Enterprise Bill [Lords]

I wonder, then, whether the hon. Lady agreed with one of the comments that Andrew Fisher made in ...

In November of last year the green investment bank announced it had raised £10 billion in green i...

Order. Lots of Members wish to speak. If the hon. Lady would like me to put her name at the end o...

rose—

Order. We have heard what we need.

I have got the hon. Lady’s point, Madam Deputy Speaker. I will come on to the green investment ba...

The Secretary of State is making a powerful speech about this Government’s support for the creati...

My hon. Friend makes an important point about the support offered to successful businessmen and w...

For someone who is obsessed about supporting small business growth, the Secretary of State’s Bill...

The hon. Gentleman will know that we have already done a lot to cap business rates and slow their...

The Secretary of State talked about how this Bill will contribute to greater growth. Can he be a ...

I respect the right hon. Lady, but I hope she understands how growth is generated by the private ...

It is fantastic to hear that the Government’s policy is that Whitehall does not just know best, w...

First, the hon. Lady will know that no one makes this kind of decision lightly. The Government ha...

The Secretary of State has just effectively announced that there will be changes to the Sunday tr...

The hon. Lady will know that we talked last year about our plans to change the Sunday trading rul...

May I draw the Secretary of State’s attention to a letter that I received from the owners of the ...

My hon. Friend is right to point out the economic impact of this measure. As I have said, it migh...

May I just take the Secretary of State back to the point about Sunday trading? I cannot remember ...

We get this every day from those on the other side of the House. They are obsessed by process. Th...

The right hon. Gentleman is asking us to vote on Second Reading tonight on the substance of a Bil...

The hon. Lady has had plenty of time to consider the issue of Sunday trading and whether she supp...

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Is it in order for the Secretary of State to come to t...

As the hon. Gentleman knows, it is perfectly in order to do so—[Interruption.] Order. This is the...

Further to that point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I am grateful for your ruling—[Interruption...

I think I have got the gist of the hon. Gentleman’s point of order—[Interruption.] Order. Of cour...

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker.

When it comes to late payments, my Department leads by exa...

On that point, is the Minister confident that none of those late payments is being made by the Go...

I am confident that, over the past five years, the Government have done a huge amount of work to ...

I am sure that, if my right hon. Friend is getting the rounds in, we will be very happy to join h...

My hon. Friend rightly says we should always look to see what more we can do to help the pubs in ...

As somebody who opposed the initial proposal for the MRO legislation, I welcome the constructive ...

My hon. Friend is correct about that. We want to see more and more investment in our local pubs, ...

The Secretary of State began with the words, which I endorse, about being a one nation Government...

The hon. Lady raises an important point about the pubs code, specifically wanting to know whether...

Investor confidence in the UK renewables industry is at a record low. Does the Minister really th...

I will come on to one of the measures we will put in place to make sure that the GIB keeps its mi...

I wish to ask the Minister a legal and technical point. Did he and other Ministers challenge the ...

The hon. Gentleman raises an important issue, and what I am about to come on to perhaps addresses...

The Minister will know that a new clause in the other place tried to mandate the green target and...

I am well aware of that clause, but what I am saying is that it is no longer necessary as the sam...

I thank the Secretary of State for giving way again, and this is an inevitably technical bit of t...

The ONS does not need to approve anything that the Government do, but I am comfortable that the s...

I thank the Secretary of State for his generosity in giving way and regret that I will not be abl...

I am aware of the Committee’s recommendation. Some of the work that I have just announced that wi...

rose—

rose—

I need to plough on, because a number of hon. Members wish to speak.

Finally, the Bill will...

I apologise that I was not in the Chamber when the Secretary of State referred to Sunday trading ...

I can clarify that the Government will not mandate any part of the UK to extend Sunday trading ho...

Order. Members are starting to make points of order again on this one issue—

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker.

Is this a point of order on Sunday trading?

Yes, it is, but—

Order. We have had points of order on Sunday trading and if the hon. Gentleman wants to make a po...

When Napoleon called Britain a nation of shopkeepers, he meant it as an insult, but I see it as a...

I compliment the Business Secretary on one thing at least, and that is the title of this Bill. Ju...

Despite all the hon. Lady’s flowery words, I must tell her that small businesses being paid on ti...

I am now rather embarrassed that I gave way to the hon. Gentleman.

Hon. Members should make...

The apprenticeship levy.

The hon. Gentleman mentions the apprenticeship levy, but it will have to be paid by the public se...

I am intrigued by what the hon. Lady has said about the IDA change, which will allow the Governme...

This is a minor change, which Opposition Members will support, simply because it updates the Act....

I am interested in the hon. Lady’s comment about the inflation increase. She indicated that the O...

The changes to the Act are minor, simply because they restore in real terms the original import o...

We are trying to find out what you would do.

I am saying what we will do. We support this part of the Bill, because it makes a minor extension...

rose—

rose—

Let me just get on with this section, and then I will be happy to give way.

The Opposition ...

