Autumn Statement

Jason McCartney Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

First, it is no good saying that the first 10 years of that Labour Government were great and that we should forget about the last three, which brought about the greatest recession since the 1920s. It is a bit like Mrs Lincoln being asked about that play.

We have taken a number of steps to try to cap housing benefit, rent increases and the housing benefit associated with them; we have introduced a cap on housing benefit payments. When we came to office, there were examples of some people receiving over £100,000 a year from taxpayers in housing benefit, which is of course totally unacceptable. We have taken those steps, and now we have the welfare cap as well. All I can say is that every time Labour Members stand up, we hear about a proposal to add to the housing welfare benefit bill, and that it would be good to hear some proposals from them to reduce it.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

Gosh. The hon. Gentleman appears to be experiencing some discomfort, which I do not like to see. We must hear from Mr Jason McCartney.

[Jason McCartney]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. It is my marathon training, and in that vein, I ran the London marathon for the Forget Me Not children’s hospice this year. Along with it and my local Kirkwood hospice I would therefore like to thank the Chancellor for the measures he has taken in refunding VAT. The Forget Me Not children’s hospice is recruiting two apprentices at the moment, so will my right hon. Friend continue to support apprenticeships, 4,200 of which have been created in my constituency since 2010?

[Mr Osborne]

It seems like the autumn statement is a tailor-made package for the marathon run that my hon. Friend is undertaking. In view of the brilliant work that he does in his community and the brilliant work of the Forget Me Not hospice, I am pleased that the VAT refund, along with the abolition of the jobs tax on apprenticeships, will be so welcome. My hon. Friend must send me a sponsorship form. Every year I sponsor the shadow Chancellor, so the least I can do is to sponsor my hon. Friend.

The Economy

Jason McCartney Excerpts

Wednesday 26th November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Gordon Birtwistle]

I did not say that Governments do not create jobs; I said that Governments do not create prosperity. Prosperity is delivered by the people who are working outside this building.

We have rebalanced the economy. We have backed aerospace and there are now hundreds of thousands of people working in the aerospace industry. In Burnley, we have invested more than £20 million in the old Michelin tyre factory, which is now serving an advanced aerospace supply chain. Lots of new American and British companies have come in and created high skills jobs with higher salaries. We backed the automotive industry. As was said earlier, we now export more cars than ever before. In fact, we are plus on exports—we used to import more cars than we exported, but we now export more than we import.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

I would like to thank my hon. Friend for highlighting the success of manufacturing in the north of England. If shadow Ministers actually came out of their London mansions and went up north, they would see that manufacturing is flourishing not only in his Burnley constituency but in Colne Valley and Huddersfield. The textile industry in Huddersfield has produced the green jacket for the Augusta national and the red carpet for the royal wedding of the Duke and Duchess and Cambridge. It is also producing the soft furnishings for the White House and the upholstery on Boris’s Routemaster London buses. They are all made in Huddersfield.

[Gordon Birtwistle]

I am very grateful for that intervention. I am delighted that my hon. Friend’s area is doing so well. [Interruption.] The comments about “five months” really do not do this debate justice. We are talking about real people doing real things and creating the wealth for this country. That is what I want to talk about. I do not want to talk about who might lose a seat in five months. Provided I have done what I can do by then, that is fine.

The problem with the prosperity coming along through the aerospace, automotive, textile and chemical industries is that we have a desperate lack of skills. There has been no investment in skills for the past 25 years under various Governments. The previous Government were culprits as were the Tory Government before that. However, this Government have recognised the problem; we are working on it and are approaching 2 million apprenticeships. I am proud to be the apprenticeship ambassador for the Government. I travel to all sorts of different companies including Starbucks, Next and Rolls Royce—every aspect of business—to talk to young people who believe that they can create prosperity for themselves, the companies they work for and the country they live in. They are proud and pleased to be doing that. The Government have done a major thing in recognising the shortage of skills and giving those young people a chance.

