Taxation Philip Davies (Shipley) (Con) 1. If he will reduce the
overall level of taxation.(904207) The Chancellor of the Exchequer
(Jeremy Hunt) Like all Conservatives, I believe in reducing the
burden of taxation wherever possible, while always demonstrating a
responsible approach to public finances. Philip Davies While I
appreciate that this is largely as a result of the idiotic decision
to lock down the country and the economy for the best part of
two...Request free trial
Taxation
(Shipley) (Con)
1. If he will reduce the overall level of taxation.(904207)
The Chancellor of the Exchequer ()
Like all Conservatives, I believe in reducing the burden of
taxation wherever possible, while always demonstrating a
responsible approach to public finances.
While I appreciate that this is largely as a result of the
idiotic decision to lock down the country and the economy for the
best part of two years, the Chancellor nevertheless finds himself
presiding over a high-tax, high-spend, low-growth,
quasi-socialist economy. When can those of us who remain
Conservatives expect to see some tax cuts and a reduction in the
burden of taxation?
I thank my hon. Friend for the inimitable way in which he asked
his question. I hope that he was reassured to some extent by the
£9 billion cut in the planned level of corporation tax in the
Budget, and, if we make the arrangement for capital allowances
permanent, as I should like to, that will give us the best
investment incentives anywhere in the OECD.
(Glenrothes) (SNP)
May I be the first to defend the Chancellor, and indeed the
shadow Chancellor, against any accusation of socialism?
Can the Chancellor explain why the Cameronbridge distillery in my
constituency, which is a major employer in an area of high
unemployment, faces an increase of about £350 million in its
excise tax bill this year? That is more than the additional
amount that the Chancellor claims to be giving to the whole of
Scotland. Will he explain why my constituents, and the companies
that employ my constituents, are having to contribute additional
taxes to pay for his economic failure?
Let me gently say to the hon. Member that the freeze in alcohol
duty which we introduced in the autumn of 2021, and which will
continue until August this year, has constituted a £2.7 billion
tax cut over four years. We do everything we can to help the
vital Scottish whisky industry.
Mr Speaker
I call the Chair of the Select Committee.
(West Worcestershire)
(Con)
There was a significant tax cut in the Budget that has been
greatly welcomed by drivers in my constituency and elsewhere,
namely the extension of the 5p cut in fuel duty and the freezing
of the escalator, but does the Chancellor accept that by
postponing that decision until an election year—next year—he is
simply continuing the fuel duty fiction that our Committee has
highlighted?
I am delighted that my hon. Friend welcomed the freezing of fuel
duty, which means that over the period for which it has been
frozen, the average motorist will have saved £200. There is a
specific reason why I wanted to continue to freeze it this year:
combined with the extension of the energy price guarantee, it
will reduce CPI inflation by 0.7% in a year in which headline
inflation is still over 10%.
(Denton and Reddish)
(Lab)
How is it fair that the Government are picking the pockets of
working people through frozen income tax thresholds while at the
same time allowing the super-rich non-doms to effectively opt out
of paying tax in this country, which is costing us £3.2 billion
this year?
Let me remind the hon. Gentleman what we have done for people on
low incomes. Because of the increase in the income tax and
national insurance thresholds which was completed last year,
those on the average wage of £28,000 pay £1,000 less in tax and
national insurance than they would have paid at 2010 levels—that
is a tax cut that his party opposed at each and every stage.
Ultra Low Emission Zones
(Ruislip, Northwood and
Pinner) (Con)
2. Whether his Department has made an assessment of the economic
impact of ultra low emission zones.(904208)
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury ()
Responsibility for transport and air quality within Greater
London is devolved to the Mayor of London and Transport for
London via the Greater London Authority Act 1999. It is for the
Mayor to assess the economic impact of the proposed expansion of
the ULEZ, and to consult properly to ensure that it is not just a
tax on the poorest motorists.
Small business owners and elderly and disabled residents affected
by the ULEZ in my constituency are concerned about the fact that
the Mayor’s process has not been as independent or robust as it
should be. Will my right hon. Friend consider commissioning the
Treasury’s own independent assessment of the impact of the ULEZ,
so that my constituents and local business owners can really
understand how it will affect them?
As the Prime Minister said just last week,
“the Mayor of London should listen to the voices of commuters,
families”—
including many of my hon. Friend’s constituents—
“and small businesses as he inflicts his…tax on them.”—[Official
Report, 15 March 2023; Vol. 729, c. 832.]
As the House has just heard, our Budget last week supported
hard-pressed motorists by cancelling the planned increase of
about 11p in fuel duty, saving drivers about £5 billion this
year.
Cost of Energy
(Keighley) (Con)
3. What fiscal steps he is taking to support businesses with the
cost of energy.(904209)
(York Outer) (Con)
6. What fiscal steps he is taking to support businesses with the
cost of energy.(904213)
(Gedling) (Con)
9. What fiscal steps he is taking to support households with the
cost of energy.(904216)
The Chancellor of the Exchequer ()
The Government have provided unprecedented support to help
households and businesses with energy costs, totalling £94
billion for households and £8 billion for businesses. That is
more than £100 billion over 2022 and 2023.
One of my local foundry businesses based in Keighley, Leach &
Thompson, has kindly contacted me to say that British Gas wants
to charge it £41.50 a day as a standing charge and that its unit
rate has doubled. That is having a dramatic impact on the
business. The Government have helped with the unit charge, but
will the Chancellor outline what steps he is taking to help
support small and medium-sized businesses with the extortionate
standing charges being quoted by energy companies?
I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue, which I know is
shared by many Members across the House. That is why on 9 January
I wrote to Ofgem asking it to update me on its investigation into
the business market, which is not a regulated market like the
consumer market. It has replied saying that it has concerns. It
is concerned about significant changes in standing charges, about
an increasing number of suppliers asking for security deposits
and raising the cost of those deposits, and about potential
breaches of the rules of the energy bill relief scheme. It will
get back to me with its solutions as soon as possible.
