Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Alex Cunningham and Lord Wharton of Yarm

Wednesday 22nd February 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development (James Wharton)]

UN Women is an important organisation and partner in the global fight to deliver gender equality, women’s rights and women’s empowerment. The UK Government provide £12 million a year in core annual funding support for that organisation.

[Alex Cunningham]

Budget day on 8 March is also International Women’s Day. Given that 93 countries have already made firm commitments to the UN’s Step It Up initiative, will the Minister now set that date as a deadline for the UK to make its formal commitment and show that it is fully engaged in international action to combat gender inequality?

[James Wharton]

The UK is a world leader in combating gender inequality. Since 2011, more than 5 million girls have been through education thanks to the work of the UK. We have seen 10 million women get access to modern family planning, and have saved more than 100,000 lives in childbirth. We have seen 36 million women given better access to financial services. Women’s empowerment and gender equality are key parts of what we do and of what this Government do, and we intend to continue to deliver on that.

Draft Tees Valley Combined Authority Order 2016

Debate between Alex Cunningham and Lord Wharton of Yarm

Tuesday 15th March 2016 General Committees

[Alex Cunningham]

rose—

[James Wharton]

It is therefore a shame that so many of the comments seemed to focus on matters that are separate from what fundamentally we are here to discuss. More significantly, those comments were negatively phrased, as if Members have a lack of ambition for the Tees Valley and a lack of faith in the people of the Tees Valley to control their destiny and their future and to use the powers that devolution will give them to create economic growth.

We are entering an exciting period for the Tees Valley, and the combined authority will make a significant contribution towards further enabling that close co-operation—that working together among authorities—that already takes place in the Tees Valley. The combined authority is an important step towards our devolution deal and delivering on that commitment, but I want to see it go further. I welcome further proposals from the Tees Valley, whether that is the combined authority or local leaders, on the powers they would like to see and the future devolution deals they would like to do.

Today, we are taking a significant step in delivering on the deal that has been signed. We are committed to meeting our obligations under that deal. We are looking forward to continuing the work on taking that further, and we are always happy to work with constructive local partners who want to build the economies of their areas and who want to work hard to deliver a better future for their residents. For those reasons, I commend the order to the Committee and the House.

--- Later in debate ---

[James Wharton]

How can I not respond? I will keep my comments brief, Mr Bone, for fear that the longer you are in the Chair in your neutral capacity, the less time you will have to contribute to the broader European debate. I would not want to keep you from that important task.

It is important to be clear about the separation of the two issues. There is the broader issue of local government funding, which is a matter that the House has discussed at some length and, I am sure, will continue to do so. There is then the issue of the funding that goes to the combined authority as a result of the deal it has entered into, which includes some of the funding streams that hon. Members have spoken about, including the £15 million a year, which will make a significant difference to the Tees Valley economy if it is used in the right way. In principle, the people who best know how to use it in the right way are those who know the economy and the area, are who are chosen locally to make those decisions.

It is absolutely the intention of the Government to meet the obligations in the deal that has been reached with local authority leaders of the Tees Valley. We are committed to doing that and we continue to work on it. The order is an important step towards delivering that, which is why I am pleased to commend it to the Committee.

[Alex Cunningham]

rose—

[James Wharton]

I will give way, but I hope that we are then able to make progress in an area on which, actually, there is probably broad support.

[Alex Cunningham]

I am grateful to the Minister for giving way. My hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham North demonstrated that he might not be a mathematician but could the Minister tell us what value could be derived from £15 million in terms of borrowing? What would that mean for capital projects for the Tees Valley?

[James Wharton]

It is not for me to tell the Tees Valley how to use the money that would become available to it, but £15 million a year is the starting agreement. There will then be an assessment of how the money is used, with an opportunity to expand the fund. It will be for the Tees Valley to look at how it best wants to use it—whether it is to borrow or invest, and what it wants to invest it in.

The fund is £450 million over the life of the commitment that the Government have made, and there is potential to increase it when we look at how it is used and how economic growth is generated with it. Ultimately, it will be for the local authority, the combined authority and the mayor, when they are elected, to determine how it is best used. It is welcome and it is additional funding coming to the Tees Valley that would not be coming but for the agreements that have been made and for the deal that is being done. The deal, important as it is, moves closer to completion through what we are here to discuss.

EU Solidarity Fund: Flooding

Debate between Alex Cunningham and Lord Wharton of Yarm

Thursday 25th February 2016 Commons Chamber

[Alex Cunningham (Stockton North) (Lab)]

(Urgent Question): To ask the Minister to make a statement about assistance from the EU solidarity fund for flood-hit communities.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (James Wharton)]

First, I want to pay tribute to all those who have supported the many places that were flooded in December and early January; the local authorities, the emergency services, the Environment Agency staff, the community volunteers, the military and many others made a significant contribution to supporting communities affected by the terrible events that we saw over Christmas, in December and in early January. The whole House will want to recognise the enormous effort that has gone into supporting households and businesses, not just the initial response to the floods, but the ongoing work to get residents back into homes and businesses open.

