Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Andrew Jones

Thursday 28th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I understand the hon. Lady’s concern. She is asking for the regulations to be made available at an earlier date than the one currently planned, and I will certainly make inquiries to see whether that might be possible.

[Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (Con)]

Youth unemployment in my constituency has fallen for the fourth successive month, and it is down by almost a quarter since the beginning of the year. Ensuring that people leave school with the skills that employers need is crucial to continuing that trend, so can we have a debate on the link between education, skills and employment?

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Andrew Jones

Thursday 24th May 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I think I am right in saying that the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill contains clauses on the EHRC, so there will be an opportunity for the hon. Lady to say a few words about this matter when we debate that Bill on the first Monday when we return.

[Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (Con)]

Please may we have a debate on the progress being made in tackling the deficit, and has the Leader of the House found time to review the International Monetary Fund scorecard given to the UK in the late 1970s?

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend raises a good point. In my first Parliament, the IMF visited this country and the report it produced then sharply contrasts with the report it has just produced. Speaking from memory, the then Chancellor, Denis Healey, had to put to his Cabinet colleagues a freeze on all public sector capital investment that was not already committed, a freeze on all uprating of benefits and substantial reductions in capital expenditure. One simply has to contrast what the IMF said then, two years into the term of a Labour Government, with the benediction it gave to the policies we have been adopting when it came here this week.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Andrew Jones

Thursday 17th May 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

If the hon. Gentleman looks at the amendment to the Queen’s Speech that has been tabled, which we are about to debate, he will see that unemployment is specifically mentioned. The answer—this is probably the first time I have been able to say this—is that yes, I can grant a debate on the subject to which he just referred, and it will start in about 20 minutes’ time.

[Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (Con)]

Please may we have a debate on encouraging entrepreneurialism in young people in schools and colleges? Last week, I was a dragon at a “Dragon’s Den” event at Harrogate college and was impressed by the ability, pitches and enthusiasm of the young people I met. Across our country, young people just need the opportunity in our education system to understand the excitement and rewards of a career in business.

[Sir George Young]

I commend what my hon. Friend has done, but I cannot think of anyone less like a dragon than him. It is important that schools do more to prepare children for the financial challenges in life. Some schools have started schemes whereby pupils are given a relatively small sum of money and challenged to grow it—there have been real successes from that, and there is an encouraging increase in self-employment among young people. I applaud my hon. Friend’s initiative in encouraging young people in his constituency to become attuned to financial matters, and I hope that many of them turn out to be budding entrepreneurs.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Andrew Jones

Thursday 10th May 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I am delighted to hear of the good results in my hon. Friend’s constituency. I know that much of that was due to his tireless work on the doorstep, and I am sorry that I missed those results on the night. He makes a good point: local elections should be local. There is a lot of evidence that where local councillors perform well, that gets recognised in the ballot box and they outperform their party, which may not be doing so well. I am delighted that Rugby will continue to enjoy the benefits of having a Conservative-controlled local authority.

[Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (Con)]

Total UK automotive exports have reached just under £30 billion, which is a record, and they increased by 15% last year alone. Our car trade deficit is now at its lowest since the mid-1970s. May we have a debate on the success of the automotive industry, its role in our national economy and—running through all of that—the Government’s work in promoting exports as a whole?

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that. Again, there may be opportunities in the debates on the Queen’s Speech to develop the theme, but he reminds the House that on 3 May Jaguar Land Rover announced plans to invest £200 million at its factory in Castle Bromwich. Nissan is creating more than 1,000 new jobs in Sunderland, Bentley is creating 500 jobs thanks to the regional growth fund, and Jaguar Land Rover is creating 1,000 new jobs on Merseyside. It is a good example of how we are winning export orders in a competitive world market, but also rebalancing the economy so it is less dependent on financial services.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Andrew Jones

Thursday 22nd March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I know that the hon. Gentleman had an Adjournment debate earlier this week. If we had another debate, I am not sure whether the Government would be able to add to what the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, my hon. Friend the Member for Hertford and Stortford (Mr Prisk) said in response to the hon. Gentleman. I will raise his concerns again with my hon. Friend and see whether there is anything that he can add to what he said earlier this week.

[Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (Con)]

Work has started on a building project to create a new cancer care centre at Harrogate district hospital. It will be called the Sir Robert Ogden Macmillan centre and is named after a generous benefactor. Further funding has come from Macmillan Cancer Support and the local foundation trust. It will be a welcome addition to patient support in the area. May we have a debate on improving cancer care across our NHS?

