Public Services

Sandy Martin Excerpts

Wednesday 16th October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Kirstene Hair (Angus) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Slough (Mr Dhesi), although I am not sure that many Members on the Government Benches will agree with his assessment of the Queen’s Speech.

The Queen’s Speech presented to Parliament this week was an opportunity for the Government to get on with their domestic agenda, focusing on public services and aiming to deliver what the people want us to do. For too long, hour upon hour of Government time—in fact, almost 500 hours—has been eaten up by furthering of the Brexit debate. That time could, no doubt, have been spent on other things, but we continued on around the Brexit merry-go-round while so few recognised that the country wanted to move on. Although the previous Session was dominated by Brexit, we must not forget that more than 70 Bills received Royal Assent in that Parliament—in stark contrast to the 26 passed in the Scottish Parliament. My constituency of Angus had the fourth highest leave vote of any constituency in Scotland, but when I am out on the doorsteps, as I have been almost every weekend since I was elected, people say they want us to get on and get Brexit sorted. They also want to leave the constitutional debate in Scotland to one side—perhaps even for a generation.

Monday’s Queen’s Speech focused absolutely on public services—the issues that matter to everyone’s everyday lives. Although some measures will not affect Scotland, as the chair of the all-party group on eating disorders I was pleased to see a renewed focus on mental health. I recognise that efforts will predominantly focus on those in detention in hospitals and police custody, but we must always increase our ambitions in this policy area. We must never forget that there will be people in this Chamber, across the estate and in every workplace, school and university who are suffering from mental health issues. I want ours to be a more open society so that people can recognise that the support is there if they are willing to come forward and get it.

The Queen’s Speech also mentioned the pension schemes Bill, which I warmly welcome because several hard-working plumbers in Angus were in a defined pension scheme and faced potential financial ruin. They entered into a multi-employer scheme without ever imagining that they would face demands for six or seven-figure sums. I have worked hard to represent their views in this place. That Bill will give those in such difficult situations further support by requiring a statement from trustees on their funding strategy. Although that may not help those in my constituency, it will ensure that similar situations do not arise again.

Two important Bills mentioned in the Queen’s Speech that do affect Scotland are the fisheries Bill and the immigration Bill. The fisheries Bill will enable us to depart from the European Union and allow the fishing industry in Scotland to prosper in a sea of opportunity. No Scottish Member of Parliament can deny that leaving the common fisheries policy will deliver for our fishing industry. It is incumbent on both the UK Government and the Scottish Government to improve infrastructure and support the industry as it enters a new and exciting era.

Of course, the fishing industry will also require labour, which leads me to the immigration Bill. Along with the hon. Member for Glasgow Central (Alison Thewliss), I welcome the two-year graduate work visa announcement, and also the review of the £30,000 annual salary cap—both issues on which Scottish Conservatives spoke up at the time. I want the immigration Bill to ensure that we can bring in the skills and labour that we require as we depart from the European Union. Migrants contribute so positively in Angus and throughout the country. Whether it is in fish processing in Arbroath, manufacturing in Montrose or the agricultural industry throughout my constituency, including the soft fruit industry, they contribute to our local area and to our society. They and their families are welcome, and they are welcome to lay down roots in this great country.

[Sandy Martin (Ipswich) (Lab)]

Does the hon. Lady not recognise that the previous Queen’s Speech included the Immigration Bill and the Fisheries Bill, which could easily have been enacted without having to have this Queen’s Speech? Not only that, but an enormous amount of time and effort had already gone into the previous Fisheries Bill, which fell because of the Prorogation of Parliament.

[Kirstene Hair]

Hopefully, when the legislation comes back to the House, we will be able to fast-track it through this place. We will have even better legislation because we will have had that debate before.

A positive immigration scheme is exactly what we want and exactly what Scottish Conservatives have been standing up for. We must never forget that migrants are absolutely welcome to our country and add very positively to our local communities. I welcome the fact that there will be no discrimination based on where they come from, but instead an open and fair system, as operates so well in other countries around the world.

What is most important about the Queen’s Speech is that when the Prime Minister came into office, he said that his focus was on healthcare, policing and education, and now, only weeks later, we see a bold and robust Queen’s Speech that will deliver in all those areas. That is what all those who vote us into this place want to see: they want to see us deliver in the areas that matter to them. That is in stark contrast to Nicola Sturgeon, who this week stood up at her Aberdeen conference, spoke for 45 minutes and did not once mention healthcare or education. Education was supposed to be what her record would be judged on, yet there are now 3,000 fewer teachers than there were in 2007, the SNP has binned the education Bill, and Scotland is way down in the international standards. But of course, that can all wait because independence comes first.

The UK Government have done well to build our economy. We have the lowest levels of unemployment and the highest levels of employment since the 1970s. It is unfortunate that a report out in Scotland today from the Fraser of Allander Institute shows that Scotland has seen one of the biggest increases in unemployment in four years and a decline in employment over the past three months. It is important to recognise that we cannot blame that on Brexit, because we have seen a completely different picture in the wider United Kingdom.

