Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mark Hoban and Paul Uppal

Monday 20th May 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hoban]

My hon. Friend raises an important issue. As a consequence of Professor Harrington’s recommendations, we are considering a range of different descriptors. We are working closely with medical experts and charities to assess those descriptors and will report later in the year on the effectiveness of the programme.

[Paul Uppal (Wolverhampton South West) (Con)]

2. What recent assessment he has made of the new enterprise allowance.

[The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Mr Mark Hoban)]

I believe that the new enterprise allowance has been very effective in helping people set up their own business. As at the end of November last year, 31,540 have received or are receiving support from a mentor, and more than 15,000 have commenced trading. As my hon. Friend knows from his own experience, self-employment not only enables people to take responsibility for themselves and their family’s welfare, but gives others the chance of a job as the business grows.

[Paul Uppal]

Does my hon. Friend agree with me— I speak as somebody who ran their own business for 20 years before coming to this place—that the role of volunteer business mentors is crucial in that step between the classroom and self-employment?

[Mr Hoban]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I congratulate the voluntary mentors who are taking their role seriously, helping people to get into work and identify ways of setting up their own business. On Thursday, I was in Bradford talking to a group called Inspired Neighbourhoods, which promotes self-employment in its area and provides many voluntary mentors to help people take advantage of those opportunities.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mark Hoban and Paul Uppal

Monday 11th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Mr Mark Hoban)]

Mandatory reconsideration is in place to help accelerate decision making, so that the Department can revisit a case rather than have to wait for it to go to the tribunal. We try to keep delays as short as possible to ensure that we get the right outcome and get the right support to people as quickly as possible.

[Paul Uppal (Wolverhampton South West) (Con)]

T6. As the Minister may be aware, the number of private sector jobs in the west midlands decreased under the last Labour Government. Will he welcome the news, as I do, that Jaguar Land Rover is increasing investment in the engine plant in Wolverhampton by £150 million, creating an additional 700 high-skilled jobs?

Eurozone Crisis

Debate between Mark Hoban and Paul Uppal

Thursday 3rd November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Paul Uppal (Wolverhampton South West) (Con)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that one of the most important lessons we can learn from this crisis is that if there had not been a change of Government in this country in 2010, we would be talking today in the Chamber about the UK sovereign debt crisis, not the Italian and Greek crisis?

[Mr Hoban]

My hon. Friend is right. If we had not taken the tough action we took when we came into office, the UK could be in the firing line, not just Greece and other eurozone member states.

Regulatory and Banking Reform

Debate between Mark Hoban and Paul Uppal

Thursday 16th June 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hoban]

The hon. Lady is absolutely right to say that it is important that banks lend to businesses. If the economy is to continue to recover and to pick up momentum, banks need to be able to lend. That is why we introduced the lending commitments under Project Merlin, and we will monitor them very carefully. We have said that we will not be afraid to use any tools at our disposal if those targets are not met.

[Paul Uppal (Wolverhampton South West) (Con)]

Continuing the theme of competition, and being mindful that the Vickers report will be published in September, will the Minister assure the House or provide guidance on how any future framework will provide genuine competition? In the US, in particular, banks fail without adverse publicity or at any cost to the public purse because there is a larger proliferation of smaller banks, and that would swim against the tide of mega-super-banks, on which we have been over-reliant.

[Mr Hoban]

My hon. Friend makes an important point about diversity in the financial system. One of the points that the Governor of the Bank of England made in his Mansion House speech last night was about the need to reduce the barriers of entry to the banking system in order to encourage more competitors to come forward. That is an excellent way in which we can promote choice and competition and get a better outcome for consumers, whether individuals or businesses.