Queen’s Speech
Viscount Younger of Leckie Excerpts(8 years, 6 months ago)
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Lord Palmer
If I were to declare all my interests, it would take up all of my advisory time. I therefore refer noble Lords to the register of interests. I was distressed that there was no mention of agriculture in the topics to be debated in the gracious Speech. I have been involved in the food industry all my walking life—Hansard, please take note. I try to farm in the most beautiful part of the United Kingdom, the Scottish Borders. I took on a staff of 17 and I am now farming a bigger acreage with just three men, all of whom were born and brought up on the farm. We live in a crazy agricultural environment, with bottled water being more expensive than milk. This is surely utter madness.
From 1986 to 1991, I was appointed to represent Scotland on the European Landowners’ Organisation. I was never quite sure why, but I did live and work in Belgium for three years and I have seen how the European Union works. I am often asked how I will vote in this dreaded referendum and I have replied so far that I change my mind every five minutes. I fear that I am not alone. I believe strongly that the Union worked well when its membership was smaller, but now, with 28 members, it is far too unruly—and how on earth can it evolve a policy or policies that apply to the Greek islands and the Outer Hebrides, both with such different climates, let alone cultures? I believe strongly that there is a strong case to get rid of the Union altogether—but that is another story.
The commissioners are unelected and accountable to no one. When they retire, they get huge pensions, and if they are British, they are more than likely to end up with a seat in your Lordships’ House. That is not an indictment of the individual but of the actual system. It is also an utter scandal that the Commission decamps from Brussels once a month to Strasbourg.
The distribution of the single farm payment to farmers in England and Wales, and indeed Scotland, is another unacceptable scandal. It is causing real hardship for those of us who are affected. My children reminded me that 25 years ago the telephone rang constantly during lunch at harvest time and I was once offered all those years ago £165 a tonne for low-nitrogen malting barley. Oh, to be offered that for this harvest. Wages have gone up by 193%, while inputs across the board have more than doubled in those 25 years. While I accept that yields per acre have gone up slightly since then, the right weather at the right time can make up to a tonne per acre difference. That is not good management; it is pure luck.
I have a friend who telephones me on Christmas Day to ask if we have started the harvest. The difference between conditions north and south are huge, and in my part of the world, grain drying costs greatly exceed those for farmers in the fertile Thames Valley, where I was born and brought up. It is too early to tell what effect the new living wage is going to have on commodity prices and I know that this is a great worry for many of those involved in the agriculture and horticulture industries, especially—this is a very important point—those who signed contracts with retailers before the new living wage was introduced. I fear that it could well prove to be disastrous for many.
Food today is incredibly cheap. Fifty years ago, 40% of the national wage went on food, while today it is just 11.1%—a huge difference. We now have strong scientific evidence from the president of the UK science body, the Royal Society, that GM crops do not endanger every living human and plant, and I urge Her Majesty’s Government to pursue the future of GM crops with the same vigour as China and the United States have done for the last 20 years.
I turn finally to energy, and here I declare an interest as co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Energy Costs. When I was last in the United States of America, I had the chance to have a teach-in from one of the largest Texan frackers. If fracking is undertaken under a very strict code of conduct, as indeed it is in Texas, I am utterly convinced that it will be a safe and reliable source of energy for future generations. It is pleasing that the green light has been given to fracking in North Yorkshire.
In many ways, energy and the environment are facing challenging times and I hope that the Government will seize these opportunities before it is too late.
Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)
My Lords, it may be helpful for the House to be reminded of the advisory speaking time of six minutes for today’s debate. If noble Lords adhere to the time, the House may be expected to rise at or around 10 pm.
Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill
Viscount Younger of Leckie Excerpts(9 years, 10 months ago)
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Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)
My Lords, I start by saying how pleased I am to hear from my noble friend the Minister that the spirit and intention behind today’s debate in Committee is to have a general debate and to cover the large range of amendments. I wish, however, to speak to Amendment 82, which I call the exception clause to the MRO—or the clause to permit an exception, I should say, according to my noble friend Lord Hodgson. I support the amendment, which is in the names of my noble friends Lord Hodgson and Lord Ridley and the noble Lord, Lord Howard of Rising.
