.:27:53.

has provided affordable homes to rent as well as by, pledged to

:27:54.:27:59.

protect its supported people budget for homeless services. Local

:28:00.:28:03.

authorities in Wales are not forced to sell vacant homes to the highest

:28:04.:28:07.

bidder in order to create funds for the Exchequer. Since 2011, Welsh

:28:08.:28:13.

local authorities has suspended the right to buy schemes in suspended

:28:14.:28:17.

areas, experiencing high demands for housing, in order to preserve the

:28:18.:28:23.

stock of affordable homes. My own blood cancer, the city council of

:28:24.:28:26.

Swansea, have recently broken ground on a pilot scheme to build 18 passes

:28:27.:28:34.

as standard energy efficient homes. This standard plan is just the first

:28:35.:28:38.

page that could lead to thousands of new homes across Swansea. And these

:28:39.:28:43.

homes have the potential to offer an annual, yes, annual, three of ?70

:28:44.:28:53.

per annum. The first homes will be occupied this coming March. They are

:28:54.:28:57.

a forward-thinking, ambitious local authority preparing for a future and

:28:58.:29:01.

offering solutions not just to homelessness but also poverty. Just

:29:02.:29:08.

on the point she is raising the of Swansea Council, lots of Welsh local

:29:09.:29:15.

authorities are moving out of building more council housing

:29:16.:29:18.

because of the support from the Welsh Government for tackling

:29:19.:29:22.

homelessness and building social housing. Would she agree would be

:29:23.:29:25.

that local Government and Welsh Government is showing the way on how

:29:26.:29:28.

we can tackle homelessness and affordable housing? I certainly do

:29:29.:29:33.

and I will be coming to that. Right across Wales, it is intended to

:29:34.:29:37.

reduce homelessness by utilising what the Private -- both the private

:29:38.:29:44.

and public housing sectors and it has been to fund proactive schemes

:29:45.:29:49.

to prevent homelessness. My local authorities are pioneers in this

:29:50.:29:55.

area. Between 2015 and 2016, over 7,000 households were threatened

:29:56.:29:59.

with impending homelessness, but the Welsh Government were able to

:30:00.:30:04.

prevent 65% of this figure from becoming homeless. This proves that

:30:05.:30:08.

local authorities like mine and others right across Wales are

:30:09.:30:13.

working with Welsh Government to understand and tackle this problem.

:30:14.:30:18.

Maybe it is time the Westminster Government took a leaf out of the

:30:19.:30:24.

Welsh Government and the Welsh local authorities on how to tackle

:30:25.:30:34.

homelessness book. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, I was taken by

:30:35.:30:45.

surprise. The motion before us today notes that 120,000 people will be

:30:46.:30:50.

homeless this Christmas. This is a fact that will alarm every member of

:30:51.:30:55.

this House and shame them for inaction. The levels of homelessness

:30:56.:30:59.

across the UK show the consequences of ignoring the most vulnerable in

:31:00.:31:03.

society and they can be no excuses that the number of people sleeping

:31:04.:31:09.

rough has doubled from 2010 to 2015. While the Government is refusing to

:31:10.:31:13.

acknowledge the rising levels of homelessness, I am glad to see a

:31:14.:31:17.

different approach taken by the Welsh Government. In contrast to

:31:18.:31:21.

Westminster, the First Minister and his Government have shown time and

:31:22.:31:23.

again they are not afraid to tackle the problem head-on. Unlike the UK

:31:24.:31:29.

Government, the Welsh Government have continued to fund affordable

:31:30.:31:34.

homes to rent and buy, allow councils to suspend the right to buy

:31:35.:31:38.

in areas of high pressure and not forced authorities to sell vacant

:31:39.:31:42.

homes to the highest bidder. On top of this, the Welsh Government has

:31:43.:31:47.

also introduced an act to focus on prevention and despite significant

:31:48.:31:53.

budget pressures, provided the significant resources. I will

:31:54.:31:59.

happily give way. I thank the honourable member for giving way and

:32:00.:32:02.

on that specific issue, is he aware that taking the total number for the

:32:03.:32:07.

whole of Wales of people presenting themselves as homeless is less than

:32:08.:32:14.

the homeless presented to the single borough of the London Borough of

:32:15.:32:19.

Lambeth? I act knowledge it and I understand what the honourable

:32:20.:32:23.

gentleman is saying that I'm trying to stress there are different and

:32:24.:32:27.

more positive approaches to tackling homelessness and the Welsh

:32:28.:32:29.

Government is leading the way in that. The Housing act is to reduce

:32:30.:32:36.

homelessness through stronger prevention and despite pressures,

:32:37.:32:40.

provide necessary funding and resources. I am incredibly proud of

:32:41.:32:44.

the action taken by the Welsh Government and equally proud of the

:32:45.:32:46.

work of the last Labour Government in this House and their efforts, and

:32:47.:32:51.

when Labour are in Government, be it in Wales or the UK as a whole,

:32:52.:32:58.

homelessness falls. Under two previous Labour prime ministers,

:32:59.:33:00.

statutory homelessness fell by almost two thirds and the number of

:33:01.:33:04.

people sleeping rough fell by three quarters. In Wales, in the first

:33:05.:33:11.

year of the Welsh Government Housing act, 75% of houses are assessed as

:33:12.:33:21.

at a thread of homelessness -- as at threat of homelessness were

:33:22.:33:24.

prevented. Labour governments have repeatedly shown it is possible to

:33:25.:33:30.

take action and I hope this Government will today take note and

:33:31.:33:39.

work to help find everybody a home. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I

:33:40.:33:43.

met a former constituent of mine today at a community event in my

:33:44.:33:47.

constituency. I first met her two years ago as she was being evicted

:33:48.:33:51.

from her private sector home with her young children while she was

:33:52.:33:55.

receiving treatment for cancer. She was moved out of my constituency

:33:56.:33:59.

into temporary accommodation and two years later, she is still there. She

:34:00.:34:04.

said I saw something about homelessness on the news this

:34:05.:34:08.

morning. Is that about people like me? Are they going to do something.

:34:09.:34:12.

I would like to be able to say to her at the end of this debate that

:34:13.:34:15.

the Government has made a commitment to sort out homelessness. Late last

:34:16.:34:20.

night, I checked my e-mails and found a message of from a

:34:21.:34:25.

constituent I have been supporting overview issues over the last month

:34:26.:34:29.

and he had come home to find a private landlord had changed the

:34:30.:34:33.

locks, leaving he and his wife and two very young children, who were

:34:34.:34:36.

running a fever, out on the street with nowhere to go. And a

:34:37.:34:39.

constituent the other week was crying as she told me how hard it

:34:40.:34:43.

was to be living in temporary accommodation. It is living out of

:34:44.:34:48.

boxes and bags, she said. All I want is to make a

:34:49.:34:59.

home for my kids but I can't while we are living out of boxes and bags.

:35:00.:35:04.

