Live Treasury Questions House of Commons


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Hello and welcome to BBC Parliament's live coverage from the

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House of Commons. The Foreign Secretary will make a statement to

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the House on Libya following his visit to Tripoli to support the new

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UN backed national unity Government. After that the Conservative and main

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will have ten minutes to look at her farming bill. Then there is the Bank

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of England and financial services bill. The legislation brings the

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Bank of England into the remit of the National Audit Office. Join me

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for a round-up of the day in both Houses of Parliament at 11 o'clock

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tonight. First, questions to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and his

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team of ministers. Order, order. Questions to the

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Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Government is committed to providing

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data on active National Insurance numbers used by people from other EU

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countries. HMRC was compiling this information and is looking into

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reconciling the main source of integration data. National insurance

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numbers will be published as part of the ONS publication and it is up to

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their independent statistics authority to when they will make

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this public. I have been asking them for these figures. The British

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people have a right to know such facts, particularly in the context

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of the UK EU Referendum Bill debate. Can I have assurances that we will

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know how many foreign nationals have National Insurance numbers from

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other EU countries before the referendum on June 23? It does

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require HMRC to combine and match multiple HMRC DWP data sets. It does

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take some time. The intention is to publish alongside the ONS analysis

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and I know they have planned to publish a note on this migration

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matter in incorporating the latest available migration data and to

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explain whale -- why the datasets are shown different trends. What

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about the 3.3 million people, one in ten of the existing workforce who

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pay their National Insurance and tax and their jobs linked to UK exports

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into the European Union? He agreed that those leave campaigners should

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just cross their fingers and dismiss reality and that all of us on all

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sides of this house have a duty to spell out the facts that leaving the

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European Union will put real jobs at real risk. The honourable gentleman

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will be aware of the Treasury analysis published yesterday that

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shows the consequences were we to leave the European Union and the

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various models that it involves. A permanent reduction to our GDP

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compared to what it would be, damage to productivity growth, that would

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be significant. I think the honourable gentleman is right to

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highlight that point. Will the Government welcome this opportunity

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to bring forward actual data without the need to project forward 14 years

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using techniques which are proven inaccurate every six months? As I

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said, HMRC have gone through that data. They will provide that to the

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ONS. It is for the ONS to decide the timing. I drew the House's attention

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to what they said. Returning to the Treasury analysis, it is the case

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that it is comparing one scenario with their scenarios and of the

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three possible scenarios set out if we leave the European Union, all of

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them leave this country poorer than we would otherwise be. The impact of

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the EU membership on jobs is significant. Could the Minister

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passed my congratulations to the officials who have done a useful

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analysis yesterday? On page 65 there is a regional breakdown which

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suggests that 100,000 jobs in the north-east are dependent on EU

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exports. I had previously thought the figure should be 140,000. Could

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he revise it up? I will take on board that representation. There is

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the large Nissan plant that provides significant numbers of jobs. The

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argument made in the Treasury analysis is that we benefit from an

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open economy. If we leave the single market we become a less open

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economy. That will have a cost to the British people in terms of their

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living standards. Disgracefully dodgy documents published by the

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Treasury yesterday which frankly is worthy of the children's programme

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Jackanory, the immigration figures suggest there will be 3 million

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immigrants to this country by 2030, placing my honourable friend in

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clear breach of the Conservative manifesto commitment to reduce

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immigration to tens of thousands per year. What is his response to that

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accusation? The numbers are based on the ONS production that was used at

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the last budget. No account is taken of the achievements of the

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renegotiation the Prime Minister achieved. In terms of the Treasury

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analysis, a large number of independent economic commentators

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have argued that it is broadly in the right direction. I would say to

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my honourable friend to advocate that we leave the European Union,

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for them to come forward with their own analysis setting out exactly

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what model they should follow and what the economic consequences of

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that would be. We are both building more houses and helping young

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families for those homes. 400 new houses -- 400,000 new homes are

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being built and starter homes for first-time buyers. I launched the

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new lifetime icer said people know of longer have to choose between

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saving for a home and saving for their retirement. We support the

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aspirations of people to buy their own home and pass their home on to

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their children. Following the promises of an extra 90 million from

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the Treasury to help make it a reality, what other means is he

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using to encourage house-building for first-time buyers? We are

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supporting the community she ably represented in parliament and we are

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able to provide money for the upgrade of the M40 junction and

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school to go with the new homes being built in Bicester. It comes as

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a sweep where we are investing in new starter homes, investing in

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shared equity products the people. Our help to buy ISA has been helped

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by hundreds of thousands of people and it will help young people. All

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things we are doing to make sure this is a homeowning democracy.

