Speeches by Griffiths.

“Will the Minister give way?”

“Will the Minister give way?”

“In constituencies like mine, seasonal, flexible and part-time working are central to the local economy. Seaside towns such as Bognor Regis and Littlehampton thrive on the cafés and attractions along the seafront and the pubs and shops on the high street. During the booming summer season, those businesses rely on season…”

“To reflect on my hon. Friend’s point about risk, employers are taking personal risk when they set up businesses and employ people. When they have so much cost piled on them, that risk-benefit equation evaporates, and with it the jobs that they deliver to other people in their communities.”

“My apologies, Madam Deputy Speaker. The short answer to the hon. Gentleman’s question is that if it was one single tax instead of multiple taxes, it is quite possible that the tourist tax would be a good idea. However, in the current context of multiple taxes drowning our businesses into oblivion, it is not a good idea…”

“I am delighted to answer the hon. Gentleman’s question, because there is a very important difference. Right now in the UK, the tourist economy is being hammered by the increased minimum wage, the Employment Rights Bill and high energy costs—I could go on. Businesses on our high streets are suffering, in particular seas…”

“Harbour Park in my constituency would be required to pay people, rain or shine, at times when it receives no income from visitors. Does my hon. Friend agree that this measure will cause many businesses acute hardship?”

“I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for making that point, which takes me back to the conversation I had with Catherine this weekend. I hope she will not mind me saying this: she was so emotional that she was almost in tears at the prospect of a tourist tax being imposed by a Sussex mayor, who will come in next year—ac…”

“My hon. Friend is right. The Business and Trade Committee had a number of businesses come to Parliament to tell us about the stasis that the leaks in the run-up to the Budget caused to their businesses. As he says, that feeds through to the general population, who know the costs businesses are having to incur and that …”

“Will the hon. Gentleman give way?”

“It is 51% of the population.”

“What exactly are you doing that you are putting this effort into?”

“Oliver, you have already been talking about how you would like to see the British Business Bank lead the market. This is a question to both of you, but let us start with Oliver because he brought it up. What do you see as the role for the British Business Bank in helping to unlock regional equity?”

“Is your perception that, if it is a female product, or a product or service specifically for a female audience, male investors are generally just not that interested? Is that the general message coming through here?”

“I have a question for each of you. What has your personal experience been of seeking investment for your businesses in the UK?”

“You can, but we are talking about businesses that may not have access to all of those different options.”

“We are talking about access to finance, so let us assume that we are talking about all financial products that help growth. I am just suggesting that the pricing of any service or product that enables that access to finance for businesses in the UK to scale and grow is not at a price point that enables them to take adv…”

“It is about the price that a customer will have to pay to a lender.”

“Is there nothing that we can do to make the pricing to businesses more competitive? That is bringing the supply in, but the point is also about demand. What if the price of the product is too high? Perhaps Lord Stockwood would like to comment on this as well.”

“There are two sides of the equation: supply and demand. It seems that there is supply. You are bringing in funds from the US and elsewhere? Blair, you have just talked about the millions that you have been able to bring into the five-year strategy, but if we are not getting the uptake, if businesses are not availing th…”