Speeches by Thomas.

“First, we have an existing access to finance programme on debt funding called the Start Up Loans programme, which is not unique to women founders, but approximately 40% of those who benefit from the programme are women founders. We want to expand the Start Up Loans programme significantly. We are working out exactly wh…”

“As you rightly say, more generally beyond just the British Business Bank, there is a problem with data collection in that we do not have a comprehensive database anywhere in the UK to track lending to women entrepreneurs, or indeed to black and ethnic minority entrepreneurs. That is one of the issues we have been discu…”

“The straight answer is that I do not know, but I am very happy to take that away, have a look and come back to the Committee.”

“I support what Baroness Gustafsson says and, to be very boring and practical, the £250 billion figure comes from the Rose review, which reported about five years ago. Obviously, the industrial strategy is a much more recent initiative of the current Government. As Baroness Gustafsson said, there is a range of measures …”

“I would not want to prejudge what the Committee decides to recommend, but if the Committee was to recommend this, we would certainly be happy to look at that proposition again. As I say, in the 12 months we have been in government, we have been looking at what more we can do to increase the total pot in terms of access…”

“In the usual way, I thank the right hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Sir John Hayes) for securing this debate. Having crossed swords with him when our positions were reversed, I approached this debate with particular wariness, not least because he has assembled a very distinguished cross-party group of M…”

“My hon. Friend will forgive me, but I will not comment on the particular circumstances of Vodafone and its relationship with franchisees in general, or those former franchisees who are bringing court action. However, I note his comment.”

“As I said, I recognise that this case has raised concerns across the House about the quality and effectiveness of the legislation that governs franchisees and, indeed, other businesses, and about the arrangements around franchisees, and their relationships. As I say, up to now, we have not had significant representatio…”

“I have already given a flavour of what might be in the small business strategy. I will leave the right hon. Gentleman to wait a little longer, if I may—he will have to forgive me—before he sees the strategy in full. Let me come to the substance of the right hon. Gentleman’s concern. He rightly and understandably mentio…”

“The right hon. Gentleman made a very interesting speech with a series of interesting analogies, and I have noted those and the points that he made. As I have said, I will track this particular court case and its conclusions. I always try to make myself available when hon. and right hon. Members want to discuss particul…”

“The hon. Gentleman is right to make his point. One would hope that the Scottish Government would be as committed to taking action as the Government here in the UK. I hope he and other Scottish colleagues will see a change of heart and approach from the Scottish Government. I understand the sector’s concerns about emplo…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Butler, for I think the first time, and I hope it is the first of many. I congratulate the hon. Member for Kingswinford and South Staffordshire (Mike Wood) on securing this important debate. I recognise that he has long been an enthusiast for hospitality businesses …”

“I am disappointed to hear that my hon. Friend’s local county council is not liaising about roadworks more effectively with small businesses in the rural areas that he represents, and I hope that it will hear his intervention and take action. He is right that we need to ensure that we are investing not just in buses—I w…”

“It is genuinely a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Western—thank you for your reminder of the etiquette at the end of the debate—and to respond to what has been an extremely important debate on supporting the many remarkable rural businesses across the country. In the usual way, I take this opportunity to …”

“I thought the hon. Gentleman was going to invite me to come to Wick, but I will certainly pass on the invitation to my officials. We are keen to learn from the experience of the banking hubs that have worked, that are up and running, and that are now seen as being effective. There is more that the Post Office can do to…”

“I will for the last time.”

“The hon. Gentleman underlines the need for significant investment in green energy. Other hon. Members referred to the need to support renewable energy, particularly community renewable energy schemes, as part of the solution to issues around rural prosperity and to tackle the energy challenges that we are all familiar …”

“The Government continue to support entrepreneurs through start-up loans via the British Business Bank and through programmes such as growth hubs in England and “Help to Grow: Management” training across the UK. Later this year we will publish our small and medium-sized enterprise strategy, one key element of which will…”

“The hon. Gentleman will not be surprised to know that we receive representations on the VAT threshold from a number of small businesses, and we ensure that they are heard by Treasury colleagues. He will recognise that VAT raises a significant sum of money for the public finances, and given the mess that we inherited, w…”

“We have been talking to businesses about what they can do in the light of the new regulations, and we are in the process of improving significantly the range of support available to businesses online. The Secretary of State recently set out our plans for a new business growth service, which will significantly improve t…”