Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Giles Watling and Greg Clark

Tuesday 19th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

We are the leading country in Europe when it comes to the production of electric vehicles, and as the hon. Lady is well aware, we have, through the industrial strategy, advanced our leadership position. However, if she listens to the leaders of the automotive sector, they say one thing time and again very clearly: we need to conclude a deal with the European Union. They have endorsed comprehensively the deal the Prime Minister has negotiated. If the hon. Lady is concerned for the future of this important sector, she would compromise and recognise the importance of bringing to an end this uncertainty and passing the deal.

[Giles Watling (Clacton) (Con)]

T4. A couple of weeks ago, I attended a business briefing in Tendring where I met some of the wonderful entrepreneurs in my area. They just want certainty. They just want us to get the job done. What is the Department doing to protect those businesses as we leave the European Union?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Giles Watling and Greg Clark

Tuesday 20th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

We value highly the colleagues in our Department and across Government who do important work in public service, and I have made a commitment that we will always treat them well, including on pay and conditions. I am glad that the hon. Lady is looking forward with anticipation to the publication of the response to the Taylor review. It was a landmark report to which this Government committed, and I look forward to her endorsing this Government when we enact Taylor’s recommendations in the weeks ahead.

[Giles Watling (Clacton) (Con)]

T3. I have recently had the honour of visiting many of our businesses in Clacton. Some of them are searching for business overseas, but they remain concerned about Brexit. What can my right hon. Friend do or say to reassure them?

[Greg Clark]

Businesses up and down the country have been very clear: they want an agreement; they want a deal so that they have the certainty to be able to make investments; they want a transition period so that they are able to make the necessary adjustments; and they want frictionless trade. The proposed deal comprises all those qualities, which is why it has had such a warm endorsement. It will give businesses in my hon. Friend’s constituency and elsewhere the confidence to invest.

Industrial Strategy

Debate between Giles Watling and Greg Clark

Monday 27th November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for his questions. He is right that international co-operation in research—not just with other European countries, but around the world—is the foundation of our success. Typically, Nobel prizes are these days awarded to teams representing many different countries. We are very clear in the strategy that we want to continue and extend the joint work we do with other countries. On the increase required, he will see in the strategy document that it is to be allocated by our scientific community, but with a particular regard to how we can make sure that clusters of excellence in research all around the country can benefit from the increased funding.

[Giles Watling (Clacton) (Con)]

I commend the Secretary of State for his very positive statement. Does he agree that the tourism industry—worth £127 billion, 9% of GDP and vital to my constituents in the glorious sunshine coast of Clacton-on-Sea—should be at the forefront of any industrial strategy, as it is a powerful way forward out of recession and post-Brexit?

[Greg Clark]

I do indeed. Many of us have had the pleasure of visiting Clacton and Frinton, whether as day-trippers or in some other capacity, in recent years and look forward to doing so again. My hon. Friend is absolutely right that tourism is a very important industry. The sector has in some cases been associated with lower levels of pay than other areas. Working with the sector, we want to see how we can invest in improvements in productivity, so it can be a much better paid sector than has been associated with it in the past.

Energy Price Cap

Debate between Giles Watling and Greg Clark

Monday 3rd July 2017 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

There is a clear expectation that I want the detriment that the CMA has identified to be tackled once and for all. Ofgem has said that it will consult consumer groups, and I hope and expect that those consumer groups will share my hon. Friend’s analysis.

[Giles Watling (Clacton) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend join me in welcoming Ofgem’s acknowledgment regarding the ability to put a cap in place? Should we not urge it to use the power fully?

[Greg Clark]

My hon. Friend is right, and the proposal to consult consumer groups and to go beyond the CMA’s remedies—at least what the majority report of the CMA recommended—is welcome. As I said, that is a step in the right direction, but I would want to see this put out in detail and implemented before I would be satisfied with it.