Summer Adjournment

Lord Evans of Rainow Excerpts

Tuesday 19th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Graham Evans (Weaver Vale) (Con)]

I really enjoy these pre-recess Adjournment debates, which give us Back Benchers such a useful opportunity to raise issues that otherwise might not get discussed. However, this is a slightly bizarre pre-recess Adjournment debate, given that we shall be back tomorrow to discuss phone hacking.

I want to talk about an issue that is pretty topical, given today’s reports about the Government reviewing private finance initiative contracts to save the taxpayer £1.5 billion. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Hereford and South Herefordshire (Jesse Norman), who has been a thoughtful and tireless campaigner on the issue. We have all heard stories of the catastrophic mistakes made in relation to PFI that have resulted in astronomical costs to the taxpayer. We should also have a debate about another classic example of Labour’s poorly executed attempts to bring the private and public sectors together. I want to talk about private sector contracts with the NHS.

The Cheshire and Merseyside NHS Treatment Centre was located in my constituency, in Runcorn. It was run by private company Interhealth, on a fixed-term, five-year contract between Interhealth and the Department of Health. The contract ended on 31 May, and the terms imposed by the Labour Government mean that the operating contract cannot be renewed. The high-quality care provided at the treatment centre very much fits as part of a modern national health service. The treatment centre is in a new building with high-quality facilities, and it has received excellent patient satisfaction feedback. The centre was also extremely popular locally, as demonstrated by the thousands of constituents who signed a petition opposing its closure.

That shows that, given the right conditions, the private sector can work with the NHS for the benefit of both organisations and the patients. Indeed, I agree with the right hon. Member for Leigh (Andy Burnham), who said when he was Labour’s Health Secretary that we should celebrate the role of the private sector in the NHS. Even if orthopaedics do not return to the treatment centre site in Halton Lea, patients are almost certain still to be treated in the private sector under the “any willing provider” guidance.

However, it is essential that any private sector contracts with the NHS are undertaken for the benefit of the taxpayer. Due to Labour’s poorly thought-out contracts, treatment centres under private ownership were paid a fixed amount regardless of how many patients they treated. The Runcorn centre did okay, and the local primary care trusts did their best to fill it to capacity, but others paid out millions for operations that were never carried out. Private providers were also paid a premium above the national NHS tariff. This is why I strongly welcome many of the aspects of the coalition’s NHS reforms, which will prevent the taxpayer from getting ripped off in bad private sector deals and ensure that patients get better choice and high-quality treatment.

Going back to the local case in Runcorn, the treatment centre building has now reverted to the ownership of NHS Halton and St Helens PCT, which is running a consultation on its future. It is vital that this world-class facility should continue to be used for the benefit of the local area, and I continue to urge my constituents to respond to the consultation to make certain that their voices are heard.

The Economy

Lord Evans of Rainow Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd June 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

The hon. Gentleman draws attention to the 520,000 net private sector jobs that are being created. It is also the case, as we saw yesterday, that the tax receipts have not only held up, but are ahead of forecast. The IMF said that an interesting question arises when that is put alongside the GDP figures. These forecasts are independent. That is one of the fundamental changes that we made. The Office for Budget Responsibility is independent. It is also a central forecast, rather than a cautious forecast, as used to be the case. That was another important change we made. We shall see as the economic data come in. We should welcome the public finance data last week and we should certainly welcome the unemployment data.

I give way to my constituency neighbour.

[Graham Evans (Weaver Vale) (Con)]

I am grateful to the Chancellor. Does he agree that manufacturing is the key to the long-term prosperity of our country, and that under Labour the number of people employed in manufacturing halved?

[Mr Osborne]

Indeed. The share of manufacturing as a proportion of our economy halved as well. That is how unbalanced the British economy became. Financial services boomed—we all know that; manufacturing halved as a share of our economy. One of the things that we are seeking to do is rebalance our economy.

