Speeches by McDougall.

“I was saying that as an introduction. As a result of that, we have a stock of businesses that are extraordinarily resilient and adaptable because they have been through so much. We now have an opportunity to work through systematically all the barriers that they are facing.”

“First of all, on the 200-odd commitments within the small business strategy, we are continuing to work at pace to deliver those. We are looking at outcomes as well, in terms of the impact on small businesses around the country. For me, it is about confidence. Within small businesses that I speak to, there is often a se…”

“There is what I view personally as success and then there is what we are measuring as a Department.”

“The feedback so far has been extraordinarily positive. Again, I will turn to Ros on performance metrics.”

“You can see that running through it already, where you get signposted on skills, exports, tax advice and all sorts of things within that. As Ros was intimating, a lot of the advice that has been elsewhere and has been valuable to people has been built into it.”

“My hon. Friend makes an essential point about the importance of the postal service in rural areas. The hon. Member for Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire (Mr MacDonald) made that point as well. I know from my relatives in highland areas how essential that connection is. My hon. Friend raises the issue of NHS appointme…”

“I certainly will. As I mentioned a moment ago, the more dispersed geography of Scotland means that the postal service is often even more of a lifeline in our part of the world. I will certainly follow up that point with Scottish Ministers, and with colleagues in the Department of Health and Social Care. On the future o…”

“I can certainly do that. Through Ofcom, Royal Mail has obligations in terms of the accessibility of post boxes, and I will raise my hon. Friend’s point with the chief executive of Royal Mail when I meet with him next week. The challenges faced by Royal Mail are shared in most European countries, which are taking steps …”

“It has been a pleasure to listen and respond to this passionate debate. Before we get into the things on which we may disagree, I should say that it has been really interesting to hear how many times people have used metaphors like “heart and soul” and “backbone” when talking about their local high streets and local bu…”

“In a moment, I will come to our plans to reduce the mountain of red tape that the right hon. Member’s Government left us with, and to reduce the cost of that red tape. Conservative Member after Conservative Member spoke about the Employment Rights Bill. I should say at the outset that we want the rights in that Bill to…”

“I will return the compliment to my right hon. Friend before I disagree with him. This is the problem; there is a certain cheek to the Conservative party leaving us a burning building and then criticising us for reaching for the fire hose. We had to stabilise the public finances—and again, that is not abstract. The Cons…”

“The cost of the Employment Rights Bill is around 0.4% of wage costs across the country, and the additional help that the Bill provides will have a huge impact on small businesses and high streets. Many Members raised the issue of crime, but let me reassure the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iai…”

“We made it clear a few days ago that we plan to reduce the administrative cost of the regulatory burden by nearly £6 billion, and that is what we will do. Conservative Members have spoken about the Employment Rights Bill and their intention to repeal it, but they are forgetting that that Bill will set up a single regul…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Desmond. I congratulate the hon. Member for Bridgwater (Sir Ashley Fox) on securing this important debate on Royal Mail and the USO, an issue that matters deeply to households and to businesses across the country. Royal Mail is an iconic part of the UK’s infrastruc…”

“The hon. Member raises an important point, particularly for small businesses, which rely on those schemes. I pay tribute to the Royal Mail for the speed at which it reacted to those de minimis changes to ensure that businesses were able to continue. We keep working with Royal Mail as well to ensure that that is possibl…”

“The Government have launched our small business plan, which my predecessor, my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow West (Gareth Thomas), did so much great work on. “Backing your Business” outlines how we will make thriving small and medium-sized businesses a reality across the UK. We are unlocking billions of pounds in f…”

“As ever, my hon. Friend is a great advocate for all things Doncaster. The beauty sector is a vital driver of innovation, sustainability and wellbeing across the economy, but also locally, through businesses like the Beauty Lounge. That is why we are backing small businesses through the small business plan, as I just se…”

“I know my hon. Friend is a great believer in Leigh and Atherton’s untapped potential, and so are we. We have launched the small business strategy, with action on late payments, action to unlock access to finance, and better, simpler support through the business growth hub. In addition to that, Leigh will receive £20 mi…”

“I gently say to the hon. Member that he did not do that in 14 years in government. Indeed, the Conservatives were set to remove the reliefs on small businesses. Rather than repeating the mistakes of the Liz Truss Budget with unfunded tax commitments, we are giving real support to businesses now, including by increasing…”

“I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his constructive question; I am very happy to pursue that within Government. The wider point is that both the small business strategy and the industrial strategy are important because they are cross-Government strategies, as lots of sectors and individual businesses are facing chall…”