Live Innovation, Business and Skills Questions House of Commons

Order, order. Questions to the Secretary of State for Business

Innovation and Skills. Good morning. Mr Speaker, I am sure the House will

want to join me in sending best wishes to Tim Peake who has blasted

towards space only 20 minutds ago. We are reforming technical dducation

and making clear written to education and employment. Wd are

spending ?2.5 billion on apprenticeships and ?1.5 billion on

adult skills. We are establhshing specialist colleges. I would like to

join the Secretary of State. There are a pulled or of opportunhties.

Does the Minister agree that prioritising funding for yotng

adults is the right thing to do for a Conservative Government? H

absolutely agree and I know that he cares passionately about skhlls for

young adults. We have priorhtised spending in further education in the

recent spending review and this will allow colleges, like Lincoln

College, to offer more to young people. Further education colleges

are vital in engineering and construction apprenticeships, where

there is a shortage of skills across the country. What assessment he has

the Minister made in the cuts in funding to further education

colleges in delivering thesd much needed agendas. I'm surprisdd he's

talking about cuts in furthdr education spending. I know the party

opposite was care among abott that, but we have protected the adult

education budget and we are doubling spending on apprenticeships and we

have extended the availabilhty of loans. This taken together will mean

that by 2020 there will be `n increase in further education

spending 35% could better this year. I welcome the removal of thd cap on

university places, but what assessment has been made of the

effect of the removal of th`t cap on further education colleges, such as

the one in my constituency, as they are fishing from the same pool in

terms of apprenticeships? I welcome the question from my right

honourable friend. There is an increase in that and that's the kind

of diversity and grow the B want to see. It is smoke and mirrors with

the Secretary of State becatse he knows the Chancellor has announced

an extra ?360 million of savings to the adult skills budget. Will he

come to the dispatch box and come clean and tell us where the cuts

will be made? I can tell thd Honourable Gentleman that there will

be a skills funding letter hssued by my department that will answer some

of the questions that he rahses but he misses the point I made ` moment

ago. The adult education budget is protected, we are doubling the

spending on apprenticeships, and the further education budget will be up

by the end of this Parliament in real terms. Mr Speaker, the Met

office plays a key role in our economy. The public weather service

assessed that as delivering up to ?1.5 billion of annual valud. I am a

shareholder and I hope them to account to ensure that they deliver

value for money for the taxpayer. The BBC reported in 2012 th`t in 11

of the previous 12 years prddictions about increases in temperattre had

been wrong and there had bedn a warm bias. Should the Minister bd asking

some tough questions at the next board meeting as to why we should be

imposed on climate change policies on businesses and householddrs when

the predictions behind them often prove to be an accurate? I like to

ask difficult questions. In my honourable friend own consthtuency

the Met office plays a key role in protecting property and lacd. We

should commend them and the work that they do. Question numbdr three.

I cheer the exporter implemdntation task force which is driving support

for exports. In November, wd launched a five-year exporthng is

great campaign which promotds global export opportunities to bushness. In

November I hosted an event hn my constituency with the China -Britain

business Council. I asked more businesses to come to find out more

with trading with China. It is helping to organise 50 people

organise similar events. How will the Minister help small bushnesses

expand into these markets? Can I commend my honourable friend on her

efforts to encourage businesses in her constituency to export lore to

China. While exports to China have doubles, there is a lot mord

potential. The recent visit by the Chinese president helped to

highlight that and the effort that she is making is an example to us

all. What steps has the Secretary of State taken since the steel summits

to increase trade opportunities for the UK's steel industry? He makes an

important point, the more that we can exports of the higher v`lue

steel products, the more we can help. We have been discussing this

with steel producers and we are coming up with a plan. They will

feature in our trade meetings that we have in due course. Next month I

will be hosting an event to encourage more local businesses to

consider exporting. Can my right honourable friend outline what the

Government is doing to encotrage new businesses to export? I can talk of

a number of initiatives. Thdre is a website, a road show that whll be

visiting constituencies, thd work that UK TIA are doing -- UKTI. There

will also be a Midlands would show. As part of the work of the dxporter

implementation group, will the Secretary of State explore `ll

options to access new markets for all of our farm produce.

Particularly in North America and Southeast Asia. Absolutely. The

honourable lady makes a good point. This has been taken very seriously.

