Economy

Lord Haskel Excerpts

Monday 7th June 2010 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Haskel]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to bring more balance between different sectors of the economy.

[Lord De Mauley]

My Lords, our economy is indeed too narrowly focused on just a few industries and a few regions. Growth must be spread across the country, making full use of talent across the United Kingdom and across business sectors. The Government’s central task is in fostering the right conditions for business and innovation to succeed. In specific answer to the noble Lord’s Question, we are carefully considering the recommendations made in the Dyson review: improving the current system of financial regulation, halting the rise of red tape, supporting apprenticeships and creating a green investment bank.

[Lord Haskel]

I thank the Minister for that response. Is he aware that, three days after I put this Question down, the Prime Minister rushed off to Yorkshire and made a speech exactly on this topic? Does that demonstrate the power of Question Time in the House of Lords or the urgency of the issue? In his speech in Yorkshire, the Prime Minister used many fine words such as “supporting growing industries” and providing the,

“long-term … support our economy needs”.

Can the Minister explain exactly what those words mean in terms of government action?

[Lord De Mauley]

My Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord on being so prescient. As he identified, the Government believe that we need to reduce our reliance on one or a small number of sectors, particularly the financial sector. The most important element will be to foster and encourage technology, especially high-tech manufacturing, an area in which I know the noble Lord takes a special interest. That is why we commissioned the Dyson report, which identified five key challenges for government, including the education of scientists, engineers and technicians, exploiting knowledge better and financing and supporting high-tech businesses, which the Government are examining closely. No one suggests that this is going to be easy. We have already announced a number of reforms to simplify business taxes and to reduce red tape, which are critical to encouraging and helping business.