Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nicholas Dakin and Michael Fallon

Monday 18th April 2016 Commons Chamber

[Michael Fallon]

Yes. Last week, I discussed with the Lebanese Defence Minister, Samir Mokbel, the threats that Lebanon faces and the importance of its security. We recently committed to spend a further £23 million on equipment, mentoring and training to help the Lebanese armed forces secure their entire border with Syria. We plan to spend an additional £4.5 million on urban and rural operations training so that by 2019, some 10,000 Lebanese soldiers will have received British training.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

T6. Will the Minister say a little more about what progress is being made to ensure that a very high percentage of UK steel is used in defence procurement? In particular, will he say what steps he has taken to ensure that there is the capacity and capability for UK steel to be used to build any Successor Trident submarines, should the House determine that that is what it wishes to happen?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nicholas Dakin and Michael Fallon

Monday 20th October 2014 Commons Chamber

[Michael Fallon]

Yes. The agreement that I signed last week with the Chief Minister, whom we welcome to London today, is for the resurfacing of the runway, a transfer of surplus land for the benefit of the Gibraltar economy and the fuller incorporation of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment, all of which demonstrates our long-term commitment to Gibraltar and should leave nobody in any doubt as to the strength of British sovereignty there.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

Given their localism rhetoric, why have the Government ignored their published guidance on the disposing of assets at market value to public authorities that express an interest in acquiring them in the case of Kirton in Lindsey air base?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nicholas Dakin and Michael Fallon

Thursday 26th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[Michael Fallon]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for bringing representatives of the aluminium industry to see me in the Department. It is important that we in Britain do not lose out on such investment. We have already paid out some £30 million of compensation to 53 of the most electricity-intensive companies and we will continue to press for further reform in Europe.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

It is good that some support is coming from 2016, but energy-intensive industries need support now in the challenging times they face. It is good that the Government have finally got their package of compensation for their unilateral carbon floor tax through Europe, but the Minister has previously given commitments to get that backdated to 2013, as promised to business. What progress has he made in getting that compensation backdated?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nicholas Dakin and Michael Fallon

Thursday 3rd April 2014 Commons Chamber

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

8. What steps he has taken to support energy-intensive industries.

[The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Michael Fallon)]

We recognise the competitiveness concerns of electricity-intensive industries, which is why the recent Budget included new compensation for the costs of the renewables obligation and feed-in tariffs, and capped the carbon price support mechanism. We are also providing compensation for the costs of the European Union emissions trading scheme, and to date we have paid out £31 million to 53 companies.

[Michael Fallon]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her question. By 2018-19, British business will have saved some £4 billion from the measures we have put in place. We have cut green taxes for households and now we are cutting green taxes for business. That should be a further incentive for the chemical industry not only to grow in this country, but to bring further investment back to the UK.

[Nic Dakin]

Will the Minister take this opportunity to guarantee to energy-intensive industries that the compensation for the carbon floor tax that this Government introduced will be backdated to the date from which the Government have promised compensation, which is April 2013?

[Michael Fallon]

Carbon price floor compensation is something that we are still pursuing with the Commission in Brussels. I am hopeful that that will be agreed soon. The state aid clearance procedures are lengthy in these cases. Obviously, we are continuing to press the case for backdating.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nicholas Dakin and Michael Fallon

Thursday 28th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

The Secretary of State admitted, in answer to my right hon. Friend the Member for Don Valley (Caroline Flint), that due to Government incompetence no money has been paid to energy-intensive industries in mitigation for the carbon floor tax. However, he did say that money is being spent on the European Union emissions trading scheme. In answer to a parliamentary question, the Minister of State, the right hon. Member for Sevenoaks (Michael Fallon) told me:

“£16 million has been paid to 17 companies.”—[Official Report, 5 November 2013; Vol. 570, c. 142W.]

When I asked him to name those companies, he wrote:

“We are still assessing applications.”—[Official Report, 18 November 2013; Vol. 570, c. 663W.]

How can money have been paid out when applications are still being assessed?

[Michael Fallon]

More than 60 applications have been received and we have paid out on more than 20 of them. We have done that in the past few weeks. We are processing the others as quickly as possible. The scheme that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State referred to was the carbon price floor compensation scheme, for which we are still awaiting approval under state aid rules from Brussels.

Royal Mail

Debate between Nicholas Dakin and Michael Fallon

Thursday 12th September 2013 Commons Chamber

[Michael Fallon]

One point of agreement between the union and me has been the need to ensure longevity so that the shares are held, not sold off the next day, by the work force. They will have to hold the shares for a minimum of three years before they are able to sell. During that time, they will receive dividends and be able to vote on the future policy of the company, and day by day they will see the actual share price.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

The Minister struggled to answer the question by my hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull North (Diana Johnson), so I will give him another go. Can he guarantee that the Royal Mail, with the Queen’s head on its stamps, will continue to remain UK-owned and UK-headquartered?

[Michael Fallon]

It will of course be UK-headquartered. It will have multiple owners after privatisation. Those who are located in the UK are able to apply for shares on the issue. We are not restricting the issue to UK citizens or UK nationals. Anybody located here can invest in the business through the retail offer. Having a multiple ownership is the best possible protection for the company. I repeat that we deliberately decided not to sell the company to a single owner or single private equity company.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nicholas Dakin and Michael Fallon

Thursday 20th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Michael Fallon]

I expect the increase in capital allowances to have a positive effect. Under this Government, manufacturing share of gross domestic product is rising, but under the previous one nearly 1.7 million manufacturing jobs were lost, and our manufacturing share of GDP declined. The measures we announced in the autumn statement, together with the measures we have taken to rebalance our economy and put our public finances in order, leave British business very well placed to continue the recovery.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

rose—