[Sir George Young]

I applaud the generosity of Sir Robert Ogden in making those funds available. It is right that the building should be named after him. My hon. Friend will have read “Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer”, which was published in January last year. It outlines our commitment to improve outcomes for cancer patients and to save 5,000 additional lives every year by 2014-15. I understand that the new centre to which my hon. Friend referred is being funded jointly by Macmillan Cancer Support, the local NHS foundation trust and the donation. That is exactly the sort of progress that we want to see to enable us to hit our cancer targets.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Andrew Jones

Thursday 15th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

Repealing regulation might require a Bill to be introduced, so it would be somewhat perverse if a Bill that introduced deregulation counted as more regulation, but I take my hon. Friend’s point, which he has developed—at some length—during debates on private business. We are determined to reduce the burden of regulation. He mentioned the one-in, one-out policy. There has been a review of regulation, and I hope that we can announce more progress on relieving businesses of the burden of red tape in due course.

[Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (Con)]

We learned this week that the trade deficit for January was better than expected, one of the factors being strong exports of cars to the United States and to Brazil, Russia, India and China—the BRIC countries. We have also learned some further encouraging news from the automotive sector, with increases in production for Land Rover and Nissan, and data published this morning suggest a sector-wide production increase of almost 20% year on year. Of course, the vast majority of cars made in this country are exported. May we please have a debate on the progress we are making on rebalancing our economy towards manufacturing and exports?

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend reminds the House of the encouraging news about the motor industry, particularly our success in export markets. We had the good news about Nissan and about Land Rover providing more jobs in Merseyside. I hope that in the Budget debate he will be able at greater length to give examples of success in regenerating the manufacturing sector and getting a more healthy balance, with less reliance on financial services and more reliance on manufacturing, engineering and industries of that nature.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Andrew Jones

Thursday 8th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I have now seen early-day motion 2826 on New Look Windows. I understand the concern that the right hon. Gentleman has expressed, as has a fellow Manchester Member. I will draw the issue to the attention of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Skills. The trading standards officer at the local authority might also take an interest in the matter to see whether any appropriate action could be taken at that level.

[Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (Con)]

May we have a debate about the impact of the Schmallenberg virus and the way that it is hitting farming incomes? The virus is affecting sheep, and in the current lambing season a proportion of lambs are being stillborn or born deformed. This is very relevant in my constituency and right across north Yorkshire, as we have many hill farms, and while the virus is currently only in the south of England, it is spreading very rapidly.

[Sir George Young]

I understand the concern expressed by my hon. Friend, which may be shared by other Members with farming constituencies. The matter was raised during the exchanges with Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Ministers a week ago. All the evidence suggests that the disease was brought into the UK from infected midges blown across the Channel; we have seen no evidence that it came from imported livestock. We are closely tracking the disease and will continue to work with partners across Europe and the UK to develop our knowledge of it.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Andrew Jones

Thursday 2nd February 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

The freedom of information legislation is on the statute book. I advise the hon. Gentleman to take the action that is available to him through the process of appeal against decisions if he is unhappy with some of those decisions, and has not obtained information that he wants.

[Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (Con)]

Every day about 75 people in Yorkshire and the Humber are diagnosed with cancer, but at the same time great work is being done in our area in the form of medical research and work on improving training techniques for surgery. I have seen that work being done at the Leeds cancer research centre, which is a partnership between the NHS, the voluntary sector and Leeds university. May we please have a debate on medical research and all that the Government are doing to support it?

[Sir George Young]

I should welcome such a debate. Within the budget of the Department of Health, research is a priority. As for the specific issue of cancer, we have created a £200 million a year cancer drugs fund to help cancer patients gain more access to the life-extending drugs that they need, which has financed more than 10,000 treatments. I know that my hon. Friend will welcome that.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Andrew Jones

Thursday 26th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I cannot promise an early debate, and the hon. Lady will know—I suspect that she was in her place—that that was dealt with at some length an hour ago in Department of Energy and Climate Change questions.

[Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (Con)]

The average weekly earnings for jobs in my constituency are £450—£23,400 per year less than the regional and national average. My area has therefore benefited disproportionately from the increases in personal tax allowances. Please may we have a debate on the work the Government are undertaking further to reconnect work and reward?

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend makes a good point. He will have an opportunity next Wednesday when we debate amendments to the Welfare Reform Bill to develop his arguments at greater length. The steps we are taking are designed precisely to do what my hon. Friend has suggested—to make work pay and remove some of the perverse disincentives from the system that we inherited.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Andrew Jones

Thursday 19th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I commend my hon. Friend’s work as chairman of the all-party group on Tamils. I will raise with the Foreign Secretary the report to which he refers and see what action Her Majesty’s Government can take in response to it.

[Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (Con)]

May we have a debate about skills in the workplace? In my constituency, businesses have raised with me some of the challenges that they face in filling the vacancies that they have simply because of the lack of skills among applicants. They have also told me of their support for the various Government initiatives to address the problem, particularly higher-level apprenticeships.

[Sir George Young]

We all have a role to play in drawing to the attention of local employers what is available under the apprenticeship scheme and the youth contract. Under the youth contract, help of more than £2,000 a year is available to employers who take on young people. I hope that we all play a role in highlighting the Government’s provisions to reduce youth unemployment in our constituencies.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Andrew Jones

Thursday 15th December 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that question. There is concern, particularly in the light of recent reports, about what is happening. I think that I am right to say that today one of the Select Committees is taking evidence on that very subject, and we await its report. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education has asked Ofqual to investigate some of the allegations and to report back. It is crucial that we restore the credibility of the exam system and that is what my right hon. Friend wants to do.

[Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (Con)]

In the Harrogate district, there are nearly 8,000 small businesses employing about 70,000 people. Please may we have a debate on small businesses and the measures the Government are taking to support them? In particular, I am thinking about the cut in small business corporation tax and the extension of the rate relief holiday. I have started businesses and worked in small businesses and I know that those measures will be very helpful. May we please treat this as a matter of urgency, because small businesses are the engines of growth in our economy and we must do all we can to help them thrive?

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for reminding the House of some of the initiatives that the Government have taken to help small businesses. He could also have referred to the changes we have made to the enterprise investment scheme and venture capital trust regimes to increase the flow of capital. We have also launched the new seed enterprise investment schemes to encourage investment in start-up companies. As I said a moment ago, we all have a role to play in drawing to the attention of employers in our constituencies the measures the Government are taking to tackle unemployment and promote prosperity in the areas we represent.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Andrew Jones

Thursday 1st December 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I feel as if I am a postbox in the dialogue between the right hon. Lady and my hon. Friend the Member for Shrewsbury and Atcham (Daniel Kawczynski). She will know that we had a debate on Monday—indeed, I think she took part—in which some of those issues were raised, although not the recent report by Amnesty International. I am sure that my hon. Friend heard her plea, has taken it on board, and will report back when he returns and let her know how he got on.

[Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (Con)]

May we have a debate about rail in the north? We have a huge requirement for rail investment in the north, especially Yorkshire, and we have had some encouraging news recently. It would be timely to hold a debate after the announcement of the TransPennine Express electrification in the autumn statement on Tuesday.

[Sir George Young]

I would welcome such a debate, and it may be relevant on Tuesday. I see from the Chancellor’s announcement on Tuesday that there will be two new park-and-ride sites in York; and Leeds rail growth will be assisted by two new railway stations in Kirkstall Forge and Apperley Bridge, and a number of other schemes in the Yorkshire region. I very much hope that my hon. Friend accepts that this is a priority, and that we are making progress with infrastructure in the area that he represents.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Andrew Jones

Thursday 24th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I would condemn what happened in that particular club, and I hope that there is no repetition of that incident in any organisation associated with my party.

[Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (Con)]

Please may we have a debate about exports and, specifically, the success of British exporters? The latest data for the first three quarters of this year show a 13% increase in exports, with faster growth in exports to the BRIC countries—Brazil, Russia, India and China—especially China.

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for drawing attention to one of the ambitions of our economic policy, which is to switch the emphasis on growth from spending and borrowing to investment and exports. The fact that we are not in the eurozone enables us to have a competitive exchange rate, which in turn gives our exporters a head start over those in some other countries.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Andrew Jones

Thursday 10th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I understand that the matter may be subject to the Public Bodies Bill, which is still going through Parliament. I will bring the hon. Gentleman’s concern to the attention of my right hon. and hon. Friends at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and seek to get the assurance he wants about the assets that are about to be transferred.

[Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (Con)]

May we please have a debate on the growth of academies? Nationally, under the coalition, the number of academies has grown sixfold, but in my constituency almost half the schools have become academies in just the past few months.

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for drawing attention to the sixfold increase in the number of academies since this Government came to office. Standards have increased in those schools, and in many cases, academies are linked to other schools in the same area and are driving up standards broadly. I would welcome such a debate, but I cannot promise one in the coming fortnight.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Andrew Jones

Thursday 20th October 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has made it clear that his Department has zero tolerance of fraud and abuse. My understanding is that some 82% of fraudulent payments are recovered and that new systems have been introduced since June last year to reduce the likelihood of payments going astray. I know that in due course the Government will want to respond to the PAC report.

[Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (Con)]

May we have a debate on the amount of investment by businesses in the UK? We have very good examples such as Airbus, Rolls-Royce and Jaguar Land Rover, but there are examples from right across the country. I would particularly like to highlight the tourism and food manufacturing sectors in my constituency.

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. It is important to keep a perspective on this. One tends to read disappointing news about closures, but that needs to be balanced by good news such as the investment of Jaguar Land Rover in Wolverhampton, strong order books at Airbus’s plant at Broughton, and the announcement by PricewaterhouseCoopers of a £20 million investment in Belfast. I welcome what my hon. Friend has said about getting a balanced debate on these issues.