Oral Answers to Questions Debate
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Chris Bryant
Main Page: Chris Bryant (Labour - Rhondda and Ogmore)Department Debates - View all Chris Bryant's debates with the Department for Business and Trade
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Will Stone (Swindon North) (Lab)
The Minister of State, Department for Business and Trade (Chris Bryant)
Without our small businesses, we as a country are nothing, which is why we have published the first small business strategy in 10 years. We are going to change the law to tackle late payment, unlock billions to support businesses to invest, and revitalise the British high street.
Olly Glover
Love Beer Brewery in Milton in my Oxfordshire constituency of Didcot and Wantage supplies fantastic ale for events and a number of local pubs. However, its viability is threatened by the freeze of income tax thresholds and the increase in beer duty. Its monthly beer duty costs are now between £1,500 and £2,000, and if its owner did not have a day job, it probably would not be able to survive. In that context, will the Minister say a bit more about what else the Government can do to support small businesses and small breweries such as Love Beer in Milton?
Chris Bryant
When I visited those at the de-alcoholisation unit at another brewery, the Budweiser factory just outside Newport, last week, they said that one of the really important things was being able to diversify, because of changing drinking habits in the UK. However, they also want the British Government to focus on making sure that businesses have access to capital and that people pay their bills on time. When we introduce legislation, as we intend to do later this year, which will tackle the problem of late payments, that will make a dramatic difference. It will be the most important piece of legislation in the UK in this field for 25 years.
Sally Jameson
Clean Power Hydrogen, a small business in my constituency, is a UK leader in the manufacturing of membrane-free electrolysers for green hydrogen production. It employs about 60 people in Doncaster, and it has the ability to expand that to hundreds by 2035. Will the Minister set out what he and his Department are doing to support companies such as Clean Power Hydrogen in Doncaster and across the country?
Chris Bryant
I congratulate my hon. Friend on being a great defender of the businesses in her constituency. We are delivering targeted catalytic public investment in our clean energy industries. Some people see climate change as an economic challenge for us, but we see it as an economic opportunity in this country, because it is about future jobs. That is why we are so different from the political parties on the other side of the Chamber.
Mr Dhesi
Slough is a dynamic and innovative business hub, but as we enter the festive period, retail, hospitality and leisure businesses, for example, are under immense pressure. Although businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, welcome the support measures that have already been introduced, what specific immediate actions are the Government taking to boost the high street and ensure that Slough businesses not only survive but thrive?
Chris Bryant
As my hon. Friend knows, I know a bit about Slough, because my brother is a headteacher there—and I am sure he has been helping out some of the pubs. The most important point is that we fully acknowledge that it has been a very difficult few years for the hospitality industry across the whole of the UK. That is one of the reasons we set a target of 50 million international visitors to the UK by 2030. If we are to do that, we have to make sure that pubs survive. My hon. Friend will know that, when the Conservatives left office last year, they had no plan to replace the covid recovery funds and no plan to meet the coming cliff edge in the revaluation of business rates. That is why it is so important that we have put in £4.3 billion to protect businesses and provide transitional relief.
Will Stone
Will the Minister outline what work he is doing with the Ministry of Defence to support our defence SMEs, given the situation in Ukraine at the moment?
Chris Bryant
The single most important thing is that we have a defence industrial strategy. We should always have had a defence industrial strategy, because as many of us will know, up and down the land there are small and larger businesses that rely on the support they get from providing for the MOD. When I was in Auckland a few days ago, I was able to speak to the New Zealand navy about buying British frigates, which would be made in Rosyth. I very much hope that we will be able to get that over the line. We are determined as a Government to use these industrial opportunities in the MOD to deliver good jobs across the whole of the UK.
Dame Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)
Last month in Business and Trade questions, I asked the Secretary of State to show some backbone and stand up to the Chancellor and say, “No more business taxes”. But he did not: far from permanently lower business rates, small and medium-sized businesses on our high streets are experiencing enormous rate hikes. Will the Minister apologise to those retail and hospitality businesses who feel so misled?
