Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Clegg and Hazel Blears

Tuesday 19th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

I certainly agree that great teachers who inspire pupils and are committed to their vocation are crucial in promoting a good education system and, therefore, social mobility. We have a number of programmes. I would single out Teach First as an outstanding programme that has attracted some of the brightest and the best into teaching, which is something the whole Government actively support.

[Hazel Blears (Salford and Eccles) (Lab)]

Sir John Major recently said that he finds it “truly shocking” that in every single sphere of influence in Britain

“the upper echelons of power in 2013 are held overwhelmingly by the privately educated or the affluent middle class”.

In 1979, just 3% of MPs had a political background, such as special adviser. At the last election, the figure was 25% of this House. What is the Deputy Prime Minister doing to change that?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

I think we all need to ask ourselves searching questions about how, in our own political parties and parliamentary offices, we can make sure that we give people greater opportunity. One of the huge changes in recent years—I know the right hon. Lady has been very active on this, and I pay tribute to her for that—is the way in which internships, which were once an informal arrangement and all about who rather than what someone knew, are becoming an increasingly important, almost semi-formal step towards full-time work and are being provided on a more meritocratic basis. We need to do that here in Parliament, just as much as many other workplaces need to do it up and down the country.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

The anomaly, as my hon. Friend politely puts it, is the lamentable record on the NHS of the Labour Administration in Wales. He refers to the Silk commission, which was a bold step towards the further devolution of powers from Whitehall to Cardiff. The Prime Minister and I were in Wales the week before last to announce that process and it has been universally welcomed by all parties in Wales. That comes in the context of the debate about the future of the United Kingdom and Scotland’s place within it. The Silk commission has shown in practice that we do not need to pull the United Kingdom apart to have a greater devolution of powers to its constituent parts.

[Hazel Blears (Salford and Eccles) (Lab)]

T7. Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the abundance of riches today. What is the Deputy Prime Minister doing in his co-ordinating role across Government to ensure that there are social value clauses in central and local government procurement? Social value clauses can help with apprenticeships, training and the building of local supply chains. I ask him to take the lead in Cabinet and ensure that social value is one of the most important aims in the procurement of every Department.

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

The right hon. Lady asks a specific question about a social value clause, and if she does not mind I will get back to her on that having consulted the Cabinet Office. More generally, she referred to apprenticeships of which, as she knows, I am as much a fan as she. Apprentices are now being taken on in 200,000 workplaces in the country, and I do not see why we should not be able to double that in a relatively short period of time, to give more young people a greater opportunity to take up apprenticeships and move into meaningful work.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Clegg and Hazel Blears

Tuesday 22nd May 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

The pupil premium is currently worth £1.25 billion, and that will double to £2.5 billion by the end of this Parliament. That is additional money on top of the baseline funding provided to schools. Last year, on a per pupil basis, the pupil premium was worth about £480. It is now worth £600 and will go on to increase. Given those statistics, it is remarkable that Labour in Manchester voted to scrap the pupil premium altogether. How on earth is that going to help social mobility?

[Hazel Blears (Salford and Eccles) (Lab)]

In his speech on social mobility this morning, the Deputy Prime Minister said:

“It is my strongest political conviction that…if we have a chance to open up success to all, we must seize it.”

What is he going to do to put an end to the scandal of unpaid internships, particularly in politics, the media and our creative industries?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

I pay tribute to the right hon. Lady’s work on internships, not least in this place as part of the Speaker’s Panel. As she knows, the legislation is clear: if an intern is, in effect, doing work that should be remunerated, he or she should be remunerated. There are cases of interns doing work that falls outside that legal definition. Having looked closely at the issue, and she and I have corresponded on this, we have decided that it could be self-defeating if we sought to outlaw altogether across the piece—not least, for instance, in charities—some unpaid internships. I agree, however, that even in those cases, it is incredibly important to ensure that internships are available to everybody, and that basic costs, such as travel costs and lunch costs, are properly covered, even in those cases.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Clegg and Hazel Blears

Tuesday 7th February 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

It would be wrong to start taking sides on referendums that are taking place across the country in different cities. The key thing is to make sure that the referendums are held in a way that allows the debate to be played out. I suspect some areas will opt for mayors and others will not; that is the great virtue of all this—it will be entirely dependent on people’s decisions in each local area.

[Hazel Blears (Salford and Eccles) (Lab)]

T8. The right hon. Gentleman has said:“For too long, internships have been the almost exclusive preserve of the sharp-elbowed and the well-connected.” Twenty-five per cent. of the internships currently advertised on the Government’s graduate talent pool website are for unpaid vacancies. What practical steps are the Government taking to provide more paid internships so that people from poorer backgrounds can get those opportunities?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

As the right hon. Lady knows, we have made considerable progress on the internships that operate in Whitehall. When we entered government just over 18 months ago, I was astonished by quite how informal and laid-back the procedures were. We have now put them on a much more open and meritocratic basis, but of course I will look into the cases the right hon. Lady has drawn to my attention.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Clegg and Hazel Blears

Tuesday 22nd June 2010 Commons Chamber

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

I strongly agree with my hon. Friend. The push for greater decentralisation, after years and years of grotesque centralisation under a Labour Government, is one of the most important changes that this coalition Government will usher in in the years ahead.

[Hazel Blears (Salford and Eccles) (Lab)]

Four days before the general election the right hon. Gentleman asked in an interview in The Independent newspaper:

“What is this big society?”,

and then said it is

“a well-oiled PR machine, but basically it’s disguising fake change. It’s hollow. There’s nothing in it.”

Does he still hold that view about a fundamental philosophy of the Conservative party?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

I hold the view, as I always have done—[Interruption.]