These stories are devastating but absolutely typical of the

:35:05.:35:05.

experiences of thousands of people who are not sleeping rough but who

:35:06.:35:08.

nevertheless don't have the security of a permanent home. Families are

:35:09.:35:12.

facing Christmas without the essential security and comfort of a

:35:13.:35:17.

home and it is a disgrace. I am pleased to be supporting the

:35:18.:35:20.

homelessness reduction Bill and working with colleagues on detail on

:35:21.:35:25.

it. It responds directly to evidence we heard on the inquiry into

:35:26.:35:29.

homelessness that the statutory framework governing support for

:35:30.:35:31.

homeless people is not fit for purpose and is not working because

:35:32.:35:36.

it allows too many people to go unsupported. But critical to the

:35:37.:35:40.

success of this bill is the Government's commitment to resource

:35:41.:35:44.

it and the level of resource. We are almost at the committee stage of the

:35:45.:35:48.

bill and we still do not know how or at what level governments will

:35:49.:35:52.

resource councils to implement duties and burdens the bill will

:35:53.:35:54.

introduce and I hope the Minister will take the opportunity to confirm

:35:55.:36:00.

this in summing up. The bill is a necessary reform and it is important

:36:01.:36:04.

the Government recognises it only addresses one part of the problem.

:36:05.:36:08.

Supply is fundamental but so is the nature of that supply. Evidence that

:36:09.:36:12.

the select committee has heard on our inquiry into capacity of home

:36:13.:36:20.

building shows problems in the public sector and the private sector

:36:21.:36:23.

that is maxed out in terms of homes it will deliver. We just returned

:36:24.:36:28.

from a visit to Berlin where we learned of the significant public

:36:29.:36:32.

sector resources in terms of land, loans and direct public subsidy that

:36:33.:36:37.

goes into delivering high levels of social housing at genuinely

:36:38.:36:40.

affordable rates. We have only ever delivered the number of homes needed

:36:41.:36:44.

to keep pace with demand in the UK, in the post-war period where the UK

:36:45.:36:48.

sector was delivering many thousands of homes. I await the housing White

:36:49.:36:53.

Paper with anticipation and hope to see in it of the policies we need to

:36:54.:36:57.

make a huge shift in the rate of home building in this country. In

:36:58.:37:02.

the meantime, we are left with a Private sector. I sat through weeks

:37:03.:37:06.

of the damning piece of legislation last year that did nothing about

:37:07.:37:10.

this single biggest cause of homelessness and while I support the

:37:11.:37:13.

banning of letting agents fees to tenants, it is only one of the

:37:14.:37:18.

issues urgently in need of reform. We need better security of tenure

:37:19.:37:22.

and in London in particular, limit the number of rent increase that can

:37:23.:37:26.

be charged during the terms of a tenancy. The Government must not be

:37:27.:37:32.

complacent that support for the homelessness reduction Bill means

:37:33.:37:36.

they can tick the box of having supported grid sold homelessness and

:37:37.:37:41.

I have the Minister will give us the information on what the Government

:37:42.:37:47.

is going to do to increase the building and change the private

:37:48.:37:54.

sector. I give tribute to the organisations across this country

:37:55.:37:56.

and in my constituency who will be supporting homelessness this

:37:57.:38:01.

Christmas, whether through food banks are providing direct shelter

:38:02.:38:05.

and food to those in need and to the many volunteers who helped to make

:38:06.:38:09.

those operations over this period happen, because they are a reminder

:38:10.:38:13.

that we are a compassionate nation. We find homelessness to be the

:38:14.:38:17.

scandal that it is and it shocks and horrifies us across the country and

:38:18.:38:21.

communities across this country want the Government to sort it. I

:38:22.:38:29.

appreciate the opportunity to talk in this debate. I wanted to talk

:38:30.:38:32.

about a couple of things. I wanted to talk about the issues facing

:38:33.:38:36.

young people today, to begin with and I wanted to talk about complex

:38:37.:38:41.

cases and the particular issues around the most complex cases in

:38:42.:38:44.

relation to homelessness but first, I want to briefly mention, at PMQs a

:38:45.:38:51.

couple of weeks ago, I mentioned a charity in my constituency, it might

:38:52.:38:57.

be in my college's constituency, but in my city, anyway,... Our city! I

:38:58.:39:05.

mentioned them and asked the Prime Minister particularly about

:39:06.:39:08.

austerity and the fact that austerity is increasing homelessness

:39:09.:39:11.

and the Prime Minister's and has included the phrase "People should

:39:12.:39:17.

live within their means", which I thought was unfortunate phrasing

:39:18.:39:22.

because homelessness people -- homeless people don't have any means

:39:23.:39:26.

to live within, so it was really unfortunate. Having heard the debate

:39:27.:39:31.

today, it has been more considered and measured and hopefully less

:39:32.:39:38.

political than that exchange felt at PMQs. In relation to young people, I

:39:39.:39:42.

have heard young people today, as in people who are under 40, 35, as

:39:43.:39:51.

being described as precarious, because they have precarious jobs.

:39:52.:39:56.

We have the increase of this economy we have got going on, people don't

:39:57.:40:01.

have jobs for the long-term they used to have, through zero hours

:40:02.:40:05.

contracts. They don't have the level of security that previous

:40:06.:40:12.

generations had. They don't have the security of housing. They have

:40:13.:40:15.

precarious housing, they are living in incredibly expensive Private

:40:16.:40:20.

rental sectors where there is not enough safeguards in place to ensure

:40:21.:40:28.

security of tenure for them. I suppose many people come home and

:40:29.:40:32.

find their locks changed because the private sector landlord feels this

:40:33.:40:36.

is the way forward and a huge amount of private sector landlords are not

:40:37.:40:41.

like that but in a far to make it a real problem. For young people

:40:42.:40:45.

today, there is a really precarious situation and a real risk of

:40:46.:40:48.

homelessness that I don't think we have possibly seen in recent

:40:49.:40:53.

generations. There was a survey done in September that says that 40% of

:40:54.:40:58.

families have less than ?100 in savings. A lot has been mentioned

:40:59.:41:01.

about the fact that so many others are a step away from homelessness.

:41:02.:41:07.

40% of families have less than ?100 in savings. People do not have that

:41:08.:41:12.

extra cash their pockets to deal with an unexpected situation and

:41:13.:41:17.

therefore homelessness is a bigger risk than it may be has been

:41:18.:41:21.

previously. I also want to talk about complex cases. With austerity

:41:22.:41:27.

and with benefit sanctions and with the changes to the benefit system,

:41:28.:41:31.

those people who have got the most complex and chaotic lives are being

:41:32.:41:39.

disadvantaged the most, because they are not figures, they are numbers

:41:40.:41:40.

that the Government cannot easily that the Government cannot easily

:41:41.:41:44.

get back to work. They are the numbers that a few weeks of job

:41:45.:41:48.

centre intervention will not change. They need months or even years, some

:41:49.:41:53.

people, of intervention, because some people have really complex

:41:54.:41:58.

problems, mental health problems, homelessness problems, they have

:41:59.:42:01.

maybe never been able to hold down a job. Those people require huge

:42:02.:42:05.

amounts of intervention before they will able -- be able to get back to

:42:06.:42:11.

being a taxpaying member of society, so it is quite easy for the

:42:12.:42:16.

Government to say we will not put in that intensive support for those

:42:17.:42:19.

people and for those people to fall between the cracks as a result and I

:42:20.:42:21.

think that is one of the things this think that is one of the things this

:42:22.:42:25.

Government has done worst in its time, to allow those most complex

:42:26.:42:31.

