In 2016, the previous Chair of the Treasury Committee, now Lord
Tyrie, wrote to the Chancellor of the Exchequer about the
assurances offered by the Government to Nissan, which persuaded the
car manufacturer to stay in Sunderland.
In his response, the Chancellor made no mention of any direct
financial assistance from the Government to Nissan. Yet today’s
edition of The Times reports that the Government may withdraw ‘a
£60 million package of support for Nissan after it broke a pledge
to build the latest version of one of its sports utility vehicles
in Britain.’
Rt Hon. MP, Chair of the Treasury
Committee, has asked Rt Hon. MP, Secretary of State for
Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, to explain how much
direct financial assistance the Government provided to Nissan,
what this package of support consists of, and why this financial
support was not in the Chancellor’s response to Lord Tyrie.
Commenting on the correspondence, Rt Hon. MP, Chair of the Treasury
Committee, said:
“Any assurances provided to Nissan, especially ones that may
cost the taxpayer money, should be put in the public domain
immediately.
“My predecessor as Chair of the Treasury Committee called for
the publication of a letter from the Government to Nissan from
October 2016, which was followed six days later by an
announcement from Nissan that it would build two new models in
their Sunderland plant.
“This letter now appears to have made its way into the hands
of the media, and Nissan has said that it is ‘no longer
commercially sensitive’, so I echo my predecessor’s request and
urge the Government to publish the letter immediately.”
“If the Government provided financial assistance to Nissan to
persuade it to stay in Sunderland, it should set out what this
support was, and why it did not disclose it to my
predecessor.”
--Ends--
Notes to Editors
- The
Committee’s previous correspondence and comments regarding the
assurances provided by the Government to Nissan is as follows:
“The Government has not yet clarified whether any form
financial assistance has been discussed with Nissan to persuade
it to stay in Sunderland. If it has made commitments that could
lead to a call on public funds, the Government would have a duty
to inform Parliament about them now. So I have written to the
Chancellor to ask for clarification.
“The position taken by the Chancellor before the Treasury
Committee that “we are not going to give a running commentary on
how we will conduct the [Brexit] negotiation and what our
priorities will be within it” sits oddly with the commitments –
on tariffs and protection from bureaucracy - apparently made by
the Business Secretary, first in private to Nissan, then later to
the BBC, and, later still, to the House of Commons.
“A running commentary for a few firms, but not the rest of UK
business, would be both unacceptable and counter-productive. The
Government can and should set out its objectives for the
negotiations, and sooner rather than later. By doing so it can
allay concerns – fuelled by periodic leaks from Cabinet Committee
meetings and by today’s memo – that it is still unsure about
them.”
“The Chancellor has not answered the crucial question:
whether an assurance was given to Nissan which could constitute a
contingent liability, or support consistent with the provisions
of the Industrial Development Act 1982. So I have written to Sir
Amyas, asking him to examine whether contingent liabilities have
arisen as a result of Government commitments, and/or assurances
made to Nissan.”
“The letter that the Secretary of State for the Department
for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy sent to Nissan on
21st October should be put in the public domain immediately.
“I will be writing to to ask him to do so. Sir Amyas
confirmed today that he can think of no reason why this should
not happen.
“The Government might have done better to do so from the
outset.”
- On 18 July 2017,
Mrs Morgan commented on the news that the Government provided
reassurances to Toyota in a private letter:
"The Government must have given substantial assurances to
encourage Nissan and Toyota to invest hundreds of millions of
pounds in the UK.
"It remains to be seen what these assurances could have been
that were robust enough for them to invest in the UK, but avoided
any obligation to report to Parliament.
"To provide clarity to the public, as the assurances may cost
the taxpayer money, and to other businesses, who are craving
certainty to plan for Brexit, the letters should be published
immediately."
