Business of the House

Esther McVey Excerpts

Thursday 24th May 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I will certainly use whatever influence I have to promote a meeting along the lines that the hon. Gentleman suggests. Of course I understand his concern that TUPE does not apply in the particular circumstances that he outlined. I will share his concern with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport to see whether there is a role for her to play in bringing this to a satisfactory conclusion.

[Esther McVey (Wirral West) (Con)]

May we have a debate on the positive impact that the Government are having on Merseyside, given the delivery of the Cruise terminal in Liverpool, the Government’s role in securing the future of Vauxhall at Ellesmere Port, and the historic signing in China this week of an agreement on significant investment in the Wirral enterprise zone?

[Sir George Young]

I am surprised that the shadow Leader of the House did not mention some of the good news for Merseyside, given her interest in the area. This is an example of our attempts to redirect growth away from, for example, the City of London, and to ensure that parts of the country that have had a rough time get the benefit of growth. I am delighted to learn of the success that my hon. Friend has described.

Oral Answers to Questions

Esther McVey Excerpts

Thursday 15th December 2011 Commons Chamber

[Hugh Robertson]

Off the top of my head, I cannot remember whether the Select Committee report includes a specific element on agents. As part of the new licensing fee, however, that is exactly one of the issues that we would expect to see addressed.

[Esther McVey (Wirral West) (Con)]

5. What plans he has to support the tourism industry in 2012.

[The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (Mr Jeremy Hunt)]

Next year represents the biggest opportunity in our lifetime to profile the British tourism industry, and we have announced the biggest ever international and domestic tourism marketing campaign designed to attract an extra 4.5 million visitors to the UK in the years that follow the Olympics.

[Esther McVey]

Continuing the sporting tourism theme, next year the Royal Liverpool golf club will welcome the women’s open golf championships with the first ever women’s day, so we will be developing tourism through our exceptional golf facilities while also ensuring youth engagement and celebrating women’s success. I would like to extend an invitation to one of the Ministers to come along.

[Mr Hunt]

I congratulate the Royal Liverpool golf club, and I would be delighted to attend—diary permitting. I agree with my hon. Friend that sport is a massive driver for tourism. Two million people come to this country every year to watch or play sport. I hope that sport in Liverpool will be helped by this week’s announcement of a new local TV station for Liverpool, on which I am sure my hon. Friend will be an early honoured guest.

Oral Answers to Questions

Esther McVey Excerpts

Thursday 3rd March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

Let me tell the hon. Gentleman the leadership I have been showing. His Government safeguarded £200 million for superfast broadband; we have increased that to £830 million. His Government had no strategy for the tourism industry; we persuaded the industry to contribute £50 million of match funding to draw an additional 2 million visitors to the UK. We are also working hard to implement the Digital Economy Act, as we think the principles behind it are important, but it is very difficult to implement because many of its measures did not get proper parliamentary scrutiny as the hon. Gentleman’s discredited Labour Government rushed it through Parliament in their final dying days.

[Esther McVey (Wirral West) (Con)]

2. What assessment he has made of the role of tourism in stimulating economic growth.

[Mr Aidan Burley (Cannock Chase) (Con)]

7. What assessment he has made of the role of tourism in stimulating economic growth.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (John Penrose)]

We have made an assessment, and we believe the picture is particularly good. We believe the tourism industry can achieve projected growth of 150,000 new jobs and £34.5 billion extra gross value added by 2020. I intend imminently to publish a statement of Government policy, which will set out how we will work with the industry to support our economic growth objectives.

[Esther McVey]

Last year, tourism was worth £2.8 billion to the Liverpool city region. It is crucial to our region, and it is also a growing sector of our industry. Literature is part of the tourism offer, and as today is world book day and, as I speak, Frank Cottrell Boyce and a team of kids from Merseyside are on their way down to Euston with a local charity, the Reader Organisation, will the Minister extend his gratitude to the charity for the dynamic work that it is doing?

[John Penrose]

I am delighted and happy to praise both world book day and the Reader Organisation. The role of the creative arts in Liverpool’s regeneration and recent economic growth is undoubted, and the city got off to a brilliant start in 2008, when it was the capital of culture.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Vaizey]

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for that question. In the spirit in which he asked it, I pay tribute to the work of the previous Government in establishing the music standards fund and taking music education so seriously. The Henley review has enabled the close co-operation between the Department for Education and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to continue.

[Esther McVey (Wirral West) (Con)]

The Liverpool city region is a cultural hub, and that was cemented when it won the capital of culture. It is imperative that the area has a local television station. Will the Secretary of State work with the city region to ensure that a bid is taken up in this area?

[Mr Hunt]

I would be delighted to do so. Liverpool presents a fantastic opportunity and would benefit hugely from having its own TV station. It has a fantastic cultural heritage, an amazing sporting tradition and tremendous civic pride. Not least, I am sure that such a station would be an excellent platform for my hon. Friend to say what a brilliant job she is doing for her constituents.

Business of the House

Esther McVey Excerpts

Thursday 9th December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

As I said a few moments ago—I think in response to the shadow Leader of the House—the old system cost too much and was too bureaucratic. We will announce how we will spend the money that we have allocated for school sport in due course.

[Esther McVey (Wirral West) (Con)]

May I ask the Leader of the House to make time for a debate on careers advice in school? Although I welcome the coalition’s plans to introduce an all-age service, we need to ensure universal, specialist careers advice for all our young children, that starts in schools from a very young age and does not impose plans from the top down. I believe that all hon. Members should debate that before any final decisions on provision are implemented.

[Sir George Young]

I entirely agree with my hon. Friend. With the establishment of an all-age careers service by April 2012, we intend to restore a focus on specialist expertise and careers guidance for young people, based on independence and professionalism. I regret that the single focus on careers guidance has been lost in recent years, and we hope to put that right. If we have time for a debate on the matter, I hope that the Back-Bench business committee can allocate one.