Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness McIntosh of Pickering and Vince Cable

Thursday 12th February 2015 Commons Chamber

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for referring to the Select Committee report. Unfortunately, one year might be too late for the many dairy farmers going out of business. Will he undertake an immediate and urgent review into extending the remit of the GCA to indirect supply chains, such as those in the dairy industry, as well as direct supply chains with supermarkets?

[Vince Cable]

The hon. Lady rightly touches on the key outstanding issue, and I certainly believe it would be appropriate to consider the indirect supply chains. I am happy to talk to my colleague the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs about that particular issue, but I think she will find that there is a legislative obstacle.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness McIntosh of Pickering and Vince Cable

Thursday 8th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

5. What progress his Department has made on creating a low-carbon economy.

[The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Vince Cable)]

The Government have taken strong action to create a low-carbon economy, including setting up the Green Investment Bank and a catapult centre dedicated to new renewables, and electricity market reform. Through the Department’s industrial strategy, we are working with industry to increase green jobs via sector-specific strategies for the offshore wind and nuclear industries.

[Miss McIntosh]

Although I welcome the Government’s commitment to green energy and a low-carbon economy, surely there must be a better way of achieving that than hydraulically fracturing for fossil fuel such as shale gas, which causes huge environmental disbenefits.

[Vince Cable]

I am aware of the hon. Lady’s concern about the areas of outstanding natural beauty in Yorkshire, which she represents. There is indeed an expression of interest, but there are very strong environmental and safety protections around shale gas drilling, and I am sure she will look forward to the extra development that this will produce in her constituency in due course.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness McIntosh of Pickering and Vince Cable

Thursday 11th September 2014 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

The hon. Lady and her colleagues from the ceramics industry constituencies have been very effective in pursuing this issue with me. When she last raised the matter with me, I reopened the question and we have been looking at it carefully. I will report back to her on where we will be positioned in relation to the latest discussions in the European Union.

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

The Department announced the local growth fund recipient projects in July, and, for some bizarre reason, the A64 was left off the list. This has put a real question mark over the chances for rural economic growth across Ryedale and North Yorkshire. Will the Secretary of State review that decision at the earliest opportunity?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness McIntosh of Pickering and Vince Cable

Thursday 26th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

They will not face sanctions. I hope that that clarifies the matter.

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

Employers are trying to steer a course between being flexible and skirting around their legal obligations, but there is concern about the zero-hours contracts for care workers, on whom we are becoming increasingly dependent. Will the Secretary of State’s Department take a careful look at that industry with a view to giving it further guidance if required?

[Vince Cable]

Yes, indeed. We are already doing that, and I am discussing the matter with the Minister with responsibility for care. The problem with domiciliary care is that there is almost certainly an avoidance by companies to pay the minimum wage, and that overlaps with the problem of zero-hours contracts. We recognise that there are some very specific problems for workers in that sector.

AstraZeneca (Pfizer Bid)

Debate between Baroness McIntosh of Pickering and Vince Cable

Tuesday 6th May 2014 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

I am obviously not going to give a running commentary on share prices today and tomorrow, but I repeat that throughout the industry, the big pharmaceutical companies have all been retrenching and creating redundancies because of the way technology has evolved. In fact, much of the dynamism in that industry—which I see frequently on my visits to universities—is through small spin-out companies. The nature of the industry is changing, and it is not just Pfizer that has been responsible for redundancies.

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

Will the Business Secretary confirm that both European competition authorities and the British authority will test this process against the consumer interest? It cannot be in the consumer interest for research to be limited or for existing production lines in this country to be closed down.

[Vince Cable]

The European Commission must make up its own mind about whether it wishes to investigate this matter, but it will do so from the standpoint of competition policy, which implicitly takes into account consumer benefit.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness McIntosh of Pickering and Vince Cable

Thursday 10th April 2014 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

I certainly welcome devolution and the cross-party approach that we have adopted to attracting Siemens. I remember going to Hull in 2010 and 2011, when an excellent Liberal Democrat council was laying the foundations for the bid for Siemens that is now happily realised.

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

May I praise the Government for the role of agri-tech funds in rebalancing the economy in the north? One of the issues holding back growth in the north is badly congested and unsafe roads such as the A64. Will my right hon. Friend use funds from his Department, working with the LEP, to improve the A64?

[Vince Cable]

One of the joys of the new pots of funding that are available for local enterprise partnerships is that LEPs can decide for themselves what their priorities are. I am aware, because I grew up in the region, that there are serious infrastructure bottlenecks, and I am sure that that will be high in its priorities.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness McIntosh of Pickering and Vince Cable

Thursday 5th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Vince Cable)]

We are doing more than ever to support small business. More than 10,000 StartUp loans have been drawn down since the scheme’s launch in September 2012. Over the past year, UK Trade & Investment has helped 32,000 businesses to export, the growth accelerator scheme has supported 10,000 small businesses and the regional growth fund has helped a further 3,200.

[Miss McIntosh]

I shall support small businesses in Helmsley this Saturday. Will the Secretary of State use his good offices to encourage the local enterprise partnership for North Yorkshire to make funds available to improve the A64 corridor, because its safety record and its terrible congestion are holding back growth for all businesses along its route?

