Topical Questions

Business and Trade – in the House of Commons am ar 5 Medi 2024.

Danfonwch hysbysiad imi am ddadleuon fel hyn

Photo of Patrick Hurley Patrick Hurley Llafur, Southport

If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

Photo of Jonathan Reynolds Jonathan Reynolds Secretary of State for Business and Trade, President of the Board of Trade

My Department’s four priorities are to reset our trade relations, deliver a new deal for working people, support small business and implement a mission-focused industrial strategy. In just a few short weeks, we have begun preparing no fewer than four Bills for the King’s Speech. I have attended the G7 trade summit, and set up the Horizon convictions redress scheme. We have ensured UK Export Finance support for the defence of Ukraine, changed the remit of the Low Pay Commission and organised an international investment summit for 14 October. I have spoken to my international counterparts, to all my colleagues in the devolved Administrations and to several hundred business leaders. That is how we will build the pro-innovation, pro-worker, pro-business economy that the British people voted for.

Photo of Patrick Hurley Patrick Hurley Llafur, Southport

I thank my right hon. Friend for that reply. This Government were elected on a platform to embed economic growth and break down barriers to opportunity. In the past couple of weeks, I have spoken to colleges and businesses across my Southport constituency, including our rightly famous Silcock’s family entertainment centre, to see how we can develop our skills policy to ensure that for towns such as Southport, the best days lie ahead. How will the Department work to support the next generation of entrepreneurs to ensure that our economic mission is furthered?

Photo of Jonathan Reynolds Jonathan Reynolds Secretary of State for Business and Trade, President of the Board of Trade

I hope you will allow me, Madam Deputy Speaker, to pay tribute to my hon. Friend after what his community has been through, and the incredible way that he stepped up to represent that community. That is something we would all like to acknowledge.

The points that my hon. Friend makes are right: small businesses, entrepreneurs and start-ups are essential to our economic success, in Southport and in every part of the UK, and the support we will give them covers advice, guidance and training. On his point about skills, that is why we have established Skills England. If we want entrepreneurs to take real risks with their own property and income, we must give them stability. We cannot change policy every year; we cannot elect Liz Truss as Prime Minister and expect people to take those risks. The stability and consistency we will bring is as important as the policy environment we will create to do exactly what my hon. Friend says.

Photo of Jerome Mayhew Jerome Mayhew Shadow Parliamentary Under Secretary (Business and Trade)

When dealing with the Post Office Horizon scandal, does the Secretary of State understand that by sitting on the letters informing Horizon victims that their convictions have been quashed, the Department is exacerbating the trauma of this terrible injustice? After two months in office, I understand that fewer than one in six letters have been sent. When does he plan to get a grip on the situation?

Photo of Jonathan Reynolds Jonathan Reynolds Secretary of State for Business and Trade, President of the Board of Trade

I welcome the hon. Gentleman to his place. We have been in office for two months, and we have already set up the Horizon convictions redress scheme. Indeed, I was pleased to work with the former Minister, Kevin Hollinrake, on creating the legal environment necessary to do that. The letters are an issue for the Ministry of Justice and its database. We have not sat on anything, and we have moved at pace to give people the compensation they deserve. We will continue to do that, and to work with those on the Opposition Front Bench to deliver what we all want to see.

Photo of David Pinto-Duschinsky David Pinto-Duschinsky Llafur, Hendon

Many of my constituents in Hendon rely on the national minimum wage, but as we know from research, employers got away with failing to pay that wage to more than one in five workers who were due it under the last Government. Can the Secretary of State tell the House what steps his Department is taking to reverse that shameful legacy of weak enforcement?

Photo of Justin Madders Justin Madders Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade), Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The introduction of the minimum wage was one of the proudest achievements of the last Labour Government, but for too long the UK’s labour market enforcement system has been fragmented and ineffective. That is bad for workers and bad for the majority of businesses that want do to the right thing and comply with the law. That is why we will create a fair work agency to bring together employment rights enforcement, including of the minimum wage.

Photo of Judith Cummins Judith Cummins Deputy Speaker (First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means)

I remind Members that these are topical questions, so can we have short questions and short answers?

