Results 1-20 of 340 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:Baroness Vadera

North-East England: Socio-Economic Prospects — Question for Short Debate (14 Jul 2009)

Baroness Vadera: My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Bates, for his informative history, as well as for giving us the opportunity to discuss the prospects of the north-east region. As the noble Lord said, it is very special in historic, cultural and economic terms. It is also a region that, as the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Newcastle acknowledged, has transformed itself significantly in...

Insolvency — Question (23 Jun 2009)

Baroness Vadera: My Lords, in the right circumstances pre-packaged administration can deliver benefits by saving troubled businesses, thus preserving value that would otherwise be lost. It can potentially be more effective at saving jobs than other types of administration. However, it is important that the system is monitored and not subject to abuse. On 1 January 2009, we introduced mandatory requirements...

Insolvency — Question (23 Jun 2009)

Baroness Vadera: My Lords, about six out of 10 pre-packs, as the noble Baroness says, are phoenix, meaning going back to the original owners. However, one has to remember that the plight of small creditors, which I feel acutely as Small Business Minister, is actually the result of the insolvency, not of the pre-pack, and there is no evidence to suggest that small creditors fare worse in a pre-pack than in any...

Insolvency — Question (23 Jun 2009)

Baroness Vadera: My Lords, SIP 16 does indeed provide us with powers that require and enforce transparency, which is the key to this issue. If the Insolvency Service finds abuse, both the insolvency practitioner and the directors are investigated. There were 105 cases last year of action taken against insolvency practitioners and directors themselves. Noble Lords will be aware that every working day five...

Insolvency — Question (23 Jun 2009)

Baroness Vadera: My Lords, the Insolvency Service is part of the Government, so there is no question of passing this on. However, while this is an emotive issue, it is very important to consider the facts. The insolvency practitioners are required to ensure value for creditors, to protect employees and, since the Enterprise Act, to see whether companies can remain as going concerns. They have to look at the...

Insolvency — Question (23 Jun 2009)

Baroness Vadera: My Lords, it is a fundamental fact of capitalism and doing business that the ranking in a company is: secured creditors, preferential creditors such as employees, creditors secured against a floating charge, and unsecured trade creditors. It is not practical or sensible to change that. It is a fact of the insolvency rather than the administration. Insolvency means by definition that there are...

Insolvency — Question (23 Jun 2009)

Baroness Vadera: My Lords, we will look, and indeed are looking, at the evidence from the administration's pre-packs, in particular, and the returns that we are going to receive. We will see if there is evidence of any abuse or misuse both by company directors and insolvency practitioners. That is the place at which to root out any abuse that occurs. However, we must not forget the benefit of pre-packs: more...

Export Credits Guarantee Department — Question (8 Jun 2009)

Baroness Vadera: My Lords, as of 31 March, ECGD's total outstanding loans were £13.3 billion. ECGD aims to recover any money that it pays in claims and, over the past 20 years, has been cash-positive across its portfolio. As announced by the Secretary of State in New Industry, New Jobs, we are looking at existing and potential support offered by ECGD to ensure that the organisation plays a significant...

Export Credits Guarantee Department — Question (8 Jun 2009)

Baroness Vadera: My Lords, I am very happy to clarify that the £1 billion was then converted into £10 billion and was launched in January as the working capital scheme, which is now current; £5 billion of that is for trade credit insurance, which is now current and being implemented, and £1 billion is set against the lending agreements signed by RBS and the Lloyds group, which are also...

Export Credits Guarantee Department — Question (8 Jun 2009)

Baroness Vadera: My Lords, I am very pleased to confirm that we would not support projects that do not meet environmental standards or are an abuse of human rights. On taxpayer funding, as I said in responding to the Question, ECGD has been self-financing over the past 20 years.

Export Credits Guarantee Department — Question (8 Jun 2009)

Baroness Vadera: My Lords, the extension of the scheme to which the noble Lord refers—FREF—will be announced in the autumn, but I point out that there have been only four loans under the scheme in the last seven years. There is not a huge demand for it. There is currently only one serious inquiry and that company is well aware of the position.

Export Credits Guarantee Department — Question (8 Jun 2009)

Baroness Vadera: My Lords, we provide a level of support to British exporters that, as a percentage of our exports, is equivalent to that provided by Germany and the United States, but not to the level given by certain countries such as Canada. Following the privatisation of the short-term business in 1991, we have had a lower volume of business than certain other countries. However, I will not apologise for...

Export Credits Guarantee Department — Question (8 Jun 2009)

Baroness Vadera: My Lords, the working capital scheme assigned a guarantee with Lloyds and RBS, under which they are required to sign a lending agreement whereby they are required to lend to UK companies. We have a specific, legally binding agreement—one of the first of its kind in the world—which we monitor on a monthly basis to ensure that the capital that is released goes to UK industry.

Export Credits Guarantee Department — Question (8 Jun 2009)

Baroness Vadera: My Lords, it is a little unclear sometimes what Her Majesty's Opposition do or do not support. I find it difficult to follow, because they appear not to have many detailed policies that we can discuss.

Export Credits Guarantee Department — Question (8 Jun 2009)

Baroness Vadera: My Lords, I am delighted that noble Lords have the good news now.

Export Credits Guarantee Department — Question (8 Jun 2009)

Baroness Vadera: My Lords, my noble friend the Secretary of State has announced that a review will be taken in very short order. The review will look at the skills, calibre and resources that the ECGD will need. That will feed into the cost-cutting exercise.

Industry and Exports (Financial Support) Bill — Second Reading (19 May 2009)

Baroness Vadera: My Lords, I will take the questions that have been put in turn. The first question was about how much funding has been utilised. Since 1982, nearly £3.8 billion has been spent under Section 8 on a range of industry support schemes. As I explained, over recent months, a significant increase in expenditure under Section 8 will have occurred as a result of the package of measures that is...

Industry and Exports (Financial Support) Bill — Second Reading (19 May 2009)

Baroness Vadera: My Lords, indeed we do export visibles. The noble Lord will not be surprised to hear that manufacturing, a sector that has not traditionally been supported by the Opposition, is one of our biggest exporters. It is a significant proportion of our exports, and exports are a significant proportion of manufacturing output. I do not have to hand the balance of payments figures for last year. I...

Industry and Exports (Financial Support) Bill — Second Reading (19 May 2009)

Baroness Vadera: My Lords, the Government have introduced this Bill, certified as a money Bill, to make two small but important amendments to the law: one to the Industrial Development Act and one to the Export and Investment Guarantees Act. These amendments will provide the framework for supporting business through the downturn and accelerating our economic recovery. I shall deal with each in turn. The first...

Postal Services Bill [HL]: Report (1st Day) (11 May 2009)

Baroness Vadera: My Lords, as the Secretary of State said in Committee, the Government believe that Royal Mail's employees should be incentivised to deliver modernisation in the business and improved performance. As I said in Committee, Royal Mail's workers are the backbone of the company, so where those employees contribute to business success, they should rightly share in the benefits it delivers. There was...