(11 years, 11 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Stephen Hammond (Wimbledon) (Con)
1. What steps he has taken to reduce the burden of regulation on (a) small and medium-sized and (b) other businesses.
The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Mr Mark Prisk)
The Government take a comprehensive approach to cutting the burden of red tape. We have capped the cost of new regulation, identified hundreds of existing regulations to be scrapped, and introduced a moratorium on regulation for all micro-businesses.
Stephen Hammond
Small businesses in Wimbledon tell me that the two incentives to growth are access to lending and deregulation. Will my hon. Friend be a little more explicit about what the red tape challenge might bring those businesses in my constituency?
Mr Prisk
Progress on the red tape challenge is very important. We have now reviewed some 1,500 regulations, and Ministers have agreed to scrap or substantially overhaul 59% of them—some 887 regulations. That will make a real difference to businesses in Wimbledon and, indeed, elsewhere.
Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)
Will the Minister take it from me, as chair of the all-party parliamentary group on management, that we must stop feeding this anti-regulation red tape movement and concentrate on good management of small businesses? Forty-three per cent. of managers in the country are rated as poor. Let us do something about management, rather than going on about red tape.
Mr Prisk
We cannot ignore the fact that 11,000 elements on the statute book impose a burden on many businesses. We need to tackle that, and I am sorry that the last Government failed to do so. Indeed, they produced six new regulations on every working day. But is the hon. Gentleman correct in saying that we need to think about the calibre of management of small businesses? Yes. Bad regulation and red tape need to go, but we need to think about the wider issue as well, I shall certainly take that from the hon. Gentleman, as he asked.
Lorely Burt (Solihull) (LD)
My hon. Friend has already outlined many of the measures that we as a coalition Government are taking to reduce the regulatory burden, but does he agree that a fire-at-will policy might be counter-productive and would not produce the increased productivity and growth that we need so much?
Mr Prisk
The element of the Beecroft report to which my hon. Friend refers is one of 23 separate measures. We want to ensure that we consider these matters on the basis of good evidence. That is why there is a call for evidence, and once we have had a look at it and weighed the pros against the cons, we will make a decision.
Mr Speaker
Before we continue these exchanges, let me say that ordinarily when the Secretary of State is absent, the fact of the absence is explained at the start of Question Time. I can hear Members inquiring about it. I know that the Secretary of State is absent because I have received a letter from him, but let me say for the record that it would be desirable to be told at the outset, and, in general terms, that it is of course highly undesirable for the Secretary of State to be absent on these occasions. It must not become a regular practice.
Ian Lavery (Wansbeck) (Lab)
Does the Minister believe that a person who has made a donation of more than £500,000 to the Conservative party and made more than £100 million from equity deals is a fit and proper person to determine Government policy and workers’ rights?
Mr Prisk
Let me first respond to what you said, Mr Speaker. I apologise if I have not made it clear that the Secretary of State is promoting British business in Germany. I know that that is something that all parties have wanted to do. However, the Secretary of State will note, and we will note, your admonishment.
As for the question from the hon. Member for Wansbeck (Ian Lavery), I think that we need to be very careful when it comes to the kind of allegation that he is trying to make about that particular individual. It is important to have good employers—good people who actually understand the market. That is an important contribution, regardless of whatever the hon. Gentleman’s prejudices may be.
Ian Murray (Edinburgh South) (Lab)
It is clear that this Government do not know what they are doing on growth: one day it is regulation, and the next day it is deregulation. This week, Baroness Wilcox pronounced in the other place that the groceries code adjudicator regulations were a “pro-growth measure” on the same day that the AWOL Secretary of State called the deregulatory Beecroft proposals “bonkers”. Does that not demonstrate that Downing street’s obsession with Beecroft is not intended to promote growth, but is simply another example of this Government’s incoherent and incompetent approach to the economy, putting old Tory ideology before any credible strategy to get people back to work?
Mr Prisk
I am sorry that we are getting platitudes like that, because this is an important issue. We want to ensure that there is a concerted approach on regulation—capping the costs of new ones, scrapping existing ones, and thereby helping small businesses. That is what we are doing. The Labour party failed to do that in 13 years in office. It is no good Labour Members wishing things; we are acting and they are not.
Mr David Hamilton (Midlothian) (Lab)
2. What recent assessment he has made of the effect on business confidence of the economy entering recession.
The Minister for Universities and Science (Mr David Willetts)
Business confidence has held up so far this year, and is well above its 2008-09 lows. The CBI business confidence index came in at plus 22 in April, one of its highest readings in the past five years.
Mr Hamilton
Does the Minister accept that consumer confidence is extremely important? If Beecroft’s fire-at-will measure is implemented, as proposed by some Members on the Government Benches, that confidence will sharply decline. I say that as someone who was unemployed for two and a half years; people cannot plan ahead or do anything, and it brings added jeopardy to families. This is therefore extremely important: if we want confidence, we must get rid of the Beecroft report.
Mr Willetts
It is very important to maintain confidence in the British economy, and people can take confidence from the fact that employment is up, and that inflation is down so their living standards are protected. They can take confidence from the fact that exports are up, and they can take confidence from the fact that public borrowing is down so interest rates are down. Those are the reasons why we are confident in the British economy.
Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)
May I tell the Minister that the chief executive of Northamptonshire chamber of commerce has said that
“the news the economy was in recession paints an “unduly pessimistic picture”
as far as Northamptonshire is concerned? Mr Griffiths says the news is contrary to what he is hearing from his members, and his local quarterly economic survey shows a far “more positive picture”. He believes that that gives a
“more accurate indication of the underlying trends in the economy.”
