what people in Islington want has changed

Emily Thornberry (Islington South & Finsbury, Labour) Link to this | Hansard source

A decade ago, the major political issues were interest rates, unemployment and economic chaos. People wanted us to fix it and to get a grip, and we have. We have changed the country—fundamentally and for the better—but in doing so we have changed what people want from their Government. I can tell the House that what people in Islington want has changed. I want to talk about some of the new priorities inmy constituency—climate change, affordable housing, child poverty, and treatment of the marginalised. Although my constituents' priorities have changed, what has not changed is their belief that the problems that we face can be tackled only by radical, collective action.

Only the most ridiculously partisan observers would deny that one of the greatest achievements of this Labour Government over the past 10 years has been economic growth and stability. Looking back to the time before 1997, it is difficult to believe that before we introduced spending reviews with their three-year rolling programmes, Government Departments knew only from year to year what funding they were going to get. They lurched around between lean and fat years. They were dependent on boom and bust, and on whether their Department was fashionable or their Minister was in favour with the Prime Minister. It must have been a nightmare to plan anything. We have changed all that and allowed for the planning ofgood and stable government. Because of Labour, the British Government are well placed to take a stableand strategic view of what they are going to do domestically to tackle the biggest challenge of our generation—climate change—and able to take a lead in the world.

The draft Climate Change Bill will introduce radical change in the way that Governments work. It is based on the principles in the Climate Change Bill that I was proud to sponsor and promote. When introduced, the Bill will be the first example of its kind. It will have legally binding targets for carbon emissions. It anticipates the first carbon budget period being between 2008 and 2012, which is roughly concurrent with the comprehensive spending review and its parallel public spending agreements. The Government now have an opportunity to tie together their investment and activity with our obligations to cut emissions under Kyoto and our own self-imposed obligations under the draft Bill.

However, we need to be brave and bold and to geton with it. I hope that this will mean that evengreater improvements are made to public transport infrastructure in London and that Londoners will be able to look forward to increased investment in that infrastructure, with projects such as Crossrail and the continuing refurbishment of tube lines and stations, including the hugely welcome rebirth of St. Pancras. We will get the joining up of the East London line with Highbury and Islington and the breathing of new life into the tragically neglected North London line. We will get hybrid buses introduced across London—first, I hope, on to Islington's badly polluted streets. We will get continuing investment in the network of cyclepaths and facilities that are so encouraging cyclists in London. I speak as chair of the all-party group on cycling. All that will allow the powerhouse of the British economy—London—to cut its carbon emissions while allowing our economy to continue to grow.

While on the subject of climate change and the support given to environmental policies by the Budget, let me take this opportunity to welcome the increase in vehicle excise duty on the most polluting vehicles—up from £210 last year to £300 this year and £400 in 2008-09. When I was a member of the Environmental Audit Committee, we called for the top band—band G— to be "significantly raised", and I am pleased that in the two years since our report was published the tax on gas guzzlers will have doubled. Let me put it another way. By 2009, the cost of road tax for the biggest and most excessive Chelsea tractor—a Range Rover with a 4.4 litre Jaguar-sourced V8 engine—will be more than 10 times that of a Toyota Prius, and soit should be. The hon. Member for East Surrey (Mr. Ainsworth) seemed to commit the Conservative party to a much higher band G for 4x4s in cities. I agree. I hope that the Government listen and go further. However, I should say to the hon. Gentleman that the hon. Member for Hammersmith and Fulham (Mr. Hands), who was sitting behind him, did not look the slightest bit happy about the Conservatives seeming to make that commitment.

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Brooks Newmark (Braintree, Conservative) Link to this | Hansard source

The hon. Lady has talked about how much tax will be raised and how much more is raised by one vehicle versus another, but she has not addressed the real issue—taxing in order to change behaviour. What does the Chancellor's Budget contain in that regard?

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Photo of Emily Thornberry Emily Thornberry (Islington South & Finsbury, Labour) Link to this | Hansard source

I agree that the purpose of green taxes should always be to change behaviour and I believe that we should do it progressively so that, if behaviour changes and, for example, people buy a smaller car, they do not need to pay so much tax. In that way, we can change behaviour and say to people, "Go this way and we will help you." However, that is not the Liberal Democrats' approach, which is to set green taxes simply to raise revenue. It is interesting that their documents do not mention the amount of carbon emissions that will be saved by their green taxes.