When I was talking to businesses in York on Friday, they stressed
to me that energy bills were still a major worry for many of
them, especially in the hospitality sector, which is so important
to our city. It is clear that the next six months will be
critical for many of those businesses, so can the Chancellor
provide any more targeted support, especially to the hospitality
sector?
I ask my hon. Friend to keep me updated on what is happening with
the hospitality sector in his constituency, but he will know that
we have already introduced support for business rates, with a 75%
reduction in business rates up to a cap of £110,000, and that the
energy bills discount scheme is providing more than £8 billion of
support over this year and last. We are doing everything we
can.
Does my right hon. Friend agree that a long-term energy strategy
is critical to helping people with the cost of living? Will he
outline what steps the Government are taking to enable this
through the funding of nuclear energy?
My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise this issue, as is my
hon. Friend the Member for Ynys Môn (), who does so on every
single occasion she can. Nuclear is important because there will
be times when the weather does not generate the energy we need
from renewable sources. That is why we announced in the Budget
that we are going ahead with Great British Nuclear and with the
competition for small modular reactors, provided that an
investigation this year finds that that is viable, and we will
class nuclear power as environmentally sustainable, subject to
consultation.
(Edinburgh West) (LD)
A number of small businesses in my constituency are struggling
with their energy costs, and two have recently gone to the wall,
but major companies in the whisky sector are also struggling. The
Chancellor says that the Government are doing what they can to
support them, but does he appreciate that that is not how it
feels in Scotland? This major industry, with its high-intensity
use of energy in distilling, is facing a 10% increase, which will
mean that something like 75% of the price of a bottle of whisky
goes to the Exchequer. The industry does not feel like it is
being helped. Does he appreciate that it feels like it is being
kicked at a very difficult time?
I recognise the challenges that the distilling industry and many
other industries are facing. That is why we are giving more than
£100 billion of support to businesses and consumers, but I would
say to the hon. Lady that Scotch whisky has received nine cuts or
freezes in the last 10 Budgets, so we are doing everything we
can.
(Glasgow Central)
(SNP)
It is all fine and well for the Chancellor to say that he is in
correspondence with Ofgem, but the business energy sector remains
unregulated and many businesses in my constituency are stuck on
very high tariffs because of the increase in prices, which have
now to some degree gone down. What will he do about those people
who are marooned on higher tariffs? It is costing their
businesses dearly and those businesses may not even survive.
That is exactly why I wrote to Ofgem. Wholesale gas prices are
now lower than they were before the Ukraine invasion. The hon.
Lady is right to say it is not a regulated market and I want to
find out from Ofgem what it thinks should happen to avoid
precisely the problem she talks about.
(Rutherglen and Hamilton
West) (Ind)
Many pubs and breweries are locked into energy bill contracts
that are staggeringly high, and they are calling for an
opportunity to renegotiate them. What further support will
Ministers offer the sector with its energy bills, particularly
recognising the financial impact that the increase in alcohol
duty will have?
We are doing a great deal. As the hon. Lady will know, we set up
a new scheme, the energy bills discount scheme, to help
businesses in the coming year. As I mentioned to my hon. Friend
the Member for York Outer (), we are also giving them 75%
relief on their business rates. We will continue to do everything
we can for this very important sector.
People on Lower Incomes
(Crawley) (Con)
4. What fiscal steps he is taking to provide financial support to
people on lower incomes.(904211)
The Chancellor of the Exchequer ()
In addition to extending the energy price guarantee, and to help
people further, cost of living payments for vulnerable households
will kick in next year. We are also uprating benefits and
increasing the national living wage to £10.42 an hour.
What assessment has my right hon. Friend made of the saving a
typical family will achieve as a result of his fuel duty measures
announced in last week’s Budget?
I thank my hon. Friend for saying that. We think the average
driver has saved about £200 in total since the 5p cut was
introduced, but we are also introducing draught relief for beer
drinkers in pubs and 30 hours of free childcare for young parents
who are struggling with childcare costs. There are a lot of cost
of living measures in the Budget.
(Strangford) (DUP)
I thank the Chancellor for all he does, and for his hard work. It
is more than just beer drinkers, of course. Carers who also work
part time are precluded from receiving carer’s allowance if they
earn just over the threshold. Will he consider uplifting the
carer’s allowance earnings threshold in line with inflation?
I thank the hon. Gentleman for mentioning carers, who do an
amazing job. It is fair to say that our NHS and care systems
would fall over without the incredible job carers do. We will
always keep under review what we can do to help these very
important people.
Economic Outlook: Lincolnshire and Cleethorpes
(Cleethorpes) (Con)
5. What assessment he has made of the economic outlook for (a)
Greater Lincolnshire and (b) Cleethorpes
constituency.(904212)
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury ()
The Government are committed to creating an environment in which
economic growth benefits all. The latest data indicates that
productivity in Greater Lincolnshire grew by 8.4% from 2010 to
2020, compared with UK productivity growth of 7.9% over the same
period. Coastal communities such as Cleethorpes play a vital role
in the economy. I am pleased that, following the announcements on
the second levelling-up fund, more than £18 million has been
granted for the Cleethorpes masterplan.
The county of Lincolnshire has great opportunities for economic
development in both rural and urban areas. In particular, the
Cleethorpes constituency is a major centre for the renewable
energy sector and contains a major port at Immingham. Freeport
status has been granted for the Humber freeport, but I understand
that we are awaiting final Treasury sign-off. Can the Minister
give us an indication of when that will happen?
I am pleased to confirm that the full business case for the
Humber freeport has now been conditionally approved by the
Treasury, with full approval subject to the customs site being
designated and the freeport signing a memorandum of understanding
with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
The Humber freeport is already open for business, supporting the
regeneration of the region by creating jobs and attracting new
business investment. I am sorry that Treasury processes can
sometimes appear tortuous.
Tax-free Childcare
(Upper Bann) (DUP)
7. If he will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the
potential impact of increasing the tax-free childcare allowance
on the ability of parents to work.(904214)
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury ()
Tax-free childcare provides financial support for working parents
with their childcare costs. In addition to tax-free childcare,
the Chancellor announced at the spring Budget that all eligible
working parents in England will be able to access 30 hours of
free childcare a week for 38 weeks of the year, from when their
child is nine months old until they start school.
