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Debate between Vince Cable and Gavin Williamson

Wednesday 10th July 2013 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

I have perfectly amicable conversations with Mr Hayes and his colleagues, and they will undoubtedly continue. I was not sure whether the hon. Gentleman’s tirade was directed at privatisation or foreign ownership; they are rather different issues. I think that foreign owners have made a major contribution to this country. Some of our leading manufacturing companies are run by foreign owners who have invested in the long term and have made a real commitment to this country. I am certainly not going to impose nationalistic restrictions on ownership.

[Gavin Williamson (South Staffordshire) (Con)]

Ever since the penny black, we have had the monarch’s image on our stamps. Will my right hon. Friend assure the House that the Queen’s image—the Queen’s head—will remain on our stamps?

[Vince Cable]

Indeed. That was raised when the Postal Services Act 2011 went through the House two and half years ago. The commitments were made then, and they are embedded in legislation.

Directors’ Pay

Debate between Vince Cable and Gavin Williamson

Wednesday 20th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

I will happily give the hon. Gentleman more information on the detailed work done on the rules governing transparency in that sector. His point about executive search agencies is a new one—I had not encountered it before—and we will certainly consider it, but the principle of greater transparency is absolutely right.

[Gavin Williamson (South Staffordshire) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend assure the House that the Government, as a major investor in some of the country’s largest banks, will be a proactive investor and ensure that rewards reflect results in those banks?

[Vince Cable]

As my hon. Friend knows, the banks are governed by an arm’s length arrangement, through United Kingdom Financial Investments Ltd, but he will have seen that the pay and bonuses of senior executives, particularly at RBS, in the last season reflected the Government’s concerns about excessive pay in general.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Vince Cable and Gavin Williamson

Thursday 15th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson (South Staffordshire) (Con)]

T5. Many people in South Staffordshire are concerned when they see the directors of large public limited companies awarding themselves large pay increases despite the fact that the companies are not performing. Will my right hon. Friend assure my constituents that the voice and votes of shareholders will be listened to when it comes to remuneration packages?

[Vince Cable]

Yes, that is absolutely the direction in which the Government are going. Following the Prime Minister’s announcement that we intend to proceed on binding votes, I announced a set of detailed proposals that will give shareholders a significantly enhanced role in the setting of pay and which will, I hope, have the moderating effect that the hon. Gentleman described.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Vince Cable and Gavin Williamson

Thursday 31st March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson (South Staffordshire) (Con)]

16. What steps he is taking to reduce the level of regulation of businesses.

[The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Vince Cable)]

We have introduced the one-in, one-out rule to stem the flow of new regulation. We have also introduced sunset clauses on new domestic regulation, stopped gold-plating EU directives and launched a consultation on tribunals. In the Budget we announced a three-year moratorium on new regulation for micro-businesses. We will shortly launch a public review of the existing stock of over 21,000 regulations.

[Vince Cable]

We are taking steps to open up public procurement for the kinds of small spin-offs the hon. Lady describes. There is, of course, an aspiration to increase public procurement from SMEs to 25%. At the beginning of the year the pre-qualification questionnaires, which were appallingly complex, were simplified, and they will shortly be removed altogether from companies trading at over £100,000.

[Gavin Williamson]

Will my right hon. Friend assure the House that he will work very closely with industry to tackle increasing environmental regulation, which has already been touched on, especially that coming over from the European Union, so that we do not have uncompetitive industries?

[Vince Cable]

Environmental regulation is covered by the moratorium that I have just described. Of course, if it is European Union regulation, we cannot unilaterally disband it, but we can ensure that there is no gold-plating, which is why we are following a minimal copying-out procedure for EU legislation.