Thursday Volume 534 27 October 2011 No. 215 HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) Thursday 27 October 2011 £5·00 © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2011 This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Parliamentary Click-Use Licence, available online through The National Archives website at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/our-services/parliamentary-licence-information.htm Enquiries to The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 4DU; e-mail: [email protected] 447 27 OCTOBER 2011 448 that the Labour party now criticises us for remedying House of Commons the problems that it created through its regulation procedures? Thursday 27 October 2011 Mr Davey: During the passage of the Postal Services Act, we heard a lot of criticism of the regulatory regime The House met at half-past Ten o’clock that the Labour party put in place. We put in a much stronger regime, which has been greatly welcomed. PRAYERS Manufacturing 2. Mr Marcus Jones (Nuneaton) (Con): What steps [MR SPEAKER in the Chair] he is taking to support manufacturing. [76850] BUSINESS BEFORE QUESTIONS 14. Nigel Mills (Amber Valley) (Con): What steps he is taking to support manufacturing. [76867] BANK OF IRELAND (UK) PLC BILL 15. Graham Evans (Weaver Vale) (Con): What steps he is taking to support manufacturing. [76868] Bill read the Third time and passed. The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Vince Cable): As part of rebalancing the British economy, we are taking steps to support manufacturing Oral Answers to Questions in the UK by encouraging high levels of business, innovation, investment, exports and technical skills. I set out our strategy for achieving that in a talk to Policy Exchange yesterday. BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS Mr Jones: From recent discussions with several The Secretary of State was asked— representatives of our largest manufacturing companies, it is apparent that they are now looking actively to bring more UK supply manufacture back to our country, but Royal Mail they seem to question whether some of our small and medium-sized enterprises have sufficient capacity or 1. Michael Connarty (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) investment to meet the growth in demand in this area. (Lab): What recent progress he has made on securing What can the Government do to help facilitate the right private sector investment in Royal Mail. [76849] conditions to help some of our SMEs meet this increasing demand? The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Mr Edward Davey): As I made Vince Cable: The hon. Gentleman is right to say that clear during the passage of the Postal Services Act 2011, there is a supply chain issue. We are hearing good news we are taking a staged approach to its implementation. from the automobile and aerospace sectors, with the Before decisions can be taken on private sector investment, large primes, such as Tata, Rolls-Royce and Airbus, the regulatory regime must be reformed and the making large investments. However, we also need to Government must secure approval to take on Royal attract back the supply chains, which is already happening, Mail’s historical pension deficit and restructure its balance particularly in the car industry. We have bodies that sheet. Progress is being made in these areas, alongside co-operate with industry in both those sectors: the Royal Mail’s progress with its modernisation plan. Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, my hon. Friend the Member for Hertford Michael Connarty: I thank the Minister for his reply. and Stortford (Mr Prisk) chairs one of them and I chair Will he therefore tell the House exactly how much the the other. We are therefore working actively with industry Government value the assets in the Post Office pension to attract the supply chains back to the UK. fund at this moment, how much will be transferred to the Treasury and what will be left in the assets of the Nigel Mills: Will the Secretary of State join me in pension fund thereafter? congratulating the work of the high-value manufacturing technology and innovation centre, which has had a Mr Davey: The hon. Gentleman will know, having display in Parliament for the past two days, and especially been in the House a long time, that we would not make a business in my constituency, Advanced Composites, a valuation while working with the European Commission on the work that it does as part of that? Does he agree to secure state aid clearance. Until we get that, those with the strategy and aims that it has set out, especially sorts of calculations would be completely inappropriate. on having a strategy for how we can get manufacturing back to being 20% of gross domestic product by 2020? Lorely Burt (Solihull) (LD): As part of the deregulation process prior to the sale, we can expect a reasonable rise Vince Cable: Yes, we are fighting a historical trend, in stamp prices, which are currently the second lowest in because, under the previous Government, and certainly Europe, despite the fact that we have the highest delivery over the past decade, manufacturing contracted as a specification. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is ironic share of the economy more rapidly than in any other 449 Oral Answers27 OCTOBER 2011 Oral Answers 450 western country and we lost a third of the work force. Vince Cable: Infrastructure is certainly a key to recovery, We have to retrieve that, and one of the main ways of and it is absolutely right to put it on a sustainable basis. doing so is through promoting innovation. The first The Chief Secretary announced a programme for urgent innovation centre, as my colleague rightly points out, is modest-scale infrastructure projects a few weeks ago, the manufacturing technology innovation centre, which and other infrastructure projects will be announced in has seven campuses. Composites is one of those core the regional growth fund imminently. technologies being developed, which I very much welcome. Mr Iain Wright (Hartlepool) (Lab): In answer to Graham Evans: Does my right hon. Friend agree that questions to his Department in June, the Secretary of if we are effectively to support manufacturing, we need State said: to ensure that our future work force have the necessary “There is rapid growth now beginning to take place in skills? Will he join me in welcoming the approval of manufacturing and exports.”—[Official Report, 9 June 2011; Vol. 529, c. 276.] Sandymoor free school in my constituency, which is receiving support from the nearby Daresbury science Given that figures from the Office for National Statistics and innovation campus and which will help to achieve confirm that manufacturing output fell last quarter and this goal? given that yesterday’s CBI industrial trends survey showed sentiment from manufacturers deteriorating, order books Vince Cable: Skills are obviously critical, and no emptying and export prospects sharply declining for a doubt my hon. Friend the Minister for Further Education, second successive quarter, will the Minister update his Skills and Lifelong Learning will say more about the assessment of four months ago? Does he think that any big increase in the number of apprenticeships shortly. I aspect of Government policy needs to change to ensure am sure that the school in my hon. Friend’s constituency that manufacturing drives forward economic recovery will contribute to this at an early stage of development. and growth? Apprentices are a real success story and we are certainly Vince Cable: The hon. Gentleman is right to say that going to build on it. business conditions are difficult, but over the last two years manufacturing has increased significantly faster Mr Dennis Skinner (Bolsover) (Lab): One way to than the rest of the economy, as have exports. That is increase manufacturing growth would undoubtedly be the direction that we need to pursue. Given that for the Business Secretary to turn his attention to Markham manufacturing is predominately an export-based industry, Vale. I cadged about £32 million off the then Chancellor he will understand that the difficulties facing our major of the Exchequer in the Labour Government to flatten export markets in the European Union are creating the pit tips and build a vast industrial estate straight off problems for manufacturers and manufacturing confidence, junction 29A on the M1, and what has happened? but we will hit our way through them. There have been grey, miserable clouds hanging over Markham Vale ever since this tin-pot Government came Ian Swales (Redcar) (LD): I thank the Secretary of to power. Why don’t you pull your finger out? We were State for visiting SABIC Petrochemicals in my constituency spending money while the sun was shining; there is to hear about the cost issues for energy-intensive none being spent now. manufacturing industries. When can those industries expect an announcement about a mitigation package? Vince Cable: I would certainly be happy to visit Markham Vale at some point and talk those things Vince Cable: I think they expect an announcement through with the hon. Gentleman. His area has a local very soon. The visit was extremely constructive, and enterprise partnership and has had an opportunity to my colleague and others have rightly emphasised to put in a bid for an enterprise zone or the regional us that energy-intensive industries are a key part of growth fund. I do not know what it has done, but I am manufacturing recovery. It would be totally counter- certainly happy to talk to him. productive economically and environmentally if they were driven overseas. We are determined that that should I know that the hon.