Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill

I’ve got seven.

For the record, the Business Secretary says that he has seven minders. I am sure that he will not...

My hon. Friend is making a powerful argument. Further to the Secretary of State’s response to my ...

That is an example of the effects of what this Government are doing, which I think is truly repre...

My hon. Friend speaks of people earning as little as £1 an hour. I wonder whether he can recall t...

I thank my hon. Friend for that contribution, which is a reminder of the huge difference our Gove...

We should also bear in mind those people on zero-hours contracts, who do not get paid for travell...

I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention; I shall quickly be coming on to zero-hours contract...

Before the hon. Gentleman moves on from the living wage and in the context of the important issue...

I may have the figures wrong, but I think that at least 29 Labour-run local authorities have beco...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I will give way shortly.

The Government’s answer is simply not good enough. Do they really ...

I am heartened by some of what the hon. Gentleman is saying, but can he explain why, during recen...

We, as a party, have made it very clear that we want to end the exploitative use of zero-hours co...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

No. I must make a little progress, because otherwise the hon. Gentleman’s speaking time will be r...

I declare my interests as they appear in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests and I shall...

Order. I am sorry but there is huge pressure on time and the time limit may have to go down. I ca...

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. The Secretary of State described his 50-minute speech as “Castro...

I pay tribute to the hon. Gentleman’s work and the fantastic work of the Select Committee on Busi...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention and pay tribute to his contribution to the ongoin...

As someone who ran a small business before being elected to Parliament and who is a director of t...

I am sure that small businesses tell the hon. Gentleman, as they do me, that one of the biggest b...

I agree and a big section of my speech dealt with that, but as time is very limited I think I mig...

Many people in my constituency do not see a recovery in the economy and they are yet to experienc...

In the limited time available to me, I shall, as chair of the all-party save the pub group, restr...

I add my congratulations to the hon. Gentleman on the work that he has done on this issue. Does h...

The Fair Deal for your Local campaign clearly campaigned for a statutory code to include the all-...

rose—

I give way to the vice-chair of the all-party save the pub group.

Does my hon. Friend agree that some of the pessimism that we have heard about the market rent onl...

Of course, the market rent only option would not apply to family brewers. They would be excluded ...

I welcome the general intention of the Bill to support small businesses, but I worry that it does...

My hon. Friend is making a powerful speech about the individuals who face those challenges. Is sh...

I agree with my hon. Friend’s fine intervention and compelling point. I have had similar instance...

My constituency was built on small businesses and the ingenuity of those who run them, but I must...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for South East Cornwall (Sheryll Murray), who made som...

On social mobility and the roles of schools and small businesses, I am sure my hon. Friend will b...

I thank my hon. Friend. I am pleased to hear that, because the link between education and busines...

I wholeheartedly welcome the Bill. I have been an advocate in this place of small business since ...

My hon. Friend forgot to mention in his long list of titles his elevation earlier this year to pr...

Order. Sit down. We are really pressed for time and Members need to be disciplined. We did not ne...

President Brian Bingley. [Laughter.] I apologise, Madam Deputy Speaker.

The Bill proposes a...

Will the hon. Gentleman join me in congratulating all those organisations and individuals in cons...

I am delighted to help the hon. Gentleman with his press release. I of course congratulate the ge...

Will my hon. Friend give way?

I had better not, or Madam Deputy Speaker will have words with me privately later.

I conclu...

Order.

Pity.

5.14 pm

Speaking in my capacity as co-founder and co-chair of the all-party group on anti-corruption, I w...

Will the hon. Lady give way?

I will give way.

No you will not, because your time is up. You just missed it by a second, I am afraid.

5.19...

I rise with some trepidation to speak on Second Reading, because it is such an enormous Bill and ...

Order.

5.24 pm

Small business needs a Bill that unlocks new finance to help businesses grow, gives new impetus t...

Does the hon. Gentleman not accept that the skills shortage cannot possibly have happened in the ...

That is an interesting point, but to answer it I advise the hon. Gentleman to listen to what busi...

It is a great pleasure to take part in this debate and I warmly welcome the Bill.

Like many...

I have already said that I founded two companies, which now employ 300 people. Labour Members hav...

I am pleased that the whole issue of adult literacy and numeracy will come before us on the Busin...

I want to emphasise my support for the Government’s measures to ensure that outcomes from the edu...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. For too long under the last Government we saw a proliferation...

It is indeed a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Gosport (Caroline Dinenage). It is a great ...

I welcome the Bill. I think it significant that we are debating a small business Bill, because I ...

Small businesses are the powerhouse of the economy, contributing 46% of the UK’s annual income in...

I am listening to what my hon. Friend has to say, because she speaks from a position of great kno...

I would say that the measures in the Bill are not enough. There is a power imbalance between the ...

I wish to place on the record my admiration for the work that my hon. Friend has done on late pay...

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. The Opposition Front-Bench team have intervened on fou...

It is, of course, in order, because the person who has the Floor can take an intervention wheneve...

I am willing to show discretion.

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for what he said. The Bill does not go far enough on addressing t...

It is a pleasure to rise to support the Bill today. We are unashamedly pro-business. We have alre...

I shall try to keep my remarks as brief as I can.

My hon. Friend the Member for City of Che...

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

I...

It is a delight to take part in the debate, albeit with a shortened contribution, and to follow m...

I want to follow on from some of the issues that have been raised, not least by the hon. Member f...

rose—

Order. Since all Members have taken the full five minutes, and some longer because of interventio...

Is that for speakers after me, Madam Deputy Speaker?

No, sir.

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker.

I am sure that hon. Members will be relieved to know that ...

People who start or run their own small businesses are heroes. Every day, they take the risks, th...

It is an honour to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Bedford (Richard Fuller), whose enthusias...

Like my hon. Friend the Member for Castle Point (Rebecca Harris), I hope that this debate sets a ...

Today’s prize for patience goes to Anne Marie Morris.

6.34 pm

I congratulate the Government on the Bill, which is an excellent piece of work. Having been a cha...

Some of my colleagues are at the memorial service for Paul Goggins and so are unable to be here, ...

It was Barack Obama!

The Minister is not the first to confuse the two.

We welcome the fact that this is the firs...

It is a huge privilege to respond to this debate on the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment...