(11 years, 9 months ago)
Commons ChamberRecently, Axminster Carpets, a great local company, went into administration. Its bankers were less than sympathetic. The Government have capital funds in place for banks to lend; can the Secretary of State do much more to make sure banks properly lend to business?
There are a great many initiatives taking place. Apart from the advanced manufacturing supply chain finance announced this morning, we will be talking tomorrow about a new raft of initiatives for non-bank lending. The hon. Gentleman will have seen this morning’s ministerial statement on the future role of the business bank. He is right that the closure of the carpet factory is a serious blow, but it relates more to the viability of the company than to the ability of getting credit from banks.
(12 years, 6 months ago)
Commons ChamberI welcome the Secretary of State’s statement, but are we giving shareholders enough power quickly enough to stop companies providing a lot of executive pay for very poor performance?
The measures in the Bill on the binding vote are strong ones. Whether they are implemented quickly enough depends partly on how quickly the House proceeds with the legislation. I would expect to see it coming into effect soon.
(12 years, 10 months ago)
Commons ChamberYes. I have talked extensively to Will Hutton about that. In the proposals that I will bring forward next week, we will introduce the principle of a clawback; that clawback can operate in different ways, and we are certainly looking seriously at one of the ways that Will Hutton has recommended.
To get to the dizzy heights of executive pay, one must first get a job. What are Ministers doing to reduce the red tape and bureaucracy relating to apprenticeship schemes for small and medium-sized businesses?