Tracey in the News
Laws should have to pass ‘compassion threshold’, say MPs
Tracey’s Contributions
Things Tracey Said
Kelly in the News
Government launches first pubs code review
Riverside Tavern landlord could lose his home to keep the pub running
Kelly’s Contributions
To Commons Chamber
Our young people provide an invaluable contribution to the UK economy—they are more than twice as likely to be entrepreneurs as their peers in France and Germany—and we are supporting them. The start-up loans programme has provided over £60 million in loans to 18 to 24-year-olds since 2012. To further realise young entrepreneurs’ potential, I have asked the Prince’s Trust to lead a review to identify the barriers that they face.
On Youth Entrepreneurship
Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, employing over 16 million people, and they make a collective contribution of over £2 trillion. We have provided nearly £5.9 billion of finance to over 82,000 small businesses across the UK. We have also just announced an additional £200 million for innovation for British business.
On Small Businesses
I regularly meet representatives of the supermarket sector, both individually and through the Retail Sector Council, to discuss a range of issues. One issue that the council has identified as a priority is employment. The Government have committed themselves to upgrading workers’ rights and protecting the most vulnerable workers in all sectors through the good work plan. That represents the biggest upgrade of workers’ rights for over 20 years.
On Supermarket Sector: Employment Contract Terms and Conditions
My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise concerns about banks pulling out of our high streets. Those concerns have also been raised by many other MPs across the country. High street banks do offer a valuable service for consumers, and that is why I am grateful to the Post Office for renegotiating the banking framework, which will offer better payments to postmasters providing banking services in those high streets. However, he is quite right: we do need to work closely with local authorities at a regional level to make sure that the services being offered on the high street are those that people wish to see.
On Topical Questions
Things Kelly said
Rehman in the News
Theresa May asked why Asia Bibi wasn’t offered asylum in UK
Rehman’s Contributions
To Commons Chamber
To be the best place to grow and start a business means having consistent rules and regulations. My brilliant local Medway Licensed Taxi Drivers Association has raised a real concern about Uber operating in Medway without having the same rules and regulations as association members. Will the Minister meet me and that brilliant association to look at those rules and regulations, to ensure that they are fair? I declare an interest: I have relatives in that trade.
Business: Start and Growth
Putting aside whether the nuclear deal should be dealt with separately from or in conjunction with Iran’s aggressive behaviour in the wider region, my specific question to the Minister is as follows. He talked about Iran’s profound negative influence in the region, whether in Yemen, Syria, Bahrain or Lebanon—and Morocco recently expelled the Iranian ambassador. The UK holds the pen on Yemen at the UN and knows about Iran’s aggressive behaviour in the region; what specifically will the UK with its partners be doing to check that Iranian aggressive behaviour in the region?
On the Iran Nuclear Deal
Things Rehman said
What are your thoughts about Medway’s MPs and their performance in Parliament?
Is Kelly right about what they’ve done for the area since 2010?
Was Tracey right that laws should have to pass a compassion threshold?
Does Rehman have it right regarding Iran and putting aside whether the nuclear deal should be dealt separately from or in conjunction with Iran’s behaviour in the wider region?