There are a huge number of other There are a huge number of other

:42:32.:42:34.

issues that can lead to homelessness. Domestic violence has

:42:35.:42:41.

been talked about quite a lot. We have a debate on domestic violence

:42:42.:42:46.

on Friday and that can lead to women and men fleeing, and in the main it

:42:47.:42:52.

is women, and finding themselves in an insecure tenancy and a real

:42:53.:42:55.

problem they are having to deal with, when they are having a huge

:42:56.:43:00.

number of other problems as well. This is something that is sometimes

:43:01.:43:04.

being left because it is too difficult to tackle, it is not an

:43:05.:43:08.

easy statistic that the Government can easily get back into work and a

:43:09.:43:13.

secure place. As someone elected to local authority in 2007, I am a

:43:14.:43:18.

passionate advocate against right to buy. I saw the damage it caused

:43:19.:43:22.

communities and the number of people who do not have a permanent roof

:43:23.:43:26.

over their heads as a result and I think the Government has change

:43:27.:43:27.

their plans. Thank you very much Madam Deputy

:43:28.:43:39.

Speaker. We have had a well-informed debate and I appreciate the

:43:40.:43:43.

contributions from both sides and respect both the Passion and

:43:44.:43:48.

sincerity. But nothing that has been said has distracted from, let alone

:43:49.:43:54.

contradicted, the three stark statistics in the motion that indict

:43:55.:43:58.

this government's record on homelessness. The 44% increase in

:43:59.:44:07.

statutory homelessness since 2010. The absolute duty to those most

:44:08.:44:13.

vulnerable and in the most need. A doubling in street homelessness, the

:44:14.:44:17.

most obvious and insistent evidence of our failure as a society to

:44:18.:44:22.

provide all our citizens with basic necessities of life. And 120,000

:44:23.:44:31.

children homeless this Christmas. Madam Deputy Speaker, we have heard

:44:32.:44:37.

17 backbench speeches in this short debate, which shows the degree of

:44:38.:44:41.

interest in this subject. We have heard from the members from

:44:42.:44:47.

Northampton South, Westminster North, Colchester, Birmingham, St

:44:48.:44:52.

Ives, Lewisham, Deptford, Portsmouth South, Dewsbury, Solihull, Batley

:44:53.:45:01.

and Spen, Inverclyde, Swansea East, Dulwich and Aberdeen North. From

:45:02.:45:08.

every part of the British Isles. And, Madam Deputy Speaker, I must

:45:09.:45:13.

apologise if I do not have the time to comment on each of those regions,

:45:14.:45:19.

they have much to recommend them and I will not do it justice by

:45:20.:45:23.

summarising themes. But I have to say what I heard from the number of

:45:24.:45:28.

speeches on the government side, I exempt the member from Hari is for

:45:29.:45:36.

this but real distress at the individual cases in surgeries and in

:45:37.:45:40.

the street. But their real appreciation of the link between

:45:41.:45:42.

that and their own government policy. There was acknowledgement of

:45:43.:45:48.

the scale of the problem and how it has risen. What I heard from a

:45:49.:45:52.

number of my right honourable friend is, I don't want to single anyone

:45:53.:46:00.

out but let me single out members including Westminster North,

:46:01.:46:03.

experience over the decades in areas of high housing stress, put the

:46:04.:46:10.

blame where it lies. With local government cuts and the failure,

:46:11.:46:15.

persistent failure to build social housing and relieve pressure. The

:46:16.:46:22.

government amendment does them no credit. It is a nit-picking attempt

:46:23.:46:30.

to sidestep the central causes of homelessness which this government

:46:31.:46:32.

and coalition predecessor have caused. What is beyond dispute is

:46:33.:46:37.

the measures the government relies on in its defence are not working.

:46:38.:46:42.

If it were, we would not have seen a year-on-year worsening in the plight

:46:43.:46:47.

of homeless persons. Nobody says that it would be easy to resolve

:46:48.:46:51.

issues that are chronic and endemic across the UK but particularly in

:46:52.:46:57.

London and areas of high demand and poor supply of affordable homes. The

:46:58.:47:02.

minister could at least begin tackling the worst aspects of

:47:03.:47:06.

homelessness by signing up today to the proposals to tackle rough

:47:07.:47:09.

sleeping setup by my right honourable friend committee member

:47:10.:47:15.

for Wentworth and turn to tackle street homelessness by the clearing

:47:16.:47:24.

house scheme which governments have supported in the past. There is

:47:25.:47:28.

nothing inevitable about homelessness. The record in the last

:47:29.:47:33.

Labour government showed that, a two thirds drop in statutory

:47:34.:47:37.

homelessness in the ten years to 2010, and a three quarters drop in

:47:38.:47:44.

rough sleeping in the same period. Now, the Minister for Housing opened

:47:45.:47:50.

the debate, trying to minimise our achievements and talking up his own.

:47:51.:47:55.

I suppose that is his job... But independent audits say differently.

:47:56.:48:01.

I hope he and the minister replying in a moment have read the Green book

:48:02.:48:08.

published this month by Shelter to mark their 50th anniversary and that

:48:09.:48:15.

of Cathy Come Home. At one point it says that the number of households

:48:16.:48:19.

in temporary accommodation and those sleeping rough on a given night has

:48:20.:48:24.

risen in the last five years and the number of households coming to the

:48:25.:48:27.

council and being homeless and in priority need is over one quarter

:48:28.:48:31.

higher than five years ago. The number of households accepted as

:48:32.:48:36.

homeless began to rise in 2010. Even more striking is it followed a

:48:37.:48:40.

period of six years when the Neville of homelessness -- level of

:48:41.:48:48.

homelessness dropped sharply. The turn after 2009 is a striking trend.

:48:49.:48:55.

I thank the honourable member for giving way. Would you agree that

:48:56.:48:58.

developing contributions is an important way of attracting

:48:59.:49:03.

additional funds for local authorities to tackle the problem of

:49:04.:49:07.

homelessness? Would he share my disappointment that my local council

:49:08.:49:11.

has foregone ?30 million in developer contributions for

:49:12.:49:16.

student accommodation? Forgive me if I am not an expert in planning in

:49:17.:49:24.

his own local authority. There are a number of means of funding. He is

:49:25.:49:32.

right to identify that as being the root cause of a problem. But let me

:49:33.:49:36.

first turn to the homelessness reduction Bill. We were considering

:49:37.:49:41.

it in the committee this morning. And the government praised in its

:49:42.:49:47.

amendment. But we had a number of members on the committee mentioned

:49:48.:49:55.

this evening. It was billed as the brainchild of crisis, and is

:49:56.:50:00.

supported by shelter, St Mungo's, and is consensus to opinion across

:50:01.:50:05.

the housing sector. Those excellent organisations have, for decades,

:50:06.:50:08.

been a front line against homelessness and I am proud to work

:50:09.:50:13.

with them in my constituency. More importantly, for its chances of

:50:14.:50:16.

making the statute book, the bill has the support of all parties and

:50:17.:50:21.

of the government. And must be ably sponsored by the member. It is no

:50:22.:50:28.

exaggeration to say that it makes a sea change in homelessness law, in

:50:29.:50:36.

the emphasis on prevention and local authorities to assist non-priority

:50:37.:50:40.

groups in particular single people in finding accommodation. In

:50:41.:50:46.

promoting the bill, Crisis making a statement that they can no longer be

:50:47.:50:50.

expected to pick up the pieces in the failure of much of the apparatus

:50:51.:50:54.

designed to help the homeless. I welcome the bill for the signal that

:50:55.:51:02.

it sends and for the detailed requirements on governments to

:51:03.:51:10.

tackle this growing crisis. But... This has dominated our discussions

:51:11.:51:16.

on the bill. Legislation alone will not solve the problem. Indeed, in

:51:17.:51:21.

the first instance, it may make it worse. Let me give three reasons why

:51:22.:51:27.

