Black History Month

Abena Oppong-Asare Excerpts

Tuesday 20th October 2020 Commons Chamber

[Abena Oppong-Asare (Erith and Thamesmead) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered Black History Month.

I thank the Backbench Business Committee for giving us the opportunity to discuss this important issue today, and I thank Members on both sides of the House for their support in securing the debate. Specifically, I would like to thank the right hon. Member for Chipping Barnet (Theresa Villiers), the hon. Members for Glasgow Central (Alison Thewliss) and for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Jamie Stone), my hon. Friend the Member for Brent Central (Dawn Butler) and my right hon. Friend the Member for Hackney North and Stoke Newington (Ms Abbott). I also thank the shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities, my hon. Friend the Member for Battersea (Marsha De Cordova), for her commitment to addressing this issue. I am pleased that there was cross-party support for this debate to take place during Black History Month.

My sincere thanks go to Akyaaba Addai-Sebo, a co-ordinator of special projects for the Greater London Council in 1987, who organised the first recognition of this month. It must have taken extraordinary courage to speak out against racism and discrimination in order to pave the way for me and others.

Black History Month is about celebrating and highlighting black heroes, such as Petronella Breinburg, one of the first black female authors in Britain to write a children’s book with a black protagonist; Dr Harold Moody, a Jamaican-born physician who emigrated to the United Kingdom, where he campaigned against racial prejudice and established the League of Coloured Peoples in 1931; Mary Prince, a British abolitionist, who was the first black woman to write an autobiography and present an anti-slavery petition; Asquith Camile Xavier, a West Indian-born Briton who ended the colour bar at British Rail in London by fighting to become the first non-white train guard at Euston station in 1966; David Pitt, the second peer of African descent to sit in the House of Lords; Dr Erinma Bell, a community peace activist, and Yomi Mambu, the first black person to hold the title of Lord Mayor in England.

But I must also mention the trailblazers who came before us in this place: Lord Boateng, Bernie Grant, Baroness Amos and, of course, my right hon. Friend the Member for Hackney North and Stoke Newington (Ms Abbott). Their legacy in the House can be seen throughout the Chamber today.

We celebrate all those trailblazers not just because they are black individuals, but because they are great Britons, and not just because they are great black Britons but because they are great Britons in Black History Month. We truly celebrate them, because everyone benefits from recognising the important contributions they make in laying pathways for others who look like them and follow in their footsteps. This is what this debate is about, and this is why I came into this place: to speak for those who barely get a voice in this society.

When we look at many aspects of society, including the jewel in our national crown, the NHS, we see that we are overly represented in the workforce, although, sadly, not at the top. Black, Asian and minority ethnic people are far more likely to work in key worker roles, and those workers are more likely to be pressured to work in dangerous circumstances. In the NHS, 63% of BAME doctors reported that they had been pressured to work in wards with covid patients, compared with 32% of their white counterparts.

These examples of institutional discrimination have destroyed the lives of black people across the UK. I know of one nurse in my constituency who unfortunately lost her life to covid-19, leaving behind a heartbroken family. After hearing claims of racial discrimination in the workplace and seeing research pointing to long-term structural racism as a factor in the disproportionate covid deaths, I have to question how many lives might have been needlessly lost due to the lack of action on tackling racism over the past decade. Today, when we talk about Black History Month as a celebration, we should also reflect on the persistent racial inequalities that this Government must address as a matter of immediate concern. This is an opportunity to speak on behalf of all those voices in society that we celebrate this month.

Black people have faced discrimination in the UK for as long as history can remember, but racism is not a thing of the past. I am sad to have to stand here and describe how discrimination has continued into the present. Its impact is still felt on so many lives: black women are five times more likely to die in pregnancy; black Caribbean children are three times more likely to be excluded from school; black workers with degrees earn almost a quarter less than their counterparts; black people make up just 3% of the UK population but 12% of those in prison. Why is it that year on year these statistics are read out in a debate or in news and no action is taken? That it is still necessary in 2020 for young people to take to the streets to remind us that black lives matter should bring shame on us all. Black lives matter; we are in this House and we must recognise that.

I have two asks of the Government and I want them to give me a direct answer today. The first is to implement a race equality strategy and action plan that will cover areas such as education, health and employment, something that Operation Black Vote has called for. The second is to set up a taskforce that will look to diversify the curriculum—to really diversify the curriculum. We want all our kids—all our children, black and white, in every single corner of this country—to better understand our history, so that our children have a true sense of belonging within British culture and British history, because at the moment it does not reflect that.