Mr Willetts
There are great examples of business success across Britain, in both small and large companies. The coalition is committed to ensuring that we deliver growth and prosperity in the future.
Mr Iain Wright (Hartlepool) (Lab)
Back in the real world, has the Minister seen this week’s report by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, showing that more than half of manufacturers have no confidence in the Government and think the Government are performing badly, and only 14% think the Government are doing well? In the same week, the CBI said manufacturing output will fall sharply in the next quarter because of contracting demand, producing a double-dip recession made in Downing street. Does the Minister believe the manufacturers, who wish to engage with Government to create a long-term industrial strategy, or does he side with his Cabinet colleagues, who believe business should merely stop whingeing and work harder?
Mr Willetts
I agree with what the director general of the CBI said the other day. I thought he put it very well:
“We have always said that the path back to sustainable economic growth will be a long and difficult one, with many bumps along the way. To re-balance our economy towards exports and investment will take time and patience.”
We are absolutely committed to rebalancing towards exports and investment, and in my conversations with engineering businesses and others across the country it is clear they understand that that is exactly what the Government are doing.
Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire) (Con)
Will the Minister join me in congratulating businesses across North Wiltshire, who are reporting extremely good conditions? Honda has just announced a new line, the excellent automatic hand dryer I used a short time ago in a House of Commons lavatory was made by none other than Dyson of Malmesbury, and a number of enterprise awards have been given to firms in the constituency. The picture is actually not bad at all. Will the Minister congratulate those companies?
Mr Willetts
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. There is a spirit of innovation in our country of which we can be proud. It is one of the reasons that our exports to the emerging economies of India, China and Brazil—which are the most competitive and important economies of the future—are shooting up, even while, sadly, we are held back by the economic problems of the eurozone, brought on by membership of the euro, a policy advocated by the Labour party.
Mr John Spellar (Warley) (Lab)
3. What steps he is taking further to develop the motor and components industry.
The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Mr Mark Prisk)
Over the past 18 months, the United Kingdom automotive sector has secured more than £4 billion-worth of investment, including the decision by General Motors to build the next generation of Astras in Ellesmere Port. Through the Automotive Council, we are working hard to rebuild the UK’s supply chain and to encourage exports further.
Mr Spellar
I am astonished that the Secretary of State has not turned up today. Not only is it bad form, but I actually wanted to praise him—although that might have been bad for inter-coalition relations. He has shown a bipartisan continuity of policy in support of the motor industry, which is so important for encouraging long-term investment. As that policy is increasingly successful, as the Minister has indicated, will he now focus strongly on the supply chain, where too many components are still imported? Will he get his officials to work with the industry to get the main-tier suppliers to develop capacity in the UK, so that there is a major benefit to the British economy, British jobs and British workers?
Mr Prisk
It is rare that a Minister gets the opportunity to receive the praise intended for a Secretary of State, so I will just stand here for a moment or two.
I entirely agree with the principle mentioned; this House has an opportunity to put manufacturing beyond party politics. I want to do that, as does the Secretary of State. We are putting in £125 million specifically to target the supply chain, and I want to make sure that that is available shortly. We are working well with Birmingham city council and others, and I look forward to being able to develop things further.
Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)
I grew up in a village just outside Coventry, a city that had half a dozen car manufacturers in the 1970s, at a time when the industry was being decimated by strikes, led by trade unionists such as Red Robbo, over demarcation disputes and excessive wage claims. Does the Minister agree that much of the recent success of the industry is due to a more sensible and flexible approach by the work force?
Mr Prisk
Absolutely. I again pay tribute to many of the work force in the motor industry. They have demonstrated the willingness to show that British workers are highly productive and that we can compete, and they are also flexible. That is the good news story. There are history lessons, and I hope that the Labour party has now learnt them.
Andrew Miller (Ellesmere Port and Neston) (Lab)
May I put on record my thanks to the newly labelled socialist Secretary of State, and indeed to the Minister, for the work they did in securing the future of Ellesmere Port’s Vauxhall plant? Does the Minister agree that the teamwork that involved, which started with Lord Mandelson’s creation of the automotive alliance, and involved the Unite union, the management and so on, is the way to take this industry forward?
Mr Prisk
I absolutely agree with that, and I pay tribute to the hon. Gentleman, too, for his work on this issue. I do not want us to be too self-congratulatory, but it is important that we work together. I am proud to see British factories not only able to compete, but to win against stiff international competition.
John Pugh (Southport) (LD)
The success at Ellesmere Port this week, with unions and management combining and “out-Germanning” the Germans, proved that that is the route to success, rather than the more one-sided Beecroft proposals.
Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)
4. What recent progress he has made on securing the future of the Post Office network.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Norman Lamb)
Significant progress has been made on securing the future of the post office network. In particular, Post Office Ltd has become an independent company, with its own strengthened board; signed a long-term agreement with Royal Mail, cementing their commercial relationship for the next 10 years; won new contracts from central and local government; and achieved greater network stability, with net closures of just two post offices in the year to March 2012, which is the lowest figure for 25 years.
Harriett Baldwin
Will the Minister congratulate villagers from Alfrick in my constituency, who have raised £60,000 in a community share offering and found 60 volunteers to reopen the community post office? However, does he agree that asking each of those 60 pillars of their community to go through a Criminal Records Bureau check is a little excessive?
Norman Lamb
I absolutely congratulate the villagers who have managed to achieve that. I have seen a similar story in Norfolk, and it is a fantastic community spirit that manages to achieve that. I tend to agree that asking every volunteer in the village to undergo a CRB check seems over the top.
