Extract from Lords
statement on the Industrial Strategy consultation
(Lab): My
Lords, I am glad that the Minister seems to be enjoying his new
brief, and I welcome the new Green Paper and its wish list.
However, I am a bit concerned about research and development. The
same announcement as that in the Green Paper was made last
autumn—they are identical—and that is in the context of a 50% cut
in research and development since 2010. Therefore, to announce an
increase when there has been a real cut over a period of five
years seems to be not a good start to the discussion on research
and development. The Minister himself has said how important
research and development is. Will this be a real increase, and
will it be sustainable?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department
for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Lord Prior of
Brampton) (Con): My Lords, that is a very good question.
My own view is that it is one of the great, long-term,
sustainable, competitive advantages we have. When John Kenneth
Galbraith went to India in 1948 to give advice on setting up a
pharmaceutical industry there, he was asked, “How do we do it?”.
He replied, “Build a university and wait for 200 years”. There is
some truth in that. We have some great universities here, which
are a source of huge, long-term, competitive strength.
Extract from Home
Office questions
(Bradford West) (Lab):
T9. In 2016 Bradford university, which is in my constituency, was
listed by The Times among the top 200 most international
universities, but has seen its international student numbers fall
by nearly 45% since 2010. As my hon. Friend the Member for Neath
(Christina Rees) has outlined, the benefit that international
students bring to cities like Bradford cannot be overstated. What
will the Minister do to reverse this trend and ensure that one of
our greatest assets can continue to attract students? [908326]
The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Amber
Rudd): I share the hon. Lady’s view about the importance
of overseas students, particularly perhaps at the University of
Bradford. Some universities have seen an increase, some have seen
a decrease; we have seen more students coming over from China,
fewer from India. This is the market on the move, and I urge the
hon. Lady perhaps to work with her university and to come back to
us with any suggestions she might have to try to improve the
outcome for it.
Extract from Commons
statement on the Industrial Strategy Consultation
(East Lothian)
(SNP): How does the Secretary of State reconcile his
commitment to innovation and insurgency with the wholesale
pillage of the cream of British high-technology firms through
foreign takeover, not least the current takeover by Mastercard of
VocaLink and the prospective sale by the Government themselves of
the green investment bank to Macquarie?
The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and
Industrial Strategy (Greg Clark): I regard it as a badge
of pride that this country is open to overseas investment, from
which we have benefited hugely. When I was with my hon. Friend
the Member for Warwick and Leamington (Chris White) in the west
midlands on Friday, we met the chief executive of Jaguar Land
Rover, which is owned by an Indian company and has been a force
for great good in the area. I want to be open to overseas
investment.
Extract from
Westminster Hall debate on Non-recyclable and
Non-compostable Packaging
(Rugby)
(Con):...Within that, we ask packaging to minimise
the amount of food waste. We have very low levels of food waste
as a consequence of the very effective packaging our food is sold
in. About 3% of our food is wasted. Some may say that that is 3%
too much. Not only might that food otherwise have gone to those
in need but, more importantly, the disposal of food waste
presents real problems for the environment—if it goes into
landfill, it unavoidably generates methane gas. Therefore, it is
worth pointing out just how effective a tiny amount of packaging
can be in preventing food waste. We waste some 3% of our food,
but in economies such as Russia or India,
levels of food waste are as high as 40%. Only 1.5 grams of
plastic—a tiny amount—wrapped around a cucumber will keep that
cucumber fresh for 14 days by preventing moisture loss. The item
of packaging therefore performs an incredible task, preventing
the need for the cucumber to be disposed of in landfill....
To read the whole debate, CLICK
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