Amber’s contributions in Debates
- On 17th June 2011, Amber gave her speech in the Adjournment debate on rail links to Hastings:
I should like to set the scene, if I may, of a beautiful town on the south-east coast. Some very exciting new projects are taking place in Hastings. We will have a new gallery at the end of this year, and we are rebuilding our pier after recently receiving Heritage Lottery Fund money. Saga, which moved to the town in the past year, is bringing 800 new jobs. I could go on and on about the amazing positive developments that are taking place in Hastings, but we also have some major problems, and sadly, I should like to take this opportunity to draw attention to those for a few minutes.
The index of multiple deprivation is like a sin list for boroughs. There are 352 on the list and Hastings has risen steadily up it—the top is the worst. We recently found ourselves, sadly, at No. 19. There is poverty and a lack of industry in the town. There has been much debate in the town on what can be done to change that. How can we bring about the regeneration that we so desperately need? Everyone has a different view, but transport is the one matter on which we are united. How can we improve transport, and particularly rail links to London, to stimulate the regeneration that we need?
We feel cut off, like an island. Road problems compound the rail problem. From London, it takes 1 hour and 50 minutes to get to York by rail, 1 hour 55 minutes to get to Cardiff, and 1 hour and 45 minutes to get to Hastings. It is clearly absurd that such a short distance takes such a long time. Under the previous Labour Government, we had no investment in our roads or rail. We were shamefully neglected.
I am encouraged by the Government’s speedy and affirmative action in respect of electrification on the Great Western route and other railways in the north-west of England, and I dare to hope that they will also deliver improvements for the people of Hastings.
Why is the train service in Hastings quite so bad? This is an unfortunate, historical situation. We were let down when the new railway was built in the 1850s, because it competed for speed with the one being built to Brighton. We have problems with our tunnels, single lines in certain areas and we are vulnerable to points failure and slow periods during journeys. We also have electrification problems, so 12 cars cannot go south of Tunbridge.
How do we achieve the improvements that we so badly need? I am happy to say that Network Rail is working with Southeastern trains on small improvements. Incremental improvements are being made that will shave seconds, possibly minutes, off our journey times. We so hope that we will not for ever be known as the Cinderella line. Improvements are being made this year to some of the assets, including the points, and in order to rein back some of the speed restrictions.
We had horrific problems over the winter caused obviously by the snow, but what my constituents really objected to was the lack of information—they were kept waiting for hours unable to access the right
information. I am told that Southeastern Trains and Network Rail are now working closely with National Rail to provide that information. However,I am ambitious for my constituency. I want to get rid of this end-of-the-line reputation, and I want us to have a much, much better line in order to achieve the necessary regeneration. I do not want just these incremental improvements; I want a first-class line, so that we can make the great leap forward that we need. We need a better quality of line, and we need that without enormous costs to the taxpayer.
The recent McNulty report leads the way. We were faced with the shocking statistic that our lines cost over 40% more than European ones. It points out how to stop above-inflation rises and it tells us about the reforms that can be instigated within our railway lines to stop this constant rising of costs and deterioration of services. My constituents have had enough of these constant inflation-busting rises. McNulty stresses value for money, and that is what we need but are not getting in Hastings. We need the reforms to stop these constant rises.
I believe we need to be ambitious with our railway service. I believe that we need investment—we cannot make these changes without investment—but I am very aware of the situation in which the Government find themselves with the terrible deficit they inherited. Where else can we look for the investment we so desperately need? We should look to a longer franchise. Those of us in Hastings were disappointed when the Secretary of State for Transport said that there was likely to be a three to six-year franchise after 2014. We should remember that the McNulty report calls for longer franchises—he makes the point that it simply makes good business sense. Sadly, we are told that the franchise proposal is because of Thameslink, but why should Hastings, which is so urgently in need of regeneration, be subject to Thameslink? We feel that we are always an afterthought—the little sister to be hushed up in the corner. I respectfully ask the Minister to stop ignoring us when it comes to deciding transport priorities. We do not want always to be a consequence of what is going on in the Thameslink project. Let us have a longer franchise—at least in double digits—and then we can get some investment in our line.
We can surely include some requirements for change to modify and adapt within the Thameslink requirements. We should be part of the consideration of Thameslink. Thameslink can go ahead, and we can have our franchise extended within certain requirements for modification if Thameslink requires it. However, having three to six-year franchises, as suggested, is like treading water with a repeatedly shoddy line. We urge the Minister to ensure that we are not let down and to reconsider the proposal. However, if the Department proceeds with a shorter franchise, at the very least we would ask it to focus on requiring an intermediary timetable change across the network for Hastings services to ensure that one of the existing trains per hour converts to a fast one.
