Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nickie Aiken and Greg Hands

Tuesday 16th November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Greg Hands]

Mr Speaker—[Interruption.] I will answer that question, because the Secretary of State is due to make a decision on the application by 21 January 2022, and the Secretary of State of course has a quasi-judicial role in determining this live planning application so it would not be appropriate to comment on specific matters regarding the proposals as that might be seen as prejudicing the decision-making process.

[Nickie Aiken (Cities of London and Westminster) (Con)]

T8.   May I first pay tribute to the BEIS ministerial team for its outstanding work during the pandemic to support businesses in central London, and particularly the Minister for London, my hon. Friend the Member for Sutton and Cheam (Paul Scully), who I know has worked tirelessly, and I thank him? What I am hearing now as we rebuild our economy is that businesses across the Cities of London and Westminster are seeing a real rise in vacancies, which is inhibiting their ability to repair their balance sheets and recover their cash reserves and has halted their ability to grow their businesses. We have got the jobs, where are the workers? What steps is the Minister for London taking to help businesses even further, particularly in the hospitality, retail and leisure sectors?