UK Economy: Post-Referendum Assessment

Mark Pawsey Excerpts

Monday 23rd May 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gauke]

Actually, I think I have seen it—the right hon. Gentleman reminds me.

There is an overwhelming consensus on the economic benefits of membership of the EU, and I hope that the British people, when they make their assessment, be it with their hearts or their heads, carefully consider the economic consequences of their decision. It is a very important decision that will have an impact not just for a year or two—the focus of this report—but for many years ahead.

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

Is not the simple fact that countries trade with one another to increase their mutual prosperity and that trade with our principal trading partners is easier as a member of the EU?

[Mr Gauke]

Yes, that is absolutely right. Access to the single market reduces trade barriers to a level simply impossible to find outside the single market.

Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

Mark Pawsey Excerpts

Monday 21st March 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Glasgow Central (Alison Thewliss) to speak in this important Budget debate. The Budget carries on the Government’s good work of the last five and a half years and helps to secure our country’s future—a future that is rosier than it would otherwise have been, thanks to the action that the Government have taken.

Let us look back to 2010 and the very serious financial position that the country faced before the election. Had the people not voted as they did, we would now face more borrowing, much more debt and higher borrowing costs. The welfare budget would have been out of control, public spending would have continued to spiral and the economy would have been wrecked.

It is a fact of life that Labour Governments always wreck the economy and that Conservatives have to come back in, clean up the mess and get our country back on track. The Budget carries on that work. The people understood that difficult decisions had to be made in 2010. They understood that at the election in 2015, and they understand it now. There have been significant achievements. In my constituency, unemployment is down by 90% over the past year and by 62% since the Government took office in 2010. The economy is moving in the right direction.

I will focus my remarks on the way in which the Budget affects local authorities through the devolution of business rates. Before first arriving in this place, I was a small businessman, and I used to receive a bill from my local authority for what I thought was quite a substantial chunk of money. That was not for services directly received—commercial waste collection, for example, is a commercial service, and we paid extra for it—but my bill arrived with the Rugby Borough Council logo on, so I consoled myself with the thought that the money was being spent in my community. That, of course, was not the case, because for a long time local government simply acted as a collection agent on behalf of central Government, and the money went back to central Government. I think it is ideal for local authorities to retain the business rate, and that is the right thing to do. I used to ask myself, “If the local authority does not retain the business rate, what incentive is there for the local authority to grant consent for new development and new businesses and to encourage the growth of the local economy?” Of course, there was none, but there is now.

I am very pleased that the Government will carry out a business rate revaluation. I support that, because I believe that any tax that is based on the value of property should be based on the current value, and that there should be regular revaluations. I note that the Government will publish a discussion paper with options for achieving that. I am pleased that the maximum threshold for relief will go up from £12,000 to £15,000. Some 600,000 small businesses will therefore never pay business rates again, which will save them almost £6,000 a year.

There are some issues in respect of the effect on local authorities. For Rugby Borough Council, the cost of doubling the relief for businesses with rateable values of up to £12,000 will be around £570,000. I hope that the Secretary of State or the Minister who responds to the debate will set out how the effect on local government will be dealt with. Analysis by Rugby Borough Council shows that there are 134 businesses in the borough with a rateable value of up to £15,000, from which it collects almost £900,000 in business rates. It is uncertain at this stage how many of those 134 businesses will qualify for relief, or what level of relief they will be entitled to. There is some uncertainty among local authorities.

I am further concerned that business rate relief will act as an incentive for local authorities to consent to larger, rather than smaller, business units. In my constituency, a big unit is relatively easy to provide, but there are fewer units available for smaller businesses that wish to grow and develop. If a local authority is faced with an application for a smaller unit from which it will generate no income and an application for a larger unit from which it will retain the business rate, it is not hard to see which route the local authority will take. I also fear that by creating a cliff edge as the rateable value increases, the relief might disincentivise small businesses from growing and developing.

Post Office Closures

Mark Pawsey Excerpts

Tuesday 1st December 2015 Westminster Hall

[Huw Merriman (Bexhill and Battle) (Con)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered service provision in the event of post office closures.