Photo of David Davis David Davis Ceidwadwyr, Goole and Pocklington

Can I bring the Secretary of State back to the issue of the postmasters who have not received their letters? There have been battles across this House, but those on all sides support fast responses to the postmasters. Kevan Jones, the erstwhile Member for North Durham, is no longer with us in the House, but he and I and many others fought this battle. I am sorry to say to the Secretary of State that in saying, “It is another Department,” he says what we have heard too many times. We hear it is another Department, another piece of the organisation or another set of lawyers, but it is his job to make this happen. Can he please do so quickly?

Photo of Jonathan Reynolds Jonathan Reynolds Secretary of State for Business and Trade, President of the Board of Trade

I thank the right hon. Member for his role, which I have referred to in the past and has been important in these matters. I am not passing the buck to anyone; I am simply saying that it is the Ministry of Justice, rather than me, that sends those letters out. As of 30 August, 130 letters have been sent out, quashing more than 370 convictions. I think that is real progress since the election. It is not fast enough for me, and we will continue to push that. We are working closely with the Northern Irish and Scottish Administrations, because of the devolved nature of justice, exactly as he would expect. I can assure him that this matter was a priority for me in opposition, and it will continue to be a priority for me in government.

Photo of Mike Amesbury Mike Amesbury Llafur, Runcorn and Helsby

I welcome the ministerial team to their places. Business rates are a broken system that has hollowed out many high streets up and down the country. We are rightly committed to radically reforming that. What recent discussions have Ministers had with the Treasury to make sure that we do that at pace? Will a Minister meet me so that I can establish a banking hub in my Runcorn and Helsby constituency?

Photo of Gareth Thomas Gareth Thomas Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

I would be happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss the question about a banking hub in his constituency. As he will have heard in answers that I gave earlier, reform of the business rates system to tackle some of the egregious disincentives in respect of the need to invest in our high streets and the competition from online giants is something we took seriously in opposition and continue to take seriously in government. Colleagues in the Treasury are working hard to bring forward proposals to reform the business rates system.

Photo of Helen Morgan Helen Morgan Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Rural businesses in the agricultural, horticultural and equine sectors in North Shropshire are struggling to trade with Europe. Will the Secretary of State update us on progress on making a sanitary and phytosanitary agreement and a veterinary agreement with the EU, so that they can trade without all the red tape that is bogging them down?

Photo of Douglas Alexander Douglas Alexander Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

I assure the hon. Lady that the SPS agreement—the veterinary agreement, as it is called—is one of the priorities we are pursuing. That matter is being led by the Cabinet Office, as is the reset with the European Union. I assure her that dialogue is under way between the Department for Business and Trade, the Cabinet Office and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is a priority. It will take time to reset, but I assure her that we are fully aware of the urgency.

Photo of Melanie Onn Melanie Onn Llafur, Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes

Are there any plans to crack down on the dodgy vape shops that are damaging the appearance of our high streets? Is consideration being given to improving trading standards to protect our young people and children who are exploited by these premises?

Photo of Jonathan Reynolds Jonathan Reynolds Secretary of State for Business and Trade, President of the Board of Trade

Good product regulation and public confidence in our system are important across the board for every sector of the economy. My hon. Friend will have seen the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill in the King’s Speech. It will give powers to the UK Government to regulate in a range of fields. What she raises is exactly the kind of area we will be able to consider and debate in more detail.

Photo of Neil Shastri-Hurst Neil Shastri-Hurst Ceidwadwyr, Solihull West and Shirley

Postmasters in my constituency, like many others, have had their lives adversely affected by errors in the Horizon IT system. When does the Secretary of State anticipate that the Horizon shortfall scheme appeal process will be fully operational?

Photo of Jonathan Reynolds Jonathan Reynolds Secretary of State for Business and Trade, President of the Board of Trade

I thank the hon. Member for his interest in this incredibly important issue and the work, which he will be aware of, that ensured that we got to this point. I think this is the biggest miscarriage of justice in British history, and the moves to provide some form of redress are extremely important.

We have moved at pace to put the scheme in place. We were able to do so because of the legislation we got through in the wash-up at the end of the last Parliament. The hon. Member will have heard what I said about the letters that we got out to get that information to people. [Interruption.] What was that? We will take that up offline. I welcome his interest and will continue to work with him on it.

Photo of Joe Powell Joe Powell Llafur, Kensington and Bayswater

Businesses—especially creative industries—in Kensington and Bayswater tell me that they are fed up with the adversarial relationship we have had with the EU and the pointless red tape and trade barriers that have come with it. Will the Minister outline what steps the Government are taking to address that challenge?

