Oral Answers to Questions

Julie Marson Excerpts

Tuesday 7th June 2022 Commons Chamber

[George Freeman]

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. I congratulate him on his enlightened stance: he is supportive of the UK and the Scottish nuclear industry—a position we all rather wish the Scottish nationalists would take more widely. I have regular meetings with the Scottish Ministers for science, technology and innovation. This Government are very supportive of that cluster; if only the Scottish nationalists were.

[Julie Marson (Hertford and Stortford) (Con)]

6. What steps he is taking to ensure that UK businesses benefit from the UK leaving the EU.

[Craig Tracey (North Warwickshire) (Con)]

22. What steps he is taking to ensure that UK businesses benefit from the UK leaving the EU.

[Julie Marson]

I have previously compared the role of Government to that of a cricket groundsman preparing the best possible wicket on which our players—our businesses, including mine in Hertford and Stortford—can play to their strengths. Will my hon. Friend outline the steps that we are taking to drop unnecessary regulation following our departure from the EU, so that our brilliant businesses can compete and win?

[Lee Rowley]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her important point. Unlike her, I am not able to make any comparisons with cricket, but we know that unnecessary regulation, where it exists, is a real burden for businesses, and we are committed to reducing it. There is also work under way on data laws, alcohol duty and imperial markings. There is the forthcoming Brexit freedoms Bill, and cross-Government work to look at reducing burdens. All of that should mean positive movement in this important area of policy.

Reducing Costs for Businesses

Julie Marson Excerpts

Tuesday 11th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Julie Marson (Hertford and Stortford) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to speak in this debate. I would like to start by speaking directly to people who run businesses and work in businesses in my constituency, because there is absolutely no doubt that they have struggled hugely over the past two years. They have had an incredibly difficult time and they have shown the most incredible creativity and resilience in that process. I thank them. When I am out and about in the constituency, I know that they know that this Government have been there to support them, because they thank me and ask me to pass on their thanks to this Government. That is incredibly important, because I listen to them and I know what they are saying to me as well. The support has been unprecedented and unparalleled. The figures are eye-watering—£407 billion, with £1 billion just for hospitality before Christmas—but every penny means saved jobs. Every penny has meant that businesses continue to employ people to produce services and goods that they would not have been able to had it not been for this Government’s support. So even to suggest that this Government are not supporting business does not stack up: I will not have it, and I do not think many businesses in my constituency will have it either.

The role of Government—I have used this analogy before and I probably will again—is to be the groundsman. The economy is the pitch and our job is to create the conditions on which our batsmen and bowlers can play to their best strengths so that we can win the match, and that is what this Government are doing. Looking at skills, or initiatives to increase investment such as the super-deduction, it is all with that aim in mind. I could go on to the G7 growth league—the jobs market is booming—and what we are doing in the venture capital sector and the life skills sector, which is also important. We see what Labour does when it is in power. In Wales, as has been said, people are coming over the border to do things because of restrictions. Frankly, Labour likes lockdown so much that it is not even pro-parkrun, let alone pro-business.

Copyright (Rights and Remuneration of Musicians, etc.) Bill

Julie Marson Excerpts

Friday 3rd December 2021 Commons Chamber

[Pete Wishart]

I am perhaps getting ahead of myself. I am really grateful for that intervention from the Minister, because it is extremely helpful. I know he is a fair-minded and consensual Minister—one who tries to build consensus across the House. This is a great opportunity to do that, because I think he will hear from hon. Members today that there is a lot of enthusiasm for the proposal. It is a means to fix a problem that needs resolving. I am grateful to him, and I will listen very carefully to his remarks.



Let me finish by saying that this issue needs to be sorted. I have waited 20 years for a Bill like this. I have been in the music industry and seen exactly what it is like. It is a field of dreams: if someone makes it big, they can escape and evade their background and go on to huge success and riches. It is an amazing industry and great to be part of. As a musician, I woke up every day thrilled about what I was doing: walking on to a stage with people cheering—not like in the Chamber, with everybody baying and aggressively intervening. Those were different days indeed.

[Julie Marson (Hertford and Stortford) (Con)]

rose—

[Pete Wishart]

I am just about to finish—I want to allow other people to speak.

We have this opportunity to fix this issue, and I am encouraged by what the Minister said. We have an opportunity to resolve a really serious situation, and I really hope the Government take advantage of it.

UK Steel Production: Greensill Capital

Julie Marson Excerpts

Thursday 25th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

Obviously, I completely reject the hon. Lady’s characterisation of what goes on. She will know that officials often meet huge numbers of business people who are affected by policy. That is part of policy development, but it is always done in a transparent, open and proper way.