I declare an interest—perhaps a rather tenuous interest—as the scion of a brewing family. We owned Younger’s of Alloa, based near Stirling in Scotland, and my father—the late George Younger, the fourth Viscount—was a seventh-generation brewer. He started work in the vats before entering Parliament in 1964, still at the tender age of 32. His father—my grandfather—sold the company in 1961 to Tennent Caledonian. He was one of the first brewers—if not the first—to produce cans of beer with pictures of ladies on the outside, presumably with the intention of increasing sales. The Falkland Islands was one of the export markets.
Down to business. I support, as far as it goes, the intention of the Government in accepting the will of the other place to give tied tenants of large pub-owning companies the right to go free in certain circumstances. The devil is in the detail of the definition of “certain circumstances”. This requires further debate, which we are having today. I know that noble Lords are keen to ensure that the law ends up being robust. I believe that there should be a balanced market, in which large pub-owning companies have all the necessary reassurances that their support of and investment in pubs are viable, and tied tenants have a fair deal, however that might be defined, where there is enough flexibility for them to run their businesses and not be too restricted on purchase of supplies or price, for example.
I note that the intention is that the statutory code and adjudicator will address the imbalance of power in relation to the 13,000 tied tenants of the six pub-owning companies with 500 or more tied pubs. There is good intention behind the further protections given by the Government in the amended MRO clauses by the adoption of certain trigger points, which have already been mentioned by my noble friend the Minister: first, at rent review or five years after the latest one, whichever date is sooner; and, secondly, when the tenant renews their lease.
The two further trigger points that have been mentioned are: first, when there is a significant or unexpected increase in the price of the tied products supplied to the tenant; and, secondly, when an economic event occurs that is beyond the tenant’s control and has a significant impact on the tenant’s ability to operate the pub. I am aware that there will be a consultation on those last two triggers, which I welcome. But I am concerned that the Government may not be going far enough to reassure the pub-owning companies, and I ask my noble friend the Minister to consider a permit to have an exception from the MRO for a particular period of time in the case that a pub-owning company makes a significant investment in that pub. This is for the following reasons.
Pub-owning companies have to be shown that their investment will be secure, viable and provide a satisfactory rate of return over a period of time. In the south-east, for example, there have been investments of as much as £300,000 to £400,000 in pubs where the rate of return is calculated over a period of time—often a long period of time, well beyond five years. A trigger point, however well intentioned, creates a chilling effect. It may, at worst, stop an investment and, at best, it will cause the pub-owning company to lower the investment and perceived risk if the rate of return it needs to secure is over a shorter period because there is a trigger date looming. This is a clear unintended consequence which I am sure the Minister will have considered.
Having alluded primarily in my remarks to funds for developing or renovating pubs, which my noble friend Lord Hodgson also referred to, let us also consider another very important point for pubs: cash flow. Tied tenants are unquestionably grateful for the important financial support during fallow periods of sales, which typically occur for on-trade beer sales from January to late February and October to November each year. Without an MRO, the tied tenant is paying less rent, thereby lowering his annual fixed costs as he will be buying less beer from the company. Such fallow periods include periods when roads may be unexpectedly closed by the council or a snowstorm prevents custom. A trigger point that disfavoured the pub company could mean that there was less room for manoeuvre in negotiations.
Pub companies invest £200 million across the sector each year. Banks are not yet stepping up to the plate to support pubs sufficiently. They still perceive the pub sector as a risky bet when it comes to lending. A director of a finance company was recently quoted as saying that a considerable number of loan applications from viable SMEs were being declined by the high street banks because the application “fails to meet the criteria” or is “outside the bank policy guidelines”. We have all heard this in other, unrelated debates.
Lord Snape
Can the noble Lord tell us of any pubcos which are financially successful under the present arrangement? At present, business is as bad for the pubcos as it is for the tenants. No one is making a great deal of money.
Viscount Younger of Leckie
I thank the noble Lord, Lord Snape, for his comment, but I would like to make the point. The gist of my argument is that at the end of the day, the pub company has a choice about where it invests its money. It needs to be sure in investing its money—which it would obviously want to do to support each and every pub—that it is tied down to an amount for a particular period. The pubcos have their shareholders and their employees to think about in terms of that investment.
