Gareth Thomas
MP for Harrow West · Labour (Co-op) · United Kingdom
“Local councils such as Harrow need to invest more in youth facilities that divert young people away from crime. Some of the CCTV projects in my constituency that Harrow council has turned down—in Wealdstone, south Harrow and central Harrow—should get funding.”
“I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Pendle and Clitheroe (Jonathan Hinder) on securing the debate and on the way in which he approached the subject. I join him and my hon.”
“I also want to suggest that the Metropolitan police does not get recognition across the whole of the UK for its hugely important work in tackling national and international crime, and that perhaps more recognition of that is required in the funding formula.”
“In particular, in Harrow, we recently saw enforcement teams contracted out to an organisation called Kingdom. The responsibility for that contract was with Harrow council. There was widespread criticism of the way some of the staff employed by Kingdom tried to levy fines on a number of young people in south Harrow, in my constituency.”
“One way we can further support the Metropolitan police is by allowing it to keep more of the proceeds from successful operations, such as recovering stolen funds hidden in bitcoin assets. I congratulate my hon.”
“Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has done a huge amount to try to redirect funding from other parts of his budget to minimise the impact of that cut.”
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“For example, the invest in women taskforce has successfully raised a £255 million fund from its members to invest in women entrepreneurs. This private sector-led, Government-backed initiative has been effective in part because it is voluntary and not constrained by moving at the speed of the slowest.”
“Lady will understand that I am, sadly, not the only Minister that has to be sympathetic to her case. I will certainly draw the attention of other colleagues in Government to the points she has made. Taking her example of the investing in women code, that is growing year on year. The hon. Lady noted that signatories already accounted for some 47% of venture capital deals. When this year’s report is published, she will find that that figure has grown further. I have asked my officials to ensure that the hon. Lady gets an advanced copy. The power of a voluntary code or a pledge, such as the women in finance charter, is that it signals a shared commitment. Membership of a compulsory scheme perhaps merely signals compliance.”
“Lady cites on first-time equity deals, with the number of deals for all-ethnic minority teams rising from 5% in 2013 to 10% in 2022. I share her concerns about the unequal distribution across different ethnic minority communities and agree that there is certainly more to be done, as I have previously alluded to. I was disappointed to hear about the very unfortunate experience of the hon. Lady’s constituent in applying for investment from the Greater London investment fund. We have said that progress is happening but is insufficient. What more can we then do? The hon. Lady made a very eloquent case for compulsory data gathering and membership of industry codes. I will certainly reflect on the arguments that she makes on each of the different points that she raised. The hon.”
“The numbers at more senior levels have risen since the last survey and the trend is going in the right direction. But, as the hon. Member for Richmond Park rightly said, there is still more progress needed. The final point I found striking was the representation of different ethnic groups. Within that 18% total, 11% were from an Asian background, while just 2% identified as African or Caribbean. For a black entrepreneur seeking investment, that 2% is perhaps the most relevant figure. As I am sure the hon. Lady and other hon. Members would agree, it is the individual experience that matters. Each individual has their own identity, which the term “ethnic minority” does not fully capture. When it comes to levels of venture capital itself, I welcome the data that the hon.”
“The encouraging headline is that 18% of investment professionals in the study are from an ethnic minority background, reflecting the UK population as a whole, and one third of that cohort are women. That matters because the most significant predictor of backing diverse entrepreneurs is the diversity of the decision makers themselves. One argument made is that the 18% overall figure masks a concentration in more junior roles, and there is some truth in that criticism. It takes time to progress to a decision-making position on the investment committee, so one would hope and expect that that disparity lessens as overall numbers improve. It is less pronounced than I expected. The study found that the proportion of ethnic minority staff was 25% in more junior roles, 19% at mid-level and 16% on the investment committee.”
“The BVCA study, to which Meghan was referring, is a good example of the progress that has been made, but, as a result, it underlines how far we still have to go. That 2025 report on diversity in UK private equity and venture capital covers 370 firms and over 14,000 employees, which is a significant proportion of the industry. It differentiates between roles, such as membership of investment committees, which take the key investment decisions, and junior or middle-ranking posts. The hon. Member for Richmond Park cited an earlier report from the British Business Bank in her speech. That more recent report focuses on the VC sector itself. I will share some of the most striking findings.”