The responsibility for recovery, including matters relating to the European Union solidarity fund, lies with the Department for Communities and Local Government, and officials in DCLG worked hard throughout that period and continue to work hard to support those communities and those affected by those events. The Government recognise that the immediate priority is to respond to the urgent needs of those affected, which is why we have already provided more than £200 million to help those affected by the floods to support recovery and repair. A key feature of our package of support is the communities and business recovery scheme, which is designed to provide ready support to local authorities affected by Storm Desmond and Storm Eva and, in turn, to help individuals, small and medium-sized businesses and communities return to normality. Additionally, it provides property-level resilience grants of up to £5,000, so that people can protect their homes and businesses against future floods by putting in place resilient repairs. To date, under the communities and business recovery scheme, government has paid out a total of £21 million for Storm Desmond and £26 million for Storm Eva. Further payments will follow, and we are also supporting farmers with grants of up to £20,000 to help restore damaged agricultural land and farm vehicles and access and repair boundaries and to address field drainage.

Having set out what the Government have already done, I want now to turn to what more we can do. I am today announcing that the UK Government will make an application to the EU solidarity fund. The EUSF was set up to respond to major natural disasters. The fund was created as a reaction to the severe floods in central Europe in the summer of 2002. Since then, it has been used for 70 disasters covering a range of different catastrophic events, including floods, forest fires, earthquakes, storms and drought. The only time the UK has applied to the fund was following the flooding of 2007, which saw widespread and significant damage across large swathes of England. Member states have 12 weeks from the start of an incident to register their intent to claim. Once we have confirmed our intent, there is time to consider, with the Commission, the elements of assessment. Following this process, the Commission assesses the application and, if it is accepted, proposes an amount of aid to the European Parliament. Once the appropriations become available in the EU budget, the Commission adopts a decision, awarding the aid to the affected state. It is then paid out in a single instalment. When aid is paid out, the affected state is responsible for the implementation, including the selection of operations, and their audit and control. Emergency measures may be financed retrospectively from day one of the disaster, but the EUSF is not, and nor is it designed to be, a rapid response instrument for dealing with the effects of a natural disaster. Financial aid can be granted to the applying state only following an application and budgetary process, which can take several months to complete.

[Alex Cunningham]

I thank the Minister, my fellow Stockton MP, for his response, which is extremely welcome today. It has taken an urgent question to get the information from the Government, so I am delighted that you granted it, Mr Speaker. I know there has been considerable confusion in government about which Department was responsible for making the application, and I, for one, am delighted at today’s news. I was pleased when the Environment Secretary told the House last month that she was considering an application, only to have one of her civil servants answer my letter to her by telling me it was a DCLG responsibility. We now know the answer today—it is a DCLG responsibility, and I am glad that that Department has actually taken it on.

What we have always known is that it is a Government responsibility to apply to the solidarity fund, and a failure to do so would have deprived our communities of much-needed additional funding to get their homes, lives and businesses back on track. The whole House knows of the devastation that was caused across the country over the Christmas period and into the first months of this year. Recovery costs in Cumbria alone are estimated at £650 million. Other estimates of the total cost suggest that the clean-up bill will exceed £5 billion. It is therefore imperative that the Government do everything possible to maximise resources from all possible areas to support that operation.

I was pleased that, in her statement to the House on 5 January, the Secretary of State said:

“The Government will continue to do what it takes to get those areas up and running and prepare for future events.”—[Official Report, 5 January 2016; Vol. 604, c. 70.]

However, for nearly three months, while gesturing a willingness to provide support and assistance, she and the Government have been shy about promoting an application. Members and their constituents have been left totally in the dark, as it appeared that the Government would fail to make an application for help from the EU solidarity fund, which was established precisely to respond to such natural disasters as those experienced in Cumbria, Lancashire, north Yorkshire and Scotland.

The fund has been used by states across the EU in response to 70 disasters, ranging from flooding and forest fires to earthquakes and storms. Just last year, Italy, Bulgaria and Romania received more than £40 million in similar circumstances. You will know, Mr Speaker, that we on the Labour Benches have been extremely anxious that this opportunity could be lost. To be clear, the first floods for which an application could be made in Cumbria were some 11 and a half weeks ago, yet it has taken the Government to within a single working day of the deadline to confirm that an application is being made. We all know that there are those who quite wrongly believe that we get little from the EU. I am clear that the UK should be embracing the offer of additional support, particularly as we have paid £300 million into the fund since it was set up.