Lord Snape
I apologise for interrupting again. My point was in response to the noble Lord’s comment about the banks being reluctant to lend to SMEs. I presume he puts pubcos into that category. Is that not because the model has proved to be unsuccessful and, from a financial point of view, would amount to a very bad risk for the bank?
Viscount Younger of Leckie
We perhaps need to talk about individual cases, but it is generally perceived that because of the crisis in 2008, banks have changed their lending criteria. Naturally enough, many pubs are small businesses and they are suffering in the same way as other non-pub small businesses. I am making a general point about the banks’ ability to lend.
Lord Snape
I am sorry to interrupt the noble Lord for the third time. To take two examples—Enterprise Inns and Punch Taverns—the big pubcos have declared appalling financial results. They are selling off the pubs because they are in such a financial mess. It is not surprising in those circumstances that they find it very difficult to borrow money.
Viscount Younger of Leckie
I note the noble Lord’s point. I would like to illustrate some of the amounts that these pub companies invest. I mentioned earlier that they invest £200 million across the sector each year. One of the larger pub companies has estimated that, had the MRO been in place without an effective opt-out, the £30 million of capital investment which has taken place in the last 18 months would not have happened.
To illustrate how this investment affects individual businesses, another pub company recently invested £245,000 in one of their pubs in Nantwich in Cheshire. This investment created 10 jobs and took the turnover from £145,000 per annum to £330,000. A similar sum was invested in a pub in Wigan, which again boosted turnover from £250,000 to £345,000 and doubled the number of jobs. These are just two examples to add to the ones given earlier by my noble friend Lord Hodgson, of how tied pub companies invest in their estates every year to the benefit of both parties through the tied contract.
I conclude by saying that I hope the Minister has listened carefully to what I have said about the investment angle for pub companies, while not forgetting that we are talking about the livelihoods of tied tenants as well. That is just as important in terms of being fair.
Lord Berkeley
The noble Viscount, Lord Younger, has given two more examples to add those of the noble Lord, Lord Hodgson, of the happy tenants who have lots of money. He cited one company as investing £30 million in pubs which would not have invested if the MRO had existed. What assumptions is he making about the fair rent that would result from an adjudication under those circumstances? Is he assuming that the rent would stay the same or that it would go up to compensate for the profit that the breweries would no longer be making when they sell beer or soft drinks? The figure of £30 million is pretty meaningless without knowing on what assumptions it is based.
Viscount Younger of Leckie
I take the noble Lord’s point, but I spoke in support of my noble friend Lord Hodgson’s amendments on the grounds that there would be an exemption from the MRO.
Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts
The issue is that every company has a target return on capital. If it is to make an investment, it wants to make a return on capital and the company will set a target. The problem is that if you are going to invest your £30 million, you want to know what your return on capital will be. One issue that relates to return on capital is what will be the contractual relationship. Therefore, before you make your investment, you want to know what the end play will be, because that means that you can be assured—if it all goes well; it does not always go well—that you will get that rate of return on capital. That is the background to the figure that my noble friend is giving. Companies want to be certain that they have targets for the return on capital which they need to meet.
Lord Berkeley
I am sorry, my Lords, but I will try just one last time. The rate of return could just as easily be calculated on the basis of the rent that the tenant will be paying once he has been through the process, because that will be fixed and the company will know it. That is the rate of return, whether the company likes it or not.
Viscount Younger of Leckie
Having been listening to my debate, I should conclude. I should answer the question appropriately. The clause is intended to provide an exemption which would allow an unspecified time for agreement to be drawn up because of the perceived investment to be given by the pub company.
Autumn Statement
Viscount Younger of Leckie Excerpts(10 years ago)
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Viscount Younger of Leckie
That this House takes note of the Autumn Statement and measures to promote economic growth and to support businesses in the United Kingdom.
Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)
My Lords, as we near the end of this Parliament, and on the back of the Autumn Statement, I am pleased to have this opportunity to appraise both progress on growth in the economy and the support that the Government are providing for business. But first, stealing thunder springs to mind. I am grateful to my noble friend Lord Borwick, who otherwise might have led this debate but unavoidably cannot be in his place. I also think that much of your Lordships’ thunder may be stolen today by the maiden speech of my noble friend Lord Rose of Monewden. I feel sure that his words of wisdom, honed by so many years of distinguished service in business, will provide a certain magic and sparkle. I can only assume that this is it; this is his Plan B.
The robustness of the economy and the opportunities for government to give resources to vital projects or services are inextricably linked. It is only because of a strong and growing economy that we are able to fund vital public services and major infrastructure projects. That is why it is so pleasing that my right honourable friend the Chancellor has been able to announce an essential annual £2 billion front-line boost for the health service, where expected increasing demands has put the ability to deliver at point of need under strain. That is why there is room to provide £15 billion to fund 100 projects, of which more than 80 are new, from improving links to the port of Liverpool, upgrading the A1 up to near the Scottish border, constructing the Stonehenge tunnel and in effecting the so-called “smart” conversion of the M62. That is why there is funding available for other major projects, such as £200 million for the proposed Manchester science research and innovation centre in the northern powerhouse and a £100 million housing boost for the second garden city at Bicester, that great centre for retail near to where I live.
This is welcome news because such projects are of national importance but also generate growth for local communities. They provide more jobs for skilled labour around the UK, including for the north-east and north-west, some of the supply for which will emanate from the new apprenticeship and the university technical colleges. This positive news builds upon the growth deals announced in July, including the city deals in 26 urban areas and support for the 39 local enterprise partnerships, with the provision of £6 billion-worth of cross-sectoral funding for transport, housing and business support and, of course, skills projects.
Growth and the health of business are important for every individual around the country because the ability to create jobs and gain new skills gives families greater financial security, opportunity to increase their spending power, more hope to plan for their careers, and it allows them better to realise their own personal plans and ambitions for the longer term. So, to be effective, growth must impact the employee, too. The news yesterday of the rise in the personal tax allowance to £10,600 next April is a direct boost to net pay. My right honourable friend the Prime Minister has pledged to raise this further to £12,500 by 2020. That is why I welcome the Autumn Statement which builds on these important values and ambitions and looks well beyond this Parliament to increase prosperity right around the country.
According to the ONS, growth since 2010 has seen the creation of more than 2 million private sector jobs, leading to the UK reaching a record 30.79 million employment level, and 1.8 million apprenticeships have been created. The UK was the fastest growing economy in the G7 in 2014 and is predicted to be the fastest in 2015 after the US. Annual GDP growth is now a confirmed lively and sustainable 3% for 2014, with 2015 predicted to be 2.4%, with marginally slower growth, primarily due to the continuing crisis in the eurozone and some other key export markets.
However, competitively, the UK is in a much stronger position, having grown 2.5 times faster than Germany but, less surprisingly, more than seven times faster than France. Some of the reasons for such strong growth stem from 2012, when the industrial strategy was launched by BIS. A strong and lasting foundation was built, with the emphasis and impetus placed on 11 key sectors, and with a £600 million boost to support eight key technologies. It was designed as, and remains, a long-term strategy to stretch well beyond this Parliament, with manufacturing and exports set to play a bigger role in rebalancing Britain’s economy.
To aid this, the Government in 2013 doubled the annual investment allowance to £500,000, meaning that businesses would not pay tax upfront for their investing in the future. Government lending to exporters was doubled then, while cutting the interest rate on export loans. It is therefore encouraging that since the Budget the OBR states that it has now revised upwards, from 4% to 27%, its estimate of business investment over this Parliament. But on exports, there are challenges. UKTI has taken splendid strides in reaching beyond the depressed eurozone into many new overseas markets, such as in Africa and Asia, with promising signs for securing contracts in Mexico and Colombia, for example. In April 2014, UK organisations won four new contracts worth £1 billion to establish 12 technical and training colleges in Saudi Arabia. Growth has to come primarily from selling our goods and services overseas, and our 40-plus ambassadors, envoys, and overseas embassies and high commissions are working well as a team to make this happen. It was pleasing yesterday that an extra £45 million package has been made available for exports. Can my noble friend the Minister say how and where this money will be spent and give a brief update on the prospects for our export markets?
