Contributions
2,308 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDSupport for Businesses: Covid-19The Government recognise that the pandemic has caused extreme disruption to the economy. That is why we have delivered one of the most comprehensive and generous support packages…20 Oct 2020HANSARDTopical QuestionsIt is in order to address such pressures that we have set out such a comprehensive package of support that applies universally, including to the businesses to which my right hon.…20 Oct 2020HANSARDTopical QuestionsI know that my hon. Friend has championed this issue and I look forward to further discussions with him on it. He will also know that the Government and the mineworkers’ pension…20 Oct 2020HANSARDBusiness Support Grant: Local AuthoritiesThe previous grant was for businesses that had been forced to close. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor has allocated additional funding through the local restrictions support…20 Oct 2020HANSARDBusiness Support Grant: Local AuthoritiesI hold regular discussions with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government. The original national business grant schemes provided…20 Oct 2020HANSARDSupport for Businesses: Covid-19My hon. Friend is right that there has been disruption to businesses in tier 2 areas. That is why my right hon. Friend the Chancellor has cut VAT from 20% to 5% and extended that…20 Oct 2020HANSARDSupport for Businesses: Covid-19As a Lancastrian myself, I am acutely aware of the impact on the county of Lancashire, which is why my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local…20 Oct 2020HANSARDSupport for Businesses: Covid-19My right hon. Friend is right about the pressure on businesses in tier 1 as well. That is why, in the package the Chancellor has set out, has been the extension of loan facilities…20 Oct 2020HANSARD Public Health Restrictions: Government Economic SupportThe hon. Gentleman raises a legitimate concern that is shared across the House. It is wrong for companies to act in that way. One purpose of the furlough is to retain that link…13 Oct 2020HANSARD Public Health Restrictions: Government Economic SupportMy hon. Friend is a champion of the pub sector and he speaks to the fact that it faces many challenges, but that is why we have been trying to strike a balance. Some would say the…13 Oct 2020HANSARD Public Health Restrictions: Government Economic SupportIt is about getting the right balance because, ultimately, the most damaging thing for those pubs in tier 2 would be a further escalation of the virus and a situation in which…13 Oct 2020HANSARD Public Health Restrictions: Government Economic SupportThe very favourable terms of the bounce back loans were designed to deliver with speed. This was an initial challenge of the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme; we…13 Oct 2020HANSARD Public Health Restrictions: Government Economic SupportIn some ways, that is slightly more of a Health question than a Treasury question, but I recognise that there is read-across from those businesses into the economy. In short, the…13 Oct 2020HANSARD Public Health Restrictions: Government Economic SupportThe most important thing for businesses in tier 2 is that we are able to control the virus. That is why the Government are investing as heavily as we are in track and trace—over…13 Oct 2020HANSARD Public Health Restrictions: Government Economic SupportOn the issue of the “excluded” campaign, we have covered this pretty much every time we have come to the House, for the reasons we have set out. On support for Wales, the point…13 Oct 2020HANSARD Public Health Restrictions: Government Economic SupportMy right hon. Friend raised exactly the same issue during our urgent question last week, and I know he has a huge understanding of it from his time as Secretary of State for Work…13 Oct 2020HANSARD Public Health Restrictions: Government Economic SupportI hear the concerns of my right hon. Friend, but there is a balance that needs to be struck between the comprehensive nature and the fiscal cost of the range of packages that we…13 Oct 2020HANSARD Public Health Restrictions: Government Economic SupportThe right hon. Gentleman speaks to an important issue, which was at the heart of the job support scheme’s design: recognising businesses that are not in closure, but which have…13 Oct 2020HANSARD Public Health Restrictions: Government Economic SupportWhen we agreed that scheme, it was very much with SMEs in mind. I would be quite keen to look at the delivery of that and to speak to colleagues in the Department for Environment,…13 Oct 2020HANSARD Public Health Restrictions: Government Economic SupportThe hon. Lady is right to point to the fact that when the Government put in place the £10,000 and £25,000 grants of support linked to premises, market traders fell outside that…13 Oct 2020