New Grammar Schools

Debate between Justine Greening and David Nuttall

Thursday 8th September 2016 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

As I have said, we will announce our policy options in due course. I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will want to respond to them, but education in schools is critical to delivering our long-term industrial strategy and to meeting the dual challenges of having a successful economy and of having our migration levels more under control. One way we can do that incredibly constructively is to meet more of our skills needs through our own young people—to train and educate them to be able to play their role in British industry, helping our country to be successful.

[Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that with all the different schools now available, if parents do not want to choose a grammar school education for their children, such schools will not survive and thrive? We should at least give parents with limited means the same choice that better off parents have.

[Justine Greening]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We should not accept poor school standards, whatever school the children are in. We must challenge low attainment wherever we find it, but the point I am making today is that it is not good enough to take something off the table just because of political ideology. We need to challenge all aspects of our education system to play a greater role in raising attainment and building capacity.

School Funding

Debate between Justine Greening and David Nuttall

Thursday 21st July 2016 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

I remember my time on the Work and Pensions Committee with the hon. Gentleman with real fondness; I very much enjoyed it and learned a lot over those years. He mentions headteachers and teachers, and one of the first things that I did upon coming into this role was to pick up the phone and call the teaching unions to introduce myself and to set up initial meetings. I saw them briefly yesterday and I hope that I can have a constructive, productive relationship. The most important people who helped me to get educated were my teachers, to whom I will be eternally grateful. It is important that that is recognised.

On the pupil premium, I can tell the hon. Gentleman that the funding rates are protected for the entire spending review period at 2015-16 rates.

[Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)]

Like me, my right hon. Friend was educated in a comprehensive school in Rotherham, so I warmly welcome her to her new role. While we can adjust the school funding formula in the short term, does she agree that the only way to increase school resources in the long term is to have a strong and growing economy?

[Justine Greening]

My hon. Friend hits the nail on the head. I am proud that both of us went through the state school system in Rotherham. I hope to be able to go back up there in the coming weeks and months to revisit some of the schools that enabled me to have the education that gave me a platform to try to reach some of the goals that I set myself. As he says, a strong economy is vital for ensuring not only that we have the funding to invest in our education system, but that the children coming through our state school system have the opportunities to stretch themselves and to get the dignity of work.

Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base

Debate between Justine Greening and David Nuttall

Wednesday 11th May 2011 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

With the leave of the House, I would like to sum up the debate. We have had a full and constructive discussion on this proposal, which is, as we have heard, an important one. I want to close by reiterating a few key points, but also by doing my best to respond to the comments that have been made by Members—I was about to say across the House, but that is obviously not the case, given that the Opposition spokesman turned up with very few other people from his party.

First, I should address a couple of the points that the hon. Member for Nottingham East (Chris Leslie) made about the work that we do as a country with other member states. I can assure him that the UK has, for example, double tax treaties in place with all EU member states that set out mechanisms for allocating taxing rights to prevent the double taxation of companies, and structures for reaching agreement on double taxation relief and the exchange of information. He will be aware that there is also a mutual agreement procedure framework for resolving cross-border disputes about tax, including transfer pricing. It is because such mechanisms and frameworks are in place that we believe that the proposed approach is necessary.

The hon. Gentleman asked about the views that we have heard from business. We have heard a range of views, and discussions between business and Government are ongoing. In general, it is fair to say that business has not been actively calling for this proposal. It is also fair to say that some businesses have welcomed it—in particular, the prospect of allowing for cross-border loss consolidation. However, some companies are stressing that their support depends on the optional nature of the proposal. An awful lot of others, as we heard from my hon. Friend the Member for Amber Valley (Nigel Mills), have expressed concerns about the potential compliance and administrative costs, which are likely to be large for many companies, and the lack of certainty about how many aspects of the system would work—a concern that is shared by the Government.

My right hon. Friend the Member for Wokingham (Mr Redwood) rightly raised the issue of the veto, and I want to provide absolute reassurance to all Members that we will not agree to any proposal that might threaten our Government’s ability to shape the UK’s tax policy. We are prepared to use our veto.