“We know there is more to do in this space, which is one reason why, last month, we launched a call for evidence on access to finance, to look at a range of issues facing small businesses in their access to finance. As part of that, we are considering particular challenges for ethnic minority business owners and other groups that I have referenced. Preparing for today’s debate, I was struck by the quote from Meghan Stevenson-Krausz, the joint CEO of Diversity VC, summarising the latest findings from the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association. She said, “Progress? Absolutely. Enough? Not even close.” That is an excellent summary of the position and reflects the collective sense of urgency right across the VC industry, which I welcome.”
“Member for Richmond Park and other members of the APPG for ethnic minority business owners at the King’s awards for enterprise reception in April, recognising current holders of the King’s award and encouraging more ethnic minority business owners to apply. There were some really inspiring stories from some of the ethnic minority business owners there who had won the King’s award. I welcome the work of the APPG in encouraging other ethnic minority business owners to apply for the award. We do not do enough in this country to encourage and celebrate entrepreneurship among a range of under-represented groups, be it ethnic minority owners, on which the hon. Lady has rightly concentrated, or disabled entrepreneurs, women-led businesses or businesses led by veterans.”
“I will begin in the usual way by congratulating the hon. Member for Richmond Park (Sarah Olney) on securing this debate. I also acknowledge the contribution of the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), who seems to represent the whole of Northern Ireland in Westminster Hall. The hon. Member for Richmond Park rightly referenced the impressive work of Diana Chrouch, as the secretariat for the all-party parliamentary group for ethnic minority business owners. I am grateful to her for the challenge that she poses to Government on this issue. Perhaps unusually for a Minister, I hope that she will continue to challenge us in this space. She is absolutely right to say that although there has been some progress, we need to do an awful lot more. It was a pleasure to join the hon.”
“We will continue collaborating with NatWest, Professor Monder Ram and the all-party group for ethnic minority business owners and others to advance this agenda. I return to the summary from Diversity VC: “Progress? Absolutely. Enough? Not even close.” I welcome the constructive challenge that the hon. Member for Richmond Park posed of Government policies, and I share her sense of urgency on this issue. Through our industrial strategy and small business strategy, and partnerships with the private sector, we will seek to accelerate progress so that all entrepreneurs have a fair chance to secure the investment they seek to unlock the potential of their businesses. Question put and agreed to.”
“I urge all Members to point ethnic minority-led businesses in their constituencies to the resources available to them—particularly to start-up loans if the business is less than three years old, which are run through the British Business Bank, the CDFI that serves their local area, and more generally to the range of online information available from the British Business Bank. The small business strategy, which the Government are working on, will begin to address the information gap and enhance our business support offer later this year. In the meantime, my Department has participated in events such as the UK Black Business Show, and we will join Founderfest 2025 to support entrepreneurs.”
“In 2023, 24% of CDFIs’ business lending went to ethnic minority-led businesses and 41% went to women-led businesses. Similarly, the British Business Bank offers start-up loans for new businesses, of which 21% have gone to ethnic minority entrepreneurs and 40% to women. Information is a key enabler to closing the finance gap. The British Business Bank research that I referred to earlier found that under-represented entrepreneurs are, overall, less confident about obtaining information on the different finance types and providers available.”
“There are obviously similarities between our discussion here today around the needs of ethnic minority business owners and the needs of disabled entrepreneurs. For example, we know from research published by the British Business Bank that ethnic minority-led businesses are not as likely to be using external finance as white-led businesses. There is no lack of demand, but what ethnic minority-led businesses are pointing out to us is that when they apply for bank loans they are significantly more likely to be turned down, at 49% compared to 32% for white-led businesses. That appears to reflect differences in credit ratings, which suggests that that form of assessment may be insufficient. That view is supported by the fact that community development finance institutions, which are relationship-based, perform much better.”
“Members will see the issues of access to finance for under-represented groups addressed in the Government’s small business strategy, which we aim to publish later this year. Just yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the launch of the Lilac review here in Parliament. Its report considers the experience of disabled entrepreneurs and how investors and the financial services sector can better meet their needs. I take this opportunity to pay tribute to Michelle Ovens and Small Business Britain for their work in driving that review. It was a genuine pleasure to co-chair the review and in a similar way to this, many of the issues that came up around access to finance in that work generate significant questions for Government that we will seek to address in the months ahead.”
