Oral Answers to Questions

Ed Davey Excerpts

Thursday 14th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[Andrew George (St Ives) (LD)]

10. When he intends to introduce an ombudsman to enforce the grocery supply code of practice.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Mr Edward Davey)]

May I begin by recognising how long and hard my hon. Friend has campaigned on this issue, and indeed how successful he has been? He will know that the coalition statement commits the Government to introducing what we are now calling a groceries code adjudicator, and in our response to the consultation on 3 August, we set out how we would take that forward. I am pleased to be able to tell him that we now have approval to introduce a draft Bill this Session, and that the aim is to publish it for pre-legislative scrutiny before the end of the year.

[Andrew George]

I am very grateful to the Minister. The long-awaited code is now in place, but without an adjudicator it is like having rules for rugby without a referee. As the initiative has cross-party support and we have an extended Session, is it not possible to implement it this Session?

[Mr Davey]

I very much hope that my hon. Friend will engage in the pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Bill as actively as he did in campaigning for the code. As we have not even published the draft Bill yet, it is a little early to say when the actual Bill will be introduced or whether that will be this Session or next, but I will keep him and the House informed.

[Jesse Norman (Hereford and South Herefordshire) (Con)]

11. What progress he has made in reducing the number of non-departmental public bodies and executive agencies sponsored by his Department, with particular reference to bodies responsible for further and higher education.

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[Hugh Bayley (York Central) (Lab)]

13. What consultation Royal Mail plans to undertake with businesses and the public on proposals to close sorting offices in Yorkshire and the North East.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Mr Edward Davey)]

Decisions regarding the rationalisation of Royal Mail’s mail centres are operational matters, which are the responsibility of the company’s senior management team. The Government are not directly involved in those decisions. The rationalisation process was centred on an agreement between the Communication Workers Union and Royal Mail. I understand that Royal Mail is not obliged to consult publicly on its internal review of proposals for restructuring its mail centres. However, it commits to keep all interested external stakeholders informed, and I believe that it has been in contact with the hon. Gentleman.

[Hugh Bayley]

The hon. Gentleman and the Government should be concerned about how the Post Office and Royal Mail serve their customers. Two years ago, when Royal Mail shifted the sorting of second-class mail from York to Leeds, it gave me a firm undertaking that it would consult the public if ever it considered shifting the sorting of first-class mail as well, and closing the York sorting office. That is what the company now proposes, but it has not consulted. Will the Minister ensure that the company consults businesses that will be affected and the general public in my constituency, or does the Government’s enthusiasm for privatising Royal Mail put them in a position in which they are no longer concerned about the customer?

[Mr Davey]

I am sure that Royal Mail will again be in contact with the hon. Gentleman on those points, but he must tell his constituents that the experience of rationalising mail sorting centres has led not only to efficiency improvements that reduce the costs of sorting and delivering mail, but to an improvement in customer service to his constituents. If he wants quality and delivery to improve for his constituents, he should support that rationalisation.

[Julian Smith (Skipton and Ripon) (Con)]

May I urge the Minister to consult carefully with the remote businesses and communities of the Yorkshire dales which rely hugely on the Royal Mail to survive and conduct their business?

[Mr Davey]

My hon. Friend is right that the Royal Mail needs to consider the interests of small and medium enterprises. Indeed, it is part of our approach in the Postal Services Bill to ensure that our new policy framework will do that. I hope that he will be reassured that experience of rationalising mail sorting centres has led to significant improvements to customer service.

[Nia Griffith (Llanelli) (Lab)]

Can the Minister explain what guarantees he will give that a privatised Royal Mail service will continue to do business through the Post Office rather than looking for other outlets and perhaps leaving rural post offices in Yorkshire and elsewhere with very little hope of survival?

[Mr Davey]

May I begin by welcoming the hon. Lady to her new role? I look forward to many weeks in Committee considering the Bill. She will know that there is an agreement between Royal Mail and Post Office Ltd, called the inter-business agreement, and it is that agreement—not a Government guarantee—that decides that relationship. We expect and believe that that inter-business agreement will continue.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

14. If he will take steps to ensure that his Department’s one-in, one-out plan for business regulation will include new business regulations originating at EU level.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Mr Edward Davey)]

This Government are determined to reverse the rise in regulation that is constricting enterprise and stifling growth. We have introduced the one-in, one-out system of regulatory control for domestic regulation, to bring about a fundamental change in the way that regulations are drawn up, introduced and implemented.

We will also take a rigorous approach to tackling EU regulations. The Government will engage earlier in the Brussels policy process; take strong cross-government negotiating lines; and work to end the so-called “gold-plating” of EU regulations, so that when European rules are implemented into UK law, it is done without putting British businesses at a competitive disadvantage.

[Mr Hollobone]

May I urge the Minister to include EU regulations in the one-in, one-out system, as I understand that compliance with EU regulations costs this country some 3% of its annual gross domestic product?

[Mr Davey]

May I reassure my hon. Friend that once the system is embedded with respect to domestic regulation affecting businesses and the third sector, the Government plan to extend it to other areas, including EU law?

[Michael Connarty (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (Lab)]

I note that the Minister did not address the question asked by the hon. Member for Kettering (Mr Hollobone). Is he not willing to tell Parliament the truth that in fact business regulations are part of the common market, which means that they cannot be vetoed by the Government? What is required is for the Government to stop the gold-plating that is done by the civil service when regulations come from Europe.

[Mr Davey]

The hon. Gentleman did not listen to either my first answer or my second answer. The Government are committed to ending gold-plating and I have said from this Dispatch Box that, once the one-in, one-out system is embedded, we will apply it to EU legislation.

[Roger Williams (Brecon and Radnorshire) (LD)]

16. What progress has been made towards reinstating an operating and financial review to ensure that directors’ social and environmental duties have to be covered in company reporting; and if he will make a statement.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Mr Edward Davey)]

The Department is currently consulting on the future of narrative reporting which addresses the coalition commitment to reinstate an operating and financial review. The consultation closes on 19 October and we will then consider the responses and take a view on how to take this commitment forward by the end of the year.

[Roger Williams]

I thank the Minister for that reply and his active interest in this matter. I believe that this coalition Government will be the greenest Government ever, but we need to promote sustainable investment. The OFR will have a key role to play in that, especially in ensuring that the same standards apply for independent verification and financial reporting. Can the Minister assure me that the Government will support that?

[Mr Davey]

This Government will be the greenest Government ever, and when my hon. Friend reads the consultation document he will see that we have some very interesting ideas about how to improve the way in which companies report on social and environmental matters. I hope that we will be able to drive up the quality of reporting and disclosures by companies in that area.

[Nigel Mills (Amber Valley) (Con)]

17. What steps he is taking to encourage universities to focus on the employability of graduates.