Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Debate between Lord Campbell-Savours and Lord Marland

Thursday 22nd November 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Marland]

Transparency in banking and increasing its scope and width by setting up new banks is absolutely fundamental to getting competitiveness into the banking system, which does not look very competitive at the moment. We have a range of schemes—I could go on forever. I will start with the enterprise capital fund, because it was started by the previous Government, which shows that all Governments are active. We have put another £200 million into it recently. We have the regional growth fund, with £1.4 billion, which will help small businesses in the regions, which I think is the noble Lord’s interest. There are many initiatives which I am happy to be questioned about.

[Lord Campbell-Savours]

My Lords, does the Minister accept that invoice discounting and factoring have a far greater part to play in funding small businesses, in particular in dealing with cash-flow problems?

[Lord Marland]

The noble Lord is absolutely right, but getting access to factoring is much more difficult. Obviously, it smoothes the cash flow that is so critical for businesses. The noble Lord shows a great deal of knowledge in that area.

Fuel Poverty

Debate between Lord Campbell-Savours and Lord Marland

Thursday 16th February 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Marland]

The Green Deal is a very important private sector initiative, of which the Government have been the enabler. I am very grateful, incidentally, for the commitment from Peers on all sides of the House to ensuring that the Green Deal passed through legislation in such a well thought-out and well devised way. The Green Deal is an enabler and a marvellous opportunity for the private sector to provide energy to homes. It is for the Government to enable it further and pump-prime it to make sure that it happens.

[Lord Campbell-Savours]

My Lords, would not a rising block tariff system of energy pricing help low-income families?

[Lord Marland]

It is a point that the noble Lord has made before. He has great knowledge of it. It is a point that several noble Lords have made to Professor Hills. I do not want to prejudge what he will say but I am very grateful to those Peers who have involved themselves in dialogue with him and made a number of such points.

Energy: Tariffs

Debate between Lord Campbell-Savours and Lord Marland

Tuesday 6th December 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Marland]

I totally agree with my noble friend. We intend to start rolling out smart meters in 2014. Our department is spending nearly £40 million on the development of smart meters, which will be state of the art. By 2019, every home should have a smart meter that should provide this vital information for people to be able to compare the tariffs.

[Lord Campbell-Savours]

My Lords, how are we getting on with proposals for a rising block tariff system of energy prices whereby low volume consumers of power pay a lower price per unit than high volume users of power?

[Lord Marland]

I am grateful to the noble Lord for explaining high block tariffs. Clearly, it is an issue which finds favour with both sides of the House and I have noble friends on this side who are very keen to see this happen. We have facilitated consultation with Professor Hills, for example, on this subject, so that he can take it into account in the fuel poverty review he is carrying out at the moment. It is something of great consideration. The noble Lord has a long history in raising this point and I am grateful to him.

Energy: Fuel Poverty

Debate between Lord Campbell-Savours and Lord Marland

Wednesday 13th July 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Marland]

I am very grateful to my noble friend. This is a subject that we have discussed on many occasions. Indeed, our officials have offered to meet him to discuss it, which I am delighted to say they will in September. I can also inform my noble friend that I have written to Professor Hills and suggested that he might like to talk to noble Lords and hear their views, bearing in mind that his is an independent review so I am not allowed to insist upon that. I am delighted that he has offered a date in August, which is probably not that convenient to noble Lords, so he has agreed to see your Lordships in September. I hope that the input from my noble friend will then be extremely invaluable.

[Lord Campbell-Savours]

My Lords, can the Minister ask Professor Hills and his officials to refer back to a series of amendments that I moved on previous energy Bills as they went through this House, which set out in detail the structure for a rising block tariff scheme? Those amendments were supported by a number of lobbies outside the House and they met precisely the objectives set by the noble Earl, Lord Cathcart, in his question.

Weightman Report

Debate between Lord Campbell-Savours and Lord Marland

Wednesday 18th May 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Marland]

I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, who is a recent convert to nuclear, which is extremely encouraging. I applaud his support and am grateful for it.

Transparency must obviously be at the centre of what we do. The report has made a number of recommendations, of which, as he rightly says, transparency is one, and we will be adopting those recommendations. It is fundamental that the British public feel secure. That is why the report is so important. It has been a broad-scale report. That is why we got it out early, so that we could bring comfort to the British public, and transparency is at the heart of that.

I am convinced that the nuclear industry is committed to stress testing. It is part of the industry’s research and endeavour; indeed, it is almost a byword within the industry. As such, I feel confident that the industry will support us in this.

[Lord Campbell-Savours]

Has the Minister been given any briefing at this stage on the implications of what has happened in Japan for the British reprocessing industry?

[Lord Marland]

The Weightman report does not go into great detail about reprocessing. As the noble Lord knows, that is my responsibility within the department. I am comfortable with the briefing that I have and the progress that we are making. I am grateful to him for raising the question; as he knows, I try to keep him informed as a man of Cumbria who has represented it well for many years. I am confident that there is a strong commitment to that industry in that part of the world.

Energy: Electricity

Debate between Lord Campbell-Savours and Lord Marland

Tuesday 11th January 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Marland]

The whole idea of incentivising people to produce electricity is for the Government to pump-prime alternative electricity uses. Photovoltaic energy is developing into a maturing market. We are reviewing whether it is mature enough and whether some of the benefits that that market has so far received should be reviewed.

[Lord Campbell-Savours]

My Lords, will the Minister ask his officials to reopen the file on rising block tariffs and the benefits that that would bring to consumers?

Redfern Inquiry

Debate between Lord Campbell-Savours and Lord Marland

Tuesday 16th November 2010 Lords Chamber

[Lord Marland]

I think I can assure the noble Baroness that the nuclear industry has moved on. There is deep sympathy within the community surrounding these awful events, and that has been manifested through the full co-operation shown by Sellafield and the boards represented there, together with their support for the inquiry, as I referenced earlier. It is important that the families involved are given all the support that they need at what is a very grim time for them, and it is incumbent on the authorities at Sellafield to show them due respect in that regard.

[Lord Campbell-Savours]

My Lords, I recognise that mistakes were made and that many families were distressed, but is it not true that the removal of organs was hugely beneficial to science, particularly in the assessment and examination of medical conditions? One hopes that, in their distress, the families will at least recognise that many developments have arisen from the research into those organs. Finally, on what is perhaps a more delicate matter, can we be assured that the announcement today will not lead to a spate of applications for compensation by any of those who may feel that they are owed some kind of recompense?

[Lord Marland]

I thank the noble Lord, Lord Campbell-Savours, for his question. Of course, no one knows that community better than he does, having served it for many years as a Member of Parliament. This episode took place many years ago and attitudes have changed. We have to respect that fact and respond accordingly. We understand that at the moment there is no attempt by any of the families to seek compensation, and our legal information is that that would be difficult to provide.