Football Clubs (Insolvency)

Marcus Jones Excerpts

Tuesday 18th March 2014 Westminster Hall

[Justin Tomlinson]

That is the absolute minimum we need. Supporters and suppliers should have a right to know who the custodian of their community football club is. The fans representative could then give a day-to-day commentary where appropriate and link the supporters and the club. That would be a win-win, particularly for the Football League, in ensuring that fans are engaged with the football club. The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that we need that public declaration.

[Mr Marcus Jones (Nuneaton) (Con)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that there should be more transparency within the Football League? I and many of my constituents support Coventry City, and the Football League has been completely not transparent in allowing the club’s owners to move it to Northampton, without any proper plan to get it back where it belongs in Coventry.

[Justin Tomlinson]

I know that my hon. Friend has worked tirelessly to support the long-suffering fans of Coventry City. Long gone are the days of the 1987 FA cup final, when Coventry had a 3-2 win over Tottenham. Watching that on the television is one of my earlier memories. My brother went to Coventry university, and it was the only time he was interested in football. He was pleased by the result on the day.

We keep coming back to the point on transparency. My hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth North made the point that there would be alternatives if a supermarket was closing, but that people generally have only one community club to support. Yes, there will be good times and there will be bad times—in Swindon’s case, there have been a few more bad times than good times of late, but that adds to the excitement—but it should always be about transparency for the fans and for suppliers, who work hard to do their bit to support their community clubs and often give generous deals. We cannot simply abandon them and create this unique rule that protects wealthy people within football. I say that as a huge football fan myself. We have to do right by the community, the fans and the suppliers.

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[Mr Marcus Jones (Nuneaton) (Con)]

Thank you, Mr Streeter, for allowing me to make a short speech. I did not intend to speak when I entered the Chamber, but the issue that my hon. Friend the Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Damian Collins) raises is important and we should support his endeavour to get the law affecting football clubs changed.

I am a long-suffering fan of Coventry City football club, like probably thousands of my constituents, who are extremely depressed and disappointed about what is happening to their football club. All football supporters follow their clubs for different reasons, and all experience tremendous highs and lows. Most probably get more lows than highs—unless they support one of the glory teams or are one of what I used to call Alex’s armchair army, supporting a team that might be many miles from where they live. Regardless of football affiliation, we must recognise that football clubs are community-based assets. They are not like any other type of business. If, for example, the customers of a supermarket chain suddenly decided they did not like what it was offering, they would usually abandon it and go elsewhere. Football supporters, however, regardless of how bad their team is at times, stick with it and support the club through thick and thin—or thin and thinner, in the case of my team at the moment. We must realise that; the clubs are embedded in communities.

Transparency has been raised several times. The people who follow clubs week after week, spending money, as my hon. Friend the Member for North Swindon (Justin Tomlinson) said, on season tickets, shirts and all sorts of things to support their club, deserve some transparency. They deserve to be able to hold their club’s owners to account. As to Coventry City football club, we do not even know who owns it. Many of the constituents whom I speak to are mortified that they cannot even find out who is to blame for its present situation. We need more accountability. We should never allow people to take on a football club that is embedded in a community, and then for whatever reason use it as a toy, thinking they can abandon the community, lift the football club up like a moveable commodity, and take it elsewhere.

[Mr Jim Cunningham]

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. When we talk about wages, salaries and ownership, we tend to forget that football started with individuals playing in the street. The moral of the story is that it started with the fans, who created the teams in the first place; yet the fans get kicked in the teeth all the time when things go wrong.

[Mr Jones]

The hon. Gentleman and I do not often see eye to eye, but we probably do in this instance. Coventry City were a factory team, and started in the 19th century as a group of people from the Singer factory, who came together to play football. From that a great club was formed, which has lasted more than 125 years. We need to make sure we can see that the people running football clubs are fit and proper people. The clubs are not just commodities that can be shifted from person to person and area to area. They are organisations that communities depend on, particularly in a financial sense. When Coventry City left Coventry, it left a huge hole in the city, and that has particularly affected the local economy.

I support my hon. Friend the Member for Folkestone and Hythe, who is doing a fabulous job of raising the issues. He deserves every support, and I hope that the Minister will show him that she is in touch with the issue and willing to take action on behalf of millions of football fans throughout the country.

