Women in the Workplace
Debate between Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville and Baroness Williams of Trafford
Baroness Williams of Trafford
My Lords, I did not quote that figure; it was the noble Lord, Lord Beecham. However, I recognise that those are the figures. This Government must balance the reduction of the deficit and growing the economy. Everyone has to play their part.
Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville (Con)
My Lords, does my noble friend recall that the only occasion on which the wartime coalition Government were defeated on the Floor of the House of Commons between 1939 and 1945 was on an amendment to Mr Butler’s Education Act 1944 to the effect that, after the war, women teachers should be paid as much as male teachers? That amendment was moved by the late noble kinsman of my noble friend Lord Eccles. It was carried by one vote, but it was carried by Conservative votes.
Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)
My noble friend will appreciate that I do not remember it, but he demonstrates, as always, a very good point.
Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill [HL]
Debate between Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville and Baroness Williams of Trafford
Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville (Con)
My Lords, as the speeches so far have come from the opposition Benches, I gently remind your Lordships’ House that the first legislation to allow the general public to attend council meetings in committee was introduced by my late noble friend, Baroness Thatcher. I would not wish my noble friend the Minister to feel lonely at this moment. It is a notable piece of history to which I allude. The Minister for Housing and Local Government at the time was my late noble kinsman, Henry Brooke, who encouraged the new Member of Parliament for Finchley to become involved at an early stage in introducing legislation. It was her first legislative achievement, and he sat on the Front Bench throughout when she took the Bill through the House. I would not wish the metaphor to be misunderstood, but it was a good case of picking out a dark horse before it got into the limelight.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Williams of Trafford) (Con)
My Lords, Amendment 42A seeks to insert a new clause regarding access for the press and public to combined authority meetings. Whatever the whys or wherefores of the press’s engagement with council meetings, I am happy to confirm that legislation already exists on these issues. As my noble friend Lord Brooke has pointed out, the Local Government Act 1972 provides that all meetings of a combined authority must be open to the public except in limited, defined circumstances.
A meeting of a combined authority, as with other council meetings, may be closed to the public in only two circumstances: if the presence of the public is likely to result in the authority breaching a legal obligation about the keeping of confidential information; and if the authority decides, by the passing of a resolution of its members, that exempt information—for example, information relating to the financial affairs of a particular person—would likely be disclosed.
The Conservative-led coalition Government made new regulations in 2014 to make it absolutely clear that a combined authority is required to allow any member of the public or press to take photographs, film, audio record and report on all public meetings. This openness helps to ensure that combined authorities are genuinely accountable to the local people they serve. It also ensures genuine transparency in this digital age, where our democracy can be enhanced by the use of social media and blogging to communicate widely and, as the noble Baroness, Lady Hollis, said, to capture the market that does not want to spend more than 30 seconds reading such matters.
These requirements apply equally to any committees or sub-committees of a combined authority, including any overview and scrutiny committees. Subsection (1)(a) of the proposed amendment refers to a meeting between a mayor and the relevant combined authority. I should clarify that the mayor will be a member of the combined authority—indeed, will be the chairman—so such a meeting would simply be a meeting of the combined authority and is covered by these rules. Similarly, a meeting of the leaders of a combined authority, if I understand the noble Lord’s meaning, will be a meeting of the members of a combined authority, who are most likely—although not always—to be the leaders of the constituent councils.
The noble Lord, Lord Shipley, asked about Schedule 3. This is an enabling provision which ensures that there is flexibility to decide which information can be appropriately disclosed or must be discussed. For example, certain information may be commercially confidential or contain sensitive personal information.
I hope that, with these reassurances, the noble Lord will agree to withdraw his amendment.
Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville
My Lords, this is a brief intervention. One of the most attractive features underlying this legislation is the restoration of local pride up and down the country in the communities and neighbourhoods involved. I have always regretted from my time as Higher Education Minister that the relationship between universities and their surrounding communities, which had been very strong in the 19th century, gradually declined as the years went on and were not nearly as effective as they had historically been.