The changes in vehicle excise duty, combined with the planned increases in fuel duty in the next three years, show the direction of Government policy. Thatis the sort of large, brightly lit—solar powered, of course—road sign that shows the Government's direction and where we expect to go together. Those of us who are alarmed by global warming should stand and applaud the Government for their lead. However, while encouraging them, we should also urge them to go further.

Our homes produce one third of the UK's carbon emissions and we cannot rely on enlightened self-interest to solve the problem by erecting a windmill here and changing a car there. We must work collectively and we need a Government who will step in to bring people together. I welcome the way in which the Budget does that.

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Photo of David Taylor David Taylor (North West Leicestershire, Labour) Link to this | Hansard source

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, of which I am a member, visited Freiburg in south-west Germany, near the Black forest, only a few weeks ago to ascertain the reason for its reputation for leading local authorities in Germany on renewable energy and energy efficiency. My hon. Friend mentioned her local authority at the start of her speech. Does she believe that local authorities such as Islington, which is probably a similar size to Freiburg, as well as the Government, should take a lead, and revert to the principles of Agenda 21? They were laid down many years ago and some local authorities appear to have abandoned them.

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Photo of Emily Thornberry Emily Thornberry (Islington South & Finsbury, Labour) Link to this | Hansard source

Yes. A Liberal Democrat Member launched my local authority's new policies on the environment. From what I understand of the new policy, it appears to subsidise putting windmills on top of houses and other such high-profile matters. Such attention-grabbing behaviour does not, in the end, save the planet. There is no point in putting a windmill on top of a house if it is not insulated and the boiler has not been changed. One does not save the planet through the equivalent of buying a different sort of car. One has to do much more—and be much more fundamental—than that. I am greatly saddened bymy local authority's attitude to its so-called green initiatives because I believe that they constitute a certain frippery.

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Photo of Christopher Huhne Christopher Huhne (Eastleigh, Liberal Democrat) Link to this | Hansard source

I am sorry that the hon. Lady has not taken the opportunity of welcoming her local council's initiative, which is the first of its kind in the countryto get the private sector in a borough to commit to greenhouse gas reductions. That is a worthwhile initiative and she runs the risk of appearing a little sour if she does not welcome it.

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Photo of Emily Thornberry Emily Thornberry (Islington South & Finsbury, Labour) Link to this | Hansard source

Many private industries are interested in cutting their emissions and work with local government and national Government to do that. I assure the hon. Gentleman that Islington council did not think of that first.

It is important to cut the carbon emissions of our homes, and we have already done that. We startedwith Labour priorities through the decent homes programme, which, to many council tenants means new kitchens and bathrooms, but is much more than that. It is about ensuring that our social and affordable housing is up to decent homes standards. That means making sure that they are properly and fully insulated and energy-efficient. We have begun with social housing, so that those who are most vulnerable and in most need are literally insulated against the cold. When we came to power in 1997, only one in four homes in Islington were at decent homes standard, but by 2010, every single one will have reached that standard, thanks to a Labour Government. That is progressive politicsin action and an achievement of which we should be immensely proud.

I also welcome the initiatives in the Budget to take the next step in our comprehensive action of ensuring that owner occupiers and private rented homes are brought up to the mark. The energy-efficient commitment will continue to force energy suppliersto improve energy efficiency in the homes that they serve. The Warm Front programme gives low income households grants of up to £4,000 to improve their energy efficiency. Pensioners who do not have central heating can receive a £300 discount when installing a new system. To tackle the biggest market failure of all—in the private rented sector—the Budget extends and expands the landlords energy savings allowance, which gives an allowance of up to £1,500 to landlords who invest in cavity wall and loft insulation. However, we could and should do more, although we are going in the right direction.

I also greatly welcome the kick start that the Budget gives to the Government's goal to make all new builds zero carbon by 2016. The Budget has changed the stamp duty rules so that no stamp duty will be payable on the first sale of zero carbon homes of up to £500,000. Homes costing more than that will get a reduction of £15,000. I have a special interest in that aspect of financial incentives because, when I was a member of the Environmental Audit Committee, we made recommendations in our sustainable homes report of 21 March 2006.

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Photo of Graham Stuart Graham Stuart (Beverley & Holderness, Conservative) Link to this | Hansard source

Will the hon. Lady give way?

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Photo of Emily Thornberry Emily Thornberry (Islington South & Finsbury, Labour) Link to this | Hansard source

Of course I shall give way to another member of the Environmental Audit Committee. I am sure that he can tell us more about the sustainable homes report.