It is an absolute pleasure to serve under your chairmanship this afternoon, Mrs Gillan. I am grateful for the opportunity to lead this debate about post office provision. I have particular concerns about post offices closing and not being reopened, or not for some significant time. This being a debate about post offices, I very much hope to receive your stamp of approval, Mrs Gillan. I am conscious that other MPs will wish to speak—mail or female—and I will leave plenty of time for them to do so. If I go on for too long, I am sure that Members will tell me in no uncertain terms, “Letters speak!” I shall leave behind the appalling puns and move on to the subject of the debate.

With the Post Office having moved towards a franchise model, local provision is increasingly reliant on private individuals providing a post office as well as running their own business. If those individuals decide to hand in the keys, the Post Office is left to try to find a replacement, and the community is without a post office until it does. I shall explore three areas in my speech. First, I shall provide a brief case study of the closure of my local post office in Heathfield in my constituency, Bexhill and Battle. Secondly, I shall assess whether the Government’s contract with Post Office Ltd obliges the latter to provide replacement post offices following closures. Thirdly, I shall ask the Minister what more can be done to ensure that Post Office Ltd is held responsible for better service provision.

Turning first to the case study on post office closure, Heathfield is a rural settlement serving 12,000 residents. It is the largest parish in the country by population. In most eyes, it is a town, although it is fair to say that I would be run out of town—or, indeed, parish—if I suggested so. As befits a population of that size, Heathfield has a high street with banks, supermarkets, and both national and local shops. Whereas high streets around the country may be struggling, Heathfield’s has strong footfall, with new national retailers opening for business.

In March this year, the postmaster running the post office branch expressed a wish to leave the business. Post Office Ltd identified a potential new postmaster, but he was unfortunately unable to secure a lease agreement on the site. Sadly, the branch closed on 1 April 2015. The Post Office employed an agent postmaster, but he could not agree a lease on the premises either. That leads to my first issue: Post Office Ltd will send in a temporary postmaster to run a post office only from the existing site, so people are at the mercy of the landlord when it comes to making this work. Post Office Ltd will not look at alternative temporary premises for the temporary postmaster, despite there being plenty of premises available in my Heathfield example.

By summer, the pressure applied by the community and our fantastic county, district and parish councillors caused Post Office Ltd to consider a temporary solution in the form of a portakabin post office. Despite the district council offering a berth in the car park adjacent to the existing site, Post Office Ltd decided that that was not logistically possible, so it opted for a different car park in Heathfield. Having delivered the portakabin via crane, time was taken waiting for BT and other suppliers to kit out said portakabin. That leads to my second issue: Post Office Ltd must have huge buy-in clout when dealing with its vendors, but there appeared to be an institutional unwillingness to drive BT and others to deliver the required capability, or to hold feet to the fire.

When the portakabin was finally ready to go live, Post Office Ltd engineers found that the site was not flat enough to provide safe access for customers. The portakabin was promptly removed, and no temporary solution has been provided. That leads to my third issue: there are more than 11,500 post offices in operation, so if my local one can close, I am sure that others can and have closed.

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. I am sad to hear what has happened in Heathfield. I hope that the same will not happen in Bulkington in my constituency, where the Co-op gave notice of withdrawing its post office franchise only last week. That set all sorts of hares running in the village, with talk of the post office closing down. It is not the post office that is closing down; the Co-op has elected to take away the franchise and has not, at this stage, taken any steps to find an alternative site. My hon. Friend has raised an important problem, and I look forward to hearing from the Minister how the Post Office might deal with such matters.

[Huw Merriman]

I thank my hon. Friend for making that point. Indeed, Co-op was one of the retailers we approached in Heathfield to see whether it would be willing to take on the post office, but that particular Co-op franchise at least made it clear that it was not in the business of post offices anymore. That might add fuel to my hon. Friend’s fire.

Oral Answers to Questions

Mark Pawsey Excerpts

Tuesday 27th October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Greg Hands]

Future plans for R and D tax credits are, of course, a matter for the spending review, but I disagree with what the hon. Gentleman has said in the light of what we have done in the last five years. According to a recent evaluation by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, each £1 of tax forgone on R and D tax credits stimulates between £1.53 and £2.35 of additional R and D investment. During the last Parliament, the Government increased the generosity of the R and D tax credit scheme for small and medium-sized enterprises from 175% to 270%.

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

Both the Chancellor and the Prime Minister recently visited the Manufacturing Technology Centre, which is in my constituency. Does the Minister agree that such collaborations between the academic world and manufacturing industry show the way forward?