My rail action group had a meeting with Southeastern Trains to put this proposal to it, and it responded by showing us the existing franchise to demonstrate that it had no room for manoeuvre. If we are to have the same type of shorter franchise as a stop-gap, which is not what we desire, we would ask that it be less prescriptive, so that we can at least have some fast trains a day. What we need from this investment is upgraded electrification
and, eventually, double-tracking. I urge the Government to consider what could be done to help us achieve that. Perhaps there could be match funding when the new franchise is introduced. With £34 billion going into High Speed 2, perhaps we could have a small amount down in Hastings, so that the new franchise could have some investment to encourage the upgrades that we so desperately need.
I would also like to mention European funding. It sometimes feels like an elusive rabbit that keeps skipping across us in the picture. People say to us, “Have you tried European funding?” or, “What about TEN-T funding?”, but it seems to slip away from us whenever we try to reach out, or find out where it comes from or who can guide us. I would therefore be grateful for any guidance from the Minister on whether we should try to get European funding.
The franchise should be longer, but less prescriptive. My right hon. Friend Greg Clark has long campaigned for this. He has recent experience of travelling on the line—I believe at the front of the train, with the driver—and supports our efforts to secure a longer franchise.
Let me say a word about the Cannon Street to Hastings line. Every few years, it seems that we in Hastings have to fight once more to keep the service. Once more, we are being told, “Well, you may or may not get to keep it—it depends on Thameslink.” Please do not make us dependent on Thameslink. We need our Cannon Street service. We are a town that has some areas of deprivation. I hate going on about the deprivation—I would much rather extol the virtues of Hastings—but given that we have those problems, I must point out that the commuters who take the Cannon Street line are important to us because they are the higher earners. Sometimes people say, “Don’t worry about Cannon Street: if they get to Blackfriars or St Paul’s, they’ll be absolutely fine,” but I do not agree. Some 80% of the passengers who arrive at Cannon Street make their way on foot. Arriving at London Bridge or St Paul’s is entirely different. We need to keep the Cannon Street service, and we will campaign hard to do so.
My hon. Friend Gregory Barker has asked me to add his voice to this debate. He has said that the Cannon Street service is
“essential to both commuters and businesses”
in his constituency, and that it
“should not be put under threat or in any way adversely affected by the Thameslink programme. Rail companies in East Sussex are already struggling to maintain a reasonable level of service due to poor investment in the track, signalling and rolling stock in the past. My constituents deserve a better deal. I seek investment to improve rail travel to make it affordable, reliable and sustainable.”
He puts it well and reinforces the arguments that I am making.
My constituents are patient, but we believe that we deserve better. We are ambitious for our town and for our regeneration. We have a rail action group, the St Leonards and Hastings Rail Improvement Programme, which is known locally as SHRIMP. SHRIMP is not known for its militancy, but we hope to change that. We will be stepping the campaign up and making our case, to make it clear that the rail links for Hastings are not incidental to our regeneration, and that we do not
want to be incidental to the Thameslink programme. I would ask the Minister to consider helping us to structure a franchise to deliver a first-class line to a first-class town.
- On May 19th 2011, Amber questioned the Secretary of State for Transport on the results of the McNulty Report:
Wages in Hastings have fallen dramatically against the rest of the south-east in the past 10 years, but wages of commuters are significantly higher. Does the Secretary of State agree that if we manage to redress the imbalance between the continually deteriorating service and higher wages, we would improve the regeneration of towns such as Hastings as well as the quality of life of commuters themselves?
- On 24th March 2011, Amber questioned the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, which was followed by a further question:
What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the nuclear safety regime in the UK; and if he will make a statement.
I thank the Secretary of State for that answer, but I must tell him that a number of residents of Hastings and Rye have written to me, and although they share heartfelt sympathy for the people of Japan, as they live next to Dungeness they now have additional concerns. They want to know what action can be taken to ensure that our country’s nuclear facilities are made even more safe.
- In a later session Amber spoke on the isusses of maternity services:
I am worried and my constituents are worried. There are many issues that Members of Parliament campaign on in their constituencies, but those to do with health provision must be the most important. We can all agree that maternity services deserve to be a high priority in health planning. This is about the safety of mothers and babies.
