Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Local Authorities: Business Investment

Thursday 22 January 2026 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Tristan Osborne thanked the Minister for acknowledging the importance of social enterprises in communities and the need for further support.
  • Josh Babarinde questioned the Minister about East Sussex county council's scheme to fine East Sussex Highways for roadworks that disrupt local businesses.
  • The Minister acknowledged the frustration with overrunning roadworks but noted that the discussion was somewhat
  • Tristan Osborne thanked the Minister for acknowledging the importance of social enterprises in communities and the need for further support.
  • Josh Babarinde questioned the Minister about East Sussex county council's scheme to fine East Sussex Highways for roadworks that disrupt local businesses.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Tristan Osborne Lab Chatham and Aylesford
Business & Trade Local Government
Context

The question addresses the impact of austerity on social enterprises within local authorities. It mentions specific examples like Medway Community Healthcare, Emmaus, and Medway Voluntary Action that were affected by budget cuts.

Question

I thank the Minister for that answer. Under the last Government, social enterprises were decimated by cuts to their budgets during austerity. We have many good social enterprises in my constituency, such as Medway Community Healthcare, Emmaus and Medway Voluntary Action. What more can be done to support social enterprises after 14 years of austerity?

Answer from Chris Ward (Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office)

I agree that social enterprises are the backbone of many communities. I pay tribute to the ones my hon. Friend mentions, and there are some in my constituency as well. I agree that we need to do more to open up procurement and to support social enterprises, as well as SMEs and the voluntary sector more widely. We published a procurement statement last year to help to address that, but we will go further on it soon.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The Minister acknowledged the need for more support but did not provide concrete steps or timelines beyond stating they will 'go further' soon.

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Q2 Josh Babarinde Lib Dem Eastbourne
Transport Local Government
Context

The question focuses on a specific scheme in East Sussex county council to fine contractors when their roadworks cause disruption to local businesses. It mentions several examples of businesses disrupted, such as Gianni’s, Qualisea, and Gr/eat Greek Cuisine.

Question

East Sussex county council has launched a scheme to fine East Sussex Highways when its roadworks overrun and cause disruption to local businesses. A clear case is that of Victoria Place, where businesses such as Gianni’s, Qualisea, Gr/eat Greek Cuisine and many more were disrupted by overrunning works to pedestrianise the street. Does the Minister agree that the fund should be used to help compensate those businesses for the disruption, and can the Cabinet Office support East Sussex county council to do just that?

Answer from Chris Ward (Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office)

As half of my constituency is in East Sussex, I am always happy to support East Sussex county council. I think we are slightly off beam with the broad thrust of the topic, but I get the hon. Member’s point about the frustration that constituents, including mine, have with overrunning works. We will follow up with him if there is anything further that the Cabinet Office can do.

Not addressed: The Minister avoided discussing whether the fund should be used to compensate businesses and did not commit to supporting East Sussex county council in this matter.

How: We Are Slightly Off Beam With The Broad Thrust Of The Topic

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)