Youth Services

Debate between Lord Ashton of Hyde and Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton

Monday 3rd July 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

The Government looked at these particularly disadvantaged areas and set up the Youth Investment Fund, funded by DCMS and the Big Lottery Fund. It will award £40 million to the most disadvantaged areas in the country.

[Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton (Lab)]

My Lords, would the Minister accept that those of us who believe in local government in England despair at the way Westminster and the Government appear to be determining priorities? It is no good saying that local authorities have a statutory duty to provide when there is no quantity attached to that. The Minister keeps referring to local authority choice, but there is none in England: Westminster decides what can be spent and therefore determines what is needed. When will those of us in the English local authority system get the sort of money the Government appear to be spending per capita in Northern Ireland?

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

It is not true that it is just a question of local authority cuts. That is why central government is spending £40 million on the Step Up To Serve #iwill fund, £40 million on the Youth Investment Fund and £200 million on the National Citizen Service. They are providing real money to help youth services all around the country.

VAT: Evasion

Debate between Lord Ashton of Hyde and Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton

Monday 21st December 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

My Lords, that is some way from the subject of VAT evasion. I am not aware that the Chancellor has considered a packaging tax; if he has, he has not informed me.

[Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton (Lab)]

My Lords, in answer to my noble friend Lord Davies, the Minister referred to efficiency savings. When the current level of efficiency is improved, how long will people have to wait for telephone calls to be answered, or will they have to wait longer?

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

Obviously the idea is that they will not have to wait longer. I think everyone at HMRC has acknowledged that the service provided to individual taxpayers was substandard. That is why it recruited more people and has more people in training. HMRC expects that the service will be improved, as do we all.

Employment Tribunals

Debate between Lord Ashton of Hyde and Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton

Thursday 12th March 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

I do not accept the noble and learned Baroness’s premise. If the cost of the fees was prohibitive and stopped people going to an employment tribunal, that would be the case, but there are many reasons why people do not go to employment tribunals: the level of fees is not the only one. The fee reduction programme that we have in place is there specifically to allow people of limited means to access employment tribunals, as is their right.

[Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton (Lab)]

My Lords, what is the income level that debars people?

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

As far as the capital is concerned, it is savings of over £3,000—