Peter Aldous plants a tribute in the House of Commons Constituency Garden of Remembrance in New Palace Yard. The garden contains tributes from MPs on behalf of their constituencies from all over the country as well as from the member countries of the Commonwealth and British Overseas Territories.
Peter Aldous has written to the Prime Minister, calling on the Government to redirect surplus food to those worst affected by the cost of living crisis.
The government could deliver 100 million meals worth of food that is currently going to waste on our farms and in our fields directly to communities and people that are struggling.
Food prices are rising faster than anytime during the last 14 years.
13.7 million people across the UK are food insecure, a figure that has more than doubled since the start of the pandemic.
Yet recent figures show that 2.9 million tonnes of good to eat food goes to waste every year on our farms and in our factories.
Funding that previously supported surplus food redistribution has been axed, and calls to renew it have been rejected. Peter Aldous is supporting FareShare, the UK’s largest food redistribution charity, in calling for this funding to be reinstated.
They have joined 57 MPs from across the house in signing a letter that was handed in to Downing Street this week. The letter is part of FareShare’s Cost of Living Crisis Appeal, which asks the government to invest £25 million a year in surplus food redistribution, which would make it cost neutral for farmers to pick, package and transport their unsold surplus food to charity, rather than wasting it.
Peter Aldous said:
“No one wants to see good food go to waste, especially at a time when demand is so high. Voluntary organisations locally are under a significant amount of pressure at the moment, and are seeing an unprecedented level of demand for their services.”
“For a comparatively small amount of money, supporting food redistribution from farms would have a significant impact, with 100 million meals going to those who need it. Good food should be used to feed people rather than being wasted.”
Lindsay Boswell, CEO of FareShare, said:
“In Waveney last year, FareShare redistributed the equivalent of 76300 meals via 13 local organisations. As a result of the cost of living crisis we have seen demand skyrocket, and we don’t have enough food to meet this demand. That’s why we launched the Cost of Living Crisis Appeal, so we can get more food to the communities that need it.
“As a charity we rely on the generosity of our partners in the food industry, fundraisers, and volunteers, but we also need the government to act immediately. At a time of so much need, it is wrong there is so much waste. I’m incredibly grateful to Peter in helping us raise this issue at the centre of government.”
If you would like to support FareShare, you can do so by clicking here: https://fareshare.org.uk/costoflivingcrisisappeal1/
Peter Aldous writes for The Independent: This government has only just been formed, but faces a generation-defining challenge, and must act imminently to protect millions of people from poverty this winter and beyond.
Today, I am joining a coalition of almost seventy NGOs from across the charity and environment sectors in calling on the new Prime Minister to prioritise a national insulation plan and to expand cheap renewables in response to the cost-of-living crisis, whilst also ensuring that those on the frontline of the crisis have the direct support that they need.
Without further action, 7 million households will be faced with making impossibly hard decisions between a warm home and putting food on the table this winter. The situation is worse still for many deprived communities, including some of those that I represent.
This Government has only just been formed, but faces a generation-defining challenge, and must act imminently to protect millions of people from poverty this winter and beyond.
The direct support for households and the Energy Price Guarantee already announced by the Treasury is hugely welcome. However, for those hardest hit by the crisis, more support is badly needed to stave off the worst impacts this winter. I welcome the Treasury review of energy bills and hope that this will provide clarity on support beyond April as soon as possible, with energy bills expected to rise to almost 4 times the level before the gas crisis if no further action is taken.
Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and the impact of global gas markets are responsible for this huge hike in energy costs, accompanied by a massive increase in living costs elsewhere in the economy and spiralling inflation. Meanwhile, energy bills are expected to remain high and volatile until the end of the decade. It is therefore essential that, alongside direct measures, medium and long-term fixes are delivered.
Thankfully, the tools we need to keep energy bills low for good are ready to go and very popular with the British public.
Firstly, we urgently need to cut our energy waste by fixing the UK’s leaky housing stock and slashing energy bills for good. Insulating our buildings is the cheapest and easiest measure we can take to cut bills. The Government should fund a proper national programme to insulate homes, schools, hospitals and workplaces. It would not only save households an average of £500 on their energy bills every year, but could also soon pay for itself whilst creating millions of jobs and stimulating the economy in the process.