Our hospital in Hastings, the Conquest, has a full-service, consultant-led maternity unit. Within East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust, which we are part of, Eastbourne also has a full-service maternity unit. Four years ago, it was proposed that one of those units should close, and that we should have one midwife-led service and only one full maternity service for the area. The community rose up in arms. We campaigned in our thousands. We marched with babies and with prams. Every local MP objected, and we did not let up until we won-and win we did. I would like to pay tribute to the able, determined and dedicated campaign leaders, Margaret Williams and Liz Walke.
In September 2008, the decision was made by the Independent Reconfiguration Panel, which advised the then Secretary of State for Health, that both units should stay open with their full service. The chair of the IRP said:
“The needs of local women and their families were at the heart of this review…we concluded that women’s access to and choice of services would be seriously compromised if the proposals were implemented.”
The campaigners already knew that, but we were reassured and, indeed, jubilant that the final decision makers also took that view. This was nearly three years ago. Some people might, ask “What’s the issue now?” or “Why are you campaigning when there is no formal proposal for closure of either units currently on the table?” They would not share my concern-my unease-about the latest information coming out of East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust. We are being signalled that there may be change in the air. It is not change itself we are frightened of, but the possible outcomes for mothers and babies.
The Care Quality Commission visited both hospitals in February this year, and it has raised concerns about the maternity services. The hospital trust, to its credit, was swift to contact stakeholders and MPs to inform them of this and to reassure us that action was immediately being taken to ensure high standards of safety and to address the concerns that the CQC had raised. I would like to thank the chief executive of the trust, Darren Grayson, for his swift action in disclosing this important information. I must confess, however, that we are not entirely reassured. We, the campaigners-my constituents-are still worried. I am not reading any motive or plan into the trust’s response to the CQC; I am simply here to highlight, once more, that the outcome of these concerns must not lead us down the very road we have travelled before-namely, having to protect our full-service maternity units.
We do not want to stick our heads in the sand. If there are problems with the maternity units that might impact on safety in any way, we must address them. However, this must not be a shortcut back on to the damaging road of trying to shut one of our units. We will not accept that. I urge the trust not to present that as the answer to the current problems. I would like the Minister to consider that in her response.
There are other answers, and they are in the very problem that the trust is highlighting-namely, staffing. The original decision to maintain both units urged the trust to address the issue of staffing by getting the right and safe mix of experience and qualifications among the doctors and consultants. The report of three years ago accepted that staffing was a problem, but critically it urged the PCT to
“consider alternative staffing models which have not been explored so far”.
It stated:
“It is incumbent on the local NHS to explore the potential of these roles to develop midwifery careers and support doctors’ roles locally.”
It agreed that there was a problem, but urged the local NHS to develop a strategy to deal with it. But here we are. As was anticipated by the report three years ago, we have a staffing problem that may be impacting on the service, and in such a way that doubt is once more being cast on the viability of having two full-service units.
Each hospital handles about 2,000 births a year. I am pleased to say that the strategic health authority recently commissioned an external head of midwifery to review midwifery, leadership and staffing levels, and she confirmed that the trust was safe. The latest annual regional report also praised the trust for having the lowest caesarean section rates in the region, thereby supporting women to experience a normal birth.
Eleven consultants cover both sites, and we have our designated number of junior doctors. However, we are short of middle grade doctors. There should be eight at each site, but there are only seven at the Conquest hospital and six at the Eastbourne district general hospital. The gap is filled by locums, which is expensive. An agency locum costs approximately £79 per hour, which equates to £18,000 per agency doctor per month, as against a trust doctor, who costs approximately £9,000 per month. In these times of increased pressure on funds, even though NHS funding is ring-fenced the NHS is still being asked to make efficiency savings and to improve services. The locum costs are therefore an unpleasant and substantial addition to the hospital overheads.
Unfortunately, the staffing issue is exacerbated by the European working time directive. I know that the arguments against the directive for parts of the medical profession are being examined, but in the meantime the outcome of restricting working time to 48 hours per week simply puts yet more pressure on the staffing levels in these units.
I appreciate that some might say that I am panicking early. We have been reassured by the trust’s chief executive that there are currently no plans to close either unit, and a consultation is about to be launched on how to maintain a top service at both units. In this reassurance, there is a sting. It signals that the challenges of staffing may require a change. I fear that that could include the closure of one of the units. We must not let that happen.
