Speeches by Kumar.

“The only problem with the community right to buy, which is a fantastic thing going for the devolution Bill, is that, most times, communities struggle with financing this. What is the solution? How can we break through those barriers?”

“Allen, there are 79,000 vacancies in the food and accommodation industry in the UK. First, can you tell me the impact of the high vacancy rates in hospitality? Secondly, can you give me two short-term solutions and two long-term solutions?”

“There are colleges and places that are doing some excellent work. How are we modelling that as a benchmark for other areas that maybe are struggling or have some challenges for that to be replicated across the country?”

“With the spending review coming up, what would you say to the Chancellor?”

“The Local Data Company found that, nationally, in the final quarter of 2023, one in every seven shops were closed. In Dudley, in my constituency, over 35 shops are empty. It attracts all sorts of antisocial behaviour and just makes the town a lot less attractive. How can we incentivise people to invest in bricks and mo…”

“How is that shared?”

“It does indeed. It is an excellent college with 11,000 students and is now becoming a construction college. It is a good format and I thought that I would ask the question anyway.”

“In places such as Dudley, there is low employment and high levels of people in in-work poverty. How do you think you can get residents or learners without any qualifications who are in SMEs to access education as employees?”

“David, do you feel like the local skills improvement plans are working with businesses?”

“I warmly welcome the Minister to his place. In the light of the cyber-security breaches survey published in April 2025, which reported that 43% of businesses and 30% of charities experienced a cyber-attack last year, what steps is he taking to strengthen national cyber-security? How are the Government working with busi…”

“I warmly welcome the statement. Families in Dudley are now benefiting from 30 hours of Government-funded childcare, including new places in school-based nurseries such as at Beechwood Church of England primary school in St Thomas’s, one of the most deprived wards in the borough. Can the Minister set out how this expans…”

“The Sycamore adventure centre in Upper Gornal has been a lifeline for children, including those with special educational needs and disabilities, for over 15 years. Yet despite pledging funding for it for five years in April in a public Q&A, the Conservative-led council is now forcing it to be privatised, with uncap…”

“Everyone knows who the frequent flyers are, or however you want to brand those people who shoplift time and time again. The traders will know. The businesses will know. The police will know. These people are just going round in a circle. It is just like a merry-go-round, and no one manages to get to a point of them get…”

“On the back of that, Chris, what needs to happen at local level? How can we support small businesses and work in partnership with them to make sure their businesses are secure? What should we be doing? That might be giving them additional grant or funding for CCTV or making them more aware of how to get staff training.…”

“I have also gone to town centres and spoken to lots of businesses on the high street in Dudley. People say that they do see a police officer, but, as soon as there is an incident, that police officer is now taken up by another one. Two of them have now gone. That might leave the whole entire day with no visible policin…”

“What is required? What is the vision? If this could be the gold standard, what would that be?”

“Are you resourced currently or do you think you will be?”

“Lisa, you just mentioned the neighbourhood policing guarantee and the safer streets mission. Is that enough to tackle high street retail crime?”

“We know from looking at the stats for Making Tax Digital that there is a high percentage of small businesses that are simply not using the new software and are still having to ring up. How do you see that being addressed? You are saying that there is still going to be a phone system, but it does not address those peopl…”

“Alice and Alison, can I get you to go to the original question? What specific barriers are there to complying with tax and how can we simplify it?”