Road Fuel Prices

Debate between Graham Stuart and Antony Higginbotham

Monday 3rd July 2023 Commons Chamber

[Graham Stuart]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. I would not want to finish without mentioning that, as of Monday 26 June, unleaded petrol is 143.43p per litre, and that has reduced, on average, by 47.5p from June last year, and diesel is 145.6p per litre, and that has reduced by 53.3p per litre on the previous year. I will write to the hon. Gentleman to make sure that I can properly inform him in answer to his question.

[Antony Higginbotham (Burnley) (Con)]

This report clearly shows that residents in Burnley and Padiham and our villages have been overcharged for their fuel for too long. Does my right hon. Friend think that the Competition and Markets Authority now needs to relook at the ownership changes at Asda?

[Graham Stuart]

As the Minister for Energy Security and Net Zero, that perhaps stretches slightly beyond my brief, but, as those on Treasury Bench will have heard my hon. Friend’s question, I am sure that he will be able follow up with others who have direct responsibility.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Graham Stuart and Antony Higginbotham

Thursday 10th June 2021 Commons Chamber

[Antony Higginbotham (Burnley) (Con)]

A very happy birthday to you, Mr Speaker. In Burnley and Padiham, we have world-class skills and products, and when we export those, it is phenomenally successful, but we know that businesses struggle with having the confidence and knowledge to export if they have never done it before. Could my hon. Friend set out what steps the Department for International Trade is taking to give businesses the support they need when exporting for the first time, so that we can push the “made in Burnley” message even further around the world?

[Graham Stuart]

I am pleased to say that my Department has recently created the new Export Academy, designed precisely to equip businesses with the capabilities and confidence to export successfully. My hon. Friend is such a champion of his local exporters, and it is so refreshing to have Government Members like him championing local business. I believe that he is holding an exporters fair shortly, and I congratulate him on that. He will be pleased to hear that 259 businesses from the north-west have joined the SME pilot Export Academy since it began, including 15 from the Burnley area. We have international trade advisers for the northern powerhouse, so additional resource has gone in there, and with his help, we will continue to champion northern businesses, and businesses from Burnley in particular, over the coming months and years.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Graham Stuart and Antony Higginbotham

Thursday 15th April 2021 Commons Chamber

[Antony Higginbotham (Burnley) (Con)]

As we follow the covid-19 road map and move from response to recovery, it is vital that we offer our small and medium-sized businesses the tools and support that they need to find new markets, grow their exports and spur on our economic growth. Will the Minister set out what steps the Department is taking to make sure that our SMEs are supported on the world stage?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Trade (Graham Stuart)]

My hon. Friend is quite right to highlight the importance of supporting SMEs precisely to get into that international business space. That is why we are developing a new export strategy. We have the developing Export Academy, with a range of toolkits and information to support small businesses. We have the internationalisation fund: £38 million of grants to help businesses to overcome any barriers to international trade. Last but not least, we have UK Export Finance, our award-winning credit agency, which has increasing numbers of staff not only across this United Kingdom, but across the world to make sure that SMEs, wherever they go, can be financed and supported to realise those opportunities, which are many.