Industrial Strategy

Debate between Andrew Bingham and Stephen Hammond

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.