Oral Answers to Questions

Nadhim Zahawi Excerpts

Thursday 6th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Matthew Hancock]

That is properly a matter for the Department for Education but, as I am also a Minister there I will take this opportunity to explain that we are introducing stronger statutory guidance. There was no guidance for schools before, so we have introduced a new legal requirement on them to secure independent and impartial advice, and we are introducing stronger statutory guidance to ensure that they do so, alongside the new National Careers Service, which this Government introduced.

[Nadhim Zahawi (Stratford-on-Avon) (Con)]

I will meet representatives of Jaguar Land Rover tomorrow to discuss their vision for their Gaydon headquarters. As it is international women’s day on 8 March, I will also be discussing the work they do to encourage women and girls to take up science, technology, engineering and maths. The Secretary of State is passionate about getting more women on boards and, importantly, into all sort of industries, so will he join me in celebrating international women’s day and reminding businesses that they need to do their bit to encourage more women into the sciences?

[The Minister for Universities and Science (Mr David Willetts)]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. To encourage more women into science, we have specifically said that when universities bid for the new capital funding we are allocating to them, they will be required to show what they are doing to attract women into those essential subjects.

Oral Answers to Questions

Nadhim Zahawi Excerpts

Thursday 8th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Matthew Hancock]

I certainly do agree. It is important to include English and maths in apprenticeships for all those who do not have level 2, and we must do more to make sure we inspire young people to look not only at the academic route, but at apprenticeships which combine work and training at the same time.

[Nadhim Zahawi (Stratford-on-Avon) (Con)]

I commend my hon. Friend and his predecessor for their work on the apprenticeship programme. My hon. Friend will be aware that the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee published its report on apprenticeships. Can he say a little more about the drive for quality, as opposed just to quantity, of apprenticeships?

[Matthew Hancock]

I welcome the Select Committee’s report. The focus on quality in apprenticeships is important. We have already said that almost all apprenticeships must be longer than a year, and we have taken action to close down some low-quality provision, so this is a direction that I very much want to go in. I will be studying the recommendations of the report extremely carefully.

Higher and Further Education

Nadhim Zahawi Excerpts

Tuesday 11th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Shabana Mahmood]

Not at the moment.

That is set against a backdrop of a worsening economic outlook as a result of the Government’s failed economic policies. The economy is in a double-dip recession made in Downing street. We know that there is a strong link between periods of recession and interest in higher education, as people seek to enhance their employability and competitiveness in difficult economic circumstances, but this year that is not the case. There is a massive drop that, combined with cuts in the number of places, will result in tens of thousands fewer students entering higher education in 2012. It indicates straight away the impact of the Government’s trebling of tuition fees. Students are being put off and are basing decisions not on whether a university education is right for them, but on whether they can afford it. That is a tragedy for both the person making the decision and the country as a whole, because if they miss out on higher education, we miss out by failing to capture their full potential.

[Nadhim Zahawi (Stratford-on-Avon) (Con)]

On affordability, will the hon. Lady at least admit that a graduate earning £21,000 will pay £45 less than they would have done under the system we inherited from her Government?

[Shabana Mahmood]

If the hon. Gentleman’s party took on board our £6k proposal, there would be an even more progressive system for future generations of students.

Cost is the real problem. The Centre for Economic Performance recently surveyed 12,000 teenagers and found that all the indications are that the hike in fees in late 2010 increased the perception that going to university is simply too expensive. That perception was significantly higher in comprehensive schools, compared with independent and selective state schools, and among children eligible for free school meals. If these perceptions influence effort at school or behaviour post-16, they will increase future socio-economic inequality.

Mature students are one of the worst affected groups, as many more are choosing not to go to university this year. The Government failed to take into account the effects of their policies on that group, and we have seen an 11.3% drop in such applications, making them the biggest group affected. There are around 30,000 fewer older applicants this year than last year.

[Shabana Mahmood]

My hon. Friend makes an extremely powerful point. I agree with her comment and endorse it entirely.

Too often we in this House consider higher education issues through the prism of the 18-year-old undergraduate going to university for the first time. Although the experience of such undergraduates is of course incredibly important, we know from the figures that in 2009-10 more than a third of undergraduates entering university for the first time were 21 or older. The impact of the trebling of tuition fees on that group is particularly interesting, as their perspective and actual experience of debt and finance are very different. These are people who often have significant financial and family commitments, with mortgages to pay and child care costs. If they are making a decision to walk away from enhancing their skills by obtaining a degree, they are doing so on the basis of cost.

There is a much higher rate of withdrawals from the application process this year than last year—16% higher. At this stage, 13,138 students who are holding offers from universities have decided to withdraw from the process. That is an extremely worrying sign that students who had already made the decision to go to university are now being put off. Having attended open days, filled out applications and gone to interviews, they are now saying “No thanks.” Where will they end up? What are their prospects for the future given the record levels of youth unemployment and the ongoing recession?

[Nadhim Zahawi]

rose—

[Steve Brine]

Will the hon. Lady give way?

[Shabana Mahmood]

Not at the moment.