Relentlessly pushing to increase productivity, to sell our goods abroad, on the back of the industrial strategy, is a key reason why the Government must continue to support business. To attract new markets, the eight great technologies—for example, robotics and energy storage—are in the forefront of research into innovation. They are supported by Innovate UK, which bridges that crucial gap between the universities and research institutions, and converts such ideas into marketable global products at the business end. This bridging is essentially aided by the nine catapults—for example, high-value manufacturing, cell therapy, satellite applications and transport systems. The importance of such initiatives cannot be underestimated as this will allow the UK to make its mark as the global base of choice, the centre of excellence for future technologies, making products and components for global markets.
There is a fascinating project focusing on the development of autonomous vehicles, interconnecting smart technology and the “internet of things”, robotics, and sensor technology. Such innovations are nascent, but they are the future and require sustained funding. Yesterday, we heard that the UK is now ranked second in the Global Innovation Index, having been number 14 in 2010.
Manufacturing is now growing faster than any other UK sector, and faster in the UK than in any other major advanced economy. The High Value Manufacturing Catapult is a particularly vital ingredient for such growth. Its ultimate aim is to more than double the contribution of the manufacturing sector to the UK economy. With an innovation order book of in excess of £218 million, industry demand for the services of the HVM Catapult is clearly strong. So I am delighted that £89 million has been designated further to fund this, spurred on from the recommendations of the Hauser review. A direct benefit is seen in the development and manufacture of fan disc and fan blade technology for Rolls-Royce. This has resulted in two new production facilities in this country—in the north-east and Yorkshire—generating hundreds of high-quality jobs. Can my noble friend give the House an absolute assurance that funding for the catapults will continue as a priority?
It is, of course, not just big business that drives growth. I am pleased that the Autumn Statement has placed an important emphasis on small and medium-sized business with the unlocking of £1 billion-worth of support. Britain is once again a nation of entrepreneurs. It is a well worn truism but worth repeating: small businesses are the engine room of the economy. They now account for 60% of employment and nearly half—47%—of turnover. It is very promising that around 20% of small businesses say they want to grow significantly. At the start of 2014, there were a record number of small businesses at 5.2 million—up 330,000 on a year ago. It is the first time that the figure has exceeded 5 million. It is the entrepreneurial spirit in the individual that is particularly prevalent: 7.3% of working adults were actively involved in starting a business last year. It helps to explain why last year 500,000 new jobs were created.
This is not in the Autumn Statement specifically but in a report. Emerging from the generic description of SMEs, high-growth small businesses are highlighted for the first time. They are defined as enterprises with an average annual growth greater than 20% over a three-year period and with an annual turnover of between £1 million and £20 million. Promising statistics on these HGSBs have been published by Octopus Investments on behalf of the Centre for Economics and Business Research. HGSBs represent only 1% of total business assets but were responsible for 68% of employment growth between 2012 and 2013. For the past year, this meant that 5,000 new jobs were created per week from as few as 30,000 businesses and there was an 18% growth in this sector between 2011 and 2013. More pleasing is that two-thirds of these businesses are based outside the south-east.
However, the report cited two significant barriers to growth. Skills shortages were highlighted by one in five HGSBs, in particular in science, engineering and technology. The second, an old chestnut, was access to funding. Some 25% of the HGSBs stated that borrowing was “difficult” or “very difficult”. It is noted that net lending from the banks fell by £300 million in the second quarter of 2014. Venture capital trusts, enterprise investment schemes and angel co-funds, for example, remain critical backstop funding sources, in addition to the successful UK AIM market. However, through the British Business Bank, yesterday’s extension of the enterprise capital fund programme will provide £400 million, with the guarantee of new lending of up to £500 million for SMEs. That is most welcome.
