Small Businesses: Late Payments

Debate between Lord Hamilton of Epsom and Lord Prior of Brampton

Monday 11th September 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

My Lords, I do not have that figure. The noble Lord is absolutely right that there is now an obligation on big companies to be transparent in their reporting. That came in in April 2017 and is done on an annual basis, so we will not know until April 2018 how many companies are doing it.

[Lord Hamilton of Epsom (Con)]

My Lords, when the late Lord Weinstock’s GEC took three months to pay my small engineering company, when it should have taken a month, I sued him in the county court and everything changed dramatically. Small companies are reluctant to sue big ones, but they fail to take into account that the accounts departments of these ginormous companies very rarely talk to the sales departments.

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

My Lords, the noble Lord makes a very good point. Small companies are often reticent to take on big ones, in the fear that they will lose business in the future. Making that relationship easier is one of the reasons why we are appointing the Small Business Commissioner. Where public contracts are involved, we have a mystery shopping service, which enables small companies to ask the Government, on their behalf, to verify late payment and understand why it is taking place.

Brexit: Aerospace and Automotive Industries

Debate between Lord Hamilton of Epsom and Lord Prior of Brampton

Tuesday 14th March 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

My Lords, the issues raised by the VCA are broadly the same as those for the EASA, the MHRA and lots of other regulatory authorities in this country. The relationship between our national regulators and the European regulatory authorities is obviously extremely important and will be the subject of negotiations over the next two years.

[Lord Hamilton of Epsom (Con)]

My Lords, can my noble friend confirm that there is not an Audi, Mercedes or Volkswagen that is not assembled outside this country? German exports of these cars to the United Kingdom are absolutely massive, and the Germans will have every interest in seeing that that trade continues without tariff barriers.

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

My Lords, it is clear that there is a huge mutuality of interest in negotiating a free, frictionless trade agreement between the EU and the UK. In the car industry and industries where, as the noble Baroness indicated in her question, there are integrated supply chains, it is doubly in the interests of both parties to negotiate such an agreement.

Brexit: Single Market and Workers’ Rights

Debate between Lord Hamilton of Epsom and Lord Prior of Brampton

Monday 16th January 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

I cannot answer that question specifically. Clearly, being part of the single market has increased the number of jobs in this country. The Prime Minister is making a speech tomorrow about global Britain, and we are absolutely clear, being part of the global economy, that we believe fully in free trade and that our country must become more competitive.

[Lord Hamilton of Epsom (Con)]

My Lords, should trade union leaders not be very careful about calling for the United Kingdom to remain in the single market when that brings with it free movement of labour, and so many of their members voted leave because they were alarmed by unlimited immigration?

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

My noble friend raises an interesting point, which I think many trade union leaders recognise. Unquestionably, there are parts of the country where high levels of immigration have undermined the wage rates of local people. I think we would all agree that one of the benefits of having control over our immigration policy is that we can have a policy which is more directly suited to our requirements.

NHS: Primary and Community Services

Debate between Lord Hamilton of Epsom and Lord Prior of Brampton

Monday 7th November 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

My Lords, I am surprised that the noble Baroness’s friend was in a mixed ward because their use is supposed to have stopped unless there is an absolute emergency when only one bed is free. Unless there were exceptional circumstances, it is very disappointing to hear that that happened. Perhaps the noble Baroness would like to write to me about it. On her first point, there is variation in pretty much every aspect of health and social care around the country, which is inevitable. To some extent, it is not a bad thing, because it drives up standards if those who are not delivering great care can see how best it can be done. The STP process is designed to build in best practice, but I am afraid that a degree of variation is inevitable.

[Lord Hamilton of Epsom (Con)]

My Lords, following the question asked by the noble Baroness, Lady Brinton, will my noble friend clarify whether everybody in need of care is the responsibility of the Government?

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

The thrust of the Carers UK report is that 5.5 million carers take huge responsibility for their loved ones and that the primary responsibility often falls—I think, rightly—on carers and families rather than on the Government.

Breast Cancer: Innovative Drugs

Debate between Lord Hamilton of Epsom and Lord Prior of Brampton

Monday 24th October 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

My Lords, I think it is a mistake to regard the PPRS and the savings made in that scheme as a separate pot of money. Any savings generated from the PPRS are funnelled back into the NHS. As for new innovative drugs, the cancer drugs fund has been changed substantially and one should regard it now largely as an incubator fund with the same purpose as the Accelerated Access Review, which is to bring forward new drugs more quickly.

[Lord Hamilton of Epsom (Con)]

Can my noble friend give the House some indication of the costs of bringing new drugs on to replace old? Invariably, new drugs are far more expensive than the ones that they replace.

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

My noble friend makes a perceptive point. There is always going to be tension between new drugs and affordability, although there are new drugs and new medical devices that can, in the long run, actually save money. The whole purpose of the Accelerated Access Review is to try to square the circle. There are three factors that we have to consider: first, we want a strong and vibrant life sciences industry in this country; secondly, we want to bring forward new drugs as soon as possible if there are big patient benefits; and thirdly, it must be affordable.