London’s Economy

Given the shortage of time, I shall reflect on that point in detail after the debate. The point that I was going to make was related to the degree of worklessness, the fact that more children live in poverty in London than elsewhere in the country, the fact that there is more overcrowding, and the coexistence of those conditions alongside prosperity. That is a source of concern to any of us who care about cohesion and inequality. It is also partly an explanation for why London benefits disproportionately from public spending compared with other parts of the country. There is greater need, which results in greater delivery of public spending resources. My hon. Friend the Member for Regent's Park and Kensington, North (Ms Buck) mentioned employment policy. There is no doubt that our employment policy and our skills policy, which is now strategically directed by the Mayor, need to be more finely tuned so as to tackle the issues that she raised. I hear the concerns of the hon. Member for Cities of London and Westminster (Mr. Field) about employment, but he should reflect on whether the abolition of the new deal employment policy is really the right way. His rhetoric was probably genuine. However, if he wants a serious discussion on solutions, he should recognise that an active employment policy enables us to meet the concerns of my hon. Friend the Member for Regent's Park and Kensington, North. The point that was made about housing is well taken. Building more social housing must be a priority for the spending review, as must tackling homelessness and lack of affordability, which have been mentioned by a number of hon. Members including my hon. Friend the Member for Edmonton (Mr. Love). It is also important to continue to invest in transport, as the Government have been doing over the past decade. Let me say to the hon. Member for Orpington (Mr. Horam) that transport is not an area in which a quick fix is easy. Extending platforms and building new trains or lines takes a substantial time. Part of the reason why his constituents face overcrowding issues is that it will take time to turn round the substantial under-investment deficit with respect to the railways, the buses and the tube that existed for a number of decades. We have been trying, and we continue to try, to rectify that. I recognise the points made on Crossrail by my hon. Friend the Member for Hendon. As the Minister with responsibility for the City of London, I have heard the arguments many times and I understand and appreciate them. The Government are committed to taking the Crossrail Bill forward and to doing everything we can to try to meet the challenge before us. My hon. Friend and others will understand that the project is a major one that will cost many billions of pounds. Finding a way to finance it that is affordable and sustainable is a challenge and would be so for anyone in government, including for us. Nevertheless, we take that challenge seriously and we understand the long-term consequences for London if the issues raised by Crossrail are not addressed. My hon. Friend the Member for Hackney, South and Shoreditch (Meg Hillier) urged recognition of the important role played by Transport for London in meeting transport investment needs, and of the fact that TFL is now AA-rated. That is exactly why we are enabling TFL to borrow to such an extent to finance its transport plans. She is right to laud the Mayor for his leadership on transport, including public transport, and on the congestion charge. I was surprised that the hon. Member for Cities of London and Westminster criticised the congestion charge, given the achievements that I believe that the Mayor has delivered over the past few years. As a former resident of Hackney, I agree with my hon. Friend about the dynamism and vibrancy of south Hackney and Shoreditch, which are well known. I am sure that they contribute to the productivity and performance of the London economy, both directly and indirectly. I shall end by agreeing entirely with those hon. Members who stressed the importance of being vigilant in continuing to support the City of London’s competitiveness. The fact that in a recent survey from the City of London, London was ranked above New York as the financial centre of the world is not only a source of great pride for London and the UK, but a reason for us to be vigilant—