Secondly, the new Government should ensure we continue to play to our strengths, increasing our self-reliance by accelerating the expansion of cheap renewable domestic power to cut energy bills. I have seen first-hand the benefits that the growth of the renewable energy sector can bring to communities. New renewable energy projects produce electricity many times cheaper than gas and renewable energy on the grid is already paying money back to the consumer. As the windiest country in Europe, we have used our comparative advantage and seized this opportunity for UK jobs, industry, and energy security, whilst tackling the climate emergency. The offshore wind industry alone is expected to employ 100,000 people in the UK and attract £155bn of private investment over the next eight years. Bolstering our existing, world-leading effort in renewables will not only cut bills for every winter to come but can also boost prospects for communities across East Anglia and the rest of the UK.
The new Prime Minister has a huge challenge ahead of him in tackling the central issue deeply concerning people across the country - keeping warm this winter, and for each winter after that. Therefore I urge him to take back control of our energy system and secure warm winters for good with clean, green energy and insulated homes.
Published in The House Magazine
The Government strategy for the decarbonisation of off grid homes is centred around an ‘electrification first’ approach. Currently, the approach would see rural homeowners having little choice but to install a heat pump if their heating systems fail after 2026.
Although heat pumps could significantly help with the efforts to reduce carbon emissions, the electrification approach is not suitable for all properties. It risks leaving rural off-gas grid homeowners and businesses burdened with substantial costs associated with the retrofit and installation of heat pumps.
This concerning prospect has resulted in the launch of an industry-backed campaign, Off Grid Green, which advocates for rural homeowners to have a choice over how they heat their homes.
Off-Grid Green aims to showcase that a strategy promoting a mixed technology approach creates choice and is the most suitable option, for both government and homeowners, on the path to decarbonisation.
Currently, many rural homes use either heating oil, solid fuels (such as coal) or Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) to heat their homes. In the future, there are a number of solutions that can help these homes to lower their emissions and support the country’s net zero targets.
Renewable liquid gases
Renewable liquid gases, such as bioLPG and rDME, are just two promising solutions. Both fuels are produced using renewable or sustainable feedstocks, meaning they are fuels not just suitable for homeowners now, but also into the future.
BioLPG and rDME are also proven to yield a significant reduction in carbon emissions, up to 90% and 85% respectively[1]. BioLPG can also be used as a ‘drop in’ fuel in to existing LPG boilers, reducing costs and disruption for homeowners and businesses already using LPG. Currently, the equivalent of over 40,000 homes[2] use renewable liquid fuels in the UK, but there is potential to substantially increase this figure in the future. Production of renewable liquid gases is already underway in the UK, as facilities open, such as the recently announced rDME production plant in Teesside.
Supporting rural constituents
Peter Aldous, MP for Waveney, agrees that rural constituents would benefit from greater choice on the path decarbonisation. “The Government’s current Heat and Building Strategy has made steps to achieve net zero, but it needs to go further and investigate a range of sustainable heating solutions for rural homeowners, as well an improving the energy efficiency of properties, to provide greater choice,” he says.
When fitted appropriately, heat pumps can be incredibly effective. However, many rural properties are old, poorly insulated and therefore less energy efficient. Properties of this kind will require a significant retrofit for a heat pump to work, which could cost homeowners up to £32,000[3], when considering the cost of installation.
“Insulating as many rural homes as possible up to EPC Band C, which the Government has a statutory requirement to deliver by 2030, and which could help homeowners save up to £600 off their energy bills,” adds Mr Aldous.
“Funding for the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), the government’s longstanding energy efficiency scheme which is set to benefit 450,000 fuel poor households by 2026, is a good position to build from. However, it is also imperative that the decarbonisation strategy goes further.
“We should make upgrading our ‘leaky’ housing stock a national infrastructure priority. It’s vital that we use the legislative opportunity presented by the Government’s Energy Security Bill to finally legislate for Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards of EPC Band C for this sector by 2028, kickstarting the insulation drive rural Britain sorely needs,” he adds.