One thing we have done recently is to move some of the UKTI resources

into the Secretary of State department so there is bettdr

coordination. I was talking to a senior Indian businessmen and asked

him how we could increase trade with India. He said there one thhng we

could do is leave the Europdan Union. With the Secretary of State,

either as Secretary of Statd or personally, endorse these comments?

Last week I was speaking to a lot of Indian businessmen and women and a

lot of Indian students and there is one area that we can certainly

increase our exports to Indha and an active education. -- increase our

exports to India and that is in education. The trade deficit is

widening. Exports of goods, perhaps he should listen to this, exports of

goods from the UK actually fell last month by ?700 million. It is a pity

we cannot exports spin as the Government is very good at that

What is his excuse for the Government's dismal record on the

trade deficit? The Honourable Gentleman shouldn't do down our

world-class exporters as thdy are doing a fantastic job. They can

exports wine to France, chocolate to Belgium, boomerang is to st`y

earlier. I fear this is the same boomerang that keeps coming back.

Question number four, Mr Spdaker. Mr Speaker, we have given employers

control over apprenticeships standards and we require thdm all to

last 12 months and involve substantial of the job training We

will be setting up an indepdndent employer led Institute to ilprove

standards and ensure qualitx in the future. I thank the Minister for his

response and I welcome the fact there have been almost 1100

apprenticeships starting in the last 12 months and my constituency, but I

know there are concerns frol business that there may be ` focus

on quantity and not quality. What assurances can the Minister gave

that that will not be the c`se. There is no tension between quality

and quantity. We want better quality because they're more employdrs will

offer apprenticeships, like BMW and I welcome the high-quality

apprenticeships that they are creating. The Minister will know

that Ofsted have said apprenticeships are not good enough.

A lot of people in industry believe that the only way the 3 million

target will be hit will be by reducing quality further. What

reassurance can he provide? Ofsted has highlighted a pr`ctice

which was familiar to all of ours for a long time and has inspired the

reforms we are putting in place to replace all apprenticeships with the

standards agreed by employers that have two last at least 12 months and

at least 25% of the job trahning. We are ensuring that we will h`ve

increased quality at all levels Where I disagree is in the

suggestion that a level to scholarship is not high-quality

Existing level to apprenticdships increase incomes on average by 1%

three to five years later. There were 970 new starts in my

constituency last year, manx in engineering and technology. Will he

join me by congratulating those apprenticeship is and does he agree

that it shows our commitment to apprenticeships of high quality It

is a stunning achievement in his constituency and I know that it is

in large part due to the excellent Pro Pat which is one of the first

institutions to have become a college in a long time. I would be

happy to revisit it any timd. Can I suggest that he finds way to harness

the power of trade unions in this area? A very interesting suggestion.

The honourable gentleman will know that I greatly value the work the

trade unions do in encouraghng employees to take up training

opportunities and it is why we continue to fund Union Learn In That

Direction. Snap on is a major manufacturer of tools and its UK

headquarters is in Kettering, because they are looking to increase

investment in apprenticeships, would he accent my -- accent my invitation

to come and open the institttion next month. If the whips allowed me,

I will be there. My departmdnt is leading cross Parliament work on

apprentices. The UK export hub will travel around the country to give

assistance face-to-face to exporters. Feedback from business in

my constituency suggests th`t there needs to be more support for SMEs

exporting less than half ?1 million worth of goods and once givdn

support it is complicated bx red tape. How would he minister

responded to those businessds? I agree that we should always look to

do more to help SMEs export more. He may know that we recently h`d a

regional trade mission, the Northern Powerhouse trade mission, which I

lead, to the Far East. It included companies from his constitudncy The

airline has exported luxury boats across the world but we havd heard

news of redundancies. Many of the employees are currently on lay-offs

periods and reduced pay. Wotld he do what he can to make sure redundancy

payments are expedited, particularly with Christmas around the corner. It

is a difficult time and I whll look into that with discussions to find a

potential buyer. Does the government foresee difficulties long-tdrm with

the transatlantic trade agrdement with the United States. Espdcially

with regard to exporting to the United Kingdom agricultural food

products. Discussions are still going on. It is by its very nation

complicated. Agri- products need carefully looking at. Once the

dealers done, it could be worth ?400 to every household in the UK. In my

former career, I exported broadcasting equipment to 48

countries worldwide, no thanks to the EU and their regulations.

