Oral Answers to Questions

Jim McMahon Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

My right hon. Friend is right to raise the much bigger challenge of how to get young people not only into an apprenticeship but past it, enabling their skills to develop. We are doing that in a number of different ways. The Government continue to speak with businesses and monitor the impact of the apprenticeship levy on the performance of young people. We are doing a lot to promote start-up businesses for young people through the British Business Bank, but we continue to need to seek ways to ensure that no young person is left behind.

[Jim McMahon (Oldham West and Royton) (Lab/Co-op)]

People are living longer, which is a good thing, but they need care in old age. In Oldham, health and social care is a growing industry, but at the moment it attracts the lowest band of the apprenticeship levy. I saw this week that the Department of Health and Social Care was advertising jobs at just above the minimum wage. Will the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy work with the Department of Health and Social Care to raise the value of those jobs?

[Andrea Leadsom]

The hon. Gentleman raises a really important point. We want to see young people being attracted to apprenticeships right across the range, and he is right to raise the importance of getting good-quality people into the social care system. I would be delighted to speak with him and others who are interested in that area of future employment.

Crown Post Offices: Franchising

Jim McMahon Excerpts

Thursday 10th January 2019 Westminster Hall

[Jim McMahon (Oldham West and Royton) (Lab/Co-op)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Graham. You will get the idea that today, tempers are fraught and passions are running high. There is genuine concern about the impact of these policies on our communities, which are met with a Government who are stubbornly pursuing a course of action that has no support. You would be forgiven for believing that you are still chairing the 1922 Committee, but no: this is a debate on post offices, with MPs who are genuinely concerned about the impact of these changes on the fabric of our communities and the future of our high streets. We can dismiss post offices as places where people go just to post a letter or send or collect a parcel, but they are more than that: they are the community. They are part of our collective identity, secure a sense of belonging, and are also important to our sense of place. They are critical to the fabric of our community.

Oldham has seen more than its fair share of changes, and more than its fair share of taking the burden of modernisation and austerity. It has seen every single one of its day care centres and every single one of its council-run youth centres closed. It has seen thousands of staff sacked from the local authority. It has seen its police stations in Chadderton, Royton and Hollinwood closed; it has seen every single custody cell in a town of 250,000 people closed. It has seen the magistrates court closed; it has seen the county court closed. It has seen the taxpayer-supported Royal Bank of Scotland close every single branch in a community of 250,000 people, and when RBS decided to close its high street bank, what did it say? It said, “Part of our consideration is how close our existing branch network is to the post office network, because that will provide an alternative banking function for the local community.”

In these types of consultations, the organisation contacts the MP for the constituency where the branch is based. Ironically, however, Ward Street, where Oldham post office and the Royal Bank of Scotland sit, is on the boundary between Oldham West and Oldham East. My hon. Friend the Member for Oldham East and Saddleworth (Debbie Abrahams) was contacted and consulted about the closure of the Royal Bank of Scotland branch, and I was consulted about the closure of the post office across the road, but never the two shall meet. There was no consideration of the impact that the Royal Bank of Scotland closing would have on the post office, and the Post Office gave no consideration to the impact on the high street and local community of the closure and relocation that it was proposing. That post office has just undergone a significant modernisation programme, with far more self-service facilities to free up staff time and so provide for a wide range of services that will not be transferred to the WHSmith branch in Oldham’s Spindles shopping centre. That is important—the branch is heavily used. We have not been given the exact usage numbers, but the Post Office admits that the Oldham branch is one of the largest and most heavily used branches in the north-west. That branch is extremely valued by the community.

Critically, the branch is located on one of our main streets, where buses drop people off. There are 62 drop-offs every hour on that road outside the post office. Interestingly, just beyond it is one of the steepest inclines in Oldham, which is quite a steep town anyway—anyone who has been there knows that it is a big hill with a town plonked on the top of it. That is the steepest incline down to the shopping centre, so to get from the string of bus stops to the shopping centre where WHSmith is located, elderly people and those with limited mobility will have to go down one of the steepest inclines in Oldham. At the moment, they can park in the loading bay, or on the yellow lines if they have a blue badge, and pop straight in without any problem. They cannot do that in the shopping centre: a blue-badge holder visiting Oldham shopping centre pays the full price, the same as every other car park user. Straightaway, people who rely on transport and their blue badge to use a post office will be hit with a charge that they currently do not have to pay, just for using that essential facility.

