Speeches by Bance.

“I was struck by the comments about the potential for the UK to focus on applied AI in specific sectors where we have expertise. That was your point, Phill. I wanted to ask more broadly about the availability of finance for those companies that need to bring AI into their existing operations. Mr Palant, I wonder whether…”

“I wanted to follow up the point that you made, Mr Evans, on energy costs. Do the sectors that you represent benefit from the British industrial competitiveness scheme, or is that not the situation for your industries?”

“Would you say that your preferred policy solution for energy costs is the removal of policy costs and loading them on to general taxation?”

“Many people have talked to us about SIC codes.”

“To return to something you said earlier, Mr Křetínský, you would like to be running a gig economy parcel business. Is that right?”

“What you are saying, then, is that there should be regulation on employment status such that you have a level playing field. Would that be something you think the Government should take forward?”

“Are you confident that the negotiations between the company and the union will come to a conclusion where the changes that you are proposing to the USO will be successfully delivered? At the moment, my constituents would say that they are not getting letters posted on a Monday on a Thursday, nor are they getting the le…”

“I am glad to hear that Royal Mail are back around the table talking about delivery models and how you can make progress on that. I am also glad to hear that the intervention of the Secretary of State has been helpful. The other issue that needs sorting out is the two-tier workforce. You were on a timetable to get that …”

“The reforms that you have approved to the USO would see second-class letters only delivered on alternating weekdays. Why should our constituents have to put up with a worse service to clear up Royal Mail’s mess?”

“It is good to see you at the Committee; thank you for attending. I want in particular to say thank you to the dedicated postal workers in the west midlands who do an excellent job under difficult circumstances. I was talking to one of the workers in Wednesbury DO and he said, “We’ve got so many parcels to deliver on a …”

“The same postal worker said to me that they got 200 houses added to their delivery round when the rounds were redone, but there are fewer of them to do it.”

“I thank the Secretary of State for this announcement, which will make a big difference to so many young people in our area of the Black Country who are looking for work or training but unable to find the opportunities they need. I recently visited Asda in Great Bridge, where I saw the supported internship scheme that i…”

“Given the global situation, what discussions has the Chancellor had with Cabinet colleagues on helping to keep industrial energy costs manageable? Will she work with colleagues to bring in the British industrial competitiveness scheme, which would cut manufacturing energy costs by 25%, as soon as possible?”

“I congratulate the Chair of the Select Committee, my right hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North (Liam Byrne), on securing this important debate. I wish to align myself with the remarks he made about the need for a steel strategy to be published soon for clarity on how we will continue to …”

“Do you plan to start using the powers given to you under the DMCCA fully any time soon?”

“Earlier, you described the DMCCA as a “win for the UK”. Would you like to expand on those comments?”

“You have worked for two noted anti-union companies in your time, Amazon and Walmart. Would you say that you bring that anti-trade union attitude to this role?”

“Does my hon. Friend agree that the work being done on the draft local government settlement to get us to this final local government settlement has actively put the principles of fairer funding into place? My local authority in Sandwell—the fifth most deprived local authority in the country—is getting an extra £28 mill…”

“Will the hon. Member give way?”

“BritishAmerican Business, which we heard from earlier, criticised the technology prosperity deal for lacking core digital trade provisions, for example on data governance or cross-border data flows. How important are digital trade rules to your investment in the UK?”