The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Rishi Sunak) The UK’s economic
recovery has been quicker and stronger than forecast. In the depths
of the pandemic, our economy was expected to return to its
pre-crisis level at the end of 2022; instead, it got there in
November 2021, a full year earlier. Unemployment was expected to
peak at nearly 12%; instead, it peaked at 5.2% and has now fallen
to just over 4%, saving more than 2 million jobs. With the
fastest-growing economy in the G7...Request free trial
The Chancellor of the Exchequer ()
The UK’s economic recovery has been quicker and stronger than
forecast. In the depths of the pandemic, our economy was expected
to return to its pre-crisis level at the end of 2022; instead, it
got there in November 2021, a full year earlier. Unemployment was
expected to peak at nearly 12%; instead, it peaked at 5.2% and
has now fallen to just over 4%, saving more than 2 million jobs.
With the fastest-growing economy in the G7 this year, with over
400,000 more people on payrolls than before the pandemic, and
with business investment rising, it is no wonder that borrowing
is set to fall from £320 billion last year—the highest ever
peacetime level—to just £46 billion by the end of this
Parliament. As we emerge from the depths of the worst recession
in 300 years, we should be proud of our economic record. The
economy is stronger because of the plan we put in place, because
of the actions we took to protect families and businesses, and
that plan is working.
However, for all the progress we are making, the job is not yet
done. I know that right now, the No. 1 issue on people’s minds is
the rising cost of living. It is the independent Bank of
England’s role to deliver low and stable inflation, and the
Governor will set out its judgments at midday today. Just as the
Government stood behind the British people through the pandemic,
so we will help people deal with one of the biggest costs they
now face: energy. The energy regulator Ofgem announced this
morning that the energy price cap will rise in April to £1,971,
an increase of £693 for the average household. Without Government
action, this would be incredibly tough for millions of
hard-working families, so the Government are going to step in to
directly help people manage those extra costs.
Before I set out the steps we are taking, let me explain what is
happening to energy prices and why. People’s energy bills are
rising because it is more expensive for the companies that supply
our energy to buy oil, coal and gas. Of the £693 increase in the
April price cap, around 80% comes from wholesale energy prices.
Over the past year, the price of gas alone has quadrupled, and
because over 85% of homes in Britain are heated with a gas boiler
and around 40% of our electricity comes from gas, this is hitting
households hard. The reasons gas prices are soaring are global:
across Europe and Asia, a long, cold winter last year depleted
gas stores. Disruption to other energy sources, such as nuclear
and wind, left us relying more than usual on gas during the
summer months. Surging demand in the world’s manufacturing
centres in Asia, at the same time that countries such as China
are moving away from coal, is further increasing demand for gas,
and concerns about a possible Russian incursion into Ukraine are
putting further pressure on wholesale gas markets. So prices are
rising.
The price cap has meant that the impact of soaring gas prices has
so far fallen predominantly on energy companies—so much so that
some suppliers that could not afford to meet those extra costs
have gone out of business as a result. It is not sustainable to
keep holding the price of energy artificially low. For me to
stand here and pretend we do not have to adjust to paying higher
prices would be wrong and dishonest, but what we can do is take
the sting out of a significant price shock for millions of
families by making sure that the increase in prices is smaller
initially and is spread over a longer period.
Without Government intervention, the increase in the price cap
would leave the average household having to find an extra £693.
The actions I am announcing today will provide, to the vast
majority of households, just over half of that amount—£350. In
total, the Government are going to help about 28 million
households this year. Taken together, this is a plan to help with
the cost of living worth about £9 billion.
We are delivering that support in three different ways. First, we
will spread the worst of the extra costs of this year’s energy
price shock over time. This year, all domestic electricity
customers will receive an up-front discount on their bills worth
£200. Energy suppliers will apply the discount on people’s bills
from October, with the Government meeting the cost in full. That
discount will automatically be repaid from people’s bills in
equal £40 instalments over the next five years. This is the right
way to support people while staying on track with our plans to
repair the public finances.
Because we are taking a fiscally responsible approach, we can
also provide more help faster to those who need it most—the
second part of our plan. We are going to give people a £150
council tax rebate to help with the cost of energy in April, and
this discount will not need to be repaid. I do want to be clear
with the House that we are deliberately not just giving support
to people on benefits. Lots of people on middle incomes are
struggling right now too, so we have decided to provide the
council tax rebate to households in bands A to D. This means that
about 80% of all homes in England will benefit.
The third part of our plan will provide local authorities with a
discretionary fund of nearly £150 million to help those
lower-income households who happen to live in higher council tax
properties, and households in bands A to D who are exempt from
council at all.
We are also confirming today that we will go ahead with existing
plans to expand eligibility for the warm home discount by almost
a third, so that 3 million vulnerable households will now benefit
from that scheme. That is not all we are doing to help vulnerable
households. We are providing £3 billion over this Parliament to
help more than half a million lower-income homes become more
energy efficient, saving them on average £290 a year; increasing
the national living wage to £9.50 an hour in April—a rise of over
£1,000 for 2 million low-paid workers; and providing an effective
tax cut for those on universal credit, allowing almost 2 million
households to keep an average of £1,000 per year.
The payment through energy suppliers will apply across England,
Wales and Scotland. Energy policy is devolved in Northern
Ireland, with a different regulator, and the Government do not
have the legal powers to intervene, but we will make sure that
the Executive are funded to do something similar, with about £150
million for Northern Ireland through the Barnett formula next
year. Because the council tax system is England-only, total
Barnett consequentials of about £565 million will be provided to
the devolved Administrations in the usual way.
I know that some in this House have argued for a cut in VAT on
energy. However, that policy would disproportionately benefit
wealthier households. There would be no guarantee that suppliers
would pass on the discounts to all customers, and we should be
honest with ourselves: this would become a permanent Government
subsidy on everyone’s bills, a permanent subsidy worth £2.5
billion every year, at a time when we are trying to rebuild the
public finances. Instead, our plan allows us to provide more
generous support, faster, for those who need it most, providing
28 million households with at least £200, and the vast majority
receiving £350. It is fair, it is targeted, it is proportionate:
it is the right way to help people with a spike in energy
costs.
Today’s announcements are just one part of the Government’s plan
to tackle the country’s most pressing economic challenges. It is
a plan for growth, with record investment in infrastructure,
innovation and skills; a plan to restore the public finances,
with debt falling by the end of this Parliament; a plan to cut
waiting lists and back the NHS with £29 billion over three years,
and with a permanent new source of funding; and, with the
measures that I have announced today, a plan to help with the
rising cost of energy, with £350 more in the pockets of tens of
millions of hard-working families. That is our plan to build a
stronger economy, not just today but for the long term, and I
commend it to the House.
11.41am
(Leeds West) (Lab)
I thank the Chancellor for his statement.
