Food: Food Banks

Debate between Lord Soley and Lord De Mauley

Tuesday 26th November 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord De Mauley]

I agree with the noble Lord. Of course we appreciate that some of the poorest people are struggling. The best way to help people out of poverty is to help them into work. The latest labour market statistics show employment up, unemployment down and the number of workless households down. We operate a number of government initiatives aimed at helping families with food: Healthy Start, Change4Life and the school fruit and vegetable scheme; and we are extending free school meals. In addition, there are a number of other measures designed to help households in the wider context: the personal tax allowance up £235 from April 2013, 2.4 million people taken out of tax altogether, and fuel duty increases cancelled, to name a few.

[Lord Soley (Lab)]

Do the Government not understand that while the international financial crisis has hit people on low incomes in many countries, in this country we have an additional problem that the Government are not addressing, which is that utilities—gas, electricity and water—are hitting people on low incomes so hard that they are choosing between the utilities and food? That is what the Government need to address.

[Lord De Mauley]

The noble Lord makes a fair point about energy prices. Although we cannot control volatile world energy prices, we can still help people get their bills down. The best way to keep everyone’s bills down is to help people save energy, ensure fair tariffs and encourage competition, and that is exactly what we are doing.

Economy: Growth

Debate between Lord Soley and Lord De Mauley

Wednesday 18th July 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord De Mauley]

My Lords, my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Business thinks of little else.

[Lord Soley]

My Lords—

Aerospace Industry

Debate between Lord Soley and Lord De Mauley

Monday 5th December 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Soley]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the aerospace industry regarding problems facing that industry.

[Lord De Mauley]

My Lords, the Government have continuous and wide-ranging dialogue with the aerospace industry. The Secretary of State for BIS chairs the aerospace business leaders group—involving some of the sector’s leading businessmen as well as the national trade association ADS—which is tasked with identifying strategic issues that affect the sector. These issues are then addressed by Government and industry jointly, through the aerospace growth partnership. The Ministry of Defence similarly has wide-ranging discussions with defence aerospace businesses.

[Lord Soley]

I am grateful for that Answer. Does the Minister accept that this is a crucially important part of our manufacturing base, as well as our science and technology base, which is under threat at the moment both from some of the defence cuts and from the lack of a coherent civil aviation policy? Will he undertake to make sure that the Government stay in very close contact with the industry lest we lose our leading position in this premier international industry?

[Lord De Mauley]

My Lords, yes, I share the noble Lord’s concern. Focusing specifically on defence, I think that it is true that defence spending is declining worldwide, so we have developed the talent retention system to retain skills that may be released as some companies in the sector lay people off. There is, after all, a shortage of skilled engineers nationally. Some defence suppliers have diversified and the growth in other areas will offset the downturn in this sector. It is also worth saying that aerospace companies have been successful in both rounds of the regional growth fund.

European Union: Debts

Debate between Lord Soley and Lord De Mauley

Tuesday 8th June 2010 Lords Chamber

[Lord De Mauley]

My Lords, a package of assistance was agreed in early May for Greece, consisting of €110 billion over three years and comprising an IMF standby arrangement of €30 billion and an intergovernmental package of bilateral loans from euro-area member states of €80 billion. This is, of course, subject to strict conditions. I think noble Lords would agree that it is not for me to speculate on what might have been.

[Lord Soley]

Will the Minister confirm that neither party of the coalition would support any support for the euro?

[Lord De Mauley]

My Lords, so far as I am aware, despite the best efforts of noble Lords opposite, there is a quite remarkable degree of agreement between the two parties of the coalition.

Government Spending

Debate between Lord Soley and Lord De Mauley

Wednesday 26th May 2010 Lords Chamber

[Lord De Mauley]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for his question. I am delighted that he said that he will be rigorous in his questioning. I thank him for his response on this point, and I will take back his point about RDAs to the department.

[Lord Soley]

My Lords, I am sure that the Minister will take that back to the department. I am also sure that at some stage he will come back to the noble Lord and tell him what he has to think. However, my main question right now goes back to the beginning of his Statement when he did again what he did in opposition: rubbish the British economy. While that was depressing in opposition, it is positively dangerous when you do that in government. There is a real danger of a double-dip recession. This is more like the 1930s, because of its international style, than the Conservative slumps of the 1980s and early 1990s. Will the Minister not confirm that if you talk down the British economy, people will believe you and you will help to trigger the second recession which just about everyone in industry and commerce generally is desperately trying to avoid?

[Lord De Mauley]

My Lords, I am most grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Soley, for his question. I absolutely reject the assertion that the Government are talking down the British economy. I reiterate that the Governor of the Bank of England himself has said that he does not think that £6 billion of cuts will dramatically change the outlook for growth this year. He has also said that, given the bigger risk at present and the experiences of the past two weeks, it is absolutely crucial to put into place clear and credible measures to deal with the deficit.