Teach First reported that the biggest exam board does not include a single book by a black author in English literature specifications, and 75% of English teachers have concerns about the lack of ethnic diversity in the curriculum. Let me break that down: that means pupils can complete their GCSEs and leave secondary school without having studied a single literary work by a non-white author. If we have a better understanding of our history, everyone is better off. It also means that we will not make the same mistakes as we did with the Windrush scandal. It will help us better to know ourselves and how this country got to this place, and what work still needs to be done.

That is why I am saying to the Government now that we need a race equality strategy because, as furlough ends, the redundancies will be coming hard and fast. If we do nothing again, once again, black communities will suffer. In education, we cannot leave a generation behind with this digital divide, and in health, as the pandemic wreaks havoc, we are dying in great numbers. An educational taskforce will look at our curriculum honestly, ensuring that the books our children read, learn from and develop from have a clearer analysis of our history—the good, the bad and the ugly—and the values they can take to become future leaders. It is this grounding that will ensure that all our children, black and white, will have the opportunity to fulfil their full potential. We need to get the curriculum right, so that we have more black teachers and so that more people from diverse backgrounds will get to the top, which will mean a fairer playing field—not one that locks the privileged in and the disadvantaged out.

The past year has been deeply traumatic for black people, who have failed to be supported by the Government. I have called on the House today to do more to tackle racism, but we can all do more to be active in the future, so I say to my fellow black brothers and sisters: if you are watching today, if you do one thing, make sure you register to vote so that in the local elections, mayoral elections and the general election, you can have your say and make your voice heard.

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)]

As hon. Members can see, the call list is quite extensive but I do not intend to put a time limit on initially. However, if Members go on way beyond five or six minutes, they will either be knocking people off at the other end or reducing the time that they have, so please be mindful of other Members who will want to make contributions later.

--- Later in debate ---

[Abena Oppong-Asare]

I thank the Backbench Business Committee again, and all Members of the House who contributed to this debate. It has been an engaging debate and I hope that it will continue. I also thank members of the public for responding to my call about what I should discuss in the debate—I have met so many engaged people—and for recommending trailblazers for me to mention in the House today. I am sorry if I was not able to mention every one; there are just so many trailblazers out there, and we just need to learn all about them.

Let me emphasise again that we really do need a race equality strategy and an action plan, and to diversify the curriculum. We must listen to the public. So many people have signed the petition asking us to diversify the curriculum. This is not about political point scoring; it is about listening to what the public say their needs are, and looking at the stats that are out there. Loads of research has poured out, with teachers asking for the curriculum to be diversified.

This is not about identity politics; it is about understanding the true history of our nation in the UK, because we can move forward only if we learn the good and the ugly sides of politics. This is not about glossing politics and making it pretty. This is not about attacking white people or anyone else because of their politics. This is about learning our true history, because it is absolutely important that we understand it so that we are able to move forward and progress.

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I am going to put the Question, because I think it is right that I should, but technically I should not, because it is 7 pm.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House has considered Black History Month.

Oral Answers to Questions

Abena Oppong-Asare Excerpts

Tuesday 20th October 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

[Abena Oppong-Asare (Erith and Thamesmead) (Lab)]

[Jesse Norman]

Finance Bill (Fifth sitting)

Abena Oppong-Asare Excerpts

Committee stage & Committee Debate: 5th sitting: House of Commons
Thursday 11th June 2020 Public Bill Committees

I would like the Financial Secretary also to address the OBR’s claim in its 2018 assessment that there is a high degree of uncertainty around the central estimates of the yield. As of this year, the OBR maintains that there is medium to low certainty regarding the yield. That is hardly reassuring, given that the gap between those companies’ profitability and what they pay in tax remains so large. One of the reasons why the yield projected under the Government’s costings methodology is difficult to calculate is that, in the OBR’s words, global revenues in scope that relate to the UK have to be obtained through external sources for which there is little relevant information available. Given these problems, it is hard to know why the Government are not pushing for country-by-country reporting where the uncertainty around those companies’ revenues is affecting our ability to determine how much tax they should be paying. That campaign has enjoyed broad cross-party support in the House, led primarily by my right hon. Friend the Member for Barking (Dame Margaret Hodge), who has done tremendous work in bringing public attention to what had been an under-recognised area.