We have known that this price rise was coming for months, and
today we learn that the energy price cap will increase to £1,971
in April. In October, I called on the Government to provide
immediate support for support for households, cutting VAT on
their energy bills and saving £200, with £400 in extra targeted
support for those who need it most, which would mean, for some of
the poorest families in our country, almost no increase in energy
bills from April. The Government have not done that today.
We all remember when the Prime Minister said that cutting VAT on
energy bills was one of the benefits of Brexit. He said:
“When we Vote Leave, we will be able to scrap this unfair and
damaging tax.”
Could there ever be a time when that policy is needed more than
it is today? I should have thought that the Prime Minister, with
his unblemished record of integrity, would defend the commitments
he had made, but instead, that is another pledge thrown on to the
bonfire of broken Tory promises.
The uncomfortable truth for the Chancellor is that even after
what he has announced today, families in Britain—including some
of the poorest—will still be paying hundreds of pounds more for
their energy from April as a result of the breathtaking rise in
energy prices just announced by Ofgem. Millions of people will be
cutting back to pay the bills. Citizens Advice says that it saw a
record number of people in January struggling with fuel debts,
before the energy price increase. But what do the Government
offer? A buy now, pay later scheme that loads up costs for
tomorrow; high prices as far as the eye can see, this year, next
year, and the year after that. It is a case of give with one hand
now, and take it all back later with the other.
The Conservative party used to talk about the nation’s credit
card. Today, we have seen the Chancellor force British households
to load up their credit cards. By lending billions of pounds to
energy companies, he is gambling that prices are going to fall,
but they could go up further in October. What then? Billions more
loaded on to people’s bills? The best way of targeting support to
those who need it most would be an increase to £400 and an
extension to 9 million households of the warm home discount, as
Labour has proposed. The Government’s scheme is a pale imitation
of Labour’s, especially for the households and pensioners on the
most modest incomes, but the Chancellor is using council tax to
target extra help. That will mean that many of the poorest
households receive no extra support, while some of the richest
do, and it is people living in the north and the midlands who
will lose out most. The hypocrisy, the day after the publication
of the Government’s levelling-up White Paper, is obvious.
[Interruption.]
Mr Speaker
Order. Mr Holden, I think we need to be a little calmer. I am
sure you will want to catch my eye, and that is not the way to do
so.
Can the Chancellor confirm how many people who are fuel-poor will
miss out on council tax support compared with the warm home
discount support that Labour has announced?
The Government had a choice. Only today, Shell announced that its
profits have quadrupled to $20 billion. It described its results
as “momentous”—dividends up, profits up, and people’s energy
bills up too. Labour’s plan would impose a one-off windfall tax
on those excess profits, but this Chancellor would rather shield
the oil and gas producers while at the same time loading the cost
on to working people and pensioners. Cabinet Ministers have
described the oil and gas producers as “struggling”. Tell that to
the one in five people who are already skipping meals so they can
pay their energy bills.
This energy crisis has not happened overnight. A decade of dither
and delay from the Conservative party has brought us to this
point: a decade of failure to regulate our energy markets; a
decade in which they have slashed our gas storage capacity,
leaving us more reliant than ever on Russia for our gas imports;
a decade of failure to make the most of solar, tidal and wind
energy; and a decade of stalled progress on insulating our homes
to keep bills low, not just for one year but into the future. It
has been the Tory decade that has led to this announcement of the
biggest increase in the price of domestic energy since records
began. That is what the Chancellor should acknowledge and
apologise for today. The Conservatives are not solving the cost
of living crisis, because the Conservatives are the cost of
living crisis.
The Opposition may have some soundbites but they certainly do not
have a policy. [Interruption.] In contrast, this Government have
announced measures—[Interruption.]
Mr Speaker
Order. Mr Seely, is there something wrong with that wood you keep
knocking, because I think it is in good order? You do not need to
test for woodworm.
In contrast, this Government have announced measures to share the
burden with consumers and help manage the global price rise.
Despite the faux outrage from the Opposition Benches, I am sure
that even they would admit privately that the support just
announced is both generous and comprehensive.
Let me take some of the hon. Lady’s points in turn. First, on
VAT, may I say how very welcome it is that the Opposition are
recognising the benefits of Brexit? I hope they will join me in
celebrating the fact that we have been able to change mass
migration to this country after decades, that we can create new
freeports in places such as Teesside, that we can sign new free
trade deals, and that we can deregulate our economy to drive
faster growth. She talked about VAT. VAT will, on average, be
worth £90 to every household. We are providing £150 to those
households that really need it and delivering that support
quicker.
Secondly, the hon. Lady tried to claim that it was the
Government’s responsibility to manage global gas prices. I
outlined in my statement that it is very clear, as any person
looking at this sensibly will acknowledge, that global factors
are causing the increase in gas prices. No British Government or
Chancellor can change what is happening in Asia or, indeed, stop
a nuclear power plant going offline in Germany, and the hon. Lady
should acknowledge that. Even in places such as Norway,
electricity bills are rising because global factors are in play.
She would do well to acknowledge that—and the right hon. Member
for Doncaster North (), sitting next to her, will
know that, having spent a lot of time on this.
Thirdly, I want to address the point about our support for the
most vulnerable, because I am proud of this Government’s record
in supporting those who need our help. The policies we have
announced today are progressive in their nature. A flat rate
will, of course, mean far more to those on lower incomes or with
lower energy bills. It is worth five times as much as a
percentage of income for those in the lowest incomes as for those
on the highest incomes. The hon. Lady talked about insulation.
Over this Parliament, we are spending £3 billion to improve
energy efficiency and insulation for over half a million
households in fuel poverty. That is the right thing to do and it
will save those vulnerable families, on average, £300 a year, not
just this year but every year going forward. We have already
announced those plans.
Lastly, to address the hon. Lady’s point on a windfall tax, of
course that sounds superficially appealing, but we on the
Government Benches deal with complex problems in a responsible
way. The obvious impact of a windfall tax would be to deter
investment—it is as simple as that. At this moment I want to see
more investment in the North sea, not less. Last year we saw the
lowest amount of investment on record in the North sea, as my
right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and
Industrial Strategy pointed out just the other day. There are £11
billion of projects lined up to go. I want to unlock that
investment because that is good for this country, good for
British jobs and good for our energy security.
We will pursue policies that are good for the interests of this
country not just today but in the future. My right hon. Friend
the Energy Secretary is working very hard to make sure we have an
energy market that is fit for the future. We have made
investments in nuclear, which, as he rightly pointed out, were
ignored by the Labour party when it was in power, but which we
are now fixing.