I thank the Minister for his response. When will the Government
start to reward the working families of this United Kingdom? We
have a Chancellor who is giving tax breaks to the wealthy to top
up their pension pots, yet he cannot support working families by
increasing the personal allowance or by offering tax-free
childcare that supports all families with childcare needs,
particularly families with older children. The high-income child
benefit charge remains untouched, leaving households that earn
much less than others unaffected. Can the Chancellor update us on
his plans to reform this deeply unfair practice?
I do not accept the overall characterisation that the hon. Lady
has given. Just in November last year, 428,000 families and
511,000 children benefited from tax-free childcare. The
announcements last week will make a significant contribution, and
of course that work will start immediately, with the Department
for Education consultation. We have a commitment of £204 million
for the coming financial year, and £288 million for the following
year, to increase supply so that we can deliver this as quickly
as possible.
Dame (South Northamptonshire)
(Con)
I congratulate the Treasury team on the excellent new policy of
providing much more childcare support to families. Will my right
hon. Friend persuade the Chancellor to meet me and a small group
of colleagues to talk about the policy in the round and about how
we can give more support to all families, providing more
flexibility where informal childcare is provided—for example, by
grandparents—and ensuring that families who want to look after
their children at home are not, in effect, left out and left in
poverty as a result of the decisions they make for their
family?
I thank my right hon. Friend for her question, and I welcomed the
chance to discuss this matter at length with her recently. The
Chancellor has indicated that he would be happy to meet her, and
I would also be happy to meet her again.
Budget: Gender Equality
(Jarrow) (Lab)
8. If he will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the
potential impact of the spring Budget on gender
equality.(904215)
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury ()
The Government remain committed to full genuine gender equality
and to supporting women. In particular, we are supporting women
into work through our new childcare package, which I just
mentioned, allowing people to return to work sooner; encouraging
business investment through schemes such as the community
investment tax relief; and creating new job opportunities with
our labour market package. In developing proposals for the spring
Budget, the Treasury takes care to consider the equality impacts
on those sharing protected characteristics, including gender, in
line with our legal obligations and the Government’s strong
commitment to promoting fairness.
I thank the Minister for his response. Let me help him out. If he
had made an adequate assessment, he would have found that the
spring Budget failed women. It failed young women, women in work
and pensioners. Women are more likely to rely on and work in
public services, and this Budget made their lives worse, not
better. Most of the UK’s poorest pensioners are single women, and
the gender pensions gap needs to be addressed. Will he agree to
urgently put forward a compensation package to deal with the
injustice faced by 1950s women—the WASPI women?
I do not accept that. I think the WASPI issue has been covered
many times, by Ministers from the Department for Work and
Pensions and elsewhere. We are putting in £4.1 billion by 2027-28
to expand free childcare. This Government have a record to be
proud of: we have increased the number of women in full-time
work; we introduced shared parental leave; we introduced the
Domestic Abuse Act 2021; and we made a range of interventions
last week that many women up and down the country will be very
pleased with.
Mortgage Rates
(Weaver Vale) (Lab)
10. Whether he is taking steps with Cabinet colleagues to support
homeowners with increases in mortgage rates.(904217)
(Stretford and Urmston)
(Lab)
16. Whether he is taking steps with Cabinet colleagues to support
homeowners with increases in mortgage rates.(904223)
The Economic Secretary to the Treasury ()
Mortgage lenders are required to offer a range of tailored
support to borrowers in financial difficulty. The Chancellor and
I have made clear our expectation that they live up to those
responsibilities.
A typical family are now paying up to £2,000 more for their
mortgage, partially as a result of the former Prime Minister.
First, will the Chancellor apologise to those people, who number
about 20,000 in my constituency? Secondly, will he seriously do
something about it?
The Government are supporting households with a £94 billion
package of support. We have kept the energy price guarantee for
an additional three months and we are bearing down—I hope the
hon. Gentleman joins us in doing this—on the biggest cost of
living challenge faced by families, which is inflation.
Thirteen years of failed Tory economic policies, alongside last
year’s disastrous mini-Budget, have, as my hon. Friend the Member
for Weaver Vale () says, left thousands and
thousands of mortgage holders subject to high interest rates and
sky-high inflation. So I repeat his call: will any member of the
Treasury team have the decency to apologise to the very many
hard-pressed families who are currently subject to the Tory
mortgage penalty?
Interest rates are not only falling but are still below the level
at which they peaked under the last Labour Government, despite
the fact that we have had a covid pandemic and war in Ukraine. I
welcome the news last week from the Office for Budget
Responsibility that the country is on track to avoid a recession,
and we must never forget the words of the right hon. Member for
Birmingham, Hodge Hill (): there is no money left.
(Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)
A competitive and viable banking sector is essential to offer
competitive mortgages to constituents right across the country.
What assessment has my hon. Friend made of the treatment of
additional tier 1 bonds in relation to the Credit Suisse
takeover, which could well undermine the sector elsewhere, and
what assessment has he made of the value of those bonds here in
the UK?
I thank my right hon. Friend for his comments. The Government
join the Bank of England in welcoming the comprehensive set of
actions taken yesterday by the Swiss authorities to ensure
financial stability. It would not be for me to talk from the
Dispatch Box about the treatment of creditors, but the UK’s bank
resolution framework has a clear statutory order in which
shareholders and creditors would bear losses in a resolution or
insolvency scenario.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister.
Mr (Wolverhampton South East) (Lab)
The Conservative party wants to pretend that last September’s
mini-Budget and its impact on mortgages was all a bad dream, but
it is more than a bad dream for the 4 million households who will
face a mortgage rise this year on either fixed or variable rates.
The average two-year fixed rate deal is now around £2,000 a year
more than it cost in August last year. That is real money and
real costs. What is the Government’s estimate of the total cost
of September’s mini-Budget to UK homeowners?
