Business of the House

James Morris Excerpts

Thursday 19th April 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

My view is clear that all Members of the House are entitled to prompt responses to correspondence with Ministers or from officials at HMRC. The hon. Lady has given me the details of the particular correspondence to which she is awaiting a reply, and of course I will chase that up immediately.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

Two thirds of people in Halesowen and Rowley Regis have gross earnings of less than £26,000, and most do not believe it to be fair that some families can receive much more than this from benefits. May we have a debate in Government time on what further work the Government need to do to make sure that people are always better off in work?

[Sir George Young]

The motivation behind the introduction of the universal credit, which I hope is supported by Members on both sides of the House, is to ensure that it always pays to work. My hon. Friend will know that the relevant legislation has gone through, along with a benefits cap and a serious approach to benefit fraud. The current system costs the taxpayer £1.5 billion a year. We hope to make progress on that and introduce new measures to tackle fraud, tougher rules and a benefit ban of three years for people who offend repeatedly. The Welfare Reform Act 2012 is an Act of historic importance. We have taken bold action both to make work pay and to protect the vulnerable.

Oral Answers to Questions

James Morris Excerpts

Thursday 22nd March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mary Macleod (Brentford and Isleworth) (Con)]

8. What support his Department is providing to the creative industries.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

9. What support his Department is providing to the creative industries.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (Mr Edward Vaizey)]

We have introduced the Creative Industries Council and maintained existing direct support for film through the national lottery and film tax relief. Building on this success, I am sure that the whole House will welcome yesterday’s announcement by the Chancellor of the introduction of similar tax reliefs for the video games, animation and high-end TV production sectors. The UK has some of the world’s most successful creative industries, and yesterday’s Budget will ensure that they can continue to grow and support jobs up and down the country. [Interruption.] The hon. Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant) is almost as loud as his tie.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Vaizey]

I never lose an opportunity, when I drive over the flyover, to look at the huge headquarters of Sega in my hon. Friend’s constituency. Not only will that proposal stop the brain drain; it will create a brain import scheme.

[James Morris]

Birmingham and the black country have a very creative software and hardware development industry, but it often finds it difficult to recruit the skilled people it requires from the region. What support can the Minister give to local centres of excellence, such as the Aston and Wolverhampton science parks?

[Mr Vaizey]

We continue to focus on skills. The higher apprenticeships scheme will help to provide talent for the UK’s IT industry. May I take this opportunity to praise Ian Livingstone and Alex Hope for their “Next Gen.” report, which has led to a revolution in the computer science curriculum in schools?

Business of the House

James Morris Excerpts

Thursday 15th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend the disability Minister made a statement to the House on this last week, and then answered questions. I point out that the party of the hon. Member for Llanelli (Nia Griffith) closed 28 Remploy factories, and that there is a change in the way we are helping disabled people. There is more and more emphasis on finding work in mainstream employment for those with a disability, and less reliance on places of employment such as Remploy, which is sometimes referred to as being segregated. The money saved by the closure of Remploy factories is being diverted into giving more personal help to people with a disability to find work in mainstream employment. We are not saving any money at all; indeed, we are putting £15 million more into the access to employment scheme within that budget. I would welcome a debate on the future of Remploy, but I honestly believe that the policy on which we are embarked is in the best long-term interests of those with a disability, and it has been supported by most disability organisations.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

Conservative-led Dudley council has launched a £1 million new business loan fund. Given the figures that were published yesterday showing that 60,000 more people were in work in the west midlands than at the time of the election, could we have a debate on how local initiatives can help to drive jobs and business growth?

[Sir George Young]

We can indeed have such a debate: on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and—[Hon. Members: “Saturday?”] No, not Saturday—on Monday. We are doing everything we can to support businesses through this difficult time, and I was interested to hear about what is happening in Dudley. We also have the business growth fund of £2.5 billion—a bank-led investment scheme without any Government money—investing in businesses across the country in return for a 10% equity stake. My hon. Friend might like to promote that scheme in his constituency.

Business of the House

James Morris Excerpts

Thursday 8th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

The hon. Gentleman has drawn attention to a very serious matter. It is important that the damage is repaired immediately, and I pay tribute to the work of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Representations have been made to the Libyan Government expressing our dismay at what has happened and urging them to take every step to prevent any recurrence. I cannot promise an early debate, but it might be an appropriate subject for a debate on the Adjournment commending the work that is done by the commission.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

Many small manufacturers in my constituency are in the good position of running at full capacity to fulfil their order books. May we have a debate in Government time on what the Government are doing to provide such businesses with credit in order for them to continue to expand, export and grow?

[Sir George Young]

I commend the work that is going on in my hon. Friend’s constituency and the full order books that he mentioned. There will be an opportunity after the Budget statement to debate the assistance that we are giving to manufacturing that flows from the advanced manufacturing growth review that was published a year ago. There will also be an opportunity to debate the issue of credit available through the banks, perhaps against the background of the national loans guarantee scheme that is shortly to come into effect, making £20 billion available to the banks for onward lending at preferential rates of interest to businesses such as those in my hon. Friend’s constituency.

