UK Internal Market: White Paper

Lord Bilimoria Excerpts

Wednesday 29th July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan]

My noble friend makes an excellent point, as he so often does. These proposals are designed to ensure that devolution can continue to work for everyone while ensuring that seamless trade in the United Kingdom can continue. From 2021, the devolved Administrations will have power over many more issues than they have ever had before as policy areas formerly managed by the EU flow back to them for the first time. Our proposals would do nothing to stop those Administrations introducing rules and regulations for their own businesses operating within their region, as long as those proposals were not applied discriminatorily.

[Lord Bilimoria (CB) [V]]

My Lords, businesses up and down the UK have worked with devolution for over 20 years. Will the Minister confirm that the proposed UK internal market Bill must continue to respect the devolution settlement while providing certainty to firms as powers are returned from the EU to the UK? Will the internal market work to ensure that costs or barriers to doing business between different parts of the UK are not increased, and, learning from the lessons of Covid, when collaboration has worked so well, will there be even greater collaboration between Westminster and the devolved Administrations? To build on what the noble Baroness, Lady Kramer, said, will we ensure a proportionate and independent approach to adjudication that is respected by all Administrations? Preserving the integrity of the internal single market is the economic glue binding our four nations together.

[Lord Callanan]

I agree with the noble Lord that the internal single market is indeed the economic glue that binds the four nations together. I can confirm that we will continue to respect the devolution settlement and indeed, as I said in response to earlier questions, the devolved Administrations are gaining many new powers as we leave the European Union. There is no power grab involved here—in fact, the opposite is the case—and we will continue to want to work as quickly as possible with the devolved nations and legislatures as much as we can.

Environmental Projects

Lord Bilimoria Excerpts

Thursday 2nd July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan]

That is an important issue. We keep things such as the building regulations under constant review, but we need to proceed at a pace that the building industry can cope with and that consumers will accept.

[Lord Bilimoria (CB) [V]]

My Lords, we welcome the Prime Minister’s emphasis on promoting a green recovery in his “Build, build, build” speech. Will the Minister inform us whether the formation of the Green Investment Bank, launched in 2012 with £3 billion, was key to backing the offshore wind industry? It was sold to Macquarie in 2017. Will the Government form a new green investment bank? What about collaborating with countries such as India, which has set a target of 100 gigawatts of solar power by 2022 to lead the world in solar power? Should we partner with countries such as India?

[Lord Callanan]

The role of green finance is particularly important; it is one we are working closely on. The former Governor of the Bank of England is leading our efforts on that. Of course, we must partner with many other countries around the world. This is a global challenge and has to be addressed on a global level. India will play a crucial role, as will many other countries.

Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill

Lord Bilimoria Excerpts

2nd reading & 2nd reading (Hansard) & 2nd reading (Hansard): House of Lords
Tuesday 9th June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bilimoria (CB)]

My Lords, the US has had chapter 11 for years. As Secretary of State Alok Sharma said, the Government now believe that

“the package of measures that the Bill introduces will give businesses the best opportunity to survive the effects of the covid-19 crisis and lay the foundations for a bounce-back in the UK economy.”—[Official Report, Commons, 3/6/20; col. 897.]

Paul Scully, the Small Business Minister, said:

“If a restructuring plan is not agreed, it is worth remembering that the company might enter an insolvency proceeding, which would almost certainly produce a worse outcome overall for all involved. The company might stop trading altogether, which would put all employees at risk of losing their jobs.”—[Official Report, Commons, 3/6/20; col. 952.]


As the noble Lord the Minister said, businesses and practitioners of insolvency law have largely welcomed the Bill. For example, Kate Nicholls, CEO of UKHospitality, said:

“This is a very important piece of legislation from the Government … The Bill should provide businesses with some very welcome respite from aggressive landlords and valuable breathing space to restructure their businesses.”


Jennifer Marshall, a partner at Allen & Overy, said that the Bill represents

“the most significant insolvency reforms in the UK for a generation”.

The Institute of Chartered Accounts, where I am proud to be a fellow, said:

“This is a pragmatic move and a useful addition to the government’s strategy to protect employment and … will definitely help some businesses survive, but we would encourage any directors with concerns about their company to seek professional advice at the earliest opportunity.”


The provisions of the Bill on company moratoriums, termination clauses, restructuring plans, the suspension of wrongful trading regulations, dealing with statutory demands and winding-up petitions, and flexibility around AGMs and filing requirements are all very welcome. As vice-president of the CBI, I can say that it supports the measures in the Bill, with our members widely welcoming the breathing space it will provide. The retrospective application of some of the measures is particularly important as firms continue to struggle with cash flow. Matthew Fell, one of our directors, said:

“The CBI welcomes these interventions at a critical time for business. The temporary suspension of wrongful trading provisions, along with other measures, will give much needed headroom for company directors to enable otherwise viable businesses to use the government’s support package and weather this crisis.”


With the Government’s support packages tapering off in the coming months, the timely passage of this Bill will be crucial to provide headroom for management teams across the UK. For firms to understand the extent of their liability, and the options for and likelihood of avoiding insolvency and securing a rescue package, the Bill will be pivotal. At a time when firms are grappling with huge demand shocks, constrained cash flow, and an uncertain picture on domestic and international consumer demand, government support is widely welcomed.

Following the comprehensive financial support package provided by the Treasury, for which business is very grateful, this Bill will help to underpin the Government’s requirements for the next stage of our economic recovery in the coming months. We encourage the Government to ensure that businesses, and especially SMEs, which have the least capacity—I hope that the Minister agrees—have as much support as possible to retain jobs and livelihoods in the coming months.

