Speeches by Bance.

“Thank you. I want to put on record my thanks for the work that you, your staff team and your civil servants did to ensure that we got to a good solution for JLR. I think many Governments would have just allowed the market to take its course, and this Government did not. Having said that, what are you doing to make sure…”

“Building on that, one of the things that this Committee continues to worry about is making sure that the industrial strategy is understood as being the priority across the range of Departments that touch the industrial strategy’s eight sectors. We are again beginning to see some things where it feels like some other De…”

“The hon. Member is not being very clear. Does he like the pre-2016 trade union regime, which is the one this Bill takes us back to, or does he like the post-2016 trade union regime, which is the one he seems to be advocating except when he talks about the 30 years of settled consensus? Which is it, because it cannot be…”

“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…”

“For Sarah, if I may, following up, some criticisms of Skills England have been that it does not have the directive power that it needs to actually push the findings from your insight work. I have been impressed by some insight work that I have seen so far. As you say, I know you have been set up only since June. The is…”

“I wish to draw attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, my proud 23 years in Unite, and the generous support from the millions of ordinary members of the GMB and ASLEF in paying into their political funds to put representatives of the working class here in Parliament. I am here to deliver …”

“I would just add to that. One of the things that needs to be taken into account is the frequent review of the standards. We heard at the last session that the automotive technician T-level standard has not been updated for six years, and obviously things are moving on in that field. The people I worry about particularl…”

“Me too, for sure.”

“That will be great, thank you very much. We all think that there probably is some funding that is being lost or not able to be used, which could be better used if it were able to be shared down the supply chains. I have heard that from SMEs and from OEMs. There is something we can do there, and it would be good if you …”

“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?”

“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…”

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

“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?”

“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?”

“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…”

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