| Lawrie Quinn | In the House... |
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In the House...Speeches and parliamentary questions in the House of Commons 2003-4While speaking in the chamber of the House is a high profile activity for an MP, much other work is done elsewhere, such as Lawrie's work as a PPS, as well as a large casework load for constituents. |
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Current Session
Early Day Motions Front Page |
Mr. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby): If he will make a statement on the relationship between the level of skills in the work force and economic growth. [197390]
The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr. Gordon Brown): As investment in high standards and skills is central to the achievement of our aim of high and stable levels of growth, we have raised investment in schools from £2,500 per pupil to £5,500 by 2008. Apprenticeships have increased from 70,000 to 250,000, and the number of students in colleges and universities has increased by almost 1 million. Overall, investment in education has doubled since 1997.
Lawrie Quinn: Is my right hon. Friend aware of the Confederation of British Industry survey that was published at the conference earlier this week that showed that 98 per cent. of companies' human resources directors are calling for an increase in the provision of vocational education? However, only a quarter of business leaders say that their company is involved in the design and delivery of such training. If companies played a greater role in the creation of such courses, would not there be a beneficial return not only to the companies but to the wider economy? Is there not a gap that the Government want to bridge between the long-termism and optimism of HR directors and the short-termism of some financial directors?
Mr. Brown: My hon. Friend has taken a long-term interest in these matters, and he is right that we need to invest more. We also need a partnership involving employers, employees and Government so that, instead of being a nation in which 7 million people are without basic skills and instead of falling behind in some vital skills compared with other nations, we invest properly in the quantity and quality of education.
Apprenticeships, which were once almost dying, are now in the order of 200,000 and growing. We are prepared to invest more money in them. Equally, the employer training pilots, in which large numbers of employers are now involved, are working well and ripe for expansion. That can be done only if the nation has a wholehearted commitment to investing in training and education. I wish that there was an all-party commitment to it and that the Conservatives would not go about trying to cut the education and training budget as they propose.
Mr. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby): May I associate myself with the Secretary of State's remarks about the emergency services and the wider railway community? As someone who previously had responsibility for many level crossings in the east of England, it is only too clear to me what may have happened in this case, although it is right to wait for the inquiry. Having said that, can he say whether any messages are coming back from the industry, particularly Network Rail, with regard to track-side and driving cab radio-controlled systems, to see whether we can improve the mechanism for getting such information to drivers?
Mr. Darling: I know that my hon. Friend knows a great deal about this, as before coming to the House his job was very much involved with railway engineering.
Network Rail has a project that will allow mobile phone communication between the cab and signallers. Again, that is not without difficulty, and some Members, for understandable reasons, are concerned about the placing of the radio masts that must go with such projects. We must deal with that.
I ought to say - I know that my hon. Friend knows this - that from what we know about this case so far, it seems clear that although an off-duty police officer phoned the signal box, no matter what means of communication he had, it was so late that it would almost certainly not have stopped this train, simply because of the speed at which it was travelling. From the time that the barriers come down, there is about 30 seconds, and such trains, by their very nature, take some time to stop. In relation to his general point about increased communication, however, that is in hand. In this case, however, from what I can see, it would not have made much difference.
Mr. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby): May I thank the Deputy Prime Minister for his statement? Returning to the issue of scrutiny that should be afforded Parliament, the Regional Affairs Committee meets very infrequently. Does he foresee the possibility of looking at arrangements for that Committee, and perhaps extending them to allow Select Committee-type powers for areas such as Yorkshire and the Humber, the north-east, the north-west and other English regions to make sure that Parliament scrutinises those regional bodies?
The Deputy Prime Minister: I understand the point that my hon. Friend is making. I have been a Member of Parliament for over 30 years, although some people want me to go now, and have witnessed demands in the House and the Chamber to set up various regional committees. I have always supported those demands, but the House does not have a very good record of providing much influence or power to Members, and we are told that there is no time for debate. The last regional debate was on the northern way, when one Tory turned up. Despite demands for Parliament to deal with regional affairs the evidence, I am afraid, is against such a role. I am supportive of my hon. Friend, but the pressure of time on this legislature is one reason why people in the regions should make their own decisions. We have neither the time nor frankly the inclination to debate regional matters in the Chamber.
Mr. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby): I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for giving way. In the context of the many seaside communities around the country, is it not her experience, as it is mine and that of many hon. Members who represent those communities, that the family businesses that run such arcades have a high level of enforcement and make an important contribution to measures to stop antisocial behaviour at the seaside? Is that not the higher standard that we are trying to achieve in this Bill?