I say that. Firstly, the local authorities, especially those in

:51:28.:51:30.

metropolitan areas, are struggling to deal with their responsibility to

:51:31.:51:38.

those in priority need. Those members who have seen the Mayor of

:51:39.:51:42.

London's briefing, let me welcome his personal commitment to tackling

:51:43.:51:46.

London's housing crisis, will have seen the number of households in bed

:51:47.:51:53.

and breakfast in London rose by 234%, since 2010. 157% elsewhere. I

:51:54.:52:02.

know the telling statistic for London members, in particular,

:52:03.:52:10.

whereas in 2010, 13% of families were placed outside of the local

:52:11.:52:17.

authority area. That is almost triple to 35%. Every one of those

:52:18.:52:23.

families is a tragic story of people displaced from their communities,

:52:24.:52:27.

schools, and from jobs often, and from family support. One of the

:52:28.:52:37.

consequences, if we are not very careful of putting additional

:52:38.:52:40.

burdens on local authorities for non-priority homeless, when they

:52:41.:52:43.

cannot at the moment cope with priority homeless, is that the

:52:44.:52:49.

latter will suffer. Secondly, there is the general pressure on local

:52:50.:52:53.

authority budgets. Where they have faced cuts of 40-50%. By far and

:52:54.:53:00.

away, the largest of any in the public sector. These pressures

:53:01.:53:03.

extend everywhere, and we will hear tomorrow quite a lot about this and

:53:04.:53:08.

social care, I imagine. But because of those pressures across the board,

:53:09.:53:15.

it is absolutely vital that measures in the homelessness reduction Bill

:53:16.:53:20.

are fully funded. I have heard what the government has said about that.

:53:21.:53:24.

And we are still waiting and the Minister on the bill committee has

:53:25.:53:28.

promised that we will have details of funding before the committee

:53:29.:53:35.

reports to the house. But it is important that the pledge is

:53:36.:53:41.

honoured. Not just on paper, but that we clearly see that this will

:53:42.:53:46.

be full funded, otherwise it is simply not going to work, and local

:53:47.:53:52.

authorities will again carry the can for central governments mistakes.

:53:53.:53:57.

But the third most important issue, Madam Deputy Speaker, has the effect

:53:58.:54:03.

of this government's general policies on housing and the

:54:04.:54:08.

homelessness situation. Firstly, it relates to Housing Finance, benefit

:54:09.:54:12.

cuts, which have been further reduced, and is having an

:54:13.:54:15.

attritional effect on my authority and many others. The freeze on local

:54:16.:54:22.

housing allowances, the bedroom tax, the 45% cuts in supporting people

:54:23.:54:28.

budgets in the last Parliament, these are unprecedented cuts and the

:54:29.:54:33.

net effect is to destabilise those who are most honourable and at risk

:54:34.:54:39.

of homelessness. Secondly, there is the private rented sector -- those

:54:40.:54:43.

who are the most vulnerable. Rent increases and the ability for

:54:44.:54:49.

private landlords to get higher rents to make more profit means that

:54:50.:54:59.

evictions are at a high point, and 40% in London, 30% nationally of all

:55:00.:55:10.

of those in the no-fault eviction process, I forget who it was who

:55:11.:55:13.

said that the consequence of that was that we needed this bill to put

:55:14.:55:19.

more responsibility on local authorities. I would say, what about

:55:20.:55:23.

the response of the government legislating for longer tenancies

:55:24.:55:27.

and, as we would do for rent control in the sense of rent rising in the

:55:28.:55:32.

period of those tenancies. That would have a better effect in terms

:55:33.:55:41.

of preventing that. I have about two minutes left. Housing supply is a

:55:42.:55:50.

key issue here. We have the lowest social housing bill on record. We

:55:51.:55:55.

still have the prospect of a sale of high-value council homes. We have

:55:56.:56:00.

the reduction in rent, which is preventing councils from building

:56:01.:56:05.

new social homes. We have 140,000 fewer council homes than 2010.

:56:06.:56:10.

Unless the problem can be tackled, we will never tackle the problems of

:56:11.:56:17.

homelessness. Madam Deputy Speaker. That is the story of the

:56:18.:56:20.

homelessness reduction Bill. But it is also the story of this

:56:21.:56:25.

government. And its attitude, not just towards homelessness but the

:56:26.:56:29.

housing crisis in general. They talk about solutions but their policies

:56:30.:56:34.

are making matters worse. We are promised cash to implement the bill

:56:35.:56:39.

and promised wide initiatives in the delayed white Paper. Time is running

:56:40.:56:46.

out for this government act, empty words and empty bills will not stop

:56:47.:56:50.

children from being homeless at Christmas or vulnerable sleeping on

:56:51.:56:55.

the streets. Tomorrow, the new figures for statutory homelessness

:56:56.:56:59.

are published and are unlikely to bring any comfort to the homeless or

:57:00.:57:05.

the government. This is a crisis which the government has neglected,

:57:06.:57:09.

and even aggravated, by the range of policies that they have pursued. If

:57:10.:57:14.

they are sincere about tackling the problems of homelessness, words no

:57:15.:57:22.

longer suffice. Only action world. -- only action world. I would like

:57:23.:57:28.

to start by thanking the opposition for bringing this important debate

:57:29.:57:35.

to the house. It is an important opportunity for members across the

:57:36.:57:40.

house to discuss a critical issue. And also gives me the opportunity to

:57:41.:57:45.

outline what actions this government is taking on this important

:57:46.:57:50.

challenge. I would like to say, Madam Deputy Speaker, that this has

:57:51.:57:55.

been a good debate. The time that I have does not give me time ready to

:57:56.:57:59.

do justice to all of the contributions that have been made.

:58:00.:58:03.

On the whole, which were absolutely excellent. But I will endeavour to

:58:04.:58:09.

respond to as many of the points as I can within the time that I have.

:58:10.:58:16.

As my honourable friend, the Minister for Housing has already

:58:17.:58:19.

stated, at the outset of this debate that the government is absolutely

:58:20.:58:25.

committed to tackling homelessness. I want to reiterate that to the

:58:26.:58:30.

house, that it is a priority for me and for this government. No one

:58:31.:58:35.

should find themselves without a roof over their heads. As my

:58:36.:58:42.

honourable friend, the Housing minister, outlined earlier, we are

:58:43.:58:44.

supporting the largest house-building programme of any

:58:45.:58:49.

government since the 1980s. But, as many honourable members have

:58:50.:58:52.

mentioned during this debate, homelessness is not just a housing

:58:53.:58:59.

issue. Tackling it requires a collective response at both a

:59:00.:59:02.

national and local level, and unrelenting focus on prevention.

:59:03.:59:07.

