Supermarkets: Voluntary Price Caps
Debate between Baroness Boycott and Lord Livermore(3 weeks, 1 day ago)
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Lord Livermore (Lab)
I understand that, but, as I already said, this Government are not considering price caps, as some speculation has suggested, and we would never advocate for that.
Baroness Boycott (CB)
My Lords, I would like to ask the Minister about several factors that seem to be occurring at once. The first is that floods in Morocco, Spain and Sicily have badly affected salad crops at the beginning of the year. Further, Cambridgeshire had just 5% of its annual rainfall in April and many farmers cannot plant crops, and we now know from American scientific research that there is a 61% chance of a super El Niño this year. We will therefore face severe shortages of fresh food and other food. What are the supermarkets doing? What are the Government doing to engage them and farmers in conversations about the situation here in August, September and October, and indeed going into the winter? From everything I understand, this is potentially very serious. It is not about price fixing; it is about how we keep people in healthy food, rather than ultra-processed food from a factory.
Lord Livermore (Lab)
I do not underestimate at all the significant climate factors to which the noble Baroness refers. I have said that, in April, major food and farming trade bodies came together with the Government to share intelligence, assess emerging pressures and agree on how we can keep our food sector resilient and stable. It is why the Chancellor held a round table with supermarkets to discuss the issues that I have already mentioned and many of the issues raised by the noble Baroness.
VAT Relief: Business Donations
Debate between Baroness Boycott and Lord Livermore(3 weeks, 2 days ago)
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Lord Livermore (Lab)
I very much agree with my noble friend. It is one of the reasons why Sure Start was so important and so successful under the previous Labour Government. It was an absolute tragedy that the previous Tory Government scrapped the Sure Start scheme, and we saw a massive increase in child poverty as a result. My noble friend is absolutely right about signposting. To go back to the original Question, it is part of the good work that social supermarkets do in communities up and down the country.
Baroness Boycott (CB)
My Lords, I declare my interest: I was partly responsible for founding Feeding Britain and bringing the first social supermarkets to London. People talk about the fact that only 8% of food waste makes its way towards either a food bank or a social supermarket. There is a staggering amount of food high up in the food chain in companies that cannot be bothered and the ludicrous situation of some companies manufacturing yoghurts to fulfil contracts to produce anaerobic digestion for renewable energy. The Government could do an enormous amount by opening up this can of worms—this secret source of wasted food—and getting it down the chain to people who need it. A lot of it happens to be very healthy food, such as tins of beans.
Lord Livermore (Lab)
The noble Baroness is far more expert in these matters than I am, but I fully understand what she is saying. I am sure that there is a lot in what she says and I am sure that the Government will look closely at it.
United Kingdom Declining Birth Rate
Debate between Baroness Boycott and Lord Livermore(1 year, 7 months ago)
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Lord Livermore (Lab)
Clearly, we have an ageing society and there are associated costs with that. That is why increasing the levels of economic growth in our country is so important, so that we have the resources to fund the priorities that matter to us.
Baroness Boycott (CB)
My Lords, we will never get women back to work unless we have adequate childcare, which this country has failed to provide. In all the years that I have been involved in feminist things, we have been behind the curve. Can the Minister update us on where the Government are in their provision of free childcare? Are there enough staff in the nurseries and enough places for the children of young women who would like nothing more than to get back into the workplace and pay tax?
Lord Livermore (Lab)
I 100% agree with what the noble Baroness says. The ONS has said that the two biggest barriers to people having children currently are a lack of affordable housing and a lack of affordable childcare. The Government are prioritising making childcare more affordable. We will provide an additional £1.8 billion next year to continue the expansion of government-funded childcare, bringing the total spending on childcare to over £8 billion. This will support working families and help parents, particularly mothers, stay in work and return to work.