University technical colleges were mentioned earlier. The new UTCs are fantastic. In secondary schools in my constituency the teacher used to say, “If you don’t work hard and pass your exams you won’t be able to go to university and you’ll have to go to the factory.” Let me tell hon. Members, if pupils do not work hard and pass their exams, they will not get a job in the factory. They will have to go to university. The skills we now need, particularly in my constituency and across manufacturing, are very high tech. I hope that the prosperity being created by the people of this country will deliver a future that I want—I am getting on a bit—my children want, and my grandchildren want. They do not want to be saddled with debt. They want to work their way out of our debt by delivering prosperity across the country. The young people of the future will be the ones to deliver that prosperity. We have to train them to be able to do that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jason McCartney Excerpts

Tuesday 28th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Danny Alexander]

I still very much take the view that Britain is better and stronger as a full member of the European Union and that membership of the European Union is vital for our trade and for 3.5 million jobs in this country, which is why I will resist any attempts to take Britain out of the European Union.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

T5. I do not know whether the shadow Chancellor has been to Yorkshire recently, but if he does come up north, he will see that, in Colne valley and Huddersfield, manufacturing is surging, whether it is Magic Rock brewery exporting to Australia, Camira fabrics selling its textiles to the Los Angeles transit system or even Newsholme foods selling black puddings to Spain. Will the Chancellor please continue to reject the doom-mongering, mithering and class warfare from the Labour party and continue with his long-term economic plan?

[Mr Osborne]

I was in Pudsey the other day seeing a very successful manufacturing business near to my hon. Friend’s constituency. What was interesting was that that business is now exporting to China, which is a total reversal of what we have seen in the textile trade over the last few decades. I am very willing to come and see my hon. Friend and perhaps taste some of that delicious black pudding that the Spanish are buying.

Sixth-Form Colleges (VAT)

Jason McCartney Excerpts

Tuesday 17th December 2013 Westminster Hall

[Mr Stuart]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend, and I think there are feelings across the House on this subject. I said that I would keep my remarks brief, so perhaps I will bring them to a close. The big point is that sixth-form colleges have for years consistently been the most successful providers at delivering the Government’s key educational aims for 16 to 19-year-olds, but time and again, they appear to be on the front line of cuts in funding. That cannot make sense, in terms of having a rational, coherent approach to this issue.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on the great work that he is doing. He said that he has no sixth-form colleges in his constituency; I have no schools that provide sixth-form education in my constituency. However, there are three colleges there that provide sixth-form education: Huddersfield New college, Greenhead college, and Kirklees college. I also congratulate the hon. Member for Wigan (Lisa Nandy) on securing this debate, and I will continue to support this campaign.

[Mr Stuart]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for saying so.

There is another aspect that it is worth pointing out briefly. At the moment, because of the freedoms for schools that I think are broadly supported across the House—there is certainly support for them on the Government Benches—there is a danger that we are sleepwalking into the creation of more small sixth forms, which we know, from sustained evidence gathered over time, perform poorly. At the same time, we are undermining institutions that have a long track record of success in raising standards for all, and in closing the gap between rich and poor. We cannot allow that to happen, so we need the Government to wake up and recognise the jewels that they have in the form of sixth-form colleges.

Far from seeing sixth-form colleges cut back, sliced and reduced in capacity and capability, I would have thought that, having found a delivery system that works better than others, we should desperately look at expanding and supporting it in a way that is fair to other providers. I do not want in any way to be prejudiced against sixth forms, but I would like a level playing field, because we have the exact opposite: we are seemingly strengthening those with the weakest record, and weakening those with the strongest record.

Tomlinson Report

Jason McCartney Excerpts

Tuesday 17th December 2013 Westminster Hall

[Guto Bebb]

Absolutely. When a business is taken into the GRG in order to help with cash flow, it is difficult to envisage why there is therefore justification in imposing a £4,000 or even £2,000 per week charge for support. There is no indication of what that support entails, but it certainly does not support the cash flow—let us put it that way.

