| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Andrew Bennett: The concession on morris dancing and traditional dance is very worthwhile, but may I press my right hon. Friend to consider extending the interpretation of traditional dance to cover traditional performance? Pace-eggers, soulers and similar groups go around pubs. What they do can hardly be called a dance, but it is a performance that ought to be covered by this concession.
Mr. Caborn: As I said earlier, we have conceded that. We believe that many such activities do not need to be licensed in any case. That was the position that we took, but we were asked to reflect on it and we have done so. We have brought back sensible amendments: some may not be necessary, but if they reassure Members of both Houses and the general public they will have served a useful purpose.
Lords amendments Nos. 62D to 62J to Commons Amendment No. 62B agreed to.
It being more than one hour after the commencement of proceedings, Madam Deputy Speaker put forthwith the Questions necessary to dispose of the business to be concluded at that hour, pursuant to Order [24 June].
Lords amendment No. 62L in lieu of words left out of the Bill by Commons amendment No. 62 agreed to.
DELEGATED LEGISLATION
Motion made, and Question put forthwith, pursuant to Standing Order No. 118(6)(Standing Committees on Delegated Legislation),
Income Tax
That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that the Double Taxation Relief (Taxes on Income) (Canada) Order 2003 be made in the form of the draft laid before this House on 18th June.—[Jim Fitzpatrick.]
Motion made, and Question put forthwith, pursuant to Standing Order No. 118(6)(Standing Committees on Delegated Legislation),
- That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that the Double Taxation Relief (Taxes on Income) (Mauritius) Order 2003 be made in the form of the draft laid before this House on 18th June.—[Jim Fitzpatrick.]
Motion made, and Question put forthwith, pursuant to Standing Order No. 118(6)(Standing Committees on Delegated Legislation),
London Government
- That the draft Greater London Authority Elections (Election Addresses) Order 2003, which was laid before this House on 18th June, be approved.—[Jim Fitzpatrick.]
Motion made, and Question put forthwith, pursuant to Standing Order No. 118(6)(Standing Committees on Delegated Legislation),
Northern Ireland
- That the draft Budget (No. 2) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003, which was laid before this House on 17th June, be approved.—[Jim Fitzpatrick.]
Animals
- That the Animal By-Products Regulations 2003 (S.I., 2003, No. 1482), be referred to a Standing Committee on Delegated Legislation.—[Jim Fitzpatrick.]
SITTINGS OF THE HOUSE
- That—
(1) at the sittings on Monday 14th, Tuesday 15th, Wednesday 16th and Thursday 17th July, the Speaker shall not adjourn the House until any Message from the Lords has been received and any Committee to draw up Reasons which has been appointed at that sitting has reported; and
(2) at the sitting on Thursday 17th July, the Speaker shall not adjourn the House until he has reported the Royal Assent to any Act agreed upon by both Houses.—[Jim Fitzpatrick.]
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
- That at the sitting on Thursday 17th July, the Motion for the Adjournment of the House in the name of the Prime Minister relating to matters to be considered before the forthcoming adjournment may be proceeded with, though opposed, for three hours, and shall then lapse if not previously disposed of.—[Jim Fitzpatrick.]
PETITION
Social Care Funding
11.8 pm
Dr. Evan Harris (Oxford, West and Abingdon): I want to present a petition calling for an end to cuts in social services provision that have been forced on Oxfordshire county council by the underfunding of successive Governments. It is from Mr. Kevin Preen, a man with learning disabilities, and his organisation My Life, My Choice, a local self-advocacy organisation run by and for people with learning disabilities in Oxfordshire; from Mrs. Wendy Preece, the parent of a child with complex disabilities; and from members of the organisation Force, a group of local parents, carers and supporters who have been campaigning actively to preserve and develop services for disabled children and their families in Oxfordshire, along with other campaigners in Oxfordshire.
Those service users, carers and campaigners have collected over 20,000 names. This is one of the largest ever petitions from a single county.
- Wherefore your Petitioners pray that the Honourable House of Commons will ask Her Gracious Majesty's Government to respond to our grave concerns by setting up a review of social care funding to make social care a higher priority; to ensure that adequate respite care is available by right for those who need it; and to guarantee a minimum level of provision so as to promote more widely and inclusively the health and well-being of service users and carers within their local communities.
And your Petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray, etc.
Motability
Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.—[Jim Fitzpatrick.]
11.10 pm
Ian Stewart (Eccles): I shall begin by declaring a deep and personal interest in the subject that I intend to raise this evening—a point to which I shall return if time permits.
I am pleased to have secured this debate, in this the European year of disabled people, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the introduction of the Motability scheme in 1978. It allows me to pay tribute to the work of one of my illustrious predecessors as MP for Eccles, Lewis Carter-Jones, who championed disability issues and helped to craft legislation that would provide a wide range of services for disabled people. The Minister will be relieved to learn that I am not raising a complex constituency case. I can honestly say that, in my six years in Parliament, I have had only a couple of complaints about the Motability scheme, and those have been resolved.
No doubt there are measures that could be undertaken to improve the Motability scheme, but tonight I want to applaud the work of those involved in its establishment. I hope that as policy makers, we will draw some general lessons from the bold steps that our predecessors took at a time when the economic climate was exceptionally tough; after all, the UK was then enduring the strictures of the International Monetary Fund's squeeze on spending. However, to set the introduction of Motability in context, we should go back to the introduction of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970—a Back-Bench measure that was piloted through the House of Commons by a man who would become the world's first Minister for the disabled in 1974: Alf Morris, now Lord Morris of Manchester. I know that my hon. Friend the Member for Wythenshawe and Sale, East (Paul Goggins) joins me in paying tribute to his constituency predecessor, who is renowned nationally and internationally for the work that he has done for people with disabilities.