To find out more about the challenges surrounding the decarbonisation of rural properties and the mixed technology solutions available for rural homeowners, visit offgridgreen.co.uk
[1] 2040 Vision 1 — Liquid Gas UK: The trade association for the LPG and biopropane industry in the UK
[2] 2040 Vision 1 — Liquid Gas UK: The trade association for the LPG and biopropane industry in the UK
[3] The Role Of Lpg And Biolpg In Large Rural Off Grid Homes — Liquid Gas UK: The trade association for the LPG and biopropane industry in the UK
Peter Aldous seeks confirmation that the Government has a national framework in place to support local offshore energy businesses promote their skills, knowledge and expertise internationally.
Energy Sector: Trade Opportunities
Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)
1. What steps her Department is taking to increase trade opportunities for the UK energy sector. (902003)
The Secretary of State for International Trade (Kemi Badenoch)
The Government’s export strategy sets out how we aim to capture up to £170 billion of export sales estimated for 2030 in low-carbon sectors. At the green trade and investment expo earlier this week, we showcased the best renewable energy technologies and innovations that the UK has to offer. Over the last year, the Department for International Trade has supported £5 billion-worth of exports across energy and infrastructure sectors.
Peter Aldous
I welcome my right hon. Friend to her place, and I am grateful for her reply. With 50% of the UK’s offshore wind fleet anchored off the East Anglian coast, local businesses have acquired a unique set of skills, knowledge and expertise that should be promoted abroad, so as to increase trade opportunities. A case in point is the memorandum of understanding between the New Anglia local enterprise partnership and Virginia Beach in the US. I would be most grateful if my right hon. Friend could confirm that a national framework is in place to ensure that we make the most of these great opportunities.
Kemi Badenoch
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising that issue and highlighting the good work that DIT is doing. He will be pleased to know that in 2020—the latest figures available—the UK exported £821 million-worth of offshore wind products, with the help of DIT overseas and sector teams. We have a plan in place to carry out promotions, and work is ongoing to continue to build the UK’s extensive export offer and maximise economic value. My hon. Friend will also be pleased to know that in and around his constituency of Waveney, DIT is supporting Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth in the build-out of Iberdrola and Vattenfall’s projects, which are developing capability to export low-carbon technology globally.
Peter Aldous leads a Westminster Hall debate to celebrate Colleges Week and the work that colleges do in local communities and highlight the problems facing the sector in funding, staff recruitment and retention and the speed of the Government’s reforms to level 3 qualifications.
Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)
I beg to move,
That this House has considered Colleges Week 2022.
It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mrs Murray. I thank the Backbench Business Committee for granting this debate, in which we shall consider, celebrate and reflect on Colleges Week and the work that colleges do in local communities all over the UK. We are actually a week late, as Colleges Week was last week. The recent changes to the parliamentary timetable made it impossible to secure this debate then, but that may not be a bad thing. The debate now coincides with the appointment of a new Prime Minister, who has already highlighted his determination to put further education and vocational schooling at the forefront of his Government’s work and his policies. With that in mind, I welcome the Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Morley and Outwood (Andrea Jenkyns), to her place. I look forward to her restating the Prime Minister’s commitment.
This is an opportune moment to not only showcase the great work that colleges are doing, but highlight how, with the right means and support, they can do even more to promote the communities that they serve, deliver sustainable economic growth and help local people to realise their dreams and achieve their ambitions. As well as looking forward with the new Prime Minister and his new team, it is appropriate to take stock after what has been a hectic 18 months for colleges in policymaking terms. In January 2021, the “Skills for jobs” White Paper was published; the Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022 received Royal Assent earlier this year; and colleges are now working with local employers, councils, local enterprise partnerships and other interested parties to put in place local skills improvement plans, or LSIPs.
It is important to emphasise the multitasking work that colleges are carrying out. They are driving the post-covid recovery, supporting learners who, through no fault of their own, are having to catch up. They are helping to deliver the net zero economy. In my own constituency, East Coast College is in the vanguard of promoting training for the jobs that are needed in the offshore wind and nuclear sectors. I should point out that this week may not be Colleges Week, but it is actually Offshore Wind Week, and it was a pleasure to welcome local apprentices to RenewableUK’s reception on Wednesday afternoon.
Colleges are addressing regional inequalities. Meaningful and proper levelling up will be delivered only if the colleges are provided with resources so that they can play their full role. They are also promoting lifelong learning. In today’s world, a job for life is a thing of the past. There are so many people with so much potential with whom colleges can work to acquire the skills to achieve their ambitions.