Really, you need to have ten three X chutzpah to export. How can we go

about getting more of that? Wenping can be sure of is that the

honourable gentleman has pldnty of chutzpah and I'm he will deliver

more of that. We want all Company to do everything they can. The

government's so-called support for exports has seen grants converted to

loans and the sudden closurd of the business growth service. Businesses

supported by it grew four thmes faster than other businesses. The

scheme created 83,000 jobs `nd netted over 3.5 billion to the

National economy. As one mentors said, the closure doesn't m`ke sense

considering its huge success and may prove detrimental to Britain's

economic help. What message does the closure send to businesses that want

to grow and given the outst`nding record of success it to show and --

doesn't it show the governmdnt attitude to export. There w`s little

evidence that it was the best way to help those businesses which is to

make sure we have a continuhng the growing economy, faster than our

rivals, so we can support the long-term economic plan. We are

providing 39 LEPs with fundhng through growth hubs. Employdrs with

a payroll bill of over ?3 mhllion per year will be required to pay the

apprenticeship levy which whll raise ?3 billion to support apprenticeship

training throughout Scotland. We hope that the apprenticeship levy

will provide opportunities for young people south of the border, as well

as the 25,000 who started an apprenticeship in Scotland this

year. Is he aware of the Association of learning providers concerns that

the money raised by the levx is likely to be less than was

previously thought? I'm delhghted that he is proud of the 25,000

modern apprenticeship starts in Scotland. We are proud of the half a

million stats that we have had in the last year in England. It would

suggest that we can both take pride in our commitment to

apprenticeships. I hope we will welcome the fact that the

apprenticeship levy will be generating resources that whll

impart the sent to Scotland. The oil and gas industry faces disthnct

challenges at present. I know that this levy May represent a

significant challenge to those businesses. It represents an

additional cost at a time when controlling cost is of paralount

importance. Will he meet a delegation from the industrx to hear

their concerns and how they can take advantage of these circumst`nces? I

will ask them what they think of her party's plans for Scotland which

rested on an oil price of ?000 per barrel. It would currently find

themselves linked to the IMF. We are protecting funding for adult

education at 1.5 billion per year in cash terms. We are extending advance

loans to adult learners and increasing spending on adult

apprenticeships to ?1.5 million by 2020. This means that the total

funding for adult skills tr`ining will be 36% higher in the l`st year

of this parliament man in the first. Salford city College is one of over

100 colleges who have protested at real year-on-year funding ctts. A

mounting now to 40%. Despitd this promise not to cut adult skhlls from

FC colleges Treasury documents now say that there will be ?360 billion

worth of savings and efficidncies. Can the Minister tell others how

this can be achieved? Her college like many others wrote to the Prime

Minister before the spending review and in response to the flag,waving

before from the opposition who predicted a 25-40% cut in the adult

skills budget. If the honourable lady had taken the trouble to attend

the spending review she would have heard that actually he is protecting

it in cash terms while incrdasing the funding for apprenticeships

which colleges could bid for. If she spoke to her college, she would

discover that they are pleasantly surprised by the funding settlement.

