Speeches by Bance.

“Building on the points about the responsibilities of employers and Government to ensure that our existing workforce are upskilled, I would appreciate any further thoughts on what more the Government can do to encourage employers to provide more training. I am particularly interested in what we can do to get SMEs provid…”

“Exactly. They said that 5,000 jobs might be lost if the ECOS scheme comes to an end, which would obviously be very difficult and I know this Committee would be very concerned. Eddie, is there anything you want to add?”

“Two days ago, I spent some time with Unite’s automotive conveners and they were talking to me about the difficulties presented by the phase-out of ECOS, the employee car ownership schemes. I am sure you agree with your colleagues at Unite, but is there a particular point you want to make about ECOS and how important it…”

“Can you identify any aspects of that problem? What are the particular things that are contributing to our underproduction of EVs and lack of capacity?”

“Please accept my apologies for being late, Chair. My apologies: transport let me down this morning. Before I continue, I should declare my membership in the Register of Members’ Interests; I am a member of Unite the Union. The one thing I worry most about is that we have a very skilled workforce in making internal comb…”

“Does the hon. Member believe that, in the first six months of employment, it is appropriate for people to be dismissed for unfair reasons and without a fair process?”

“One of my constituents lost her husband after they had made a decision to have three children together, as working taxpayers. Her husband had died, and she needed the help for which she had contributed: was that a lifestyle choice?”

“Will the hon. Gentleman give way on that point?”

“I thank the hon. Member for giving way. Do some children deserve to go hungry?”

“On the two-child benefit cap, will the hon. Member give way?”

“11. What steps he is taking to help strengthen the defence industrial base.”

“It is always good to follow another Member for the Black Country. I was recently very pleased to meet with Babcock International, which is based in Walsall, just over the M6 from my constituency, where it makes armoured cars. Can the Secretary of State comment on future opportunities for defence manufacturing in the Bl…”

“One of the key achievements in the first 15 months of this Labour Government has been that we are starting to fix some of the mess from the dreadful agreement that the Conservatives made with the European Union, which undermined this country. We are filling some of the holes, and making it easier to do trade with the E…”

“To be clear, the point that I am making is about the unspecified cuts referenced in the motion. I am talking about the implications from the last time the Conservatives made cuts of that magnitude. While it may be the case that getting rid of stamp duty would save some money for people in my constituency, where there i…”

“Here we go again, Madam Deputy Speaker—always the promise of tax cuts to come, never the proper plans to ensure it is affordable. This motion tells us everything we need to know about the modern Conservative party; once again, its first recourse is to reach for the austerity button instead of making a serious plan to i…”

“I am speaking today about the other part of the motion before us—the part about the unspecified cuts that would pay for the tax cut—and the implications of that. As the hon. Gentleman would expect of a responsible member of my party, I am not going to speculate with plans about how we fund things for which there is no …”

“That is my worry. A lot of people in my part of the world have skills that we are not going to need in 20 years’ time in motor manufacturing and repair. Particularly with the challenge of net zero, we need to make sure that we have the right mix in place to get people with the skills they need to continue to earn a dec…”

“I did not quite understand the point you were making. Is your point that your engagement with your sponsor Department—the MOD and DFT—at the big level is difficult? In the transfer of functions from IfATE to Skills England, many of us were worried that that detailed business engagement in the suite of qualifications mi…”

“Does that mean the Government? Or should it be down the supply chain?”

“My apologies to the panel for missing the first part of your evidence. I am interested in your existing workforce and the adults who do not work for you but might choose to work for you in the future. We know that manufacturing faces a number of challenges, such as net zero, particularly in automotive but also across m…”