Live Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Questions House of Commons

second line. Join me for a round-up

at 11pm, but first we have questions

for great Clarke and his team of

ministers.

-- Greg Clark. I would like to

answer this question ten. I have set

up a task force of bringing together

small and medium-size businesses,

with the government, local

government and the trade unions to

assist with the impact on SMEs and

supply chain. The task force has

delivered a range of supportive

measures including assistance from

HMRC to those experiencing

difficulties and over £900 million

of support from UK lenders.

With

30,000 small firms thought to be

owed money by Carillion due to late

payment of fees, will the Secretary

of State look at the idea of project

bank accounts which hold money in

trust in Ring plans to accounts to

make sure this situation doesn't

happen again? Britain should follow

what happens in Australia already

which uses these in large public and

private building contracts.

I will

look at that and this has been one

of the the recommendations of the

task force. It important that we

lead the lessons quickly and that is

one suggestion. --

lead the lessons quickly and that is

one suggestion. we learn lessons

quickly.

The local authority pension

fund form has said that a quarter

review setting accounting standards,

saying that there are substantial

legal flaws with international

reporting standards. This states

that it does not enable anyone to

make a meaningful assessment of

going concern, of highly relevant

issue to Carillion. Will he support

such a review?

The day that

Carillion went into insolvency, I

went and roach to the financial

reporting Council and spoke to its

chairman to ask them to investigate

the auditors and those who are

regulated as accountants. They have

agreed to do that, they announced

yesterday that investigation is

underway and I would expect them to

learn the lessons in terms of any

changes to the regulations that they

apply.

Can the Minister confirm if

the advice to firms that have lost

money as a sub contractors of

Carillion is that they take out

alone, the Minister think it's

acceptable that they be charged

interest on taking out a loan and

not getting money for jobs they have

completed as a supply chain

businesses of Carillion?

On the

first day of the insolvency, I had

the representatives of all of the

supply chain organisations in the

first request that they made was

that we got the banks in to make

sure that they would be treated

leniently, the customers caught up

in the insolvency, they agreed to do

that, they put funds aside to assist

them and each of them have made

commitments that they will apply

leniency to any terms conditions on

those businesses.

My right

honourable friend has almost

answered my question, I was going to

say, if cash flow is as important as

stability? The problem with lack of

cash flow is when the banks become

so heavy that they foreclose on

smaller firms.

That is why I asked

the banks to attend in person to

meet the businesses and they gave

those commitments and guarantees. It

important for members with

constituents who may be affected

that the banks have made that

commitment and they have made a

promise that anyone that is so

perfect it, they will deal

individually with them and the

missions are on each of the bank's

websites but come back to me if they

have any problems.

This morning, a

joint select committee hearing of

Carillion were told by the chiefs

that it affected of the financial

reporting Council that before and

after the collapse of PHS, he had

been asking for greater powers to

regulate companies and take action

before things go badly wrong -- the

collapse of BHS. He told us that

there was a lack of government

interest in this. In the light of

the collapse of Carillion, the

threat of thousands of jobs and the

suppliers, if the government

interested in taking action now?

I

don't agree with what she says. I

Inc aged the FRC immediately, it's

very important -- engaged them, we

will apply any lessons that are

appropriate from that enquiries.

The

honourable member for Paul said that

he was not told of the grouping. If

that is so, that is a discourtesy, I

hope it's not so, maybe it got lost

in the post. Let's hear from him.

The collapse is very bad for many

smaller businesses, many of whom

have their capital white out. What

discussions have the Secretary of

State had with banks about

forbearance and keeping these

businesses going so there is proper

competition in the market in the

future?

I apologise to my honourable

friend if he did not receive notice

of the grouping, I am sure that is

my error. In terms of the engagement

with the banks, each of them have

responsibilities to their customers

to help them through difficult

times. They have explicitly

committed to help them with any cash

flow difficulties if they experience

them and I expect them to deliver on

that.

The Scottish training firm

tigers are working hard to place 106

apprentices previously placed in

partnership with Carillion. What is

he doing to introduce more

businesses to fill the gap and

ensure all the apprentices can get

their training?

An excellent

question and I want to pay tribute

to the sea ITV who have been working

closely with the Scottish

colleagues, they have been working

very closely and had a magnificent

response, they have offered

continuity and contact to the order

of the apprentices, I think I am

right in saying, to give them the

ability to continue their training

-- all of the apprentices. That was

an agile response and they deserve

the praise of the House.

In July

last year, the government was warned

by the Federation of Small

Businesses and SEC group that

Carillion was transferring risk to

its subcontractors. They highlighted

that Carillion's payment period was

doubled from 65 to 120 days, that

Carillion made money on the back of

early payment by charging fees, and

that section 113 of the public

contracts regulations which relates

to 30 day payment was not being

enforced. So can the Secretary of

State outline what actions he took,

if any, on receipt of this

information?