[Greg Hands]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend, particularly when it comes to innovation. The Global Innovation Index ranked the United Kingdom second in the world in 2013. We have been ranked first for the reach, impact and well-roundedness of our research and first for our research productivity, which is 3.87 times the world average.

Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

Mark Pawsey Excerpts

Monday 13th July 2015 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

My hon. Friend is right, and it is part of his record as Mayor of London of which he can be very proud. He and my hon. Friend the Minister met just before they came to the House to discuss the London Land Commission and further plans to build on the success that my hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson) has enjoyed. It is vital that we make sure that the capital has homes for the next generation of Londoners, just as he has provided them for this generation.

Local plans have been another success story, as they have helped to drive progress on both the quantity and quality of new development. In the productivity plan, we said that we want to take steps to ensure that there are local plans in every community. We will also make it easier to build 200,000 starter homes on underused commercial land, which can then be offered to first-time buyers under the age of 40 with a 20% discount.

We will update legislation and guidance to ensure that neighbouring councils co-operate on local plans—something that the Communities and Local Government Committee has taken an interest in over the years. The Chair was hopeful that I might listen to the representations from the Committee during this Parliament. We have listened and we are reflecting some of its thoughts in the productivity plan. We want to make sure that planning decisions are made as quickly as they can be; that major infrastructure projects can include some new homes as part of their plan; and that smaller firms have quicker and simpler ways of establishing where and what they can build, particularly on land in the new brownfield registers.

We also want to ensure that our existing housing stock supports working people, which is why the reduction in social housing rents—to bring them in line with the increase that has taken place in private rents—is an important step forward.

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

If I may bring the Secretary of State back to the importance of local plans, part of the problem has been that some local authorities have been slow in bringing forward their plans. I therefore support the Government’s moves to encourage local authorities to get their plans in place, because the Government will do the work if local authorities fail to do so.

[Greg Clark]

I am grateful for the support of my hon. Friend, who has contributed to the Select Committee’s deliberations. Local councils have now had plenty of time to get on with their plans. More than 80% have published a plan, so we are pushing at an open door.

The Budget and its accompanying documents make clear, in tangible form, our commitment to provide the land and a simplification of the planning system to allow the homes that are needed to be built.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

It is a great pleasure to speak in the debate, and to follow the hon. Member for Oldham East and Saddleworth (Debbie Abrahams), who told us in her opening remarks that under this Government, and the coalition before them, our economy had tanked. Well, if growth of 3%, 2 million new jobs, and a fall in borrowing from a staggering and unsustainable £153 billion a year to just half that constitutes an economy that has tanked, I would hate to imagine how she might describe what happened under the Labour Government in the run-up to 2010.

It is also a great pleasure to see the Minister. I look forward to the considered and thoughtful remarks that I know he will make when he winds up the debate.

I want to focus on the steps that the Government are taking to grow the economy. As we know, we saw record growth of 3% over the last 12 months. We had become used to seeing “flatlining” gestures from the Opposition Front Bench, but we do not see those any more, not least because the person who used to make them is no longer present in the Chamber. We shall see 2.6% growth over the coming year, and it is important for us to maintain that growth, because the Government are doing two things. As any business, household, council or other organisation would do, they are controlling their expenditure —we have heard a lot in earlier Budget debates about how the Government are doing that—but it is also massively important for them to grow their revenues, and they do that when the economy is growing. That is why it is so important for them to focus on growth.

I want to focus on the measures the Government are introducing to grow the country as a whole through the governance of its cities, and on the more flexible planning system.

[George Kerevan]

I rise to intervene on the hon. Gentleman, as I do on all Conservative Members, in the forlorn hope that he might address the worsening trade picture and the fact that we have to borrow to fund our imports. The Government are shifting the burden of debt from the Treasury on to the private sector, and particularly on to foreign borrowing.

[Mark Pawsey]

I am sure the hon. Gentleman is aware of the principle of reshoring, which is taking place in our economy right now. Manufacturing companies that years ago were offshoring and sending jobs out to other countries are now making products in the UK. In Coventry, which is immediately adjacent to my constituency, I visited a small company that is producing the rechargeable torches that sit in every Range Rover. Until recently they were being imported from China. Now they are being produced in the UK. We are slowly bringing manufacturing back to the UK, which will in time deal with the issue that concerns the hon. Gentleman and which is, of course, a concern for the Government.