Chris Bryant
No, because I want the hon. Lady to apologise for what the Conservatives did to the British economy and British businesses. Why is it that, following the Brexit that they delivered to this country, only one in 10 British businesses are exporting, whereas three out of 10 French businesses and four out of 10 German businesses export? It is because they gave us a Brexit which, frankly, was not fit for purpose. That is precisely what we should be changing.
Of course there are problems for lots of businesses up and down the country, but I note that every single time we ask the Conservatives, “Where is the money to come from to pay for improving the NHS and putting our public services back on their feet?” they always say it will come from some random budget. [Interruption.] Just as when the shadow Business Secretary, the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs (Andrew Griffith) was the Financial Secretary to the Treasury for Liz Truss, he wanted us to—
Dame Harriett Baldwin
I did not hear an answer to my question. To add insult to injury to the retail and hospitality businesses on our high streets, the letter that has gone out from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government about the change in business rates gives completely different information from the guidance on the Treasury website. The difference means thousands and thousands of pounds. Will the Minister commit today to getting in touch with his Cabinet colleague to ensure that those letters are corrected?
Mr Speaker
I think my throat will manage. The hon. Member should not worry.
Chris Bryant
Well, I will find some hearing aids for the hon. Lady, because she refused to listen to the answer I was providing. Basically, when the Conservatives left government, they had not provided a single penny to make sure the cliff edge would not affect every single small business in this country. That is the problem they should be apologising for. [Interruption.] I cannot hear what she is chuntering, so I probably need a hearing aid, too. Of course I am happy to look into the letters she is talking about, but, really, the Conservatives need to get with the programme. Even the leader of the Conservative party now admits that Brexit was a “shock” on a level with covid and the economic crisis—but it was a self-inflicted shock.
Mr Gagan Mohindra (South West Hertfordshire) (Con)
Businesses of all sizes across my constituency are struggling due to the strain of Labour’s increases to national insurance contributions and the pressures created by the Employment Rights Bill. Many tell me they are questioning their viability or even considering relocating overseas. Will the Minister set out what steps the Department will take to support entrepreneurship and ensure that businesses choose to invest and grow here in the UK, rather than being driven overseas?
Chris Bryant
Look, we want to back British entrepreneurs and investors. That is why we addressed some of the key issues in our small business strategy, which we published earlier this year, in particular late payments. The Conservative Government refused to tackle that in any serious way across their 14 years. It is why we are also looking at access to finance. One thing we know about a business is that if it exports, it will be more resilient, more likely to grow and more successful in future years. To enable that, I asked UK Export Finance this week not just to focus on big contracts around the world, but to ensure that it provides specific support for SMEs.
Chris Law (Dundee Central) (SNP)
The Scottish Chambers of Commerce has said that this Labour Budget
“falls short of reassuring business owners”
and that SMEs in Scotland are being left “on the brink”. I have met a range of businesses in the Scottish whisky and hospitality sectors and the crucial energy industry, and this Budget is a missed opportunity to reverse cack-handed Labour policies, such as national insurance contributions, which are hurting our SMEs. Will the Minister explain to Scottish businesses why Labour has gone out of its way to let them down so badly?
Chris Bryant
First of all, we have given £5 billion more to the Scottish Government; I sometimes just wish they would stop whining and moaning, and get on with delivering what they can with the budget that we provided to them. Secondly, I have met the Scotch Whisky Association frequently since I came into this post at the beginning of September. It is delighted that we are delivering trade deals around the world. The trade deal with India, in particular, will reduce tariffs in India from 150% to 75% and, in 10 years, to 40%. That will make a radical difference to the ability to export Scotch whisky around the world.
Chris Bryant
Look, the single most important thing is that everybody, including the Liberal Democrats and the Conservative Government, when they were in power, knew that after the revaluation in 2021—on the back of covid—there would be significant increases when a new revaluation came in 2024. Everybody was aware of that. At the same time, everybody recognised that there was a cliff edge, because not a single penny had been set aside to provide transitional relief following the general election. We provided relief last year, we provided £4.3 billion of relief this year, and that is why there is a very strong future for our hospitality sector under Labour.
Ruth Jones (Newport West and Islwyn) (Lab)
Alan Gemmell (Central Ayrshire) (Lab)
The Minister of State, Department for Business and Trade (Chris Bryant)
We are championing investment across every nation and region. At the recent regional investment summit and Wales investment summit, we showcased the strengths of our world-leading sectors and secured billions in private investment and commitments. We are making the UK the best place to start, scale and invest, while cutting unnecessary regulation so that businesses can innovate, create jobs and help rebuild our economy.
