Michael Fallon
Main Page: Michael Fallon (Conservative - Sevenoaks)Department Debates - View all Michael Fallon's debates with the Department for Education
(10 years, 7 months ago)
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Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury and Atcham) (Con)
4. What recent assessment he has made of the performance of UK Trade & Investment in supporting exports.
The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Michael Fallon)
The most up-to-date independently audited figures show that in the 12 months to September 2013, UKTI supported nearly 35,000 businesses. The value of additional sales attributed to UKTI support over that period was more than £50 billion. UKTI is on track to meet its target to assist 40,000 businesses in 2013-14.
Daniel Kawczynski
In export week, I welcome that news, but what concrete steps are being taken by UKTI to reform its structure, personnel and strategy in order to ensure that we meet the Government’s £1 trillion target for exports?
Michael Fallon
My hon. Friend will be aware, because I know he takes a strong interest in this area, of the reforms to UKTI, which is now working closely with British businesses. This week, I attended the world’s leading trade and industrial technology fair in Hanover and saw UKTI working with the Birmingham chamber of commerce to provide support for 40 UK companies. It is estimated that from that fair alone some £5 million-worth of orders are in the pipeline.
Mr Adrian Bailey (West Bromwich West) (Lab/Co-op)
In February, UK exports actually fell. Given the fact that last year only a fifth of the total amount of money available for financing exports was actually used, what more can the Minister do to increase the uptake of UK export finance in order to boost our exports?
Michael Fallon
The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. There are schemes to assist companies with their export finance, but only large companies have taken advantage of them in the past. We need to do more to market those schemes. I do not think it is fair to take one month’s particular trade figures. We are increasing our trade, particularly with the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China.
Derek Twigg (Halton) (Lab)
The fact is, though, that exports are at their worst and lowest level since 2010. It is interesting that the chief economist of the British Chambers of Commerce has said:
“We need to match resources committed by our major competitors if we are to compete on a level-playing field when exporting overseas.”
What is the Minister doing specifically to ensure a level playing field for the chemical industry?
Michael Fallon
The trade deficit actually narrowed in 2013, so I repeat that I do not think it is right to take just the figures from February. We have specifically been helping the chemical sector recently. The energy package announced in the Budget will make a significant difference in freezing the carbon price floor. We are giving the chemical industry more help by exempting it from the renewables obligation and the feed-in tariffs. The energy taxes are being cut, which will significantly help both the chemical and the steel industry.
Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)
6. What steps he is taking to ensure that universities remain financially sustainable in the long term.
Mr Robin Walker (Worcester) (Con)
8. What steps he is taking to promote trade opportunities for UK business in high-growth markets.
The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Michael Fallon)
UK Trade & Investment’s strategy confirms its continued focus on China, India and other high-growth markets, including some in Africa and central America. UKTI has identified more than 60 high-value opportunities in those markets, and with the help of our trade envoys, it promotes those opportunities to business. The £4 million announced by the Chancellor to support mid-sized businesses will enable UKTI to introduce such companies to those opportunities in high-growth markets.
Mr Walker
In export week, will the Minister congratulate Worcester firm Waste Spectrum, which is exactly one of those mid-sized companies that has recently achieved its first sale to China and will be dispatching one of its specially designed incinerators, built in Worcester, to that high-growth market at the end of this month?
Michael Fallon
I congratulate Waste Spectrum and the Worcester ambassadors, and I thank my hon. Friend for his work to promote trade with China. I know he visited China with the trade mission and was involved with an inward delegation from China, and understand that he is planning to visit China again. We need to thank him for his work in promoting links with that particular country.
Seema Malhotra (Feltham and Heston) (Lab/Co-op)
Yesterday I held a meeting with a range of British businesses on their experience of support for trade in India. They did not have a good story to tell about the signposting and advice of UK Trade & Investment and other agencies. Is the Minister concerned about UKTI’s budget plans and the support that it provides if the experience of British businesses is not positive?
Michael Fallon
I am sorry to hear that. If the hon. Lady lets me have the details, I will certainly ensure that that is followed up with UKTI. We have allocated a bigger budget to UKTI and it has sharpened its focus. If there are improvements that we can make to the service that UKTI offers, I would be happy to consider them.
Philip Davies (Shipley) (Con)
Does the Minister agree that our future prosperity as a country depends on trading with China, India, south America and emerging economies in Africa—that is where all the future growth in the world economy will be—rather than being part of a backward-looking, inward-facing protection racket called the European Union?
Michael Fallon
I do not wholly agree with my hon. Friend. There are high-growth opportunities the world over, but the single market to which our businesses have access through our membership of the European Union is still an important part of our trading relationships.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
It may not be a high-growth market, but we had a reception here last week that introduced the fishing, oil and construction opportunities in the Falkland Islands. Has the Minister had an opportunity to discuss those matters with the Falkland Islands to develop those areas and give job opportunities to people from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
Michael Fallon
In my capacity as Minister responsible for oil and gas, I am aware of the opportunities for developing the oil and gas fields off the Falklands. The hon. Gentleman will know that a considerable amount of initial exploration is taking place in the waters just to the north of the Falkland Islands, and of course we stand ready to help the Falkland Islands if that exploration can be turned into significant production.
Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)
9. What recent steps he is taking to support women in business and encourage more women to enter business.
Jessica Morden (Newport East) (Lab)
13. What assessment he has made of the value for money for the public purse of the recent sale of shares in Royal Mail.
The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Michael Fallon)
The National Audit Office’s report on the Royal Mail share sale published last week confirms that we achieved our key objective of achieving the sale and allowing Royal Mail access to the private capital it needs to invest and thrive. It was a successful transaction, raising £2 billion for the Exchequer, and has reduced the risks to the taxpayer of having to provide future financial support to the universal six-day-a-week service.
Karl Turner
The Secretary of State recently described me as “tribal” for my opposition to the fire sale of the Royal Mail. What does the Minister say about Peter Davies of Lansdowne Partners, the Chancellor’s best man and best pal, who is set to rake in millions from this dodgy deal? Will he say how many of the 12 lucky immediate winners are Tory party donors?
Michael Fallon
More than half the shares allocated to priority investors are still held by those investors, and six of them remain among Royal Mail’s largest shareholders.
Jessica Morden
Most people listening to the Minister’s response will think that it was particularly lame, to put it mildly. Can he justify the fact that consumers and businesses have faced hikes of up to 30% in stamp prices, while hundreds of millions of pounds have been squandered because of the Secretary of State’s disastrous decision at a time when families are really struggling?
Michael Fallon
Nobody has lost anything. Britain has gained a top-100 company in which 10% of the shares are owned by the staff themselves. Nearly three quarters of a million individual investors also have shares in Royal Mail. We achieved our objective of realising nearly £2 billion of receipts for the Exchequer, ensuring that Royal Mail has been put on a sound commercial footing.
Ian Murray (Edinburgh South) (Lab)
The Minister can spin this as much as he likes, but he shamefully lost the taxpayer £750 million from the sale of Royal Mail. At that time, the Business Secretary dismissed the loss, saying:
“We wanted to make sure that the company started its new life with a core of high-quality investors who would be there in good times and bad”.
Given that the core long-term investors that the Business Secretary championed have used the good times to sell the majority of their shares at huge profit, is it not right that the Government tell us who those priority investors are, so that the taxpayers know where their lost millions went?
Michael Fallon
Nobody has lost anything from the sale of Royal Mail. More than half the shares allocated to priority investors remain with those investors, and the share price has fluctuated wildly. I do not think the hon. Gentleman has been in touch with his broker recently; otherwise he would know that the share price closed last night at 17% down on its post-float peak.
Adam Afriyie (Windsor) (Con)
14. What recent steps he has taken to encourage young people to get involved in business.
Tom Greatrex (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Lab/Co-op)
T4. Last week, the Prime Minister said on the BBC that he would do everything he could to keep the pits at Kellingley and Thoresby open. This morning, the Minister of State issued a written statement confirming that the Government were facilitating a “managed closure”. Given that people will begin to lose their jobs on 23 May, there is now a very short period in which it is realistically possible to secure alternative investment to keep the pits open. Towards the end of last week, a private operator suggested that it might be interested. Has the Minister of State, or his officials, had any discussions with it about whether it is possible to find a way of securing a commercial future for those pits and those communities?
The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Michael Fallon)
In my ministerial statement, copies of which are available in the Vote Office and the Library, I confirmed that we were prepared in principle to contribute a £10 million loan—alongside contributions from other private sector investors—to support a managed closure of the two collieries, which would avoid the significant losses and liabilities that would have materialised in the event of the immediate and uncontrolled insolvency of UK Coal. That does not exclude any further private sector interest, and I have been meeting others who have expressed an interest, as has UK Coal.
Philip Davies (Shipley) (Con)
T8. Given that sales increased by 2.8% in London and by 6.2% outside London during the Olympic games as a result of the relaxation of the Sunday trading laws, will the Minister consider a further relaxation—perhaps during the World cup, the Commonwealth games and the run-up to Christmas—or, better still, abolish the restrictions altogether, in order to help bricks-and-mortar retailers to compete with those that trade online?
John Robertson (Glasgow North West) (Lab)
T7. The Secretary of State said earlier that investment in businesses would go ahead next year, but today we have heard about the closure of coal mines. Will the Minister explain why, according to figures from Bloomberg New Energy, investment in clean energy in the United Kingdom is due to hit a five-year low this year? What is happening to that investment?
Michael Fallon
There has been a wave of investment in energy, not least the commitment last week by Siemens to invest £300 million in two plants on the Humber that will create 1,000 new jobs. We have seen a series of projects come forward for assistance under our renewables regime, and we will be running a capacity market later this year to secure more energy investment in four years’ time.
Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)
The Budget invited universities and others to bid to develop the new Alan Turing institute for big data, an invitation enthusiastically embraced in Wiltshire and Swindon’s economic plan. How can we now work with the Minister to make this bright idea a reality?