Food: Food Banks

Debate between Lord Haskel and Lord De Mauley

Tuesday 26th November 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Haskel]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the request by the Executive Chairman of the Trussell Trust for an inquiry into the causes of food poverty and the incidence of the usage of food banks.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord De Mauley) (Con)]

My Lords, the Government recognise the good work of organisations that redistribute surplus food to those who might otherwise struggle to access nutritional meals. However, the root causes of household food insecurity are varied and complex. We are not proposing to record the number of food banks or the potential number of people using them or other types of food aid. To do so would place unnecessary burdens on volunteers trying to help their communities.

[Lord Haskel (Lab)]

My Lords, yesterday I visited the Trussell food bank in Richmond—the third wealthiest place in the country. There the food bank distributes a tonne of food a month, up 60% on the year, to people referred to it from 40 agencies, many of them associated with the Minister’s department. Is the Minister content to leave it to charity to feed thousands of people who fall through the cracks of his department? Does the Minister agree that this food poverty must not—cannot—go on? How will the Government bring it to an end?

[Lord De Mauley]

My Lords, the gist of the noble Lord’s question was whether the Government think that it is okay to rely on the voluntary sector. The answer is no. The Government recognise the good work of charitable organisations that redistribute surplus food, but the Government also have a role. It is not the Government’s role to set prices, but we work to promote open and competitive markets that help to offer the best prices to consumers. Through Healthy Start and other initiatives, we provide a nutritional safety net in a way that encourages healthy eating among more than 500,000 pregnant women and children under four years old in very low-income and disadvantaged families throughout the UK.

Aerospace Industry

Debate between Lord Haskel and Lord De Mauley

Monday 5th December 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord De Mauley]

My Lords, I cannot answer that question, but I very much hope so. I will write to my noble friend.

[Lord Haskel]

Thinking about the supply chain, the Minister said nothing about skills. Is he aware that many component suppliers are not able to supply parts because of the shortage of skills? Aerospace manufacturers are having to buy their components abroad. The logical conclusion of that is that they will put the manufacture of the planes themselves overseas.

[Lord De Mauley]

That is also an extremely important point. We have invested £1.3 billion in apprenticeships this year and another £180 million in funding adult apprenticeships to deliver 250,000 more apprenticeships over the spending review period than was previously planned, and £250 million has been allocated to develop the vocational training that businesses need. We are making it easier for small employers to take on young apprentices, and we are working with the lead trade association ADS and the sector skills group SEMTA to secure the skills and competencies and make aerospace the industry of choice for the workforce of tomorrow.

Welfare Reform Bill

Debate between Lord Haskel and Lord De Mauley

Wednesday 26th October 2011 Grand Committee

[Lord De Mauley]

My Lords, I know that noble Lords will want to go on but I have to disappoint them. I suggest that this would be a convenient moment to adjourn the Committee until 3.30 pm on Tuesday.

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees]

The Committee stands adjourned.

Welfare Reform Bill

Debate between Lord Haskel and Lord De Mauley

Monday 10th October 2011 Grand Committee

[Lord De Mauley]

My Lords, this might be an appropriate moment to have a 10-minute comfort break.

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Lord Haskel)]

The Committee stands adjourned for 10 minutes.

Economy

Debate between Lord Haskel and Lord De Mauley

Monday 7th June 2010 Lords Chamber

[Lord Haskel]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to bring more balance between different sectors of the economy.

[Lord De Mauley]

My Lords, our economy is indeed too narrowly focused on just a few industries and a few regions. Growth must be spread across the country, making full use of talent across the United Kingdom and across business sectors. The Government’s central task is in fostering the right conditions for business and innovation to succeed. In specific answer to the noble Lord’s Question, we are carefully considering the recommendations made in the Dyson review: improving the current system of financial regulation, halting the rise of red tape, supporting apprenticeships and creating a green investment bank.

[Lord Haskel]

I thank the Minister for that response. Is he aware that, three days after I put this Question down, the Prime Minister rushed off to Yorkshire and made a speech exactly on this topic? Does that demonstrate the power of Question Time in the House of Lords or the urgency of the issue? In his speech in Yorkshire, the Prime Minister used many fine words such as “supporting growing industries” and providing the,

“long-term … support our economy needs”.

Can the Minister explain exactly what those words mean in terms of government action?

[Lord De Mauley]

My Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord on being so prescient. As he identified, the Government believe that we need to reduce our reliance on one or a small number of sectors, particularly the financial sector. The most important element will be to foster and encourage technology, especially high-tech manufacturing, an area in which I know the noble Lord takes a special interest. That is why we commissioned the Dyson report, which identified five key challenges for government, including the education of scientists, engineers and technicians, exploiting knowledge better and financing and supporting high-tech businesses, which the Government are examining closely. No one suggests that this is going to be easy. We have already announced a number of reforms to simplify business taxes and to reduce red tape, which are critical to encouraging and helping business.