Net Zero Emissions Target

Debate between Desmond Swayne and Greg Clark

Wednesday 12th June 2019 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

The right hon. Gentleman makes an excellent point. This is a shared responsibility, and part of the funding that we have made available—more will be needed—is to ensure that both the private and public sectors contribute to establishing a network that is not only available but dependable and also rapid in its ability to charge. That network needs to cover every part of the country—cities as well as rural areas.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

The Secretary of State will recall the green deal. Will he ensure, now we have a new target, that we have a commensurately robust plan to incentivise households?

[Greg Clark]

I do recall the green deal, and it is fair to reflect that as we take decisions and adopt policies in this area, not every one of them is going to work in the way that is intended. It is an area in which we are innovating, and my view is that we should innovate in technology as well as in policy. I hope that the House will not be too harsh when innovations are attempted that perhaps do not work out in the way that was predicted. However, my right hon. Friend is right to say that we need to give incentives to individuals as well as companies to participate in this roll-out, and through the clean growth strategy and the forthcoming energy White Paper, he will be able to see more of that in the weeks ahead.

Leaving the EU: Airbus Risk Assessment

Debate between Desmond Swayne and Greg Clark

Monday 25th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

If the right hon. Gentleman had read what Airbus said, on which my right hon. Friend was commenting, he would know that it gave a forensic analysis of its requirements when it comes to imports and exports. The import of that was that it needs to avoid frictions and tariffs, which is precisely what the Prime Minister has committed to.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

There are no tariffs on the aerospace industry under world trade rules, are there?

Nuclear Power

Debate between Desmond Swayne and Greg Clark

Monday 4th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

I recognise the support for the nuclear industry that the hon. Gentleman espouses. This is a statement about a very good development in a particular negotiation. He refers to the project at Moorside. As he knows, it is not at the same stage. We are responding to recommendations of the National Audit Office and the Public Accounts Committee to consider other financing models. It is the start of a negotiation, but I feel confident that we should take that step to commence.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

But it is a nationalisation, isn’t it?

[Greg Clark]

No. The NAO report noted that all major energy projects have some involvement with the state. That is a feature of the current market not just in this country but around the world. We want to drive the best value for money for both the taxpayer and the bill payer.

GKN

Debate between Desmond Swayne and Greg Clark

Tuesday 24th April 2018 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

Right from the outset, the hon. Lady has been unable to advise us of what specific undertakings she thought it was appropriate to obtain. She needs to understand that as this is a quasi-judicial decision, the statement that she made that she would block the bid would disqualify her from making that decision, as the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Sir Vince Cable) knows to his cost.

The evidence presented to me was that this was a British company taking over another British company, that no such takeover has ever been blocked on national security grounds, and that the Ministry of Defence and the other agencies said there was no reason for intervention on those grounds. I have to tell the hon. Lady that the previous directors of GKN themselves said that there was no reason for an intervention on national security grounds. She should reflect on the commitments that the Defence Secretary and I have secured to retain the aerospace division for at least five years, to ensure that the Government have the right to approve any future sale of any defence business or asset, and to invest in research and development to at least the current level. Not once in the past four months has she engaged in a similarly forensic way to set out what she thinks would be appropriate commitments.

The hon. Lady says that the commitments are inadequate, but they have been given as legal deeds and in some cases set out to the Takeover Panel as post-offer undertakings. The truth is that she has had the opportunity to engage with this matter, but having prejudiced her position by saying from the outset that the takeover should be blocked, she has given away the ability to have influence on what the regime should be.

The hon. Lady knows perfectly well what the Government’s powers on takeovers are, because the 2002 Act was passed under a Labour Government and sets out those limited powers, which are the same as in the rest of Europe. The difference between the Government and the Opposition is that when we came into government, we reformed those powers to allow post-offer undertakings to be given, so the situation when Kraft bid for Cadbury and undertakings were reneged upon cannot happen in the current circumstances. We have taken an active approach to ensuring that all stakeholders’ interests are secured, whereas the hon. Lady preferred to float above it all and simply say no before considering the evidence. We have proceeded responsibly, and she would do the employees of and stakeholders in GKN a service if she engaged more forensically in future.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

What are the sanctions if commitments are not honoured?

[Greg Clark]

Sanctions with regard to undertakings to the Takeover Panel are those for contempt of court, which include everything up to imprisonment.

Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill

Debate between Desmond Swayne and Greg Clark

2nd reading: House of Commons
Tuesday 6th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

I quite agree with my hon. Friend. In fact, the Competition and Markets Authority found that, in effect, two markets were operating. There is a vigorous and highly competitive market, but among those consumers who, for whatever reason, trust the company of which they may have been customers for some time to reward them for that loyalty, there is an absence of competition. We need to change that, but, as I shall go on to say, the analysis shows that the market is not fully competitive at the moment and will take some time to get to that stage.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

As someone who has benefited significantly from changing my supplier on a number of occasions, my concern is that by placing a cap we will diminish the competition from which I have benefited in the same way that the provision of a cap on university fees has led to everyone charging the maximum. Can the Secretary of State persuade me that that will not be the case?

