Queen’s Speech

My Lords, I congratulate the Minister on successfully embracing all the topics that form this debate. I shall concentrate on local government, localism, and measures to strengthen and enhance more effective co-ordination and collaboration at a local level. These are all part of the ethos of the Co-operative movement, in which I declare an interest, which is registered. Incredibly, it will be 70 years ago next year since I began to work for the Co-operative movement. At that time, there were 1,000 separate co-operative societies, which meant that there were 1,000 separate management committees, education committees and very many political committees. They were all little pockets of democratic working, but by virtue of the economic changes over the past 70 years, those 1,000 separate co-ops are now down to fewer than 30. They are bigger and, one hopes, more efficient, more profitable and more responsive to the needs of their people. I simply say to the Minister that she should not be disheartened by the negative reception to her many policies and initiatives from some parts of the House. I say unto her, ““Be not dismayed. Lift up your heart. Tomorrow is another day””. Ambition, in my book, is a laudable trait. It is easier to do nothing in the midst of the crisis that we have, so the Government should be congratulated on not being put off and persuaded to do nothing. A range of problems have to be solved, and we are looking tonight for a way in which they can be solved. Almost 50 years ago, I was the leader of a local authority and chairman of housing. I remember the 1960s and 1970s, when the most depressing thing that we had to do as councillors or Members of Parliament was to listen with sympathy to the housing problems that were brought to our surgeries. Some people had houses that needed improvement. Others lived in part of a house, but had bad relations with their landlord. Some people did not have a house at all and lived with their relations. As leader of the council, I invited and received Bob Mellish, the then housing Minister, and Evelyn Dennington, the then GLC chair of housing. They came to the council chamber of Enfield Council and inspired us to help people with their problems. This Government recognise the need not merely to leave people to get on with what they can, but also the need for leadership and strategy. The Minister has laid out the mechanisms of how that can be achieved, which will come before us in a Bill. Housing is the greatest challenge facing many people. A well built, warm house is the bedrock of a good family relationship. It makes me cry, as I did more than once when I left my surgery having listened to such tales, to find that there are families—a man, a woman and three or four children—living in abject despair. The Minister should not hold back on anything that can improve the housing situation. I have wondered whether there has been any progress on the community land trust, a matter which I successfully raised. It received approbation from all around the House and from the then Minister. In essence, noble Lords should know that the community land trust separates the cost of the land from the cost of the house. If a house costs £300,000, much of that value is in the land. There are councils, individuals, trusts or industries, for example, which are willing to offer land at advantageous prices to the community, provided that the houses built on it remain part of the community and that the land does not become part of a sale. I will not land the Minister with a need for answers because it is early days. Among the many weapons in her and her colleagues’ hands is the community land trust, which is fully supported by the co-operative movement. She knows very well David Rodgers, the chief executive of CDS Co-operatives, who has played a major part. I remember the noble Lord, Lord Dixon-Smith, pointing out that many areas wanted to start a community land trust. The Minister, a friend who I respect very much, knows that we made a major step forward when the Government produced a legal definition of a land trust, but there is more work to be done. I hope very much that we will hear something from her, if not tonight then at some other time, because this is urgent and real. In many places, credit unions are inspired by local councils. They do all that the Minister has said in her speech today is the intention of the Government. They are small businesses, which are local, democratic, encourage thrift, foster local pride, are an alternative for many people who need small loans at sensible interest rates and produce joint workings. In conclusion, I welcome the comments in the Minister’s speech and the proposed Bills to strengthen consumer rights, which are near to the heart of the Co-operative movement, tenants’ rights and participation. A lot has been done. The regional development agencies, a child of this Government, have done a major job of work. Perhaps noble Lords can see that I am wearing a One NorthEast badge. It is a regional planning authority, which has done a marvellous job, but needs perhaps national support and a network that may not be present now. I congratulate the Government on their initiatives and the Minister can count on my support and participation.