[Abena Oppong-Asare (Erith and Thamesmead) (Lab)]

I completely agree with my hon. Friend’s comments. Does she agree that large companies such as Amazon are unlikely to be substantially affected? The Bill aims to support start-up companies, but it does not go to the heart of addressing big digital companies that get away with not paying enough tax.

[Bridget Phillipson]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. That is one of many concerns raised by stakeholders, and an issue that I will be raising further with the Financial Secretary during the course of my contribution. As the he outlined, the measure does not capture media streaming services either, and I intend to say a bit more about that in due course.

The broad campaigning support that we have seen right across the House on issues of tax transparency, led primarily by my right hon. Friend the Member for Barking but with considerable support from Government Back Benchers, demonstrates the appetite both within this House and outside for greater transparency in this area. Tremendous work has been done by the all-party parliamentary group and by the Public Accounts Committee, led previously by my right hon. Friend the Member for Barking and subsequently by my hon. Friend the Member for Hackney South and Shoreditch (Meg Hillier), which has continued to press the need for greater transparency in this area. It wants the Government to act, but it also recognises the need for greater multilateral action. I know the Financial Secretary touched on that point and I will come back to it later.

The Opposition understand the difficulties with multilateral action, but we think that the Government should provide a greater degree of leadership in seeking to resolve the problem. Another reason why the yield as outlined might be so low is the rate at which it is being set: it is among the lowest in Europe. I invite the Financial Secretary to explain why the Government have adopted such a cautious approach when other countries are going further. How did he arrive at the figure? How did he and the Government determine the level of the tax? What assessment was made not just of the yield and the difficulties with determining it, but of whether it is an appropriate level? Have other stakeholders and groups made representations on the level at which the tax has been set?

The modest nature of the measure becomes clear when we consider what some of the tech giants might actually have to pay under the tax. The Minister may well be aware of the research by TaxWatch UK, which estimates that Facebook would face an increased tax bill of £39 million despite estimated UK venues of almost £2.3 billion. Google would pay slightly more: around £168 million, based on estimated UK revenues of £9.3 billion.

Beyond the small impact on the companies to which the tax applies, there is the question of which companies will not be affected by the tax. That comes to the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Erith and Thamesmead. Many digital businesses such as Amazon, which blend their activities, will be unaffected by the measure outlined by the Minister; nor, as TaxWatch UK has illustrated, will it apply to Apple’s hardware business, Microsoft or Cisco Systems, none of which involve social media platforms, search engines or online market places.

As I said earlier, my right hon. Friend the Member for Barking has done so much work in this area. I am aware that she pressed the Financial Secretary earlier this year to extend the scope of the digital services tax to include streaming services such as Netflix, which are not included in the measure, and he set out some of the Government’s concerns about broadening its scope. I want to provide a bit of background on the operations of Netflix, on which many of us have come to rely in a much greater way during the lockdown period. Many online streaming services have no doubt seen a real boost at a time when we are all trying to find ways to spend many an hour and entertain our children in the absence of any form of proper childcare.

Netflix’s estimated revenues from UK subscribers was £860 million in 2018, based on analysis from TaxWatch UK, which provides an analysis of Netflix’s corporate structure showing that the company has implemented a similar tax avoidance structure to those used by many other multinational companies operating in the digital sphere. Revenues are not collected in the country where they are made; instead, customers are charged from an offshore company, and profits are then moved from the hub company to a tax haven through the use of an intra-company transaction. Netflix’s historically low profit margins mean that the scale of any tax avoidance will be much lower than that of many other well-known companies that employ similar tactics. TaxWatch UK has argued that it is relatively easy to calculate the revenue of Netflix in the UK: there are surveys of TV usage that tell us how many subscribers it has in the UK, and Netflix publishes data on average revenue per subscriber, which is something that I imagine has grown considerably during this time.

That returns us to the issue of fairness. Despite receiving support from Government, many high street businesses have struggled and will continue to struggle for a prolonged period, while other companies have potentially seen a big increase in their revenues during the crisis. The Opposition urge the Government to consider whether the measure is adequate. As argued by my right hon. Friend the Member for Barking, extending the scope of the tax could feasibly bring other streaming platforms, such as video game streaming platforms, under the ambit of the tax. That would improve its takings and ensure that all companies pay their fair share.

