Spending Review 2020

Lord Goddard of Stockport Excerpts

Thursday 3rd December 2020 Grand Committee

[Lord Goddard of Stockport (LD) [V]]

My Lords, from a Greater Manchester perspective, the commitment to rewrite the Green Book is welcome. For too long, the Government’s appraisal process for investment has unfairly favoured London and the south-east to the detriment of communities in the north of England. I hope that the refreshed Green Book will help end that imbalance.

I am pleased by the news that a national infrastructure bank will be set up and its headquarters will be in the north, hopefully in Stockport—the heart of Greater Manchester—a town with a motorway passing through the heart of it, an intercity line to London three times an hour, and the lowest Covid rates in Greater Manchester. This would show real commitment to northern communities, and that this investment could be the start of a long-term strategy to underpin what I hope are substantial investments in the north.

Everyone welcomes the commitment to increase the pay of some in our national health service and the modest pay rise for those on the lowest incomes in other public services. However, I am disappointed that the pay rise does not extend to others across our public sector who have been so integral in our fight against the pandemic. There was no mention of social care workers, who have also been working on the front line, and no mention of police officers, teachers or council workers, many of whom were redeployed at short notice to aid in the fight. They should be recognised for the work they have done.

What are the Government proposing for the 3 million people who are still currently excluded from Government support schemes? I was disappointed that the Chancellor could not mention them in his speech. These people account for 10% of the UK workforce and hundreds of thousands of working people across Greater Manchester. It was a missed opportunity by the Chancellor not to announce support for that huge number of taxpayers.

Finally, if Greater Manchester were to receive its share of the so-called levelling-up fund, it would amount to £30 million. This is simply not enough: a £30 million injection of cash for 3 million people, a city region that has suffered for years with underfunding of transport, skills, healthcare and infrastructure. Frankly, this Government must to more for the north and, in particular, Greater Manchester.