Productivity and Economic Growth: East Midlands

James Wild Excerpts

Tuesday 17th March 2026 Westminster Hall

[James Wild (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

I congratulate the hon. Member for Rushcliffe (James Naish) on securing the debate, and welcome the opportunity to speak on behalf of His Majesty’s Opposition about what is not only an important region but a great one, as he put it.

As we have heard, the east midlands is home to world-leading manufacturers, a thriving logistics sector, pioneering aerospace firms and hundreds of thousands of small and medium-sized businesses. There is huge potential, as every Member who has spoken has attested to. These businesses, workers and entrepreneurs deserve a Government who are pursuing policies to help them to realise that potential and drive growth in the area. Concerningly, however, growth has been consistently downgraded; we need only look at the spring forecasts a couple of weeks ago to see that growth has been once again downgraded for the coming year, and that is before any impact is felt from the operations happening in the middle east.

Today we have heard lots of ideas from Members across the parties on how to realise growth in the east midlands. That can be achieved, but will require the Government to change course. The region has many internationally renowned businesses. Members have rightly spoken proudly about Rolls-Royce, Toyota, Alstom and other businesses. The East Midlands Hydrogen zone is positioning the region at the forefront of clean energy transitions, and of course there is a strong university sector. It is a region with key strengths, and the last Government recognised that. Several Members referred to the East Midlands freeport, which was given the green light in 2023. The only inland freeport in England was backed by Government seed funding at the time and underpinned a projected 28,000 jobs coming to the area.

If we look at the wider picture, the current Government have talked a lot about economic growth, but sadly growth has underperformed. As the Liberal Democrat spokesman—the hon. Member for Torbay (Steve Darling)—said, we cannot ignore the impact of the higher national insurance charges. We cannot ignore the higher business rates that many companies are about to be hit with, as well as higher wage and other costs. The Bank of England has pointed out the impact that these have had.

[Michael Payne]

Does the shadow Minister also regret the fact that between 2010-11 and 2019-20 local authority spending in the east midlands dropped by 22.6%, on the previous Government’s watch?

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[James Wild]

We can trade statistics, but the context for that was the 2009 financial crash, which led to a deficit of 12% to 15%. [Interruption.] The Government who came in were the coalition Government, including our Liberal Democrat colleagues, and it was Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, who drove those savings in spending, particularly in local government but also in other areas. We had to get the books to balance. That was the context that we had to deal with. People can deny the reality, but that was the situation at the time.

The number of people who are unemployed is forecast to hit 2 million by the end of the year. I expect other Members are particularly worried, as I am, about the impact on young people. Youth unemployment has already moved above 16%, which is higher than the EU average. We are now in the bizarre position in which the Government are having to pay companies to take on young people whom the Government’s own policies have priced out of having jobs. As my right hon. Friend the Member for Melton and Syston (Edward Argar) highlighted, SMEs across—[Interruption.]

[Dr Rupa Huq (in the Chair)]

Order. Let us not have chuntering from a sedentary position.

[James Wild]

If hon. Members want to intervene, they are welcome to do so. As my right hon. Friend said, small and medium-sized businesses across the east midlands and beyond are having to cope with those costs, making it harder for them to invest and grow. The Government should listen to them.

Fundamentally, the problems that the east midlands and the UK face in relation to growth are around productivity. Investment has been too low. The UK has trailed the G7 average over the last 30 years, not just the last 14 years. Our infrastructure ambitions are often buried under red tape and excessive costs. Colleagues have spoken about energy costs. The hon. Member for Amber Valley (Linsey Farnsworth) spoke about Denby and the ceramics sector, and we hope that a solution is found for that workforce. But by linking us to the EU emissions trading scheme, the Government will be driving up costs for our industry.

The sparks of business dynamism have dimmed. Office for National Statistics data shows that firm entry and exit rates have reduced, particularly compared with the United States. That leads to a less competitive, dynamic and innovative economy. The east midlands has consistently been ranked among the least productive regions in the UK, but that is not inevitable and nor should it be, because if it stays like that, living standards will not increase.