Oldham has a far wider range of services than neighbouring Rochdale town centre, where the beautiful, stunning Crown post office was closed with the promise that one would reopen in future. We are now years on and the replacement has not followed. In Ashton-under-Lyne next door, the Crown post office, in a beautiful Victorian building, was closed and then relocated to WHSmith in the shopping centre. Many of the services provided in Oldham are not provided in our neighbouring towns, so Oldham provides services for nearly 700,000 residents who need, for instance, to use a biometric enrolment service. If a non-EU national needs a residence permit or a permit to work, they have to go and use the biometric enrolment service there. If they do not use the current post office facilities—I understand the contract has been let out elsewhere—the nearest venue to go to from Oldham is Sheffield. How does that make sense when we are just about—potentially; who knows?—to leave the European Union and we do not know what immigration arrangements will be in place and what permits might be needed in future.

The idea of downgrading and changing the service is an absolute nonsense. Even now, particularly in Oldham, where we have a large Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Indian community, a very heavily used service will be taken away from local people and will be transferred.

What about the Care Quality Commission ID services? If someone working in the health and social care industry needs their ID checked to make sure that they are fit to work, they have to go to the post office to get it checked. If that service is not transferred from Oldham into WHSmith, people will have to go to Gorton or to Harpurhey, and there is not a single direct bus route to either of those places.

What about CRB checks if someone wants to work with young people? Teachers and youth workers have to get their ID checked. The service is currently provided in Oldham’s Crown post office, but is not provided in neighbouring Rochdale or Ashton town centres. The idea of downgrading those services for such a large body of the population is an absolute nonsense that shows the lack of co-ordination across Government. Has any consultation taken place with a Home Office Minister on the contractual change for the biometric enrolment service? Has any conversation taken place with the Department of Health and Social Care on the changes to the CQC ID services and the CRB check services if they are not transferred to WHSmith? Financial services, ID checking and current and credit card accounts are currently provided in Oldham, but not in neighbouring Rochdale or Ashton town centre, but they have the potential to be lost during the move, too.

We hit the ground running with the campaign in Oldham and started an online petition. Between our street petition that started in December and the online petition, we have about 2,500 signatures of local people. The hallmark of every one of the conversations that took place concerns how baffled people are that the move is even being proposed. People have been told that all the closures and the downgrading of the high street is because of austerity. They have been told how difficult it is for retail and how everyone needs to take their fair share of austerity and that is why they are losing all these other public services. People have been told that and for quite a long time they accepted that that is just the way it is—times are very difficult and that is the impact. Not a single person can explain why the move makes sense. It makes no sense to the community and the people who use the post office. It makes no sense for the high street to lose a vital anchor to support that part of the town centre and our Market Hall and the traders who operate there.

What about the fabric of our community? We have heard many fantastic contributions about the social role that a post office plays apart from the commercial transactions that are provided. When we hear people defending the modernisation programme—I use “modernisation” loosely—they say, “Things have to change. Things will never stay the way they are. You have to keep up with a changing world.” The post office modernisation programme is a good example of how it has tried to keep up with demand. The number of branches in the 1980s was 22,000. It is now down to 11,000, so we have lost half the network over the past 30 years. That is modernisation—if you like closing stuff—but it has taken on a far wider range of services, trying to be more commercial and trying to attract footfall in its premises. By and large, it has done a reasonable job and the community has benefited.