As my hon. Friend the Member for Harwich and North Essex (Mr Jenkin) pointed out, subsidiarity is the basis of one of the arguments that we can make, but that is not the only argument we can make. We should challenge the substance of the proposal, as well as raising our objections to the fundamental principles underlying it. That is precisely what we are doing. I emphasise to the House that we should continue to challenge the substance of the proposals as they develop, even if we do not necessarily want to be part of them.

I disagree slightly with my hon. Friend the Member for Bury North (Mr Nuttall), because I think it is in our interests to understand what the proposals are in which a smaller group of nations may participate and whether they may have any direct or indirect impact on us as a member state. That is one reason why we want to be engaged in the discussions as they unfold. We also want to engage, because other member states are keen, as we are, to have their say on this matter. I do not accept that member states have reached a final position. The parliamentary debates and the development of those views are ongoing.

[Mr Nuttall]

I am conscious of time, so I will be brief. Will the Minister explain what line the Government will take in the negotiations? If the understanding is that we will not join at the end of the day, would it not be to our advantage to make the tax as difficult as possible, so that our companies have an advantage?

[Justine Greening]

We need to be careful to ensure that we understand the complexities of the proposals. For example, we need to understand how companies that also operate in the UK may use any avoidance loopholes, and whether that will impact on the way in which they operate in the UK and structure their corporations. We need to be smart about understanding the breadth of the proposals. Whether we want to be in them is one thing, but we must be conscious that they may have an impact on us even if we are not part of them.

Court of Auditors 2009 Report

Debate between Justine Greening and David Nuttall

Wednesday 2nd February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

Let me pick my words more carefully. My hon. Friend is right that Conservative Members had deep concerns about the content of the Lisbon treaty at the time. That is one reason why, as a party, we pushed to have a referendum before going into and signing off on the Lisbon treaty. It is a matter of deep regret that the previous Government chose not to give the British people their chance to have a say on the changes that were proposed via the Lisbon treaty.

The challenge in my role is to ensure that, in terms of where we are today, I stand up for our interests in Britain. One way we need to do that as a Government is to tackle some of the fundamental weaknesses in how the EU works, but my particular concern is financial management, not only at the EU level but at the member state level as funds are spent.

I am sure that other Members will rightly want to have their say on this, so before I finish let me quickly turn to the issue of fraud, which is of great concern to the Government and to hon. Members. I want to be absolutely clear that of course any level of fraud is completely unacceptable. We fully support the work of the Commission and of the European anti-fraud office, OLAF. I am pleased that the European Court of Auditors reports very low levels of fraud in the UK. In 2009, we had a rate of just 0.19 of 1% of spending, but it is still too high. The Government and I will focus on that as we look at how we can tackle this problem. We are therefore deeply concerned that, according to the latest OLAF report, the level of fraud seems to be increasing at the European Union level.

It would be wise for me to point out that the Commission’s figures have to be interpreted with care. As we know, fraud and irregularities are not the same thing. Irregularities make up the bulk of the available figures. To my mind, irregularities are also a serious concern, because they are payments that have been made outside the rules. We should not find that acceptable. The figures quoted by OLAF for suspected fraud are increasing. It is not possible to say that fraud is increasing, but there are indications that that may be the case. Even an increase in suspected fraud is unacceptable. The best way to tackle fraud, irregularities, waste and the lack of priorities is ultimately to have better systems, financial processes and financial controls, and a better regime for financial management in the first place.

[Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)]

My hon. Friend is right to identify those measures that need to be put in place. Is she aware of whether that is happening in the European Union?

[Justine Greening]

To my mind, that is the work that we need to ensure happens. I met Commissioner Šemeta in October 2002 to discuss his plan to improve financial management across the EU. The challenge for the Government, which I set out for him and to which he was receptive, is to make that stronger and better, and to make it more of a priority for the EU as a whole. As hon. Members have pointed out, there is a long way to go, but I assure the House that we are making a start.