36 Jack Dromey debates involving the Department for Education

Schools: National Funding Formula

Jack Dromey Excerpts
Thursday 14th September 2017

(6 years, 8 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Justine Greening Portrait Justine Greening
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We have listened carefully and have had meetings with many Members from across the House. I pay tribute to my right hon. Friend the Minister for School Standards for holding many of those meetings alongside me. My hon. Friend the Member for Congleton (Fiona Bruce) and other Cheshire MPs have been tireless campaigners on behalf of their local communities and schools, and I have appreciated the comments, suggestions and proposals. They carried weight, which is why they have been reflected in the final funding formula that I have set out today.

Jack Dromey Portrait Jack Dromey (Birmingham, Erdington) (Lab)
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The shadow Secretary of State is absolutely right, because she listens to the voice of headteachers; 100 headteachers came to Parliament earlier this week and told heartbreaking stories of having to sack teachers and teaching assistants. One headteacher had had to sack the caretaker and, because he could not afford to replace them, was having to do some of the caretaker’s duties himself.

I want to correct the Secretary of State. The NAHT said today that, while progress on the funding formula is welcome, “at least” £2 billion in additional resources is necessary, without which they will have to

“cut staff, narrow the curriculum, remove pastoral support”,

and many will have to close down after-school clubs. Despite the progress on the funding formula, the simple truth is that the Government are still letting down this country’s children.

Justine Greening Portrait Justine Greening
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I strongly disagree with the hon. Gentleman. We are putting additional money into our schools. Over the next few years, as I have said, the schools budget will rise by £2.6 billion. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has made it clear that, over the remaining years of the spending review, we are now protecting per-pupil funding in real terms. It is easy to focus on spending, which is of course important, but we are more interested in results, and the results in English schools are that standards are going up, not least due to the hard work of our teachers, results are getting better and outcomes for young people and children are getting better. That is something we should all talk up, rather than talk down.

Of course over in Wales, where Labour is in charge, it is a very different situation, with that country slipping down the international league tables on education.

Free Childcare Entitlement

Jack Dromey Excerpts
Wednesday 6th September 2017

(6 years, 8 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Robert Goodwill Portrait Mr Goodwill
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It is worth £5,000. That makes a big difference to a family budget.

Jack Dromey Portrait Jack Dromey (Birmingham, Erdington) (Lab)
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All children are entitled to expect the best possible start in life, and parents are entitled to expect help with childcare so that they can go out to work. However, with thousands of parents in Birmingham still in limbo, free childcare that is often not free, providers threatened with going out of business, and the closure of 26 children’s centres in the city, does the Minister understand the grievance expressed by the group of parents I met last week in my constituency, who said the Government are long on rhetoric but are simply letting Birmingham’s children down?

Robert Goodwill Portrait Mr Goodwill
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The hon. Gentleman talks about letting children down in Birmingham, but maybe he should look at some of the children’s services there and see how they could be improved. However, this policy has been tested up and down the country, in rural and urban areas, and it is great news for parents and children.

Education: Public Funding

Jack Dromey Excerpts
Tuesday 4th July 2017

(6 years, 10 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Nick Gibb Portrait Nick Gibb
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My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We are moving to the national fair funding formula in 2018-19. The consultation, which closed on 22 March, had over 25,000 responses, and we will be responding to it very shortly.

Jack Dromey Portrait Jack Dromey (Birmingham, Erdington) (Lab)
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Erdington is rich in talent but one of the poorest constituencies in the country, and yet under the Government’s own conservative figures, 32 out of 33 schools will suffer a per pupil funding cut of £115. What does the Minister have to say to despairing headteachers facing desperately difficult decisions as to which teachers and which teaching assistants they sack, holding back the life chances of children who deserve the best possible start in life?

Nick Gibb Portrait Nick Gibb
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I have enjoyed visiting schools in Erdington with the hon. Gentleman. I have seen some very good practice in the schools that he took me to. As I have said, under the new national funding formula no school will lose funding on a per pupil basis. I have given that commitment in response to this question and I will give it every time an hon. Member asks me. I have acknowledged that there are cost pressures facing schools. Those cost pressures start in about 2016-17—the year that has just gone. That was about 3% of cost pressures, and the figure will be roughly between 1.5% and 1.6% per year for this year and the next two years. We are helping schools to deal with those cost pressures, which apply right across the public sector, in terms of how to manage staff budgets but also how to manage non-staff spend. That is why we are introducing national buying schemes and school hubs to purchase products and services such as energy and water together to help them deliver efficiency.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jack Dromey Excerpts
Monday 20th March 2017

(7 years, 1 month ago)

Commons Chamber
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Robert Halfon Portrait Robert Halfon
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The good news is that the taxpayer is spending millions of pounds to incentivise small businesses and providers to have apprenticeships. In addition, we have the huge communications programme that I highlighted earlier.