Amendment of the Law

Lord Evans of Rainow Excerpts

Monday 28th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Graham Evans (Weaver Vale) (Con)]

Before I dive into my speech, I just want to provide clarity on a matter that has caused considerable trouble for Labour Members. In last Thursday’s Budget debate, the shadow Chancellor rightly referred to Members getting confused between debt and the deficit, but one of the worst offenders is the hon. Member for Streatham (Mr Umunna). Given his extremely confident exterior, his no doubt lengthy experience of working in the City and his position on the Treasury Committee, one would not expect him to be so easily confused about basic economic terms, but he has talked about “paying down the deficit”. For his benefit, let me explain: you can pay off or pay down debt, but you cannot pay down a deficit. The deficit is the gap between income and expenditure, and therefore the level of borrowing required. This is not just pedantic semantics, because it really matters when the Labour party confuses debt and the deficit. It makes a policy of halving the deficit over the course of this Parliament appear reasonable, but it is in fact a policy that involves continuing with massive levels of borrowing well beyond 2015, and saddling our children and grandchildren with even more debt. That is why a structural deficit is something that we need to eliminate and why two political parties have come together to achieve this goal by the end of this Parliament. I am very pleased that this Budget keeps us on track to do this.

Having got that off my chest, may I say that I am delighted to speak in this Budget debate and I am delighted at the announcements made last week by my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne)? My constituency stretches from the border with Tatton in mid-Cheshire all the way to Runcorn and Merseyside. As I have mentioned before, I am the only Government Member with a constituency on the Mersey estuary, so I am very pleased to welcome this Budget, which does more for Merseyside than any of Labour’s 13 Budgets between 1997 and 2010. The plans for enterprise zones in both Merseyside and Greater Manchester are great news for my constituents, who commute to both cities in large numbers. Along with the reduction in corporation tax and increased relief for small businesses, the zones will bring investment, help boost growth and create jobs.

I am also thrilled about the decision to invest £100 million in science capital development, with a substantial share going to the Daresbury science and innovation campus, in my constituency. That investment provides a sharp contrast with the Labour years, when funding was taken away from Daresbury and the north, to be put into alternative centres in the south-east. Many Members may be growing tired of my constant references to this world-class facility, but I will continue to support it in any way I can, and I welcome the creation of thousands of high-tech local jobs.

The timing of that investment also happens to be rather helpful for me. Just two days before the Budget, Rob Polhill, the Labour leader of Halton borough council attacked me in the local paper, asking:

“What new money has he actually won for Halton since he became the MP?”

Councillor Polhill has been very quiet since the Budget. But to be fair to him, he is not the only Labour politician struggling to respond to the Budget. The Leader of the Opposition’s Budget response last week was the most astonishing performance I have ever seen in this Chamber. He talked for 15 minutes but said nothing. Labour lack any credibility on the economy. Despite their leader ordering Front Benchers not to make any unfunded spending commitments in February, they went on to make £12 billion of spending commitments in just four weeks. The Labour Party has not changed: it is still suffering from spending diarrhoea—or, to use the correct medical Latin, “Balls-itis”.

I could list every welcome measure in the Budget, but I would run out of time. So let me focus on three areas that will help to reduce the burden on families. The 1p cut in fuel duty and the scrapping of Labour’s fuel escalator is very welcome. Many constituents have got in touch to express their concerns about rising prices, and I know that the cost of running a car falls particularly heavily on those with children. I have three young children and “Mum’s Taxis” takes them to football, cricket, rugby, jujitsu and parties. When we bought our Vauxhall Zafira five years ago, it cost £30 to fill the tank and it is now nearly £60. I congratulate the Government on the action they have taken; if Labour were still in power, people would be paying 6p a litre more in fuel duty. Labour is the party that punishes the motorist at every opportunity.

I welcome the help for home owners and the help on to the property ladder for first-time buyers. The Firstbuy programme of equity loans is an excellent initiative. When I knock on doors in my constituency, I regularly hear people’s worries that their children or grandchildren will never get to own their own home and will have no choice but to move away from Cheshire, so I am proud to support a Government who are taking practical steps to encourage more house building and to help people on to the property ladder. Finally, I congratulate the Government on raising the personal tax free allowance again. That is a big help for many people and has now taken more than a million of the lowest earners out of paying income tax altogether.

I shall finish by giving my full support to this excellent Budget, which boosts growth, helps families and is exceptionally good news for my constituency.

Equitable Life (Payments) Bill

Lord Evans of Rainow Excerpts

Tuesday 14th September 2010 Commons Chamber

[Graham Evans (Weaver Vale) (Con)]

First, I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton (Fiona Bruce) on her maiden speech. As a Macclesfield man, I thought I knew everything there was to know about Congleton, but I certainly learned a thing or two from her thoughtful and informative contribution.