Photo of Douglas Alexander Douglas Alexander Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The reset, of which we have spoken today, is fundamentally about turning the page and reinvigorating our alliance with our friends, neighbours and partners in the European Union. As well as securing a broad-based security pact and tackling barriers to trade, we aim to build stronger and wider co-operation in a whole range of areas including foreign and defence policy, irregular migration, law enforcement and judicial co-operation, while promoting climate, energy and economic security.

Photo of Iain Duncan Smith Iain Duncan Smith Ceidwadwyr, Chingford and Woodford Green

I ask this question on the basis that I am sanctioned by the Chinese Government for having raised the evidence of genocide and slave labour in Xinjiang. We know that the vast majority of polysilicon is now produced in Xinjiang using slave labour. Will the Secretary of State give the undertaking that, as required under section 54(11) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, there will be no use of any solar arrays that have polysilicon in them made under slave labour in Xinjiang?

Photo of Jonathan Reynolds Jonathan Reynolds Secretary of State for Business and Trade, President of the Board of Trade

I give the right hon. Gentleman an absolute assurance that I would expect and demand there to be no modern slavery in any part of a supply chain that affects products or goods sold in the UK. He is right to say that under the Modern Slavery Act, which was put in place by a previous Conservative Government, any business with a turnover above £36 million needs to have a reporting regime around that. I promise him that, where there are specific allegations, I will look at those to ensure that. It is an area where we have existing legislation, and indeed we would go further if that was required.

Photo of Paul Waugh Paul Waugh Labour/Co-operative, Rochdale

The Secretary of State pledged to be the most accessible Business Secretary, so will he give us an update on his most recent business engagement? May I also invite him to meet me, the Rochdale Development Agency and the Rochdale business improvement district to discuss our exciting plans for advanced manufacturing in Rochdale and for town centre regeneration?

Photo of Jonathan Reynolds Jonathan Reynolds Secretary of State for Business and Trade, President of the Board of Trade

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that question. I meet businesses every day, and my most recent engagement was the breakfast we did on our plans to make work pay, where businesses themselves were pointing out the things they are doing because they value and care for their workforce and will invest in them. The issue in Rochdale he refers to is close to my heart as a Member of Parliament from just down the road in Tameside. I will of course have that meeting with him and continue to work closely with him to deliver on his objectives.

Photo of Sammy Wilson Sammy Wilson DUP, East Antrim

As part of the Government’s net zero strategy, car manufacturers are expected to produce 22% of their cars as electric vehicles and face a £15,000 penalty for every car by which they fall short of that. The target is expected to be missed by 100,000 cars this year because of consumer resistance. The effect on the car industry is that producers are restricting supplies of petrol cars to retailers, and some are threatening to pull out of the UK market altogether. In the light of consumer resistance, will the Secretary of State look again at the target set, since consumers are clearly not going to be forced to purchase cars they do not want, and producers will be forced to try to get rid of cars they cannot sell?

Photo of Jonathan Reynolds Jonathan Reynolds Secretary of State for Business and Trade, President of the Board of Trade

I am grateful to the right hon. Member for that question. The policy to which he refers—the zero emission vehicle mandate—and its penalties as we ramp up to the phasing out of petrol and diesel vehicles is actually a Department for Transport policy of the previous Government. We supported it, because there is no point in having an objective to phase out petrol and diesel vehicles without a corresponding ramping up of regulation to do that.

There is an issue with consumer demand, which affects all of Europe. We are working closely on that. Under the policies of the last Government, there are flexibilities—things that can be transferred from one financial year to the next. We keep everything under close review, but we are committed to the transition. That is essential to industry and consumer confidence and making sure that that happens. Every country in the world has similar policies. This is an ongoing transition, and we are absolutely going to make it work for British industry.

Photo of Dan Carden Dan Carden Llafur, Liverpool Walton

I thank the Secretary of State for his visit to the Spellow library hub on County Road in my constituency in the days after the riots. He saw the challenges that the area faces. We need support to deliver a vibrant high street, big investment in new housing and delivery on skills and employment. Will he work with Cabinet colleagues and the local city council to ensure that, by the end of this Parliament, real improvement has been delivered for the residents of County Road?

