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Declares that the below petitioners are concerned for the future of their local Post Office in Fort Augustus and the damaging economic and social effects that any closure would have on their community.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the government to reconsider its proposed closure programme before irreparable damage is done to the community of Fort Augustus and other Highland communities.
And the petitioners remain, etc.
Nursery Care
10.48 pm
David Howarth (Cambridge) (LD): This is a petition from professional nursery staff, parents of nursery age children and others. It states:
To the House of Commons.
The Petition of professional nursery staff, parents and others
Declares that nurseries, pre-schools and day-care providers fulfil a vital role in the development of young children; that, in this country, private, voluntary and independent nurseries provide the overwhelming majority of nursery care and education and that the Government's new Code of Practice (concerning Nursery Education Funding) fundamentally changes the rules regarding the provision of free nursery places for three and four-year olds.
Further declares that the petitioners are concerned that this new Code of Practice will: cause significant financial harm and insecurity in the nursery sector; force existing trusted nurseries out of business; create uncertainty for families and staff; and lead to a shortage of high-quality nursery education.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to halt the implementation of this Code of Practice and undertake an urgent assessment of its impact on nurseries.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.
HMRC Office (Newport)
10.49 pm
Jessica Morden (Newport, East) (Lab): I present this petition on behalf of my constituents who are concerned about the possible closure of, and relocation of jobs from, the tax office in Newport city, which is regenerating and working hard to attract jobs and investment.
That the Newport office is recognised as a centre of excellence thanks to the dedication of the staff who offer first class service to local clients. The proposed relocation would have a negative effect on the local economy and staff, the majority of whom are women with caring responsibilities, and would face a lengthy commute.
The petitioners therefore request that this House calls upon the Government to consider fully the case for retaining Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs Newport office and explore alternatives in light of the impact of staff, the economy and the environment that reorganisation would cause.
367 Bus Route (South London)
10.50 pm
Mr. Andrew Pelling (Croydon, Central) (Con): I am grateful for the opportunity to present this petition from residents of Croydon and others who are concerned about the implications of the free bus pass for under-18s, as it affects current capacity on the 367 bus route. They are also concerned about the issue of antisocial behaviour, with youth gang warfare in the locality, and are therefore seeking extra policing to deal with the matter.
That the current capacity on the 367 bus route in south London is not sufficient to cope with the demand at the end of the school day and that extra policing should be provided to deal with antisocial behaviour.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Secretary of State for Transport to ask Transport for London to improve the capacity on the 367 bus route in south London, and ensure that policing is improved on this route.
And the petitioners remain etc.
Handley Hill Primary School
10.51 pm
Mr. Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury) (Con): I am grateful for the opportunity to present a petition on behalf of the community in Handley Hill in Winsford in the county of Cheshire in my constituency, and those interested in the maintenance of primary education in Handley Hill.
The petitioners—more than 1,115 of them—are particularly concerned. Their small community has rapidly gathered signatures in support of a school that is now threatened under an absurdly named closure programme by the local education authority called TLC. Those initials are normally referred to much more kindly, but in this case they stand for transforming learning communities, which is a disguise for a proposal to close this school. Its excellent teaching is vital to the community. The committed governors, parents, grandparents, friends and indeed pupils of this excellent school are deeply concerned that its absence from education provision in a town that is often challenged by many socio-economic and behavioural issues would cause adverse consequences to a town that needs to be supported.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to take steps to resist any proposals for the closure of Handley Hill primary school as currently included within this absurdly named TLC programme and re-dedicates its support for the continuing high-quality education at this establishment.
And the petitioners remain etc.
A264 Langton Road (Tunbridge Wells)
10.53 pm
Greg Clark (Tunbridge Wells) (Con): I rise to present a petition on behalf of 767 constituents who are concerned about the safety record of the A264 at Heathgate Corner, a stretch of road that has a notorious accident record stretching over many years.
The petition of residents and users of the A264 Langton road near Tunbridge Wells declares that in the light of 11 accidents this year to date on the above road at Heathgate Corner, urgent measures should be taken to improve the safety of the road.
