It is a great honour to be called to speak in this important debate, and I am pleased to follow the hon. Member for Stretford and Urmston (Kate Green).
First, I want to make two general points. If we were relying merely on passing legislation to promote economic growth, we would have had a lot of economic growth already, because the truth of the matter is that legislation is aplenty. What matters, however, is what that legislation actually does, and this Bill will empower businesses to get on and do what they need to do, which is employ people and be innovative. My first general point, therefore, is that we need legislation that trusts business to get on with the job of generating economic growth.
My second general point is that we must not see this Bill in isolation from other Bills, such as the draft energy Bill, which will pave the way for new market developments, new technologies and new ways of providing energy. We need joined-up government. Indeed, economic policy is all about joined-up government, such as linking what this Bill paves the way for with other important pieces of legislation.
Let me illustrate that by talking about the green investment bank. I serve on the Environmental Audit Committee, and we produced a thorough report on the bank. We made three points, which I shall go through now as they are important both in respect of this Bill and for our future prospects of developing an economy that is both CO2-effective and economically productive.
The Bill must ensure that the green investment bank thinks about small and medium-sized businesses. We must have legislation that salutes SMEs in the technology and energy production sectors and recognises their value. They are the businesses that will come up with the good new ideas that translate into development. That is certainly happening in my constituency, and I expect it to happen in others. This Bill needs to help bring that about. The first point, therefore, is that we must be sure that SMEs can benefit from the green investment bank.
The second point is that it has to be a bank, not a fund. If it were a fund, we would be using the regional development funds and whatever else might be at our
disposal. We need a bank that knows what it can do in terms of both attracting other investment and investing itself and levering in additional money. It must have clout in the market. That is essential, because if it is to be a bank, it must look like a bank and feel like a bank, and people must think it is a bank. I acknowledge the constraints imposed by the deficit reduction programme and so on, and I have said several times in the House that we must reduce the deficit, but we must also signal that the green investment bank will be significant—a powerhouse of support for innovation, development and everything else.