Mr Mike Weir (Angus) (SNP)
I welcome what the Minister says, but does he not share my concern that there are still problems when main post offices are moved into other businesses? A constituent of mine went to the main post office in Arbroath, by far the largest town in my constituency, to renew his photographic driving licence, only to be told that it could no longer provide that service and that he would have to go to Dundee. Does the Minister not accept that such incidents undermine efforts to stabilise the post office network?
Norman Lamb
I hear the hon. Gentleman’s point, but the transformation being undertaken through pilots in both main and local post offices has been received incredibly positively by customers, with 90% satisfaction rates, and by the sub-postmasters and postmistresses who are delivering those services.
Ann McKechin (Glasgow North) (Lab)
Does the Minister share my concerns about the lack of vetting of staff who will be operating the new Post Office Local network and that that will result in a reduction in the level of assurance that customers can expect?
Norman Lamb
I do not think that that concern is fair. The response from customers has been incredibly positive. More than 200 Post Office Locals have been piloted so far and the response we are getting is very positive. If we can make post office services more accessible, particularly by extending opening hours, increases in the number of sales can be achieved. There has been an increase of 9% in sales and in the number of customers coming into the post offices, so that is a real success story.
Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)
5. What recent progress he has made on the recruitment of business mentors.
The Minister for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning (Mr John Hayes)
The value of mentoring guides all we do. After all, it is at the heart of the Government’s flagship apprenticeship programme. Business mentoring is just as important and “Get Mentoring” is a fantastic example of businesses working together. No fewer than 11,000 volunteers have already signed up and, buoyed by that, I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on his personal commitment and support for this exciting initiative.
Andrew Stephenson
As ever, the Minister is backing Britain and backing business, but as he often says, we can always do more. What does he expect the increase to be in the number of mentors during the final part of this year?
Mr Hayes
I do not know, Mr Speaker, whether you have yet had the chance to see my hon. Friend’s local newspaper, the Burnley Express. In that paper, he says:
“Mentoring is a great way for business leaders to invest in and give back to their communities.”
The truth is that we intend in the short term—by the end of this year—to grow that number from 11,000 to 26,000 mentors.
Valerie Vaz (Walsall South) (Lab)
I am sorry to introduce a note of caution into this backslapping, but given that women make up only 12.5% of FTSE 100 boards, what steps is the Minister taking to get more women business mentors?
Mr Hayes
I agree with the hon. Lady. It is important that mentors are drawn from across the business community and that everyone, regardless of who they are and from where they start, gets their chance to prosper as a result of the scheme. As a result of her question, I will look again at what more we can do in that respect.
Alec Shelbrooke (Elmet and Rothwell) (Con)
6. What funds his Department makes available for training and employment for adults.
The Minister for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning (Mr John Hayes)
Despite the pressures and challenges, this Government protected the adult and community learning budget. In the wake of adult learners week, Mr Speaker, I know that you will want me to congratulate all those who are involved in giving people a second chance. Overall, funding in adult and further education will be £3.8 billion in 2012-13. The expansion in provision will be focused on young adults, the low-skilled and pre-employment training for the unemployed. The reason for that is that this Government are committed to redistributing advantage. We are a Government driven by social purpose.
Alec Shelbrooke
What specific help can my hon. Friend’s Department make available to those not in employment, education and training, such as a constituent of mine who has a job lined up as an electrician but cannot afford the £600 training course he needs to undergo in order to gain the latest addition to the qualifications? He has been out of the trade for only 18 months.
Mr Hayes
My hon. Friend is right that we need to allow people to access education at the point that is right for them. That is why continuing education is so important and why the apprenticeship programme is both for young people entering the labour market for the first time and for those who want to upskill and reskill. I strongly support, as he does, the expansion of that programme in both quantity and quality.
Mr Adrian Bailey (West Bromwich West) (Lab/Co-op)
The ability of mature students to access further education courses in order to access higher education courses is vital both for social mobility and for upgrading the nation’s skills. As things stand, anybody taking that route incurs debts at the FE course level and, potentially, at the higher education course level—in effect a double whammy. What is the Minister going to do about it?
Mr Hayes
The hon. Gentleman will know that loans in further education are restricted to older learners and those learning at higher levels precisely because of my determination that the people I have described are protected from additional cost. The information that we have garnered from our early research suggests that the overwhelming majority of people would not be deterred from engaging in the way that he describes.
Mr Gordon Marsden (Blackpool South) (Lab)
The Minister rightly praised adult learners week, but the truth is that Ministers plan to scrap grants to nearly 400,000 adult learners, including apprentices, forcing them to take out personal loans of up to £4,000 a year. His own Department’s research shows that only one in 10 learners said they would definitely do courses on that basis. Do we not face a complete shambles, with blocked social mobility and a lost generation of adult learners? The Minister’s boss, the Secretary of State, told the Association of Colleges:
“We don’t know how it’s going to work.”
Can the Minister give a guarantee now? Will we have more adult learners on loans or not?
Mr Hayes
I guarantee this: the scheme we have built to deliver the most apprenticeships in our history, of the highest quality, will not be altered. I also guarantee that adult and community learning, which was constantly threatened when Labour was in government, will be secure and safe under this Government, with £210 million a year for adult and community learners: second-chance education delivered by this Government.
Susan Elan Jones (Clwyd South) (Lab)
7. What recent assessment he has made of the Government’s relationship with the business community.
The Minister for Universities and Science (Mr David Willetts)
The Department has an honest, constructive and positive relationship with business based on the shared belief that enterprise and Government working together can get us out of recession—not more taxation, regulation and borrowing. Ministers also have one-to-one strategic relationships with key international companies.
Susan Elan Jones
I am grateful to the Minister for that answer. Will he tell us why he does not agree with the chair of GKN, Mr Mike Turner, who is calling for a more active “industrial strategy”? Why does he not listen to him? Surely Mr Turner knows something about business.