In conclusion, I am not blind to the challenges we face. I have
to say to the hon. Lady and her colleagues, however, that we on
this side of the House did not have the luxury of sitting on the
sidelines and throwing stones. Faced with the gravest of crises,
this Government chose to protect millions of jobs. We chose to
support millions of businesses, we chose to invest in a
world-leading vaccination programme, and we chose a balanced
approach to covid so we could open up faster than anywhere else
in Europe. We did those things at record speed and at a time of
great uncertainty, and we will always strive to learn from
mistakes. Nothing is ever perfect when responding to a crisis,
but I say to the Labour party that there is a fine line between
reasonable criticism and political opportunism, and in my
experience the British people can always tell the difference.
(Thirsk and Malton)
(Con)
I welcome my right hon. Friend’s announcement today. Does he
agree that a cut in VAT to solve this crisis is a completely
flawed policy, as evidenced by the three economists who spoke to
the Treasury Committee this week, including Torsten Bell from the
Resolution Foundation, who wanted something far more targeted,
such as what my right hon. Friend has announced today? It is
clear that one factor in this crisis is Russia’s willingness to
weaponise its gas supplies. Will he confirm that if there is any
incursion into Ukraine, this country, with our international
allies, will look at weaponising our banking system, which would
be economically catastrophic for Russia?
I thank my hon. Friend for his question. On VAT, I have nothing
further to add. He is right; what we are doing is more targeted,
faster and more generous to those who need our help. With regard
to sanctions on Russia, I can assure him that absolutely nothing
is off the table. We are working closely with our international
partners, as the Foreign Secretary has outlined, to prepare a
very robust package of sanctions.
(Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
(SNP)
The Chancellor brags about having the fastest recovery, but that
is actually wrong because Italy, for a start, has a higher growth
rate. If the economy is doing so well, why is he still
introducing a £12 billion tax on workers this financial year? Why
has it taken to the last minute to try to do something about the
cost of living crisis? Why is so much of this measure actually a
loan that bill payers will have to pay back? He talks about not
doing a VAT cut because he wants a more targeted approach. How is
giving everybody a rebate a targeted approach? It is
illogical.
The reality is that the Treasury is currently raking it in
compared to where it thought it would be in the March 2021
Budget: an extra £3 billion this financial year and next year
from oil and gas revenues; and VAT receipt predictions in October
last year were nearly £40 billion higher than what they were in
March 2021. That is a lot of money that the Treasury could be
freeing up. Meanwhile, average energy bills increased this year
to nearly £1,200, up from £700 the year before, bringing in an
extra £0.6 billion in VAT. The VAT increase due to the cap rise
will bring the Treasury another £0.8 billion a year, so there is
much more money it could free up.
The Scottish Government are bringing in a £20-a-week child
payment and uprating the child winter assistance payment. Could
the Chancellor not look at doing something similar? Will he
confirm that the council tax rebate proposal he is bringing in
will have Barnett consequentials, how much they will be and that
they will go to the Scottish Government? Will he look at
devolving further budgets and powers so that Scotland can take a
more targeted approach?
National Energy Action estimated that increasing the cap would
put 6 million people into fuel poverty. With the Chancellor’s
measures, what impact assessment have the Government done of how
many households will be in fuel poverty? How many more premature
deaths will there be because people are in fuel poverty? Lastly,
the highlands of Scotland generate electricity and send it to the
rest of the UK, yet electricity users in the highlands on the
restricted meters pay 4p a unit more for electricity, or £400
more on their bills. When will the Treasury and the Department
for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy work with Ofgem to
remove that ridiculous surcharge for ageing people in the
highlands?
I am happy to confirm to the hon. Gentleman that the Barnett
consequentials for Scotland will be around £290 million, which I
hope he will welcome. My right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to
the Treasury will be speaking to later today to go over the
details, and I very much hope that the Scottish Government will
choose to do something very similar to what we are doing, to the
benefit of Scottish citizens. Of course, Scottish citizens will
benefit from the rebate scheme on bills, because that is a Great
Britain-wide policy, as I outlined.
With regard to the hon. Gentleman’s broader points on the North
sea, there is a clear point of difference between us on the
Government side of the House and the SNP. We believe in the
future of the North sea, in the oil and gas industry, and in the
200,000 jobs it supports, and we want to ensure it plays an
important part in our transition to net zero. I hope he can see
that that is the right thing for Scotland and will join us in
supporting that very important industry.
(Telford) (Con)
I thank my right hon. Friend for his excellent statement, and
particularly for the thoughtful and progressive nature of the
actions he plans to take. Does he agree that it is right to help
not only the poorest, but those on middle incomes who are
struggling with their household budgets?
My hon. Friend is absolutely right; I know that is something she
is perhaps bringing up on behalf of her constituents. A price
increase of this magnitude impacts almost everybody, and it is
right that our response therefore helps almost everybody. That is
what we are doing: ensuring that those families who are working
hard on household incomes of £40,000 or so will still get
£150-worth of support. Four out of every five households will
benefit. We are on the side of hardworking families like those,
and I make no apology for it.
Dame (Hackney South and Shoreditch) (Lab/Co-op)
I see we now have the Klarna Chancellor—“Get it now, pay later.”
There is an important issue with council tax: in areas such as
mine and other parts of London, there are not many people in
those bands, and certainly not in bands A to C. Who will fund the
council tax rebate? Will it be fully funded by the Exchequer, and
will there be a weighting of the £150 million fund to areas such
as mine, where there are poor households in high-value
properties?
Just to confirm for the hon. Lady, it is council tax bands A to
D, so it is four out of every five households across England.
Obviously, that will vary by region. I can confirm that it will
be fully Exchequer-funded and, on top of that, there will be a
discretionary fund of around £150 million, for which the
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities will decide
the best allocation formula. Local authorities will be able to
use that to help those low-income households that happen to live
in higher council tax band properties and those people, such as
students, who are exempt from paying council tax at all, but whom
we would want to get that support to.
(Wellingborough) (Con)
Conservatives believe in holding taxes down and putting more
money in people’s pockets so that they can decide how to spend
it. Socialists believe in raising taxes and then choosing to give
it back, in the form of discounts and rebates, to selected people
who the Government think need them. Could the Chancellor explain
his approach in increasing national insurance contributions and
then handing money back to different people through rebates and
discounts? Is that a Conservative approach, or is it a socialist
approach?
With the greatest respect to my hon. Friend, I also believe that
it is a Conservative approach to be responsible with this
nation’s public finances. I believe that, after recovering from
the worst economic shock in 300 years, where borrowing spiralled
to levels that we have not seen since world war two, it is right
and responsible to tackle that and get our borrowing and debt
down to sustainable levels. That is why I have had to make
difficult decisions, but also fund the country’s No. 1 priority:
the NHS and the unacceptably high and growing number of people
waiting for operations. That is what that funding will do. It is
right that we provide a secure, long-term, sustainable funding
stream for the country’s No. 1 priority, and people should be
reassured that every penny of that levy is going to go to the
thing that they care most about.