[Greg Clark]

My right hon. Friend personifies engagement and activity, so it does not surprise me that he has a good deal. His point is very important, and, as I shall go on to explain, the minority report from the Competition and Markets Authority recommends, and the Bill requires, that the cap should be set at a such a level that competition can take place for active consumers such as him. There should still be an advantage in shopping around, but customers should be protected from an ever-increasing differential that particularly penalises those who are vulnerable.

Industrial Strategy

Debate between Desmond Swayne and Greg Clark

Monday 27th November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

The hon. Lady is absolutely right about the importance of making sure that we can continue and, indeed, expand our trade, not just with the European Union but with the rest of the world. She is absolutely right that the model of the automotive sector and many other sectors requires the availability at very short notice of components and products. That is why it is very important that the deal that we negotiate should give us the ability to trade without tariffs and with the minimum of friction.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

How confident is my right hon. Friend that we can measure productivity accurately?

[Greg Clark]

My right hon. Friend asks a characteristically acute question. It is true to say that some of the measures of productivity do not do justice to the importance of the issue. We would not, for example, want to substitute our model of very high employment for the model of some other countries, where there is very high productivity among people who are employed, but a large number of people unemployed. That would be the wrong thing to do. We propose in the strategy to set up an independent council, which will set a baseline against which our performance can be judged independently and which will report to the House. I think that that is the right way to apply rigour to the question that he raises.

International Investment

Debate between Desmond Swayne and Greg Clark

Tuesday 17th October 2017 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for his comments. He will be aware that under European law we are limited in the public interest test to questions of national security, financial stability and media plurality. That is the situation that exists, hence the proposals that we have are around strengthening national security. I ask the right hon. Gentleman to study the Takeover Panel proposals to give a longer period for the scrutiny of any bids in the public domain, allowing the target company to respond, because from what I have seen so far, that has received a very positive response in corporate Britain, and when that consultation concludes I very much hope it will be enacted.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

There are occupants of the Treasury Bench to whom I once taught economics, and I used to tell them that the United Kingdom owned more assets overseas per capita than any other nation on earth. Do we still believe in the free movement of capital?

Retail Energy

Debate between Desmond Swayne and Greg Clark

Thursday 12th October 2017 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

I welcome the support from the cross-party group of which the right hon. Lady has been part, along with my hon. Friends. However, while she talks about the data being available, she seems to have forgotten that her party was in government for 13 years. It was this Government who exposed the degree of overcharging and it is this Government who are acting on it, so it is this Government who are standing up for consumers.

The right hon. Lady asked about relief this winter. As I have said, I welcome the extra relief, although I think that Ofgem should go further. It has said that it expects energy companies to move customers off the standard variable tariffs, but we are acting to ensure that that is backed up by an instruction and a requirement.

The use of the legislation mentioned by the right hon. Lady—I have of course examined it and taken advice—would have the consequence of increasing other prices, rather than capping the overall price, which is why the backstop power in the draft Bill is necessary.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

rose—

--- Later in debate ---

[Sir Desmond Swayne]

I want to escape this Marxist universe. We cap university fees and, lo and behold, all the universities charge the maximum. Can the Secretary of State persuade me that electricity will be any different?

[Greg Clark]

As my right hon. Friend will know, there is a vigorous competitive market for deals that are available through a great many new entrants, and we want to expand that market. The CMA has established that at present there is insufficient competition in the standard variable tariffs. Our aim is to expand the competitive part of the market and in the meantime provide some protection for those who are paying too much on those tariffs.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Desmond Swayne and Greg Clark

Tuesday 14th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

23. If he will make it his policy to increase competition within the energy supply market; and if he will make a statement.

[The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Greg Clark)]

I will respond shortly to the Competition and Markets Authority report, and I will take steps to increase competition and help consumers.

[Sir Desmond Swayne]

If the Secretary of State is successful in engendering much greater competition, will we need a regulator at all?

[Greg Clark]

The aim of Government policy must be to have such vigorous competition in markets that that takes care of itself. Unfortunately, I do not think we are in that position, so I am determined to make sure that customers are treated fairly.

Opel/Vauxhall: Sale to PSA Group

Debate between Desmond Swayne and Greg Clark

Monday 6th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his engagement over the past few weeks. He knows the workforce in Luton well and what he says about them is absolutely right. There is a big opportunity across the automotive sector to increase the supply chain. It is one of the areas where we can make further progress in what is already a successful sector. We will do that through the industrial strategy and it will have my personal engagement.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

Might that opportunity to increase the UK component of the component supply chain be increased if there is to be a change in our relationship with the internal market?

[Greg Clark]

We want to make sure that we have the best possible trading relationship with the rest of the single market, but whether we were leaving or staying in the EU the opportunity to get more suppliers in this country is there, and I am determined that we should take it.

