A Parliament of the Many, Not the Few

Today I raised a point of order to the Speaker of the House concerning the House of Commons Commissions decision to start charging for tours of the Clock Tower (Big Ben).

Please read my question and the Speakers response below:

Robert Halfon (Harlow): Would you Mr. Speaker look again at the decision by the House of Commons Commission, to charge people for going up the Clock Tower to see Big Ben? This would cost a family of four up to £60. Are there not other ways of saving money, such as not publishing Hansard and other publications on a daily basis and publishing them on-line? Will you please look at it again, to make sure that we are a Parliament for the many, not the few?"

Speaker of the House of Commons (John Bercow): I am grateful to the Hon. Gentleman for the point of order and for again his courtesy in providing me advance notice of it. It would of course be unthinkable to charge members of the public for access to the proceedings of the House or its Committees, or indeed to meet their Members of Parliament. However, what I would say to the Hon. Gentleman and to the House is that Clock Tower tours are special tours, allowing access to an area of the Palace, which realistically, cannot be open to all. The charges agreed by the House of Commons Commission are set at a level which will cover the costs, I emphasise, which will cover the costs of providing these tours. No profit will be made. I hope that this reassures the Hon. Gentleman."

I have written about this topic before. Please click HERE to read my earlier post. 

by Robert Halfon - Working Hard for Harlow.

Ed Balls comes out... as a Conservative

An astonishing interview in The Guardian, where Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls - appears to sign up to Coalition economic policy.  Here is what he had to say:

On Public Sector Pay:
"It is now inevitable that public sector pay restraint will have to continue through this parliament. Labour cannot duck that reality and won't. There is no way we should be arguing for higher pay when the choice is between higher pay and bringing unemployment down."

On Cuts:
"My starting point is, I am afraid, we are going to have keep all these cuts. There is a big squeeze happening on budgets across the piece. The squeeze on defence spending, for instance, is £15bn by 2015. We are going to have to start from that being the baseline. At this stage, we can make no commitments to reverse any of that, on spending or on tax. So I am being absolutely clear about that".

Mr Balls also suggests that Labour will soon come up with "tough decisions" on welfare and waste.

After months of opposition, the Labour Party appear to have conceded defeat.  Their previous policy of campaigning against every Coalition 'cut', looks to have been consigned to the dustbin.  Perhaps it is because of the unpopularity of Ed Milliband, perhaps a realisation that the public no longer trust Labour on the economy - especially after Gordon Brown's virtual bankrupting of the country.

Whatever the reason, I think Coalition Ministers will be able to sleep safer in their beds in future.

by Robert Halfon - www.roberthalfon.blogspot.com

Apprentice Minister praises the Parliamentary Academy

Earlier today, I asked the Apprentice Minister John Hayes if he would back the Parliamentary Academy - a new apprentice school in Parliament that I have set up with charity New Deal of the Mind.

I also asked him if he would use Government contracts to boost the number of apprentices, and to cut youth unemployment.

His reply was encouraging, as the Minister urged every MP to lead by example, and hire an apprentice themselves - as I have done since 2010.

The full exchange was:

Robert Halfon (Harlow): "Will the Minister support the Parliamentary apprentice school that I have founded with charity New Deal of the Mind? And will he look at a similar idea of establishing a Government apprentice school, using public contracts? Figures from the House of Commons Library show that if just one apprentice were hired for every £1 million pounds of public procurement, it would instantly create 280,000 apprentices and cut youth unemployment by a quarter."

John Hayes (Apprentice Minister): "I do take the view that Government has a role, and that procurement has a role too, Mr Speaker. That's why I have established a Ministerial champions group for apprenticeships. 14 Departments are part of that. It's why we have explored the idea of Kitemarking, for good employers that use apprenticeships and supply the public sector, and put in place streamlined informational skills, for companies that want to supply Government. Can I finally say Mr Speaker, that Robert Halfon has been a great champion, by taking on an apprentice himself? And I once again urge every Member of this House to take their own apprentice."



by Robert Halfon - www.roberthalfon.blogspot.com

We Should Use Public Procurement to boost Apprenticeships

Today in my Select Committee, I urged the Government to use public procurement to boost the number of apprentices - as is already happening in the Department for Work and Pensions. You can see the full interview on the video above.

If just one apprentice was employed for every £1 million pounds spent by the Government on procurement, we could instantly create 238,000 apprentices.

If successful, this could reduce youth unemployment by a quarter.

by Robert Halfon - www.roberthalfon.blogspot.com

Apprenticeships are the answer to Youth Unemployment

Earlier today, I urged the Goverment to use public procurement, and state contracts, as a way of radically boosting the number of British apprentices.

This is something that I first proposed back in June 2011, in a speech you can read HERE.

The Government's reply was encouraging, as the full exchange was:

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mr Iain Duncan Smith): Work experience and apprenticeships are central to improving the prospects of young unemployed people. We are making up to 100,000 work experience placements available and strengthening the links between the work experience programme and apprenticeships. We are also providing additional Jobcentre Plus help for 16 and 17-year-old jobseeker’s allowance claimants and offering earlier entry into the Work programme. It is worth reminding ourselves that of the 991,000 16 to 24-year-olds who are unemployed under the International Labour Organisation measure, 270,000 are full-time students. Finally, my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Robert Halfon) will be aware that Harlow is one of the Government’s new enterprise zones.