The town of Hastings in my constituency has high levels of deprivation. Its teenage pregnancy rate is one of the highest in the country and, as we know, this country has the highest rate in Europe. Some 22% of its residents are in the bottom 10% according to assessments of deprivation. Local doctors, to whom I speak regularly, tell me that young women can be reluctant to attend antenatal classes and often miss their appointments. These are the women who may encounter unforeseen difficulties, and who may need a full-service maternity unit at their hospital. They are not the women who are likely to hop in their car to go to Eastbourne for their check-up. In fact, in many parts of Hastings car ownership is running at only 40%, so many would have to rely on the local bus services and the local roads. If the maternity service were closed, it would effectively put up barriers to safety for that group of young women.
I wish to say a word about the local roads, on which I hope to secure a separate debate. If we look on the map, we see that Hastings is just over 20 miles from Eastbourne, and the AA tells us that the journey can be done in approximately 20 to 30 minutes. It is quite wrong. It is in fact the equivalent of a 40 or 50-mile journey elsewhere, and in my experience it takes at least an hour. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists recognises the need for investment to support smaller units, such as ours, where there are significant distances involved. That is what we have in Hastings and Eastbourne-because of the nature of the roads, the towns are a significant distance apart.
Those of us who campaigned on the issue before know the arguments well, but we are up against what feels like the establishment. It is creating a tide that pushes us one way-to super-size maternity units, beloved of managers and some doctors but not particularly of mothers. Expectant women want choice, safety and accessibility. I can quite understand management’s preference for large units. It is easier to manage a larger group of people, more efficient for those delivering the service, more convenient for the consultants who are in overall charge and more flexible for training junior and middle-ranking doctors. However, we must not let the one-size-fits-all principle dominate our maternity services. We must remain aware of local issues that are relevant to any changes in configuration. In Hastings, I have mentioned geography, deprivation and the particular needs of some of the youngest, most vulnerable mothers in my constituency.
Although I speak up for the residents of my constituency, I urge the Minister to pay attention to the trend of addressing staffing issues in hospitals by moving towards super-sized units, particularly maternity units. “Bigger is not necessarily better”-that may sound like an extract from a nursery rhyme, but it is actually part of the name of a highly respected paper about the centralisation of hospital services. Even the well respected King’s Fund questions the assumption that outcomes are improved in bigger units.
Despite the conflicting views about smaller or larger maternity units, one thing is clear: the staffing issue is about preparing and planning. That was highlighted to the health trust more than three years ago in Hastings. We must demand more from our trust now, and we do not accept that closure should be considered for either of our full-service sites. We need the complete service. We need in our communities the delivery of a safe, efficient local service, for the continued delivery of safe and healthy babies.
- On 10th March 2011, Amber spoke in a debate on UN Women:
It is a pleasure to follow Margaret Curran, with her powerful advocacy for the women of the middle east and her description of the very difficult lives that they are living out there.
I welcome UN Women‘s ambitious and wide-ranging plans for women. Talking about the differences and similarities between men and women can be tricky, but does it counter the strong, rational argument for equality to raise the clear differences that exist? For instance, if we say that women are more likely to fight for peace, do we make it less likely that they will be taken seriously in a military scenario? Can we discuss differences without falling into the trap of stereotyping men and women into caricatures of themselves-the pink team and the blue team? It might be tricky, but it is dishonest to ignore the clear differences between men and women-the positive differences that create better outcomes.
There have been several references this week to the report from Lord Davies on women in the boardroom. I should like to draw the House’s attention to a report that came out this week from the City law firm Eversheds, which carried out a study of 234 listed companies. It showed that corporate governance issues had absolutely no effect on the share price, except in one area. The fact that there were more women on the board of a company had a positive influence on the share price. Let us hope that fund managers will pick up this important news and perhaps make it obligatory for the businesses they invest in to take on this particular aspect of corporate governance.
I am not here to raise the issue of equality on my own behalf or for women like me, as I recognise that I have had many privileges, but the issue is vital for less developed countries. As my hon. Friend Mrs Laing pointed out, it is perhaps our duty, particularly on international women’s day, to raise this issue for other women. It is because of the differences and the vital but different contributions women can make that we need to fight for their opportunities and influence those outcomes when we can.
I thank my hon. Friend for her contribution; in fact, I am about to talk about a similar situation. As she implies, the difference women can make to managing their families in the developed world can create an opportunity for non-governmental organisations and perhaps UN Women to focus on women as providers in their own communities.
