Whirlpool: Product Safety System

Andrew Bingham Excerpts

Wednesday 26th April 2017 Westminster Hall

[Andy Slaughter]

I absolutely agree and I know that a number of Members from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, some of whom are here today, have been putting a lot of pressure on. I hope that pressure will continue, because clearly the current Trading Standards regime does not work. That is why we need the Government to intervene and not simply say that this is a matter that can be resolved at local authority level.

Given that the Shepherds Court fire was more than eight months ago, I am disappointed that I have had to come back to the House today to raise the matter again, as I had hoped that by now both the Government and Whirlpool would have taken action to remedy this situation. Unfortunately, however, there has been little progress: Whirlpool has not properly rectified the problem; and the Minister and the Government have not acted decisively. As a consequence, I believe lives are still at risk.

In particular, Whirlpool’s complete lack of accountability and responsibility for those consumers whose daily lives have been—and indeed are still being—put at risk, is simply unacceptable. The company’s behaviour throughout this whole process prompts the question of why anyone would want to buy a Whirlpool tumble dryer, or indeed any other product made by the company, in future.

[Andrew Bingham (High Peak) (Con)]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving way and for securing this debate. I have a constituent who has a very similar story to the one he has just outlined. She asked me not to reveal her name, but she was using her tumble dryer and it actually exploded. Flames went up and hit the roof. We talk about the consequences of such fires for people’s lives. She lost pretty much everything and unfortunately she was not insured. This happened some time ago and she is still living with the consequences. All that time, as the hon. Gentleman said, Whirlpool seems to have been completely ambivalent about the consequences of these incidents for people’s lives.

[Andy Slaughter]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for that intervention, because I believe that Whirlpool is cynically trying to delay everything from legal actions on liability through to inquests, to resist what in the end will undoubtedly be very substantial payments that it will have to make. However, the consequences of these incidents, particularly for poorer people who may not have insurance and who—as is the case with some of my constituents—have lost all their belongings as well as their homes, are absolutely devastating.

Since the fire in Shepherds Bush, Whirlpool has failed to answer the most basic questions in my correspondence with the company, and its letters in response are often written not by the company itself but by its PR agency, Ketchum.

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Bingham Excerpts

Tuesday 8th November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Jesse Norman]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising that point. As he may know, the issue of the anomalies and inconsistencies associated with the Areva components has been the subject of an independent review by the ONR. The ONR has made it perfectly clear that learning from the EPR under construction in Flamanville must be taken into account in the manufacture of components to be used at Hinkley Point C.

[Andrew Bingham (High Peak) (Con)]

3. What steps his Department is taking to promote innovation (a) in the regions and (b) nationally.

[The Minister for Climate Change and Industry (Mr Nick Hurd)]

Innovation is at the heart of our industrial strategy. Investment in science, funding through Innovate UK, and research and development tax credits all contribute to our goal of making sure the UK remains one of the most innovative countries in the world.

[Andrew Bingham]

I thank my hon. Friend for that answer. The latest figures from the Patent Office show that my constituency has more patents awarded than any other district in the east midlands, more than Manchester, more than Cheshire East, and is in the top 8% in the country. May I ask that the measures we take, some of which he outlined, do not stop at urban boundaries and extend into rural areas, fully using the talents of people and businesses there, including the incredible level of talent that has been demonstrated in High Peak?

[Mr Hurd]

I congratulate, through my hon. Friend, the innovators in his constituency on an outstanding achievement. Let me reassure him that the Government are determined to make sure, both through the industrial strategy and tools such as the innovations audits, that we are better informed and better equipped to support innovation across the country.

BHS

Andrew Bingham Excerpts

Thursday 20th October 2016 Commons Chamber

[Richard Graham]

I do not remotely accept the argument in that intervention. This is not a debate about the Bank of England’s monetary policy. The hon. Gentleman would be well advised to read the transcript of the Work and Pensions Committee’s hearing with the Bank of England Deputy Governor three days ago, which I chaired in the absence of the right hon. Member for Birkenhead—[Interruption.] The hon. Member for Ross, Skye and Lochaber (Ian Blackford) is not paying attention, as usual. He would be well advised to read that evidence. Getting rid of quantitative easing will not solve the pension scheme problems, and, in particular, will not solve the problems of the BHS pension scheme. With his approval, I will return to the subject we are discussing.

Before the hon. Gentleman intervened I was remarking that the circumstances of the BHS pension deficit were extraordinary, and that is what I want now to come on to. The BHS scheme went from surplus to large deficit in about 10 years, without any clear plan or any really significant action by the sponsor, without decent relationships between the trustees and the sponsor, with conflicts of interest between some of the trustees appointed by the sponsor that they largely did not recognise during our inquiry, and with contribution holidays in the years when Taveta Investments, the owner of BHS, was taking out large dividends. All that cannot, by any stretch of the imagination, be described as best practice. The plan put forward to resolve the deficit—a staggered series of injections over 23 years—without any evidence of a long-term commitment by the owners to the company, is also not best practice. Our report highlighted that there was an issue with the regulator approving very long-term solutions.