“As a Government committed to growth, that is a huge win for the UK if we can do more to unlock that potential. My Department plans to become an implementation partner for Time to Change, joining organisations such as the West Midlands combined authority and Be the Business. We will be working in partnership with Professor Ram’s centre to implement the recommendations of the report. I can tell the hon. Member for Richmond Park that by happy happenstance, I will visit Professor Ram at Aston University later this week. To shift the dial, there has to be a shared drive to improve things. I pay tribute to the pressure that the hon. Lady and the all-party parliamentary group for ethnic minority business owners are placing on Government and on the industry more generally. I hope hon.”
“I am completely with the hon. Lady on that point and recognise that is exactly where Government can play a useful role in getting behind industry-led initiatives. We have certainly been doing that in the context of the invest in women taskforce and are also working with the Lending Standards Board on the code that it is developing. More broadly, we have the benefit of world-leading experts in this area, notably Professor Monder Ram, who leads the Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship at Aston University. Professor Ram’s comprehensive report “Time to Change: A Blueprint For Advancing the UK’s Ethnic Minority Businesses”, which was prepared in partnership with NatWest, was launched in 2022 and sets out the £75 billion potential in unlocking growth of ethnic minority businesses.”
“We have begun a series of roadshows, which bring overseas buyers to the UK to meet small businesses here in, for example, clean energy, advanced manufacturing, life sciences, technology, and digital, creative, financial and professional services. In addition, we are offering new online support to help small and medium-sized enterprises win new export orders to EU markets.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for that question, and I commend her for the business roundtable that she hosted. She is absolutely right, and we recognise that supply chain instability is a critical issue for businesses. We are therefore working hard to minimise the uncertainty that businesses face, both in exporting and in purchasing from key markets. Whether through the economic deal with the US that we are seeking to negotiate, the reset of our relationship with the EU, or new opportunities with India and the Indo-Pacific, we are keen to take down barriers to business. I have to say that the evidence continues to demonstrate that free and fair trade drives down prices, offers better choices for consumers and, crucially, leads to more stable supply chains.”
“First, I commend the work of Phoenox Textiles and my hon. Friend for championing its concerns. Because of the concern she has articulated, which we have heard from across the retail sector—I have certainly heard it from members of the Retail Sector Council—my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State recently met the Trade Remedies Authority to agree urgent steps to prevent the dumping of cheap goods in the UK. There will be increased support for businesses to report unfair practices, and my right hon. Friend the Chancellor is also reviewing the customs treatment of low-value imports.”
“The hon. Gentleman is right to highlight the fact that we need to increase exports to all sorts of markets. It is one of the reasons why we are taking urgent steps to agree a new deal with the US, why we are seeking to reset our relationship with the EU, and why we are keen to open up new opportunities through a free trade agreement with India, and new opportunities in the Indo-Pacific. When he served in a senior role under a previous Prime Minister, his party took decisions to cut support for exporters. We are looking at what we can do to help exporters move forward.”
“I know my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is urgently seeking to arrange the meeting with the hon. Member to discuss this issue, because we recognise that this is a key concern of the automotive sector. As I have said, we are seeking to negotiate an economic deal with the US, but we are also looking to work with the automotive industry to increase exports of cars and other things that they produce across all sorts of new markets. One of the roadshows we are organising for small businesses is about that.”
“I had thought that one of the first contributions from the Opposition Front Benchers today would be to celebrate the £1 billion investment by IKEA in the UK. It is opening its flagship store on Oxford Street today, and committing to a range of investments in other towns and cities across the UK. When the hon. Lady was on the Treasury Committee, I do not know whether she looked at the cuts the previous Government made to help for small businesses in getting their goods into new markets. We are taking active steps to increase the opportunities for small businesses in overseas markets.”