There are many good examples of early intervention around the

:59:08.:59:10.

country. We want to drive good practice to help all areas learn

:59:11.:59:16.

from the experiences and take on the good practice of the councils that

:59:17.:59:20.

are doing things in the right way. To kick-start this, we have launched

:59:21.:59:26.

a ?50 million prevention programme which takes an end to end approach

:59:27.:59:29.

to preventing more people from becoming homeless and helping people

:59:30.:59:33.

to get their lives back on track, when they have fallen through the

:59:34.:59:35.

safety net that is provided. Our programmes will mean innovation

:59:36.:59:44.

and collaboration to prevent homelessness. The grand for a

:59:45.:59:49.

trailblazer areas will help areas to go further and faster with reform --

:59:50.:59:55.

the ground. It will lay the groundwork for many of the changes

:59:56.:59:59.

we want to see through the homelessness this reduction bill.

:00:00.:00:09.

They will adopt best practice and drive to identify people at risk of

:00:10.:00:14.

homelessness and provide early support to prevent a crisis.

:00:15.:00:20.

Newcastle and Greater Manchester are early adopters and will take forward

:00:21.:00:24.

a range of initiatives. It will involve collaboration between a wide

:00:25.:00:28.

range of services to identify people at risk of homelessness, helping

:00:29.:00:31.

them well before they are threatened with eviction. They will also test

:00:32.:00:37.

new innovative approaches to test homelessness to help us build our

:00:38.:00:42.

evidence base of what we know already works. The 20,000 rough

:00:43.:00:50.

sleeping in Grantham which forms part of this process will enable

:00:51.:00:55.

people to intervene before their problems become too great and build

:00:56.:01:00.

a multi-agency partnership to address underlying problems.

:01:01.:01:04.

Building on the success of the London rough sleeping social impact

:01:05.:01:10.

bond, the new Bond will allow partnerships to work with some of

:01:11.:01:14.

the most entrenched rough sleepers, focused on getting them into

:01:15.:01:19.

accommodation and using personalised support to address their complex

:01:20.:01:25.

needs. I will give way. I thank my honourable friend and also for his

:01:26.:01:28.

kind remarks about me, but does he not agree that one of the issues for

:01:29.:01:33.

both rough sleepers and people threatened with homelessness is the

:01:34.:01:42.

complexity of the reasons. It is not simply that private sector rental

:01:43.:01:46.

comes to an end. It can be relationship an ex-offender, someone

:01:47.:01:52.

leaving the armed forces. All of these issues need personalised plans

:01:53.:01:56.

to assist those to get into a decent accommodation. My honourable friend

:01:57.:02:01.

is right. Sometimes it is easy for us to look at the challenges around

:02:02.:02:08.

homelessness and rough sleeping in a simple passion but most informed

:02:09.:02:12.

members in this has no it is far more complex than that and I welcome

:02:13.:02:15.

the provisions in his bill with regard to having a personal plan

:02:16.:02:20.

that local authorities must go through with individuals, but people

:02:21.:02:28.

who are homeless and are owed a duty by local authority to be housed, but

:02:29.:02:32.

also people that are not owed a duty to be housed and for the first time,

:02:33.:02:36.

they will get bespoke support that hitherto they have not had and I

:02:37.:02:40.

thank my honourable friend for raising that and I think he is right

:02:41.:02:49.

to point out that we must deal with this challenge at a local level but

:02:50.:02:53.

I am committed to making sure we are working effectively across

:02:54.:02:57.

Government and I am driving action to a ministerial working group on

:02:58.:03:02.

homelessness and it is just one example I can give to the House,

:03:03.:03:06.

with regards to mental health, where we are looking at what more can be

:03:07.:03:13.

done for rough sleepers with mental health problems getting the

:03:14.:03:15.

specialist support they need and the group is looking at how we can

:03:16.:03:19.

ensure that people at risk of homelessness or who are homeless are

:03:20.:03:23.

getting the support they need to get into work. I would just like to pick

:03:24.:03:31.

up on a number of the comments that were made by honourable members in

:03:32.:03:36.

the debate and first of all, it was great to hear from my honourable

:03:37.:03:41.

friend for Portsmouth South. I think she extolled the virtues of the way

:03:42.:03:45.

in which Portsmouth Council are trying to tackle homelessness and

:03:46.:03:50.

particularly around prevention and the work they are doing up front to

:03:51.:03:54.

try and stop people becoming homeless in the first place and it

:03:55.:03:58.

was very good to hear that the council are also working very

:03:59.:04:03.

closely with local charities and other partners and that is something

:04:04.:04:08.

we certainly want to see in the proposals that people at local areas

:04:09.:04:12.

have brought forward to us in relation to the grant funding

:04:13.:04:17.

programmes that we are providing. The honourable lady for Dewsbury

:04:18.:04:23.

raised a number of important points. She mentioned the rough sleeping

:04:24.:04:27.

statistics and what I can say to the honourable lady is those statistics

:04:28.:04:30.

now are far more accurate than they were in 2010. In 2010, local

:04:31.:04:37.

authorities were not obliged to provide a return to central

:04:38.:04:42.

Government in relation to how many rough sleepers were apparent in

:04:43.:04:48.

their particular local authority area. They are now compelled to do

:04:49.:04:53.

that and the data, therefore, is far more accurate. I would say, though,

:04:54.:04:57.

that we are also looking at how we can improve on the data that the

:04:58.:05:03.

Department holes in this regard and we are looking at how we can improve

:05:04.:05:09.

data in terms of trying to work out where people become homeless on

:05:10.:05:11.

multiple occasions and how we can try and work to stop that happening

:05:12.:05:17.

again to that individual. I welcome what the honourable lady said in

:05:18.:05:21.

relation to Boots and the work they are doing around sanitary products

:05:22.:05:28.

for women who unfortunately find themselves in the situation where

:05:29.:05:32.

they are sleeping rough. I know this is an issue that the honourable lady

:05:33.:05:38.

has a particular interest in. What I can say to the honourable lady is

:05:39.:05:42.

there is a number of programmes that are centrally funded from the

:05:43.:05:45.

Department for communities and low of and for organisations, outreach

:05:46.:05:53.

organisations, for rough sleepers and in that sense, we do provide

:05:54.:05:57.

funding for those organisations and they do in turn provide the type of

:05:58.:06:02.

resort she quite correctly recognises is needed -- the type of

:06:03.:06:11.

support. A question raised by the honourable member for Harrow East,

:06:12.:06:15.

the hidden homelessness, the sofa surfing, the Minister just said the

:06:16.:06:18.

figures are getting more accurate on rough sleepers and I welcome that.

:06:19.:06:23.

What is the Government doing to collect more accurate data on hidden

:06:24.:06:27.

homelessness with the sofa surfers who are at particular risk of

:06:28.:06:34.

becoming rough sleepers? I can say to the honourable gentleman,

:06:35.:06:37.

although it is obviously a much more difficult thing to measure, in

:06:38.:06:42.

regards to the homelessness reduction Bill the Government is

:06:43.:06:45.

backing, I am absolutely sure, and we factor this into our sums, that

:06:46.:06:53.

there will be a significantly higher number of single people who are

:06:54.:06:56.

homeless, the people he identifies that will actually present at a

:06:57.:07:02.

local authority because they will expect to receive far better advice

:07:03.:07:06.

and support that they -- than they do now and they will have a personal

:07:07.:07:11.

plan that will hopefully allow a situation where homelessness will be

:07:12.:07:15.

alleviated, so I think we ate at the rate will be able to measure it in a

:07:16.:07:21.

better way. Whether we can go as far as identifying all those people I

:07:22.:07:25.

think will be difficult. Just turning to my honourable friend for

:07:26.:07:29.