[George Kerevan]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way again?

[Mark Pawsey]

No, as I want to talk about rebalancing our economy and ensuring that we get effective growth in the regions outside London, which has a momentum of its own.

The Government are looking closely at what is happening in Manchester, and that is the model they want to see. It is very good news that new combined authorities are coming together across the UK to provide the growth that the country needs, because the cities are of massive importance.

[Mr Alan Mak (Havant) (Con)]

My hon. Friend will no doubt be aware of the recent World Economic Forum report on global competitiveness which places Britain one place above its ranking of last year, praises the Chancellor’s deficit reduction and cites our stronger regional growth. Does my hon. Friend agree that the stronger regional growth and sustained investment in our cities, regions and counties is important for the years ahead?

[Mark Pawsey]

Absolutely, and I am pleased that the urban conurbations are coming together in combined authorities across the country.

I am also pleased that the Government have received combined authority proposals from two local authority groups in the east midlands. The Derbyshire consortium has 10 councils including the county council and city council, and the same process is under way in Nottinghamshire.

As part of that process, the Government are right to insist on a directly elected mayor for each combined authority so that there is a figurehead for the body being created. I have tried to put myself in the position of an overseas investor who arrives in Manchester or Birmingham wishing to invest in the region. I would want to understand who is the titular head of the body and who is ultimately responsible. A directly elected mayor goes some way to addressing that.

[Mrs Drummond]

Does my hon. Friend agree that the decision in the last Parliament to create single pots for infrastructure projects such as those determined by the local enterprise partnerships has shifted power, which has been crucial to places such as my area of Portsmouth and his of Rugby?

[Mark Pawsey]

Absolutely. The shift of power from the centre out to the regions is massively important and I will talk about the importance of local enterprise partnerships shortly, but first I want to talk about the impact of combined authorities in my part of the country.

Even though Rugby is right in the middle of the country, under the old regional development agency model we were placed in the west midlands because Warwickshire was put in the west midlands. However, my town’s economic links are much closer to places such as Lutterworth and Leicester in Leicestershire and Daventry and Northampton in Northamptonshire. In so many instances we in Rugby look east rather than west. That is one reason why I have some concerns about the developments in the west midlands. It is entirely right that the urban area of the west midlands—Birmingham, Solihull, Walsall, Dudley, Sandwell and Wolverhampton—comes together. I ran a business in Rugby, and we looked at that block of authorities as one big market. In fact we did not know where one authority ended and the other started because to us it was one big market.

[John Mc Nally (Falkirk) (SNP)]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Mark Pawsey]

I will carry on, if I may, as other Members wish to speak and I only have a little time left.

It is entirely right that those authorities come together in the midlands engine, but I note that Coventry, a city almost in the centre of Warwickshire and surrounded almost entirely by Warwickshire, wants to join that combined authority. I do not think the people of Warwickshire have made a sufficiently strong case to both the people and local politicians of Coventry for the merits of Coventry remaining within Warwickshire. To take up the comment made by my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth South (Mrs Drummond) about the role of the local enterprise partnership, my local LEP is called the Coventry and Warwickshire LEP. It is a natural economic unit, and I would like more thought to be given to the possibility of Coventry and Warwickshire working together as a combined authority. I say to the people of Coventry—to Coventrians—that it is not too late and there is no automatic reason why Coventry needs to join the west midlands combined authority. One of my selfish reasons for having concerns about that is that if Coventry joins that combined authority, Warwickshire may feel a need to do so, too. I have already explained that my authority’s links are closer to the east midlands than to the west midlands. I hope it is not too late to have a further look at this matter.

All that raises the issue of the role of two-tier authorities within the move to combined authorities. Some challenges for government will emerge where we have a two-tier authority and the upper tier wishes to go in one direction and the lower tier—the district councils—wishes to go in a different one. It is entirely right that both tiers are talking to the emerging west midlands combined authority, but I am keen that in my part of the world, Rugby, we continue to talk also to the districts and counties on our eastern flank, because our relationships with that area are so strong.

I wish to make one or two quick remarks about the changes the Government are making to the planning system. It is entirely right that we make it easier for businesses to grow. Housing development is a very substantial part of economic growth and we want to make it easier for people to build new houses. I am very proud that in my constituency we are doing entirely that, with two substantial housing development sites coming forward.

