Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 31 January 2017.
Rehman Chishti
Conservative, Gillingham and Rainham
12:00,
31 January 2017
What steps the Government are taking to support the growth in the number of SMEs in Kent and Medway.
Margot James
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy)
SMEs in Kent are fundamental to our economy, as they are everywhere else. Through local growth funds, the work of Kent County Council and the business operations of Kent and Medway, the Government will ensure that the area benefits hugely from the increased number of SMEs.
Rehman Chishti
Conservative, Gillingham and Rainham
In view of the Government’s commitment to investment in infrastructure, which will assist businesses in Kent and Medway, will the Minister confirm their commitment to the Lower Thames crossing, along with extra investment for Kent roads, which will provide connectivity for local businesses?
Margot James
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy)
The Department for Transport will make an announcement, but my hon. Friend should be reassured that Kent County Council and the relevant business organisations are working closely with my Department to ensure that there are extensive improvements in the transport infrastructure in his Constituency and the wider county.
John Bercow
Chair, Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, Speaker of the House of Commons, Chair, Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, Speaker of the House of Commons, Chair, Commons Reference Group on Representation and Inclusion Committee, Chair, Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, Chair, Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, Chair, Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, Chair, Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, Chair, Commons Reference Group on Representation and Inclusion Committee
I trust that the question will not be on the matter of Linlithgow, but will focus purely on Kent and Medway, in which I am sure the hon. Lady keenly specialises.
Hannah Bardell
Shadow SNP Westminster Group Leader (Business, Innovation and Skills)
You can be assured of that, Mr Speaker.
The SMEs in Kent and Medway need someone in government to fight their corner. In July 2015, they were promised a small business commissioner who would focus particularly on late payments. The Federation of Small Businesses and others have raised concerns about the lack of power that the commissioner will have, and the fact that 18 months after the position was created, there is no sign of a commissioner. Will the Minister tell SMEs in Kent and Medway, for which I have the greatest regard, and others throughout the country when the commissioner will be appointed, and whether he or she will have proper powers to ensure that companies that do not pay are taken to task?
Margot James
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy)
First, I can reassure the hon. Lady that Kent and Medway is ably championed by my hon. Friend Rehman Chishti, who asked the original question, but apropos her specific point, we are in the process of appointing the small business commissioner at the moment; he will be in post by the summer and able to take complaints on the important issue of prompt payment in the autumn of this year.
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