Finally, colleges can ensure that the economic growth we all want is sustained and enduring—not a short-term boom followed by a painful bust—and helps to deliver the improved productivity that the UK so desperately needs.
Martin Vickers (Cleethorpes) (Con)
I congratulate my hon. Friend on obtaining this important debate. My constituency, like his, is heavily dependent on the offshore sector from an economic point of view. I want to take the opportunity to congratulate Peter Kennedy and his team at Franklin Sixth Form College in Grimsby, which serves my constituency. Would my hon. Friend agree that apprenticeship courses in particular are vital if we are going to get our young people into the offshore and similar sectors?
Peter Aldous
I agree wholeheartedly. Later in my speech, I will highlight some of the strategic working that is required to make the most of the opportunities in the offshore energy sector that are emerging not just on the east coast, but all around the UK.
I have the privilege and honour of chairing the all-party parliamentary group for further education and lifelong learning, for which the Association of Colleges provides the secretariat. It is appropriate to take stock of the work that colleges do and the impact they have on their local communities. English colleges educate more than 1.6 million students every year and employ approximately 103,000 full-time equivalent staff. Some 913,000 adults study or train in colleges, while 611,000 16 to 18-year-olds study in colleges. There are 166,000 people on apprenticeship provision in colleges, and the average college trains 1,000 apprentices. Some 110,000 people study higher education in a college. Some 23% of 16 to 18-year-olds and 24% of adult students at colleges are from minority ethnic backgrounds; 21% of students in colleges have a learning difficulty and/or disability; and 46,000 college students are aged 60 and over.
Those figures demonstrate that colleges are the Heineken of the UK education and training system: they reach the parts and the places that other establishments do not. They invariably do this to a high standard, with 91% of colleges judged “good” or “outstanding” at their most recent inspections. Colleges support the Government’s ambitious plans to roll out T-levels, increase apprenticeship delivery, promote adult learning and introduce higher technical qualifications. While colleges are up for these challenges, there are significant obstacles in the way of them playing the role they want to—a role that will bring so many benefits to local people and communities.
First, despite a 2021 spending review that recognised some of the long-established funding issues facing colleges, further education funding still compares extremely unfavourably with both university and school funding. In its 2021 annual report on education, the Institute for Fiscal Studies highlighted that:
“Further education colleges and sixth forms have seen the largest falls in per-pupil funding of any sector of the education system since 2010–11.”
Although the budget for 16 to 18-year-olds is rising for the five-year period from 2020 to 2025, the pressures of extra catch-up hours, increased prices and the cost of living are holding back progress on flagship programmes in key national skill shortage sectors. The situation is exacerbated by the dramatic energy price increases. Some colleges have long-term contracts with suppliers agreed in 2021, which means that they are not covered by the six-month scheme. However, it means that they face the prospect of treble, quadruple or even worse price increases in 2023. It should be borne in mind that for many technical and vocational courses, there is no good alternative to in-person education at the college.
Secondly, colleges across the country are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit and retain staff, given the widening gap between what skilled teachers can earn in colleges and what they can earn in industry or even in schools. An Association of Colleges survey, commissioned by the Financial Times, shows that 85% of colleges reported staff shortages in construction courses, 78% in engineering and 62% in IT and computing. In August, the AOC wrote to the then Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Norfolk (Elizabeth Truss), urging her to make investment in schools a central plank of her premiership. I hope the Minister will confirm, following this morning’s comments attributed to the new Prime Minister, that his Government will make that commitment.
Thirdly and finally, colleges are concerned about the speed of the Government’s reforms to level 3 qualifications. It is right to have the ambition of having a respected and well-understood set of technical qualifications in place across England. However, it is a worry that funding for 160 existing qualifications will be withdrawn when clear replacements are not yet in place. It should be demonstrated that these replacements properly prepare students for progression, meet the needs of industry and promote social mobility. Concerns remain that T-levels will not be accessible to all students ready to do a level 3 qualification and that the required industry placements will not be readily available. I urge the Minister to work with colleges and business to address these worries, so that this flagship policy has a positive and proper launch and does not immediately run aground.