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[Jenny Willott]

That may well have been the case. I take the hon. Gentleman’s point. On club ownership and the identification of club owners, the football authorities are confident that they can identify club owners. The Football League has responded to the situation at Coventry City to ensure that that picture is not replicated elsewhere.

[Mr Marcus Jones]

rose—

[Jenny Willott]

I will not give way, I am afraid, as I have about one minute left. Portsmouth football club is a strong example of a supporter-owned club. The Culture, Media and Sport Committee recommended that the DCMS set up an expert group to consider supporter ownership within the sport. That is now happening, and the experience of Portsmouth FC will be invaluable in shaping considerations on that issue.

This is an extremely emotive issue. Members demonstrated in their contributions how strongly people feel about football. I appreciate that Members will be disappointed that I will not commit today to changing the law in this area. DCMS Ministers have meetings with the football authorities about a variety of issues and have discussed the football creditors rule in the past. However, there has been a significant reduction in insolvencies following the introduction of the financial fair play rules, with no cases this season. We want to encourage responsible spending in football to avoid the pain, both financial and emotional, of insolvency. That is a better way for those working in or supplying a football club, as well as being in the best interests of supporters. If that does not work, the issue will merit further examination, but I hope other hon. Members remain as optimistic as I am about the situation.

Fairness and Inequality

Marcus Jones Excerpts

Tuesday 11th February 2014 Commons Chamber

[Guto Bebb]

As the hon. Lady knows, as I have already touched on the minimum wage, I believe that it is a complex issue that must be considered carefully. My view is that we should carefully consider moving towards a point where we do not need tax credits, as the imperative is to allow people to earn a living and pay as little tax as possible on their earnings. That should be the aspiration.

[Mr Marcus Jones (Nuneaton) (Con)]

My hon. Friend mentions the issues caused for his constituents by the way in which the Labour party dealt with income tax and the tax threshold, but were they not compounded by the removal of the 10p tax rate?

[Guto Bebb]

It undoubtedly did not help.

When we discuss inequality we should be aware of the key point that the Government have been very proactive in ensuring that the inequality faced by pensioners is dealt with. We can compare the impact of the triple lock on pensioner poverty with the previous Labour Government’s decision to increase pensions by a paltry 75p.

Oral Answers to Questions

Marcus Jones Excerpts

Tuesday 10th September 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Marcus Jones (Nuneaton) (Con)]

I recently met a constituent who purchased a one-bedroom flat at the height of the boom when she was single. She is now married and expecting her first child. They are desperate to move but are in negative equity and cannot move, despite having two good incomes and good savings. Will the mortgage guarantee scheme offer a positive solution for my constituents, and how can they access the scheme?

[Greg Clark]

Yes it will. The scheme is available to purchasers who already own their own home but want to move to a bigger one, perhaps because, like my hon. Friend’s constituents, they have had children. They are currently trapped in the home they have bought, and that is why the scheme we are introducing is important. It will allow people who can afford to pay the mortgage to achieve their dream of home ownership.

Finance Bill

Marcus Jones Excerpts

Monday 1st July 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Marcus Jones (Nuneaton) (Con)]

rose—

[Cathy Jamieson]

Let me answer my hon. Friend’s point because it is important to understand the impact that this Government’s policies are having on families across the country. He makes the important point that a couple with children in such circumstances will face difficulties, and in some instances must make choices about how they will pay for things that we or our children perhaps take for granted. Government Members have simply failed to recognise or respond to, or in many instances acknowledge, that point.

[Mr Jones]

rose—

[Cathy Jamieson]

I hope that the hon. Gentleman will acknowledge that point.

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[Mr Jones]

Will the hon. Lady say whether Labour would reinstate the 50p tax rate if it were in government, and if that is the case, when would that be? Can she say how much money that move would raise for the Exchequer?