The hon. Member—[Interruption.] Forgive me, the right hon. Member
will be aware that interest rates have been increasing globally.
Interest rates in the UK are now lower than the equivalent in the
US and are lower than they were last autumn. The Government have
a range of measures to help hard-pressed mortgage payers, but
above all else, our strong stewardship of the economy is bringing
down interest rates and means that we are on track to halve
inflation this year.
Mr Speaker
I call Mr McFadden.
The OBR has confirmed that the UK economy will avoid a technical
recession and was the fastest growing economy in the G7 for the
past two years.
Mr Speaker
Minister, when I am moving on, I want you to move with me.
Mr McFadden
The Minister either does not know or will not say what the total
cost was. Is it not interesting that it is always someone else’s
fault? One of the first things that the Prime Minister did when
he took office was to give in to his Back Benchers on house
building targets. The Home Builders Federation now says that the
supply of new housing is likely to fall to its lowest level since
the second world war—less than half the Government’s target. How
will building fewer homes as a result of a back-stairs deal
inside the Conservative party help young people in our
constituencies who dream of owning their own home and getting on
the property ladder?
We share the aspiration of young people to own their own home,
but the best way to help them do that is to have a vibrant,
growing economy. We are on the side of doing that. We are taking
actions that will restore the economy to growth. Every Labour
Government who have ever taken office have left unemployment at a
higher rate than when they came in.
Mr Speaker
I call the Scottish National party spokesperson.
(Dundee East) (SNP)
Last August, there were 75,000 mortgage approvals. That number
halved by December. We are all aware of the reports from late
last year of the number of mortgage products that were removed
and the troubling reports of mortgage offers being withdrawn.
Before we even get to the issue of support for mortgage holders,
what is the Treasury doing to ensure the availability of
mortgages, a good range of mortgage products and an end to offers
being withdrawn unless there is a very, very good reason to do
so?
We have recently renewed the mortgage guarantee scheme, which
helps the availability of high loan to value ratio mortgages. We
are looking very clearly at the mortgage market and at things
that we can do to help first-time buyers. The right hon. Member
should also know that mortgage arrears, which we monitor very
closely, remain low. In fact, they are lower now than they were
prior to the pandemic.
Of course, 18 months ago a two-year fixed-rate mortgage with a 5%
deposit was under 3%. It is now north of 6%. A two-year
fixed-interest mortgage with a 25% deposit, which was 1.25%, is
now also north of 6%. How can it possibly be fair that somebody
buying an average-priced house in Scotland worth around £190,000,
putting down a £50,000 deposit, could face an interest rate that
has gone up by 500% in that time?
Interest rates are now falling, something the right hon.
Gentleman declined to mention. The best thing we can do to help
with those interest rates is to deliver on the Prime Minister’s
objective of halving inflation, and I am encouraged that we are
on track to do so.
Net Zero
(Hornsey and Wood Green)
(Lab)
11. What fiscal steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to
support the economy in reaching net-zero carbon emissions.
(904218)
(Stockton North) (Lab)
17. What fiscal steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to
support the economy in reaching net-zero carbon emissions.
(904224)
(Manchester, Withington)
(Lab)
20. What fiscal steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to
support the economy in reaching net-zero carbon emissions.
(904227)
(Portsmouth South) (Lab)
22. What fiscal steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to
support the economy in reaching net-zero carbon emissions.
(904229)
The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury ()
At the spending review 2021, we confirmed that since March 2021
the Government will have committed a total £30 billion of public
investment for the green industrial revolution. Since then, the
Government have made new announcements to provide long-term
certainty on our investment plans, including £6 billion for
energy efficiency from 2025 and up to £20 billion for carbon
capture, usage and storage. The Government will set out further
action shortly to support green industries in the UK and meet our
net zero 2050 commitment.
Yesterday, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
published its report on the latest data, warning that the world
is fast approaching irreversible levels of global heating. Why is
the Treasury still giving energy companies an easy ride through
lucrative loopholes in the energy windfall tax? The Treasury
should be prioritising investments in renewables so that over
time, our bills can come down.
This country should be proud of our record, which has seen
emissions fall faster in this country than in any country in the
G7—down 44% since 1990—but we have to balance that against energy
security. Surely, if there is one thing we have learned from what
has happened with Ukraine’s invasion by Russia, it is that we
need to maximise domestic energy production. The investment
allowance in our windfall tax is not a loophole; it is there
precisely to incentivise investment so that we maximise domestic
energy production.
While the sector would have liked more, I welcome the £20 billion
over 20 years for carbon capture, use and storage in the Budget.
Will the Minister now confirm that the Teesside-Humber project
will go ahead and how additional clusters will be selected
through the track-2 process?
I pay tribute to the hon. Gentleman for his consistency—he raised
this with me on Thursday in my winding-up speech on the Budget
debate. As I said then, we will announce further details soon,
but I can confirm that I will be meeting the Carbon Capture and
Storage Association tomorrow. I look forward to the meeting. This
is an incredibly important step forward, because we must remember
that carbon capture does not just give us clean energy, but
enables heavy industry to decarbonise.
Why does the Chancellor not rewire local economies by taking
inspiration from President Biden and backing Labour’s policy for
a national wealth fund to support half a million new jobs this
decade?
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising the Inflation
Reduction Act; I hope we all welcome what the United States is
doing, because the climate is a global phenomenon and, if we are
to make progress, we need the United States and other countries
to do their bit. Let me be clear: we should be proud of our
record to date and confident in our future, because we have huge
competitive advantages on green industry. We have a brilliant
record to date, we have the shallow North sea, where we have
developed the biggest coastal array of offshore wind in the whole
of Europe, we have a brilliant scientific base and, with the City
of London and our financial institutions, we should be confident
about our green future.
The Institute of Directors has warned that
“the UK will find itself left behind in the accelerating race to
lead the green economy.”
After a lacklustre Budget, does the Minister agree?