Reading the Government’s amendment, one would think that there were no problems with their policy whatsoever and that it has had hardly any impact—further proof, if any were needed, that they are complacent and out of touch.

[Nadhim Zahawi]

rose—

[Steve Brine]

rose—

--- Later in debate ---

[Shabana Mahmood]

The hon. Lady makes a very powerful point, and she is entirely right in her conclusions.

The Independent Commission on Fees found that in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland the number of applicants aged 20 or over increased between 2010 and 2012 while, by contrast, in England they fell by 12%. The number of younger applicants—those aged up to 19—fell by 7%, but by only 1% to 2% in the other home countries. Although population size could be a factor, the report found that the relative decline in English applications was much higher. That raises concerns about the impact of fees, because there are falls in the number of applicants both in absolute terms and relative to the rest of the UK.

[Nadhim Zahawi]

rose—

[Steve Brine]

rose—

--- Later in debate ---

[Shabana Mahmood]

I am glad that I gave another hon. Gentleman an opportunity to make a mini-speech. If only the experience of the whole of the higher education sector was the same as that in Winchester.

[Nadhim Zahawi]

Will the hon. Lady give way?

[Shabana Mahmood]

I am afraid not; I have no desire to respond to a Whips’ question.

The trebling of fees is not the only thing that this Government have done to destabilise and put at risk the quality of our higher education sector.

Economic Growth and Employment

Nadhim Zahawi Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Umunna]

I agree with my hon. Friend. We all know what is holding back business in taking on workers: the forecast economic projections for this country. That is the real problem. What has been the centrepiece of the Business Secretary’s alternative offer? How will he turn things around? The answer is the regional growth fund. The aim of the fund is to unlock private sector investment, support areas that are dependent on the public sector and help them become more balanced economies. Good. We take no issue with those objectives. We want that money to get to business and to create the jobs that will support growth, yet the scheme has been managed shambolically. It has been an utter fiasco. The fund is a third of the size of the moneys distributed through the regional development agencies, which have been scrapped without effective replacement, so it has been hugely over-subscribed, which demonstrates businesses’ craving for capital. Of the 956 bids received, only 50 were successful in the first round and 119 in the second round. There have been many more losers than winners. It is difficult for the losers, but what of the winners?

Of course, due diligence is needed to ensure the proper use of public funds. The permanent secretary at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills told the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee that due diligence on successful bids tends to take between two and six weeks, and that until it is complete the successful bidder is not given its money. Yet, clearly, very few successful bidders have received what was promised, because it has taken so long for due diligence to be completed.

I have written to the Secretary of State and tabled parliamentary questions, and in fact the Minister of State, the hon. Member for Hertford and Stortford, who has continually chuntered from a sedentary position today, provided the answers. I tabled those questions to get the answers, to get the facts and to get to the bottom of the delays and mess.

On Monday I received answers to those parliamentary questions, indicating that 30 weeks—30 weeks—after the original announcement just nine of the 50 first-round winners have completed due diligence. When I asked why due diligence has taken so long, I was told:

“It is for successful bidders to initiate due diligence upon receipt of a conditional offer letter from the Department.”—[Official Report, 21 November 2011; Vol. 536, c. 154W.]

Usually, the Government blame us for all the mistakes; now, it seems that they are seeking to pass on blame to the very businesses that they claim to want to help—and the bidder has to pay for the due diligence cost, too.

As it happens, I met—[Interruption.] Ministers shake their heads—

[Nadhim Zahawi (Stratford-on-Avon) (Con)]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Mr Umunna]

I will in a moment.

Last week I met one of the first-round bidders, who told me that on learning of their successful bid in April they immediately sought to progress due diligence but, despite chasing the Secretary of State’s Department, received no further documentation for four months. When they got it, they immediately responded but, again, heard nothing for another three months—until around the time that my right hon. Friend the Leader of the Opposition raised the issue of the regional growth fund at Prime Minister’s questions. I am sure that the timing was totally coincidental.

Even now, formal due diligence is not complete, and the matter is due to go to the permanent secretary’s committee for approval on 2 December.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Umunna]

My hon. Friend is right, and when the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development looked at the economic effects of the proposal to increase the service requirement from one to two years, the chief economist, Dr John Philpott, said that

“any positive effect on hiring is likely to be offset by a corresponding increase in the rate of dismissals. Increasing the qualifying period for obtaining unfair dismissal rights thus runs the risk of reinforcing a hire and fire culture in UK workplaces. Although the policy change will undoubtedly be welcomed by the de-regulation lobby, it isn’t the way to boost growth and jobs.”

[Nadhim Zahawi]

The hon. Gentleman is now quoting selectively. Will he tell us what the Federation of Small Businesses, which he quoted earlier, or the chambers of commerce think of that policy?

[Mr Umunna]

First, I am not quoting selectively. If the hon. Gentleman would like to go and inspect the CIPD press release, he will see that what I have said is the case.

[Nadhim Zahawi]

What did the FSB say?