There are two ways of looking at the apprenticeship levy. One is that it is a threat to the publi...

The Opposition are in favour of the apprenticeship levy in principle, but we are taking a very cl...

My hon. Friend is raising some very valid concerns about the Bill and particularly about the appr...

I agree with my hon. Friend about the worries she has raised.

Why didn’t you raise them with me? I don’t know.

Well, we are waiting for the Government to come forward with more detail about how the apprentice...

My hon. Friend is doing a marvellous job. The Minister for Skills, who is chuntering from a seden...

I think another meeting is in order—

rose—

And I think we are going to hear something from the Minister now.

I just want to clarify that the debate that the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne North (Cather...

Once it gets around that the hon. Gentleman is so free with his diary, I am sure he will be very,...

The hon. Lady suggested that these provisions are minor. I am surprised that she does so in circu...

No, I do not, but I think the hon. and learned Lady should read the Government’s own impact asses...

As a former small business owner, I entirely endorse what my hon. Friend says. The problem with t...

I could not agree more with my hon. Friend’s words.

Part 1—clauses 1 to 13—deals with the s...

Will the hon. Lady give way?

No, because I have given way to the hon. and learned Lady.

This Bill contains a much more m...

Will the hon. Lady give way?

No. I have given way to the hon. and learned Lady and I do not intend to do so again, because I a...

The hon. Lady may have noticed that the Chancellor said:

“With the turbulent conditions we ...

My view is that the Chancellor should have allowed the Green Investment Bank time to establish it...

I think we would all agree that nuclear decommissioning is both essential and highly specialist, ...

That is another example of where something being sold as an attack on what the Secretary of State...

I may take a different view from the hon. Lady on the point that she is making, but unfortunately...

The Bill has a particular phrase attached to it—public sector fat cats—and when we look more clos...

The term “public sector fat cats” surely does not apply to a civil servant who earns less than £2...

There are what I have rather politely and generously, in my view, referred to as unintended conse...

I am conscious of the fact that I was not present for the Minister’s opening speech so I may have...

The right hon. Gentleman raises precisely the kind of case that has no doubt been raised with oth...

My hon. Friend will be aware that a huge number of Members are not present in the Chamber. They m...

That is right, but God does move in mysterious ways Her wonders to perform, so perhaps between no...

I apologise for interrupting my hon. Friend’s flow. Does she share my concern that the Government...

The Government have spoken. They keep acting as though we know what the changes are, when we do n...

The hon. Lady was obviously present during BIS orals, so she heard me say, for example, that this...

I have no problem whatsoever with letting people decide locally, but it is not for a Government M...

Does the hon. Lady accept that the exit payments will apply to only some 5% of workers, because w...

The provisions will affect people who earn £25,000, but who are being labelled as fat cats.

By you!

By the Secretary of State! They earn as little as £25,000 and have given their lives to long publ...

I declare my interests as stated in the Register of Members’ Financial Interest.

I am alway...

Order. I advise Members, before the Front-Bench team come in, that there will be a seven-minute l...

I rise to speak for the SNP, and, unfortunately, against the Enterprise Bill, which contains the ...

Does my hon. Friend share my concern, and that of the Public and Commercial Services Union, that ...

I share my hon. Friend’s concern. If we are going to have consultations, we should let them run f...

The Bill contains a wide range of measures, but I shall focus specifically on the Government’s fu...

I fully support apprenticeships; indeed, I am taking on an apprentice in my office, which I hope ...

I appreciate the hon. Lady’s comments. We should ensure that each part of our society and all par...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Warwick and Leamington (Chris White), my colleague...

I thank the hon. Gentleman, a fellow member of the Select Committee, for giving way. His Front-Be...

I thank my colleague from the BIS Committee for his intervention. We share the same view about fr...

Today the Government have brought before us an exciting and much needed Bill that, if passed, wil...

My hon. Friend is making a very considered speech. I agree that cutting red tape is a huge priori...

I welcome any measure that cuts inappropriate regulation, whatever the source of that regulation....

I have just mentioned it.

The hon. Gentleman is more than welcome to intervene and comment on its benefits if he wishes to ...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

No, I am going to wind-up. [Interruption.] I did offer many Members on the other side of the Hous...

May I start by apologising for having to leave shortly after my contribution, but I am meeting th...

Will the right hon. Lady give way?

No, I am going to make some progress.

I have to say that I think it is quite fraudulent to ...

I thank the right hon. Member for Don Valley (Caroline Flint) for at least being supportive of th...

I appreciate what the hon. Gentleman is saying about apprenticeships, but does he also accept tha...

The hon. Gentleman makes a good point, and I will address the public sector element of what I thi...

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that in order to achieve that higher level of apprenticeship and to...

That is absolutely right, and the hon. Gentleman raises a very important point. It is why we are ...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Stratford-on-Avon (Nadhim Zahawi). This is a big, ...

Is it not also important to note not just that these workers should be classified by the ONS as b...

Yes, the Government recently put the estate out to tender, and it was won by a private company. A...