The pattern of profit shifting displayed by Netflix, which I just outlined, reflects practices adopted by others. It is clear that the current system for taxing streaming services is not working. The proposed measure would go at least some way to resolving this, but it is not adequate.

I am aware of the Financial Secretary’s response earlier this year to my right hon. Friend the Member for Barking, disputing the practicability of widening the scope of the tax, but I urge him to look again at the issue, or at the very least to consider other means at the Government’s disposal to ensure that all companies pay an appropriate amount of tax. We will discuss the scope and the yield later when debating Opposition amendments, but I urge him to consider how we can be confident that this measure is working as intended—not only whether it is deriving the income that we need in order to provide support for our frontline services at this difficult time for the country, but whether the digital services tax is operating as it should.

I will also highlight some of the technical issues relating to clauses 38 to 44. Clause 39 indicates that revenue should be apportioned on a just and reasonable basis when not wholly attributable to a digital services activity. Does the Minister accept that there may be a risk in taking businesses at their word here? There may well be some issues in how that is applied, and I would be grateful if he could offer some reassurance in this area. Asking businesses to apportion revenue on a just and reasonable basis may lead them to structure their operations or disaggregate their costs in a certain way to avoid higher liabilities. In the absence of public country-by-country reporting measures to create full transparency, oversight of this will be essential. Can the Minister confirm what will be done to ensure that this has been calculated in a fair and open manner?

A related point is capacity within HMRC. As we have all acknowledged in earlier discussions on the Bill, HMRC and Treasury staff are doing tremendous work at this difficult time for our country, and we all commend them for their dedication and hard work. I imagine it must be a challenging environment in which to work, responding quickly to changes in policy and with the need to support businesses and taxpayers alike, but given the challenges faced, can the Minister assure us that HMRC will have the resources and staffing it needs to make sure that this tax is being applied properly and that revenues are being secured? Some stakeholders have suggested putting in place a dedicated digital services tax team, and I wonder what consideration the Minister and officials have given to that.

Since the legislation was first announced and consulted on, several stakeholders expressed throughout the consultation period concerns around whether the definitions the Government use in these clauses are clear enough and watertight. For instance, there is uncertainty around whether online gambling platforms will fall under the scope of this tax, as set out by the Chartered Institute of Taxation. I appreciate that the legislation has been modified since it was first announced, but I would be grateful if the Minister could clarify the position.

On Clause 43, concerns have been expressed about the difficulty in identifying a “UK user”. The use of virtual private networks presents an obvious difficulty in this regard. The process of monitoring users may also raise concerns around GDPR compliance. I will be grateful if the Minister could set out whether that is the case, and whether there may be difficulties in this area.

I will now touch on the international context in which this measure has been put forward, drawing in part on the Minister’s remarks on the need for both UK action but also global action, as companies work across country boundaries and jurisdictions. The international tax system is fundamentally not fit for purpose: it has not kept pace with the changing nature of technology and many of the changes that we have seen in our economy and the global economy. It was modelled on the trade in goods, rather than services. The challenge of how we respond to the digitisation of the global economy continues, and goes far beyond this measure and other measures that the Government are considering, but the OECD has been pressing on the issue for years, as the Minister acknowledged.

Economic Update

Abena Oppong-Asare Excerpts

Tuesday 17th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Rishi Sunak]

My hon. Friend is exactly right. That is why the steps we are taking are designed to work at pace. Loan schemes will be available from early next week and the Communities Secretary is ensuring that the grant payments are processed as quickly as possible through local authorities in the coming days and weeks.

[Abena Oppong-Asare (Erith and Thamesmead) (Lab)]

I have been contacted by my constituent Andy, from Erith and Thamesmead. Businesses like Andy’s collapsed this week. The scrapping of business rates does not help small businesses like Andy’s. Loans of £300 billion do not help small businesses like Andy’s. Will the Chancellor clearly set out how he will help small businesses? Will he personally promise me that he will help my constituent Andy and do whatever it takes to make sure he is properly supported?

[Rishi Sunak]

We have outlined a package of measures to support small businesses specifically. Indeed, 700,000 of our smallest businesses will now be receiving a £10,000 grant. I suggest that the hon. Lady’s constituent Andy contacts his local authority for further support, either on business rates or local council tax support, where we are injecting an extra half a billion pounds into the system.