World Book Day

Debate between Robin Walker and Gavin Williamson

Wednesday 6th March 2024 Westminster Hall

[Sir Gavin Williamson]

That is absolutely fantastic news. It is a testament to the work that has been done and to the focus we have had in this country on reading over the last 14 years, and we have to continue to build on that. My hon. Friend mentioned Tolkien; it is not necessarily widely known, but the Shire in “The Lord of the Rings” was based on the Kinver Edge rock houses in my constituency, and I strongly encourage people to come and visit them—[Interruption.] I notice that my hon. Friend the Member for Worcester (Mr Walker) is going to intervene and disagree with me on that.

[Mr Robin Walker (Worcester) (Con)]

I am delighted to intervene on that point. I congratulate my right hon. Friend for the points he is making, but Worcestershire would certainly dispute the suggestion that the Shire was based on Staffordshire. Tolkien enjoyed looking down from the Malvern hills and comparing the black Black Country, which may have been the inspiration for Mordor, with the green shire below him.

[Sir Gavin Williamson]

I fear that the point is not going to be resolved in this debate, but it is fair to say that I am right and my hon. Friend is wrong. I will, however, move swiftly on.

The Department for Education plays an incredibly important role in the promotion of World Book Day, working with the Publishers Association and schools and creating the underpinning to ensure that we get our children reading. We have seen children make amazing progress up the PISA scales in terms of reading outcomes and understanding literature as part of our curriculum. That is also true of phonics, which I know is close to the heart of my right hon. Friend the Minister, who has championed it over the years, along with many of us. We know that phonics delivers results, and we are seeing that in the international tables. Sadly, we are not necessarily seeing the same results in every component part of the United Kingdom, and I urge those parts that have not embraced phonics as a central part of developing, promoting and teaching reading to look at it as a matter of urgency.

I particularly welcome the DFE’s £60 million English hubs programme—an intervention focusing on designing and developing the expertise to teach reading. Getting that right is critical, and a number of us in the Chamber have probably seen that work. Getting the very best teaching, as well as encouraging, developing and, most importantly, sharing it right across our schools, is critical for all our children.

Libraries have already been touched on, and it is so important that children from right across the country always have access to a good library and the opportunity to pick up a good book and to be transported to a different world and a different country—or even Worcestershire. With the support of that book, they can go anywhere their imagination takes them. The £20 million libraries improvement fund is certainly welcome, but I suggest that we need to do more in that area. There are some concerns; we saw library book stocks decrease by 11% across England, Wales and Scotland between 2021 and 2022. We need the best possible range of stock in our libraries so that when youngsters have that book that they picked up on World Book Day, they have the opportunity to feed and develop their enthusiasm.

It is important that we thank all the people who have been instrumental in creating the structure for World Book Day. We must also thank all the teachers, teaching assistants, support staff and parents, and the children themselves, who make World Book Day the living, wonderful, beautiful thing it is.

Manufacturing (West Midlands)

Debate between Robin Walker and Gavin Williamson

Tuesday 15th January 2013 Westminster Hall

[Gavin Williamson]

I am pleased that a former solicitor recognises my importance as a former manufacturing man. My hon. Friend is absolutely right; we have tended to see manufacturing as a dirty industry, and we have often steered our children and young people away from it. We want to encourage many more people to take up the cudgels and go into manufacturing. Although manufacturing has shrunk as a percentage of gross value added, it still plays a vastly important role in the prosperity of the nation. Manufactured goods make up 48% of our exports.

[Mr Robin Walker (Worcester) (Con)]

Yamazaki Mazak, a machine tools manufacturer that is one of the largest employers in my constituency, sells 80% to 85% of its production overseas in exports. It is hosting an event with UK Trade and Investment in March to show other manufacturers the benefits of export and make sure that they can access markets around the world. Does my hon. Friend agree that that is the sort of partnership between the private sector and the Government that we really need to get manufacturing in the west midlands going and to support UK exports?

[Gavin Williamson]

There has to be a clear recognition that industry and Government do not work in separate silos—they have to work hand in hand—and one of the areas that we have not put enough emphasis on is small and medium-sized enterprises. Of course, it is easy to talk a lot about some of the big names in manufacturing in the west midlands—I am sure that we will do so in this debate—but historically, SMEs have often significantly underperformed by comparison with their competitors in Germany and France in realising their export potential. If we were to encourage those SMEs, to see more of them attacking export markets with as much gusto as their competitors in Germany, France, Italy and Spain, that would make a vast difference not only in redressing our balance of trade but in ensuring that we create more jobs in the west midlands, including in South Staffordshire.

Beer Duty Escalator

Debate between Robin Walker and Gavin Williamson

Monday 2nd July 2012 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

The hon. Gentleman has made an important point about how difficult it is for many pub and brewing companies to invest more money in generating new jobs and products in a sector in which we are world leaders. We in the United Kingdom are clearly paying far more duty than the European average. Although we consume only 13% of the beer consumed in the European Union, we pay 40% of the tax bill. I do not often talk about the need for European harmonisation, but I should like us to harmonise with the Germans, who only pay a tenth as much beer duty on their pints. Perhaps we should explore that idea further.

[Mr Robin Walker (Worcester) (Con)]

My hon. Friend mentioned new products a moment ago. The Firefly, a pub in Worcester, recently embarked on the first new brewing venture in the city for 16 years. I am sure that the pub, and Worcestershire, would support my hon. Friend’s campaign.

[Gavin Williamson]

My hon. Friend has made a valid point. Not only is everyone in South Staffordshire rooting for the ending of the beer duty escalator, but so are those in the great county town of Worcester. Obviously their pubs are not as fantastic as those in South Staffordshire, but we all have our crosses to bear in life.

We recognise that the Government face a great challenge. It is not easy to do what they are doing, and Treasury Ministers carry a burden on their shoulders that I am sure none of us on the Back Benches would wish to carry.