Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Greg Hands and Michelle Donelan

Thursday 3rd November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Michelle Donelan (Chippenham) (Con)]

9. What steps his Department is taking to help businesses take advantage of future trading opportunities abroad.

[The Minister for Trade and Investment (Greg Hands)]

We want more British businesses to take advantage of trade opportunities. Currently, only 11% of British businesses export. Our overseas teams continue to help British businesses to win opportunities in 108 different markets, with 190 high-value priority campaigns.

--- Later in debate ---

[Greg Hands]

I know my hon. Friend’s passion for life sciences, and particularly for AstraZeneca’s key role in his constituency. We are liaising and working closely with the industry with an important working group, which has met on several occasions and recently briefed Ministers. We want, of course, the best possible arrangements for trade in all goods and services, including the pharmaceutical sector.

[Michelle Donelan]

UK Trade & Investment has been very helpful to businesses in my constituency, but there are still many small businesses that need help and support to export and utilise the exchange rate of the pound. Would the Minister advocate UKTI holding events in Wiltshire and around the country to achieve that?

[Greg Hands]

Yes, we are very open-minded about doing events on either a county or a constituency basis. I am open-minded about how that might best be pursued. We have regional teams in the Department for International Trade, but if my hon. Friend and I were to have a discussion, particularly about what we may be able to do in Chippenham, I would be all ears.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Greg Hands and Michelle Donelan

Tuesday 1st March 2016 Commons Chamber

[Greg Hands]

We monitor household debt on an ongoing basis. If the hon. Lady has specific cases she would like to show me, I am sure we could look at them and pass them on to the Department for Work and Pensions and others. I have to say, however, that overall the employment picture remains extremely strong. We have an employment rate of 74.1%. Since the first quarter of 2010, the UK employment rate has grown more than in any other G7 country.

[Michelle Donelan (Chippenham) (Con)]

What more support, pension-wise, can the Chancellor give to the self-employed? Recent trends suggest that in five years’ time 4.7 million British people will be self-employed and will not benefit from auto-enrolment.