External Private Contractors: Government Use and Employment

Kim Johnson Excerpts

Wednesday 21st October 2020 Westminster Hall

[Kim Johnson (Liverpool, Riverside) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Pritchard. I congratulate the hon. Member for Liverpool, Wavertree (Paula Barker) on securing this important debate. Civil service numbers have gone down in key Departments—the Department for Work and Pensions, the Home Office, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Department of Health and Social Care—by between 30% and 50%, most drastically in the last couple of years.

They are the services that are most needed by the public. Yet the outsourced market has an annual turnover of £82 billion. Research by Unison shows that £9 billion has been paid in total cost overruns on 105 outsourced IT contracts in central and local government, the NHS and other public bodies. No one can ignore the latest disastrous privatisation of the test, track and trace system, where some consultants are paid £7,000 a day. That is just under half of what civil servants on the lowest AO grade outside London earn in a year.

Despite its failure, Serco is set to generate between £160 million and £165 million in profits this year, thanks to its covid-19 contracts. Last year, the CEO, Rupert Soames, pocketed an estimated £4.5 million. It is not about the money, and nor is it about effectiveness. Serco’s test, track and trace contract is running at 67% effectiveness, compared with the 97% effectiveness of local public health teams. This is the same Serco that was fined £2.6 million for shortcomings in relation to a contract for asylum seekers’ accommodation in January 2020 and that paid £22.9 million to the Serious Fraud Office under its tagging contract, where it claimed for returned, released or even dead clients.

As long as someone is a friend of this Government, their ability to deliver is irrelevant. Now it appears that Serco may be awarded a contract to run interviews with vulnerable asylum seekers for the Home Office. The PCS union has serious concerns that the Home Office is cynically using the covid situation to bring in privatisation through the back door, and I agree with those concerns. Outsourcing is most certainly not about improving terms and conditions—look at the ISS cleaners, in dispute with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs for several months, including in my Liverpool constituency, over the failure of companies to pay a living wage or afford them the sick pay and holiday entitlement of their directly employed counterparts. Now the same company is bidding to take on HMRC’s security contract, which will lead to more job losses.

The rationale behind the massive outsourcing of public sector work to the private sector is driven by ideology and nothing else. It leads to job losses, insecure contracts, lower wages and worse terms and conditions, but bigger profits for the Tory donors. I am fully behind our public sector unions—PCS, Unison and Unite—in fighting back for a living wage, secure jobs and decent terms and conditions and to save the public purse money, because it is becoming increasingly clear that privatisation is not about saving public funds.

Covid-19 Update

Kim Johnson Excerpts

Monday 12th October 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Indeed. Everybody who is told to self-isolate because they have been in contact with somebody with an index case of covid should remember that there is £500 to help them but also a £10,000 fine if they fail to do so and therefore risk the virus spreading further.

[Kim Johnson (Liverpool, Riverside) (Lab)]

Liverpool will be placed on the highest restrictions from Wednesday, with the closure of pubs, clubs, gyms and other leisure facilities for at least four weeks. Will the Government stand by their commitment to safeguard businesses by properly compensating them and allowing them to survive the latest restrictions imposed on Liverpool city region, and provide us with the necessary financial support to protect jobs and livelihoods?

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, indeed. That is why my right hon. Friend the Chancellor announced grants of up to £3,000 and why we have the job support system, which is designed to help people in exactly the circumstances the hon. Lady describes.

Covid-19

Kim Johnson Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd September 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, indeed, and I want to thank the staff and students in my hon. Friend’s constituency and across the country for the 99.9% of schools that are now back open. The vast majority of pupils are back in their schools, and they should have confidence to be there. They are in the right place; it is by far the best place for them to be. We are sending out new test kits the whole time and there is an online portal through which every school can now access the tests that they need.

[Kim Johnson (Liverpool, Riverside) (Lab)]

Liverpool begins local lockdown measures today. When restrictions were first imposed six months ago, the Prime Minister outlined a package of financial support for local government. We did all that was asked of us, but we have now been left with a £23 million funding gap. What support is the Prime Minister able to announce today for hard-hit councils?

[The Prime Minister]

As I have told the hon. Lady before, I believe that we have put about £3.7 billion into supporting local government. We will continue to support local government, and I will look at the £23 million funding gap that she raises with me today.

EU Exit: End of Transition Period

Kim Johnson Excerpts

Monday 13th July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. Part of the information campaign we are launching today is aimed at businesses in the European Union, as well as at UK businesses, to ensure they are aware of what they need to do. Awareness is high.

[Kim Johnson (Liverpool, Riverside) (Lab)]

Will the Minister answer concerned residents living near the site of the lorry park in Kent, who will want to know if an assessment of noise and air pollution will be published?