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There was a problem because the OBE are say about lifetime ISA's that

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they will increase house prices because they will increase demand

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with relatively restricted supply. Is he confident that his measures to

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increase the supply of housing will mean the OBE are is able to revise

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that analysis? I agree. It is vital we don't just tell people afford

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homes, particularly young first-time buyers, but we build more homes.

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That is the plan we set out in the Spending Review. A big priority was

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the billions we are going to be spending on building homes. Much

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more than was spent in the last Labour Government. How is having net

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migration of additional 3 million people going to help first-time

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buyers find a home? We have the products to help first-time buyers

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in this country afford housing but I make this observation on migration.

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You cannot have access to the single market without accepting free

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movement of people. It is absolutely clear principle that has made very

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clear to this country by Germany and France and is internationally

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accepted. If you want access to the single market, you have to accept

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free movement of people. Will the Chancellor confirmed that the number

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of under 35 is who own the own home has fallen by a fifth since he came

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into office? And that -- first-time buyers are up 57%. In the last

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Government, they fell by 50%. Perhaps the Chancellor will be

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heaven for the first time that under 35s would have -- who own their

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homes has fallen. The number of affordable homes available to buy

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has halved since 2010. Private rental prices rose 26% in the year

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to February with incomes failing to keep pace. In September the

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Government spoke of a national crusade to get 1 million homes built

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by 2020. In November this was more than halved. Shelter says the policy

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takes away homes that people can afford. Because of the housing

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crisis with young people aspiring to own a home of the hardest hit. The

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number first-time buyers is up by 57% under this Government. I made

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this observation which is you can't have a strong and successful housing

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market and people getting on the housing ladder unless you have a

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strong successful economy. If we followed the prescription of the

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Labour front bunch where you nationalise half of the economy and

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impose punitive tax rates, there will be anyone being able to afford

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any home the country. Is another case that the lifetime ISA could

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raise a deposit of up to ?50,000 and lower rates a deposit for a terraced

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home in Norwich for ?120,000? The lifetime ISA will be a very popular

:11:29.:11:33.

and successful new saving products precisely because it doesn't require

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people to choose between saving for a home and saving for their

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retirement. They are able to do both. We are looking at ways that

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people can draw on their savings during their lifetime for particular

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emergencies or when they need bits of money like they do in the US with

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the 401 scheme. The lifetime ISA is going to be a radically new saving

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products and does what we need to do in this country which is build a

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savings culture. Mr Speaker, productivity in the UK

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has been weak since the financial crisis. As it has been in all

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developed countries, the government published its productivity plan

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fixing the foundations last year. We announced additional reductions

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corporation tax and business rates and gave the green light to

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infrastructure projects like cross rail two and high speed three. The

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SNP has argued the UK economy is in dire need of investment, the

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Chancellor though despite the productivity plan seems to persevere

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with policies that stifle productivity. Will the government

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tell me which policies they have enacted that will encourage an

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increase in productivity? She is right in saying there is an issue in

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relation to productivity, but there is an issue across all major

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economies, last year productivity growth was about 1%, which compares

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with 0.9% in the G7. For specific measures, we have established the

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national infrastructure commission, protected science funding and

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introduced a housing and planning bill, announced the apprenticeship

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levy that is coming in at ?100 billion infrastructure programme

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over the course of this Parliament. By being a member of the EU this

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country benefits from cross fertilisation with good ideas, the

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supply chain, FDI at 15% and we also benefit from the single market in

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terms of trade and all of that... Order. Very wide with the question.

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I have great respect for the honourable gentleman, it has nothing

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to do with the question on the paper, to which the Chief Secretary

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will not reply. The minister cannot hide behind all the advanced

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economies, we are performing worst than most, particularly France.

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Isn't it the lack of skills of our workers and lack of good education

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and will the Chancellor's silly policy on forced academisation help

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or hinder? We recognise there is an issue with productivity, that is why

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we published the productivity plan. In 2014 the UK was the fastest

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growing major economy. Last year we were in second place, this year we

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are projected to grow well. This country is doing well. The Chief

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Secretary agree that ?540 billion invested by foreign businesses is

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vital and if we left the EU the uncertainty would put that

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investment in jeopardy. I agree with my honourable friend, leaving the E.