One of the great things about colleges is that they are innovative, imaginative and entrepreneurial. It is in that spirit that Stuart Rimmer, the principal of East Coast College in Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth, has brought together colleges and trainers from across the UK that run energy-related courses to form the national energy skills consortium. The consortium meets virtually three to four times a year, and I have the privilege of being invited to those meetings. Clean energy and the low-carbon economy provide an enormous opportunity for creating new and exciting well-paid long-term jobs, often in deprived areas where they are badly needed. The consortium has the objective of maximising those opportunities and removing barriers that might get in the way. My right hon. Friend the Member for Spelthorne (Kwasi Kwarteng) made a presentation to the consortium when he was Energy Minister, and my hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Alex Burghart) joined us in the summer, when he was skills Minister. I hope the Minister will also meet us in the near future.
In following up the meeting with the former skills Minister in July, Stuart Rimmer highlighted three issues that must be addressed if colleges are to properly train people to acquire the necessary skills to work in the energy sector. First, he said it is wrong that colleges and universities are required to take high-risk, up-front investment decisions to build capacity and deliver training for nationally important infrastructure projects, such as Hinkley Point and Sizewell C. Secondly, he said that energy and civil construction qualifications required by employers should be brought into core funding for young people, apprentices and adult learners. Thirdly, he said that, while local skills improvement plans will play an important role in ensuring that skills promotion is tailored to, and bespoke for, local areas, it is important for the energy sector, where supply chains often extend across the whole the UK, that a national framework is in place. The consortium, along with the National College for Nuclear and other bodies, such as the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board, is keen to work with Government to ensure that this strategic approach is pursued.
The UK desperately needs sustained economic growth that reaches all parts of our four nations, and in which all people, whatever their backgrounds and ages, can participate. Colleges are already doing great work, but if they are given the resources and means, they can do much more. Working with the Government, they can help to put this traumatic and turbulent time behind us, and we really can build back better.
Peter Aldous
We have had a very good debate. Perhaps it would have been greater if more Members were here, but we have the graveyard slot on a Thursday afternoon.
I want to highlight some of the issues that Members raised. The right hon. Member for Exeter (Mr Bradshaw) and my hon. Friend the Member for West Worcestershire (Harriett Baldwin) spoke about the good and bad that colleges can do. It is clear that Exeter is a long way advanced on a path that I hope my constituency goes down too. The right hon. Member for Exeter and I both represent coastal communities, and coastal communities have real challenges right through the education system. In Exeter, the college has come together with a very high-quality higher education institution and has worked with the primary and secondary schools to raise standards across the board and create a centre for excellence. We can all learn from that.
Then we heard about the—dare I say it?—tragedy of what is happening in the Malvern Hills. When it comes to regeneration, levelling up and ensuring that the whole country can participate in the proceeds of growth, there is a hole in the heart of the Malvern Hills, because they will not have that opportunity.
We all talk about levelling up and want to show how our particular constituencies can benefit. We probably all—I am the worst example of this—want shiny new edifices. We want roads, railways and bridges—I have a great bridge coming—and we need to build them as a catalyst for growth, but ultimately it is the investment in flesh and blood, rather than concrete and steel, that will ensure meaningful and long-term growth. That is what colleges have to offer. All 650 MPs have a college in or within striking distance of their constituency, and colleges will be the engine of regeneration. The Government should be commended for bringing in reforms and recognising the importance of the sector, but they need to take the sector with them and work with it. There is sometimes an anxiety about the speed of travel.
The debate on the Skills and Post-16 Education Act, which took place across both Chambers in the last Session, was a good one. My slight regret is that it was a real opportunity to make a landmark Act and we did not quite grasp that. Perhaps some of the amendments that were tabled in the other place, which probably had that intention in mind, should have been taken on board. LSIPs have enormous potential and, as the Minister said, put employers at the heart of these reforms. However, if the employer, who is in the driving seat, kicks out the other partners—the colleges, universities, local enterprise partnerships, mayors or councils—that car will quickly go off the cliff, so they need to be collegiate with colleges when playing their role. In my own area in Norfolk and Suffolk, that is indeed what is happening.