[Julie Marson (Hertford and Stortford) (Con) [V]]

The Labour party talks about vision. Does my right hon. Friend agree that this Government’s commitment to net zero and their clear vision of being a technology-led innovation superpower, as demonstrated by initiatives such as the Clean Steel Fund, the Advanced Research and Invention Agency, and the Future Fund: Breakthrough, mean that the future of UK steel is positive and in very good hands?

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

Obviously, I entirely agree with everything that my hon. Friend has said. Reflecting on two years as a Minister within the Department, I can tell her that we have had the 10-point plan for the green industrial revolution, the Energy White Paper, the decarbonisation industrial strategy, and, as she says, we have committed hundreds of millions of pounds to making sure that we drive the green industrial revolution. It is a very exciting time to be in Government and I look forward to speaking with her precisely about how we can move forward.

Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

Julie Marson Excerpts

Tuesday 9th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Julie Marson (Hertford and Stortford) (Con) [V]]

I welcome this Budget, which is pragmatic and fair, and clearly responds to the extraordinary circumstances we find ourselves in. But it is much, much more than just short-term crisis management. In its ambitions for growth, it is an extraordinary Budget. It is a Budget that says to the world that this Government mean business when it comes to business. It announces that this Government want the UK to lead the world in innovative, high-potential, high-growth sectors of the future. I have been advocating something similar to the new “future fund: breakthrough” scheme for some time. It is a smart policy that helps to root innovation companies to the UK by getting more money into the venture capital ecosystem at early stages. With better access to capital at an early stage we will encourage cutting-edge businesses to grow and eventually list here. I also commend Ron Kalifa and Lord Hill’s work in this space.

I also welcome the review of the charge cap announced by the Chancellor and look forward to seeing more ideas in the coming months from the Treasury, Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority’s industry working group. We have nearly £10 trillion-worth of assets under management in the UK, but only a tiny amount of that is ever directed at UK venture. Just 0.5% of UK defined-contribution pension investments were invested in unlisted equities in 2020. Too much capital is locked away in pension funds and hidden by a culture of avoiding any risk. In 2019, a mere 2% of the £48 billion raised by UK-based venture capital and private equity funds came from UK pension funds. I am delighted that this Government are beginning to grasp this nettle, and are prepared both to review the regulatory landscape and provide incentives.

Now is the time for a truly radical approach to this undertaking, and to lift the venture sector as an asset class, to be part of mainstream investing in its own right. That will be transformational. Venture capital has the power to propel us into the green and technology-led future to which we aspire. It has the power to lift our economy up, pay our debt down and provide skills, wealth and opportunities to our people and communities. We need to unleash the power of venture capital. This Budget sets us on that path, and I look forward to supporting the Government and being a part of this exciting journey.

Employment Rights: Government Plans

Julie Marson Excerpts

Monday 25th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Julie Marson (Hertford and Stortford) (Con) [V]]

Here we are again: another Monday, another Opposition day motion based on one newspaper report and framed to satisfy Labour’s endless search for social media attack ads. I speak as the proud granddaughter of a docker, from a working family. The Secretary of State has made it crystal clear that the UK does indeed have one of the best employment rights records in the world—one to be proud of, never dependent on the EU and frequently stronger than the EU’s. Our manifesto commits us to maintaining existing protections for workers and we will embrace the opportunity to decide which rules work best for the UK—those that encourage business growth, innovation and job creation.

The Government not only commit to maintaining existing workers’ rights but look to the future—a future in which we need to ensure that those same workers enjoy all the opportunities of an agile and dynamic jobs market. I have said it in this Chamber before and I do not hesitate to say it again: the heroes of our health crisis have been the incredible doctors, nurses, care workers and key workers. The heroes of the economic crisis will be the job creators, innovators and entrepreneurs who will create the high-growth jobs of the future. They need a Government who will prepare the best pitch for them, focusing on jobs, skills and working conditions fit for the 21st century. The working environment is changing at pace as we speak. Tens of thousands of people are working remotely from home, which raises new issues. To what extent should employers be able to constrict workers’ homes as workplaces? To what extent should employers be able to monitor employees? How can we protect workers against potentially overbearing, all-encompassing technology? How can we scale up innovation and skill our workforce to deliver the green technology of the future?

The Labour party does not have any answers. The Labour party is permanently rooted in the 1970s. It has just confirmed that it is considering a four-day week. Labour Members recently stood on a manifesto that aimed to nationalise energy, mail, water and transport and even establish a state drugs company. While Labour wants to turn the companies that delivered our life-saving vaccines into the Trabants of the pharmaceutical sector, this Government will care for the future of work and the future of workers.

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)]

For the convenience of the House, I should inform you that the winding-up speeches will begin at 9.40 pm with Ed Miliband, followed by Mr Paul Scully at 9.50 pm, and the Question will be put at 10 pm.