Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Vince Cable and David Nuttall

Thursday 26th March 2015 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

I will certainly undertake to look at that with the Minister for Skills and Equalities, my hon. Friend the Member for Grantham and Stamford (Nick Boles). We are aware of the issue that has arisen. The issue the hon. Lady surfaces—the shortage of women engineers—is severe, and we underperform much of Europe in that respect, with only one in 10 of our engineers being women. We are doing a lot to try to change the trend, but a substantial deficit remains.

[Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)]

Small businesses in rural areas are increasingly reliant on access to the internet. In the light of the Chancellor’s announcement in the Budget on using satellites to improve broadband internet access in rural areas, can the Secretary of State set out what steps he is taking to safeguard the radio spectrum that is essential for delivering that and other satellite services?

[Vince Cable]

Sadly, I am not responsible for telecommunications and related activities, but I am sure that the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has heard what my hon. Friend has said. The positive point in his question that I would emphasise is that our satellite industry is one of our most successful. We have a Catapult that invests in its activities, it is expanding rapidly and there is no reason why it should not fit alongside land connections in improving broadband speed.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Vince Cable and David Nuttall

Thursday 26th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)]

Does the Secretary of State agree that in today’s modern workplace many employees find zero-hours contracts very attractive because of the freedom they give them to combine different jobs, to work from home and be available to work, or to work and study at the same time?

[Vince Cable]

My hon. Friend rightly says that certain groups of workers find these contracts advantageous, the main ones being workers who have passed retirement age and wish to do optional, flexible work, and students, for whom the lack of an obligation to turn up at a fixed time for a fixed period is compatible with their studies.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Vince Cable and David Nuttall

Thursday 10th April 2014 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

The hon. Gentleman’s constituency is a good example of what is happening in the labour market. The claimant count is down to about 2.5%, which is much lower than it was when we took office. Many engineering companies are short of labour and wages are going up. We have been through a difficult period, but one of the success stories is that employment has massively increased—465,000 during the last year. His constituency is a very good example of the policies working.

[Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)]

Does the Secretary of State agree that retailers would find it easier to pay higher wages if they were allowed to open all day on Sunday?

[Vince Cable]

I suspect that it would make relatively little difference. We had a modest experiment at the time of the Olympics. The results did not show a great deal of real economic consequences, but we are always open to new evidence.

Royal Mail

Debate between Vince Cable and David Nuttall

Tuesday 1st April 2014 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

Absolutely not. It was a successful operation and the National Audit Office confirms that.

[Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)]

Despite the accusations that the Government undervalued the property assets of Royal Mail, will my right hon. Friend confirm that the public prospectus provided a complete picture of their value?

[Vince Cable]

Yes, indeed. That is one of the specific points that was raised by the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee. An independent evaluation of the property assets was carried out and that was disclosed properly in the prospectus.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Vince Cable and David Nuttall

Thursday 23rd January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

I am well aware of this issue and its importance to British manufacturing, and, indeed, to Birmingham. I would be happy, as I am sure would the Minister of State, to meet the key people in order to make sure that we get the right decision.

[Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)]

Given the enthusiasm of both the public and employees for buying shares in Royal Mail, will the Secretary of State look at what other assets in the public sector could be successfully transferred to the private sector?

[Vince Cable]

Asset sales are an important part of Government economic policy. They have been very successful in raising cash and enabling the Government to invest more than would otherwise be the case. We approach this on a practical basis, aiming to get value for money for the taxpayer.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Vince Cable and David Nuttall

Thursday 18th July 2013 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

The funding for lending scheme primarily benefits mortgage lending, but changes were made in April to make it accessible to asset-based finance, for example. Several of the new challenger banks are now taking advantage of it, and it is beginning to make an impact on SME lending.

[Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)]

I visited the bank recently and was told that all people who come to it are given a fair hearing and that small business men are getting the loans they need. Is it not the case that what got the banks into this mess was irresponsible and over-optimistic lending and that what we need now is prudent and responsible lending to small businesses?

[Vince Cable]

Of course, we need prudent, responsible lending, but I subscribe to the view, which I hear frequently around the country, that many SMEs find it difficult to access finance from the banks and that we cannot just let the situation remain as it is. That is why we are in the process of establishing the business bank, which is currently marketing £300 million. There is substantial interest in investing in that project.

Industrial Strategy

Debate between Vince Cable and David Nuttall

Monday 10th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

The gap between north and south, which is of course a good deal more complex than the hon. Gentleman suggests—there are parts of the north that do extremely well—has been widening for many years, in spite of the regional development agencies. I am absolutely satisfied that the structures we have introduced, the local enterprise partnerships, are more relevant to local geography, much more business focused and, together with the city deals, will give an energy to the development of some of the areas which have been struggling that they have not had for many years.

[Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)]

Does the Secretary of State share my concern that all too often viable small businesses are refused loans by high street banks simply because they operate within a sector of which the banks have taken a negative view?

[Vince Cable]

The hon. Gentleman is right. As I said in my brief introduction, there is a serious and declining trend in business lending to SMEs. He is also right that certain kinds of businesses find borrowing extremely difficult. Creative industries are a good example, because they do not have physical security and the banks are extremely risk-averse, which of course is difficult for companies engaged in international trade. That is all the more reason why the Government have to intervene to support lending in such instances.

Office for Fair Access

Debate between Vince Cable and David Nuttall

Monday 20th February 2012 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

I have not intervened beyond making the appointment, and Professor Ebdon has clear terms of reference. But since the hon. Gentleman has set out a standard, let me remind him and other colleagues of the current position. Pupils from independent schools are 55 times more likely to go to Oxbridge than children with free school meals. That is the imbalance that we are trying to address.

[Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)]

Does the Secretary of State agree that the brightest pupils from the poorest backgrounds would be far better off if, regardless of who its director is, the Office for Fair Access, which as far as I can see is no more than an expensive and unnecessary quango that is engaged in social engineering, was scrapped and the money used to support directly the outreach programmes of our top universities?

[Vince Cable]

Actually, one of the main purposes of OFFA will be to promote those outreach programmes and to draw from the lessons and experience of different outreach programmes, which as far as I am aware have not been systematically evaluated. That will be one of Professor Ebdon’s tasks.

Executive Pay

Debate between Vince Cable and David Nuttall

Monday 23rd January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

I have dealt with this question several times already. I am aware that those countries—[Interruption.] Yes, of course those countries have a different system that results in workers on boards, but of course that does not happen in isolation. They have completely different systems of corporate governance.

Since the hon. Member for Streatham (Mr Umunna) reminded me of my days in his party, I shall say that one of the last things that I tried to do under the 1979 Government, when I was working with John Smith, was introduce a co-determination system, but alas that Government showed very little interest in implementing it.

[Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)]

As shareholders already have the power to vote out of office directors who they believe are underperforming, why is there a need for any further measures that will serve only to undermine the competitiveness of British business?

[Vince Cable]

As I have already explained to the hon. Member for Shipley (Philip Davies), the consensus view among business and investors is that the status quo is not supportable and is leading to damaging and perverse rewards, including rewards for failure, and that we need to reform the system comprehensively.