Harrow East again, I think it was right to identify the challenges,

:07:30.:07:33.

particularly in London, and writes to identify the record amount of

:07:34.:07:37.

funding of ?3.15 billion that the Government is providing to the mayor

:07:38.:07:43.

of London to build 90,000 new homes across a range of ten years to suit

:07:44.:07:50.

the needs -- needs of Londoners and it is good to see that in the spirit

:07:51.:07:54.

of cooperation, the Mayor of London has actually welcomed that record

:07:55.:07:59.

funding. My honourable friend for Harrow East also hit the nail on the

:08:00.:08:05.

head when he said that just having a place for a rough sleeper to stay is

:08:06.:08:15.

not enough and we risk is this -- we discussed this and the underlying

:08:16.:08:17.

challenges and we have to tackle them in the work we do. Across

:08:18.:08:23.

Government working group I lead is certainly looking at that. My

:08:24.:08:33.

honourable friend for Northampton South made an excellent

:08:34.:08:36.

contribution, highlighting his knowledge of the subject as chairman

:08:37.:08:44.

of the forum for ending homelessness and highlighted the tragic

:08:45.:08:47.

consequences that can happen where rough sleepers are not supported

:08:48.:08:51.

sufficiently, I would be keen to hear from the

:08:52.:09:38.

honourable lady if she could set out more detail in terms of the types of

:09:39.:09:43.

issues that are being experienced. I can say, as somebody who was quite

:09:44.:09:50.

heavily involved in the 2016 housing and planning application that there

:09:51.:09:56.

are significant penalties for landlords and local authorities are

:09:57.:10:02.

in a position where they can levy significant financial penalties

:10:03.:10:05.

against rogue landlords of up to ?30,000, if they do not provide

:10:06.:10:10.

adequate housing for the people that they rent properties to. My

:10:11.:10:17.

honourable friend is for Colchester made excellent contributions.

:10:18.:10:28.

Underlining the causes of lost sleeping. My honourable friend for

:10:29.:10:32.

some titles right to highlight the charities and volunteers. My

:10:33.:10:37.

honourable friend for Colchester did the same. Volunteers and charities

:10:38.:10:42.

who do tremendous work up and down the country and on behalf of the

:10:43.:10:47.

government, I would like to thank those volunteers and those

:10:48.:10:52.

charitable workers for doing such an excellent job on behalf of a group

:10:53.:10:56.

of very vulnerable people. The honourable lady for Lewisham and

:10:57.:11:00.

depth that mentioned funding for the bill that my honourable friend for

:11:01.:11:04.

Harrow East is bringing to the house. I can assure the honourable

:11:05.:11:11.

lady, although I see that she is now on the front bench, that the

:11:12.:11:17.

government's intention is to fund the bill, and we recognise that

:11:18.:11:23.

there will be new burdens created as the bill comes Fulwood and the new

:11:24.:11:26.

obligations of counters come forward and we will fund it -- comes

:11:27.:11:32.

forward. I will say that we fully expect that the bill will also

:11:33.:11:37.

create a situation where councils are dealing with homelessness far

:11:38.:11:41.

more quickly and therefore it will become far cheaper for local

:11:42.:11:46.

authorities to actually deal and support people, because they will

:11:47.:11:51.

not be dealing with the housing crisis as often as they currently

:11:52.:11:58.

do. If I can just mentioned... Yes, I will mention the honourable lady's

:11:59.:12:04.

point in terms of temporary accommodation and I can assure her

:12:05.:12:10.

that it must be suitable and if it is not, the constituent that you

:12:11.:12:17.

mentioned has the right to review and can go back to the local

:12:18.:12:22.

authority in this sense. This has been an excellent debate on an

:12:23.:12:27.

extremely important issue. Our ambitions and that we have are

:12:28.:12:31.

backed by a new funding programme, and the most ambitious legislative

:12:32.:12:36.

reform in decades. This government is taking and end -- and end to end

:12:37.:12:49.

approach to tackling homelessness. I hear the opposition Chief Whip

:12:50.:12:52.

asking if he made put the question but I think he was just pipped to

:12:53.:12:58.

the post by the Minister concluding and sitting down. I bid to move

:12:59.:13:10.

that... No, the Minister had adequately discharged his duty

:13:11.:13:14.

perfectly to start his duty, so there is no necessity for the

:13:15.:13:20.

question... I shall put the question. The question is, that the

:13:21.:13:26.

original words stand part of the question, as many of that opinion

:13:27.:13:33.

say ayes. On the contrary, no. Clear the lobby.

:13:34.:15:14.

Order. The question is, that the original words stand part of the

:15:15.:15:39.

question. Those of the opinions say ayes stop on the contrary, no.

:15:40.:15:48.

Jackie Doyle Price and Chris Heaton Harris.

:15:49.:16:23.

Order! The ice to the right, 230, the nose to the left, 289.

:16:24.:26:59.

The ayes to the right, 230, the noes to the left, 289.

:27:00.:27:05.

The question is that the proposed words be added, as many of that

:27:06.:27:19.

opinion, say aye. The ayes habit. It will be agreed to. Order. -- the

:27:20.:27:30.

ayes habit. We must take the motion referring to divisions, the question

:27:31.:27:34.

that the motion relating to third divisions, as many of that opinion

:27:35.:27:39.

is a aye. The contrary, no. The ayes habit.

:27:40.:27:51.

The ayes habit. Motion for on the prevention and suppression of

:27:52.:27:58.

terrorism, the Minister to move... Minister Wallace?

:27:59.:28:04.

I beg to move that the Terrorism Act 2,000 prescribed organisation

:28:05.:28:12.

amendment number three, order 2016 that was laid before this House on

:28:13.:28:16.

the 12th of September be approved. The threat level in the UK said by

:28:17.:28:19.

the independent choice terrorism analysis Centre remains at that next

:28:20.:28:24.

macro severe. This means that a terrorist attack in this country is

:28:25.:28:29.

highly likely and could occur without warning. We can never

:28:30.:28:34.

entirely rid the threat of terrorism but we can do all we can to minimise

:28:35.:28:37.

the threat and keep the public safe. The nature of terrorism is

:28:38.:28:43.

constantly evolving. There are organisations that recruit,

:28:44.:28:45.

radicalise and encourage terrorism, as well as those that commit

:28:46.:28:48.

terrible acts of violence against innocent people. Prescription is an

:28:49.:28:53.

important part of the Government's strategy to disrupt the full range

:28:54.:28:57.

of terrorist activities. We now propose to add to the list the group

:28:58.:29:07.

National Action. This Is The 21st Order Under Section Three, Part 38,

:29:08.:29:11.

Of That Act. Honourable Members Will Be Aware That This Is The First Time

:29:12.:29:16.

We Have Made A Prescription Order For A Far Right Group. This

:29:17.:29:22.

Government Is Committed To Fighting Terrorism, Regardless Of What

:29:23.:29:27.

Motivated. National Action's Values Stand In Stark Contrast To The Core

:29:28.:29:32.

Values Of The United Kingdom. Can I Join Him In Welcoming The Decision

:29:33.:29:39.

