Business of the House

Derek Twigg Excerpts

Thursday 18th April 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend and other Members, especially my hon. Friend the Member for Croydon South (Richard Ottaway). The Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 will create a robust new licensing regime that will further restrict the market for stolen metals. My hon. Friend is right that we are making progress. The Association of Chief Police Officers estimates that there has been a 38% reduction in recorded metal theft offences. Likewise, Network Rail and the Energy Networks Association report a big reduction. This is an important matter not only to churches, but, as I know from my constituency, to villages that have had their communications completely cut off, in some cases a number of times, because of the theft of metal from the networks. We are taking action, not least with the benefit of that private Member’s Bill.

[Derek Twigg (Halton) (Lab)]

May we have a debate on the Chancellor’s policies and his failure to ensure that banks support small and medium-sized businesses? A company wrote to me recently, saying that

“we keep hearing on the news that the government want to see SMEs growing stronger. How can this happen if SMEs do not get financial support from their banks.”

[Mr Lansley]

The hon. Gentleman is an experienced Member of the House and will no doubt have taken the opportunity to raise those issues in the debate on the Finance Bill. I draw to his attention what my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills said recently about the launch of the business bank, which will deliver billions of pounds of additional support through lending to businesses.