Any credible long-term economic plan would recognise the critical

importance of adult reskillhng but this government has systematically

cut adult skills by 40% since 2 10 including a 24% cut in Febrtary of

non-printed ship funding. That is probably why the Chancellor. About

making any reference to the further cuts in the Autumn leaving ht in his

blue book to talk about savhng through efficiencies. Will the

Minister say precisely what the ?1.5 billion he talks off of cord funding

is made up of? Does it incltde over 25 you rolled Lowes, 50% of which

won't be taken up? Aisling ,- 25-year-old loans. I am earning my

salary today. We have launched a process to consider every area's

skills needs. And how we can best meet them. The Kent review hs due to

start in 2016. I welcome thd review and I would like to point ott that

Sittingbourne, the largest town in Kent is without its own further

education college. We have `n opportunity to change that situation

and I invite the Minister to visit the skills Centre in my constituency

to learn how it could be easily and cheaply X banded into a small

college. I have had a message from the whips saying that they would

only be too delighted to allow me to visit more constituencies. Of

course, we don't hear from the opposition celebrating when new

institutions are setup, including the Swale skills Centre which has

been set up by a very successful academies trust which is already

doing a great job of running local schools. I consulted on the proposal

to free student loan repaymdnt threshold and received responses

from interested parties. I have decided to proceed with the freezing

of the threshold. Does the Secretary of State agree that if if a

commercial company had made a retrospective change to a contract

in this way, costing students ? ,000 in the process, there would likely

be an investigation? Does hd accept that in doing so he has bre`ched the

trust of former, current and future students? I accept that these were

the right set of changes. I considered the responses carefully.

It is important to strike the right balance between students having the

ability and opportunity to go to university and the interests of the

taxpayer, making sure we have an affordable and sustainable funding

process. Can the Secretary of State confirmed despite negative, it is

opposite that record levels of young people secure places at university,

including from disadvantaged backgrounds? My honourable friend is

absolutely right. That is true of England. We have seen a record

increase to 382,000 people hn the last year and the number of

disadvantaged students has gone up from 9.5% to 18.2%. In Scotland we

have seen a fall because thdy don't have a funding system that `llows

everyone to go to universitx who wants to to do so.

Given the report in the Inddpendent that Cabinet ministers are tried to

find a way to increase the cap on tuition fee without a proper vote in

the House, can the Secretarx of State confirm that any attelpt to

increase the cap on two agencies will come back to the House for a

debate and a belt and can you confirm that Government proposals in

the Autumn Statement to extdnd tuition fees to nurses, midwives and

health subjects will also bd subject to a proper debate and vote in the

House? If the Government dods decide to change the cap on tuition fee

there will be a debate in the House. Robbie Secretary of State agree that

retrospectively changing thd terms of the contract is mis-sellhng? And

will he guarantee that in this Parliament there will be no further

changes to thresholds or interest rates? The changes in questhon are

lawful, that is the advice that I have received. It is consistent with

the games. Honourable members should remember that the loans that are

provided are on better terms than what is available commercially and

it allows all those who want to go to university to have the ability to

do so. Question number ten, Mr Speaker. Could I am so this question

and question 14 together. I was delighted that in the spendhng

review the Government committed an extra ?900 million for aerospace

research and development, mdaning that Government will invest nearly

?2 billion on aerospace resdarch over 13 years to 2025 and 2026. This

will mean that our world le`ding aerospace industry can stay at the

forefront and capitalise on the estimated ?3.6 trillion market for

new aircraft that will be ndeded in the next 20 years. I recently met

the trade union representathves for two sites in my constituencx. They

welcome the contingency of support for the aerospace industry, but they

remain concerned about the outsourcing of high-value

engineering jobs to low-cost countries. What more can my

honourable friend do to address this concern? I'm happy to meet with the

Honourable Gentleman to discuss these concerns and I should say that

Rolls-Royce and beer was thhs sector is a major contributor to the

economy in the United Kingdom so we understand how important it is and

that is why we have protectdd and extended the investment that we are

making in research and development. The recent announcement of the

expansion of the year will help enterprise zone in Cornwall has been

welcomed in Cornwall. -- thd aerospace enterprise zone. This is

Cromwell and opportunity to be awarded the aerospace... He will

continue to make that case because a number of airports are in the

running and we aim to launch the selection process next year. The

United Kingdom space sector, we have heard there is great news about the

launch today, with Tim Peakd going into space. Ground control can

report that the UK space sector has almost doubled, ?11.8 billion. It is

most unfortunate that the honourable members opposite are now singing and

it is not good. I hope that they might cheer at these facts, ?11 8

billion in just seven years. Employing 37,000 people. Send but no

member of this House can match David Bowie. That is relevant as far as

ground control is concerned. Rolls-Royce 's strategic importance

to our aerospace industry, not just in my constituency but also in

Sheffield in Bristol. Can I ask Minister what the Government is

prepared to do to safeguard that capacity, which we know is

increasingly in the news at the moment, to ensure and safegtard the

future of the industry, makhng sure that the UK stays at the forefront

of it was this manufacturing. We should mention the importance of

Rolls-Royce to a city like Derby. We are monitoring the situation

carefully. We recognise the importance that Rolls-Royce placed

to our economy and it is important that we do not talk things down

There is a tendency on the opposite side to talk things down and it is

important that we do not do that and we continue to support Rolls-Royce.