Business of the House

James Morris Excerpts

Thursday 1st March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I will raise that issue with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and see whether there is an anomaly that needs addressing, and I will ask him to drop the hon. Lady a line.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

Plans have recently been submitted for a new retail development in Blackheath in my constituency, which will bring much-needed construction and retail jobs to the area. May we have a debate on the Government’s success in generating private sector jobs and on what more needs to be done over the coming years?

[Sir George Young]

Again, the Budget may provide an appropriate forum for such a debate, but my hon. Friend reminds the House that private sector employment is up 580,000 since the election, and that the overall number of people claiming out-of-work benefits has fallen by 30,000. I hope we can maintain that impetus, and that my hon. Friend will take part in the Budget debate, when he can make the point at greater length.

Business of the House

James Morris Excerpts

Thursday 23rd February 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I welcome what my hon. Friend says and I am delighted to hear what is happening in his constituency. We are scrapping new regulations that would have cost businesses more than £350 million a year and doubling the qualification period for unfair dismissal tribunals, and we have streamlined the planning system. I very much hope that we can take that agenda forward, and again a debate might be appropriate in the context of the Budget.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

I recently visited Sandvik in my constituency, which told me that demand for tools from the automotive industry in the west midlands is the highest it has been for many years. May we have a debate in Government time on what the Government are doing to support advanced manufacturing, in order to promote the jobs and growth that we need in areas such as the west midlands and the black country?

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend draws attention to the success of the automotive industry, particularly in exports. It is indeed part of our strategy to rebalance the economy, making it less dependent on financial services and more dependent on manufacturing. We are addressing the barriers to growth and encouraging innovation, exports, business investment and improving skills, and we have the regional growth fund, the enterprise zones and the national loan guarantee scheme. I hope that we can develop that policy in the context of the Budget and outline yet further help for manufacturing industry.

Business of the House

James Morris Excerpts

Thursday 26th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

The right hon. Gentleman will know that there is a process of appeal against the Information Commissioner’s decisions, which is open to those who object to them in the way that he has outlined. I am not sure that it would be appropriate for the Government to get involved.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

The people of Halesowen and Rowley Regis are rightly anxious to see action against the something-for-nothing society at all levels. May we have a debate in Government time to explore why the previous Government did not get undertakings on executive pay from banks that took taxpayers’ money, and a debate on what this Government are doing to curb bankers’ bonuses?

Business of the House

James Morris Excerpts

Thursday 19th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I understand my hon. Friend’s concern about that imbalance in trade. My understanding is that it is due to the fact that more UK pensioners retire to other EU countries than residents of EU countries retire here. Under EU rules, we have to pay for the health treatment of those who retire to EU countries. The imbalance that he refers to is not a result of health tourism or the abuse of the NHS, although we are of course against those things, but due to the fact that more of our citizens retire to the EU than EU citizens retire here.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

Next month, I will attend the official launch of the Ormiston academy in Cradley Heath in Sandwell, which is the latest school to become an academy in my constituency. Will the Leader of the House grant a debate on giving schools that are currently in LEA control similar powers to academies, so that we can drive up teaching standards and attainment in areas where LEAs are underperforming, such as Sandwell?

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend draws attention to the fact that we now have more than 1,300 new academies. The number of academies has risen sevenfold since we came to power. All the evidence is that schools that convert to academies do better than those that do not. On the issue of extending to local authority schools the powers that academies have, which was the thrust of his question, my initial response is to ask why such schools do not go for academy status and get the benefits in that way. I will, of course, pass on to my ministerial colleagues the suggestion that he has made.

Business of the House

James Morris Excerpts

Thursday 1st December 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I am in favour of more applications but, as I said to the hon. Member for Huddersfield, it is too soon to draw the conclusion that I think the hon. Gentleman is drawing—[Interruption.] It makes sense to wait until applications close before drawing conclusions on whether they are up or down on last year. As I said, where applications have closed the reduction is 0.9%, so I think that he is being unduly alarmist.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

May we have a debate on how the Government are working with local authorities to protect some of our most vulnerable children, especially in areas such as Sandwell, where the Labour-run council was recently judged by Ofsted to be failing in its provision to some of the most vulnerable children in the community?

[Sir George Young]

I very much hope that the local authority will respond to the Ofsted report and seek to improve its standards. I will draw my hon. Friend’s concern to the attention of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education.

Business of the House

James Morris Excerpts

Thursday 10th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend is quite right. Under the coalition, the number of academies has increased sixfold from 203 in May 2010 to 1,350 this October. Some 1,526 schools have been able to apply to become academies, and 1,031 have already been converted. As I said in response to my hon. Friend the Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough (Andrew Jones), 116 underperforming schools have been replaced by academies since May 2010, and more than 40% of all secondary schools are now open, or in the process of opening, as academies.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

May I join other hon. Members who have advocated a debate on the success of academies, especially in areas such as Sandwell, part of which I represent, where a recent Ofsted report gave four out of five academies in the borough good or outstanding ratings, compared with less than half the local education authority-run secondary schools?

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend draws attention to a valuable part of the academy programme, namely the freedoms that academies have, which have been put to good use. The standard of education in the schools that have become academies normally exceeds the standard in those that have not, so there is evidence that we are driving up standards in our schools by taking forward the academy programme.