Vauxhall/Opel: Proposed Takeover

Debate between Desmond Swayne and Greg Clark

Monday 20th February 2017 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

The automotive sector, like others, trades across borders. That is one reason why the Prime Minister and I have been very clear that we need to be able to negotiate trading arrangements that maintain our access across those borders without tariffs and without bureaucratic impediments—that is clearly understood. Those negotiations have some way to go, but it is important to emphasise, as I and the Prime Minister have done, what our intention is.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

What guarantees might General Motors USA be required to make to General Motors GB with respect to the pension deficit before any disposal can take place?

[Greg Clark]

As my right hon. Friend knows, the independent Pensions Regulator is the arbiter of any changes to pension arrangements. It is absolutely right that such robust independence is in place. I emphasise that discussions are still continuing. No agreement has yet been reached but, as I have said to a number of colleagues across the House, the future of pensioners is very important to me, as it is to all Members.

Industrial Strategy Consultation

Debate between Desmond Swayne and Greg Clark

Monday 23rd January 2017 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

The right hon. Lady makes two important points. First, as others in the past have recognised, it is vital to recognise the importance of technical education and to improve it, and that is certainly our intention. On the particular proposal that she mentions, if she would care to discuss it with me, we could feed it into the consultation.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

Where does the crucial role of free markets sit in this strategy?

[Greg Clark]

It runs through every page of the strategy.

Corporate Governance

Debate between Desmond Swayne and Greg Clark

1st reading: House of Commons
Tuesday 29th November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

You are absolutely right, Mr Speaker, and I apologise.

I hope the hon. Gentleman will contribute to the consultation. It is clear that he shares an interest in improving the standards of corporate governance, which we have done from time to time in this country over many decades. We have a good reputation for corporate governance, and it is important to record that the rest of the world looks, and has looked, with admiration at the British economy, the rule of law and the non-legislative aspects involved. I hope he will agree that the examples of poor corporate governance he mentioned are blemishes on a very strong overall record of responsible corporate behaviour in this country. We should put on record our recognition of the importance of business and our support for the job creators, the risk takers, the innovators and the investors—the people who, through their profits, generate the taxes that sustain our public services.

It is reasonable to have a constructive discussion on this matter through the consultation, and that is what we intend to do. The hon. Gentleman said that executive pay had been escalating. Perhaps he would like to reflect on the fact that the biggest rise in chief executive pay was actually in the period from 1998 to 2010, when the average rose from £1 million to £4.3 million a year and the ratio of chief executive pay to full-time employees’ pay rose from 47:1 to 132:1. He is a reasonable and generous man and I know that he will concede that, under the years of Conservative leadership, the average pay for chief executives has fallen from £4.3 million to £4.25 million a year and that that ratio has fallen from 132:1 to 128:1. So we are moving in the right direction and these further reforms will take us further.

The hon. Gentleman mentioned the proposals to have workers and consumers on boards. The Prime Minister has been very clear on this, and it is testament to her leadership that she set out her intentions right at the beginning of her term of office and that we are now coming forward with these proposals. She made it clear that we would have not just consumers but employees represented on company boards, and these proposals will allow that to happen and encourage the practice to be taken up.

The hon. Gentleman mentioned the relevance of our reforms to the more high-profile sources of controversy. Of course, one option is to extend the good provisions for public companies to our very largest private companies. He will know that the Financial Reporting Council’s governance code requires extensive monitoring of risk levels for plcs over and above the requirements placed on limited companies. He mentioned cases involving listed companies, and I hope he will agree that having a greater connection between employees and directors is a step in the right direction. Conservative Members are unashamedly and unequivocally pro-well-run business, and I hope that he shares our view. Consistent with that, it is important to work with business, employees and other groups from time to time, to look at what we can do to stay ahead of the pack. That is what this consultation does.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

Will any of these proposals result in a diminution of the pile of cash on which corporate Britain is sitting, and of the practice of companies buying up their own shares?

[Greg Clark]

We are encouraging a greater role for shareholders in driving behaviour in the boardroom, because this is a matter of concern. It is connected to the point that—to be fair to him—the hon. Member for Norwich South made about long-termism. We want to see a more patient form of capital sustaining businesses that have the capacity to grow, and I hope that this will come out as part of the consultation.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Desmond Swayne and Greg Clark

Tuesday 8th November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

I am glad to hear that question from the hon. Gentleman, because it is true that the success of the financial services is not just about the City of London, but extends across the whole United Kingdom and, of course, Scotland. That is why it is important, in our negotiations, that we achieve the best possible deal to allow financial institutions, wherever they are in this country, to continue to trade freely across the EU.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

Can I put in a plug for free markets and laissez-faire as the best long-term strategy?

[Greg Clark]

My right hon. Friend does not need to make a plug for that. It is free markets and the knowledge that this is a competitive place to do business that accounts for our world-beating status in the G7 at the moment.