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Photo of Graham Stuart Graham Stuart (Beverley & Holderness, Conservative) Link to this | Hansard source

How many homes does the hon. Lady believe will benefit in the next year or two from the change that the Budget announced?

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Photo of Emily Thornberry Emily Thornberry (Islington South & Finsbury, Labour) Link to this | Hansard source

The answer is many but not enough—we can always do more. Our ambition is clear and we are moving in the right direction. No British Government have previously introduced financial incentives to ensure that people insulate their homes. We are introducing those green incentives, in accordance with the recommendations of the Committee on which the hon. Gentleman served with me.

The Committee recommended that the Treasury consider reducing stamp duty for green homes. Exactly a year after the publication of the report, the 2007 Budget delivered the recommendation. Various groups that put pressure on the Environmental Audit Committee and gave evidence at its meetings shouldbe acknowledged. They include WWF and its"One Million Sustainable Homes Campaign", the Association for the Conservation of Energy, and the Energy Savings Trust. They have been working hard on the issue for many years and I hope that they will continue to work with us to ensure that we move forward.

The Government now need to build on their progress and develop a comprehensive set of fiscal incentives linked to the code for sustainable homes. The Budget will ensure that no home is left behind and that, by the end of the next decade, all existing and new homes will have the highest standard of energy efficiency. As we proved with social housing, that will not happen as result of market forces alone. We can achieve our goal only by stepping in as a Government commitment to working together. We cannot simply leave matters to the market. When Labour Members talk about housing, we know that it is a priority for our houses to be green, but that we also desperately need more of them and that they must be affordable.

We need more affordable housing for people such as Ms A, who came to my surgery recently asking for help. She is married with four children. She lives in a two-bedroom flat and has been on the waiting list for a transfer for several years. Her parents have died and she took on responsibility for her teenage sister, so there are seven people in a two-bedroom flat. Ms A's oldest child is eight and autistic. Her second child is five, has severe language delay and may also be autistic. Her third child is three, has language and learning delay and behavioural problems. Her fourth child has asthma.

Ms A lives in fear that her three-year-old, who was rolling on the table moaning while Ms A was trying to talk to me at my surgery, may fall out of the window as she has no idea of danger, cannot communicate and climbs a lot. Ms A has back pain and cannot sleep at night because the eight-year-old and the three-year-old keep her awake. She is worried about her orphaned sister, who has to share her bedroom with her two nieces and has nowhere to study. Ms A suffers from depression—and no wonder. She urgently needs a four-bedroom home.

Islington council runs what is laughably called a choice-based lettings system, which means no choice and precious few lettings. One needs a certain number of points to have a chance of getting rehoused. Getting the points depends on how desperate one is compared with everyone else, who is also desperate. Ms A has 202 points and she needs about 350 to stand a chance of getting the sort of accommodation that she needs.

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Greg Hands (Hammersmith & Fulham, Conservative) Link to this | Hansard source

Will the hon. Lady give way?

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Photo of Emily Thornberry Emily Thornberry (Islington South & Finsbury, Labour) Link to this | Hansard source

No, I will not.

What chance do Ms A and her children have? What chance does her sister have? This case is not an isolated one. I hear stories like it every day, which break my heart. They are just one of 13,000 families languishing on the council waiting list in Islington. Many Labour Members, particularly those who represent inner-London constituencies, will recognise this story. There are many Ms As who need bold and radical action from our Labour Government.

There is a chronic housing problem in many areas and there are many thousands of people on waiting lists. Unfortunately, the problem in my constituency is exacerbated by the actions of the Liberal Democrat council. My council has for the last six years presided over planning controls that allow six out of every seven new homes to be luxury flats.

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Photo of Martin Horwood Martin Horwood (Cheltenham, Liberal Democrat) Link to this | Hansard source

rose—

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Photo of Emily Thornberry Emily Thornberry (Islington South & Finsbury, Labour) Link to this | Hansard source

It seems that the Liberal Democrat council cares more about investment bankers who want to live in luxury flats near the City than the needs of our own overcrowded families, who are in desperate need of rehousing in a decent manner. In the face of this terrible crisis, we were heartened to hear my hon. Friend the Economic Secretary, in a debate on the London economy in Westminster Hall on 20 March 2007, say:

"Building more social housing must be a priority for the spending review."—[ Official Report, Westminster Hall, 20 March 2007; Vol. 458, c. 232WH.]

