Employment Law (Beecroft Report)

Debate between William Bain and Mark Prisk

Monday 21st May 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Prisk]

A number of areas—perhaps, sometimes, parts of the work force and the employer-employee relationship—support the idea of looking at this issue in a fresh way. That is an important part of the process.

[Mr William Bain (Glasgow North East) (Lab)]

Has the Minister not considered the report by Howard Reed for the TUC two years ago, which concluded that slashing employment protection at work could increase the problems of job creation and decrease productivity? With 6.3 million people desperately trying to find full-time jobs but unable to get them, will the Minister explain how his proposals would increase demand in the economy?

[Mr Prisk]

With the greatest of respect to the hon. Gentleman, employment law, whether good or bad, does not increase demand in the economy. The important thing is to ensure that employment law enables employers to have the confidence to take people on. That is crucial, and the idea behind the temporary measures that we have had from Labour, which would give perhaps one year or 18 months of support, is complete nonsense.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between William Bain and Mark Prisk

Thursday 15th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr William Bain (Glasgow North East) (Lab)]

20. What steps he plans to take to improve access to finance for small businesses.

[The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Mr Mark Prisk)]

The Government are providing a comprehensive package of finance support, whether it be debt or equity funding, financial support for exports, or indeed a Business Angel co-investment fund. Next week, the Chancellor will launch the national loan guarantee scheme.

[Mr Bain]

With just 136 net business start-ups in Glasgow North East in the last year, and with net bank lending having fallen in every quarter of 2011, when will firms in my constituency benefit from credit easing? It is more than five months since the Chancellor first announced it.

[Mr Prisk]

It will be launched next week.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between William Bain and Mark Prisk

Thursday 8th July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr William Bain (Glasgow North East) (Lab)]

4. What recent assessment he has made of trends in levels of investment by manufacturing industry; and if he will make a statement.

[The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Mr Mark Prisk)]

In 2009, the volume of manufacturing investment in the UK declined by 21%, the largest annual fall on record, and it declined in 10 of the last 11 years. This Government believe that that trend can be reversed. In developing our plans to rebalance the economy, we are keen to ensure that we provide the best long-term environment in which manufacturing can grow.

[Mr Bain]

I am grateful to the Minister for that reply, but will he reflect on the comments from the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the manufacturers’ organisation the Engineering Employers Federation that the biggest beneficiaries of the Government’s changes to capital and investment allowances and corporation tax are low-investment and high-profit firms—

“Banks and supermarkets rather than manufacturers”,

as the IFS put it? What practical help can the Minister offer to manufacturing industry today?

[Mr Prisk]

I must correct the hon. Gentleman and give him the facts. We have had to reduce capital allowances to enable us to fund the corporate tax cuts, but the net result of the changes is that manufacturing—and not the industries to which he referred—will still be better off. Indeed, by 2014-15, it will be better off by £250 million per annum. I think that that is a very good policy, although I detect that the Labour party may now be opposed to it.