Photo of Jonathan Reynolds Jonathan Reynolds Secretary of State for Business and Trade, President of the Board of Trade

I thank my hon. Friend for his question and for hosting me when I visited after the riots. I extend all my sympathies to the businesses affected. There is no excuse under any circumstances for looting shops, or in this case burning down a library. I was very much affected by my visit. He knows that we work very much in collaboration with the Association of British Insurers to ensure that claims are processed quickly. By now, I hope that businesses are aware that if they are underinsured or uninsured, help is still available to them under the Riot Compensation Act 2016, the details of which are on the gov.uk website.

Photo of Munira Wilson Munira Wilson Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Education)

One Air is a small and growing cargo airline based in my constituency, which is having to deal with huge amounts of additional red tape and costs as a result of the Brexit deal and the end of reciprocal arrangements with the EU. Can the Secretary of State give an assurance that, when Ministers negotiate mutual recognition of professional qualifications, the aviation sector will be included?

Photo of Jonathan Reynolds Jonathan Reynolds Secretary of State for Business and Trade, President of the Board of Trade

I can give the hon. Lady that reassurance. The aviation sector often complains about the lack of recognition, particularly relating to pilots. There is mutual interest in this area, and it could be a solid basis for negotiation. We can never promise the outcome of negotiations, but I can promise her that it is a priority for us.

Photo of Christopher Vince Christopher Vince Labour/Co-operative, Harlow

I welcome my right hon. Friend to his place. Before the election I met fruit growers in Nazeing and more recently farmers in Hatfield Broad Oak, both in my constituency, who raised concerns about hiring seasonal workers caused by Britain’s exit from the EU. What can his Department do to address that issue?

Photo of Jonathan Reynolds Jonathan Reynolds Secretary of State for Business and Trade, President of the Board of Trade

I recognise the point that my hon. Friend raises. Our reforms to zero-hours contracts will not affect seasonal labour—we recognise that it is an important part of the labour market. Additional burdens have been placed on businesses because of Brexit, as he outlined. We do not want to relitigate the arguments of the past, but we believe that we can make tangible improvements for businesses in his area and for everyone.

Photo of Antonia Bance Antonia Bance Llafur, Tipton and Wednesbury

My right hon. Friend will be aware of the disgraceful union-busting tactics and intimidation employed by Amazon against GMB members seeking union recognition at the Amazon warehouse in Coventry. Despite more than 1,000 votes in favour, union recognition was lost by just 28 votes. What steps is he taking to ensure that workers, such as the brave and determined GMB activists at Amazon, can more easily win union recognition?

Photo of Justin Madders Justin Madders Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade), Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

I draw the House’s attention to my proud membership of the GMB trade union. We believe that businesses work best when they give workers a voice through a recognised trade union. I would be very interested to hear more about what has happened at the Amazon warehouse in Coventry. The Government will look closely at that as part of our plan to make work pay. We will simplify the process and laws around statutory recognition.

Photo of Matt Western Matt Western Llafur, Warwick and Leamington

Last weekend, hundreds of thousands of Oasis fans were left angered by the notion of dynamic pricing—a concern that we are seeing across the wider economy. Does the Minister agree that we need an urgent review of such price gouging systems?

Photo of Justin Madders Justin Madders Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade), Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

That certainly took the nation’s interest in more than one way. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has already announced a review into it, and we will look at secondary pricing. The whole system needs urgent reconsideration, and we understand that the Competition and Markets Authority is looking into the matter, too.

Photo of Liam Byrne Liam Byrne Llafur, Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North

What thought has the Secretary of State given to attending the Williams inquiry? The Post Office scandal is unfinished business. It is now vital that we not only learn the lessons, but accelerate redress for the innocent and, crucially, punish the guilty fast.

Photo of Jonathan Reynolds Jonathan Reynolds Secretary of State for Business and Trade, President of the Board of Trade

I am very grateful to my right hon. Friend for that question. As a new Secretary of State, the inquiry and the whole issue has affected deeply how I believe accountability and power should be considered in the roles we have as Ministers. It comes on the back of what we heard about Grenfell yesterday, and what we have heard about Bloody Sunday and Hillsborough. I believe that, although this is essentially a legacy issue, it is exactly the agenda that we have on coming into these jobs. The future of the Post Office must be linked to the inquiry not just in terms of redress, but in how the business model works better for sub-postmasters. I do not believe that this has been put into the public domain yet, but I have received a request to attend the inquiry. I will, of course, do so, and believe it is an essential way to put across what we will take from that inquiry and our plans for long-term reform in the future.