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Royal Warrants of Appointment

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant) on securing the debate. We find ourselves in somewhat unusual circumstances, because the nature of such debates is that no Minister has policy responsibility for the matter in question. I know that my hon. Friend has written to the Lord Chancellor, and I understand that he copied the letter to the Lord Chamberlain—he is certainly aware of it. However, he also copied it to the Select Committee on Constitutional Affairs as he clearly believes that it, too, has a remit. Parliament does not scrutinise matters that are within the personal prerogative of the Crown. However, the wider prerogative powers that are exercised by Ministers can and must be scrutinised by Parliament. Ministers are thereby being held to account, as is right and proper. Today, we are talking about something quite different. I do not foresee Committees of the House of Commons seeing it as an immediate priority, although my hon. Friend the Member for Rhondda may make representations. Indeed, towards the end of his remarks, he said that he thought that some Departments should have take responsibility for considering employment and other practices. That would, of course, be my former Department, the Department of Trade and Industry, and it would be for the departmental Select Committee to consider such matters. My hon. Friend knows that Burberry is a significant company. It employs 2,000 people in Britain. He will therefore be aware of the potential consequences of it losing a royal warrant in respect of the factory in south Wales. I understand that that is the firm’s polo shirt factory, from which production is being shifted abroad. The Government always regret the loss of jobs that go abroad, but we remind ourselves that we are a major magnet, attracting incoming jobs to Europe; in particular, Asian companies want their headquarters to be here. My hon. Friend will pleased that Burberry’s headquarters are in London and that the company has about 600 manufacturing jobs elsewhere in Britain, and I know that he will want to think on the consequences of any action taken. As for the criteria and rules for granting royal warrants, I understand that Earl Peel, the Lord Chamberlain, has stated that they are available. They are the Lord Chamberlain’s rules to be observed by holders of royal warrant of appointment. My hon. Friend may wish to take up those points with him.