|

Poverty and social exclusion

Poverty and Social Exclusion: 30 Nov 2000

Mr. Hilary Benn (Leeds, Central): This has been an excellent and necessary debate. In terms of poverty, we in this country have one of the worst records in the western world--certainly among the countries belonging to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, bar the United States of America.

As a relatively new Member representing the constituency of Leeds, Central, I have reflected on this issue a great deal. Leeds is a city of contrasts. The first city of Leeds is thriving, diversifying and attracting new businesses, and there has been strong civic leadership. Although my hon. Friend the Minister is entirely correct to say that getting right the economy of the city of Leeds will provide the foundation, on its own that is not enough.

In the past 15 years, Leeds has created about 30,000 new jobs. Earlier this year, a report by Leeds training and enterprise council stated that, with luck, Leeds will do the same in the next 15 years. However, unemployment will remain unchanged. That report pulled me up short, because it defines in a nutshell the problem in Leeds and the country as a whole.

Of course, there is the second city of Leeds. It so happens that four of the five wards that I represent--City and Holbeck, Hunslet, University and Richmond Hill--are among the most deprived in the country. Although those communities are about only a mile and a half away from Leeds city centre, where one finds the symbols of economic success, in terms of opportunity, aspiration and hope they could be on a different planet.

One of the best ways in which our society measures the quality of life in a given area is through the value attached to houses and homes. Last year in Leeds, the first penthouse was sold for £1 million, but a house in one of those outlying communities cannot be sold for £2,500. Like me, many hon. Members who have contributed to this debate represent two cities, two areas and two communities. There is no doubt that the first city cannot in truth prosper if the second city cannot have a greater share of that prosperity.

I have been struck by the extent of disadvantage. I hate to use the term "multi-faceted", but it is true that disadvantage comes in many different forms. According to the relevant league table, a particular secondary school in my constituency is not doing very well. However, 50 per cent. of its kids receive free school meals, and 50 per cent. have special educational needs. That constitutes true disadvantage.

Many people who visit our surgeries on a Saturday say, "We've got a problem with housing." Frequently, they then let slip that a member of their family suffers from ill health. We know from experience that it is the people who live in the poorest areas who suffer the highest levels of crime. In Holbeck, the area covered by the largest police division in my constituency, 60 per cent. of crime is drug related.

We have all heard what it is like to live in a poor neighbourhood: the vandalism, the rubbish and the low-level nuisance on the streets. I met a woman last year who was too frightened to walk three streets to go to the one remaining shop in her community. When I spoke to the shopkeeper, I learned that he spends most of his life, when his shop is closed, behind the boarded-up shutters, because he feels isolated within his community. That type of atmosphere corrodes people's confidence in their community.

Poor people pay more for their food because, in some cases, they cannot get to the supermarket, and the local shops charge more. My hon. Friend the Member for Barnsley, East and Mexborough (Mr. Ennis) said that poor people pay more for their fuel, particularly those who are on pre-payment meters. Our society has, in a sense, moved forward: we have invented a new form of purchasing goods--internet shopping--that is denied to people without a bank account because they cannot enter the crucial account number. There is a debate about the universal bank--perhaps it will be set up by the Post Office. I say to the banks, which have a social responsibility in that area, that they should spend less time whingeing about having to contribute to allowing people to access financial services, and spend more time making it work in practice. In our society, it is astonishing that we load so many extra costs on people who already have so little.

The final point that strikes me about this debate, and this is a common view that has been expressed by everybody who has contributed so far, is that to tackle social exclusion we need a combination of help and self-help--to use a slightly old-fashioned expression. We need both, not least because disadvantage manifests itself--certainly in my constituency--as a profound alienation from the political process.

I speak with great authority on this subject, as my hon. Friends will realise, because 80 per cent. of the people in my constituency did not vote in the by-election that returned me to the House. In the previous general election, 45 per cent. did not vote, because they cannot see the difference that we, as politicians, could make to their lives.

The challenge for us is to show that we can make a difference. We cannot do it all for people, but we can target help. The most welcome feature of the Government--for all the criticism, the things we have yet to do and the failures and challenges that lie ahead--is that they are absolutely serious about trying to target help. For example, the excellence in cities initiative is pumping £19 million into the most disadvantaged schools in my constituency, including the one where 50 per cent. of children receive free school meals and 50 per cent. have special educational needs.

The second part of the equation, self-help, is especially important. For all the problems in my constituency that I have discovered in 17 months as a Member of Parliament, what always gives me hope is the astonishing range of community organisations that are working their guts out to make a difference. They include organisations such as Caring Together in Woodhouse and Little London, which ran a pensioners party two weeks ago, and South Leeds Health for All, which is trying to tackle health problems by getting people to talk about them. It is running a men's health group--let us be honest, men are not terribly good at looking after their health.

As other hon. Members have said, we must ensure that targeted support is available to organisations on the ground in a form that they can access. The hon. Member for Northavon (Mr. Webb) asked how we can judge whether we have made a difference, and that is a relevant question. The answer is that, in life, that which we are most proud of is that which we have worked hardest to achieve. If people feel that they can do it for themselves and the Government have helped them to achieve it, perhaps we shall have begun to tackle this serious problem.