Income and Wealth Inequality

Debate between Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top and Lord Newby

Wednesday 26th November 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Newby]

My Lords, I cannot but agree with my former tutor. I fear that I did not hear the last part of his question altogether, but it is very important, first, that we shine a greater light on the amount that people have been earning at the top end so that they can be subject to appropriate scrutiny, and, secondly, that people at the top end are taxed more effectively than they have sometimes been in the past. In both those respects, the Government have made some progress.

[Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top (Lab)]

My Lords, has the Minister read the recent report of the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission? Its central conclusion is that, because of the rise in the number of working poor, unless very different policies are pursued, by 2020 the challenge will be that we will be a much more divided nation between north and south and between rich and poor. What are the Government going to do in order to have those different policies to ensure that we are not a singularly divided nation?

[Lord Newby]

My Lords, the commission has put great priority, in all its reports, on the importance of work in households. One of the telling statistics, for me, about what has happened in recent years is that there are now 390,000 fewer children in workless households than there were in 2010 and that the proportion of children in workless households is now at its lowest level since records began. We know that the family environment is extremely important to how children think about the workplace and to their chances of getting jobs.

Employment: Private Sector Jobs

Debate between Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top and Lord Newby

Thursday 30th January 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Newby]

Absolutely, my Lords, and in a number of the major trade delegations that the Prime Minister and other senior Ministers have undertaken in recent times, promoting services has been uppermost in their minds. One of the great strengths of the UK in terms of professional services is that the standards we set here through bodies such as those for chartered accountants and the legal bodies have a worldwide reputation, which underpins the credibility of British companies seeking to sell their services internationally.

[Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top (Lab)]

My Lords, does the Minister accept that in the north-east there is still a long way to go? Last week’s figures on unemployment showed that the north-east is the region where unemployment has not gone down. The Government’s action in local government finance—putting more money into the least deprived areas and taking it from the most deprived areas—means that the most deprived are seeing cuts of 25% in the services that are critical for those who are suffering from the poor economic position. We do not moan in the north-east—we are proud of it—but it is about time the Government recognised that there are still challenges and that they have a responsibility.

[Lord Newby]

My Lords, the Government recognise that there are still challenges and that we have a responsibility. That is why, for example, the Government have concluded city deals with Newcastle and Tees Valley and are helping those cities grow and why the industrial strategy around the automotive industry has had such a beneficial effect on Nissan’s employment in Sunderland.

Future Investment

Debate between Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top and Lord Newby

Thursday 27th June 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Newby]

My Lords, in respect of the A1, the noble Lord is absolutely right. There is a commitment to a feasibility study. Upgrading the A1, as he says, means dualling it. I think that quiet optimism strikes the right note. Obviously, if local authorities had their borrowing powers increased they would be able to do as he says. As he knows, the Treasury down the ages has set its face very firmly against such a move. I would be happy to raise his suggestion again with my colleagues in the Treasury.

[Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top]

My Lords, does the Minister accept that the north-east has suffered most since the last general election? Our unemployment is higher than any other region’s and the prospects coming from the spending review yesterday mean it is likely to increase rather than decrease because of the push on public-sector employment. The change in benefits will also have a significant effect in the north-east.

Despite all that, we are a region that always looks to be optimistic. I hope that the Minister’s noble friend is right about the A1—I have a bit more scepticism—but that is not enough. What else will the Government do to make sure that they invest in the region that is paying the greatest cost but still manages to be one of the best exporting regions in the country? The Government are letting the north-east down. People in the north-east want to contribute to the future. What will the Government do to enable them to do that? Maybe some affordable housing before the next election would be a good idea.

[Lord Newby]

I absolutely agree that the north-east has had a high level of unemployment for many decades and compared to the rest of the country. I accept also that it has suffered particularly in recent years because there has been a high level of public sector employment there, which has fallen significantly. The attempts by the Government to shift priorities towards manufacturing and the private sector have already, in some respects, begun to bear fruit in the north-east. Nissan goes from strength to strength and the number of apprenticeships that we are funding helps people in the north-east, as elsewhere, to get skills that enable them to get jobs in the long term. That is how we will get sustainable growth in the north-east.