Oral Answers to Questions

Norman Lamb Excerpts

Thursday 15th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Adrian Bailey (West Bromwich West) (Lab/Co-op)]

13. When he proposes to bring in the Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Norman Lamb)]

I hope to introduce the Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill into Parliament as soon as parliamentary time allows. The Leader of the House confirmed on 15 December last year that it was a strong candidate for the second Session of this Parliament.

[Mr Bailey]

Given that the Select Committee on Business, Innovation and Skills was asked to carry out pre-legislative scrutiny on the draft Bill before the summer recess last year, and that over the past six months we have had the lightest legislative programme that I can remember, what reassurance can the Minister give to suppliers that the Government are still committed to introducing the Bill, in line with their manifesto commitments?

[Norman Lamb]

I can give absolute reassurance to the hon. Gentleman that the Government remain completely committed to implementing the Bill, and that we will do so as soon as parliamentary time allows.

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

The Select Committee on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has taken some compelling evidence from growers who have virtually no protection from month to month in their agreements with supermarkets. Will the Minister assure the House that the adjudicator will have powers of investigation and the power to levy fines on those who do not obey the code?

[Norman Lamb]

The adjudicator will have powers of investigation. On the question of fines, there will be a reserve power in the Bill. However, the Government take the view that the other powers, particularly the power to name and shame supermarkets, should be sufficient to have a significant effect on behaviour. If they do not have that effect, there will be the reserve power to introduce fines.

[Mark Durkan (Foyle) (SDLP)]

Will the Minister ensure that when the Bill emerges, it has the necessary legislative consent motion from the Northern Ireland Assembly, so that it can apply across the jurisdiction?

[Norman Lamb]

I will certainly look into ensuring that it does.

--- Later in debate ---

[Michael Connarty (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (Lab)]

15. What his policy is on the retention of post offices in villages.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Norman Lamb)]

Government funding of £1.34 billion is in place to modernise and maintain a national post office network of at least 11,500 branches, with particular regard to retaining village post offices in recognition of their important social and economic role in the communities that they serve.

[Michael Connarty]

The Minister will recall that we went over this in some detail on Tuesday, relating to the closure of the sub-post office in Torphichen village. Can he assure me that he will contact Paula Vennells, the chief executive, and her counterpart in Scotland, Sally Buchanan, and make it quite plain that when they intend to close a post office or change the service to a Post Office Local, they must have the courage to meet the public and discuss with them what they intend to do within a month of any change becoming apparent? It appears that at the moment they are hiding from my constituents.

[Norman Lamb]

First, may I say that I appreciated the kind words of welcome from the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Edinburgh South (Ian Murray)? I guess that wishing me a modicum of success is about as good as it will get, so I thank him for that.

I appreciated the chance to debate the issue of post office closures, and particularly the temporary closure, because of the sudden resignation of the sub-postmaster, in the village of Torphichen in the constituency of the hon. Member for Linlithgow and East Falkirk (Michael Connarty). I absolutely confirm that Post Office Ltd will always abide by the code of practice to ensure that action is taken quickly to restore post office services wherever possible. In his village community, everything is being done to restore those services.

[Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire) (LD)]

I welcome my hon. Friend to his new position.

Under the last Government, post offices closed in my constituency in Courthill, Auchinairn, Westerton, Killermont and elsewhere, so I very much welcome the Government’s £1.3 billion of investment in the post office network. Will the Minister outline what the next steps will be in modernising the network so that we can all be certain that it will have a secure and sustainable future in all our constituencies?

[Norman Lamb]

I thank my hon. Friend. I am proud of the fact that the Government are investing £1.34 billion in ensuring that we retain the post office network, in marked contrast to the Labour party, which spent public money on closing down great chunks of the network. There is a lot of work to be done, and we particularly need to ensure that the post office becomes the front office of both local and national Government services. Post Office Ltd has already had significant success in that regard.

[Alun Michael (Cardiff South and Penarth) (Lab/Co-op)]

16. What steps he is taking to promote observance of section 172 of the Companies Act 2006.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Norman Lamb)]

Directors’ duties were codified in the Companies Act 2006, providing legal clarity for directors and raising awareness of their duty to have regard to long-term factors in promoting the success of the company. A variety of guidance is available to directors to help them observe their legal duties.

[Alun Michael]

I thank the Minister for that reply. He spells out the need for directors to make judgments that look after the long-term interests of the company in accordance with section 172. Will he take this opportunity to confirm that specific regulatory requirements, which are very often referred to as tick-box requirements, in no way trump, or have to be regarded as superior to, the responsibility of directors to make the sort of judgments referred to section 172, to which he referred in his reply?

[Norman Lamb]

I can confirm that the duty in section 172 is absolutely clear. The evidence of surveys shows that the duty is well understood, and it is important that directors abide by it.

[Mr William Bain (Glasgow North East) (Lab)]

20. What steps he plans to take to improve access to finance for small businesses.

--- Later in debate ---

[Gordon Henderson (Sittingbourne and Sheppey) (Con)]

Does the Minister agree that when a company goes into administration, wages owed to its staff should be the top priority? Will he take steps to ensure that redundant Thamesteel workers in my constituency take priority over all other creditors?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Norman Lamb)]

I certainly agree that the interests of workers should absolutely take priority, and I would be happy to look into the case that my hon. Friend has raised.

[Fiona Mactaggart (Slough) (Lab)]

I was very disappointed that despite an invitation, no Minister from the Department was on the Treasury Bench when I moved a motion to introduce the Eradication of Slavery (UK Company Supply Chains) Bill. Will one of the Ministers in the Department meet me to discuss the Bill’s ambition to eradicate slavery from the supply chains of large UK companies, following legislation in other countries?

[Norman Lamb]

I would be happy to meet the hon. Lady.

[Margot James (Stourbridge) (Con)]

I welcome this week’s report by Cranfield School of Management, which shows an increase in the number of women on company boards. Does my hon. Friend agree that this shows both how success can be achieved without imposing quotas and how much further there is to go before British industry can access the much-increased pool of talent that including women will reveal?

[Norman Lamb]

The initiative taken by the noble Lord Davies has been remarkably successful. Some 26% of appointments to directorships of FTSE 100 companies over the last year have been women. That is a dramatic improvement on the previous position, and we have every confidence that it will have a continuing improving effect in the boardrooms in this country.

[Mr David Lammy (Tottenham) (Lab)]

Given that the Higher Education Funding Council for England is predicting more mergers and turmoil in the higher education sector, and that Asian universities are overtaking UK universities for the first time in our history, will the Minister come to the Dispatch Box and reassure the sector that it has a future?