Trade and Investment for Growth White Paper

Debate between James Morris and Vince Cable

Wednesday 9th February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

I do not think that the hon. Gentleman has studied the figures carefully. If he does, he will see that the trade deficit narrowed slightly in the last quarter of last year, as against that quarter in previous years. The figures are not good, and they have not been good for many years. We have had very poor trade performance; that is what I said at the start of my statement. We have a massive legacy of underperformance in exports, and particularly in manufactures, that we have to overcome, and the White Paper represents a clear step in the direction of remedying that problem.

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

I welcome the Secretary of State’s statement. Does he agree that it is important for UKTI to develop co-ordinated relationships with the new local enterprise partnerships, especially in the black country, in order to ensure that local businesses have proper access to export markets?

[Vince Cable]

Yes, indeed, and that is the case. UKTI will continue to delegate people to work in the regional areas. In the past there has been an enormous amount of duplication and waste, and those people will continue to work in exactly the way that my hon. Friend describes, but more effectively than in the past.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Performance)

Debate between James Morris and Vince Cable

Wednesday 2nd February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

I will take interventions in a few moments.

I think that we can claim credit for specific actions that have made a real difference in terms of manufacturing skills.

I believe that the right hon. Member for Southampton, Itchen said that apprenticeships were in decline. It is worth reading out the latest quarterly figures, because they are directly relevant to the intervention of my right hon. Friend the Member for Bermondsey and Old Southwark (Simon Hughes) and those of Labour Members.

A year ago there were 63,400 level 2 apprenticeships; now there are 76,300. A year ago there were 35,200 advanced apprenticeships at level 3; now there are 42,300. The number of higher-level apprenticeships has risen from 700 to 1,200. That is a direct consequence of our intervention during the spending review, when we had to make tough choices. We chose to concentrate on supporting the apprenticeships that are the backbone of British industry.

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

The Secretary of State is making a very good point. It is particularly applicable to the economy of the west midlands and the black country, where manufacturing still plays a very important role. The creation of a local enterprise partnership to focus specifically on manufacturing skills will directly benefit the local economy. It would be madness to pursue the policies of the previous Government, which failed to create the private sector jobs that we need in the west midlands.

[Vince Cable]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his support. He makes the point extremely well. Local enterprise partnerships will achieve a great deal, at a far lower cost than the Labour party’s £21 billion investment in regional development agencies. They are already beginning to make their mark.

Local Growth White Paper

Debate between James Morris and Vince Cable

Thursday 28th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

My Department has been talking to the CBI, which is pleased with the outcome, as it made clear. On petty parochialism, that is a strange way for the right hon. Gentleman to describe his own local community. We have tried to ensure that the process is driven from the bottom up and is not centrally imposed. Good local authorities, working with local businesses, are producing very creative, positive ways forward. What is wrong with that?

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

I welcome the Secretary of State’s statement, particularly the emphasis on private sector jobs and skills. Can he be more specific about the time scale and process for the Black Country LEP, given the importance of private sector jobs and skills development to the black country?

[Vince Cable]

As I think I told one of the hon. Gentleman’s colleagues earlier, there was a problem with the black country submission, which did not have a sufficiently substantial business input. We hope that those problems will be resolved within weeks rather than months, and it is important that they are, because the deadline for the first bidding round in the regional growth fund is in January, so the relevant bodies will need to progress quickly if they are to participate.