Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)
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Tuesday Volume 611 7 June 2016 No. 8 HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) Tuesday 7 June 2016 © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2016 This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 1015 7 JUNE 2016 1016 Greg Hands: That was an extraordinary question. It House of Commons ignored all the announcements that I made about what the Government have been doing for young people. Let Tuesday 7 June 2016 us not forget the situation we inherited in 2010, when youth unemployment had gone up by 45% under Labour. The facts are these: a record number of young people The House met at half-past Eleven o’clock are going to university, including a record number from disadvantaged backgrounds, and the proportion of young PRAYERS people struggling financially has almost halved since the hon. Lady’s days in 2010. [MR SPEAKER in the Chair] Nick Thomas-Symonds: The wages of 18 to 21-year-olds fell by about £1,000 a year during the last Parliament, yet under-25s are excluded from the national living Oral Answers to Questions wage. Will the Chief Secretary to the Treasury condemn what the Minister for the Cabinet Office said: that that is because people under 25 are simply not productive enough? TREASURY Greg Hands: The hon. Gentleman is ignoring our The Chancellor of the Exchequer was asked— amazing record on youth unemployment since we took Young People office six years ago. Youth unemployment has fallen by 102,000 this year. Youth employment is up 94,000 over the year and is close to the highest proportion on 1. Helen Hayes (Dulwich and West Norwood) (Lab): record. On why the national living wage does not apply What steps he is taking to ensure that young people are to those who are under 25, I remind him that the not disproportionately affected by reductions in government national minimum wage does apply to those who are expenditure. [905188] under 25 and is increasing under this Government. For 4. Nick Thomas-Symonds (Torfaen) (Lab): What steps younger workers, the priority is to secure work and gain he is taking to ensure that young people are not experience. Youth unemployment remains higher than disproportionately affected by reductions in government the unemployment rate for those aged over 25. expenditure. [905191] Mr Alan Mak (Havant) (Con): Since 2010, nearly The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Greg Hands): half a million fewer children and young people are in The Government have a long-term economic plan designed households where there is worklessness. Will the Chief to help young people, which includes 3 million new Secretary confirm that the Government will continue to apprenticeship starts, a 10-year low in youth unemployment, help households into work and to cut poverty? the lifetime individual savings account to help first-time buyers, 360,000 16-year-olds doing National Citizen Greg Hands: My hon. Friend is quite right, and we Service and record numbers going to university. will continue to take action in this space. The number of households where nobody had ever worked doubled Helen Hayes: The Chancellor has claimed that the under Labour. Thanks to us, youth employment is up Government 94,000 over the year and continues to rise. “put the next generation first.”—[Official Report, 16 March 2016; Vol. 607, c. 951.] Huw Merriman (Bexhill and Battle) (Con): Does my However, the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s right hon. Friend agree that the way to give a fairer deal “Is Britain Fairer?” report, which was published last to younger people is to make sure that they are not year, found that younger people in the UK faced the saddled with the debts of reckless spending? Will he worst economic prospects for generations. Youngpeople assure me that he will do everything he can to ensure in my constituency are bearing a disproportionate burden that this Government balance the books? of the Government’s cuts. The abolition of the education maintenance allowance has made it harder for 16 and Greg Hands: My hon. Friend is quite right that it is 17-year-olds to pursue educational opportunities; university future generations who would have to repay the debt tuition fees have trebled and are set to rise again; that the last Labour Government left us and the even changes to the schools funding formula will see— greater debt that the current Labour team want to give us with their reckless spending pledges. Household debt Mr Speaker: Order. All we need is a question with a as a proportion of income has fallen since Labour’s question mark at the end of it in one sentence. financial crisis. We are in a much healthier condition in Helen Hayes: Oh! 2016 than we were in 2010. Mr Speaker: Sorry, but that is the way it is. Mr Speaker: Order. I must advise colleagues that we are today visited by Mr Kadri Veseli, the Speaker of Helen Hayes: Sorry, Mr Speaker. My question is, the Parliament of Kosovo, who is visiting the UK in the when will the Chancellor offer a fair deal to our young year in which that independent nation celebrates eight people, and stop closing off opportunities and driving years of independence. My colleague and his team are them into debt? warmly welcome in the House. 1017 Oral Answers7 JUNE 2016 Oral Answers 1018 Northern Powerhouse month the Government cancelled the Leeds trolleybus scheme, and in 2011 flood defences were cancelled in 2. Stuart Andrew (Pudsey) (Con): What progress he Leeds, which contributed to the flooding we saw in has made on the establishment of the northern powerhouse. December. Earlier this year the Government announced [905189] some money for flood defences, but it was just a fraction of what was cancelled five years ago, so I am surprised 10. Seema Kennedy (South Ribble) (Con): What progress by the complacency of the hon. Member for Pudsey he has made on the establishment of the northern (Stuart Andrew), and ask the Government to invest powerhouse. [905197] properly in flood defences in our city. The First Secretary of State and Chancellor of the Mr Osborne: The hon. Lady is being a little churlish. Exchequer (Mr George Osborne): MayIsaythatasa We committed £6 billion to investment in transport in young Back Bencher I went to Pristina to help with the Humberside and Yorkshire, the area that her constituency democracy-building programme in Kosovo? It is good is in. Specifically on flood defences, she raised on the to have the Speaker of that Parliament here. Floor of the House very specific schemes that she Two years ago, we set out the plan to build a northern wanted me to fund. I funded those in the Budget. As she powerhouse by connecting up the cities and counties of well knows, the future phases do not yet have plans or a the north of England so that the whole is greater than price tag, but I have said that in principle we are the parts. Since then we have committed billions in new committed to those as well. If she works with us we will transport investment, devolved powers to cities and deliver those schemes, which of course were never delivered promoted science and culture. The result is that investment under a Labour Government. projects in the north are up by more than 100%. But we have just started on this bold journey, and it is only by Alison McGovern (Wirral South) (Lab): The Chancellor working together that we will transform the economic mentioned transport investment, yet his Government geography of this country. have presided over a situation in which there is 24 times more transport investment in London than in the north. Stuart Andrew: I am grateful for that answer. Severe However, on this occasion, although it pains me to do flooding over Christmas caused huge problems for the so, I want to ask the Chancellor to agree with me that city of Leeds, which is a major player in the northern people in the north need our country to remain at the powerhouse. I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for heart of Europe so that our cities will keep growing. meeting me to discuss flood defences. Does he agree that the neighbourhood planning and infrastructure Bill will help deliver the commitment to invest £100 billion Mr Osborne: First, it is quite right that we invest in in such infrastructure and secure the economic prosperity major transport infrastructure in our capital city, which of the north? we have done with Crossrail and Crossrail 2, but that has not been to the exclusion of investment elsewhere in Mr Osborne: I agree with my hon. Friend, and our country. In the hon. Lady’s part of the north-west congratulate him and other west Yorkshire MPs who there has been massive investment in electrification of spoke out powerfully on the need for further investment the railways—I note that under the Labour Government in flood defences in west Yorkshire and in Leeds. We only 10 miles of the country’s entire railways were have provided that, with around £350 million extra in electrified. High Speed 2 will help with fast train journeys flood defence investment over the coming years to to Merseyside as well as to Manchester. Now, with the protect the businesses and communities he represents. new Merseyside Mayor agreed, we can go on pouring Our neighbourhood planning Bill will ensure that we more money into the infrastructure of Merseyside so have a national infrastructure commission on a statutory that we support private businesses in that area in growing footing to look at the big national challenges that we and creating private sector jobs.