Speeches by Edwards.

“The planning process slowing everything down was causing these issues whereby you were not able to sell and then you are not able to continue to profit. It is really crucial that these two things come together.”

“Just finally on that, part of this issue is that you cannot build another house until you have sold the one that you have built. You are very reliant on the cash‑flow process moving through.”

“Just to pick up on that point, this is one of the sectors that could double. If we unlock some of these issues in the process, if we deal with the planning and we get access to finance, we could employ many more people; we could build many more houses than we currently can. It is really critical that the micro-business…”

“A lot of the time, cash flow is part of the issue, but so is access to finance, particularly for SME house builders. Just two weeks ago, we had an announcement from the Government about the national housing bank. The intention is to plug the hole with £16 billion of public investment to build 500,000 homes. That includ…”

“I thank the Minister for all the additional details and information on where we are hoping to get to. One thing I learned about was the problem of deemed contracts. When a business moves into a premises, they are put on an assumptive contract, but that has caused lots of problems. The ombudsman and Ofgem have decided t…”

“Absolutely. I thank the hon. Member for his intervention, because that is exactly what the report found, yet I will go on to argue that not enough progress has been made to make sure that those business customers are treated fairly. In response to this issue, I have launched a campaign inviting businesses across the co…”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered regulatory powers over billing of energy supply to businesses. It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mr Dowd. My constituent Samantha Panton opened the Roasters café on the high street more than 35 years ago. Recently, she received a demand from E.ON Next for £10,000, p…”

“I thank the Minister for giving us lots of information on challenges and things that companies should be doing. Roasters café had four different smart meters fitted, none of which worked. When my constituent raised the alarm 12 months in and said she did not feel that the final meter was working, she was told, “It’s ab…”

“I am so pleased to have had the support of hon. Members; I remark on the stories that highlight some of the regulatory differences across the Irish sea. Caps for business energy, or some kind of cap on deemed contracts, could help to bring prices down without costing the Government and would help to get the market into…”

“HS2 has impacted many residents across Tamworth, with businesses and farmers having been forced to sell their land. One resident has been trapped for nearly 10 years with a property that borders HS2. He is unable to sell because 50% of the land occupies what HS2 claims is safeguarding territory. Despite the involvement…”

“Where there are other competitors that might be selling tickets, there is nothing that you are doing to say, “We don’t want you to compete”? You have exclusionary contracts with some venues in the US.”

“Both of your companies offer loyalty schemes. I am sure that many people benefit from some of the savings, but there are groups of people who are not able to benefit, specifically younger people, homeless people and those with no fixed abode. There are also issues for people who do not have access to a smartphone. Why …”

“Why do you need to have an address to have one?”

“Why?”

“Could someone not come into the store and just say, “I would like one of these cards” and sign up?”

“To follow up on that point, the Competition and Markets Authority published a report last year, as I am sure you are aware, examining the accessibility of loyalty schemes, and it made several recommendations to improve them. I have not heard that it is necessarily happening. The report cited these issues and suggested,…”

“I want to come back to this idea of the cap, which was left hanging in the air. Earlier this month, you were caught selling flights to the Europa League final in Bilbao for £1,800. Clearly, the cap is not £1,800, because that definitely happened. I had a look last night at how much it would be to charter a private jet.…”

“You also speak about the system as though it has a mind of its own that you cannot control—a bit like Skynet. I just wondered whether there is any review of it, given that it is clearly creating some quite astronomical prices.”

“I just wanted to pick up on some of what we have heard today, and particularly to follow-up on the supermarket theme. We seem to be being told that Tesco and Tesco Express, or Sainsbury’s and Sainsbury’s Local, are somehow completely separate businesses that operate entirely exclusively, but they are not. They do not h…”

“Phil, we are interested in the viewpoint of certain people. The chief executive, Michael Rapino, talked about how very advanced America is, with Europe being very primitive, and went on to say that it was a badge of honour that he was able to sell a courtside ticket for basketball for $7,000, but you are horrible if yo…”