Executive Pay

Debate between Mike Crockart and Vince Cable

Monday 23rd January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

Ministers have already made it very clear that bonus restraint should be employed in that company.

[Mike Crockart (Edinburgh West) (LD)]

I welcome the Secretary of State’s announcements today, especially those on transparency and increasing shareholder power. Does he agree that the fundamental principle must be that executive pay reflects company performance? That is a principle that the 107 bankers suing Commerzbank for £1.6 million in bonuses next week would do well to remember.

[Vince Cable]

Yes, the theme of what I have been saying today has been the link between pay and performance, and as my hon. Friend knows, there are specific problems in the banking sector, not least because until the Vickers report is implemented we still have a “too big to fail” problem and an implicit Government guarantee. That is why rather stricter provisions have to apply in the sector.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mike Crockart and Vince Cable

Thursday 8th December 2011 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

Those reports are simply incorrect. The Government’s commitment was for £3 billion, and that remains the case. We expect the bank will have leveraged in another £15 billion by the end of this Parliament. That is our commitment, which we will stick to. I am relieved that Hampstead and Kilburn are not adding their names to the list of cities hoping to attract the Green investment bank.

[Mike Crockart (Edinburgh West) (LD)]

I welcome the Secretary of State’s statement of a few moments ago. May I press him to tell me and the poised Edinburgh Green investment bank bid team when he will publish the criteria for deciding the location for the bank and what those criteria are likely to contain?

[Vince Cable]

We shall set out the process in the next few days. There are a great many bids from different cities and, indeed, some quite small towns around the country, all of which must be assessed properly and fairly.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mike Crockart and Vince Cable

Thursday 14th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mike Crockart (Edinburgh West) (LD)]

The Secretary of State will be aware of the recent announcement in Edinburgh by the climate change Minister of £20 million to be channelled into marine energy. Does he agree that the green investment bank could play a key role in this exciting sector and could do that best by being located in Edinburgh near to the hub of this developing sector?

[Vince Cable]

I am well aware—I am tempted to say painfully aware—of the volume of representations coming from Edinburgh and elsewhere on this subject. They make a very good case for themselves, but will ultimately have to be judged against a variety of criteria relating to how the mission of the green investment bank will be advanced and the talent pool available.

Green Investment Bank

Debate between Mike Crockart and Vince Cable

Tuesday 24th May 2011 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

I did not follow fully where the hon. Gentleman was going, but, no, as I understand it that is not the intention. The £3 billion contribution from the Government is not tied to any specific source.

[Mike Crockart (Edinburgh West) (LD)]

I welcome my right hon. Friend’s announcement, particularly his commitment to the long-standing, enduring nature of the green investment bank. May I urge him, however, to set a clear time scale for when a decision on location will be made? I fear that once the bank has been incubated in Victoria street, its location may be decided more by inertia than by examination of the excellent business cases that have already been given to him, such as the one from Edinburgh.

[Vince Cable]

There will be a proper process, and it is important that we consider carefully all serious applications on their merits. I commend my hon. Friend and his colleagues in Edinburgh for the high level of professionalism that they have brought to bear on their application. They have met me and my departmental officials and have taken great interest in it, and I commend their approach.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mike Crockart and Vince Cable

Thursday 8th July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mike Crockart (Edinburgh West) (LD)]

11. What recent steps he has taken to increase access to finance for small businesses.

[The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Vince Cable)]

The coalition is committed to ensuring the flow of credit to viable small and medium-sized enterprises. The emergency Budget contained several measures, including the enterprise finance guarantee, the growth capital fund and the enterprise capital fund. However, unlike the previous Government, we are addressing proactively problems in the banking sector before rather than after they irreparably damage the economy.

[Mike Crockart]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his response. Is he aware that, in my constituency, some small businesses that have successfully managed to gain access to finance are now being prevented from using that, because a bank in which the taxpayer has a significant interest has scaled back its willingness to be exposed to joint liability with small, family-run suppliers? Will he agree to take time to meet me to discuss that?

[Vince Cable]

I am very happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss that problem, which is happening all around the country. As it happens, in his constituency, I believe that nine companies have taken up the enterprise finance scheme—654 companies in Scotland have done likewise—and have drawn more than £1 million from it, but I recognise the problem. Actually, I think I met the chief executive of the bank to which I believe my hon. Friend is referring last week. I am aware of the enormous frustration in many small-scale enterprises, and I will continue to pursue the matter.