Tessa Jowell: My hon. Friend is absolutely right. It is because those high standards of supervision are exercised in so many of these arcades that the evidence of problem gambling among children has not been produced. We want that vigilance to increase. That is why there is a reserve power in the Bill to be used should evidence of problems arise some time in the future, but as my hon. Friend made clear - I know that many hon. Members with constituency interests have found this - by and large, the regime in seaside arcades and family entertainment centres is very responsible. By withdrawing category D machines, as they are called, from fish and chip shops and minicab offices, we deal with the risks of ambient gambling and of exposing children to gambling.
Mr. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby): Regrettably, in Scarborough and Whitby, the consensus that we have heard in the Chamber is not mirrored in the behaviour of the Conservative borough council - not a local education authority - which is in the process of withdrawing the current children's centre provision. Can the Minister give some priority to examining the problems that will face my constituents in the deprived areas in which she and the Government want to invest, so that we can make good the massive mistake that the Conservative council in Scarborough is about to make?
Margaret Hodge: I am sorry to hear what my hon. Friend says about his local authority.
If we are to deliver a really effective early years and child care infrastructure, we must deliver it through local authorities. Our whole agenda represents a huge vote of confidence in local government, but we depend on our local authority partners to deliver. We can provide the resources and support, but they must deliver. This is a popular policy, as is clear from what has been said here today. I think my hon. Friend's district council would be extremely unpopular if it did not provide these services: it would be letting children down, and not giving them a good enough future. We will highlight the authorities that do good work, as well as those that fail to deliver for children and families in their communities.
Lawrie Quinn said later in a press statement:
"I will be bringing this debate to the attention of all Scarborough Borough Council members before the important decision that they will make on 8 November about the future of this essential service."
"I believe there is still time for Scarborough Borough Council to change their minds and in raising this during Education Questions yesterday I believe that the Minister agreed that there is a need to support children's centres in Scarborough and Whitby, not reduce them as suggested in the Council's papers."
Mr. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby): Given the importance of the production of sugar beet in North Yorkshire, which feeds the refinery in York, what hope can my right hon. Friend give to my constituents who are involved in sugar beet production in regard to their options for diversifying into other crops, particularly crops that might be utilised for energy production?
Margaret Beckett: My hon. Friend makes an interesting point and we are certainly encouraging that. There has been much discussion about the options open to those who presently grow sugar beet for the kind of factory that he describes. For some farmers, diversification into other crops will be the best answer; for others, it will be a question of exploring what use they can make of the kind of crops that they grow now. I welcome the constructive, sensible debate that is taking place on this issue. Most people recognise that change is bound to come and are considering how the change can be most beneficial. The report that the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee recently produced made a very positive contribution to that debate, which will certainly continue for some months yet.
Mr. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby): What action is being taken to ensure that people with disabilities are represented across the civil service. [192010]
The Minister for the Cabinet Office (Ruth Kelly): The Government are committed to increasing the representation of disabled people in the civil service. The latest published figures show that 4.3 per cent. of civil servants are disabled, which is up from 1 per cent. in 1998. Action to increase representation of disabled people includes a bursary scheme for disabled staff with high potential and a summer placement scheme to encourage disabled applicants to join the graduate fast stream.
Lawrie Quinn: Everyone in the House would commend the Government for the progress that has been made to encourage people with disabilities to come into the civil service. The Minister's ambition is surely to make sure that the civil service reflects the composition of society as a whole. Can she say a little more about how she proposes to ensure that people who are already in the civil service can develop their fullest potential, and that the top ranks of the civil service also reflect the composition of wider society, while obviously also being based on merit and not just on quota or any other device?
Ruth Kelly: My hon. Friend is right to draw attention to the challenge that we face in trying to open up the senior civil service, in particular, to disabled people. In that context the challenge is much greater, and progress much slower.
One of the most important things that we can do, through the summer placement scheme, is to give disabled people access to work placements for six to eight weeks, which enables them to gain work experience similar to that of fast-stream applicants. However, we must also change the culture of the senior civil service so that it recognises the contribution made by disabled people. I believe that the Cabinet Secretary has committed the service to that change in its cultural approach.
Mr. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby): I remind my right hon. Friend that in Euro 1996, during the successful football championships, North Yorkshire was used to house some of the competitors. I urge her to ensure that the RDA and tourism bodies learn the lessons from that particular experience, bearing it in mind that some of the best hotels and facilities are located on the Yorkshire coast.