“Hospitality businesses are vital to our communities and to economic growth in the UK, which is why we plan to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties with rateable values of less than £500,000. In addition, we recently held our first licensing taskforce meeting, which aims to reduce red tape for the sector. Next Thursday, on VE Day, pubs and bars across the country will be able to stay open until late to enable everyone to celebrate all those who served during the second world war.”
“I gently remind the hon. Gentleman of the dismal record of the Conservatives when it came to support for the hospitality sector; 10,000 pubs closed between 2010 and 2024. The Employment Rights Bill will not have the effect that he describes. The Bill will help to put money into people’s pockets, which is exactly what we need to do to help the hospitality industry going forward.”
“I certainly take the hon. Member’s broader point about the significance of business rates to the hospitality sector, particularly pubs. I have heard strong representations from the industry about the need for business rates reform. The hon. Member will be delighted that this Government have instigated significant business rates reform, which previous Governments over the last 14 years did not do, including a permanently lower rate for retail, hospitality and leisure.”
“I completely agree with my hon. Friend about the significance of pubs across the UK, particularly in rural communities such as those he represents. It is one reason why we are in the final throes of agreeing extra funding for the great organisation Pub is the Hub, which supports pubs in rural areas to adapt to changing needs and enables them to continue to be the vital social hubs that they are in communities. I hope that the Scottish Government will have heard my hon. Friend’s comments and will recognise the need to follow the UK Government’s line and instigate significant business rates reform. Certainly, they need to look at provision on business rates relief, which is not as generous in Scotland, thanks to their decisions, as here in the UK, thanks to the generosity of our Chancellor.”
“I wondered whether the shadow Secretary of State might finally use this set of questions to take the opportunity to apologise for helping to write the Liz Truss Budget, which drove interest rates up fourteen times and did more damage to business than any other single measure in recent times. We had to take difficult decisions to sort out the fiscal inheritance we got, and we recognised that to tackle the cost of living crisis that the Conservatives bequeathed us, we needed to ensure that there is more money in people’s pockets. The Employment Rights Bill will help to do just that.”
“We are reforming business rates, rolling out banking hubs, stamping out late payments, empowering communities to bring vacant properties on the high street back into use and beginning to tackle the antisocial behaviour and crime that has bedevilled the high street over the last decade. Last month, we also announced a licensing taskforce that will recommend ways to improve our licensing regime to foster vibrant hospitality, the night-time economy and cultural industries on the high street.”
“The Conservative party has a rather dismal record on support to workers. I gently say to the hon. Gentleman that most businesses that do the right thing by their employees support the Employment Rights Bill. One reason the Bill is so important is that it will help put more money into people’s pockets, and that will have a knock-on benefit for high street businesses.”
“Rural areas offer significant potential for growth and are central to our economy, so we are working closely with other Government Departments, including the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to improve the quality of life for people living and working in rural areas. Later this year, we will launch the business growth service, which, in partnership with the growth hub network in England, will make it easier for businesses, including those in rural areas, to get the information and support that they need to thrive.”
“We recognise that the English wine industry, which has gone from strength to strength in recent years, is a crucial part of the rural economy and of the food and drink offer that the UK can rightly be proud of. It is one reason that we are seeking to increase exports of food and drink, including helping English vineyards to export English wine to a range of markets overseas, and we will certainly continue to do that.”
“The hon. Member for Farnham and Bordon (Gregory Stafford) might not invite Ministers to his constituency, but I am grateful for my hon. Friend’s invitation—diary permitting, I would be delighted to come along. Last year, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced our plans for a business growth service, which should make it easier for UK businesses to get Government advice and support in order to grow. I hope that will make a real difference. In addition, we are considering what else we can do to unlock better access to finance for small businesses such as those in my hon. Friend’s constituency.”
“I know from personal experience that there are some great hospitality and tourism businesses in Kent, and we want to see them do even better in the coming months and years. That is why we are seeking to support the sector through initiatives such as business rates reform and the licensing taskforce, which has just started work. It is also why the Government will launch a national visitor economy strategy this autumn, as we seek to welcome 50 million international visitors annually by 2030—and many of them, I suspect, will visit Kent.”
