This week the Government published its Ten Point Plan for a ‘green industrial revolution’. Taken together it is one of the most ambitious environmental programmes of any nation in the world. As the Prime Minister’s Net Zero Business Champion, I know that our global leadership on climate change can open up new large and attractive sectors in the world economy in which British businesses will be well placed to succeed such as hydrogen, clean transport, low carbon living and carbon capture. Business has a central role to play in making a successful transition to a low carbon economy. Just one example is the ambition for the UK to become a global hub for hydrogen technology, with the target for a whole town to be fully heated by hydrogen by 2030. Over the coming year events such as the UK’s G7 presidency, COP26 and Expo 2021 will be the perfect platform for Britain to showcase how it is leading the way with developing sustainable business practices and to demonstrate that the green revolution is an enormous business opportunity that can create many jobs as we rebuild after the pandemic.
In response to the latest lockdown, the Government has announced a number of measures, including extending furlough until March, a further £7.3 billion support for the self-employed (on top of the £13 billion provided so far) and extending existing loan schemes and the Future Fund to the end of January. While these numbers are so large to be abstract, as of early October, there were 2,558 Bounce Back Loans offered with a cumulative value of nearly £75 million support for local businesses across Arundel and South Downs alone.
This week the four District Councils that my constituency includes parts of have received over £21 million from Westminster to distribute to hard hit businesses who have had to close or operate at very reduced capacity such as events management firms, wedding venues, beauty salons and pubs and restaurants. Over the past few months I have raised examples of all of these important local entrepreneurs and employers in Parliament and I’m pleased that – subject to the local councils themselves - the scope of these grants includes them all.
Despite the lockdown I have been working as creatively as possible to maintain my accessibility and support for constituents. Last Friday, I continued with my weekly advice ‘surgeries’ via video link – to speak with residents in Barnham about the problems of overdevelopment causing too much pressure on infrastructure like sewage and roads.