[Vince Cable]

I will certainly make sure that the local enterprise partnership is aware of my hon. Friend’s priorities. In relation to small business Saturday, I praise the activities that she is undertaking in Helmsley. That council is one of 25 that will offer free parking that day, and I hope that a few more will sign up to that in the next 48 hours. I shall be in Twickenham to support my small businesses.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness McIntosh of Pickering and Vince Cable

Thursday 21st March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

The OBR was quite clear about the reason for its downward revision of growth: it was explained in terms of net trade. That was the overwhelming factor, but if the hon. Gentleman wants evidence of projects that are now going through, he should look at some of the increases in capital investment approved in the autumn statement—and happening in my Department with my colleague the Minister for Universities and Science—big R and D projects going ahead in partnership with the private sector and many others now going ahead under the regional growth fund, creating jobs across the country.

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

T6. I believe it is Lord Heseltine’s birthday today. I wish him congratulations. Large rafts of money are going to city regions such as Leeds and Sheffield for transport infrastructure and other projects. We feel that we will be left in the lurch, so may I ask the team what support will be given to rural areas of North Yorkshire to improve the roads and other infrastructure?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness McIntosh of Pickering and Vince Cable

Thursday 20th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

The hon. Gentleman raises issues in respect of late payment and the sub-contracting chain. One of the things that we are doing as part of the industrial strategy is, perhaps for the first time, bringing together the construction industry as a whole to work through supply-side issues, including late payment.

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend look at the high level of regulation, particularly with regard to construction sites? Does he have any news on how we can deregulate further in order to allow construction to proceed more rapidly once planning permission has been given?

[Vince Cable]

The red tape challenge is designed precisely to look at areas where regulation is excessive and inappropriate. On health and safety, however, construction sites are notoriously dangerous and we need to maintain basic standards.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness McIntosh of Pickering and Vince Cable

Thursday 2nd February 2012 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

This Department certainly does wish to promote the renewables sector and the supply chains. However, given the history of this problem, the hon. Gentleman will know that the level of subsidy—which I think his Government fixed—was totally unsustainable, and action had to be taken to cap it.

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

Has the Business Secretary had the opportunity to assess the implication of the growing places fund for infrastructure projects such as that relating to the A64 in North Yorkshire? What criteria will apply to selecting such projects, and how can we guide the local enterprise partnership in the right direction?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness McIntosh of Pickering and Vince Cable

Thursday 9th June 2011 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to draw attention to that problem. I have had extensive discussions with the steel industry, and also with the ceramics and chemicals industries, which can be affected by precisely that problem. My colleague the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change made it clear in his recent statement that we are looking at a package of measures, in consultation with industry, that will hopefully help it to deal with the higher costs of electricity.

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

The Secretary of State recently announced the green investment bank, but obviously the capitalisation amounts are very small. Will he assure the House that small companies in Thirsk, Malton and elsewhere will qualify for capital loans from the green investment bank?

[Vince Cable]

I would not regard £3 billion as a small capitalisation—it is very substantial, and hopefully it will mobilise an additional £15 billion in this Parliament from the private sector. There is a question over how we develop the capacity of that bank, but the hon. Lady is right that we must take account of the ability of small companies to participate in the supply chains of the big bids that will undoubtedly be made under the GIB proposals.

Green Investment Bank

Debate between Baroness McIntosh of Pickering and Vince Cable

Tuesday 24th May 2011 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

Any business organisation making project choices is trying to pick winners, and that is what the bank will be trying to do. It will try to get a return for the economy and for society through environmental improvements, so of course it will have to make choices and pick winners. New technologies are being developed through the technology strategy board, we have announced a couple of technology innovation centres—another will be announced later this week—and they will develop the pioneering technologies to which I think the hon. Gentleman is referring.

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

I congratulate the Business Secretary on bringing forward this proposal, and I hope that the bank will come to York and north Yorkshire. May I ask for a commitment from him—that in trying to resolve one environmental problem he does not inadvertently create another? Will he assure the House that the business and environmental cases for offshore wind turbines, in particular, will meet the strictest and most stringent conditions?

[Vince Cable]

It will indeed do that. As I indicated in my statement, there is what we call a double bottom line. The projects must be commercially attractive, and we have to decide what the rate of return would be. They must be economically viable. They must also, at the same time, make an environmental contribution. Getting that trade-off will not be easy, and it will be one of the important early tasks of the bank. I will undertake to add York to the list of cities looking for such an opportunity.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness McIntosh of Pickering and Vince Cable

Thursday 14th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

The hon. Lady is absolutely right. I have had many such representations, not only from that industry but from others. I have had discussions with the Home Secretary about this, and we are determined to keep Britain open for business and attracting the kind of companies that she has in her constituency.

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

Will the Business Secretary set out the timetable for the setting up of the local economic partnerships? Will he explain which umbrella body should be used to apply for European funding such as the rural development programme? Will he also guide us on the position on match funding going forward?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness McIntosh of Pickering and Vince Cable

Thursday 8th July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

The Government’s decision has absolutely nothing to do with the issues that the hon. Gentleman has raised. We regard Mr Honeyman and his team as having produced an excellent project. We have no criticism of him or the company. Officials in the Department are now working to try to help to achieve a private sector solution.

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

I yield to no one in my admiration for Graham Honeyman, having visited Sheffield Forgemasters when I was shadow Minister following the floods that devastated the company. However, will my right hon. Friend explain why, of all the grants and loans issued by Yorkshire Forward, north Yorkshire gets less than the 11% share to which it would be entitled and—