Social Care Funding

Debate between Barbara Keeley and Debbie Abrahams

Wednesday 17th October 2018 Commons Chamber

[Barbara Keeley (Worsley and Eccles South) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House notes that eight years of Government cuts to council budges have resulted in a social care funding crisis; further notes that 1.4 million older people have unmet social care needs; notes that Government grant funding for local services is set to be cut by a further £1.3 billion in 2019-20, further exacerbating the crisis; recognises with concern the increasing funding gap for social care; further recognises that proposals from the Government to invest £240 million will not close that gap; and calls on the Government to close the funding gap for social care this year and for the rest of the Parliament.

In October 2016, the Prime Minister told this House that her Government would provide a long-term sustainable system for social care that gives people reassurance. Then the Conservative manifesto said:

“Where others have failed to lead, we will act.”

But the Government have failed utterly to act and people in need of care have paid the price of that inaction. It is approaching a year since the Government promised they would deliver a Green Paper, yet it is still nowhere to be seen months after the planned publication date originally scheduled for summer. Since then, we have seen a further £1 billion cut from social care because of the cuts the Government have made to the budgets of the councils that deliver it, with disastrous consequences for the social care system.

The Prime Minister has not heeded her own warnings about failing to act. During last year’s election campaign, she said that

“the social care system will collapse unless we do something about it. We could try and pretend the problem isn’t there and hope it will go away, but it won’t. It will grow each year.”

That is exactly what has happened. The problem has not gone away and it has grown in the past year.

[Debbie Abrahams (Oldham East and Saddleworth) (Lab)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that in addition to the immediate injection of £2.5 billion funding for social care, with 20% of the poorest local authority areas losing nearly £280 million in the past year compared with 20% of the most affluent local authorities gaining £55 million, we also need to address the issue in relation to the deprivation grant funding allocation?

[Barbara Keeley]

We do need to address that. Things have come to a pretty serious pass.

Shop Direct (Greater Manchester)

Debate between Barbara Keeley and Debbie Abrahams

Tuesday 1st May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Debbie Abrahams]

Absolutely; my hon. Friend has hit the nail on the head. This is a thriving business, and the callous disregard with which the workers have been treated is absolutely shameful. My hon. Friend the Member for Heywood and Middleton pointed to the fact that this business was named employer of the year. How can it be?

The decision is especially worrying because Shop Direct is not in financial trouble. It reported an increase in underlying profits before tax of 10.2% to £160.4 million last year. It has seen sales growth increasing over five consecutive years. The decisions it has made are purely commercial. The proposed site in the east midlands will employ fewer staff as Shop Direct moves towards increased automation. Given that automation is likely to offer commercial opportunities but also huge challenges for the UK labour market as a whole, the experience of Shop Direct workers has a wider impact on the UK labour market as a whole.

I am grateful to the Business Secretary for meeting me earlier today, but I will be seeking urgent action from the Minister in recognition of the support needed by Shop Direct workers in Oldham and Little Hulton and by workers across the country whose jobs may also be under threat as a result of automation.

Since the announcement, I have met the leader of Oldham Council and the USDAW union representatives for Shop Direct, alongside my hon. Friend the Member for Oldham West and Royton. I have also spoken to and subsequently met Shop Direct directors at a meeting convened by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, together with my hon. Friend the Member for Worsley and Eccles South, council leaders, the Salford Mayor, Department for Work and Pensions and Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy representatives and USDAW representatives, where we tried to seek a way forward.

It was essential to bring together around the table all the parties affected by Shop Direct’s proposed relocation to the east midlands so that it could hear directly from us our huge concerns about the move. At the meeting, Oldham Council tabled alternative proposals for a site of a similar size, accompanied by a favourable business package, at Broadgreen Park, Chadderton. Very disappointingly, however, this was rejected, and there was no willingness from Shop Direct to engage on alternative proposals in Greater Manchester.

Given that the Shop Direct executives appeared to have made their decision, my colleagues and I then pushed them to describe what specific training and support they would provide for the workforce over the next two years—including their communications strategy, given the poor communication to date—while in particular looking at options for the Raven Mill site as a specialist returns centre.

The Mayor put forward a proposal at the meeting to establish a taskforce, led by Greater Manchester’s Growth Company, which was agreed by all parties, including both Shop Direct and the Department for Work and Pensions. I understand that the first officers meeting of the taskforce was held yesterday, and I am awaiting feedback from it.

Working closely with USDAW, we will be holding the company to their legal obligations to engage in a meaningful consultation. The consultation started formally today, and the union has clearly stated that its test of whether it is meaningful is that Shop Direct should fully explore any options for relocating to a nearby site, as staff, through their trade union, are entitled to a say in the future of the business. The company has said in a statement that it will

“be partnering with local and national organisations to provide our colleagues with tailored advice and training, including career skills, access to financial planning and vocational courses to support re-training. It’s also our plan to offer apprenticeships in in-demand skills across our existing operational sites.”

I am grateful for the response to my letter to the Prime Minister which I received last night not from this Business Minister but from another one—the Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the hon. Member for Watford (Richard Harrington)—but it only goes so far. What specific discussions has the Minister had with colleagues in the DWP and elsewhere on support, quality training and reskilling for the Shop Direct Greater Manchester workforce over the next two years?