The human rights case for equality is, I believe, glaringly simple. Girls and women should not be disadvantaged because of their gender, and where that is the case, we need to remove the barriers in their lives. We know what a lot of those barriers are: they are to do with education, health, and taking action against violence, and the UN Women initiative will focus on those. I feel sure that few would disagree with that.
I wholly endorse what the hon. Lady says: clean water is indeed essential for communities and we should work with women to bring it about.
I believe that the differences I mentioned can be seen at two ends of the society-first, in small communities through women’s commitment to their families; and secondly, in government through women gaining significant representation. I do not underestimate the commitment of men to their families; it is just that they often show it in a different way. Let me illustrate that with the example of the Barefoot college at Rajasthan in India.
As some colleagues may know, the Barefoot college is a non-governmental organisation founded in 1972. It is a solar-powered school that teaches illiterate women from impoverished villages to become, among other professions, solar engineers. The college takes women from the poorest villages and teaches them the necessary professional skills without requiring them to read or write. For the past five years, it has focused on women who have come over from Africa in order to take the skills back to their native country.
The point about focusing on women is that, as this NGO’s experience shows, they go home again and take their skills to their families and communities. The Barefoot college chooses to train for this particular solar energy course only women aged 35 to 60 who will want to keep the skills and the benefits in their community. I am afraid that the college describes the men as “untrainable”! The women, it says, are less likely to use the training as a means to move into a city or build up skills to take away from home. A certificate is not required at the end of it. The founders deliberately focus on women to make sure that the skills go home with the trainee.
The college trains women to build, install, maintain and repair solar electrification systems for off-grid electrification. Training takes six months. Once the course is completed, the equipment, along with the women who built it, is sent back to the villages where it is used to electrify the houses and schools. After five years of solar training since 2006, 97 villages in Africa have been electrified by their own trained women-a fantastic result. This initiative provides women with employment, confidence and purpose and it deliberately focuses on women as the natural supporters of their families.
I thank my hon. Friend for that contribution and I thoroughly agree with him. A similar point was made by our colleague, Jo Swinson, who argued that this is not a trivial issue to be put at the bottom of the list, but one that should be at the top for the benefit of the whole of society, for the economy and, above all perhaps, for peace.
Trained, empowered women-illiterate or not-are more likely to have the confidence to raise their voices, and getting more women to participate in government is essential. Women such as those I have described at the Barefoot college will have the confidence to make an important contribution and perhaps get into local politics and eventually, we hope, national politics. There are many routes to getting more women involved in the business of government-education, mentoring, and, yes, even quotas-but it is essential to remove the barriers that stop their involvement.
Women may have some different priorities, views and interests from men. As we know, women are more than half the population and they need to be represented in Governments internationally. I welcome the UN Women initiative to promote that. It is essential to achieve it not just for equality as a human rights issue, but to get the best outcomes for everyone and particularly for women. In some countries, if women are not included in the conversation, they can be ignored or worse. As one east African woman politician succinctly put it to me: “We worked out early on that if you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.”
- On 17th February 2011, Amber spoke in a debate on Higher Education:
The university centre Hastings is doing some excellent work with children from poorer families who want to go on to higher education. It is very concerned about the future of higher education for them and asked me to inquire about the national scholarship fund and what more can be done to help children on free school meals when they leave school and might need some assistance.
- On 3rd February 2011, Amber spoke in a debate on Legal Aid Reform:
It is interesting to observe in the remarks made by those on both sides of the House that we are not talking about lawyers. As Yvonne Fovargue said in her opening remarks, this debate is more about trained, local, part-time and sometimes voluntary advisers who step in to help the vulnerable in need of advice. They work in citizens advice bureaux and other organisations in the voluntary sector and, in my opinion, although often not lawyers themselves, they are a rare example of legal provision at a low cost to the public purse.
I accept that reductions are necessary in expenditure and in the deficit that is, as we know, costing us £120 million a day-a point well made by my hon. Friend Anna Soubry. I am sorry Mr Bradshaw is not in his place, as I am sure he would challenge me on that and we could have an interesting debate. However, as each of us has only a few minutes to speak, I will plough on. The problem with the proposed cuts is that they will be expensive in the long run and that, as set out, they will not do what the coalition Government have set out to do, which is to protect and help the vulnerable.
