Autumn Statement fail: 92% of mainstream schools will be unable to cope with cost increases in 2024/25. For 99% of secondary schools and 91% of primary schools, cuts to education provision are now inevitable.

 The Lyon Park Primary School strike is only the most visible sign of the funding crisis in our schools -  more problems will follow in other schools as governing bodies try to balance their budgets.

There was hope that the Autumn Statement might provide cash to help remedy the problem of underfunding  - but no!

Commenting on the Chancellor’s speech, Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:   

“The economy is struggling to achieve growth, and the Government has downgraded its own growth forecasts in today’s statement. Investing properly in education is an urgent and overriding economic priority, yet what we have seen today is nothing of the sort.

“Just 3.9% of UK GDP is spent on education, compared to the OECD average of 5%. This was highlighted to Jeremy Hunt in a letter earlier this month from the leaders of four education unions, including the NEU. The Chancellor’s response is completely inadequate and makes a mockery of the Prime Minister’s repeated claim that education is at the heart of this Government’s priorities. 

“It should be of great concern to Jeremy Hunt that 92% of mainstream schools will be unable to cope with cost increases in 2024/25. For 99% of secondary schools and 91% of primary schools, cuts to education provision are now inevitable.

“These schools have already seen years of under-investment, and in far too many cases school buildings have drifted into serious disrepair. The Chancellor couldn’t even bring himself to fund urgent work on the school estate, following the RAAC scandal which has brought such embarrassment to this Government. This would require at least £4.4bn per year.

“With underfunded and understaffed schools and colleges, and school buildings crumbling, the Government must prioritise investment in schools and colleges and fund a fair pay rise for staff next year. Teachers and support staff have seen their living standards hammered since 2010. Our member surveys show that a majority are ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ worried about keeping up with household bills. They have been hit even harder by pay cuts against inflation than other workers, creating major recruitment and retention problems.  

“More of the same is not good enough – and it certainly fails parents and young people, too. In order to recruit and retain the teachers that we so clearly need, the Government must demonstrate they value them. That means an urgent, properly funded and major correction in pay, alongside the investment needed to reduce sky-high workload and to make school and college buildings fit for purpose. The Chancellor’s statement does nothing to repair the damage caused by 13 years of Conservative cuts. The Government will pay a heavy political price for continuing to ignore the problems it has created for educators, parents and young people.” 

Bennett: What got us into 'this mess' is the fraud, errors and mismanagement of the corrupt and still out-of-control financial sector

Summary of Green Party reactions to the Autumn Statement

·         Caroline Lucas MP on Tax avoidance announcement: ‘This is a small step in right direction - but we urgently need full tax transparency’ 
·         Green Party Leader Natalie Bennett: Problems with Autumn Statement start at foundations - deficit cannot be blamed on government spending and welfare 
·         Lucas on cold homes: No excuse left for the Government’s killer complacency on the cold homes 
·         Lucas on Fracking sovereign wealth fund: ‘It’s a cynical gimmick. The best thing for the economy and the environment is super energy efficiency, properly insulated homes and investment  in renewables,’
·         Lucas on Austerity: ‘The people did not cause the financial crash and they should not be punished for it. It’s time to expose the lie is that there is no alternative to austerity’ 

THE Government has shown what is akin to ‘killer complacency’ on cold homes in its Autumn Statement, Caroline Lucas MP has said.

While she welcomed some announcements, she said the Government’s energy policies had been ‘defined by chaos and contradictions’.

There was no excuse left for the Government’s killer complacency on the cold homes she said.

Lucas, Co-Chair of the All-Party Fuel Poverty and Energy Efficiency Group, slammed news that none of the Treasury’s planned £100 billion investment in infrastructure over the next Parliament would be allocated to measures to tackle fuel poverty, noting that allocating just two per cent of the Government’s current annual £45 billion infrastructure budget to housing retrofit would allow half a million low income homes to be made highly energy efficient every year.

