Oral Answers to Questions

Gregg McClymont Excerpts

Thursday 23rd January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Michael Fallon]

I am disappointed that the hon. Gentleman should talk down British exporting and British manufacturing at precisely the time we see a renaissance not only in our automotive industry but in our aerospace and other industries. Of course trading conditions are tough, not least with problems in the eurozone and elsewhere, but exports are up and we continue to help drive increased export performance through supporting small and medium-sized enterprises and mid-sized businesses.

[Gregg McClymont (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East) (Lab)]

4. What assessment he has made of the value for money achieved for the public purse through the recent sale of shares in Royal Mail.

[The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Michael Fallon)]

With permission, Mr Speaker, I will answer this question together with Question 5.

[Michael Fallon]

I was hoping there would be some interest in this question.

We believe that value for money should be assessed over the long term and should consider not merely the proceeds from the initial sale but the value of the taxpayer’s retained stake in Royal Mail and the reduced risk to the taxpayer and the six-day-a-week universal service of a stable company with access now to private capital.

[Gregg McClymont]

Given the botched and imprudent sale of the first tranche of Royal Mail shares by this Government at the expense of taxpayers, the public will be concerned about the emerging reports that the Government intend to sell off the remaining family silver before the next election. Will the Minister confirm whether those reports are accurate?

[Michael Fallon]

I can confirm, first, that the sale of Royal Mail was a success. Unlike the hon. Gentleman, I am delighted that the shares have risen in value, reflecting Royal Mail’s interim trading results and the long-overdue agreement with the union. Any decision on a sale of the remaining stake is still to be taken.

Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill

Gregg McClymont Excerpts

Wednesday 17th October 2012 Commons Chamber

[Richard Fuller]

The hon. Gentleman makes a good point, but—[Interruption.] I am serious, and this is a serious point. I do not know much about football, but I understand that the idea is to play the ball, not the man. That is also important in debates, which was why I did not feel it was correct when the Secretary of State dismissed Adrian Beecroft’s proposals out of hand and called them “bonkers” on Second Reading. It is important that we should debate those proposals. If, as the hon. Gentleman says, there is not sufficient evidence for them, let us look forward and move on to other issues.

My point is that Opposition Members too often harangue business people or try to portray them in a particular light. I refer particularly to the comments of the hon. Member for Walthamstow, who I believe discussed how Mr Beecroft made his money. I gently urge her to recognise that Mr Beecroft’s boss at the time—they were in the same company, making the same money—was an adviser to the former Prime Minister, and that the Labour party received millions of pounds in donations from that gentleman. If she wishes to make such points about one individual, I look forward to being copied in on her letter to the Leader of the Opposition suggesting that the Labour party should return that money.

[Gregg McClymont (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East) (Lab)]

The hon. Gentleman has mentioned some adjectives used about Beecroft that he thinks were less than precise. Surely a simpler way to put it is that the plural of “anecdote” is not “evidence”. Beecroft presented a series of anecdotes about business that he could not back up with any facts. I know the hon. Gentleman well enough to know that he is in the facts business, so surely he will reflect on that when considering Mr Beecroft’s report.

[Richard Fuller]

The hon. Gentleman, too, makes a good point. I have read the evidence given to the Public Bill Committee, and it was not sufficiently evidentiary to move Mr Beecroft’s point forward. However, the hon. Gentleman will know that developed economies are currently having trouble with how to increase employment as they come out of recession. In the United States and the United Kingdom, it is taking us longer to create jobs as the economy recovers. It is therefore imperative that we look at the evidence, to see whether we wish to promote the Beecroft proposals. That is why we need a deeper and more serious debate than just talking about poor evidence in a Public Bill Committee or anecdotal evidence somewhere else, and one without name-calling.

--- Later in debate ---

[Jo Swinson]

I thank hon. Members who have taken part in this debate. I note the point made by the hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell) that I spoke at length at the beginning of the debate. I wanted to ensure that I covered all the issues raised and to be fair to Members in taking all interventions offered, which is the spirit in which I have approached the debate. That obviously meant that my remarks were rather lengthy.

I want to respond to the points raised in the debate, because hon. Members are keen to get to the next business. The hon. Member for Edinburgh South (Ian Murray)—the shadow Minister—queried clause 13 and said that it would hit middle earners, but I fear that his analysis of the situation reinforces unrealistic expectations. The average award at an employment tribunal is less than £5,000. In reality, only 0.3% of unfair dismissal claimants are awarded more than the annual salary. The purpose of the measure is to provide additional certainty and to help challenge those unrealistic expectations, but he has not characterised it entirely fairly.

[Gregg McClymont]

Will the Minister give way?

[Jo Swinson]

I will give way to the hon. Gentleman, but I remind him that Labour Members are also keen to get to the next business.

[Gregg McClymont]

If the average award is around £5,000, why is there a rush to get rid of the system?