(East Ham) (Lab)
There is an obvious unfairness in the massive profits being made
by the oil and gas companies at a time when families are facing
such great hardship. Surely the Chancellor must make an
intervention to address that. He has announced a discretionary
fund for local councils. Worried families will have no idea how
much that will benefit them, if at all. Will he instead introduce
an uplift in universal credit, having cut it so unfairly just
four months ago?
It is worth pointing out that the energy companies that the right
hon. Gentleman talks about are already subject to a far higher
rate of corporation tax. In fact, at 40% versus 19%, it is double
the rate of corporation tax that other companies pay. I will not
repeat my earlier arguments about the windfall tax.
We believe that the right way is to make sure that people can
keep more of what they earn, which is why we cut the universal
credit taper rate by 8 percentage points. That is a £2.2 billion
tax cut that will benefit 2 million of the lowest paid people in
our society. It is making working pay, it is strengthening
incentives to work, it is the right policy and it is a
Conservative policy.
(Tatton) (Con)
Many families across the country will struggle with their energy
bills this year, so I am grateful that we have a Chancellor who
is in touch with that. Will he commit to continuing to ensure
that those in middle Britain, as well as those on the very lowest
incomes, are supported by this Government?
My right hon. Friend is absolutely right and I can give her that
reassurance. I hope that today’s announcements will provide her
with the confidence she needs that both I and this Government are
committed to being on the side of those hard-working families,
whom she does an enormous amount to represent and champion in
this House.
(Vauxhall)
(Lab/Co-op)
The Chancellor said that energy suppliers will apply the discount
on people’s bills from October. Vauxhall constituents contact me
almost daily, including residents who live in properties that are
too cold to heat and residents pleading for help to get repairs
done. Current data suggests that more than 8,000 households in
Vauxhall already live in fuel poverty. What does the Chancellor
have to say to my constituents who are already unable to make
ends meet and who face a hike of over £700 in their energy
bills?
What I can tell them is that they will not have to wait until
October, as the Labour party’s proposals would have had them do.
They will receive £150 in April, and then in October they will
receive the rebate on their bills at a time when the energy price
cap will be looked at again. So it is appropriate that there is
further action to provide support then. That is why this policy
is the right policy. By using the council tax system, we can get
money to people faster—£150 in April for the hon. Lady’s
constituents.
(West Suffolk) (Con)
I welcome this smart set of measures. We must retain fiscal
discipline; otherwise the problem will get worse rather than
better. On monetary policy, the Chancellor mentioned the
independence of the Bank of England decision, which has just been
announced, but there is some chatter about working in tandem with
the Bank. Will he confirm that, on monetary policy—not just
interest-rate setting but the withdrawal of quantitative
easing—Bank independence will be respected?
I can give my right hon. Friend that assurance. It is absolutely
right and proper that the Bank is independent of Government on
matters of monetary policy. That is exactly what has always been
the case over the past two years and it will continue to be the
case. I can wholeheartedly give him that assurance.
(Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)
The Chancellor will be pleased that his campaign team are behind
him today. Does he really think that the super-profits of $20
billion made by Shell are untouchable? His hands-off approach
will not persuade many people across our country.
What millions of people across this country will see today is a
Government who are on their side and a Government taking action
to help them with the anxiety they feel about rising energy
bills. We are doing it in a proportionate, fair, targeted and
responsible way to protect people not just today, but for
years.
Sir (South Swindon) (Con)
Thousands of families in Swindon and millions of households
across the country will welcome the immediate help on council tax
that the Chancellor has announced today in his welcome statement.
Does he agree that the cod analysis we heard from the hon. Member
for Leeds West () about the energy market in
Europe is demonstrable evidence of the paucity of the Labour
party’s approach to energy? Is not our approach to a zero-carbon
economy—one based upon energy security—going to be the way we
deliver our country out of these short-term problems?
As ever, my right hon. and learned Friend makes an excellent
point; he is absolutely right and I agree wholeheartedly with
him. He will know that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of
State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is working
very hard to undo some of the mistakes that the Labour party made
in the past.
(Rhondda) (Lab)
I know that the Chancellor is all pumped up, but this is pretty
puny stuff, to be honest; £350 is not going to touch the sides of
the problem for my constituents. Gas and electricity are up for
the average family in my constituency by £686; fuel is up by
£314; the average weekly shop is up by £385; universal credit has
been cut by £1,040; national insurance is up by £150; and frozen
tax allowances—frozen by him—will cost another £300. That makes
£2,875, in a constituency where the average wage is £27,000. That
is really going to cause hardship and £350 does not even touch
it.
The Labour party has proposals that would give considerably less
to many people, so it is a bit rich to hear that. The hon. Member
had a long list of numbers. I also have one: 400,000 more people
on the payroll than there were before the crisis; 2 million jobs
saved because of the actions of this Government; the national
living wage going up by £1,000 a year in April; and a £1,000 tax
cut for millions of people on universal credit. Those things are
what we are doing to put more money into people’s pockets when
they need it, and they can rely on us to continue supporting them
not just now, but for days and years into the future.
(Forest of Dean) (Con)
First, I thank the Chancellor for coming to the House to make his
statement before he does a press conference. That is the right
order of priorities. I also thank him for engaging with
Conservative colleagues, listening to their concerns and
responding to them in his statement. Finally, may I highlight the
realism and honesty with which he has grappled with global gas
prices? We cannot pretend that they have not gone up and what he
has done is set out a package to smooth the impact for everybody
and to help those on the lowest incomes. That is the right
approach and it demonstrates why we have got it right and the
Labour party is not fit for office.
My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. Those of us in
government make responsible decisions and we are honest with
people. I think people respect that honesty and it is the right
thing for us to do. He is right that there is a global surge in
gas prices and it would be wrong to pretend that we do not have
to adjust to that, but what we can do is take the sting out of
that adjustment, spread its impact over time and limit its
immediate impact. That is the right and responsible approach and
I am grateful for his support on that plan.
(Bradford West) (Lab)
The Chancellor comes here and says he is proud of his record. Let
me tell him what my constituents think of his record. The
Conservative party cut £20 a week from universal credit and was
dragged here kicking and screaming for U-turn after U-turn just
to feed poor and hungry children. This £350 does not cut it when
the Chancellor has wasted billions. More than £6 billion went on
wasted personal protective equipment and more than £4.7 billion
has been lost to fraud in respect of covid funds. The Chancellor
brings £9 billion here when he has lost £12 billion. It does not
quite cut it for my constituents, who do not trust this
Government because they are not helping my constituents. Those at
the bottom end are the ones being hit the most. This does not
even come near the £700, let alone the cost of living.
