EU Council

Marcus Jones Excerpts

Monday 28th October 2013 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

We have kept the transitional arrangements for as long as we possibly can. I do not believe that there are powers in the EU arrangements to extend them any further. As I said to 600 apprentices I spoke with this morning, the key to the issue is that, as well as having tough controls on immigration from outside the EU, we need to improve our education system so that young British people are capable of doing the jobs that our economy is clearly creating, and reform our welfare system so that it is not an option to live on benefits when one can work. Education and welfare are two things that can make the biggest difference to immigration and controls on immigration, which I know that everyone on this side of the House wants to see.

[Mr Marcus Jones (Nuneaton) (Con)]

On Friday, I met a number of small business people from across the west midlands. What message of support and reassurance can my right hon. Friend give those people in relation to regulation and red tape, following his excellent contribution to the EU summit?

[The Prime Minister]

First, I thank my hon. Friend’s constituents for the work that they do. Running a small business means taking a huge amount of risk and working extremely hard. They are the wealth creators of this country. They are likely to be the ones who create the most jobs in this country. Our job is to try to work out how we can make it easier for them to operate, to hire people and to grow. That is the challenge for the Government and it is one that we take on with relish.