| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
The hon. Member for Brent, East (Sarah Teather) raised the very topical issue of climate change and the environment. That is clearly a major topic for all of us. I must also give her credit for making a very caring and compassionate speech. She referred to the film, “The Age of Stupid”. I am unsure whether she is aware that the star of that film, a gentleman by the name of Pete Postlethwaite, has an award and has said that he will consider returning it if the relevant decisions are not taken at the G20 summit. Clearly, therefore, the statement we will shortly hear from the Chancellor is not only important in its own right and will have an impact on what we have to say, but it will influence whether he decides to return the award, which was given to him by Her Majesty.
No one will have failed to take note of the hon. Lady’s comments about her visit to Nigeria; she spoke of sewage-infested water and the horrific diseases that can flow from that, as well as the lack of water and food supply generally in Africa.
It is a sobering thought that, as she mentioned, in the 21st century there are some 30 countries in which food riots have occurred. Unless we do something drastic to address poverty, migration and all its consequences will have a huge impact. This is an enormously important subject that the whole House will recognise needs to be dealt with. The G20 summit conclusions are following shortly, and perhaps there will be some hints as to the way forward on food poverty.
I compliment the hon. Member for Stroud (Mr. Drew), who intervened on the hon. Member for Brent, East to speak about religious tension and intolerance. We all recognise that the world has enough problems in trying to feed, and provide water and shelter for, everybody. I am sorry to say—I think the House will agree with me—that there is increasing incidence of religious intolerance in the country that the hon. Gentleman spoke of, Nigeria, and worldwide. Indeed, my hon. Friend the Member for Southend, West spoke of the increasing incidence of anti-Semitism. That is a serious issue and we must not address it simply in terms of what is happening overseas; we must look at the possibility of, and real existence of, intolerance of minority communities in our own country.
The hon. Member for Cleethorpes spoke today, as she regularly does in these Adjournment debates; she is a very familiar face. I congratulate her on her wedding anniversary today and wish her a very happy birthday for tomorrow. I hope that, in arranging her constituency engagements for Saturday and Sunday, it has been borne in mind that she has two celebrations in the preceding 48 hours. She raised the issue of the need to reduce the toll charge on the Humber bridge. She was right to point out the economic consequences of the decision that will eventually be forthcoming from the inspector’s report, which is awaited with considerable expectation.
The hon. Lady raised the issue of compensation for trawlermen and cited some harrowing instances of people who, quite innocently, seem not to have put in their applications. I hope that the small print in the agreements will allow for those left out of the scheme to be considered as well. She also gave a wonderful tourism promotion for her constituency, as she always does. It was good that she acknowledged my hon. Friend the Member for Tiverton and Honiton (Angela Browning), who is not here today, in that promotion. I am sure that my hon.
Friend will be grateful that, despite her not being here, her constituents nevertheless got a tourism plug.
My hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge gave a fine speech. I am sure that his constituents will want me to note what an excellent and hard-working constituency Member of Parliament he is. I was heartened to hear that his mother is well, or was well when he began his comments; we all felt for her at the last such Adjournment debate. However, I am very sorry to learn that she is back in hospital with an ankle injury. On behalf of the whole House, I ask him to convey our thoughts to her and wish her a speedy recovery. We are all pleased that the quality of food is a lot better than it was last time round.
My hon. Friend raised a very good point about disabled people and the facilities they have access to—and, as was made clear, often do not have access to. The inconsistency of service for this large sector of our community—some 10 million people—needs to be addressed. Madam Deputy Speaker, you will be aware that the Speaker’s Conference is examining ways of ensuring greater representation for disabled people in this House, but we parliamentarians need to ensure that outside this place we give full recognition to the very serious concerns and needs of those 10 million people.
My hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge mentioned the horrific practice of organ trafficking. I am trying to host an event in the House on tackling organ trafficking—I am just waiting for the proper date to be found—and I hope that he will be able to take part in it. He also mentioned photography, on which he made an excellent speech in Westminster Hall yesterday—it has received widespread publicity and I thank him for it—and again he made some valid points. May I say, on behalf of the whole House, that we very much look forward to seeing his return to the House fully fit after making his contribution for the Lords and Commons rugby team? He spoke of a potential by-election, but I am sure that the House would miss his wit, charm and general brilliance, as well as his generous contribution to those of us who seek to be slipped in the Whips Office.
The hon. Member for Stroud (Mr. Drew) made a passionate speech, and I believe that the House will agree with the points that he raised on sympathy for those in fuel poverty and on energy efficiency. He talked of the plethora of institutions and initiatives, and the confusion that they often involve, and we note those two points. Two other fine contributions were made by my hon. Friends the Members for Macclesfield (Sir Nicholas Winterton) and for Stone (Mr. Cash). They kept their comments brief and I shall keep my comments about their contributions brief, Madam Deputy Speaker. I wish you and the House a very happy recess.
4.52 pm
The Deputy Leader of the House of Commons (Chris Bryant):
It is good to see so many Members gathering in the Chamber to hear the culmination of this debate, which has been a great one—just two lawyers have spoken. That reminds me of the fact that in 1697 Tsar Peter the Great visited these Houses of Parliament. When he walked through Westminster Hall he was perplexed to see so many lawyers and he said that he thought that in his dominion there were only two and that when he got back home he was probably going to execute one of them. It has been great not to hear from too many lawyers today and excellent to hear from 15 former councillors. Those involved have represented
Islington, Leicester, Reading, Redbridge, Wandsworth, Powys, Wrekin, Oakengates, Hammersmith and Fulham, Hackney, Stevenage, Stroud, Gloucestershire, Stonehouse and Warwickshire. [Interruption.] And Aberdeen.
I should apologise for suggesting in the equivalent debate at Christmas that these debates when we all gather together were rather like episodes of “’Allo ’Allo!” —the same characters rehearsing the same lines—because today’s debate has been more like an episode of “The Vicar of Dibley”. My hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham, North (Mr. Allen), who is not in his place, is the Councillor David Horton; in the same way as the character really loves the vicar of Dibley but tries to pretend otherwise, my hon. Friend really loves the Labour Government, despite the fact that in his speech this afternoon he was trying to pretend that he does not. My hon. Friend the Member for Cleethorpes (Shona McIsaac) referred to how much she loves food, and she is the Letitia Cropley—perhaps I am being a little unfair, because my hon. Friend’s father was a naval chef, so I am sure she would not be known as the poisoner of the village.
We heard from the hon. Member for Southend, West (Mr. Amess), who is, as I am sure all hon. Members would agree, Frank Pickle—the very dapper member of the parish council who manages to move from the inconsequential subject to the consequential one without anybody noticing a change in his tone of voice. Frank Pickle could bore people on end with the subjects of how exciting it was when the pub completely and utterly ran out of crisps or the milkman arrived 47 minutes late. We have also heard from the hon. Member for Brent, East (Sarah Teather), who must be the Alice Tinker of the House; she never quite gets the joke—I see that she is not getting it at the moment either. She has been sitting there pouting, and she is pouting again now. She rather reminds me of when all the young girls in Dickens’s “Dombey and Son” are taught how to pout by saying quietly to themselves the words, “Prunes, prism, poultry and potatoes.” The hon. Lady must have been a little confused today because we have had both the hon. Member for Uxbridge (Mr. Randall) and my right hon. Friend the Member for Warley (Mr. Spellar) in the Chamber at the same time, and she once confused them when my right hon. Friend came canvassing at her door. The hon. Member for Uxbridge—or perhaps I mean my right hon. Friend the Member for Warley—is of course Jim Trott, the “No, no, no, no...yes” character in “The Vicar of Dibley”. He certainly looks like him. More importantly, he looks rather like the older employee of the Grace brothers, Mr. Grainger.
