Part of Finance (No. 2) Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 11:30 am on 1 May 2014.
I have been working with small and medium-sized enterprises in my constituency and the surrounding area through the Industry and Parliament Trust programme. The concerns that my hon. Friend has outlined have been entirely reflected by companies, particularly those in the small and medium-sized bracket. The north-east of England is peculiar in relation to the UK economy, because so many businesses fall into that bracket. About 136,000 businesses are registered in the north-east of England, but only 1,000 have more than 1,000 employees. Therefore, we have a huge number of businesses in the small and medium-sized bracket, which reflect my hon. Friend’s concerns.