[Cathy Jamieson]

The hon. Gentleman has probably heard many Opposition Members stand at the Dispatch Box and make our position absolutely clear: if we were in government just now, that is not what we would be doing. There is a whole range of other things—

[Mr Jones]

rose—

[Cathy Jamieson]

I want to finish this point. If the hon. Gentleman can contain his excitement, I am sure he will have the opportunity to develop his arguments at some stage. It is important to recognise that the Government are doing many things that Labour simply would not do. We suggested a whole range of things that the Government could do to get growth back into the economy, and I will mention some of those today. It is important, however—[Interruption.] I hear the Minister from a sedentary position say, “Borrowing more”. Is that an admission that his Government are borrowing more than they set out to do, that they have not got the deficit down as planned, and that they have not brought growth back into the economy as they promised? I would be more than happy if the Minister wished to put something on the record at this point. [Interruption.] He does not, so I will give way to the hon. Member for Nuneaton (Mr Jones).

[Mr Jones]

The hon. Lady said that if Labour was in power now it would reverse the decision and reinstate the 50p tax rate, but there will not be a general election for the next two years. If the Labour party is in government in two years’ time, would it then reverse that decision and reinstate the 50p tax rate—yes or no?

[Cathy Jamieson]

I find it astonishing that Government Members never seem to take any responsibility for what is going on under their watch. Under their watch, the deficit has not come down as much as they promised, borrowing is higher than planned, and the Government have failed to get growth back into the economy.

Investing in Britain’s Future

Marcus Jones Excerpts

Thursday 27th June 2013 Commons Chamber

[Danny Alexander]

The hon. Lady and I share a passionate commitment to green energy, and I hope that the strike prices now complete the picture for energy companies looking to invest. My message to the energy companies is, “You have the certainty you need, now bring forth the investment that the country needs.”

[Mr Marcus Jones (Nuneaton) (Con)]

I welcome the announcement on superfast broadband and hope that Arley, in my constituency, will benefit. Will my right hon. Friend seek to ensure that far more priority is given to providing superfast broadband on our industrial estates that are, at times, being overlooked in the current roll-out?

[Danny Alexander]

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. I will say two things. First, I will draw his point to the attention of BDUK. Secondly, specific funding has been set aside to ensure that enterprise zones have the best broadband in the country. Broadband is a crucial part of those zones being able to attract the investment they need.

Beer Duty Escalator

Marcus Jones Excerpts

Tuesday 5th March 2013 Westminster Hall

[Mr Marcus Jones (Nuneaton) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Caton. I am delighted to have secured this topical and most important debate in the run-up to this year’s Budget. Since I was elected to the House, I have taken part in a number of debates of this kind, and they are usually extremely well attended. Despite the fact that there are huge pressures on parliamentary time this morning, given the plethora of Select Committees, it is good to see how many hon. Friends and Members are here to support this debate. Given the debate title, I intend to keep to the narrow issue of the beer duty escalator, and I urge colleagues to do likewise. Just as none of us would want our beer watered down, I do not want us to temper our arguments by being distracted from the issue of beer duty.

I will set out a simple, clear case for why the beer duty escalator should be scrapped and beer duty should not be increased in the forthcoming Budget. In making that case, I will discuss the impact of the escalator on the beer and pub industry and the negative effect that the escalator is having on our economy and communities across the country. I will also discuss the positive story that our beer and pub industry has to tell and the reasons why that industry should not be compromised by further rises in the already excessive beer duty rate.

In the UK, 30 million adults drink beer each year and 15 million visit the pub each week. From my postbag, I know what an important issue it is for many of my constituents. Campaigns organised by the Campaign for Real Ale, the British Beer and Pub Association, the Society of Independent Brewers, the National Farmers Union, the TaxPayers’ Alliance and The Sun newspaper have captured the spirit—I probably should not use that word in a debate on beer—of public opinion. The campaigns have chimed with the breadth of public opinion on the subject, and the strength of feeling involved has been expressed by the 108,000 people who recently signed an e-petition calling for the beer duty escalator to be scrapped.

From my postbag, I know that popping down the local for a pint is becoming more and more expensive and out of reach for many of my constituents. Incomes have been squeezed over the past five years or so, and the cost of a pint has become more and more unaffordable. Beer is fast heading towards being a luxury item.

On the economic impact of the escalator, the beer and pub sector is vital to our country; nearly 1 million people across the UK work in the industry. Some 46% of those are younger people aged 16 to 24. The beer industry is also a true success story for British manufacturing: 87% of all beer consumed in this country is made in the UK. If only we could do the same for other products that we consume, our economy would be far more balanced. That is one reason why we should encourage the beer and pub industry and the manufacture of great British beer in our country.

