Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jason McCartney and Greg Clark

Tuesday 13th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

T4. With engineering and textiles doing particularly well in Huddersfield and Colne Valley, will the Department continue to commit to an industrial strategy that builds on our regional economic strengths?

[Greg Clark]

We certainly will. It is important that the industrial strategy and business policy recognise the strengths of particular places. Yorkshire is a particularly fine example.

Corporate Governance

Debate between Jason McCartney and Greg Clark

1st reading: House of Commons
Tuesday 29th November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

There are indeed, and the range of stakeholders has long been recognised in company law, as my hon. Friend knows. The question is: in a world in which there are now more very large privately held businesses that do not have a full stock market listing than was the case in the past, is this the appropriate time to extend this measure to those businesses?

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

Will the Secretary of State join me in acknowledging the good point made by the hon. Member for Walsall North (Mr Winnick) about trade unions? A decade ago, as a union representative, I led industrial action against our then fat cat boss, who was making poor business decisions, cutting jobs and having a pay freeze, while still getting his multimillion-pound bonuses. Of course I am now a Conservative MP, and he is now a Labour peer.

[Greg Clark]

That is a useful parable, which just goes to illustrate further the point I was making about the commitment we have on the Conservative side of the House. I know that my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove) is also a veteran of industrial action, showing that my hon. Friend the Member for Colne Valley (Jason McCartney) is not alone in this shared history.

Nissan: Sunderland

Debate between Jason McCartney and Greg Clark

Monday 31st October 2016 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

It is nice to hear the right hon. Lady being able to speak from the Back Benches; she does so compellingly. As colleagues who know my interests in these matters would expect me to say, I believe that our regions, towns, cities and counties have an important role to play in our industrial strategy. I do not know whether she has been elected to the new Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, but I am sure she will be able to attend its sittings, because I hope that we will be discussing precisely this during the next few weeks.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

It is Offshore Wind Week, so will the Secretary of State join me in welcoming this fantastic news for Nissan and confirm that it will play a key role in a low-carbon future for British industry?

[Greg Clark]

I am delighted that my hon. Friend has mentioned that. One of the great opportunities in industrial strategy is to combine our world leadership in offshore wind renewable energy with our commanding position in the automotive sector, and to bring them together so that when it comes to electrical vehicles and battery storage, we can lead the world, which is what we intend to do.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jason McCartney and Greg Clark

Tuesday 13th September 2016 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

The hon. Gentleman makes a reasonable point. Responsibilities come with being in business in this country, and paying taxes to contribute to the public services that we enjoy is one of them. He has my assurance that we will ensure that we pursue the correct tax from all companies that locate here.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

T3. On Thursday, I will be chairing a panel at the enterprise, innovation and northern powerhouse conference at Huddersfield university. Does the Secretary of State agree that in developing an industrial strategy, we need to do more to win hearts and minds for big projects in the north, with more examples of regional procurement, such as the High Speed 2 college in Doncaster, and more jobs in the north, perhaps with HS2 starting from the north?

[Greg Clark]

The passion with which my hon. Friend makes his point attests to the opportunities within our approach to industrial strategy to ensure that there is growth across the United Kingdom, including in Yorkshire. He will know that I have taken a great interest in that in my previous roles, and he can be absolutely assured that that interest will not diminish in the months ahead.

Local Government Finance

Debate between Jason McCartney and Greg Clark

Thursday 17th December 2015 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

These are, of course, decisions for the local council. In the settlement we have prioritised councils that have social care responsibilities. In his own borough, the un-ring-fenced reserves are nearly a fifth of a billion pounds, so the council can itself make some contribution to meeting those costs.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

The Secretary of State is absolutely right that local councils are answerable to local people. As he is aware, there is a very lively debate going on in Yorkshire at the moment about the relative merits of a West Yorkshire model and a Greater Yorkshire model of devolution. Will my right hon. Friend update us on when he sees a deal eventually being done in Yorkshire?

Growth Deals

Debate between Jason McCartney and Greg Clark

Thursday 29th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

I do indeed agree. I pay tribute to Sir Roger who has worked very closely with my hon. Friend to develop and promote Folkestone as the attractive destination that it is. The area is going from strength to strength, and this further investment will enhance its attractiveness.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

I thank the Minister for the extra £2.9 million allocated to Huddersfield university through the local enterprise partnership. It will help fund a new incubator centre at the Globe Mills development project at Slaithwaite in my constituency. Does the Minister agree that that is a real sign that the northern powerhouse is making a difference in my beautiful part of Yorkshire?

[Greg Clark]

It certainly is, and Huddersfield is an excellent university. It is always good to reinforce success. Another aspect of this is that it shows the close working relationship between universities, businesses and local authorities. Universities are now, unambiguously, among the leaders of their local economies. It is very gratifying to see in so many of these deals that universities are playing a very strong and impressive role.

Local Growth Deals

Debate between Jason McCartney and Greg Clark

Monday 7th July 2014 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. She is a great champion of Cornwall. It is crazy to try to run a place as distinctive as Cornwall from Whitehall and Westminster. Quite apart from the investment that is being made, we are giving a big vote of confidence to Cornwall and its ability to run its own affairs. I am delighted to be doing that.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

Roger Marsh, the chair of the local enterprise partnership that includes Kirklees, has said:

“This is a game-changing moment for the Leeds City Region.”

Does the Minister agree that, with the £1 billion of investment for the West Yorkshire Plus transport fund, the expansion of the skilled work force, business grants for growth and two days of the grandest of Grands Départs in Yorkshire, this really has been a momentous weekend for Yorkshire?

[Greg Clark]

It has been a fantastic weekend for Yorkshire. This is a Grand Départ of our own: we are setting off in a very different direction from that which we inherited. For 100 years, power has been sucked away from places such as Yorkshire; we are sending it back.

Banking Reform

Debate between Jason McCartney and Greg Clark

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.

National Planning Policy Framework

Debate between Jason McCartney and Greg Clark

Tuesday 27th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

It is always for the planning authority to assess the application, and the applicant puts in what is proposed, so there is no change to that.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

I welcome the Minister’s announcement that he is allowing 12 months from today for existing local plans to be adjusted to be in complete conformity with the new framework. Will he join me, therefore, in calling for Labour-run Kirklees council’s local development framework, which was supported by the Liberal Democrats and so-called independents, to be adjusted so that it truly protects the green belt and makes any development truly sustainable?

[Greg Clark]

We have put facilities in place for that to be done as quickly as possible. A team is standing by to give all the advice that my hon. Friend’s authority needs to do that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jason McCartney and Greg Clark

Monday 17th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

Of course, the policy to which the hon. Gentleman refers started under the previous Government. He knows that the intention is to increase and safeguard access to natural assets, such as our forests, for all generations.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

11. What timetable he has set for implementation of the new homes bonus.