Mr Willetts
I have great respect for Mike Turner of GKN. We do believe in the importance of an active industrial strategy, and we have seen the fruits of our approach in the announcement only the other day of the new investment by General Motors. We have also seen it in the announcement of investment by GlaxoSmithKline. We are up for working with business to deliver the industrial strategy and that is what we are doing.
Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)
May I inform my right hon. Friend that relations with business in rural north Yorkshire are excellent but could always be improved? In particular, what can we do to promote the local enterprise partnership in rural north Yorkshire, east Yorkshire and York?
Mr Willetts
I am sure that there is always more we can do to promote LEPs, but they are already playing a crucial role in the allocation of the regional growth fund. I very much look forward to visiting Norfolk later today when I will have the opportunity of announcing further investment in that important county.
Mr John Denham (Southampton, Itchen) (Lab)
In the time that Ministers in this Government had dozens of meetings with Google, one of the few British IT companies to achieve global status, Autonomy, has been taken over and today tragically destroyed. May I suggest to Ministers that instead of spending so much time cosying up to American giants that just want to protect their monopolies, they should talk to people such as Mike Lynch, the founder of Autonomy, to understand why it is so difficult for British innovative companies to get the long-term finance on their own account that they need to become global leaders?
Mr Willetts
Let us make it absolutely clear. My fellow Ministers and I talk on an even and equitable basis with Autonomy and Mike Lynch, of course, and with HP and Google. Indeed, we have set up a council to plan our strategy for e-infrastructure and high-performance computing in which their advice is greatly valued. Yes, it is very important that we invest in high-technology companies, but I cannot believe that a former Secretary of State is actually saying that we should have direct controls to stop a company such as Autonomy being taken over.
Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)
8. What recent assessment he has made of the employment circumstances of apprentices on completion of their placement.
The Minister for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning (Mr John Hayes)
My Department has recently led an extensive survey of 5,000 apprentices. The results, published on 15 May, show that 85% of the apprentices who completed their apprenticeships in the past 12 months are employed; 4% are self-employed and 3% are in further education or training.
Duncan Hames
That is very welcome news. The success of apprenticeships will be judged not just by the growth in their number but by the difference they make to apprentices’ future employment. Reports on the future jobs fund found that 14 months after starting their placement, nearly half the participants were back on benefits. Will the Minister ensure that he continues to conduct evaluations of the new apprenticeships?
Mr Hayes
Absolutely. The survey that I have just mentioned—the biggest survey, producing the best ever results in terms of satisfaction—showed that 92% of apprentices were satisfied with their apprenticeship, and that 88% of the businesses that took on apprentices felt they had gained a business benefit. That information is critical to guiding our policy, described last week by the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee, which I went before dutifully, as a flagship. My apprenticeship policy: our victory.
Meg Hillier (Hackney South and Shoreditch) (Lab/Co-op)
Hackney community college does excellent innovative work on apprenticeships, but along with other further education colleges it faces a 7% cut this year. Earlier, the Minister waxed lyrical about increasing social mobility, and in my constituency and others in east London, further education is a crucial way for adults who missed out to get back on track, often even before they get to the apprenticeship stage. What message does the Minister have for my constituents, as the college has to cut back further?
Mr Hayes
The message is plain: further education has never been given the priority in the past that it has been given by this Government. It is about the flexibilities and freedoms to respond to need in the hon. Lady’s constituency and elsewhere. Further education, once the Cinderella sector, when I became the Minister found its Prince Charming.
Mr Speaker
I sometimes think that the Minister of State would like dedicated oral questions for himself alone, but I am not aware that the House has any plans to provide such, so I hope he can contain his disappointment at that news.
Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
9. What support his Department is giving to small and medium-sized businesses to enable them to grow.
The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Greg Clark)
To drive growth, we are reducing the cost of lending to small businesses by keeping interest rates low and through specific measures such as the national loan guarantee scheme. We are also stripping away red tape, including a three-year moratorium on domestic regulation for micro-businesses.
Henry Smith
Will my right hon. Friend update the House on the progress the Government have made in reducing the burden of EU regulation on small and medium-sized enterprises?
Greg Clark
Yes. My hon. Friend will be aware that in Brussels the Prime Minister secured an agreement from the EU Commission that any future regulation should be assumed not to apply to small businesses unless a case were proved that it needed to do so. The Prime Minister has secured a significant step forward.
Mark Lazarowicz (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab/Co-op)
13. The most recent Bank of England survey says that smaller firms continue to report that they are unable to obtain credit and that it has become harder to secure long-term funding. That issue is raised by Members on both sides of the House every month at BIS questions. The Government may have introduced some measures to provide finance to small businesses, but they are clearly not doing enough. Is it not time to develop some new policies?
Greg Clark
All Members of the House recognise the need to encourage banks to lend to small businesses. There is some good news; the volume of lending to small businesses in 2011—the latest year for which figures are available—was £75 billion, a rise of 13%, but there is more to be done. With my colleagues in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, we are doing everything we can to encourage banks to lend to small businesses.
Neil Carmichael (Stroud) (Con)
Will the Minister join me in congratulating Advanced Insulation, a firm in my constituency, which has just won the Queen’s award for enterprise? Does he agree that such firms are emblematic? We need to demonstrate that we are good at innovating and exporting, and that that is the direction of travel for economic growth.
Greg Clark
I will indeed join my hon. Friend in congratulating that company. In fact, a record number of the recent Queen’s awards, announced last month on Her Majesty’s birthday, were for small businesses, which shows that this country’s small businesses have a huge amount to contribute to the future success of the nation.