[Barbara Keeley (Worsley and Eccles South) (Lab)]

I want to ask my hon. Friend about the Little Hulton employees. Unemployment in Little Hulton is double the national average. As she has already said, no consideration has been shown for the loyalty of the staff there, many of whom have worked for the firm for decades. When we had the meeting with our friend the Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, there was a clear expectation that staff would remain in place for two years—across two Christmas seasons—and not take their redundancy until the end of that period. In a difficult place for unemployment, employment chances may come up during that period, and I really think that redundancy packages should be offered to staff earlier. Does she agree?

[Debbie Abrahams]

My hon. Friend makes a very valid point, and this needs to be explored. Again, I was struck by the lack of awareness among the directors we met about that situation, which really needs to be given considerably more thought.

I would be grateful to the Minister for an assurance that focused plans will be developed regarding skills and retraining packages, employment advice and financial support. Locally, it is vital for all parties, including the Government, to partner with Get Oldham Working, which provides holistic support to Oldham residents to access employment and training opportunities, as well as to work with local employers to understand the workforce and skills requirements better. Will the Minister commit to his Department working with the council on workforce support and employment opportunities for current Shop Direct employees, and will BEIS representatives be actively involved in the taskforce that has been set up for this purpose? What discussions has he had about supporting Oldham Council and Shop Direct to bring new employment to the Shaw and Chadderton sites, and about ensuring that the future of all Greater Manchester sites are secured?

Turning to the wider implications of automation, the move to increased automation is given as a key driver behind Shop Direct’s proposals to move to the east midlands. The Minister will be aware that the Bank of England estimates that 15 million UK jobs will be affected by automation by the 2030s, with PricewaterhouseCoopers saying that a third of all UK jobs will be affected. There is already evidence of this in the retail sector and although automation will affect jobs at all levels, it will hit low-paid jobs first. The potential effect on already widening inequalities is a real risk, and the estimates do not even factor in the impact of Brexit on the economy and jobs.

We therefore need to know what measures the Government have put in place to support workers affected by the ascendance of automation. What are the Government doing to assess the impact on the labour market as a whole, and on socioeconomic inequalities? The Minister’s letter mentions the Matthew Taylor report and his positive outlook on innovation, but while we must embrace change we must also manage it, recognising that at each stage both positive and negative effects will be associated with industrial progress—as history has taught us—and we must look to mitigate the negative effects. The “we” in this are businesses, workers and their unions, and the Government. What, specifically, is being proposed to mitigate the negative effects of automation? For example, what engagement have the Government had with businesses regarding the challenges of automation, and in particular the way employers manage the transition to automation that supports their needs to compete, but recognises their responsibilities as employers?

The Government’s industrial strategy, published last year, stated that the Government will introduce a national retraining scheme in England by the end of this Parliament, with a high-level advisory group—the National Retraining Partnership—bringing together the Government, businesses and workers, through the Confederation of British Industry and the Trades Union Congress, to set the scheme’s strategic direction and oversee implementation. Given that the first meeting was only on 5 March, what progress has been made to date on this and how does the Minister envision this helping my constituents in Shaw and others affected across Greater Manchester? In addition, what support will be offered to agency workers, such as those at Blue Arrow, who will feel the impact in my constituency; and will it be worker led rather than employer led?

The sum of £40 million was announced in the spring statement to test innovative approaches to help adults upskill and reskill. What progress has been made on these pilots, and will the Minister consider a pilot in the Shaw and Greater Manchester areas? Information from Oldham Council indicates that Oldham’s labour market expects growth in health and social care, and business and financial services, which could be ideal for a national retraining scheme pilot, supporting career changers. I hope that the Minister will say something about that in his remarks.

I gently say to the Minister that, given that the Government cut £1.15 billion from the adult skills budget between 2010 and 2015, and the adult education budget is 40% less than it was 10 years ago, the money allocated to the national retraining scheme is a drop in the ocean. But whatever funding is available, I want to make sure that Oldham, and Greater Manchester as a whole, gets a fair crack at it.

Our vision for this country must be for a high-skill, high-pay, knowledge-driven economy, and the Government must recognise the investment needed to achieve that. Focusing, as much of the industrial strategy does, on a few elite sectors will not deliver on the ambition to transform Britain’s economy. Will the Minister therefore look at setting up sector councils, modelled on the highly successful Automotive Skills, for every strategically important industry, bringing together Government, business, trade associations, research councils and so on, so that they can collaboratively plan and take action for the future security and growth of each sector, including small and medium enterprises?

As people increasingly transition between jobs, training and re-training, we need to have a responsive, supportive and enabling social security system. This does not exist at the moment. The hostile environment in the Home Office is replicated in the Department for Work and Pensions. This has to stop. I would be grateful for the Minister’s reassurance that he will do everything in his power to work with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to ensure that my constituents are afforded the dignity and respect that they deserve, and that he will report back to the House on the joint work that he will undertake with the Secretary of State to make our social security system fit for purpose for everyone affected by this new world of work.

It is clear that as well as affecting nearly 2,000 workers in Greater Manchester, Shop Direct’s proposal to relocate and move towards greater automation in its distribution facilities is indicative of profound changes in the labour market and the nature of work. Together with colleagues, I will continue to do all I can to support the 1,992 people affected by this decision and to maintain jobs on the sites affected. There are serious questions for Ministers about the impact of automation on the labour market, the increasingly insecure nature of work and our inadequate social security system. All those issues need to be addressed. I look forward to the Minister’s response to the many points I have raised.