[Andrew Griffiths (Burton) (Con)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on the speech that he is making. The pub industry is a fantastic way to get young people into work, give them work experience and teach them the business model. Does he not agree that supporting the pub trade is a fantastic way to tackle our problems with youth unemployment and young people not in education, employment or training?

[Mr Jones]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Young people can enter the beer and pub industry at the bottom by pulling pints behind the bar, an extremely important role, and work their way up within companies to become managers or work for pub companies and breweries. It can be an extremely fulfilling and constructive career for many. We should encourage the industry to take on more and more young people.

[Andrew Bingham (High Peak) (Con)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate, which is important to many of our constituents. He mentioned the manufacturing contribution that beer makes to the economy. Does he agree that it is not just made by the big brewers—the Carlsbergs and Tetleys—but by the microbreweries popping up across the country? In my constituency, I have a brewery in Buxton and the Howard Town brewery in Glossop. They are also part of the local economy, particularly in rural areas such as mine.

[Mr Jones]

I cannot argue with my hon. Friend. Microbreweries are an extremely important part of the make-up of brewing in this country. The increase in microbreweries over the past few years shows how much demand there is for the traditional British pint.

[Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight) (Con)]

Will my hon. Friend refer also to the number of public houses that have closed over the past five or six years?

[Mr Jones]

I thank my hon. Friend for that extremely pertinent comment. I will come to that.

In my constituency, the sector accounts for 1,441 jobs, employing 431 young people. It also contributes £33.7 million in gross value added to the local economy. Nationally, the sector adds £19 billion to the UK economy, and it currently contributes £10 billion in taxation to the Treasury. Since the previous Chancellor introduced the beer duty escalator in 2008—my right hon. Friend the present Chancellor continued it in May 2010—beer duty has risen by a staggering 42%. If the planned increase is effected in April following the coming Budget, beer duty will have increased by an eye-watering 50% in five years.

[Richard Fuller (Bedford) (Con)]

I join others in congratulating my hon. Friend on securing this debate. He mentioned that the escalator principle of the beer duty was introduced by the last Labour Government. Does he not agree that there is something profoundly un-Conservative about having a tax that automatically increases year after year? Would it not be a mark of a Conservative Government to scrap that principle on both the fuel duty and the beer duty?

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[Mr Jones]

Absolutely. It is not a Conservative principle to impose taxes such as the escalator year on year without reassessing the effect of such a tax. He is right that it would be an excellent move for a Conservative-led Government to scrap the escalator and freeze beer duty this year. That is in the context of the challenge for hard-pressed UK citizens, who now pay 40% of all Europe’s beer duty despite drinking only 13% of the beer consumed in Europe.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing this debate. Does he agree that one purpose of Government alcohol taxation policy is to drive consumer behaviour, and that reviewing and changing the beer duty escalator could encourage drinkers towards lower-strength British-made drinks such as beer, which I am sure is made in his constituency as it is in mine?

[Mr Jones]

I thank the hon. Lady for her comments. It is nice and extremely refreshing to be able to agree with comments made by an Opposition Member. She has made an extremely pertinent point. Beer is a lower-strength product, and it is far better for people, if consumed in moderation, than higher-strength drinks, which may well be more damaging to health if consumed in excessive quantities.

The increases in duty are having a disproportionate effect, in particular on our pub industry and if we compare on-sales with off-sales, especially off-sales made in supermarkets. Before the escalator was introduced, drinking in a pub was four times more expensive than drinking at home; now, after a few short years, it is eight times more expensive, which shows the disproportionate effect on the great British pub.

[Julian Sturdy (York Outer) (Con)]

I join the chorus of MPs who are congratulating my hon. Friend on securing this important debate. Is there not a real danger—a point he touched on—that we are in an ever-increasing downward spiral? Beer sales are falling and pubs closing; consequently, the revenue to the Treasury is going down. Given that, should not the Treasury focus on the overall tax take and the wider benefits to the economy?

