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Groceries Supplies (Code of Conduct)
12. Linda Gilroy (Plymouth, Sutton) (Lab/Co-op): What recent discussions he has had with representatives of the grocery industry on establishing a groceries supply code of conduct. [299501]
The Minister for Further Education, Skills, Apprenticeships and Consumer Affairs (Kevin Brennan): The answer is none. The Competition Commission has powers under the Enterprise Act 2002 to put in place the revised groceries supply code of practice without involvement from Government. It laid that order on 4 August, and it will come into force on 4 February 2010.
Linda Gilroy: Why is it taking so long to establish an ombudsman, and will my hon. Friend please take note of the representations that he has received today and act quickly?
Kevin Brennan: I will take note of the representations from hon. Members, and in the very near future I will meet interested parties to give further consideration to the matter of the ombudsman. As I said, the code will come into force on 4 February next year.
Mr. Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con): In Desborough in my constituency, the Co-op has the only supermarket in town and it has restrictive covenants on other sites where supermarkets might locate. Those covenants are effectively acting as a brake on the economic redevelopment of the town. What will the Government do to ensure that they do not act as a brake on economic growth?
Kevin Brennan: That is a separate matter for the Competition Commission, which is considering whether changes are necessary in planning requirements to do with competition. Again, the Government will respond shortly on that matter.
Labour Force Re-skilling
13. Mr. Jim Cunningham (Coventry, South) (Lab): What expenditure his Department has incurred on labour force re-skilling initiatives in the last 12 months. [299502]
The Minister for Further Education, Skills, Apprenticeships and Consumer Affairs (Kevin Brennan): In 2008-09, investment in work-based learning through Train to Gain and apprenticeships was £1.2 billion. The Department has also focused the total adult skills budget towards skills and qualifications that support progression into and within sustainable employment, as set out in the November 2008 investment strategy.
Mr. Cunningham: Following on from the question by my hon. Friend the Member for Coventry, North-West (Mr. Robinson), may I ask the Minister what discussions he has had with Tata and Ericsson about the Ansty technology park in Coventry? As my hon. Friend indicated, 700 jobs are going to be cut there arbitrarily, and the potential creation of 2,000 jobs has been stopped. What discussions have taken place with both companies?
Kevin Brennan: I understand that the Secretary of State has already been in discussion with the companies about that. As my right hon. Friend the Minister for Regional Economic Development and Co-ordination said earlier, the Government regret Ericsson's announcement. It will remain a large investor in the UK, but nevertheless the jobs involved are highly skilled and will be a great loss in the west midlands, so we are currently in discussions with the company to see what the Government could do to try to alter its decision.
Mr. David Evennett (Bexleyheath and Crayford) (Con): According to the recent CBI report on skills funding, this year the Government's Train to Gain programme will fund eight times more courses at level 2 and below than at level 3, with funding often just going to badge up existing skills. Does the Minister think that that lack of focus on technical skills is why four in 10 businesses say that Train to Gain adds nothing to their organisation?
Kevin Brennan: As I said earlier, Mr. Speaker, if you want to keep something a secret, announce it in the House of Commons. The hon. Gentleman may not have noticed, but yesterday we launched a White Paper setting out our policies in this regard, including creating an extra 35,000 apprenticeships at level 3 to raise the level of skills and deal with the problem of what is sometimes called "assess assess."
Free Trade Agreement (Colombia)
14. Mr. Brian Jenkins (Tamworth) (Lab): What recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on a mandate for the European Commission to negotiate a free trade agreement with Colombia. [299503]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Ian Lucas): With permission I should like to answer this question in conjunction with Questions 15 and 16.
Mr. Speaker: Order. I think I am right in saying that Question 15 has been withdrawn-the grouping is with Question 16.
Ian Lucas: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
16. Mr. Stephen Hepburn (Jarrow) (Lab): What recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on a mandate for the European Commission to negotiate a free trade agreement with Colombia. [299505]
Ian Lucas: Negotiations between the European Union and the Community of Andean Nations were launched in 2007. The mandate was last revised in December 2008 when, because the Andean nations could not agree a common position- [ Interruption. ]
Mr. Speaker: Order. I am sorry to interrupt the Minister. There are far too many rather noisy private conversations taking place. It is pretty rude and I am sorry to say that it includes those on the Front Bench, and that must stop.
Ian Lucas: The mandate was last revised in 2008 when, because the Andean nations could not agree a common position, Colombia and Peru asked the European Commission to negotiate a multi-party trade agreement with interested Andean countries. Ecuador remains an observer.