[Several hon. Members]

rose—

--- Later in debate ---

[Martin Vickers]

I am running short of time so I will not, if the hon. Gentleman does not mind.

The way that local authorities are beginning to come together and recognise the advantages of what is on offer from the Government suggests that they will move towards a system of combined authorities. Personally, I would prefer to see unitary authorities rather than combined authorities and economic authorities, but at least it is a step in the right direction.

I have some reservations—for example, in relation to planning. As we all know, planning is very controversial. It is an issue on which we must take our communities with us. If, as in the case of most of my constituency, which falls in a local authority area where there is no local plan and it is years before we will have one, the people, through the democratic process, must have some sort of opportunity to put their case.

[Mark Pawsey]

Does my hon. Friend agree that when a local authority has been incredibly slow to bring forward a local plan, having had many years’ notice that it needs to be done, it is entirely right for the Government to say, “Look, if you don’t do it, we will”?

[Martin Vickers]

I entirely agree, and I am glad to see the Government being much more proactive in that regard. Equally, whether it is the Government or the local authority, they must take communities with them. For many years I have advocated giving those who object to planning developments a right of appeal in certain limited circumstances. One such circumstance should be when no local plan exists, because that means the democratic process has let those people down.

The other thing that I have reservations about is Sunday trading. Personally, I do not want to see Sunday trading extended. It is an uneasy compromise that we have at the moment. I do not want to turn the clock back to the Sundays of my childhood, when the most exciting thing to happen was “Two-Way Family Favourites” followed by “The Navy Lark”, but the rush to allow superstores unlimited opening is detrimental. Our lives have a certain rhythm, as does the week, the month and the year. I think that we are losing something from family life, and from the support that we have given to small traders.

Oral Answers to Questions

Mark Pawsey Excerpts

Tuesday 4th November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Danny Alexander]

We introduced measures precisely to deal with intermediary companies, which are often vehicles for tax avoidance or for minimising tax. We take that very seriously. If the right hon. Gentleman has evidence that he wishes to bring to my attention of specific issues that have come to his attention, I would gladly look at it.

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

Does the Chief Secretary agree that the best way to increase tax receipts is to create the conditions for business confidence and growth? That is happening in my constituency, with the recruitment firm eResponse choosing to set up in Rugby because it has assessed that between 1,500 and 2,000 new jobs will become available.

Energy-intensive Industries

Mark Pawsey Excerpts

Thursday 11th September 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

It is a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Stockton North (Alex Cunningham) and I congratulate him on securing a debate on such an important issue. I support the motion on energy intensive industries, and wish to speak about cement manufacture. The hon. Gentleman has already spoken about construction materials, but it is to that sector that I wish to address my remarks.

My constituency is best known as the birthplace of rugby football, but for many, it is the home of Rugby cement. Cement has been produced in the Rugby area for more than 150 years, starting with a small-scale lime production at Newbold in 1865. Operations moved to the present site in Lawford road in the 1960s. Today, the plant, which is operated by CEMEX, is one of the most modern in the world and represents a total investment of £200 million. It has the largest kiln in the UK, and a production capacity of 1.8 million tonnes of cement per annum. It provides direct employment for many people, involving a large number in the supply chain. It is estimated that CEMEX contributes £25.5 million per annum to the local economy in Rugby. On the assumption that the average house contains about 18 tonnes of cement, the Rugby works produces enough cement for the construction of more than 72,000 houses.

The energy used in cement manufacture is not used to raise the temperature in the kiln. The kiln has traditionally burned coal but is increasingly using alternative fuels, which, in Rugby’s case, means chipped vehicle tyres and waste-derived fuel. Waste-derived fuel is such an important component that a new plant to provide it and to make a material known as Climafuel is under construction in my constituency. That fuel is derived from household and commercial waste and is making effective use of material that years ago would simply have been put into holes in the ground. Rather than in the kiln, the cement manufacturing sector uses high levels of electricity to transport material around the plant and to grind down the grey clinker that comes out of the combustion process into the grey powder that we would all recognise as cement.

