Oral Answers to Questions

Mark Prisk Excerpts

Thursday 24th May 2012 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Hammond (Wimbledon) (Con)]

1. What steps he has taken to reduce the burden of regulation on (a) small and medium-sized and (b) other businesses.

[The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Mr Mark Prisk)]

The Government take a comprehensive approach to cutting the burden of red tape. We have capped the cost of new regulation, identified hundreds of existing regulations to be scrapped, and introduced a moratorium on regulation for all micro-businesses.

[Stephen Hammond]

Small businesses in Wimbledon tell me that the two incentives to growth are access to lending and deregulation. Will my hon. Friend be a little more explicit about what the red tape challenge might bring those businesses in my constituency?

[Mr Prisk]

Progress on the red tape challenge is very important. We have now reviewed some 1,500 regulations, and Ministers have agreed to scrap or substantially overhaul 59% of them—some 887 regulations. That will make a real difference to businesses in Wimbledon and, indeed, elsewhere.

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

Will the Minister take it from me, as chair of the all-party parliamentary group on management, that we must stop feeding this anti-regulation red tape movement and concentrate on good management of small businesses? Forty-three per cent. of managers in the country are rated as poor. Let us do something about management, rather than going on about red tape.

[Mr Prisk]

We cannot ignore the fact that 11,000 elements on the statute book impose a burden on many businesses. We need to tackle that, and I am sorry that the last Government failed to do so. Indeed, they produced six new regulations on every working day. But is the hon. Gentleman correct in saying that we need to think about the calibre of management of small businesses? Yes. Bad regulation and red tape need to go, but we need to think about the wider issue as well, I shall certainly take that from the hon. Gentleman, as he asked.

[Lorely Burt (Solihull) (LD)]

My hon. Friend has already outlined many of the measures that we as a coalition Government are taking to reduce the regulatory burden, but does he agree that a fire-at-will policy might be counter-productive and would not produce the increased productivity and growth that we need so much?

[Mr Prisk]

The element of the Beecroft report to which my hon. Friend refers is one of 23 separate measures. We want to ensure that we consider these matters on the basis of good evidence. That is why there is a call for evidence, and once we have had a look at it and weighed the pros against the cons, we will make a decision.

[Mr Speaker]

Before we continue these exchanges, let me say that ordinarily when the Secretary of State is absent, the fact of the absence is explained at the start of Question Time. I can hear Members inquiring about it. I know that the Secretary of State is absent because I have received a letter from him, but let me say for the record that it would be desirable to be told at the outset, and, in general terms, that it is of course highly undesirable for the Secretary of State to be absent on these occasions. It must not become a regular practice.

[Ian Lavery (Wansbeck) (Lab)]

Does the Minister believe that a person who has made a donation of more than £500,000 to the Conservative party and made more than £100 million from equity deals is a fit and proper person to determine Government policy and workers’ rights?

[Mr Prisk]

Let me first respond to what you said, Mr Speaker. I apologise if I have not made it clear that the Secretary of State is promoting British business in Germany. I know that that is something that all parties have wanted to do. However, the Secretary of State will note, and we will note, your admonishment.

As for the question from the hon. Member for Wansbeck (Ian Lavery), I think that we need to be very careful when it comes to the kind of allegation that he is trying to make about that particular individual. It is important to have good employers—good people who actually understand the market. That is an important contribution, regardless of whatever the hon. Gentleman’s prejudices may be.

[Ian Murray (Edinburgh South) (Lab)]

It is clear that this Government do not know what they are doing on growth: one day it is regulation, and the next day it is deregulation. This week, Baroness Wilcox pronounced in the other place that the groceries code adjudicator regulations were a “pro-growth measure” on the same day that the AWOL Secretary of State called the deregulatory Beecroft proposals “bonkers”. Does that not demonstrate that Downing street’s obsession with Beecroft is not intended to promote growth, but is simply another example of this Government’s incoherent and incompetent approach to the economy, putting old Tory ideology before any credible strategy to get people back to work?

[Mr Prisk]

I am sorry that we are getting platitudes like that, because this is an important issue. We want to ensure that there is a concerted approach on regulation—capping the costs of new ones, scrapping existing ones, and thereby helping small businesses. That is what we are doing. The Labour party failed to do that in 13 years in office. It is no good Labour Members wishing things; we are acting and they are not.

[Mr David Hamilton (Midlothian) (Lab)]

2. What recent assessment he has made of the effect on business confidence of the economy entering recession.

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[Mr John Spellar (Warley) (Lab)]

3. What steps he is taking further to develop the motor and components industry.

[The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Mr Mark Prisk)]

Over the past 18 months, the United Kingdom automotive sector has secured more than £4 billion-worth of investment, including the decision by General Motors to build the next generation of Astras in Ellesmere Port. Through the Automotive Council, we are working hard to rebuild the UK’s supply chain and to encourage exports further.