What I would say to the

honourable lady is that the lessons

and the scrutiny of what went wrong

in Carillion, both on the part of

its directors and its scrutineers,

and in the oversight that took place

across the whole of the public

sector in terms of contracting, is

something many to be looked at and

will be looked at including by

select committees of the House,

whatever actions are required from

that, we will take.

So it's clear

that no action was taken and that

subcontractors were being mistreated

again and again. That's not all. The

FSB and SCC highlighted how

retention monies and project funds

due to suppliers when being

protected from the potential

insolvency of Carillion. As a result

of the government in action,

micro-businesses are owed on average

£90,000, small firms 141,000, medium

firms 236,000, and large businesses

are owed on average £15.6 million.

So can the Secretary of State

explain to the House and all

businesses affected wider government

took no action last July and why --

why the government took no action

last July?

In terms of retention and

project bank accounts, this has been

the subject in response to those

concerns, the consultation on

specific measures that closed to

very recently. That came out of the

recommendations made. Part of the

task force that we have established

include these representative bodies

and they have my commitment to take

necessary actions to learn to

protect any future concerns against

any lessons that can be learned from

this case.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. The national

minimum wage and a national living

way traits are recommended to the

government by the independent low

paid commission. -- national living

wage rates. The government provides

£25.3 million to HMRC for minimum

wage enforcement. This is up from

13,000,020 15 - 16. Large last year,

HMRC got arrears totalling £10.9

million.

I welcome him to his

deserved position. I welcome the

national minimum wage to boost wages

for workers but that he sent share

my surprise that there are those who

criticise its generosity, given that

the only international comparison is

the Economist big Mac index, where

we have the most generous minimum

wage second only to your's richest

country, Luxembourg? -- Europe's

richest country.

I agree, the next

increase is a whopping 4.7%. The

introduction of the national living

wage was the biggest pay rise for

low-paid workers in nearly 20 years.

The latest increase will benefit 2

million people and is set to cover 3

million by 2020. The average

earnings of a 25-year-old full-time

has increased by £2000 since 2016.

When will the government accept the

need to actually persecute more

firms who failed to pay the national

minimum wage? Because only when

people are prosecuted for breaking

the law, rather than issued with

warning notices, are they going to

take it seriously.

I would gently point out to the

honourable lady that the government

takes robust action against

employers who do not pay their staff

correctly. We have increased the

funding for enforcement to 23

million this year. The total value

of penalties has more than

quadrupled since 2014-15. In 2016-17

record £3.9 million was recovered in

penalties, with one penalty issued

over £1 million.

Along with the

steps the Minister has outlined,

would he also agree with me that

taking the lowest paid out of tax

altogether and increasing the tax

free threshold has made an enormous

difference to many workers in this

country.

I absolutely agree with the

honourable gentleman. 4 million

people have been taken out of paying

tax as a result of decisions taken

by this government. The employment

rate is 75.3%, the joint highest

since the parable records began in

1971. -- since comparable records

began. We have record numbers of

people in work, unemployment at its

lowest in 40 years. This is a

government that is on the side of

the worker and on the side of the

lowest paid.

Lope stifles investment

and holds back productivity. We in

the S&P believes the economy is

stronger when a real living wage is

paid. The Minister's on Department

has rightly named and shamed 350

companies who failed to pay even the

minimum wage. Does the Minister

agree that the practice of companies

paying no wages at all through

unpaid work trials is morally

repugnant and would his department

support ending this shameful

practice?

I would point out to the

honourable gentleman that over

160,000 people in Scotland directly

benefit from the national living

wage. The government are looking

closely in relation to employment

practices. We engage the work of

Matthew Taylor to look at the

practices and come up with new ways

of supporting people who are

particularly in the gig economy. We

very much value that work and we

will be putting forward his

recommendations in the near future.

Number three, Mr Speaker.

With your

permission Mr Speaker I will answer

this question together with question

19. The government will legislate to

require quoted companies to publish

and explain the ratio of their CEO's

pay compared to the average pay of

UK employees. Companies will also

have to provide a better explanation

of how share price increases affect

the value of complex long-term

incentive plans.

Laura Smith.

Does

the Secretary of State acknowledged

that there is sufficient compelling

evidence to safely conclude beyond

any reasonable doubt that collective

bargaining significantly reduces

income inequality?

I thank the

honourable lady for her question.

She is absolutely right to raise the

issue of collective bargaining and

to look at how that impacts on

employee pay and also in relation to

the wider play of executives. I

would just point out to her one

interesting fact. The average FTSE

100 CEO pay let from £1 million to

£4.3 million between 1998 and 2010.

But CEO's pay fell in 2016.

Interesting.

If you take the average

person in Barnsley East, it would

take them 176 years to end what the

average CEO does in 12 months. Does

the Minister agree with me that this

is a sign of grotesque inequality in

the UK, and what will he do about

it?

What private companies pay their

directors is ultimately a matter for

their shareholders. But the new pay

ratio disclosure requirements mean

we will give shareholders and other

stakeholders important new

information on how pay at the top of

companies fits with wider workforce

pay. Companies will be forced to

explain and defend their pay ratios

and account for changes to the ratio

overtime.

