Oral Answers to Questions

Debbie Abrahams Excerpts

Thursday 27th May 2021 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. There is a proud tradition of steelmaking in Scunthorpe and she is absolutely right to draw attention to the importance of the issue. My colleagues in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy have established a new joint industry and governmental steel procurement taskforce, which was launched on 12 March. Of course, as the Government Department that helps to co-ordinate procurement, we are working with BEIS to achieve the goals that my hon. Friend rightly points out on behalf of her constituents.

[Debbie Abrahams (Oldham East and Saddleworth) (Lab) [V]]

I was rather taken aback by the Minister saying earlier that the Government are doing all they can to support small businesses. The collapse of the construction giant Carillion in 2018 saw 780 businesses go into insolvency, while the thousands that survived—including that of Neil Skinner, whose business is in my Oldham constituency—averaged losses of more than £140,000. If the Government had implemented project bank accounts, they would have prevented many of the losses. Given that, and the Minister’s response to my written questions, why is the Cabinet Office no longer monitoring the extent of the use of PBAs across Government?

[Michael Gove]

The hon. Lady raises an important point and I look forward to the opportunity to perhaps meet her to discuss exactly how we can improve the way in which the Cabinet Office supports small businesses.