§ 7. Mrs. Helen Brinton (Peterborough)If he will make a statement on the role of British Trade International in securing inward investment into the UK. [120876]
§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr. Keith Vaz)The Invest in Britain Bureau is the Government organisation responsible for the promotion of the whole of the United Kingdom for inward investment. In response to the Wilson review of export promotion, we are examining the relationship between British Trade International and the IBB, but have not reached a decision on whether to change that relationship.
§ Mrs. BrintonI am grateful for my hon. Friend's reply. Can he assure me that any new arrangements will promote increased export opportunities for, and increased investment in, the eastern region—including, of course, my constituency of Peterborough? Will his Department closely monitor the success of those arrangements?
§ Mr. VazI can reassure my hon. Friend that that is what any new arrangements will do. The matter is still under review, but British Trade International and the IBB work extremely hard to ensure that the opportunities for investors in Peterborough are made well known to those who wish to invest in the United Kingdom. I thank my hon. Friend for all the excellent work that she does in supporting local firms in Peterborough in winning new markets throughout the world.
§ Mr. John Redwood (Wokingham)The bureau has presided over an increase mainly because the previous Government kept our tax rates and regulatory costs well below those on the continent and this Government have not frittered all of it away yet. Will the Minister assure us that he and his colleagues will veto the measures in the draft treaty of Nice that would create a centralised Government in Brussels capable of increasing business taxes and regulatory costs in this country? Or will we see, 140 when it comes to a centralised Europe, that, as with Sierra Leone, the Foreign Secretary is the living embodiment of mission creep?
§ Mr. VazNobody could give us better advice on creeping than the right hon. Gentleman. As he well knows, the United Kingdom is the number one location for inward investment anywhere in Europe because of the policies of this Government. We have low taxes and a stable economy under the leadership of a superb Chancellor of the Exchequer. That is very different from the policies of the previous Government. Inward investment in the UK last year reached £244.1 billion—a record level—because of the policies of this Government which make people want to invest here.
§ Mr. Bill Rammell (Harlow)Does my hon. Friend agree that one of the key factors in determining inward investment is Britain's position in the European Union? If we were to follow the policies of the Opposition in indefinitely postponing a decision on the single currency and taking the approach of a step-by-step withdrawal from the EU, that inward investment and those British jobs would be lost.
§ Mr. VazMy hon. Friend, who is much more knowledgeable than the right hon. Member for Wokingham (Mr. Redwood) on these matters, is absolutely right. There is no question that the step change initiative by the Prime Minister, adopted when the Government were elected in 1997, has made a tremendous difference to Britain's position in Europe. We are fully engaged in Europe, as was seen at the recent Lisbon summit, which moved the European Union on to the irreversible path to economic reform. Some 40 per cent. of inward investment in Europe from both Japan and the United States of America, and 50 per cent. of inward investment from Korea, comes to the United Kingdom. Those countries choose to come here because of our pivotal role in the European Union.
§ Mr. Richard Spring (West Suffolk)Is the hon. Gentleman aware that over four years our trade deficit will double to by far the highest level in our history, due to both our manufacturing imbalance and the Government's vast £10 billion increase in red tape and taxation on our businesses? Does he therefore agree that British Trade International needs all the support that it can get because of the Government's truly shameful record on trade and the soaring cost burdens?
§ Mr. VazI wonder whether the hon. Gentleman had prepared his supplementary question before he heard what I had to say about the statistics. I do not think that £244.1 billion of inward investment last year is shameful. That investment is at a record level, which means that it is an enormously successful outcome. Of course we support British Trade International; Sir David Wright does an excellent job. That is why we are examining the arrangements that will provide a better service for companies that wish to invest in the United Kingdom.