Toby Perkins (Chesterfield) (Lab)
Yesterday I met 35 small businesses that borrowed money to fuel growth but now feel that they were mis-sold interest rate swap products by their banks. There is a real urgency to investigate that issue before more otherwise healthy companies are brought down. Will the Minister join us in calling for banks, while they are investigating whether these products were mis-sold, not to foreclose on companies that are falling behind because of these products?
Greg Clark
If the allegations are correct, the companies will need assistance to cope. An investigation on that is about to conclude. I will take the matter forward with the hon. Gentleman and am happy to discuss it outside this place with his Front Benchers.
Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)
10. If he will assess the commercial prospects of the caravan manufacturing industry in and around Hull.
The Minister of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Greg Clark)
The Government recognise the important contribution of caravan manufacturing to Hull and the importance of the caravan industry in other areas. I am aware of the concerns across the country about the effects of the proposed VAT changes. Although that is clearly a matter for the Treasury, as the hon. Lady understands, she will know that I, as Minister for cities, have a personal commitment to and interest in the future success of Hull. If she or other Members would find it helpful, I should be happy to visit Hull over the next few weeks to meet manufacturers.
Diana Johnson
If the coalition really is supportive of Hull and caravan manufacturing, can the Minister explain why the Treasury thinks that putting VAT at 20% on static caravans, which we know will result in a 30% drop in the market, less money going to the Treasury and 7,000 job losses across the country, will help manufacturing in my city?
Greg Clark
As I think the hon. Lady knows—I also pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Beverley and Holderness (Mr Stuart) and other Members across the House who have raised concerns about the impact of the proposal—the consultation has been extended. She and others have had meetings with Treasury Ministers and clearly made a forceful case, because the extension has been made. I know that Ministers are seriously considering this matter. I will be happy to meet her and manufacturers. I know the importance of the caravan industry; when I was growing up I spent my holidays in a static caravan on the north-east coast. I am keen to do what I can.
Mr Charles Kennedy (Ross, Skye and Lochaber) (LD)
11. When he last met representatives of the Russell group; and what matters were discussed.
The Minister for Universities and Science (Mr David Willetts)
I met vice-chancellors from the Russell group on 8 March at an event at Nottingham university. We discussed university access, research and international issues.
Mr Kennedy
I thank the Minister for that reply. On access, particularly for international students, he must be aware of how loudly alarm bells are now ringing in the Russell group and the tertiary education sector right across the UK because of the plummeting number of applications from international students as a result of the Home Office’s net migration targets. As this is worth nearly £8 billion a year to UK plc, can he not put pressure on his Home Office colleagues to see sense?
Mr Willetts
The latest evidence from UCAS shows that applications to British universities from outside the EU are going up, but it is absolutely right that we should back our very successful higher education sector. It is not a business, but it does have a lot of exports and the 400,000 students who come here from abroad to study can be regarded as an export success. That is why there is no limit on the number of genuine students who can come to the UK to study. There is no cap on their numbers.
Jonathan Ashworth (Leicester South) (Lab)
I want to reinforce the point that the right hon. Member for Ross, Skye and Lochaber (Mr Kennedy) just put to the Minister. The new visa regime is causing huge instability and sending a very discouraging signal internationally. Given how important the HE sector and the Russell group are to trade, and given that it is such an important exporter, will the Minister speak to the Immigration Minister and urge him to change these rules?
Mr Willetts
Of course we are in close contact with the Home Office on the implementation of these rules, but the key point is that there is no cap on the number of overseas students who can come to Britain. I take every opportunity on trade missions abroad, as do the Prime Minister and other members of the Government, to communicate very clearly in crucial counties such as India that there is no limit on the number of legitimate students with the appropriate qualifications who would be very welcome to come here and study at British universities.
Nicholas Soames (Mid Sussex) (Con)
12. What steps he is taking to promote exports to the far east; and if he will make a statement.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Norman Lamb)
Through UK Trade & Investment, we are promoting exports to Asia and to the far east by campaigning for better market access and by improving market conditions for UK businesses. For example, we are lobbying for the start of formal free trade agreement negotiations between the European Union and Japan, and for the successful conclusion of an ambitious EU-Singapore free trade agreement this year. We also provide targeted support services for UK businesses.
Nicholas Soames
Will the Minister join me in welcoming the exceptional work of the Prime Minister, the Trade and Investment Minister, the Foreign Secretary and all those other Ministers who are doing a great deal to promote British trade to the far east? Does the Minister agree that it will do our cause no good if senior business men in the far east, wanting to come here and take part in business exchanges, find it difficult to get a visa to do so? May I urge him to take every step to resolve that question?
Norman Lamb
I absolutely share my right hon. Friend’s comments about the incredibly valuable work undertaken by the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills. During the Prime Minister’s recent visit, deals worth £546 million were secured from south-east Asia, but I understand the concern that my right hon. Friend the Member for Mid Sussex (Nicholas Soames) raises about visas, and I will certainly look into them.
Mr Denis MacShane (Rotherham) (Lab)
Has the Minister read last week’s pamphlet, by one of the most brilliant and prescient Members among us, which states:
“It is noteworthy that other developed countries have re-oriented their export profiles more effectively than Britain has done, raising doubts about whether we are keeping pace with our EU partners in promoting British commercial interests in the emerging economies”?
That sentence was written by the hon. Member for Orpington (Joseph Johnson), who is sitting behind the Minister. Could they swap jobs, so that we have a trade Minister who knows what to do?
Norman Lamb
I will rise above it, absolutely.
Exports to the far east are growing very significantly. UK exports to China have grown by 15% over the past year, for example, and we are working hard to secure a free trade agreement with Japan, which would deliver significant benefits to the UK.
