House of Commons
Thursday 2 March 2000
The House met at half-past Eleven o'clock
PRAYERS
[Madam Speaker in the Chair]
PRIVATE BUSINESS
Kent County Council Bill [Lords] (By Order)
Medway Council Bill [Lords] (By Order)
Mersey Tunnels Bill (By Order)
Orders for Second Reading read.
To be read a Second time on Thursday 9 March.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
The Secretary of State was asked--
Trade Links (Bulgaria)
2. Mr. Kevin Barron (Rother Valley): What his assessment is of the prospects for improved trade links with Bulgaria. [111531]
The Minister for Energy and Competitiveness in Europe (Mrs. Helen Liddell): A number of developments suggest that there are likely to be good prospects for improving trade links with Bulgaria. The European Union formally opened accession negotiations with Bulgaria on 15 February. That move was strongly supported by Britain. British Trade International, in co-operation with other organisations, is involved in a number of initiatives, such as the London chamber of commerce business mission in May, which will promote commercial opportunities in the market to the UK business community.
Mr. Barron: I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer. There are increasing opportunities in Bulgaria, particularly since the currency stabilisation. She will know that Bulgaria is currently off cover with the Export Credits Guarantee Department. If British businesses want to export to Bulgaria, will the Government consider cases individually until the advisory council says that Bulgaria should be on cover and we have a stronger trading relationship?
Mrs. Liddell: My hon. Friend has an extensive knowledge of Bulgaria and he is right to say that it has not had long-term ECGD cover since April 1990, when it declared a unilateral moratorium on debt repayment and
servicing. However, the provision of ECGD cover for Bulgaria is under review. A decision should be reached within the next month.
Mr. Tam Dalyell (Linlithgow): What undertakings did we give Bulgaria during the war against Serbia and are we implementing them?
Mrs. Liddell: As my hon. Friend knows, that is a matter for my right hon. Friends the Foreign Secretary and the Secretary of State for Defence. When my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister visited Sofia in May last year, he said that in view of the progress that Bulgaria had made towards democracy and attempts to secure a properly operating free market, the EU should consider it as part of the next wave for accession.
East Midlands
3. Liz Blackman (Erewash): What measures his Department is taking to promote enterprise in the east midlands region. [111532]
The Minister for Small Business and E-Commerce (Ms Patricia Hewitt): We are supporting the East Midlands development agency; we are creating a new regional venture capital fund; and my right hon. Friend the Minister for Trade will today announce a planning charter for the east midlands that will make the region's planning system the most efficient in the country.
Liz Blackman: I thank my hon. Friend for that answer. Erewash Partnership is a successful enterprise agency in my constituency that supports local businesses well and receives discretionary funding from the local training and enterprise council. Will my hon. Friend do all that she can to ensure that such organisations continue to be resourced during the transition leading to the setting up of the Small Business Service?
Ms Hewitt: I know that my hon. Friend is active on the board of the Erewash Partnership, which is doing excellent work. I understand her concern and I assure her that my officials are working with other Departments to see how we can sustain essential activities after April 2001. In the meantime, the Department for Education and Employment is making up to £41 million available nationally to support discretionary activity that might otherwise be in jeopardy.
Mr. Andrew Robathan (Blaby): What difference exactly has the East Midlands development agency made to employment, inward investment and other enterprise in the east midlands? Most of us find it just another of the bureaucratic measures that have been heaped on the country by the Government. The hon. Lady talks about her colleagues at the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions and planning-friendly guidance, which we all support up to a point. Will she ensure that no further enormous swathes of countryside in the east midlands are concreted over and that the planning-friendly guidance will lead to buildings on brownfield sites in cities, not in my constituency which does not need any more building?
Ms Hewitt: The business people in the east midlands whom I talk to regularly are working closely with the
EMDA and welcome its support for greater activities to promote exports from and inward investment to the region. The success of the agency is illustrated by the fact that it has taken a lead in creating the new planning charter, which will allow councils to give advance information about planning applications with job-creating potential so that developers and proposed inward investors can create and implement plans much more quickly.
