Regional Inequalities: Child Poverty

Olivia Blake Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd March 2022 Westminster Hall

[Olivia Blake (Sheffield, Hallam) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Huq. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Blaydon (Liz Twist) for her thoughtful introduction to the debate.

Far too often, when regional inequity is discussed, the framing is entirely wrong and misses out the real impacts that that inequality has on people’s lives. Although I accept that child poverty is a disgrace wherever it happens, it is deeply endemic in the north, and I say that as the representative of the wealthiest part of Sheffield. Along the 83 bus route, from my constituency to the other side of the city, there is a 10-year difference in life expectancy for women.

I recently met people from the Trussell Trust food bank network across Sheffield. We discussed the use of the word “poverty”, and they said that we should actually use the word “destitution” when talking about food banks, because that is their client base: people in destitution. Theirs are not the only food banks in our city, but they provided more than 12,000 emergency food parcels between April and September 2021—their highest number on record so far. Of those parcels, more than a third went to families with children.

It should not have to be said in the 21st century, and in one of the richest countries in the world, that there should be no such thing as child poverty, but here we are. It is hard to take the Government seriously on their commitment to levelling up when Conservative peer Daniel Moylan tweeted in response to a Yorkshire Post headline that he sees Yorkshire as

“a county of leftist whingers begging for handouts.”

If he were to visit Sheffield, he would actually find a city where people have waited time and again for the Government to deliver on their promises. The Government are failing to level up our transport—there has been no electrification and no High Speed 2; failing to level up the north’s economy, holding our producers back; and failing to tackle and combat inequality.

According to research by the University of Sheffield, the UK has a higher level of regional inequality than any other large wealthy country. To me, that is not inevitable, but a result of Government policy. It is a political choice to drive people into destitution and to deny them sufficient social security and the services that would prevent that destitution. It is a deeply political choice to invest heavily in some parts of the UK but not in others, and to champion some parts of the economy but leave others to fend for themselves. It is a despicable political decision to then accuse people who are forced into poverty —let alone children—of begging for handouts, when our entire economy is geared towards exploitation, dwindling opportunities and the proliferation of dehumanising zero-hour contract work under a Government who seem simply not to care.

We all know that regional inequalities run deep, but they are reinforced year on year by how much or how little is invested in key public services. According to the Centre for Cities think-tank, national local authority spending fell by half between 2010 and 2019. We all know that major cities in the north were hit hardest. On average, areas such as Liverpool, Blackburn and Barnsley faced twice the cuts of their counterparts in the more affluent south. More recently, analysis of the £4.7 billion allocated for the Government’s levelling-up agenda has shown that the wealthiest areas have been allocated 10 times more money per capita than the poorest. That is astonishing, and the Government must act urgently to ensure that they get those things done better.

Covid-19: Disability-Inclusive Response

Olivia Blake Excerpts

Thursday 15th October 2020 Westminster Hall

[Olivia Blake (Sheffield, Hallam) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Rosindell. I thank the hon. Member for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow (Dr Cameron) for securing this important and timely debate.

Covid-19 has changed the way in which people work. ONS data on coronavirus and homeworking in the UK reveals that 46% of people in employment did some homeworking in April, and 86% of them did so because of the coronavirus pandemic. Throughout the pandemic we have seen workplaces close and moves towards remote working for some. However, the tools can be inaccessible for many people with hearing loss and deafness. For example, the 2019 Action on Hearing Loss report, “Working for Change”, which sought to understand the workplace experiences of people with hearing loss and deafness, revealed that 75% of respondents found it difficult to take part in video or teleconference meetings.

In those workplaces that have been able to remain open, we have rightly seen the imposition of social distancing and other safety measures, such as opaque face coverings to protect employees. However, those measures can alienate people with hearing loss and deafness from both their work and their colleagues. It is therefore crucial that employers are encouraged and supported to offer new reasonable adjustments to address the barriers, including for healthcare professionals. That is particularly pertinent when considering how different disabilities and health conditions will, no doubt, be affected in different ways. Many charity organisations are putting together advice and support to show how that can be done in workplaces, but it needs to be collated in one accessible point and to be endorsed and promoted by the Government. I support the calls by many disability charities for a disability information hub for employers, and ask the Minister to commit to that.

The 2017 Action on Hearing Loss “Working for Change” report showed gaps in employers’ knowledge of disability and that their confidence in hiring and supporting disabled people has been a long-term problem, existing well before covid-19. Even though the Government’s “Health is everyone’s business” consultation closed more than a year ago, they have still not responded or made any progress in improving employer information. The Minister might suggest that the delay has been caused by covid-19—which is the Government’s response when asked why the report on special educational needs and disabilities provision has been much delayed—but covid-19 makes the provision of disability-specific information even more important. At a time when employers need access to support and guidance on how to make new adjustments for disabled people, I ask the Minister to tell us when the Government will publish their consultation response. More generally, will he confirm that the Government intend to keep their target of helping an additional 1 million disabled people into work by 2027?

We should also be mindful of the mental health of people with hearing impairment during the pandemic. The latest ONS data from July 2020 showed that 64% of people with hearing impairment reported feeling lonely always, often, some of the time or occasionally, compared with just 44% of non-disabled people.

The Government must do more to ensure that people who are deaf or have hearing loss have access to both healthcare and timely covid-19 public health information. The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care highlighted in a speech to the Royal College of Physicians on 30 July that all health consultations should be remote unless there is a “compelling” reason otherwise. However, people who are deaf or have hearing loss rely heavily on visual cues for effective communication. The accessible information standard requires health and social care providers to identify, record and meet the specific communication needs. Can the Minister clarify whether face-to-face appointments will be maintained where that is the individual’s preference? Clarity is desperately needed on that. I am over my time, so will finish there.

[Steve McCabe in the Chair]