Andrew Ranger
As someone with a long and proud career in the hospitality industry before being elected to this place, I know—as we all do—that the sector plays a vital role for our high streets and communities. It brings people together, provides crucial local jobs and boosts economies. In Wrexham alone, over 1,200 people are employed in the sector. Alongside measures announced in the Budget and already this morning, will the Minister set out what the Government are doing to support the beer and pubs sector as part of their plans to revitalise our high streets, strengthen local economies and safeguard hospitality jobs in Wrexham and beyond?
Chris Bryant
My hon. Friend refers to his long and proud career in the industry. It can’t have been that long, because he is so young—[Interruption.] I am being nice.
One thing I have felt very strongly about for a long time is that the hospitality industry in the UK needs to consider a job in the industry as a proper, honourable career. All too often they are seen as jobs that are only done by a few people for a couple of months before they go on to university or whatever. We need to completely change that. That is why as a Minister in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport I tried to ensure that we have proper centres of excellence for hospitality in the UK so that it is a career that is available for people for the whole of their lifetime.
My hon. Friend will know of the work that is being done in Wales via Pub is the Hub to help rural pubs diversify. I think that is really important, and we are committed to ensuring that it continues.
Alan Gemmell
My constituency is home to NATS—the good kind, helpfully, because NATS is the UK’s leading provider of air traffic control services. It employs 5,000 people around the country and 500 in Central Ayrshire, and exports its world-class expertise around the world. Will the Minister meet me to discuss that great British success story and how we can continue to champion it?
Chris Bryant
I agree with my hon. Friend that gnats— I would not want to cast aspersions on any other kind, obviously—can be a terrible problem in Scotland.
The aviation industry in the UK is an important sector and is part of one of the key sectors that we have identified in the industrial strategy. We want to ensure that all our advanced manufacturing prospers. It was good to see significant extra investment in GE Aerospace in Nantgarw, made only the other day, and I am happy to meet my hon. Friend to see how we can drive forward our ambitions in the sector.
Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)
The Minister mentioned earlier the disaster of Brexit, and I will add the loss to the UK economy of £250 million a day in tax revenue, according to research from the House of Commons Library. We Liberal Democrats want the Government to focus on a golden opportunity to grow the economy by considering a new customs union with the EU. Is it not time that the Government look at a new customs union with the EU? We will be told that there are deals with India and New Zealand that would be in peril. [Hon. Members: “There are!”] Those are nothing compared with the lost trade with the European Union.
Chris Bryant
Far be it from me to agree with a Lib Dem but, broadly speaking, I do. The truth is, as the Leader of the Opposition has now admitted, Brexit was a self-inflicted shock—and not just a small shock. It is as if the Conservatives decided to throw the three-bar electric fire into the bath while it was plugged in and they were sitting in it. The hon. Lady is right: it is a 4% drop in productivity, a 15% drop in trade and a £100 billion hit to our GDP, and there are 16,000 fewer businesses now exporting into Europe. I am sorry but they are not Cinderella—instead, we are having to clear up the mess left by the ugly sisters.
Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)
I always appreciate the Minister’s optimism, but I was with my local chamber of commerce a few weeks ago and it did not have the same views on how the Government are doing with growing the economy. I heard from a hospitality business in my constituency that costs for next year will go up by £150,000. They will not make it through next year. I understand and can perhaps predict what the Minister will say, but surely we need to consider some key measures, because we are hearing from across this House that hospitality is in crisis.
Chris Bryant
We are looking at all those issues in the round. We need to ensure that there is the support that people need in a variety of different ways. Some of that is about ensuring that bills get paid on time and some is making sure that those businesses have the access to finance that they have historically found difficult. We need to build on the successes and enable people to diversify more. That is precisely what our Department is there to help with. If the hon. Lady has people who want to meet me, I am happy to do that, but I can assure her that we are determined to drive economic growth.