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Would damage UK productivity. It would prevent, has the prevent to

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deny access or make more difficult the access to markets and

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investment. And it is worth noting that the UK is the No 1 EU

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destination for foreign direct investment, 28% of all investment in

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the EU and a large part is due to being an EU member. Five years in

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office until we had a productivity plan and what do we see,

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productivity was 18% below the G7. One sector which are needs help is

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the steel industry. It needs more capital investment to be more

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competitive. How much will the Government invest in steel in the

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next 12 months to improve productivity and save British jobs?

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Well, in terms of productivity, he mentioned the 18% figure, I refer to

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an answer where I said there has been an issue in the UK and that

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figure was 17% in the 90s. In terms of steel, what the action that we

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have taken on steel, we have secured state aid to compensate for energy

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costs and secured flexibility of emissions regulations and made the

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procurement rules can allow social factors and we tackle unfair trading

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practices. The Government has been very active on steel. Question No 4.

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I would like to answer this we with questions five, seven and 12. The

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Government is leading the fight against tax evasion and it was

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Britain that first demanded that multinationals publish where they

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pay tax country by country. This has now been taken up at a European

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level, multinationals selling into Europe will be required to report

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the taxpay they and Britain has allies to agree to share information

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on the beneficial ownership of companies and we are now seeking

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international leadership on a blacklist of tax havens with

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punitive actions against those on that list. We want the rest of the

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world to follow our example, where we lead others should follow. Thank

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you. Conservative MEPs have voted six times on instruction from the

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Treasury to block measures against tax avoidance. What action will the

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Chancellor take to get all crown dependency to publish ownership? At

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a European level, we have now got agreement to make sure that

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multinational, or getting agreement that multinationals should disclose

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where they pay tax, including in ultralow jurisdictions. We have

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agreed with our European allies that we will exchange information. For

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public registries, we are one of the few countries in the world that has

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committed to a public register. But we want all jurisdictions, all the

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other advanced economies to follow our lead. Last month I tabled a

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question about the tax gaps as a result of individuals using overseas

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territories, all seven questions were grouped into one answer, which

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said we have no idea. Now the Government has been shamed into

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action, will it rectify the situation where it has no idea how

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much is lost and wouldn't a public register help? We publish more

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detail on the tax gap than any government before us and we have

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shown that the gap is at its lowest in our history and we have collected

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?26 billion more than was collected by Labour in extra come plyians. Tax

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havens are a symptom of a wider problem that the wrong #1r578s are

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at the heart of the -- values at the heart of our financial system. There

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is too great a disconnection between the real economy and our society.

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Eight years on from the crisis, what is the Chancellor assessment of how

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much has changed for the better? That is a perfectly reasonable

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question and well put. A huge amount has changed and there is much

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tougher regulation, we have got better regulators and banks are more

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on the case of bad action in their areas. But it is true that more

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needs to be done to create a proper culture in the banking system, where

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they treat customers fairly and seek to do the right thing. That is

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happening and of course the banks that do it will get rewarded from

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their customer Mires. But the industry is like other professions

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seeking to improve its standards of conduct. The Chancellor will be

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aware that the reporting requirements for private companies

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are less stringent than those for publicly listed companies and while

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the register of beneficial ownership is an improvement, we need to know

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not just who owns a particular company, but how much tax they are

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actually avoiding. So if a company gets away with not publishing

:20:52.:20:54.

income, turn over or profit, that won't do. What steps will he take

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with our over seas territory tos to ensure this is rectified? All

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companies have to pay their correct taxes and we have taken action to

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ensure that. But the country by country reporting is designed so

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that people can see with multinational businesses where

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they're paying tax. Recent information sharing agreement which

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the Chancellor referred to, could be a significant step in the fight

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against tax evasion and I support him. The public are right to be

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upset when business don't pay their fair share. Evasion needs to be

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regular rowsly pursued. But doesn't the Chancellor agree when that is

:21:39.:21:42.

caused by tax avoidance, it is the job of Government to simplify the

:21:43.:21:52.

tax code and close the loopholes. I broadly a agree, I welcome the

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welcome he gives to agreement with other countries on beneficial

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ownership. Hopefully that will set an example. On tax avoidance, it is

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the responsibility of the House of Commons and the Government to try

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and make sure that tax code and the tax law is simple and does what it

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is intended, but of course we are in a constant race against highly paid

:22:20.:22:25.

accountancy firms who design contrived systems to avoid tax and

:22:26.:22:29.

avoid the intention of Parliament. I have made this point, there has been

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a significant development, where the Supreme Court takes into account the

:22:35.:22:38.

intention of Parliament as well as the letter of the law and I think

:22:39.:22:44.

that is right. Because it is sometimes an arms race when it comes

:22:45.:22:49.

to tax code and Parliament should be taken into account the wishes of

:22:50.:22:52.

