No. 10 North

Debate between Baroness Twycross and Lord Gascoigne

Tuesday 8th September 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Gascoigne]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the cost of establishing No.10 North and relocating central government functions outside London.

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Baroness Twycross) (Lab)]

My Lords, No. 10 North is central to the Prime Minister’s commitment to get good growth in every postcode, drive devolution and bring government closer to the communities it serves. It will put senior decision-makers in the same room as mayors, employers, councils and public services, so that decisions about this country’s economic future are no longer taken only in Westminster. The cost of establishing No. 10 North is covered by existing departmental budgets.

[Lord Gascoigne (Con)]

I am grateful to the Minister. Having known the Minister for a number of years, I congratulate her not just on rejoining the Government but on her additional responsibilities at the Cabinet Office.

As a proud northerner, from God’s own county of Lancashire, I am genuinely delighted by the Government’s emphasis on the north, but I would hazard a guess that most people care more about fixing the issues that matter to them than the postcode from where it is being done. So, first, what specific and material issue will No. 10 North fix that Whitehall has been unable to? Secondly, am I right to assume, based on the Answer I just got, that the overall cost and the size of government will increase as a result of this additional Downing Street?

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

On the second point, it will not necessarily increase but we will make sure that invoices and costs are reported in the normal way. On the noble Lord’s first point, I wrote down that he is from Pendle, just in case he went for an anti-Manchester perspective. From my perspective, I went to No. 10 North and spoke to the people working there. They are passionate about rewiring the state and making sure it works for people in every part of the country. Clearly, having the same conversations with the same people in Whitehall, in the same way, is not necessarily going to deliver anything other than the same results. No. 10 North carries the authority of the Prime Minister to drive forward his objectives, bringing decision-making long held by Ministers in Whitehall closer to the communities we all serve.

Children’s Minister

Debate between Baroness Twycross and Lord Gascoigne

Wednesday 6th December 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Gascoigne (Con)]

I am afraid I have to disagree with the noble Lord because the Government have done a huge amount. Yet again, I am able to give many examples, one of which is £276 billion through the welfare system by 2023. We have raised the living wage and the local housing allowance, and in 2021 there were 1.7 million fewer people in absolute poverty, including 400,000 fewer children.

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

My Lords, the recent PISA results show that more UK children feel scared or hungry or unhappy in school than their international counterparts. With persistent absence levels continuing to rise, what more will the Government do to ensure that they are promoting the well-being of children and young people in schools?

[Lord Gascoigne (Con)]

I am grateful to the noble Baroness’s point to also get a chance to highlight that the PISA statistics show that England has risen—but it may not necessarily be the case in other parts of the country. In terms of general support for the education system, again I think it is important to talk about the support given in the early years. There is general childcare support but, I understand, early years foundation stage profile results published last week show an increase in the proportion of five year-olds achieving a good level, even during the Covid years.