We had important contributions to the debate this afternoon from many hon. Members, including my hon. Friend the Member for Telford (David Wright), who referred to his hopes for a post bank, and early-day motion 1082. We are keen for the Post Office to do more and put more banking products in the reach of everyone, to promote greater financial inclusion. We are also keen on the idea of introducing street drinking bans, and the designated public places orders system that we have introduced has enabled many local authorities to restrict antisocial behaviour in local areas, with more than 700 such orders having been made.
The hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine (Sir Robert Smith) raised the issue of those who have savings and the assumed income of 10 per cent. I am sure that that issue is something that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor, who is now in his place, will
consider. The hon. Gentleman also raised the issue of sheep tagging, and I am sure that he is aware that DEFRA and the industry are concerned to ensure that disproportionate costs are not introduced.
My hon. Friend the Member for Leicester, South (Sir Peter Soulsby) raised the important issue of the proposed eco-town in his constituency, and I am sure that the Co-operative Society will have been listening. The hon. Member for Reading, East (Mr. Wilson), who still has four YouTube Christmas messages on his website—that is the wrong religious festival—raised the issue of irresponsible lending. It is a shame that he was not able to read the document “Freeing Britain to Compete”, produced by his party, which stated:
“In financial services, we should allow people to buy and sell products that are not regulated if they have signed to do so”
“it is the lending institutions rather than the client taking the risk.”
It is the hon. Gentleman’s party that is opposed to regulation, not this party.
My hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham, North raised important issues about our troops and paid tribute to our armed forces, and I am sure that all hon. Members share those sentiments. Our concern is to ensure that at all times our troops have the support that they need, both moral support from this House and financial support.
The hon. Member for Southend, West raised a series of issues and I shall write to him and ensure that they are all taken up with the relevant bodies. My hon. Friend the Member for Falkirk (Mr. Joyce) raised issues relating to child benefit and how it applies in Scotland, and I shall write to him as well.
I am afraid that I disagreed with the hon. Member for Brent, East on many of the issues that she raised, although I am sure that all hon. Members agree that the problem that the poorest will suffer most from climate change is one that we need to address. We are proud that we are the first Government in the world to introduce binding legislation to tackle climate change.
We wish my hon. Friend the Member for Cleethorpes well for her wedding anniversary and her birthday. She raised the issue of the Humber bridge and I shall ensure that that is taken up. On the issue of compensation for trawlermen, we hope that the new scheme will be ready before the summer recess.
Many other Members made important contributions, not least the hon. Members for Macclesfield (Sir Nicholas Winterton) and for Stone (Mr. Cash), my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Mr. Drew) and—my personal favourite—the hon. Member for Uxbridge. I am sure that the Chancellor will be glad to hear that the latter thinks it behoves us to go out and spend.
I am sure that I speak on behalf of the whole House when I send good wishes for Easter to all those who serve us in this House—the Clerks, the Doorkeepers, those who provide food, those who occasionally serve us with a glass or two of wine or beer, the police and all the security services. I wish you in particular, Madam Deputy Speaker, a very happy Easter.
Helen Jones (Warrington, North) (Lab): I beg to ask leave to withdraw the motion.
G20 Summit
5 pm
The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr. Alistair Darling): With your permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I should like to make a statement about the G20 summit, which was held today in London. The Prime Minister is still concluding business at the ExCeL centre.
First, may I explain to the House that the communiqué was signed off about an hour ago? For that reason, while I would normally have arranged for copies to have been placed in the Vote Office, that will not be possible for another half hour or so. They will be placed there at the earliest opportunity. I am also grateful to the shadow Chancellor and the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) for understanding that I was able to provide them with a copy of my statement only very recently—in fact, about five minutes ago. However, I was able to provide them with the communiqué a short time before that. I should also explain that, in addition to the communiqué, I shall refer to a declaration in relation to financial services, which is still being finalised at the summit. It will be available at the earliest opportunity.