I start by declaring an interest. As a former policyholder in Equitable Life, I have held a keen and personal interest in the matter for a long time. I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak in this debate and would like to take the chance to talk about the human element to this saga. When immersing oneself in this subject, it is all too easy to get caught up in the highly technical details of legal complexity, maladministration and commercial misjudgment, but it is very important to remember that it involves real pain for real people. Since being elected, I do not think a single day has gone by without my receiving one letter or e-mail from constituents who have been affected by the failure of Equitable Life. I recently had one lady in my constituency surgery crying while telling me about the difficulties she had faced owing to this mess—crying out of worry, despair and sheer frustration at the length of this debacle, which felt like it was going to drag on for ever. I share her frustration. It has been nearly 10 years since Equitable Life policies were cut in value, leading to pension reductions of sometimes up to a third. For 10 years, 1.5 million people have been waiting for compensation. Some have even died waiting; as we heard earlier, approximately 30,000 have done so. Is it any wonder that faith in our politics has fallen to an all-time low over the past decade?

Who are the people who have been waiting? We are not talking about the über-wealthy, nor are we talking about the reckless investors. The 1.5 million victims of the failure of Equitable Life are ordinary people. They did the right thing, putting money aside and trying to save for their future. I am certain that all Members of this House can agree that we should be encouraging a return to a savings culture in this country. I would submit that the falling confidence in our pensions system and the endless delays in resolving the Equitable tragedy are not entirely unconnected. It is only right that policyholders are given justice, and as soon as possible. Failure to do so would only further undermine confidence in pensions saving. For that reason, I welcome this Bill and give it my full support.

The contrast between the actions of this Government and the previous one could not be sharper. While Labour did its best to drag its feet and dither, the new Government have worked swiftly and shown that they will honour the commitments made in opposition. This Bill does not mark the end of the Equitable Life story, but it is, at long last, putting that end in sight. I am very encouraged that Ministers are clear that there is much more to do and are committed to seeing a fair outcome for all. It is absolutely right that they have taken time to reflect on Sir John Chadwick’s report and have sought the views of others.

For an issue as complicated as this, it is pleasing that the Bill is short and simple—for a simple man such as me—in giving the Treasury powers to make compensation payments to policyholders without pre-determining the level of compensation that should be paid. This should have been done years ago. If Labour had not spent its years in government endlessly delaying, it would have saved hundreds of thousands of people a great deal of anguish, and compensation could have been awarded in a less difficult economic period. Unfortunately, the previous Government used an absurd argument for not establishing a compensation scheme on the basis of their general responsibility to taxpayers. If one were to accept that argument, then surely compensation could never be paid in any circumstances when a public body was found to be responsible for financial loss and injustice—or perhaps compensation could be paid if the financial loss were relatively small and insignificant. Clearly, such arguments are ridiculous.

I am pleased that such arguments are over and that, even in a time of deeply constrained finances, the Government are working to bring justice for many of my constituents who are policyholders. The Bill is an essential measure in bringing about this justice, and I am delighted to support it.

Finance Bill

Lord Evans of Rainow Excerpts

Tuesday 6th July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Graham Evans (Weaver Vale) (Con)]

I am grateful for this opportunity to make my maiden speech, and I offer you my belated congratulations on your new appointment, Mr Deputy Speaker.

Despite not being the first Member to represent Weaver Vale, I am the first ever to give a maiden speech. My predecessor, Mike Hall, had already given his maiden speech as the Member for Warrington, South five years before this constituency was created in 1997. Although it is conventional to pay tribute to one’s predecessor in a maiden speech, Mike, who was never one for convention, said of his Conservative predecessor for Warrington South, Chris Butler, after what must have been a particularly bitterly fought contest, that

“it would be hypocritical of me to pass favourable comments on Mr. Butler.”—[Official Report, 6 May 1992; Vol. 207, c. 123.]

However, during my three years as a candidate trying my best to unseat Mike Hall, he was always extremely courteous to me, and I do not believe it would be hypocritical of me to pay tribute to the work that he did for the constituency. Although perhaps not the most high-profile of Members here in Westminster, he was highly regarded as a hard-working constituency MP for Weaver Vale. We shared similar interests in football and military history. Despite the views of his Labour colleagues on Halton council, we were in wholehearted agreement in our opposition to wind turbines being built on Frodsham marshes, as well as to the numerous incinerator applications across Cheshire. I was sorry to learn that Mike was forced to stand down owing to ill health and I wish him and his wife Lesley a long and happy retirement.