To give just one example of why we should be confident, last year
40% of our electricity came from renewables. The figure in the
United States was 20%. We have a very strong record, but we are
going to keep building on it. That is why we announced the £20
billion for carbon capture and storage and why we announced Great
British Nuclear, because we need that baseload power to go
alongside renewables and give us energy security.
(North East Bedfordshire)
(Con)
The truth is that it is under this Conservative Government that
the greatest strides have been accomplished in harnessing the
British economy to achieve net zero, with the leadership of
COP26, the establishment of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for
Net Zero, and the introduction of corporate reporting on carbon
emissions for our major corporations. Will my hon. Friend work
with British business to continue that progress and ensure that
we can all move forward successfully to achieve net zero?
My hon. Friend speaks with passion, experience and expertise, and
he is absolutely right. Of course we work closely with investors
and business—one key example is the contracts for difference
regime. Last July, we had the largest ever allocation of
contracts through the contracts for difference process,
contracting about 11 GW of clean power, which is enough clean
energy for 12 million homes. That is a huge step forward, and it
shows that we are delivering on net zero. As a party, we will
balance that with energy security so that we learn the lessons of
the last 12 months.
(Ynys Môn) (Con)
Ynys Môn is known as energy island. It has wind, wave, tidal and
solar, and will have, I hope, new nuclear at Wylfa. For more than
three years, I have campaigned for Anglesey to be a freeport,
which would turbocharge the island’s economy and help the
Government to deliver net zero. We are due to hear from the Welsh
Government and the UK Government by early spring on whether our
island’s bid has been successful. It feels like early spring in
my Holyhead garden. Does it feel like early spring in the
Chancellor’s garden?
My hon. Friend’s constituency is an island, and she is its
rock—there is no doubt about that; she champions these issues
consistently. I am assured that the Chief Secretary to the
Treasury is giving careful consideration to her proposition, and
that just underlines that she has been a champion for her
constituency. By delivering on our green plans, we can generate
green jobs and green investment in every part of the United
Kingdom, including Wales.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister.
(Erith and Thamesmead)
(Lab)
As my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth South () just said, the Institute of
Directors has warned that
“the UK will find itself left behind in the accelerating race to
lead the green economy.”
The Confederation of British Industry says that we are investing
five times less in green industries than Germany—five times less.
Meanwhile, the United Nations issues warnings of a climate
disaster. Where is the urgency and action from the Conservatives
to decarbonise our economy and win the global race for green
jobs?
What the IOD actually said about the Budget was that it was
“hugely encouraging”, and I strongly agree. We have an
extraordinary track record—the fastest-falling emissions in the
whole of the G7 and extraordinary success in offshore wind—but we
want to go further. That is why we have announced £20 billion for
carbon capture and storage, and we will soon announce many more
positive measures.
Regeneration of Brownfield Sites
(Bolton South East)
(Lab)
12. If he will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the
potential economic impact of creating a regeneration fund to
support the conversion of brownfield former industrial sites into
mixed-use properties. (904219)
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury ()
The Government strongly encourage the effective utilisation of
brownfield land, whether it was industrial, commercial or
residential in its former use. We invest heavily in brownfield
remediation programmes, including £1.8 billion at spending review
2021, as well as the levelling-up fund. National planning policy
also sets out what planning policies and decisions should give
substantial weight to the value of using suitable brownfield
land.
Bolton town centre is in a parlous state. We lost out in the
latest round of levelling-up funding, and the Tory council failed
even to send the earlier application for funding. As an
ex-industrial town, we have large brownfield mill sites standing
derelict and unused, and they are eyesores. We could retrofit
them to create affordable social housing to alleviate our housing
crisis, develop retail units for new businesses, and support
local charities and community groups with such units. With that
in mind, what discussion has the Treasury had with Bolton Council
and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
about the merits of such a scheme for the borough?
I agree with the hon. Lady that Bolton has great opportunities.
Its brownfield register shows that it has more than 100
brownfield sites. Of course, the Government have given the
Greater Manchester Combined Authority £150 million—£27 million
just last year—to deliver local brownfield remediation. The
breadth of the existing funds means that specific land
remediation funding is not required, but there is provision in
the Greater Manchester area, and I think that she should speak to
the metro Mayor about it.
(Aldridge-Brownhills)
(Con)
The west midlands trailblazer devolution deal, launched
yesterday, brings further support for regeneration and
infrastructure along with £100 million of brownfield funding,
which is good news for areas such as mine. Does my right hon.
Friend agree that this issue is key to delivering homes and jobs
while protecting our precious greenbelt and will he consider that
in any impact assessment study that he undertakes?
My right hon. Friend makes a very sensible point. This is about
finding appropriate development in different communities, and a
range of factors will obviously be involved. We have worked
closely with local authorities to ensure that we get the right
package of measures and legislative changes to enable the
development she and her constituents aspire to.
Withdrawal from the EU: Economic Impact
(Edinburgh East) (SNP)
13. What recent assessment his Department has made of the impact
of withdrawal from the EU on the economy. (904220)
The Financial Secretary to the Treasury ()
It remains challenging to separate the effects on the UK economy
of Brexit and of wider global trends, such as the invasion of
Ukraine by Russia, that add pressures on trade, prices and the
wider economy. The Government have been working to take advantage
of leaving the EU, including through the Edinburgh reforms, new
freeports and the opportunity to shape new trading relationships
with the rest of the world.
It is not that difficult, is it? Last week, the Office for Budget
Responsibility published its report and, at the bottom of page
46, it says quite clearly that the OBR predicts that Brexit means
that the UK economy will shrink by 4% and trade will go down by
15%. Is it not time to get over this denial phase and actually
admit that Brexit has caused irreparable harm to the UK economy?
Or is the OBR wrong?
If I may, I will gently point out to the hon. Gentleman that the
OBR has previously stated that it is too early to reach
definitive conclusions. The Government are focused on seizing the
opportunities provided by Brexit, including the world’s biggest
zero-tariff, zero-quota trade deal. Indeed, Scotland itself will
benefit from 71 new trade deals secured with non-EU countries and
control of our fishing waters. I hope that the hon. Gentleman
also welcomes the £8.6 million invested in Scotland’s festival
economy at the Budget last week.