Parliament should be taken into account by the courts. Can I

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congratulate my honourable friend on the agreement he has reached, isn't

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it right HMRC employs 26,000 investigators who work to stop tax

:23:02.:23:09.

evasion and they have brought more than ?2 billion from off shore tax

:23:10.:23:14.

avoiders. Isn't it right and would my honourable friend agree, that we

:23:15.:23:21.

can congratulate HMRC for doing the good job they're doing and thank

:23:22.:23:25.

them for their work and anyone who criticises them is just plain wrong.

:23:26.:23:29.

My honourable friend is right I think to highlight the good work

:23:30.:23:35.

that HMRC do it is never popular being a tax collector. But I think

:23:36.:23:42.

they're doing a good job and we are putting more resources in so they

:23:43.:23:46.

can target wealthy individuals who are evading tax, but we do have

:23:47.:23:50.

26,000 people employed by the Government to make sure that people

:23:51.:23:57.

comply with the tax laws. I congratulate the work of the

:23:58.:24:01.

Chancellor, but does he recognise that a low tax economy will attract

:24:02.:24:06.

wealthy people from all over the world to invest and create jobs and

:24:07.:24:11.

pay more tax and the they draw more tax in the end? I agree, that is

:24:12.:24:21.

what we Conservatives believe in. That is the right approach and we

:24:22.:24:27.

have reduced corporation tax and income tax and of course when we cut

:24:28.:24:33.

the top rate of tax we collected more income. Thank you. With the tax

:24:34.:24:48.

gap... With the tax gap now at its lowest level on record, does the

:24:49.:24:52.

Chancellor agree this Government has done more to ensure the taxes that

:24:53.:24:59.

ar owe rd paid than the last Labour government achieved? My honourable

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friend, who is an excellent member of Parliament in the west of

:25:04.:25:11.

England, well what... My honourable friend is right, of course you get

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these suggestions from the Labour Party about what we should do to the

:25:14.:25:18.

tax, they were in office for 13 years and they had Treasury

:25:19.:25:22.

ministers answering questions for 13 years, not a single one of these

:25:23.:25:26.

things happened when they were in charge and no one believes if they

:25:27.:25:32.

were back in charge they would be tough and take action. Can we bring

:25:33.:25:39.

it back to today, in the Panama revelations about the behaviour of

:25:40.:25:42.

offshore companies the Chancellor could not fail to notice key role

:25:43.:25:50.

played in many deals by UK head quartered banks and intermediaries.

:25:51.:25:58.

HSBC created more off shore companies through Mossack Fonseca

:25:59.:26:02.

than any other bank. Will he support the new clause tabled by the Labour

:26:03.:26:08.

Party to the Bank of England bill, requiring British institutions to

:26:09.:26:12.

record the true owners of any companies or trusts whom they work

:26:13.:26:17.

for, and will he welcome the proposals by my honourable friend

:26:18.:26:20.

for a register of the beneficial owners of property in the UK, to

:26:21.:26:25.

tackle money laundering, often linked to tax evasion? Well, first,

:26:26.:26:33.

can I say we are introducing a beneficial register of the

:26:34.:26:36.

beneficial ownership of companies and trusts that need to pay tax. And

:26:37.:26:42.

of course, therefore, banks must comply. And we will introduce a new

:26:43.:26:48.

criminal offence for the facilitating tax evasion. And so

:26:49.:26:53.

that will apply to the corporate sector as well. So there is a new

:26:54.:26:58.

criminal offence to facilitate tax evasion and the criminal offence

:26:59.:27:03.

that says ignorance is no defence when you have been found to be

:27:04.:27:06.

evading taxes. Tax havens can lead to loss of

:27:07.:27:23.

revenue. Can I ask the Chancellor, given the relevant -- revelations,

:27:24.:27:29.

has the Treasury carried out a new assessment to look at the scale and

:27:30.:27:38.

size of the revenue lost to the UK? There are already a large number of

:27:39.:27:46.

ongoing investigations which may well lead to prosecutions in respect

:27:47.:27:53.

of Panama. The revenue and the Government already had data on this.