Does the Minister agree

with me that Britain's biggest

broadcaster, the BBC, is setting an

appalling example to nation over

executive pay in failing to ensure

gender parity?

Canella sure the

honourable gentleman that we

absolutely and completely agree with

fair pay. It is unacceptable that

women who are doing the same pay as

men receive less pay. That must

change and the BBC must act.

Hard-working people and on ordinary

incomes are understandably angry

about the way executive pay has

skyrocketed at a time when ordinary

pay has remained flat. When can we

expect to see these regulations he's

talking about when publication of

pay ratios and can you confirm the

requirement will be in place for

companies by June of this year as

promised?

I were just point out to

the lady that she may have her

figures wrong. CEO pay has fallen,

not risen. This government is keen

to ensure that there is more

transparency. We want to give

greater accountability to

shareholders and the workforce.

Laura Pidcock.

Since 2010, Carillion

has paid out more than 500 million

in dividends to shareholders, while

in the same period running about

pensions deficit of 587 million, a

deficit is now threatening the

security of thousands of

hard-working people. While those

people suffer, former Carillion CEO

Richard house and was awarded with a

bonus package worth one million in

2016. Will the government join me in

condemning this scandal and work

with the Labour Party to end the

failed model of outsourcing using

shell companies and condoning

excessive pay, or will it be just

business as usual?

Please allow me,

Mr Speaker, to assure the honourable

lady that any payments due to

directors and executives of

Carillion have been stopped. Nobody

is getting paid. Nobody is getting

executive bonuses. The Secretary of

State, on the moment the insolvency

happen, wrote both to the insolvency

service and to the FRC to ensure

that there was a thorough

investigation of all the payments to

directors, and if necessary the

insolvency service and FRC have the

power to claw back all those

payments. I can assure the

honourable lady that we will learn

the lessons of the Carillion

insolvency and ensuring we do all we

can to support businesses going

forward.

We have a lot of questions

to get through so we need to speed

up. Chris Williamson.

The government

believes my government and the

Department for Transport work with

trade unions and employers to ensure

employers have the responsible to

two pay the national minimum wage.

We are crystal clear that if you

work in UK waters you must pay the

national minimum wage.

I am pleased

to hear that, but is the Minister

aware that UK seafarers are being

undercut by rates of pay as low as

£1 75 per hour. This is happening,

even though the legal working group

on seafarers and the national

minimum wage, including his

department, agrees legislative

changes are needed to provide more

protection. Will the Minister give a

commitment to work with the RNC in

Norton to stop this brazen

exploitation, starting with the

enforcement of the UK minimum wage

for UK seafarers working in ports

and store installations.

I will

assure the honourable gentleman that

the guidance is clear, national

Minna wage applies on foreign

registered ships and then they are

in UK territory. The new guidance is

the first of its kind on the

application of the national minimum

wage. Specifically to seafarers,

showing this is a priority to this

government. The UK national minimum

wage law must naturally have a

limit, but if you are employed as a

seafarer in British waters, you will

be entitled to the national minimum

wage.

question about five.

--

question number five. This includes

encouraging businesses, including

offering apprenticeships. We are

working with all employers to ensure

the apprenticeship levy works

effectively for industry and

supports productivity across the

country.

I thank my honourable

friend for his answer and can I

welcome him to his role on the front

bench. I have had previous

conversations with my honourable

friend, the member for Putney, to

support my constituents to get

involved in further education. Will

my honourable friend commits with

meeting with me to look at how

further... To train young people in

-- in Mansfield.

We are committed to

supporting young people in Mansfield

through the growth hub that has

engaged more than 5000 businesses.

In terms of young people in his

constituency, which he specifically

mentioned, the message from this

government is that for those who

think university is the best route

to build the future they want, the

government will support them. But

for those who find apprenticeships

and nonuniversity roots are the best

route, we will also support them. We

will not want to limit aspiration.

I

know the Minister is new in his

post, but wake up, for goodness'

sake. There is chaos and meltdown in

the apprenticeship scheme. 62% drop

in apprenticeship starts. Colleges

in bankruptcy. Small individual

employers in the textile industry

can't get apprenticeships through.

Get a move on and do something about

it, man!

I welcome the

characteristic passion with which

the honourable member delivers his

questions and I share his objective,

which is we both want to have the

best future for young people. As he

knows, the apprenticeship system is

going to change. It will be employer

led, with a focus on quality. We are

in the first year of the levy

operating. We expected a bit of a

dip but I think this will recover to

deliver the future for our young

people.

Further education colleges

such as Newcastle-under-Lyme and

Stafford are vital for provisions

for apprenticeships both for the

levy and non-levy. But just having

the levy on its own is not

necessarily sustainable. Can he

ensure that all further education

colleges have access to funding for

non-levy apprenticeships?

