AstraZeneca (Pfizer Bid)

Debate between Vince Cable and Stephen Mosley

Tuesday 6th May 2014 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

My civil servants and I are devoting much thought to precisely that question. I am sure that the hon. Gentleman would not want me to spell out all the gory details.

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

I am a small, but long-term shareholder in AstraZeneca. Today’s questions have been focused on the effects on AstraZeneca and Pfizer itself. What has not been considered is that the takeover represents a £60 billion investment in the UK economy, and that money will then be reused to create new companies, jobs, investment and growth. Has my right hon. Friend made any assessment of the overall effect on the economy of this big cash injection?

[Vince Cable]

Of course, we will take that into account as part of our assessment in the national interest. Our starting point is the strength of the UK science base and our manufacturing industry, but there are positive potential implications for tax and for the flow of capital.

Royal Mail

Debate between Vince Cable and Stephen Mosley

Tuesday 1st April 2014 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

No bonuses have been paid and there is no pressure on the Government to make a decision on that at the moment.

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

We are having this urgent question because the flotation of Royal Mail was more successful than anybody thought possible up front. Almost 100% of employees took up their shares, 700,000 retail investors bought shares, and institutions invested massively. The Government are now a 30% shareholder. What plans do they have for the long-term future of their shareholding?

[Vince Cable]

That is an option we wish to keep open and we have no immediate plans to dispose of it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Vince Cable and Stephen Mosley

Thursday 8th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

I am happy to meet the hon. Gentleman and anyone else concerned about this problem. I meet regularly with Jaguar Land Rover, as does the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sevenoaks (Michael Fallon). This is not an issue that it has raised with us so far, but we are happy to pursue the matter. I want to reinforce what the hon. Gentleman said, however. This is a magnificent company investing £2 billion over this decade and creating high-level employment. The Government have made a substantial contribution to support it through the regional growth fund, support for the engine plant in Wolverhampton, which is now getting off the ground, and in other respects.

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

T8. Chester has seen record numbers of new businesses being set up in the past year, with 305 being registered during the first six months of the year—a 323% increase on the year before. Does the Minister agree that these and other recent figures show that the work that the Government are doing to encourage private sector growth and redress the north-south imbalance is beginning to deliver results in the north-west of England?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Vince Cable and Stephen Mosley

Thursday 6th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

The starting point is the recognition that Liverpool docks, having declined for many decades, now have enormous potential as a result of the £35 million that has been put in to dredging for the deep-water terminal and the support for offshore technologies. There is a major problem of access. A report has been carried out and is being followed through as part of the city region bid. We are working with the Department for Transport. We recognise that there are transport bottlenecks and there is a commitment to act on that.

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

16. What recent assessment he has made of the health of the British automotive sector; and if he will make a statement.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Vince Cable and Stephen Mosley

Thursday 15th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

Perhaps I should say that because of the problem of large piles of liquidity in the big corporates—this is not a new problem: it has been building up over the last decade—I asked Tim Breedon, who was formerly the chief executive of Legal and General, to look at practical ways of dealing with it, such as building up supply chain finance and new forms of trade credit. It is a serious problem, but we need business to invest, and the cash is there in many companies.

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

T8. I was reassured earlier to hear my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State describe the work that he is putting in with GM to help protect the future of Vauxhall at Ellesmere Port. In his discussions with GM, will he remind the company that Ellesmere Port is one of its most productive plants in Europe and ideally placed to build its next-generation cars, such as the all-electric Ampera?

[Vince Cable]

My hon. Friend touches on the core argument. We are talking about a very productive plant, which reflects well on the management, and also on the labour force, who have been consistently co-operative. Currently the plant does not operate at full capacity; the issue for the company is how to use that production in a way that minimises excess capacity. We are confident that the UK has a strong case in ensuring that existing production—but also new models, as he said—is secured in Ellesmere Port.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Vince Cable and Stephen Mosley

Thursday 31st March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

14. What recent representations he has received on the future funding of science and research.

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

During the allocation of science and research funding, BIS consulted the national academies, business groups and universities and agreed a flat-cash ring-fenced settlement for science and research of £4.6 billion a year for 2011-15. In the Budget, the Government invested a further £100 million in science capital, including £10 million at Daresbury.

[Stephen Mosley]

I welcome the announcement in last week’s Budget of the extra £100 million in capital spending, including the £10 million at Daresbury. Will my right hon. Friend confirm that that £100 million comes from the permanent bank levy, which was introduced by this coalition Government against opposition from Labour Members?

[Vince Cable]

I can confirm that. Of course, the bank levy has a good economic basis because it is the payment that the banks make for the protection that the state provides for banks that are too big to fail. The £100 million is new money—new capital investment—and I am delighted that my hon. Friend’s campaign for Daresbury has borne fruit in this way.

Trade and Investment for Growth White Paper

Debate between Vince Cable and Stephen Mosley

Wednesday 9th February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

I did not totally follow the hon. Gentleman’s point about the statistics. Just to go over what the most recent statistics from a couple of days ago tell us, exports actually grew by 6% in the last quarter of last year, compared with the previous quarter. We should not read too much into that, because we are in abnormal conditions, but exports, along with business investment and manufacturing, are now growing. Wales, as a manufacturing and export centre, as he says, should be benefiting from that, and I hope that it will.

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

The Secretary of State’s statement was strong on specific measures for encouraging trade and exports. However, it was less detailed when it came to inward investment, which is equally important when it comes to creating jobs and growth in the UK. What specific measures is he proposing to boost inward investment into the UK?

[Vince Cable]

It is right to say that inward investment is enormously important. We start from a position of strength, as a major host country for inward investment. One of the specific actions that we are taking is giving the Trade Minister, Lord Green, personal responsibility for developing close relations with our major inward investors, in order to build up the flow of capital into this country.

Local Growth White Paper

Debate between Vince Cable and Stephen Mosley

Thursday 28th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

Obviously I regret any redundancies that result from either that decision or others. Clearly, none of us relishes that prospect, but Business Link was widely criticised by the businesses for which it was designed. It was not an effective system, nor was it cost-effective for the taxpayer, so the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, my hon. Friend the Member for Hertford and Stortford (Mr Prisk), is developing a new model, based essentially on website advice, but more generally, and he will unveil it shortly.

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

May I welcome today’s announcement of a Cheshire and Warrington LEP and the proposals in the White Paper for a new duty to co-operate on planning matters? Will that new duty apply across national boundaries? I represent the city of Chester, which has a Welsh border within half a mile of the city centre, and it is crucial not only that west Cheshire and Chester have a duty to co-operate with Wrexham and Flintshire in north Wales, but that Wrexham and Flintshire have a duty to co-operate with Chester.

[Vince Cable]

The answer is yes. We have to respect devolved powers in Wales, but the simple answer is yes: there will be an obligation to co-operate.

Higher Education and Student Finance

Debate between Vince Cable and Stephen Mosley

Tuesday 12th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

The Chancellor will announce his wider proposals on public spending, but as far as I know there is no intention to change the Barnett formula.

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

In many university towns, students play an important role in the local economy. Will the Secretary of State outline his proposals for how to support student living costs?

[Vince Cable]

As I have indicated, student living costs and the maintenance to pay for them will be subject to a series of separate announcements. Once the spending review is announced, we will know how much it is possible to provide in the form of grants and maintenance loans. It is worth pointing out the base that we start from, which is that the current system of support for maintenance is probably the most generous in the world. As the hon. Member for Banbury (Tony Baldry) pointed out a few moments ago, it is quite possible that we could move to a more sensible system whereby many students study in their home town.