Tessa Jowell: My hon. Friend is absolutely right that there are opportunities for hosting preparation camps, and enormous wider tourism opportunities, already demonstrated in respect of the north-west on the back of the Commonwealth games. There will be something like 10,000 full-time equivalent jobs generated by the Olympics, and the opportunity extends to firms across the country to tender for that work. The opportunities are there: the important thing, once we know that we have won the bid, is to seed them.
Mr. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby): To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are employed in the pharmaceutical industry in the UK; and what proportion are employed in (a) sales promotion and (b) research and development. [183532]
Ms Rosie Winterton: In 2002, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) annual business inquiry showed that there were 83,000 people employed in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, medicinal chemicals, and botanic products. The ONS business enterprise research and development survey showed that 29,000 people, or 35 per cent., were employed in research and development in the pharmaceutical industry. The Government do not have figures for the percentage of people employed in sales in this sector.
Mr. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the proposed introduction of a national railcard. [184930]
Mr. McNulty: My right hon. Friend has asked the Strategic Rail Authority and the industry to work up proposals for a national railcard. The SRA is currently taking this forward and I expect to receive advice later this year.
Mr. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby): May I congratulate my right hon. Friend not only on his excellent statement, but on the negotiations that he undertook with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on transport spending? May I also be the first Back-Bench Member to thank, as the Secretary of State did, the staff of the Strategic Rail Authority for their work in preparing the way forward for Britain's railways? In particular, I draw attention to the leadership of Richard Bowker, especially on community rail partnerships and the blueprint outlined.
On freight, does my right hon. Friend propose to undertake discussions with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to improve the transport planning arrangements to allow depots to provide access for more goods to go on to the rail network?
Mr. Darling: In relation to my hon. Friend's three points, I am always grateful to the Chancellor. That does not, however, get us away from the fact that our budgets are still under pressure. I want freight to be encouraged. Indeed, I am greatly encouraged by the freight companies that have made it clear that they want to go out and win new business. I entirely agree with what my hon. Friend said about Richard Bowker.
Mr. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby): I welcome the transfer of more than 20,000 jobs to the regions following the Lyons review. Is there further scope to explore the possibility of moving even more civil service jobs to the regions to maximise efficiency and ensure that the whole country is involved in delivering a service to the nation?
Mr. Boateng: Sir Michael Lyons himself saw the review as the beginning of a process in which Departments would look to the regions as likely places to locate functions and jobs. The aim is to create a culture in which London and the South-East are not seen as the automatic beneficiaries of changes and developments in policy.
Mr. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby): Given the immense costs associated with infrastructure investment on the railway and the skill shortages across the industry, can the Secretary of State tell us what recent discussions his Department has had with Network Rail in trying to fill those voids of skill shortages in terms of engineers and the people who will be involved in rebuilding the railway?
Mr. Darling: We have had discussions with Network Rail about that issue. It is one of the reasons why costs have gone up. After many years of under-investment, considerable sums are now being spent not only on the west coast main line, but on upgrading the power supply for trains south of the River Thames. A whole lot of other work is also being carried out, which has an effect on labour costs. Network Rail is looking to see what it can do to improve the situation. Taking maintenance back in house has saved a substantial sum. Indeed, Network Rail is spending a lot less than it thought it would have to spend to get the same amount of work, simply because of the efficiency that it is driving through, having taken over from Railtrack what was a pretty shambolic situation.
Mr. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby): Given the British armed forces' globally recognised expertise in engineering and logistics units, is my right hon. Friend able to say whether those key skills, which would be of great benefit, particularly on the African continent, will be shared with the 17,000 African troops under training?
Mr. Ingram: I cannot give a specific answer, because we would primarily seek to get volume capabilities to deal with some of the very big issues that we must face in Africa - I recounted the depth and extent of the problem there - but clearly one of the areas where we must grow capability is in that type of sustainability and very positive reconstruction role. A lot will depend on what the African countries want to put into that training approach as well. So we stand ready to deal with anything in a progressive and constructive way to assist in that reconstruction. My hon. Friend is right: that is an important area. Again, it is another area where we excel, and we must always consider how we can impart that knowledge to those nations that we are training.
Mr. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby): Has my hon. Friend considered the possibilities of modal switch away from road to other modes of transport? With that in mind, has he given particular consideration to the freight sector, and to whether some fiscal incentive for the rail freight industry might help to reduce carbon emissions from road use?
The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (John Healey): Clearly, policy for transport modal switches is less my responsibility than that of my right hon. and hon. Friends in the Department for Transport. My hon. Friend the Member for Scarborough and Whitby (Lawrie Quinn) will lead a delegation from the rail freight industry that is coming to see me next week, and the point that he has raised is no doubt one that the industry will want to make at the meeting. I look forward to seeing him and his colleagues from the industry then.
Mr. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby): I know that my hon. Friend has been a visitor to my constituency on a personal basis, but he has generally been there in the summer. During the winter period, my constituents who live in remote locations in the North York Moors national park and along the coast in Scarborough and Whitby are vulnerable to loss of supply, often for many days, if not weeks, when power supply cables are blown down. Does my hon. Friend have any proposals to hold discussions or does he keep under review with the electricity supply companies the quality and nature of the infrastructure that links such customers? The fact that supply cables are blown down and people are disconnected in winter often comes down to the need to reinforce the infrastructure; we need better security of supply.
Mr. Timms: I am a great admirer of my hon. Friend's constituency and I always enjoy visiting it. He raises important issues, which were highlighted by the storms of October 2002, when we saw serious disruption to the electricity supply in many parts of the country. A great deal of work has been done since then. The Select Committee on Trade and Industry carried out a valuable investigation that highlighted many of the issues. We have seen significant improvements in the procedures followed by the electricity distribution companies, and I hope that my hon. Friend's constituents will benefit from that. I hope that my hon. Friend will see improvements, but if he feels that not enough progress is being made, I will be happy to have a look at the issues in his constituency.
Mr. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby): My right hon. Friend will probably be aware of the large number of accidents that involve motor cyclists. That is a particular problem in my constituency, which has beautiful countryside where boy racers and others perhaps somewhat older do not exercise good behaviour on the roads. Has his Department discussed the matter with the insurance industry to try to improve motoring standards? It could be argued that that is a primary health care issue because, if motorists - particularly motor cyclists - behaved themselves in the first place, they would not end up in hospital.
Mr. Hutton: It is very important that the Government do what they can to improve safety on our roads. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport is fully committed to doing that and we in the national health service will do whatever we can to support the work that he is undertaking.
Mr. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby): How many pensioners he estimates have gained financially as a result of the introduction of pension credit. [177312]
The Minister for Pensions (Malcolm Wicks): We have today published the latest report on the take-up of pension credit. Over 1.8 million households - that includes over 2.2 million individuals - are now receiving more money than they would have done under the old minimum income guarantee system. In addition, following the introduction of pension credit, around 2 million pensioner households now qualify for extra help with housing benefit or council tax.
Our Pension Service works closely with Age Concern at both national and local levels.
Lawrie Quinn: I thank my hon. Friend for that excellent answer. In my constituency, many pensioners are now benefiting from that additional help - considerably so, in fact. However, there are still some pensioners who would argue that they are not getting their full entitlement because of their struggle in filling out the paperwork and so on. What can the Minister do to increase the number of pensioners in my constituency and elsewhere who fully understand what they are entitled to and should be receiving?
Malcolm Wicks: I thank my hon. Friend for the lead that he is giving on pensions rights in Scarborough and Whitby. He has a firm reputation in that regard. More than 5,000 households in his constituency are receiving pension credit, the great majority of them - more than 4,000 - being financial gainers. But do we need to do more to increase take-up? Yes we do, and I am particularly pleased to report to the House that somewhere in the region of 500,000 home visits have now taken place through our new Pension Service. It is by that exercise of choice over how to apply for benefits that we will push up the numbers even further.
Mr. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effect upon costs in the rail industry of regulations prepared by the Health and Safety Commission concerning rail safety. [174813]
Mr. Darling: In accordance with Cabinet Office guidance first issued in 1999, all the railway safety regulations prepared by the Health and Safety Commission since then have been accompanied by Regulatory Impact Assessments (RIAs). Copies of all the RIAs were laid in the Houses of Parliament Libraries with the regulations.
Mr. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what international models of railway safety he has considered in the context of the Rail Review. [174815]
Mr. McNulty: The rail review is considering several international models of railway safety in the course of its work.