[Mr Jones]

I think that my hon. Friend has probably read my speech; he has made a pertinent point which I completely agree with. Since the escalator was introduced, beer consumption in the UK has fallen by 17% overall and by nearly a quarter in our pubs; almost 6,000 pubs have closed their doors for the last time and more than 60,000 beer-dependent jobs have been lost. As my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight (Mr Turner) mentioned, we are still seeing 18 pubs close per week, which is extremely alarming when we are trying to encourage economic growth and want to get people into work.

I can recount the pubs in my constituency over the past few years that have had to put the towels on for the last time, such as the Fox and Crane, The Graziers Arms or The Boot Inn, not to mention the many social clubs that have also ceased to exist. Notwithstanding the financial benefit of the beer and brewing industry, pub closures are having a detrimental effect on the fabric of our society, due to the high social impact when a pub closes. Our pubs offer a unique leisure experience, are a great addition to the social fabric of our country and are often at the heart of our local communities; they are akin to community centres for their areas. They offer a safe environment in which drinking can be supervised and highly regulated, which is in stark contrast to much of the street drinking and pre-loading culture that has developed since drinking in our pubs has become more expensive.

Pubs are also great places to meet friends and to make new friends. I met my wife in the Chetwynd Arms in my constituency back in 1997. Although 1997 was obviously a dreadful year in many ways—[Hon. Members: “Particularly for your wife.”] Especially for Mrs Jones. The year had one shining light: I met the future Mrs Jones.

Pubs are also a great place to do business. Many small business people such as tradesmen who frequent the local pubs in my constituency often secure new work from going into the local for a pint, by way of word of mouth, with other customers speaking to relatives and so on and so forth.

As my hon. Friend the Member for Burton (Andrew Griffiths) mentioned, local pubs are also a place where many young people get their first taste of work. I had one of my first part-time jobs in my local pub and found it an interesting experience; at the tender age of 16, and very green at the time, I did not realise some of the things that go on in life, although it became absolutely obvious that they do. Not only was it a great learning experience but it taught me how to deal with people. The experience I gained then has stood me in good stead ever since and is extremely important to my work as a Member of Parliament.

Community pubs sustain many positive community activities. Many of our pubs, their licensees and customers contribute towards the funding and running of all sorts of sporting and other activities, such as football, darts, dominoes and cribbage. I could go on with a long list, but a large number of community activities are run because of our pubs. Also, pub customers are extremely generous people; they contribute financially to charities to the tune of £120 million each and every year.

I have set out why our beer and pub industry is so important economically and socially. Finally, I want to start on the road of appealing to the Minister. He is a listening Minister and takes the concerns of Back-Bench Members of this House extremely seriously. I appreciate entirely the Government’s work in reducing the deficit, which has given us far lower interest rates, helping the whole economy and in particular those people who want to frequent our pubs. I appreciate the freeze on council tax for the past three years, which has helped with the cost of living, and the freeze on fuel duty, which has no doubt helped the beer and pub industry because when the fuel duty goes up the price of a pint goes up. I appreciate the other measures that the Minister and his colleagues are taking to reinvigorate the economy as well, but I also urge my hon. Friend to assess the beer duty escalator and beer duty in general to see if the effect is disproportionate. I and many of the industry bodies believe that the negative effect on the industry is disproportionate. Furthermore, as he knows, estimates from the Office for Budget Responsibility expect £100 million less from beer and cider duty in 2013-14, despite the proposed 5.1% duty increase.

My hon. Friend the Minister and my right hon. Friend the Chancellor want to build on the 1 million private sector jobs created under this Government and to keep the momentum. They do not want to see jobs lost unnecessarily as a result of the planned beer duty increase, but the British Beer and Pub Association, as I know from speaking to it, estimates that up to 10,000 jobs could be lost in the industry if something is not done about the tax on beer and the escalator.

I ask the Minister to give our great British beer and pub industry a break by urging the Chancellor to scrap the beer duty escalator and not to increase beer duty this year. If the Chancellor makes the right decision and backs our British pubs, we will hear the clinking of glasses throughout the country on the night of the Budget, and he will be cheered in every pub in the land.

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[Andrew Bingham]

My hon. Friend is well known for his support of the industry. If we are going to start playing politics, does he share my delight over the number of coalition Members here compared with Opposition Members?

[Mr Marcus Jones]

They are in the Champagne bar.

[Andrew Bingham]

They may be.