The hon. Lady talks about universal credit; this Government
provided the extra support for people when they needed it during
the crisis. All the data and evidence show that throughout the
worst of the depths of this pandemic the Government’s actions
helped those on the lowest incomes the most. That is a record of
which I am enormously proud.
(Harlow) (Con)
I realise that to the champagne socialists on the Opposition
Benches £350 is not a lot of money, but my right hon. Friend
knows that I care deeply about this issue. My constituents are
just about managing but this is a cost of living package for
white van men and women throughout the country, including in my
Harlow constituency. Will he continue to do everything he can to
focus on the just-about-managing group of people who make up my
constituents, and make sure that the Government continue to cut
the cost of living for hard-working families?
I am grateful for my right hon. Friend’s support. He rightly
champions those people who are just about managing and who work
incredibly hard to build a better life for themselves and their
families. They should know that this Government are on their
side. I thank him very much for his support and we will continue
to champion those people.
(Edinburgh West) (LD)
The Chancellor’s plans play Russian roulette with taxpayers’
money, gambling that prices will go down, rather than providing a
real solution to help families to avoid skyrocketing bills. It is
just delaying the pain while he increases taxes by £600 a year
for the average household. Why will he not listen to the Liberal
Democrats’ suggestion of a package that would help families to
reduce their bills by £1,000 a year? Surely it is time to admit
that he has got it wrong. It is time to scrap the Conservative
tax hikes.
We have not heard from the hon. Lady’s party any plan to provide
the funding that the NHS needs. We all know that the NHS is
grappling with the recovery from covid. There is an unprecedented
scale of backlogs to work through and the social care system
needs urgent reform. The only way to grapple with those
challenges is to provide the NHS and social care with a
sustainable source of funding. That is what we are doing, it is
the responsible and right approach, it is the progressive
approach, it will benefit people in Scotland, Wales and Northern
Ireland as well as England, and in the long run it will be the
right thing for this country.
(Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)
I congratulate my right hon. Friend on the comprehensive package
of support that he has provided, which is fiscally responsible in
the face of global energy-price volatility. My constituents will
have the benefit and reassurance of the rebate on energy bills
that the Chancellor has announced, but they will not have the
reassurance of the council tax support he is making available in
England. Will he at least encourage the Welsh Government to
follow suit, so that my constituents have the same benefit as
those in England, or even go a step further and insist that the
benefit is passed on?
I can confirm that the Welsh Administration will receive £175
million or so in Barnett consequentials, which will enable them
to provide a similar discount. The Chief Secretary to the
Treasury will speak to the Welsh Government later and will very
much make the point that we would like to see that happen, to the
benefit of all my right hon. Friend’s constituents and people
throughout Wales.
(Sheffield South East)
(Lab)
On the council tax rebate, some of the poorest families do not
pay significant amounts of council tax because they are on
council tax support schemes. Even if their council tax bills are
less than £150 a year, will they still get the full £150? Will
their local authority pay that to them in cash in April? On the
£150 million discretionary fund, will it truly be at the
discretion of councils to decide how they spend it, or will the
Government direct how it is spent?
The hon. Gentleman is, of course, well informed on these issues.
Our intention is that those people will benefit from the £150,
which is why we are providing the discretionary fund. It has been
sized with a sense of who those people are and how many they are.
We will of course provide some guidance to local authorities on
whom we would expect the support to go to, but ultimately they
will be able to make those decisions for themselves.
(Weston-super-Mare) (Con)
I thank the Chancellor for an extremely welcome package, which is
the latest step in a series of strong reactions to different
crises throughout the pandemic and today. He also mentioned
improving investment in North sea gas fields, which is very
welcome. It is only a temporary set of solutions, however, that
will dull the initial economic pain without solving the long-term
problem of sky-high energy prices. What conversations has he had
with the Energy Secretary, who is sitting next to him, about
solutions to deal with those longer-term problems? When we can we
expect to hear answers on such things as reforming the price cap
and the wholesale energy market?
My hon. Friend is very thoughtful on such matters and has,
rightly, long made the point that we must also ensure that the
long-term energy market is working in all our benefit. The Energy
Secretary, the Prime Minister and I have been involved in such
conversations for some time. The Energy Secretary is working on a
set of measures that will address many of my hon. Friend’s
concerns and he should expect to hear from the Government
soon.
(Pontypridd) (Lab)
May I say how nice it is to finally see the Chancellor in his
place? Some of us had been considering filing a missing persons
report given his absence in recent weeks. Although I appreciate
his update, for families across Pontypridd and Taff Ely, it is
another case of too little, too late. The Welsh Labour Government
have doubled the warm home discount scheme and Labour’s proposal
would have taken £600 off the bills for the poorest in our
country, but his plan gives them £350 off. Why does it fall so
far short of what is needed and what is proposed?
I am sorry that the hon. Lady did not welcome the £175 million in
Barnett consequentials for the Welsh Administration. The
Government are providing significant support for those on middle
incomes, because they are also struggling, and we believe that is
the right approach.
(Isle of Wight) (Con)
I welcome the Chancellor’s recognition, as my hon. Friend the
Member for Weston-super-Mare () said, of the importance of a
long-term energy policy. I thank him very much for the help for
council tax payers. Bands A to D cover most folks on the Island.
Can he confirm that he is talking about people with primary
residences on the Island and nationally?
My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. I confirm that the £150
is not for those with second homes or empty homes. We will make
that crystal clear in how the policy is executed.
(Strangford) (DUP)
I thank the Chancellor for his contribution. I do not want to be
churlish—a fair bit of money has been set aside and we appreciate
that—but with the further rise in energy prices and the uplifted
cost of living in general, working families will have to choose
what to cut out of their lives to make ends meet. I put on record
that I welcome the £150 million for Northern Ireland and the
other Barnett consequentials, but will he consider and commit to
reviewing the child benefit threshold for families whose wages
are the same but are simply not worth the same in real money
terms as when the threshold was introduced in 2013?
I am glad that the hon. Gentleman recognises that there are two
sets of Barnett consequentials for Northern Ireland stemming from
each of the policies, which sum total £250 million. He will
appreciate that I cannot comment on future tax and welfare policy
but, as always, I will take what his says and reflect on it.
(Stoke-on-Trent North)
(Con)
I warmly welcome the Chancellor’s statement because 94% of
properties in Stoke-on-Trent are in council tax bands A to C, so
the £150 rebate will do wonders across Stoke-on-Trent North,
Kidsgrove and Talke. From his recent visit to the city, he knows
that the ceramics sector is an energy-intensive industry and will
be looking for more creative solutions in the short term to help
with rising energy costs. Can he confirm that he will meet me and
other Stoke-on-Trent MPs to discuss those ideas further?