Mr. Jenkins:
I thank my hon. Friend for that answer, but will he recognise that this House has a strong and proud tradition of supporting free trade union movements, especially when it is called Solidarity? Will he impress
upon his European Union counterparts that we cannot enter into a free trade agreement with any country that does not allow free trade union movements?
Ian Lucas: Of course, free trade unions are a fundamental tenet of any civilised society. That is why we have successfully pressed the European Commission to include a human rights clause in the agreement with Colombia and Peru, which, if breached, would enable the agreement to be suspended.
Mr. Speaker: Mr. Stephen Hepburn. Not here.
Small and Medium-Sized Businesses
17. Mr. John Baron (Billericay) (Con): What recent progress his Department has made in assisting small and medium-sized businesses to secure finance. [299506]
The Minister for Business, Innovation and Skills (Mr. Pat McFadden): A number of interventions are working to help access to finance for small and medium-sized businesses. These include the enterprise finance guarantee, by which some 6,200 businesses have been offered loans totalling £630 million to date, and the capital for enterprise fund, by which £60 million has been offered to 40 businesses.
Mr. Baron: I have to beg to disagree with the Minister. Many companies in my constituency and the most recent credit crunch survey by the Federation of Small Businesses have confirmed that in too many cases, the cost of credit is actually increasing, whatever the Government say. What are they going to do about that? Which of the Minister's schemes is actually going to ensure that the cost of credit is affordable, because the EFG is failing in that, and credit is terribly important to small business?
Mr. McFadden: I absolutely accept that access to finance and credit is critical to small businesses. That is why we have acted on this. In the hon. Gentleman's constituency, which he mentioned, 11 loans have been offered to businesses through that scheme. That is just one part of the country-as I said, the total is 6,000 overall. The issue he raises is vital, which is why we have launched those schemes. The enterprise finance guarantee is having an effect, but we must also remember that most businesses will get credit through conventional bank loans. The Government scheme has never intended to replace conventional bank lending, but to be an additional fund where we will share more of the risk in a particular group of cases.
David Taylor (North-West Leicestershire) (Lab/Co-op): One of the best ways of improving access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises is to look at the poor cash flows that they are having to endure because larger firms further up the chain are exploiting their vulnerability. What does the Minister intend to do to improve that parlous position?
Mr. McFadden:
My hon. Friend raises a very important point. That is one reason why the Government have tried to be a better customer and to pay more of our invoices within 10 days, rather than 30 days, as was the case previously. I am glad to say that most Departments
have stepped up to the plate on that issue, including the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills-more than 90 per cent. of my Department's invoices are met within that 10-day period. In addition, we have launched a prompt payment code with larger businesses. It is also important that they are a good customer to the many small and medium-sized businesses that depend on their business.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke (Rushcliffe) (Con): The Minister must be aware that August was the seventh consecutive month in which the net flow of finance to business fell, and that the figures for the third quarter of this year are the worst on record for the fall in lending to business. Will he not acknowledge that the Government's efforts to tackle this problem of credit for business over the last nine months-the worst of the credit crunch-have failed, and that they would have been much better advised to take up our suggestion of a large across-the-board loan guarantee scheme, which might have saved quite a number of our struggling businesses?
Mr. McFadden: I certainly do not accept that the Government's efforts to promote credit and help small businesses get access to credit have failed. As I said, our scheme is working. Some 6,000 businesses have benefited, and hundreds of millions of pounds have been lent. We have also reached agreement with the banks in which we have stakes in order to ensure that they keep lending. Another factor is the fall in demand for lending that is experienced during a recession as businesses face difficulties. The right hon. and learned Gentleman's comments today are in contrast to those he made to the Press Gallery, where he said that our Secretary of State was one of the few Ministers who had workable policies, some of which he wanted to borrow.
NEETs
18. Ann Winterton (Congleton) (Con): How many people under the age of 24 were not in education, employment or training on the most recent date for which figures are available. [299507]
The Minister for Further Education, Skills, Apprenticeships and Consumer Affairs (Kevin Brennan): In the second quarter of 2009, there were 959,000 people not in education, employment or training aged 16 to 24. This includes young mothers with children, those who are seriously ill or have profound disabilities, and young people who have a course or job that has not yet started, including those on a gap year.
Ann Winterton: Those are absolutely terrible figures and much higher than one would have expected, especially as so much taxpayers' money has been focused on getting young people into education, employment or training. May I suggest to the Minister that those young people who are fit and well and not included in those three sectors should be encouraged-in fact, made-to work for the local community on worthwhile projects? Our towns and cities are filthy: it is about time that everybody in the local community helped to put that sort of thing right.