Coventry and Warwickshire City Deal

Marcus Jones Excerpts

Thursday 14th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Chris White (Warwick and Leamington) (Con)]

I am grateful to have secured this debate on the Coventry and Warwickshire city deal proposal, which has now been put before the Government. I congratulate the Coventry and Warwickshire local enterprise partnership, the Coventry and Warwickshire chamber of commerce, Warwickshire county council, Warwick district council, Coventry city council and all the local organisations, businesses and authorities—as well as my colleagues in the Chamber this evening—who have contributed to and supported the bid.

I fully support the city deal concept. I believe that devolving power to local communities and the principle of subsidiarity—devolving power to the organisation most capable of taking a decision—should be at the heart of Government policy. The city deal approach is that principle in action. Our city regions can be the engines of growth, and by crafting deals that provide targeted support and resources, we can generate significant economic momentum.

There are three factors in building a good city deal. First, it needs to build on local strengths and expertise. The UK economy is diverse, and city deals therefore have potential.

[Mr Marcus Jones (Nuneaton) (Con)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this important debate. He mentioned local priorities. In our area, manufacturing is a local priority. It has been a strength for many years and continues to be so. Does he agree that the city deal will enable us to build on the strength of our manufacturing skills—there could well be a skills gap in the next few years—and thereby of our manufacturing industry?

[Chris White]

I thank my hon. Friend for attending the debate. The main part of my speech addresses those very issues.

The UK economy is diverse and city deals have potential as they can be tailored to the needs of local economies and build on the infrastructure that already exists. We should not be trying to reinvent the wheel or impose a top-down plan for economic growth on the country, and a good city deal will work with the grain of the local economy.

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[The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Greg Clark)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Warwick and Leamington (Chris White) on his excellent speech, and on securing a debate that is very important to his area. In the two and a half years for which he has been in the House, he has already established a reputation for being a tenacious champion of manufacturing industry and, indeed, the area that he represents. I know that his passion for manufacturing and for the creation of jobs in his area is entirely shared by our hon. Friends the Members for Rugby (Mark Pawsey) and for Nuneaton (Mr Jones). It is delightful to see them both in the Chamber.

As Members will know, the debate is very timely. The expressions of interest in the next wave of city deals were submitted just a few weeks ago. I am considering them as we speak—not at precisely this second, but as soon as I leave the Chamber I will resume my consideration of them. This bid is a tribute to the joint working and the enthusiasm that has been generated locally. The litany of different organisations that my hon. Friend the Member for Warwick and Leamington mentioned underlines the degree of support for and consensus behind what could be a major opportunity for his area, if we are able to approve this city deal.

My hon. Friends will know that I visited Coventry last month to discuss the evolution of the city deal bid, and I was particularly impressed by the level of representation from all the local authorities in the area and businesses at the highest level. Sir Peter Rigby, the chairman of the local enterprise partnership, chaired the meeting, and other business organisations were represented, as were the universities and people from right across the board. It was clear that this is a united bid, very much looking to a very positive future for the area. It was particularly impressive to see everyone working together in that way.

It was also impressive to see the laser-like focus on manufacturing and skills there. My hon. Friend is absolutely right to say that one of the proudest traditions of the area that he and his colleagues represent is that of being the heartland of British manufacturing. Far from that being a story just about the past, it is very much a story of today and of the future. The people behind this bid were prescient in emphasising that the undoubted opportunities that will flow through the increasingly internationally competitive world of advanced manufacturing can be grasped only if we make sure that the work force in the area are equipped with not only manufacturing skills, but the particular skills that the new technologies of the future in this field will offer. The support of the universities, in particular, and of the research institutions make it clear that this is a very high-quality offer that is being made.

My hon. Friend will understand that it would be invidious of me to give any kind of nod or wink to him this evening—tempting though that might be—not least because this evening’s proceedings will doubtless be being viewed by 19 other places around the country. They will be very envious of his good fortune in securing this debate, so he will forgive me if I do not do that. Let me instead take the opportunity to reflect on the city deals process and the arrangements we have put in place. I start with a point that my hon. Friend made, which is that we should recognise the importance of local strengths in the future of our economy.