Andrew Griffith (Arundel and South Downs) (Con)
Five Lib Dem Lords a-leaping. That is all it took for the Liberal Democrat party to throw every British business under the bus and expose them to the unimaginable liability of infinite tribunal payouts. It is hard to think of a more anti-growth, anti-job measure. On Monday, the Liberal Democrat spokesman was against, on Wednesday they were for and goodness knows where they will be tomorrow. Does the Minister agree that British business would have an entirely fair case to dismiss the lot of them?
Chris Bryant
The hon. Member seems to have lost the plot, frankly. Let me just point something out to him: what was average growth under the Tories? It was 1.5%. What is it under Labour? It is 2.2%. Which is higher? It is higher under Labour than the Tories. Average employment in the UK under the Tories was 73.8%. What is it under Labour? 75%. Which is higher? It is higher under Labour. Average inflation under the Tories was 3.2%. Under Labour, it is 1.8%—better off under us. I will just say on rights that we do not create a healthy and wealthy society if we ignore the rights of workers.
Andrew Griffith
Lyndon B Johnson said the first rule of politics is to learn how to count. The Government lost the vote in the House of Lords last night on the unemployment Bill because 144 of their own peers did not want anything to do with that Bill. One Labour peer has already resigned to join the exodus to Dubai. Tony Blair would never have brought forward this Bill because he understood the importance of growth. Will the Minister now accept the sensible compromise passed in the other place last night and today give British employers and workers the certainty they need for business to grow?
Chris Bryant
I can count; the hon. Member cannot. Let me remind him: growth under the Tories was 1.5%, and growth under Labour is 2.2%. Which is higher? It is higher under Labour, isn’t it? Why did we lose the vote last night? Because of 25 Tory hereditary peers. Why on earth would that be? Why do we think they might not be willing to support Labour? Look, it is absolutely clear that it is business that builds economic growth, but we cannot create a wealthy nation if we do not tackle poverty, and we cannot tackle poverty unless we grow the economy—just like a prosperous business cannot be built on the backs of the workers, and that is what we will never do.
Sarah Olney (Richmond Park) (LD)
Thank you, Mr Speaker—I appreciate you giving me the time.
I listened carefully to the Minister’s response to my hon. Friend the Member for Bath (Wera Hobhouse). Some £90 billion is being lost every year in tax receipts, 20,000 small firms have stopped all exports to the EU and 33% of currently trading businesses are experiencing extra costs. The Prime Minister’s chief economic adviser has recommended a customs union with the EU. The Deputy Prime Minister has also suggested that countries within a customs union tend to see stronger economic growth, and the Minister agrees, so what is his Government going to do about it?
Chris Bryant
We are going to get the best possible deal that we can out of the European Union. That is one of the reasons that I was in Brussels only yesterday alongside Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Minister for the Cabinet Office. We are getting a better deal from the European Union. We want to ensure that we have frictionless trade with the EU—that was what was promised by the ragtag and bobtail of that lot on the Conservative Benches —and that is what we will deliver. But I say to the hon. Member that in all earnestness we had a manifesto commitment, and that is what we will stick by.
Mr Speaker
As the Minister knows, we do not normally use names, and he will not be doing it again.
Bobby Dean (Carshalton and Wallington) (LD)
The Minister of State, Department for Business and Trade (Chris Bryant)
I apologise on behalf of the Secretary of State, who is striking deals in the United States of America. In recent weeks, we have announced £2.5 billion of investment in the UK’s first small modular reactor site at Wylfa, launched a critical minerals strategy and done a deal with the US on pharmaceuticals.
Mr Speaker, in true Christmas spirit, I can assure you as Trade Minister that there is no tariff on gold, frankincense or myrrh, and Santa Claus can travel freely without a visa—although apparently, he knows when you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness’ sake!
Bobby Dean
Thank you, Mr Speaker. As you probably know, south London is wonderful, but you may not know that it is one of the UK’s largest regional economies. Last week my local council, the London borough of Sutton, launched its economic growth plan, inviting businesses to take advantage of opportunities in the area. Will the Minister meet me and the local council leader to connect the business community with all the opportunities that exist in my borough?
