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Lord Vaizey of Didcot Excerpts

Wednesday 11th September 2013 Westminster Hall

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Mr Edward Vaizey)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Gray. I am grateful to the hon. Member for Bradford South (Mr Sutcliffe) for calling this important debate, and to my hon. Friends the Members for South Derbyshire (Heather Wheeler) and for Tewkesbury (Mr Robertson) for their contributions.

I absolutely agree with the hon. Member for Bradford South that Delhi was a wonderful host for the 2010 Commonwealth games, and that Glasgow will be a wonderful host for the 2014 games. As we have seen with the Commonwealth games and the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, such events leave a lasting sporting legacy. That was the case in India and the United Kingdom, and it will be so in Scotland, with those countries enjoying world-class sporting facilities and a renewed interest in sport in all parts of their communities.

Our relationship with India goes wide and deep, not least because of our sporting rivalry. We, of course, beat India in 2012, and then India beat us—or, more accurately, England—in the Champions Trophy. One example of the legacy for India of the Commonwealth games was that it was a springboard for New Delhi to host a formula one grand prix. The purpose-built track has received great reviews from all involved in the sport, and it is now a fixture on the formula one calendar.

Unfortunately, concerns have been expressed in this debate by a senior Minister in the previous Government, as well as by senior Conservative Back Benchers, about the problem that SIS faces in relation to receiving payments for goods and services following the Commonwealth games. As the hon. Member for Bradford South has said, SIS is a highly reputable and successful British company that employs almost 1,000 people and has a multi-million-pound turnover.

It is therefore right and proper that the Government should seek to assist SIS in relation to its problems, and we have very much been engaged with the issue. Ministers, as well as two high commissioners in Delhi, have raised the matter a number of times with our Indian counterparts. The Business Secretary and the Minister for Trade and Investment have also raised it, as have Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers. Indeed I, too, have raised the matter, and I intend to write to the Indian Minister to raise it again. I understand that the Minister for the Cabinet Office is in Delhi tomorrow and also hopes to raise it. There is no shortage of Ministers raising this issue of concern.

I hope that our good friends in the Indian Government, with whom we work on a whole range of issues, will have noted our concerns and this important debate. Matters of little import are rarely raised in the House, and it is a measure of how important the British Parliament considers this issue that we are having this debate today. We are determined to engage with the Indian Government on it until it is resolved. I have met representatives of SIS Live and I have said that I am happy to help where I can. I remain in discussions with the company.

The hon. Member for Bradford South set out with great clarity the events that have led to the position that we are in today. It is absolutely right and proper that India should take seriously any allegations of corruption. It is also absolutely right and proper that those allegations should be thoroughly investigated, which is indeed what has happened. An investigation was called, and it was undertaken by the Central Bureau of Investigation. Although the report has not yet been published, it is pretty clear what the findings are. They are that no evidence of wrongdoing has been found in the SIS case. It is also the case, as we would expect, that all those alleged to have been involved in instances of bribery or corruption have consistently and strenuously denied it.

The CBI report came out at the end of July—not at the end of July this year, but at the end of July last year, so over a year ago. Again, it is absolutely right and proper that the judicial process should take its course. It would be unconscionable for the British Government to be seen to attempt to interfere in any shape or form. None the less, we note that the proceedings have been adjourned some 15 times, and we very much hope that they can come to their logical conclusion. As the hon. Gentleman said, SIS has been paid for some of its work, but is still owned some £12 million—40% of its contract—as well as the £3 million bond that has been cashed in, to which he referred.

To be blunt, if I were to choose to debate issues to do with India and our trade with it, I would want to spend this half-hour debating the fantastic commercial ties that the UK has with India, which are expanding and growing all the time. The Indian economy has remained vibrant even through the economic downturn, and India is, and should be, a fantastic place in which to do business. It would be extremely unfortunate if the continued publicity around this case were to give businesses in either country the impression that it is difficult to trade.

[Mr Sutcliffe]

The point is India’s reputation in the sporting world. As a former Sports Minister, I recognise that sport is high-profile. It covers the back pages and sometimes the front pages of our newspapers. India has a role to play because of the magnificence of Indian sport. None the less, this matter will damage the reputation of Indian sport if it does not get resolved.

[Mr Vaizey]

I note what the hon. Gentleman says. I am sure that anyone who knows about his experience as a successful Sports Minister under the previous Government, and his continued engagement in sport and sporting issues, will take those words with the seriousness that they deserve. As I have said, we have a fantastic relationship with India, and it is one we want to build on. We want good trading relationships. We want to remain one of the top destinations for Indian foreign direct investment, and we want to increase the business that we do with India. It is important to remind the Chamber that UK companies can, and do, succeed in India. The Prime Minister went to India in February. He took with him more than 100 businesses, including 30 small and medium-sized enterprises, demonstrating our continued commitment to do business with India.

We want to double our bilateral trade by 2015 to £23 billion. Despite tough global economic conditions, it was already worth more than £15 billion in 2012. India is the fifth largest foreign investor in our country and we are the third largest foreign investor in India, with more than 400 companies based there.

Jaguar Land Rover has recently announced the creation of 1,700 jobs as part of a £1.5 billion investment, which shows just what a strong British-Indian partnership can achieve. Tata Consultancy Services has set up a delivery centre in Liverpool, and Ashok Leyland has established its first overseas technical research and development centre in Warwickshire. Hinduja Global Solutions has expanded its TalkTalk operation in Preston. All such developments show the UK as a great place for Indian companies.

InterContinental Hotels is to expand in India by building 12 new hotels. Hampshire-based Serco has announced a partnership with ICICI Bank, India’s leading private sector bank, to service payment solutions for the Indian transportation industry jointly. There is the potential to do so much more. The UK excels in technology and expertise, which will meet India’s needs as it develops, and India offers complementary capabilities and innovations. As a Government, we are here to help British companies invest in India and Indian companies invest in the UK through the activities of UK Trade & Investment.

Later this month, the Minister for Trade and Investment will open India’s first British business centre in Delhi, headed by the UK India Business Council and supported by British business groups. There is a plan to open a series of centres across the major high-growth cities, forming a pan-India network by 2017, which will go a significant way to helping us do even more business together.

It is important to continue to improve the bilateral business environment and to remove obstacles so that more business can be done. We are working towards that with the help of the revitalised Joint Economic and Trade Committee, which was set up by Prime Ministers from both countries in 2010. The CEO forum led by Peter Sands and Ratan Tata has reported back with its recommendations of how we can capitalise on opportunities to increase trade and investment.

There is also the prospect of an EU-India free trade agreement, which would made a huge contribution to further liberalisation, and we strongly support the conclusion of such an ambitious deal. This is a truly cross-Government effort across Departments. Our relationship with India goes much wider than just trade and investment. We co-operate on a huge range of issues, including education, science and research, climate change, international development, defence, security, international issues and of course culture, which is my own subject area. We want more UK companies doing business in India, and we want more Indian companies investing in the UK, but we know that there are challenges. Bilateral business is good for both of us, and we want the UK to be India’s partner of choice.

Nevertheless, we will remain engaged, closely, with the SIS Live case. We want a great British company to have its difficulties resolved in India. As I have said before, it is absolutely right and proper that the Indian Government should wish to investigate any allegations of corruption. Given the findings of that investigation, we hope that there will be a speedy conclusion to the judicial proceedings and that, while we wait for that speedy conclusion, some kind of commercial negotiation can take place between the respective parties to see whether a conclusion can be put on the table for when those proceedings come to their appropriate end.