I am always happy to meet my hon. Friends from Stoke, which
benefited from not just one, not just two, but three successful
levelling-up fund bids, and which I was pleased to visit
recently. My hon. Friend is right and he is, rightly, a proper
champion for the ceramics sector in this House. I enjoyed meeting
representatives from that sector on my recent visit and I would
be happy to meet him and them to discuss the situation
further.
(Huddersfield)
(Lab/Co-op)
We all know that the Chancellor is a fast-talking, slick operator
who knows how to keep his head down when it is useful, but as
someone who has been in the House since 1979, he is the most
incompetent Chancellor that I have ever seen. When children go to
bed—[Interruption.] He does not like it, but when children in my
constituency go to bed with no food in their tummies and no heat
in their homes, what does he think is the honourable position of
a Chancellor who has just allowed £4.3 billion to be taken in
fraud from one of his direct policies under his watch? Any other
Chancellor that I have known would have come to the House today
to resign.
I will let this Government’s record on economic policy speak for
itself. It is a record of which I am proud. I can provide the
hon. Gentleman with the reassurance that I and the Government
remain committed to tackling fraud wherever we see it. He
mentioned the figure of £4.9 billion. As I said to the House in
oral questions on Tuesday, that estimate has already been reduced
by a third—by £1.6 billion—because of the actions that we are
taking. I will not go into them all now, but he should know that
we will go after everyone wherever we can to recover that money
for the taxpayer, and I am confident that we will do a very good
job.
(Redcar) (Con)
This is a targeted package that helps those just about managing,
which is entirely right. The last Labour Government closed six
nuclear power stations and had a policy of no new nuclear. Does
my right hon. Friend agree that, alongside these measures to help
people in the short term, it is imperative that we invest in our
long-term energy security—in domestic gas production, in
renewables, and, crucially, in new nuclear?
My hon. Friend is absolutely right about some of the failures of
policy that the Labour party propagated in power. That is being
fixed by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State of Business,
Energy and Industrial Strategy. We are investing not just in new
nuclear, as he said, with billions of pounds at the spending
review, but in offshore wind, and—as he knows in his part of the
world—carbon capture and storage and hydrogen, where Teesside is
playing a starring role in that green energy revolution.
(Ceredigion) (PC)
The Chancellor will be aware that nearly 20% of households in
Wales are not connected to the mains gas grid. In rural areas
such as Ceredigion, that figure actually rises to more than 80%.
Research by the Office for National Statistics notes that
Ceredigion suffered the highest increase in fuel bills over any
area in mainland UK in the past year, increasing by £863 on
average. Will the Chancellor confirm whether the rebate announced
today will also apply to households that are not connected to the
main power grids?
The hon. Gentleman makes an excellent point and one that
colleagues not just in Wales, but in England and Scotland will
also be asking, not least my own constituents. I can tell him
that the rebate will be delivered through electricity bills to
solve the exact problem that he mentions, which is much more
universal. Separately, obviously, the council tax discount in
England is through the council tax system, so it is agnostic to
the heating source, and I would expect the Welsh Government,
should they choose to do the same thing, to be able to solve that
problem in that way.
(Loughborough) (Con)
Quite simply, this is a superb plan—very well done. My right hon.
Friend is right to question the Opposition’s idea of a windfall
tax, given that completely stifled the
telecoms market in the late ‘90s by doing exactly the same.
Speaking as the chair of the all-party group for district
councils, I wonder whether my right hon. Friend will join me in
thanking councils for once again being able to offer swift and
agile responses to local communities and families in helping us
to deliver this today.
As a former local government Minister, it gives me great pleasure
to pay tribute to district councils and to the work of the
District Councils’ Network. I do not know whether John Fuller is
still running it, but it does an excellent job. Once again, when
we need it to help us to deliver policies, it steps up. I can
confirm also that it will have received new burdens funding for
doing that, but I thank it for all its work, and my hon. Friend
is right to champion it.
(Kingston upon Hull North)
(Lab)
Even before covid, a third of children in Hull North, many in
working families, were living in poverty. With the cost of living
crisis and energy prices soaring, will the measures that the
Chancellor is introducing today see an increase, or a decrease,
in the number of children living in poverty by Christmas?
Thanks to the actions of this and previous Governments, since
2010, there are 200,000 fewer children living in poverty. We also
know that children growing up in workless households are five
times more likely to be in poverty than those who have working
parents, which is why it is very good news that the number of
children in workless households has fallen by 700,000 over the
past decade. That is the best way to get children out of poverty:
find jobs for their parents, and that is what this Government are
committed to doing.
(Sleaford and North
Hykeham) (Con)
I thank my right hon. Friend the Chancellor for his honesty in
stating that we cannot completely remove inflationary global
pressures, and for his focus on supporting hard-working
middle-income and low-income families. I want to ask about the
discretionary £150 million fund. In particular, will he ensure
that that funding is directed so that all those living in
military family accommodation who are not eligible to pay council
tax are eligible for the £150 discount?
My hon. Friend is right to highlight one of the categories of
those who are exempt that we want to get support to and ensure
that they are included in the discretionary fund. I know from our
conversations that she has also highlighted those living in rural
constituencies such as hers who are off the gas grid, and I hope
she is reassured by the answer I gave to the hon. Member for
Ceredigion ().
(Bristol South) (Lab)
The Chancellor’s proposal to “buy now, pay back later” while
ignoring the eye-watering profits from oil and gas companies, as
he did with the fraudsters, tells us all we need to know about
whose side he is on. Prepayment meter customers face a much
higher rate—£708 on average—so can he tell us how these plans
will help the people who pop down to the corner shop to top up
their prepayment cards?
Around 4 million households have prepayment meters, and about 40%
of those will be able to receive the rebate on bills
automatically because of the nature of their prepayment meter.
For the remaining 60%, we will have to do something more manual
and there are various ways we can do that, whether by sending
barcodes or QR codes through the post or by email—[Interruption.]
Before the Opposition say anything, that is exactly how we
already deliver the warm home discount to those people, and we
did exactly the same thing in a similar measure in 2012 under the
coalition. This affects less than 9% of all households, but we
have a plan for them. We will work with the energy companies to
ensure that all those on prepayment meters benefit in exactly the
same way.
(Kettering) (Con)
Residents in the Kettering constituency will warmly welcome the
assistance that the Chancellor has announced to help them with
their rising energy bills. As well as the measures he has
announced today, there is an additional £1.8 billion of support
out there in unclaimed pension credit. One million pensioners are
eligible and not claiming, including 4,500 in north
Northamptonshire. Just as we reached out to pensioners to come
forward to get their vaccination, please can we reach out to
those people who are not claiming, because some of them have the
highest energy bills?
My hon. Friend makes an excellent point, which he also made the
other day in Treasury questions, when we committed to looking at
how best we could take up his suggestions. I think I am right in
saying—the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial
Strategy, my right hon. Friend the Member for Spelthorne () will correct me if I am
wrong—that the warm home discount is already moving to a more
automatic system for that rebate for those on pension credit, but
we will of course take his suggestions on board and figure out
how best to improve what we do.
