Nick Smith
Main Page: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)Department Debates - View all Nick Smith's debates with the Department for Education
(10 years, 9 months ago)
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Vince Cable
First, I should explain that the Minister for Universities and Science, my right hon. Friend the Member for Havant (Mr Willetts), who might have answered this question, is currently at Chequers for a Cabinet away day. My hon. Friend the Member for Colchester (Sir Bob Russell) is an assiduous defender of his constituents, their companies and their jobs. He has discussed this matter with me, and I have pursued it. It is not the case that Britain is more difficult than the United States when it comes to clearing export licences, but I have none the less established that we should dispense with some procedures relating to quarterly reporting, and we will do so. We will also work with the company in question to try to establish whether an open general licence can operate in this case.
Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)
A survey by the Federation of Small Businesses has found that only one in five of its members uses UKTI services. What steps will the Secretary of State take to encourage UKTI to work more closely with small businesses?