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David Taylor (North-West Leicestershire): I am interested to hear that comment. Would my hon. Friend be surprised to hear that when Liberal Democrat activists campaign in what would otherwise be Tory areas in the east midlands, their line is, "Vote for us; we are the reactionary alternative to the Tories"?
Tony Cunningham: That comes as no surprise to me, because wherever Liberal Democrats are, they knock on doors and ask, "What do you want?" Whatever answer they hear, they say that they can provide it. When people get to know Liberal Democrat-run councils, they realise that the opposite is true.
There is no doubt that there is a fear of crime, although that was not helped by the right hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden (David Davis) going on about the problems associated with it. I tell him that Cumbria has the lowest crime rate in the United Kingdom. We have more police officers than ever, and a new pilot scheme in Workington that pays special constables to patrol the streets is working well. That has resulted in an extra 80 hours of police time on the streets of Workington, which the electorate greatly appreciate.
One matter that I have raised before has destroyed communities and continues to do so: unemployment. It is not mentioned in the motion, but in the 1980s and 1990s unemployment destroyed more communities in mining and steel areas than anything else. In my constituency, the unemployment rate is 3.8 per cent, the lowest that it has ever been. Workington is a small town with a population of fewer than 30,000. Since 1997, we have had a brand new bypass, two brand new roundabouts, a brand new police station, a brand new further education college, a brand new town centre and, in the next few weeks, a brand new hospital is about to be built. That is not bad for a small town with fewer than 30,000 people. [Hon. Members: "Dale Campbell-Savours got it all."] I pay tribute to my predecessor, who did a fantastic job.
Thanks to a recent announcement by the Deputy Prime Minister, west Cumbria has an urban regeneration company, which is marvellous news.
However, when we talk about communities we are not just talking about jobs. People think that it is about jobs and the amount of money that goes into the economy, but when people do not have a job and have to move out of an area, they take more than their money and skills with them. Many of those made unemployed were parish councillors, members of rotary or sporting clubs, or active in charity work. They made a difference to their communities but, as a result of unemployment, they are no longer able to do so.We still have communities in west Cumbria, and we are proud of that. I recently launched three parish plans for Bridekirk, Gilcrux and Broughton in my constituency. There was a consultation, and more than 80 per cent. of people in those villages responded by contributing to the village plan in which they are interested and want to be involved. The First Responders, a first aid group, was launched in many small villages in west Cumbria. Its members are the first on the scene of an accident, even before the paramedics. People are helping others in their community by working at carnivals and lots of other events. There are therefore still real communities in my constituency.
One thing comes across loud and clear when I knock on people's doors. They say that there are still issues and problems, but they genuinely believe that things are improving in education, health, crime and everything else. However, there is a clear message on the doorstep: God forbid that we should ever return to the desperately dark days of Tory government.
5.22 pm
Dr. Andrew Murrison (Westbury): I have listened with great interest to the contributions of right hon. and hon. Members this afternoon. I was particularly interested in the contributions of the hon. Members for South Dorset (Jim Knight), for Ogmore (Huw Irranca-Davies) and for Workington (Tony Cunningham), who painted a picture of life in this country which, after weeks of knocking on doors during the election campaign, bears little resemblance to the situation on the ground in west Wiltshire.
One of our chief concerns in west Wiltshire is the threatened imminent closure of Trowbridge magistrates court. Most hon. Members would agree that one of the chief concerns of people whom we have canvassed is the fear of crime. Recently, a police officer told me that it is difficult to get witnesses and, indeed, perpetrators of crime to turn up at court at all. If the courthouse moves several miles to Chippenham, there will be no chance whatever of their doing so. I am sure that most hon. Members agree that it is important that justice is seen to be dispensed locally and in a local context. It is a matter of great regret that the Government are intent on moving our magistrates courts to vast justice factories in larger urban centres. That is causing a great deal of concern to local people and is degrading the standard of justice that we can dispense locally.
David Taylor: I declare an interest as a member of the Magistrates' Association. Will the hon. Gentleman
remind the House of the closure rate for magistrates courts in the 18 years between 1979 and 1997? I should add, however, that I do not dissent from his main points.
Dr. Murrison: To be honest, I am not particularly interested in history. Like my constituents, I am interested in what is happening now and what we can do to make sure that we retain the notion of local justice. I am sure that the hon. Gentleman shares that concern, and I hope that he will apply pressure to those on his Front Bench to make sure that we retain our smaller local magistrates courts. In west Wiltshire we hope to retain a system of local justice that has served local people well for many years and has greatly helped to ensure that people remain safe locally. I hope that in the weeks ahead, as Ministers consider the future of Trowbridge magistrates court, they will bear that in mind and accept the appeal made by Conservative-controlled Wiltshire county council against the decision of Wiltshire magistrates court committee.
