"Q Welcome, and thank you for being with us. Following on from your last comment, it would be a helpful start if you could indicate your particular interest in this legislation, to what extent you welcome it and what the concerns around it are.
"Q Thank you. You make a very powerful case for the ability to take action against these kinds of individuals. The question that follows on from that is: do you think the measures in the Bill are significant enough to have a material effect on the kind of individuals …..." Jeff Smith - View Speech
"Q What tools should the Government use to follow and recoup the money from the directors identified as culpable in these circumstances?
Andrew Agathangelou: I am quite a plain-speaking person, so forgive me, but I am about to be quite plain. The regulators need to enforce. There is evidence …..." Jeff Smith - View Speech
"Q Welcome, Kate. We are keen to get the view of business about how this legislation will affect businesses. Of course, UKHospitality will primarily be about hospitality businesses, but I am sure that you have supply chain businesses—and you will certainly be concerned with supply chain businesses that are …..." Jeff Smith - View Speech
"Q I suppose the question that follows on from that is this: if the discretionary grants have not really been swift and seamless, as you have said, for various reasons, what lessons can we learn in trying to put in a regime for the grants that go along with …..." Jeff Smith - View Speech
"Q In terms of the quantum of the figure—the £1.5 billion—do you have a view on whether that is sufficient? What kind of businesses ought to be prioritised in the guidance when it comes through?
Kate Nicholls: The businesses that need to be prioritised are those that have been …..." Jeff Smith - View Speech
"Q Finally, have you had any conversations with the Government about that mechanism and guidance? Are they taking soundings from hospitality businesses in particular about how that might work?
Kate Nicholls: Yes, they are. We are having conversations with the three main Departments that we work with—the Department for …..." Jeff Smith - View Speech
"Q Can I follow up on a specific question that follows from something you said earlier? I was interested to hear you say that the hospitality trading levels in London are 20% to 30% of what they would normally be, and in the rest of the country it is …..." Jeff Smith - View Speech
"It is a pleasure to respond on behalf of the Opposition to the Rating (Coronavirus) and Directors Disqualification (Dissolved Companies) Bill. It is a short Bill but one that will have important consequences for many businesses and individuals.
The Opposition recognise the rationale behind the Bill and we do not …..." Jeff Smith - View Speech
"It is now nearly two years since the Prime Minister announced the towns fund, yet 30 towns have only just received confirmation of what funding they will receive, 26 towns still have not received any response to their bid, and precious few projects that have been bid for have been …..." Jeff Smith - View Speech