Rough Sleeping

Matt Vickers Excerpts

Thursday 25th February 2021 Commons Chamber

[Robert Jenrick]

I pay tribute to Newcastle City Council, which has made great progress over the course of the year. Its snapshot shows that the numbers have almost halved compared with the prior year. The hon. Lady is right that we need a long-term strategy. That is why we have the rough sleeping initiative, which is now in its third year, and we are really starting to see the fruits of that work. I want to see that continue for many years. That is also why we have created the multi-year Move On accommodation programme, backed by £400 million, and of course I hope that there is a multi-year settlement across Government later this year and that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor will be able to continue that level of investment well into the future.

[Matt Vickers (Stockton South) (Con)]

Brian and Stella Jones are two of the most incredible, compassionate, inspiring people you will ever meet. They set up the Moses Project in Stockton, which helps people who find themselves homeless as a result of addiction. Every day they are saving lives and giving people another chance. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the charity sector has a massive role to play in helping us to tackle rough sleeping once and for all?

[Robert Jenrick]

Charities across the country, including in Stockton, should be proud of the work they have done in that respect. This could have been one of the most challenging and difficult issues facing this country. In fact, as a result of their work and that of local councils—I would like to think that the Government played a significant part as well—we have a very different story to tell today. We have protected some of the most vulnerable people in society and we have something that is now looked upon across the world as a great achievement.

Council Tax: Government’s Proposed Increase

Matt Vickers Excerpts

Monday 25th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Matt Vickers (Stockton South) (Con) [V]]

Many councils have done a great job adapting to the ever-changing situation and supporting local residents. It is right, therefore, that the Government have given local authorities an unrivalled and unprecedented £10 billion package of support. In Stockton, this has meant an extra £110 million in funding—much of it unring-fenced, allowing councils to spend on local priorities. Money has also been given to councils to meet the cost of lost revenues, to support enforcement and infection control, to support and help the vulnerable, to cover business rates relief and to provide a huge package of support to local businesses—yes, huge challenges and costs for local councils, met with a huge package of support from the Government, so much so that my local council is still deliberating over how to spend some of it.

At this time, one would hope that many councils would look at how to shield residents from any unnecessary increases in council tax, but Stockton Council is a Labour-led council, which means that it will continue to tax like there is no tomorrow and spend like no one is watching. It is a fact: people are better off with the Conservatives. The average resident living under a Conservative council pays significantly less in council tax, while enjoying great local services. Under the last Labour Government, council tax bills across the country doubled. In Wales, where Labour is still in power, they have trebled.

In Stockton over the last five years, council tax has gone up by more than 20%, and that hurts those on fixed and limited incomes most. Not only are residents asked to pay more; the council is getting its priorities wrong, slashing spending on youth services while we have seen increased spending on press and communications, more on events and more on fireworks. When the private sector looked to reopen Stockton’s Globe theatre, it was warmly welcomed. It is a great opportunity to breathe life into our town centre. The original plan, under the private sector, was for it to open in 2012 at a cost of £4 million, but unfortunately the council got control of the project and it has now cost more than £26 million and counting, and it still has not opened.

It is said that if we look after the pennies, the pounds will look after themselves; my local Labour council looks after neither. Public money is there to benefit local people, including the most vulnerable, and therefore every penny counts. We have seen my council spend £1,900 on a rusty metal door, £62,000 on a pair of bollards, around £10,000 a year on VIP soirées where councillors can eat and drink for free. An allowance scheme has seen the chair and vice-chair of committees receive as much as £1,500 per meeting between them even if they do not bother to turn up, and we have seen council officers fly out at taxpayers’ expense to watch street theatre performed in Montpellier, Copenhagen and Amsterdam.

Councils have a moral responsibility to those on limited and fixed incomes to justify every penny they spend. It is right that locally elected councillors can make decisions about local taxation and spending, but with such rights come responsibilities.

The Future of the High Street

Matt Vickers Excerpts

Thursday 10th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Vickers (Stockton South) (Con)]

I would like to thank retail workers across the country who, while the rest of us retreated to the safety of our own homes, rolled up their sleeves, went out there, applied the restrictions and got on with it.

I earned my spurs at Woolworths, and I am only too well aware of the fall of our high street giants. I have the honour of co-chairing the all-party parliamentary group on the future of retail, and, having met some of the retailers, I have seen at first hand the challenges they face, but also the incredible passion they have to find solutions to these problems. Our high streets and town centres are changing, but continue to have an important role at the heart of our communities. They are a focal point that brings people together and gives our settlements identity, and are the place where many youngsters get their first job.