The Minister said that the Bill is about maximising the chances of survival. It certainly helps to do that, but does he agree that, before companies have to resort to its measures, we should support them as much as possible? For example, look at the government loan guarantee scheme. We have 100% bounce-back loan schemes. The original CBIL scheme, from 23 March—two and a half months ago—has seen a 50% approval rate, to 47,000 businesses, with almost £10 billion lent. But under the bounce-back schemes, with a 100% guarantee from the Government, in just over a month £24 billion has been lent, to almost 800,000 businesses. Should not the Government consider matching what Switzerland and Germany are doing, and increase the limit for the 100% loans up to £500,000? That would help businesses, especially as measures are tapered off.

Finally, if we can reduce social distancing from two metres to one metre, that will mean four times as many people in pubs and restaurants: at two metres, there is 30% capacity; at one metre, there is 70% capacity. This could be the difference between opening or not, and between survival or not. Cinemas, theatres—everyone would be helped. France, Denmark, China, Singapore, Lithuania and Hong Kong are doing it—why are we not doing it, in line with what the WHO says? We need to get the economy back up and working as soon as possible, and safely.

Covid-19: Businesses and the Private Sector

Lord Bilimoria Excerpts

Thursday 21st May 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bilimoria (CB)]

In this crisis, what has worked is not the Government working on their own but collaboration between them and the private sector. The first Nightingale Hospital, which the noble Lord, Lord Dobbs, spoke about—4,000 beds put up in nine days—happened because the Army, the Gurkhas, the NHS, the University of East London and the private sector all worked to put it together. On vaccines, we have seen Oxford, other universities and industry working with the Government and all coming together. Testing was not working when it was just in the hands of PHE; now it is because there is a collaborative effort between laboratories, research institutes, the Cambridge Biomedical Campus and, for example, AstraZeneca and GSK, all working together.

The CBI, where I am a vice-president, has a business heroes campaign, which urges organisations to join a nationwide effort and share examples of best practice. The CBI is helping to co-ordinate the efforts of companies and stepping forward to provide assistance where possible, from providing computers for pupils to PPE for healthcare and care workers. At the University of Birmingham, where I am chancellor, academics from across the business school are working with business intermediaries, such as the CBI, to reskill people for future working needs on working health and well-being.

As business, we are very grateful for all the help the Chancellor and the Government have given us, but the hospitality sector, which my business is in, is suffering greatly. It has basically been shut for two months and will take a long time to recover, especially if social distancing measures are meant to be in place. Through the Government’s CBILS loans, launched two months ago, 40,000 businesses have been given just over £7 billion. I have been urging the Government to give 100% guaranteed loans for business, and they listened and have done that. In just over two weeks, the bounce-back loan scheme is up to £50,000, and 464,393 companies have received £14 billion. This has worked.

With all the challenges ahead in this recession—as spoken about by the noble Lord, Lord Dobbs—I request that the Government raise the limit for the 100% government-guaranteed loan scheme to £500,000, because business will need this support. We, as a nation, are historically renowned for our creativity, business skills and entrepreneurship. That is what will get us through this crisis.

Covid-19: Business

Lord Bilimoria Excerpts

Wednesday 13th May 2020 Lords Chamber

[The Deputy Speaker]

Lord Hendy. Lord Hendy? We do not have Lord Hendy, so I call Lord Bilimoria.

[Lord Bilimoria (CB)]

My Lords, we are grateful to the Government and the Chancellor for all the help for business, including the extension of the job retention scheme until October. However, the Statement on workplace guidance makes no mention of testing at all, and today it is almost two months since the director-general of the WHO said, “Test, test, test”, and the Prime Minister has said that there is now a target of reaching 200,000 tests a day by the end of this month. Will the Minister tell us whether companies and businesses have access to testing for their workforces so that employees can be tested when they go to work? They can then have the confidence if they have a negative test that they can work knowing that they are healthy, and their colleagues and consumers can also have that confidence. Is testing available widely to employers and businesses now?

[Lord Callanan]

The noble Lord makes a very valid point. Our priority remains that testing patients to inform their clinical diagnosis is extremely important. We are also offering tests to all essential workers, including NHS and social care workers with symptoms, anyone over 65 with symptoms, anyone with symptoms whose work cannot be done from home and anyone who has symptoms of coronavirus and lives with any of those identified above. Yes, testing is extremely important. The Prime Minister has addressed that we have a strategy that we are working towards.

Covid-19: British Business Bank

Lord Bilimoria Excerpts

Thursday 30th April 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan]

I thank the noble Lord for his question; he makes a good point. We have received lots of helpful feedback from stakeholders on how the schemes have been working. He will be aware that, on Monday, the Chancellor announced further steps to ensure that lenders have the confidence they need to process these applications. We have removed the forward-looking viability test and the per-lender portfolio cap, to give lenders the full 80% guarantee across all CBILS lending. We keep the scheme under constant monitoring and are available for any future changes.

[Lord Bilimoria (CB)]

My Lords, although business is very grateful for the help that the Government are giving, including the new bounce-back loans, which are 100% guaranteed up to £50,000, the Minister said that just £4 billion has been given to 25,000 companies in the six weeks since the scheme launched. Will the Government consider guaranteeing up to £500,000 for 100% of the banks, as the Swiss and the Germans have? This will ensure that the money gets through to the companies that need the money now to survive this crisis and then the revival and restart. Will he also confirm that the portfolio guarantee limit of 60% per bank has been removed, and that it is 80% or 100% back to back?

[Lord Callanan]

The new bounce-back loan scheme that the noble Lord referred to will ensure that the smallest businesses can access loans from £2,000 to up to £50,000 in a matter of just days, capped at 25% of the firm’s turnover. On his second point, we have also removed the portfolio cap for loans under the CBIL scheme, meaning that lenders can access the full 80% guarantee for each loan.