Then we come to the moment of the sale of BHS, when information was withheld both from trustees and from the Pensions Regulator. There was a certain amount of dispute between the seller and the buyer about pressure on the buyer not to communicate with the Pensions Regulator at all, which was reiterated in further evidence submitted to the Select Committee only yesterday by RAL, the buyer. Most significantly, there was no attempt whatever at pre-clearance of the sale with the Pensions Regulator. Most shocking of all to many of us is the concept from both the buyer and the seller that in effect BHS was being sold debt-free, yet it had such an enormous pension deficit. That is at the very least disingenuous. It was naive of the buyer and cynical of the seller.

That brings us to Sir Philip Green himself. He said on 15 June:

“I want to respond to Mr Graham…We want to find a solution for the 20,000 pensioners. We still believe that money into the PPF does not resolve it. Without getting into it…the schemes are quite complex…We will sort it and we will find a solution. I want to give an assurance to the 20,000 pensioners—I am there to sort this in the correct way.”

With that, none of us could disagree. The question, of course—and this is why today’s motion and debate are important—is what has happened in the four months since. There has been some dialogue with the Pensions Regulator. That is absolutely clear. But the public want to know when this is going to be resolved. They are worried that after our report nothing is really going to happen and that an important and powerful man will not be held to account. Today is an opportunity for this House to stress our commitment to holding Sir Philip Green to account.

[Andrew Bingham (High Peak) (Con)]

I had a pension scheme collapse in my constituency about 12 years ago, the Federal-Mogul scheme. Schemes go into the PPF and there are assessments, and all the while that that is going on there is uncertainty. Does my hon. Friend not agree that Philip Green should deal with the situation as he has said he would—well, first of all he should have his knighthood taken away—because all the uncertainty impacts on those poor BHS pensioners?

[Richard Graham]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, and that is why—I intend to finish my remarks on this note—today’s debate matters. It is not about grandstanding. It is not about Parliament trying to demonstrate moral superiority over the behaviour of individuals. What it is about, I believe, is to say three important things.

First, to Philip Green we are saying, “You made a commitment. We accepted it in good faith and we expect you to fulfil it.” I believe that waiting too long is damaging to his reputation, whereas a quick resolution would be extremely helpful to him. Secondly, the debate is a chance to say to the pensioners and the future pensioners of BHS, “We held this inquiry and we will not let you down.” Finally, it is a chance to say to the employees of other large businesses and the people of Britain in general, “We understand your resentment of businesspeople who run their businesses in cavalier fashion without due regard to your interests.” We have held a complicated inquiry that has held to account the powerful owners of BHS and their advisers. I believe the consequences of our findings will be heard by businesses and echo as cautionary tales for years to come.

--- Later in debate ---

[Jeremy Quin]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Andrew Bingham]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Ian Blackford]

I will make some progress and then perhaps I will give way—[Interruption.] I will give way in a second.

Philip Green’s weak apology is a case of too little, too late. He lined his pockets and did not stop to think about his employees. On Tuesday 18 October, Philip Green decided to say he was “sad and very sorry” for the hardship caused by the BHS collapse and that he still wanted to sort out the pension deficit. Green has still tried to defend the indefensible and duck his duties to workers by shifting the blame.

Industrial Strategy

Andrew Bingham Excerpts

Thursday 20th October 2016 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Hammond]

That very much depends on how we define intervention; we might come on to that later in the debate.

To meet the challenges of the 21st century, especially in post-Brexit Britain, industrial strategy should be about four things: the Government creating the ecosystem or the environment in which industry can succeed and in which national productivity—a huge challenge—can be increased; ensuring that our country has the skills that it needs; ensuring access to finance; and boosting and promoting industries of competitive and comparative advantage.

When we talk about the ecosystem or environment, we almost inevitably talk about infrastructure. One of the achievements of the previous Government was that even in a time when we had to pay down the deficit, infrastructure was reckoned to be the key factor for economic growth. Public sector support has, rightly, been provided for all sorts of developments over the past few years, most notably in transport, energy, housing and broadband communications. The National Infrastructure Commission, which made it possible to look across sectors and move away from the previous silo approach, has had a great impact.

As the hon. Member for Hartlepool pointed out, an urgent priority for the Government has to be a consideration of not only how we strategically assess, but how we deliver. That is partly about smart procurement and making the Government an intelligent client. Our inability over the years to specify design has meant that costs have inevitably increased, so the cost base and project management costs have been much higher than they would otherwise have been. The Treasury optimism bias or risk quotient, depending on what one calls it, has had to be increased throughout. By driving into the Infrastructure and Projects Authority some of the skills needed for the delivery of smart procurement, we will be able to reduce costs and make projects more attractive and fundable.