Lord Morris has demonstrated total dedication and the vital skill of balancing a commitment to principle with the ability to negotiate, encouraging and cajoling in equal measure to deliver real benefits for disabled people. The 1970 Act introduced a range of measures covering identification, information, social services, housing, education, access to the built environment and parking concessions. As the Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation pointed out in its 25th anniversary review of the Act, it helped to create a demand for those things that the Act itself did not provide:
- "self determination, choice, full civil rights and the money to exercise those rights."
Lord Morris recalled that a lady caller to Greater Manchester Radio's Alan Beswick show thanked him for giving her the "infidelity allowance". Leaving aside
just how much that one may cost any Government, the lady was grateful for the additional money that any form of invalidity allowance would give her, and she also had the freedom to spend it as she chose.Before 1976, help with mobility was given only to people who could drive, so if someone was too disabled or too young to drive, no special assistance was provided. Social inclusion was a distant dream then. The motability allowance was introduced in 1976 and its value was doubled within a year. People in receipt of motability allowance were also exempt from vehicle excise duty. Those combined measures offered disabled people a real choice about how to meet their mobility needs, but it soon became clear that disabled people without other resources would not be able to purchase a car.
The search was on for a new way to help disabled people get on the road. I stress that Motability would not have got off the ground without the finance provided by the motability allowance. That was the powerhouse for the new scheme. We then saw the development of a genuine "social partnership"—with the Government, the voluntary sector, banks and businesses coming together to establish Motability and its finance arm, Motability Finance Ltd. The whole House, including the then shadow Secretary of State, Patrick Jenkin, welcomed the initiative in a truly non-partisan way.
I should like to pay tribute to the political input of Labour Ministers of the time: Jim Callaghan, the Prime Minister; David Ennals; Alf Morris; and, of course, Denis Healey. With other Ministers—a Cabinet Committee for the disabled was established—they set the conditions for the birth of this important service. Sir Peter Large made an important contribution from the voluntary sector. Civil servants and others were seconded to establish the service, and the Chancellor Denis Healey bravely relaxed the corset on the banks' permitted credit limit by £100 million. That was crucial to providing the necessary finance. I also want to pay tribute to the late Lord Goodman, Lord Sterling, the current Motability chair, and Sir John Quinton for their role in getting the money delivered.
Evidence of the success of the scheme is highlighted by the following statistics. In 1976–77, help under the private car allowance cost about £2 million, or £25 million at today's prices. Our Labour Government now spend £3.9 billion on motability allowance alone with, I believe, about 2 million recipients. More than 1.5 million cars were provided in Motability's first 25 years. Disabled people can now, like the rest of us, use their cars to shop, visit family and friends and go to work—the ordinary things in life.
Since 1997, the Government have introduced a number of measures, about which the Minister may say more, to help disabled people. Labour has established the Disability Rights Commission, extended coverage of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, and introduced the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001. Again in passing, I would like to commend the work of Springwood, a very special school in my constituency, whose official opening I was pleased to attend last month. The Government have also improved benefit provision for the disabled, including an extension of motability payments to children aged three and four.
Against that background, I was astonished to learn that no other country in the world has followed our lead on motability allowance and Motability. I believe there are 37 million disabled people in the EU and 600 million worldwide. Surely there must be greater scope for us to promote our success abroad and offer our expertise to other countries. Motability makes the best use of money available because it is a bulk purchaser, and Motability cars form the biggest second-hand market in the UK. I know that the economic circumstances in Europe and elsewhere may not appear to be at their most favourable but, as I pointed out earlier, motability allowance and Motability were introduced in the UK at a time of severe economic stringency. However, the political will existed to tackle intractable problems and change social priorities. Political will is, as ever, the key to achievement.
I wish Motability continued success in meeting the motoring needs of disabled people. I have already paid tribute to its chair of governors, Lord Sterling, and wish also to commend its director, Noel Muddiman, and its entire staff. I hope that in the next 25 years we will see the rolling out of finance for Motability and similar organisations set up in many other countries.
My hon. Friend the Member for Aberdeen, South (Miss Begg) wishes to make a contribution based on her personal experience, but disability does not affect only disabled people. It touches almost every person in the country, because we all have friends and family who have disabilities. I wish to mention two important women in my life in that regard. One was my mother, Helen Stewart, who having had five heart attacks over 30 or so years, started to show signs of the onset of Alzheimer's. The pressure of caring for my mother fell on my younger sister, Margaret, and it was a great relief when, with the help of Motability, a car was bought that allowed my mother some quality of life in her remaining years. For that, I am grateful to Motability.
The second important woman is my mother-in-law, Joyce Holding, who is seriously ill, but who is challenging the world and living life to the full as best she can. Joyce Holding is proud of this Government and the local social services in Salford, our city, because in her time of need, they have delivered the services that she desperately needs and that, to be frank, we as a family need on her behalf. Within a matter of days, Joyce received the appropriate benefits to which she is entitled, and she received her blue badge, which allows the family to take her wherever she wishes to go, when she feels able. Without being over-emotional, I repeat that disability is an issue that affects our whole society—each and every one of us.
I wish Motability a happy 25th birthday and I hope that it goes from strength to strength.
| Next Section
| Index | Home Page |