[Steve Yemm]

Does the hon. Member recognise the fact that, in 2010, productivity in the east midlands was at 92% of the national average, but by the time the previous Government left office it was at 85%? Actually, the region went steadily backwards under the Conservative Government. Does he recognise that?

[James Wild]

I am looking at the House of Commons Library brief on the average productivity level. I cannot quite see the hon. Member’s point reflected in the chart that I am looking at, but I will look at it again afterwards, when there is more time, and see whether that is the reality.

As I said, it is not inevitable that the productivity level is lower, and it cannot be accepted if we want living standards to rise. The Productivity Institute did a study looking particularly at the region, which identified some of the challenges around skills shortages, infrastructure and under-investment in research and development. Many Members have spoken about transport spending in particular. The briefing note for the debate from East Midlands Councils talks about a period of 20 years in which there has been a lack of investment. I understand the importance of improving investment; if I was speaking in an east of England debate, I and other colleagues would be pointing out that we also do not get our fair share.

The east midlands is a region of makers, and manufacturing makes up a greater part of the economy there than in any part of the UK other than Wales. In terms of productivity, the 2023 output was 14.7% below the recent UK average. Boston Consulting Group has just published a report on productivity, which I commend to Members, that looks at the underlying factors for this national challenge. The sectors that historically have driven productivity—manufacturing, information and communication technology, and financial services—accounted for 84% of the positive increase in the pre-crisis decade, but since then, that figure has fallen to just 34%. While those are still key sectors that are important for the economy, they are performing less well than previously.

What do we do to change that? We need to look at policies that boost productivity, including focusing on incentivising R&D spending in advanced manufacturing, reducing the barriers to commercialising innovation, and building on the full expensing introduced by the last Conservative Government to boost investment. Sadly, in the Finance (No. 2) Bill, which I have just gone through in Committee, some of the incentives on capital allowances have been reduced. We also need to promote a culture of enterprise, not one that is focused on regulatory compliance. We certainly need cheaper energy in order to compete. We need to scrap some of the bureaucracy around planning, and boost competition and skills.

The east midlands is a region with assets, and it is a strong driver of national growth. It has the companies, the geographic position, the people, and the small and medium-sized businesses to make a change. By pursuing reforms—the hon. Member for Rushcliffe outlined a number of recommendations in the APPG report that seemed sensible and well worth considering—the east midlands can be helped to maximise its potential.

Local Government Finance

James Wild Excerpts

Wednesday 11th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[James Wild (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

This settlement is supposed to deliver fair funding; that is what the formula says on the tin, but it fails the Ronseal test. Norfolk’s core spending power in the first year of the settlement is lower than the national average, and the largest increases in core spending power are going to urban authorities. This simply fails to recognise the needs of large rural counties such as Norfolk. The County Councils Network’s assessment is that rural counties and unitaries face the highest pressures, collectively amounting to £7 billion of costs by 2028-29.

[Natasha Irons]

I appreciate the hon. Member’s concerns. My constituency is an outer-London borough that has long been deemed as having inner-London support through finance, and it has inner-London problems—it is not particularly leafy, and deprivation is tough and takes a massive toll on our councils. Does he understand that addressing deprivation, the cost of housing and things like temporary accommodation are crucial for places like mine?

[James Wild]

Indeed. I am sure that if the hon. Lady catches your eye, Madam Deputy Speaker, she will elaborate on that.

Here is my point. Perhaps the kernel of the unfairness is the lack of recognition of remoteness and its impact beyond the adjustment for adult social care. It has been removed from most of the formulae—

[Antonia Bance]

Will the hon. Member give way?

[James Wild]

I will not give way; lots of people want to speak.

This is a serious cost pressure on rural authorities that the Government have chosen to ignore. Of course, this has been compounded by the removal of the rural services delivery grant in 2025—the loss of funding that had been put in place specifically to acknowledge the high cost of rural service delivery. That was a political choice made by a very political Secretary of State.

