Economy: Growth

Debate between Baroness Wilcox and Lord Barnett

Tuesday 11th October 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Campbell-Savours]

My Lords—

[Lord Barnett]

If the noble Baroness cared to have a word with her noble friend Lord Sassoon, who is sat next to her, he would explain that there is no chance whatever of her growth strategy working while the deficit reduction plan is so inflexible. As the noble Lord, Lord Low, has said so well, without growth we have a growing deficit. Please have a word with the noble Lord, Lord Sassoon. If he is being honest, he will tell the noble Baroness the truth.

[Baroness Wilcox]

I am very lucky indeed to have a colleague like my noble friend Lord Sassoon to work with and to depend on. The Plan for Growth lays the foundations for a stable and rebalanced economy. As the Prime Minister said last week, we have a plan to achieve strong, sustainable and balanced growth and we are sticking with it.

Economy: Growth

Debate between Baroness Wilcox and Lord Barnett

Thursday 9th December 2010 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Wilcox]

The formation of 24 local enterprise partnerships is a landmark move that will see business and civic leaders work together to create the conditions for growth in their communities. This is, as we know, a real power shift away from central government and quangos towards local communities and the businesses that really understand the local barriers to growth. We have 24 partnerships already and we are working very hard to ensure that the others will come online as quickly as possible. We are quite confident that this will take things forward in a way that the RDAs never did.

[Lord Barnett]

My Lords, does the noble Baroness know why the Chancellor withdrew his proposed White Paper on the Government’s policy on growth?

[Baroness Wilcox]

The Secretary of State in July spoke of developing our strategy in the autumn with a view to publishing a White Paper—or a paper. As we know, the status of a paper is determined by its content. The proposals in the paper did not require legislation. Therefore it was not a White Paper.

Employment: Cuts in Public Expenditure

Debate between Baroness Wilcox and Lord Barnett

Tuesday 9th November 2010 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Wilcox]

I agree with my noble friend and yes, of course, we want to aid and help wherever we can through the mechanisms that we are putting in place and through pushing power back down to the people who know what they want. I come from Cornwall and I know what it was like to be under an RDA that was run out of Exeter and Bristol—an incredible distance. We need to bring all the pressure to bear and all the help that we can to these areas as they would want it delivered.

[Lord Barnett]

My Lords, does the Minister at least accept that there is a distinct possibility that the private sector will not replace the jobs lost in the public sector and that, in those circumstances, growth will decline and so will jobs? Is she prepared to make the case for change with the Chancellor and to tell us what he says? She may have a better chance than me because she is a noble friend of his.

[Baroness Wilcox]

That was said so nicely that I got lost along the way. On support for the north of England, we have talked about the regional growth fund, local enterprise partnerships and the national insurance contributions holiday until 2013. There will be particularly strong new allowances to help these areas. I cannot emphasise that enough. There will be superfast broadband, the Green Investment Bank and, particularly, apprenticeships and support for science to take us forward into the jobs that we should be looking at all over the country. The north of England has a proud heritage of being able to adapt to changing circumstances and I am absolutely sure that it will do so this time too.