Former MP for Eastbourne
Does the hon. Gentleman share my disgust at the Government cutting, at this very time, £100 million from the budget for employment and youth training? When I previously visited the hon. Gentleman's constituency in Warrington and saw the YMCA there, I saw the pool of talented youth people who are ready to go on training courses, yet, at this very time, when they have the ability, such as that...
There have been many discussions about joint and several liability and, at last, the Government have conceded that principle in one minor area. It is a great shame that we cannot persuade them, even at this late stage, to consider the principle even further. With any property-based tax, there is the problem of who is responsible for paying it. The Lords amendment, which the Government are...
The Minister began by saying that there had been a great deal of debate on the Bill. Yet if one asked most people outside the House what the council tax was, they would be unable to answer, because the Government have not explained what it will mean for them. They have not done so because the detail of the Bill will be further bad news for the people. The reason for the Bill in the first...
I am grateful for that correction, because it adds to my argument. I have no doubt that it is factually correct, because the hon. Member always checks such figures. If the Government sat back for a moment and thought about the number of people involved in that process, they would surely conclude that they had got something wrong. If they conclude, that they had got the poll tax legislation...
I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time. The new clause goes to the crux of local service provision. It is really a question of whether we believe that central Government should direct local services, or whether we should now take the opportunity of putting local people—the local electorate—back in charge of those services. In a sense, this is about whether the people...
We debated this subject fairly fully in Committee, when I put forward a range of opportunities by means of which local authorities could consult people and identify customer care. Having listened to the Minister's reply, I do not think that he has moved any further forward since the Committee debate. It is a little late to suggest that a local authority will have redress if a contract is not...
If the Minister is so convinced that compulsory competitive tendering is finding favour, where is it doing so? It is not finding favour with any of the local authority associations. The Royal Institute of British Architects and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations are both opposed to it. Everyone outside the House is opposed to it. From where does the support come?
Compulsory competitive tendering is a subject of wide concern outside the House. I have already said that the local authority associations are opposed to it. Of course the best local authorities want competitive tendering, but they do not want it to be made compulsory: they want choice, because they are nearest to the people. Let us look, for example, at the quality of our architecture. It is...