People in Norfolk can see in plain sight how this Government view rural areas, in the light of the farm tax, the lowering of the bus funding that the previous Government had put in place, and the scrapping of road and rail schemes in our area. I ask the Minister, who is not currently in her place—I hope the Whip on the Front Bench will make a note of my question—why Ministers rejected the evidence that Norfolk and other rural authorities submitted about the additional costs that they face and the importance of remoteness.

After remoteness, there is the recovery grant, which is supposed to be a one-off formula intended to give local authorities the funding they need. The formula was meant to be replaced, but the Government have decided to continue it for the next three years. However, there is no funding for Norfolk county council, despite the allocation, and the additional element of the final settlement, supposedly being targeted at upper-tier authorities—only Labour upper-tier authorities, it seems. It is little wonder that the Institute for Fiscal Studies said:

“Maintaining…allocations of the recovery grant does not look like a principled decision”.

I think that says it all. The policy is designed to shove all funding to Labour councils. Let us be clear: this is about shifting resources away from rural areas and into unitaries.

[Blake Stephenson (Mid Bedfordshire) (Con)]

I declare an interest: I am a Central Bedfordshire councillor. Central Bedfordshire will have to find £17 million off the back of this so-called fairer funding formula. Does my hon. Friend agree that that is nothing short of pork barrel politics?

[James Wild]

I agree. The figures simply bear that out. As a result of the settlement, council taxpayers in Norfolk—it is probably the same for my hon. Friend’s constituents—will bear the brunt through much higher council tax. Maximum council tax increases are assumed for the full three years of the settlement.

Let me touch on internal drainage boards, which are responsible for managing water levels and reducing flood risk. They play a vital national role in protecting key areas, including the prime agricultural land that is so important for our food security; yet the cost of IDBs falls on council taxpayers. In the borough council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk, 40% of council tax goes towards IDB levies—costs that other local authorities do not face. Funding should reflect the nationally important role of IDBs. Additional support was introduced by the previous Conservative Government. It has been continued by this Government, but they are not uprating it with inflation to take account of the high energy costs that IDBs pay. We do not know if that support will continue in future years. If it does not, will the Minister commit to working with the local and district authority groups that have been set up precisely to find an equitable solution?

Of course, Norfolk is losing out further still because of the Labour Government’s decision to cancel the Norfolk and Suffolk mayoral election and the county council election—two political choices with which I fundamentally disagree. Not only have our elections been scrapped, but my constituents—and those in Suffolk—were due to benefit from an annual investment fund of £37.4 million a year, which the Government have now cut for Norfolk. We will lose out on £48 million in the next two years. Why? Because of decisions taken by these Ministers. It is another sign that this Government neglect the people of Norfolk.

I welcome the announcements on SEND deficits, but it is clear overall that this is not a fair funding settlement. There is an over-reliance on council tax increases for my constituents, there is no recognition of the true costs that rural authorities pay, and ministerial decisions will lock in inequalities for years to come. The Government should think again.

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[Alison McGovern]

The right hon. Gentleman has had ample time to contribute, and while I would normally give way with gusto and have a bit of political knockabout with him, today is not the day for that.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the right hon. Gentleman and everybody else who has contributed today and also to thank those who contributed to the consultation on the provisional settlement and the Members who made representations to me directly. There could be no quick fixes. We cannot undo over a decade of damage overnight, but the settlement we are discussing today is our most significant move yet to make English local government more sustainable, and I am committed to going further in coming years to fix the pressures our councils are facing. The Secretary of State set out the various mechanisms that we are employing to do that in his opening speech. This Labour Government have backed local governments through action, and since coming to power we have made available a nearly 25% increase in core spending power in ’28-29, worth £16.6 billion.

I shall briefly turn to the points Members made. The hon. Member for Taunton and Wellington (Gideon Amos) relayed the situation with regard to flooding on the Somerset levels. I send my support to his constituents and will work with the Flooding Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice (Emma Hardy), as required. The Chair of the Select Committee, my hon. Friend the Member for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green (Florence Eshalomi), and the former Chair, my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield South East (Mr Betts), told me to be bold and I will try, but I look forward to their support in persuading all our colleagues in this place to vote for whatever bold solutions we come up with. Members including my hon. Friends the Members for Hartlepool (Mr Brash) and for Croydon East (Natasha Irons) and the hon. Member for Fylde (Mr Snowden) talked about failures in children’s care, and I feel sure that we will work together on that.