I represent a town, Hastings, that is wonderful in many ways but deprived in others. The unemployment rate is high at 5.6%, compared with a UK rate of 3.5%, and we need the support of agencies to advise those on low incomes and the unemployed. In my town, agencies have formed consortia to win social welfare law contracts. They have vocal and powerful advocates who have been to see me. I mention in particular Julie Eason and, from the citizens advice bureau, Dina Christadoulis. They have convinced me of the need for the service that they provide. The average cost of what they provide to clients is £200 or less. Even if what they do takes three times as long, that is the cost-it is really good value. We need to make cuts, but that area of the front line is not the place for them. We should not be taking social welfare out of scope.
I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for that comment. I am speaking up on behalf of the agencies in Hastings precisely because I value the work that they do in helping the vulnerable there. I also make the point, as several Members have done, that removing the funding is not efficient for costs. He is absolutely correct that we need to find another source of funding in order to continue to protect those services.
The advice from those agencies is crucial to the clients, who in many cases cannot represent themselves. The agency I spoke with had kept records that showed clearly that 56% of its clients have long-term illness or disability and that 68% have long-term mental health problems. I am worried that some of my most vulnerable constituents may really struggle to manage their casework and prepare for a tribunal hearing without the help of legal aid-funded services.
I welcome the simplified welfare system that the Government are working on. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has some excellent proposals that will be coming through, which I hope and believe will make the welfare system much simpler. Until then, we must recognise the situation we are in and acknowledge that errors are made and that vulnerable people who cannot represent themselves must be able to have some representation.
Another benefit of having agencies work with those clients is that they can recognise when there is no case. If we allow individuals to represent themselves entirely, some will clog up the tribunals. The agencies are very effective at discouraging people who do not have a case from progressing with it, so only the cases that merit the sort of attention that the clients are seeking actually get it. In Hastings, for instance, the consortia to which I have referred have not lost an appeal for a client for employment support allowance or incapacity benefit since last April, which is testament to their right choice of clients and their professionalism. Last year they provided a service to around 20,000 clients in my area, and collectively they have more than £270,000-worth of contracts, which represents more than half the advice sector in Hastings.
We all know that local government funding is under pressure, and a key element of the funding it provides is to citizens advice bureaux. Given the cuts to local funding and the proposals for legal aid, I am worried about the future viability of the agencies that do so much work and whose advice is critical in a town with above-average needs. The social welfare contracts account for only 4.5% of the total legal aid bill. The early intervention that they provide is critical; if the advisers get involved early, they can stop things escalating and stop individuals getting to the stage where they might lose their houses.
I urge Ministers to consider the costs and consequences of the proposed changes to legal aid. We need to find alternative sources of funding to support the agencies if they are no longer to receive funds from that source. I associate myself with the argument made by other Members that, unless we find alternative funding, those of us who, like me, are not lawyers will have to train up pretty quickly because of the size of casework that we will receive.
- On 8th December 2010, Amber spoke in a debate on the regeneration of seaside towns:
I have sprung to my feet in defence of the town of Hastings in my constituency, as it was placed in a not very positive category by a number of my colleagues. Deprivation in seaside towns is a fact. The point is well rehearsed and has been repeated by many hon. Members here today. It is true that Hastings suffers on many indexes of deprivation, but I will not refer to that now, because I should like instead to draw attention to some of the many wonderful aspects of Hastings. It has a large natural park around it. We have wonderful food and drink, and next year will see the arrival of the new Jerwood art gallery, which I hope will contribute to regenerating the town.
I want to ask my hon. Friend the Minister about the amusement industry. We all know that the seaside tourism industry is linked to the amusement industry, and if the amusement industry is hampered, so is the economic growth of seaside towns. The amusement and bingo industry has been under pressure as a result of the Gambling Act 2005 and, as we know, that has been exacerbated by the recession. Given the wider debate about the economic viability of seaside towns, it is very important that the amusement industry is supported. We have heard today about many new initiatives to support seaside towns and their industries, but we must not forget the old one-the amusement industry and its slot machines, which are important in attracting tourists to our towns.
The regulatory framework of the 2005 Act is robust and exhaustive and went a long way in defending and supporting people, but it also had some unintended consequences, damaging seaside towns. I know that at the moment a Government consultation is under way about maximum stakes, premises and entitlements. I hope that the Minister will be able to introduce some positive changes when the consultation finishes, because many seaside towns have been suffering under those measures. I am thinking particularly of private clubs that are no longer allowed to offer high-paying slot machines. People who wish to use such slot machines must go instead to casinos and gambling places, which have a less benign atmosphere than private clubs, which causes problems. Will the Minister consider carefully what can be done to support the amusement industry, which is so important to seaside towns?
