Oral Answers to Questions

Kelly Tolhurst Excerpts

Tuesday 13th September 2016 Commons Chamber

[Ben Howlett (Bath) (Con)]

1. What steps his Department has taken to engage with British businesses since the EU referendum.

[Kelly Tolhurst (Rochester and Strood) (Con)]

10. What steps his Department has taken to engage with British businesses since the EU referendum.

[Caroline Ansell (Eastbourne) (Con)]

13. What steps his Department has taken to engage with British businesses since the EU referendum.

--- Later in debate ---

[Greg Clark]

I certainly will do that. One of the biggest privileges of this job is to be reunited with aerospace; I got to know the sector when I was Science Minister. In fact, my first ministerial meeting was to have breakfast with the aerospace growth partnership at the Farnborough airshow, where I ran into my hon. Friend the Member for Aldershot (Sir Gerald Howarth). The west of England was very well represented there. For example, Katherine Bennett of Airbus, whom I am sure my hon. Friend the Member for Bath (Ben Howlett) knows well, one of the founder board members of the West of England LEP, was there. This is a very important sector for the economy, and it will have my wholehearted support.

[Kelly Tolhurst]

I, too, welcome the new ministerial team. I have a number of correspondents in a few local—predominantly small—businesses in Rochester and Strood who have been trading with European partners over a long period, but whose supply chain costs have recently risen. Will my right hon. Friend outline his commitment to supporting our small businesses in our new relationship with Europe, to ensure that local and regional economies continue to grow?

[Greg Clark]

I will, indeed. I know many of the small businesses in my hon. Friend’s constituency. Of course, through the British Business Bank, we have made over £3 billion available to smaller businesses. She will know that, from next April, small business rate relief will double permanently, which will benefit 60,000 small businesses. This is part of our continuing commitment to small business, which is the motor of the bigger businesses that, together with small businesses, generate so many jobs in our economy.