Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mark Pawsey and Greg Hands

Thursday 15th December 2022 Commons Chamber

[Greg Hands]

My hon. Friend has hit the nail on the head—quite apart from the fact that he follows me so closely on Twitter. I would perhaps commend that more widely, and I hope my constituents get a look in from time to time. I thank my hon. Friend for that.

My hon. Friend hits the nail on the head when he talks about the importance of the services sector. Services are 80% of our economy. We are the world’s second largest services exporter. I used to sit at the EU Foreign Affairs Council on trade, and it was often difficult to get the EU to focus as well as it might have done on services possibilities. We now have an independent trade policy, which allows us to give services the focus that UK service companies and service providers deserve, and financial services are very much at the heart of that. We always make sure that our services offer is right at the forefront of our FTA talks and other bilateral trade talks.

[Mark Pawsey]

GE Power Conversion, which is based in my Rugby constituency, has strong relationships with shipowners and designers who are increasingly choosing to have ships built in China. They see opportunities for offering their expertise in electrification of large vessels, as the maritime sector decarbonises. Will the Minister provide some clarity on the Government’s approach to trade with businesses in China and give some indication of the steps that UK exporters need to take to compete with international competitors in that market and to gain full advantage of the opportunities that are available there?

[Greg Hands]

In successive Government positions, I have always noticed how diverse the businesses are in my hon. Friend’s Rugby constituency, right at the very industrial heartland of this country. He is right to raise the matter of trade with China. The UK engages with China. We remain open to Chinese trade and investment, while ensuring that robust protections are in place to safeguard the UK’s prosperity, values and security. He raises the issue of GE. We are engaging DIT officials based both in the UK and in China and already engaging with GE.

Energy Update

Debate between Mark Pawsey and Greg Hands

Monday 5th September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Greg Hands]

The closure was a commercial decision, made by Centrica, not a decision made by the Government.

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

The Energy Minister has a well-deserved reputation for getting things done, and I thank him for the prompt responses he has given to inquiries that I have made to his office, especially in respect of businesses. I sense that he understands the challenges, such as for the small engineering business I visited last week whose energy bill is £13,000 a year currently, and which has had a range of quotes between £37,000 and £68,000 for the renewal of its contract. The staff tell me that means that in the coming year they may not be able to replace a machine or take on a couple of apprentices as they would like to do. He has told us about the details that will be coming on short-term support—I am sure businesses will welcome that when it arrives—but I wonder whether he would say a little more about the long-term proposals to decouple the electricity bills from the gas price.

[Greg Hands]

I thank my hon. Friend for that question. He is truly a champion of businesses in his constituency and across the country; I know the important work he does on the Select Committee on Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for example. He is right, in that most of the energy of businesses in this country is dealt with through long-term contracts. That is an advantage in giving certainty, but when it is time for the long-term contract to be extended or renewed that can lead to a very concerning rise in the price of that contract. The Government are keenly aware of that and it is absolutely something that our new Prime Minister and the team overall will be looking at.

Net Zero Strategy and Heat and Buildings Strategy

Debate between Mark Pawsey and Greg Hands

Tuesday 19th October 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

Rugby is at the heart of National Grid’s gas pipeline network, which runs across the country from one side to the other. In the summer, I visited National Grid’s Churchover site, which is a substantial national asset. We know that harmful emissions from gas can be reduced in the short term by putting hydrogen up to 20% in the existing natural gas network, and in the longer term we can move to 100% hydrogen. Will the Minister confirm that, although we hear about stopping the installation of gas boilers, a substantial future for gas in our energy supply remains?

[Greg Hands]

My hon. Friend makes a good point. Of course, gas has a substantial future in our energy supply, certainly in the short term. Currently, 50% of our gas comes from the UK continental shelf, so it is very important for us, notwithstanding high international wholesale gas prices. The Climate Change Committee has itself said that it is not inconsistent with net zero for there to be a contribution from the oil and gas sector, even in 2050. It is now a question of working with the sector, which is why we have done the North sea transition deal. We are working with the industry, in partnership with the Oil and Gas Authority, to make sure that we make the necessary transformation. A lot of the skills in the oil and gas sector are transferable to, for example, offshore wind.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mark Pawsey and Greg Hands

Thursday 29th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Greg Hands]

I will take no lectures from the hon. Lady on listening to British businesses, on which this Government have an impeccable record. We are seeking frictionless trade—as frictionless as possible—with the EU. We are seeking a free trade agreement of much greater scope than any before, and it will cover services—including creative industries, which are such a key part of our export offer.

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

3. What steps his Department is taking to support small and medium-sized businesses to export.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mark Pawsey and Greg Hands

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.