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

Order. The hon. Gentleman has had his intervention, and he should please wait for the answer. We do not need comments from the side.

[Mr Umunna]

There we have a Government Member hungry to fire, as opposed to hire, workers.

[Nadhim Zahawi]

Withdraw.

[Mr Umunna]

I withdraw that comment.

The hon. Gentleman asked whether business organisations were in favour of increasing the unfair dismissal service requirement from one to two years. That policy may sound good on the face of it, but what will happen—I say this as a former employment lawyer—is that we will simply end up with more employees making spurious discrimination claims, because there is no service requirement for them. When we put that to businesses, they take quite a different point of view of the policy.

--- Later in debate ---

[Vince Cable]

It is certainly a last resort in a major economic crisis. I am sure he appreciates that we are living through an economic crisis that is unparalleled in our lifetimes. That is why not only Britain, but the United States and other countries are having to resort to unorthodox monetary policy. That is a reflection of the desperation of many western countries. Our Bank of England has been comfortable with our fiscal policy and, to that extent, has been willing to support it through monetary means.

Those are two of the three elements of the strategy. The third is rebalancing the economy. We inherited an economy that was horribly unbalanced in favour of debt-supported consumption and banking, and we are now rebalancing the economy towards exports and trade. Rapid growth is taking place at the moment in British exports. That is the strategy on which we will proceed and on which we will be judged. The alternative we have been offered is something called plan B, which I think has been renamed the “Antiques Roadshow” in respect of the shadow Chancellor. No serious business organisation is arguing that such financial irresponsibility has any prospect of success.

[Nadhim Zahawi]

In the document that I have in my hand the shadow Business Secretary says, regarding the new economy, that we need to build an economy that is

“less vulnerable to global shocks”.

How does the Secretary of State think that building an economy based on £100 billion of extra borrowing by 2015 will deliver that?

[Vince Cable]

I can give a bit of substance in answer to that. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research, which has been critical of the Government in some respects, has done its own simulation. On the use of fiscal policy to support growth, which I think is what the Opposition plan B is all about, it says that in order to stimulate growth from 1% to 2% we would need to have a Government borrowing account of about 12% of GDP. Is that actually what the Opposition are proposing, because that is what their plan B—fiscal stimulus—means?

--- Later in debate ---

[Vince Cable]

UKTI has been radically reformed, thanks to the Minister for Trade and Investment, Lord Green. I think that it will perform an excellent function. What I found was that British export activity in the big emerging markets, which is clearly where future growth lies, had been sorely neglected for many years. As somebody put it to me, when we turned up on the beach the Germans were already in the deckchairs. They have dominated the market in these countries and we are a marginal player. It will take years to turn that around, but that is where our emphasis lies.

[Nadhim Zahawi]

Does the Secretary of State agree that under the previous Government we exported more to Ireland than we did to Brazil, Russia, India and China put together?

[Vince Cable]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for reminding me of one of my best lines. It is partly a compliment to Ireland that we trade with it so extensively, but that fact is an appalling commentary on our neglect of the big emerging markets.

Export growth is one key focus for us. The second is people and apprenticeships. The Minister for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning will say more about this in his summary. Despite a severely curtailed budget, we have increased apprenticeships—actual people doing training—by 50% over the past year. There are now 350,000 people in such training. We do not accept that that is the end of the road. We have to improve the quality and refocus as much as possible on younger apprentices, thereby addressing in part the problem of youth unemployment. This is a major success story and we are proud of it.

On access to finance, one of the major themes of my analysis has been that what we are dealing with is a collapsed and non-functioning banking system. It is right for Members to continue to cross-question us on the Merlin agreement, because that is at the heart of the problem. We have stopped, at least in relation to small and medium-sized enterprises, a process of rapid deleveraging. We are using Government funding through the regional growth fund and, from next year, the Green investment bank to co-finance private capital so that there is access to finance for British industry. We are taking initiatives to support equity finance. The business growth fund is not Government owned or controlled, but it is a major initiative that should have been taken decades ago to get equity finance functioning. Access to finance is a critical issue—of course we accept that. It is a consequence of the banking crisis that we are focused on it.

I want to give one final concluding thought. When I hear the Opposition speaking about the economy, I think that lying at the back of their world view is the idea that what we are currently in the middle of is a cyclical problem—we had a boom, we had a bust, we will press a few buttons, spend a bit more money, and we will get back into a boom again. This is not a cyclical problem; it is a profound, long-standing structural problem. We had the wrong model. Growth was based on fundamentally the wrong principles, it was not sustainable and it collapsed. We are now having to repair the damage.

Oral Answers to Questions

Nadhim Zahawi Excerpts

Thursday 27th October 2011 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

Certainly we should be doing all we can to support disabled workers. My understanding is that those decisions lie with the Department for Work and Pensions, but I would be happy to engage or help if there is a problem.

[Nadhim Zahawi (Stratford-on-Avon) (Con)]

UK Trade & Investment has just completed a trade mission to Iraq for the Erbil international trade fair, of which I was privileged to be a part. We had 86 businesses, companies and educationalists at the British pavilion at the trade fair, whereas three years ago we had only one. Will the Secretary of State join me in congratulating the UKTI team and our consul-general on their great work during the mission?

