Oral Answers to Questions

Nusrat Ghani Excerpts

Thursday 17th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Gareth Thomas]

I associate myself with your statement, Mr Speaker, and with the comments of the hon. Lady.

I recognise that there is concern about this issue among cycle manufacturers. The hon. Lady may be aware that some anti-dumping measures have been extended until 2029, but some have been lifted as a result of the work of the Trade Remedies Authority. We are always happy to meet cycle manufacturers to discuss their concerns—whether it is with the hon. Lady or directly with industry, I am very happy to ensure that such a meeting takes place.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Dame Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)]

It is not just cycle manufacturers that are having to pedal hard to survive under this Government. With business survey after business survey stating that tax is the biggest worry for business, will the Minister take this opportunity to assure businesses that the Chancellor will not be coming back to burden them with more in her Budget this autumn?

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[Bradley Thomas (Bromsgrove) (Con)]

When is a trade deal not a trade deal? It has been nine weeks since the Prime Minister announced a deal to protect steel from US tariffs, and 10 weeks since the Secretary of State said that the India deal was “signed, sealed and delivered.” Will the Secretary of State publish the details of these important deals without delay before recess, or will he apologise for misleading the House?

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

Order. We do not accuse other Members of misleading the House. A little word before that—“inadvertently”—would support that question. No doubt the hon. Member will wish to withdraw that.

[Bradley Thomas]

indicated assent.

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[Gareth Thomas]

One measure that the hon. Gentleman referenced was business rates. As I said in answer to previous questions, we are determined to introduce permanently lower business rates for the retail sector for businesses with properties under a value of £500,000. I hope that will make a difference to businesses not only in Leicester in his constituency, but more generally across the country.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Greg Smith (Mid Buckinghamshire) (Con)]

At the heart of every high street are wonderful hospitality SMEs—pubs, cafés, restaurants, bars and coffee shops—yet the 2024 Budget was a hammer blow to them. With £3.4 billion of extra costs, one in 10 restaurants faces closure this year. Indeed, Labour’s Budget has already cost hospitality 69,000 jobs. For context, in the same period the previous year, hospitality created 18,000 new jobs. Can the Minister assure the House that businesses that are hanging on by a thread will not face a hard landing this winter?

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[Gareth Thomas]

I very much sympathise with my hon. Friend’s frustration about what both the SNP and the Conservatives have done to free parking in his constituency. I sympathise because the Tory-run council in my constituency has taken similar steps to curtail free parking, which has undoubtedly had an impact on the town centre. I hope that the concerns my hon. Friend has articulated today will be heard loud and clear in his constituency, and that action will be taken. Our SME strategy will set out a range of steps that we are determined to take to back small businesses and help entrepreneurs across Britain.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Sarah Olney (Richmond Park) (LD)]

The value that hospitality businesses bring to their local communities goes far beyond their economic contributions: they also provide a vital social value and essential entry-level jobs. Flexible hours and conditions in the sector help those with other responsibilities, such as carers and new parents, to access work, while also offering many young people their first jobs. However, retail and hospitality businesses have been hit hard by tax changes in the October Budget, and they are reporting reduced hours, cancelled investment and closures; there have been nearly 70,000 hospitality job losses just since October. As economic strategies are rolled out, what steps is the Minister taking to ensure that Department for Work and Pensions goals to get people back to work are not being undermined by policies that shrink job opportunities in these sectors?

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[Susan Murray]

In my constituency and across Scotland, small and medium-sized businesses have taken blow after blow. The Conservatives bungled Brexit, increasing import costs, and energy costs are soaring. Most recently, the hike in national insurance contributions is decimating job opportunities in small and medium-sized businesses. What are the Government doing to support SMEs, which are at the heart of our economic growth, and to get people off benefits and back into work?

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

Order. Shorter answers please, Minister.

[Gareth Thomas]

Yes, Madam Deputy Speaker. I gently say to the hon. Lady that in a recent survey almost three quarters of SME businesses were confident about the future. She is right to challenge us to go further in increasing support for SMEs. One of the ways that we are doing that is by increasing access to finance for SMEs, through the significant expansion in the capacity of the British Business Bank.

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

I call Bill Esterson to ask a short question.

[Bill Esterson (Sefton Central) (Lab)]

SME manufacturers are a key part of the planned renaissance in manufacturing in this country. Some of them are raising concerns about a lack of involvement in the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council. Will the Minister confirm that they are very much involved and have an important role to play in developing the SME strategy that he referred to?

[Gareth Thomas]

Absolutely. We want to hear from businesses up and down the UK, across different sectors, about the practical measures that we can take to support them and their plans to grow and develop. If my hon. Friend has particular examples of businesses that want to make representations, I am sure that we as a ministerial team would want to hear from them.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Sarah Olney (Richmond Park) (LD)]

The Liberal Democrats welcome the plans in the recently announced industrial strategy to reduce some of the world’s highest industrial energy prices. However, businesses across the UK, especially in hospitality and on our high streets, are still struggling with unaffordable energy costs. What steps is the Secretary of State taking to ensure that small businesses can benefit from more sustainable pricing? Will he encourage his Cabinet colleagues to consider proposals set out by the Liberal Democrats yesterday to break the link between gas prices and energy costs, which would halve energy bills in a decade, so that people and businesses across the country can enjoy the true benefits of cheap, clean and renewable power?

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[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Gareth Thomas)]

The Government-backed invest in women taskforce is addressing many of these issues through its ecosystem working group, which promotes better access to networks, to support and to procurement opportunities. My hon. Friend is absolutely right, though, to say that we need to go further. The small business strategy will set out a range of further measures in that regard.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

[Andrew Griffith (Arundel and South Downs) (Con)]

May I start by paying tribute to Norman Tebbit? He was a former Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and a great reformer who did a great deal to unleash growth in this country.

The only thing growing under this Government are the unemployment queues. Today, the Office for National Statistics revealed that the number of payrolled employees has fallen by 180,000 over the last year and 40,000 in the last month alone. Unemployment has been higher in every month since the Chancellor has been in office. In the last hour, we have heard news of another 500 job losses at Jaguar Land Rover. This is a great country with great people. When the Secretary of State talks to businesses, what reason do they give to him for unemployment rising?