The Crown post offices have shouldered the burden. When we look at the closures across all the post offices, agency post offices are down by 9%, but Crown post offices are down by 29%. We have lost a third of our Crown post office network as a result of successive closures, but still the public pay into the post office network as a vital public facility. What is the deal? There was no public payback with the Royal Bank of Scotland. Taxpayers bailed out the bankers, and what thanks did they get? They walked away from every one of our towns, cities and high streets. What is the payback for the taxpayer with the post office network? What is the community dividend for the investment that we collectively make in essential public services? It cannot be a repeat of the Royal Bank of Scotland’s “to hell with the community, turn your back on the community”, simply because the Minister would not take responsibility and says, “This is just all commercial.” Such decisions are not commercial when generations of facilities that have been built up to provide that infrastructure in our community will be gone and can never be replaced.

Finally, I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Wigan (Lisa Nandy) on securing this debate. She has seen the passion in the room today. I also congratulate the CWU trade union for the work that it does in leading the charge against the changes. The Minister has an opportunity. She is a young new Minister looking to set out on her ministerial career and to make her mark. Let everything that we have learnt over the past two to two and a half years be a lesson for everybody. If we pursue stubbornly a narrow direction that does not have support, ignoring what those with concerns say, we will end up in a cul-de-sac and people will be marked by that. I do not believe the Minister wants that mark on her reputation. I believe she wants a reputation as a Minister who understands that we are all here to represent our communities and to listen and to act on the legitimate concerns raised. Let that be her ministerial reputation and not one of stubbornness and closed-mindedness.

[Several hon. Members rose—]

--- Later in debate ---

[Kelly Tolhurst]

What is definitely Government policy is to make sure that we have a network of post offices that offer a wide range of services to our constituents, and that that is sustainable into the future. Franchising is not a closure programme. It is a way to secure better sustainability for the future of our post offices, and it is a good thing that Post Office is working with high street retailers to recognise that.

The performance of the Post Office over the past decade shows that the network is at its most stable in a generation. Between 2010 and 2018 we provided nearly £2 billion to maintain and invest in the national network of at least 11,500 post offices.

[Jim McMahon]

I thank the Minister for her comprehensive response so far, but it would be good to get confirmation that this will move on, because we cannot keep having these debates every few months. Does she realise that the outreach service counts each and every stop that a mobile post office makes as a branch? A single vehicle travelling to a village for half a day each week or every two weeks would class each stop as a branch, which is where the figure of 11,500 branches comes from.

[Kelly Tolhurst]

I recognise some of the concerns about mobile branches that the hon. Gentleman raises. I can assure him that I am moving on to it, and obviously I have had the opportunity to listen to hon. Members this afternoon. I am sure hon. Members will agree that we do not want to go back to the days when we saw over 7,000 post offices shut, as was unfortunately the case under the previous Labour Government.

The post offices meet and exceed all the Government’s accessibility targets at the national level. Government investment in the network enabled the modernisation of more than 7,500 branches, adding more than 200,000 opening hours per week and establishing the Post Office as the largest Sunday trading network.

The Post Office’s agreement with high street banks enables personal and business banking in all branches, providing vital access to cash and banking services to consumers, businesses and local economies as bank branches continue to close. It is right to say that the agreement held with the Post Office and banks benefits our communities, which, as the Minister responsible I have made very clear to Post Office Ltd, to my colleagues in the Treasury and to the financial institutions that I have spoken to. The Post Office is providing a vital service to our constituents, and it should be remunerated for that—in doing so, hopefully that will ensure that our postmasters are also remunerated correctly for the service they provide to our constituents.

--- Later in debate ---

[Kelly Tolhurst]

Absolutely, but that has not been done prior to today. We will take those things forward. I have met other Members about other issues in their constituencies.

It is right that the Post Office is commercially independent, because that enables us, as the major shareholder, to hold it to account at a ministerial level, and I am always happy to do that. I assure the hon. Lady that the proposed changes would add six hours a week to the Wigan branch’s opening times. She is correct—this goes back to an earlier point—that the ATM will not transfer over to the new site, so I understand her concerns about her constituents relating to that service, which would change in that situation.

[Jim McMahon]

Post offices are not the same from one street to the next; branches provide very different services. If these are not closures but relocations, is the Minister saying that the services provided by the post offices today will be entirely transferred across to WHSmith, and that there will be no loss of service?

