Oral Answers to Questions

Desmond Swayne Excerpts

Thursday 1st May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Gareth Thomas]

I commend my hon. Friend for meeting with Berkshire Growth Hub. Growth hubs play a crucial role in local economies. We want to supplement their work with our business growth service, which is set to launch later this year, and we are working with Skills England to identify the skills shortages in particular areas. I am happy to ensure that Skills England talks to Berkshire Growth Hub through my hon. Friend, so that the particular skills challenges in Berkshire are understood by Skills England.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

Arrangements at the border are disadvantaging companies on both sides of the channel, so there are mutual advantages to be had in negotiations without feeling the need to make any major concessions, aren’t there?

[Mr Alexander]

I am not entirely convinced that the previous Government are a compass by which to navigate the next set of negotiations with the European Union. The right hon. Gentleman is entirely right that there is a whole series of unnecessary barriers to trade between ourselves and the European Union that were put in place as a direct consequence of the failure of the negotiations led by the previous Government. He is right to recognise that that is affecting directly a whole number of businesses on both sides of the channel. As the Secretary of State said, there is politics on both sides of the channel, but we are working very hard for British business in that context.