Mr. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby): Many of my constituents in areas such as the North York moors will be affected by the proposals. Will my right hon. Friend consider holding a seminar for all Members representing such severely disadvantaged areas, so that we can talk to officials and perhaps, if necessary, bring along some of our staff? I am sure that we shall need to give a great deal of information to constituents facing the new arrangements. It would be helpful if that information were as good, as up to date and as factual as possible, so that we could cut through some of the confusion that currently exists.
Margaret Beckett: That is a wise suggestion, which echoes one made a while ago by the right hon. Member for Fylde (Mr. Jack), who chairs the Select Committee. We certainly have it in mind to offer special briefing to all interested colleagues, not least those representing moorland areas. We are well aware that although the moorland line has been fairly well established for a long time, when it was established there was no process of appeal, as there was in the case of the boundaries for special areas.
We are considering all the issues. Officials are currently tied up with detail, but I hope and expect that we shall be able to offer the support that my hon. Friend seeks in the not too distant future.
The Minister for Local and Regional Government (Mr. Nick Raynsford): The balance of funding review is looking at possible reforms to council tax. We intend it to report this summer.
Lawrie Quinn: I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer. Can he confirm that the evidence given by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy to the balance of funding review suggests that the proposed pay-as-you-earn scheme for local income tax would be impractical and far from fair? Is it not time that the parties in this House recognised that the public know when they are being sold a pup, and is it not time that we achieved transparency and fairness in terms of local government income?
Mr. Raynsford: The balance of funding review has received very good evidence from a variety of sources, including from CIPFA whose report has certainly poured a great deal of cold water on the Liberal Democrats' over-optimistic assumptions about a local income tax. Such assumptions were well exposed during Monday evening's debate in this House.
Dr. Reid: I do not want to make any comment about any particular private care operator. [Hon. Members: "Go on."] I genuinely do not, because, Mr. Speaker, you will have read in the Financial Times and other newspapers recently that the NHS is now beginning to improve not only itself, but the whole of the health market. If anyone has a publication that says that more than 1 million people are on waiting lists, those concerned are way out of date; they are obviously thinking of the last Government. We now have considerably fewer than that figure and have had for each of the last 12 months. I suppose that by the time they reprinted the leaflet with today's waiting list figures, it would be out of date, such is the rate of reduction in waiting lists and waiting times.
Alan Johnson: I will gladly make the short trip to Scarborough to see my hon. Friend. We are aware of those issues and, in this funding round, the funding gap between sixth forms and further education colleges has closed considerably. It is always a delight to see him, particularly in his delightful constituency.
Mr. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby): Does my right hon. Friend agree that the report by the Prime Minister's strategy unit about the future of the sea-fishing industry, published this morning, is deeply significant for coastal communities across the United Kingdom? The industry is vital for some of the most remote communities in the country. Will my right hon. Friend find time for a debate as soon as possible after Easter so that all right hon. and hon. Members who have an interest in the issue, which is a matter of life and death for those communities, can discuss it and the prospects for a sustainable future for many of our constituents?
The Leader of the House of Commons (Mr. Peter Hain): I shall certainly consider that request, because, as the Fisheries Minister has made clear, the Government share my hon. Friend's concerns and his support for the report, which points the way towards sustainable fishing. Sustainable fishing is at the heart of the issue because our seas have been depleted and fish stocks are being eradicated at an alarming rate. We must work towards a more sustainable future for fishing, because there will be no jobs if fish stocks are exhausted, and the report points the way towards achieving that future.
Mr. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby): My hon. Friend will note the shortage of skills, particularly in the construction industry. Will he take every opportunity to tell the Learning and Skills Council that we need more construction skills courses in our colleges around the country? Local businesses in my area find it difficult to send apprentices long distances in order for them to attend the necessary courses.
Mr. Lewis: I agree entirely with my hon. Friend. If we are to meet the challenging targets that the Government have rightly set for the house building programme, for example, we will need skilled people to deliver high-quality craftsmanship. We want the sector skills councils, the employer-led organisations, to determine the nature of the apprenticeship need and the colleges and learning and skills councils to ensure that courses are available. We want an education and training system that is far more responsive to the needs of the economy than it has been in the past. The work that is being done in construction is an innovative example of how we can make such progress.
Mr. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby): Given the important role undertaken by the veterinary profession during the last outbreak and the shortages in that profession, what strategic discussions or reviews have been conducted by the Department with vets to ensure that we have enough vets in the right places, able to respond to the outbreaks that none of us wants to see?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mr. Ben Bradshaw): All those things were considered in the Government's response to the Anderson inquiry. As my hon. Friend may know, we intend to hold a contingency exercise this summer - in case of a future foot and mouth outbreak - in which vets will play a central role.
