Local Enterprise Partnerships

Debate between Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville and Baroness Neville-Rolfe

Wednesday 11th February 2015 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effect of local enterprise partnerships on the economy and key skills in their local areas.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Baroness Neville-Rolfe) (Con)]

We have not made an overall assessment in quite those terms. It is early days, especially for the Local Growth Fund, which starts paying out in April. LEPs are locally accountable, but we have asked them to develop monitoring frameworks so we can access progress in the important areas of growth and skills. Of course, recently we also announced investment of a further £1 billion in local economies across England.

[Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville (LD)]

I thank my noble friend for her response. Since health is a primary concern among the public, it is somewhat surprising that the Heart of the South West LEP refused to assist the local FE college, working with one of the largest hospitals in Somerset, to develop a joint health and care career college on the basis that health was not one of its priorities. Does the Minister agree that that particular LEP should revise its priorities?

[Baroness Neville-Rolfe]

That is primarily a matter for the LEP, but we undertook a robust assessment of the strategic economic plan for each LEP in allocating the funding—both the £1 billion recently and the £6 billion last year. However, I am very pleased that the noble Baroness has brought this project to public attention, and that she will continue to discuss these claims with the local enterprise partnership. Like her, I live off the A303; the new road investment is changing the area, and the population is ageing. However, the decision on where these projects are focused is a matter for the LEP.

Consumer Rights Bill

Debate between Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville and Baroness Neville-Rolfe

Wednesday 15th October 2014 Grand Committee

[Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville (LD)]

My Lords, I support this amendment and I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Hayter, for her example of Mr Benjamin, as it saves me the trouble of giving that same very tragic example. It seems not unreasonable for the trader to record the consumer’s details at the point of sale and return the guarantee card to the manufacturer. This would seem a more efficient way of dealing with it than the present, somewhat haphazard system of leaving it to the consumer to fill in and return the guarantee—a document which is often at the bottom of the packaging and sometimes overlooked. If such a system were in existence, it would be much simpler to compile a register of consumers and contact them individually when and if a product recall is necessary. This would ensure that all those affected by product recalls were aware, rather than some being left in the dark about the risks they run by continuing to use the product.

Consumers, once they are aware of a product recall, are generally assiduous in returning their products to the relevant trader for repair or replacement. This is particularly important, as we have heard, where the product has an electrical fault which could lead to damaging and life-threatening domestic fires. The fire service, as we also heard, is able to produce quite frightening statistics on domestic fires caused by electrical faults, some of which tragically involve death. It is really important that we do all we can to protect consumers from this fate and I am pleased to support this amendment.

[Baroness Neville-Rolfe]

My Lords, there is already robust legislation on product safety that is based in large part on an EU-wide regime. I have listened to the debate and I would like to address the general, because I think the amendment is a general one, and then look at the electrical issues that have been raised.

The General Product Safety Regulations 2005 place strict duties on producers and distributors to ensure that only safe products are supplied. Importantly, these duties are backed by criminal penalties. However, there will unfortunately be occasions when things go wrong and a product needs to be recalled. I very much share the concerns of the noble Baroness, Lady Hayter, about accidents, especially fatal accidents. We need to learn all the time from such experiences. When a recall is necessary, producers and distributors are legally obliged to notify and collaborate with trading standards to ensure that all reasonable measures are taken so that unsafe products are swiftly removed from the market and the risks to consumers are addressed.