In order to stop Rolls-Roycd falling into the hands of the Chinese, why

does this Government not take Rolls-Royce back into public

ownership? I know the Honourable Gentleman will have trouble

understanding this, but it hs 2 15 and we're not back in the 1860s and

the dark days of the 1970s `nd we know we have a long-term economic

plan that actually delivers, unlike his plan which is a disaster for our

country. As we have heard from our honourable friends, we have been

watching the recent developlents in relation to Rolls-Royce verx

closely, not only because of the implications for security, but

because it is the biggest elployer for Britain's it was space sector.

As we have heard from the Mhnister, the global air crash market is going

to be worth considerable money in the next 20 years we welcomd the

investment in the game technology Institute. But is it not tile that

the Secretary of State developed an industrial strategy rather than

continuing with this piecemdal approach? I am not going to repeat

everything I have said about continuing investment. ?900 million

of taxpayers' money going into aerospace. We recognise its

significance and it is easy to put labels on it. It doesn't matter what

labelled you put on it, it hs about delivery and that is what wd are

doing. As my right honourable friend the Chancellor demonstrated, the

Government puts investment `s a top priority in our long-term economic

plan. I'm delighted at the announcement that the science budget

will be ring fenced. In addhtion, the Prime Minister has recently

announced a 50% increase in our funding of climate finance `nd we

have just announced ?60 million into the energy research acceler`tor

Launching an investment coalition in Paris at the weekend made the point

that if we are to avoid global warming we need to develop new

renewable energy technology. To ensure that the UK places p`rt, what

progress has the Minister m`de to make sure that the green funds

receives the money it needs an its green mandate. I'm sure the

Honourable Gentleman will announce Scott back well, the Prime

Minister's announcement that he will be supporting the industry. It turns

over ?45 billion for the Brhtish economy and 4.8 billion of dxports.

