Ann McKechin MP

Labour Member of Parliament for Glasgow North

Budget - 27 March 2006

I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to today's Budget debate. Clearly, today's theme has been education, but the Budget's overall theme has been how we cope with rapidly changing world circumstances.

I welcome the particular emphasis this year on climate change and the strong indication that this policy area will be further developed over the coming weeks and months. A number of Members have already urged the Chancellor to go further, and I agree with many of their sentiments. However, as my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh, North and Leith (Mark Lazarowicz) pointed out last week in a thoughtful and well-argued contribution, it is also necessary to reach as far as possible a general consensus both inside and outside this place on how we are going to make the necessary changes.

A recent poll about people's perceptions of climate change, carried out by the university of East Anglia, showed that a very large percentage of people—more than 90 per cent.—recognised that climate change was a major problem. But when asked who should deal with it, most pointed to multilateral institutions and to their own Government, rather than to action on the part of individuals. However, we know that we can make significant progress in reducing energy demand and, in turn, carbon emissions if we can greatly increase domestic energy efficiency and change entrenched daily habits such as the so-called school run. Our Government clearly have a role to play in moving energy efficiency forward, not only by setting better standards in building regulations, as was done in the Budget, and providing lower tax rates for more energy efficient technology, but also at times by encouraging a different mindset in our citizens. I am reminded of the long, often fractious debate about smoking in public places. I observed the implementation of the ban in Scotland just yesterday; there was surprisingly little fuss and already a growing perception that the vast majority of the population, including the majority of smokers, now see the ban as a necessary step to better health for the country as a whole. We need to expand the debate on climate change to all sections of our community, but we also need to accept that it will include making tough decisions, which is why I welcome the indexing proposals for the climate change levy. I hope that the Government will feel able to go much further both on vehicle taxation, especially as the relative cost of driving has gone down in recent years, and on aviation.

In the longer term, we need to consider a much larger expansion of congestion charging and investing more in the Cinderella of public transport—no, not cycling but buses. I am delighted that the national bus scheme for the elderly and disabled will be extended to England. As Members are aware, Scotland will start its scheme next month, although I hope we can manage to make sure that if senior citizens want to travel between Gretna Green and Carlisle, that will be included in the scheme. We already enjoy a free scheme throughout the whole of Strathclyde, which has made a tremendous difference to the quality of life for many of our senior citizens. Some ingenious journeys have been undertaken. I heard last week that two ladies from Kilmacolm in West Renfrewshire regularly take a bus via Glasgow to Campbeltown to buy fresh fish—a journey of more than 200 miles.

On a more serious note, greater use of buses by one section of our community will help to change the mindset about that mode of transport and will, I hope, also encourage younger generations to see its benefits for their daily journeys. I impress on the Government, however, that both in Whitehall and in the Scottish Executive we need to tackle the continuing problems caused by the deregulation of bus services, so that services are seen to be regular and reliable at all times of the day and night, to encourage greater use.

I welcome the continued support for microgeneration. We need to show long-term support for that industry if its market share is to grow to the extent that it becomes part of our everyday choice in providing energy for our local communities. Unfortunately, as I found recently, it is still difficult to purchase the right type of energy-efficient light bulb. If anyone has managed to buy the equivalent of a 100 W bayonet bulb, they are doing well because those bulbs are certainly not to be found in most shops.

We should be looking more widely at the construction of major developments. We need to reach a point where they create an energy demand on our national network as near zero as possible. There are some good examples that we can follow from this country and around the world, and we need to ensure that such provisions are fully integrated in our planning and building proposals. Today we heard the good news that wind turbines are being installed faster than predicted, which shows a real interest and keenness to pursue that market.

My second point relates to globalisation, which has already been broached by the hon. Members for Mid-Worcestershire (Peter Luff) and for North Essex (Mr. Jenkin). Our economy is heavily dependent on world trade, particularly in our services sector, so any rise in protectionist sentiments is clearly of concern. Symptoms of the problem are already evident in the current World Trade Organisation negotiations, which at best will achieve a much narrower set of agreements than was originally hoped. The underlying problem is a growing disconnection on a global scale between growth and employment creation rates. The UK's main strength over the last eight years has been to focus our principal priority on creating more jobs, but that picture has not been replicated elsewhere.

Various speakers have mentioned the growing markets in China and India, but although the Chinese economy continues to grow at 9 per cent. a year, the country has not reduced its national poverty levels since 2000. Despite the explosion of its export market throughout the world over the last five years, the number of its people employed in manufacturing has reduced, so I suggest to Opposition Members that the Chinese may have to focus quickly on an increase in taxation and the creation of a vibrant and strong public sector if they are to deal with the vast number of urban unemployed that will face them in the next few years.

The consequences will undoubtedly affect us all, which is why it is crucial that at international level, whether through the EU, the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank, we consider how to align labour policies more closely with developments in trade, and ensure that we have the ability to react quickly to rapid change. That is why the specific measures announced on extending research and development support to medium-sized enterprises and the strong emphasis on supporting science at all levels is so crucial.

A number of those measures are specific to England, but the move to enable pupils to study three sciences at GCSE is sensible. There is growing concern about the small number of undergraduate students choosing science, and we need to reverse that trend. Last Friday I had the pleasure of opening new X-ray labs in the chemistry department of Glasgow university, and when I discussed that issue with the staff they said that they had no problem in recruiting students. The key to that was the fact that their four-year course allows students to specialise after their first year at university. The world of university science is very different from that of the school, and choices can be made better when students are following their university course.

Glasgow offers a good example of universities working together. Under the Westchem initiative, Glasgow and Strathclyde universities share their resources and offer a joint service to the private sector, ranging from BP to local small and medium-sized enterprises. As was pointed out earlier, there has been a considerable increase in investment, with new cutting-edge equipment that allows enterprises to compete at a global level. We need to make sure that such initiatives are expanded throughout the UK.

As the hon. Member for Brent, East (Sarah Teather) said, the Government have made radical proposals for university research funding—the new health research fund and changes to the research councils—and I would be grateful if my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary could indicate how the Government intend to consult the devolved authorities when working through those plans, to co-ordinate policy throughout the whole UK. I commend steps to increase training for those with no or low skills. If we are to remain a competitive economy we need to ensure that everybody has the opportunity to move out of low-paid work. That relates particularly to women, who represent the vast majority of those in low-paid work. The equality agenda is also a prosperity agenda for this country, and I commend the Budget.


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