[Kelly Tolhurst]

The programme of franchising is moving Crown postal services. Our objective is to ensure that, when the post offices are moved, they deliver better services and that constituents have better access to them. Part of the franchising programme is about ensuring we have a post office network for today, which suits the modern retail environment and consumers’ changing habits.

Budget Resolutions

Jim McMahon Excerpts

Wednesday 31st October 2018 Commons Chamber

[Jim McMahon (Oldham West and Royton) (Lab/Co-op)]

I would say that it is a pleasure to speak in this debate, but it clearly is not. This is a horrendous time for many people in this country. They were told that the people with the broadest shoulders would bear the biggest burden of austerity, and that proved to be completely untrue. They were told that the situation would be temporary while the Tories rebuilt the economy and created the jobs of the future and that those jobs would be available to hard-working people. That turned out to be untrue, too. Then we were told that austerity was over. The Budget has shown in black and white that that is simply not true.

There is a human cost. It is natural in these situations to look at the facts, the figures and the data. But just think about the human, lived experience in every one of our communities—of people doing exactly what the Government have asked them to do. They are working hard, often in two or three jobs and often for more than 40 hours a week. They are struggling with childcare and to put food on the table. They do it because they have the pride of work.

We might say that, given the exploitation taking place in which people are not given full-time work, even though it is available from the employer, those people ought not have pride in their work—their terms and conditions have been eroded or they are being paid the minimum wage because employers know they will get away with it—but people do have pride. People in my town of Oldham came from all over the world to work hard and set up a new life for themselves and their families. They are industrious and take pride in their work and effort. But the promise of fair pay for a fair day’s work is just not true for too many people.

When the mills were thriving, we developed manufacturing and engineering. The jobs in aerospace, making high-end machinery that changed the face of the world, did not just provide quality goods that changed the world; they provided a sense of purpose. The things that people produced in towns such as Oldham helped set the industrial revolution off and set this country where it needed to be. But those very same communities have been left abandoned.

What has followed that industrialisation? The decent jobs have been replaced with warehousing and distribution jobs—the same jobs that Amazon and the like are replacing with automation. Take Shop Direct in my community: it employs 2,000 people in warehousing and distribution. Some of them have 40 years’ service; it used to be Littlewoods and Great Universal Stores. They had a long history in Greater Manchester: 40 years’ service—husbands and wives working together all their working lives. That operation is closing, to be relocated 80 miles away at an automated plant.

We know that progress is inevitable and that automation would make this country more productive, and the workforce know that, too. They do not have their heads in the sand—they work in the industry on a daily basis and know exactly what changes are taking place—but what they cannot understand is why their tax-haven owners are closing the local facility and not even giving the community the chance to put in an offer of a site in that community for a new facility. Where is the fairness in that?

We talk about fair taxation. This digital sales tax being proposed is an absolute con. For too long, the tech giants have got away with not paying their fair amount of tax, while our high streets, our city centres and our town centres have been left to go to their knees. In many regions, we have lost a quarter of our retail space. That has a real consequence for how people feel about their communities. When they look at their town, it is a test for what the future holds for their place and their community. When they see the shutters down and the boards on the windows, it says a lot about the faith the Government have in it. At the same time, where money is being generated in the economy, the Government are completely useless in capturing it to invest in decent public services.

The people in this country believe in fairness and fair play. They understand there are choices and they understand that sometimes they are difficult choices. What they will never understand is how they work hard, work long hours and work still with pride, yet the people taking money out of their community are not paying their fair share to pay for decent public services. That is not for themselves. People are not selfish. People look at their children and their grandchildren, and they look at the funding that has been taken away from our schools. That is when they question what the future is and whether it is all worth it. If the Government do not do something quick to give people back the hope they need, I really fear for the future of this country.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jim McMahon Excerpts

Tuesday 16th October 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I think we will have one more. I call Jim McMahon.

