Oral Answers to Questions

Peter Gibson Excerpts

Monday 8th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Richard Fuller (North East Bedfordshire) (Con)]

What assessment she has made of the effect of the removal of the requirement that kickstart applicants bid to deliver a minimum of 30 jobs on the accessibility of that scheme to a wider range of employers.

[Peter Gibson (Darlington) (Con)]

What assessment she has made of the effect of the removal of the requirement that kickstart applicants bid to deliver a minimum of 30 jobs on the accessibility of that scheme to a wider range of employers.

[Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (Con)]

What assessment she has made of the effect of the removal of the requirement that kickstart applicants bid to deliver a minimum of 30 jobs on the accessibility of that scheme to a wider range of employers.

--- Later in debate ---

[Dr Coffey]

My hon. Friend should be aware that we have account managers working in all parts of the country to take up this scheme. In particular, we continue to work with a wide range of organisations closely connected to SMEs, including chambers of commerce and the Federation of Small Businesses, to get the message out there and make it straightforward to apply. We should recognise that, due to eligibility criteria, not all direct applications may be successful, and the support of a gateway is likely to be beneficial. We are also enabling applications through the gateway plus model, which will particularly help sole traders, and we will continue to advertise that.

[Peter Gibson [V]]

I thank my right hon. Friend for her answer. I welcome the removal of the 30-person threshold, which will help even the smallest firm in my constituency. Since the launch of the kickstart scheme, our phenomenal Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen has been facilitating SMEs to access it, and he has helped 350 young people sign up. Will my right hon. Friend join me in commending Ben for the fantastic work he is doing to help young people in Darlington gain experience and employment?

[Dr Coffey]

I am very happy to agree with my hon. Friend that Ben Houchen is doing a fantastic job in his role as Mayor. In case people had not realised, as well as getting Treasury North in my hon. Friend’s constituency of Darlington—a project that I am sure my hon. Friend achieved with the Mayor—Ben Houchen is leading the way on making that difference to young people’s lives, which is really important. I have also seen it work well with Andy Street and, to be fair to other Mayors, I am confident that people like Steve Rotheram and others will continue to do so.