Many Members talked about their experiences of councils struggling yet often achieving, despite that struggle, to provide great innovative services on lean budgets, and we applaud them all for that.

[James Wild]

Will the Minister give way?

[Alison McGovern]

I am determined not to give way, if that is okay—I think we need to bring this debate to a close. [Interruption.] The hon. Member for North West Norfolk (James Wild) asks me about remoteness from a sedentary position. I have discussed this issue in detail with many Members on a one-to-one basis, and I repeat that there are other ways in which the settlement accounts for the actual costs of providing services, such as the area cost adjustment and other means. I do not agree with what has been said, but I do not want to detain the House any longer.

I had a wonderful January engaging with many Members across this House on the settlement; it was a fascinating opportunity to hear about the uniqueness of every area. I particularly thank my colleagues from Knowsley, St Helens, Gateshead and Banbury for the way in which they engaged on this settlement and contributed to how it looks today.

I thank all Members once again for their valuable contributions today. The Government are under no illusion about the scale of the challenge that local authorities face as they continue to deal with the legacy of the previous system, but our changes will make a big difference. They will get money to where it is needed most, creating a fairer and evidence-based funding system and—most importantly to me and many others—restoring the link between funding and poverty.

Question put.

National Plan to End Homelessness

James Wild Excerpts

Thursday 11th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Alison McGovern]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. He demonstrates his expertise, both from his life experience—and the House is so much the better for having people in it today who know what we are talking about—and the considerable work that he has done on this matter. He mentioned a couple of areas where we need to work with NHS and health colleagues. That is exactly the nature of the work we have been doing. I trust that he will use his place on the Health and Social Care Committee to hold us all collectively to account.

[James Wild (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

I welcome the ambition to end homelessness and pay tribute to the Purfleet Trust, King’s Lynn Night Shelter, the borough council and other groups that are working hard and collaborating to end rough sleeping and homelessness. How will this strategy and the resources help to support their efforts and focus on intervention and prevention and providing more local accommodation?

[Alison McGovern]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question, and through him I would like to give my own thanks to the organisations in his constituency that he just mentioned, which I am sure are doing vital and important work. One of the biggest challenges for local authorities in recent years has been living hand-to-mouth, with year-to-year funding, which they then pass on to the organisations that they fund. Having three-year settlements, which ensure a level of predictability, will not only help organisations to plan better, whether they are a council or a voluntary sector organisation, but will mean that they can engage more in preventive work, because they will have enough time to see the benefits.

Local Elections

James Wild Excerpts

Thursday 4th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

I confirm that the devolution Bill is coming through, and so the election will take place under single transferable vote. A statutory instrument will be laid before Parliament to lock into legislation the date of the mayoral election, subject to the consent of the constituent councils involved. As I have said consistently, we are determined to crack on with the elections, because we believe in the democratic process as much as the hon. Gentleman does, but it is right that we always create the space to reflect on and respond to any extenuating circumstances.

[James Wild (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

This is an utter dog’s breakfast that is entirely of the Government’s making. Will the Minister apologise to Tim Passmore and other mayoral candidates for cancelling the elections next year? When will Norfolk and Suffolk get the £37.4 million investment fund that we were promised if we had a mayor, and not the £3 million—the crumbs—that she has promised today?

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

Of course, candidates have been selected, and I am very happy to apologise to them. I hope that, on the other side of this, whoever is mayor will have the knowledge that they have a strong unitary, and a strong strategic authority working in their interests. If this means that we will have a more powerful mayor who is delivering for their place, as a result of that strong partnership, then it is absolutely worth it. We have to put the people who the mayor is there to serve first.

