Speeches by Madders.

“Just to follow up on the bogus self-employment issue, it is a far wider problem than VAT registration, as we know. We have had evidence from the hair and beauty sector in particular, but there are also other sectors where this is becoming more of an issue. It is about creating a level playing field. What is your assess…”

“Defence is a really good example, because I imagine that it is going to be one of the most challenging ones. I am trying to get to what it is that you can do. What levers or powers do you have to force them to deliver on the standards that we are setting?”

“To follow up on that, I am sure you will be assiduous in in pursuing this on behalf of small businesses. If you get a Department that is not reaching the standards and hence comes up with lots of perfectly legitimate, on the face of it, reasons why they have not quite met the expectations, what levers do you have at yo…”

“Can I just follow up on the departmental targets and spend on small business procurement? How will you, as a Department, hold other Departments to account if they are not meeting those targets?”

“Good afternoon. How is the Procurement Act going to support SMEs?”

“Do we need another tool for enforcement other than fines?”

“I have done some questioning around illegal car washes. The Home Office does not seem to know how many of those fines have been paid. Indeed, they cannot tell us much about enforcement. When you issue fines, are you confident that you are fining someone who is going to pay them?”

“Can I just go on to another element of enforcement? This is particularly for you, Martin. Companies House has given evidence to this Committee that it was going to increase the number of prosecutions. That was about eight months ago. How many more prosecutions have been commenced in that time?”

“There are a number of other actors in this, are there not? There are the people who you catch red-handed, for want of a better description. You can disqualify them if they are a director. You can fine them. You can imprison them. Do we know how many fines have been issued? How many people have been imprisoned for the w…”

“You were suggesting earlier that some landlords are not so concerned about who is renting as long as they get the money. There is definitely something in making them do a little bit more due diligence before they rent these properties out.”

“By amazing coincidence, Wendy, while you were speaking I had an email from my local authority about one of these shops where they opened up next door and they now have a closure order against next door. The common denominator here, I would suggest, is the owner of the property. Do we need to be tougher on landlords?”

“I welcome the statement from the Minister and refer him to the Select Committee’s report issued today on economic security, which touches on some of the issues that he has talked about. It also talks about the much wider threats to the resilience of the UK’s economy. On that point, I want to ask him about stockpiling. …”

“It’s not, is it, I don’t think, even though it is a very valid point?”

“Is that the judgment that you are making when you are deciding where to invest?”

“For the taxpayer or for the investor.”

“This is a topical question, I think. There is about £30 billion of income tax relief in registered pension schemes at the moment. Do you think that that is being used effectively at the moment? Is that getting the right results?”

“Good afternoon, everyone. I have a fairly straightforward question for you all. If you can say yes or no, that would be helpful, but if you need to expand, please do. It is about Mansion House targets and whether you think they are changing behaviour at the moment.”

“That is very clear, thank you.”

“We have this whole challenge around improving lending in IP and in regional areas. If the Government are looking at the levers that they have, could we do more in terms of procurement to improve the prospects for lending against some of these businesses?”

“The problem that we have is an insatiable 24/7 media who want stories and will sometimes generate their own. All this speculation has created uncertainty that has hampered investment, which I know is not what the Treasury wants. Will the Minister be clear from the Dispatch Box that any further speculation we read about…”