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2 Apr 2003 : Column 903—continued
Local Authority/Business Partnerships
4. Mr. Andrew Miller (Ellesmere Port and Neston): What action he is taking to encourage partnership work between local authorities and business. [106162]
The Deputy Prime Minister (Mr. John Prescott): We are legislating to introduce business improvement districts in the Local Government Bill. Those schemes will allow local authorities and businesses to work together to put in place projects to improve their areas. Projects should include landscaping, more frequent street cleaning or faster removal of graffiti.
We are also legislating in the Bill to introduce local authority growth incentives. The aim is to increase the incentive for local authorities to work in partnership with local business and others to maximise local economic growth and regeneration.
Mr. Miller : My right hon. Friend will know of the success of Cheshire Oaks in my constituency. Last year, it attracted nearly 7 million day visitors. The project is a partnership between the private sector in the form of McArthur Glen and the public sector in the form of the
local authority and central Government. All have played important roles. Several Departments have been involved, most recently through West Cheshire college, which provides training for retail staff. Will my right hon. Friend bring that success to the attention of all his ministerial colleagues because all Departments have a role in such schemes?
The Deputy Prime Minister: My hon. Friend is right to describe such schemes as successful partnerships between the private and the public sectors. The Bill to which I referred takes that further to allow improved contracts between local authorities and local businesses by funding a levy system, which would permit an addition to the business rate.
Mr. Gary Streeter (South-West Devon): In his mission to bring together local authorities and businesses, is the Deputy Prime Minister pursuing a strategy of unity in adversity? Does he know that, throughout the west country, councils and local firms are coming together, united in their opposition to a financial settlement that is leading to such massive council tax increases, closely followed by national insurance contribution increases? They constitute a tax on jobs.
The Deputy Prime Minister: It is a pity that the hon. Gentleman did not refer to the partnerships that have been established in the west country in the public and private sectors and developed by the west country development companies. They have provided many jobs and the hon. Gentleman should pay attention to that.
Social Exclusion (Sport)
5. Tony Cunningham (Workington): What the role of sport is in his campaign against social exclusion. [106163]
The Minister for Social Exclusion and Deputy Minister for Women (Mrs. Barbara Roche): Sport is an important part of neighbourhood renewal. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has now met its commitment under the national strategy for neighbourhood renewal of a £750 million lottery-funded programme to enhance school sports facilities, especially in deprived areas.
Tony Cunningham: May I draw the Minister's attention to the report on sport and social inclusion recently published by the Central Council of Physical Recreation? To place it in context, I should like to quote a young teenager who said:
- "It's good coming to . . . football because usually we play chicken—where the winner is the last person to jump out of the car we've set on fire."
Mrs. Roche: I agree with my hon. Friend, who is absolutely right that sport can play an important role in areas of social deprivation. It can provide good diversion schemes, particularly for young people. I know that in my hon. Friend's constituency, Keswick
town council has consulted local young people on the redevelopment of Fitz park, which my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister visited in February this year.
Bob Russell (Colchester): Will the Minister have a word with her colleagues in the Department for Education and Skills and explain that sport is important in education as well as in the community? With 75 per cent. of our young people not participating in the minimum two hours of physical education currently recommended on the school curriculum, that shows where the problem lies. Social exclusion and sport should go together.
Mrs. Roche: I shall certainly draw my hon. Friend's remarks to the attention of my colleagues in the Department for Education and Skills. I am also aware that many of the new deal for communities partnerships encourage sport, particularly among young people, and much good work is being carried out in that direction.
Mr. Derek Wyatt (Sittingbourne and Sheppey): When the audit of sport facilities gets under way, will the Minister ensure that it starts in poorer communities first, so we can assess what facilities are available for the socially excluded?
Mrs. Roche: My hon. Friend makes a good point, which I shall ensure is drawn to the attention of the appropriate Ministers.
Post Office
6. Dr. Vincent Cable (Twickenham): If he will make a statement on his recent meeting with the National Federation of Sub-Postmasters. [106164]
The Deputy Prime Minister (Mr. John Prescott): On 10 March 2003 I chaired a meeting with the National Federation of Sub-Postmasters on behalf of the Prime Minister, who was unable to attend due to urgent parliamentary business. I was accompanied by my hon. Friend the Minister for E-Commerce and Competitiveness at the Department of Trade and Industry. We discussed a range of issues affecting the post office network, including the universal banking system.
