Engagements — House of Commons, 2016-02-03
Topic: Foreign Trade
Questions: People in my constituency are rightly proud of their contribution to the defence of our country, whether through the skill and readiness of the Fleet Air Arm at Yeovilton or through the local high-tech industry that makes and maintains helicopters and equipment for our ships, submarines and aircraft and those who bravely serve in them. At a time of increasing security challenges and responsibilities and a worrying lack of commitment to defence in many European countries, I welcome the leadership that the Government have shown in committing themselves to spending 2% of GDP on defence. Will my right hon. Friend meet me to discuss my ideas for building on our local capabilities?; My right hon. Friend will of course know that the west country is becoming ever more the envy and the engine room of the rest of the country, with dozens of companies moving from the dark recesses of London to the bright sunlight of the west, so will he keep supporting what people are now calling Somerset’s silicon gorge by maintaining investment in our roads, our rail and of course our digital infrastructure?; My constituent works for the Department for Work and Pensions and he tells me that the Government are correct when they deny that staff have targets set for sanctioning benefits—they are not called “targets”; they are called “aspirations”. With the roll-out of in-work benefit sanctions, how many of the Prime Minister’s own low-paid DWP colleagues does he think my constituent should aspire to sanction this year?; May I share my right hon. Friend’s disappointment that despite all his hard work, the European Union is forcing him to abandon our manifesto pledge to change the benefits system for migrants? Will he confirm that, sadly, the only way in which we are going to be able to regain control over our own borders is by leaving the European Union?; More than 2,500 people are directly employed by the ceramics industry in Stoke-on-Trent North and Kidsgrove. These and tens of thousands of other British manufacturing jobs are at risk if China is granted market economy status. The Prime Minister is very happy to sell off the family silver, but can he guarantee that he will not sell off the family crockery?
David William Donald Cameron (Conservative, Centre-right): We want to support industry in the potteries, and that is why we are helping manufacturing with research and development tax credits and with apprenticeship schemes; we are helping with a whole range of measures, not least the energy-intensive industry measures, which are very important for the constituency the hon. Lady represents. That is what we want to see. The issue with market economy status is a separate one, as I have said before. Even if China gets that status, it cannot dump steel products or other things into European markets, and it can be fined. What we should be doing is making sure that we are driving open markets for us to sell to China. The Chinese are the ones with a massive growth in the middle class taking place—hundreds of millions of people are joining that—and there are many great products made in Stoke that should be sold in China.