I am delighted to be called so early to speak in the debate. It will not surprise colleagues that...

These days, pubs are not only competing with other pubs—they also have to compete with high-stree...

I congratulate my hon. Friend on the work that he does to support pubs, not just in his constitue...

Given how busy publicans are, they do not want to spend their time at the adjudicator. They want ...

I do not think creating an adjudicator does that at all. Very few tenants come forward with compl...

I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the debate. In general terms, I have to descri...

It is an honour to follow my fellow member of the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee, the ...

My hon. Friend is making an effective and strong case in support of small businesses, and in desc...

Absolutely, and the insolvency record proves that that is the case. We need to stop that awful pr...

I start by drawing the attention of the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial I...

Does my hon. Friend agree that the current Sunday trading laws represent a great British compromi...

I absolutely agree. We had long and very passionate debates about that during the last Parliament...

I am listening carefully to the hon. Gentleman and I understand his concerns, but why does he thi...

The hon. Gentleman asks a legitimate question. All of those questions were debated at the time of...

Is the hon. Gentleman concerned that pubcos are misrepresenting their investments and seeking, vi...

I am very concerned about that and I think that we need to inspect it. We want to encourage inves...

I am afraid that the time limit for Back-Bench speeches has to be reduced to six minutes, with im...

The Bill contains a wide range of specific provisions that are diverse in their detail but united...

This debate is vital for our economy, particularly if the Government are ever to put any meat on ...

My hon. Friend is making an incredibly important case. Does she agree that there is a bitter iron...

I completely agree. That point was made forcibly in the urgent question last Friday. Department f...

Does my hon. Friend share my concern that, on the one hand, the Government are always ready to pr...

Exactly. That is a really important point, given that this is a clear U-turn in Government policy...

I believe that, thanks to the Bill, small businesses will be able to achieve their goals. We are ...

I share the view of other right hon. and hon. Members that this is a hotchpotch of a Bill that ra...

There is talk of substantial investment, but a substantial level of investment by a city-centre p...

It is not clear, and I do not believe that there is sufficient understanding of the reality of pu...

I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to speak, and to speak after fellow members of the B...

My hon. Friend mentioned schools, and does she agree that it might be helpful for Ofsted, when it...

I agree that we need to do more, and there is a role for Ofsted in that, by promoting apprentices...

It is a pleasure to speak in the debate. I would like first to express my concern over the redund...

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that staff in many garden centres across the country are already work...

I am sure the hon. Lady knows we may have a different opinion on this matter, but I understand he...

Does the hon. Gentleman accept that it is for businesses to decide whether they open on Sunday, s...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for the intervention, but we disagree on the matter—he probably knew t...

I am grateful to be called to speak at this time, Mr Speaker. This is a good Bill, because any Bi...

rose—

rose—

No, I cannot give way, as I am already pressed for time. I apologise.

We need to emphasise ...

As other SNP Members have said, the Bill is a typical Government effort. It claims to be ambitiou...

My hon. Friend is emphasising the discrimination that could come from the exit payments. Does he ...

I fully agree with my hon. Friend. The Lords asked for an impact assessment to be undertaken, but...

It is a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Alan Brown). I liste...

As the grandson of a shop keeper and as someone who ran a small haulier business, it will come as...

Does my hon. Friend agree that older people and people with disabilities should also be allowed t...

I completely agree with my hon. Friend, who makes her point well. Apprenticeships should be avail...

Child!

Thank you.

Young people who once thought that they would be second-class citizens if they d...

Order. Sadly, we are running out of time. This is such a popular Bill, so I have to reduce the ti...

I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. Having ...

It is a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Havant (Mr Mak) in this debate. Before I...

I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, as the ...

I draw Members’ attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.

To e...

Small businesses are critical to our economy and make up 99% of businesses nationally, and the Bi...

My hon. Friend is giving a great speech with her experience in insolvency. Does she agree that co...

That is absolutely right. Often, the cause is cash-flow insolvency, which is a test of insolvency...

We have had a very good debate, with 25 speakers from the Back Benches. I congratulate everybody ...

I congratulate everybody—and I mean everybody—who has contributed to what I believe has been a ve...

Order. The right hon. Lady is right: there is a lot of chuntering, and if it gets any louder, I w...

Thank you very much, Madam Deputy Speaker. We do not like chuntering, do we?

I stopped spea...

Will the Minister give way?

I will give way briefly, but I will take no more interventions after that.

What the Minister is saying, and what she is setting out to do in regard to Sunday trading, is en...

They will not be devolved. Let me make that absolutely clear. We will introduce legislation for a...

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. The Minister is spending time talking about provisions...

The Minister can choose what she wants to talk about as long as it is related to the Bill. When i...

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I specifically wanted to deal with those points, because I think...

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker—[Interruption.]

Order. The House must be quiet, as I am trying to hear a point of order.

I am most grateful to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for accepting this important point of order. I t...

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for drawing her concerns to the attention of the House and to my a...