Staffing is a challenge. Look at what is happening in East Anglia with the opportunities in offshore wind and in nuclear at Sizewell. It is a real challenge to getting teachers and trainers with skills in fabrication and the other expertise we need. The Government must focus on that and employers must also play their role.
I will finish on the matter of funding. As a Conservative, we probably overlooked the sector for much of the past decade. In 2021, we woke up to that, and the spending review was largely positive as far as FE is concerned, but it is not the end of the journey; it is the very beginning.
In the next 10 days, some important decisions will be made. The Government will have to make tough choices, but they should be very cautious about making cuts to the sector. It seems like a long time ago now, but we had that growth plan in September. We all want growth, but it needs to be sustained and its proceeds available for everyone to participate in. In my constituency, very few people earn in excess of £150,000, but we want everyone to be able to participate in the proceeds of growth, and investing in our FE colleges enables us to do that and enhances social mobility.
When we achieve growth, it should not just be a quick boom to coincide with the electoral cycle, followed by a bust. It should be sustained and gradual growth that everyone can participate in. That is the role that colleges can play. I hope that today we have made an important contribution to ensuring that that can happen.
Peter Aldous calls on the Government to urgently implement a new blueprint plan for NHS dentistry to improve retention of NHS dentists and dental accessibility for patients.
Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)
I beg to move,
That this House is concerned by the growing crisis in NHS dentistry; notes that nine out of ten dental practices in England do not accept new NHS patients; regrets the number of dentists moving away from NHS practice; welcomes the Government’s commitment to levelling up health outcomes and dental health across the country; calls on the Government to take urgent steps to improve retention of NHS dentists and dental accessibility for patients; and further calls on the Government to report to the House on its progress on the steps it has taken to address the NHS dentistry crisis in three months’ time.
I thank the Backbench Business Committee for granting this debate, and the hon. Member for Bradford South (Judith Cummins) for her work in helping to secure it. I also highlight e-petition 564154, signed by 11,067 people, calling for an independent review of the NHS dental contract.
Colleagues have been securing debates on the state of NHS dentistry for the past two years. This crisis has been brewing for a long time, and the situation can be likened to that of a house built on shallow and poor foundations that has come crashing down with the earthquake of covid. The King’s Fund describes NHS dentistry as being on “life support”, while the British Dental Association describes it as undergoing a “slow death”. In its monthly report for October, Healthwatch repeats that NHS dental care continues to be one of the main issues it hears about from the public, who across the country are clamouring for NHS dentistry that is both affordable and accessible.
In Suffolk, there are 70 dental practices with NHS contracts, but not one is taking on new patients. Locally, there has been some welcome support in that, in Lowestoft, a local practice was granted additional units of dental activity that allowed it to see emergency patients until the end of September, and in July the Dental Design Studio was awarded a contract to deliver NHS dentistry for up to eight years. However, very quickly both practices were fully booked up and have had to turn away patients. There is a need for root and branch reform, and I shall briefly set out the issues that need to be included in a blueprint plan for NHS dentistry.
Dr Andrew Murrison (South West Wiltshire) (Con)
I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate. Would he agree with me that the fundamental problem with NHS dentistry at the moment is the 2006 contract and the units of dental activity? Does he share my disappointment at the statement made in the summer about how to resolve the situation based on the consultation launched last year, and furthermore, does he hope that UDAs will be expunged from all of this so that dentists can be properly rewarded for the job they do and thus return to the NHS?
Peter Aldous
I thank my right hon. Friend for that intervention, and I agree wholeheartedly with him on that point. I will come on to it as I set out what I believe needs to be done to improve the situation, but I think he and I are very much on the same page on that issue.
First, I will address the issue of funding. There is a need to secure a long-term funding stream. In recent years, the NHS dental budget has not kept up with inflation and population growth. Since 2008, NHS dentistry has faced cuts with no parallel elsewhere in the NHS, and the British Dental Association states that it will take £880 million per annum to restore the service to 2010 levels. I acknowledge the budgetary challenges that the Chancellor faces, but the reform process is doomed from the start without an appropriate level of investment. There is a need for a protected budget, and any funding that is clawed back must be kept in dentistry.
Secondly, a strategic approach should be adopted towards recruitment and retention, with a detailed workforce plan being put in place.
