Results 1-20 of 1,603 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:Mark Prisk

Parliamentary Elections (Recall and Primaries): New Clause 12 — Application of construction contracts legislation (13 Oct 2009) has video

Mark Prisk: Very good!

Parliamentary Elections (Recall and Primaries): New Clause 12 — Application of construction contracts legislation (13 Oct 2009) has video

Mark Prisk: I shall not detain my hon. Friend long. He is absolutely right to suggest that, in addition to the Bill, we need a clear sense of purpose and direction from the Minister—my hon. Friend has just quoted a previous Minister. That is crucial if we are to get the right collaborative and positive approach that the industry needs after going through such a difficult period last year. Does my...

Business, Innovation and Skills: Manufacturing (16 Jul 2009) has video

Mark Prisk: Yesterday, the chief executive of Jaguar Land Rover, such an important business in the west midlands, announced 300 job cuts and said that further action would depend in part on how quickly the agreed loan from the European Investment Bank was forthcoming. Given that Ministers agreed on that loan three months ago, why are the company and its workers still waiting? The French and German...

[Sir Nicholas Winterton in the Chair] — Steel Industry (7 Jul 2009)

Mark Prisk: I accept the Minister's point—it was a good point—but does she accept the concern, raised by many hon. Members, about the lack of competitiveness of energy prices, particularly in this country? Why has that not been tackled until now? Why did we wait until it became a crisis?

[Sir Nicholas Winterton in the Chair] — Steel Industry (7 Jul 2009)

Mark Prisk: Will the Minister give way?

[Sir Nicholas Winterton in the Chair] — Steel Industry (7 Jul 2009)

Mark Prisk: It is good, Sir Nicholas, to see you in the Chair. May I add my words of commendation to the right hon. Member for Rotherham (Mr. MacShane) for securing what has been a timely debate and for his typically forthright remarks. Although our views of history may not be entirely shared, I enjoyed his line—I suspect that most here this morning will not have noticed it—of saying that...

[Sir Nicholas Winterton in the Chair] — Steel Industry (7 Jul 2009)

Mark Prisk: That point has been put to me in representations from the industry. It has asked me, "Is this an issue? We can't get a commitment from Ministers." I hope, therefore, that the Minister will make that commitment today. However, I agree with the right hon. Gentleman that we have had too many Ministers in too short a time—I am on to my eighth set of Ministers in my role—so I hope for...

Business, Innovation and Skills: Small Businesses (11 Jun 2009) has video

Mark Prisk: I, too, welcome the Minister to the Dispatch Box. I lose track, but I think that he is the seventh or eighth Minister who I have shadowed in the last few years and I genuinely hope that he lasts longer than his predecessors. Despite the Minister's claims and his welcome experience in small business, red tape is strangling enterprise. Let me give him an example. To install new microgeneration...

[Christopher Fraser in the Chair] — Manufacturing and Employment (9 Jun 2009)

Mark Prisk: On that point, can the Minister tell me how many British companies have actually received funds under the automotive assistance package?

[Christopher Fraser in the Chair] — Manufacturing and Employment (9 Jun 2009)

Mark Prisk: I welcome you to the Chair, Mr. Fraser. This is the first occasion on which you have chaired a debate in which I have participated, and it is good to see you in your place. I welcome the Minister to his place on this first occasion in his new role. He is the seventh or eighth Minister whom I have shadowed in the past few years. It is good to see him in his place, and I hope that he will last...

Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill [ Lords] (1 Jun 2009) has video

Mark Prisk: I welcome the intentions of part 8 of the Bill, but much of the industry is concerned that the payment notice procedure is far too complicated. Will she undertake to look carefully at how the procedure will operate, so that it can be radically simplified and genuinely deliver real help for small businesses? Will she give a commitment to that effect today?

Oral Answers to Questions — Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform: Small Business (Payments) (7 May 2009) has video

Mark Prisk: Further to the question asked by the hon. Member for Stockton, South (Ms Taylor), prompt payment is crucial for small firms, whether from national or local government. According to independent assessors, Conservative councils have the best record on paying promptly. Why does the Minister think Labour and other councils are failing to meet that standard? Is it intentional or just incompetence?

Oral Answers to Questions — Communities and Local Government: Clause 2 — Assistance in connection with exports of goods or services (21 Apr 2009) has video

Mark Prisk: I thank the Minister for the courteous way in which he deals with my many and often detailed questions. I hope that they keep him and his office busy, but my intention is to ensure that the House's scrutiny is thorough. He is always courteous in how he handles it, despite being on a sticky wicket, and he defends his position with patience and a degree of calmness that I suspect others would...

Oral Answers to Questions — Communities and Local Government: Clause 1 — Increase in limit on selective financial assistance for industry (21 Apr 2009) has video

Mark Prisk: I am grateful to the Minister, not least for being generous in giving way. I return to my original point. He highlighted the fact that the annual report, for example, showed a certain balance of schemes, and now events have changed. He is right, and we understand that that will continue to be the case. It seems to me that a logical pattern would be that when the Government need to come...

Oral Answers to Questions — Communities and Local Government: Clause 2 — Assistance in connection with exports of goods or services (21 Apr 2009) has video

Mark Prisk: I commend the hon. Member for Solihull (Lorely Burt) for tabling amendment 1, not least because I hope that it will enable the Minister to put on record the Government's full position. At the heart of clause 2 is the Minister's stated wish to update the facilitating role of the Export Credits Guarantee Department, notably, as we have heard from hon. Members on both sides, with more...

Oral Answers to Questions — Communities and Local Government: Clause 1 — Increase in limit on selective financial assistance for industry (21 Apr 2009) has video

Mark Prisk: I welcome you to the Chair, Sir Alan, for the Committee stage of our proceedings. Clause 1 amends the cumulative limit on the financial support for business under section 8 of the Industrial Development Act 1982. I accept that, as such, it does not authorise actual expenditure, but can the Minister confirm that authorisation for the orders involved, under the new wording, will be made by...

Oral Answers to Questions — Communities and Local Government: Clause 1 — Increase in limit on selective financial assistance for industry (21 Apr 2009) has video

Mark Prisk: The annual report can be helpful, but as the Minister will understand and Members on both sides of the House will appreciate, when we are considering an order for an increase of the not insubstantial sums identified in clause 1, it will be helpful if we can see the current point when we debate the issue in Committee, rather than just having the annual report. That was what my point was about....

Oral Answers to Questions — Communities and Local Government: Clause 1 — Increase in limit on selective financial assistance for industry (21 Apr 2009) has video

Mark Prisk: The Minister tells us that the three principal schemes include the Post Office reinvention programme. Some Members will be surprised that that comes ahead of, for example, the automotive assistance package, which they might assume would be larger. Is he telling us that that package is not even one of the most important packages in the total number?

Opposition Day — [9th Allotted Day]: Business Rates and the Recession (25 Mar 2009) has video

Mark Prisk: This debate has been short, but timely. It has shown that the Government's policies on business rates are causing real harm. We began with an excellent contribution, as one would expect, from my hon. Friend the Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill), who brought to bear his characteristic charm and tremendous experience in the field. I thought that he exposed very neatly the...

Opposition Day — [9th Allotted Day]: Business Rates and the Recession (25 Mar 2009) has video

Mark Prisk: My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. He shows his business experience. If people are not advised in advance, they cannot plan. Despite all the Minister's protestations at the Dispatch Box earlier, the simple truth is that time and again the Government have shown themselves economically illiterate. I am afraid many businesses feel that is representative of all Ministers in whatever...