The petitioners therefore request the House of Commons to call upon the Secretary of State for Transport urgently to review what additional safety measures are necessary and to order improvements that will protect the lives of road users, pedestrians and residents.
And the petitioners remain etc.
School Bus Service (Burton Latimer)
10.54 pm
Mr. Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con): I wish to present a petition about the loss of the school bus service from Burton Latimer to Latimer community arts college, which was presented to me today by a delegation of 32 pupils and parents from Burton Latimer together with the Burton Latimer town mayor.
To the Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled.
The Humble Petition of Michelle Evans of 79 Queensway, Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire, the town mayor of Burton Latimer, and some 700 others of like disposition listed below sheweth
That Latimer Community Arts College, located in Barton Seagrave, is the main secondary school serving children from Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire, and attendance at the school for hundreds of local pupils is an important part of community life, but that getting to school is going to become a lot more difficult for local pupils due to the decision by Northamptonshire County Council to end the school bus service from Burton Latimer to Latimer Community Arts College.
Wherefore your Petitioners pray that your Honourable House calls upon Northamptonshire County Council to reverse its decision to end the school bus service from Burton Latimer to Latimer Community Arts College and ensure that this important school bus service remains in operation for the benefit of local pupils.
And your Petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray.
London Population (ONS)
Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.— [Mr. McAvoy.]
10.55 pm
Robert Neill (Bromley and Chislehurst) (Con): I might have cut things a little fine for my question this morning, but I have had ample leisure to repent while waiting for the debate this evening. I am grateful for the opportunity to raise an important issue for many Londoners.
It is appropriate to raise population statistics compilation in London with the Exchequer Secretary, who earlier today dealt with the motion about the chair of the Statistics Board. There is a link. In the earlier debate, several hon. Members referred to the general population’s lack of confidence in official statistics. I believe that the hon. Member for Slough (Fiona Mactaggart) made the point that one of the biggest causes of lack of confidence in official statistics is that they are sometimes demonstrably plain wrong. That is exactly the problem with the methodology that produces the official population statistics for London.
London Councils, which has been most anxious to hold such a debate, compiled compelling evidence that the methodology that the Office for National Statistics used to calculate the population of London is seriously flawed. Consequently, the official population statistic significantly understates the capital’s population. London Councils has repeatedly raised the matter with the ONS and the previous Treasury team of Ministers without success—hence its desire for a debate, and I am happy to do my best to oblige.
Lack of confidence in the London population statistics is not new. Westminster city council eventually successfully challenged the population estimates for its city and borough in the 2001 census, which had to be revised upwards after manifest errors were discovered. It was able to point out precisely what had gone wrong. Regrettably, the position has not improved. For reasons that I shall describe, the current methodology of the ONS is flawed and it now proposes to move to a different methodology, which is equally flawed, as can be demonstrated.
It may seem an arcane point, but official population statistics are important. They form part of the basis of important forward planning, such as where more homes, schools and health care facilities should go, long-term policy decisions about, for example, where new transport infrastructure should go, and operational decisions about police numbers for each borough and fire service cover. The risk assessment includes population levels and it is therefore important that the statistics are accurate. They are also important because they are part of the formula to allocate Government grant to councils for local services. If they do not reflect where the people who use the services are, resources will not be directed correctly. That leads ultimately to waste. The concern of London Councils, therefore, is that the funding cake for local government should be divided up on the basis of accurate figures, whatever its size. If it is not, the risk is that London might lose out unfairly. I should like to address that issue in a little more detail.
In summary, when London Councils compared the theoretically based estimations of population with detailed work that had been done on the ground in a number of London boroughs, it was able to demonstrate serious underestimation, in particular of the amount of in-migration to the capital. For example, the evidence shows an underestimation of 3,300 people in Enfield and of 2,000 people in Brent, as compared with the number of people who are demonstrably there on the ground in those boroughs. In Newham, it was possible to demonstrate that there were 750 more schoolchildren than were “officially estimated”—the key point is that, unlike the estimates, the schoolchildren are actually there. Similar demonstrations of inaccuracy have been made in Croydon. The problem is not just a London problem. Outside London, Slough has demonstrated an under-calculation of 6,000 people in its population.