Jeff Smith (Manchester, Withington) (Lab)
I congratulate the hon. Member and my hon. Friend the Member for Bradford South (Judith Cummins) on securing this debate. There is a crisis in south Manchester and across the country in trying to access NHS dentists. There are highly trained dentists from abroad who can help. I have some constituents who were trained at the dental faculty of the University of Hong Kong, which is among the top three faculties in the world—it has an English curriculum—but they cannot get registered or access the licence exams. I understand that the Government have said they are going to simplify the registration process. Would he join me in urging the Government to act very quickly to make that happen?
Peter Aldous
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention, which came at an appropriate time. Indeed, he may well have been reading my speech, because that was the next point I was coming to. In the short term, we need to be stepping up recruitment from abroad. Although the legislation tabled earlier this month to streamline the process of recognising overseas qualifications is welcome, that will not address the problem on its own, and I hope that when he responds to the debate, the Minister will address that issue. In the longer term, we must improve dentistry training ourselves and ensure that it is available throughout the country. In that regard, the proposals being worked up by the Universities of East Anglia and of Suffolk are to be welcomed.
Thirdly, as my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Wiltshire (Dr Murrison) said, there is a need for a new NHS dental contract. It is welcome that discussions have started on revising the contract, but there is a worry that the Government are looking only at marginal changes, when ultimately a completely new contract is required. At present, the NHS contract is driving dentists away from doing NHS work. Its target-based approach is soul destroying for so many, and it needs to be replaced with an agreement that has prevention at its core.
That leads me to the fourth and penultimate component of a new system of NHS dentistry: the public promotion of the importance of good oral health, and looking after our teeth from the cradle to the grave. Denplan proposes that the Government and NHS should lead a public education campaign to emphasise the importance of oral health. There should be provision in the aforementioned new contract for dentists to go into schools, as well as into care and nursing homes. When economic conditions allow, let us be imaginative and exempt children’s toothbrushes and toothpaste from VAT. That can embed good oral healthcare at an early stage of life. It is welcome that the Health and Care Act 2022 facilitates the roll-out of water fluoridation projects, and the Government should work proactively with water companies to ensure that is universal.
Finally, there is a need for clear transparency and full local accountability for overseeing and commissioning NHS dentistry services. I acknowledge the hard work and great effort of those working at NHS England, but we need to replace a system that is inaccessible, opaque, and confusing. The Health and Care Act provides us with the means of doing that, and it is welcome that from next April, many integrated care systems will be taking on responsibility for local NHS dentistry. That is the right approach, as good oral healthcare is essential for good general health and wellbeing, and inextricably linked to primary, mental and emergency care. It is vital that those involved in dentistry are represented on integrated care boards.
Across the country there are a multitude of dental deserts. If we do nothing, if we apply the odd sticking plaster here and there, those will turn into one large Sahara. We owe it to those we represent to ensure that does not happen. That means that we need as a matter of urgency a blueprint plan for new NHS dentistry. That will not be delivered in one fell swoop, but we need clearly to lay down the route path and start taking meaningful strides down it. With that in mind, the motion calls on the Government to embark on that journey and report back on their progress in three months’ time.
Peter Aldous
We have had a full and productive debate. I will quickly run through a few points—I apologise if I miss any hon. Members. The right hon. Member for Knowsley (Sir George Howarth) rightly highlighted the importance of addressing oral cancer quickly. I take on board his proposal for the short-term fast-tracking of emergency support. My hon. Friend the Member for Mole Valley (Sir Paul Beresford) suggested a short-term simple contract to get on top of the backlog. The hon. Member for Bradford South (Judith Cummins) highlighted how £50 million was made available but that the system is so broke we spent hardly any of that.
My hon. Friend the Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (John Lamont) highlighted that the problem is not just in England but in Scotland. The hon. Member for Blackburn (Kate Hollern) mentioned the importance of workforce planning. My hon. Friend the Member for Gloucester (Richard Graham) mentioned the importance of the local NHS being involved. The hon. Member for Bath (Wera Hobhouse) highlighted the alarming rise of DIY dentistry.
