Investment in people, in families, in education and skills, and in jobs - all is vital in combating poverty and levelling up.
This Government is committed to levelling up because for too long, many of the worst-off people and places across the U.K. have been left behind by uneven economic growth and fewer opportunities. Levelling up means that everyone gets equal opportunity to unleash their potential, to make a difference. This will help combat poverty; poverty does not make the most of a person’s potential and deprives our society and economy of the skills and talents of those who have meaningful contributions to make.
I am committed to levelling up because I represent the beautiful constituency of Hastings and Rye, a coastal community, which has so much potential to unleash if it is given the opportunity to do so. I know that we have a fantastic contribution to make, as individuals and businesses, as there is huge potential for growth in the cultural, tourism and manufacturing industries, for example.
I am delighted that Hastings was successful in the Towns Fund Bid , securing £24.2 million and leveraging another £85 million in private investment through the Town Investment Plan.
I would like to highlight Professor Chris Whitty’s, the Chief Medical Officer, recent report on health disparities in Coastal Communities and his recommendations. Whilst Professor Whitty’s findings are most concerning, I really welcome his report, as it gives real credence to issues affecting Hastings and Rye and other coastal communities across the U.K. His report has really highlighted the need for levelling up of our coastal communities and whilst I really welcome the new Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, Prof. Whitty also highlights the clear commonality as to the drivers of poor health including deprivation, poor housing, alcohol and/or substance misuse, low educational attainment, poor transport infrastructure and connectivity, and a lack of diversity in jobs and local economies.
I would ask the Minister to consider these common factors as regards strategies for levelling up coastal communities over the course of this Parliament.
As regards deprivation and poverty, I really welcomed the Chancellor’s focus in the Budget to help working families meet the cost of living and help support more vulnerable families. Reducing poverty comes through well paid jobs, but more money for Universal Credit – an in-work benefit – is essential in enabling people to work and get the financial support they need. The point of Universal Credit is to ensure that when a claimant finds work, benefits are removed gradually in order to guarantee that going to work and earning money leaves them better off than not going to work and being dependent on welfare – impacting on individuals’ self-esteem and feelings of being in control, providing for their families.
By reducing the taper rate from 63% to 55% allows millions of people keep more of their income. This 8% drop will see two million families keep an average of £1,000 per year. This is effectively a tax cut for the lowest paid. As my Rt. Hon Friend for Chingford and Woodford Green, who pioneered Universal Credit, has said ‘More money for Universal Credit is vital to support the Conservative ideals of hard work and determination, showing Britain is a country where the State does right by those who do the right thing.’ Universal Credit works to support people out of benefits and into work, and work is the most important route out of poverty for working age people – enabling levelling up.
Raising the National Living Wage by 6.6% to £9.50 will also help working families meet the cost of living by giving a £1,000 pay rise to two million families – again a Budget measure that I welcome, helping to level up.
These steps build upon the steps already taken to help the most vulnerable families such as the £500 million Household Support Fund.
The investment in people continues with investment in education and improving skills, and it was fantastic to hear we are increasing skills funding by 42% in cash terms, meeting our National Skills Fund commitment. An estimated five million adults in the UK lack core literacy or numeracy skills; 12.6 million lack basic digital skills. Jobs – especially well-paid jobs - are key to levelling up and we have seen a real focus by the Government in skills training and re-training. The Lifetime Skills Guarantee enables people to get the skills they need at every stage of their life meaning they can re-train and find new, well paid jobs to Build Back Better. The new numeracy programme, ‘Multiply’, will help tackle the poor numeracy skills of over half a million adults in England by investing £560 million to improve their basic maths skills, improving their earnings and employment opportunities. Levelling up.
Educational attainment in disadvantaged places, like Hastings in my constituency, is often below national average and whilst I welcome the funding boost of £14 billion in our primary and secondary schools over the next three years, as well as another £4.7 billion per year by 2024, I would like to see more of the Opportunity Area Funding, which supports social mobility and levelling up in some of the most disadvantaged areas, extend longer and to more ‘left behind’ places, especially in coastal communities. Hastings and St Leonards school children and teachers have hugely benefitted from this targeted funding for the past five years.
I also welcome the continuation of the Holiday Activities and Food Programme with an further £200 million funding. Thousands of children – and their parents and carers - have benefitted from this programme, especially this past year. I will never forget the then Children’s Minister, Vicky Ford, coming to visit The Y Project to find out how the £220 million Government funded HAF was helping children in Hastings and Rye. It was almost tear-jerking to hear from one single parent how important HAF has been this summer to her family – a life saver for her before her children go back to school. She told me that her children were thoroughly enjoying the activities and it also enabled her to spend time with her children doing activities that she would not otherwise have had - she has MS.
To coin Minister Ford’s words, the HAF programme is a ‘living, breathing example of levelling up in action’.
Huge progress has been made in the past few years on improving performance in many schools, but children from more disadvantaged areas are still much less likely to be taught by teachers who are described as ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted. Leadership, structure and high-quality teaching is what makes a school outstanding and excellent teaching gives children in more disadvantaged areas from more disadvantaged homes a better chance of improving their attainment. What many schools in disadvantaged areas find is how difficult it is to attract and often retain good teachers. In levelling up, the Government should continue to evaluate and expand successful initiatives to attract high- quality teachers and leaders to schools where they are most needed. This should also apply to recruitment to the NHS and primary care services.
I particularly welcome the increased funding – the tripling of annual spending on Special Educational needs places, and the provision of an extra £1.8 billion for catch-up funding, taking the total to nearly £5 billion. This will help to level up all children, no matter their educational need or ability.
I want to turn to families now and the measures announced by the Chancellor to help strengthen them.
Children who are brought up in secure families have more chance to flourish and have better future prospects. Family stability and parental (or grand parental) support are the bedrock of children’s lives. Adverse childhood experiences, whether through abuse, poor parenting or trauma can increase a child’s risks of experiencing poverty in adulthood. It is important to note that many parents who are in poverty do provide stability and security for their children, despite the challenges they face.
Getting children and families right is key and many parents need support in their parenting. There is no shame in this; nobody teaches us how to parent. Supporting people to be good parents, helping parents share care and stay in work, minimising the adverse impacts of separation on children, and supporting children and parents’ mental health is vital. As was noted by Chancellor, evidence shows that the first 1001 days of a child’s life are the most influential on their health, well-being, and future opportunities and I therefore welcome the £300 million for a new Start for Life offer, programmes for new parents and a new network of Family Hubs in 75 local authorities, an extra £170 million for childcare providers. £150 million to support training and development for the early years’ workforce and £200 million for the Supporting Families Programme.
We are committing to spend billions of pounds of taxpayer’s money but could I just ask that rather than focus on inputs, can we please look at how we can best measure the outcomes so that we keep track on how and to what success our hard earned money is being spent.
This Budget is needed in the circumstances we find ourselves in following a pandemic. As a Conservative, I expect to see a reduction in the high level of taxation (and spending) in due course but accept that this is justified following the pandemic. The Universal Credit taper rise and the increase in the national living wage are good policies, as is the investment in people - skills and families. I became an MP to strengthen families, to do what I can to end deprivation, and to try to bring hope, aspiration and confidence to the many people in Hastings and Rye who are neglected, disadvantaged, vulnerable and lonely. I support this Budget in the steps it is taking to achieve this.