Oral Answers to Questions
Liz Twist Excerpts(1 week, 2 days ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Sarah Hall (Warrington South) (Lab/Co-op)
Liz Twist (Blaydon and Consett) (Lab)
Lewis Atkinson (Sunderland Central) (Lab)
Gareth Thomas
My hon. Friend makes Warrington sound like a particularly attractive place for a Business Minister to visit, so if she does not mind, I will add that to the list of places that I am keen to visit. Independent businesses, as she rightly says, play an important role in supporting local growth and community cohesion. We plan to introduce permanently lower business rates for retail hospitality and leisure properties with a rateable value of under £500,000 and we have introduced a hospitality support scheme to co-fund projects that aim to help those furthest from the job market into employment and to boost productivity. I think that will help many of the businesses in her constituency.
Liz Twist
When I am out and about in my constituency, I am always impressed by the dedication of staff and small business owners who bring our high streets to life. Places such as Blaydon’s Precinct and Consett’s Middle Street are at the heart of local pride and identity, but after years of austerity and a cost of living crisis, empty shops and the loss of vital amenities such as banks have taken a toll, especially in the north-east. What are the Government doing to support local businesses and revitalise high streets such as those?
Gareth Thomas
Before I had heard about the attractions of Warrington, I had heard about those of Consett. I was pleased to visit my hon. Friend’s constituency and meet many of the great businesses there just before Christmas.
We have introduced measures to fill empty properties, including high-street rental auction powers for councils, which can free up space for new businesses. We are also protecting vital services on the high street through the roll-out of banking hubs, with 170 opened so far. This week, we published our Green Paper on the future of the Post Office, which sets out our plans to do even more to provide banking services on high streets, which, again, I hope will help to bring more footfall on to the high street and help businesses such as the ones that she knows only too well.
Oral Answers to Questions
Liz Twist Excerpts(1 month, 2 weeks ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Justin Madders
Again, it is interesting that those on the Conservative Front Bench do not seem to be in agreement with their own leader any more about the national insurance hikes. I will just point out some statistics to the hon. Member: the International Monetary Fund has predicted that growth will increase this year and the Lloyds business barometer found that business confidence was up. We are putting money back into people’s pockets and investing in this country. We are doing things that the Conservatives failed to do for 14 years and that is why they are out of power.
Liz Twist (Blaydon and Consett) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Gareth Thomas)
Just last month, we relaunched the Board of Trade to focus on the targeted support and help that small businesses need to take up opportunities from the UK’s free trade agreements. The recent trade deals with India, the United States and the European Union aim to reduce red tape, improve customs processes, slash tariffs and open new markets for small exporters up and down the UK.
Liz Twist
Small businesses—like Rezon in my constituency, which makes groundbreaking brain protection sports headwear—are working hard to grow and export, but it is often hard to know where to get the right advice. What practical support are the Government giving to small businesses to help them export and take full advantage of those trade deals?
Gareth Thomas
I thank my hon. Friend for her question and for the opportunity to attend a wide-ranging roundtable with local businesses in her constituency, at the end of last year. Our new workshop, “Introduction to Export”, is in collaboration with the North East combined authority, and is aimed specifically at helping local small businesses that are thinking about exporting to new markets for the first time. A range of other support is available on the Government website, and that will be significantly improved as a result of the coming business growth service.
Terms and Conditions of Employment
Liz Twist Excerpts(4 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Liz Twist (Blaydon and Consett) (Lab)
I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests: I am a member of the Unison trade union.
When the national minimum wage came into force on 1 April 1999, I was working as a trade union official in Unison’s northern region, representing many low-paid members of staff who were working in social care and other sectors in the north-east, and with colleagues in the TUC, who in many cases were on even lower wages. That fantastic achievement came after 30 years of fighting in the face of huge opposition at the time from the Conservative party, but after 26 years of the national minimum wage, I think we can say that the argument has been definitively won—so much so that there are Members of this House who have never known a time without a statutory minimum wage.
On 10 April 1999, I was proud to don a high-vis vest and join my trade union colleagues and Members on a march across the Tyne bridge from Gateshead to Newcastle. That was part of the campaign for a living wage to celebrate the introduction of the national minimum wage, and to argue for it to be improved. We were led by the then general secretary of Unison, Rodney Bickerstaffe, and I well remember a photograph in our local newspapers as we prepared for the march, with an AA sign directing traffic that said, “Campaign for a living wage—long delays expected.” Well, we have continued to campaign for a living wage since that time.
I am so glad to speak here today, with a Labour Government again in power, making real progress towards a real living wage. The changes we are making with this legislation will mean a direct, real-terms pay increase for over 3 million workers. That includes steps towards a single adult rate, with a record increase in the minimum wage for 18 to 20-year-olds, amounting to £2,500 per year, as well as directions to the Low Pay Commission to look at the cost of living in its future decisions.
Back in 1999, when the national minimum wage was first introduced, it made such a difference to so many people in the north-east. Similarly, I know that the legislation we are passing today will make a huge difference to my constituents.
Let me be clear that my ambition is for good, well-paid jobs for people in the north-east. My constituents and people in our region deserve decent pay and secure work, and I will continue to work towards that. Meanwhile, for those on minimum wage, this legislation will mean more money in their pay packets, which is a real Labour achievement. Taken with our Employment Rights Bill, that means there will be a real shift for working people across the country and in my region.