Robert Halfon: I am, of course, delighted that Harlow is an enterprise zone. Does my right hon. Friend agree that one way of cutting youth unemployment is to encourage Government contractors to hire apprentices? Figures from the House of Commons Library show that if just one apprentice was hired for every £1 million of public procurement, it would instantly create 238,000 apprenticeships and cut youth unemployment by a quarter.

Mr Duncan Smith: My hon. Friend is right. Under the new arrangements, suppliers must provide an apprenticeships and skills report within six months of the contract start date. The idea is that they will periodically show their progress towards meeting a commitment to employ 5% of apprentices in delivering the Department for Work and Pensions contract to which they are entitled. Work programme providers will be paid primarily for the results that they achieve, which means that they will be under pressure to do a similar thing.

by Robert Halfon - www.roberthalfon.blogspot.com

The Comprehensive Spending Review

This is the question I asked the Chancellor yesterday about the Public Spending Statement:

I said:

"My constituents of Harlow will welcome this Robin Hood public spending statement, particularly the resources that are going to cold weather payments, apprenticeships, and help for young children. Does he not agree that my constituents would rather have lower taxes, and more spending on public services, than spend £120 million a day paying off the debt?"



by Robert Halfon - www.roberthalfon.blogspot.com

Local residents have a right to know the true level of public spending

Don't' you agree that all of us have the right to know the true level of public spending in Harlow in Epping? Is there not a greater need for open Government?

That is why I have urged that Gordon Brown stops dragging his feet over a new law which requires the Government to tell us how much taxpayers' money is spent in Harlow and Epping Forest, and in every other part of the country.

What is really astonishing, is that in Parliament on 28 October, Labour MPs actually voted against a motion calling for more openness on public spending.(Bill Rammell abstained - or wasn't in the Commons to vote).

The new law, The Sustainable Communities Act 2007, was introduced by a Conservative MP and passed by Parliament with wide cross-community support from local and national organisations.

I strongly believe that it could help fix Britain's broken politics - by giving local people the power to decide how their cash is spent in their area, and requiring a regular breakdown of spending by central government departments and quangos in new 'Local Spending Reports'.

The reality is that more and more taxpayers' money is being spent by unelected quangos. A new report published on 26 October by the Taxpayers' Alliance has revealed that quangos now spend an astonishing £90 billion a year - equivalent to £3,640 a year for every household across Harlow and Epping Forest.

Amazingly, Labour Ministers have been trying to water down the new law. They initially only wanted to publish spending by councils and NHS Primary Care Trusts - facts already in the public domain. Further information will only be "developed over time".

But this is not good enough. Conservative plans callfor greater openness and accountability, and pledge to:

* Use the Sustainable Communities Act to publish detailed Local Spending Reports including central government and quangos, and devolve more power to local communities.

* Require Harlow and Epping Forest district councils to publish online figures for all expenditure on goods and services over £500, as is already being piloted by Windsor and Maidenhead Council.

It's time for the Government to show us the money - and tell Harlow, Hastingwoode, Nazeing, Roydon and Sheering residents how much of their money is actually spent in our area.

Gordon Brown wants to stop local people finding out that they get a raw deal from his Government, and conceal that his unelected quangocrats spend almost £4,000 a year per household in our area with little or no say for local people.

Local communities deserve a far greater say on how their money is spent. It's time for change. We need a Conservative Government that believes in openness and transparency. Its time give power back to local people.

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Labour Cuts

It is interesting that Labour is so quick to denounce Tory proposed 'cuts' (often mythical) to public services, yet remain so quiet when genuine, Government cut-backs hit vital public services.

For example, only a week or so ago, Harlow Learning Shops, closed due to lack of funding. Learning Direct, was an excelllent service because it enabled many young people across Harlow to be given special skills in key areas like computers, maths and English. Other Harlow Residents were given IT training and help with CVs.

For Government cuts in Harlow, read national. Chancellor Alistair Darling, has admitted that big cuts are on the way. This is inevitable because of the mismanagement of the economy and the huge 175 billion pounds public borrowing this year alone. According to the BBC, Mr Darling has said the Government will have to"cut costs and shift resources".

For years, Labour has thrived on the politics of fear, claiming that Conservative policy was to cut public expenditure. Now, when Mr Brown is in a deep economic hole - a mess of his own making - he acknowledges that the Government will have to rein back spending, thereby adopting the very economic policy that he has been denouncing for years. Only a few weeks ago in the House of Commons, Mr Brown falsly attacked the Conservatives for proposing ten percent cuts in public services. At the time his statements were greeted with incredulity by journalists and commentators. He has been found out; as the wolf who cried once too often.

By Rob Halfon ~ Working hard for Harlow, Hastingwood, Nazeing, Roydon & Sheering. http//roberthalfon.blogspot.com

Gordon Brown's spending cuts

The Institute of Fiscal Studies has noted that Labour's recent Budget, heralds a round of significant cuts in public services by Gordon Brown's Government. Fraser Nelson, a distinguished journalist, notes that Labour are planning 7.6% cuts in real term spending. In fact spending will be halved from £44 billion in 2009-10 to £22 billion in 2013-14. Labour's decision to reduce spending on public services is all the more extraordinary, since their main attack on Conservatives has always been that Tories will reduce spending on public services!

By Rob Halfon ~ Working hard for Harlow, Hastingwood, Nazeing, Roydon & Sheering. http//roberthalfon.blogspot.com