Cost of Living

Madeleine Moon Excerpts

Wednesday 16th May 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Walker]

I absolutely agree that we need to work together on long-term planning to get back some of the refining capacity that we have lost. I also think we should consider the potential for differential taxation of diesel and unleaded petrol, which most other countries in Europe already have, and I have mentioned that idea in previous debates. This is an issue that should be debated and explored in more depth.

Pensioners are people living on fixed incomes and are directly affected by changes in the cost of necessities. I am proud that our coalition Government have not only restored the link between the basic state pension and earnings, which the Labour Government failed for such a long time to do, but strengthened it with the triple-lock guarantee. It is crucial that the Government legislate to make public sector pensions sustainable—to reduce the cost not just for the sake of it, but so that we can continue to provide high-quality pensions for public servants.

Council tax is a major issue for pensioners, and we have a good record on keeping it frozen. Earlier, we heard a little Labour triumphalism from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton (Sir Gerald Kaufman) about the local election results, but I am pleased to say that, in Worcester, the Conservatives remain the largest group, although Labour gained seats and the Liberal Democrats lost one to us. The Liberal Democrats are now working with the Conservative administration in Worcester to try to make the council more efficient and to keep council tax down.

As I said, the hon. Member for Worsley and Eccles South (Barbara Keeley) spoke passionately about social care. I am pleased to see in the Queen’s Speech a draft Bill on modernising social care, but I agree with the hon. Lady that there is more to be done and that the Government have to take yet more action to tackle the enormous challenges set out clearly in the Dilnot review. I urge the Government to make swift progress on that issue, which is hugely important for the long term. As has been pointed out, Labour does not have a strong record of addressing it.

Part of the cost of living is the need to ensure that there is the best possible support for those in the later stages of life, which means better provision of social care as well as more investment in palliative care, an issue that is dear to my heart.

I am glad that the Government are doing more to support families by expanding child credits for those most in need, protecting child benefit for people earning up to £50,000 and expanding the provision of nursery education. The right hon. Member for Croydon North (Malcolm Wicks) described the changes to child benefit as a “case study in unintended consequences”, and that accusation certainly could be levelled, but I would say they are a case study of the Government listening to concerns and doing something about them. That is to be commended.

My hon. Friend the Member for Witham (Priti Patel), in an earlier part of the Queen’s Speech debate, and the right hon. Member for Croydon North today, pointed out that child care is a huge cost to many families. Like them, I hope that the Government can do more to help on that front in the future. I hope the contentious and argumentative line in the Gracious Speech that states:

“My Government will strive to improve the lives of children and families”

will enable the Government to act on both that issue and the essential one of delivering fairer funding for our schools.

The greatest thing that the Government can do to improve the standards of living of people in this country, and to help them overcome the challenge of the rising cost of living, is to succeed on the economy. As I mentioned earlier, there has been some commentary that there was not enough about the economy in the Queen’s Speech. As I discussed with businesses at my business breakfast in Worcester last week, that misunderstands what the Queen’s Speech is about. It is not a description of everything that the Government must do but a programme of legislation. As the hon. Member for Cambridge eloquently pointed out, the Government do not need to legislate to make a difference. Most of the major issues affecting our country and economy do not require legislation. As shown by today’s welcome job numbers, which have improved in Worcester, across the country, we can create jobs and grow the economy without new laws.

[Mrs Madeleine Moon (Bridgend) (Lab)]

One thing that the House desperately needs to do is give a feeling of hope to young people, who are being particularly badly hit at the moment. The hon. Gentleman mentions the unemployment figures. In Bridgend, I had five youngsters between the ages of 18 and 24 claiming jobseeker’s allowance in April 2011, and in April 2012 I had 70. That is an increase of 1,300%. That is not a message of hope, and the House has to do something about it. There was nothing in the Queen’s Speech about—

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

Order. We must have shorter interventions. I know that it was important to the hon. Lady to get that point on the record, and she has done so now.

