Industrial Strategy

Debate between Vince Cable and Lord Beith

Monday 10th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

I recognise that there are severe problems in the north-east, as I have been there many times and I have talked first hand to representatives and to the business people involved. The north-east has one potentially major advantage in an economy that is rebalancing, as manufacturing forms a high proportion of its total economy, as do exports. I was last in Newcastle a few weeks ago, and there are many good, positive new industrial developments on the Tyne. That might be an indication of better things to come, as might developments in the car industry in that part of the country.

[Sir Alan Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed) (LD)]

I welcome the Government’s announcement of a commission to consider strategy for the north-east economy, chaired by Lord Adonis. May I impress on my right hon. Friend and the commission the importance of the A1 road link and of maintaining the Government’s commitment to renewable energy, both of which are important to industry in the north-east?

[Vince Cable]

My right hon. Friend is a formidable advocate of north-east interests. He makes two specific points. I have heard the point about the road link many times. I do not know quite where we have got to in the process, but I will check up on it. He also emphasises the importance of renewable industries and will be aware that industries are beginning to revive on the Tyne, involving rigs for the North sea, that were previously in the oil and gas sector but have been adapted to renewables. We will see a great deal more such work on the east coast and, of course, it has explicit Government support, financial and otherwise.

Local Growth White Paper

Debate between Vince Cable and Lord Beith

Thursday 28th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

In terms of the process for dealing with the LEPs, we had what my colleagues call a traffic light system. Very good, imaginative proposals with a strong business input that meet the needs of economic geography were put through to the first group. Quite a lot of the proposals were yellow rather than green, and they are being processed. I hope that soon we will have a list. Some had no ambition and no private sector input, and we have simply told them that they need to think again.

It is easy, I think, to fall lazily into stereotypes about growth in areas dominated by public sector employment. I recently looked at the figures produced by my Department on the rate of growth of new company formation in different towns and cities in Britain. The best performance in the UK was in Sunderland, followed by Rotherham. They are not archetypal south-east of England growth areas. There is a lot of entrepreneurial potential across this country, and we want to encourage and develop it.

[Sir Alan Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed) (LD)]

Why have Ministers not yet agreed a local economic partnership to cover Northumberland and Tyneside? Will whatever body is created have access to the assets that have been built up for the purposes of redevelopment and the income stream that those assets can give for continuing redevelopment work?

[Vince Cable]

As far as the north-east—in particular the Northumberland and Tyneside area—is concerned, we were disappointed that we got a very fragmented set of proposals. What has been agreed is that Teesside will go ahead; it is in the first list. Those behind four other LEP proposals that cover almost the whole region have now agreed to work together on a north-east basis. We think that that has great promise. We said that it needed a small additional amount of work and then it would get the go-ahead, and the kind of structure that my right hon. Friend wants will proceed.

As far as the assets are concerned, my Department has set up a working group that will help to manage the RDA asset disposal issue. As I said, we will try to manage this in a careful way, with assets and liabilities together. Some will be transferred, where appropriate, to local communities, councils or the LEP, but the criterion will be getting good value for money for the taxpayer. After all, this is taxpayers’ money and that is our primary requirement. There will not be gifts to local communities, but, in terms of maintaining the coherence and integrity of those developments, we will endeavour to keep them together.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Vince Cable and Lord Beith

Thursday 3rd June 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed) (LD)]

15. What plans he has for the future of the regional development agency in the north-east; and if he will make a statement.

[The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Vince Cable)]

The Government intend to replace RDAs with local enterprise partnerships and to bring together business and local authorities to establish local accountability. Where they enjoy clear public support, the partnerships may take a similar form to existing RDAs. In making the necessary reductions in RDA budgets and reviewing their functions, we will seek to mitigate the impact on economically vulnerable parts of the country.

--- Later in debate ---

[Vince Cable]

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on being returned to the House. I remember that he was a formidable force in the Government Whips Office in his day. He has already noted the acceptance that the west midlands has particular structural problems, and they will be taken into account in the reordering of the RDAs. In my first answer, I stressed that the changes depend very much on the reaction of local business and local authorities. I am sure that he will make representations to Birmingham city council and local businesses, and I hope that they will reflect the priority that he wishes to give.

[Sir Alan Beith]

I thank my right hon. Friend for the part that he played in securing a very clear assurance from the Prime Minister yesterday that One NorthEast will continue to have a key role as a regional development agency. Will that role and the way in which it is structured enable it to continue to assist existing and new firms to develop the private sector, for example in assembling land where needed?

[Vince Cable]

I hope that it will continue to play a positive role. My right hon. Friend has been extensively involved in supporting the north-east, and I talked to him about these things on the several occasions I visited Newcastle and the region. He knows that one of the early decisions that came to me was to appoint the new chairman of One NorthEast, and appointing someone to manage the transition was a statement of a wish to maintain an element of continuity. I do not pretend that the RDAs will not change: they will, but I recognise that the north-east is a particular case because of its very high dependence on public sector employment and the generally very positive feedback I get about One NorthEast.

--- Later in debate ---

[Vince Cable]

No, I cannot tell the hon. Gentleman now, because as I explained earlier, all these projects are being reviewed. I know perfectly well that there is a strong case in this instance, but we have to review value for money and affordability in every case.

[Sir Alan Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed) (LD)]

T5. Will the Government’s apprenticeship initiative provide scope for the training of blacksmiths and other heritage crafts, bearing in mind the concerns of blacksmiths in my constituency that the new entrants training scheme for blacksmith training seems to have been closed down following the decisions of the previous Government?