Mr. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby): Does my hon. Friend welcome the Strategic Rail Authority's recent announcement of its review of community rail partnerships such as that in my constituency between Whitby and Middlesbrough? Does he agree that that will drive down costs on the railways by re-establishing the important link between local communities and the railway industry?
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Dr. Kim Howells): Yes, I do. There are opportunities for all kinds of imaginative ways of running the railways better. Often, local circumstances dictate how best the railway should be run in that area, and a great deal can be done to tap the creative potential that is there to provide better service for customers.
Mr. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby): I thank the Minister for recognising the acute problems of oral hygiene in my constituency of Scarborough and Whitby. However, all my constituents recognise that the problem lies in the wreckage of the NHS dental service that was the legacy of the previous Conservative Government. What more can he do to recognise the strategic problem of the number of new dentists emerging from our dental schools and ensure that people have smiles on their faces because they have a sustainable dental service not only in Scarborough, but in the rest of the country, too?
The Minister of State, Department of Health (Ms Rosie Winterton): My hon. Friend is right to say that we are suffering from the problems arising from the closure of two dental schools under the previous Administration. We have conducted a dental work force review to ascertain where the shortages are, and we will publish the results in the near future. We are also looking at how, in the short term, we can secure international recruitment and get some dentists to return to work. We have 12 advisers to examine how we can best encourage people, particularly women, who have taken time out from dentistry, to come back to it. That amounts to a whole series of measures to ensure that we can deal with the issues. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend's hard work in drawing to my attention and that of the strategic health authority the problems in his constituency, and I am glad that we have been able to help put some of them right.
Mr. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby): From our perspective in north Yorkshire, if we are to deal with parties such as the BNP, the way we do that is through all politicians calling for a maximum turnout in all elections. Will the right hon. Gentleman do so at the Dispatch Box, and ask everyone who can do so to participate in the referendums, too?
Mr. Curry: I am entirely happy to do that. All of us are concerned about the level of turnout in some elections and the disaffection with politics. That may be partly because people are fed up with the number of elections. It is crucial, however, especially in cases in which such an issue is at stake, that people express their point of view. Certainly, I want people to vote; I just want them to vote no, as a matter of fact.
Mr. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement about the role of independent economic regulation in the rail industry. [154173]
Mr. Darling: The railway is and will continue to be a public-private sector partnership. The Government attaches considerable importance to investor confidence and the need to preserve and protect the rights of private sector investors and lenders and their ability to plan and finance their businesses.
The review which I announced on 19 January 2004, Official Report, columns 1075-78, will not change the Government's acceptance of the Regulator's determination of Network Rail's income for the next five years as set out in his December 2003 Final Conclusions and any further conclusions he may reach; and the Government will ensure that the Strategic Rail Authority has sufficient funds to meet its resulting commitments. As I made clear in my statement of 15 December 2003, Official Report, columns 122-24WS, regulatory promises will be honoured, and the Government recognises, and is content, that only the Regulator can re-open his determinations.
The independence of economic regulation has already been clearly set out in my statement of 19 January. The Government also rules out any change to the rights of third parties, which will be protected. There is no question of weakening the effectiveness of economic regulation. The Government recognises that maintaining fully effective and independent economic regulation is critical for retaining investor confidence. There will be no diminution in the regulatory protection of the private sector investors in the railway.
The review announced on 19 January will consider how Government can control the total public expenditure on the railways, while respecting the principles set out above. It will also need to consider whether options for changes to the industry structure might imply consequential changes to the details of economic regulation.
Railways are essential to the economy of Britain. Whatever the institutional structure, the Government will need to be at least as closely involved as it currently is in expenditure decisions and in making financial commitments to the industry and those who finance it; so that lenders to the industry enjoy at least the same strength of financial support from Government as they do today.
Mr. Michael Jack (Fylde) (Con): If she will make a statement on the proposals to implement the revised common agricultural policy. [152865]
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Margaret Beckett): I hope to make an announcement on the model for allocating entitlements under the new single payment scheme in England in the near future.
Mr. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby): My right hon. Friend's earlier answer to the substantive question will be welcomed in my part of the world. However, has her Department thought through the communications strategy, so that farmers, particularly those in the more remote areas such as the North York Moors national park, can fully understand the implications for their incomes, bearing in mind their particular status within the subsidy regime?