There is no denying that our high streets need to adapt, change and be repurposed, and I am glad that the future high streets fund and the town deals are allowing this to happen. Retailers across the country have welcomed the incredible package of support available during the crisis. I am glad that the Government have committed to a fundamental review of the age-old, all-consuming issue of business rates. The business rates holiday has been a lifeline for many retailers, and we must not whack them with the full pelt of business rates in April. We need to act now to assure retailers about what will happen next year, but also look at how we fundamentally reduce the long-term burden on our high streets. We need to be ambitious in the review, we need a significant reduction and we perhaps need to differentiate between sectors and geographies.

A lot has changed in the past five years, but the valuations that we use to determine business rates have not. We cannot go on taxing people based on historical rental values; at the very least we must ensure that any levy is based on current and regularly assessed values. Business rates deter investment, and businesses are forced to consider them alongside the viability of any extension or improvement to their premises. Let us reduce the burden, encourage investment and go for growth.

Our high streets are changing, not dying: there are great examples of innovation that must be celebrated and encouraged. I recently met the Booksellers Association and heard about its growing membership as more independent bookstores, such as the amazing Drake in Stockton, open throughout the country. I have seen at first hand the emergence of a micropub scene in Stockton, going against the grain, filling empty shops and bringing life to the town centre, and the emergence of enterprise arcades such as the Pop Up shop in Yarm or the Fountain shopping centre in Stockton—emporiums of amazing independents, offering up their goods and having a go to see where their retailing dreams lead.

Shopping cannot be replaced by clicking—you cannot feel it, touch it, see it or smell it—and there is no replacement for customer service, expertise or banter. Let us support our nation of shopkeepers, back our high streets and shop local.

Arcadia and Debenhams: Business Support and Job Retention

Matt Vickers Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Vickers (Stockton South) (Con)]

I too earned my spurs in retail at Woolworths and Home Bargains. This year has been incredibly challenging for high street retailers, and my thoughts are with the employees of Arcadia and Debenhams. Does my hon. Friend agree that we must not only work actively to help high streets recover from the pandemic, but also consider all the other long-term issues they face, from car parking charges to businesses rates? I co-chair the all-party parliamentary group on the future of retail, and we would very much like to see the Minister at its next meeting to discuss those issues.

[Paul Scully]

I thank my hon. Friend—his experience will be valuable, and I would be happy to join him at the APPG. It is important not just to consider the immediacy of this, but the fact that with the new normal there is a new reality—a behaviour change that is baked into people’s approach to the high street. It is important to get right that long-term strategic view.

Oral Answers to Questions

Matt Vickers Excerpts

Monday 16th November 2020 Commons Chamber

[Luke Hall]

I am surprised to hear the hon. Gentleman speak like that about local authority when he supported and voted for the local government finance settlement this year. As I said, since the start of the pandemic we have provided £7.2 billion in funding. Wakefield has received £31 million across four tranches of unring-fenced funding, the last including deprivation, population and cost driver indicators, too. It has also received £2 million for test and trace, £7 million from the infection control fund and more than £40 million in additional grants. As the hon. Gentleman failed to do so, may I use this opportunity again to recognise the incredible work of councils, who have been dynamic and energetic in responding to an incredibly difficult period?

[Matt Vickers (Stockton South) (Con)]

What progress the Government have made on the towns fund.

[Luke Hall]

On 27 October, we announced the first seven town deal offers, worth almost £180 million, for Barrow-in-Furness, Blackpool, Darlington, Norwich, Peterborough, Torquay and Warrington. Of course, we look forward to receiving further town deal proposals, including from Thornaby in my hon. Friend’s constituency, in the coming months. We will also bring forward a competitive element of the fund so that more places can benefit from investment that will improve our towns and high streets and drive long-term economic growth.

[Matt Vickers [V]]

I am currently working alongside councillors, businesses and community groups to put together Thornaby’s bid for up to £25 million. We want to get rid of the Eagle hotel and other blights on our town centre as well as improve training and skills opportunities, leisure facilities and cycle routes—and, importantly, we want to make life-changing improvements to housing. Does my hon. Friend agree that local people know their area best? Will he help unblock any bureaucratic barriers that prevent money being spent on local priorities?

[Luke Hall]

Absolutely. I thank my hon. Friend for all his work. The objective of the towns deals is to drive the economic regeneration of towns, including through improving transport and digital infrastructure, supporting skills development and making the most of the planning powers to create a supportive environment for residents and businesses. The towns fund will support mixed-use redevelopment in towns such as Thornaby, creating thriving places for people to live and work. Each town has its own local priorities and should align its proposed interventions with the towns fund intervention framework, as set out in the further guidance.