| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
28 Jan 2003 : Column 713—continued
Birmingham Northern Relief Road
10. Tony Wright (Cannock Chase): If he will make a statement on progress with the construction of the Birmingham northern relief road. [93538]
The Minister for Transport (Mr. John Spellar): The construction of the M6 toll motorway, formerly known as the Birmingham northern relief road, is the
responsibility of the concessionaire, Midland Expressway Ltd. The road is on programme for opening early in 2004.
Tony Wright : I am grateful for that answer. Will my right hon. Friend confirm that part of the purpose of that road is still to stop my constituents using it? As I understand it, the strategic purpose of the road is to relieve through traffic on the M6. If so, that can work only if my constituents and other people in south Staffordshire have reliable and effective ways of getting in and out of the conurbation. At present, they do not. The Chase line is horrendous. May I ask that one bit of my right hon. Friend's Department talks to the other bit? If that new road gets clogged up with my constituents—if they can afford to use it—it will defeat the purpose and in 20 years we shall have demands for a relief road to relieve the relief road.
Mr. Spellar: I can confirm that the primary purpose of the road, as my hon. Friend rightly says, is to relieve the significant bottlenecks at the rail interchange and spaghetti junction, which create problems not only for west midlands industry but also for industry and commerce much further afield. I am sure that he will have held discussions with the motorway concessionaire in order to determine how the interests of his constituents can be served, but I take his point: we also need to look into other modes of transport—as we have pointed out from the Treasury Bench today—to ensure access not only to New Street but to the other stations in central Birmingham, thus freeing up traffic in the conurbation.
Michael Fabricant (Lichfield): The M6 toll road will not only improve connections between the south-east and the north-west; it could also improve connections with Wales through the M54. Is the Minister aware that only four or five miles of single carriageway—the A460—would link the M6 toll road with the M54? May I induce the Minister with a mouldy sandwich at an M6 service station to improve the links between the M6 toll, the M54 and Wales?
Mr. Spellar: The hon. Gentleman will be aware that the Highways Agency has commissioned consultants to complete a feasibility report on possible alignment. It is due to be completed at the end of March 2003, and it will be put to the Secretary of State in the spring. I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will make representations after that.
CABINET OFFICE
The Minister of State was asked—
Regulation
21. Mr. Henry Bellingham (North-West Norfolk): When he next expects to meet representatives of the small firms sector to discuss the better regulation agenda across government. [93521]
The Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Mr. Douglas Alexander): In the normal course of my duties I attend many functions and events at which I meet business people and we speak on a wide range of topics.
My right hon. Friend Lord Macdonald of Tradeston leads on better regulation. Today, the Better Regulation Task Force is hosting a conference of small firms at which the Government are represented by the Minister with responsibility for small businesses at the Department of Trade and Industry, the Under-Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh, South (Nigel Griffiths).
Mr. Bellingham : I am very pleased to hear about that, because the Minister will be aware of the grave concern in the business community, especially the small business community, about the intolerable burden of regulation. Is he aware that Lord Macdonald launched his regulatory reform action plan a year and a half ago? He promised that in the first year and a half there would be 64 regulatory reform orders, which are much needed by the small business community. How many of those orders have been made?
Mr. Alexander: This provides a helpful opportunity to clarify the position. The Opposition have fundamentally misunderstood the commitment that was given. The regulatory reform action plan contained 268 proposals, of which only 63 were regulatory reform orders. I think that there is therefore a case for the hon. Gentleman to look at the commitment that was given and the progress that is being made towards those goals.
Ian Lucas (Wrexham): Will the Minister assure me that the views of small businesses are taken into account when devising the Government's approach to regulation? As someone who previously ran a small business, I know that regulation is of great concern to businesses that employ, for example, fewer than half a dozen people. Are there specific representatives of small business on any of the bodies that the Government consult when framing policy?
Mr. Alexander: Yes, I draw particular attention to the Better Regulation Task Force, headed by David Arculus, on which there is small business representation. The conference that it is hosting today will see the launch of the small firms impact test, which is included in revised Cabinet Office guidance and is consistent with the work that the Government have taken forward in a range of ways to tackle regulation. The Government set up the Small Business Service at the Department of Trade and Industry actively to promote a "think small first" strategy at all stages of policy development.
Mr. Eric Forth (Bromley and Chislehurst): Given the unarguably disproportionate effect that red tape and bureaucracy have on small firms—the point that my hon. Friend the Member for North-West Norfolk (Mr. Bellingham) has made—and given that the Federation of Small Businesses has claimed recently that many small business owners are bewildered by the changes that the Government keep making and are reluctant to employ new staff for fear of unintentionally
falling foul of complex laws, will the Minister help the House by telling us whether he has one of the Government's famous targets for deregulation and getting rid of red tape? If so, what is it? If there is one and he is prepared to tell us what it is, how long will it take to reach that target at the present rate of deregulation?
Mr. Alexander: On the point about employment creation, this Government have created more than 1 million jobs since 1997, many within the small business sector. The regulatory reform action plan contained a large number of commitments—268. The level of progress is currently 27 per cent., and given that we have three further years in which to continue to pursue this work we will take it forward on a month-by-month basis.
There is a fundamental division across the House on this issue. We make no apology for the national minimum wage, the extension of maternity leave, and the introduction of paternity leave and paid holiday for the first time for many employees across the country.
Public Appointments
22. Mr. Ben Chapman (Wirral, South): What progress is being made in providing training for people making an application for public appointments. [93523]
The Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Mr. Douglas Alexander): The Government are keen to encourage people from all backgrounds to apply for public appointments. For example, my Department has participated in a national outreach campaign of regional seminars led by the Ministers for Women. These seminars gave practical advice on the skills and competencies relevant to public appointments and information on how to apply.
Mr. Chapman: Does my hon. Friend agree that it is desirable that people appointed to public offices should be representative of society as a whole and that, to achieve that, we need to make people aware of not just the opportunities that arise but the contribution that they could make? Does he agree that, if we do not do that, people on public bodies will continue to be middle class, middle aged and, often, men in suits, rather than having a fair representation of women, ethnic minorities, younger people and the various strata and components of our society?
Mr. Alexander: I endorse everything that my hon. Friend has said. The Government want the boards of public bodies to be representative of society as a whole. It is fair to acknowledge not only the tremendous work that is done by public bodies the length and breadth of the country but the work of the Commissioner for Public Appointments, who has taken forward a range of initiatives to try to ensure that we capture the necessary diversity in public bodies so that they can work with excellence.
Mr. John Bercow (Buckingham): Is training mandatory in those circumstances where it is available?
Do the Government have a list of approved possible suppliers of such training? If so, how many does the list comprise?
Mr. Alexander: Training is not mandatory in the sense that some people are ideally qualified on the basis of past experience to discharge their responsibilities in public bodies. Given the tenor of previous observations about regulation, I should be surprised if the Opposition were now suggesting that there must be mandatory training for every public body, but perhaps they are now advocating that.
Jon Trickett (Hemsworth): Does the Minister accept that manual workers are badly under-represented on such bodies? What steps will he take to increase representation? How might I encourage people from that background in my constituency to become public representatives?
Mr. Alexander: I certainly endorse the desire to ensure that every section of society is well represented on our public bodies. One of the distinguishing features of the way in which public bodies are now advertised is that we are determined to ensure that people in communities throughout the country are made aware of such opportunities, rather than having to rely on our traditional Whitehall network to know that such opportunities are available. I believe that we can continue to do more, and I am encouraged by the strength of feeling in the House on this matter.
| Next Section
| Index | Home Page |