Jack Dromey Portrait Jack Dromey (Birmingham, Erdington) (Lab)
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Employers have “high expectations”, the college has “good standards”, and young people are “ambassadors” for apprenticeships. That is the verdict of Ofsted on Birmingham Metropolitan College, yet it is one of four colleges in Birmingham— 13 in the west midlands—that have been denied access to the apprenticeship levy and will have to cease providing apprenticeships. Does the Minister begin to understand the outrage over this inexplicable decision? Will he meet Birmingham’s MPs, so that we can make further representations to him?

Robert Halfon Portrait Robert Halfon
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I am happy to meet MPs from Birmingham and any other area. The crucial aim behind the decision is to improve quality. Getting on the register is a competitive procurement process—everyone had to fulfil the same criteria. It is important to note that, from tomorrow, those that did not get on the register can reapply, so they may yet succeed.

Education and Social Mobility

Jack Dromey Excerpts
Tuesday 22nd November 2016

(7 years, 5 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Justine Greening Portrait Justine Greening
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I will come on to that point, but as we already have grammar schools, it is quite right for us as a Government to set out the case for how we make sure that they play their full role in driving social mobility.

I have set out a number of facts about the prospects of too many young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in our country. None of these facts should be acceptable to us. They certainly are not acceptable to me or this Government. I believe that social mobility matters for several key reasons. First, it matters for individuals. I believe that the innate desire of people to do well is one of the most powerful forces for change in our country, and social mobility is about our country working with the grain of human nature. Secondly, social mobility matters for communities. Fundamentally, feeling that we all have an equal shot at success—having equal opportunity—is the glue that binds us together. Lastly, social mobility matters for our economy. Investing in people is a core part of how we raise productivity. Yes, we need to build roads and railways, but we are determined to build up people, too.

Jack Dromey Portrait Jack Dromey (Birmingham, Erdington) (Lab)
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How can the Government claim to be the party of social mobility when 800 children’s centres have closed and 29 nursery schools have closed in the past year alone? That is letting down a whole generation of two, three and four-year-old kids, because if they fall behind at that age, they will never catch up.

Justine Greening Portrait Justine Greening
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Of course early years education matters. We are investing in not only improved but more childcare for parents around the country—for working parents, in particular—because we think that having a strong start is absolutely vital. As I was saying, this is about improving not just the prospects of individuals and communities, but the prospects of our country and its economy, and we have to build our country’s economy by building our people.

Apprenticeships Funding

Jack Dromey Excerpts
Tuesday 1st November 2016

(7 years, 6 months ago)

Westminster Hall
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David Lammy Portrait Mr Lammy
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Absolutely. Nissan might have decided to stay, but it may look again at the decision if apprentices do not come forward and participate in the industry. That is very important.

Jack Dromey Portrait Jack Dromey (Birmingham, Erdington) (Lab)
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I praise my right hon. Friend for his outstanding leadership on this vital issue. Apprenticeships transform lives. Warren Shepherd, an apprentice in Erdington, moved into the house of his dreams as a consequence of gaining an apprenticeship and becoming a time-served engineer in the Jaguar factory. Erdington is rich in talent, but it is one of the poorest constituencies in the country. Does my right hon. Friend agree that if the ladder of opportunity is kicked away for people like Warren, the Government can talk until the cows come home about social mobility and building a strong economy in the midlands, but they will not be willing the means to deliver that?

David Lammy Portrait Mr Lammy
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My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I say to the Government, “Put your money where your mouth is for the great young people of cities such as Birmingham.” That is what this debate is about.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jack Dromey Excerpts
Monday 10th October 2016

(7 years, 7 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Justine Greening Portrait Justine Greening
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I made it very clear in my Conservative party conference speech last week that one of our biggest challenges is to ensure that we make the same progress in technical education that we have seen in academic education over recent years. This is vital for the more than 50% of children and young people who do not go on to university, and it will be vital for our employers if we are to have a Brexit Britain that can be successful.

