Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Sajid Javid and Anna Turley

Monday 24th April 2017 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

As part of the review and the response to the consultation, we are considering exactly the point the hon. Lady raises: the terms of access to short-term accommodation.

[Anna Turley (Redcar) (Lab/Co-op)]

6. What estimate he has made of the number of social housing households in rent arrears in England.

Local Government Finance Settlement

Debate between Sajid Javid and Anna Turley

Thursday 15th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

I agree absolutely with my hon. Friend. He kindly reminded the House of Labour’s track record and of how taxes increased. He rightly said that council tax doubled in the 13 years of the last Labour Government. During those years, they had a manifesto commitment to deal with adult social care, a royal commission in 1999, two Green Papers in 2005 and 2009, a comprehensive spending review and the Wanless review. All that, they said, would solve the adult social care challenges, and all they did was make it much worse.

[Anna Turley (Redcar) (Lab/Co-op)]

First, I want to say that the 1% rise in the precept in Redcar and Cleveland will raise just £500,000, which is meaningless given the scale of the rising demand in need. I want to ask the Secretary of State two questions because the answers were not clear from his rather rushed statement. The first is about the new homes bonus, and the key words are “the savings from the reforms”, not the new homes bonus. If it is just the savings from the reforms, that is not an awful lot of money, so I hope that he can clarify that.

Secondly, is the Secretary of State saying that local authorities will keep what they make in the new homes bonus, or will it be distributed nationwide from one pot on a needs basis? If it is the latter, yet again he reinforces the inequality that already exists in this country, because the new homes bonus is based on council tax rates.

[Sajid Javid]

I can tell the hon. Lady that for her local council, Redcar and Cleveland, the precept next year could raise £2.2 million, and the following year it could raise £3.4 million. The numbers are considerably higher than she may think at the moment.

On the new homes bonus, let me be clear: it is being reformed, but it is staying in place. The bonus that is currently equivalent to six years’ band D council tax will fall gradually from five years to four years, but the essential principles remain the same. The savings that are generated from that change from six years to four years are national savings—that is the £240 million pot—and will be distributed nationally across authorities that provide social care services. That will be based on a needs formula.

Steel Industry

Debate between Sajid Javid and Anna Turley

Thursday 26th May 2016 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

I can assure my hon. Friend that no deal has been done. This consultation is about exploring options that have been brought to us by the trustees, and its right that we look at that. As a further assurance, I can tell him that the regulator would have to be involved, as well as a number of other safeguards, if we went ahead.

[Anna Turley (Redcar) (Lab/Co-op)]

I appreciate that the timescale in this consultation has to be short, but will the Government commit to publishing a full impact assessment on what this means for people? My constituents have suffered so much in the past six months, and if they get another kicking like this, it will be absolutely disgraceful. The Government have acted shamefully on the British steel industry—please, please look at what the impact of this will be.

[Sajid Javid]

I have listened carefully to the hon. Lady. Rightly, many people, including her constituents, will want to know what impact this could have. I think they would equally want to compare it with the alternative as well, and judge for themselves whether they would better off with the proposal from the trustees. There is a lot more information in the consultation document, but I am sure that over the next few weeks more will be available.

UK Steel Industry

Debate between Sajid Javid and Anna Turley

Tuesday 12th April 2016 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

I thought I heard the hon. Gentleman say “up to £90 million”. What we have always said is “up to £80 million”, and that has not changed. I agree that there is a long way to go, but so far, in respect of Redcar, nearly 700 jobs have been created, safeguarded or supported, and only a quarter of the more than 2,000 workers at SSI were claiming jobseeker’s allowance at the end of February.

[Anna Turley (Redcar) (Lab/Co-op)]

I do not want to take up too much time, because I shall be speaking later, but the figure of 600 jobs relates to those who are in work or full-time training, not just those who are in work. That is important, because it is work that will be vital at the end of the training.

[Sajid Javid]

The hon. Lady has made a very important point: at the end of the day, it is about work. Training can lead to work, as can retraining, so it is important to invest in it. I know that, to the people of Redcar, this seems like a drop in the ocean. When a community is built around a single industry, the death of that industry takes away more than just the jobs. I do not want to see any other steelmaking community suffer the same fate, and that is why the Government have been taking real action to support the industry.

UK Steel Industry

Debate between Sajid Javid and Anna Turley

Monday 11th April 2016 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

We were the first EU country to change our procurement rules to take advantage of new flexibility to take into account economic and social factors. We have now extended that to the entire public sector—not just central Government. We are working on the visibility of the pipeline. We have £300 billion of infrastructure planned over the next five years—a huge amount of British business for British steel—and we are working with the industry and groups including UK Steel to ensure maximum visibility.

[Anna Turley (Redcar) (Lab/Co-op)]

Last year, the Secretary of State and even the Prime Minister said they were doing everything they could to keep steelmaking on Teeside. Despite knowing for months that SSI was in trouble, nothing was done. Three thousand jobs were lost, 175 years of steelmaking were gone and a town was dealt a devastating blow. So when the Secretary of State says again that he is doing everything he can to help, why should the workers of Port Talbot and anywhere else in the country believe a single word he says?

[Sajid Javid]

The hon. Lady has fought hard for her constituents and is still doing a lot to help workers who lost their job. I and my right hon. Friend the Minister for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise have met her and we will continue to work with those who have lost their job—of course we will—but she will also know that the situation at Redcar is not directly comparable with that at Port Talbot and Tata Steel. The business was not viable after hundreds of millions of pounds of investment and no commercial buyers were coming forward. I know it is difficult news, but the hon. Lady knows that. If we look at today’s news about Tata long products, however, we see that it is possible to find a commercial buyer.

UK Steel Industry

Debate between Sajid Javid and Anna Turley

Monday 29th February 2016 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point, but he should also accept that if the entire debate on trade and trade protection in the EU becomes about the lesser duty rule, it will take away from the time and effort required to use the existing rules more effectively.

[Anna Turley (Redcar) (Lab/Co-op)]

If Tata Steel, UK Steel—the umbrella body—and the Community union are all calling for the Government to take action on the lesser duty rule, surely the Secretary of State can see that it is in his gift to give that to the steel industry, which is crying out in desperation for his help.

[Sajid Javid]

The hon. Lady will know that that is not in the gift of any single Government in the EU; the issue is EU-wide. As I have explained, it is important to use the existing rules effectively, and we support taking further action where the tariffs are not imposed quickly or if they are not high enough.

--- Later in debate ---

[Anna Turley]

I appreciate what the Secretary of State has said about levelling the playing field; that is all the Opposition ask for. I want to take him back to the point about the lesser duty rule. The European Commission states that the dumping margin for rebar is 66%, but the lesser duty rule puts it at 9%. That has a huge impact. The Minister must acknowledge that 66% levels the playing field.

[Sajid Javid]

I know the hon. Lady feels passionately about the matter, but it is important to get the facts right. On rebar, the European Commission has so far come up with tariffs of between 9% and 13%. The industry is asking for 20% to 30%, and we support that. I hope she will also support that.

The fifth and final ask was lower business rates. A Treasury review of those is ongoing, and I hope that it will be concluded ahead of next month’s Budget.

Steel Industry

Debate between Sajid Javid and Anna Turley

Tuesday 20th October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to emphasise this. We have already taken a lead on this in the European Union. In recent votes we have voted for action wherever evidence has come forward, and I am glad that action has been taken, but clearly there is more to do. That is one reason why I will be visiting commissioners in Brussels next week to push for that action much more promptly.

[Anna Turley (Redcar) (Lab/Co-op)]

One of the many insults the Redcar workforce have had to endure recently is the theft of their pension payments. Following action by the Community union, I understand that the issue of missing employee pension contributions is being tackled. What are the Government doing to ensure that the workers receive the missing employer contributions, and will the Secretary of State promise me here today that this will not be yet another entitlement that is disgracefully pinched from the £80 million support package, like the redundancy payments?

[Sajid Javid]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question, for taking part in the steel summit on Friday, and for the constructive way in which she has helped workers in her constituency and highlighted wider issues around the steel sector.

I know the hon. Lady welcomes the support we have already provided. I am happy to repeat that at the moment the advice is that the £80 million of support for Redcar workers and their families who are affected by this will go a long way to help the local community and local economy, but if more is required and the taskforce comes forward with a proposal, we will look at that.

On employer contributions to pension plans, we are happy to try to help in any way we can. I know the hon. Lady has provided some information on this and I think there is more coming. We will take a close look at that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Sajid Javid and Anna Turley

Tuesday 30th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

I think I have already answered the hon. Gentleman’s question, but I am happy to repeat that answer. This Government will have an active dialogue with all industrial sectors. We will listen to their needs on skills, infrastructure and training, and work with them. That includes the sector councils. We will also make sure that we are open to new industries, to competition and to disruptive industries, and that we become the most open economy in the world.

[Anna Turley (Redcar) (Lab/Co-op)]

4. What recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Government’s strategic support for industries and sectors.

[The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and President of the Board of Trade (Sajid Javid)]

In preparation for the forthcoming spending review, I am assessing the effectiveness of BIS policies, including strategic support for industry. We will continue an open dialogue with business, including through sector councils.

[Anna Turley]

A long-term industrial strategy is vital for my constituency, which boasts a major chemical process complex in Wilton. Recently, the workforce have been taking to the gates because they believe that long, hard-won, nationally agreed terms and conditions are being undercut on the site. What assurance can the Minister give me, and what steps is he taking to make sure, that nationally agreed terms and conditions are being applied on such sites, and that the British workforce are not being undercut by recruitment from overseas?

[Sajid Javid]

I welcome the hon. Lady to her place. I know that a number of industries, including the one that she has mentioned, are important to Redcar. I am more than happy to take a closer look at the issue that she raises. I am afraid that I do not know the details of it, but if she would like to furnish me with them, I or my right hon. Friend the Minister for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise will take a closer look.