By allowing the bank to raise money we will generate more money for the

green economy which is going in this Government like never beford. The

North Sea oil and gas sector faces significant challenges that the

current time, with a need for a collegiate approach to rese`rch and

development to fuel innovathon and to drive down costs. Will the

Minister consider setting up a North Sea oil and gas innovation Centre,

similar to the successful offshore wind catapult. On the East Coast and

in Scotland this country is leading in this field of offshore energy. We

have just funded the offshore energy Centre and I would be happy to look

at the specific idea that hd recommends. It is extremely

disappointing, a missed opportunity, damaging and a disgrace. Thdse were

the words and phrases used to describe this Government's decision

to withdraw ?1 billion of ftnding from carbon capture and storage

Hundreds of jobs from the alenities in the north-east of Scotland and

the opportunity to be at thd forefront of low carbon innovation

is now lost. The Government will instead spend hundreds of mhllions

of pounds of subsidising research into the Government will instead

spend hundreds of millions of pounds of subsidising research into Nicola

energy. In light of this decision, with the Minister like to t`ke the

opportunity to explain to the people of Peterhead and the north-dast and

he has supported them to be world leaders and innovation? It hs a

pleasure to follow that spedch. I will happily repeat the figtre that

I just gave you. The Prime Linister has announced ?400 billion of extra

funding for energy finance. We have made announcements and you show

researching I did make the point that one of the lessons for Scotland

is to reduce its dependency on public sector funding. 20% of the

funding went to Scotland, that is ?560 million, when only represents

10% of bill payers. We need to support the green economy in

Scotland as we are in the rdst of the country. The Minister whll be

aware that a major investment was announcing the spending revhew of

?250 million for a small modular reactors, something that has now

welcomed in the north-western will make a big difference to our ability

to meet our climate change targets. What is crucial as a result of this

is that the UK owns the IPI that comes out of this. But he m`ke sure

this is the case? My honour`ble friend is an expert in this matter

and I were looking to the point that he makes. Our support for the green

economy is now ?45 billion sector in this country and we are gendrating

the technologies that are ldading into 21st-century green energy and

look into the points that hd makes. The enterprise bill which is going

through the other place will create a small business Commissiondr and

one of their import rules whll be to make sure that this continuhng

problem with late payment is brought to an end. We have other me`sures on

hand to make sure that therd is reporting, but we're making good

progress on this. Cheltenhal's superb small shops and businesses

rely some people getting out from behind their computers and visiting

local shops. In those circulstances, those are my honourable fridnd agree

that the local authority should provide flexible and cheap parking

to support small businesses and shopping? I am afraid I am ` little

bit of message. I take a radical approach to parking. I would take

the view that there should be no parking charges in any towns. The

car parks belonged to the pdople. There are times when the local

authority does want to put hn car parking charges. A good exalple is

in one area where there used to make sure people do not abuse thdm. But

as much as possible we should be supporting town centres and small

businesses, so we should not be charging people to park in their own

home town. Mr Speaker, in the spirit of Christmas, can I invite the whole

ministerial team to come to Huddersfield where they can learn

about spinning and weaving `nd I can arrange for them to have a wonderful

city made like this one I al wearing. -- a wonderful suit. They

have a textile centre for excellence and a top about the pressurd of

small businesses. The Government wants to take us out of Europe and

to stop us from being able to export to the rest of the world. It was

going so well and I was going to be a Christmas fairy. Everyone knows my

views on the European Union and the views of the Prime Minister. We want

to stay in a reformed Europdan Union. In the spirit of Chrhstmas, I

would be delighted to go to Huddersfield. I could talk `bout my

family's relationship of Huddersfield. I will go to

Huddersfield at the Honourable Gentleman will come to my

constituency. -- if the Honourable Gentleman. And alighted to tell you

that I talk about cyber Brazilians a lot with the Minister. They were

saying how pleased they werd to see the Chancellor's announcement

doubling the budget for cybdr security to almost ?2 billion. I'm

delighted that the Minister has doubled the budget, only 10$ was on

consumers, the police force, or small businesses. What is hd is

doing to encourage small businesses that are not able to commit huge

amount of time to engaging with this? What is he is going to do for

businesses to insure that they are safe online? I did not double the

budget, it was the Chancellor. It is important to give him credit. I take

the point very seriously. Wd do have a fantastic scheme, which allows

small businesses and large businesses to get a certificate to

show that they had been through a process to increase their cxber

security. In the government is working hard to

deliver our productivity pl`n. We will promote a dynamic economy.

Productivity has been the Achilles heel of this government's economic

policy. Comparisons against G-7 countries are poor and even works

when compared with small and medium-sized independent cotntries.

This government has been obsessed with austerity cuts and ignored

innovation and efficiency. The fairer way to decrease the deficit.

It is absolutely not the case. This has been a long-running isste in our

country under successive governments. That is why we had an

ambitious productivity plan and we have seen a 1.3% increase in output

per hour which is very encotraging. After five years in charge ht is

time the government took responsibility. Why has productivity

been stalled for the last fhve years? After 13 years in ch`rge by

the party opposite, we had the biggest recession we had sedn in 100

years. It takes time to recover from that. Productivity is on thd rise.

It's nice to be back. We have a very competitive broadband market and I

went to York the other day to see TalkTalk premises. They are

investing billions in fibre. This Friday I will be going to another

company who deliver broadband to Epping Forest. We have a very

competitive market. Ofcom h`ve confirmed that Hall is the only city

in the country without compdtition and is in the worst 20 areas for

super fast broadband access which really effects small businesses in

Hull. How much of the money the government has invested will be

allocated to Hull? Hull has this effectively municipal provider,

Kingston Communications, and I'm pleased to say that they ard

investing in broadband for the whole of Hull without need of govdrnment

investment. The recent spending review delivered a strong sdttlement

for many departmental sectors focusing on areas which drive up

productivity. In the last otr major Tim Peake has blasted into orbit.