Jack Dromey Portrait Jack Dromey (Birmingham, Erdington) (Lab)
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21. Nursery schools give children the best possible start in life. Now, as a consequence of the review of the funding formula, the funding in Birmingham could be cut by up to half, closing nursery schools all across the city. Does the Secretary of State not recognise the immensely damaging consequences that would flow from that, not least for social mobility? If we kick away the ladder of opportunity when a child is three or four, they might never recover.

Justine Greening Portrait Justine Greening
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The reality is that we are providing an additional £55 million for maintained nursery schools for at least two years while we consult the sector. We are looking at children’s centres at the same time.

Student Maintenance Grants

Jack Dromey Excerpts
Tuesday 19th January 2016

(8 years, 3 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Gordon Marsden Portrait Mr Marsden
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Perhaps if the hon. Gentleman listens as I talk further about the way in which these things have changed, he will understand that what was introduced in 2012 and the explanations—I will not call them apologies—that his Government gave for tripling tuition fees were based on a series of quid pro quos, all of which they have now abandoned. The pattern I have talked about is also seen in the number of people doing higher education in the so-called “post-92” universities and receiving the maintenance grant. That is why million+, whose membership contains a significant number of those post-92 universities, has expressed its alarm in the briefing it prepared for today’s debate. It said that

“by virtue of nothing more than household income, some students will be saddled with debts far in excess of their fellow students.”

It continued:

“the freezing of the earning repayment threshold for five years will also exacerbate this problem and will hit lower earning graduates the hardest.”

My former colleague Bill Rammell, who was a higher education Minister and is now vice-chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire, made precisely those points in an excellent piece for Politics Home today.

Jack Dromey Portrait Jack Dromey (Birmingham, Erdington) (Lab)
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Erdington is one of the poorest constituencies in England, but it is rich in talent, and maintenance grants mean a great deal to students who want to get on—42% are dependent on them. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Government are both breaking a promise, and dashing the hopes and dreams of a generation of strivers?

Gordon Marsden Portrait Mr Marsden
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I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. Of course, he comes from and speaks for a distinguished part of the west midlands, which is in the process of trying to gain control over areas of activity in their local economies. What the Government are doing for people in Birmingham and elsewhere is confounding their own devolution prospects.

Trade Union Bill

Jack Dromey Excerpts
Tuesday 10th November 2015

(8 years, 6 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Jack Dromey Portrait Jack Dromey (Birmingham, Erdington) (Lab)
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My dad came here as a navvy from County Cork, joined the British Army to fight Hitler and then became a train driver. Like generations before him and generations after him, he wanted to get on.

The evidence is absolutely clear that those who are in a trade union are more likely to be better paid and to enjoy equal pay, less likely to be unfairly dismissed, bullied or discriminated against, and more likely to work in a safe workplace and to enjoy a decent pension.

I have worked for 40 years in the trade union movement with good employers, including those in the automotive industry such as Jaguar Land Rover, who praise their trade unions for the transformation of the industry to a high-pay, high-quality, high-productivity culture. I have also fought the bad. My whole experience is that trade unions are a force for good and for liberty.

Now, the so-called party of working people wants to weaken working people. It is part of a wider agenda that will brook no opposition: first the charities, then the BBC, even the House of Lords and now the trade unions. The Tory party wants a one party, one nation state.

The great Jack Jones once said that the way for working people to access power was through their union card on the one hand and their right to vote for the Labour party on the other.

Let me show what is so obnoxious about this Bill. When I was treasurer of the Labour party in 2006, against the background of the secret loans scandal and the Hayden Phillips process, it was put to me, “Jack, if we impose a cap on donations of £5,000, it will bankrupt the Tory party.” I said no to doing that because it would be immoral for one party to abuse its power to bankrupt another party. Would that the Conservative party had the same moral compass now.

In conclusion, this is a pernicious and iniquitous Bill. It is born out of malice, informed by prejudice and has no place in a democracy. That is why the true party of working people, the Labour party, will vote against it tonight.

Question put, That the Bill be now read the Third time.

Trade Union Bill

Jack Dromey Excerpts
Monday 14th September 2015

(8 years, 8 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Alec Shelbrooke Portrait Alec Shelbrooke
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I thank the hon. Gentleman for his comments. I will talk later about the opt-in and the opt-out, and I think he will listen carefully to what I have to say.