Before I finish, let me mention briefly the importance of the Union, which was also mentioned in the Queen’s Speech. The Union is the reason I am here, and it is my absolute priority to stand up for it as a Member of Parliament. It is what my constituents want me to stand up for, and that is what I will do. We know the importance of the dividend we get from being part of the Union, whether that is in respect of finances, security or defence. It is incredibly important that we continue to stress that message loud and clear. While the SNP wants to create barriers at Berwick, we want to ensure that we strengthen our ties with the rest of the United Kingdom.

The Queen’s Speech was a clear statement of intent from the Government that the domestic agenda is absolutely imperative—from being tough on crime to levelling up NHS funding, and from ensuring that we have a fishing industry that is ready to prosper to an immigration Bill that will ensure we have the labour we require. These are truly the issues that the people of our United Kingdom care about, and that is—as we must always remember—the reason we are so privileged to sit here.

--- Later in debate ---

[Sandy Martin (Ipswich) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for City of Chester (Christian Matheson) and all the other excellent contributions from Members of this House over the past seven hours.

Having a secure place to live is absolutely fundamental to the ability to lead an enjoyable, law-abiding and productive life, yet there is nothing in this Queen’s Speech to deal with the housing crisis. Britain’s housing crisis is at the root of the failure of this wealthy country to be the country people want it to be—not just the most vulnerable but a growing proportion of working people who can hardly afford their private sector rents and do not expect ever to be able to afford to buy their own house.

If a person is homeless, they will have far worse health and will cost the NHS far more than the average housed person. A homeless person is less likely to hold down a job, will have to rely on benefits and will not be paying taxes. Homeless people are more likely to fall into addiction to drugs or alcohol or both and to commit petty crimes to feed their addiction. Then, if they are convicted and imprisoned, they are far more likely to be thrown back out on to the streets than in other European countries. It is no coincidence that the lack of a comprehensive and coherent housing regime for ex-offenders goes hand in hand with one of the highest rates of reoffending in Europe. Unless we are willing to house ex-offenders, we are most certainly not being tough on the causes of crime.

Councils across Britain are spending more than £93 million a year on emergency bed-and-breakfast accommodation for homeless households—nearly 10 times more than in 2010. The massive increase we have seen in homelessness under this Government is a direct result of their policy decisions—in particular, the freezing of local housing allowance since 2016. Now, in 97% of England, including Ipswich, even if someone receives the maximum LHA, it will not cover all their rent and they will have to make up the difference using money meant for food, heating or clothing.

Being made homeless is a devastating event for families. Being placed in so-called bed-and-breakfast accommodation seriously limits a family’s ability to live their lives. Children cannot study; parents cannot relax; very often visitors are not allowed; it is like being in prison.

I am immensely proud that Ipswich Borough Council has built its own temporary accommodation for more than 80 households, in two main purpose-built units, built since Labour took control of the council in 2011. They are high-quality, safe flats with support and counselling, and staff are on site 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, giving residents help to get back on their feet and find permanent housing. That is clearly better than leaving families to rot in bed and breakfasts. I found it particularly shocking that Conservative councillors in Ipswich tried to stir up local opposition to the more recent of those units being built. Campaigning against accommodation for homeless families is, alas, not the only action that Conservatives have taken against Ipswich Borough Council’s attempts to deal with our housing crisis.

When families are homeless, what they need is a permanent home. Unless and until we build at least 1 million homes with affordable rents and a landlord who is democratically accountable to both the tenants and the wider community—in short, council homes—far too many young families will continue to struggle, with huge proportions of their income disappearing into ever increasing private rents, or end up camping in their parents’ homes, often having to share a bedroom with their children or sleep on a sofa in the living room.

Labour will build those homes. Labour councils such as Ipswich are already building some of those homes, but the current Government are not facilitating that building programme—far from it. Not only have they kept housing allowance down, reducing the rent income available to finance more building, but they have now increased the Public Works Loan Board rate by 50%, which will knock a huge hole in the business plans of all the councils that are trying to build homes. What was the point of removing the HRA borrowing cap with one hand, if they then make it too expensive to borrow with the other?

Even when Ipswich Borough Council has found the land and the finance to build some of those homes, the Government have found other ways to stop it. There are 97 families in Ipswich who do not have the good-quality, affordable rented homes that they would have had if my Conservative predecessor had not called in the development of that estate because he thought there was too much affordable rented property. Even now, the most recent proposed council housing estate in Ipswich will have fewer homes for rent and will have to include houses for sale that are almost certainly too expensive for the families who most need them, just to meet the private sales quota set by this Government.

Housing is a human need. The Government will never be able to deliver all the other public services people need if they do not also deliver good-quality housing for all. It is disgraceful that there is nothing in this Queen’s Speech to deal with it.