Oral Answers to Questions

Mohammad Yasin Excerpts

Thursday 25th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Alex Cunningham (Stockton North) (Lab)]

What steps he is taking to support businesses subject to non-tariff barriers to trade with the EU.

[Mohammad Yasin (Bedford) (Lab)]

What steps he is taking to support businesses subject to non-tariff barriers to trade with the EU.

[Jeff Smith (Manchester, Withington) (Lab)]

What steps he is taking to support businesses subject to non-tariff barriers to trade with the EU.

--- Later in debate ---

[Penny Mordaunt]

I am sorry to hear that that business is having ongoing difficulties and that other businesses are too. Frictionless trade would have required regulatory alignment with the EU, which would have undermined our own autonomy in that area and our sovereignty as an independent trading nation. That was not a price that we were prepared to pay. However, we do recognise that these are ongoing difficulties. I would be very happy to look at the individual case. We will be bringing forward further practical measures to address these issues and to provide business with more support.

[Mohammad Yasin [V]]

Bedfordshire chamber of commerce is doing an excellent job helping businesses in Bedford and Kempston to cope with the significant challenges that the Prime Minister’s Brexit deal has imposed on them. Businesses are in shock, trying to overcome the new and complex operational challenges around rules of origin, unexpected tariffs, VAT implications and the vast swathes of logistical paperwork. The Minister needs to understand that these are not just teething problems. Will she attend a roundtable with Bedfordshire chamber of commerce to hear the real experiences of small and medium-sized enterprises that do not know whether they will survive this disruption?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that offer. I am always happy to meet businesses. My noble Friend Lord Frost and I are looking at ways that we can gather information more swiftly and in real time from businesses that are facing difficulties. I would be very happy to follow up with the hon. Gentleman after this session.