Finance Bill

Baroness Caine of Kentish Town Excerpts

2nd reading & Committee negatived & 3rd reading
Wednesday 19th March 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Caine of Kentish Town (Lab) (Maiden Speech)]

My Lords, it is a life-memorable moment to be making my maiden speech in the customary way. I owe my sincere thanks to my noble friends Lady Morris and Lord Stevenson, who supported and introduced me to this place, and to my noble friend Lady Smith, the Leader of the House, who has shown me much kindness and, with the Chief Whip, my noble friend Lord Kennedy, such warm and welcoming leadership. Warmth and kindness are a signature of the culture here, for which my thanks go also to all my new noble friends on these Benches, as well as noble Lords from the other parties and indeed on the Cross Benches, and to Black Rod, the excellent doorkeepers and all the parliamentary and party staff, who have all been so friendly and supportive as I wander around seeking directions and help. I thank them all so much.

To my background: my father was working-class and my mother middle-class. After the Second World War, they were both recruited into the Foreign Office. Their paths crossed in Bucharest at the start of the Cold War, where they fell in love. I was born in Tokyo. My first schools were in the Jordanian side of Jerusalem just before the Six Day War, then in South Africa at the height of apartheid, followed by other postings around the world. In our family home, the news was always on, newspapers were eagerly read and round the dining table from a very early age we discussed current and foreign affairs, but it was the Foreign Office way that at 10 I was sent to my other home, an English boarding school, and it provided a stark contrast.

I was 13 in 1973, and it was a defining year. It was the time of the three-day week and power cuts. The headmistress, who belonged to another era, had been invited to lunch at our boarding house to raise morale, and I was one of those chosen to sit at her table to learn the art of conversation. Hers covered the evils of the miners’ union and the importance of people knowing their place. Mine was that the miners seemed poorly paid and worked in hard conditions. It was a cue for a frozen silence. I was then told that young women should never pass opinion on politics at the dining table and that if I continued to do so, I would never find a good husband and enjoy a comfortable life. That day I chose which table I wanted to guide my life, and it was the one that taught me to think not just for self but for all, to understand that democracy and equality are hard fought for, precious and should never be taken for granted, and to recognise that politics profoundly matters and that not all politicians are the same.

My sister and I were the first young women in our family to go to university. I chose to study politics at Nottingham—well, half the time. The other half I devoted to creative activities and student politics. I joined the Labour Party in 1982 and have worked all my life in the creative industries supporting skills and education. One role for many years was as a member of the Creative Industries Council chairing the skills and education priority of its industrial strategy.

That brings me to the Finance Bill before us, which enhances audio-visual expenditure credits for UK visual effects works. The UK is home to world-renowned companies, and this will further support them in an increasingly competitive global market. It builds on the benefits of the current tax reliefs, which together have turbocharged these sectors of the creative industries. That trail was first laid by my noble friend Lord Smith of Finsbury when he was Secretary of State for DCMS. A tax relief for film was the key outcome of his 1997 film policy group, which I served on, working with industry and DCMS to establish a voluntary skills levy. Producers recognised that the growth that the tax relief would incentivise required them to take on greater responsibilities for developing the UK’s largely freelance workforce. It is to their credit and that of previous Governments that there are now voluntary skills levies in place across all the enhanced credit areas with high levels of freelancing.

Greater impact could have been achieved through alignment between the statutory apprenticeship levy, those investments and other public investments, but that has yet to be fully realised. The DfE and the Treasury have historically tended to one-size-fits-all policies, modelled on larger companies in traditional sectors, rather than enabling necessary flexibilities better to support the service sectors and small companies that make up the majority of our economy.

The Government’s industrial strategy has prioritised the creative industries as one of eight growth-driving sectors. Education and skills is a key area for government and the industries to work on together. It is encouraging to see that with the establishment of Skills England and announcements around apprenticeships and the levy in the Finance Bill, flexibilities will be enabled to help drive success sectorally and regionally. The development of the sector plan for the creative industries provides opportunities for new actions and investments to help close current shortages and gaps that are hampering their further growth and productivity. They are a powerhouse of our economy, with the potential to contribute even more.

Finally, I am proud that mine is one of 382 female life peerages that have been created since 1958, the year before I was born, when women were allowed into this House on equal terms with men for the first time. It is the greatest honour of my life to serve in this place. I give my lovingest thanks to my very good husband of many years. Yes, indeed, dear listeners, I did manage to find one. I have much to learn here and will strive to honour my party and the memory of my parents by seeking to contribute to the same high levels that I see and hear others achieve. It is a pleasure and privilege to be alongside them all.