(Hampstead and Kilburn)
(Lab)
Now that the Windsor agreement has been reached, I am sure that
the Minister will agree that there is ample opportunity to have a
constructive working relationship with the European Union. In
light of that, and for the sake of struggling British businesses,
may I ask the Minister whether she will finally get behind
Labour’s proposals for a bespoke veterinary agreement on the
mutual recognition of professional qualifications and for a
memorandum of understanding on regulatory co-operation for our
financial services?
I am very grateful to the hon. Lady for her question and I urge
her to get behind our trade and co-operation agreement. As I say,
it is the world’s largest zero-tariff, zero-quota deal. I am
delighted to say that the Chief Secretary has just confirmed that
we have signed the memorandum.
Social and Affordable Housing
(York Central)
(Lab/Co-op)
14. If he will take fiscal steps to increase funding for social
and affordable housing. (904221)
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury ()
The Government are committed to delivering social and affordable
housing and are investing £115 billion in the affordable homes
programme from 2021 to 2026. That is the largest investment in
affordable housing in a decade and includes investment in
supported housing, social and affordable rent and shared
ownership.
The affordable homes programme will deliver just 32,000 homes
over five years while 1.2 million households are waiting for
social houses, yet there was no mention of new money in the
Budget last week, which was a massive disappointment in the light
of the scale of the housing crisis. In York, we are seeing a net
loss of social housing. Will the Chief Secretary ensure that
social housing is prioritised, that money comes forward and that
we see a real boost to the affordable homes programme so that
York, and places like it, can have the housing they need?
That is a top priority of this Government and I continue to work
with colleagues across the Department for Levelling Up, Housing
and Communities and other Departments to deliver it.
Economic Inactivity
(Norwich North) (Con)
15. What fiscal steps he is taking to help reduce economic
inactivity. (904222)
The Chancellor of the Exchequer ()
If we had the same economic inactivity rate as Holland, there
would be 2.7 million more people in work, filling every vacancy
in the economy nearly three times over. That is why we focused on
the issue in the Budget.
I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer, and for the
measures he set out in the Budget. I support the fiscal measures
he has taken regarding the pensions lifetime allowance, which
doctors in Norwich tell me will enable them to deliver more
appointments and more operations. Can I go on to ask him, though,
what he expects to see in the forthcoming state pension age
review?
I thank my right hon. Friend for asking that question, and for
all the work she has done in the Department for Work and Pensions
on economic inactivity. As she knows, there is an ongoing
statutory Government review of the state pension age, and that
review will need to carefully balance important factors,
including fiscal sustainability, the economic context, the latest
life expectancy data, and fairness to both pensioners and
taxpayers.
Dame (Hackney South and Shoreditch) (Lab/Co-op)
One of the key ways to promote economic activity is to make sure
that people have a stable, affordable roof over their head. Only
last week a constituent visited me who cannot earn enough to be
able to afford to rent privately in London, so he is restricted
in how much he can work. Surely, if the Chancellor believes in
growth, he must see the common sense in investing in social
housing?
I do, but I also point out to the hon. Lady that we took a range
of other measures in the Budget that will help such people,
including increasing the help that we give them to find
appropriate work, and helping those who have a long-term sickness
or disability to get the support they need to get back into work.
Doing all those things will make a big difference.
Topical Questions
(Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
(SNP)
T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental
responsibilities.(904232)
The Chancellor of the Exchequer ()
This Conservative Government believe in the virtue of work, and
that is why last week’s Budget set out to remove barriers for
long-term sick and disabled, for jobseekers, for older people
with our pension tax reforms, and for parents with the biggest
expansion of childcare in memory.
With Orbital O2 in Orkney and MeyGen—the largest tidal stream
site in the world—Scotland leads the way in tidal stream
generation. That industry is at a stage where it needs to expand
and scale up, but to do so, it needs a bigger ringfenced budget.
In the renewables auction announced last week, the Government
propose to halve the budget for tidal stream instead of
increasing it. Will the Chancellor meet me to discuss the impact
and the opportunities for business?
We are interested in giving support to all forms of renewable
energy, and the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury is very happy
to meet the hon. Gentleman to discuss those issues further.
(Dartford) (Con)
T5. Delaying the lower Thames crossing will have a detrimental
impact on Dartford’s economy and on its traffic problems, so does
the Chancellor of the Exchequer agree that the completion of the
lower Thames crossing is vital if we are to promote economic
growth, not just in Dartford but throughout the south-east of the
country?(904236)
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury ()
I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who has met me on a number of
occasions to make the case for the Dartford crossing. Obviously,
in the current difficult circumstances with inflationary
pressures, we have had to make some tough choices, but I want to
be very clear with my hon. Friend: we remain committed to
delivering it. This is a two-year delay on construction, not a
cancellation, and I will continue to update him in due
course.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Chancellor.
(Leeds West) (Lab)
Confidence has been shaken by the recent bank failures and stock
market falls across the world. Is the Chancellor confident that
our ringfencing regime is adequate to protect taxpayers and
depositors, when we have seen how fast these problems can spread?
Can the Chancellor reassure the House that there are no other UK
banks or subsidiaries that are vulnerable, and in light of recent
developments, is he confident about the Financial Stability
Board, or does it need to widen the number of banks regarded as
systemically important?
I thank the shadow Chancellor for her question. The Government
recognise that there is some volatility in the market, but we
believe the UK financial system is fundamentally strong and UK
banks are well capitalised. They now have core capital ratios
that are three times higher than before the 2008 global financial
crisis, but we continue to monitor the situation carefully.
I thank the Chancellor for that response, and am pleased that he
continues to monitor the situation carefully, but the collapse of
Silicon Valley Bank UK shows how our vibrant start-up
sector—particularly in life sciences and tech—had become reliant
on a single financial institution. The impact of these bank
failures may be that other banks become more risk averse,
restricting lending and raising interest rates, resulting in a
credit squeeze, possibly even beyond the start-up sector. That
would damage an already weak economy, so how will the Chancellor
monitor the situation there and ensure that businesses have
access to the long-term capital that they need to grow and to
thrive?