:27:54.:27:59.

If there is additional information is available in the Panama papers

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and despite requests the media have not handed this information to us

:28:07.:28:09.

yet, if there is additional information we will act on it. I

:28:10.:28:14.

asked the Chancellor to go much further? They are the biggest firm

:28:15.:28:25.

in Panama. There will be many others in different countries. The scale

:28:26.:28:29.

and scope of this is likely to be astronomical. I think the Chancellor

:28:30.:28:35.

and the Government need to go further. We need to have a much

:28:36.:28:38.

clearer understanding of the scale of this. Can I ask him to make all

:28:39.:28:44.

the representations he came to the Panama authorities and other

:28:45.:28:50.

jurisdictions where other similar activities are taking place?

:28:51.:28:54.

Representations are not going to be enough. That is why we want

:28:55.:28:59.

international agreement to a blacklist where jurisdictions go on

:29:00.:29:04.

that blacklist if they don't comply with the norms we are establishing

:29:05.:29:09.

on transparency and once they are on the blacklist, they are subject to

:29:10.:29:16.

penalties, punitive action, sanctions so that it is clear that

:29:17.:29:20.

they can't carry on in the way they have been doing business. If the

:29:21.:29:24.

whole world comes around that and there was welcome support for the

:29:25.:29:32.

concept, if we get that blacklist and that punitive action, we will

:29:33.:29:40.

help solve this problem. With your permission I would like to answer

:29:41.:29:44.

this question along with question number 13. Corporation tax cuts have

:29:45.:29:47.

been an essential part of the economics travesty. -- strategy.

:29:48.:29:56.

Further cuts to the main rate announced our budget to 17% in 2020

:29:57.:30:00.

will benefit over 1 million companies large and small, low

:30:01.:30:05.

corporation tax will support UK companies to invest and grow and

:30:06.:30:10.

create jobs as they do so. One of the justifications for the

:30:11.:30:13.

corporation tax cut was businesses would pass on that tax cut to the

:30:14.:30:19.

increase in the living rage -- wage. Now they tend to pocket the tax cut

:30:20.:30:24.

and squeeze the conditions, what steps is the Government taking to

:30:25.:30:28.

monitor that? The cuts in corporation tax will result in

:30:29.:30:33.

greater investment in this country, productivity growth is what will

:30:34.:30:38.

drive a higher living standards. Let us remember it is this Government

:30:39.:30:42.

that has brought in the national living wage and it is seeing very

:30:43.:30:45.

large numbers of people seeing increase their wages and salaries.

:30:46.:30:52.

Due to changes in personal independence changes, disabilities

:30:53.:30:57.

are set to lose ?1 billion as the same time as corporation taxes being

:30:58.:31:04.

cut. Is he comfortable with Pareto lose -- with prioritising big

:31:05.:31:09.

business over disabled people? Let me make this point to the House and

:31:10.:31:13.

to the honourable gentleman. The way this country is going to be

:31:14.:31:17.

prosperous and can afford public services and afford support for the

:31:18.:31:20.

most vulnerable is by a strong growing economy. Competitive

:31:21.:31:24.

business taxes help us have that strong growing economy. Is my right

:31:25.:31:32.

honourable friend aware that the Federation of Small Businesses has

:31:33.:31:35.

said the decision to further low corporation tax to 70% is an

:31:36.:31:39.

important statement of intent and will provide a boost to firms. Will

:31:40.:31:44.

it further underpin the enterprising economy that we need? I agree with

:31:45.:31:50.

my honourable friend and he is right to highlight the Commons. Reductions

:31:51.:31:54.

in corporation tax will help small businesses and large businesses and

:31:55.:31:58.

help drive a competitive and dynamic economy. Can he agree that it is

:31:59.:32:04.

easy to trot out phrases like tax cuts that companies but it is vital

:32:05.:32:08.

we have low corporation tax to attract investment in this country

:32:09.:32:13.

and ensure we have jobs there and that the Chancellor has repetitively

:32:14.:32:16.

encouraged companies to pass on tax cuts to workers where they should

:32:17.:32:21.

go. He is absolutely right to highlight that point. All taxes are

:32:22.:32:27.

ultimately paid by people in the end. Business taxes which discourage

:32:28.:32:32.

investment discourages the economic growth we need in this country and

:32:33.:32:36.

that growth is what this Government is determined to deliver. A general

:32:37.:32:46.

anti-avoidance rule was considered by an independent study group. The

:32:47.:32:51.

group of men -- the group recommended an anti-abuse will

:32:52.:32:56.

because they felt strongly it would strengthen and comp at existing

:32:57.:33:02.

tools available to HMRC. The Government introduced the wall in

:33:03.:33:06.