The company I mentioned was also expected to produce new accounts. It had monthly management accounts produced by its accountants, but that was not good enough for the bank, which had to have KPMG to do the work. Again, it was not good enough for the bank for the company to use its solicitors to value assets that were subsequently sold; it had to use solicitors chosen by the bank. That is oppressive behaviour by the GRG towards businesses that it is allegedly meant to be supporting.

It is important to bear in mind that when we highlight such cases, the concern is that we have examples from throughout the country, which makes the case that there is an issue here that needs to be looked at. I am pleased that the regulatory authorities are taking a look at the Tomlinson report, but I hope that they also take on board the comments made today by me and other Members on our experiences of businesses not included in the Tomlinson report. This is happening throughout the country and it needs to be highlighted.

I also want to highlight an interview with Derek Sach, the founder of the GRG, by Debtwire in October 2012, which is rather chilling to someone who is of the view that the bank ought to be there to support small businesses. He describes the steady flow of “new distressed businesses” into the GRG as an opportunity. That is a key point. If the head of the GRG considers that distressed businesses coming into his organisation are “opportunities”, his view is that the group is there not to support businesses, but to gain commercial advantage on the back of those businesses. Furthermore, if any Members present represent a shipping business, they should be concerned, because Mr Sach also emphasised that he sees significant “opportunities” in that sector, because shipping is going through a difficult period—in other words, the GRG vultures are hovering, waiting for a further supply of distressed businesses of which to take advantage.

Throughout the process, I have also seen numerous examples of instructions by the GRG not to prioritise the Crown on VAT, corporation tax or pay-as-you-earn payments. That is concerning from any high street bank, but to see such an instruction to businesses coming from a bank that was supported and saved by the taxpayer should cause serious concern to Government. I hope that the Minister will respond to that specific point.

I have a final point to make before my brief comment on Clifford Chance. The whole insolvency process is a concern. When an insolvency practitioner or administrators go into a business, the poor old creditors will often receive little in return, because the fees will take the vast majority of what is available. Hon. Members need not take my word for that, because in a recent article, James Nicholls of Nicholls & Co, an insolvency lawyer based in Birmingham, highlighted the fact that the insolvency business is complicit in what is, in my view, an abuse of small businesses. He made the point that

“we in the insolvency industry have been complicit, collaborative and have completely failed in what our true roles should be. Almost everyone in our industry has effectively been ‘bought off’ by the Banks—accountants, IPs”—

that is, insolvency practitioners—“lawyers, surveyors—everyone.” That is not my comment but a comment from somebody involved in the insolvency industry. His argument is that the industry has turned a blind eye to the behaviour of the GRG and other turnaround companies: it has been bought off by the fees and affected by the culture that has existed in the past decade.

If we are serious about supporting small businesses and supporting the growth of our economy through their development, we have to ask ourselves whether that sort of attitude towards them—seeing them as opportunities to make money rather than as businesses to be supported—is the right way forward.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

Everything my hon. Friend is saying is familiar to me. I have been supporting a decent-sized manufacturing business in my constituency. The bank concerned is not RBS but another major bank; I want the Minister to be aware of that fact, and I might speak with him afterwards. When a business needs support and is feeling a bit vulnerable, perhaps because it has just lost a contract or is restructuring, instead of getting support from its bank it gets a hike in interest rates and has extra costs imposed on it—for example, an extra £10,000 a month in accountancy costs—and there is no pathway for returning to regular lending.

The circumstances my hon. Friend has described are ones I am seeing with a business in my constituency; instead of getting the support it needs, the bank’s behaviour is creating worry and concern. I am supporting that business as best as I can. This debate is a timely one.

[Guto Bebb]

I appreciate my hon. Friend’s intervention, as it highlights the fact that this is not only an issue for those businesses highlighted in the Tomlinson report but something that we are seeing in our own constituencies.

James Nicholls concludes the article I mentioned by saying that the insolvency industry—by that he means accountants, solicitors, insolvency practitioners and so forth—needs

“to stop defending practices that on close and moral scrutiny just do not stand up to the ‘smell test’.”

