Oral Answers to Questions

Kelly Tolhurst Excerpts

Tuesday 14th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

Having dipped my toes into controversy by talking about places with claims to be the cradle of the industrial revolution, I am certainly not going to nominate the best local newspaper in the country—suffice it to say that I gather the Foreign Secretary began his illustrious career on the Express & Star, although I do not know whether that shows its prescience, or whether it has recovered from that particular judgment. Local newspapers make a vital contribution to the success of local business, and I am delighted to hear about the initiative that the Express & Star is promoting.

[Kelly Tolhurst (Rochester and Strood) (Con)]

T4. Since 2010, my constituency has seen 8,800 apprenticeships started across many sectors, and very soon I will be hosting my first apprenticeship fair, bringing together local students and businesses. Will the Minister outline what steps he is taking to encourage more small businesses to engage with apprenticeships and take on more apprentices in places such as my constituency?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Margot James)]

The new phase of the “Get in Go Far” campaign focuses on helping small employers understand the benefits of apprenticeships. The National Apprenticeship Service supports that by contacting small businesses that have previously engaged with the programme. That will be of great benefit to small and medium-sized enterprises in my hon. Friend’s constituency.

Oral Answers to Questions

Kelly Tolhurst Excerpts

Tuesday 31st January 2017 Commons Chamber

[Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con)]

2. What recent assessment he has made of the international competitiveness of the UK aerospace.

[Kelly Tolhurst (Rochester and Strood) (Con)]

5. What recent assessment he has made of the international competitiveness of the UK aerospace.

[Drew Hendry (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey) (SNP)]

6. What assessment he has made of the aerospace industry’s contribution to economic growth across the UK.

--- Later in debate ---

[Jesse Norman]

I absolutely join my hon. Friend in congratulating the company. I have visited companies benefiting from the Sharing in Growth programme and I would be delighted to go to see the one in her constituency.

[Kelly Tolhurst]

Rochester and Strood has a proud aerospace history, having had the Short Brothers iconic flying boats. It is now home to Aeromet, an important SME that is part of the supply chain for Airbus. Will my hon. Friend outline how his Department will ensure that the UK aerospace supply chain will continue to have unhindered access to major opportunities in our manufacturing industries?

[Jesse Norman]

As my hon. Friend will know, the aerospace growth partnership has been a great success, with the Government working closely with industry. As part of that, the Government have made a joint funding commitment with the industry for nearly £4 billion of aerospace research between 2013 and 2026, so I think that the future is relatively well funded.

Oral Answers to Questions

Kelly Tolhurst Excerpts

Tuesday 13th September 2016 Commons Chamber

[Ben Howlett (Bath) (Con)]

1. What steps his Department has taken to engage with British businesses since the EU referendum.

[Kelly Tolhurst (Rochester and Strood) (Con)]

10. What steps his Department has taken to engage with British businesses since the EU referendum.

[Caroline Ansell (Eastbourne) (Con)]

13. What steps his Department has taken to engage with British businesses since the EU referendum.

--- Later in debate ---

[Greg Clark]

I certainly will do that. One of the biggest privileges of this job is to be reunited with aerospace; I got to know the sector when I was Science Minister. In fact, my first ministerial meeting was to have breakfast with the aerospace growth partnership at the Farnborough airshow, where I ran into my hon. Friend the Member for Aldershot (Sir Gerald Howarth). The west of England was very well represented there. For example, Katherine Bennett of Airbus, whom I am sure my hon. Friend the Member for Bath (Ben Howlett) knows well, one of the founder board members of the West of England LEP, was there. This is a very important sector for the economy, and it will have my wholehearted support.

[Kelly Tolhurst]

I, too, welcome the new ministerial team. I have a number of correspondents in a few local—predominantly small—businesses in Rochester and Strood who have been trading with European partners over a long period, but whose supply chain costs have recently risen. Will my right hon. Friend outline his commitment to supporting our small businesses in our new relationship with Europe, to ensure that local and regional economies continue to grow?

[Greg Clark]

I will, indeed. I know many of the small businesses in my hon. Friend’s constituency. Of course, through the British Business Bank, we have made over £3 billion available to smaller businesses. She will know that, from next April, small business rate relief will double permanently, which will benefit 60,000 small businesses. This is part of our continuing commitment to small business, which is the motor of the bigger businesses that, together with small businesses, generate so many jobs in our economy.