The Government had displayed ‘wilful ignorance of the overwhelming fiscal, human and environmental benefits of energy efficiency* and the consequences for families and the NHS are plain to see’, she said.

She added:

“People are freezing in their homes, and it’s preventable. Cold homes cost lives and cost our NHS – to the tune of well over £1bn a year. The UK’s woefully draughty and energy-inefficient housing stock is an urgentinfrastructure priority. It makes no economic sense to ignore, but it’s exactly what the Government is doing. The Government has grossly failed the public today.

“A nationwide super energy-efficiency drive would lower household energy bills,hugely contribute to job creation and the economy, as well as being essential for carbon targets. It’s a win-win – the Government’s continued inaction flies in the face of all common sense.”

Meanwhile, responding to the Statement, Leader of The Green Party of England and Wales, Natalie Bennett, said:

 "The many problems with this Autumn Statement start with its foundations. Osborne is continuing the demonstrably false claim that our deficit problems can be blamed on government spending and welfare.

"But what got us into 'this mess' is the fraud, errors and mismanagement of the corrupt and still out-of-control financial sector.

"But to admit that would require George Osborne to explain why after more than four years in government he has not delivered the urgent action needed is to tackle the still out-of-control sector, the still too-big-to-fail banks and its hulking dominance of our imbalanced economy that sucks capital and skilled people into the City and away from places where they could be helping to improve the wellbeing of all."

On the Government’s flood defence announcement, Lucas said:

“Families have been devastated by flooding and investment in proper flood protection is critical. But the Government is offering a disingenuous, feel-good fix – dig just a little, and it’s perfectly clear that this spending falls far short of what’s actually necessary to protect homes and businesses from increased flood risk due to climate change. We also need prevention – we need concrete action and investment to tackle the roots of the issue, including climate change. This is just another example of the Government’s persistent failure to climate-proof the flooding budget.” 

Tax avoidance
Lucas said: 

 “The extent of tax avoidance, tax evasion and unpaid tax in the UK economy is staggering. The Government’s apathetic policies on corporate tax avoidance have smacked of elitist double standards. Corporate tax dodgers are allowed to get away with not paying their fair share in society, while workers and small businesses are left paying the price. Today’s announcement is a small step in right direction, but if we’re serious about stamping out tax avoidance, then we urgently need full tax transparency.”

Small business

The Leader of The Green Party of England and Wales, Natalie Bennett, said:

 "Measures to help small business are in principle welcome. Another way in which we desperately need to rebalance our economy is away from the tax-dodging, low-paying multinationals back towards strong local economies built around small businesses and cooperatives.

"But the plaster of business rate relief won't heal the gaping wound caused by parasitical multinationals. We need to make the multinationals not only pay their taxes - and it is good to see rhetoric on this, although past experience says the detail of action will need careful examination - but also pay their staff decently and give them stable, secure jobs. And we need to stop big business stamping all over small business suppliers with unacceptable payment terms, and ensure their operations obey the law." 

Lucas welcomed the Chancellor’s acknowledgement that the business rates system wasn’t working but said that whilst a review is welcome news, we also need swift, positive action now.
She said:

 “We need policies with teeth - bold plans that deliver real change for small businesses on the ground.  The vast majority of businesses in my constituency are small or micro-level, and they’re are the backbone of our local economy. As well as forming part of community life, they provide valuable services and jobs. The business owners I meet in Brighton Pavilion tell me they’re struggling with business rates. This Government says it’s pro small business, so that needs to be reflected in its policies.

“We need the local business rates relief to be expanded to benefit more small businesses, who are being crippled by high rents and high rates. The Government has dragged its feet on this for years– and a review is welcome. But Brighton’s businesses need action, now.” 

Fracking

Lucas said: 

‘The Fracking sovereign wealth fund is a cynical gimmick. The best thing for the economy and the environment is super energy efficiency, properly insulated homes and investment in renewables.’

