Queen’s Speech

Lord Lee of Trafford Excerpts

Thursday 29th June 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Lee of Trafford (LD)]

My Lords, many argue that tourism should be within the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. However, it is within DCMS and that is why I speak on it today. I declare an interest as the chairman of the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions.

I have long argued that tourism is the number one industry in more parliamentary constituencies than any other single industry. Although I did not expect it to be in the gracious Speech—as indeed it was not—I did expect it to figure rather more prominently in the election manifestos of the major parties. Sadly, there was little specific or original comment on tourism; mostly, there were bland comments about supporting the industry. However, I was amused by the statement in Labour’s manifesto:

“Labour will ensure that tourism becomes a national priority again”.


Perhaps someone on the Labour Benches can tell me when Labour made tourism a priority in the past.

Currently, the industry is reasonably prosperous. The Tourism Alliance forecast a 10% increase in inbound tourism for 2017, helped by the devaluation of the pound. But while adult domestic tourism to our cities has held up well post the appalling terrorist atrocities, the latest evidence is that there has been a noticeable reduction in children’s visits.

The turmoil and uncertainty caused by Brexit is bad news for tourism. I sometimes think that Brexit supporters thought that withdrawing from Europe would be just as easy as cancelling one’s membership of the local leisure club, in so far as they thought about it at all. Some 66% of visitors to the UK come from the EU and air traffic agreements are of crucial importance, but the major area of concern lies with the non-British nationals without whom our hospitality industry would collapse. Currently, 4.5 million people are employed in tourism and hospitality. It is our fourth largest industry by employment. A KPMG report for the British Hospitality Association estimated that 24% of this workforce are non-British nationals, including 75% of waiters and waitresses, 25% of chefs and 37% of housekeeping staff. Brexit has created massive uncertainty for these people and the Government should have guaranteed their continued settlement months ago, as so many in your Lordships’ House have argued and voted for.

Most importantly, it is ludicrous that so many job opportunities in this sector are spurned by our own nationals. Frankly, there should be no youth unemployment at all in this country. It is estimated that there will be an additional 7,000 coffee shops by 2025 and that 15,000 hotel rooms are under construction in London alone. In Richmond, Surrey, where we now live, virtually every other restaurant, bar and tea room is advertising for more staff.

One area of job creation opportunity lies within our penal establishments. Our level of recidivism is appalling but Timpson, the retail chain, is to be applauded for its efforts in this area. I was delighted that its chairman, John Timpson, was awarded a richly deserved knighthood in the recent Honours List. Ten per cent of the Timpson workforce are ex-offenders and it runs a range of training operations in a number of our prisons. Why can our major coffee chains and other hospitality players not do the same? There has to be a real opportunity here to provide a career pathway out of a life of crime. The right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Gloucester commented earlier on youth offenders.

I recently wrote to Whitbread about this—its two major divisions being Premier Inn and Costa coffee—and it replied quite encouragingly. Whitbread needs to take on 3,000 people annually to sustain its growth. It has invested £2 million in its WISE programme—that is, Whitbread Investing in Skills and Employment—and 800 people are currently undertaking Whitbread apprenticeships. Costa recently commenced working with offenders and ex-offenders; particularly encouragingly, last month Costa’s UK HR team had a meeting with the National Offender Management Service at the Ministry of Justice. Clearly, it will take some time to establish a proper infrastructure and support system but I wish it well. Other major players in this sector should follow Whitbread’s lead.

I urge the Government to work with hospitality employers, perhaps by providing some form of incentive or resource. There has to be a real human and economic opportunity here.

Contracting Out (Local Authorities Social Services Functions) (England) Order 2011

Lord Lee of Trafford Excerpts

Monday 13th June 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Beecham]

My Lords, in 51 years in active politics, I have never before spoken in support of the SWP. This, however, is a different SWP, and I am happy to support the initiative, which, as the Minister has rightly said, follows an equivalent process in children’s services. However, there are one or two questions that I should like to ask.

