Speeches by Wrighting.

“Thank you, Andrew, for your insights. What are your retailers telling you is the biggest competition for footfall at the moment? Is it retail parks? Is it changing consumer behaviour with online shopping? Secondly, you spoke about the value of in-store experiences and social experiences in bringing people into the high…”

“Jonny, is the BCC hearing the same?”

“More specifically, the new reforms that were announced apply higher multipliers to larger properties. Do your businesses believe that this will start to level the playing field or is there still a way to go?”

“We have heard from businesses—I have definitely heard this from businesses in my constituency, Kettering in Northamptonshire—that business rates are another barrier to growth. Do you hear from your members that business rates are a significant barrier?”

“Before coming to Parliament, I worked in a buying department for a large international retailer. In my career, I saw a move to sourcing from China, and a rise in the popularity of retailers based in China. How will the audit work with the Department for Business and Trade to level the playing field for UK manufacturers…”

“I welcome the Government’s ambition to double business investment by 2035, but on the Business and Trade Committee we have heard time and again from businesses that they face barriers in unlocking the investment they need to scale up. Can the Minister set out how the Government intend to support access to scale-up fina…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Desmond. I rise to speak in support of clauses 46 and 47, two vital reforms that place people instead of process at the heart of mental health care. Clause 46 will empower mental health tribunals to do more than simply decide on discharge. It will give them the abi…”

“I rise to speak to clauses 24 to 28 and the Government amendments to them. They cover an important and long overdue reform, which introduces a new statutory role: the nominated person, replacing the outdated concept of the nearest relative. I think, cross party, we all agree that this is about protecting some of the mo…”

“Yes, absolutely. I will say more about that in my speech. We cannot have a conversation about policing on our high streets without talking about retail crime. In March, when Geek Retreat in Kettering was targeted, a brick was thrown through the window and eggs were smashed on the shop front. Retailers up and down the h…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Furniss. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Erdington (Paulette Hamilton) for securing a debate on something that is clearly so important to so many of our constituents. Like other Members here, among the top issues in my inbox, and that were raised wi…”

“Following on from the question asked by my hon. Friend the Member for Stourbridge (Cat Eccles), this week is National Epilepsy Week, an important opportunity to raise awareness of a condition that affects so many but often remains invisible. Epilepsy comes with fear and uncertainty: the anxiety about having a seizure, …”

“indicated dissent.”

“Will the hon. Gentleman give way?”

“As someone with a business background and who worked in a large international business before coming to Parliament, I think the previous Conservative Government misled businesses when they promised them a Brexit that was going to remove red tape, but which actually created barriers. Does the hon. Gentleman agree?”

“About twenty-five minutes ago.”

“The hon. Member for Dumfries and Galloway (John Cooper) is talking about the feedback that we heard on the Business and Trade Committee. Does he recognise that businesses also fed back about the political uncertainty under the previous Government and how that made it very difficult to create an environment in which the…”

“The Business and Trade Committee visited Brussels earlier this year, where we saw at first hand how the previous Conservative Government damaged our relationships with our close trading partners—and British businesses paid the price. Can the Prime Minister confirm that this Labour Government are putting our national in…”

“When there is finance available, do you think that entrepreneurs and individuals in this country have the financial literacy to access it? If not, how are we going to address that?”

“We have heard time and again from businesses across the key sectors that they are struggling to access scale-up funding, sometimes even after receiving R&D funding. They are going to places such as Silicon Valley or, within the creative industries, European countries, to be able to scale up their business. What reforms…”

“Do you believe these new initiatives are going to change how we procure to get the most out of the increased defence spending?”