Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Nickson (Crossbench). It was answered on Tuesday, 31 January 2012.

Companies: Executive Remuneration

Question: My Lords, do the Government agree with the article in today’s Times by Sir Roger Carr, president of the CBI, that if the business climate is to thrive in the United Kingdom, both politicians and the public need to understand and respect the need for it to do so, and the wealth and the employment that it creates, and that unless we do, we are quite likely to be negative in that respect? Do the Government agree with the sentiments expressed by Sir Roger Carr?

Answer: We want individuals who genuinely create jobs and wealth for the UK to be appropriately rewarded, but it is not right that people are rewarded for lacklustre performance. That is the area that we have to look at and the area that we are encouraging the shareholders, especially the big ones, to look at, too. If they can get the conditions in which deals are arranged, I am quite sure that everyone will be delighted to see one of the great men of the world who can run these companies actually run a British company and get whatever bonus he is entitled to.

Secondary information