2013 striking the right balance between protection against avoidance

:33:07.:33:11.

and certainty for taxpayers. I thank the Minister but one way to put an

:33:12.:33:16.

end to aggressive tax avoidance is through a general principle,

:33:17.:33:21.

principle not a rule. There is a difference. You can find a way

:33:22.:33:25.

around a rule but a principle isn't an easy matter to do that. Will the

:33:26.:33:29.

Government back up their public statements about tackling aggressive

:33:30.:33:33.

tax avoidance and legislate for a general principle of tax avoidance?

:33:34.:33:38.

I will remind the honourable gentleman that the last Labour

:33:39.:33:42.

Government balked at this issue and declined a general anti-abuse roll

:33:43.:33:46.

or an anti-abuse principle because of fears and cert -- uncertainty.

:33:47.:33:53.

Alongside the introduction of the anti-abuse rule we brought in

:33:54.:33:56.

measures to deal with accelerated payments, measures to deal with

:33:57.:34:02.

promoters, we have closed 40 tax loopholes and announced 25 in this

:34:03.:34:06.

Parliament already. It is worth pointing out that avoidance is

:34:07.:34:14.

coming down. We announced at the budget and extensive package for the

:34:15.:34:18.

south-west that covers both rail and road. A new marine hub enterprise

:34:19.:34:23.

zone in Cornwall, a ?4.5 million boost for ultrafast broadband across

:34:24.:34:28.

the region and a 900 million devolution deal with the West of

:34:29.:34:31.

England. The South West will also benefit from income tax cuts and

:34:32.:34:34.

business rate reductions announced on the budget. One item that went

:34:35.:34:40.

largely unnoticed in the budget was the ?90 million for community land

:34:41.:34:45.

trust in the south-west to mitigate the impact on second home ownership.

:34:46.:34:49.

How will that money be allocated and will he work with me and fellow

:34:50.:34:54.

Conservative MPs in the south-west to ensure that money is put aside

:34:55.:34:58.

for people to purchase plots and help working people get on? He is

:34:59.:35:04.

right that we will be releasing 90 million for community led housing in

:35:05.:35:07.

the south-west and I look forward to discussing with him how we might

:35:08.:35:12.

best do that. We are introducing a new right to build and reforms to

:35:13.:35:17.

planning which will also boost the custom build sector in Cornwall and

:35:18.:35:23.

beyond. What my right honourable friend agree with me that the past

:35:24.:35:27.

Labour Government under funded infrastructure projects in the

:35:28.:35:31.

south-west resulting in lower productivity from this region and

:35:32.:35:34.

hence less of a contribution to the national economy then we should have

:35:35.:35:38.

had? It is this Government which is turning this around with its huge

:35:39.:35:43.

?7.6 billion commitment to infrastructure and connectivity. He

:35:44.:35:50.

has two focus on what this Government is doing. I welcome the

:35:51.:35:56.

opportunity to say something about what this Government is doing in

:35:57.:35:59.

relation to infrastructure in the south-west. We have 35 projects in

:36:00.:36:03.

the infrastructure pipeline in south-west with a value of billion.

:36:04.:36:11.

We announced improvements to exodus and David station,

:36:12.:36:15.

Weston-Super-Mare, community housing and also a fund for more roads and

:36:16.:36:20.

better roads in their south-west as well. We are continuing our support

:36:21.:36:31.

the solar keeping the small-scale feed in tariffs open beyond January

:36:32.:36:35.

20 16th setting tariffs on a path to help transition the industry to a

:36:36.:36:42.

sustainable subsidy for the future. Given the EU's reformed action plan

:36:43.:36:47.

will give Government discretion in applying rates of VAT including on

:36:48.:36:54.

solar power, will he today confirm categorically to solar installation

:36:55.:36:57.

at the UK has officially and permanently dropped the proposal to

:36:58.:37:03.

hike seven of VAT to 20%? The reduced rate of VAT remains in place

:37:04.:37:08.

on all 11 of the 11 categories in which it was in place on

:37:09.:37:11.

energy-saving materials before. Following a decision by the European

:37:12.:37:16.

