Jo Swinson
Main Page: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)Department Debates - View all Jo Swinson's debates with the Department for Education
(11 years, 9 months ago)
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Michael Connarty (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (Lab)
4. If he will bring forward proposals to require companies to include supply chain issues in their annual narrative reporting.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Jo Swinson)
The Department has no plans to require companies to report specifically on supply chains. However, responsible supply chain management is an important issue, which good businesses should understand and take seriously. From October, listed companies will be required to report on community, employee and human rights issues. Later this year, we will publish a framework for action on corporate responsibility, which will consider supply chain management.
Michael Connarty
I thank the Minister for that reply. We found out yesterday in a press release that businesses are being urged to sign a human trafficking charter. That came not from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills but from the Home Office. It appears that the Minister for Immigration is taking over the responsibilities of Business, Innovation and Skills Ministers. He is proposing that businesses should sign up to a charter that seems very similar to the contents of my private Member’s Bill, the Transparency in UK Company Supply Chains (Eradication of Slavery) Bill. Surely it is up to BIS to include human trafficking in the narrative reporting of companies in its proposed statutory instrument. If the Minister for Immigration wants that requirement on human trafficking, surely BIS Ministers do too.
Jo Swinson
I commend the hon. Gentleman for campaigning against this vile and abhorrent crime. He rightly points out the action that the Government are taking on human trafficking. That is being done in conjunction with BIS, but the Home Office is obviously the lead Department on human trafficking. The Minister for Immigration has rightly been taking the matter forward. Both he and I spoke at a conference this week about human trafficking and the risks to the hospitality sector in particular. We will continue to work with business to raise the awareness of this issue and to clamp down on problems in the supply chain. It is a reputational risk for businesses and we must ensure that there is proper enforcement through the Home Office procedures.
Alison McGovern (Wirral South) (Lab)
5. What assessment he has made of access to apprenticeships for young women.
Angela Smith (Penistone and Stocksbridge) (Lab)
15. What progress his Department has made on improving the export performance of UK manufacturers; and if he will make a statement.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Jo Swinson)
As part of the Government’s industrial strategy, the Department has focused its efforts on helping British manufacturers access global supply chains through schemes such as the advanced manufacturing supply chain initiative and the manufacturing advisory service. We are concentrating in particular on 20 of the world’s highest growth markets. One sign of progress is that, for the first time since the 1970s, the UK is a net exporter of cars.
Angela Smith
The Chancellor’s economic plan was predicated to a large degree on boosting exports. It was reported at the end of January, however, that new export orders had fallen for the 13th month in a row. What advice is the Department giving to the Chancellor on how to move from plan A to plan B and give our manufacturers the support they really need?
Jo Swinson
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills outlined in response to an earlier question the significant progress we are making, particularly in non-EU economies, which are seeing much better growth than the EU. The Government have a range of different programmes, with the industrial strategy, the advanced manufacturing supply chain initiative and UK Trade & Investment providing help for businesses to export. In fact, in the past year they have supported firms in creating and securing more than 100,000 jobs for the UK economy.
Andy Sawford (Corby) (Lab/Co-op)
The Geddington road in my constituency links Corby not only to north-east Lincolnshire but to export markets all around the world. Will the Minister prevail on Northamptonshire county council to reopen the road to goods vehicles, which is important to ensuring that goods can get to markets from my constituency?
Jo Swinson
The hon. Gentleman ingeniously uses the question to highlight a local issue. It is obviously up to local authorities to make their own decisions, but he uses this opportunity to put his views firmly on the record. No doubt his colleagues on the council will look closely at his comments.
Jonathan Reynolds (Stalybridge and Hyde) (Lab/Co-op)
16. What progress he made on the adoption of an industrial strategy for the UK.
Chris Williamson
A recent report by the respected consumer group Which? highlighted the extent of irresponsible lending in the high-cost credit market. Do Ministers think that the Office of Fair Trading’s recent threat to revoke the licences of 50 payday lenders goes far enough to stamp out bad practice in the sector?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Jo Swinson)
The hon. Gentleman is quite right to highlight some of the unscrupulous and unacceptable behaviour in the payday lending industry. The OFT’s action, telling the industry it has 12 weeks to shape up or lose its licences, is welcome, but that is not all that is happening. The OFT also intends to refer the industry to the Competition Commission, and we have given it extra powers to suspend licences immediately. The Financial Conduct Authority will be able to take much more action, with the sweeping powers we have given it to ban products, impose unlimited fines and order redress to consumers. The Government take this issue extremely seriously and are acting on it.
Mr Speaker
Good of the hon. Member for Colchester (Sir Bob Russell) to drop in.
Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)
T5. May I press the Minister on payday lenders? Will the Government really get those companies to make it much easier for consumers to understand the cost of those awful payday loans?
Jo Swinson
The short answer is yes. The hon. Gentleman is quite right to say that consumer awareness is vital. Some of the people who take out such loans would be much better off with an entirely different financial product. That is why advertising is such an important element in tackling the issue. The Government are working with the Advertising Standards Authority and we will also work with the Financial Conduct Authority, which will take over those powers from next year, to ensure that we clamp down on advertising that misleads people and lures them into taking out products that are not right for them.
Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con)
T8. The north-west is at the heart of Britain’s aerospace industry, and I welcome this week’s announcement of the £2 billion aerospace technology institute. May I urge the Minister to consider the Warton enterprise zone in my constituency as a potential location for it?
Julie Elliott (Sunderland Central) (Lab)
The proportion of workplaces that have some employees on zero-hours contracts has increased massively in recent years with some 23% of companies having more than 100 employees using them. What are the Government going to do to regulate those contracts, which confer fewer employment rights and cause considerable financial uncertainty for workers?
Jo Swinson
The UK employment and labour market is flexible, which can be helpful. For some employees, zero-hours contracts can be helpful. Clearly, where there is abuse happening, it should be clamped down on. That is certainly what the Government will make sure is done.
Neil Parish (Tiverton and Honiton) (Con)
Recently, Axminster Carpets, a great local company, went into administration. Its bankers were less than sympathetic. The Government have capital funds in place for banks to lend; can the Secretary of State do much more to make sure banks properly lend to business?
Jo Swinson
This was the subject of a lively debate in the Committee corridor earlier this week. As I made clear at that point, this is a minimum consultation period; where it is helpful to continue the consultation, benefiting the business and jobs, of course that can and should continue. The quality of the consultation is being improved through ACAS, which will help to make sure that business benefits but also that more jobs can be saved as a result of that improved process. There is no benefit in just prolonging the uncertainty when it is very clear that a business needs to restructure to make sure that the remaining jobs can be secured.
George Freeman (Mid Norfolk) (Con)
On the day of Lord Heseltine’s birthday, I have no idea what presents he might have been expecting, but I am sure that the Government’s acceptance of his report’s recommendations will have been a strong gift. I invite the Secretary of State, on behalf of the House, to pay tribute to Lord Heseltine’s tireless work for British business over a long career and to encourage the Government to implement his reforms with the radicalism and speed demanded.
Roger Williams (Brecon and Radnorshire) (LD)
Will the Secretary of State comment on the progress that has been made in Europe on the introduction of transparency to the extractive industries?
Jo Swinson
I strongly welcome the support that has been received from both industry and non-governmental organisations for the pursuit of increased transparency in those industries. Talks have been continuing in the European Union this week. We want to make strong EU rules that match the tough United States requirements. There should be no exemptions: listed extractive companies should publish information about all payments that they make to all Governments in all their countries of operation.