[Michael Gove]

As I mentioned earlier, there are a number of potential sites in Kent and we will make sure that, whichever site is chosen, the appropriate procedures are followed to safeguard not just the commercial life of the nation but the interests of nearby residents.

Oral Answers to Questions

Kim Johnson Excerpts

Wednesday 10th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mary Kelly Foy (City of Durham) (Lab)]

What discussions she has had with her international counterparts on requiring private creditors to cancel debt owed by developing countries during the covid-19 pandemic.

[Kim Johnson (Liverpool, Riverside) (Lab)]

What discussions she has had with her international counterparts on requiring private creditors to cancel debt owed by developing countries during the covid-19 pandemic.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development (James Duddridge)]

The UK, the G20 and the Paris Club will suspend debt repayments from the poorest countries due this year. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer and his G20 counterparts have called on private sector creditors to do likewise. At the World Bank spring forum, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development amplified that call, along with other World Bank governors.

--- Later in debate ---

[James Duddridge]

I thank the hon. Lady for recognising the work that has already been done on suspension and relief. That will perhaps be looked at again, in terms of private sector relief and expanding either the data or the amounts of both those schemes, before looking at cancellation issues, which will have a longer-term impact. We need to focus on solutions that will help immediately and leave longer-term solutions for the longer term, but that is still very much on the table. I would not want to leave the House with the impression the World Bank is doing nothing. The international development banks overall are putting $200 billion into developing countries over the next 15 months as a result of the covid crisis.

[Kim Johnson]

Have a wonderful birthday, Mr Speaker. The coronavirus is having a significant impact on developing countries. The economic impact of the crisis is very severe. Poor countries face a debt crisis unlike anything we have seen. Their finances have been decimated by the global crisis, with private creditors exploiting the debt. The commitments made by the G20 at the spring meetings were a great start in reducing countries’ debt burdens. However, does the Minister agree that suspension is not enough and that it will lead to a further debt crisis in two years’ time? Does he agree that what countries urgently need now from the G20 is the cancellation of debt payments?

[James Duddridge]

The hon. Lady is right that suspension on its own is not an adequate response, but it was the right response to make immediately. She mentions the private sector. The Institute of International Finance is already working with the 450 main private sector lenders and put in place the terms of reference 10 days ago. The private sector, far from being abusive, can join that debt suspension. There will be a case potentially for extending that period and extending relief more generally, and we will continue our discussions with Her Majesty’s Treasury on that. Ultimately, for some countries, cancellation may be an option, but we have to remember that 50% of countries were struggling even before covid.

Parliamentary Constituencies Bill

Kim Johnson Excerpts

2nd reading & 2nd reading: House of Commons & Money resolution & Money resolution: House of Commons & Programme motion & Programme motion: House of Commons
Tuesday 2nd June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Kim Johnson (Liverpool, Riverside) (Lab)]

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important Bill. However, I believe that basing the review on the number of registered electors as of 1 December 2020 will not provide an accurate or up-to-date picture of our current electorate and will have huge implications for cities such as mine with universities. The 1 December 2020 register is the enumeration date for the review, meaning that the size of the electorate on 1 December will be used throughout the new boundary review as the officially recognised size of the current electorate. I believe that that will cause many issues, as the electoral register is likely to be severely impacted by the current crisis. The coronavirus is likely to have a significant effect on the annual canvass, meaning that the registers will be less accurate and complete than other recent registers.

The constituency that I represent—Liverpool, Riverside —has an electorate of almost 73,500 and three universities, with an estimated 70,000 students living in the city. The data proposed is two decades old, but it is estimated that the electorate has increased by at least 2 million since the last boundary changes. There are also widespread concerns that, due to the coronavirus, many students will not return to their universities by December 2020, meaning that thousands of students from across the country will not be registered to vote. This will significantly skew the electoral size of university towns, where the student population is dense. As a result, constituency boundaries will not reflect the true size or make-up of the constituency under normal circumstances.

To conclude, I urge the Government to consider using the December 2019 electoral register as the enumeration date for the review. This would capture a highly representative snapshot of the electorate in the run-up to the 2019 general election. That date would also prevent any delay to the review, thereby allowing new boundaries to be in place for the next general election.

Budget Resolutions

Kim Johnson Excerpts

Wednesday 11th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Kim Johnson (Liverpool, Riverside) (Lab)]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to make my maiden speech during this Budget debate. I am honoured and privileged to have been elected as the MP for Liverpool, Riverside, and to represent the constituency in which I was born, grew up and still live. My roots go very deep and long in the community. I am immensely proud to have been elected as the first black MP for Liverpool. My proudest moment, though, is giving birth to my amazing twins, Kyle and Layla.