I want to add my concerns to those already expressed by the hon. Member for Stockton North that the cost pressures of the imposition of carbon taxes will mean that it will become uneconomical to manufacture cement in Rugby. Part of the problem, as he has set out, derives from EU legislation and it is good that the Government have recognised the pressure on UK manufacturers caused by EU environmental legislation and that they have applied to the EU for compensation to mitigate the impact. The problem for cement manufacturers is that the European Commission, which published environmental protection and state energy guidelines on 19 May 2014, failed to include the cement sector among those that will receive compensation against the cost of the carbon price support. Regrettably, only those sectors eligible to receive support against the EU emission trading scheme’s indirect CO₂ costs, which are listed in annex II, can qualify for support for other carbon-related costs. Cement manufacture is not included and therefore will not benefit.

It is important to note that the carbon price support tax, which affects the UK only, will put the UK cement industry at a disadvantage compared with those in other EU countries. It also puts the cement manufacturer at a disadvantage against the manufacturers of other materials. For example, steel attracts compensation for both EU ETS indirect costs and the carbon price support tax.

The cost to the cement sector of the ETS over the period 2014-20 is an estimated £82.7 million and the cost of carbon price support over the same period has been estimated at £104 million. The cement manufacturing sector will have to meet those costs if no compensation is received and they will merely add to the cumulative burden that the sector is facing as a result of energy and climate change policy.

The situation faced by cement manufacturers is unfair. Construction products must be allowed to compete on a level playing field, because if they are not UK manufacturing capacity—that means jobs—will be lost. Although cement is a heavy product, it travels easily and cheaply on a barge and can be imported from all over the world. There is enough cement manufacturing capacity in the UK to supply all our needs, but cement imports stand at 14% of UK consumption, up from 3% in 2001. Cement is coming in from many parts of world. An international company such as CEMEX, which runs the plant in my constituency, is aware of the cost of producing a kilo of cement in locations across the world and if the cost is too expensive in Rugby, it will simply not continue to manufacture there.

There are steps that can be taken, and that process has started. The first is a full or partial review by the EU of the emissions trading scheme, which is taking place. The Commission might amend it before the applicable date of 31 December 2020, and I believe the Commission should urgently review the cement industry’s case. I understand that the European cement industry’s trade body lawyers have communicated with the Commission, which has said that it has

“no plans currently to reopen the ETS State aid guidelines and/or the Annex with the sector”

but that it

“would however be interested to hear the industry’s views on what may have changed for the cement sector”.

Therefore, there is a window of opportunity to address the problems that the cement industry faces.

The second change that would benefit the sector is the Government taking action by accelerating renewables compensation and their compensation of certain sectors for higher energy costs resulting from the renewables obligation. The UK plan is to implement a scheme from 2016-17, but that could be brought forward to 2015-16 if there were to be such an announcement in this year’s autumn statement. I understand that the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has already informed the Mineral Products Association that its favoured option is to review or amend the ETS, if the Commission will allow that.

Will the Minister respond to these points? On 26 June, the then Business Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sevenoaks (Michael Fallon), said:

“I intend to ask the new Commission this autumn for an early review of the ETS and to include new sectors, such as cement, that have missed out so far.”—[Official Report, 26 June 2014; Vol. 583, c. 456.]

Will the Minister confirm that she will honour that undertaking and raise the issue, as promised, with the Commission? When she writes to the Commission, will she seek a review of annex II of the ETS indirect CO₂ aid guidelines and stress the urgency of the need for an early and positive decision, because of its influence on the UK-only carbon price support tax?

Will the Minister agree to ask the Commission to give priority to issuing state aid approval following a favourable review of annex II of the ETS indirect CO₂ aid guidelines? Does she accept that the UK cement industry is at a disadvantage compared with its European counterparts and other, competing construction materials that attract EU ETS and carbon price support compensation?

The consequences of the actions taken by this Government mean that our economy is the fastest growing in the G7, and construction is at the forefront of that economic growth, so it would be a tragedy if UK manufacturing were unable to continue to contribute to that growth because it had been priced out by a burden imposed by environmental taxes and levies, which make it less expensive to manufacture overseas. Instead, businesses will simply ship materials in.

The Economy and Living Standards

Mark Pawsey Excerpts

Thursday 12th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

I am grateful to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for allowing me to speak this stage of the debate. May I give my apologies for leaving early? I have arranged to meet some constituents with a Minister immediately after my speech.