Oral Answers to Questions

Gregg McClymont Excerpts

Thursday 2nd February 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Prisk]

The changes that Professor Löfstedt has identified are not about reducing safety at work; they are about cutting unnecessary red tape. That is clear; indeed, it is why one Opposition Member has been part of that panel and has supported its proposals, which this Government will implement.

[Gregg McClymont (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East) (Lab)]

2. For what reasons he does not plan to implement all the recommendations of the High Pay Commission.

[Mr Wayne David (Caerphilly) (Lab)]

12. For what reasons he does not plan to implement all the recommendations of the High Pay Commission.

[The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Vince Cable)]

I welcome the High Pay Commission’s valuable contribution to this debate. The proposals that I announced to the House last week drew on its analysis, and we are taking forward 11 of its 12 recommendations either in full or in spirit. We have chosen not to implement its recommendation requiring workers to be put on all remuneration committees.

[Gregg McClymont]

Most people in this country would consider £180,000 a year to be high pay. Will the Secretary of State tell the House who signed off the special dispensation with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs regarding the extraordinary tax arrangements of Mr Ed Lester, the chief executive of the Student Loans Company?

[Vince Cable]

I understand that there is to be an urgent question shortly, when hon. Members will be able to go into that issue in detail if they wish. I simply say that this concerns an exceptionally useful individual who has helped to turn around that organisation. The arrangements under which the negotiations took place involved substantial value for money for the taxpayer and a tax cut by the individual. We will pursue matters of public concern on the tax issues, and the answers will be given by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury in response to the urgent question.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Davey]

I am sorry that after the initial e-mail sent just before Christmas there was no substantive follow-up. I apologise to the right hon. Gentleman’s constituent, but the Secretary of State has now written to the right hon. Gentleman, as he acknowledged, and I confirm that officials of the Insolvency Service who exercise those powers will now make contact with his constituent as he has requested.

[Gregg McClymont (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East) (Lab)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

[The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Vince Cable)]

My Department has a key role in supporting the rebalancing of the economy and business to deliver growth while increasing skills and learning.

[Gregg McClymont]

A moment ago, the Minister for Universities and Science referred to student loan repayments, which the right hon. Gentleman will know are deducted at source, which is more than can be said for the extraordinary contract awarded to Mr Ed Lester of the Student Loans Company. Will the Minister explain why he signed off those extraordinary tax avoidance arrangements?

[The Minister for Universities and Science (Mr David Willetts)]

Let me be absolutely clear that this arrangement is set out very clearly in the Student Loans Company annual accounts. If Labour Members had cared to study the report, they would have seen on page 42 a completely transparent account of the arrangements for Mr Ed Lester’s reimbursement. It is set out very clearly there. The payments are to the recruitment consultancy company that found him, and he was appointed on an interim basis to tackle a disaster in the SLC that we inherited from the Labour Government. We of course recognise the importance of ensuring that proper arrangements are in place and will continue to monitor the situation, but I can inform the House that we have agreed that, for the remainder of the chief executive’s contract, the SLC will account for PAYE and national insurance at source.

Oral Answers to Questions

Gregg McClymont Excerpts

Thursday 31st March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

The hon. Gentleman is right that manufacturing is a success story. It is now growing at double-digit levels annually, in stark contrast with what happened in the period after 1997, when we had a hollowing out of manufacturing more rapid than anywhere else in the world. However, he is right that there is a threat to small and medium-sized enterprises in particular from bank lending practices. We have secured commitments to 15% more lending from the banks, but much more needs to be done.

[Gregg McClymont (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East) (Lab)]

T8. Given that demand for student places was always going to exceed supply this coming year, is the Secretary of State surprised that universities are charging as much as he has allowed them to charge?

[Vince Cable]

The hon. Gentleman might be confusing the coming year with the year for which fee levels are being announced. However, as I said earlier, there is a wide distribution of proposed charge levels by the universities that have already made announcements—less than a quarter of all universities—and this reflects the policy that we introduced.

Oral Answers to Questions

Gregg McClymont Excerpts

Thursday 18th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Vaizey]

That money will be spent. Local enterprise partnerships and local authorities can apply for it, and we intend to announce a new delivery mechanism next spring.

[Gregg McClymont (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East) (Lab)]

16. Whether the proceeds from the sale of High Speed 1 will be added to the start-up capital for the green investment bank.

[The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Vince Cable)]

I am unable to provide commercially sensitive information on individual asset sales, but I can say that I do not expect the proceeds of the sale of HS 1 to be used for the green investment bank. Instead, they will make a contribution to reducing the stock of national debt.

[Gregg McClymont]

The Secretary of State has referred to his own policies as Maoist, but may I suggest that he is more like Chiang Kai-shek? He is losing the war, he has retreated to his own little island, and he is increasingly cut adrift from the mainland of this Tory Government.

[Vince Cable]

That blizzard of rhetoric rather disguises the fact that in setting up the green investment bank we are making a very real commitment to investment in a green economy, and a substantial Government financial commitment has been made to it.