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Mr. Allan: Does the hon. Gentleman share my concern about some of the comments that have been made about school funding? They seem to suggest that money allocated via LEAs is not entirely in the hands of governors and head teachers. Under the local management of schools system, heads and governors have always decided how to spend their block grant from the LEA. Often, the money from the Department for Education and Employment is more constrained than money from the LEA, which is a block grant for heads and governors to spend at their discretion.
Mr. Shaw: I presume that the money that has been announced will go into the delegated budgets to which the hon. Gentleman referred. Although we want targeted outcomes, with no money wasted on bureaucracy, we need to incorporate some flexibility so that head teachers do not return the money--as some of those to whom I have spoken suggested they might do. We need a broad approach, rather than such strict categories. I hope that Ministers will take note of that point, especially in the light of my right hon. Friend's remarks about flexibility.
Overall, however, the extra spending is welcome--£600,000 for schools in my constituency cannot be sniffed at.
Equally welcome is the substantial boost for the national health service. A 6 per cent. increase will take the service into a new era and will meet the aspirations of the country. People want that massive expenditure.
Since we were elected, we have been building up the service. The accident and emergency department at Medway hospital in my constituency was dilapidated; there had been no investment since the 1970s. The final stage of its refurbishment is now being completed. That would not have happened without the additional resources that the Government have allocated.
The Conservatives have committed themselves to our spending commitments on health and--today--on education. However, they are also committed to cut overall taxation if they are elected at the next general election. How will they square all those extra billions of pounds that we plan to put in, if they bring about another recession? How will they pay the dole cheques? Who will be first in line for cuts in the public services? If it is not to be schools or hospitals, will it be roads or local authorities? Who will be first in the firing line? The hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs. May) did not answer that question. I do not think that the Conservatives will give us an answer, but the question is legitimate and we shall ask it constantly. The electorate will want to know the answer, because Conservative policy does not add up.
Meanwhile, there will be many calls on the additional resources in the health budget. I shall make my pitch now. The Children (Leaving Care) Bill is being considered in the other place. The Bill is superb. I have worked with young people leaving care and am aware of the many deficiencies in the system. We all have responsibility for that--irrespective of political party. Up to 75 per cent. of young people leaving care have no educational qualifications. Up to 50 per cent. of those young people are unemployed and 20 per cent. experience homelessness within two years.
The Bill is excellent, apart from one aspect--the statutory age is raised only to 18. All the research, including that described in the splendid document, "Me, Survive, Out There?: New Arrangements for Young People Living in and Leaving Care", suggests that the age should be 21. The Government have stated their aspiration that it should be 21, if finances are available. However, if the money is not available now, it never will be. I make that pitch on behalf of those young people.
On average, young people in stable families with a reasonable upbringing leave home at the age of 23. The most abused youngsters in our community leave care at the age of 16 or 17--we are now raising the age to 18. We must raise it to 21.
Recently, I met a young man who had been in care, where he was managing to study for his A-levels--quite unusual among that group--but when he reached his 18th birthday, he was told, "You are leaving, you are going into a bedsit". That was four months before he was due to finish his A-levels. What a disgrace. Not surprisingly, he did not manage to complete his studies, although he has now started again. I am glad to say that the social services department has rectified the matter and he is now in supportive accommodation. But why should he have had to face that problem in the first place? That happens to hundreds of young people leaving care.
Finally, I want to mention the paper industry. Some 1.4 million tonnes of paper and board is produced every year in my constituency. Over recent years, the paper industry has contracted--a painful process, in which many skilled workers lost their jobs, due to overcapacity and the strength of the pound. There have been shut-downs because of global ownership. Last year, a mill in my constituency owned by Kimberly-Clark closed with the loss of 250 jobs. The mill was profitable, but, because of overcapacity, the company decided to close it. The other Kimberly-Clark mill is in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Gravesham (Mr. Pond), who is in the Chamber. He was obviously relieved that his mill was not the one that closed. There are similar examples of mill closures in Kent and throughout the country.
However, there are major opportunities for the paper industry--not only through job creation, but in the protection of our environment. I refer to paper recycling. The UK's current recycling rate is relatively low compared with those of other major EU nations. We recycle about 40.5 per cent., compared with Germany's 70 per cent. and the Netherlands' 62 per cent. Figures from the Paper Federation of Great Britain Ltd. show that, for every thousand tonnes of paper that we recycle, we create 13 jobs--not necessarily at the mill itself, but in street collections and other processes in the green-collar industry.
Everyone is committed to recycling. We all think it is a good idea, nationally and locally--for example, through local Agenda 21 programmes. Local authorities in my constituency are no exception. However, in order for councils to collect paper or other goods for recycling, there must be somewhere for them to take the material--there has to be a processing site. At present, all the recycling mills in the UK are full to capacity. There are three such mills--one of them is in my constituency. If the councils have nowhere to take the material and cannot set up long-term contracts, recycling will not happen.
We need to consider other ways to finance recycling. If we could make more imaginative use of the landfill tax--perhaps by considering hypothecation to local authorities so that they can set up recycling schemes--there would be the capacity to provide mills and the paper companies would have the confidence to invest. It costs about £250 million to set up a mill with a capacity of 350,000 tonnes--that is about the minimum needed to make those operations work. The landfill tax is innovative, but we need to consider other measures. We need to involve local authorities, which will have to collect the waste paper, so that they can provide the amounts of paper needed by large mills to make the process viable.
Failing that, under the comprehensive spending review, the Government might consider providing financial assistance to companies who want to set up mills. At present, the risk is too great. If there is no revenue stream for the local authority to collect the paper, the step between collection and mill operation is too wide. Companies are not prepared to risk that investment and there is no sign that another mill will be set up.
Mr. Crispin Blunt (Reigate):
It is a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Chatham and Aylesford (Mr. Shaw). I have done that before and have learned to respect his expertise and experience in child care issues. I listened to his remarks on that and on the Bill going through the Lords with great interest.
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