(2 years, 3 months ago)
Commons ChamberI would like to make some progress, and then I will take more interventions.
We will also support all businesses, charities and public sector organisations with their energy costs this winter, offering an equivalent guarantee for six months. After those six months, we will provide further support for vulnerable sectors, such as hospitality, including our local pubs. My right hon. Friend the Business Secretary will work with business to review where that should be targeted to ensure that those most in need get support. The review will be concluded within three months, giving businesses certainty. In the meantime, companies with the wherewithal need to be looking for ways to improve energy efficiency and increase direct energy generation.
I am grateful to the Prime Minister for giving way and commend her on the speed with which she and her new team have really gripped the challenge that is facing the country. Does that not demonstrate that Conservative Governments do not stand by while millions of people on low incomes are struggling? I strongly support the measures she is announcing today.
(4 years, 9 months ago)
Commons ChamberWe are leaving the EU so that we can make our own regulatory decisions, including about how we manage our agriculture and horticulture. Of course we want to get the best possible free trade deal with the EU, but that does not mean continuously harmonising with its regulations.
The top source market of foreign direct investment projects coming into the UK continues to be the United States, by a considerable margin. Does that not underline the importance of Heathrow and of the transatlantic aviation route as an enabler of those deals? Will the Minister confirm that the Government are still committed to growth in that important market?
(5 years, 2 months ago)
Commons ChamberI hope that the hon. Lady will be supporting the Prime Minister in his negotiations in Brussels, where he has already secured significant advances to where we were, in particular by ensuring that Britain is able to have its own independent trade policy once we leave the EU, and to control our own rules and regulations.
To avoid freeports just displacing activity, does the Minister agree that freeport activity should be based on the existing unique and distinctive capabilities of a port, such as Milford Haven, the UK’s leading energy port, which has an unrivalled skills base and infrastructure?