Oral Answers to Questions

Iain Wright Excerpts

Thursday 15th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Prisk]

That was a tricky question. My hon. Friend is absolutely right and is a fantastic supporter of industry. I think that the Labour party, beyond the jokes, needs to remember that 1.7 million people lost their jobs in manufacturing over the 13 years it was in government.

[Mr Iain Wright (Hartlepool) (Lab)]

The Secretary of State, in his leaked letter last week, wrote that “a connecting thread” in the failure to provide a “compelling vision” or economic growth is

“the need for strategic and long term thinking about supply chains and the role played in them by public procurement decisions,”

but that there is

“no connected approach across Government.”

That is presumably the objective of the advanced manufacturing supply chain initiative, which was launched in December. Almost five months after the launch, however, will the Minister of State confirm that no firms have yet received help because not a jot of progress has been made? In the light of missed opportunities throughout Whitehall, whether in green technologies, feed-in tariffs, trains, Royal Navy tankers or nuclear technology, how on earth does Ministers’ dawdling help British businesses grow and win contracts? No firms helped—yes or no?

[Mr Prisk]

In that diatribe—[Interruption.] In that diatribe, which I think we all recognised—

[Mr Wright]

Yes or no?

[Mr Prisk]

The point—to answer the hon. Gentleman’s question, if he would like to have an answer—is very simple: we are making good progress on skills, innovation and the supply chain. But is it not right for a Secretary of State to look at progress over 10, 15 and 20 years? Is that not what Governments should do? The Opposition need to bear it in mind, because, if the Labour party in government had looked 10 or 20 years ahead, this country would not be in the mess that we are having to clear up.