I say, “Hear, hear,” to that.

I will conclude my comments by discussing Clifford Chance. I have no doubt, as I said in my opening remarks, that it is a reputable firm of solicitors, and make no comment about its behaviour, which I am sure is of the highest standard. However, by choosing Clifford Chance to undertake an internal review of the allegations made against the GRG, RBS is doing itself a disservice and is not creating any confidence in that review process.

Let us think of the relationship between Clifford Chance and RBS over the past couple of years. Clifford Chance worked on the sale of £80 billion of toxic UK commercial real estate by RBS, which was called Project Isobel internally; it acted on behalf of RBS on the sale of RBS Aviation Capital; it was instructed by RBS to deal with the recent IT outage suffered by RBS and NatWest; and it advised RBS on the LIBOR scandal.

I have no doubt that Clifford Chance feels that it could act impartially on the review, but businesses up and down the country genuinely feel that they have been treated badly by the GRG and RBS and they need to feel confident that the bank is taking their concerns seriously. I would argue that the impression given of a conflict of interests between Clifford Chance and RBS is enough of a reason for RBS to think again and appoint another firm to undertake the review. I welcome the fact that RBS is willing to undertake an internal review, and it has argued that it is creating an independent internal review; but that independence must be beyond reproach. Given the commercial relationship that I have highlighted between Clifford Chance and RBS, it is difficult to make the case that the review will be truly independent and will be able to gain the confidence of the business community. I ask the Minister to convey my concerns on that matter to RBS.

Thank you, Sir Roger, for allowing me to speak for so long on this issue, as I am aware that other Members wish to contribute. My concerns are simple. I believe that the issues highlighted in the Tomlinson report are worthy of consideration, and that it is good that the regulatory authorities are investigating on the basis of the report. But it is also important that Members of this House from all parts of the country highlight their experiences with the global restructuring group. RBS is not, in my view, the only bank to have behaved badly, but RBS and the GRG are the focus of the current report.

National Infrastructure Plan

Jason McCartney Excerpts

Wednesday 4th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Danny Alexander]

Housing is not, of course, directly part of the national infrastructure plan—it never has been—but I can say a word about it. A number of the infrastructure projects will directly unlock housing developments. For example, the investment in the A14 will unlock sites for 10,000 or more new homes in that part of England. That is precisely the sort of project we need to see more of.

Our Help to Buy scheme, which is enabling people who cannot afford large deposits to get a mortgage and to get on the housing ladder, is helping people in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency and mine, as well as across England and Wales, to access the housing market. That, in turn, will help to stimulate house construction in Scotland as well as in other parts of the UK.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that if Opposition Front Benchers stopped their mithering, got out more from their Primrose Hill mansions and came up north, they would see a succession of major infrastructure projects finished ahead of schedule? For example, the M1 and M62 managed motorway schemes came in under budget and finished under time, and the new Acre Mill site at Huddersfield royal infirmary has nearly been completed. The trans-Pennine route is also being electrified and we have the northern hub. If the shadow Transport Secretary, the hon. Member for Wakefield (Mary Creagh) went to her constituency of Wakefield in two weeks’ time, she would see a nearly completed new railway station, which I use every week.

[Danny Alexander]

My hon. Friend makes the case incredibly powerfully. We are investing in infrastructure up and down this country. We are delivering massive investment. He gave a list and I could give an even longer list from the north, the south, the midlands and across the whole of the United Kingdom. The Labour party has called for consensus on infrastructure. That consensus could best be achieved by Labour setting out its support for the best long-term plan for infrastructure this country has ever had.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jason McCartney Excerpts

Tuesday 5th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

I welcome the hon. Lady to the shadow Front Bench team. I look forward to debating with her. The Government have already taken steps to ensure that property buyers pay more in tax, by increasing stamp duty and by dealing with purchases through companies, and it would not be appropriate for any Minister to make a comment on any individual’s tax circumstances.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

8. What recent steps he has taken to increase investment in infrastructure.

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Danny Alexander)]

Investment in infrastructure is a key priority for this Government. In June, I set out a pipeline of investment in specific projects, worth over £100 billion out to 2020, including the largest investment in our railways since the Victorian era and the biggest investment in roads since the 1970s.