In the light of the amendment which has been moved, I wish to make a generic remark rather than a technical one. I can recall the circumstances in which decisions were taken at national level to reduce the amount of money retained by a local authority in terms of the resources raised within it. The local authority’s powers to have that retention were diminished. I recall that those circumstances arose because of the view of local business that it was perfectly possible for the economic situation in which it had to work to be changed overnight by a large switch in the power of an authority. I shall therefore be interested in what sense emerges from the Government, when my noble friend comes to reply, of not going backwards on that consequence of the circumstances which they replaced.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
My Lords, our intention is to devolve far-reaching powers where strong, accountable and transparent governance, delivery and capability can be demonstrated. We are open to discussing proposals from all places, including towns and counties, where there are clear lines of accountability and decision-makers can properly be held to account. Amendments 43 and 44 suggest giving mayoral combined authorities access to a wide range of important taxes and charges. We have always said that we are interested in hearing proposals from authorities, and that nothing is off the table. We have also included provisions in the Bill for a council tax precept to meet the costs of functions undertaken by the mayor. This will be subject to the normal referendum principles as part of the council tax for the area, ensuring that not only will the mayoral combined authority be properly resourced but local council taxpayers will be protected.
Moreover, the Bill will mean that, in future, mayoral combined authorities will become major precepting authorities for the purposes of the local government finance regime. This means that through the existing powers that govern the rates retention scheme, to which the noble Lord, Lord McKenzie, referred, we will already be able to give mayoral combined authorities their own share of local rates income and ensure that they benefit from local growth. We do not need powers to put in place multi-year settlements for authorities; we can already do this administratively, as part of the wider local government finance settlement. Of course, any decision to make use of the existing powers to extend the rates retention scheme or put in place multi-year settlements would be taken alongside part of the wider transfer of powers and functions to mayoral combined authorities.
To devolve the wider basket of taxes referred to in Amendment 43, however, goes further and would represent a significant change to the existing tax landscape, with potentially significant legal, economic and fiscal implications. The other taxes mentioned play an important part in reducing the deficit and restoring the nation’s finances to a more secure footing, so it would not be right to include in the Bill powers to direct these taxes to mayoral combined authorities.
Additionally, such far-reaching powers would have potential consequences not just for the combined authorities but for other authorities, large and small businesses, and taxpayers up and down the country. Given the importance and fiscal character of such matters, we would need to consider whether any proposals would receive the correct level of scrutiny if provided through secondary legislation. I am not convinced, therefore, that it would be appropriate for these matters to be the subject of powers in the Bill or considered outside the Government’s normal fiscal and budget-planning cycle. Nevertheless, we are open to proposals for the transfer of resources as well as power and would give detailed consideration to any scheme that strikes the right balance between encouraging growth and protecting taxpayers.
The noble Lord, Lord McKenzie, asked about any proposals to remove central Government influence on local fees and charges. It would depend on individual deals. The noble Lord also asked about brigading national budgets. I cannot read the writing—
International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Bill
Debate between Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville and Baroness Williams of Trafford(9 years, 9 months ago)
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Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville
I do not know on what amendment I am going to make this speech if I do not make it on this one. But I do take the point, and I am extremely grateful for the intervention.
Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)
My Lords, perhaps I may just ask noble Lords, if they would not mind, to stick to the amendment in a general sense.
Higher Education: Financial Sustainability
Debate between Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville and Baroness Williams of Trafford
Baroness Williams of Trafford
My Lords, I do not think I am going into defensive mode. I reiterate the view of the OECD, which is a widely respected body, on the sustainability of higher education finance. Like the noble Earl, Lord Howe, I have forgotten the second part of the question. I remember—since the report was published, as the Chancellor set out in the Autumn Statement, we have in fact announced that postgraduate loan-based funding would be available from 2016. We have addressed some of the concerns within the report.
Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville (Con)
My Lords, will my noble friend take comfort from the fact that when Mr Blair advanced the policy of “education, education, education”, he did so after the Conservatives had raised participation in higher education to a percentage in the middle 30s after inheriting a figure of 12% from the Labour Party in 1979?
Baroness Williams of Trafford
My Lords, I always take comfort in everything that my noble friend says.