Royal Mail
Debate between Vince Cable and Henry SmithUrgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.
This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record
Vince Cable
As I said in response to an earlier question, the price of a first-class stamp is regulated and subject to the approval of Postcomm.
Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
I spoke with Royal Mail employees when I visited their sorting office in Crawley a few months ago, and they were pleased with the free shares they were given. Will my right hon. Friend say how important that is in terms of employees having a stake in their future business?
Vince Cable
Yes, and I think that 140,000 employees now have shares valued at about £4,000 each. More important than the face value of the shares is the fact that employees have a direct and personal stake in the success of the company. That is why we did it.
Office for Fair Access
Debate between Vince Cable and Henry Smith(12 years, 9 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.
This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record
Vince Cable
The hon. Lady is quite right that that is one of the major problems. As I recall, under the last Government, a report was commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills from Professor Smith, which looked specifically at mathematics teaching in schools, as a result of which I think that there has been a significant increase in the recruitment of maths teachers and the level at which maths is now taught.
Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
Will the Secretary of State consider establishing an advisory body for OFFA so that a range of opinions can be considered?
Vince Cable
Yes, we will do that. As I understand it, this does not require legislation, and we are looking at the feasibility of doing that and how to get the best advantage from it.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Vince Cable and Henry Smith(12 years, 9 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Vince Cable
Of course there is a continuing issue with the scale of bonuses in RBS, but they are vastly reduced from their former level. We are conscious of the issues involved. Many of those people are American traders operating in the United States, but we are conscious that every amount that goes out in bonuses is money that could otherwise have gone to small businesses.
Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
9. What plans he has to facilitate the provision of higher education in further education institutions.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Vince Cable and Henry Smith
Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
9. How many people in (a) Crawley constituency, (b) the south-east and (c) England have started an apprenticeship in 2011.
The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Vince Cable)
In the first three quarters of this academic year, 550 apprenticeships were started in the Crawley constituency, 41,890 started in the south-east region and 326,700 in England. Overall, that is 114,000 more than last year—more than a 50% increase. By the end of this spending review, there will be funding for 250,000 more adult apprenticeships than were planned by the previous Government.
Henry Smith
I am grateful to the Secretary of State for that answer. Will he join me in congratulating Central Sussex college in my constituency on administering 900 apprenticeship places and Virgin Atlantic Airways on creating 42 highly skilled engineering apprenticeship places in my constituency? Does that not prove that further education and the commercial sector working together can improve the offer for apprenticeships?
Vince Cable
Yes, indeed; it does exactly that. My hon. Friend’s constituency can demonstrate that this is a real success story. There has been a 62% increase in such places in Crawley over the past year. I certainly welcome the news from Virgin Atlantic Airways about engineering apprenticeships. We have had massive shortages in this country at intermediate level and in graduate and postgraduate engineers, and we really now must buckle down to increasing the supply in this and other ways.
Green Investment Bank
Debate between Vince Cable and Henry Smith
Vince Cable
Yes I will fight, and do fight, resolutely for manufacturing industry, which of course is now seeing significant growth. It is leading this country out of recession, and the CBI has very strongly made the point to me about the need for the manufacturing sector in green industries, and the need to safeguard the industries with energy-intensive plants, too.
Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
I, too, very much welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement. How will larger organisations be encouraged through the process to work with smaller, innovative technology companies, such as Ceres Power and Riomay in my constituency?