Kevin Brennan:
I remember being unemployed in 1982 under a previous Government when I left university, and I can tell the hon. Lady that there are now far more opportunities provided by the Government for young
people who are out of work than there ever were at that time. The Conservatives have refused to commit to the education maintenance allowance or to match our commitments to job training and places, so those are hollow words from the hon. Lady.
Mr. David Anderson (Blaydon) (Lab): Would my hon. Friend agree that the best that we can do in this situation is to carry on working for these young people and continue the Government initiatives? We should not listen to the Opposition who have nothing but crocodile tears to offer this country.
Kevin Brennan: My best response to that is yes.
Small Businesses
19. Mr. Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con): What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Government's enterprise champion in contributing to the Government's policy on small businesses. [299508]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Ian Lucas): My noble Friend is providing valuable advice to the Government and is passionately committed to helping small businesses.
Mr. Bone: Would the Minister recommend to the Secretary of State that he sits Lord Sugar down in a room, looks at him mournfully, stabs his finger at him a couple of times and says, "You're fired"?
Ian Lucas: I have many interesting discussions with the Secretary of State, but I certainly would not give him that advice.
Royal Mail
20. Andrew Rosindell (Romford) (Con): What plans he has for the future of Royal Mail. [299509]
The Minister for Business, Innovation and Skills (Mr. Pat McFadden): We want to see an efficient and modern Royal Mail and have made £1.2 billion available in financing to enable Royal Mail to implement its transformation plans. We welcome the agreement reached last week between Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union, which has resulted in a period of calm to enable negotiations on taking forward the modernisation plan. The critical challenge, of course, for Royal Mail is to modernise in the face of technological change and the growth of alternative means of communication, such as e-mail, texting and broadband internet.
Andrew Rosindell: Does the Minister share the dismay of the British people at how Royal Mail-a great British institution-has been downgraded under this Government? Will he ensure not only that the current truce continues until Christmas, but that the Government take positive action to ensure that once again Royal Mail becomes a flagship institution in our country?
Mr. McFadden:
We have certainly not downgraded Royal Mail. We have backed it to the hilt financially. The £1.2 billion that I referred to comes on top of £1.7 billion to support the post office network and on
top of more money earlier in this Government to support Royal Mail. Our commitment is not open to question. The issue is transformation in the face of the technological change that affects the lives of each and every one of our constituents, and that is Royal Mail's task. That is why it is so important to get an agreement that is not only signed up to, but properly implemented to ensure the health of this critical British service.
Topical Questions
T1. [299514] Gordon Banks (Ochil and South Perthshire) (Lab): If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
The Minister for Business, Innovation and Skills (Mr. Pat McFadden): Our Department is focused on working with business to help Britain through difficult economic times, to try to ensure that Britain is as well placed as possible for economic recovery, when it comes, and to equip people for the jobs of the future. In recent weeks, we have had a particular focus on the latter point with the publication of the higher education framework and yesterday's skills White Paper.
Gordon Banks: When will my right hon. Friend respond to the fatal accident inquiry by Sheriff Mackie in our sheriff court? Furthermore, what action does he intend to take to prevent further child deaths from strangulation by loop blind cords?
Mr. McFadden: In July, officials met representatives of the British Blind and Shutter Association, when the industry's "Make it Safe" initiative on how to reduce the risk from loop blind cords and chains was discussed. The Department and the industry have agreed a plan to make their guidance available to the widest possible audience, which would include working with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents to address the important and serious issue that my hon. Friend raised.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke (Rushcliffe) (Con): At a time when 51 companies are going bust every day in this country, and when, as we said a few moments ago, the credit position for small businesses is very difficult, does the Minister agree with Lord Sugar, the small business tsar, that struggling small business men are moaners and living in Disneyland, which he undoubtedly said? Is it not time for the Department's senior Minister in the House of Commons to apologise on behalf of the Government for what was said? Otherwise, it will appear that they are indifferent to, and out of tune with, the problems of entrepreneurs up and down the country who are trying to save their businesses and other people's jobs.
Mr. McFadden: I reject entirely the charge that the Government are indifferent to the difficulties faced by small businesses. We know that small businesses are vital to creativity in the country and to employment, and we appreciate the passion and commitment that it takes for people to start and grow a small business. That is why the Government have backed small businesses, why we shall continue to do so and why we are working with them to help them through difficult economic times. We know that the economic recovery is based on their health and strength in the future.
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