The

honourable member makes a very good

point. What I will say about the

levy is that it is very much in its

infancy. It will raise £2.6 billion

to fund apprenticeships for people

in this country. We have to give it

time to work but I taken point his

point. We are told there is a skills

shortage

in my area. Given the

introduction of the levy and other

policies the government has been

talking about, at what point in time

does it believe the skills gap will

be filled to ensure that positions

in business and the wider community

are filled. Can he give this a time?

The honourable nonmember mentioned a

skills gap in his local area. This

covenant is committed to 3 million

apprenticeships to plug that skills

gap. I'm determined we will deliver

on that target.

Question number six.

The government enjoys a strong

partnership with the aerospace

sector through the errors base

growth partnership. Turnover has

increased to 34 billion since 2010

and exports have almost doubled.

Following the excellent and wholly

justified ruling of the US

International Trade Commission on

Friday night, I'm delighted that

Bombardier in the honourable

gentleman's constituency can look

forward to a bright future.

I was

overjoyed on Friday night when

Bombardier unanimously won their

case with the US ITC. Can I ask that

they stand resolute against any

appeal that might be lodged and make

sure the C series, now it is finally

ready for take-off, is the true

success we know it will be.

I will

indeed, that the pay tribute to the

honourable gentleman for the

stalwart way in which they stood up

for their constituents and the

supply chain that covers the whole

of the United Kingdom. Right from

the beginning this has been a joint

endeavour between ourselves, the

Canadian government, the company,

and everyone with an interest in the

success of Bombardier. Through

the...

LAUGHTER

Does my right honourable friend

agree that the future of our space

and aerospace industries are key to

our economic future and practical

measures will open up new

opportunities?

I agree with my honourable friend.

Space is one of the

does he not share my alarm that the

takeover of a Co to -- a company,

GKM, is it a national security

issue? He knows that the powers that

the secretary has everything that

has

exercised.

He will know that I have spoken to

the Chief Executive is involved and

I am keeping it under both review.

Close review. It is good to hear him

talk about the importance of

aerospace, will he consider the

aerospace centre being put in my

constituency and will he meet with

meat or colleagues to discuss it?

I

will be very happy to meet with my

honourable friend to develop the

full potential of aerospace in his

constituency.

Question seven, Mr

Speaker.

Keep me posted, -- Keep Me

Posted are dedicated advocates for

billing, my officials have met them

in the past and they are familiar

with their campaign and their

valuable work.

Considering the

levels of digital exclusion

including broadband coverage in my

own constituency of East Lothian,

will the Minister meet with me and

Keep Me Posted to discuss

invitations on our constituents?

In

response to his point on levels of

exclusion, I think the House can

celebrate that under this government

95% of the country will be covered

by superfast broadband but I take

his point and I will be delighted to

meet with him.

Will the Minister

work with banks and utilities to

ensure the charges for paper billing

are restricted to the actual cost of

providing that service and are not

allowed to become a punitive fee for

those who need or choose paper

bills?

Yes, I agree and I'm happy to

work with him.

Can I welcome the

Minister's commitments to meet with

the Keep Me Posted campaign? That's

a very welcome development

particularly because of older people

in my constituency, who have made

representations saying they find it

intolerable that they are not able

to get paper bills. Can the Minister

assure me that he will take this on

for the whole of the UK?

Absolutely,

and I do agree that our consumer

choice is important. Many suppliers

do offer paper bills but these are

not cost free. It's important to

recognise that and at a time of

seeking to boost productivity, it's

not Andrew Small for businesses to

intensify efficiency in billing.

Where charge different exist, I will

look at it.

Whilst recognising the

gradual shift away from paper

statement and bills as they go

online, it must be acknowledged that

16 million people over 15 years old

old still don't have a thick online

-- Basic online skills and 5.2

million households do not have

access to the Internet at home and

these might find penalties for a

cracking a paper bill. What action

will the Minister take to ensure

that people are not penalised for

making what should be a legitimate

consumer choice and what strategy

will he put in place to make sure

the people who do not have the

skills at the moment are able to

develop those skills in the future?

The honourable member makes a very

important point that we should make

sure that those who need paper bills

do receive them and they are not

unfairly penalised. Any discount

made for paperless bills or charge

for paper bills in sectors where

this is allowed must be justified in

relation to the relevant

administration costs and we do not

believe that the government should

intervene to make the cost of

providing a paper bill service be

borne by other customers for whom

online is acceptable.

Question

number eight.

With your permission,

I will answer this with 13. We are

actively supporting small businesses

by enhancing the business helpline

and funding growth hubs in every

local enterprise partnership in

England. The new small business

Commissioner will help payment

issues and the British bank has

programmes that support nearly £4

billion of finance to over 60,000

SMEs.

I thank the Minister and

welcome him to his new position.

Somerfield in my Copeland

constituency is one of Britain's's

biggest single site employer. It is

about to award its multi-million PPP

contracts. What is he doing to

promote the role of SMEs, rather

than just large companies, when

awarding the contract?