May I extend the Government’s thanks and appreciation —and, I am sure, that of the whole House—to the police for their professionalism and for being so effective in managing this huge policing and security operation while continuing to meet London’s wider police needs?
Today, leaders and Finance Ministers from countries all over the world have come together in an unprecedented show of unity to take action on the greatest economic crisis of modern times. That crisis has deepened since the last G20 summit and it is now affecting the lives of people in every country. Today, we have agreed to do whatever is necessary to restore confidence and growth in our economies, to repair the financial system, to restore lending, to strengthen regulation and supervision, to rebuild trust in the financial system, to fund and reform the international financial institutions to overcome this crisis and prevent further ones, to promote international trade and reject protectionism, and, crucially, to build an inclusive, green and sustainable recovery.
There are no quick fixes, but, because of the progress that we have made today, by agreeing to work together we can begin to restore confidence, save jobs and bring the world economy out of recession.
First, we agreed to deliver the scale of sustained fiscal effort necessary to restore growth. That does not mean that all countries will act in exactly the same way or at exactly the same time, but it does mean an agreement has been made to take whatever action is necessary to restore growth. We are confident that the action that has been agreed today will accelerate a return to trade growth.
Since the summit in Washington in the autumn, G20 countries have announced and are now implementing the greatest macro-economic boost the world has ever seen. The combined fiscal expansion across the G20 will put an additional $5 trillion into the world economy by the end of next year. That will save or create millions of jobs across the world this year alone.
Central banks across the G20 countries are also taking exceptional action, cutting interest rates aggressively in most countries and using all levers available to put
money into their economies to support growth. We have already made available significant support for individual banking systems through liquidity, recapitalisation and dealing with problem assets in line with our agreed framework for restoring lending. In all the actions to support the economy, there is a determination to ensure long-term sustainability and price stability, as well as exit strategies for Governments’ involvement in the banking sector.
The immediate cause of this crisis is a failure in the global financial sector and in global financial regulation. It is imperative that we rebuild trust and clean up the global banking system. As part of that, we must build stronger regulatory systems that support growth and serve the needs of people and business. Domestic financial regulation must be reformed to promote integrity, guard against all types of risk, discourage excessive risk taking, dampen rather than amplify the effect of financial shocks and protect consumers as well as investors.
We also want a more globally consistent regulatory system. To that end, we agreed today to establish a new financial stability board, with a wider group of developed and emerging countries, which will work together with the International Monetary Fund to spot risks and provide early warning. We also agreed to endorse and implement new tough principles on pay and compensation and to expand regulatory oversight to all systemically important financial institutions, including hedge funds.
We will also take action to protect the world’s financial system—and, therefore, our public finances—by cracking down on tax havens, and we note that the OECD has today published a list of countries assessed by the global forum against the international standard for exchange of tax information.
We must give international financial institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank the legitimacy and the power to provide surveillance and support. It is crucial that emerging and developing economies can continue to receive the flows of capital on which they depend. Over the past few years, some 70 per cent. of world economic growth has come from those economies, and we must not let them down now.
We have agreed a trebling in resources available to the IMF, from £250 billion to £750 billion. We also support a substantial increase in lending of at least $100 billion by the multilateral development banks, including to low-income countries.
Madam Deputy Speaker, I think that I referred to the IMF in terms of pounds sterling: it should, of course, be dollars.
We have also agreed to support an injection of a further $250 billion into the world economy, increasing global liquidity through a greater allocation of IMF special drawing rights. These steps will provide an additional $850 billion of financing to support growth in developing and emerging countries, which will be able to continue trading with us and other G20 economies, in turn supporting global growth and employment.
Hand in hand with more resources will come reform of the IMF and the World Bank. Emerging and developing countries need to be represented too, so we agreed that the next review of IMF representation should be concluded by January 2011, while World Bank reforms must be completed by next spring.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |