Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Vince Cable and Lord Cryer

Thursday 6th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[John Cryer (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)]

Bogus self-employment continues to spread through the construction industry, in part because the number of HMRC employer compliance inspections has halved in four years. Does the Secretary of State regret that?

[Vince Cable]

Of course we want to see maximum compliance. We realise that there are abuses in the construction industry and I can assure the hon. Gentleman that we are committing to stepping up enforcement action.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Vince Cable and Lord Cryer

Thursday 21st March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that the issue in the industrial strategy is promoting not simply the prime contractors but the supply chains. These have been badly hollowed out in recent years, but there is quite a lot of evidence of re-shoring, and we want to support that with the advanced manufacturing supply chain initiative.

[John Cryer (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)]

The Secretary of State has just cut by half the consultation period for large-scale redundancies. Does he imagine in his wildest dreams—I imagine he has some pretty wild ones—that this will do anything to foster economic confidence?

Industrial Strategy

Debate between Vince Cable and Lord Cryer

Monday 10th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

I am certainly very happy to meet the group. A key part of the industrial strategy relates to manufacturing. However, it is important to stress that the modern economy is much more complex than the old sub-divisions. Much of the value in manufacturing these days derives from what are called intangibles—intellectual property, for example, and IT work. The services sector in its modern form contributes massively to our economy, which is why one of the areas we want to focus on is services that can be sold overseas and that have a large knowledge or technology component.

[John Cryer (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)]

Following on from a previous question, SMEs regularly tell me that they find it difficult to access funding from the big banks, and in some cases the banks are actually obstructive. The question therefore arises: where will the industrial strategy succeed, where the Merlin agreement apparently failed?

[Vince Cable]

The Merlin agreement did not fail. It was not sufficient, but it did have the effect of stabilising lending to SMEs by banks above the level it would otherwise have reached. I am often critical of the banks, but to be fair to them, a major factor is the change in the system of regulation—much of it taking place internationally—which is forcing the banks to hold more capital and to weight their risks in a different way. That has the effect of discouraging lending to SMEs. We are proceeding with a whole lot of interventions that are designed to counter that trend.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Vince Cable and Lord Cryer

Thursday 6th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

Until I heard the hon. Gentleman’s question, I thought Fleetwood was primarily famous for its football team, which has just got back into the Football League. I will make an effort to visit Fleetwood. I am delighted to hear of the success of Fisherman’s Friend, which I consume a great deal of. I had not realised it was an export firm, but we will do everything we can to promote it overseas.

[John Cryer (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)]

The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill will, in effect, introduce no-fault dismissal by the back door through the system of protected conversation, which was debated extensively in Committee. Monitoring will be difficult, but what plans do the Government have to monitor the system to ensure that it is not abused by bad employers?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Vince Cable and Lord Cryer

Thursday 31st March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

We certainly wish to encourage providers that charge highly competitive fee levels, but we also wish to encourage high-quality universities of the kind my hon. Friend described. I do not think that the two are in any way incompatible.

[John Cryer (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)]

Will the three-year moratorium that the Secretary of State mentioned earlier apply to health and safety legislation? I ask that question in view of the fact that two people are killed every week in construction.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Vince Cable and Lord Cryer

Thursday 13th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[John Cryer (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)]

The Business Secretary continually tells us that the economy is steaming along very nicely and that everything is wonderful. If that is the case, why are wage settlements running at a rate far below price inflation?

[Vince Cable]

The British economy is indeed recovering. It was in an appalling state, but economic growth is now strong. It will become stronger as a result of the work that the Government are doing in stabilising finances, and real wages will appreciate on the back of that.