We are committed to the investment. The full investment fund will come into place once the mayor is elected, but because we are keen for strategic authorities to crack on, we are bringing forward some of that investment. We will work with the areas, so that they can begin delivering for their people.

Local Government Reorganisation

James Wild Excerpts

Wednesday 15th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Jim McMahon]

The point that my hon. Friend makes about balancing identity is as much about culture and approach as it is about where boundaries for councils are drawn. Sometimes, the identity of a council will match closely with the identity of a place, but often it does not. In urban, rural or coastal areas, many communities are far more nuanced or localised, and there can be some quite tense local neighbourhood disputes as a result. Any reorganisation has to respect the historic locally felt identity of every part of the new area, not just the area in which its headquarters might be based or that its council might be named after, and holding firm on that has to be part of the approach.

[James Wild (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

The Government’s timetable is wholly inadequate. Given that the previous deal that Norfolk negotiated was scrapped without any consultation, how will the public be consulted on any changes going forward, and does the Minister accept that a minimum population of half a million may not be appropriate in rural areas, to avoid councils being very remote from the people they serve?

[Jim McMahon]

We tackled that head on in the White Paper, which said that, for efficiency, the minimum population will be 500,000, but was clear in the same paragraph that—this is where devolution goes hand in hand with reorganisation—there needs to be some flexibility for the reasons that the hon. Member set out. That is our firm commitment.

Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement

James Wild Excerpts

Wednesday 18th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Jim McMahon]

That is completely right. By the way, I give credit to council officials, frontline workers and councillors, because it is local government that has led on innovation and reform and that has bound together local communities in very difficult times—and, I would say, with other parts of the system too often working against the local interest, not with it. We need to find a way of sending that message not to local government, because I think it is understood there, but to the wider system. We need to say that when we make such public sector investment in Newcastle and other places, we expect the whole system to rally around a single plan for the place and its people. We expect local government to be respected as the local leader—the convenor of place—that can hold the ring to make sure there is not duplication or contradictions and that the money delivers the right outcomes for local people. We are absolutely committed to that.

[James Wild (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

Large rural counties such as Norfolk face higher costs in delivering their services, and the Government’s jobs tax adds £14 million to the pressures that Norfolk county council is facing. Can the Minister clarify whether the NICs funding he referred to in his statement, which will go to Norfolk county council and other councils, will cover the cost of social care commissioned services?

[Jim McMahon]

First, I pay tribute to the leaders in both Norfolk and Suffolk for the conversations we are having, particularly on devolution. We look forward to, I hope, making progress on that in the near future, because that is where the real prize is. We can sort out the foundations of council funding and reorganise public services to get efficiencies, but in the end we need to see devolution. We need to see power coming out of this place and being given to local communities. The best way to achieve that is through a mayoral strategic authority working hand in glove with local authorities.

On the question about NICs, we have provided over £500 million for the costs of employers’ national insurance contributions and we are providing additional money through the social care grant, and it is for councils to decide how best to spend that money.

Building Homes

James Wild Excerpts

Thursday 12th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Matthew Pennycook]

The right hon. Gentleman raises a very important point. There are local authorities around the country where the boundaries are such that they stray into areas where environmental protections are in place, such as national parks and other things. Local areas will need to engage with the mandatory higher housing targets that we are bringing forward when coming up with local plans. Those local plans will be tested by the Planning Inspectorate to see whether there are hard constraints of the type he speaks to and therefore whether a plan is sound on that basis. Hard constraints will still be taken into account in the development and examination of local plans.

[James Wild (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

In an earlier answer, the Minister confirmed that the Government support an infrastructure-first approach. Will he work with colleagues in the Treasury and the Department for Transport to ensure approval of A10 West Winch housing access road funding, which is essential to unlock thousands of homes that are in the local plan on the edge of King’s Lynn?

[Matthew Pennycook]

The hon. Gentleman’s request has been put on the record and I will make sure that my ministerial colleagues are made aware of it.