I would just

clarify to the House that the PDP

that the honourable lady was talking

about stands for programme and

project partners, and not as many

might have assumed, a private public

partnership. This programme as she

talks about will support Sellafield

in decommissioning and containing

commissions designed to support

small businesses. In November 2015,

the Cabinet Office agreed to a

target of 31% of spend with SMEs for

the government's nuclear

decommissioning authority. Moreover,

as the small-business minister, I

will be looking at what I can do to

make sure that more is done to make

small businesses win government

contracts.

Would the Minister join

with me in commending the work of

the awash partnership which helps

entrepreneurs in my constituency

start up their business, and will he

consider more support for these

services?

I am delighted to join my

honourable friend in a applauding

the work of the Erewash partnership.

All businesses will have access to a

growth hubs. We have announced £24

million of core funding over the

next two years for growth hubs,

including partners to the Erewash

partnership, and I be an delighted

to work with her.

What is really

important is to SMEs in the

automotive and aerospace supply

chains is stability in Tier one

suppliers. If the Melrose bid for

GKN splits off and sells off that

Company, that cannot be in the

interest of either sector or SMEs in

this country?

I would say that we

always sensitive and aware of the

impacts on the supply chain. We need

a strong supply chain. I would also

pointing to the previous answer of

the Secretary of State in addition

to this.

Support for the small

business sector will be more urgent

given the findings of the UK

Government's leaked Brexit analysis

showing that in all current

scenarios, businesses across all

sectors in all parts of the UK will

be hammered with between 2% and 8%

reduction in GDP growth. Can the

Minister confirm what planning his

department has undertaken in light

of these figures, added he has, is

he not publishing because they are

too embarrassing?

The honourable

member that this is going to be

answered in an urgent question later

on and I hate to spoil his fun so I

will leave it to others.

Question

number nine.

Would you indulge me? I

would like to pay tribute to the

honourable lady's predecessor who

made such an amazing and powerful

speech in the other place. I think

we should all be proud of the

excellent progress the UK has made

in meeting carbon reduction targets,

we have met our first budget and are

on track to exceed our second and

third and we are mad to 7% and 95%

of our weight to -- 97% and 95% of

the way to meeting the fourth and

fifth budgets.

I thank the Minister

for her tribute to my predecessor

baroness jowl who is much loved in

my area. -- Baroness Jowell who is

much loved.

Can the Minister tell me what

conversations she is having with

private firms with large pension

funds to encourage and facilitate

divestments from fossil fuels? This

is now clearly the most responsible

decision both for pension-fund

members and the future of our

planet.

I think the honourable lady

points out that the government can

set the policy and achieve targets

like the renewable ambition but we

also need the private sector and

private capital to be involved in

financing this. I had numerous

conversations with companies both in

what they're doing with their

investments but equally what they

are doing to help other companies

invest in a more sustainable future

and I refer her to the power and

past coal allowance which I launched

with Canada last year which is

helping the world gets off the most

dirty fossil fuel heat.

Given a year

has gone passed since the review on

tidal lagoon technology, when does

my honourable friend thinks that the

Minister will be able to respond

positive to this?

I am left in no

doubt by my right honourable friend

and others how anxious people are to

see this review, we want to get our

future investment in renewable

energy is right, we continue to look

closely in this and we will inform

the House shortly, hopefully.

The

Minister will have seen the recent

report by the climate change

committee on the government's clean

growth strategy in addition to the

fifth carbon budget. I know she has

seen it because she wrote them a

nice letter thanking them for the

report. What plans does she have in

place to rectify the shortcomings

and omissions in that plan, as

identified by the committee on

climate change in their report?

As

we both know, the report basically

said that there was a sea change in

our ambition for future climate

reduction actions. I was extremely

grateful, as I am always, for their

scrutiny and information, with the

first country in the world to pass

the climate change act and set up an

independent scrutineers and as we

all know, we have to do more

particularly around the areas of

business energy efficiency and new

home standard and I am the keyboard

to working cross-party to bring that

forward.

Number 11, Mr Speaker.

I am

delighted that the paper commits to

considering a town deal for Grimsby

and I know my honourable friend has

warmly received it. I welcome the

strong public and private approach

to drive forward and vicious plans

for regeneration of Grimsby and the

Department and Project board --

ambitious plans. And the boards are

in close contact for this deal and

we hope to have a proposal in

consideration in the future.

It also

includes Cleethorpes, Mr Speaker. I

know discussions are continuing at

an official level but I would

welcome the opportunity of the

Minister meeting with

representatives of the appropriate

board in the near future so reeking

give some political clout to this

deal which could provide a pilot for

many provincial towns up and down

the country.

Mr Speaker, I would be

delighted to meet with my honourable

friend and members of the grated

Grimsby including Cleethorpes

Project board. -- greater Grimsby.

As soon as I able to leave

Westminster or I encourage him to

meet here with me and if he wants to

bring some local fish and chips,

that would be fine.

Let's hear the

voice of Grimsby!

Great Grimsby is

obviously the centre of the universe

in northern Lincolnshire, certainly!

This project is important to

providing jobs, skills, housing and

culture in my constituency, it seems

to have been ping-pong between

groups, who is taking a lead, how

much will the government commit to

ensure its success and when will my

patient constituents see the change

they deserve?

I can assure the

honourable lady I do not play

ping-pong but this is showing

government working together and it

will continue to work together and I

will take my responsibility to make

sure it happened as soon as Arsenal.

Double 12. That as possible.

Number

12, Mr Speaker. The task force

established includes the default of

work and pensions and we are in

regular contact with the pensions

Secretary. Those already receiving

pensions will continue to receive

payment at 100% of the usual rate.

Anyone worried about their pension

situation can contact the pension

advisory service whose dedicated

helpline has responded to 800 calls

since Carillion's insolvency.

I

think it would be very little

comfort, his answer, to many

Carillion staff past and present

when they hear their pension fund is

approaching a deficit of £1 billion.

Public sector contracts have made

some of the top of Carillion very

rich indeed. What action is the

Minister taking to ensure that

carrot and future pensioners do not

lose out?

-- current and future

pensioners? The right honourable

gentleman will understand that

issues in regard to pension schemes

are a matter for the independent

pensions regulator, however they

have been in contact with Carillion

and a pension scheme trustees for a

number of years about the funding

for the pension schemes. I can

absolutely assure the honourable to

common that the work of the task

force is to work with what happened

in the insolvency and ensure that if

lessons are to be learned, we will

learn them.

The global headquarters

of GKN is in Redditch in my

constituency, it was 200 people.

There are concerns ranged about the

pension scheme there, the pensions

regulator warning that in the end of

a takeover, there could be something

to look up there, what lessons is he

learning from Carillion in this case

and what further action says he need

to take?

I think the Secretary of State has

already outlined the approach the

government is taking the takeover of

the GKN situation. I can assure the

honourable lady that the indications

of business actions and in

particular takeovers in relation to

pension schemes is a priority for

this government and we will continue

to proceed with care and caution to

protect the interests of all those

members of pension schemes.

Gareth

Thomas.

Number 14. Thank you, Mr

Speaker. The government works to

ensure our labour markets work for

everyone. This is why the Prime

Minister asked Matthew Taylor to

carry out an independent review on

modern working practices. The

government is considering the issues

the review has raised, including the

rules governing the use of agency

workers forced up the review is

comprehensive and detailed, and we

have been giving the report to the

careful consideration it deserves.

We will respond shortly.

2000

workers in British Telecom call

centres, some of whom handle 999

calls are paid up to £500 less per

month than permanent staff because

BT uses the loophole known as the

Swedish derogation under the agency

workers regulations. Taylor

recommended is its abolition. When

will the Minister get on with it?

As

I already outlined to the honourable

gentleman, the Matthew Taylor report

does look in some depth at the

Swedish issue. I will be meeting

Matthew Taylor this afternoon and

that particular issue will be one of

the issues we will be discussing. I

can reassure the honourable

gentleman that in 2007, the

employment agencies standard

inspectorate dealt with more than

800 complaints from agency work is.

Those investigations are protected

and it estimated 300,000 agency

workers, and we will continue to

defend their interests.

Jon Cryer.

How many of those complaints under

the Agency Workers Directive lead to

successful prosecutions?

I will

write to the honourable gentleman

with that answer.

With your

permission I will answer this with

question 21. Development of

renewable energy is a tremendous UK

success story thanks to significant

investment from all of us. Last year

30% of energy generation came from

renewable sources.

Yesterday ten UK

trade associations wrote to the

Secretary of State to highlight

serious concerns to the feed in

tariff. Will he agree to meet with

ministers to address those concerns

and the small-scale carbon energy

projects?

I am always happy to

engage with anyone who would like to

further the cause of renewable

energy in the UK. .

Mary Creagh? Not

here. Paul Masterson.

The largest

onshore wind farm in the UK is based

in West Renfrewshire. Can the

government confirmed that other

as

the honourable gentleman knows

because we discussed it several

times we are looking hard at how we

use that support for renewable

energies in a way that brings

forward projects where there is

significant local support. I look

forward to continuing the discussion

with him.

In the first three

quarters of 2017 renewable energy in

Scotland was 19% greater than the

same period in the previous year.

Scotland is on track for a record

renewable energies in 2017. We'll be

Minister commend the Scottish

governorate in this area,

particularly a new target set of 50%

of Scottish energy used to come from

renewable energies by 2030.

Scotland

benefits from some significant

geographical advantages making it a

world leader in this area. But UK

built payers across the nation are

investing in renewable energy.

The

group Mark Porter, finally and

briefly.

Question is 17.

We have a

range of schemes with regard

infrastructure. The autumn budget,

as the Chancellor announced, 400

million of joint public and private

charged investment fund.

My

constituency is already home to the

new Electric London taxi. We

recently heard an investment of £800

million in Coventry. Does this

represent opportunities for my

constituency under wider area to

establish leadership in the electric

vehicle sector?

It does. I had the

honour of visiting my honourable

friend in his constituency. The CEO

of Land Rover said they intend to

produce battery electric vehicles in

the region, making the West Midlands

before front of modern mobility in

UK. This is the industrial strategy

in action.

The District Council is

investing in 20 new electric vehicle

charging points in car parks across

the district but constituents

recently told me it took six and a

half hours to get from Chichester to

Oxford in his electric car because

of insufficient journey charging

points. What will be Minister do to

join up individual council

initiatives to make sure there is a

conference of network nationwide?

We

are pressing hard on this. The

government is taking powers under

the automated electric vehicle built

to ensure the role that of

infrastructure and government

leadership with local authority

engagement in the growing private

sector means the UK now has more

than 11,500 publicly accessible

charge points. The government has

committed £15 million to ensure they

are every 20 miles on strategic

roads. It is coming and coming soon

stubbly topical questions, John

Penrose.

Topical question number

one.

It is my pleasure to introduce

new colleagues, the members for

Surrey East and Burton and to see

our agenda progressing. We announced

the automotive sector deals

supporting British innovators and

manufacturers with a joint

commitment of millions of pounds of

investment from industry and

government. The Society of motor

malefactors and traders said the

deal would place the UK at the

forefront of electric connected and

autonomous vehicles. I am delighted

to announce to the house that in the

case of Lotus cars, they have

announced an intention to invest

significantly to expand its

production creating 300 new jobs at

its plant in Norfolk and for

production to increase fivefold in

the years ahead.

Energy distribution

network operators charge obscenely

high prices on energy bills and make

absurdly large profits getting

energy to our homes. With the

Minister agree that Ofgem has been

far too soft on these firms for

ages, allowing them to get fat and

lazy other customers expense and

join me in urging them to get a

great deal tougher in the future.

I

agree with my honourable friend and

welcomed the decision by SGM, S S E

and the National Grid to refund

excess returns to consumers and the

others should follow suit. He is

right that in the next price control

period, Ofgem should have a much

tougher regime.

Can I gently remind

colleagues that topical questions

progress is expected to be much

quicker so we need short and sharp

enquiries. People shouldn't bring it

to topical is what they would have

asked if they had been called when

they went other desperate when they

weren't in the questions.

GPL is a

great British company formed in the

Industrial Revolution. It would

place it at the heart of our future

economy, high skills and high

productivity and high wage. But the

debt driving hostile takeover

threatens UK workers, 6000 of them,

pension funds and supply chain. The

Secretary of State has said he will

not comment on individual cases. So

can I ask him a general question,

does he believe it is in the

national interest for city

investment in houses to use debt to

dismantle our industrial base.

What

I would say to the honourable lady,

she understands the constraints I

have in any particular takeover.

It's very important as a feature of

our economy that we have investment

from those with a capital to invest,

to go into our companies. That's why

we have a regime that limits the

grounds for intervention, but there

are certain grounds I have to

consider during the time ahead.

Will

the Minister join me in welcoming

the news announced by the aerospace

trade association of record new

aircraft delivery figures with £29

billion to the UK in 2017 and the

further announcement of an order by

Emirates for an additional 36 Airbus

380s. How will the government ensure

the UK supply chain is in a place to

take advantage of these excellent

opportunities?

I thank my honourable

friend for that question. The sector

has huge growth potential stop the

government supports the industry

through the aerospace group

partnership that we have committed

3.95 billion to this, which already

supports 200 companies including

those in his hesitancy.

By last

Friday, just fry covenanted -- 526

companies of those who needed to

support the agenda pay gap have done

so. What powers does the government

have to compel these companies to

publish these figures by the end of

April deadline because there are no

civil or criminal

in companies

failing to report, and I will take

this matter forward and work with

her as a matter of urgency is.

Bearing in mind the world leading

reputation in Harpenden, will be

secretary explained what plans the

department has to work with deaf and

other bodies to improve Britain's

world-class position in agricultural

science? -- and Defra. You like the

judgment is investing 70 million --

the government is investing 70

million... We are working together

to deliver integrated solutions to

the agricultural community.

On the

10th of January, the First Minister

of Wales spoke to the Prime Minister

offering substantial funds for the

tidal lagoon. When will you get a

response and where and why we have

in the tidal lagoon decision for

investment across Wales?

I would say

to the honourable gentleman that

officials are meeting with their

counterparts in the Welsh government

to understand and explore the

proposal that has been made.

As

banks are closing on our high

Street, two of my towns, New Haven

and Polegate is not having any bank

facilities next, will the mystic

consider expanding the facilities

post offices offer, as they are keen

to do more, but Post Office Limited

are refusing to allow them to do

this stubbly I take on board the

very important questions the

honourable lady asks. The government

has invested over £2 million to

ensure the government is able to

meet the needs of our constituents

and the small businesses that rely

on it. That means 99% of the UK

personal bank accounts and 95% of

small business accounts can be

accessed to withdraw cash.

Customers

can deposit cash over the counter

and with checks in any one of the

11,600 post offices across the UK.

Investment in solar energy has

fallen by 85% over the last year.

