Buses: Rural Services

Debate between Lord Foulkes of Cumnock and Baroness Vere of Norbiton

Tuesday 16th July 2019 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton]

I reiterate to the noble Lord that we are providing funding—we are supporting £2.12 billion-worth of funding. It is not just about the money; it is also about being innovative with how we spend it. It is the case that local authorities know what is best for their local communities. It is not up to national government to micromanage hyperlocal bus schedules.

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab Co-op)]

My Lords, in Scotland, thanks principally to free travel for older people, who can travel anywhere throughout Scotland absolutely free, rural bus services are being maintained and indeed expanded—incidentally, this is with help from the English taxpayer. Why is such a scheme not possible also in England?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton]

We operate things differently in England than they do in Scotland. But I stand by what I said earlier in that funding from central government is available. Local authorities can of course also access council tax, business rates and other local income. However, at the end of the day, it is about using money more effectively, not just throwing more money at it.

Charities: National Fund

Debate between Lord Foulkes of Cumnock and Baroness Vere of Norbiton

Monday 16th July 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton]

My Lords, I think I have made myself very clear on what the Charity Commission currently feels. Noble Lords looked at the Charities Act in 2011, and the Government have been through charities law fairly recently. It is a fact that the charity is required by law to adhere to the purpose of the fund, which is to pay off the national debt. It is an administrative sub-clause which requires the entire national debt to be paid off.

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab)]

My Lords, I declare an interest as chair of Age Scotland. Charities are finding it very difficult at the moment because of cutbacks in grants from government and local government and difficulty in fundraising. Can I suggest that we ask the views of the chair of the Charity Commission on this? We will then find out whether her interest is really in favour of charities or of the Government.

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton]

My Lords, I have already quoted the views of the then chair of the Charity Commission in February 2017. There is nothing to suggest that anything has changed. The Government will be proceeding as I have already explained.

Immigration White Paper

Debate between Lord Foulkes of Cumnock and Baroness Vere of Norbiton

Monday 5th February 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton]

I thank my noble friend for her question. I am afraid I am not able to answer the questions that she has raised about the numbers we are looking at and the forecast for our public services. I can say, however, that we are working very hard to improve the quality of the data we use for immigration forecasting. We are working very closely with the ONS and other parts of government to improve the quality and use of administrative data. We need a better understanding of how many migrants are in the UK, how long they stay for and what they are currently doing. The ONS will be reporting back within a year, and we look forward to its report.

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock]

My Lords—