Apprenticeships

Debate between Baroness Neville-Rolfe and Lord Harrison

Wednesday 4th May 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Neville-Rolfe]

My noble friend is completely right. These colleges are extremely useful. Of course we need to upskill and uptool for the changing economy that we have.

[Lord Harrison (Lab)]

The original Question sought to understand why the young were discriminated against so that 90% of apprentices were 26 or over. Can the Minister please answer why it was that that first tranche was so disenfranchised?

Small Businesses: Late Payments

Debate between Baroness Neville-Rolfe and Lord Harrison

Wednesday 28th October 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Harrison]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what has been the outcome of their consultation about giving bodies representing small businesses wider powers to challenge unfair payment practices, and what progress has been made in improving small businesses’ access to short-term finance to mitigate the late payment of debts owing to them.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Baroness Neville-Rolfe) (Con)]

My Lords, our consultations on proposals to give representative bodies wider powers to challenge grossly unfair payment practices closes on 27 November. It is a part of a package of measures to tackle late payment. We will also improve small businesses’ access to short-term finance and will soon lay regulations to nullify bans on invoice assignment. This is a new measure to enhance small businesses’ access to working capital.

[Lord Harrison (Lab)]

My Lords, given that according to the British Chambers of Commerce the new small business commissioner will only marginally help small businesses, which are deprived of £55 billion at any one time because of late payment by big businesses and government, and given that this commissioner will anyway be absented from answering disputes in the construction industry, where this problem is at its most intense, will the Government finally respond to the Federation of Small Businesses’ request for an in-depth inquiry into late payment on commercial debt or will this Government remain all talk-talk and no action?

[Baroness Neville-Rolfe]

My Lords, we are full of action. If the noble Lord comes to the Moses Room this afternoon, he will find that we are discussing the Small Business Commissioner and the question he mentioned about payments in the construction industry.

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[Baroness Neville-Rolfe]

My Lords, I look forward to talking to the noble Lord about that idea.

[Lord Harrison]

Can the Minister not understand, further to the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Elton, that small businesses, especially if they are suppliers, are in fear of losing those they supply if they insist upon being paid on time?

[Baroness Neville-Rolfe]

My Lords, that is indeed the problem, which is why we are establishing a Small Business Commissioner who can help them and change the culture, and bringing in payment transparency which will show the payment track record of bigger companies. Not everything is bad. Some practice is good. Some companies pay small businesses quickly because they understand their brilliant contribution to the economy and to innovation.

EU: Digital Single Market

Debate between Baroness Neville-Rolfe and Lord Harrison

Tuesday 20th October 2015 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Neville-Rolfe]

As the noble Lord suggests, this is a disappointing judgment. Companies need to be able to transfer data to third countries with appropriate safeguards. I discussed the judgment with businesses yesterday to better understand what they are facing. We will continue to engage. The Information Commissioner’s Office was also there and will update its guidance in the coming weeks. We will continue to press the Commission to talk to the United States—because it is an EU competence—to get clarity, but we are also making progress domestically.

[Lord Harrison (Lab)]

My Lords, given that the Government have finally decided to pull their finger out on the digital single market, which others of the items listed by the noble Lord, Lord Aberdare, are the Government prepared to concentrate on, to the advantage of British business, industry and jobs, instead of footling around with a negative EU referendum?

[Baroness Neville-Rolfe]

Actually, we have been extremely positive on the digital single market and I have spent a lot of time and shoe leather on this right across Europe. I do not want to delay the House but I will certainly send the 16 headings to the noble Lord and I am very happy to engage with him on this highly ambitious, very important, positive agenda.

Small Businesses: Late Payment

Debate between Baroness Neville-Rolfe and Lord Harrison

Thursday 11th June 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Harrison]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to deal with the late payment of debt to small businesses.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Departments for Business, Innovation and Skills and for Culture, Media and Sport (Baroness Neville-Rolfe) (Con)]

My Lords, this is a serious problem in some areas and the Government are taking action. We have already legislated to require payment within 30 days through our public sector supply chains. We will be requiring the UK’s larger companies to report on their payment practices. This will be centrally collated so that performance can be compared. We are going further, too: through the enterprise Bill we will create a small business conciliation service to help small businesses resolve disputes.

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[Lord Harrison (Lab)]

But does the Minister understand that the Prompt Payment Code is itself being abused by bigger firms, as the Federation of Small Businesses revealed? Some one in four of its members find that their payment periods are changed adversely and peremptorily, and one in three FSB members now experience cash-flow problems as a result of being paid late. Will the Government undertake not only to monitor but to enforce existing legislation to help hard-working families who run small businesses in this country? Will the Minister respond to the National Audit Office’s own report that government departments are still paying late?

[Baroness Neville-Rolfe]

My Lords, there are a lot of questions there. I have already outlined three important measures, but we have also strengthened the voluntary Prompt Payment Code to promote 30-day payment terms as the norm, and will enforce a maximum 60-day payment term for all its 16,000 signatories. We will also consult this summer on how to give representative bodies—such as the Federation of Small Businesses—wider powers to challenge grossly unfair payment practices. The recent changes to the code, led by my right honourable friend in the other place Matt Hancock, set new expectations on signatories to treat suppliers fairly and make payments in a reasonable amount of time. Alongside the other measures that we are taking, we are on the way to taking the first steps in changing the culture in this key area.