Many hon. Members have said that SMEs are at the heart of their constituency, and I want to mention a fish and chip shop called Goldenfry, which is highly recommended. If Members are ever in the city centre of Hull, they should pop in and get a portion of fish and chips. The business has really struggled because of the covid pandemic and the lack of footfall into the city centre, and it has had difficulty getting back on its feet, but the business has not just complained; it has set up a scheme so that people can go in and buy an extra portion of fish and chips to donate to a person or family without the food they need.
That shows the kind of community we have in the city of Hull and in our SMEs. We look after our own and we look after each other. Excuse the pun but, when the chips are down, we are still there and we still help each other. A local businessman told me this important lesson, “Emma, if you ever want to get support from business, look at those businesses that have people born and bred in the city of Hull, because they will always go the extra mile and do so much more.” Unlike the hon. Member for West Bromwich West (Shaun Bailey), I pay tribute to my Labour-led Hull City Council for being one of the fastest councils in the country in giving out the Government grants.
On the support provided to businesses, as the hon. Member for Aberdeen South (Stephen Flynn) said, we cannot ignore those that have been excluded or gone without any support whatsoever. As I mentioned in my intervention, businesses are angered when they see money wasted by the Government through fraud and through the track and trace schemes that did not work—when they see money, to quote the Prime Minister, “spaffed up the wall” by the Government when they have gone without. There is a real sense of injustice and unfairness, which I hope the Minister recognises as a serious point, especially when we look at sectors such as the coach industry.
On energy costs for businesses, I hope the Minister will look again at Labour’s plan for the contingency fund. There is a local business called Rhythm & Dreams, which is a wonderful dance club where young children can practise their dancing. It won my small business award just before Christmas, and it is a great organisation.
The woman who owns the company contacted me to say how rising energy costs are affecting her business, because of course she wants to keep her dance studio warm. She has lots of people coming and going. She has seen huge rises in her costs, but she is not seeing the same increase in income as people are still hesitant about returning to mixing with others. We need to consider targeted and specific support for businesses that are struggling with energy costs.
Although I recognise the support the Government have provided, they could have targeted their money much more successfully. I hope they will not continue to exclude those who have been missing out on support for so long.