Oral Answers to Questions

Steve Rotheram Excerpts

Thursday 24th October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

I commend the hon. Gentleman for the work he has done on low pay. Indeed, I think he is a member of the Prospect union and has campaigned for the work force in his constituency. I think that the best way forward is the one that we have chosen: lifting the personal allowance, which has so far taken 2.7 million people out of tax. As a consequence, almost 40% of adult minimum wage workers have seen real increases in their take-home pay since 2010.

[Steve Rotheram (Liverpool, Walton) (Lab)]

8. What steps he is taking to increase the number of students from Liverpool who go to university.

[The Minister for Universities and Science (Mr David Willetts)]

We have placed increased responsibilities on universities to widen access. Universities and colleges plan to spend more than £700 million a year by 2017 on broadening access, and our highly successful student finance tour is running again this year, providing students and parents with information about the student finance available.

[Steve Rotheram]

The Minister will be aware that we face a difficult task in attracting people from deprived areas in Liverpool to universities and that we also face a challenge in retaining students who have graduated from higher education institutions. What steps does he plan to take to make it more attractive for graduates to stay in the city of their learning?

[Mr Willetts]

We are seeing an increase in the percentage of people from deprived areas who are applying to university and last year saw a national record overall. The figures in the Liverpool local authority area also show continuing increases in the percentage of people from poorer backgrounds applying to go to university. Of course, one of the great attractions of having a leading university in the city is that many graduates then stay.

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[Mr Willetts]

This is a very important event—investment in our transport infrastructure to make it smart and innovative. It is backed with £50 billion of BIS money, with support from the Department for Transport—and, most importantly, with substantial business support as well.

[Steve Rotheram (Liverpool, Walton) (Lab)]

The Secretary of State will be aware of my concern about the legal requirements when a company goes into administration. Will he look at making it a mandatory requirement for administrators to prioritise the wider social consequences of the sale of a company rather than allowing asset strippers to destroy jobs and local communities?

[Jo Swinson]

The hon. Gentleman rightly outlines the devastating impact on communities that can happen when companies go into administration. Those involved in dealing with the administration of a company have a variety of different issues to prioritise. We are making sure that the problem is looked at in a range of ways. We are simplifying insolvency processes and considering some of the issues rightly raised by Members—about pre-packs, for example, with an ongoing review. We are looking at fees, too, which have sometimes meant that people cannot get as much of their money back as they should in these unfortunate circumstances. The Government are taking forward all those issues.