Without employer faith in trade unions we will end up in the situation that culminated in the Grunwick dispute of the late 1970s. I hope that the hon. Member for Birmingham, Erdington (Jack Dromey), for whom I have great respect, will comment on that dispute because I will be fascinated to hear his account of it.

If ever there was an example of where proper, pragmatic workplace representation was needed on both sides, it was in that dispute. There can be no doubt that George Ward exploited his workers and sacked those who spoke out. The problem was that the union movement had become so toxic in the 1970s that the dispute led to a digging in of the trenches and became a symbolic political argument rather than being based on the genuine concerns of workers who were treated like his property and had to work in stifling conditions, without canteen facilities, or the ability to turn down forced overtime.

Jack Dromey Portrait Jack Dromey (Birmingham, Erdington) (Lab)
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At the heart of the Grunwick dispute was a bad employer, supported by the Conservative party, who refused to give recognition to the trade union, despite a court of inquiry chaired by Lord Justice Scarman recommending recognition and reinstatement. That would not now happen because a Labour Government legislated to introduce the right to trade union recognition.

Alec Shelbrooke Portrait Alec Shelbrooke
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I thank the hon. Gentleman for his comments, because I am coming on to that point. I was about to say that I do not agree with the position my party’s leadership took then, nor the praise that was given to the strike breakers, but I give this warning: my opinions are couched in a life after the trade union reform the hon. Gentleman mentions. I was literally in nappies when the Grunwick affair took place. What it shows is that it is necessary to make sure that relations between workers who need support and the trade unions do not become part of a proxy political battle. I agree with the hon. Gentleman about the need for workplace representation, and I welcome that that rule was brought in.

The popularity among the public and leading politicians of strike breakers was a direct consequence of trade union militancy, using the power of strike action as a political tool, even under a rather left-wing Labour Government, rather than a tool of grievance, so that when strike action was genuinely needed—as I believe it was in that case—the cause and effect were lost in a wider political argument.

We must take this example into consideration, because there is a difference between a public and a private sector dispute. The free market dictates that private companies exist according to supply and demand: if the company sinks, the market will reshape and another company will fill the void, whereas the state is solely responsible for the delivery of key public services. When conditions in the private sector are so bad that a strike has been called, the striking workers will weigh up the consequences to their ongoing conditions. In comparison, a public sector striker will go back to work having lost the day’s pay they were on strike for. They will not face a salary drop, probably will still get a pay rise and will have a very good pension. That is not the case in the private sector, where it can mean job losses, unresolved disputes and sometimes worse pay than at the start. After the general strike of 1926, the miners’ pay was worse than at the start. Those are heavy considerations for those in the private sector taking strike action, but those in the public sector do not have to worry about them. I therefore ask the Secretary of State to reconsider the proposals in the Bill to allow private sector companies to employ agency workers during strikes. There are key differences between the services provided by the private and public sectors, and that should be recognised in the Bill.

Public services are paid for by the taxpayer, and they often have terms and conditions of employment beyond the dreams of those working in the private sector. When those in the public sector strike, those in the private sector—whose taxes pay the wages of those on strike—often lose pay themselves owing to a lack of transport or childcare. That is why it is right that thresholds should be set. Such thresholds would not have made a difference to the recent tube strikes, but they would clearly indicate the strength of feeling involved. With the current ease of striking, and the consequences to members’ livelihoods that that involves, it is no wonder that only 14% of those working in the private sector take up union membership, compared with more than 50% of those in the public sector.

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Jack Dromey Portrait Jack Dromey (Birmingham, Erdington) (Lab)
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My dad came to this country from County Cork as an Irish navvy. He came here to dig roads. He joined the British Army to fight Hitler and after the war he went to work at London Underground, first as a train guard and then as a train driver. He was a proud member of the National Union of Railwaymen. Why? Because he wanted himself and his family to get on.

The evidence is now, as it was then, that in those sectors of the economy where trade unions are organised, workers are more likely to be better paid, to enjoy better conditions and to have decent pensions; less likely to be discriminated against, bullied and unfairly sacked; and more likely to work in a safe workplace and to have their voice heard.

I have worked over the years with some outstanding employers. Jaguar Land Rover is but one example. At the Jaguar plant in my constituency, the leadership of the factory goes out of its way to praise the role that is played by trade unions. The trade unions have acted as an agent for change in the industry and have transformed the automotive sector into a world-beating sector of the economy.