The mobile phones of London Members started humming, expectations were raised and many of us sit and hold our breath—and we wait.

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Greg Hands (Hammersmith & Fulham, Conservative) Link to this | Hansard source

rose—

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Photo of Martin Horwood Martin Horwood (Cheltenham, Liberal Democrat) Link to this | Hansard source

rose—

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Photo of Emily Thornberry Emily Thornberry (Islington South & Finsbury, Labour) Link to this | Hansard source

I want to move on to deal with child poverty, of which the lack of affordable housing, particularly in inner London, is a major cause. Indeed, 35 per cent. of children in inner London live in poverty, even before housing costs are taken into account, but once those costs are included, it jumps up to 52 per cent. There is no other part of the country where housing costs have such a huge effect on child poverty. As a result, my constituency, on some counts, has the 16th highest level of child poverty in the UK.

This morning, I visited Winton primary school to discuss the marine Bill. I have been to 25 primary schools in my constituency to promote the importance of that Bill and they are all writing to the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. At Winton school, 69 per cent. of the children get free school meals, 74 per cent. speak English as a second language and 93 per cent. do not come from a white British background.

The Government's efforts to tackle child poverty have been unparalleled. Under the Tories, child poverty doubled, but now, because of sound economic management, more people are in work with their pay topped up by tax credits— [Interruption.] The hon. Member for Beverley and Holderness (Mr. Stuart) should listen, as there is very little understanding among Conservative Members of what tax credits are or how they work. Those of us who work in the inner cities, where there are high levels of child poverty, understand the importance of tax credits very well. As a result, 700,000 children have been lifted out of relative poverty, giving them a chance and giving them hope.

Tax credits may not be as flash as putting a windmill on your house, but they have worked. A recent report by the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies found that the fall in child poverty has been the result of more parents being in work and fewer people in work being in poverty. The report said:

"The government can take considerable credit for this: the reduction in the risk of poverty amongst these groups is due at least in part to new spending directed towards families, through tax credits. The reduction in the number of children in workless families is also due, at least in part, to government policies that have helped previously non-working parents (particularly lone parents) move into work."

In Islington, South and Finsbury that means that, whereas unemployment was up at 5,319 when Labour came to power in 1997, it has now more than halved to 2,386.

Here is an example of where our policies have helped one of my constituents. Ms B is a single parent who works about 20 hours a week as a nursery nurse. Her net wages—the Liberal Democrats should listen to this; I urge them to change their ideas on tax credits—are only £127 a week, which is about the same amount that she would get if she stayed at home on benefits. However, working tax credit, child tax credit and child benefit together contribute another £123 a week, bringing her total to £250 a week. Now that really is making work pay.

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David Howarth (Cambridge, Liberal Democrat) Link to this | Hansard source

Does the hon. Lady recognise that the Chancellor's abolition of the 10p tax band will mean that her constituent's tax bill will rise?

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Photo of Emily Thornberry Emily Thornberry (Islington South & Finsbury, Labour) Link to this | Hansard source

No, because the whole point is that tax credits will take people up to a certain limit and will guarantee a certain income. This woman, working the hours and getting the tax credits that she does, will receive a guaranteed income. That is the difference. That is why we are bringing in progressive taxation and benefits and helping women exactly like this. These are the sort of people who are our people, who we are looking after— [Interruption.]—and I am proud to sit on the Government Back Benches when my Government do things like that. We had a progressive Budget that is doing the right thing for poor working families, for single parents like Ms B. They are now able to work because of the Budget and other Labour initiatives, which were done in spite of the Opposition. We need more single parents like Ms B to feel they can afford to do vital jobs like working in child care.

The fall in unemployment over the last decade in Islington, South and Finsbury has made a real difference to— [Interruption.]

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Photo of Sylvia Heal Sylvia Heal (Halesowen & Rowley Regis, Deputy-Speaker) Link to this | Hansard source

Order. There are far too many conversations going on in the Chamber.

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Photo of Emily Thornberry Emily Thornberry (Islington South & Finsbury, Labour) Link to this | Hansard source

The fall in unemployment over the last decade in Islington, South and Finsbury has made a real difference to people's lives. If we are to cut child poverty further, we need to help more parents into work and ensure that it pays to be in work. Two fifths of children in the constituency get free school meals, which means that neither of their parents are in full-time work. Another measure of child poverty—based on children in families on benefits—makes my constituency the sixth poorest in the UK.

