Oral Answers to Questions

Lindsay Hoyle Excerpts

Tuesday 23rd March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I am now going to interrupt the proceedings. We are going to pause questions, and I would like to invite the House to join me in a moment of reflection. Today marks one year since the Prime Minister addressed the nation and asked us all to stay at home to combat the spread of coronavirus. Since then, many thousands of lives have been lost and the lives of those left behind have been changed forever. Every single one of us has been affected. It is right that we pause now, together with the whole country, and remember those who have died and those who are bereaved. Our thoughts and prayers will always be with those colleagues who worked with us in serving this House who also died. They will not be forgotten.

It is so important that we do this and that the nation comes together as we now see the green shoots that will hopefully take us out of this pandemic. Hopefully we will have a world that comes back to all of us. We will remember the role that Members have played in this House and the way that we have worked together, not only to enable the Government to legislate but to ensure that the Opposition can scrutinise as well. It has been so important for us all to get to this stage, and hopefully when we get beyond this, we will see a House return. As I say, we will not forget those who have died in this country, but we will also remember those who have died serving this House. It is important to us to ensure that they will be remembered, and we will be doing something to remember them at an appropriate stage in the future. The country is united and at this moment, we will take one minute’s silence. I say thanks to those who have turned up in the Chamber now, and I know that across the estate people will be recognising this important one minute’s silence. Nobody could ever have envisaged the numbers across the world that would be lost and the sacrifice that this country has made. A big thank you also goes to the NHS workers and all those who have been involved in making this country tick over, whether in transport or in shops. It is important to us all. I invite Members to stand for one minute’s silence.

The House observed a minute’s silence.

[Mr Speaker]

Thank you everybody.

[Dr Alan Whitehead (Southampton, Test) (Lab)]

May I say that Opposition Members wish to be strongly associated with your words this morning, Mr Speaker, and that I am sure that goes for everybody else in the Chamber today?

The Government’s flagship programme to improve energy efficiency in homes, the green homes grant scheme, has produced figures for the latest month: vouchers applied for—18,526: vouchers issued—1,186; measures installed—99; and, I am not making this up, measures paid for—20. Does the Minister take responsibility for this catastrophic failure of a scheme? Will she say now whether she intends to extend the programme and roll the funding over so that it has a chance to succeed in the end? If she does, will she be sacking the US-based private consultancy firm she hired to run this awful mess?

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[Selaine Saxby (North Devon) (Con)]

Country Cousins is an English language school in Ilfracombe in my constituency that every year brings students to North Devon as part of the 550,000 international students who visit the UK to study English, bringing in £1.4 billion and 35,000 jobs to our economy. English language schools were viable, profitable businesses before the pandemic, greatly contributing to their local economies and culture. I am sure my hon. Friend the Minister agrees that, given the right support they will be again. However, many of them have been excluded from the Government’s business rates relief for the next financial year and are struggling. Will my hon. Friend consider committing BEIS to work with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to look at expanding the eligibility for this—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Far too long.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Paul Scully)]

My hon. Friend has been a champion for all the businesses in her area. We have spent £407 billion on support for businesses, including those that are not eligible for the business rates holiday. The interim report from the fundamental business rates review will be published next month and the full report will be published in the autumn. I urge local authorities to expand their local policies to include some of these businesses in the additional restrictions grant.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Speaker]

I will now suspend the House to enable the necessary arrangements to be made for the next business.