We need to get the private sector much more involved than it has been so far. If we travel anywhere else in the world, we will use roads and bridges that are privately owned and run, and the fact that they are privately owned and run does not make them any less useful. A commitment to infrastructure must be a cornerstone of any modern industrial strategy, so I gently say to the Minister that I hope he will push his colleagues for the appointment of a new Minister for infrastructure, preferably with some responsibility for industrial strategy, and preferably a Member of this House rather than the other place.

Our departure from the European Union will give us a couple of fortuitous possibilities in what some of us think will be a difficult time. The EU procurement rules are some of the most onerous and bureaucratic anywhere in the world. Getting rid of them from our procurement system will undoubtedly help small industry and the supply chain. State aid has been a way of thwarting, as well as supporting, a lot of investment, and we will no longer have to abide by all the state aid rules. I hope that the Minister will say later that he accepts that challenge.

[Andrew Bingham (High Peak) (Con)]

I have an example in my constituency of state aid preventing development. That development would help companies, and if we can do so, they will grow and create jobs upon jobs. The current situation seems ludicrous and we would be well rid of it, in my view. Does my hon. Friend agree?

[Stephen Hammond]

There will be some real opportunities. We will have the chance to re-examine our regulatory regime and competition policy to ensure that the UK is at the forefront of not only oversight, but competition.

If the movement of labour is restricted, there will be an acute skills shortage in this country, so we urgently need to look at ways of curing that. The Government have been at the forefront of one of such initiative, namely specialist academies for major infrastructure projects that allow us to build some of the skills that we have lost, but we need to do more. The Crossrail tunnelling academy is a prime example, and several other major rail projects are establishing academies alongside their projects. We would do well to continue to push that forward.

The recent Institution of Civil Engineers “State of the Nation 2016: Devolution” report recommends the creation of regional pipelines for infrastructure to identify where opportunities exist so that industry and academic institutions can invest in the training required.

In the longer term, there are two things the Government should urgently study and consider. The first is giving 14 to 18-year-olds an understanding of the fact that academic skills are not the only requirement for success in life, and that other things should be set alongside such skills. Why not have a national vocational qualification, alongside GCSEs and A-levels, to attract people into engineering? Equally, it would be perfectly possible for the Government to set up outreach projects that go beyond the theoretical and teach the application of STEM subjects.

Secondly, on finance, I hope the Minister will take the opportunity of our being rid of the state aid rules to consider some of the possibilities open to us. Almost inevitably, sovereign debt is chosen as the way to fund projects, because the weighted average cost of capital is cheaper. However, many countries look at possibilities in the private sector, such as pension funds, venture capital and sovereign wealth funds. The UK still seems to be suspicious of such funding. We should encourage the UK pension industry and other industries to set up direct investment funds. Equally, with the new freedoms they will have, the Government should explore setting up regional infrastructure and industry bonds, or regional equity schemes. This could be the new popular capitalism—the Mayism of the new century, just as popular capitalism was the Thatcherism of the 1980s. That will mean that people can invest in their country and region, and invest in their country’s success.

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Bingham Excerpts

Tuesday 13th September 2016 Commons Chamber

[Jesse Norman]

Of course I share the hon. Gentleman’s concerns about any job losses as a result of changes in the industry. I made some points earlier about the way in which the industry is changing, and I note that the report picked out the resilience of the industry and its capacity to respond to change, potentially including that offered by Brexit. I simply say that it is noticeable that many schemes are already close to being viable without subsidy, in certain circumstances, and the key now is to move further towards that. As I have said, we will look closely at the valuation issues he has highlighted today.

[Andrew Bingham (High Peak) (Con)]

12. What assessment his Department has made of potential opportunities for British businesses arising from the vote to leave the EU.

[Karl MᶜCartney (Lincoln) (Con)]

15. What assessment his Department has made of potential opportunities for British businesses arising from the vote to leave the EU.

[The Minister for Climate Change and Industry (Mr Nick Hurd)]

The Government have made it very clear that we are open for business and are absolutely determined to make a success of leaving the EU, and that includes seizing the opportunity to negotiate our own trade agreements and to be a powerful and positive force for free trade.

[Andrew Bingham]

I believe that leaving the EU offers great opportunities for British business in the future, although we must be aware of certain threats. My constituent Steve Otty has a business called Hindlow Technical, which works in the area of explosions protection. The situation is complex, but he has a registration system with the EU Commission, and he is concerned that being outside the EU will prevent that process and could hamper his business. Will my hon. Friend be vigilant on such issues, so that as well as providing the opportunities of leaving the EU, we can be ready to counter the threats?

[Mr Hurd]

I assure my hon. Friend that we want to make sure that the new relationship with the EU works for British businesses. His constituent Mr Otty raises an important point about the need to seek clarity on the ongoing recognition of the compliance certification that UK notified bodies grant. That is an important issue, and we are well aware of it. If his constituent would welcome a call or a meeting to discuss it, I am sure we could arrange that.