Court we have been consulting with parties on this issue and given the

:37:17.:37:20.

complexities, we are still considering those responses. Will he

:37:21.:37:28.

agree that about 90% or more of the solar energy available in Britain

:37:29.:37:32.

has been put in place under this Government and does he agree with me

:37:33.:37:36.

that for us to have intermittent renewable power used as a steady

:37:37.:37:41.

caseload, the investment the Government is supporting in that we

:37:42.:37:49.

technology is key? He is right on multiple counts. Solar has been a

:37:50.:37:59.

British success story. He is also correct that the development of

:38:00.:38:03.

battery technology is incredibly important for the future development

:38:04.:38:05.

of this technology here and elsewhere. I welcome the

:38:06.:38:13.

environmental audit committee's report that found that membership of

:38:14.:38:17.

the European Union has been overwhelmingly positive for the UK's

:38:18.:38:21.

environment. He will be aware our committee is conducting an enquiry

:38:22.:38:27.

into the Treasury's approach to sustainable environment and can he

:38:28.:38:33.

encouraged -- encourage the chance to look at the approach to solar

:38:34.:38:39.

power offshore wind, waste and recycling policies? I look forward

:38:40.:38:44.

to reading her committee's report. The Treasury takes a balanced

:38:45.:38:47.

approach making sure we stay on target to meet our commitments and

:38:48.:38:52.

we are on target to meet our commitment of 15% renewable energy

:38:53.:38:57.

by 2020 but we must do so in a golf -- in a cost effective way and make

:38:58.:39:02.

sure the substance can only be paid for by taxpayers. When the minister

:39:03.:39:06.

join me in congratulating the UK solar power industry for being one

:39:07.:39:10.

of the top ten in the world? Larger than Australia and smaller than

:39:11.:39:12.

Spain despite a rather less advantageous climate? Under labour

:39:13.:39:23.

we had the highest dependency on fossil fuels in the G8 and the

:39:24.:39:26.

lowest contribution from renewable energy of a net -- of any major

:39:27.:39:32.

country. The deportment -- the deployment of solar power has been a

:39:33.:39:37.

great success story. One of the big things that this Government can do

:39:38.:39:41.

to help solar is when it comes to storage not to double charge when it

:39:42.:39:51.

is getting a put back into the grid. A stroke of a pen would make a huge

:39:52.:40:01.

difference. Bit tariffs are designed to make sure there is a reasonable

:40:02.:40:04.

and appropriate return that goes to investors. They have to be adjusted

:40:05.:40:10.

periodically. One of the great parts of the success stories of solar is

:40:11.:40:13.

the costs have come down by two thirds since 2010. According to the

:40:14.:40:21.

solar trade association, the Government will be spending 1% of

:40:22.:40:26.

new expenditure under the levy control frameworks supporting solar

:40:27.:40:30.

power yet mainstream analysts expect solar power to dominate future

:40:31.:40:35.

energy supply. With this in mind will the Chancellor promised to do

:40:36.:40:39.

much more to ensure that Britain becomes a market leader in this

:40:40.:40:43.

industry or do week let China take the lead yet again? Britain does

:40:44.:40:50.

have a leadership position in this industry but we need a balance. We

:40:51.:40:54.

need a portfolio of energy sources and we need to recognise the

:40:55.:40:57.

importance of baseload power. That is why they -- the development in

:40:58.:41:09.

new nuclear is also important. The Government fully supports expanding

:41:10.:41:12.

the UK's trade relationship with Iran. The Treasury is actively

:41:13.:41:17.

liaising with UK banks and industry bodies to understand concerns and

:41:18.:41:20.

help re-establish financial channels between the UK and Iran. Despite the

:41:21.:41:28.

improvements relations between the British and Iranian governments

:41:29.:41:31.

coming UK businesses still face significant barriers to complete a

:41:32.:41:36.

legitimate banking transactions for trade purposes. But the minister

:41:37.:41:40.

look at what more can be done to help facilitate financial

:41:41.:41:43.

transactions between the UK and Iranian banks so that UK economy can

:41:44.:41:46.

benefit from this new market? It is challenging in terms of the

:41:47.:41:59.

payment channels because of payment channels, because the US still has

:42:00.:42:03.

sanctions in place. We have been speaking to banks and liaising with

:42:04.:42:10.