Obviously, it is of prime importance that our country has the right macro-economic conditions to sustain growth and prosperity in the future. Paying down the deficit we inherited and having an economy in which international lenders can have confidence is the foundation of any future economic success. All Government Members are engaged, day after day, in making the changes necessary to secure that. However, it is also important that we have the right micro-economic conditions: a tax system that is supportive of business and enterprise, and that encourages investment; and flexible labour markets that allow people to go into the places with an expanding number of jobs and allow employers to expand employment with confidence. Again, the work being done in not only my Department, but the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for Work and Pensions is very much geared to having those conditions in place.

If we do all that, it is still necessary to reflect that our economic prosperity ultimately depends on local places prospering. Economic growth does not happen in the abstract; it happens in particular places, when employers locate, expand their production and take on people. These are places that people can visit and address; they are tangible.

For too long—over many decades—how we have conducted our economic policy has paid too little heed to the importance of locality. It is tempting for politicians in Westminster and our officials in Whitehall to peer out from London SW1 and assume that the rest of the country is uniform, when we know that one of the glories of our country is that it is full of areas, towns and cities with proud traditions that are the foundation of our future economic success. The city deals programme is intended to ensure that that sense of place is part of our economic policy.

As soon as one considers that we should have a sense of place in economic policy, it becomes obvious that every place is different. We have already discussed the importance of manufacturing in the traditions in the west midlands, but that is true across the country. Everywhere has its local traditions and capabilities. Even cities as close together as Liverpool and Manchester are very different in their economic character, their skills, trades and industries, their politics and in almost every respect, so to treat them as if they are identical seems to me to deny them the possibility of living up to their potential and planning for the future.

The city deals programme was designed to reflect the differences between places. We started with the eight bigger cities outside London and in July 2011, when the Prime Minister asked me to become the Minister responsible for cities, we gave each of those cities the right to take the initiative and set out to negotiate what, in their view, would be the measures that would best unlock their potential. There was some scepticism at the time about whether it would be possible to break the monopoly of Whitehall in determining how things should be done, but in less than a year we were able to conclude a city deal with each of those eight places, which were transformational. In Greater Manchester, for example, £2 billion of local investment in infrastructure is being made in return for the city’s share in the resulting prosperity. In Leeds, apprentices and school leavers are being trained in the skills that the city’s future economy needs, as Leeds and the authorities around it have identified needs that should attract a particular focus.

[Mr Marcus Jones]

My right hon. Friend is making an extremely important point about locality and the need to ensure that we tailor the Government’s support package to each area. Does he agree with me that that is a far better and more effective approach than that taken by the previous Government through regional development agencies such as Advantage West Midlands? Private sector employment fell during that time rather than increasing. I appreciate that, as he has told us, my right hon. Friend will not be able to tell us the result today, but does he agree that if the Coventry and Warwickshire city deal was granted, it would be a far better step forward for the area than the previous regime?

[Greg Clark]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The problem was that the regional development agencies were branch offices of Whitehall in the country, which seems to be the opposite of the approach we need to liberate the entrepreneurialism and local strengths of particular areas. The areas should be coming to Whitehall, as they are—as the Coventry and Warwickshire local enterprise partnership has—and saying what they want to do. The problem with the RDAs was that it was the other way around.

The RDAs described a geography created by administrators rather than something that reflected the genuine historic and economic geography that prevails. The west midlands is one example, but the north-west is another. The identities of world-renowned cities such as Manchester and Liverpool were subsumed and became totally anonymous in the Northwest Regional Development Agency, so it is absolutely necessary to make these changes. My hon. Friend is right to point out that even in their own terms the regional development agencies were a failure because the differences between London and the south-east and the regions widened during all that time. So it was right for city deals to be a priority.

One of the contrasts between our country and other countries on the continent of Europe, for example, is that in Germany almost every German city outside the capital of Berlin has a higher income per head than the national average, whereas in this country only one of the bigger cities outside London, Bristol, is above the national average. All the others are below. On the continent, not just in Germany but in France, Italy and other countries, the powerhouses of the regional economy drive the national economy, whereas regrettably over the past 20 years ours have been lagging behind that.

