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Summer Recess Adjournment

The hon. Member for Chorley (Mr. Hoyle) opened the debate this afternoon at breathtaking speed. He did not quite leave himself breathless, but I was impressed by the number of different subjects that he was able to cover in the relatively short time that is available to us today. I have common cause with him about the Government's incredible approach to the future of tax offices, which, in Galashiels and Hawick in my constituency, have been left in complete limbo. Highly skilled and professional staff are unsure about their future. I echo also some of the hon. Gentleman's comments on fuel duty and Equitable Life, which others have repeated in the debate. I shall return in a minute to manufacturing, one of the hon. Gentleman's main themes, but, first, I should like to pick up on the comments from the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend, East (James Duddridge), who made some criticisms of local hospitals in his constituency. I appreciate that his comments were very specific and about circumstances that are unknown to me, but for my part I put on the record a great tribute to the consultants, midwives, nurses and others in the Borders general hospital, where—I hope the House will allow me the indulgence—my daughter, Ella, was born eight weeks ago. [Hon. Members: "Hear, hear!"] I thank hon. Ladies and Gentlemen for their reaction to that fact. I was really taken by the professionalism and dedication of the hospital's staff. I was obviously focused on my experience and the health of my wife, Alison, and daughter, Ella, but I also saw at close hand over many days the dedication of those staff and their need and ability to switch between so many different, pressing cases all the time. It was the best insight that I have had into the national health service in all the years that I have been a Member. We can never praise sufficiently those who serve in the health service. The personal is important to us in our work as Members, and I should like to turn to another encounter. In Hawick in my constituency on Saturday, I joined many others from the town to celebrate the gathering there of the clan Turnbull, a very proud and historic family in the area. While I stood waiting for the pipe band as it marched along to the unveiling of a new sculpture, however, a lady appeared out of the crowd beside me. She was very angry, perturbed and keen to impress upon me the scale of the problems for members of her family who have lost their jobs in the past year. My constituency is the centre of the UK's cashmere knitting industry. The people of Hawick, Galashiels, Selkirk, Innerleithen, which I used to represent, and other areas all contribute to a world-class industry, but in the past year the unemployment statistics, which have doubled in my part of the world, have been largely changed by the terrible experience of many in that sector. They have been losing those jobs, and that lady was very intent—I assure the House that she made her point—on getting across to me the human suffering of her children, her grandchildren, their friends and others in the town who have lost their jobs in recent months, and of those who fear greatly for the future of their jobs. Indeed, I fear that unless we see urgent action from the Government now to tackle not only the general problems of manufacturing but the specifics of textiles, we will see many more job losses. Last week, I met the Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the hon. Member for Wrexham (Ian Lucas), who has responsibility for manufacturing. Alongside me was Mr. Ken Pasternak, a gentleman from Denmark who, with some supporters, has invested a considerable portion of his wealth in Peter Scott and Co. in the town. Mr. Pasternak went along not just as a senior industrialist in his own right, but as the leader of the Scottish Cashmere Club, and he therefore spoke on behalf of the whole industry. I have met him and many others countless times, and with his colleagues he has been battering to get attention from the Scottish Government. So far, however, he has been very disappointed at the lack of practical measures offered by the powers that be in Edinburgh. The items on the agenda for the meeting with the Minister last week were very focused. Mr. Pasternak is concerned, and I share his worries, about the export credit insurance support arrangements, which have been put before the House and are now being implemented, because they are largely focused on the domestic trading of UK manufacturing. The cashmere sector is a huge export earner and needs support for its exports, but it has not been given any, so I hope that the Minister will re-think that policy. Mr. Pasternak re-emphasised the point that many right hon. and hon. Members have made in the House countless times—the need for companies to access good banking facilities. Many have growing order books but see their credit shrink before their eyes, and many do not get credit because they cannot get trade export insurance. We now own those banks, which are on the front line when it comes to lending decisions, so I urge the Minister and those in the Treasury to go into those banks, examine the decisions and understand why world-class businesses with good order books may be throttled because of the lack of available cash. Mr. Pasternak also highlighted the need for product development support, along the lines that the Italians and others on the continent of Europe have offered to their local businesses. He echoed a point that many business men and women in the borders and elsewhere have put to me—the need to focus on skills and skills retention. Many in short-time working could be put into good, productive training if there were the support for it, so I hope that the Government will finally—belatedly—see sense. Mr. Pasternak said that his industry was in a crisis moment, and I echo that point. I do not want to meet that constituent again and have her tell me that more job losses have affected her family. I want us to put a stop to that, and I urge the Government to take urgent action before it is too late.