Contributions
1,122 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDUK Trade Envoy to Brazil: Lord Evans of SealandThe Secretary of State has today appointed Lord Evans of Sealand to the United Kingdom’s trade envoy programme as the UK trade envoy to Brazil. The United Kingdom’s trade envoys…14 Mar 2025HANSARDTopical QuestionsWe know that rural businesses want to see more investment in bus services and better transport infrastructure. My hon. Friend will appreciate that the Chancellor announced in the…13 Mar 2025HANSARDBusiness Support: Rural AreasI say gently to the hon. Lady that the difficult decisions that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor had to take in the Budget were, interestingly, particularly well explained by…13 Mar 2025HANSARDBusiness Support: Rural AreasBusinesses in rural areas offer significant potential for growth and are central to our economy. We are working across Government to unlock the full potential of rural businesses…13 Mar 2025HANSARDBusiness Support: Rural AreasI apologise to the hon. Gentleman, as I cannot fulfil his dreams right now. However, I am happy to meet him to talk about that issue. I recognise that there is considerable…13 Mar 2025HANSARDHigh Street BusinessesWorking across Government, we are determined to revitalise our high streets and support the businesses on them. We are working with industry to create a fairer business rates…13 Mar 2025HANSARDHigh Street BusinessesI am grateful for my hon. Friend for raising the case of the Patels. I am keen that any sub-postmaster who was a victim of the Horizon scandal gets access to the compensation they…13 Mar 2025HANSARDHigh Street BusinessesI note in passing that 10,000 pubs closed their doors under the Conservative Government, so I do not think the pub industry is looking to the hon. Gentleman’s party for guidance…13 Mar 2025HANSARDHigh Street BusinessesI will give careful consideration to my hon. Friend’s very generous offer. In answer to the hon. Member for Bromsgrove (Bradley Thomas) I mentioned business rates reform, which…13 Mar 2025HANSARDHigh Street BusinessesI say gently to the right hon. Gentleman and his Conservative colleagues that we had to take the difficult decisions in the Budget to increase employer national insurance…13 Mar 2025HANSARDHigh Street BusinessesI gently say to the hon. Gentleman that it would be interesting to know whether he now regrets the enthusiastic support he gave the Liz Truss Budget, which did so much damage to…13 Mar 2025HANSARDHigh Street BusinessesHad the hon. Gentleman’s party been elected, retail, hospitality and leisure relief would have come to an end. We have extended retail, hospitality and leisure relief. We have set…13 Mar 2025HANSARDHospitality IndustryWe are creating a fairer business rates system, reducing alcohol duty on qualifying draught products, and our forthcoming small business strategy will set out our plan to further…13 Mar 2025HANSARDHospitality IndustryUnusually for the Conservative party, the right hon. Gentleman has made an extremely generous offer. I am almost as tempted by that as by the offer from my hon. Friend the Member…13 Mar 2025HANSARDHospitality IndustryI understand that this will be an extremely worrying time for employees of the Crusty Cob and their families. I gently say to the hon. Gentleman that we are offering a 40%…13 Mar 2025HANSARDPost Office Horizon: CompensationIn the past eight months we have trebled the total amount of compensation paid and ensured that more than 2,300 victims who had as yet received nothing have now had some financial…13 Mar 2025HANSARDPost Office Horizon: CompensationThe right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to raise the issue of Capture. As he will know, we have published our response to the independent Kroll report on the Capture software…13 Mar 2025HANSARDPost Office Horizon: CompensationAs my hon. Friend will know, we inherited a compensation process that was perceived by many sub-postmasters as being slow, legalistic and adversarial, so we have already taken a…13 Mar 2025HANSARDPost Office Horizon: CompensationThe hon. Lady is right to reference the discussions that my right hon. Friend had with the chief executive officer of Fujitsu. That company has agreed to begin talks about its…13 Mar 2025HANSARDNational Insurance Contributions: SMEsThe Treasury published a tax information and impact note in November 2024, alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the employer national insurance contribution changes.…13 Mar 2025