European Single Market

Debate between Baroness Wilcox and Lord Hamilton of Epsom

Thursday 9th December 2010 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Wilcox]

I think I will not comment on the euro today. The noble Lord is absolutely right; we must encourage wherever we can to make the market work as well as possible. To go back to the original Question, which, if I may remind your Lordships, was about our response to the British Chambers of Commerce eight-point plan for the European single market, there are things there that we would be very keen to support. We need to talk about creating effective digital single markets and all the other things like that that can make the market work better. We have enough problems at the moment, and anything positive that we can say is a good idea.

[Lord Hamilton of Epsom]

I am sorry that my noble friend does not want to talk about the euro today, because one reason why we have a very satisfactory export performance to the eurozone is that we are not in it. Sterling has depreciated against the euro, making life much easier for our exporters. Is she not very glad that we have not joined the eurozone?

[Baroness Wilcox]

The United Kingdom is not a member of the euro at the moment, and I see no time in future when we are likely to ask to join.

Competition Commission and Office of Fair Trading

Debate between Baroness Wilcox and Lord Hamilton of Epsom

Monday 22nd November 2010 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Wilcox]

Obviously, my Government do not think that, otherwise we would not be bringing the Bill forward at this time. That means that all the people with expertise who are taking part in debate on the Public Bodies Bill, whose opinions we are hearing—the noble Lords, Lord Borrie, Lord Whitty and Lord Dubs—will be feeding in to the process going forward that will start at the beginning of next year. I think it starts just in the new year, and we hope that the new body will be in place in 2013.

It may be worth my reminding the House that the previous Government were working on the possibility of merging the Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission, and it was only the election that stopped that work being completed. We are using some of the conclusions of that work to aid in formulating proposals for the consultation, and I hope for the support of noble Lords.

[Lord Hamilton of Epsom]

Does my noble friend not agree that consultation can be taken too far and that the previous Government taught us that you can go on consulting almost indefinitely and nothing ever gets done?

[Baroness Wilcox]

My noble friend sounds like a man who is scarred by many consultations. I, too, have taken part in consultations and have sometimes wondered at the end of them, “What a lot of talking”, but this is the country we have, and we consult. We hope to be fast and furious and to get everybody’s opinion in.

UK: International Competitiveness

Debate between Baroness Wilcox and Lord Hamilton of Epsom

Wednesday 23rd June 2010 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Wilcox]

I am afraid that noble Lords have heard this answer before and will hear it again. We are where we are. Given the fiscal plans that this Government inherited, I am afraid that we would put the recovery at risk if we did it any other way. Threatening higher tax and interest rates would affect not just the Government but families and businesses. The noble Lord could have answered that question himself a few months ago.

[Lord Hamilton of Epsom]

Does my noble friend accept that one of the reasons why productivity has fallen in this country is the enormous amounts of taxpayers’ money that have been thrown at public services which have not been reformed? Following the Budget, the opposite is now true. As funds for government departments fall, productivity will go up and may even match the rises in productivity in the private sector.

[Baroness Wilcox]

I thank my noble friend for that, and I can only agree with him.