[Jim McMahon (Oldham West and Royton) (Lab/Co-op)]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I have been desperately trying to catch your eye. We have had a number of comments on post office relocations and closures. Will the Minister make it absolutely clear that relocating a post office to WHSmith does not save the services within it? Many have been massively downgraded at the point to which they have been relocated.

[Kelly Tolhurst]

As I have already outlined, we are committed to delivering a postal network that services the needs of our communities. If the hon. Gentleman has concerns relating to particular post offices, will he please contact me?

Shop Direct (Greater Manchester)

Jim McMahon Excerpts

Tuesday 1st May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Debbie Abrahams]

Absolutely; I could not agree more.

Shop Direct was created from the merger of the mail order and retail companies Littlewoods and Great Universal Stores, and the sites affected in Shaw, Little Hulton and Raven are the last remaining fulfilment sites in the north-west region. The company has been providing employment for families in Greater Manchester for many decades, and these sites have different generations of the same families working there. The impact of closures will be huge on hundreds of families, as well as local businesses and local communities.

This decision should in no way be seen as a reflection on the workforce’s capability or dedication. The professionalism and commitment of Shop Direct employees has been second to none. After years of dedication and commitment, many workers have been left reeling by this decision. I have received correspondence, including from one constituent who has worked for the company for more than 20 years, who said:

“I am aghast at how the workforce has been treated.”

I also understand that because of shift patterns, some staff received word of the closure by text message—just imagine how they felt.

[Jim McMahon (Oldham West and Royton) (Lab/Co-op)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this important debate and on the sterling work she has done to co-ordinate our collective response to this issue. Many people have worked for Shop Direct over many generations, right from the early days of Littlewoods, some with 30 or 40 years of service. What really hurts people and offends me is just how little consideration Shop Direct has given to that loyalty. When the decision was made to relocate to the east midlands, it did not care a jot about the people who had given their lives to build up that company and make it profitable. They were cast aside. Does she agree that that is not the face of good business practice?

[Debbie Abrahams]

Absolutely; my hon. Friend has hit the nail on the head. This is a thriving business, and the callous disregard with which the workers have been treated is absolutely shameful. My hon. Friend the Member for Heywood and Middleton pointed to the fact that this business was named employer of the year. How can it be?

The decision is especially worrying because Shop Direct is not in financial trouble. It reported an increase in underlying profits before tax of 10.2% to £160.4 million last year. It has seen sales growth increasing over five consecutive years. The decisions it has made are purely commercial. The proposed site in the east midlands will employ fewer staff as Shop Direct moves towards increased automation. Given that automation is likely to offer commercial opportunities but also huge challenges for the UK labour market as a whole, the experience of Shop Direct workers has a wider impact on the UK labour market as a whole.

I am grateful to the Business Secretary for meeting me earlier today, but I will be seeking urgent action from the Minister in recognition of the support needed by Shop Direct workers in Oldham and Little Hulton and by workers across the country whose jobs may also be under threat as a result of automation.

Since the announcement, I have met the leader of Oldham Council and the USDAW union representatives for Shop Direct, alongside my hon. Friend the Member for Oldham West and Royton. I have also spoken to and subsequently met Shop Direct directors at a meeting convened by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, together with my hon. Friend the Member for Worsley and Eccles South, council leaders, the Salford Mayor, Department for Work and Pensions and Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy representatives and USDAW representatives, where we tried to seek a way forward.

It was essential to bring together around the table all the parties affected by Shop Direct’s proposed relocation to the east midlands so that it could hear directly from us our huge concerns about the move. At the meeting, Oldham Council tabled alternative proposals for a site of a similar size, accompanied by a favourable business package, at Broadgreen Park, Chadderton. Very disappointingly, however, this was rejected, and there was no willingness from Shop Direct to engage on alternative proposals in Greater Manchester.

Given that the Shop Direct executives appeared to have made their decision, my colleagues and I then pushed them to describe what specific training and support they would provide for the workforce over the next two years—including their communications strategy, given the poor communication to date—while in particular looking at options for the Raven Mill site as a specialist returns centre.

