House of Commons
Thursday 30 October 1997
The House met at half-past Two o'clock
PRAYERS
[Madam Speaker in the Chair]
NEW WRIT
For the borough constituency of Beckenham in the room of Piers Rolf Garfield Merchant Esquire, who since his election for the said borough constituency has accepted the office of steward or bailiff of Her Majesty's Manor of Northstead in the county of York.--[Mr. Peter Ainsworth.]
Oral Answers to Questions
TREASURY
The Chancellor of the Exchequer was asked--
Spending Allocations
1. Mr. Edward Davey: What discussions his Department has had with the Department for Education and Employment regarding its spending allocations for 1997-98 and 1998-99; and if he will make a statement. [12648]
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Mr. Alistair Darling): My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Employment and I have many discussions with each other. The House will be aware that, as a result of the windfall tax on the privatised utilities, we were able to allocate almost £4 billion to the Department for Education and Employment, including £1.3 billion to refurbish and repair schools. In addition to that, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer was able to allocate a further £1 billion for schools spending next year.
Mr. Davey: I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for his reply. Does he not accept, however, that because of the difficult overall financial position of local authorities, councils will find it very hard to pass on increases in education spending to schools in full other than by slashing spending on social services? Will he therefore consider either abolishing capping completely, or making minor changes--for instance, introducing a separate and higher cap just for education spending?
Mr. Darling: The hon. Gentleman will no doubt recall that we discussed those matters when I visited his party conference in Eastbourne, but, whatever other effects I had there, my message clearly did not get through to him.
It is necessary for the Government to keep tight control of public spending if we are to achieve the stability that we need for the good of the country's economic future, and if we are to be able to put public spending on a sustainable footing in the future. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor made £1 billion available for front-line teaching next year, from which many local authorities--and, most important, many parents and pupils--will benefit. We make no bones about the fact that the next two years will be very hard, and hard choices will have to be made; but we believe that that is essential if we are to benefit schools in the future.
I should add, for the hon. Gentleman's benefit, that by abolishing the assisted places scheme we have ensured that extra money, over and above the sums to which I have referred, goes into the classrooms where the money counts.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory:
Will the Chief Secretary confirm that higher inflation since the general election has cut the value of public expenditure? In particular, he will be aware that written parliamentary answers from his Department show that revenue spending on education and training will be lower this year than was planned by the previous Government. Does he also agree that next year total public expenditure will also be lower than we planned for the same reasons? Given that these have been confirmed in writing by his Department, will the Chief Secretary take this opportunity to confirm both these points about education expenditure this year and general expenditure next year, and will he do it clearly and without evasion?
Mr. Darling:
I knew that the Tories were now the caring party but it seems that they are now the party of public expenditure, which will come as some news not just to the House but to people outside. Of course I am aware of the parliamentary answer to which the right hon. Gentleman refers because I answered it. Surely he must accept two things. First, he cannot possibly say that the spending totals that have been allocated for this year were inadequate because it was his party that allocated them before it left office. Secondly, inflation has increased because the right hon. Gentleman's colleagues failed to take any action to restrain the inflationary pressures in the economy when they had ample opportunity to do so before the last election. That is the legacy that we all have to live with, and we are tackling it through a number of measures.
2. Mr. Stunell:
In which year since 1967 the total tax per litre of petrol represented the highest proportion of average male earnings, and in which year the lowest; and if he will make a statement. [12649]
The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Dawn Primarolo):
Tax per litre of petrol as a proportion of average male earnings was highest in the period that the hon. Gentleman asks about--1967--although it is currently higher than it has been at any point since 1982 and it is rising due to the commitment on the fuel duty escalator.
Mr. Stunell:
Does the Minister agree that the figures give scope for turning the projected green Budget this
Dawn Primarolo:
I should remind the hon. Gentleman that the commitments on the fuel duty escalator will by 2010 bring in another £2.5 million towards our CO 2 target for reducing emissions. His party should make up its mind about where it stands on fuel duty. One minute the Liberal Democrats tell us that they are against rises because they say that such rises damage rural communities, and the next minute they tell us to put them up even higher to save the environment. Which one is it?
Mr. Green:
What is the cost to the ambulance service and the police service of the Chancellor's Budget decision to put a 1p higher rate of increase on petrol duty and to advance its date? The Financial Secretary will be aware that that is causing severe difficulties for important public services and adding to the resource problems caused by the Budget.
Dawn Primarolo:
The hon. Gentleman should be congratulating us on giving an extra £300 million to the health service this year and £1.1 billion next year, which will adequately cope with its expenses.
Mr. William Ross:
While the intention to have a green Budget may be laudable, those who live in the greenest parts of the United Kingdom--the rural areas--have great difficulty in meeting the constantly rising costs of fuel. What do the Government intend to do about that large group of people for whom cars are a necessity?
Dawn Primarolo:
I remind the hon. Gentleman that the Government cut VAT on fuel precisely to assist people to keep warm. In assessing future taxes in connection with the environment, the Government must be sure that they are contributing to the CO 2 reduction target. Irrespective of where people live they are not excluded from involvement in reaching that target.
Mr. Swinney:
Since the Budget was announced in July, has the Minister given any further consideration to developing differential pricing for petrol as between rural and urban communities, and in some way using the duty to influence that proposal?
Dawn Primarolo:
Is that yet another policy? The answer to the hon. Gentleman's question is no.
3. Mr. Fabian Hamilton:
What assessment he has made of the effect of the reformed private finance initiative on projects for schools. [12650]
The Paymaster General (Mr. Geoffrey Robinson):
The House will be pleased to know that the reformed private finance initiative is making good progress on all fronts, particularly schools. Four of the six prioritised
Mr. Hamilton:
I thank the Paymaster General for that reply. Will he give us an assurance that the valuable development work in PFI Pathfinder schools such as Cardinal Heenan Roman Catholic high school in my constituency--surprise, surprise--will act as a model for the capital investment that is urgently needed in many school buildings?
Mr. Robinson:
My hon. Friend is right. Cardinal Heenan is an important Pathfinder school. He will remember that I met its headmaster, the chair of governors and the leader of Leeds local education authority at my office here and that good progress is being made. My hon. Friend will also be aware that Pathfinder projects generally are going well. The Department for Education and Employment is extending great support to that school and I believe that a preferred bidder is shortly to be announced.
Mr. Yeo:
How many schools will close and how many teachers will be sacked because of the Government's introduction of a tax on the dividend income of pension funds? Will the Government now give a cast-iron guarantee that councils will be given extra cash next year to meet the higher pension contributions that result from the Government's Budget in July?
Mr. Robinson:
I am not sure how that question arises, but let me assure--[Interruption.] I am very pleased that it has arisen. Let me assure the hon. Gentleman that, over the next four years, we are putting £1.3 billion into school buildings. The education budget has been increased and share prices are still higher than at the time of the building, so there has been none of the impact that he wanted perhaps and direly predicted.
| Next Section
| Index | Home Page |