Weaver Vale is a rather unusual constituency in both its shape and character. Thanks to its ambiguous name, many Members have expressed a little confusion as to its whereabouts. The seat is located in the heart of Cheshire, focused around the River Weaver, a tributary of the River Mersey. It stretches from Northwich in the south-east to Runcorn in the north-west. It is a source of considerable pride that, on this side of the House, I am the sole representative on the Mersey estuary, although I am delighted that the right hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr Field) is to be working with the coalition.

Weaver Vale has an impressive and proud industrial history. Northwich, the largest town, is based on salt mining, which started in pre-Roman times. Imperial Chemical Industries was started in Northwich and one of its founders, Sir John Brunner, was a former Member of Parliament for the area. While ICI may be no more, Brunner Mond is still based in Northwich, and the chemical industry is still going strong in Runcorn, as well.

While traditional heavy industry is very much part of the landscape in the constituency, we have the added benefit of a wide range of high-tech industries at Daresbury, including robotics and nanotechnology. Indeed, Global BioDiagnostics has just announced that it will be moving its research and development to Daresbury, making it the home of the global fight against tuberculosis. The laboratory and the science and innovation campus are at the cutting-edge of science, as well as an essential provider of local jobs.

I firmly believe that these genuinely wealth-creating industries, both old and new, are going to be instrumental in leading the recovery. With this in mind, I am delighted to be giving my maiden speech in this debate on the Finance Bill, following the emergency Budget which has already helped to restore considerable market confidence with the message that Britain is open for business again. In particular, the plans for a regional growth fund and the substantial reduction in employer national insurance contributions in targeted areas demonstrate that this Bill is good news for industry and for the north of England.

Besides its industry, Weaver Vale has some of the most beautiful countryside and picturesque villages anywhere in the country—villages such as Crowton, Acton Bridge, Kingsley, Norley and Manley. Most distinctive of all is Helsby Hill and the surrounding settlements of Helsby and Frodsham. However, Weaver Vale is also a seat of sharp contrasts. Besides vibrant enterprise and leafy villages, there are areas of severe deprivation. Within Runcorn alone, the disparity is breathtaking. In the Windmill Hill area, only 8.1% of pupils achieve 5 GCSEs including maths and English. Those pupils can expect to live for nearly 10 years less and to earn an average of £30,000 a year less than my constituents who live in the more prosperous parts of Runcorn.

The gap would be even wider if Windmill Hill were compared with some of the prosperous commuter villages such as Hartford or Kingsmead. After 13 years of a Labour Government, this is quite simply a disgrace and should act as a constant reminder to those on the Labour Benches, who have already begun looking back on their time in government as some sort of golden age in which poverty and inequality were abolished. Sadly, the truth is that, under Labour, the poor got poorer while the debt grew bigger. Labour Members will almost certainly be spending the next few years in hysterical opposition, attacking the Government for fixing the mess they created, completely oblivious to the reality that we cannot help the most vulnerable in society by basing the economy on debt. Without wealth creation, we cannot achieve the social justice that we all want.

Before I finish, I would like briefly to express my thanks to my constituents, who have sent me here to represent them. It is the greatest honour and privilege of my life to serve the people of Cheshire. It has been quite a long and personal journey here, as well. I was born on a council estate in Cheshire, as the youngest of four children. My father was a wages clerk, but he died when I was young, and my mother worked in a series of local shops and pubs to make ends meet. I left my local comprehensive school with few qualifications and got a job stacking shelves at the local supermarket, but I was fortunate to have the chance to study business at night school, and went on to have a successful manufacturing career working in sales. I should like to think that I was one of those slick salesmen whom the right hon. Member for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (Mr Brown) liked to attack on such a regular basis in the last Parliament.

I have always enjoyed serving my local community, spending four years as a special constable in the Cheshire police and 10 years as a local councillor. I have no idea how long I will serve in the House—that will be up to the people of Weaver Vale—but I hope that if I am to leave this place sooner rather than later, I will be able to help, in a small way, to put the “great” back into Great Britain. In that vein, I commend the Bill to the House.