Protest over London Mayor grabbing the New Homes Bonus

New Homes Bonus is granted to councils in recognition of the pressures they and their communities face when new housing is built in their borough. For example, the cost of more people using locally delivered services, such as adult care or libraries, or investment in infrastructure.

The Autumn Statement announced that, from 2015, London boroughs will face a cut of £70 million in the New Homes Bonus. It also announced that outside of London the New Homes Bonus will not be given to Local Enterprise Panel (LEPs), as had been originally proposed, but would instead continue to go to the councils who deliver local services. The government has, however, decided that in London the New Homes Bonus will be given to the London Local Enterprise Panel, chaired by the Mayor of London.

Chair of London Councils, Mayor Jules Pipe, said:

All Londoners should be outraged by this move. If the New Homes Bonus is essential for councils in Leeds and Manchester to fund the pressures of growth, why should Londoners be any different? This must be reversed.

The very fact that it has been proposed raises fundamental questions about the governance of the growth agenda in London and the government’s commitment to it.

Greens: Autumn statement based on short-term politics not the long-term challenge

CHANCELLOR of the Exchequer George Osborne’s Autumn Statement was dominated by short-term political considerations and a failure yet again to either address the underlying, structural problems which weaken the health of the British economy or move us to a low-carbon, affordable energy future, says the Green Party. Nothing has been done to prepare for the economic storm on the horizon.

In the Autumn Statement, Osborne insisted that “Britain’s economic plan is working” and that the Coalition Government is overseeing a “responsible recovery.”

In response to the Autumn Statement, Natalie Bennett, Green Party Leader for England and Wales, said:

"Mr Osborne was so keen to claim that this was an Autumn Statement for the long term, yet on this issue, as others, he is clearly a man who protests too much.

"Our current economic position is based on high and growing consumer indebtedness, as households are forced to borrow to cover basic costs, and a government-supported housing bubble. The Chancellor says that the sun is shining. Well that proves he hasn't looked out the window today, or looked into the lives of millions of Britons who are struggling to pay the bills, in far too many cases forced to resort to extortionate payday lenders or foodbanks to get by.”

"Instead of working to restructure our economy, to rein-in our reckless, fraud-ridden financial sector, to boost manufacturers and the real economy, to create stable, decent-paying jobs that workers can build a life on, Mr Osborne's focus is instead clearly short-term - to inflate the economy for the mere 18 months to the next General Election."

Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, said:

“The Autumn statement was yet another missed opportunity to take the action that we need that will genuinely move us to a low-carbon, affordable energy future.

“The Chancellor has done nothing to tackle the root causes of fuel poverty or soaring fuel bills. Instead of watering down energy companies’ obligations, he should have announced a major programme to make all homes super-energy efficient. If funded through recycled carbon taxes, this could bring an estimated nine out of ten homes out of fuel poverty, quadruple carbon savings, and create up to 200,000 jobs across the UK.” [1]

“The Chancellor has delivered a lavish Christmas gift to fracking companies – giving them tax breaks to support an irresponsible and dangerous dash for gas that will undermine the urgent action we need to reduce our carbon emissions.

“It’s ironic that a Chancellor who talks about going green is quite happy for the UK to continue to fund massive subsidies for both nuclear and fossil fuels. Taking real action to tackle climate change would create jobs, transform the economy, and help us meet our duty to secure a safe and habitable climate for future generations."

[1] http://www.energybillrevolution.org/whats-the-campaign/

London Councils laments but where's the fightback?

Anti-cuts campaigners in London have been urging councils to get together with their communities to mount a challenge to the cuts imposed by the Coalition.  Most now admit that the cuts are doing real damage to and hitting the most vulnerable.  London Councils, the body representing boroughs across London,  could be the vehicle for a coordinated campaign but have been reduced to lamenting the impact while local councils quietly carry on carrying out the Coalition's dirty work for them.

If London took the lead this could be followed by other local authorities and the beginning of a national movement.

