View of Its Actions, Which It Will 431 Oral Answers16 JULY 2009 Oral Answers 432 Publish Shortly
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Thursday Volume 496 16 July 2009 No. 113 HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) Thursday 16 July 2009 £5·00 © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2009 This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Parliamentary Click-Use Licence, available online through the Office of Public Sector Information website at www.opsi.gov.uk/click-use/ Enquiries to the Office of Public Sector Information, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 4DU; Tel: 0044 (0) 208876344; e-mail: [email protected] 427 16 JULY 2009 428 that does not necessarily mean that the process of House of Commons approving the money needs to be long term. There needs to be greater dispatch in bringing things to a conclusion, particularly where strategically important Thursday 16 July 2009 companies are involved that are part of the global and regional economies, one example being Jaguar Land Rover in the west midlands and in the north-west. The House met at half-past Ten o’clock Mr. McFadden: Constructive discussions between the Government and Jaguar Land Rover are continuing. PRAYERS The Government are keen to help, but of course the terms must be right. I assure my hon. Friend that the Government are not seeking to delay help at all, but we [MR.SPEAKER in the Chair] want to ensure that the help that we give is in line with the aims of the scheme as set out when we launched it. I remind my hon. Friend, who represents the area covering Oral Answers to Questions Longbridge, that only last week we were being criticised for being too ready to put Government money into the car industry. It is absolutely right that we ensure that in BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS doing this we get appropriate value for money and do it for long-term reinvestment projects that can help to The Minister of State was asked— secure the long-term health of the UK automotive industry. Automotive Assistance Scheme Peter Luff (Mid-Worcestershire) (Con): I fully endorse 1. Sandra Gidley (Romsey) (LD): What assessment he the concerns expressed about the urgency of dealing has made of the rate of take-up of the automotive with Jaguar Land Rover, but the supply chain in the assistance scheme. [287048] automotive sector is also in crisis. Is the Minister able to clarify his position on closing the gap in eligibility The Minister for Business, Innovation and Skills (Mr. Pat under the enterprise finance guarantee scheme and the McFadden): As we said at the time of its launch, the automotive assistance programme to help the supply automotive assistance scheme is for long-term reinvestment chain? in the industry, not short-term rescue funding. The Department has been in contact with about two thirds of all companies who may qualify for assistance under Mr. McFadden: The hon. Gentleman echoes a point the scheme, resulting in 19 formal expressions of interest that has been raised by several potential applicants so far. Projects in the pipeline could involve total under the scheme about the £5 million threshold. My Government support of about £1.45 billion. officials have worked with companies in that position to help them to brigade potential projects. We want to take Sandra Gidley: I thank the Minister for that reply. a flexible and helpful attitude to this; we are not in the There seems to have been some delay in allocating loans business of turning away companies for no good reason. or guarantees under the scheme. Could the Minister clarify why that is? Is it because the conditions set out in Lorely Burt (Solihull) (LD): I have listened carefully the scheme’s criteria are too strict? Clearly, the money to what the Minister is saying about long-term investment, has not yet found its way to most manufacturers. but that does not mean long-term lead-in. If we look across the channel to France and Germany, and then Mr. McFadden: As I said, it is important to understand further afield to the US and Japan, we can see that they that this scheme is about long-term reinvestment projects, have already delivered substantial amounts of assistance, not short-term rescue. The Secretary of State said at the so I do not understand why it is taking so long in the time of its launch: United Kingdom. For the past six months, while Parliament “There is no blank cheque on offer and there are no operating has been sitting, nothing has happened—not a single subsidies. We are committed to ensuring that anything backed by the scheme offers value for taxpayers’ money, enables us to green penny has been given to any automotive company. Now Britain’s economic recovery” that we are going into recess, perhaps the Minister and could give a guarantee about at least some funding coming through to the automotive sector—and during “delivers significant innovation in processes”.—[Official Report, House of Lords, 27 January 2009; Vol. 707, c. 178.] his holidays, perhaps he would like to pop over to France and Germany to see how they have managed to We are working through these projects with the companies do it there when we cannot seem to do it here. concerned. I can assure the hon. Lady and the House that there is no delay on the Government’s part. We are working closely with the companies concerned, but we Mr. McFadden: I have to disagree with the hon. Lady also want to ensure that we get value for money and the when she says that no help has been given to the long-term benefits of reinvestment for the industry automotive industry. She ignores the car scrappage concerned. scheme, which has been in place for some months and has helped to boost a significant number of sales in the Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield) (Lab): I UK automotive industry. That is giving real help in the endorse what my right hon. Friend says about the short term to automotive companies. I think that it is automotive assistance scheme being about long-term widely recognised as being a success. This scheme is investment in green technologies, and so on. However, different in that it is geared towards long-term reinvestment, 429 Oral Answers16 JULY 2009 Oral Answers 430 not only towards the short-term issues facing the car businesses in the west midlands, particularly in the industry. We are working diligently, carefully and Coventry area. How can Advantage West Midlands productively with the companies that are making assist small businesses to speed that help up? applications under the scheme. Ms Winterton: As my hon. Friend is aware, my hon. Learndirect Programme Friend the Minister for the West Midlands, through his taskforce, has looked very closely at how to help small and medium-sized enterprises. I know that the Advantage 2. David Taylor (North-West Leicestershire) (Lab/Co-op): West Midlands transition bridge fund has made offers What recent representations he has received on the of loans totalling some £9.3 million to 55 local businesses future of the Learndirect programme; and if he will to date, and I believe that nine of those are located in make a statement. [287049] his constituency in Coventry and Warwickshire. The Minister for Further Education, Skills, Apprenticeships Mr. Mark Prisk (Hertford and Stortford) (Con): and Consumer Affairs (Kevin Brennan): There has been Yesterday, the chief executive of Jaguar Land Rover, recent interest in Learndirect’s proposals to develop its such an important business in the west midlands, announced technology and support more learners directly over the 300 job cuts and said that further action would depend internet and telephone. We are examining the results of in part on how quickly the agreed loan from the European the trials, but for the foreseeable future we will continue Investment Bank was forthcoming. Given that Ministers to see face-to-face contact as a core aspect of delivery agreed on that loan three months ago, why are the for many learners. company and its workers still waiting? The French and German Governments delivered their loans from the David Taylor: With more than one in 10 young people EIB months ago. Why is it that under this Government, not in education, employment or training, it is good car firms in Britain are the last to get the help that they news that the Train to Gain programme in Learndirect have been promised? Is it deliberate Government policy centres and elsewhere has increased its uptake by 60 per or just incompetence? cent. to 800,000. Why, then, is the Learning and Skills Council struggling with its current Train to Gain budget Ms Winterton: Yesterday’s decision was not connected and the university for industry shutting down all Learndirect with the ongoing negotiations about working with Jaguar centres in 2010? Is there a real future for Learndirect Land Rover. It was to do with a particular type of and Train to Gain? production coming to an end. The support that the Government are giving to the west midlands, working Kevin Brennan: First, Learndirect will not be shutting through the regional development agency, has ensured down all its centres by July 2010. It has been consulting that we have been able to safeguard jobs and help its network of providers about a possible new approach, businesses. The Opposition, of course, would abolish but as I said earlier, that approach is being tested and RDAs, which would mean that the type of help that we the Government will be consulted before any final have provided would not be available. decisions are taken. On the future of Train to Gain, we will be spending £1 billion in 2011, building on the Mr.