At Budget 2020, the Chancellor announced that the Government will remove the entitlement to use red diesel from most sectors from April 2022. This will help to ensure fairness between the different users of diesel fuels and that the tax system incentivises the development and adoption of greener alternative technologies.

The activities accepted as falling within the definition of agriculture, horticulture and forestry (and which will continue to be eligible to use rebated fuel from April 2022) are already defined in HMRC Excise Notice 75. HMRC have published interim guidance on the implementation of the changes to the tax treatment of rebated fuels, which is available at:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-rebated-fuels-entitlement-from-1-april-2022

To support the development of alternatives that affected businesses can switch to, the Government is at least doubling the funding provided for energy innovation through the £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio. From that portfolio, the Government announced the £40 million Red Diesel Replacement Competition, which will provide grant funding for projects that develop and demonstrate lower carbon, lower cost alternatives to red diesel for the construction, and mining and quarrying sectors.

The Department for International Trade provides financial support via three measures:

Firstly, UK Export Finance (UKEF), is expanding the broad range of insurance, guarantees and loans to better support the needs of UK exporters backed by HMG’s balance sheet of £2 billion risk appetite in Mongolia.

Secondly, the Internalisation Fund provides match-funded grants to qualifying companies up to £9,000 on a range of export and internationalism activities.

Thirdly, a pilot of the UK Tradeshow Programme will give UK companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, a leg-up to exhibit their products at large tradeshows. Some applicants will receive a grant of up to £4,000 to contribute towards eligible exhibition costs.

It is important not to wait until flooding happens, as we have heard, but to manage it actively. Organisations such as Living With Water in the constituency of the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle (Emma Hardy) have done very good things in proactively tackling flooding.

Again, I suggest that my hon. Friend the Member for Shrewsbury and Atcham (Daniel Kawczynski) works with DEFRA. I am happy to see what more I can do in that regard.

Insurers must treat customers fairly and firms are required to do so under the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) rules.

As insurance policies differ significantly, businesses are encouraged to check the terms and conditions of their specific policy and contact their providers. The individual policy wording generally sets out the basis on which the sum due to the policyholder following an insured event will be calculated. Insurers should therefore calculate claims payments due to the policyholder in accordance with the terms and conditions of the relevant policy.

We are closely monitoring the situation in South Africa. The FCDO continues to advise against all but essential travel to the whole of South Africa based on current COVID-19 risks. We have been regularly updating FCDO Travel Advice during the recent unrest and have publicised consular contact details on social media. Our consular staff are contactable 24/7 for British Nationals directly affected by the protests and needing help.

The UK is concerned by the outbreak of violence and looting in South Africa in recent days, which has sadly resulted in injuries, loss of life, and substantial damage to buildings and businesses. As a long-standing friend of South Africa, our High Commission in South Africa raises issues of concern with the South African authorities where necessary, in particular where UK nationals are involved. We encourage British Nationals to check our Travel Advice pages, which we are regularly updating. The UK welcomes the South African government's efforts to restore stability and President Ramaphosa's emphasis on the importance of the rule of law. We will continue to work with South Africa as it deals with this violence and its efforts to address current social and economic challenges.

The Department for International Trade (DIT) provides support for businesses to understand the changes in trade with the EU via its Transition Period Enquiry Unit. Members can direct their companies to this service here - https://www.great.gov.uk/transition-period/contact/.

DIT is also developing a refreshed Export Strategy to ensure firms can take advantage of new market opportunities through better support, better incentives, and a better business environment. DIT will raise the exporting culture of the UK, take advantage of our new independent trade policy, and target our market share in the world’s fastest growing economies.

A range of measures to support all businesses has been made available. These include the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, allowing businesses to benefit from loans of up to £5m, with the first 12 months of that finance interest free, and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to help keep people in employment. This scheme means businesses can put workers on temporary leave and the government will pay them cash grants of 80% of their wages up to a cap of £2,500, providing they keep the worker employed. They will receive the grant from HMRC, and all UK organisations can self-certify that it has furloughed employees. The scheme will cover the cost of wages backdated to March 1st.

I can confirm, as I have already mentioned, that the Derry/Londonderry and Strabane city deal discussions have begun, following my right hon. Friend

the Chancellor’s announcement, and I am sure that everybody here hopes they will progress speedily and successfully.

At the autumn Budget, the Chancellor announced £350 million for a Belfast city region deal to boost investment and productivity, and the opening of formal negotiations for a Derry/Londonderry and Strabane city region deal. Furthermore, late last year, I was delighted to announce a £700,000 investment in Randox, a County Antrim life sciences company. That investment, through the Government’s industrial strategy, should help create well-paid manufacturing jobs in Northern Ireland.