Mr. Andrew Reed (Loughborough): The business people in my constituency support the establishment of the EMDA. There are already many examples of the impact that it has made in its first few months of operation, particularly a £3.5 million investment in one site. Although the EMDA strategy is of great benefit to the majority of sectors in Leicestershire, one sector worries me, as I am sure that it worries my hon. Friend the Minister--the textiles sector. What measures can she offer, including working with the EMDA, to ensure that the textile sector has a prosperous future?
Ms Hewitt: I entirely share my hon. Friend's concern about the textiles industry. I recently met Paul Gates of KFAT--the National Union of Knitwear, Footwear and Apparel Trades--for discussions and I am working closely with the new textiles and clothing strategy group which our Government established. Its draft paper on a strategy to make the industry more competitive is out for consultation. I welcome the East Midlands textiles and clothing partnership, which has brought employers and others in our region together to promote and improve training, marketing and export promotion.
Mrs. Angela Browning (Tiverton and Honiton): We continue to receive letters from manufacturing and horticultural companies in the east midlands. What assessment has the Minister made of the impact of the climate change tax in that region? There is great concern, particularly in the clothing industry, among firms that have already invested capital to improve the efficiency of their factory systems. The Government were forced to modify the original formula for the tax. Has the Minister made an assessment of how east midlands sectors such as clothing will be affected by what is still seen to be punitive tax on their profits and viability?
Ms Hewitt: We have been working closely with all sectors of industry throughout the country to develop a climate change levy that will be good for the environment and will not damage but will improve the competitiveness of industry. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer will be making further announcements on the levy in due course.
Information and Communication Technologies
4. Mr. James Plaskitt (Warwick and Leamington): What action he is taking to ensure that the UK's manufacturing sector improves its performance relative to overseas competitors in the area of information and communication technologies. [111533]
The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (Mr. Stephen Byers): The Government's policies on new ICT are based on ensuring business success in the new knowledge-based economy. That applies to manufacturing as to other sectors of industry.
Mr. Plaskitt: Many of the thriving small and medium enterprises in my constituency are manufacturing companies and owe their success to operating at the leading edge to information technology. What steps can my right hon. Friend take to encourage the spread of that technology into traditional manufacturing sectors?
Mr. Byers: My hon. Friend makes an important point. There is clearly a deficit in some traditional manufacturing sectors in embracing new technologies. Just before Christmas, my Department published a document that showed by example how traditional manufacturing sectors could benefit from new technologies. By best practice, benchmarking and demonstrating how manufacturing can benefit from new technologies, we will make the case and ensure that more manufacturing sectors embrace them.
Mr. Peter Brooke (Cities of London and Westminster): What arrangements are the Government making to measure the loss of mobile IT skills through IR35--especially as their loss will immediately accrue to the advantage of the overseas competitors mentioned in the original question?
Mr. Byers: There are no indications that skilled people are leaving the United Kingdom as a result of the introduction of IR35, which was introduced to clamp down on tax evasion. I am confident that it will be successful in achieving that and that it will not have the detrimental effects to which the right hon. Gentleman referred.
Gillian Merron (Lincoln): How will my right hon. Friend encourage schools, universities and colleges to work with industry, so that companies such as ABB Alstom in Lincoln can meet their needs in terms of the people and skills they desperately need to improve their performance in the manufacturing sector?
Mr. Byers: There is no doubt that we need to break down the divide that all too often exists between a child's experience in school and the world of work. Many companies have exciting and attractive programmes that demonstrate what the world of work is actually like. The more we encourage such links, that will benefit not only individual children but companies and the UK economy.
Dr. Vincent Cable (Twickenham): I welcome the Government's recent announcement of increased competition in the telecommunications sector. It will clearly benefit both manufacturing and residential users. I have two specific follow-up questions. The Government have announced their intention of accelerating the phasing out of the British Telecom monopoly on local loop. When will that happen? Secondly, since announcements were made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, could the Secretary of State set out the respective roles of the Chancellor and himself in determining policy in this area, as it is causing considerable confusion in the industry?
Mr. Byers: The Government have a view, shared by the Chancellor and myself, about the importance of
opening up access to the internet. By July 2001, we will have established competition. The regulator at Oftel will be responsible for the discussions that take place. It is a policy that the Government agree with, and it is important that it is delivered because it will be one of the most positive ways of ensuring that the country and individuals benefit from the new technologies that are available.
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