(9 years, 6 months ago)
Commons ChamberI gather that senior politicians, including me, have been queuing to go down into Crossrail to admire its progress. One of Crossrail’s key achievements is to substantially advance apprenticeships and, above all, UK content; there is a wide distribution throughout the UK. If we can replicate the experience of Crossrail with other big infrastructure projects, that would be an admirable step forward.
Student Loans
6. What assessment he has made of the sustainability of the student loan system.
(9 years, 7 months ago)
Commons ChamberI suspect that relatively few people are on the minimum wage in the banking and finance sectors, but we support the living wage for those companies that can afford it and are not putting people out of work. My responsibilities are more in respect of strengthening the minimum wage and making enforcement tougher. We are doing that and we are signalling to the Low Pay Commission that we respect its independence but are looking forward to real-terms increases in the minimum wage in the future.
In a debate in Westminster Hall on the widespread abuse of employment practice for care workers, the Secretary of State’s colleague, the Minister of State, Department of Health, the right hon. Member for North Norfolk (Norman Lamb), said that he was pressing the Department for stronger enforcement against illegal practices. What is the Secretary of State’s Department doing about it?
I worked actively and closely with my colleague in the Department of Health on this issue. There are two issues involved: minimum wage enforcement and ensuring that we have tougher legislation to deal with some of the practices that operate in that sector, such as zero-hours contracts. At the moment, we are looking more widely at employment rights for groups of people who are classified as workers but who do not currently enjoy those rights. The care sector is one such group.
Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
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That is a new one and I will reflect on it. It is probably an issue for my colleagues in the Department for Work and Pensions and for the Pension Protection Fund, but I thank my hon. and learned Friend for raising the issue and I will certainly follow it up.
AstraZeneca has pointed out today that its profits could double over the next decade as a result of new drugs resulting from its investment in research and development. In contrast, Pfizer has a strategy of cutting dramatically its investment in research and development. What impact does the Secretary of State think that the takeover could have on UK research capacity?
The hon. Gentleman is making an exaggerated contrast between the two companies, but he is right to say that AstraZeneca has an ambitious and attractive long-term investment plan. We have encouraged that as part of the industrial strategy, and we want to see it fulfilled.
(10 years, 4 months ago)
Commons ChamberThe process that the hon. Gentleman described is the right one: if it is good business practice, good businesses will follow it and out-compete their competitors, and I hope that that is what will happen.
2. What recent estimate he has made of the resource accounting and budgeting charge on student loans.
(10 years, 7 months ago)
Commons ChamberI should be delighted to go to Wellingborough. Indeed, I should like to make the visit a political one as well, and, on behalf of my Department, to express my appreciation of someone who has given so much support to the coalition. [Laughter.]
Last year, Sheffield Hallam university received £6.9 million as part of its share of the student opportunity fund. That not only helped it to recruit 30% of its undergraduate intake from low-income households—a commendable achievement—but to engage in critical retention work with the most disadvantaged learners. Yesterday, in the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee, the Secretary of State agreed with me that the fund’s work would be damaged if its resources were cut. Can the Minister reassure the House that that will not happen?
(10 years, 7 months ago)
Commons ChamberThe hon. Lady is stating in her own way what I have already said several times and what I think is the consensus. There is an imbalance in the relationship, which is not equal. The market does not deliver a fair outcome, which is why we are considering how we can change it.
We did not want to reopen the fundamental issue about the pub tie, but to decide how to address the unfairness of it, and the consultation revealed the depth of feeling on the subject, which all the interventions that we have had so far have reinforced. The responses came not just from the pubcos and the tenants, but from supply chain companies, consumer groups and trade bodies, all of which fed into the consultation, and they were so many and diverse that we published them just before Christmas so that hon. Members were aware of what was being said before we came to a conclusion on how to respond.
As I have said already, we want to respond as quickly as possible. We fully understand the problems, not just because distressing cases are continuing but because people in the industry want clarity, and it is perfectly reasonable for people to want regulatory certainty. We do not want to rush into a decision. We want to get this right, but we realise that there is some urgency because people need to make investment decisions. We are trying to get this absolutely right and we want the intervention that we make to be proportionate and properly targeted.
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for taking a further intervention and for all the others that he has taken. He makes the case for urgency, which is reflected across the House. Does he not accept that his failure to answer the question from the shadow Minister and the Chair of the Select Committee, together with the wording of the Government’s amendment, will be seen widely throughout the country as an attempt simply to kick this issue into the long grass? Will he reassure the House that that is not the case by giving a commitment that legislation will come forward in this Parliament?