I have a number of questions for the Minister. Will he outline what discussions he has had across Government and with local authorities in the affected areas in the preparation of the application? Why have Members and communities been left in the dark for so long when it would have been a boost to them to know that more help could soon be on the way? What is the final estimate of the cost of the devastation suffered by our communities, and how much are the Government bidding for? Is there just one application, or will there be multiple applications to reflect the fact that a number of communities were affected and that each could qualify due to the level of devastation they have suffered?

Finally, I am aware that my Stockton neighbour and I will be on opposite sides in another debate—that of whether we remain in the European Union. Does the Minister not agree that it is funds such as this that can, and I hope will, bring great benefits not just to communities hit by natural disasters, but to constituencies such as his and mine where there are large numbers of people suffering considerable deprivation?

[James Wharton]

There seems to be a fundamental misunderstanding on the part of the hon. Gentleman. The Department has been working on this application for some time. We had to draw together a range of information across Government Departments, talk to local areas, and assess the cost and impact of events that have taken place. That is what we have been doing, and what we will continue to do. As more information comes through and we go through the process of supporting those communities, we will ensure that the application is thorough, and that it accounts for all opportunities to add to it and to recognise the damage that has been done. Those discussions have been taking place across Government in the right way and in the right timeframe, so that we were able to make our announcement.

I congratulate the officials in my Department and in others who have been working hard to bring all the information together so that we can announce that this application will be made. The application will continue to evolve as more information comes through. As I said in my earlier comments, the European Union solidarity fund is not designed to be a rapid response to events of this kind. It is a longer-term fund to provide compensation to communities. Even though an application is now being made, it will take months for that money to be paid. However, we will continue in our commitment to supporting those communities, providing the funding and the backing that they need. That is what we have done so far and what we will continue to do to ensure that the communities affected by the terrible weather events get the support they need to recover as quickly as possible.

Fuel Prices and the Cost of Living

Debate between Alex Cunningham and Lord Wharton of Yarm

Wednesday 16th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Alex Cunningham (Stockton North) (Lab)]

Many Members have concentrated on prices at the pump, but there are much wider issues to do with fuel in general and the cost of living, and I want to focus on fuel poverty, which has an immense impact on family life. It is an issue that is close to my heart.

According to the House of Commons Library, between 1996 and 2004 the number of households in fuel poverty fell from 6.5 million to less than 2 million, largely due to the measures put in place by successive Labour Governments. Now, in the face of massive increases in energy prices, the number of households in fuel poverty is estimated to be 5.5 million, or more than one in five households

Petrol price rises add to poverty. That is a new type of fuel poverty—if any fuel-poor households can actually afford a car. Domestic fuel prices fell by 17% in real terms between 1996 and 2003, but then increased by a massive 74% in the following six years. Those dependent on oil have suffered particularly badly, especially those who need oil to heat their homes. Our motorists have also suffered as prices have increased. The average standard credit gas bill for a typical consumer in 2010 was £683, which is 80% above the 2001 low in real terms. In 2009 the electricity bill for a typical consumer was £440, almost 50% above the 2003 price.

I know that energy companies do much to promote energy efficiency—mostly financed through a levy on their customers’ bills, I believe—but they, and the Government for that matter, need to do much more. There are several good reasons to do so. More than three out of four of the poorest 10% of households in England were in fuel poverty in 2008; I do not think they can afford a car, in fact. That means that the poor are getting poorer as prices increase way beyond the inflation rate, and inflation is already far too high under this Tory-led Government.

In 2008 more than half a million households needed to spend more than 20% of their income on energy to maintain a satisfactory heating regime. They are those in so-called extreme fuel poverty. Under Labour’s decent homes programme, 750,000 social homes had insulation works and 900,000 had new central heating systems. Warm Front assisted vulnerable people in more than 1.7 million homes, and large numbers of rented homes were improved under Warm Zones, Warm Wales and other initiatives. Now we need to see clear, comprehensive and well-funded initiatives from the Tory-led Government to deal with fuel poverty, because as they squeeze wages, raise taxes—such as those on fuel—cut benefits and hit our people’s pockets in so many other ways, more people will fall back into the group who will see 10% or more of their money disappear on just buying fuel.

This month the Government have announced that they have appointed a fuel poverty tsar, Professor John Hills. I hope that is not just a publicity stunt, as much more needs to be done to address this issue. His independent review will redefine and measure fuel poverty. I hope that does not mean we just change the numbers, and lift many out of fuel poverty by simply changing the way the numbers are added up. It does not matter what the numbers say: if people cannot afford to heat their home or put fuel in their car tank because they have not got enough money, they are still cold and still poor. I hope there will be no dragging of feet on that.

