Oral Answers to Questions

Michael Fallon Excerpts

Thursday 6th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Karen Lumley (Redditch) (Con)]

1. What steps he is taking to raise awareness of export support services among small and medium-sized businesses.

[The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Michael Fallon)]

UK Trade & Investment has an extensive programme of awareness-raising activity that is directed at small and medium-sized businesses. That includes a national marketing campaign, “Exporting is GREAT”. More than 10 million people are expected to see the campaign and it should lead to about 3,000 additional businesses working with UKTI.

[Karen Lumley]

Will my right hon. Friend join me in congratulating Clifford Springs in Redditch, which has a great record in exporting springs, for which Redditch is renowned? Will he tell Clifford Springs and other companies what more they can expect from UKTI?

[Michael Fallon]

I, too, congratulate Clifford Springs on its export success, particularly to the United States. UKTI has a team of 39 international trade advisers based in the west midlands. They have supported more than 1,400 companies across the region, including many companies in my hon. Friend’s constituency. They also support more experienced companies and companies of all sizes with advice, information and practical support to build their exports.

[Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield) (Lab)]

The Minister will know that one sector in which exports are great for Britain is the motorsport sector. That is to be applauded. However, does he share my concern that some of the exporting that appears to be going on is the exporting of jobs? That is what is happening at Dunlop Motorsport in Birmingham. It seems to be exporting some jobs abroad, when it has been offered alternative sites in Birmingham and when his Department has been pressing it to stay in Birmingham. Will he redouble his efforts to persuade Dunlop Motorsport to stay in Birmingham, where it should be?

[Michael Fallon]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has met the company and it was the subject of a debate in the House recently. We will continue to do what we can. However, motorsport is an important and large business sector. I attended the Autosport exhibition in Birmingham recently, as the hon. Gentleman probably did. More than 45,000 people work in the industry across the country and it has a total value of more than £8 billion. We must do everything that we can to ensure that the sector continues to grow.

[Mr Mark Prisk (Hertford and Stortford) (Con)]

Exporting in the modern economy requires sustained financial support, yet the law in this country restricts to individual transactions the financial support for exports. I urge the Government to change the law so that we can have the support that is needed for exporters, small, medium and large.

[Michael Fallon]

I will certainly look at the point that my hon. Friend raises. I pay tribute to his efforts at the Department over two and a half years to back companies of all sizes in their export drive.

[Robert Flello (Stoke-on-Trent South) (Lab)]

2. What recent assessment he has made of the availability of finance and the level of lending by banks to small businesses.

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[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

3. What steps he is taking to reduce the amount of EU regulation which affects businesses.

[The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Michael Fallon)]

The Government continue to press the European Union to reduce burdens on business. We are focused on delivering the business taskforce’s report, their 30 specific recommendations for reforming EU law, and the “compete” principles that should apply to all new EU legislation. We have already achieved good progress on seven of the 30 recommendations, and we are seeing growing recognition of the “compete” principles among major European business organisations and in the European Parliament.

[Bob Blackman]

I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer. Businesses in my constituency complain not only about EU regulations, but about the fact that other countries do not play by the same regulations, and that when our civil servants implement regulations, they gold-plate them. What action is my right hon. Friend taking to remove that gold-plating and ensure that we do the minimum possible to abide by the rules?

[Michael Fallon]

I think there was too much gold-plating in the past, and we have reviewed all 132 directives implemented in the past two and a half years since we tightened the rules on transposition. Of those 132, there is only one example of a directive being gold-plated. That is the consumer rights directive where we took the decision to better protect consumer interests in the use of premium lines.

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

Do we have to use this language from The Sun about gold-plating? There is good regulation and bad regulation, and we should be in favour of the good and oppose the bad. As the Minister’s Department will know, this morning there is a Financial Conduct Authority report on crowdfunding. Crowdfunding is one way that small businesses can get finance, and they have been let down by the big banks in this country. This regulation comes from this Government. Is EU regulation able to help us where the Government cannot?

[Michael Fallon]

The business bank is working precisely on supporting crowdfunding with schemes of that kind. I agree that there is good regulation to protect consumers and health and safety, but there is also far too much unnecessary legislation that has been imposed on us by the European Union. The previous Government did absolutely nothing about it, but we are doing something.

[Karl Turner (Kingston upon Hull East) (Lab)]

4. How many firms have been prosecuted for non-payment of the national minimum wage since May 2010.

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[Mark Garnier (Wyre Forest) (Con)]

12. What steps he is taking to support businesses affected by recent floods.

[The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Michael Fallon)]

We have funded a £10 million business support scheme which is available to businesses that have been flooded or significantly impacted by the floods. The grant can help businesses with clean-up costs, drying equipment, temporary accommodation and marketing. This is part of a wider package that includes 100% business rate relief for three months and new repair and renewal grants.

[Mark Garnier]

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for that answer and for all the Government are doing to help businesses affected by the floods. In my constituency, 29 businesses, mainly in the town of Stourport-on-Severn, have been directly flooded and a number of others have been indirectly affected. So far, Wyre Forest has not been included in the first tranche of the direct support grant. Can my right hon. Friend reassure my constituents that those businesses that have been affected will be supported when the second tranche is announced next week?

