Automotive Industry
Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lord Naseby
Viscount Younger of Leckie
I very much welcome the news that came through today that Bentley will consolidate its W12 engine production in Crewe. This will secure 100 new jobs, which will help families and give them greater security to look ahead to their future.
Lord Naseby (Con)
Is my noble friend aware that, as far as the high-powered Formula 1 area is concerned, within Northamptonshire there must be something like 25 or 30 high-tech companies contributing to the development of the automotive industry? I will make one comment on what is still missing. Is my noble friend aware that the Queen’s Award for Enterprise needs to be revitalised to recognise all the exciting work coming out of these creative industrial engineering companies?
Viscount Younger of Leckie
Certainly that is something that we are looking at. As my noble friend Lord Borwick said, the Midlands is a centre of excellence for the automotive industry, focusing on companies such as JLR and Dunlop—the list is almost endless.
Living Wage
Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lord Naseby(11 years, 1 month ago)
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Lord Naseby
No, I am sorry; you have to listen to this. As I understand it, my noble friend is quite clear: the benefits of the growth that we establish will be for all sections of society.
Viscount Younger of Leckie
My noble friend has made some strong and passionate points and I agree with the gist. However, I should say that our key policy is to support the low-paid through the national minimum wage. It is set at a level that helps as many low-paid workers as possible, but without damaging their employment prospects. My right honourable friend Vince Cable has asked the Low Pay Commission to look at what economic conditions would be needed to allow the national minimum wage to rise in the future by more than current conditions allow, without having an adverse impact on jobs.
UK Clothing Sector: Safety
Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lord Naseby
Viscount Younger of Leckie
I understand that even if wages were doubled in Bangladesh—I know that we are talking about a health and safety issue—it would put only 2p on the price of a T-shirt, so there are some real issues to tackle. As I mentioned earlier, this is a cross-departmental issue. For example, DfID is supporting the ethical trading initiative which is a leading alliance of companies, trade unions and NGOs, and the Government very much support it. Secondly, DfID, with government support, is supporting the Responsible and Accountable Garment Sector challenge fund, known as RAGS, so a number of initiatives are being pushed by the Government, and we continue to put the necessary pressure on the retail organisations.
Lord Naseby
I have lived and worked in that part of the world. Is my noble friend aware that there is nothing wrong with the building regulations? It is entirely a matter of whether the buildings are inspected. Clearly, the loading on the floors of this particular factory was far in excess of what it should have been. Can the Government not think of something practical to do? We have high commissioners in Commonwealth countries and ambassadors in non-Commonwealth countries. We usually have a trade section. Why can we not have someone within our own sphere of interest liaising principally with the importers in the UK and the major retailers—
Lord Naseby
It is not too long when more than 1,000 people were killed. Why can we not have someone liaising with the two parties to ensure that this sort of tragedy does not happen again?
Viscount Younger of Leckie
There are two strands to that. First, I reassure my noble friend that Governments, particularly the UK Government, are working extremely hard with the Bangladesh Government and others at all levels—political and diplomatic—to get to the bottom of the reasons behind this dreadful collapse. Secondly, there is now even greater pressure on organisations to look at their supply-chain management and the multiplicity of those links, to be sure that health and safety issues at the beginning of the supply chain are up to scratch.
National Lottery
Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lord Naseby
Lord Naseby
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they propose to take to safeguard the position of the National Lottery in the light of competition from groups of local society lotteries.
Viscount Younger of Leckie
The Health Lottery is the most significant scheme that promotes numerous society lotteries under a single banner. Since it was launched in October 2011, the Government have been monitoring its impact on the National Lottery and other society lotteries. While there appears to be a limited impact overall, the Government want to ensure that the lottery market delivers the maximum benefit to charities and other good causes, including those supported by the National Lottery. The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has therefore announced today the Government’s intention to consult in the new year on whether to increase the minimum percentage of the proceeds that certain society lotteries have to return to their good causes.
Lord Naseby
Is my noble friend aware that when the National Lottery was set up in 1993, 28p in the pound went to good causes and 12p went to the Exchequer as a levy, whereas the Health Lottery provides only up to 20p in prizes and no subvention to the Treasury? Against that background, and with recent calculations that the Health Lottery has siphoned off £70 million that would have gone to the National Lottery, does my noble friend really think that consultation is the right approach? Would it not be preferable to have an amending Bill that re-emphasises that the National Lottery is a monopoly and is there to provide for good causes throughout the nation?
Viscount Younger of Leckie
My Lords, I do not agree with the idea of an amending Bill. Independent research that we commissioned and have published today suggests that there is a potential sales diversion of up to £300,000 a week. Camelot believes that it is potentially up to £1.5 million a week. It is difficult to assess the true figure due to seasonal factors and complexities in customer behaviour. However, an impact at these levels would be relatively minimal, particularly in the context of National Lottery sales, which are on track to beat last year’s record sales figures of £6.5 billion. The Government are determined to ensure that the lottery market delivers the maximum benefit to good causes, which is why we wish to consider whether the minimum amount that society lotteries are required to provide to their good causes is set at the right level.