Margaret Beckett: I am grateful to my hon. Friend. My Department is giving careful consideration to how we can best communicate the implications of any proposals for farmers and farming communities. He and other hon. Members will know that we are slightly handicapped at the moment because some of the detailed regulations have not yet been produced. We are talking to the Commission and pressing it to come forward, which may help to shape the outcome.
Mr. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby): Does my right hon. Friend agree that world-class visitor attractions, such as Whitby abbey, which are managed by English Heritage, should be working not only to attract visitors from outside the region but with local communities so that they can understand their heritage and culture? Will she look closely, with English Heritage, to see whether local schemes might allow easier and regular access for local people to make use of these world-class facilities?
Estelle Morris: I agree with my hon. Friend, and that must be a priority for English Heritage. Interestingly, the savings that are being made, as in the example that we have just heard of in Richmond, are in part being used to fund outreach workers who will ensure greater access to and a greater understanding of our heritage of beautiful buildings throughout the country. My hon. Friend may very well find in the coming years that there are people in his locality who can take forward the sort of work to which he refers.
Mr. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby): May I welcome the Secretary of State's statement? I am sure many people in the industry will also do so, because it is part of the continuing journey towards delivering a realistic railway industry. I speak as one who has personal professional knowledge of that industry. The Secretary of State was right to mention the need for partnership and the need to devolve responsibility down to communities. He will know that the SRA has been very successful in working with many of the rural railways around the country, including the Esk Valley line in my constituency. Will he tell the House whether the review will include those rural railways, which represent a lifeline for many remote communities? Will he also work closely with the SRA officers who have done so well to achieve a degree of realism in terms of delivering an effective and efficient rural railway system?
Mr. Darling: I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who knows a lot about the railways, having worked in the industry for many years. I should like to make two points. I said in my statement that we needed to determine whether we could devolve further decision making to local level, because bodies such as passenger transport executives and councils are often better placed to know how best to provide local transport such as rail, light rail and bus services. I certainly want to see more of that happening. I am also grateful for my hon. Friend's general welcome for the proposals. There is a recognition in just about every corner of all the areas from which we would expect to receive comment that reform is needed. It is only the Conservative party that is harking back to the old days of privatisation.
Mr. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby): Given the Government's aim of reducing housing benefit fraud significantly by 2006, can the Minister tell us how well the partnerships are working with local authorities to reduce housing benefit fraud to £250 million a year?
Mr. Pond: We have tough targets on dealing with housing benefit fraud, as my hon. Friend knows, and aim to reduce it by a quarter by 2006. Our partnerships with local authorities are working very effectively indeed. Both local government and central Government, as represented by the Department for Work and Pensions, are determined to do everything possible to stamp out housing benefit fraud, mindful of the fact that taxpayers' money is involved, and the taxpayer requires that benefit is paid to people who are entitled to it and not others. I am not suggesting that there is not more to do - there is clearly a lot more that we can, should and will do to tackle housing benefit fraud.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr. Gordon Brown): As I announced in the pre-Budget report, total managed expenditure in the UK for 2003-04 will be 41.4 per cent. of national income. Cutting total managed expenditure by 6.4 per cent. of GDP in the UK, were it to be reflected locally, would mean, in Yorkshire, a cut in spending of £100 million for each constituency, and that would mean fewer doctors, nurses, teachers and classroom assistants.
Lawrie Quinn : I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer. Does he agree that one of the main challenges in Yorkshire is the lack of investment in our transport infrastructure? If those policies were followed, what assessment would he make of our chances of clawing back the 30 years and more of under-investment in transport infrastructure in my region?
Mr. Brown: The local transport capital expenditure for Yorkshire and Humberside was £180 million, and it is £106 million in 2003-04. That compares with just £70 million in 1999. That doubling of expenditure could not take place under a 35 per cent. of GDP quota. Nurses, doctors and teachers, as well as the road and rail programmes, would be affected by such a massive cut.
The Minister for Industry and the Regions (Jacqui Smith): My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We need to ensure that consumers have confidence in the whole regulatory framework by improving the process of codes underlying regulation by the Office of Fair Trading and ensuring that trading standards organisations discuss with the OFT, as they frequently do, how to secure certainty not only for businesses, but, importantly, for consumers about the regulatory process that protects their interests.
Mr. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby): Yet again, I have the sense of "Groundhog Day" that I get at this time of year. I hope to keep my remarks brief so that at least one other Opposition Member representing a fishing community might say their piece for that community.