[Michael Fallon]

Yes. With the first round of funding—some £5 million—the aim was to get the money out and allocated to local authorities as quickly as possible. We are in touch with other local authorities, including Wyre Forest district council, and I hope the second round of funding will be allocated very shortly.

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

Can the Minister confirm that the business support money that is available is capped at £5,000? That might meet the needs of smaller businesses, but for medium-sized or larger businesses that is quite a small amount considering many of them lost very expensive equipment.

[Michael Fallon]

The cap is £2,500 for the business support scheme, although there are other schemes available and the hon. Lady will be aware that I wrote to her on 25 February pointing out that Hull has been allocated some £230,000, the fifth largest allocation anywhere in the country.

[Oliver Colvile (Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport) (Con)]

20. Following the floods that took out Dawlish railway line, last week I visited a number of my businesses at my Plymouth railway station, including taxi drivers, Spar and some newsagents, who have noticed a 40% drop in their footfall. What might the Government be able to do to help those people?

[Michael Fallon]

We have announced a £2 million tourism support package, from which Plymouth will benefit. Local workshops and drop-in clinics will deliver practical help on the ground for tourism businesses, alongside a focused marketing campaign to boost trade for Easter and the early summer. VisitBritain is providing a promotional push abroad to encourage visitors from overseas, and I can tell my hon. Friend that it is working in partnership with Brittany Ferries on a £10 million campaign to promote the south-west more generally.

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

Does my right hon. Friend share my concern that small businesses will be excluded from the Flood Re insurance scheme, and that that will have an impact on their future reinsurance and excess premiums?

[Michael Fallon]

The Flood Re scheme is there to help some of the hardest-to-insure areas, but most business insurance is already priced to risk, unlike household insurance, in which cross-subsidies apply. However, I will certainly look again at the point my hon. Friend has raised.

[Mr Mark Harper (Forest of Dean) (Con)]

13. What recent assessment he has made of the competitiveness of the retail grocery market.

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[Richard Graham (Gloucester) (Con)]

22. What steps he is taking to raise awareness of export support services among small and medium-sized businesses.

[The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Michael Fallon)]

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave some moments ago.

[Richard Graham]

On my last trade envoy mission to Indonesia, I arranged for a film to be made of about a dozen SMEs that were with me before, during and after the mission in order to show it at later seminars across the country to convince small businesses that they can export successfully to far-away growth markets. Does my right hon. Friend agree that such low-cost films made by different trade envoys in different markets could be an attractive tool to encourage SMEs to export?

[Mr Speaker]

I have just learned something new. I did not know that the hon. Gentleman was a trade envoy, but I do now and I am pleased to learn it.

[Michael Fallon]

I agree that films can be a useful way of helping businesses to understand the benefits of exporting. My hon. Friend will be interested to hear that UKTI is producing a series of “Exporting is GREAT” videos based on companies that feature in its campaign. There are currently four videos for Cundall, Angloco, Serious Games and for Lye Cross Farm, which exports cheese to France.

[Mr Speaker]

It is always useful to have a bit of additional information.

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[Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con)]

T4. What steps is the Department taking to support small and medium-sized businesses in Lancashire that are keen to export their goods and services?

[The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Michael Fallon)]

We are committed to helping Lancashire companies to start exporting or to expand in new markets. Between April and December 2013, UKTI helped nearly 600 businesses across Lancashire and I was pleased to see my hon. Friend supporting those efforts by partnering with UKTI in delivering a successful export event for local businesses at the BAE site in his constituency last week.

[Susan Elan Jones (Clwyd South) (Lab)]

T3. I know that many of us were waiting with a great deal of interest for the Financial Conduct Authority’s new rules on payday lending, but does the Minister share my disappointment that it did not come up with a much tougher action plan on advertising?

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

T5. Pendle businesses were delighted when the Government published the draft assisted area status map back in December, proposing to include part of Pendle for the first time. The current map, drawn up under the previous Government in 2007, did not include a single part of Pendle, yet the new map will include about 50% of the borough. Will my right hon. Friend update the House on the progress in bringing the new map into force?

[Michael Fallon]

I am glad that my hon. Friend is pleased with the draft map. The Government are considering responses made in stage two of the assisted areas consultation to the draft map and the final map for 2014 to 2020 is due to come into effect on 1 July this year.

[Mr Michael McCann (East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow) (Lab)]

T7. A major hotel chain in my constituency employs a conveyor belt of young people. They are all on zero-hours contracts, tips are pooled and loosely accounted for and if workers have the audacity to question anything they are rewarded —punished—with fewer shifts. When will the Secretary of State stop consulting and start doing something about exploitation through zero-hours contracts?

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[Mr Robin Walker (Worcester) (Con)]

I am very pleased with the Government’s rapid response in providing support for businesses that were directly affected by the floods, but evidence is emerging in Worcester of substantial indirect effects from transport disruptions, particularly to small businesses. I understand that Worcester received around £57,000 of funding in the first tranche of the floods fund. Can the Minister confirm that as more evidence emerges, there may be more money to support local SMEs?

[Michael Fallon]

I can confirm that a second tranche of funding will be made available under the business support scheme, and my Department is talking to all local authorities where businesses have been affected. Where they have been significantly affected, of course we want to help.