[Jason McCartney]

I welcome the support of my local Labour leader of Kirklees council for the new north-south railway, but does my right hon. Friend agree with the leader of Manchester council, who said that politicians need to stop taking cheap shots at HS2

“unless we want an increasingly disconnected North…slowly grinding to a halt”?

[Danny Alexander]

I wholeheartedly agree with those sentiments. My hon. Friend could have added to that list the leader of Nottingham city council, who said that the Labour Front Bench should get off the fence on HS2. The project is needed to promote growth, and connectivity outside London. I agree with that, and so should they.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jason McCartney Excerpts

Tuesday 25th June 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

We will have plenty of time to debate the recommendations of the parliamentary commission, which I think has done an absolutely excellent job for the House, by the way. We will shortly have the Report stage of the Banking Bill, at which the Government will say how we intend to respond to those recommendations. If there is more work to be done on the drafting of specific amendments, those amendments can be tabled in the House of Lords and they will of course come back to the House of Commons as well. The whole purpose of the parliamentary commission was to enable us to get on with this. If we had created a public inquiry, as Labour recommended, it would only just be getting going now. Instead, Parliament has done what it is supposed to do, which is to investigate a problem and provide recommendations, and we are going to debate those recommendations here.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

2. What assessment he has made of the effect of the pensions triple lock on pensioners.

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Danny Alexander)]

The triple lock means that the level of the full basic state pension is now £6.85 a week higher than it would have been if it had been uprated only by earnings since 2011-12. That equates to about £356 a year. The average person reaching state pension age in 2013 with a full basic state pension can expect to receive an additional £12,000 in basic state pension over their retirement, thanks to the triple lock.

[Jason McCartney]

Can my right hon. Friend confirm that the triple lock will prevent a repeat of the disgraceful situation in which pensioners received a pension increase of only 75p?

[Danny Alexander]

I certainly can confirm that. Putting in a floor of a 2.5% increase in the basic state pension will prevent that disgraceful situation, and I can tell my hon. Friend that, thanks to the triple lock, the basic state pension now represents a higher share of average earnings than at any time since 1992.

Economic Policy

Jason McCartney Excerpts

Monday 25th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

My message to all families is that in the markets interest rates remain low and have remained low today. That is the credibility test for the Government’s economic policy, and as I say, for families paying a mortgage or businesses with a business loan, that is crucial.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

Those on the Opposition Front Bench should come out into the real world from their Primrose Hill mansion. Last week in my constituency I visited businesses that are winning new orders, expanding, and taking on workers and apprentices. Will the Chancellor pledge to continue investment in the regional growth fund, enterprise zones and infrastructure spending such as the electrification of the trans-Pennine route that is helping businesses in my constituency?

[Mr Osborne]

I read in the paper that the Primrose Hill mansion my hon. Friend refers to falls just below the threshold for the new mansion tax proposed by the Labour economic team. However, my hon. Friend makes a good point: we must invest in economic infrastructure across the country. People have been calling for years for the electrification of the trans-Pennine route, and indeed the northern hub. It did not happen under a Labour Government but it is happening under this Government.

Banking Reform

Jason McCartney Excerpts

Monday 4th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

The hon. Gentleman is right: we need to protect the ring fence from the ingenuity of the lawyers who are sometimes in the vicinity. The history of financial regulation shows that banks have been able to discover ways of circumventing the rules, which is why we have given the regulator robust powers to insist on the full separation into retail and investment of any bank that makes any attempt to breach those rules.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

Can the Minister confirm that, under this Government, the taxpayer will never again be required to bail out the banks while a minority of bankers are picking up huge bonuses?

[Greg Clark]

I agree with both parts of my hon. Friend’s question.