A strong economy allows for greater flexibility in reducing taxes for companies and individuals, and in making businesses more competitive. We welcome the review of business rates for 2016, as well as the doubling of small business rate relief for another year, the strengthening of the entrepreneurs’ relief, the social investment tax relief and the increasing of the R&D tax credit for SMEs right up to the maximum allowed. On tax, and with my old intellectual property hat on, can my noble friend the Minister update the House on the status of the tax advantage on the patent box? Secondly, how satisfied is he with businesses’ ability to access finance? What more can be done to encourage the banking sector to stimulate growth and productivity? I welcome the measures in the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill that will take further steps for banks to be more transparent in their lending policies. But, as the Chancellor was at pains to point out, there is much more to do. Of greatest importance is the need to redouble our efforts to continue to tackle the deficit.
I return, finally, to what also matters: the individual, the employee and the benefit to him and her from business growth. Interest rates remain at an all time low, but wages still lag behind inflation in many sectors. The signs for individual pockets becoming deeper are encouraging: 85% of the working population are in full-time work, the claimant count is down 23%, the tax threshold is raised at the lower and higher rate levels, and the OBR has significantly revised inflation downwards and is predicting that wage growth will rise above inflation from next year for the next five years. Already, those who have been in work for over a year are experiencing a 4% growth in their wages. Even oil prices are reducing. We are earning and growing our way back to prosperity, which is the right way.
A journalist wrote last week that the Prime Minister and his party,
“need to draw the spotlight away from Nigel’s saloon bar and back to Dave and George’s repair shop”.
This is correct, and, because of the deficit, I believe that “repair shop” is still the right term to use. This Autumn Statement allows us to be safe in the knowledge that we have the stimuli, with the right spanners and the right workforce in place, to effect not just a patch up job but to continue a quality repair job which must be sustainable for the UK in the long term. I beg to move.
Viscount Younger of Leckie
My Lords, any debate on the economy and the Autumn Statement—perhaps it should be called a Budget—is necessarily wide-ranging. This debate has brought out some excellent and markedly different perspectives on yesterday’s news. I particularly enjoyed listening to the interesting arguments behind the speech of my noble friend Lord Palumbo and the speech on budgetary cuts by the noble Lord, Lord Skidelsky—although I was not entirely in agreement with either. We were much lifted by the maiden speech from my noble friend Lord Rose. Some key high-level messages came out from his long experience in business: first, stay close to your customers; secondly, keep your fingers on the pulse; and, thirdly, be prepared for change in a changing world. That is very wise, and I have no doubt that he will be a great asset to the House.
In the final moments, I will just draw together some of the key common themes that arose during this two and a half hours. First, skills shortages are a genuine obstacle to growth. That was raised by the noble Lords, Lord Adonis and Lord Bilimoria, and my noble friend Lord Jones. It is interesting that my noble friend Lord Palumbo said that we needed skills for getting things done. I presume that he was alluding to better management skills, which are important.
I am glad that my noble friend Lord Deighton raised the issue of productivity. The noble Lord, Lord Desai, made a very interesting point about productivity. It may well be that we get wage growth up, but the danger is that it is not matched by productivity growth, or indeed GDP per head.
Finally, some important points were made about confidence. That is often talked about, and the level of business confidence is very important. That was raised by my noble friend Lord Rose and the noble Lord, Lord Bilimoria.
I conclude by saying that I, too, congratulate my noble friend Lord Deighton on his important work in pushing through these important infrastructure projects, and I again thank all Peers for their contributions to this debate today.
Industrial Strategy: British Business Bank
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Viscount Younger of Leckie) (Con)
My Lords, I am extremely grateful to my noble friend Lady Wheatcroft for initiating this important debate. I pay tribute to her for her contribution to the business bank steering group.
Changes in international economies are creating new challenges and opportunities for business across Britain. Last week, in a debate in this House, I talked about what we are doing to support manufacturing in the UK, which was mentioned earlier. This debate allows me to go in to more detail on the Government’s industrial strategy and how the British Business Bank is providing access to finance for smaller businesses to help them grow and prosper. I fear that I will not be able fully to address the questions raised by the noble Lords, Lord Haskel and Lord Stevenson, because there were some particularly negative opinions given. As my noble friend Lord Stoneham said, I believe that the industrial strategy is clear and I seek to try to explain that today.
