If, at half-past 4 o'clock, it were to be in the power of any hon. Member to appeal to you, Sir, as to whether the reporter at that Table had or had not taken his speech down correctly, you might, at the Crisis of Real Business, have to call the reporter to the Bar of the House and produce the proof-sheet; and perhaps it might be found that the hon. Member had been correcting his speech with very great zeal and energy, and a great exercise of the imaginative faculty.

Even when the last case of foot and mouth is dealt with and the last farm premises have been cleansed and can look forward to restocking, the Business Crisis will be only beginning for some businesses and will be in full torrent for many of them.

I said that the Business Crisis will continue well after the cull and when the disease has, I hope, been eradicated.

The right hon. Gentleman was right to highlight the nature of the Business Crisis.

The Business Crisis has been widespread.

A cost-of-doing-Business Crisis is hitting British business, with 87% of firms reporting that energy costs have gone up in the past year and 83% of firms believing that the cost of doing business will be higher next year.

It is clear that businesses are facing a cost-of-doing-Business Crisis, alongside the cost-of-living crisis that is hitting families across Britain.

The industry recognises that people are facing a cost-of-living crisis, but it is also facing a cost-of-doing-Business Crisis and paying ever higher business rates and ever higher energy prices.