Jayne Kirkham (Truro and Falmouth) (Lab/Co-op)
Andrew Griffith (Arundel and South Downs) (Con)
Labour’s steel strategy was originally promised in spring 2025, but yesterday we learned from a written ministerial statement, snuck out without Ministers coming to the House, that the strategy will now not be published in 2025 at all—it is more likely to be spring 2026. We have no steel strategy after 18 months, there is no sight of the US tariff agreement on steel that the Prime Minister claimed to have on 8 May, and no deal with the Chinese owners of British Steel. Will the Minister give the sector the Christmas present that it wants and publish the steel strategy?
Chris Bryant
It is a bit of a cheek, isn’t it, the Conservatives coming and talking about a steel strategy when they had absolutely no strategy and did not even choose to go and visit some of the steelworks that we are talking about. There will be a steel strategy. The Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Chris McDonald) has been having discussions with trade unions and industry, both downstream and the producers, and we will be producing a comprehensive steel strategy very soon. I am happy to deal with the tariff issues if there is a little time later.
Michael Payne (Gedling) (Lab)
Justin Madders (Ellesmere Port and Bromborough) (Lab)
Chris Bryant
I pay tribute to my hon. Friend’s work in the Department; he is much missed, particularly by many of the civil servants and those who worked with him. I am happy to sit down with him and discuss whether we can bring forward specific proposals that would redress that imbalance.
Alison Griffiths (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton) (Con)
Dr Lauren Sullivan (Gravesham) (Lab)
The loss of the Gravesend to Tilbury ferry has had a detrimental impact on our high street, with businesses reporting a fall in footfall. Will the Minister meet me to advise on any potential capital revenue grants that could unlock growth in this area and the wider Thames estuary?
Chris Bryant
I am very happy to meet my hon. Friend. The high street is a really important part of ensuring that we have economic growth across the whole of the United Kingdom, rather than just in some parts of it. One of the things we have been looking at is the fact that when a high street has a cinema, that often makes it a place that people want to go to, and it gives a sense of pride in place. That is why the Pride in Place investment that we have made is so important.
Rebecca Smith (South West Devon) (Con)
Chris Bryant
I backed the national minimum wage. Because I have been here since the time of Queen Victoria, I remember a time when the Conservative party—backed by the Lib Dems, incidentally—held out completely against the idea of a national minimum wage. If we are going to build successful businesses in this country, it is important that we have a national minimum wage that really pays the bills and enables people to put food on the table for their kids.
Liam Byrne (Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North) (Lab)
May I welcome the deal with the United States to set zero tariffs on pharmaceutical exports? Together with the British Business Bank’s investment of £100 million in biotech, that is a real boost. However, the US offer was for just three years, whereas the price adjustment we have promised for the NHS is permanent. When the Secretary of State met the Secretary of Commerce and the United States Trade Representative in America last night, what assurance did he get that the Americans will not come back and reimpose tariffs on UK pharmaceuticals in three years’ time?
Chris Bryant
I completely agree with the Chair of the Business and Trade Committee; this is a really good deal in many ways, not least because, as somebody who has benefited from medical advances that have happened in the past few years—I received immunotherapy that had been licensed only a week before I went to the GP with my stage 3 melanoma in 2019—I know how important it is not only that the UK has a strong life sciences sector, but that people can access those drugs through the system in the UK. I think this is a good deal. I am afraid I cannot answer his precise question about what conversations the Secretary of State had last night, because I was having discussions with another country about another deal, which we might be able to announce very soon.
Alison Bennett (Mid Sussex) (LD)
I welcomed with interest the Minister’s earlier comments about support for the aviation sector. Let me give an example of how Brexit is damaging aviation in my constituency. CAE trains pilots, but at the moment it cannot bring in all the examiners it needs, so instead it has invested in Vienna. When will the Government decide that they need to join Lib Dem calls for a customs union?
Chris Bryant
I have already said that we will not be joining Lib Dem calls, but we will try to sort out all the issues about frictionless trade that exist. The hon. Lady is right about the aviation industry. It was a delight for me to be able to go to Dubai and help support the bid from Airbus and Rolls-Royce to be able to sell planes that are 30% made in the UK to airlines around the world. The aviation industry is a really important part of our manufacturing base, and we will support it.