To Abandon This Particular Group. Can He Tell The House, Have There

:29:40.:29:43.

Been Any Defect Prescriptions Since The Last Time The House Passed An

:29:44.:29:47.

Order Prescribing The Organisation In July Of This Year. There Have

:29:48.:29:57.

Been Two Groups Resubscribe, The People's Mujahideen Of Iran, Or The

:29:58.:30:02.

Emenike, And The Other That Sought To Make Representation And As A

:30:03.:30:06.

Result Of That, That Was Further Decent Scribed. Despite Their Name,

:30:07.:30:17.

National Action Seeks To Divide Communities And Stir Up Hatred, And

:30:18.:30:24.

Prescribing This Neo-nazi Group Will Prevent It Growing, Spreading

:30:25.:30:30.

Propaganda And Allowing Hatred And Division To Thrive. It Would Also

:30:31.:30:43.

Help Prevent National Action From Reaching People... Does He, Like

:30:44.:30:47.

High, Shared The View that this group in particular should revile us

:30:48.:30:52.

all because they stood on the steps of St George's Hall in Liverpool and

:30:53.:30:57.

their demonstrations, which filled their demonstrations, which filled

:30:58.:30:59.

the whole of Liverpool with hate and discuss -- Nazi salutes. I think

:31:00.:31:07.

anyone that seeks to glorify the Nazis is a threat to this country

:31:08.:31:11.

and our values. Members of this has died fighting Nazis to keep this

:31:12.:31:19.

country and Europe free -- this House. Twisted is, to say the least,

:31:20.:31:24.

a description I would apply to people that think somehow this

:31:25.:31:29.

country would like to follow a Nazi course of action. Under section

:31:30.:31:32.

three of the Terrorism Act, the Home Secretary has the power to proscribe

:31:33.:31:42.

an organisation if it is believed they are currently involved in

:31:43.:31:47.

terrorism. It takes into account a number of factors. These include the

:31:48.:31:53.

nature and scale of an organisation's activities and the

:31:54.:31:56.

need is a other members of the international community in tackling

:31:57.:32:01.

terrorism. The effect of proscribing an organisation means it is outlawed

:32:02.:32:05.

and is unable to operate in the United Kingdom. It is a criminal

:32:06.:32:08.

offence for someone to belong to, support or arrange a meeting in

:32:09.:32:16.

support of a proscribed organisation or wearing clothes in public that

:32:17.:32:24.

show a member is -- someone is a member of the proscribed

:32:25.:32:26.

organisation. It makes it possible to seize cash to support the

:32:27.:32:31.

organisation. The Home Secretary only organises -- exercises her

:32:32.:32:37.

power to proscribe after thoroughly reviewing the evidence on an

:32:38.:32:41.

organisation, including open source material, intelligence material and

:32:42.:32:45.

advice that reflects consultation across Government, including with

:32:46.:32:47.

the intelligence and law enforcement agencies. The cross Government group

:32:48.:32:52.

supports the Home Secretary in her decision making this process. The

:32:53.:32:57.

decision to proscribe is only taken after great care and consideration

:32:58.:33:01.

of the particular case and it is appropriate that it should be taken

:33:02.:33:06.

by both houses. The Home Secretary believes National Action is

:33:07.:33:17.

currently involved in terrorism and proscribing is correct. The Home

:33:18.:33:21.

Secretary told us the other week that she was concerned about the

:33:22.:33:25.

increasingly sophisticated weapons -- methods they were using on the

:33:26.:33:39.

Internet to recruit. Could he tell us how this organisation will be

:33:40.:33:42.

held to account and how any material online will be removed? I have to be

:33:43.:33:51.

careful that what we do not is undermine the capable effectiveness

:33:52.:33:54.

of the law and order agencies that make academics may take action, but

:33:55.:34:00.

it is certainly the case that when an organisation is prescribed, it

:34:01.:34:05.

will allow us to take the full force to bear on the organisation and

:34:06.:34:08.

individuals within and I would expect measures for use of the

:34:09.:34:12.

Internet, a sort of grooming type method, is restricted or hopefully

:34:13.:34:16.

completely closed and other such measures, but I will leave that up

:34:17.:34:20.

to the security services and the police to get the best effect, and I

:34:21.:34:25.

think I would be wrong to speculate further about what they may or may

:34:26.:34:31.

not do. Although as I said, I can't comment on the specific intelligence

:34:32.:34:35.

that lies behind this, I can provide the House with a summary of the

:34:36.:34:38.

group's activities. National Action is a Nazi group that was established

:34:39.:34:45.

in 2013 with a number of branches across the UK, which uses Street

:34:46.:34:52.

rallies to intimidate. It is particularly aimed at recruiting

:34:53.:34:55.

young people. Their ideology prevents the idea that Britain will

:34:56.:34:58.

inevitably see a violent race war, which the group claims to be an

:34:59.:35:04.

active part. The group rejects democracy, is hostile to the British

:35:05.:35:09.

state and seeks to divide society by implicitly endorsing violence

:35:10.:35:12.

against ethnic minorities and perceived race traitors. National

:35:13.:35:16.

Action has links to other extreme right-wing groups abroad, including

:35:17.:35:20.

in Europe. In May 2016, National Action members attended the book and

:35:21.:35:26.

valve concentration camp, where they carried out Nazi salutes and posted

:35:27.:35:34.

images online -- butchered wall. If alongside this, prevention work will

:35:35.:35:37.

continue to monitor with extremist groups have crossed into terrorism.

:35:38.:35:41.

Honourable members, this is a relatively small group that has only

:35:42.:35:44.

been in operation in the UK for a few years but the impact its

:35:45.:35:50.

activities -- of its activities have been felt in a number of

:35:51.:35:54.

communities. In the evidence that was presented to him by the

:35:55.:35:59.

agencies, or to the Home Secretary, by the agencies before the decision

:36:00.:36:03.

was made to prescribe this group, was there any evidence of any links

:36:04.:36:07.

with any other organisations in different parts of Europe? Because

:36:08.:36:11.

what we have seen is that far right groups tend to not just operate in

:36:12.:36:19.

one country, but in other countries. I can't expand on the intelligence

:36:20.:36:23.

behind this particular decision, but I can in agree with him that what we

:36:24.:36:29.

do see as far right groups having a European network and being active

:36:30.:36:32.

here and abroad, and there are far right groups from abroad that are

:36:33.:36:36.

active here in the United Kingdom as well. Would he tell the House, are

:36:37.:36:44.

there any other groups similar to this particularly unpleasant group,

:36:45.:36:48.

that come his to the same sort of decision being made by the

:36:49.:36:54.