Your Lordships will be aware that the industrial strategy, launched by Vince Cable in 2012, has given impetus and focus to this Government’s long-term plan for growth. I am pleased to hear that there was much agreement today on that. It provides businesses, investors and the public with more clarity about the long-term direction of the economy, looking beyond this Parliament. The Government are working in partnership with industry to provide support across a wide range of sectors. They are broad sectors rather than picking winners, as my noble friend Lady Wheatcroft said.
The noble Lord, Lord Haskel, asked what the purpose of the industrial strategy is. The industrial strategy is providing a spectrum of support for a range of sectors and this partnership with industry is giving both government and industry confidence in the future direction of the economy and confidence to set policy to address the needs of business, and for business to invest in long-term growth. But it is more than that. The industrial strategy is about economic growth and providing benefit for us all.
The noble Lord, Lord Stevenson, asked about the creative industries not being one of the industrial strategy sectors. The Government are providing a spectrum of support for a wide number of sectors, over and above the 11 listed in the industrial strategy, and BIS is working closely with DCMS on the creative industries strategy. Nicola Mendelsohn, the industry chair of the creative sector, sits on the industrial strategy council, which is a sign of the breadth of engagement outside the 11 sectors.
The UK also has great strengths in the life sciences field—a sector I want to focus on—where, among other successes, and as evidenced in the news today, we are world leaders in ground-breaking dementia research. Last week, we launched “Create UK” in support of the creative industries, which are worth £71.4 billion to the UK economy, a sector that I know well in my role as the Minister for Intellectual Property.
My noble friend Lady Wheatcroft asked how we would address regional imbalances in terms of investments and funding. Only yesterday we launched the growth deals for the 39 local enterprise partnerships further to support local growth throughout the country through £6 billion of funding for transport, housing, business support and skills projects in the regions. These growth deals are the latest part of the Government’s long-term plan to boost growth around the country, following, among other projects, the multi-billion pound regional growth fund, and the city deals signed with 26 urban areas across the country.
My noble friend Lady Wheatcroft raised the issue of ensuring that the impact of the industrial sector is felt across the UK. As the House will be only too well aware, my noble friend Lord Young of Graffham is working hard with the sectors to increase their help for small and medium-sized enterprises, and in the professional and business services sector, which I co-chair, we run regular regional workshops for SMEs. Members of the council, including my co-chair, attend these and offer advice.
I will be focusing primarily on access to finance but there are some cross-cutting themes that underpin our support for all sectors. As I mentioned last week, we have invested £600 million in the “eight great technologies”. These are the technologies where we have the research expertise and business capabilities to be a world leader. They are supported by the Technology Strategy Board and include robotics, big data and energy storage. We are helping to bridge the gap between research and development and the market through £74 million of investment in nine catapult centres, which are complementary to our industrial strategy.
On the important subject of skills, which was raised by my noble friends Lady Wheatcroft and Lord Stoneham, we need to address the current and future shortages. We need to strengthen our science, technology, engineering and maths skills base by building a skills pipeline at all levels from technicians through to postgraduates. To do this, we are, first, investing £185 million in the teaching of STEM subjects; secondly, offering traineeships to young people; thirdly, we are building and delivering a network of new national colleges to provide specialist vocational training; and finally, as the House will know, we have set up university technical colleges.
As my noble friend Lord Stoneham highlighted, we are unlocking procurement opportunities, advising businesses in advance what the Government are planning to purchase so that they can invest in the right skills and equipment to make the most of these opportunities. Through UKTI we are helping our companies to export. In April 2014, UK organisations won four new contracts worth £1 billion to establish 12 technical and vocational training colleges in Saudi Arabia. Key events such as the International Festival for Business in Liverpool, which I attended two weeks ago, help us to showcase our companies and technologies on the world stage. The festival is creating new business-to-business relationships, and unlocking commercial openings for small, medium and large companies, both at home and overseas.
I now turn to the important point of access to finance. Well-functioning markets for finance are crucial for ensuring that firms can invest and operate when they need to, producing new and improved goods and services, and in turn boosting the UK’s productivity and competitiveness. We do understand that there are some well-documented long-standing supply and demand issues, which mean that smaller firms cannot always access the finance that they require. My noble friend Lady Wheatcroft alluded to this. We have been addressing these issues, and hence the reason that this Government have established the British Business Bank.
