Summer Adjournment

Chris Leslie Excerpts

Tuesday 27th July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Chris Leslie (Nottingham East) (Lab/Co-op)]

Many of my constituents in Nottingham East are from the Pakistani and Kashmiri population, and have friends or family living in Kashmir and that part of the world. They are increasingly concerned about the ongoing dispute and the problems that remain unresolved between India and Pakistan over what is a disputed territory. I am not a world expert on the issue, but I have had a number of constituents continually raise it with me, and I felt it important to take this opportunity to raise it today, especially as I do not believe that the Kashmir question, from the list of all the international problems worldwide, is aired as frequently as it should be.

Obviously many Members will be aware of the post-war settlement of 1947-48, when the area was partitioned. There was a significant amount of conflict, and when the line of control was established, drawing up the boundaries around the various Indian and Pakistani-administered parts of Kashmir, that set off a chain of events. That chain of events involved the United Nations drawing up a resolution aspiring towards some level of eventual self-determination for the people of Kashmir, so that they could decide their future fate and hopefully achieve a peaceful and democratic outcome. Unfortunately, since then there have been at least three major conflicts between India and Pakistan in the area, some of which have come close to becoming very major conflicts indeed.

Although I understand the Indian concerns about the ongoing possibility of infiltration from across the border—many of those concerns are legitimate—and although I accept that there are human rights concerns in the Pakistani-administered parts of Kashmir, it is the human rights questions that arise so frequently in the Indian-administered part of Kashmir that have caused such great concern among many of my constituents. Although the news is difficult to verify—there are very few independent observers and very little reporting by a free press—there are reports of thousands and thousands of people losing their lives in the conflict, with up to 10,000 people having disappeared since 1990 according to one report.

The current situation continues to be very serious indeed. There has been a curfew in many parts of Indian-administered Kashmir since June, which means that a large part of the population are unable to leave their homes, with work curtailed, employment not always possible and shops not functioning. Even when people go out to protest, they often find that the police swiftly stamp out any dissent. That can lead to a repetitious cycle, which tends to involve people mourning the deaths of local residents and, in turn, the police suppressing that turnout, which can lead to a flare-up of conflict, with young men in particular pelting the police with stones. Such conflicts can flare up in many parts of the world, resulting in civilian deaths, which are extremely regrettable. I am told that there have been 34 such deaths so far this year.

I take this opportunity to urge the Government not to be frightened to raise the unresolved question of Kashmir with the Indian Premier and the Indian Government, particularly as the Prime Minister and other Ministers are visiting India this week—I think—on a trade delegation, and the issue is exceptionally important. Obviously many people in Kashmir would eventually like the opportunity for some level of self-determination or a better say in their destiny and governance. However, the key thing now is to find a way of demilitarising and calming the situation in Kashmir. Obviously I understand the approach taken on the borders, but what is important is the sense that internal repression is taking place within Kashmir, and we need to move on from that. I also hope that we can eventually include Kashmiri people and civil society leaders much more in dialogue and the peace process.

There are a couple of other points, affecting our constituents back in this country, that I take this opportunity to raise. The disability living allowance has for many years supported many disabled people, helping them with specialised equipment and the extra costs that they face, including transportation costs. The Conservative party promised to protect the disability living allowance in its manifesto. Unfortunately, however, it appears that there will be significant cuts in the DLA in the near future.

The introduction of a so-called objective medical assessment from 2013 appears to have allowed the Treasury to put a figure on the saving that it will be able to make on the DLA. The projected saving in 2013 is £360 million, and more than £1 billion in 2014-15. If it is to be a genuinely objective medical assessment, I am at a loss to see how the Treasury can quantify the savings involved, or indeed predict that there will be savings rather than extra expenditure. This is exceptionally worrying. Many people are expressing their concerns about this, and I hope that we will have an opportunity to discuss the matter further on another occasion.

I am also concerned by the Government’s recent decision to scrap the East Midlands Development Agency and the Government office for the east midlands. Both those bodies have tried hard to bring investment and regeneration to my part of the world. In particular, EMDA has had some of the lowest administration costs of any RDA, and objective studies have shown that £9 of wider benefit has come from every £1 that it has invested in the real economy and in regeneration. There has been a great deal of investment in the creative industries, for example, including the New Art Exchange in my constituency and Nottingham Contemporary, and it would be a great shame if that regeneration budget were to be cut. Those organisations have added great value to the economy, and I hope that we shall see that investment continue in the longer term.