Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Margot James and Kirsty Blackman(7 years, 4 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Margot James
Market towns, such as the ones in my hon. Friend’s constituency, will have all the support we are giving to the retail sector and high streets so that they can flourish.
Kirsty Blackman (Aberdeen North) (SNP)
T4. The National Audit Office recently published a report on Hinkley Point C that is nothing short of damning, describing it as “risky and expensive”. When will the Government listen to the experts and scrap this costly expenditure, and when will they invest instead in carbon capture and storage?
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Margot James and Kirsty Blackman(7 years, 7 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Mr Speaker
I call Martin Docherty-Hughes. I am sad to note the rather uncharacteristic absence of the hon. Gentleman. We will do our best to bear up with such fortitude as we can muster.
Kirsty Blackman (Aberdeen North) (SNP)
A number of small businesses in the oil and gas sector supply chain have been hit disproportionately by the oil price reduction. My hon. Friend the Member for Aberdeen South (Callum McCaig) and I held a meeting last week to encourage young businesses to access different methods of capital financing so that they can grow. What are the UK Government doing to encourage such businesses to access capital finance?
Margot James
Although support for businesses in Scotland is largely devolved, the British Business Bank funds a vast number of companies in Scotland. It has provided £415 million of finance for Scottish companies, including through start-up loans. In addition, more than 1,600 companies in Scotland benefit from the enterprise finance guarantee scheme.