The amendment calls for the creation of a recovery to ensure increased living standards for the many, and we can achieve that by growing our economy. It is growing in my constituency, as is shown partly in the claimant count statistics—we are at 50% of the 2010 level, with a fall of one third over the past year. Much of that has been achieved through our great location at the centre of England, with excellent road and rail connections. In particular, the Government are improving the junction of the M1 and M6 at Catthorpe, which makes my constituency attractive to business. Substantial development of both industrial and residential property is taking place, as the Prime Minister remarked when he arrived by train at Rugby station to travel along the M6 to the manufacturing technology centre at Ansty. He saw the substantial new housing and industrial development that is coming forward.

The MTC is itself a success story in supporting manufacturing, and a big theme of this Government’s work has been a rebalancing of our economy. That is how we can create growth and improve living standards. Let us not forget that the manufacturing sector of our economy halved in the 13 years of the last Government. In my constituency, we are making things. Only a few weeks ago, I went to Rosyth to see the new aircraft carriers, which are propelled by motors built by GE Energy in my constituency.

A company called Automotive Insulations is also a superb success story in the manufacturing supply chain. It produces acoustic and thermal insulation for the motor industry, a sector that is growing fast, with customers including Jaguar Land Rover and Bentley. It has doubled its turnover to £12 million in the past year and won awards through GrowthAccelerator, including its “Game Changer” award. Its business has grown, and its staff told me only a year or two ago of the need for new premises. I was able to introduce them to my proactive Conservative-controlled local authority, which introduced them to a developer who is completing new premises for the company as we speak.

A proactive local authority is also incredibly important for the second theme mentioned in the amendment that I wish to refer to—the need to boost house building. In Rugby, we are building houses. We have just granted consent for 6,200 new homes at the Rugby radio station site, and there has been substantial local support for it. It has been a matter of when, not whether, the development will take place, because there has been effective consultation and engagement with local residents. I hear time after time from developers who want to develop in Rugby about the professional and positive approach of planners in my constituency. Other local authorities could take up that approach. I add that my local authority has been diligent in ensuring that it has an up-to-date local plan. Many of the problems that occur elsewhere arise because of the lack of a local plan.

In the last few moments of my speech, I will refer to plastic bags—with my hon. Friend the Member for Richmond Park (Zac Goldsmith) sitting behind me. I was disappointed to see the provision in the Queen’s Speech, because plastic bags make up a tiny part of this country’s litter and household waste. Most bags are used many times before they are put to another use—for instance, as bin liners. It is a great disappointment that the matter was included in the Queen’s Speech.

Oral Answers to Questions

Mark Pawsey Excerpts

Thursday 1st May 2014 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his kind words and for the support he has given to the centenary commemorations—I really welcome that cross-party support. He raises a very important point. It is important to ensure that the efforts on the home front are properly commemorated, and I am happy to discuss that with him further if he thinks we can do more.

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

8. What assessment he has made of the potential benefits of encouraging sports-related tourism.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Mrs Helen Grant)]

The United Kingdom is hosting a series of major sporting events between now and 2019. VisitEngland is working closely with the organisers of the Tour de France and the rugby world cup 2015 to maximise the potential benefits, which could be considerable.

[Mark Pawsey]

The Minister mentioned the rugby world cup, which is now just 500 days away. Will she join me in congratulating the 13 cities which will host the matches, and which are creating additional attractions for the rugby fans throughout the world who will want to visit the birthplace of the game, where it all started in 1834 when William Webb Ellis picked up the ball and ran?

[Mrs Grant]

I am delighted to congratulate the 13 host cities. My hon. Friend’s constituency, with its unique link to the birthplace of rugby, has an excellent opportunity to benefit from next year’s tournament.

Oral Answers to Questions

Mark Pawsey Excerpts

Tuesday 29th April 2014 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

Only recently, the national policy chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses said that funding for lending is helping to bring down the cost of credit for small businesses. It is vital that banks focus on rebuilding business lending, and many of them are doing so. As the economy recovers, we expect that to pick up. Indeed, gross lending is 12% higher than in 2012-13.

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

Companies in my constituency tell me that confidence is at a new high. In many instances, they are able to fund investment through their own resources. Despite that, gross lending is up over the past 12 months. Does my hon. Friend agree that the concerns that funding for lending would be used for residential property purchases were misplaced?

[Andrea Leadsom]

I agree with my hon. Friend. The Help to Buy scheme accounts for only 0.5% of total mortgage lending, and real house prices remain 15% below pre-crisis levels. There is no evidence to suggest that the funding for lending scheme has led to a property price bubble.