This Week in Westminster - December 20th-21st

The House of Commons rose for the Christmas recess on December 21st. The final two days of the parliamentary year still produced some interesting exchanges on the withdrawal of Education Maintenance Allowance, the problems caused by the big freeze, the economy, bankers and bonuses, Christmas gifts and the declaration of war on Murdoch.

• Education Maintenance Allowance

Andy Burnham (Leigh) (Lab): I start by reciprocating on behalf of the Opposition Front-Bench team the good wishes of Government Front Benchers, including the Secretary of State. We are grateful for the gift that he has delivered to us today, although I cannot promise that the good will is going to last for this entire Question Time.
I would like to treat the House to the full quotation referred to by my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham East (Chris Leslie) a moment ago:

"Ed Balls keeps saying that we are committed to scrapping the EMA. I have never said this. We won't."
Will the Secretary of State today apologise to the 600,000 young people who receive EMA and who took him at his word?

Michael Gove: I am grateful for the generous seasonal words offered by the right hon. Gentleman, but when it comes to apologies, it is those of us on the Government Benches who are waiting for an apology from him and from all his colleagues who were in government. When he says that we should spend money on this, that or the next thing, one thing is never acknowledged: his and his colleagues' responsibility for the dire economic mess in which we were left. As a result of forming the coalition Government, two parties are working together to get us out of the mess that his party left us in. May I suggest that he gives us all a Christmas present: a single act of contrition? He should give us a single word for the economic mess that he created: sorry.

Andy Burnham: When we hear bluster like that, we see a pattern repeating itself. It is school sport all over again: a bad decision with dodgy statistics to justify it. Let us take the Secretary of State's only argument against EMA head on: the 90% deadweight. On the Government's own figures, because of EMA 76,000 young people stay on who might otherwise have become NEETs-those not in education, employment or training. Research for the Audit Commission puts the annual cost of a young person not in education, employment or training at £55,000, and 76,000 times £55,000 is more than £4 billion. Do these figures not demolish the Government's last remaining argument against EMA and show that the IFS is right to say that EMA more than pays for itself?

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm101220/debtext/101220-0001.htm#1012206000005

• The Big Freeze

Maria Eagle (Garston and Halewood) (Lab): I thank the right hon. Gentleman for updating the House. After a weekend of chaos across the country, during which there have been severe transport problems on our roads, railways and runways, families struggling to get together for Christmas are furious that they have spent hours stuck in their cars at stations or airport terminals. What has really frustrated people has been the total lack of information available. They understand that things will go wrong when we experience such severe weather and no one-not even me-is suggesting that the Government can, or ought to be able to, control the weather. However, the Government should be able to control how prepared we are for that weather, and they can co-ordinate information so that those travelling can make and alter their plans accordingly.

Right from the first hit of severe weather at the start of this month, the right hon. Gentleman and his Department have seemed woefully ill-prepared for winter, despite the fact that the report on winter resilience that we ordered in government has been sitting on his desk since July. The 17 recommendations in the interim report and the 11 recommendations in the final report have clearly not been put into action with the urgency that they demanded. At the last Transport questions, he said that those recommendations had been implemented, yet in his statement he said that some of them will necessarily take longer. Well, which is it?

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm101220/debtext/101220-0002.htm#1012206000003

• The economy

Alan Johnson (Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle) (Lab): Responsibility for our manufacturing sector rests, of course, with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, who had some interesting things to say this morning about the "Maoist" nature of this Government. [Interruption.] Does the Great Leader-or rather, the Chancellor-recognise himself in the Business Secretary's description of "cack-handed" Tories? Strictly speaking, does the Chancellor believe that the reason why we have waited so long for any sign of a strategy on jobs and growth is because he is out of step with his Cabinet colleague?

Mr Osborne: The Business Secretary is a powerful ally in the Government in promoting growth-and, frankly, he has forgotten more about economics than the shadow Chancellor ever knew. I refer the shadow Chancellor to the statement that he gave recently about his own party:

"On economic credibility, we are in a really worrying position."

Alan Johnson: We see this morning record borrowing for November, unemployment higher than expected and inflation well above where it should be. According to the Office for Budget Responsibility, we are about to destroy £5 billion-worth of economy activity through the increase in VAT on 4 January. The Institute for Fiscal Studies says that absolute poverty-not relative poverty-will rise for children and working age adults, with 900,000 more slipping below the breadline over the next three years. If the Chancellor has not got a plan B yet, is he hoping to get one for Christmas?

Mr Osborne: I am glad that the shadow Chancellor reminds the House of the terrible economic inheritance that we are struggling with-and overcoming. He talks about the public borrowing figures today, and I am glad that he has brought them up, because they are a reminder of the fact that we have a record budget deficit. He is-if he wants to do Christmas analogies-the incredible no-man: every time we have put forward any proposal for deficit reduction, he has said no. He is running out of time to come forward with sensible credible contributions to the economic debate about how we get Britain growing again, because at the moment the Christmas lights are on but there's no one at home.

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm101221/debtext/101221-0001.htm#10122139000004

• Bankers

Gregg McClymont (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East) (Lab): What plans his Department has to ensure greater transparency in remuneration in the financial services sector.

The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mr Mark Hoban): The Financial Services Authority has revised its remuneration code for disclosure rules to incorporate provisions in the EU capital requirements directive, CRD3, which comes into force on 1 January 2011. The directive requires firms to make narrative and quantitative disclosures on pay policy and practices. Those requirements are at the forefront of global practice and will help ensure greater transparency in remuneration in the financial services sector.

Gregg McClymont: In reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Sedgefield (Phil Wilson), the Financial Secretary suggested that the Government were united in their approach to banking reform. Am I to conclude from that the Business Secretary speaks for the Government when he says that the Conservative party is a roadblock to banking reform?

Mr Hoban: I hardly think that a Government who have embarked on a programme of radical regulatory reform of the financial services sector, introduced the bank levy, and set up the independent banking commission to consider the structure of banking in the UK could be viewed by anybody other than the Labour party as a roadblock to reform.

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm101221/debtext/101221-0001.htm#10122139000004

• Last minute Christmas gifts

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Mr. Robert Neill) Having dealt with that, may I wish you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and all hon. Members a very happy Christmas. If anyone is short of a present-the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull East will be glad to know this-the Department for Communities and Local Government still has some 5,000 branded Office of the Deputy Prime Minister promotional biros available.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear.

Madam Deputy Speaker (Dawn Primarolo): Thank you very much, Minister. I am sure that we all want to wish you and all other Members a very merry Christmas and a happy new year. Perhaps we shall want to reflect on the question of the biros, however.

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm101221/debtext/101221-0003.htm#10122139000013

• War with Murdoch

Hilary Benn (Leeds Central) (Lab): On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Have you had any indication that the Business Secretary intends to come to the Chamber this afternoon to make a statement on his policy on News Corporation's bid to take full control of BSkyB? As you may be aware, it is reported today that the Secretary of State has said that he has

"declared war on Mr Murdoch and I think we are going to win."

Given that he is acting in a quasi-judicial capacity in considering that takeover, surely he must immediately step aside from any further involvement with that decision. Can you advise us whether you have been notified that either the Business Secretary or, indeed, the Prime Minister intend to come before the House today to confirm that that is what will now happen?

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm101221/debtext/101221-0003.htm