Mr. Andrew Pelling (Croydon, Central) (Con): I am grateful to my hon. Friend for mentioning Croydon. The borough has also seen a downward revision on the various ONS calculations and assumptions. However, that has come at a time when the number of migrants registered with GPs was more than 37,000 in the five-year period to April 2007 and when the number of national insurance numbers given out from 2002 to 2006 was almost 18,000. I also know from correspondence with the Jobcentre Plus office that national insurance number registrations accelerated to 7,000 in the first 11 months of the following financial year. Places such as Croydon are suffering from problems in their local government settlement, such that the rate at which they are delivering universal services—that is, non-social services and non-education provision—is only a quarter of the rate for other London councils. Does my hon. Friend agree that the figures for migrants are having an impact on the local government financial settlements that councils enjoy?
Robert Neill: They certainly are. My hon. Friend makes a valid point. It is not good enough for the Government to say, for example, that migrants frequently move on quickly. That is not demonstrated by the evidence on the ground and nor does it deal with the point that, for a period, migrants live in London, which is often the first port of call. While they are there, they are using London services, and the cost of that has to be met in one way or another.
It is fair to say that those shortfalls are recognised by other responsible bodies, not just by the London boroughs. I remind the Exchequer Secretary of a piece in The Guardian in April, in which the Home Office Minister responsible for immigration said that
“at the very least the Office for National Statistics needs to improve its figures on which key local financing decisions are based, but it also means the tough enforcement of immigration laws, including the prosecution of employers of illegal migrants.”
That is an acceptance by one of the Exchequer Secretary’s colleagues in Government that the ONS needs to improve its act. Referring to the current method of calculating in-migration, which is based on the international passenger survey—a small sample survey of people arriving—the Governor of the Bank of England said last November:
“A survey that was designed to learn more about tourism and business travel is not the best source of data from which to learn about migration.”
That is a pretty unanswerable point. Lord Bruce-Lockhart, the chairman of the Local Government Association, has said:
“It is essential that the government gets the figures right on migration. That is currently not happening and local authorities are suffering as a consequence. Councils are finding it difficult to provide services to growing populations that are not recognised by government statistics.”
The Mayor of London and the London assembly have both complained about the inadequacy of the figures going back to the 2001 census. The Mayor has commented on the fact that the Lisson Grove estate, which contributed substantially to his majority when he was a Member of this House, seemed to have disappeared from the census calculations. It is not often that I agree with the Mayor of London, and I could not agree with him on that one.
Simon Hughes (North Southwark and Bermondsey) (LD): Does the hon. Gentleman accept that this is not a matter of party political tension? It is a shared view across the parties and among independent people across Greater London. Is he also aware that in constituencies such as mine there is a turnover of those registered of between 25 and 40 per cent. a year? The reality is that, unless we have a five-yearly census or, even better, an annual opportunity to count, we will never begin to catch up and accurately measure the numbers in a way that can be reflected in an accurate apportionment of grant by central Government to local government.
Robert Neill: The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. There is consensus on this between all three parties in the Association of London Government, and this view was endorsed by its leaders committee in its most up-to-date report only a few weeks ago.
I have set out why this matter is important for the levels of funding for personal services, adult services and children’s services, the capitation formula for primary care trust funding and the dedicated schools grant. All those issues and more depend on getting this right. The criticisms have been well set out and, with respect, it is not good enough for the Government to retreat into the position that they and the ONS have so far adopted, saying that they have used the best available statistics. In this case, the best available statistics are demonstrably wrong.
The final piece of evidence that I should like to pray in aid is a survey by the City of Westminster which shows that some 40,000 new national insurance numbers were issued to residents of Westminster between 2002 and 2004. That represents a 17 per cent. increase on the 2001 base population. It might shock hon. Members to learn that that survey also shows that about 20,000 people arrive at Victoria coach station every week, predominantly from eastern Europe. For at least some of the time after they arrive in the UK, they will be in London.
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