Simon Kirby
Main Page: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)(13 years, 5 months ago)
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Simon Kirby (Brighton, Kemptown) (Con)
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Gosport (Caroline Dinenage) on securing this debate on an issue that is important to the long-term economy of not only the south and south-east but the UK more widely. As a former small business man, I am acutely aware of the stresses and strains involved in running and building companies as an economy emerges from recession. I will not say much, as I do not wish to detain hon. Members for too long, but I would like to make three or four points.
First, at a macro level, we must ensure that business support for new and developing businesses is clear. I am told that there is little support at present and that the private sector has yet to take up the slack. I am interested to know what the Minister has to say about that. Secondly, the interest rates that banks charge businesses, when they do provide working capital, are still an issue. I understand that interest rates of 20% can be charged, although the Bank of England rate is only 0.5%. How are businesses supposed to cope with such rates and still make a profit?
More locally, I am pleased to report that high-speed internet implementation is making its way across my constituency, which will enable a major change in how goods and services are transmitted and provide the infrastructure for new services. Enhancements in speed bring new opportunities for business. I am delighted that BT announced yesterday that its exchange in Brighton, Kemptown will be upgraded to give 34,000 premises access to superfast broadband.
However, one local concern is the tourist tax recently proposed by the new Green administration of Brighton and Hove. Initially, the tax would be charged at £1 per tourist per visit. As hon. Members might imagine, local hoteliers have come out against the idea, as it would essentially be a tax on hotels. I do not want anything to damage Brighton’s competitiveness as a tourist destination. Once taxes are introduced, they inevitably rise and are rarely repealed. The way to attract tourism to Brighton and other destinations is to maintain a framework that enables visitors while allowing tourism services and businesses to survive.
I believe that the Government’s economic strategy will set this country on a sustainable way forward in which debt, growth and employment will come into balance over time. However, what is done at the micro level is just as vital. State direction, bureaucracy and red tape must all be limited to allow the private sector to grow and fill the vacuum when the state is pared back. Government cannot pick winners, but it can create the framework to allow winners to win. That is just as important in the south-east as it is anywhere else.