London Councils issued the following statement after the Autumn Statement:

On the basis of the Chancellor's Autumn Statement, funding for local government is expected to fall by a further 2% in 2014/15 beyond the funding reductions already expected. 

Mayor Jules Pipe, Chair of London Councils says:

 ‘The capital needs 90,000 more school places for the start of the 2015 school term and the city’s housing crisis has been brought into sharp relief by the Government’s changes to the benefits regime.

‘This means additional financial pressure on London councils as they seek to ensure a good school for all London’s children and decent homes for Londoners.

‘In 2010 the Government announced a cut of 28% to local government grant. Yet the Government continues to cut the amount of funding available to local government.

‘London’s councils have been at the forefront of delivering efficiency savings while attempting to improve and protect local services.

‘The Government needs to be aware that with increasing levels of demand this level of cuts is unsustainable and presents a significant level of risk to delivering those services vital to ensuring that London is a world class competitive city. The Government needs to realise that if London doesn't work, the country doesn't work."

McDonnell: Let's form a national coalition against poverty

John McDonnell MP has sent the following open letter to his Labour colleagues:

Dear Colleague,

Proposed Welfare Benefits Bill

As you know, Osborne announced that the Coalition is to bring forward before Christmas a Bill to sanction the cuts in welfare benefits set out in yesterday’s autumn statement.

We all know that there is no need for primary legislation to implement these cuts and that this is his crude and blatantly cynical attempt to lay what he considers will be a political trap for Labour.

In his crude political terms, his obvious aim is to be able to claim that if Labour votes against or abstains on his Bill then we are on the side of the so called skivers whilst the Tories are the champions of the strivers. If we do vote for the Bill he will then cite our vote as support for his attack on benefits.

Like many right wing politicians over the years, when their policies are demonstrably failing they reach for a scapegoat. It’s often the poor simply because they haven’t the power to defend themselves.

I believe that we shouldn’t allow ourselves to be dragged into the gutter of politics by Osborne’s exploitation of the poorest and most vulnerable in our society.

Instead of falling for this grubby trap us let’s take them on, on this issue.

If we have the courage and behave astutely, we could turn this cynical ploy by Osborne into an opportunity for us to transform the debate on the issues of welfare, poverty, unemployment and fairness in our society.

 

This means stop all hesitation on this matter and making it clear now that we are not voting for this cynical attack on the poorest, which includes cutting benefits to many people in work and struggling to survive on low pay and often poverty wages.

It means saying now that we are taking the Tories on, on the issue of fairness. Nobody, especially ordinary working people, likes a skiver but there are mechanisms that can deal with this and if they need improving well let’s have that debate. The fact is that it is becoming increasingly obvious to our people that it is the rich and wealthy, who are ripping us off with tax dodging. It is equally becoming obvious whose side the Tories are on.

Let’s seize upon this opportunity to highlight the real facts about the hardship that so many of our people are facing. Most of our community are under pressure. Many are only a couple of pay packets away from a life on the edge. Many others have tipped over into debt and poverty.

Let’s turn the tables on Osborne and use this opportunity to expose this reality and offer our alternative of a fair tax system and investment for growth led employment.

Let’s get out there and build the coalition of all those people and organisations who are willing to speak out on what is happening to our people. That means nationally and locally bringing together not just all the charities and campaigning organisations that take an interest in poverty and welfare but all the churches, mosques, synagogues, gurdwaras, community organisations and anyone with a conscience on this issue.

Let’s lead in forming a new national coalition against poverty and those who attack the poor.

Let’s enlist the support of people from all walks of life, including artists and performers, in the same way we did in the fight against the prejudice of the Nazis against black people and ethnic minorities.

In many ways it’s the same struggle against prejudice mobilised by cynical politicians.

It should start though by making it clear immediately that we are not playing Osborne’s cynical political games. We are not voting for his cuts to the poor.

Yours ,

John McDonnell MP