The new measures in the Budget are therefore welcome, as they will directly help those families. They include significant increases in the threshold for full working tax credit and in the child element of the child tax credit, which will help incentives to work. Perhaps most welcome though is the— [Interruption.]

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Photo of Graham Stuart Graham Stuart (Beverley & Holderness, Conservative) Link to this | Hansard source

Will the hon. Lady give way?

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Photo of Emily Thornberry Emily Thornberry (Islington South & Finsbury, Labour) Link to this | Hansard source

No. I am coming on to a very important point for poor families in London—and it is a change in Government policy for which we are very grateful. We are perhaps as grateful as we feel it was overdue. The change in policy is extra specific help for London's single parents returning to work. There will be an extra credit of £60 a week for the first year compared with £40 for parents in other parts of the UK. Some parents in London who do not go to work currently feel that they cannot afford it because of the high costs of housing and child care. We are really pleased that the Government have recognised that and increased the tax credits.

Another of my constituents wrote to me today to say:

"There should be help for people who want to work, even if I decide to stay off work to claim full benefit I will die of not working, I want more out of life."

Women like that should be and are being helped by us. I am glad that the Budget recognises the higher costs that single parents face in London. On top of that, child benefit for the first child will rise to £20 a week by 2010, and we will continue our investment in education across the board from early years through primary to secondary schools. Taken together, it is estimated that those measures will take a further 200,000 children out of poverty—another important step towards our goal of ending child poverty by 2020.

Along with children living in poverty, children with disabilities are one of the most vulnerable groups in society, so we must make sure that we support them. I am glad that the Government have already initiated a review covering the needs of disabled children. It is especially welcome that the Chancellor mentioned the review in his Budget speech as well as his commitment to consult widely on its findings in the run-up to the comprehensive spending review.

I am glad to note that the review has already identified speech and language therapy as an area in which services may not be sufficiently responsive to need. The Michael Palin centre for stammering children, which is based in my constituency, is an NHS centre of excellence for treatment of children who stammer. It is helping thousands of children from across the country. The centre deals with a complicated and distressing disability. The effect of a stammer on children is more than just a health issue. It affects their educational opportunities, social confidence and many other areas of life. A child who stammers may find involvement in class more difficult or suffer bullying at school.

Labour Members and the Government are very serious about tackling social exclusion, so we must make sure that children's lives are not blighted by being unable to communicate properly when it is possible, with the right intervention, to really help them. The Michael Palin centre is facing problems getting its services commissioned by some primary care trusts, but I am glad to say that Islington PCT's commissioning ensures that Islington's children get a first-class service from the Michael Palin centre. However, we need to make sure that all children across London and the rest of the UK can get the help they need from the centreas well. The patchiness of response from PCTs and strategic health authorities has been recognised in the review and I hope that the upcoming comprehensive spending review ensures that there is dedicated funding for children with communication difficulties and disabilities in general. We also need to make sure that the needs of that group are reflected in the next round of public service agreements.

Let us contrast that with the Liberal Democratand Tory priorities. Every time that tax credits are mentioned in Parliament, they attack them. We know the Tory approach: record pensioner poverty, record child poverty and record levels of unemployment. They will not spell out their policy positions because they know that they are unpopular. The Lib Dems, on the other hand, have never had to take responsibility for anything, so they have no track record. In their 36-page paper on tax policy, child poverty is not mentioned once. They should be ashamed. The Lib Dem tax plans hardly mention tax credits, which is not much of an assurance for those hard-working families who rely on them. They voted with the Tories against tax credits in 1999, and they have made no commitment to keeping them.

Under the Budget, by October 2007, a couple or lone parent in full-time work with one child will have a guaranteed minimum income of £276 a week. The Tories and Lib Dems have shown no commitment to supporting Labour's guarantee to parents in work. I am proud that Labour is ready to guarantee a decent income to families. It is a pity that the Liberal Democrats and Tories will not join me.

I have spoken about some of the top priorities of people in Islington. Compared with 10 years ago, people's priorities have changed, because the country has changed. The Labour Government have made the country better and more stable by putting progressive politics into action. The solutions, however, are based on a set of values that have not changed. The values that we have in 2007 are the same as those that we had in 1997, and the solutions are progressive, radical and collective. As we face the new problems and priorities of the future, it is as clear as ever that we can only tackle the problems that we share by working together for the common good.

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