The Mayor put forward a proposal at the meeting to establish a taskforce, led by Greater Manchester’s Growth Company, which was agreed by all parties, including both Shop Direct and the Department for Work and Pensions. I understand that the first officers meeting of the taskforce was held yesterday, and I am awaiting feedback from it.

Working closely with USDAW, we will be holding the company to their legal obligations to engage in a meaningful consultation. The consultation started formally today, and the union has clearly stated that its test of whether it is meaningful is that Shop Direct should fully explore any options for relocating to a nearby site, as staff, through their trade union, are entitled to a say in the future of the business. The company has said in a statement that it will

“be partnering with local and national organisations to provide our colleagues with tailored advice and training, including career skills, access to financial planning and vocational courses to support re-training. It’s also our plan to offer apprenticeships in in-demand skills across our existing operational sites.”

I am grateful for the response to my letter to the Prime Minister which I received last night not from this Business Minister but from another one—the Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the hon. Member for Watford (Richard Harrington)—but it only goes so far. What specific discussions has the Minister had with colleagues in the DWP and elsewhere on support, quality training and reskilling for the Shop Direct Greater Manchester workforce over the next two years?

--- Later in debate ---

[The Minister for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation (Mr Sam Gyimah)]

I congratulate the hon. Member for Oldham East and Saddleworth (Debbie Abrahams) on securing this important debate, which follows the announcement on 11 April by Shop Direct Ltd that it would be closing three of its sites in the north-west of England, in Shaw, Little Hulton and Raven Mill, and consolidating its distribution operations in the east midlands gateway. I would also like to thank her for writing to the Prime Minister on this issue. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has responded and met the hon. Lady earlier today to discuss this issue.

I appreciate that this is a worrying time for employees of Shop Direct Ltd and their families. I have listened to the contributions made here today and recognise that colleagues on both sides of the House are understandably concerned about the impact of the closures. Shop Direct Ltd is in formal consultation with the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers and, subject to this consultation, expects to offer an enhanced redundancy package, along with tailored support to all affected colleagues. As the exit process is not expected to start until mid-2020, there is an opportunity for Shop Direct Ltd to provide that individualised support. This will include training, career skills, access to financial planning and vocational courses to support retraining. I also understand that a local taskforce has been established, led by the Manchester Growth Company, and will include representatives of affected areas.

I am sure the hon. Lady can appreciate that I am unable to comment on commercial decisions made by the company and that it would not be appropriate for me to do so throughout the consultation period.

[Jim McMahon]

I accept that the Minister cannot comment on the commercial decisions taken by Shop Direct, but can he confirm whether it has been given any inducements to move to the east midlands, such as business rate benefits or relocation grants?

[Mr Gyimah]

That is a very important question. I am not aware of any inducements given to Shop Direct to move to the east midlands. I am sure the hon. Gentleman raised this issue in his discussions with the Secretary of State.

For companies to remain viable, and to keep in step with the modern competitive market, difficult decisions sometimes need to be taken. However, I recognise that this does not make the situation that some employees face any less troubling. I can reassure the House that the Government have measures in place for such situations. I will now turn to the protections in place for employees facing redundancy and the support available at such a difficult time.

The law is clear that organisations are required to consult with employee representatives about proposed collective redundancies where at least 20 employees are at risk at one establishment within the same 90-day period. Employers are required to provide specified information to representatives, or directly to affected employees if representatives have not been appointed. The consultation should include ways to avoid redundancy or dismissals, or to reduce the number of dismissals involved to mitigate the effects. Any employees who feel their rights have been denied may complain to an employment tribunal, which may make a protective award to the affected employees of up to 90 days’ pay.

Our priority is helping those who are affected to find new employment through the Jobcentre Plus rapid response service or to retrain if necessary. Rapid response service support is delivered in partnership with a range of national and local partners, including Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and local service providers. DWP and Jobcentre Plus will also work with the company to understand the level of employee support required. Just to reassure the House, typical support includes matching people to known local job vacancies, helping them to construct or improve their CVs and providing general information about benefits and how to make a claim.