There is no attempt to kick this into the long grass. We are trying to do this properly. I can assure him that it will be dealt with in a timely way. We are not cutting corners. As I said at the beginning, we have a large number of responses and different strands of evidence that we are trying to reconcile and respond to properly. We must do this right.
The whole issue of the beer tie, the relationship with the pubcos, is crucial, and we must take action in the way that we have discussed, but it is not the only set of measures for the pub industry. We are sometimes in danger of losing sight of the bigger picture. Thanks to interventions from Government Members there was reference to the budgetary measures that have been taken, and I would add to that the action taken on business rates, including the capping of the business rate increase, the continuation of business rate relief, the £1,000 discount for retail outlets, which include pubs, and some of the action taken by my colleagues in the Department for Communities and Local Government, for example the pub is the hub scheme and the community right to bid to keep pubs open. A lot needs to happen and a lot is happening on a broad front, and I reassure the House of my commitment, which remains as strong as ever, to addressing the unfairness in the relationship between pub companies and their tenants.
(10 years, 10 months ago)
Commons ChamberAs I have said, there is an extensive programme of business rate relief, which extends to half a million companies. That is a very good programme, but there is an issue with how we will continue to pay for it, given the many other claims on Government spending.
May I press the Secretary of State further on business rates? Does he not recognise that in his constituency, as in mine, businesses are raising the issue of the rising cost of business rates? Businesses in my constituency welcome the proposal to save them £450 by cutting and freezing business rates. Would that not be welcomed in his constituency?
I am aware of this problem in the town centres of my constituency, and I am sure that it is a problem across the country. I repeat that there is an extensive programme of business rate relief. The Government have given local councils the freedom to offer discounts on business rates and we provide a 50:50 matching contribution.
(11 years, 1 month ago)
Commons ChamberI note what my hon. Friend has said. Of course, it is worth recalling that banking services are being disseminated through the post office network, and one of the consequences of our being able to save that network from large-scale closures is that banking services are available now even in the most remote rural areas.
Will the Secretary of State say what discussions he has had with the Home Office about the introduction of cash bonds for student visas, which has had a lot of negative press coverage overseas? Does he agree that the introduction of such bonds, either for student visitor visas or for tier 4 visas, would further damage international student recruitment?
I am in constant contact with the Home Office about such matters. It is worth pointing out that the concept involves offering the possibility of a bond to people who have otherwise been rejected in the course of a visa application, so if it operates according to that spirit, it should ease, rather than make more difficult, access to visas.
(11 years, 11 months ago)
Commons ChamberUrgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
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The hon. Gentleman is right that there is a real problem. That is why, in the last Budget, we agreed to proceed with a scheme that will effectively compensate energy-intensive producers, in the metals industry and elsewhere, for the relatively high cost of electricity that they face. We have been through a process of consultation, which has recently finished, on how that complex set of problems should be dealt with. We fully recognise the problem.
The Secretary of State has placed great emphasis on the regional growth fund. Is he not embarrassed and concerned that, 20 months after the first-round bidding has closed, companies are still waiting for the money, and facing the prospect of a further 12 months’ wait? What is he going to do about that?
I am not the least bit embarrassed about the regional growth fund, which is a major success story. Wherever I go around the country, I get strong appreciation for the contributions it has made.
The hon. Gentleman knows very well that, once a decision in principle has been reached, there has to be due diligence, which is not necessarily quick. Very often the companies change their own plans, which then have to be negotiated; some fall by the wayside. There is a very large number of projects that not only have disbursed finance but are up and running and creating large numbers of jobs across the country.
(11 years, 12 months ago)
Commons ChamberAs my hon. Friend says, there has been a considerable increase in inward investment, much of it as a result of the hard work done by UKTI and indeed by Ministers. There was a particular success at the British embassy alongside the excellent Olympic games, which is attracting more inward investment to this country. In terms of regional distribution, we are drawing up agreements between the local enterprise partnerships and UKTI on how to ensure that parts of the country that currently do not receive very much inward investment get a proper opportunity to lobby for it.
I am pleased that the Minister of State has had the opportunity to spell out the importance of international students to the UK economy, and his Department has estimated that the contribution could double. I am sure that he will share my frustration at the way those prospects are being undermined by the Home Office. What is he going to do about it?
(12 years, 5 months ago)
Commons ChamberT1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
My Department has a key role in supporting the rebalancing of the economy and business to deliver growth while increasing skills and learning.
