A tale of two Houses

As many of you will know, next week Parliament will play host to Her Majesty the Queen as she arrives to officially lay out the business for the next session. The event, known for its pageantry, splendour and symbolism, centres around the Queen’s speech, in which she sets out what her Government intends to do over the next twelve months.

 

As this year’s session draws to a close, I and my fellow MPs have been debating and voting on a number of important Bills as they make their way through the final stages and into law. These include important legislation on housing and immigration. On housing, a good home for everyone in Norwich was one of my core election pledges and so I support this bill which is delivering our manifesto pledge to support home ownership.  On immigration, the Government is taking action to crack down on abuses and restore control to our immigration system. I have been following both of these Bills in detail. I served on the committee for the Immigration Bill, so have followed that in particular detail, and I know it's important to many constituents that we have a fair system that uses resources wisely. 

 

The process is known as ‘ping pong’. Essentially MPs are looking at changes to Bills which have been suggested by the House of Lords. If the Commons makes amendments to the Bill, the Lords must consider them and either agree or disagree to the amendments or make alternative proposals. If the Lords disagrees with any Commons amendments, or makes alternative proposals, then the Bill is sent back to the Commons. A Bill may go back and forth between each House until both Houses reach agreement on the exact wording of the Bill.

 

When the exact wording has been agreed by the Commons and the Lords, the Bill is ready for royal assent, meaning that it goes to the Queen to sign into law. Once a bill receives royal assent it is made an Act of Parliament (the proposals in the bill become law). In exceptional cases, when the two Houses do not reach agreement, the Bill falls. If certain conditions are met, the Commons can use the Parliament Acts to pass the Bill, without the consent of the Lords, in the following session.

 

What all this means in practice is that the collective experience of the Lords is used to refine and hone legislation so that it becomes as effective as it can possibly be, but the democratically elected Commons ultimately have the final say.

 

As we come to the end of the session I think this is a good opportunity to reflect upon just a few of the things we’ve achieved in Government over the past twelve months, the first majority Conservative Government in 18 years.

 

The deficit continues to fall, now down almost two thirds as a share of GDP since its peak in 2009/10. This safeguards our long-term economic future and keeps mortgage rates low. It also means we’ve been able to afford to cut income tax, including taking the lowest paid out of tax all together. The new national living wage will make sure work always pays, and reforms to welfare mean you can’t be better off on benefits than going out to work. Latest figures indicate that the UK is enjoying record employment levels. 31.4 million are now in work, 360,000 more than last year. Full employment in Norwich North was a priority of mine at the election, and continues to be so. My Norwich for Jobs project has successfully helped to halve youth unemployment in Norwich, whilst nationally I continue to fight for the investment and transport links Norwich needs to thrive and succeed.

 

A strong economy is the only way we can afford to invest in our NHS. In fact this Government has committed to investing over £10 billion per annum of additional resources into the NHS by 2020, something no other party was able to commit to. We now have 7,000 more nurses and 9,000 more doctors than in 2010. This was another election pledge of mine. I regularly meet with staff at the N&N and have met with senior officials to improve the standard of mental health treatment in our region.

 

A strong economy means our schools are able to get the investment they deserve. At the election I said I wanted every Norwich North school to be rated good or outstanding by 2020, so I’ll be paying particular attention to schools policy as we move into the next session. There is l a lot of work still to do to ensure our children get the best possible start in life.

 

A strong economy also allows overall police spending to be protected in real terms over the Spending Review period, an increase of £900 million in cash terms by 2019-20. On top of that, the Government will spend 30 per cent more overall in real terms on key counter terrorism capabilities to keep our country safe. I look forward to working with our new Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner over the coming months, in line with my pledge to keep Norwich and Broadland wonderful places to live.

 

Finally, a strong economy means we can continue to ensure dignity in retirement. The triple lock policy guarantees that your pension will always rise by the highest of earnings, prices or 2.5%. To help young people save, the introduction of the new Lifetime ISA for under 40s means you won’t have to choose between saving for your first home or for your retirement, you now have the opportunity to do both. For every £4 you save, the Government grants you £1. So if you put in £4,000 a year the Government would give you £1,000 every year until you’re 50. To ensure people get the best advice about saving, we’re increasing the tax free allowance that employers and employees can use to pay for advice to £500. These changes are particularly welcome, especially given that many young people haven’t had such a good deal from pensions.

 

There is of course plenty of work still to do to ensure that we build an economy of full employment and opportunity for all. Locally I continue to lead on the Norwich for Jobs project and have recently launched a new campaign on social mobility which builds upon this success. Looking ahead to the next session I am particularly interested in the upcoming Bills on education, homelessness, marriage certificates and railways, so expect to hear more on this very soon.

 

As ever I will continue to keep constituents informed on my work both locally and in Norwich, so sign up to my e-newsletter for the latest updates: http://www.chloesmith.org.uk/newsletter