Council Tax

James Wild Excerpts

Thursday 14th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Matthew Pennycook]

As I have said repeatedly— I commit to it again—we are determined to ensure that there is a fair funding settlement for local government, and as I have said, more details will be forthcoming in the settlement early next year.

[James Wild (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

Labour used to say that it would freeze council tax. Can the Minister now confirm that its policy is actually to put council tax up because of the flawed, broken promise on national insurance?

[Matthew Pennycook]

No, that is not the case. We are maintaining the policy of the previous Government, which, as per the OBR forecast, estimated that £1.8 billion will be raised through council tax. The position of the Government is that it will maintain the thresholds. If the hon. Gentleman thinks differently, he should tell House what his position is on thresholds: should they be reduced or increased?

Employment Rights Bill

James Wild Excerpts

2nd reading
Monday 21st October 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Deputy Prime Minister (Angela Rayner)]

I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time.

I declare that I am a lifelong proud trade union member—[Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.] When the Government took office and I took this job, we promised the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation, nothing less than a new deal for working people. We said that we would introduce a Bill to deliver that within 100 days, and we have fulfilled the promise we made to the British public. Let us be clear: too many working people have had to wait too long for change.

Over decades, the good, secure jobs that our parents and grandparents could build a life on were replaced by low-paid and insecure work. Wages flatlined, in-work poverty grew, growth was strangled and the Tories left behind a battered economy that served no one. Today, this Labour Government, led by working people for working people, will start to turn the tide.

First, I want to note the reasoned amendment. Our reforms are ambitious—they have to be to bring real change. But we have engaged extensively and will continue to do so. Today we are publishing a package of consultations on strengthening statutory sick pay, zero-hours contracts, industrial relations, collective redundancy and fire and rehire. As the impact assessment we have published today shows, the Bill is a pro-growth Bill.

This landmark Bill—pro-growth, pro-business and pro-worker—will extend the employment protections given by the best British companies to millions more workers.

[James Wild (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

In a discourtesy to the House, the very extensive impact assessment to which the Deputy Prime Minister has referred was published only a couple of hours before the debate, but one thing that it says is that the estimated cost of the measures could be £4.5 billion a year. How does loading costs on to employers help to boost growth and job creation?

[Angela Rayner]

The impact assessment also makes it clear that the Bill will have a positive impact on growth. More than 10 million workers, in every corner of this country, will benefit from Labour’s plan, and the money in their pockets will go back into the economy and support businesses, in particular those on high streets.

Across the business spectrum, from giants like Sainsbury’s and Octopus Energy to small and medium-sized companies like Richer Sounds, successful firms already know that strong employee rights mean strong growth opportunities. The Secretary of State for Business and Trade and I have just been to the Co-op in County Durham to see how it retains valuable talent, boosts profits, and powers ahead with enlightened policies that support good working lives for its staff. The Bill will bring all businesses on board.

Building Homes

James Wild Excerpts

Tuesday 30th July 2024 Commons Chamber

[Angela Rayner]

I congratulate my hon. Friend, not just on getting to this place but on the work she did previously. I also congratulate her local authority on the work it has done on having a local plan and on making sure that it got what it needed out of the section 106 provisions. She is absolutely right to say that that is important, because section 106 plays a very important role in meeting health needs—whether it is GP services, hospitals, schools or whatever the infrastructure—and it needs to be strengthened. We talk about that in this House, and we talk about the golden rules that we will apply if grey belt is released, but our Department will be working to ensure that local authorities are given the resources they need and the expertise from here, so that they can get the best out of section 106 notices.

[James Wild (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

Thousands of new homes are planned in King’s Lynn in my constituency, but that development requires transport and other infrastructure, so will the Secretary of State work with the Transport Secretary and the Chancellor to unlock the funding for the A10-West Winch housing access road so that that development can proceed?

[Angela Rayner]

Again, there is a challenge that we have inherited. I hope that the hon. Member’s area has a local plan for what is required and can therefore push for that infrastructure as part of its section 106. I will happily engage, through the Minister, on that particular issue, but I am wondering whether the hon. Member was in the Chamber yesterday and realises what a mess his Government left us in.