“I commend my hon. Friend for meeting with Berkshire Growth Hub. Growth hubs play a crucial role in local economies. We want to supplement their work with our business growth service, which is set to launch later this year, and we are working with Skills England to identify the skills shortages in particular areas. I am happy to ensure that Skills England talks to Berkshire Growth Hub through my hon. Friend, so that the particular skills challenges in Berkshire are understood by Skills England.”
“The pandemic, followed by the cost of living crisis and rising interest rates, forced many hair and beauty businesses into high levels of debt, depleted cash reserves and reduced profit margins. Opposition Members may not like to hear this, but the Government inherited a very challenging fiscal position, so we had to make some very difficult decisions on tax, spending and welfare at the autumn Budget. Some of the measures in the Budget have concerned the industry, but I believe that those decisions are important for delivering long-term stability and, in time, and even more significantly, economic growth. Many hair and beauty businesses will benefit from some of the other measures that the Chancellor announced.”
“Almost half of all jobs in the sector are in areas with traditionally high levels of unemployment, which I think underlines the contribution that the sector makes in getting people into work and into an exciting and creative career path. Whether it is getting a fresh haircut, a massage or even just chatting to their beauty therapist, many people relish the conversations that their local salons offer. I am not sure there is much that a beauty therapist in Harrow West could do for me, but I certainly value the conversations and skill of the barbers at Paul’s in north Harrow in my constituency. In short, hair and beauty businesses are a vital pillar of our high streets and communities. I recognise that it has been an exceptionally challenging decade for high street businesses, and that includes the hair and beauty sector.”
“They are essential for pulling people to the high street and help to generate the footfall that keeps other local businesses there. However, it is true that the contribution of the industry is far more than an economic one, and the hon. Member for Hornchurch and Upminster also rightly drew that out in her contribution. It is an industry that should be championed for its female entrepreneurship, for the opportunity it brings to people from all backgrounds, and for its role, on occasion, in combating mental health challenges. For example, over 80% of hair and beauty workers are women, and almost of 90% of businesses in the sector are owned by women.”
“The very first business that I visited on my appointment was the excellent Pall Mall Barbers, founded by the remarkable Richard Marshall; he could not read or write when he started in the industry, and he now runs some eight stores in central London and New York. As well as visits, those conversations with the sector include holding roundtables with key representatives of the industry, the next of which is due next month. I think those are important because the hair and beauty sector is one of the industries that I would gently suggest has been neglected for too long over the last decade. Economically, the industry contributes some £25 billion to the UK economy and employs over 550,000 people. Hair and beauty businesses, as Members have rightly set out, are found on every high street and in every town and village in the UK.”
“Lady ran a campaign to highlight the very best salons in her area so that they could be nominated for the British Hairdressing Awards. I do not know whether Wyndham Hair was one of those that she nominated, but I certainly wish it well in the coming months. It is very important that we continue to champion this sector as individual constituency MPs, because of the significance that hair and beauty businesses have to our economy, our high streets and all our daily lives. Many Members have asked about the extent to which the Government engage with the hair and beauty sector, and I can confirm that I regularly meet the sector to understand its views and concerns.”
“Members for Bromsgrove (Bradley Thomas), for Gosport (Dame Caroline Dinenage), for Strangford (Jim Shannon), for South Northamptonshire (Sarah Bool) and for Solihull East (Saqib Bhatti), and the hon. Member for Chippenham (Sarah Gibson)—the spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats—and the hon. Member for West Worcestershire (Dame Harriett Baldwin). Let me begin by responding to a couple of the points that came out in the speech by the hon. Member for Hornchurch and Upminster. I also take this opportunity to commend her and other hon. Members for the support they have shown for hair and beauty businesses across the UK, including in their constituencies. While I was researching in preparation for this debate, I noticed that the hon.”
“In the usual way, let me begin by congratulating the hon. Member for Hornchurch and Upminster (Julia Lopez) on securing this debate. Let me say at the outset that, as in all the debates that I am privileged to participate in, her and in the main Chamber, there are points in this debate for many other Government Departments as well as my own to consider. I am happy to make sure that those Departments have heard the different insights—let me put it in those diplomatic terms—offered by Members in this debate. As well as hearing from the hon. Member for Hornchurch and Upminster, we heard from the right hon. Member for New Forest East (Sir Julian Lewis), my hon. Friends the Members for Ribble Valley (Maya Ellis) and for Stourbridge (Cat Eccles), the hon.”