- On 9th November 2010, Amber spoke in a debate concerning housing benefit:
Fairness is a constantly recurring theme today, and fairness has been the dominant feature of this reforming Government’s coalition agenda. I agree with my hon. Friend James Wharton that we must also be fair to the people who pay the taxes that pay for the housing benefit and local housing allowance.
I know what I am talking about, because my constituents earn extremely low wages. In the past 10 years the average wage in Hastings, which used to be £30 below the average United Kingdom rent, has fallen to £100 below that figure. I know about low wages. Mr Bain spoke of people who were vulnerable. People on low wages are also vulnerable, and I feel strongly that they should not be charged with paying the housing benefit of people who live in houses and in areas where those on low wages could not begin to live themselves.
I am grateful to the right hon. Lady for making that point, because it is exactly the one with which I am about to deal. Earlier in the debate, we heard about sensational articles in newspapers and unrealistic reporting. I am afraid that Hastings has been on the receiving end of quite a lot of that. I have spoken to the councillors who made those comments and to our director of housing, Andrew Palmer, who has done excellent work. I asked him how many London councils had made inquiries of him, and he said none. I asked him whether he had had an opportunity to speak to the people who run the bed-and-breakfast establishments that he very rarely uses-although he has had to do so occasionally-and to the landlords whom he uses for the purposes of the local housing allowance. He said that he had spoken to all of them, and that not one of them had received such an inquiry.
I strongly believe that we have been reading sensationalist reports in the newspapers. There is an apocalyptic vision of a group of Londoners arriving on the south coast, but it simply is not happening. I think it important to repeat that so that people do not become fearful. They do not have to believe what is said by Caroline Flint about extra pressure on education establishments, because that is not happening at the moment.
We hope that rents will fall. Members will not be surprised to hear that I agree with much that has been said by Conservative Members about reducing rents. Mr Raynsford spoke of the unrealistic aspect of falling house rents, and referred to an article in the Evening Standard that focused mainly on larger houses. In my constituency at least, between 80% and 90% of people who receive local housing allowance live in homes with one to two bedrooms. The larger house element does not feature so much, although it represents a large cost. I am told by Westminster council, whose representatives I have consulted, that house prices in its area are falling rather than rising.
I am interested to hear that London is affected. We will see the consequences, but at present I am receiving different answers and people are reaching different conclusions. It is not entirely clear how the private sector will respond, but one thing is entirely clear: we cannot continue with the cost as it is now.
The 40% figure is totemic in this debate. As we know, 40% of private rented properties are used by the Department for Work and Pensions.
The hon. Gentleman obviously does not want to let the facts interfere with a good story. Some of the newspapers have taken the same view. However, he too should try to look at the facts. He should establish whether London councils are making such inquiries, and whether B-and-Bs are being booked up. There is absolutely no evidence of that. Rents are expected to fall, which will make things less costly for us all.
That is an interesting comment, but I can tell the hon. Lady that I have spoken to the cabinet member in charge of Westminster council-which has the largest supply of houses at the top level above the cap-and she told me unequivocally that the council was not doing that.
I also have a letter. Perhaps we can exchange letters later, and see what the conclusion is.
It is impossible not to see these reforms of housing benefit outside the context of the overall attempt to carry out the reforms of the welfare system to which the Government are so committed. I commend to all Members a fascinating article in today’s The Times by a former Labour Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in which he draws strong parallels between our efforts to reform the welfare system and the proposals on which he had been working for the past few years, until the last two years or so, when he was unable to obtain any traction and had to resign. He spoke of the line that Government must tread between the poverty trap and the welfare trap. That is exactly what this Government are trying to do, but let me add that there is not just a welfare trap or a poverty trap. The welfare trap is a poverty trap in its own right. It is not a good place in which to be, but our efforts to reduce housing benefit and introduce a universal credit will start to change the present position and make a fairer society for us all.
