Apprenticeships and Skills (Public Procurement Contracts) Bill

Debate between Diana Johnson and Lyn Brown

Friday 1st November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Lyn Brown]

I am not very good at icing cakes either.

[Diana Johnson]

I went to the Hull training awards last Friday in my constituency. The overall winner, the apprentice of the year, was a woman engineer, which I was delighted to see because we are missing out on a huge pool of talent among young women, who do not think engineering is for them. They make some of the very best engineers in this country.

--- Later in debate ---

[Diana Johnson]

Absolutely. My hon. Friend puts the point so well. My right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle (Alan Johnson) has always been a strong champion of ensuring that young people have the opportunities that they should have. Any Member who has read his book about his early life, which tells of his disadvantaged background and lack of opportunities, will understand why he wants to stand up and fight for young people.

I want to talk about the Bill from a business perspective. When I was growing up, my dad was an electrician and he had a small business. He trained as an electrician during the second world war and when he left the forces, he set up a small business with his sister, my Auntie Betty. My dad took the view throughout all his life in business that it was incumbent on him to train the next generation of electricians. I remember growing up in my household and hearing my dad say that he wanted to give a chance to young lads leaving school. He used to say that it was outrageous that some of the other, bigger businesses in the area—his was a very small business—did not train apprentices, and yet when a young person finished their apprenticeship, those businesses would go straight in to try to poach them to work for them without going through all the hard work that my dad did to train them.

I knew from a very early age how important it was to give young people those opportunities, and how good people in business—small businesses and others as well—who had a local commitment to their area and communities understood that they were there not only to provide services, but to make sure that young folk had an opportunity to train and get the skills they needed.

[Lyn Brown]

Given the example that my hon. Friend has just given, would it not be the right thing to do to ensure that supply chains from public procurement reward people like her dad who do the right thing? Those firms would get the subcontract from big procurement contracts and I think that would be the right way to go.

[Diana Johnson]

Absolutely. My hon. Friend puts the point very well.

My dad’s business carried on for many years because he was a good business man who did the right thing, and my brother, who was an apprentice electrician and did his training, now runs the business. He is doing exactly what my dad said he should do—training apprentices and the electricians of the future—but whenever I see him, he tells me about issues with public procurement. For example, if a school needs to be rewired and the local authority is putting the contracts out to tender, some local authorities take into account whether local firms have apprentices, and that is a good thing, but they do not all do that. It is really frustrating for local businesses that are doing the right thing to feel that they are not being rewarded in the way that they should be because other companies that are cutting corners and are out to make a fast buck do not invest in local people and local communities.

NHS Reorganisation

Debate between Diana Johnson and Lyn Brown

Wednesday 17th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

I am delighted to have an opportunity to say a few words in this debate.

Labour’s investment in health care over the past 13 years has produced huge strides. When we think about the position in 1997, with long waiting lists and hospitals in desperate need of refurbishment, we realise that we have come a very long way. I am disappointed that the new coalition Government, instead of deciding to build on the very successful investment over the past 13 years, are now engaged in an ideological approach to the NHS to bring in the private sector and to destroy a lot of the very good work that has been done.

I pay tribute to all NHS staff, clinical, non-clinical and administrative, who do their best and work very hard for patients. One of the most upsetting things I have heard since May is Government Front Benchers’ denigration of our NHS managers and administrators. That is very wrong.

My main starting point is to look at whether the coalition’s proposals will improve the health of my constituents in Hull. I do not think they will. I am absolutely appalled that the Government are to spend £3 billion on reorganisation when there is such a tight financial settlement for the NHS. Their focus should be on ensuring that patient care is maintained over the next few years, not on reorganisation.

Hull has a very good primary care trust. I pay tribute to the excellent and innovative work of Chris Long, the chief executive, and of Wendy Richardson, the jointly appointed director of public health with the local authority. As a spearhead PCT, Hull received additional money under the previous Government. It introduced projects such as the health trainers who have done so much in working with communities that have high levels of health inequality, for which different ways of working must be adopted. It has also done work on domestic violence and worked with its perpetrators.

The reason I am such a fan of Hull PCT is that, unfortunately, we have a Liberal Democrat-controlled council that does not seem to have any focus on its responsibilities for public health. The previous Labour council introduced free healthy school meals in all the city’s primary and special schools, rather than wait for an evaluation after three years of the pilot project, but the Lib Dems came in and scrapped it. The project was trying to do something about the high levels of obesity and poor performance in schools—to get to our youngsters early to ensure that they eat well. When that Lib Dem council is given the agenda for public health, I do not have much faith in it taking it seriously.

Hon. Members will recall the introduction of the free swimming initiative in the previous Parliament, which got our young people active through swimming and engaged our councils. Of course, Lib Dem-controlled Hull city council said, no, it was not going to get involved, and at the same time it put up the costs to our youngsters of attending sports clubs in the city. I am therefore very sceptical about the proposed public health agenda being taken on by Lib Dem local authorities.

[Lyn Brown]

My hon. Friend will know about the health needs in Newham, where the incidence of TB is rising and the rate of HIV is very high. The people who have helped me and my constituents most in managing these health needs have been the people at the PCT, who have been very responsive to my requests and requirements. Has she found the same in Hull?

[Diana Johnson]

Absolutely. Although not all PCTs have operated as we would like, there is good practice throughout the country. We should focus on that and see what we can learn.

I am concerned about the coalition Government’s approach to public health, because the junk food industry seems to be helping them to make policy, as some of our national media have reported in the past few days.