(Swansea West)
(Lab/Co-op)
Each week, the Prime Minister tells us that there are 420,000
more people in work than there were before the pandemic, yet the
Office for National Statistics tells us that there are 506,000
fewer people in work than before the pandemic. The reason for
that, as the Chancellor knows, is that the Prime Minister
excludes the self-employed. Will the Chancellor correct the
record to show that there are in fact half a million fewer people
in work, and explain why, in the circumstances, he is imposing a
massive national insurance tax on jobs?
If the hon. Gentleman looks at the remarks I made earlier, he
will see that I was clear that there are 400,000 more people on
payroll, and that is the right use of that statistic. It is
obviously harder to track those in self-employment because we
have real-time information numbers from HMRC for those on
payroll. We are proud of our track record on jobs. Unemployment
in this country was forecast to reach 12%, with millions of
people unemployed, but unemployment has now fallen for almost 10
straight months. It is almost back to the record lows we saw
pre-pandemic, and we have record job vacancies and record low
redundancies. That is all evidence that our plan for jobs is
working.
(Wycombe) (Con)
As somebody who supported a VAT cut, may I invite my right hon.
Friend to confirm that people in Wycombe will receive more help
faster under his plan?
I can give my hon. Friend the reassurance that the vast majority
of people in his constituency will receive £350. Those in council
tax bands A to D will get £150 in April. That is more than a VAT
cut would have given them, and it will come faster. I am grateful
to have his continued support.
(York Central)
(Lab/Co-op)
Older people, sick people at home and many disabled people will
need to put on their heating for longer, and therefore will be
paying more. What additional steps will the Chancellor take to
ensure that they are not pushed further into poverty, and not
least as he has tangled with the pensions triple lock this year,
what has he got against older people?
This Government and previous Conservative Governments have a
proud track record of supporting those who are retired and are
pensioners. Because of the triple lock, which has been in place
because of a Conservative Government, pensions are now at their
highest level relative to earnings in 30-odd years, and we are
protecting pensioners with a double lock this forthcoming year.
Of course, the winter fuel payment, with up to £300 of support
for those over the state pension age, will address exactly the
hon. Member’s concerns.
Mr Deputy Speaker ( )
I call Matt Vickers—[Interruption.] Sorry, .
(Cleethorpes) (Con)
Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. It must have been the mask.
As the Chancellor did at the time of the pandemic, he has put
together a very comprehensive protective shield around people in
my constituency, and that is very welcome. Many well-paid jobs
are being created, particularly in the energy sector, thanks to
Government policies, but there are many, particularly in food
processing or the security sector, who are on very modest incomes
and fixed incomes. Can my right hon. Friend give them an
assurance that he will keep this policy under review so that if
the energy price rise continues, as is likely, they can be
reassured that support will be available?
My hon. Friend is always a champion for those who are working
hard and doing the right thing, and that is why he has rightly
championed the freeport in his constituency to provide jobs and
opportunity for those families. I can give him that reassurance.
It is because it is likely that energy prices will remain high
and may even increase when the October price cap is set that the
rebate of £200 will come in in October—in that month. I hope that
will help at that time if energy bills continue to rise then, and
of course the £150 will come much sooner, which gives him the
reassurance he needs. As I said earlier, we do have to be honest
and recognise that we are all going to have to adjust to higher
energy prices, but what we can do is slow the pace and scale of
that adjustment for families across the country.
(Weaver Vale) (Lab)
Is the Chancellor comfortable about the fact that he has given
more support to fraudsters, writing off billions of pounds of
debts, than he is giving to hard-pressed families for whom this
just prolongs the pain? This 54% price rise will be paid over
four years, won’t it, Chancellor?
As I outlined earlier this week, nothing has been written off. We
are committed to going after everybody who has defrauded the
taxpayer. It is important to remember the context. These schemes
were delivered at enormous scale: 9 million people benefited from
the furlough scheme and 1.5 million small businesses benefited
from bounce back loans. At the time—we can remember the context—I
was here almost every other day being rightly held to account by
Members on both sides about the speed of support that we were
getting to businesses in all of our constituencies that needed
cash as quickly as possible. In those circumstances, I had to
make balanced trade-offs and judgments about the best way to
support those people. I am confident in the judgments we made,
but it is also right, now that we are through the pandemic, that
we go after anyone who has defrauded the Government and the
taxpayer with the full force of the law.
(Hastings and Rye)
(Con)
I join my colleagues on these Government Benches, and I am sure
many secretly on the Opposition Benches, in thanking my right
hon. Friend for his measures today. As he is aware, we have some
real deprivation in my beautiful constituency of Hastings and
Rye. Can he confirm that the measures announced by him today
target support to the most vulnerable and disadvantaged in my
constituency, are more generous as well as more financially
sensible than Labour’s uncosted plans, and will reach the
families who most need help now?
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Getting cash to people who
need it quickly is paramount in this circumstance. That is why
the £150 will go to those in her constituency in council tax
bands A to D in April, which will provide immediate relief. As
she said, this is a financially responsible approach to this
problem, because we do have to continue getting our borrowing and
debt down so that the plan we have put in place maintains us on
our path. It is actually important to recognise—I have made this
point before—that one of the reasons why I care about getting our
borrowing and debt to better levels is so that we have the
resilience to respond to shocks exactly like this, and that is
why it is important that we do rebuild such resilience.
(Croydon Central) (Lab)
The Chancellor’s package offers £350 off to the poorest
households. Labour’s proposals offer £600 off to the poorest
households. The cap has gone up by £693. Why is the Chancellor
offering the poorest households so much less than they would get
under Labour?
Those of us on the Government Benches believe that it is also
right that we support those on middle incomes; those families are
also working hard and they deserve our support. It is important
that they know that the Government are on their side at times
like this, and that is why we have taken the approach that we
have. But of course we are cognisant of those on lower incomes.
As I said, this is a progressive package. Flat-rate payments are
a greater percentage of income for people on lower incomes, and
indeed with smaller energy bills. As I have outlined, we have a
range of other interventions specifically targeted at those
people.
(Rushcliffe) (Con)
I welcome this generous plan, especially the inclusion of
families on middle incomes, which will do a lot to help many of
my constituents in Rushcliffe. Does my right hon. Friend the
Chancellor agree that now is the time for us to be investing in
our domestic energy industry and energy security—in turbo
charging our move to clean energy, as we are doing in the east
midlands freeport, rather than risk driving investment from the
UK with a counterproductive windfall tax as the Labour party
would?
I agree with my hon. Friend. She puts the point excellently.
Government Members are in favour of more investment in domestic
energy, more jobs for the British economy and greater energy
security for our nation.
