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Beer Measures
7. Mr. Ronnie Campbell: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what action her Department is taking to ensure that beer drinkers receive full liquid pints in public houses. [10032]
Mr. Nigel Griffiths: The Government support the Bill introduced by my hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton, South-East (Mr. Turner), which will ensure that beer drinkers get the full liquid pint.
Mr. Campbell: Is not the real reason to do with profits for the brewers? Is there not a £9 profit on every keg that is brewed, which means excess profits for the breweries? Although we are new Labour, we are not really against profits--[Interruption.]--but does the Minister agree that excess profits at the expense of the consumer are wrong?
Mr. Griffiths: I am not a prophet, but I agree with my hon. Friend. His point has been made to me by publicans
who run breweries. It is important to take account of the matter, and that is one of the reasons why we are determined to support my hon. Friend's Bill.
Mr. Nicholas Winterton: My question has nothing to do with the drinking habits of Lord Simon.
Madam Speaker: That is a nice change.
Mr. Winterton: It is important that drinkers get a full pint of beer, and the Minister will agree that the United Kingdom's traditional beer is of high quality. Does he also agree that it is important for people to be able to enjoy the traditions of English public houses and that the traditional names of public houses should be retained?
Mr. Griffiths: I strongly support the hon. Gentleman.
Motor Vehicles (Recycling)
8. Mr. Bennett: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans her Department has to encourage the recycling of motor vehicles. [10033]
Mr. Nigel Griffiths: My encouragement has been very positive, and on 15 July I participated in a signing ceremony with key representatives of the motor trade and car recyclers who aim to ensure that 95 per cent. of car parts are recycled by the year 2015.
Mr. Bennett: I thank my hon. Friend for that reply. I am sure he appreciates that the issue is much more complex that the matter of recycling parliamentary questions or press releases. Many car breakers already do an excellent job in making sure that many parts are reused. Much of the metal from cars is recycled. Does the Minister agree, however, that the more we keep old cars in use rather than replacing them with new ones, the more we keep old technology, which leads to high fuel use and volatile organic compounds emissions?
Mr. Griffiths: My hon. Friend is right: about 75 per cent. of old cars are recycled. He brings to the House his vast experience as the Chairman of the Select Committee on the Environment, and I am sure that he and his colleagues have carefully considered the issue.
Mr. Letwin: Does the Minister not think that the Department of Trade and Industry might be better advised to produce plans for recycling certain Ministers rather than cars?
Mr. Griffiths: I can tell the hon. Gentleman that that was very witty indeed.
Small Businesses (Interest on Debt)
9. Mr. Spring: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations she has received from small business organisations in favour of a statutory right to interest on outstanding debts. [10034]
Mrs. Roche: I have met a range of business organisations representing all sizes and types of business and I have received many letters in support of the proposed legislation.
Mr. Spring: Is the hon. Lady aware that small business organisations--eight out of nine--strongly
oppose statutory interest? The consultation process shows that small businesses are most anxious not about statutory interest, which the hon. Lady highlights, but about the return to local control of business rates, which in the 1980s under Labour local authorities drove many small businesses into bankruptcy.
Mrs. Roche: I am astounded by the second part of the hon. Gentleman's reply. [Interruption.] It was his reply to my response. Opposition Members should listen more carefully. The previous Administration's system of business rates was widely loathed by the business community. That was said during its own consultation process. The statutory right to interest is supported by 80 per cent. of businesses and by some Conservative Members, including the hon. Member for Macclesfield (Mr. Winterton). I am delighted to announce that all small business organisations support our proposals to tackle late payment.
Mr. Olner: Small businesses in my constituency are very pleased that the Government are at last taking action to ensure that other companies pay them their moneys. The previous Administration walked away from the problem and did not look at it at all--because, I assume, the then Deputy Prime Minister made his money by advocating that those firms did not pay money to smaller firms. We welcome the measure, and I urge the Minister to press forward with it as soon as possible.
Mrs. Roche: I am grateful to my hon. Friend. As I said in answer to the previous question, all the small business organisations have joined us in a year-long campaign to deal with the problems of late payment. One of the measures that the Government will be introducing is the statutory right to interest. We are consulting on the best way forward and looking forward to the responses. Unlike the previous Government, we know that we need to do something about the problem.
Mr. Fallon: Does the Minister not realise that, this autumn, businesses already face a wave of new legislation, including that on the minimum wage, paternity leave, union recognition and works councils, and that the last thing that small businesses want is to be encouraged to sue their customers? If legitimising late payment in this way is such a good idea, why does she think that, on Tuesday, The Independent described her plan as
- "smelling of legislation for legislation's sake"?
Mr. Breed: Will the Minister accept that, although the statutory right to interest on late payment is one way of tackling this endemic problem, consideration should also be given to requiring companies, particularly public companies, to publish in their accounts the degree of their late payment--through 30, 60, and 90 days--in an effort to expose those larger companies that continue to ensure that they do not pay their bills on time?
Mrs. Roche: I agree with the hon. Gentleman, and that is one of the matters that we are discussing with the small business organisations that have come together with us. I am delighted to announce that we shall consider publication with the private sector of such league tables, and we have discussed the matter with the Federation of Small Businesses.
Small Businesses (Information Technology)
11. Dr. Gibson: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what her Department's policy is towards improving access to information technology for small and medium businesses. [10036]
Mrs. Roche: Many recent studies have emphasised the importance of new technologies to the competitiveness of smaller firms. Many people--in Government, in business support organisations and in the private sector--have a role in getting that message across. Within Government, we are pressing ahead with our support for the information society initiative programme for business, which places particular emphasis on offering access and awareness opportunities for small and medium enterprises at locations throughout the UK.
Dr. Gibson: Clearly, the Government are progressing many information technology initiatives, which will benefit small and medium businesses, including the Budget's doubling of tax credits for capital investment. What does the Minister make of a small business that, on its web site, admits to managerial disputes and the loss of confidence of its shareholders and of its public, a business whose managing director directs his market research from the back of a taxi in Newcastle airport? It is recorded on the web that that business is the Conservative party.
Mrs. Roche: I am grateful to my hon. Friend for bringing that matter to my attention, but, in the end-of-term spirit, perhaps it is not my role to intrude on private and deep personal grief.
Mr. Paterson: If the Government wish to improve information technology in small and medium businesses, would it not be a good idea if Ministers visited businesses? According to a written answer from the President of the Board of Trade, as of 23 July, in nearly three months in government, three of her Ministers--one of whom was the Minister for Trade and Competitiveness in Europe--had not visited a single business. That is a disgrace.
Mrs. Roche: I appreciate that the hon. Gentleman is new to the House, but he really must get his facts correct. What is true is that the Conservative party cannot stand the fact that the Labour Government have the confidence of the business community, which the previous Government had lost totally.
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