[Vince Cable]

Yes. UKTI does an excellent job. Like all other parts of the Government, it is having to do more with less, but it does so through refocusing and strategy. I have not yet been to that country, but I look forward to doing so.

School Funding Reform

Nadhim Zahawi Excerpts

Tuesday 19th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

We want to make sure that all schools are capable of bidding under the scheme, and we want to make sure that the gateway into such bidding is fair. I will come back to the hon. Gentleman to make sure that there are no anomalies that mean that any institution that educates children is excluded for any reason. I shall seek to work with him, given his experience as a distinguished former further education principal.

[Nadhim Zahawi (Stratford-on-Avon) (Con)]

I welcome the Secretary of State’s announcement of more basic need funding. I urge him and the Government to focus on Stratford town, where there is a severe shortage of primary school places.

[Michael Gove]

There are many parts of the country that have serious problems with population growth, including Stratford-on-Avon, not least because it is such an attractive town that has enjoyed effective representation for many years.

Academies (Funding)

Nadhim Zahawi Excerpts

Thursday 16th June 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gibb]

This is an important part of raising standards in our school system; indeed, it is a crucial element. When 9% of boys leave primary school with a reading age of seven or under—they are basically unable to read—it cannot be said that applying staff in the Department to deliver the academies programme is a waste of taxpayers’ money. This is good money that is being diverted to a programme designed to raise standards in our least-performing schools, and I think that it is a good use of taxpayers’ money.

[Nadhim Zahawi (Stratford-on-Avon) (Con)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that it is extraordinary for the Opposition to quibble about accounting errors? Is this not a smokescreen to distract attention from Tony Blair’s comments during the past two weeks supporting this Government’s policies on academies and primary schools?

St George’s Day and St David’s Day Bill

Nadhim Zahawi Excerpts

Friday 13th May 2011 Commons Chamber

[Nadhim Zahawi (Stratford-on-Avon) (Con)]

I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time.

We often hear from parliamentarians in this and the other place that radical and controversial ideas and legislation should be piloted before being introduced, so I am delighted to tell the House that 50% of my Bill was piloted this year. A quirk of the calendar meant that the nearest working day to St George’s day—23 April—was a bank holiday. Furthermore, thanks to the royal wedding and the Prime Minister’s generosity to the nation, we shall have nine, not eight, bank holidays this year.

Why should we make St George’s day an extra, permanent bank holiday? St George became the patron saint of England 661 years ago; his chivalry, values and story were seen by King Edward III as a better fit to the England he wanted to rule than the previous patron saint, Edward the Confessor. St George lived more than 1,000 years before that date. He was an immigrant, a Roman soldier born in Turkey, or possibly Kurdistan, perhaps with colouring a little closer to mine than most would imagine. We know him most famously as the dragon slayer, a man whose bravery freed a town from the tyranny of a vicious dragon. He was a man whose Christianity led him to be persecuted and eventually executed on the day we now celebrate in his name. He was adopted and taken into the hearts of the English people for the values he represented, not for who he was or where he was from.

Although celebrated before 1350, it was only after St George’s adoption as patron saint that he became ingrained in England’s national psyche. It is said that his popularity and the celebration of his name day increased substantially after Henry V rallied his troops by invoking St George before victory at the battle of Agincourt: “Cry God for England, Harry and St George” wrote the great bard William Shakespeare, in commemoration. It is perhaps fitting that the great bard himself was born on St George’s day in 1564, in my constituency of Stratford-on-Avon; he died on the same date 52 years later.

Today, St George represents part of our often under-celebrated national identity.

[Mr Greg Knight (East Yorkshire) (Con)]

When I first saw that my hon. Friend intended to present the Bill, I rejoiced, and I agree with everything he has said so far, but when I saw the contents of the Bill I became alarmed. Does he not agree that the Bill is actually quite divisive? In clause 1, he tells us that the Welsh, but not the English, can celebrate St David’s day and that the English, but not the Welsh, can celebrate St George’s day. Is it not a nationalist measure that is likely to increase friction between England and Wales, rather than a Unionist policy, as I want, because I support the Union? Is the Bill not likely to be very divisive if passed in its present form?

[Nadhim Zahawi]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his intervention, although I remind him that Scotland celebrates St Andrew’s day and Ireland celebrates St Patrick’s day. I do not believe that it is divisive in any way for England or Wales to uphold their saints. In fact, the more we can deal with such things positively, recognising their importance, the closer and stronger the Union becomes. When things are forced down people’s throats, they begin to become rejectionists. I am afraid that I therefore disagree with my right hon. Friend.

[Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch) (Con)]

Something concerns me about the Bill. I am all in favour of celebrating St George’s day or St David’s day, but why does the Bill suggest that it is necessary to have a bank holiday to celebrate them on another day? Surely, if those days fall on a weekend, the celebrations can take place then, without the need the for anyone to give up work on the previous Friday or the subsequent Monday.