This morning, I was looking at this year's census figures. It staggered me to find out that only 138 people declared themselves as working in the fishing industry in my constituency. Even that number, if we extend it using the conventional multiplier of eight, means that about 1,000 people in my constituency work in the fishing industry. That is still a significant number.
The hon. Member for North Antrim (Rev. Ian Paisley) spoke of the road to Damascus. From the perspective of my constituents, I wish the Minister well on his road to Brussels, and I hope that he tries to achieve the best he can from those negotiations.
As is traditional in this debate, we have already been told that, sadly, people die in the fishing industry every year. I am passionate about health and safety at work; it is a policy area to which I have tried to commit a lot of time, and I hope that the Minister will have the fullest regard to the perils that people in my constituency face when they go to sea. When he is considering subjects such as days at sea, I hope that he will understand the pressures that people going out to sea face as they try to maximise their achievement in reclaiming the harvest that they feel is their own.
The Minister knows only too well that the current chairman of the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations in England is one of my constituents, Mr. Arnold Locker, and that one of his close colleagues is Mr. Fred Normandale, the master of the Alliance fishing organisation in Scarborough. He knows those two individuals very well. He talked at some length about his concerns about enforcement and the pressure that the Commission is bringing to bear on the British fishing industry, and I ask him to have due regard to the recent court case in which Mr. Locker, Mr. Normandale and seven other of my constituents faced charges for allegedly breaching the enforcement measures.
As the Minister knows, since the summer I have been trying to have a conversation with him, but, regrettably, for some reason his diary did not permit that conversation to take place. There is a need to bring not only the inspectors but everyone involved in enforcement, especially in the English industry, round the table to think about how they can try to manage that difficult area.
The Minister will know that the case was thrown out, at considerable cost to his Department, because the breach was alleged to have occurred a month before the notice and the regulation took effect. The fact that such a fundamental mistake could be made, wasting much time and money and causing great distress to my constituents, is a disgrace, and I urge the Minister to go back to his Department and try to encourage the more co-operative partnership approach that he described earlier.
Like many of my constituents, I regarded the Prime Minister's intervention earlier this year, and his commissioning of a strategic report on the fishing industry, as quite hopeful. The report is very timely, but there is also major scepticism about it, not least on the part of Mr. Fred Normandale, who was quoted in the local newspaper as saying that it was rather like trying to rearrange the deckchairs on the Titanic. That conveys the sense of beleaguerment felt by many people who face the perils of the sea daily, when they consider the measure about which we hope we will hear conclusions in the near future.
Finally, I shall offer a little glimmer of hope and try to look beyond the difficult times that many people in my constituency and in the rest of the industry now face. In Whitby, there is a small success story. A sea fishing school has about a dozen apprentices learning their craft onshore before they go out to sea. I am pleased that youngsters wanting a career in the fishing industry come to Whitby from all over the UK, with the aim of learning how to ply their trade at sea.
I want my hon. Friend the Minister to take the message from Scarborough and Whitby to the difficult negotiations in Brussels. I want him to have regard for the youngsters who seek a future at sea. I notice that the Under-Secretary of State for Scotland, my hon. Friend the Member for Stirling (Mrs. McGuire), is sitting on the Front Bench next to the Minister. She knows only too well the difficulties faced by families who earn their living by going to sea in boats. Those people need skill and craft, but above all they need the hope that they have a sustainable future.
I wish my hon. Friend the Minister well in his attempts to secure the best outcome for this country.
7.20 p.m.
Ms Winterton: I thank my hon. Friend for those remarks. He is absolutely right. That is why we have undertaken the dental work force review to consider training, recruitment and how we can ensure that more dentists stay in the NHS when they have trained. I would be more than happy to visit my hon. Friend's constituency. The NHS support team has already visited the area to consider ways in which it can improve access for his constituents, following representations that he has made, but looking at some of the schemes that he has outlined would be extremely helpful.
The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. David Blunkett): My hon. Friend the Minister for Crime Reduction, Policing and Community Safety brought from her previous role in the Department of Health the embryo of an alcohol misuse strategy. She and I are working on that, in order to publish in the new year something radical and effective that will assist at local level in ensuring that we clamp down on binge drinking and on the misuse of alcohol in general, which can cause so much misery. I may be called Scrooge as well as everything else, but perhaps this is the moment for me to appeal to people to be moderate in their drinking leading up to Christmas while also having a wonderful time.
Reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO
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