Paul Blomfield (Sheffield Central) (Lab)
15. What recent assessment he has made of the contribution of the higher education sector to economic growth.
Mr Gareth Thomas (Harrow West) (Lab/Co-op)
17. What recent assessment he has made of the contribution of the higher education sector on economic growth.
Mr Kevan Jones (North Durham) (Lab)
20. What recent assessment he has made of the contribution of the higher education sector to economic growth.
The Minister for Universities and Science (Mr David Willetts)
Higher education contributes to growth. We have just had universities week, celebrating our universities’ contribution to the Olympics, to the economy and to national life, and estimates by Universities UK indicate that higher education contributes more than £31 billion to our GDP. University education is of course, however, also worth while in itself—in ways that cannot be measured by economists.
Paul Blomfield
The Minister acknowledges the importance of higher education as a major export earner. Does he therefore agree with his hon. Friend the Member for Orpington (Joseph Johnson), who wrote an excellent piece in the Financial Times last week, arguing that we should catch up with our competitors and stop classifying students as migrants, as part of a strategy to win a bigger market share for our world-class university system?
Mr Willetts
I absolutely support the objective in that statement of winning a greater market share for our higher education sector, and we can be very proud of the international demand from students wanting to study at our higher education institutions. There is no cap on the number who come here, and we will do everything possible to correct any misunderstandings around the world that may be inhibiting people from applying.
Mr Thomas
At a time when many mainstream universities are extremely worried about where sufficient funding for research, which is vital to Britain’s long-term economic growth, will come from, why does the Minister think that a multi-million pound VAT cut for commercial universities is a good use of public funds?
Mr Willetts
One reason why we have protected the science and research budget and, for the first time, included the research funding going to universities via the Higher Education Funding Council for England is so that our universities can be confident that they have secure and protected research funding for the life of this Parliament.
Mr Jones
Durham university is not only world-class but, along with the other four universities in the north-east, a key driver of the regional economy. What assessment has the Minister made of the visa changes and the capacity of Durham, and those other four universities, to attract overseas students, especially when we read in the press that students from India and other countries are choosing Canada and the United States, rather than the UK?
Mr Willetts
Let us be clear about what the Government have done. We have tackled abuse in bogus colleges and the issue of overseas students who, sadly, did not have the necessary academic qualifications to benefit from coming into higher education in this country. That abuse had to be tackled. We now have a clear message that legitimate students are welcome, with no cap on numbers, to come from anywhere in the world to study at British universities. I work very closely with our universities, including the university of Durham, on trade missions to get that very positive message out across the world.
David Mowat (Warrington South) (Con)
16. What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on the potential effect on process manufacturing of the Government’s policy on energy pricing.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Norman Lamb)
The Secretary of State regularly meets the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change to discuss energy and climate change policies, including their impact on manufacturing. We are committed to ensuring that manufacturing remains competitive, and in the autumn statement we announced a package worth £250 million to reduce the impact of policies affecting the cost of electricity for electricity-intensive industries most at risk of carbon leakage.
David Mowat
In January, the Department of Energy and Climate Change published figures showing that 18% of electricity costs for business go towards supporting the renewables industry. Last week, in the Financial Times, the chief executive officer of Solvay said that high energy prices are a bigger issue for his business in the UK than the eurozone crisis. What assurance can the Minister give us that as we decarbonise, we do it as cheaply as possible to ensure that we minimise value destruction and the number of jobs lost?
Norman Lamb
I give the hon. Gentleman that absolute reassurance. In terms of global carbon emissions, it makes no sense for a business to relocate to another country, so we will do everything we can to ensure that businesses remain competitive.
George Freeman (Mid Norfolk) (Con)
T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
The Minister for Universities and Science (Mr David Willetts)
My Department has a key role in supporting the rebalancing of the economy and businesses to deliver growth while increasing skills and learning. May I repeat, Mr Speaker, that the Secretary of State has a long-standing commitment to be in Berlin and Düsseldorf and therefore regrets not being able to be with us today?
George Freeman
Does my right hon. Friend agree that the UK’s life sciences in areas such as biomedicine, clean energy and agriculture offer a huge potential opportunity for us to drive a sustainable recovery here in the UK by supporting sustainable development in the developing world, and that our science base, not least in Norwich research park in my county of Norfolk, has a key part to play in that revolution?
Mr Willetts
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Indeed, I will be visiting Norwich research park later today and will be able to announce £250 million of research funding going into life sciences across the country. Alongside the commitment to human health that we have already made, this will be a commitment to research in animal health, plant breeding and the agricultural industries of the future.
Mr Chuka Umunna (Streatham) (Lab)
This Government inherited an economy that was growing, with unemployment falling and a recovery settling in. The revised GDP estimate for the first quarter of this year, far from being revised up, as some expected, has just been revised down. With the country in a double-dip recession created by this Government, 50 businesses going under every single day, and over 2.6 million people out of work, this shambolic Government have been squabbling over a report produced by a millionaire Tory donor that suggests that all would be well were it not for people’s rights at work. Why on earth are they going along with this nonsense instead of, for example, implementing the active industrial strategy that we need?
Mr Willetts
Let us be clear: this coalition Government also inherited an economy that had been hit by a major financial crisis because of Labour’s failure to regulate financial services, and unsustainable levels of Government borrowing which the head of the International Monetary Fund said earlier this week caused her to shiver when she thought what would have happened if they had not been tackled. We are committed, rightly, to reducing the burden of red tape and regulation on the economy, and alongside that we are constructively investing in and supporting the industries of the future.