The business bank is providing funding and guarantees through private sector finance providers, allowing them to offer more targeted and appropriate finance products for smaller firms so that they can prosper and grow. My noble friend Lady Wheatcroft raised issues about using securitisation techniques as part of the modus operandi of the business bank. I agree with my noble friend that the business bank should operate for the good of the economy. It will not operate for its own benefit. It is already staffed by skilled professionals who know how the markets work. But it will operate within the rules set by BIS and the Treasury, and with a sensible risk appetite.
Over the next five years, the bank aims to unlock up to £10 billion of financing for commercially viable smaller businesses. A range of British Business Bank programmes is already making a real and significant difference, catering for the diverse needs of smaller firms, such as start-up loans, which support entrepreneurs looking to start a business with a repayable loan of up to £25,000, and give access to a business mentor. I am delighted to report that more than 18,500 of those loans have now been offered to entrepreneurs, with more than £92 million approved to finance start-up businesses.
The British Business Bank also provides guarantees through the enterprise finance guarantee scheme to support loans to firms that would otherwise be declined funding due to a lack of collateral for working capital purposes. This programme has proved a considerable success, providing nearly 15,500 loans since the election and resulting in more than £1.6 billion of additional lending to smaller businesses.
The bank also provides a suite of venture capital interventions, including enterprise capital funds, which support and promote a diverse and vibrant market to help early-stage and high-growth firms. The enterprise capital fund programme currently has 16 separate funds, nine of which are investing in early-stage opportunities, with a combined capacity of more than £530 million.
As my noble friend Lord Leigh mentioned, a £300 million investment programme has been developed to provide support for a range of finance providers, including debt funds and peer-to-peer finance platforms. To date, £198 million of awards have been recommended by the investment panel, which will support more than £800 million of lending capacity.
The British Business Bank will also provide information and advice to smaller businesses about how to successfully go about getting the right type of finance. One example of this is the recently published Business Finance Guide, produced in association with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
We believe that the investments made by British Business Bank programmes are already delivering significant results. In total, British Business Bank programmes facilitated £782 million of new lending and investment in the last financial year. Over 60% of this funding was provided through new, emerging or smaller finance providers.
My noble friend Lord Wrigglesworth mentioned the need to balance good regulation in banking with promoting sensible risk-taking. Banking regulation has tightened greatly. This Government have led global efforts to increase capital and liquidity requirements but we are also aware of the need to promote competition. This is why rules for small and new entrants are not as strict and the process for new banking licences has been streamlined. We see the results in new banks coming into the market.
My noble friend Lord Stoneham asked about success measures for the British Business Bank. Last week we published our success measures in the bank’s strategic plan, which are: increasing the amount of finance for small firms; increasing choice; increasing small firms’ confidence in finance markets; and finally, doing all this while managing taxpayers’ resources efficiently. These will be turned into detailed KPIs over the next few months and this will be monitored by the British Business Bank’s board, which itself will report to BIS Ministers.
My noble friend Lord Leigh asked to see greater transparency on the British Business Bank’s results. I assure my noble friend that all results will be published and fully transparent.
The noble Lord, Lord Haskel, if I read him correctly, asked how much of the British Business Bank’s activity is effected on its own account. All the bank’s lending and investment is exercised alongside private sector providers. So, of the £782 million of lending and investment last year, around one-quarter is public sector money and the rest is new money from the private sector.
To conclude, the British Business Bank is integral to the UK’s long-term industrial strategy and is playing a vital role in removing the barriers to businesses accessing finance. This Government’s commitment to a long-term industrial strategy has already proven a success in supporting growth and turning our economy around, and its impact will continue to be felt long after this Parliament. It is essential that we continue to work in partnership with industry to address barriers to growth, both to unlock the potential of British business and to deliver strong and sustainable growth.
Baroness Wheatcroft
My Lords, I thank the Minister for his comprehensive response, and I take comfort from the fact that he reassured us that the business bank will work within strict limits as to the risk it takes. I take rather less comfort from his reassurance—