[Nadhim Zahawi]

I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. If I understand him correctly, he suggests avoiding bank holidays and celebrating at the weekends, but that is precisely my point: if we had a bank holiday, we could celebrate on whichever date the saint’s day falls, not necessarily on a Saturday or Sunday.

[Mr Chope]

My hon. Friend misunderstand my point. If St George’s day was to fall on a weekday, I could understand the case that he makes for having a bank holiday. If St George’s day falls on a weekend, I cannot understand the case for having a bank holiday on the previous Friday or the subsequent Monday.

[Nadhim Zahawi]

I hear what my hon. Friend says, but it is important to have a bank holiday, because what a bank holiday would do to the nation’s psyche is to deliver a permanent reminder of St George’s day, rather than people casually saying, “Well, if it falls on the weekend, it’s fine.” Otherwise we cannot do the thing that we most want to do, which is to recognise it permanently and specifically.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

I saw an example just last month—as my hon. Friend says, St George’s day coincided with a bank holiday this year—in my constituency, where the scouts and guides paraded to Queens square in the centre of the town and sonnets were read to celebrate the bard’s birthday on St George’s day. There was an extra sense of community spirit in celebrating St George, precisely because of the coincidence with the bank holiday. Certainly, enshrining such a bank holiday in law would aid that sense of community in both England and Wales.

[Nadhim Zahawi]

I thank my hon. Friend. He is exactly right; that is why I believe that the Bill should have a Second Reading.

[Ian Austin (Dudley North) (Lab)]

I support the proposal and have supported such campaigns in the past. I am keen that we do everything we can to celebrate St George’s day and what it means to be English and British, as well as to celebrate the Union. I can assure the hon. Gentleman that there is nothing casual about how we celebrate St George’s day already, despite the fact that there is no bank holiday. Just a couple of weeks ago, I proudly took part in the celebrations of St George’s day in Dudley—we have them every year—and there is a nothing casual about them, but the point about the date is an interesting one. There is already a series of bank holidays— Whit and Easter, and so on—at this time of the year. Of course, the Welsh celebrate St David’s day with an Eisteddfod festival. I am not an expert on the Welsh, but I think that that takes place during the summer—

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

Order. We must have shorter interventions.

[Nadhim Zahawi]

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. The hon. Gentleman makes a valid point. I would just remind him that because of a quirk this year, we have had a number of bank holidays, and the nation found them positive. There were some economic benefits too. It may be preferable to have a bank holiday at a different time of the year, but for me the importance of St George’s day overrides that consideration.

[Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)]

I entirely agree that we should have a bank holiday on St George’s day. Could not the problem be solved by moving the existing bank holiday on May day to 23 April? If we need to create an extra bank holiday, one could be created on, say, Trafalgar day.

[Nadhim Zahawi]

I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. My Bill calls for an additional bank holiday, not the movement of an existing bank holiday. I hope those on the Treasury Bench are listening and taking note of such suggestions. I am pleased that my Bill is provoking debate and such good ideas.

To many, St George’s day is a celebration of all that is great about our nation. At the last election, every major party vowed to promote national integration and social cohesion. A national day celebrated by all, regardless of their background or heritage, would only help that process. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education has said, we must all encourage our children to learn about our nation’s past, the bad and the good, and we must celebrate our shared history. What better way to do that than a national day, officially recognised by the Government?

There are those who say that St George’s day is a Christian holiday and not representative of our multicultural nation, and those who say it plays to the fringe right of this country. I disagree. St George, after all, is the only Christian saint to appear in the Koran and the only saint to have a mosque bearing his name. Even in the world of faith, he is not uniquely Christian. Yes, the fringe right may well have hijacked our symbol of patriotism, which should sadden all of us in the Chamber, but today in the House we can go a long way towards reclaiming it.

Let us remember what our Prime Minister said on St George’s day last year:

“Today we are celebrating St George’s Day, and we are reclaiming St George’s Day as an important day . . . for good reasons.

And one of the most important reasons is that we should be reclaiming the flag from the BNP and saying the flag belongs to the English people, all of them.”

He went on to say:

“People come to our country and want to feel part of our country.

They want to feel part of something and celebrating St George’s Day will help them feel that sense of belonging.”

As the son of immigrants to this country, a son of parents who fled persecution to find safe haven here, I could not have put it better myself.

It is important to lay another myth to rest—that an extra bank holiday would affect our productivity and be economically damaging. As a businessman and an entrepreneur, I have built up a strong and enduring business and I totally reject the idea that one extra bank holiday would have that effect. The working people of this country will get done the work that they need to get done, regardless of an extra day away from the office. The concept of work has changed. It is no longer about turning up at a particular time and leaving at another time. It is, instead, about outputs and what is done, not how long it is done for.

[Ian Austin]

On the point that the hon. Gentleman made about reclaiming the flag from the far right, this is a campaign that I have run ever since I became a Member of Parliament in 2005, calling on Dudley council and all other public bodies to fly the Union Jack, our national flag, which contains the flag of St George, on all public buildings all year round. Will he endorse that call? Does he agree that we should fly the Union Jack proudly, as a symbol of the values that make this the greatest country on earth, all year round and not just on the so-called special days of the year?

