National Insurance: Employer Contributions

Debate between Lord Forsyth of Drumlean and Baroness Taylor of Stevenage

Thursday 9th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

The noble Earl raises a key point. We have looked very carefully at charities and the voluntary sector. Many arts organisations have charitable status and there has been significant support in the tax incentives for charities. In fact, charities receive a better tax incentive in this country than in most other European countries. I know that it is not ideal and, as I say, it is not a decision we wanted to take. Unfortunately, the financial situation left to us by the last Government meant that we had to take it.

[Lord Forsyth of Drumlean (Con)]

My Lords, in Monday’s debate on national insurance, a number of noble Lords raised the issue of special needs transport conducted by local authorities which is contracted out. In his response, the Minister said that £515 million—the figure the noble Baroness has just cited—had been set aside for local government. But that is for local government employees and will not provide support for the additional costs being incurred to provide special needs transport. This is an important area, so will the Minister perhaps look at this again?

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

I agree with the noble Lord that special needs transport has been a significant burden on local government in recent years, and with little help from the last Government. However, in the Budget, the Government announced £2 billion of new grant funding for local government in 2025-26. That includes the £515 million to which he referred to help with national insurance contributions. That £2 billion covers special educational needs home-to-school transport. I am not saying that will totally solve the problem. We have a spending review in the spring where I hope we will be able to look at that even further.

Social Housing: Right-to-buy Sales

Debate between Lord Forsyth of Drumlean and Baroness Taylor of Stevenage

Thursday 18th April 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Forsyth of Drumlean (Con)]

My Lords—

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

My Lords, with 3.8 million people on council housing waiting lists, some having waited nearly two decades, and with the economic case for social housing comprehensively demonstrated in the recent study by the National Housing Federation and Shelter, showing that building 90,000 social homes would add £51 billion to the economy, the need for delivery of more social homes gets more urgent by the day. Since the right-to-buy programme started in 1980, there has been a reduction in the number of social homes by 1.5 million. Some 40% of those homes are now let privately, and councils have no choice but to use them as expensive temporary accommodation for homeless families. That has pushed up the housing benefit since 1991 from £9 billion to £29.6 billion. Councils should be able to use the proceeds from right to buy to deliver like-for-like replacements, but with councils able to receive £100,000 of discount, that is difficult enough. Taking away the ability to retain 100% is another blow. Does the Minister not consider that this is an economically illiterate move, depriving people of the homes they need and driving the benefit bill ever upwards?

[Baroness Swinburne (Con)]

I draw the House’s attention to the fact that the right-to-buy receipt is only one very small portion of the entire receipts that are available to deliver affordable housing. Indeed, the £11.5 billion affordable homes programme is delivering thousands of affordable homes, including, since 2010, 696,000 new affordable homes, with over 172,600 homes available for social rent.