Economic Growth

Shabana Mahmood Excerpts

Wednesday 15th May 2013 Commons Chamber

[Shabana Mahmood (Birmingham, Ladywood) (Lab)]

I am grateful for the opportunity—albeit time-limited and short—to contribute to the debate on the Gracious Speech. We as a country face huge challenges, and those faced by my constituents and the people of Birmingham are acute. My constituents are getting poorer and my constituency has the highest rate of unemployment in the country. Youth unemployment is at 8.4% in Ladywood, and long-term unemployment has gone up. More and more of my constituents are dependent on food banks that operate in my constituency, and my advice surgeries are inundated with people who cannot make ends meet and for whom simply keeping a roof over their heads and putting food on the table is a serious struggle. That is the reality of 21st-century Britain after three years of this Government.

Given the scale of the challenge faced by the country, and the reality of what the last three years have meant for my constituents, we needed a change of direction in the Queen’s Speech and bold action to kick-start our economy—we desperately needed a jobs Bill. We have an unemployment emergency in this country and there are simply not enough jobs to go around. Instead of acting quickly and decisively as required by such an emergency, the Government are content to trundle along at a pedestrian pace, doing a bit here and not going quite far enough there, as if they have all the time in the world—or, more likely, two years to kill before the next general election.

My constituents, however, do not have the luxury of time to waste. The Government do not realise that each day one of my constituents remains unemployed there is a clear and present danger to their chances of ever being able to find work, and the longer that goes on, the more likely it is that they will be for ever on the fringes of the labour market. As individuals, my constituents will pay a heavy price, but so will the country. A lost generation is not only a tragedy for those unfortunate enough to be among their number, but frankly it does not come cheap. My constituents were crying out for a jobs Bill—something that would have given a chance of work to young people who have been unemployed for more than a year, and a compulsory jobs guarantee for the long-term unemployed who have been out of work for more than two years. The scale of the challenge demanded that, but the Government failed to deliver.

I am also disappointed that the Government’s proposals contained no reference to using public procurement to boost apprenticeship places. Again, that is a missed opportunity to put a rocket booster under apprenticeship policy. The Government have real power in the market—they are the UK’s biggest consumer—and should use it strategically and for the good of the country. In March, the Government voted against the Opposition’s plans to use public procurement contracts worth more than £1 million to create apprenticeship places. The Government could make a difference. I do not understand why they will not accept my point and weave it into procurement policy. It is no good them praying in aid EU law, because other European countries have been able to take into account the impact of procurement decisions on the local economic environment and remain within its confines.

In the absence of an effective, speedy and decisive response to the emergency we face, we in Birmingham are still trying to make a difference. My hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Edgbaston (Ms Stuart) deserves special mention for the work she has spearheaded on the Birmingham Labour party policy review of education and skills in our city. The review culminated in a process to create a Birmingham baccalaureate, which will embed in the core school curriculum both generic employability skills and sector-specific skills in areas where Birmingham hopes to grow. I hope that, with the process we have embarked on towards a Birmingham baccalaureate, we can address the skills disconnect in our city, and move to a position in which young Brummies are first in line for the jobs that are created in our great city.

In addition, the greater Birmingham and Solihull local enterprise partnership and the city council await the spending review in June to see how much money the Government will put into the single local growth fund. However, the Government’s approach to regional growth so far has created uncertainty, deterred investment, and held back regional and local economies. I agree that local areas should have the powers and resources they need to get growth going and create jobs, but devolution should not be used as a cover for even deeper cuts.

I welcome any progress we can make in Birmingham, working with the council, the LEP and other stakeholders to address our skills gap and get more Brummies into work, but we will not achieve the jobs revolution we need without the Government taking bold and decisive action. That is why a plan for jobs and full employment should have been at the heart of the Queen’s Speech. The Queen’s Speech failed to deliver it. My constituents, Birmingham and our country deserve better.