The government has launched its space project. This policy document

shows there is no limit to the UK omission in this area. We w`nt to

boldly go to infinity and bdyond and our new policy will make it so. As

everyone knows, to improve productivity, you need a good,

strong education system. Can the Minister give a categorical

assurance that further educ`tion institutions such as Blackbtrn

College in my constituency will not receive a real terms funding cut as

a result of the freeze in adult education funding? I agree `bout the

need to boost skills. There will be areas in review so I cannot make a

promise about particular institutions. But there will be an

increase in real terms in F funding of more than 35% over the ldngth of

the parliament. I'm sure th`t is something she would welcome. The

Eden Project in my constitudncy has been running a successful

apprenticeship programme in horticulture. It is going to become

more and more important to leet our increasing demand for food. What

support can the Minister provides to promote horticulture as an hmportant

career for young people? Under the agri- tech strategy we are

supporting horticulture and I recently opened a horticulttral

waste production facility. We are leading an low-energy farming

systems and novel use of pesticides to avoid -- use of pets to `void

pesticide and hydroponics. Lay I offer my congratulations to Tim

Peake on his visit to the International Space Station. Can I

also paid tribute to Helen Sharman, the first British person into space.

Let's do our best to inspird the next generation of scientists,

mathematicians and explorers in the same way that the Muniain -, moon

landings inspired my generations. Millions of jobs are linked to the

European union and most belheve it is in the interests of the country

to remain a member. But yesterday, the member for Shropshire ddscribed

negotiations as froth and nonsense and his endless renegotiations have

been described as a shambles. Does the Secretary of State agred with UK

business of the Eurosceptics on his own side? If I may associatd myself

with the comments made about Tim Peake and is inspiration to us all.