[Mr Jones]

I thank my right hon. Friend for giving way again. He is making an extremely important point, which is reflected in the west midlands region, where gross value added has been on the decline since the mid-1970s, with the decline in manufacturing industry and the unbalancing of our economy. What he says is absolutely right. With the city deal that we hope to get for Coventry and Warwickshire, we could see that manufacturing base start to increase again, accompanied by an increase in gross value added and a better average income in our area, compared with the south-east and London.

[Greg Clark]

I totally agree with my hon. Friend. That is exactly the point of the city deals programme. It is designed to reflect what is undoubtedly the case, especially with the strength and breadth of the local engagement that this bid demonstrates. Who better to be able to make the decisions and the analysis of what is needed for the Warwickshire economy than the business people, the civic leaders and the leaders of some of the finest universities in the country, who are there? It is important that we build on those strengths.

Oral Answers to Questions

Marcus Jones Excerpts

Tuesday 29th January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

4. What steps he is taking to help people with the cost of living.

[Mr Marcus Jones (Nuneaton) (Con)]

5. What steps he is taking to help people with the cost of living.

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Danny Alexander)]

The Government continue to take steps to support households. The personal allowance will be increased to £9,440 in April 2013 to support hard-working individuals. The cash increase in that year is the largest ever. The 3p fuel duty increase planned for January 2013 has been cancelled, as a result of which fuel duty will have been frozen for two and a half years.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Marcus Jones]

For the third year running, the Government have provided additional funds to councils to allow them to freeze council tax, which doubled under the Labour Government. I am aware that Warwickshire county council intends to freeze council tax, but will my right hon. Friend join me in urging Nuneaton and Bedworth borough council and North Warwickshire borough council, which are Labour controlled, to get on board, freeze council tax and give the hard-working people in my constituency a break?

[Danny Alexander]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. We have provided funding to local authorities to enable the council tax freeze to be delivered. Of course, councillors in those areas will be answerable to their constituents if they fail to deliver the substantial financial benefit that that offers. He is right to say that council tax doubled during the Labour party’s time in office.

Autumn Statement

Marcus Jones Excerpts

Wednesday 5th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

We have had to take difficult decisions. We have asked the rich to pay more—new stamp duty rates. We have had to take difficult decisions today on pensions tax relief for the largest pension pots. We have done all those things. We have also had to take difficult decisions on welfare. If the hon. Gentleman objects to those things, perhaps he can tell us whether he will vote against the welfare uprating Bill.

[Mr Marcus Jones (Nuneaton) (Con)]

In Nuneaton since May 2010 unemployment is down, youth unemployment is down, employment is up and we have seen a 22% increase in business start-ups in the past quarter alone. Does my right hon. Friend agree that we cannot be complacent and we need to do more, but that the autumn statement today will show that we are on the right track?

[Mr Osborne]

My hon. Friend is right that we are on the right track. We are making progress. To turn back would be a complete disaster. I congratulate him on speaking on behalf of the businesses that he represents. He has asked me what we can do on capital allowances for plant and machinery and on business rates for small businesses. I hope he can see in the announcements that we made today that we have been listening to him and to the people in his constituency.

Transferable Tax Allowances

Marcus Jones Excerpts

Wednesday 28th November 2012 Westminster Hall

[Mr Jackson]

My right hon. Friend is bang on the money. Although such tax changes would be costly in the short term, the benefits for society would be incalculable, were we to enact them, which I hope we will in the Budget next March.

In considering the fairness arguments, it is also important to deal with the misguided claim made by some that, rather than helping one-earner families, the answer is to make them two-earner families. That logic is the occasion of great unfairness, because more often than not that option is not available. The latest DWP figures demonstrate that in 2.2 million households one member is in full-time work and the other is not earning; that 1.2 million, or 53%, of those households contain children; that in 700,000, or 58%, of those households with children there is a youngest child who is under five; and that a further 300,000, or 21%, have a youngest child between the ages of five and 10. Some 61% of all one-earner couple families have a young child under five, someone who is disabled or someone with caring responsibilities. Many of the remainder are likely to be doing voluntary work. It is clear that the majority of one-earner families are one-earners out of necessity rather than choice.

[Mr Marcus Jones (Nuneaton) (Con)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this important debate. He is making an important point about low-income families and the second person in the family having to obtain work. Does he agree that one of the biggest problems is that, for a second earner on a low wage, there is the massive impediment of child care costs, which usually take up most of that second income?