Companies: Executive Remuneration

Debate between Lord Hunt of Kings Heath and Baroness Wilcox

Wednesday 9th February 2011 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Wilcox]

We shall look at this carefully. I do not think anything is beyond review. I am very happy to look at anything and I am not afraid to either, so I am delighted to answer your question.

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath]

My Lords, the noble Baroness has said that she is concerned about a widening gap. I want to refer to the agricultural sector. If the Minister is concerned about such a gap, why are the Government proposing to abolish the Agricultural Wages Board which provides some protection against the exigency of the wage structure in that sector for very low-paid and vulnerable workers?

[Baroness Wilcox]

My Lords, the noble Lord will know that that is an entirely different question, but I am delighted that he took the opportunity to air it.

Citizens Advice Bureaux

Debate between Lord Hunt of Kings Heath and Baroness Wilcox

Tuesday 8th February 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the reduction in grants to citizens advice bureaux on their ability to provide advice to the public.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Baroness Wilcox)]

My Lords, the Government value highly the work of Citizens Advice and of citizens advice bureaux, but the provision of advice and the funding that goes with it are a matter that rests with local authorities based on local needs and priorities. We know how difficult it is at the moment for local authorities facing tough decisions, but we have made it clear to them that in setting budgets the voluntary sector is good value for money and should be seen as a solution, not as a problem for them.

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath]

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Baroness. She says that this falls to local authorities. Is she aware that as a result of the cuts made to the CABs in Birmingham, which has a Conservative/Lib Dem authority, all its bureaux are due for closure in the next few weeks? Is she also aware that the Law Centre is similarly affected by cuts in legal aid, which are the responsibility of central government? That is being replicated up and down the country. Where are people to turn to for advice and what price the big society?

[Baroness Wilcox]

The noble Lord is of course right to talk about Birmingham, because after all he comes from Hall Green in Birmingham and this is very much a local issue for him. We understand that Birmingham is changing the way in which it funds advice services to ensure greater value for money in a tougher environment. It is not taking away funding for advice services—you should not always believe what you read in the newspapers. There are four bureaux there and negotiations are going on. We will keep our telephone line open while those negotiations are going on. We understand that there will be some transition funding to bridge the gap before recommissioning for services later this year. We hope that the people of Birmingham will support their local CAB during the intervening period until recommissioning. It is a difficult time for them and we need to help all we can.

Sheffield Forgemasters

Debate between Lord Hunt of Kings Heath and Baroness Wilcox

Thursday 22nd July 2010 Lords Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Baroness Wilcox)]

My Lords, the decision not to pursue the loan was taken on grounds of affordability.

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath]

My Lords, both the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister in the other place made statements to the effect that the reason why the loan was withdrawn was that the company would not dilute its equity share. It has since transpired that the Deputy Prime Minister was aware that the company was in fact prepared to dilute its equity share. Why will the Deputy Prime Minister not apologise to Parliament for misleading it? Why have the Government taken such a crass decision to withdraw the loan from the company, which could have provided a massive foundation to the development of a nuclear supply chain industry in this country?

[Baroness Wilcox]

Absolutely not. Our decision not to proceed with the loan was a matter of affordability and that only. The shareholder structure of SFIL did not influence any assessment. I have no knowledge of any privy discussions between the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister. The Government’s decision has absolutely nothing to do with this issue. We regard Mr Honeyman and his team as having produced an excellent project with no criticism of him or of the company. Perhaps the Opposition should apologise for the necessity of cuts based on the state of the economy that we inherited.

UK: International Competitiveness

Debate between Lord Hunt of Kings Heath and Baroness Wilcox

Wednesday 23rd June 2010 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Wilcox]

Yes. Legislation for this is on the way. Noble Lords must already know that we are keen and concerned to ensure that the regions are kept as up to date as everywhere else. We do not want this to be London-centric or eastern-centric; we want to make absolutely sure that rural areas, such as where I live, have as soon as possible all the infrastructure that they need.

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath]

My Lords, if we are to be internationally competitive, surely we should support industries such as the nuclear energy sector, which has great potential in the UK and for exports. Why on earth have the Government withdrawn the loan to Sheffield Forgemasters? That is a disastrous decision.

[Baroness Wilcox]

What we as a Government want to do is make the conditions right whereby all parts of industry can grow.