[Nadhim Zahawi]

I do agree with the hon. Gentleman. He may recall that during the World cup I urged the Prime Minister to fly the flag of St George over Downing street, although, sadly, it did not fly for very long, but his point is well made.

[Christopher Pincher (Tamworth) (Con)]

I commend my hon. Friend’s patriotic zeal, but if he wants a truly national public holiday, why do we not choose 21 October, Trafalgar day, as my hon. Friend the Member for Bury North (Mr Nuttall) suggested, given that it celebrates an event in which 4,000 Irishmen, 6,000 Scotsmen and 600 Welshmen, and even the odd American and French volunteers, fought on the British side, and a true-born Briton gave his life? Why do we not celebrate that day rather than the day of a mythical Greek who went around slaying mythical beasts?

[Nadhim Zahawi]

My hon. Friend will not be surprised if I disagree with him on that point.

This April obviously included an extra bank holiday, and retail sales increased by 5.2% as shoppers took advantage of the additional holiday.

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

Does my hon. Friend have similar data for Wales on 1 March?

[Nadhim Zahawi]

I do not, but I am happy to source more data for Wales. However, I would not be surprised if something similar happened throughout the country, as when people have an additional day off, they use it to visit retail outlets.

The other beneficiaries would be our local pubs and great British breweries, especially the micro-breweries, which would undoubtedly attract many who wish to toast St George, and in Wales, St David, just as many already toast St Patrick and St Andrew. With the creation of special events building on those that already occur throughout the country, our leisure and tourism industries would also do very well.

[Rebecca Harris (Castle Point) (Con)]

There has already been some discussion about whether we want an extra day. I entirely support the Bill, but is my hon. Friend aware that the Government are already considering another bank holiday later in the summer to extend the British tourist season? That would not be as welcome as my Daylight Saving Bill in achieving that end, but perhaps we could consider both options.

[Nadhim Zahawi]

My hon. Friend is quite right; the Government are considering that. As I cast my eye towards the Treasury Bench, I see no better champion of this country’s patriotism than my hon. Friend the Minister for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning, who is a great patriot himself.

[Jonathan Edwards (Carmarthen East and Dinefwr) (PC)]

I apologise for missing the start of the hon. Gentleman’s excellent speech; I was mid-way through my lunch, but I am delighted to be here strongly to support the Bill. Is not the crux of the matter that it would address a grave injustice? The Scots can celebrate St Andrew, the Irish in the north of Ireland can celebrate St Patrick, but the English cannot celebrate St George, and, of course, in Wales we cannot celebrate St David. I want to put it on the record that the entire Welsh nation strongly supports the Bill.

[Nadhim Zahawi]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. He was a champion in helping me to draft the Bill and putting his name to it right at the outset. I am sure that his constituents and the people of Wales in general will recognise his commitment to putting this Bill on the statute book.

I spoke about the special events that could be developed by the leisure and tourism industries. In Stratford we already celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday on the weekend nearest the 23rd April. I am sure that the turnout would be all the larger and that local businesses would do all the better if the date were set in stone—the same every year—rather than having to be moved around.

We must also put the proposal in context. With only eight a year, the UK ranks 16th in Europe when it comes to bank holidays; France and Sweden have 11 a year and Germany has 12. Even the notoriously hard-working Americans have 13, although I accept that they take shorter summer holidays than we do in Europe. Are critics really saying that these extra bank holidays are pulling down those countries’ economies? Figures today from Germany and France demonstrate the growth in their economies, yet they have more bank holidays.

Finally, this policy has true cross-party support and, more important, huge public support. On St George’s day this year, I teamed up with Facebook’s Democracy UK page to ask users whether they supported the Bill. I am told that the response rate was 800% higher than usual, and I am delighted to say that an incredible 89% of respondents supported the Bill. My hon. Friend the Member for Erewash (Jessica Lee) has been presented with a petition, to be presented to the House, with the signatures of 3,674 constituents asking for a St George’s day bank holiday. Other Members have received e-mails from constituents asking that they support the Bill. In the world of research, where I hail from, YouGov found that 68% of people thought it appropriate for the country to have an extra bank holiday, with St George’s day being the most popular option.

Today we have an opportunity to do something great for this nation. It is an opportunity to tell the public that we are listening to what they want, and it is an opportunity to deliver real social and economic benefits. I hope that colleagues will join me in supporting the Bill in order to turn those opportunities into reality. I commend the Bill to the House.

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

I rise to make a short contribution to the debate. I commend my hon. Friend the Member for Stratford-on-Avon (Nadhim Zahawi) for bringing the debate to the House. I am sure that the campaign he is spearheading is very popular, if not populist. However, I have some slight concerns about the international comparisons that have been made. The reality is that across most of continental Europe, bank holidays, which are normally associated with particular feast days or national events, are not transferred to the following Monday or previous Friday when they fall on the weekend. For example, if Christmas day falls on a Saturday, in Germany that is it and they do not get the following Monday off. That happens in most continental European countries, if not all. My hon. Friend alluded to America, and I appreciate that they tend to take shorter holidays in the summer, with 10 days' statutory entitlement being quite normal.