[Mr Spellar]

I am astonished that the Secretary of State has not turned up today. Not only is it bad form, but I actually wanted to praise him—although that might have been bad for inter-coalition relations. He has shown a bipartisan continuity of policy in support of the motor industry, which is so important for encouraging long-term investment. As that policy is increasingly successful, as the Minister has indicated, will he now focus strongly on the supply chain, where too many components are still imported? Will he get his officials to work with the industry to get the main-tier suppliers to develop capacity in the UK, so that there is a major benefit to the British economy, British jobs and British workers?

[Mr Prisk]

It is rare that a Minister gets the opportunity to receive the praise intended for a Secretary of State, so I will just stand here for a moment or two.

I entirely agree with the principle mentioned; this House has an opportunity to put manufacturing beyond party politics. I want to do that, as does the Secretary of State. We are putting in £125 million specifically to target the supply chain, and I want to make sure that that is available shortly. We are working well with Birmingham city council and others, and I look forward to being able to develop things further.

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

I grew up in a village just outside Coventry, a city that had half a dozen car manufacturers in the 1970s, at a time when the industry was being decimated by strikes, led by trade unionists such as Red Robbo, over demarcation disputes and excessive wage claims. Does the Minister agree that much of the recent success of the industry is due to a more sensible and flexible approach by the work force?

[Mr Prisk]

Absolutely. I again pay tribute to many of the work force in the motor industry. They have demonstrated the willingness to show that British workers are highly productive and that we can compete, and they are also flexible. That is the good news story. There are history lessons, and I hope that the Labour party has now learnt them.

[Andrew Miller (Ellesmere Port and Neston) (Lab)]

May I put on record my thanks to the newly labelled socialist Secretary of State, and indeed to the Minister, for the work they did in securing the future of Ellesmere Port’s Vauxhall plant? Does the Minister agree that the teamwork that involved, which started with Lord Mandelson’s creation of the automotive alliance, and involved the Unite union, the management and so on, is the way to take this industry forward?

[Mr Prisk]

I absolutely agree with that, and I pay tribute to the hon. Gentleman, too, for his work on this issue. I do not want us to be too self-congratulatory, but it is important that we work together. I am proud to see British factories not only able to compete, but to win against stiff international competition.

[John Pugh (Southport) (LD)]

The success at Ellesmere Port this week, with unions and management combining and “out-Germanning” the Germans, proved that that is the route to success, rather than the more one-sided Beecroft proposals.

[Mr Prisk]

I knew it was going too well. The important point is to make sure that the work force are flexible and working together. I am very happy to work with the trade unions when we are bidding for British jobs.

[Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)]

4. What recent progress he has made on securing the future of the Post Office network.

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[The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Mr Mark Prisk)]

The right hon. Gentleman raises an important industry and an important location. The local enterprise partnership is doing very well in that area and we are encouraging offshore energy through the work of UK Green Investments. If there were additional points in his comprehensive question, I know that the relevant Ministers will be happy to deal with them.

[Simon Hughes (Bermondsey and Old Southwark) (LD)]

T7. The Government’s introduction of the national careers service is welcome. The Business Secretary has made it clear that there must be face-to-face careers advice for targeted groups of adults. Will the Department try to win the argument across Government, including in the Department for Education, that face-to-face careers guidance is vital for everybody, and that mentoring for all young people in an important complementary project?

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[Nigel Adams (Selby and Ainsty) (Con)]

As someone who benefited from a similar scheme in the 1990s, may I ask the Minister to update the House on the progress of the new enterprise allowance scheme? Will he ensure that it is yet another flagship programme, like the new apprenticeship schemes?

[Mr Prisk]

I am happy to assure my hon. Friend that the scheme is a great way of ensuring that we provide microfinance and experienced business advice. That is what the allowance is specifically designed to do. We have examined past models that have worked, and this one will help thousands of unemployed people become self-employed people.

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[Anna Soubry (Broxtowe) (Con)]

I am sure the House will join me in celebrating the fact that SMS Electronics in Beeston in Broxtowe has been a lucky recipient of a Queen’s award for enterprise. Many small businesses tell me and others that they need less regulation and oppressive red tape if they are to grow. Will a Minister please confirm something that I was told today: that under the previous Government, there were six new regulations every working day?

[Mr Prisk]

There were six regulations every working day under the previous Government. I am proud to say that instead of having 1,500 Labour regulations every year, this Government have reversed the pattern. There were just 89 last year. That is real progress, and good for businesses in my hon. Friend’s constituency and across the country.

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[Dr Thérèse Coffey (Suffolk Coastal) (Con)]

I am sure all hon. Members welcome the publication of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill, which sets out some great initiatives, including the green investment bank and the fight against red tape. Will the Minister work with local government to ensure that it applies regulations judiciously as opposed to ferociously?

[Mr Prisk]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The primary authority scheme, which was started by Labour, will be extended under this Government to ensure that the enforcement of regulation, which is often just as burdensome as the red tape itself, will be appropriate in that locality.

[Sandra Osborne (Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock) (Lab)]

Sixty redundancies have been announced today at the open-cast mine at Kirkconnel. It is in the constituency of the Under-Secretary of State for Scotland, but it will affect my constituency in east Ayrshire. What are the Government doing to support the coal industry?