High Street Retailers

Debate between Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth and Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe

Wednesday 4th July 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth]

My Lords, I can confirm to the noble Lord that we intend to do both of those things. We need thriving retail opportunities in the high street, but at the same time we need to recognise that sometimes, particularly in a time of housing need, it is appropriate that we seek opportunities for housing. Some town centres have made successful attempts to revive on the basis of coming together. I think of York in particular, with the Bishy Road. There are many circumstances in which, quite independently of government assistance, which is available in many cases, town centres are thriving, but they are the exception and we need to do more.

[Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe (Lab)]

My Lords, is it not true that there will be a change on the high street, so we have to deal with the reality and we should start planning for it now? Many high streets will be decimated and will not be what we have known in the past. That means that there will have to be investment. Given that we have Brexit coming and we will have freedom on VAT, are the Government, as part of their review, looking to see how they can use changes in VAT rates to ensure that we get the appropriate payments from new traders online?

[Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth]

My Lords, the noble Lord is right about the changing nature of the high street. There is no way, as somebody said to me, that we can stop evolution. These are changes that we have to embrace, but there are many things we can do such as, as the noble Lord hinted, ensuring there is a level playing field. VAT rates are not central to this; the important issue is international action in relation to online activities. The Treasury is seeking here to lead the charge with our partners, both in the EU and more widely.

Integrated Communities

Debate between Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth and Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe

Thursday 15th March 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth]

I thank my noble friend very much. I seem to remember somebody other than her parent said “Education, education, education”. I assume it was somebody else. I am sure it was. My Lords, it is central to the strategy, as is the role of women and girls, and particular issues faced by some communities in relation to the English language, so she is right to give emphasis to that point.

My noble friend’s points on poverty and disadvantage were again well made. We know from the Race Disparity Audit, which is going on in parallel to this, that there are disadvantaged communities that are not ethnic minority communities, so that has to be picked up as well. There certainly are disadvantaged communities among ethnic minorities, but some disadvantaged communities are not. Those two strands are going forward together.

[Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe (Lab)]

My Lords, I welcome the report. I would like to refer particularly to chapter 6, where I sense a weakness. “Education, education, education” is very good indeed but, if there is no employment at the end of it, it can lead to disillusionment and further problems, so I am very much in favour of “Investment, investment, investment”. Could the noble Lord give some indication of the kind of investment incentives they may be offering to try to make business go into places such as Blackburn, Bradford and Walsall, where we have high levels of unemployment in all aspects of the community there? That is one way we can find our way out of it. God only knows how Brexit is going to provide investment in those areas in the future. As we are focusing on these areas, could he say what additional incentive he may have been considering to get extra investment in those areas?

[Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord very much. I should first say that I hope to go to all of these different areas during the consultation, in so far as Brexit debates here and purdah allow, to see exactly what is happening in those different parts of the country. I have been to most of them over the last few months anyway. In Blackburn with Darwen, there is a considerable amount of very effective work going on renewing the town. There is excellent work being done around the cathedral and that area, and a business hotel recently opened in the centre of the town. There is work that we do, but he is right that we have to ensure that it is not just about providing education. Perhaps it is education in the wider sense here; we need to be aware of the importance of apprenticeships as well. We will be in discussions with those five areas, looking at their integration strategies and how we can develop job opportunities. The innovation fund, outside of those five areas, may also make a big contribution.