I take this opportunity to thank my constituents and the Riverside constituency Labour party for putting their faith and trust in me and working tirelessly throughout my campaign. My predecessor, Dame Louise Ellman, held the seat for 22 years. She was a hard-working constituency MP, who supported many constituents with immigration cases and prevented deportations, and she was a long-serving member of the Transport Committee. I wish her well in her retirement.

My fellow Scouse MPs—Paula, Ian and Mickey—provide daily support and lots of laughs, and without them this would be a very lonely place. Being a politician was never on my bucket list. I grew up in an ordinary working-class family, the granddaughter of immigrants from West Africa and Dublin. I am the eldest of five. My mum and dad both worked—my dad in construction, my mum in factories and latterly as a cleaner. We did not go away on holiday or have a car. I lived in a terraced house with an outside toilet. Sadly, my dad, Joseph Johnson, died in 1981 when he was 51, leaving my mum, Kathy, widowed at 41 with five kids.

I attended an all-girls school in a working-class area where aspiration was in short supply and teachers had very few expectations of us. We were not encouraged to consider university or a professional career, and yet here I am, a working-class black woman in this House, which was never created for people like me, the Member of Parliament for Liverpool, Riverside.

I know that I am biased, but Liverpool is the best city in the world, and known to many globally. The history of Liverpool can be traced back to 1190. The city was created in 1207, when King John granted a Royal Charter. Liverpool was once the Second City of Empire, eclipsing even London for commerce. Its growth as a major port was paralleled by the expansion of the city throughout the industrial revolution. Liverpool’s wealth was built on the back of the slave trade, with thousands of slave ships leaving the port over many years. The city has a shameful history of slavery and exploitation. The trading in human lives made Liverpool rich and powerful, leaving a permanent mark for generations to come. In 1999, the city council made an unreserved apology for the city’s role in the slave trade. Liverpool is a port city and has a long-established diverse population, with the oldest black community in the UK and the oldest Chinese community in Europe. Black people continue to be significantly under-represented across the public and private sectors—in education, health, housing, and at all levels of political and civic engagement.

Liverpool, Riverside is a very diverse constituency with some quite affluent wards, and others with high levels of multi-deprivation—some of the poorest wards in the country. It covers the city centre and the waterfront. There are two cathedrals, three universities, the major arts and cultural organisations, and three hospitals—one yet to be completed due to the collapse of Carillion, with patients cared for in a building that is not fit for purpose. Liverpool’s waterfront was designated a world heritage site by UNESCO in July 2004 as a result of the city’s significance as a commercial port at the time of Britain’s greatest global influence. With the most listed building outside London, the city’s heritage is clearly visible, but our achievements go much further than bricks and mortar. In 2008 Liverpool was declared European capital of culture, which has contributed to a major renaissance in the city.

I cannot talk about Liverpool without mentioning football. Liverpool is the most successful footballing city in England, home to both Liverpool and Everton football clubs, and I do not need to say how fabulously well Liverpool have been doing this season. Although most people will know that The Beatles came from Liverpool, what most people will not know is that Liverpool is a very unique city that does things very differently. We are a city of many firsts, and I will name just a few. We had the first subscription library in England. In 1842, Kitty Wilkinson founded the world’s first public baths and wash houses. Football nets were used for the first time in 1890, after being invented by Liverpool city engineer John Brodie. Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine was the first in Britain when it opened in 1899. The first school for the blind was established in Liverpool, and the RSPCA, NSPCC and Age Concern all evolved from the city.

Liverpool is now the seventh most visited city in the UK, with tourists bringing £3.6 billion of revenue to the city every year. Our tourism industry currently employs about 50,000 people. However, despite all of this, the city has the highest unemployment rate of any British city when hidden unemployment is taken into account. We have suffered as a result of managed decline during the Thatcher years. The city has been ravaged by 10 years of draconian austerity measures; we have had 64% of our budget stolen from us, equating to a loss of £450 million, with more people now reliant on food banks, greater levels of in-work poverty and children going hungry during school holidays. Last summer, the city council fed 30,000 kids in its summer lunch scheme. We are the fifth richest country in the world. We should not be in this position.

While the most vulnerable have been penalised with pernicious welfare benefits changes, the rich have been rewarded with tax breaks, but we are a resilient city and we will always fight back. Before I was elected as an MP, I worked for social services at Liverpool City Council, and I saw on a daily basis the impact that these harsh cuts had on the city. What we needed from the Budget today was greater provision for local government and adult social care, but I did not hear anything about levelling up for my constituents in Riverside.

I am a very proud Scouser and a socialist, and I intend to spend my time in this House holding the Government to account and being the voice of my constituency, challenging social injustice and inequality at every turn. The constituents of Liverpool, Riverside, particularly young people, need the hope of a better future.