- On 14th September 2010, Amber spoke in a debate on maternity services and the importance of maintaining these services at the Conquest Hospital;
I know my hon. Friend Dr Poulter well, because he was the resident registrar at our local hospital, the Conquest. We had a major maternity campaign there two to three years ago to save our consultant-led service, and we stressed safety, which I know is a main issue for the Government. However, I would also like to stress, in support of my hon. Friend Mrs Grant, that supporting the vulnerable is very important to the coalition Government and it is sometimes the vulnerable who are most left out of the sort of decisions that we are discussing. Vulnerable young women are sometimes not able to think ahead and plan their pregnancies. They find themselves in difficult circumstances and particularly need the support of consultants and obstetricians. I therefore support my hon. Friend in this debate, and place particular emphasis on the vulnerable; that is the issue that we led with in Hastings when we saved our service.
- On 20th July, Amber spoke in the debate about Equitable Life and the compensation package the Government has announced;
The Minister kindly mentioned how the funds will be paid out. In my constituency, a number of people are concerned that because it will take a long time to appoint the commission, which will then have to go through its own procedure, further delays could be added. Can he tell us how the commission will be put together and what his expectations are of the timing?
- On 7th July 2010, in a debate about Jobs and Unemployment Amber discussed how young people might be supported into work;
I have noticed this afternoon that there has been a lot of talk about young people in unemployment. Both my hon. Friend Esther McVey and Alison McGovern were talking about that, and it is a common theme. It is one area that, I know, we all care about so much.
I was talking in Hastings, where we have very high levels of youth unemployment, to a young lady from Tressell training, which is a NEET-not in employment, education or training-college. I asked her what she was doing and she said that she was doing a training course, making a film about BMX bikes. I said, “That’s great. Do you do BMX biking yourself?” and she said, “No, I couldn’t possibly, because it’s dangerous and I’m pregnant.” My face fell, reflecting slightly what I thought about that, and she said, “No, don’t worry. I know what you’re thinking-you’re thinking I’m too young but I’m not, because I’m 16 next week.” She was reflecting something that we see a lot, and I do not think that it is a problem just in Hastings. A lot of young people are making a choice, because they look at the potential for jobs and do not see that it has anything to do with them.
In Hastings, 43% of the work force are in the public sector. To get into the public sector, people need qualifications. I welcome the comments made by the Secretary of State for Education today about the changes to education and the changes to our schools, which, I hope, will start to work with the lowest achievers and with the people who are struggling most. At the moment, I feel that we have a real problem with the young unemployed looking at the work force-they have no qualifications-and thinking, “That’s not for me.”
I have a radical proposal that I would like the Secretary of State and the Minister to consider. Instead of people going on to unemployment benefit-instead of their going on to the circuit of jobseeker’s allowance, then the flexible new deal and then, sometimes, back again-why not consider putting them on something new, which we could call “Vision for Jobs”, to give them purpose, work and training? In the example I am thinking of, people could start at 9 o’clock in the morning and be given two to three days of community service, one day of learning skills and one day of job search. They could be given pride in what they are trying to do by being given a weekly wage. In my vision, this weekly piece of paper would have on the right hand side “35 hours of meaningful work”, which would be set out, and on the left hand side, that slip would show what they had received-not just the jobseeker’s allowance but the council benefit and any credits that they might receive. Many young people do not know the full extent of the benefits they receive.
I know that such a scheme will be hard to deliver and that it is not straightforward, but I think that the current unemployment benefit system leaves young people to fend for themselves. It does not look after them. We need a new system. I ask those on the Front Bench and the Secretary of State to consider piloting such a scheme in Hastings. I know that he has had conversations with Tomorrow’s People and Debbie Scott, and she would be delighted to do that. We could make a change, and start it in Hastings.
On the 28th June 2010, Amber spoke in debate about CCTV and the need to reduce paperwork for the Police;
What recent representations she has received on the amount of time spent on administrative tasks by police officers each year?
Recent statistics demonstrate that police spend 14% of their time on patrol and 20% on paperwork. Will he give an example of what administrative function might be cut from their work, so that we can give them the opportunity to spend more time out on the beat?
- On the 17th June 2010, in a debate on a high skilled economy, Amber discussed the problems of the Educational Maintenance Allowance;
I wonder whether other hon. Members receive complaints about the education maintenance allowance, as I do. I, too, represent a constituency where there are people on very low incomes, but I get a lot of complaints that the allowance is badly applied and often abused.
- On the 16th June 2010, Amber spoke in a debate about falling wage levels in Hastings;
Delightful though it always is to hear about the north-east, may I add that we have a town in the south east, Hastings, which is heavily deprived? Members may not be aware that, although it has received a good deal of investment, in the past 13 years the average wage has fallen from £30 to £100 a week below the United Kingdom average. We need the private sector investment that the Government are talking about.