First, I assume that it will be open to council health and adult services scrutiny committees, if they wish, to look into the operation of the scheme in their individual authorities. That would be a helpful addition to the process. Secondly, it would also be helpful to be assured that the terms and conditions of those to whom this work will be contracted in adult care services will be comparable to those in current adult services departments. One does not want to see—as has sometimes happened, for example, in my own authority—the contracting out of domiciliary care services even to voluntary sector organisations that pay barely above the minimum wage. That is compared to somewhat above it, although not vastly above it, at the moment.

Thirdly, in respect of the possible formation of new bodies by local authority employees, a matter on which the Minister touched, there might be problems with the European Union procurement and competition laws. We have touched on this from time to time, and will no doubt revert to it in the event that a Bill dealing with the National Health Service comes to this House in due course. I assume that, for the purposes of these experiments, it is perhaps unnecessary to worry too much about that, but is it a factor that might have to be taken into account later?

In relation to the right to control, again, this is a sensible way to proceed. This is a matter not only for the individual and the organisation that helps him but also, I suspect, for the local authority in helping people navigate the various providers and alternative courses of action. For that matter, they must also ensure that sufficient information is available to provide value for money for the applicant. Would it be intended to extend this experiment to provision by the health service for disabled people, either from GP practices or trusts? Presumably at the moment some functions are provided by such statutory organisations as well as by the local authority. If it is not intended to bring that in at this stage, is it something that could be looked at, maybe within the trailblazers working with their local health partners, to see whether this right to control might be extended?

I am reassured to hear that monitoring will take place for individual projects but the document says:

“The Trailblazers … will evaluate the best ways to implement the Right”.

I am not sure whether that means a collective view will be taken by the trailblazers or individual trailblazers will report. In either event, who will decide, and with whom, how matters are taken forward? For example, is it the department’s intention to consult patient groups or groups representing the people affected? I assume that that is probably the case but it would be as well to have it spelt out.

Finally, we should bear in mind what currently worries so many people about Southern Cross and reflect on the difficulties that arose as a result of local authorities effectively being driven out of the provision of residential care for the elderly in the 1980s and 1990s when they became heavily dependent on largely private sector providers. I emphasise the need, whatever happens, in a mixed economy of care, which most of us support, for a local authority role to remain in provision. It is worrying that there is now little direct provision of residential care by local authorities. That leaves not just the system but, of more concern, the individuals who are in care and being looked after vulnerable to the pressures of the market. I am sure that the Minister would not wish to see problems of that kind arising so it would be helpful to be given encouragement that local authorities, in conjunction with other providers, will be able to remain on the field, as it were. As I understand it, at the moment it is not possible for people to use direct payments to procure services from their local authority. Perhaps that could be looked at in the context of these experiments as matters go forward.

[Lord Lee of Trafford]

My Lords, these Benches are happy to support this pilot. However, I wish to ask my noble friend one or two questions. First, will the resources currently spent by local authorities in assessing social care needs and arranging care be passed on in their entirety to the organisations to which this duty is being contracted out? If so, for how long will this contractual arrangement last? Who is conducting the independent review of the pilots and will the findings be made available to the House?

[Baroness Wall of New Barnet]

My Lords, I wish to pursue a matter that has already been discussed and emphasise a couple of concerns that have been raised, which I share. My noble friend referred to the treatment offered by a private consortium being threatened by the financial situation, as has just occurred. If we allow the contracting out to occur—I do not disagree with that—how can we ensure that that does not happen and that the treatment is safeguarded? A couple of noble Lords have asked how the assessment and monitoring will take place. As my noble friend Lord Beecham said, it seems that the trailblazers will also monitor the provision. That might be a bit dubious as their judgment will obviously be biased by their experiences. My noble friend Lady Thornton asked who these trailblazing local authorities are. I should be interested to know that, too.