(Inverclyde) (SNP)
With families facing an extra £2,800 of expenses, this package
does not really touch the sides at all, does it? With regard to
electricity, the Chancellor said:
“with the Government meeting the cost in full.”
But he is not is he? He is spreading it over five years, which
means that next year, when electricity prices continue to rise,
the poorest families will face increased bills and have to find
£40 to pay back to the Chancellor. You have not put a lid on it,
Chancellor, you have just kicked the can further down the
road.
As my right hon. Friend the Member for Harlow () said earlier, £350 is a
significant amount of money for families up and down the country,
and I think it will make a real difference and lessen their
anxiety. What I was talking about was the council tax rebate,
which will be fully Exchequer funded with no cash due back.
(Dudley South) (Con)
I thank my right hon. Friend the Chancellor for meeting me and
colleagues and responding so positively on this issue. He may
remember that I asked him to ensure that any support extended to
cover those just above benefit thresholds because they are often
most in need of help. How does the support that he has announced
today for those constituents compare with the suggestions made by
Labour?
My hon. Friend, as ever, makes a thoughtful contribution, and I
enjoyed our conversations. He was right to champion those who are
on middle incomes. As a result of those conversations with him
and others, we have designed a package that does exactly as I
think he would like to have seen. By targeting support at those
in council tax bands A to D, four out of five households—those up
to middle income, those just about managing—will receive £150
extra support, and they will get that support in April.
(Brentford and Isleworth)
(Lab)
A poll by Survation today reveals that 63% of the public support
a windfall tax on oil and gas producers’ profits. It is not like
this Government to ignore the polls so may I suggest that, rather
than misnaming, as he did in his statement, a renewable loan as a
discount, why not go for the windfall tax and give that money to
our hard-pressed constituents?
We have had this debate. Conservatives believe in more investment
in our domestic energy sector. We want to support British jobs
and British energy security and we believe in doing the right,
responsible thing. That is what a responsible Conservative
Government do.
(Meriden) (Con)
I thank my right hon. Friend for these packages, which will help
my constituents across my constituency. On the issue of a
windfall tax, will my right hon. Friend confirm that the Labour
party’s call for a windfall tax would undermine competition in
the market, reduce investment and kill off jobs? Ultimately it
would mean that energy prices were likely to be higher for longer
and hit the poorest the hardest.
My hon. Friend is exactly right. Some 200,000 jobs are supported
in that industry, and as I pointed out earlier, there are £11
billion-worth of projects waiting to get going. I would like to
see those projects go ahead, which will be good for the country’s
energy security, good for our economy and good for jobs. I know
that the Energy Minister and I share that ambition.
(Bassetlaw) (Con)
I thank the Chancellor for his statement. My constituents in
Bassetlaw will be breathing a sigh of relief at his announcements
today, which blow the Opposition’s VAT cut out of the water. The
Chancellor mentioned wholesale prices; as we become more
self-sufficient and move to renewables and new nuclear, is he
able to outline what the Government and the Treasury are doing to
tackle this problem at source? May I suggest the excellent step
fusion project in Bassetlaw that we are bidding for?
I am grateful for my hon. Friend’s support, and I am glad that
this announcement will provide some reassurance to his
constituents, who I know would be worried about the cost of
living. I have heard warm noises about his fusion project from my
right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and
Industrial Strategy. We announced, I think, £120 million for
advanced nuclear technologies in the spending review, and there
is no doubt that there is a productive conversation to be had
about how we allocate that money to projects such as his.
(Harrogate and Knaresborough)
(Con)
I thank my right hon. Friend for today’s statement, and for
confirming that this significant £9 billion package is going to
be targeted at those who need help most. He also highlighted that
80% of cost increases are coming from the global wholesale price
increase, so is he going to continue his focus on trying to
insulate the UK as much as possible from those global price
fluctuations, increasing our energy security, boosting domestic
production and ensuring that our energy supply is diverse in
nature, sustainable for the future and significant in scale?
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. It is important that we have
diversity of supply: that is what we are doing, whether through
offshore wind, nuclear, carbon capture and storage, or exploiting
domestic gas. We are doing all those things to build diversity of
supply for our security. My hon. Friend is right to highlight
that, in the long term, that is the right policy for British
customers.
(Colne Valley) (Con)
I welcome these targeted and fair measures that will help those
who need help most. While Labour’s VAT plans would help by just
£89, I welcome the fact that this council tax rebate will help
89% of households in Yorkshire and Humber—I have just had the
figures through—with a £150 rebate. Will the Chancellor also
confirm that those who fall outside the A to D bandings and who
still need help will be able to get that help through the extra
discretionary funding for local councils?
I am grateful to my hon. Friend, because I know that this is an
issue that was on his mind, and he wanted to make sure his
constituents got the support they needed at a time of anxiety for
them. I can confirm that the £144 million discretionary fund is
there to take care of those people—we estimate around 300,000
people—who are on means-tested benefits and happen to live in
council tax bands above A to D. That is why that discretionary
fund is there, to get support to the people he mentioned.
(Rother Valley)
(Con)
I thank the Chancellor for the £350 help that will really benefit
everyone in Rother Valley. Does he agree that it is right that
this Government are helping not just those on means-tested
benefits, but those not on benefits—the lower and middle-income
families—because they also need a helping hand? It is great that
this Government reward hard work and those who are doing the
right thing.
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. He has championed his
constituents who are working hard and doing the right thing, and
today’s announcement will give them reassurance that this
Government and their Member of Parliament are on their side.
Mr Deputy Speaker ( )
Finally, my former constituent, Mr Holden.
(North West Durham)
(Con)
Thank you very much, Mr Deputy Speaker; it is always a pleasure
to see you in the Chair. Could my right hon. Friend confirm that
all UK households will benefit from the £200 smoothing rebate,
and that almost 95% of County Durham residents will benefit from
the £150 council tax rebate, including those who are off-grid—a
similar proportion to the constituency of the right hon. Member
for Doncaster North (), who I see has now
scuttled away? That £150 is over 50% more than Labour’s VAT plan,
which would have benefited the richest people most. Will the
Chancellor continue to pursue a one-nation Conservative approach,
not an inner London two-kitchen one?
There were so many excellent points in my hon. Friend’s question.
The only thing on which I will correct him is that the energy
rebate is Great Britain-wide, because the Northern Ireland energy
market is devolved and we do not have the legal powers or the
regulator to do it there. Everything else he said is spot on, and
I can confirm that this Government will continue to be on the
side of his hard-working constituents, whom he does a great job
of championing. Today’s announcement will give them the
reassurance they need that, at a time of rising prices, this
Conservative Government are stepping in to help, as we have and
always will.
Mr Deputy Speaker ( )
I thank the Chancellor for his statement and for answering
questions for well over an hour.
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