Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to help support the development of new small businesses.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
The Government reaffirmed its commitment to all the UK’s 5.5 million small businesses with the creation of a new Small Business Council. The Council builds on the Department’s existing support for SMEs and will provide a bespoke forum for small businesses to have their voices represented within Government.
The Help to Grow website is a one-stop shop for small businesses to clearly identify what funding they can access, webinars as well as the basics of setting up a business.
Businesses can still access government-backed financial support from the Start Up Loans Company, which provides loans and support to new entrepreneurs.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking to mitigate the effects of the closure of Post Office collection points.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
I believe that my Honourable Friend is referring to Royal Mail customer service points rather than Post Office collection points. I understand that Royal Mail has completed the first stage of its review of customer service points and decided to maintain the current estate.
Decisions on the provision of Royal Mail customer service points are an operational matter for the business, provided they meet Ofcom’s regulatory requirement on Royal Mail, as the Designated Universal Service Provider, to provide access points for the universal postal service.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department has taken to help improve workers’ rights in the period since the UK's departure from the EU.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Protecting and enhancing workers’ rights whilst supporting business to grow remains a priority for this Government.
The Government is backing six Private Members’ Bills helping new parents, unpaid carers, hospitality workers, giving all employees easier access to flexible working, and giving workers’ a right to request a more predictable contract.
This is in addition to previous reforms we have delivered since leaving the EU including; increasing pay for around 2.5 million workers, extending the ban on exclusivity clauses, quadrupling the maximum fine for employers who treat their workers badly, and creating a new statutory leave for parents who suffer the loss of a child.