As the Government have stumbled from the tuition fees debacle, through the uncertainty caused by core and margin and AAB, the reputational damage of international student visa policy, and the failure to develop policy on postgraduate education, will the Secretary of State admit—he has rightly identified this in other areas of Government policy—that the Government lack a compelling vision for UK higher education, and that that is behind today’s fall in our international reputational rankings?
(12 years, 6 months ago)
Commons ChamberUrgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
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I consider that to be a very fair and generous assessment of Professor Ebdon by, I believe, the local Member of Parliament.
I congratulate the Secretary of State on his statement, on behalf of, I believe, the majority of members of the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee. Will he, however, answer the question put by my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff West (Kevin Brennan)? Can he give a categorical assurance that no pressure was brought to bear on Conservative members of the Committee in the ambush of Professor Ebdon at the pre-confirmation hearing?
I have already answered that question. I have explained very clearly that the decision was made jointly by me and my coalition colleague, the Universities Minister. No pressure was brought to bear on us; we made a decision on the merits of the case.
(12 years, 7 months ago)
Commons ChamberUrgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
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I do agree with that. Of course, it is essential, in a successful economy, and particularly a successful private enterprise sector, that enterprise, entrepreneurship and good management should be properly rewarded. The issue is not envy but performance.
The Secretary of State acknowledged that he gave a fairly lame answer to the question asked by my hon. Friend the Member for Streatham (Mr Umunna) about worker representation on boards. Will he now try to give a proper answer on why the Government could not end the cosy closed shop on remuneration committees by legislating for worker representation?
Ending the cosy closed shop on remuneration committees involves wider diversity in general. Workers are part of that, but so are consumers and people who have no other connection with the company. Diversity is a much wider concept. At the moment we are promoting the idea of women on boards. I gave a considered answer to the question about workers on boards. We must remember that other issues are involved. For example, different companies have different types of labour force spread across the world. There is also the question of how to ensure that a worker representative accepts the full legal responsibilities of a director. If the hon. Gentleman looked at what those legal responsibilities are, he would find that it is not practical to employ that approach.
(13 years, 6 months ago)
Commons ChamberThe Government are not in favour of imposed quotas, but the detailed proposals will shortly come forward. As the hon. Lady knows, a report is close to fruition and will be announced in a few days. It will advance the issue of greater women representation on boards, which has been shamefully low for many years.
Two days ago, with colleagues, I met the business leaders who are board members of Sheffield city regional local enterprise partnership. They are enthusiastic about their task but bemused by the lack of clarity about the powers, responsibilities and resources they will have to undertake it. Will the Minister tell the House when that will be clarified?
(13 years, 10 months ago)
Commons ChamberIn the Secretary of State’s replies to several questions from my hon. Friends, he has acknowledged that if the cap on fees is lifted, we risk creating a situation in which families will have to sit down with their children and make a decision about the university of their choice on the basis not of their qualifications or ability to learn, but of their ability to incur huge levels of debt. If he acknowledges that, will he reject that free market now—or is that another Liberal Democrat principle that has been thrown out of the window?
Nobody is suggesting—I have never suggested this—a free market in this area. The same points were made several years ago when we debated the fee-based system introduced by the previous Government, who accepted that on the balance of argument—the case was made initially by the right hon. Member for Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough (Mr Blunkett), who was ahead of his time on this issue, and later by the new shadow Chancellor—the system had to move in that direction. It is a highly constrained market and not a free market environment at all.
(14 years, 3 months ago)
Commons Chamber10. Whether he has discussed with Sheffield Forgemasters the continued availability of a loan facility from his Department; and if he will make a statement.
At this time, I have not discussed with Sheffield Forgemasters the continuing availability of the loan facility but, as the then Chief Secretary’s statement on 17 May made clear, all projects that were approved after 1 January 2010, including this one, are undergoing a process of review. An announcement will be made in due course as part of the review.
I thank the Secretary of State for his answer, but will he acknowledge that the loan was crucial in levering in significant private sector investment to enable the acquisition of the largest forging press outside Japan and Korea? Over three years, the loan was subject to rigorous review by the shareholder executive and a value-for-money exercise, and this further review is causing unnecessary uncertainty. Will he therefore urgently get rid of that uncertainty, give Forgemasters the confidence to move forward and confirm the loan?
I understand the importance of that project to the hon. Gentleman’s constituency and to Sheffield, but he needs to understand that we inherited a very large number of projects that were agreed in a hurry in the run-up to the general election. I do not want to speculate about the motives, but we inherited a lot of projects that were of variable quality. We now have to judge those projects, including this one, according to the criteria of value for money and affordability.