Will the minister explain why his

department believes solar energy is

no longer requires public subsidy.

I'm sure the honourable lady will be

delighted to know I opened the UK's

first subsidy free solar farm last

year with the great success of a

policy framework and investments we

have all made through our bills

means we are able to bring forward

renewable energy without substantial

subsidies. I would have thought the

idea of getting more renewable

energy for less investment would be

something she would welcome.

Giving

the keep me posted campaign showed

that those who don't use the

Internet face larger household bills

for services, of £440 per year, will

the Minister consider extending the

provisions that already exist in

banking to energy and

telecommunications bills?

The

honourable member makes a very

important point, which is why I

agreed in the early question to meet

with the campaign officials to see

how we can work on this.

The loss of

over 200 jobs at Cleveland potash is

heavy blow for living in East

Cleveland. I'm grateful to the

small-business minister for agreeing

across government at the same

flexible it is around training that

were granted to workers at SSI will

be extended to those at Baldy. The

chief executive of the task force

has described those is critical.

Will he agree that these will be

finalised before redundancies are

announced in the spring so people

leaving have certainty?

I think if you have got a long

question, edit a bit out, never

suffers.

Can I congratulate the

honourable member on his tenacity

and campaigning Lombard of his --

and a bath of his numbers. I am

happy to confirm that there will be

additional back severity in how the

rapid response service can be used,

so while there is no additional

funding, all of the workers will

have the same flexibility for job

focused training as there has been

for other workers.

In light of the

possible buyer to resolving

cross-border is overseas post

Brexit, how does he insure that the

framework is fit for progress?

We

keep under constant review the

insolvency regulations both in

response to Brexit and also lessons

to be learned from our experience

domestic leaf. I will work with him

to make sure his views are fed in.

Consumers in the south-west are

paying extra on their bills because

of energy network companies charging

too much. And we need greater

competition and gritted teeth in the

watchdog to do something.

I think he

is inviting me to agree with him, it

is the case that network costs vary

regionally because it costs

different amounts to serve

customers. Jan has taken billions

out of the last framework and they

are looking forward to introducing

members like a price cap bill which

I shall be bringing forward shortly.

We want to make sure that energy

bills can afford and we protect the

most honourable in that process.

Single sentence questions of the

order of the day, to be brilliantly

exemption fight...

The universal

service obligation for super fast

broadband will be good news for

businesses across the country

however the fact that the

announcement has been made no date

is being counter-productive and

slowing down broadband, will the

government and up-to-date and will

they also announced that frustration

can start immediately?

--

registration can start immediately?

In the Digital economy Bill the date

set out for 2020. I am sure that he

will join me in congratulating the

government on its success in

ensuring that 95% of the country now

has access to broadband across the

UK.

With the Minister supports

transport for the North's strategic

plan which calls for a 50% increase

in infrastructure payment?

It is a

major pillar of the White Paper,

local input is essential and I

welcome transport the North's input

and I am sure the public transport

will welcome this.

The hostile Tae

of daycare -- -- takeover of GKN by

another company is disastrous, will

the Secretary of State intervened to

block this hostile takeover which is

not national interest?

I have

explained the importance of

exercising these powers in the

required way, not to give a running

commentary in this house.

But the

minute Greek -- does the Minister

agree that competitive interest

rates should be given to businesses

affected by the lark collapse and

8.7% offered to some is too high?

I

agree that access to competitive

finance is essential not just for

those businesses affected by Lark

but more widely, particularly small

businesses, I am happy to meet with

him and discuss the issues he raises

if you would like to.

It's a great

pleasure to welcome back to the

House the honourable member for

Redcar. I know the House will join

me in that.

It's great to be back.

I'd like to ask the Secretary of

State, we have ambitious plans to

create 20,000 jobs on the former

steel site but the biggest issue

holding us back in the ownership on

site, what, this is is he having

with the receiver and the banks so

we can bring investment back to the

site?

I welcome the honourable lady

back to the House and commend her

for her commitment to making sure

that we get the best possible future

for the site. I am visiting quayside

shortly to continue those

discussions, there is great

commitment between the government

and the local government cooperation

to get the right solution. The

ownership is not a government hands

but anything that can be done is

being done.

A constituent of mine is

a director of a leading SME in the

PPE sector, recently they were

rejected by TEFL in round one in

their exploration. Best practice is

for feedback to begin but this

doesn't always happen, will be

Minister work with departments to

ensure that the system does not

hinder SME growth?

This government

is committed to ensuring that more

small businesses are able to bid for

this kind of contract. We want to

support SMEs through the secure mode

process and I am happy to be to her

and the representative that she

mentions to find a solution.

When I

met with the Minister last week, I

was told that the Carillion

headquarters will be up and

permitted in the intervening period.

What offers are given to the workers

who work in my constituency?

As

spoke on the day that the insolvency

happened, I have met her twice since

a long with other Wolverhampton

colleagues to ensure that she is

kept fully updated. We are working

closely with PwC and the insolvency

service in the best interests not

just of the creditors and also all

of those employed in the