Contributions
1,747 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDThe EconomyThank you so much, Mr Speaker. The Leader of the Opposition has voted against £7,800-worth of tax cuts for hard-working people, and the British Chambers of Commerce has warned…24 Oct 2019HANSARDThe EconomyThis has been an interesting debate, in which strong views have been expressed by 41 Back Benchers. Let us look at the UK economy. This year, we have seen more people in work than…24 Oct 2019HANSARDCapacity MarketI am pleased to announce that today the European Commission has confirmed its original decision in 2014 to grant state aid approval for the capacity market, enabling this vital…24 Oct 2019HANSARDTopical QuestionsFirst, may I gently say to the hon. Lady that the situation in Germany was extremely different? It was a separate business in Germany. If there had been an opportunity to save…22 Oct 2019HANSARDTopical QuestionsFirst, let me pay tribute to my right hon. Friend, my predecessor, who did a fantastic job in this Department. I am delighted to stand by the position that he took as Secretary of…22 Oct 2019HANSARDTopical QuestionsFirst, I would like to reciprocate by saying that I am delighted to be working with the hon. Lady. I look forward to many exchanges across the Dispatch Box. The hon. Lady will…22 Oct 2019HANSARDTopical QuestionsI am delighted that Hitachi in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency is doing so well and that the high value manufacturing catapult that has an operation in his constituency is also…22 Oct 2019HANSARDBusiness Establishment: WomenI am very sympathetic to my hon. Friend’s point; I know she is a big champion of businesses in St Albans. In my Department, we are helping the British Business Bank to provide…22 Oct 2019HANSARDBusiness Establishment: WomenThe hon. Gentleman will know that the gender pay gap is now the smallest it has ever been and that the Government have required reporting of the gender pay gap. Such transparency…22 Oct 2019HANSARDTopical QuestionsMy hon. Friend is right that peatlands have a vital role to play in delivering net zero. In addition to £10 million to help to restore more than 6,000 hectares of peatland over a…22 Oct 2019HANSARDBusiness Establishment: WomenWe want to make the UK the best place to work and grow a business. We have set the target of an additional 600,000 female entrepreneurs by 2030, and the British Business Bank has…22 Oct 2019HANSARDApprenticeship LevyThe hon. Gentleman raises a really important point. We want to see young people being attracted to apprenticeships right across the range, and he is right to raise the importance…22 Oct 2019HANSARDBusiness Establishment: WomenMy hon. Friend is quite right. We need to go further in addressing education, and that is why one initiative in the Rose review specifically addressed the roll-out of enterprise…22 Oct 2019HANSARDBusiness Establishment: WomenI am sorry that the hon. Lady seeks to lean into the scaremongering. The statutory instrument has a very limited direct policy impact and will not impose additional restrictions…22 Oct 2019HANSARDApprenticeship LevyI strongly believe that apprenticeships are a superb option for people to earn and learn. In my Department, we have 154 apprentices, 149 of whom are levy funded. I have taken on a…22 Oct 2019HANSARDApprenticeship LevyMy right hon. Friend makes a really important point, but he will appreciate that off-the-job training is vital for apprentices to develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours they…22 Oct 2019HANSARDApprenticeship LevyMy right hon. Friend is right to raise the much bigger challenge of how to get young people not only into an apprenticeship but past it, enabling their skills to develop. We are…22 Oct 2019HANSARDApprenticeship LevyThe hon. Gentleman will be aware that the apprenticeship levy is collected from Northern Ireland businesses, with Northern Ireland subsequently receiving a Barnett consequential…22 Oct 2019HANSARDApprenticeship LevyI pay tribute to my right hon. Friend for her superb work as Minister of State for Skills over the past few years. Under her watch, the importance of technical education has been…22 Oct 2019HANSARDApprenticeship LevyThe right hon. Gentleman will be aware that in the 2018-19 academic year, despite an overall fall, nearly 60,000 people started higher-level apprenticeships, up nearly 43% on the…22 Oct 2019