Turning to her comments abott the EU, I agree with almost all

businesses that they want to see reform and changes in our

relationship with the. They want to be more competitive, easier to make

deals in a deeper single market with less bureaucracy. That is what we're

fighting for. We all want to see the UK remain in a reformed European

union, but the Secretary of State's Eurosceptic interests are wdll known

and it is not like him to bd shy about them. Is he prepared to resign

from the Cabinet to fight for a British exit from the Europdan

Union? When it comes to resignations, it is her party she

should be worried about. I `m prepared for fighting for the

renegotiations I outlined. With the Secretary of State join me hn

encouraging as many businesses as possible across Worcestershhre to

apply for the first round ddadline for extra funding this Frid`y? In

the short time that the honourable member has been a member of

Parliament he has done a lot to champion small businesses in

Worcestershire. I have seen that myself first-hand. The

Worcestershire growth fund hs an excellent opportunity and I

encourage companies in his constituency and mine to apply. The

illegal moneylending team h`s commenced 330 prosecutions `gainst

illegal loan sharks and has had a ?60 million written off for the most

vulnerable in our communitids. To cut its budget may not have come

across his desk but he has had plenty of time to consider ht and

why does he continue to dodge questions about this cut? If the

honourable member had attended Prime Minister's Questions he would have

heard the honourable members say that he's looking at introdtcing a

levy to continue this action against loan sharks will stop that hs the

Treasury to take forward and he will ask the Treasury for further details

about it. A few days ago, I met the new cohort of inspirational students

from the petrol College Card Academy which is providing apprenticeships

at the local health care trtst. Does he agree this is a really ilportant

programme for training the next generation of health care

professionals locally? Absolutely. Thank you for raising it. The

Academy is doing great work in developing 18 week placement courses

to discover interesting carders in the health and care sector,

supporting the local economx and our national skills base is the a number

of organisations including electrical safety first havd

welcomed the product safety review conducted ID Department for

Business, Innovation and Skhlls and headed by Lynn Faulds Wood. We must

increase traceability to protect customers in the UK. When whll the

review be published? I've mdt Lynn Faulds Wood and I absolutelx tanked

and commend her for the work done. I'm having a further meeting with

her to see when we can actu`lly publish the review and make the sort

of progress we all want. With the Secretary of State update the house

on the objective for his recent visit to India and how best local

businesses in my constituency can tap into that market? The rdcent

visit was to build momentum generated by the recent visht of the

Prime Minister of India. I went with the science minister to prolote

getting more Indian students to come to the UK to study. I took to

members of the delegation from Dorset and it is just the sort of

innovation we want to see. The forecast for overall growth has been

downgraded, the gap between exports has grown to 4.1 billion in October,

can the Secretary of State tpdate the house on the measures t`ken to

increase exports given that his current measures are clearlx not

working. We have seen exports grow over the last five years, including

to some of the fastest-growhng markets around the world like China

and India. We obviously need to do more and that is why we havd had a

number of measures mentioned earlier. It is this increasd in

exports that is leading to falls in unemployment across the country and

generating jobs, including ` decline in claimants in her constittency. We

are aware of the value of science funding well spent. Will thd

Business Secretary reassured the house that the fund for this will be

ring fenced and will he appdared before the committee in Jantary to

go over this in detail? I accept the invitation. Also, I take thhs

opportunity to commend the honourable lady for the way she has

led the committee. The ring fence I can confirm is protected in real

terms, not just cash terms `nd also our commitment to spend 6.9 billion

on science infrastructure over the next eight years. I'm sure she will

agree, this Christmas, battdries are included. I have previously raised

the industrial carbon capture storage targets which will

contribute to the climate change agenda and capital investment. Will

he agree with me that we nedd to explore how we might bring to

fruition this important project I am more than happy to have ` meeting

with him. He knows not to shout at me. I hope he will also join with me

to congratulate the Secretary of State for environment and climate

change for her outstanding achievement on behalf of our nation

in playing an important rold in securing this important way forward

to make sure that the planet we leave for our children is bdtter

than the one we inherited. Carlisle and Cumbria has experienced

devastating floods recently. As part of recovery, it is important to

restore confidence as quickly as possible in the business colmunity.

Would the Minister confirm that they will do everything to support

Cumbrian businesses and makd sure that people are aware that Carlisle

and Cumbria are open for business? Indeed. Could I pay to view to all

members of Parliament for the great work they have done. I am got there

to visit next week. I want to go to Carlisle, Cockermouth, and Kendall.

I am delighted that we have secured funding for all businesses `ffected

by the flooding which I think will make a huge improvement and we have

done that quickly and will lake it available in time for Christmas to

get all those businesses and jobs open for business.

The Secretary of State has spoken about simplifying and clarifying the

business environment, identhfying ?10 billion of reduction in red tape

during this Parliament. So why did the Autumn Statement said that small

businesses should file tax returns for times a year rather than

annually? How does that help small businesses to reduce the cost and

burdens -- I have a bad feeling about this. I have not heard that

quote from Star Wars. It is very important that we keep deregulating

the environment for small btsinesses and that was achieved in thd last

Parliament. The Honourable Gentleman does know this, it is INET target

and I'm confident because of the enterprise bill that we will see

huge net the regulation durhng the lifetime of this Parliament. -- it

is a net target. We had somd discussion this week about

industrial strategy, which seems to mean all kinds of things to

different people. I don't know what it means, but if I did I wotld be

against it. Can the Minister please advise that while he is Secretary of

State the Government will not go about... The Government belheves in

free enterprise and that has motivated the economy for ddcades.

We do have a plan and a str`tegy, a long-term economic plan. I'l sure

the space Minister Bo praisdd the last Labour Government to establish

the UK space agency and givdn that Tim Peake's and credible mission is

launching today. She should say a little bit about what she whll do to

spread the motivation from that to a new generation of astronauts. I did

say seven years, because as you know I am not prone to partition chip --

to being partisan. I wish the members opposite would do the same.

I do notice that our announcement about areas of huge progress to help

industries like the steel industry, no one mentions it now and says how

good it is. The real trick now, and the honourable lady also mentioned

this, it is important that we inspire the younger generathon, boys

and girls, into the future of this kind of career, especially hn

engineering. With the Minister of the House about the life schence

classes as a way to stimulate start-ups, excellence and growth in

the sector and of any plans for using devolution city deals for such

clusters. My honourable fridnd makes an important point. Around the

country, in the Scottish belts and elsewhere, we are building clusters

of excellence and growth for the benefit of our citizens. I'l

discussing this with the Ch`ncellor and the Department for Commtnities

and Local Government about how the devolution package could wrhte in

support greater development of those health clusters around the country.

You talked about research and development in the aerospacd

industry. In my constituencx, 6 00 are employed in this area. Could he

indicate what discussions hd's had with the Northern Ireland assembly

to ensure that we are part of that research and development? I have not

had those discussions but I'm happy to have them with the Honourable

Gentleman. My door is always open. I recognise the huge importance that

it plays in his constituencx and in Northern Ireland. We must now move

on. We come to the ten minute rule motion. Point of order. The day with

not be complete without a point of order from the Honourable Gdntleman.

I wonder if you can help me. When an MP being obstructed from dohng