I applaud my hon. Friend’s patriotic stand in seeking to ensure that we have holidays that celebrate our country, but I would like him to consider the point made by the hon. Member for Dudley North (Ian Austin), which I agree with, that people do not require a holiday to be able to celebrate our wonderful country, as happens in our civic parade in Saxmundham and in similar events elsewhere in Suffolk Coastal.

In reference to the point my hon. Friend the Member for Castle Point (Rebecca Harris) has just made on how the Government are considering other bank holidays, I see that as a really important contribution to establishing why we need 1 May to be a bank holiday—I know that that may be controversial on the Opposition Benches. Why not choose a day of national celebration? It could be the Queen’s birthday or, as my hon. Friend the Member for Tamworth (Christopher Pincher) suggested, Trafalgar day.

[Nadhim Zahawi]

I applaud my hon. Friend for thinking through some of the issues surrounding the Bill, but does she agree that, whichever day we settle on, it should be one that the nation supports as the right day to celebrate?

[Dr Coffey]

That is a fair point, and there is no more popular day than a day celebrating one’s country, although, with reference to what was aid by my hon. Friend the Member for Christchurch (Mr Chope), who is no longer in his place, I am conscious that we have always to support the United Kingdom. We have had the royal wedding day, and with the diamond jubilee next year I think that such moments of unity may be more appropriate dates on which to build.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Hayes]

In response to that, I should say that a nation that forgets its past is likely to neglect its future. As a conservative—with every kind of “C”—I fully understand that we are part of a continuum, and unless we learn from what we have done, we are unlikely to do well now or as we move forward, so it is right that we mark the occasion that the hon. Gentleman describes. It is important that we celebrate that victory and also pay proper respect to those who were part of it. I do not know what the official plans are, but given the hon. Gentleman’s intervention, the least I can do is ask the Ministers responsible to drop him a line. I think it would be wrong if that passed without any comment or note. Such occasions are worth marking in an appropriate and measured way.

[Nadhim Zahawi]

I stand in awe of my hon. Friend’s powers of oratory and sound and clear thinking. On the cost and the point that he has just made about a similar event next year—an extra bank holiday to celebrate, quite rightly, the Queen’s diamond jubilee—could we not in the intervening time assess the cost of an additional bank holiday? We would therefore be able to make a sound decision about whether my Bill’s proposal for a permanent bank holiday could be supported in future.

[Mr Hayes]

My hon. Friend is certainly right. Although we cost such proposals in a clear and empirical way—and notwithstanding my comments about utility—it is right that we should consider the matter in the round. We should assess the effects, both good and bad, on business, because clearly many businesses will benefit from an additional holiday. The tourist business, many of our resorts and parts of our leisure industry would benefit. However, there would be other costs to business, and it is right to listen to what business organisations say. Indeed, I will describe what they have said as we progress through this short but important debate.

The history of bank holidays will help us to draw some conclusions. Bank holidays are a relatively new phenomenon, of course. Before 1834, the Bank observed about 33 saints’ days and religious festivals as holidays, but in 1834 the number was reduced to just four: 1 May, 1 November or All Saints day, Good Friday and Christmas day. Frankly, in my view, that was rather a meagre ration. In 1871, the first legislation relating to bank holidays was passed when the banker and politician, Sir John Lubbock, introduced the Bank Holidays Act 1871, which specified the days as holidays.

I understand that Sir John Lubbock was an enthusiastic supporter of national and local cricket, and was firmly of the belief that bank employees should have the opportunity to participate in and attend matches when they were scheduled. Dates of bank holidays are therefore dates when cricket games were traditionally played between villages in the area where Sir John was raised. It is that rather partisan approach to bank holidays, built around Sir John’s personal tastes, which forms the basis, or at least the origins, of the matters we are speaking of today. Nevertheless, people were so glad to be given time off, whether it was to watch cricket or not, they called the first bank holidays St Lubbock’s days for a while. That did not perpetuate, but I hope that politicians of note might consider that, at least in popular if not official terms, special days could be named after them; one never knows, but if my hon. Friend’s Bill were to be successful, his name might, at least colloquially, be attached to the day’s holiday that people enjoyed. However, that rather self-interested motive of course has nothing to do with his bringing the Bill to our attention.

As is often the case, Scotland was treated separately because of its separate traditions, and so, for example, new year’s day was a holiday there whereas Boxing day was not. The 1871 Act did not specify Good Friday and Christmas day as bank holidays in England, Wales and Ireland because they were already recognised as common law holidays, and common observance had meant that they had become customary holidays since before records began.