The right hon. Lady is absolutely right to raise that issue. I
said in the Budget that I would return with a full solution to
those issues in the autumn statement, but ahead of that we will
be making announcements on: pension industry reform, because we
want to unlock the £5 trillion of assets in the pension industry;
reforms to help companies scale up, so that they do not feel they
have to move to other countries when they want to list; and,
reforms to green finance so that people can access the capital
they need. All those things will be a part of a comprehensive
solution that we will be announcing shortly.
(Birmingham, Northfield)
(Con)
T7. For quite some time, GPs and consultants in Birmingham
tab="yes" have expressed their frustration and concern with the
pension lifetime allowance cap. I welcome the measures in the
Budget last week to abolish it altogether, which will mean that
we will see more GPs and consultants practising. Does my hon.
Friend agree that it will also mean we will see more teachers and
headteachers in the classroom and more police officers on the
beat?(904238)
The Economic Secretary to the Treasury ()
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The measure will help public
servants, hospital consultants, prison governors, headteachers
and senior police leaders, which is why I agree with the hon.
Member for Ilford North () when he said that removing the cap would save
lives and that he himself would scrap the “crazy” cap.
(Coatbridge, Chryston and
Bellshill) (SNP)
T2. The Resolution Foundation recently found that if wage growth
had continued on the same trajectory as pre-2008, the average UK
worker would be £11,000 a year better off. Does the Minister
accept that hard-working households can no longer afford to lose
£11,000 a year as a result of this Government’s perpetual
mismanagement of the economy?(904233)
I welcome the universal credit reforms we have made, and also the
fact that under this Government, by raising the basic income tax
threshold, we have taken up to 3 million workers out of income
tax altogether.
Mr Robin Walker (Worcester) (Con)
T8. I warmly welcome the Chancellor’s big decision to invest in
childcare and the early years in this Budget. One witness to the
Education Committee—a long-standing campaigner on these
issues—said they were elated to see the commitment the Chancellor
made. Going forward, may I encourage him to continue to listen to
the concerns of the independent and voluntary sector, which is
crucial to the success of reforms in this space? I know he is a
fan of workforce plans, so may I encourage him to consider the
case for an early years workforce plan?(904239)
I thank my hon. Friend for his campaigning on this issue. He has
long been a voice for reforms to childcare. He is absolutely
right that this is one of the biggest sets of childcare reforms
we have ever seen. That is why we are taking two and a half years
to scale it up. We want to make sure that parents who want to
take advantage of the new free hours offer can get the supply of
childcare they need, and we will listen very carefully to what
the Select Committee says.
Tonia Antoniazzi (Gower) (Lab)
T3. When the Chancellor chaired the Health and Social Care
Committee, the British Medical Association told him that pension
reforms just for doctors would be a fraction of the cost of what
he announced in the Budget. Can he tell us precisely how many
doctors the Treasury estimates will stay in work due to this
untargeted tax giveaway for the top 1%?(904234)
It is not just about doctors leaving the profession, but doctors
reducing their hours. The Royal College of Surgeons says that 69%
of its members have reduced their hours as a result of the way
that pension taxes used to work. Doctors themselves have welcomed
the Budget warmly and as potentially transformative for the
NHS.
(Rother Valley)
(Con)
T10. On behalf of all the residents of Rother Valley and
especially Dinnington, I thank the Chancellor for the £12 million
that we got in the Budget out of the new fund for capital
regeneration projects to revitalise our high street, taking out
the burnt-out building and rejuvenating the whole high street. Of
course, there are other high streets across Rother Valley, such
as in Maltby, Thurcroft and Swallownest, that also need help. Can
the Chancellor therefore look favourably on future applications
for those high streets so that they, too, can get the money that
Dinnington has so necessarily got?(904241)
I hesitate, because my hon. Friend is so effective in campaigning
for his constituency. I am glad that we were able to confirm that
extra £20 million in the Budget. We will continue to look with a
constructive mindset at all the many bids that he brings forward
to the Treasury.
Mrs Sharon Hodgson (Washington and Sunderland West) (Lab)
T4. At the same time as the Chancellor has been dishing out tax
cuts for the pensions of the richest earners, the Tories are
considering making millions of people work even longer than they
had planned before they can get their state pension. Will the
Chancellor today rule out changing the state pension
timetable?(904235)
What the hon. Member forgets is that it is not just doctors or,
indeed, millionaires who want to save for a decent pension pot;
it is ordinary people, and that is who we are on the side of in
this Government. When it comes to reforms to the state pension
age, we follow a process that balances the interests of taxpayers
and the interests of pensioners, and also looks at life
expectancy.
(North West Norfolk) (Con)
Given that the Chancellor has protected the new hospitals budget,
may I express the huge frustration of my constituents at delays
in the announcement that the RAAC-ravaged—reinforced autoclaved
aerated concrete-ravaged—Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn
will be part of the programme and urge that decisions are
announced as soon as possible?
Given that I answered this question five weeks ago, I admire my
hon. Friend’s consistency. I very much regret that we have not
been able to make that decision yet. As I think I said last time,
it is a matter for the Secretary of State for Health and Social
Care, and conversations have developed. We have made a commitment
on the quantum of money, and I will leave it for my colleague to
make that announcement imminently.
(Manchester, Withington)
(Lab)
T6. The head of the Institute for Fiscal Studies has said of the
Chancellor:“Continuing to muddle through, massage the figures,
and implement poorly designed policies will only make the
problems worse.”That is a pretty damning verdict on his Budget,
is it not?(904237)
It would be if his comment had not been quoted out of context, as
the hon. Gentleman just did, because he also said that he could
see in the Budget a growth plan and he strongly welcomed measures
such as the childcare reform.
(Witham) (Con)
In the light of the current pressures on the international
banking system, can the Chancellor give an assurance about and an
update on the actions he will be taking to ensure that credit
flows to small and medium-sized enterprises, our rural businesses
and, indeed, start-ups, because at the end of the day they should
never be penalised for the misdemeanours of large banks?