Mr Umunna
This is a no-growth Government with their head in the sand. They blame businesses, they blame the people who work in them, and now they blame the eurozone, when countries such as Germany and France are not in recession and we are. They said that they would increase lending to small businesses, but there has been a net contraction in lending to small businesses in every single month of this Government. They said that they would support different industries, from defence to renewables, but they have failed to do so. They boasted that their regional growth fund would create more than half a million jobs, but the National Audit Office tells us that it has created less than a tenth of that. We have always known that Tory-led Governments are heartless. Do today’s figures not demonstrate that they are hopeless too?
Mr Willetts
That pre-prepared speech had nothing to do with the reality of the industrial strategy being pursued by this coalition, which is delivering big increases in exports to the big markets of the future. Exports to China are up 18%, exports to India are up 29% and exports to Brazil are up 11%. Employment is up, inflation is down and public borrowing is down. [Interruption.]
Mr Speaker
Order. The hon. Member for Hartlepool (Mr Wright) is usually such a measured and emollient fellow. He must calm himself.
Mr Willetts
We are committed to working with all our partners across the British economy, including business, to ensure that there is investment in the high-tech businesses of the future. The recent announcements of investments in General Motors, Jaguar Land Rover and GlaxoSmithKline show that the strategy is bearing fruit.
Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)
T6. Last week, UK Trade & Investment put on an extremely useful event for businesses in my constituency and that of my hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk Coastal (Dr Coffey). Subsequently, my constituent, Simon Chater, has expressed concern about the cost to small and medium-sized enterprises of using the overseas market introduction service. Will the Minister confirm that UKTI is doing all it can to support SMEs that are seeking to export, including working with other Departments to identify new markets?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Norman Lamb)
I was delighted to hear about the event in my hon. Friend’s constituency. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Stourbridge (Margot James), who has made arrangements with 70 MPs to hold similar events around the country. We have to do a lot to encourage SMEs to export. The level of exports from our SMEs is below the European average, so we need to tackle that. Many UKTI services, including its initial consultations, are free. It has a particular focus on helping SMEs to increase their exports.
Mr Nicholas Brown (Newcastle upon Tyne East) (Lab)
T2. The Government have recently designated Tyneside a centre for offshore renewable energy. In welcoming that designation, I ask the Minister to set out the economic development advantages of such a designation. What assistance can the initiative expect from UKTI, which operates under BIS? Will Ministers urge senior officials to visit Tyneside, and to promote this Government initiative at home and abroad?
The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Mr Mark Prisk)
The right hon. Gentleman raises an important industry and an important location. The local enterprise partnership is doing very well in that area and we are encouraging offshore energy through the work of UK Green Investments. If there were additional points in his comprehensive question, I know that the relevant Ministers will be happy to deal with them.
Simon Hughes (Bermondsey and Old Southwark) (LD)
T7. The Government’s introduction of the national careers service is welcome. The Business Secretary has made it clear that there must be face-to-face careers advice for targeted groups of adults. Will the Department try to win the argument across Government, including in the Department for Education, that face-to-face careers guidance is vital for everybody, and that mentoring for all young people in an important complementary project?
The Minister for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning (Mr John Hayes)
It was Odysseus who entrusted Mentor with the guidance of his son, as now the nation’s sons and daughters are entrusted to me. To that end, we have set up the first all-age careers service in England’s history. It is right that schools should have a statutory duty to secure independent and impartial advice and guidance. The right hon. Gentleman is correct that face-to-face guidance is an important element of that. I commit to having further discussion to see what more we can do to ensure that such guidance happens.
Jessica Morden (Newport East) (Lab)
T3. It is six years this year since the collapse of Farepak. The victims have still not received any of their money back, even though the administrators’ costs to wind up the company far outstripped the minimal compensation that they will eventually receive. Does the Minister understand just how frustrated Farepak customers and agents are, and does he have any positive progress to report?
Norman Lamb
This whole saga has been a nightmare for those affected by it, and I have enormous sympathy with them for the plight that they have suffered, which has dragged on for so long. The hon. Lady and I have had one attempt to meet, and I am happy to meet her and work with her to assist those who have been affected.
Adam Afriyie (Windsor) (Con)
When it comes to growth in small businesses, I commend the Minister for Universities and Science for the energy and intelligence with which he has enacted high-tech policies for high-growth industries. However, we must be careful not to pick individual winners within those sectors. Does he agree that backing Britain’s successful high-tech sectors is the key to releasing economic growth and securing the jobs and competitive international advantage that we should enjoy?
Mr Willetts
I agree with my hon. Friend. It is important that we act on the advice that we get about the big, general-purpose technologies of the future and do not randomly hand out grants to particular businesses, as happened all too often in the past.
Heidi Alexander (Lewisham East) (Lab)
T4. I am an avid viewer of “The Apprentice”, and I enjoy trying to work out who is next in Lord Sugar’s firing line. As television it is brilliant, but it is far removed from the real world of people trying to find work, stay in work and prosper in it. Can a Minister explain to me how making it easier to sack people will create the jobs that my constituents in Lewisham so desperately need?
Norman Lamb
The clear message that should go out is that the best way to get the best out of employees is to recruit well and invest in staff, and in that way to maximise productivity. I remain far from convinced that taking protection away from 25 million employees in the UK would do much for confidence in this country.
Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)
Is the Minister aware that Harlow has the highest business growth in the United Kingdom and a new enterprise zone that will open next year and create 5,000 new jobs? Will the Minister of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tunbridge Wells (Greg Clark), who is responsible for cities, visit Harlow, even though it is a town, and see what more we can do for jobs and growth?