It was good to have my hon. Friend the Member for Salisbury (John Glen) in his place for the debate. He emphasised the importance of the short-term UDA model. We have been going back to 1951 as a basis, and we need to bring that right up to date. The hon. Member for Bootle (Peter Dowd) is right that we have been here before. There is now a need for action. My hon. Friend the Member for North Devon (Selaine Saxby) mentioned dentists getting on the buses—an interesting way to improve accessibility. My hon. Friend the Member for Loughborough (Jane Hunt) again highlighted the short-term arrangements.
Finally, the Minister said that his door is always open. I welcome that. I hope that he will be in his place for some time, because the last thing we need is more change. If the motion is agreed to, when we come back in three months it must be a question not just of what we will do but of what we have done.
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Peter Aldous broadly supports the Bill which will provide urgent assistance to hard-pressed families and businesses, but highlights the importance of avoiding any unintended negative consequences for key objectives such as energy security, the transition to net zero and the full deployment of renewables and low-carbon forms of energy production, which are bringing local economic benefits.
Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)
I am largely supportive of the Bill, as there is an urgent need for assistance to be delivered at speed to hard-pressed families and businesses, but it is important to avoid any unintended negative consequences for other key Government objectives, in particular energy security, the transition to net zero and the full deployment of renewables and low-carbon forms of energy production.
My constituents urgently need the support that the Bill will provide, but to regenerate the local economy and create long-term, well-paid jobs, we need investment in offshore wind, nuclear and hydrogen. There are exciting opportunities in the sector throughout east Anglia, and specifically Waveney and Lowestoft, although certain clauses in the Bill raise worries that such investment could be imperilled. I hope that the Minister will be able to allay that unease. The Government are not pursuing a windfall tax on renewables and nuclear generators because they are worried that it would deter investment. Some of the mechanisms proposed in the Bill could have a similar negative impact, and it is important that further clarification is provided quickly. I will briefly outline three specific concerns.
Clause 16, along with schedule 6, introduces the cost-plus revenue limit, which is a cap on the revenue of low-carbon energy generation. There is a worry that this mechanism could penalise investment in clean, cheap and low-carbon generation. To avoid that, there is a need for a reinvestment allowance to channel investment into low-carbon projects, which are needed to meet our net zero and energy security targets, and which will also provide the long-term route map out of the cost of living crisis.
Clause 21 enables the Secretary of State to modify the licences under which energy companies operate. Currently, the regulator Ofgem determines licence conditions. This is an arrangement that works well and has the confidence of investors. Further clarification is required as to the Government’s intentions, and consideration should be given to providing a definitive timeframe through a sunset clause for how long this provision will be in place.
Clause 19 sets out the arrangements for passing on the energy price support from generators to end users. There is a concern that the Bill as drafted does not properly take into account the fact that generators do not all operate in the same way and that they incur differing operational costs.
In conclusion, I hope the Minister can allay these concerns. I urge the Government to liaise and consult with all relevant stakeholders, including energy companies and civil society organisations, to avoid these unintended consequences, which could imperil energy security, decarbonisation and economic regeneration in coastal communities such as Waveney.
Peter Aldous
The past 10 years have been remarkably successful, with the offshore wind industry and the Government working hand in hand. The industry has raised genuine concerns, which I briefly outlined in relation to clauses 16, 19 and 21, about the direction of that relationship and how it is being imperilled. Will the Minister agree to meet the industry and address those concerns as the Bill progresses?
The Minister for Climate (Graham Stuart)
As my hon. Friend would doubtless expect, I regularly meet energy companies. I have absolute confidence.
Peter Aldous welcomes Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s statement and decisive action and calls for benefits to be uprated in line with inflation as soon as practically possible.
Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)
I welcome my right hon. Friend to his new role and commend him for the prompt and decisive action he has already taken. He has rightly said that the Government wish to protect the most vulnerable. With that in mind, taking into account the parameters he has already set out, may I urge him to confirm as soon as practically possible that benefits will be uprated in line with inflation? In doing so, he will remove the burden of worry and anxiety that is hanging over a great many people in this country.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Jeremy Hunt)
That issue has been raised by several colleagues from across the House and, as I have said previously, I thank my hon. Friend for raising it and understand how important it is. He will understand that I am not in a position to make any commitments in any area today. We will make our decisions as soon as we can and bring them back to this House, but I hear what he says.