I have also dealt with many bad employers. I remember the EMI agency factory that sacked three women—two because they were pregnant and the third because she had a sick child. We finally won the battle before the employment tribunal. The women walked back in the following day and were treated as heroines. I saw a woman workforce with their backs straightened. They had a sense at last that because they could stand together in their trade union, they could answer back, be treated with respect and enjoy dignity in the world of work.

Trade unions, quite simply, are a force for good. They are a force for liberty in the workplace and a force for liberty in a democratic society. Now, the so-called party for working people wants to weaken working people. It is part of a wider agenda. This is a Government that brook no opposition; that seek to curb independent critical voices such as charities and the BBC. Now, they want not only to weaken working people, but to bankrupt the Labour party with their proposals on party finance.

I was treasurer of the Labour party for six years. I exposed the scandal of secret loans. That led to the Hayden Phillips process, which discussed a new settlement on party finance. It was put to me at the time, “If we were to have a cap of £5,000, it would bankrupt the Conservative party.” I said that it would be downright immoral if we sought to pitch the new arrangements in a way that would break the Tory party. We now have a Tory Government that seem to have no such moral compass.

David Anderson Portrait Mr Anderson
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My hon. Friend is making a strong case. From his years of experience in the trade union movement, what does he think the change to the political funding relationship with the Labour party will do to help the people the Conservative party says the Bill is about—the people who want to go to work when there is a tube strike and the people who want to take their children to school when there is a teachers’ strike? What on earth will changing the legislation about political fund ballots do to help those people?

Jack Dromey Portrait Jack Dromey
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The great Jack Jones once said that working people have two ways to access power: their union card and their right to vote. Of course we organise first and foremost in the workplace, but this is also about the ability to influence legislation here in this House. The Government are determined to weaken both.

On industrial action, in 2002 I led a million-strong strike in local government. We put in place arrangements to ensure that not one example was found of, for example, people in care homes or looked-after children being put at risk. Why? Because workers always enter into sensible arrangements in the public interest to protect those whom they serve.

Christian Matheson Portrait Christian Matheson
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I thank my hon. Friend for giving way. He used to be my boss, and a very good boss he was too. In his many years as a trade union official, can he remember any instance of a strike that was entirely politically motivated?

Jack Dromey Portrait Jack Dromey
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The idea of cabals of shop stewards who pursue nakedly party political or political agendas is a myth peddled by the Conservative party.

Of course sometimes, for example with London Underground, there will be disruption, but one cannot in a free society shackle the right of working people to withdraw their labour. Ballots before industrial action? Absolutely. Sensible measures to get turnout up? Without hesitation. There can be workplace balloting and e-balloting. However, it is absolutely wrong to apply in this Bill a test that, were it to be applied in this place, would mean that very few people would come here.

Baroness Hayman of Ullock Portrait Sue Hayman (Workington) (Lab)
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Clause 3 sets out the important public services for which 40% support will be required in ballots. Is my hon. Friend as surprised as I am that

“decommissioning of nuclear installations and management of radioactive waste and spent fuel”

is included in the list? Can he think of any instance when a strike at a nuclear decommissioning facility has put the public at risk?

Jack Dromey Portrait Jack Dromey
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No, and I dealt with the nuclear industry for 15 years. There were rarely disputes, there were very good dispute-resolution mechanisms and when there was the occasional dispute, workers and their trade unions went out of their way to protect vital and sensitive establishments.

I will deal with the other issues briefly in the time I have left. On picketing, I stood on a picket line in my constituency in 2011. Six careworkers from 10 to 22 years’ service faced being sacked by a Conservative council. Under the Bill, they would have had to report to and give their names to the police. As one of them said to me last week, “Jack, we’re not criminals.” As a police officer said to me last week in the west midlands, “Jack, this is not a police state.”

On agency workers, lasting damage would be done to industrial relations if workforces were divided in the way that is proposed. To cut back facility time would rob people of the ability to have a friend in the world of work that they can count on at a time of need.

Finally, to introduce the Bill on today of all days is a slap in the face that treats working people with contempt. This is arrogance that knows no bounds from a Government that are once again treating working people and trade unions as the enemy within.

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Liz McInnes Portrait Liz McInnes
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I thank my hon. Friend. I was hoping to be able to make that very point myself. He has given me another minute!

Facility time is not a drain on the public purse; in fact, it is linked to increased productivity, which, as we all know, is crucial to the delivery of high-quality and cost-effective care in the NHS. There is a huge economic case for retaining the current arrangements. Capping facility time is an attempt to solve a problem that simply does not exist.