Rachel Taylor (North Warwickshire and Bedworth) (Lab)
I got the chance to do some essential Christmas shopping on small business Saturday last week. I bought cakes from Gayton’s and a wreath from the Flower House, and I managed to get in my Christmas turkey order at Bates in Atherstone. Can the Minister tell us what extra support he will provide to small retail businesses in North Warwickshire and Bedworth and across the country?
Lincoln Jopp (Spelthorne) (Con)
The Minister’s magnificent waistcoat reminds me that last night I was at the grand opening of Tulip Treasures Florist on Shepperton high street in my constituency. Will the Minister wish young Rhiannon, who is taking that brave step, every success in her endeavours?
Chris Bryant
I wish Rhiannon every success in her endeavours, not least because one of the problems provided by Brexit affects florists up and down the country. Some 80% of the flowers sold by florists in the UK come from, or through, the Netherlands, and when we sort out our sanitary and phytosanitary measures deal—which we hope to do very soon—it will be much more affordable for florists to be able to survive in this country. Of course, it is good to support British tailoring as well.
Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)
The UK-US economic prosperity deal was very welcome for the automotive sector, but there are some challenges for that sector. The current quota of 100,000 units and the quarterly thresholds are particularly difficult for small-volume and micro manufacturers, such as Aston Martin, McLaren and Morgan. What conversations are taking place between the US and the UK on those details?
Jessica Morden (Newport East) (Lab)
Last week I met Community union representatives representing steelworkers across Wales, including in Llanwern— I draw attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. They support the welcome movement on energy costs, and they know that the Government are working on procurement and that there will be a steel strategy, but the most urgent ask is on the EU’s steel import quotas and tariffs. Can the Minister please give us an update on those?
Chris Bryant
My hon. Friend is quite right to raise the issue of Llanwern; sometimes we focus on some of the other steelworks in the UK, but this is about the whole sector. I met Commissioner Šefčovič yesterday; we are very much on the case of trying to sort out precisely where we land with the EU safeguard, but we also need to ensure that the UK has a steel safeguard after the end of June. We will do everything we can to ensure that we have a strong and prosperous steel sector across the whole of the UK, including in Llanwern.
Chris Webb (Blackpool South) (Lab)
Last weekend I attended Waterloo Road’s first ever winter wonderland Christmas lights switch-on, which was a fantastic celebration in the spirit of small business Saturday in the most deprived ward in our country. Those businesses told me on Saturday, as they have done many times, that they have been left behind for too long, and that the high street is suffering. Will the Minister meet me to discuss what we can do to support our high streets in the most deprived areas of this country?
Sean Woodcock (Banbury) (Lab)
The Minister has rightly congratulated Lando Norris and McLaren on their victory in the Formula 1 championship at the weekend. Motorsport brings in an estimated £9 billion to the UK economy, along with high-skilled jobs, cultural soft power and so on. Will the Minister join me in commending the sector on its contribution to the wider UK economy, and perhaps join me in visiting one of the Formula 1 or motorsport teams in my constituency?
Chris Bryant
My hon. Friend makes a very good point: advanced manufacturing and the creative industries come together in this area, because it is also about broadcasting. Those are two of the sectors in our industrial strategy that we are very keen to motor on with, and one or other of us in the ministerial team will be very happy to meet my hon. Friend’s constituents.
Euan Stainbank (Falkirk) (Lab)
I welcome the 340 jobs at Grangemouth announced this morning as a direct consequence of the investment made by this Labour Government and MiAlgae. In less good news, the National Timber Group went into administration last month, making 500 workers across the country redundant. After five years at NTG, my constituent had her system access cut off, while working, with no warning, no process and no verbal communication. What dialogue have Ministers had with the administrators to ensure that a fair process is followed for NTG employees?
Chris Bryant
I welcome my hon. Friend’s point, which is extremely well made. I am very happy to have a conversation with him afterwards about the precise nature of the discussions that are ongoing.
Finally, I too visited one of my small businesses on small business Saturday, a great cake shop called Only Crumbs. Sadly, under the Tories, that was all we ever got: only crumbs.
Bobby Dean
On a point of order, Mr Speaker. The Minister indicated to the House that the Liberal Democrats were against the national minimum wage in the ’90s. My own memories are hazy, but I am reliably informed that that was not the case, so I hope the Minister will correct the record.