--- Later in debate ---

[Phil Wilson]

These are all issues to address. Ultimately, they are not just about bus services; they come down to the effect on society in rural areas. People living in rural areas should have the same rights as those who live in urban areas, which on many occasions have adequate transport facilities.

I wish to discuss one or two villages in my area. Hurworth, Sadberge and Brafferton are all in the Darlington borough, and my hon. Friend the Member for Darlington (Mrs Chapman), who is in her place, wishes to discuss these same issues, as they are affecting our communities in that borough. For example, Sadberge has lost its shop, its post office and its school, and from the end of the year it will lose its bus service, too. At a surgery there two or three weeks ago, I was told by a disabled person who works at Lingfield Point in Darlington, “If that bus route is withdrawn, I do not know how I am going to get to work, unless I hire a taxi.” We all know that going by taxi is a very expensive way of getting to and from anywhere, never mind just using it to get to work.

Brafferton is, as I have said, a very small community, containing 60 to 70 houses and perhaps 100-odd people. I have been contacted by Mrs Firby, who lives in that village, and I want to read one or two extracts from her letter to explain the state of transport in the area. It says that now the bus has been withdrawn, residents

“must walk to the A167”—

the main road—which is

“much too far for elderly or infirm, or anyone to carry much more than a light bag. There is no shop in the village and the partial footpaths away from the village are poorly maintained.”

The letter goes on to explain that 50% of households have someone over the age of 60, and states:

“More people are becoming reliant on family and friends or a second car when retiring from work and losing easy access to shops.”

In fact, the nearest shop to that village is the motorway garage at the interchange on the A1. Imagine the nearest shop being at the motorway caff and having to go there to get groceries. That shows the issues affecting our local villages and the stark contrast of the situation in those areas.

Darlington council, because of the cuts it is facing, has had to take some really difficult decisions about subsidies to buses and how it will deal with adult care. Because of the cuts, it will not be able to continue giving subsidies to bus companies, especially at the end of this year. What it is able to do—there are particular grants for doing this—is set up community transport systems. It does not want to run the systems itself but wants a third party to do it. It is currently consulting with local parish councils and others to find a way of doing that. I am pleased about that and I and my hon. Friend the Member for Darlington will help and support the council in its efforts in that regard.

The report of the Select Committee on Transport on its financial scrutiny of the Department for the 2010-12 Session says that £500 million was handed back to the Treasury. It says at page 8, paragraph 10, that that money is

“likely to have exceeded the total reduction in annual revenue for the English bus industry following the Spending Review.”

The report goes on to say:

“Money voted by Parliament for expenditure on transport should be spent on transport, not handed back to the Treasury.”

We have all these constituents facing these cuts and having difficulties getting to work. We have elderly people having to walk a mile and go to a motorway caff and back to get groceries, but this £500 million was sent back to the Treasury. I think some questions need to be asked about that.

[Mrs Moon]

The Bridgend Coalition of Disabled People recently held a transport summit at which they pulled local bus and taxi companies and train operators together to talk about how disabled people can access transport. Increasingly, moving around is expensive and difficult for disabled people and requires prior planning. That money could have been spent on facilitating access to transport for disabled people. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is bad that that money was sent back to the Treasury?

[Phil Wilson]

That amount—£500 million—is not a drop in the ocean. It is a lot of money that could have done a lot of good for transport throughout our rural areas. I hope that Ministers will address this issue in winding up tonight.

Finally, let me make one or two other comments. Arriva runs bus services in County Durham, where a lot of those services have a bad name. With Arriva buses in London, if you see one, you see three at a bus stop, but in some of the villages we represent, people are lucky if they see one all day. Obviously bus companies need to make a profit to invest in better buses and so on, but the private sector also relies a lot on subsidy. Those companies have a right to make a profit but, given that they are providing a social service, they should have some kind of social conscience.

For me, this issue highlights elements of all the talk about the big society. People cannot get to work or see their friends.