Exactly a century after the 1871 Act, the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971, which currently regulates bank holidays in the UK, was passed. The majority of the current bank holidays were specified in the 1971 Act, but holidays for new year’s day in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and for May day were introduced later. From 1965, the date of the August bank holiday was changed to the end of the month. Curiously, there were a few years—for example, 1968—when the holiday fell in September, but this no longer occurs, presumably reflecting a change in the way of defining the relevant date. The Whitsun bank holiday, Whit Monday, was replaced by the late spring bank holiday, which was fixed as the last Monday in May in 1971.

Under the 1971 Act, certain holidays are written into legislation. Those which are not are proclaimed each year by the legal device of a royal proclamation. A royal proclamation is also used to move bank holidays that would otherwise fall on a weekend, so adding an additional one-off holiday, as was the case this year. In that way, holidays are not lost in years when they coincide with weekends. These deferred bank holidays are termed bank holidays in lieu of the typical anniversary date and in the legislation are known as “substitute days”. Although we have fewer public or bank holidays than many other European Union member states, they do not always have substitute days and so, in some sense, the comparison is misleading. That point has been made by a variety of speakers today, including the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne Central.

To give those north of border a chance to have a longer celebration at new year, 2 January was made an additional bank holiday in Scotland by the 1971 Act—the rest of the country was given the chance to celebrate, less enthusiastically perhaps, by having new year’s day off instead. May day is the most recent of the eight bank holidays and is thought by some to be a controversial choice. It was introduced by the then Employment Secretary, Michael Foot, in 1978, just before he went on to lead the Labour party. At the time many opposed the move, saying that the May day holiday was essentially a communist idea because most countries behind the iron curtain enjoyed it, but it is now in the calendar and a fixture in bastions of communism such as the United States. I think we can assume that those charges did not bear as much weight as their advocates suggested.

The first bank holiday Act was a welcome innovation—

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[Nadhim Zahawi]

I thank my hon. Friend the Minister for his response and the positive news that a consultation on a St George’s day bank holiday will definitely be forthcoming. I shall obviously push hard to ensure that the option of an entirely new bank holiday, rather than just moving May day, is included as an option in that consultation and I hope that my hon. Friend will meet me and supportive colleagues to discuss the matter in the near future.

In the light of that fact and of my hon. Friend’s response, I think it would be quite right to withdraw the Bill in order to give the Department time for consultation and an opportunity properly to collect public opinion as well as to give the Government time to respond to that opinion. I am quite sure that the English, Welsh and indeed entire British public will continue to show their strong support and that, in the near future, we will be able to deliver a St George’s day bank holiday for our nation. I beg to ask leave to withdraw the motion.

Motion, by leave, withdrawn.

Oral Answers to Questions

Nadhim Zahawi Excerpts

Thursday 31st March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call Mr Zahawi, on the subject of the north-east from the vantage point of Stratford-on-Avon.

[Nadhim Zahawi (Stratford-on-Avon) (Con)]

Like the North Eastern local enterprise partnership, Coventry and Warwickshire local enterprise partnership would very much like to talk to the Minister about our proposal for an enterprise zone—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. That was a nice try but the hon. Gentleman’s question must specifically relate to the north-east, about which I thought the hon. Gentleman probably had extensive knowledge.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Davey]

The hon. Gentleman will know that the OFT is an independent body, and I am sure that he would not want the Government to breach the law by intervening in that way. However, I am sure that the OFT has heard his question.

[Nadhim Zahawi (Stratford-on-Avon) (Con)]

The excellent Coventry and Warwickshire local enterprise partnership is considering imaginative ways to make an offer for the next tranche of enterprise zones. Will the Minister meet it and me to discuss its imaginative ideas?

[Mr Prisk]

Mr Speaker, I think we have both now got our maps out and are sorting out the geography. However, the important thing is that the LEPs will be able to talk to the Government. The policy is led by the Department for Communities and Local Government, but we are working with it, and I am sure that the Government would be happy to hear from my hon. Friend.

Post-16 Education Funding

Nadhim Zahawi Excerpts

Monday 28th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady, who worked very hard before she came into this House to shine a light on the difficult circumstances faced by children growing up in poverty. That is why we are spending £2.5 billion more over the lifetime of this Parliament on the education of the very poorest five to 16-year-olds. Of course the amount of money available for this support fund will mean that some students who currently receive cash will no longer do so, but it will also mean that more money is being spent on the education of the very poorest 16, 17 and 18-year-olds, as well as there being more money for their support. I believe that the progressive approach we are taking to education funding will mean that those she has spent her political career fighting for will benefit more from this Government than from the previous one.

[Nadhim Zahawi (Stratford-on-Avon) (Con)]

Vocational learning will be crucial for us in rebalancing the economy. Can my right hon. Friend confirm that the all-age careers service will radically change the quality of advice on vocational learning?

[Michael Gove]

I can confirm that because, thanks to the brilliant work carried out by the Business Secretary and the Minister for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning, we have an exciting new approach to providing support and advice for those in careers. In addition, thanks to the changes that we have made to accountability measures, through such things as the English baccalaureate and the Wolf review, we will ensure that students who in the past were not able to progress on to college and on to worthwhile jobs at last have the chance to succeed.