Yes, I can give my right hon. Friend that assurance. This
Government are very keen to make sure that there is a strong flow
of credit to the very smallest businesses in society.
Debbie Abrahams (Oldham East and Saddleworth) (Lab)
T9. OBR analysis of last week’s Budget has shown that there
will be no real-terms growth in public services in 2023-24 and
just 1% in 2024-25. Given the recent Patriotic Millionaires UK
survey showing that more than seven in 10 millionaires want to
have a fair tax on their wealth—by wealth, we are talking about
£10 million of investable assets—will the Chancellor look at
this?(904240)
What I say to the hon. Lady, whom I greatly respect, is that we
did a lot for public services in the autumn statement, including
a £3 billion increase in the annual schools budget and an £8
billion increase in the annual health and care budget. We are
always focusing on public services, and we do support a
progressive tax system.
(New Forest West) (Con)
Will the Chancellor tweak the childcare initiative to enable
families in which one parent wants to care for children full-time
to have a realistic prospect of being able to afford to do
so?
We think these reforms will make a big difference to all parents.
Our priority is parents who want to work and who are prevented
from working by the expense of the current system. I would remind
my right hon. Friend that we still have a 15-hour free childcare
offer for all parents, irrespective of whether they work, for
three and four-year-olds.
(Edinburgh North and Leith)
(SNP)
Researchers at Warwick University and the London School of
Economics estimate that the non-dom regime denies the Exchequer
about £3.2 billion per year. Why did the Chancellor not take
steps to abolish that in last week’s Budget, instead of creating
more hoops for universal credit claimants to jump through?
The Financial Secretary to the Treasury ()
We have looked very carefully at this, because we know that many
in the House have been citing this figure. What concerns us about
that analysis is that the study does not appear to take into
account the behavioural ramifications of changing the current
regime or of making it less competitive than that of our
international partners. We do have to remind ourselves that
non-domiciled taxpayers pay UK tax on their UK earnings to the
tune of £7.9 billion.
(South Cambridgeshire)
(Con)
The Leader of the Opposition led his charge against the Budget by
saying that the UK was the sick man of Europe, yet the IMF shows
that the UK had the fastest-growing economy in the G7 not just
last year but the year before, and that since the Conservatives
came to power in 2010 the UK has had the fastest-growing economy
of the major economies in Europe. Does my right hon. Friend the
Chancellor agree that, although there are clearly major economic
challenges, there are many reasons—not least the tech sector in
South Cambridgeshire—to be confident about the future of the UK
economy?
I completely agree and, thanks to the brilliant efforts of the
tech sector in South Cambridgeshire, we have now become the third
largest tech sector in the world, after the United States and
China, thanks to the Conservative Government.
(Angus) (SNP)
My constituent Fiona Cooper was seeking to close the national
insurance contribution gaps in her pension just before retirement
and was frustrated that the advice she got about her missing
years from HMRC needed validating by the Department for Work and
Pensions. Does the Chancellor agree that one set of numbers is
the cornerstone of any enterprise, and is he also frustrated that
she has been advised that she will need to close full years
before she can close part years?
If the hon. Gentleman would like to write to me about this, I
will look into it, but I remind him that I issued a written
ministerial statement recently, extending the deadlines precisely
to help women in the situation he describes.
(Bosworth) (Con)
The Chancellor and I sat for three years on the Health Committee
hearing evidence of just how restrictive the pension rules were
for the likes of doctors. The fact that he has now been able to
make that change is fantastic. Will he take that approach to
dealing with some of the other red tape around retention and
recruitment for other professions in the health service because,
as the British Medical Association said, it is making a real
difference?
Few people know as much about this issue as my hon. Friend, given
his background in the NHS. He is right, and I know that my right
hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care is
looking closely at the issue of retention, which has an equally
important role to play.
(Rutherglen and Hamilton
West) (Ind)
Industry stakeholders have been clear that Ministers must now
focus on long-term solutions to support people with ongoing high
energy prices through improved home energy efficiency. What steps
will Ministers take to support households with the rising costs
of energy in the long term?
The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury ()
The hon. Lady makes an excellent point. We have put in place a
huge amount of support to help people through this immediate
challenge with their energy bills, but we do need to think long
term. That is why the Chancellor has put in place the 15% target
to reduce energy consumption in both domestic and non-domestic
buildings, but alongside that, and crucially, we have to increase
the supply of UK energy, both renewables and in the North
sea.
(Meriden) (Con)
Thanks to the quick thinking and quick moves by the Chancellor,
the Prime Minister and the Treasury, the tech sector was saved
from almost certain oblivion, and at no cost to the taxpayer. Can
my right hon. Friend confirm that he is still ambitious for the
tech sector, and can he confirm that the merger with HSBC will
ensure that our fantastic tech sector, especially our start-ups,
will have access to the funding they need?
My hon. Friend is right. We have a very good solution to the
Silicon Valley bank issue with the HSBC takeover. In the long
run, we would like our brilliant tech superstar companies to have
more choice about how they finance their expansion, and we will
bring forward plans to make sure that happens.
(Hampstead and Kilburn)
(Lab)
On a point of order, Mr Speaker. The Minister said to me in her
response that the Chief Secretary had just confirmed with her
that we had signed the memorandum of understanding on regulatory
co-operation with the EU. Could you please advise me whether she
meant that both sides had signed and the agreement has been
secured with the EU? I cannot find the details anywhere. Can you
advise me where MPs are able to see the agreement?
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury ()
Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. I can confirm that we
have always been ready to sign the MOU, from two years
ago—[Interruption.] Well, we have made it very clear to the EU
that we are ready to sign. It is a matter for it to come to the
table, and we very much hope it will be able to do that. What
happened was that as the Financial Secretary came to the Dispatch
Box she did not quite hear exactly what I said, and for that I
apologise on behalf of the Government. It was my fault.
Mr Speaker
I think that clears it up. The answer was no.
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