Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will take steps to improve small businesses’ ability to access finance.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Small businesses are the beating heart of our high streets, our communities, and essential to our economic success. This Government will hardwire the voice of small business into everything we do.
The Government is committed to improving access to finance for small businesses by reforming the British Business Bank and freeing up capital for small and medium-sized firms so they can expand. We have also announced our plan to align key institutions under the National Wealth Fund, which will boost growth and unlock investment. They can also access support from UK Export Finance, which helps UK exporters win contracts, fulfil orders, and receive payment by providing guarantees, insurance and loans to support export activities.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to help support pubs in rural areas.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties currently benefit from 75 per cent business rates relief, up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business for 2024-25. The small business multiplier is frozen at 49.9p for 2024/25.
The government identified that the current business rates system disincentivises investment, creates uncertainty and places an undue burden on our high streets. In England, the government will replace the business rates system, so we can raise the same revenue but in a fairer way.
We will establish Skills England, a new partnership with employers at its heart and reform the apprenticeship levy, a key ask of hospitality businesses.
The English Devolution Bill will establish a new framework for English devolution. It will give local leaders the tools they need to drive growth, including empowering communities with a strong new ‘right to buy’ for valued community assets, such as empty shops and pubs.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to help support small shops.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties currently benefit from 75 per cent business rates relief, up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business for 2024-25. The small business multiplier is frozen at 49.9p for 2024/25, protecting over a million ratepayers from bill increases.
The British Business Bank supports SMEs to grow by improving their access to finance. The Growth Guarantee Scheme offers a 70% government guarantee on loans to SMEs of up to £2 million in Great Britain, and £1 million in Northern Ireland and is available until the end of March 2026.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the cost to the public purse of staff diversity networks in her Department was in each of the last five years.
Answered by Alan Mak - Shadow Economic Secretary (Treasury)
It has not proved possible to respond to the Rt Hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether Ministers in her Department have met representatives of Black Lives Matter UK in the last five years.
Answered by Alan Mak - Shadow Economic Secretary (Treasury)
It has not proved possible to respond to the Rt Hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much the Competition and Markets Authority has spent on external consultancies in each of the last five years.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
For each of the last five audited financial years, the Competition and Markets Authority has spent the following amount on external consultancies.
Year Amount
2018/19 £239,900.46
2019/20 £541,058.36
2020/21 £585,389.23
2021/22 £733,361.96
2022/23 £786,795.35
Figures for 2023/24 have not been finalised and will be published in the CMA annual report in July 2024 once audited.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many and what proportion of (a) cars and (b) other vehicles used by her Department were made in Britain.
Answered by Alan Mak - Shadow Economic Secretary (Treasury)
The Government Car service (GCS) provides vehicles to a number of Government departments. Due to logistical and operational reasons the type of vehicles deployed at each department can vary on a daily or weekly basis. The GCS fleet currently has 122 vehicles, 58 (48%) of which are vehicles made in Britain.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she or Ministers in her Department have met representatives of Shein in the last three years.
Answered by Alan Mak - Shadow Economic Secretary (Treasury)
The Department for Business and Trade publishes details of Ministerial gifts, hospitality, travel, and meetings on the transparency pages of gov.uk as part of the Government's transparency agenda.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an estimate of the number of firms that have been prosecuted for not paying the national minimum wage in each of the last five years.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
Criminal prosecution is reserved for the most serious cases involving deliberate underpayment or reckless pay practices. Criminal sanctions against companies can mean that workers end up waiting considerably longer for their lost earnings to be paid back. Our priority is to ensure that workers receive the money they are owed as quickly as possible. For this reason, in the vast majority of cases, HMRC pursues civil enforcement.
The number of National Minimum Wage prosecutions from 2017/18 to 2021/22 is as follows:
Financial Year | No. of prosecutions |
2017/18 | 1 |
2018/19 | 0 |
2019/20 | 1 |
2020/21 | 2 |
2021/22 | 2 |
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking to ensure that clothing sold in the UK is not the product of illegal labour practices from overseas.
Answered by Alan Mak - Shadow Economic Secretary (Treasury)
The UK is committed to confronting the scourge of modern-day slavery and working in partnership with producing countries to achieve sustainability in all supply chains, including the garment trade.
The Government's Overseas Business Risk guidance makes clear to UK companies the risks of operating in certain regions and urges them to conduct appropriate due diligence when making business decisions. The Modern Slavery Act requires in-scope businesses to publish modern slavery statements annually including on the steps taken to prevent modern slavery in their supply chains.