Many hon. Members have mentioned post offices today. Without doubt, the shift to direct payment in post offices threatens the viability of many of them, including several in my constituency. In Westminster Hall in March, the then Minister said:
- "The move to direct payment provides a more secure and efficient method of payment that will make life easier for people."—[Official Report, Westminster Hall, 27 March 2003; Vol. 402, c. 155WH.]
One of the problems that have arisen in recent months with the introduction of the direct payment method has been the information given to our constituents. Many hon. Members will remember the leaflets that the Post Office produced to advertise the three new options available for the payment of benefits. I remember that in the first of those leaflets, it was only on page 10 that there was any recognition of the fact that people could continue to get their benefits from the post office. I admit—I try to be fair when I can—that more recent iterations of the literature have promoted the post office option to page 3 or 4, so that is progress. It is important that we recognise that many people who would like to draw their benefits directly from post office counters are among the more vulnerable in society and need to have the various options explained to them clearly and concisely.
Mr. Oliver Heald (North-East Hertfordshire): Does my hon. Friend agree that it is a recognition of the magnitude of the problem that early-day motion 572 now has 314 signatures from all parts of the House, making the point that the information needs to be improved and that there should be a level playing field?
Dr. Murrison: I am grateful to my hon. Friend for making that important point. I am also gratified to note that the early-day motion attracted cross-party support. That is an acknowledgement of the importance of the matter to our constituents.
Ministers have made it clear that they believe that the Post Office card account will not be the best option for many people, yet they appear to be steering people away
from it. If they recognise that it may not be the best option for some people, they need to be explicit about which people it would not benefit. I should be grateful if the Minister could comment on that. If the Government recognise that there is a group of people for whom the change may not be suitable, they should target them and recommend to them, or at least bring to their attention, the continued availability of services through post offices.The Government's consultation exercise on the future of the Post Office appears to have ignored special interest groups. I was particularly distressed to find that the thoughts of the Royal National Institute of the Blind's sensory design services group seem not to have been taken adequately into account in the Government's proposals. In particular, the RNIB is concerned about the PIN pad that the Government want installed in post offices, and the implications of that for people with eyesight difficulties. There is also very little evidence that the Government have adequately taken into account the interests of wheelchair users and those whose manual dexterity is not very good, and even those who might have difficulty remembering a PIN. I would probably count myself in the latter category.
Some 40 per cent. of sub-postmasters' incomes comes from the payment of benefits, but footfall is more important to the continued viability of these marginal businesses. On 11 April, in answer to a written question to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions asking what assessment he had made of the potential financial effects on post offices of the reduction in footfall that the changes would bring, the Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the hon. Member for Croydon, North (Malcolm Wicks), said:
- "The Department has made no such assessment."—[Official Report, 11 April 2003; Vol. 403, c. 468W.]
Linked with post offices is the plight of the newspaper distribution industry. Many hon. Members will have in their constituencies post offices that are closely aligned with newsagents. In many small communities, newspapers are sold alongside post office services. I am therefore somewhat concerned—I am sure that my concern is shared across the House—about the cartels that appear to be operating in relation to the distribution of newspapers. The issue has been the subject of a campaign by the National Federation of Retail Newsagents and I have been lobbied hard by newsagents in my constituency. Newsagents are a vital part of communities, especially in small towns and rural areas, and we must do everything that we can to ensure their continued viability.
I should like to make a few brief remarks about community pharmacies. On 9 April, I presented to the House a petition on community pharmacies with more than 1,600 signatures, which brought to a total of 2,800 the number of signatures that have been garnered in Westbury in protest against the recommendations of the Office of Fair Trading. More recently, the Wiltshire
local pharmaceutical committee has written to me about the OFT report. It very wisely pointed out that medicines are not commodities to be purchased at the lowest possible cost and that, in buying a medicine from a community pharmacist, one is also buying a valuable service. I have no confidence that the OFT recommendations would do anything to enhance the service that is provided to our constituents.There has been something of a delay in the publication of the Government's response to the OFT report. We now expect an interim report in June and a definitive report by the summer. Given the obvious concern about the report throughout the country, I hope that the Government will bring that assessment forward and delay no further their definitive comment about how they envisage that the OFT recommendations will progress. In particular, I draw to Ministers' attention the fact that the devolved Assemblies in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have on this occasion had the very good sense to turn down the OFT recommendations. I hope very much that Ministers will bear that in mind and I trust that they have consulted colleagues in the devolved Assemblies to find out how they have designed their services and how those might best be prosecuted in this country in future.
Every cloud has a silver lining, so we must ask who benefits from the demise of post offices, small newsagents and high street chemists. The answer is that some of the big out-of-town retail outlets will benefit. These are the so-called sheds, some of whose proprietors, stars of the weekend rich list, have been financially obliging to new Labour. There, perhaps, is our silver lining.
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