One area in which we may see some recommendations is the need to ensure that privately rented accommodation is properly insulated—and again, we can do that without waiting. Some of our poorest people live in privately rented property, where many landlords are happy just to pick up the rent without investing as they ought to. I hope the Minister will do a bit of cross-Government thinking today, and tell us how this issue will be dealt with under their new plan to tackle fuel poverty.

There are other solutions, and the Energy Bill, which is currently in the other place and is due to come to the House of Commons, may help if sufficient capacity is built in to make things happen on a similar, or greater, scale than in recent years. It allows for the implementation of a green deal scheme from 2012, which will allow householders to install energy efficiency improvements without having to meet any of the up-front costs. Those will be met by energy companies and will be paid back over a period of up to 25 years—but is that really the good news it is made out to be? We need to ensure that the financial environment in which such schemes are taken forward is the right one. Will potential changes to the feed-in tariff in respect of the installation of photovoltaic panels, for example, provide the right financial incentive to deliver that day-time free electricity for householders? We will need to wait and see, but the Government will miss a major opportunity if they mess about with the tariff and negate the incentive that investors and householders need.

I have concentrated on fuel poverty in terms of the household budget. This Tory-led Government are helping to create a new type of fuel poverty. Many people cannot afford to buy petrol or diesel, and that particularly affects the rural communities in my constituency, such as Stillington.

[James Wharton (Stockton South) (Con)]

The hon. Gentleman speaks passionately on a subject about which I know he cares a great deal. He and I represent different halves of the same town, and we often disagree on political matters, but I suspect we share some common ground on this issue, in wanting to see the costs to our constituents brought down at every possible opportunity. Does he agree that if the Government could introduce a fair fuels stabiliser, that would be useful in allowing people who particularly need to be able to do so to plan their budgets and manage their money better, so that they could help themselves by planning their finances and avoiding the problems of poverty that, sadly, we so often see in the north-east?

[Alex Cunningham]

This is amazing, but I find myself in agreement with my colleague who represents the opposite side of the Stockton borough. Any measure that reduces costs for the people whom he and I represent has got to be important. That is particularly the case in places such as Stillington in my constituency, where people need to commute, often to low-paid jobs, and have limited public transport services. They are hit the hardest by the current economic policies.

I hope that the Government will see sense. I hope that they will avoid a fudge on the need for a comprehensive programme to tackle fuel poverty, and I hope that they will reverse the VAT increase at the pump, and introduce the fuel duty stabiliser—and maybe even keep a couple of the promises they made to our people during the election campaign.

North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust

Debate between Alex Cunningham and Lord Wharton of Yarm

Monday 5th July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Alex Cunningham]

I certainly agree with that. I know that it is the view of clinicians and other health professionals that it will be impossible to sustain two hospitals with the full range of services and facilities needed to serve our communities. Indeed, patients in our areas have to access different services at the two different sites, which are 14 miles apart.

The new hospital was to be a vital element of wider health care reform in our region and would have delivered clinically sustainable hospital services in the single hospital while delivering a much wider range of services in the community much closer to people’s homes, including three new integrated care centres in Billingham, Hartlepool and Stockton. There is no doubt that there has been some controversy about the plan to build one “super hospital” to replace the two outdated ones, as well as unease among some in the community about the location chosen. I firmly believe, however, that the plan would have provided improved services for local people and that it is ultimately the right plan for the NHS trust to pursue.

[James Wharton (Stockton South) (Con)]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way. I also note with interest that he is perhaps the first hon. Member in the history of this House to brandish his middle finger at Mr Speaker and to receive no reprimand for it.

The hon. Gentleman has acknowledged that the hospital’s location between two communities is somewhat controversial locally. The representations that I have received from my constituents have, almost without exception, praised the Government’s decision and criticised the proposals for the hospital at Wynyard. Let me read him one short example of an e-mail that I received only the other day:

“The decision is a sensible one. Leaving aside the reckless economic folly of committing funding the country does not possess and blatant politicking by Labour in promising such funding in marginal constituencies the truth is that this hospital was vehemently opposed by a significant number of local people on grounds that it was geographically in the ‘wrong’ place for both communities, had no public transport links and would seriously affect A19 and A689 traffic flows”.

Does the hon. Gentleman accept that the views of his constituents and mine are mixed, at best?

[Alex Cunningham]

These issues were extensively explored with the public. There was detailed and extensive formal and informal consultation involving public meetings, leaflet drops to households and a radio campaign. The Government had promised additional funding to tackle some of the transport issues and communities across the place were in favour of the hospital.

I must outline why the new hospital should remain a priority for the new Government.