The Minister of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Greg Clark)
It would be a pleasure to go back to Harlow with my hon. Friend. We are about to conclude the first round of city deals, but I will make an announcement shortly to invite other places across the country, especially those that have prospects of high growth, as I know Harlow does, to put their innovative ideas forward.
Paul Blomfield (Sheffield Central) (Lab)
T5. Will the Minister for Universities and Science reassure the House that the introduction of any student premium to offset the impact of tuition fee increases, as proposed earlier this week by the Deputy Prime Minister, will not be at the expense of the funding that is provided for the widening participation premium and currently allocated to universities by the Higher Education Funding Council for England?
Mr Willetts
I have just written to the Office for Fair Access and HEFCE to ask them to assess the effectiveness of the very large amount of money that is now used for that purpose through the widening participation premium and universities’ access funding. We fully recognise that the different strands of money have different purposes, and that some of it is there to meet universities’ particular needs through WPP funding.
Nigel Adams (Selby and Ainsty) (Con)
As someone who benefited from a similar scheme in the 1990s, may I ask the Minister to update the House on the progress of the new enterprise allowance scheme? Will he ensure that it is yet another flagship programme, like the new apprenticeship schemes?
Mr Prisk
I am happy to assure my hon. Friend that the scheme is a great way of ensuring that we provide microfinance and experienced business advice. That is what the allowance is specifically designed to do. We have examined past models that have worked, and this one will help thousands of unemployed people become self-employed people.
Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)
T8. Can the Government clear up the confusion on their own Benches? What part of the Beecroft report do the Government accept, and what part do they reject?
Norman Lamb
The Government are implementing many elements of the Beecroft report. In fact, Adrian Beecroft has already had discussions with officials in my Department and his report includes a lot of measures that the Department was already considering implementing. A call for evidence is out on no-fault dismissal, and it is right to examine the international evidence. We will report after that evidence has been collated.
Julian Smith (Skipton and Ripon) (Con)
May I urge Ministers to ignore the canned melodrama of the shadow Business, Innovation and Skills Secretary on the Beecroft report? Will the Minister confirm that the current call for evidence from very small businesses in Britain will be objective?
Norman Lamb
I can absolutely confirm that. It is always right to base policy on evidence—[Laughter.]
Mr Speaker
Order. The Minister is seeking to respond in a very professional way. Whether Members agree with him or not, they ought to hear him.
Norman Lamb
I am very grateful, Mr Speaker.
It is interesting to note that the evidence gathered from Germany suggests that there was very little change to the level of employment in small businesses after the reforms.
Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North) (Lab)
The Million+ group of universities has concluded that the new fees regime to be imposed on mature students will deter many thousands of them from going to university. That will damage their life chances, and it could damage the universities, but it will also restrict the talent available in our economy. Will the Government think again about fees for mature students?
Mr Willetts
Many mature students are part-time students, to whom this Government have for the first time extended loans to cover the cost of fees. That is one of the many features of our higher education reforms of which we are very proud.
Anna Soubry (Broxtowe) (Con)
I am sure the House will join me in celebrating the fact that SMS Electronics in Beeston in Broxtowe has been a lucky recipient of a Queen’s award for enterprise. Many small businesses tell me and others that they need less regulation and oppressive red tape if they are to grow. Will a Minister please confirm something that I was told today: that under the previous Government, there were six new regulations every working day?
Mr Prisk
There were six regulations every working day under the previous Government. I am proud to say that instead of having 1,500 Labour regulations every year, this Government have reversed the pattern. There were just 89 last year. That is real progress, and good for businesses in my hon. Friend’s constituency and across the country.
Mark Durkan (Foyle) (SDLP)
Do the Government accept the evidence from R3 that businesses in administration find it expensive or impossible to trade because of the ransom tactics of suppliers, particularly on-suppliers. Will they address the shortcomings in the Insolvency Act 1986, which fails to provide firms with the protections they would have under chapter 11 in the United States?
Norman Lamb
I will look into the issue the hon. Gentleman raises and will be happy to discuss it with him.
Dr Thérèse Coffey (Suffolk Coastal) (Con)
I am sure all hon. Members welcome the publication of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill, which sets out some great initiatives, including the green investment bank and the fight against red tape. Will the Minister work with local government to ensure that it applies regulations judiciously as opposed to ferociously?
Mr Prisk
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The primary authority scheme, which was started by Labour, will be extended under this Government to ensure that the enforcement of regulation, which is often just as burdensome as the red tape itself, will be appropriate in that locality.
Sandra Osborne (Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock) (Lab)
Sixty redundancies have been announced today at the open-cast mine at Kirkconnel. It is in the constituency of the Under-Secretary of State for Scotland, but it will affect my constituency in east Ayrshire. What are the Government doing to support the coal industry?
Mr Willetts
Earlier this week we produced our energy strategy, which involves ensuring not just a fair deal for consumers, but sustaining investment in energy in Britain.
Mr Speaker
Order. I do not want the Minister to lose his handkerchief. It is about to fall out, but I am sure he can rescue it.
Chris Bryant (Rhondda) (Lab)
May we have an answer to the question from my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham East (Heidi Alexander) from a Conservative Minister? Why is it easier to hire people if it is easier to fire them?
Norman Lamb
It is important that we have a business environment in this country that attracts inward investment. However, interestingly, surveys show that employment protection is not one of the barriers that those seeking to invest in the UK see.
Sheila Gilmore (Edinburgh East) (Lab)
From today’s answers about regulation, it appears that, in the Government’s eyes, progress has already been made. Why, then, has growth slowed so far that we are now back in recession? Does that not show that all this deregulation is not working and that we need measures to increase demand?
Mr Willetts
Growth has slowed because of the problems in the eurozone driven partly by levels of regulation much greater than those in Britain.