The Royal College of Nursing, which opposes the Bill, commissioned independent research. The resulting report shows that only 1.5% of public sector health care workplaces have a full-time union representative, and that those representatives are representing huge workforces consisting of some 2,500 people. They are dealing with employment issues every day, resolving conflicts before they escalate. The report also gives substantial evidence of close working between union reps and management, with managers reporting a high level of trust in their union colleagues.

The facility time proposals appear to have been drawn up by people who know the price of everything and the value of nothing. I call for the provisions in this Bill to be rejected.

Jack Dromey Portrait Jack Dromey
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On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. It is probably widely known that I am a former deputy general secretary of the Transport and General Workers Union and of Unite, but, for the avoidance of any doubt, I draw attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, of which I am very proud.

Natascha Engel Portrait Madam Deputy Speaker (Natascha Engel)
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I thank the hon. Gentleman for his point of order, which is on the record.

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Paula Sherriff Portrait Paula Sherriff (Dewsbury) (Lab)
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It has been a pleasure to listen to so many speeches today showing what trade unions really are. Rather than hearing ridiculous stereotypes about trade union barons or militants, we have heard about the millions of ordinary working people who elect their leaders and simply want a better, fairer life at work. I, too, must declare an interest in the debate. I am a proud trade union member, and I was a shop steward for years. And yes, I have been on strike. I was supported by my fellow trade unionists in all of that and in getting to this place, and I’ll tell you something: I am proud of all those things. I am proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with fellow working people to get a better deal for those who slog their guts out just to get by and get on. I was also proud to represent fellow members when they had a problem at work, and to make sure they knew their rights and got access to justice when they were wronged.

Of course that meant standing up to unscrupulous bosses, but that often meant fewer days lost to sickness, happier staff and a lower staff turnover. It also meant that we had productive negotiations when an issue arose. And yes, I was proud to stand on the picket line with the Remploy workers who were shamefully abandoned by the previous Government, and with low-paid women workers fighting against downgrades. As a trade unionist, I knew that taking strike action was a last resort, and not one that any of us wanted to take, but when all else fails, that is what is left. Without it, the bad bosses would not want to negotiate in the first place. Quite simply, it allows working people to have some power over their lives. Throughout our history, working people have had to fight for what we have. Nothing has ever been gifted to us. Trade unionists fought for an end to child labour, as well as for an eight-hour day, paid annual leave, and maternity and paternity pay.

Jack Dromey Portrait Jack Dromey
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My hon. Friend is making a powerful case for the voice of working people to be heard, not just in the workplace, but in the corridors of power. Does she agree therefore that it is fundamentally wrong that the Government should have an agenda that is designed, in effect, to bankrupt the Labour party and therefore break the voice of working people in Parliament?

Paula Sherriff Portrait Paula Sherriff
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I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention and agree with everything he has just said.

The trade union movement also brought us the minimum wage and even the weekend, and the key to all that was an organised voice in politics. It is no secret that the affiliated trade unions have put many of us on these Benches, while Conservative Members rely on big businesses, corporations and wealthy individuals. For decades, there has been a consensus that any changes to political funding rules should be made on a cross-party basis. This Bill, like so many others, rips up the constitution in favour of a naked political attack. It is an attack on the ability of trade unions and their members to have a say in politics, just at the time when it has never been more important that working people have a voice.

At the moment, hundreds of thousands of working people pay just a few pence from the union subs to make their voices heard. I am talking about paramedics or cleaners, who do not have the luxury of a cosy dinner with the Chancellor; supermarket workers, who will not catch the Secretary of State in the veg aisle; and teaching assistants, who are not likely to bump into the Prime Minister on the street—indeed, we know that the last time someone did bump into him in west Yorkshire it did not end very well. Trade union members know whether their unions are affiliated to Labour and can opt out of making a contribution to the political fund, and every 10 years we are balloted on whether we want a political fund at all. There is no real wrong that this Bill is trying to right. It is not about high principle, just low politics.

I am not afraid to say that I am a working-class woman when there are too few in this House. I spent my life before I came here working on the front line of our public services, for the police, supporting victims of crime, and for our NHS, supporting all who needed care. When I walk around my constituency people say to me time and time again that they want to see more people like them in Parliament. I am not ashamed of the trade unions’ political work. They are part of our democracy, not a barrier to it. Working people in my constituency need a voice more than ever—