[Mr Gyimah]

The hon. Lady makes a good point about having some flexibility on when people get their redundancy, especially if they find new opportunities. That has been noted and the relevant Minister will get back to her about how we can raise that with the company. It is a relevant point. The support that I mentioned is available to all those who are affected by potential job losses and goes beyond direct employees of the business to those such as self-employed subcontractors and individuals working for suppliers affected by the outcome of such structural changes.

The hon. Member for Oldham East and Saddleworth asked generally about what is happening in the retail sector. We can all agree that the retail sector has a vital role to play in the local community and the national economy. The Government work with retailers to understand their needs and we have acted to support the sector. In March, we announced the Retail Sector Council as part of our industrial strategy. Its first meeting has taken place and through the council, the Government and industry are working together to contribute to the sector’s future direction to boost productivity and economic health. Council members will review the best way that retailers can adapt to changing consumer behaviour and trends. They will also look at new technology opportunities such as those that will improve customer service and the chance to grow skills through a sector push on high-value training.

The Government recognise the importance of our high street, and since 2010, we have given over £18 million to towns, funding successful initiatives such as the Great British High Street. In the autumn Budget 2017, we announced measures worth more than £2.3 billion over five years to cut business rates. This includes bringing forward the planned switch in the indexation of business rates from the retail prices index to the consumer prices index by two years to 2018. That will benefit retailers, as well as other businesses.

[Jim McMahon]

While we are on the business rates point, is the Minister aware that the two sites in Oldham together have rateable values of £1.3 million? Of course, Oldham is one of the business rates pilot authorities. If we do not find an alternative employer to take those premises, that will have a direct impact on the council’s budget. In context, that would be the whole of the council’s youth service budget gone.

[Mr Gyimah]

These are all very important points, but as I said, businesses make commercial decisions driven by their own commercial interest. The Government’s responsibility is to support the employees, find new work and to support the local community as it transitions through this period.

Let me come to some of the other points made by the hon. Member for Oldham East and Saddleworth. The broader question of automation was raised. Of course, we recognise the workplace challenges as well as the potential opportunities. Matthew Taylor stated in his review of modern working practices that history has shown that technological advancements and the automation of individual tasks can lead to job creation. In our response to his review, we set out our Good Work plan to ensure that the labour market is resilient enough to respond to the changes that automation may bring.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jim McMahon Excerpts

Tuesday 12th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

I do agree with my hon. Friend. I congratulate the London Taxi Company on having the first electric taxi, manufactured in the west midlands, on the streets of London this very week—again, a big vote of confidence in our world-beating motor industry.

[Jim McMahon (Oldham West and Royton) (Lab/Co-op)]

Access to finance is critical for small businesses, but the protection in place when things go wrong is non-existent. Do the Government agree, and will they look at extending the role and remit of the Financial Conduct Authority in that regard?

[Margot James]

I am meeting the chief executive of the FCA before Christmas, and I will be raising the issue of unregulated small business lending, which the hon. Gentleman mentions.

Taylor Review: Working Practices

Jim McMahon Excerpts

Tuesday 11th July 2017 Commons Chamber

[Margot James]

The hon. Gentleman makes good points about volunteering and the framework that governs it, and I hope that he will make them during our consultation.

[Jim McMahon (Oldham West and Royton) (Lab/Co-op)]

I want to ask the Minister two quick questions. First, on the extension of workforce protections, will that include secondary contractors? For instance, if one person in a team of three or four is the main contractor, will dependent contractor status be extended to other people in the team? Secondly, while being a dependent contractor might provide a minor uplift for people who are self-employed, does the Minister agree that some employers will see this as an opportunity to downgrade people with employment protection to the status of dependent contractor against their will?

[Margot James]

The hon. Gentleman raises a number of issues. There is no intention to downgrade anybody’s rights. We want to be in a position to safeguard people’s rights and, when possible, improve them—we certainly do not want to downgrade them. I am sure that he will put his detailed observations into our consultation.