Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Alex Baker and Jonathan Reynolds(2 weeks, 4 days ago)
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Dr Allison Gardner (Stoke-on-Trent South) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Jonathan Reynolds)
Small businesses need a better deal—certainly better than the one they got from the last Government—and our small business strategy, which is due this year, is designed to do that. We have already provided more support through the British Business Bank; we have worked with the Federation of Small Businesses to take action on issues such as late payment and retail crime; and we have announced the creation of the new business growth service, which aims to transform business support services. Later today I will attend a small business summit in Sussex to progress those plans and meet small business leaders.
Alex Baker
Too many small and medium-sized defence businesses in my community struggle to access the banking and finance facilities they need, often on the basis of self-imposed ethical criteria. Will the Business Secretary join me in welcoming how many investors and financial institutions have responded to the campaign I am leading with my hon. Friend the Member for York Outer (Mr Charters) and 100 other Labour parliamentarians, calling on our banks and fund managers to broaden their approach to defence investment? Will he call on investors to take action so that we can defend our country, support Ukraine, and fire up our industrial base?
Jonathan Reynolds
I agree 100% with my hon. Friend and thank her very much for her question. She will know that my Department, alongside the Treasury and the Ministry of Defence, convened a roundtable in December to listen to these perspectives, and now all three Departments are working together to ensure that the problems she has articulated do not occur.
It is essential that the British people do not think that the substantial, significant and historic investments in defence that this Government are making come in some way at the expense of domestic prosperity. There is no prosperity without security, but we should also acknowledge the tremendous economic contribution made by our defence sector—there is not a foreign and domestic split in that regard. I thank my hon. Friend for her outstanding leadership in galvanising parliamentary support for that campaign, and I hope it will have unanimous agreement in every part of the House.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Alex Baker and Jonathan Reynolds(3 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Alex Baker (Aldershot) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Jonathan Reynolds)
It has been a hugely significant six months for the Department for Business and Trade. After our record-breaking international investment summit and our industrial strategy Green Paper publication, my Department has been engaging with businesses big and small to drive growth. Just this week we have helped to land a £500 million train-building deal with Hitachi, securing hundreds of jobs in the north-east—another promise fulfilled from the election campaign. For smaller businesses we are reforming business rates to breathe new life into our high streets, while launching a new fair payment code, tackling late payments to SMEs, and supporting new high street rental auctions to improve town centres. As we have heard, our brand new business growth service will streamline SME support on everything from finance to exports.
We are also tackling the challenges that we inherited, negotiating a better deal for Tata Steel employees in Port Talbot, while progressing a UK-wide steel strategy. Our Horizon convictions redress scheme shows that we are righting the wrongs of the past for victims of the Post Office scandal. I look forward to working with all hon. Members in the new year, delivering on our plan for change, going for growth, and realising a decade of national renewal. In addition, Mr Speaker, I would like to wish you, all hon. Members, and businesses across the UK a very merry Christmas.
Alex Baker
My constituents still mourn the loss of our M&S outlet in 2015, but we are delighted that Superbowl UK has just opened in Aldershot. These anchor retail and leisure tenants are so vital for our town centres, so what can the Government do to assist communities such as mine to ensure that we can encourage businesses to be the cornerstone and footfall drivers of our town centres?
Jonathan Reynolds
I very much agree and welcome the question from my hon. Friend. I certainly recognise that high streets are going through a transition from being primarily retail centres to now having much more of a mix of retail, hospitality and leisure, and I am delighted to hear about Superbowl’s investment in Aldershot. I am not nostalgic for a town centre or a high street that has passed; it is about how we do that transition into the future. There is great practice around the country, whether in Aldershot or in Walthamstow, where I was recently, and the Government’s agenda is committed to delivering that.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Alex Baker and Jonathan Reynolds(6 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Alex Baker
Small businesses in my constituency are keen to play their part in the Government’s growth agenda, but they tell me that they have been priced out of trading in Farnborough town centre because of rising costs. Will the Secretary of State join me in congratulating the Federation of Small Businesses, which this September celebrates its 50th year of supporting small businesses in the UK? What is his Department doing to ensure that small businesses that want to trade on the high street are supported to do so?
Jonathan Reynolds
I also welcome my hon. Friend to her place. I was pleased to meet her at the Farnborough air show, of which I am sure her community is extremely proud. I also extend birthday wishes to the Federation of Small Businesses, with which we work very closely, particularly on policies on issues such as late payments. I am always aware of the FSB’s incredible coverage; it has over 150,000 members across the country. Of course, the FSB began in Blackpool, so it is another great thing that the north-west of England has given this country.