Public Bodies (Abolition of the Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Arbitration Tribunal) Order 2013

Lord Young of Norwood Green Excerpts

Tuesday 8th January 2013 Grand Committee

I perceive that legislation as being part of a nation’s attempt to hold on to its manufacturing base. It does not appear to have been very successful, in so far as manufacturing now accounts for perhaps 12% or a little less of GDP. We now face massive challenges from the east. I was grateful for the Minister’s considered introduction and I hope that my remarks will enable him and his very able advisers to have a better context thereafter.

[Lord Young of Norwood Green]

My Lords, I, too, support the order. As usual, I am grateful to my noble friend Lord Jones for a tour d’horizon and history lesson. Some of it I remembered well, and some not so well—so I was exceedingly grateful. I hesitate to correct him on one matter, and he can tell me whether I have got it wrong, but I thought that, in relation to the Upper Clyde, it was not just an occupation but a work-in that Jimmy Reid organised, which was unusual at the time.

[Lord Jones]

Amendment accepted.

[Lord Young of Norwood Green]

I know that because it was not so long ago that there was a programme on Radio 4 relating to it. However, the noble Lord, Lord Jones, was right to give us that historical context and to set the scene.

I have read the report from the committee. There was some concern about the consultation, but I think that in the end it was prepared to accept that it was sufficient, so I have no further comments to make.

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lords, Lord Jones and Lord Young of Norwood Green. I particularly thank the noble Lord, Lord Jones, because he put into a fine historical context some of the dilemmas of that part of our industrial history. I took on board the point about manufacturing. One of the challenges that we have had in this country is that we have not thought as much as we should have about how we ensure that there is a British manufacturing base. I particularly took on board the noble Lord’s point about aircraft.

There is good news on motor vehicles, where we are now beginning to see some very good statistics on the production of vehicles. In fact, if my memory serves me right from a briefing a few months ago, we are now manufacturing more cars than we are importing. It is a great accolade to the management and the workforce for working so well together that we have these successes.

However, returning to the job in hand in regard to the Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Arbitration Tribunal, as I have said, it has been defunct for more than 30 years and has no assets, employees or further cases to consider. After consideration against the conditions set out in the Public Bodies Act the Government have rightly concluded—and noble Lords on all sides of the Committee have agreed—that the tribunal no longer needs to exist and that abolishing it would tidy up the regulatory landscape. It is for those reasons that I commend the order to the Committee.