Dr. Cable: I congratulate the Deputy Prime Minister on his successful intervention in the Department for Work and Pensions, which has reduced from eight to seven the number of bureaucratic obstacles facing pensioners opening a Post Office card account. Is he aware that that Department subsequently got its own back by requiring the Post Office to issue a banning order on leaflets from Age Concern, which offers advice to pensioners? Will the Deputy Prime Minister kindly intervene again?
The Deputy Prime Minister: I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman's remarks. He makes a fair point that the postmasters felt that there was too much bureaucracy in the development of the new card system, so we were pleased to be able to make changes to meet those
criticisms. I note what the hon. Gentleman says and I will pass on his comments to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.
Mr. Ronnie Campbell (Blyth Valley): Will my right hon. Friend make a statement on Crown post offices, which are closing all over the country, including in Northumberland. In Blyth, in my constituency, the last one will close at the end of this month. Will my right hon. Friend clear this up matter and tell us why Crown post offices are closing all over the country?
The Deputy Prime Minister: My hon. Friend will be aware that many thousands of post offices have closed. The Government have made available nearly £2 billion in subsidy to help make the sort of changes that he has described, both nationally and in rural areas. In the urban areas to which my hon. Friend referred, a fund of £210 million was announced, I think in December, to help areas deprived of post offices. We have laid out our criteria, and that should assist in preventing further closures.
David Davis (Haltemprice and Howden): The National Consumer Council, the Association of Subpostmasters, the National Federation of Sub-Postmasters, and Help the Aged have all criticised the new Post Office system. They say that the scheme has not been thought through, that obstacles have been put in the way of benefit recipients who want a Post Office card account, and that the new scheme will not meet the needs of the poor, the elderly or the disabled, who depend on it. Does the Deputy Prime Minister believe that all those organisations are wrong?
The Deputy Prime Minister: No, I think that the sub-postmasters made genuine criticisms of the Government. As the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) noted, we addressed one of the criticisms. It was a step in the right direction. Other criticisms were made, and we are in active discussion with the sub-postmasters. As the right hon. Gentleman knows, the universal banking system was launched only yesterday. We hope that services will continue to improve, and that will benefit the post offices.
David Davis: I thank the Deputy Prime Minister for that constructive response. However, as he knows, only one person in 20 wanted the changes, and fewer than one in 10 have taken up the Post Office card. Post offices face massive cuts in their income and are now being told that they will be paid less per transaction than in the past. That will cause even more serious income problems. Will the right hon. Gentleman confirm or refute that members of Post Office management are being given incentives based on the number of post offices being closed?
The Deputy Prime Minister: I am not aware of the point that the right hon. Gentleman makes. I shall bring the matter to the attention of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, who deals with these matters. However, I was powerfully impressed by the National Federation of Sub-Postmasters. Its members want change and are grateful for the £2 billion that we have given to assist in that
change. That compares with what happened under the previous Administration: they gave nothing, and just sat there and watched the decline of post offices.
Geraint Davies (Croydon, Central): When my right hon. Friend was discussing the closure of urban post offices—four have closed in my constituency—did he discuss opportunities for councils to provide information points at post offices and sub-post offices? Should not the Government encourage a broader range of products, not just the lottery but connections for internet services and so on, so as to encourage more commercial opportunities for post offices and thereby ensure that they are viable in the future?
The Deputy Prime Minister: It was very clear to me from the meeting with the sub-postmasers that they very much welcome the general practitioners for Government role, and that offices could be accessed for a lot more information than at present. There is an awful lot of discussion going on about that. We tried two experiments under the "Your Guide" principle in Leicestershire and Rutland, for which we provided £25 million. So far, we have not been convinced that that is the proper way to go, but we are in continuing discussions with the Post Office.
Bob Spink (Castle Point): Does the Deputy Prime Minister take any responsibility at all for the universal bank account? If so, will he take action to try to make the account more user friendly, so that users can at least set up standing orders and direct debits in order to take advantage of discounts on the utilities?
The Deputy Prime Minister: The hon. Gentleman makes a very fair point. The sub-postmasters made the point strongly that they wanted that. They feel that there are too many obstructions when it comes to transferring direct payments from the Department for Work and Pensions into people's accounts. We are doing all that we can to improve that.
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