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We are seeing an enterprise revolution in our country again. There are 400,000 more businesses in existence today compared with 2010. The point he makes about small businesses and exports is particularly important. Currently, one in five of them exports. If we could turn that into one in four, we would wipe out our trade deficit. I absolutely support the excellent work that he does to call UKTI to account and to encourage it to do everything it can to back Britain’s entrepreneurs.

The Shrewsbury North West Relief Road would be a local road scheme for which Shropshire county council is responsible. As this is not a Highways Agency scheme it is not affected by any future plans for

the agency. Shropshire county council and the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership are responsible for planning this scheme and for bidding for any funding for it from the Local Growth Fund in 2014.

The Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin), met with the hon. Member, Shropshire county council and local business representatives on 15 October 2013, when the delegation outlined the scheme. The Secretary of State has subsequently written to the hon. Member setting out how local schemes such as the Shrewsbury North West Relief Road will be funded in the future via the Local Growth Fund.

As this is a local scheme the Department for Transport has made no assessment of this scheme.

In 2014-15, the Government is allocating £792 million to local highway authorities for highways maintenance through the Highways Maintenance Block and £450 million for small scale transport projects through the Integrated Transport (IT) block. From these funding streams Shropshire council will receive £13.2 million including the top up announced in the 2012 autumn statement for highways maintenance and £2.385 million for small scale transport projects.

Both IT Block and Highways Maintenance Block are allocated according to a needs-based formula and are not ring-fenced, allowing local authorities to spend their allocations according to their own priorities, It is therefore for Shropshire council to decide how it allocates its resources and which road improvement projects to support.

UKTI did not start to record the Trade Growth Value (TGV) metric until April 2013. However, 128 companies in Shropshire reported that they had received Significant Assistance from UKTI West Midlands International Trade Advisers as follows:

This figure includes a small number of mid-sized businesses and has been de-duplicated as some companies reported Significant Assistance in both periods.

Since UKTI West Midlands started recording Trade Growth Value figures in April 2013, three companies in Shropshire reported Significant Assistance, with a total TGV of £2.1 million.

UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) is not aware of any cases of Members of Parliament in Shropshire constituencies being contacted in order to help secure inward investment into Shropshire.

UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) and its partners work with a very wide range of foreign-based companies, investors, sovereign wealth funds and governments to attract inward investment into the UK. At any one time, UKTI and its partners may be engaged in discussions with several tens of thousands of organisations, a number of which will have regard to potential investment in Shropshire.

UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) does not hold data on investment wins for Shropshire county. However, at The Marches Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) level, which includes the unitary council areas of Herefordshire, Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin, inward investment was:

2012-13: Three projects, creating or safeguarding 154 jobs;

2011-12: Three projects, creating or safeguarding 89 jobs.

UKTI and its partners undertook those discussions with investors on the basis of commercial confidentiality.

UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) and its partners work with a very wide range of foreign-based companies, investors, sovereign wealth funds and governments to attract inward investment into the UK. This may include investment into Shropshire. These potential investors engage with UKTI on the basis of commercial confidentiality.

UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) has recently started to measure trade growth value. This measure was designed to record cases where an enterprise has progressed in its pursuit of overseas business opportunities to the point of successfully winning contracts. During financial year 2013-14 West Midlands small and medium-sized enterprises completed trade growth value (TGV) forms totalling £8.19 million from 25 companies.

There are no figures available prior to April 2013, when UKTI started recording TGV data; however there has been a significant increase in exports in the West Midlands in the last 18 months. Exports reached over £6.5 billion between 1 April and 30 June 2013, according to the export statistics published on 5 September 2013 by HM Revenue and Customs. Compared to the previous quarter, exports from the West Midlands increased by 6.5%, the highest growth of all English regions. Compared with the same quarter in 2012, the growth is 18%—equating to more than £1 billion more exports from the region.

The assistance provided to exporters by the UKTI team also involves help at earlier stages in this export development process. In the West Midlands in 2012/13 UKTI West Midlands supported 180 companies through our flagship Passport to Export programme and in 2013/14 to date has supported a further 182, with the aim of supporting 350 by the end of the year.

Different visit categories for visa purposes are outlined in the Immigration Rules. The business visit category outlines permitted activities for film crews, news media, academic and religious workers, consultants, trainers as well as listing permitted categories for general business purposes such as attending meetings or arranging deals.

Those who want to invest in the UK by setting up or taking over, and being actively involved in running of, a business or businesses may enter the UK by applying for tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa.

Student graduates may also apply for a tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) visa if they have outstanding business ideas that they wish to put into practice.

Other reasons for visits are also outlined in legislation. We have separate visa categories for:

Visiting friends/tourism

Student visa

Sportsperson

Entertainer

Marriage/Civil partnership

Medical treatment

Transiting the UK

Details of each category can be found on the UK Border Agency website at:

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas-immigration/visiting/