Government -- that are currently under? There are other groups

:36:55.:36:57.

obviously out there that are promoting hate and we keep under

:36:58.:37:04.

review where that one does get close to terrorism and I would come

:37:05.:37:07.

straight back to this House should we gather the intelligent or

:37:08.:37:13.

evidence to do so. There are, as I have said, other European far right

:37:14.:37:16.

groups active in the United Kingdom, either at other people's rallies or

:37:17.:37:22.

having a presence amongst their ethnic grouping here. The Polish far

:37:23.:37:26.

right, for example, would be active in the UK or have a branch. Since

:37:27.:37:31.

early 2016, the group had become more active and its activities of

:37:32.:37:35.

propaganda material has crossed the threshold from extremism into

:37:36.:37:40.

terrorism. National Action's online material, disseminated by social

:37:41.:37:44.

media, frequently features violent imagery and language and condones

:37:45.:37:49.

and glorifies those that have used extreme violence for political or

:37:50.:37:53.

ideological ends. This includes two tweets posted by the group in 2016

:37:54.:37:58.

in connection with the murder of our friend Jo Cox, which the prosecutor

:37:59.:38:03.

described as a terrorist act. One stated "Only 649 MPs to go" and

:38:04.:38:09.

another had the photo Thomas Mair with the caption "Don't let this

:38:10.:38:15.

man's sacrifice go in vain. Jo Cox would have filled Yorkshire with

:38:16.:38:19.

more sub humans." It also showed an image that had been doctored to

:38:20.:38:23.

celebrate the terrorist attack in the nightclub in Orlando and a

:38:24.:38:27.

police officer's throat being slit. There are people who may have been

:38:28.:38:33.

aware of these messages who could infer that these acts should be

:38:34.:38:38.

emulated and such propaganda amounts to unlawful glorification of

:38:39.:38:41.

terrorism. The Orlando massacre was a truss -- an atrocity in which 49

:38:42.:38:46.

people lost their lives. Jo Cox was a tragedy, familiar to us all closer

:38:47.:38:49.

at home. Both are examples of attacks committed for the purpose of

:38:50.:38:56.

advancing a racial or ideological cause and terrorist talks back --

:38:57.:39:00.

attacks. If we allow this to be in courage, we lived with a risk they

:39:01.:39:07.

may be repeated. Our plan to combat Turrell is looks at the spectrum,

:39:08.:39:10.

including groups who glorify terrorist acts and stir up hatred

:39:11.:39:17.

and violence. I believe it is right that we add National Action to the

:39:18.:39:21.

list of proscribed organisations are subject to the agreement of this

:39:22.:39:26.

House and the Other Place, the order will come into force on Friday the

:39:27.:39:32.

16th of December. The question is as on the order paper. We on this side

:39:33.:39:38.

of the House welcome this order proscribing the Neo-Nazi group

:39:39.:39:40.

National Action and we give it our full support. We have heard about

:39:41.:39:45.

from the Minister and both sides of the has some of the appalling

:39:46.:39:49.

actions and propaganda, whether it is Nazi salutes in Liverpool or

:39:50.:39:56.

online communications glorifying the killing of our late colleague Jo

:39:57.:40:00.

Cox. Terrorism has become the scourge of society and we cannot

:40:01.:40:06.

give an inch to the plague of our time and I believe this swift action

:40:07.:40:11.

in proscribing this far right group will provide some reassurance to all

:40:12.:40:17.

parts of the community in what are increasingly difficult and unstable

:40:18.:40:22.

times. This week, I visited Metropolitan Police counterterrorism

:40:23.:40:24.

unit and saw first-hand the difficult work they do to detect

:40:25.:40:29.

terror threats. It was clear that in an increasingly digital age,

:40:30.:40:32.

ideology has become more extreme and more pervasive and is the key

:40:33.:40:40.

recruitment tool for terrorism. We can only imagine the effect it can

:40:41.:40:45.

have on some impressionable young people to sit in their bedrooms and

:40:46.:40:50.

see the sort of online propaganda put out by groups like this. That is

:40:51.:40:57.

why proscription is so important. Because of the advances in

:40:58.:41:02.

technology and changes in media, specifically social media, terrorist

:41:03.:41:05.

ideology has become a cancer. We need to remain vigilant, faster and

:41:06.:41:09.

smarter and swifter to deal with that threat, so it is completely

:41:10.:41:14.

right that we take this action. As we look forward to 2017, the major

:41:15.:41:25.

threats that we face are astrometric, so couple of young men

:41:26.:41:30.

in their bedroom can wreak terror in their community. There are

:41:31.:41:37.

international threats and they are deadly. They are so rapidly changing

:41:38.:41:41.

that we could not in this House have foreseen them a decade ago. This far

:41:42.:41:47.

right group is a genuine threat to our domestic security and this

:41:48.:41:51.

Parliament's legislation must reflect the urgency and the

:41:52.:41:59.

complexity of the situation. We in the West and the support this

:42:00.:42:07.

organisation being added to the proscribed list -- in the SNP. I

:42:08.:42:11.

struggle to say the name in this House and glorifies them, I will

:42:12.:42:17.

refer to them as an A. Issues of national security risk is of course

:42:18.:42:21.

reserved to this place but there has been close cooperation with the

:42:22.:42:24.

Scottish Government and there will continue to be that. It is is our

:42:25.:42:27.

desire in Scotland as one as the rest of the UK to do everything

:42:28.:42:30.

possible to meet the threat of terrorism going forward. It would be

:42:31.:42:35.

purely on the basis of the tweets about our much loved, departed and

:42:36.:42:44.

deceased colleague Jo Cox that frankly disgusted anybody with a

:42:45.:42:49.

sense of reasonable objectivity. And of course, the appalling words they

:42:50.:42:54.

put out about the terrible attack in Orlando. So we have no hesitation in

:42:55.:42:59.

backing the Government's calls to have this organisation added to the

:43:00.:43:04.

proscribed list. Of course, all additions to the proscribed list

:43:05.:43:08.

must be necessary and they must be proportionate and we must always

:43:09.:43:11.

have those two criteria qualifications in mind and we

:43:12.:43:14.

believe in this case, that is certainly evident and abundantly

:43:15.:43:20.

clear. We came to this House a couple of months ago, Mr Deputy

:43:21.:43:25.

Speaker, to add another four or five organisations to the proscribed list

:43:26.:43:28.

and that was successfully done with our support. At that particular

:43:29.:43:33.

hearing, the Right Honourable member from Lee, who is not in this place

:43:34.:43:40.

today, and myself made a call on the Minister for -- the Member for South

:43:41.:43:47.

Hall to contact the BBC and see if they could desist from using the

:43:48.:43:51.

phrase is so-called Islamic State and Islamic State when they refer to

:43:52.:43:54.

the organisation the Government rightly calls diet. The minister

:43:55.:44:00.

gave clear commitments to contact the BBC and make those

:44:01.:44:04.

representations, bust I admit it in my occasional watching BBC news, I

:44:05.:44:08.

have noticed the phrase continue to be used and perhaps more so than it

:44:09.:44:12.

has ever been done. So I would respectfully ask the Minister, who I

:44:13.:44:16.

had a great amount of respect for, if he could take that suggestion

:44:17.:44:18.

away and contact the previous incumbent and see what he could do

:44:19.:44:23.

about contacting the BBC so they stop using this awful phrase, which

:44:24.:44:28.

gives legitimacy to an organisation which is neither Islamic State or

:44:29.:44:35.

estate. -- nor a state. I along with others in the has completely support

:44:36.:44:42.

this proscription of this organisation. I think the Minister

:44:43.:44:53.

has gone a long way to reassure the House that the information he has is

:44:54.:44:57.

more than sufficient to take the action that he is proposing today.

:44:58.:45:02.

National Action would be the first extreme right-wing organisation to

:45:03.:45:07.

be banned, which is a very welcome step. We certainly need to be very

:45:08.:45:12.

strong in dealing with right-wing extremism.

:45:13.:45:16.

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