“I would have thought that the hon. Lady would welcome the measures we took in the Budget to protect the smallest businesses. We increased the employment allowance so that almost 1 million employers pay no national insurance contributions at all. More than half of employers will see no change or gain from that package, and that includes many hair and beauty businesses, as the vast majority of them are micro-sized.”
“The Department of Health is leading on that issue, so I hope she will continue to watch this area and campaign on it going forward. In conclusion, I know that the hair and beauty industry is incredibly important to every high street and every community in the UK, and I will continue to champion it in the House and across Government.”
“Improved funding to help those partners go after gangs was also announced in the Budget. Later this year, we will be publishing our small business strategy, which will set out the Government’s vision for small businesses. It will focus on boosting a range of support to businesses to create thriving high streets, make it easier to access finance, open up overseas and domestic markets, build business capabilities, and provide a strong business environment. All those are vital to the growth and resilience of the hair and beauty industry, and I will certainly continue to work with the sector as the strategy develops. My hon. Friend the Member for Ribble Valley specifically asked me about the consultation run by the previous Government, and whether the Government are going to respond to it. We are due to respond as soon as possible.”
“I also understand that the sector is competing against unfair and illegitimate businesses, as many hon. Members drew attention to. His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs recognises that tax can be very complex, and we are working with the sector to help businesses to remain within the rules. However, there are those who are engaged in criminal activity, and we take that very seriously. As has been well chronicled across various media outlets, the National Crime Agency has been co-ordinating Operation Machinize, during which 265 premises were visited and officers secured freezing orders over bank accounts totalling more than £1 million. Other work in that space is ongoing. We will continue to support law enforcement partners to tackle high street crime more generally.”
“I will go back to the point I made earlier. We inherited a very difficult fiscal position, which, to be fair to them, the Liberal Democrats do accept. Unfortunately, the Liberal Democrats never like taking difficult decisions in my experience, although they are happy to support the benefits of those difficult decisions. We sought to protect small businesses as much as we could in the Budget, in order to repair the finances of the country going forward. We are also creating a fairer business rates system that protects the high street, supports investment and is fit for the 21st century. We have committed to reforming business rates from 2026-27 with a permanently lower multiplier for retail, leisure and hospitality businesses, which will include hair and beauty salons.”
“It remains our priority to speed up the delivery of fair compensation to all the victims of the Horizon scandal, and to secure and strengthen the Post Office for the future. There is more to do, but I commend this statement to the House.”
“Together, these steps will help to pave the way towards a more sustainable future for the Post Office. During my engagement with the National Federation of SubPostmasters, concerns have been raised that the Post Office may have acted improperly in the course of the network transformation programme during the 2010s. There are claims that the Post Office and its representatives put undue pressure on postmasters, and may have given unregulated financial advice to encourage them to move on to contracts that were ultimately not in their best interests. Those allegations must be taken seriously. I am therefore commissioning an independent review of the conduct of the programme to establish whether there was any improper or coercive behaviour, and I will update the House on the scope and timing of the review in due course.”
“Over the next five years this work will address technology needs across the business, which will include replacing Horizon, reducing central costs and ensuring that postmasters have the tools they need to serve their customers. To enable the Post Office to continue to administer redress payments to postmasters and respond to the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry, the Government will provide up to £57.9 million of funding. These funding streams are subject to the Subsidy Control Act 2022 and referral to the Competition and Markets Authority. An announcement on banking framework 4 has not yet been made, but I am hopeful that there will be a positive announcement soon, as post offices continue to provide vital banking services in every community up and down the country.”
“The Post Office will therefore ensure that each directly managed branch will be franchised, either on site or in a location nearby, so that service provision will remain in place in communities. Making those changes will ensure that the company is more sustainable. To support Post Office provision in every community across the UK, the Government plan to provide up to £83 million of subsidy next year. That is up from the £50 million provided under the last Government, and is in addition to the uplift that we provided in the last financial year. The Post Office needs to transform the outdated technology on which it depends, and we therefore plan to provide up to £136 million of funding for its new future technology portfolio in the 2025-26 financial year.”