Oral Answers to Questions

Liz Twist Excerpts

Wednesday 16th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Mr Speaker, the whole of the country and the taxpayers of this country play that role; it is our job to make sure that we spend the money sensibly, and that is what we were doing. I am delighted that, thanks in part to the campaigning by my hon. Friend, his constituency is attracting an average of 3.8% more per pupil next year compared with this year through the national funding formula—a total of £4.8 million more, in addition, of course, to our commitment to pay every teacher a starting salary of £30,000.

[Liz Twist (Blaydon) (Lab)]

  The hospitality sector, and in particular pubs in my constituency such as the Black Bull in Blaydon, a wet pub with a fine live local music tradition, has been devastated by the restrictions placed on it, in our case since September. Pubs such as the Black Bull are at the heart of our communities. The various compensation schemes do not offer enough support to allow those pubs to survive. Will the Prime Minister commit to bringing forward a financial support scheme that will allow our pubs and hospitality sector to survive?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Member is quite right to raise the problem in the hospitality sector. We are committed to doing everything we can. She knows about the £3,000 grant, the additional £2,100, plus the £1,000 for wet pubs. But the best thing of all—in addition to the cuts in business rates and VAT that I have already mentioned—is for areas in the west midlands to work together—

[Liz Twist]

North-east.