the US authorities to push for clarity for UK banks, some banks

:42:11.:42:15.

have a more extensive US business than others and it might be worth

:42:16.:42:22.

companies in her constituency and elsewhere to consider switching

:42:23.:42:26.

banks with less exposure in the United States. Given the

:42:27.:42:31.

opportunities for British businesses in Iran as a result of relaxation of

:42:32.:42:37.

sanctions, could the Treasury have a word with our friends the Americans

:42:38.:42:44.

to make sure that they don't use their banking regulations to seek to

:42:45.:42:49.

prevent some of the commercial deals which may flow to British companies

:42:50.:42:53.

as a result of the relaxation of sanctions? My honourable friend is

:42:54.:42:59.

right to highlight one of the key issues here and I can assure him

:43:00.:43:04.

that we are working at all levels in terms of discussions with the US

:43:05.:43:10.

authorities in terms of how we can ensure that British companies

:43:11.:43:16.

selling to Iran are able to put that money into UK bank accounts.

:43:17.:43:29.

Question 14. It is export week and I can announce that UK export fms has

:43:30.:43:35.

provided over ?15 billion of support to exporters since 2010 and UK TI

:43:36.:43:42.

has more than doubled the number of businesses it helps to over 54,000.

:43:43.:43:48.

The UK industrial production and manufacturing output suffered falls

:43:49.:43:53.

in February and remained well below the levels of 2008 and the ONS

:43:54.:44:04.

reported that house prices in London had reached 524,000. Out of reach to

:44:05.:44:11.

all but those on six figure salaries or those who benefitted from

:44:12.:44:17.

inheritance. One of my constituents is going to see the Britain and the

:44:18.:44:25.

economy rebalanced to the north of England like was promised? I would

:44:26.:44:30.

like to encourage the honourable lady to seek an adjournment debate

:44:31.:44:35.

to elaborate on her question. She will welcome the fact and her

:44:36.:44:42.

constituency will welcome that employment in the north-west is at

:44:43.:44:47.

the highest level on record and over 89,000 businesses in the north-west

:44:48.:44:53.

will not be paying business rates and that 360,000 in the north-west

:44:54.:44:59.

will benefit from the living wage. Thank you, British exports to China

:45:00.:45:06.

have more than doubled since 2010, led by manufacturing, will the

:45:07.:45:12.

minister congratulate those businesses and encourage others to

:45:13.:45:16.

follow their lead? It is wonderful to hear during export week about the

:45:17.:45:23.

work Eck porting -- exporting. It is a priority of the government to

:45:24.:45:29.

continues to encourage more firms to export and we aim to have another

:45:30.:45:33.

100,000 businesses export over the life of this Parliament. The current

:45:34.:45:39.

account deficit is at a post war high of more than 35% of GDP. 44% of

:45:40.:45:46.

our exports go to EU, it took Canada seven years to negotiate a free

:45:47.:45:51.

trade agreement with the EU, would the minister agree that the last

:45:52.:45:54.

thing that exporters need and the last thing that the one in ten jobs

:45:55.:45:59.

that depends on exports to the EU need is the uncertainty that this

:46:00.:46:06.

referendum is bringing and that Brexit would bring? Last time I

:46:07.:46:10.

looked I thought it was Labour policy to have this referendum. But

:46:11.:46:15.

I do agree with the honourable lady it is important that she and others

:46:16.:46:19.

get out the message of the importance to exports and

:46:20.:46:23.

manufacturing of the UK's membership of the single market and I shall be

:46:24.:46:28.

voting in the same way as her on 23rd June. Topical questions.

:46:29.:46:36.

Question No 1. The core purpose is to ensure stability and prosperity

:46:37.:46:48.

of the economy. The inno have ative claims organisation has received a

:46:49.:46:53.

gold investor in people award and began in a bedroom a few years ago

:46:54.:46:59.

and now employs 300 people, would my honourable friend agree that not

:47:00.:47:04.

only is Taunton Dean an excellent place to do business, but the whole

:47:05.:47:09.

of the wider South West thanks to the infrastructure and connectivity

:47:10.:47:12.

injection this Government is giving it? Well, let me join her in

:47:13.:47:20.

congratulating the group on this award and I'm glad they're being

:47:21.:47:24.

recognised. She is right that Taunton and the whole of South West

:47:25.:47:28.

is a great place to do business. We are investing huge sums in the roads

:47:29.:47:32.

and railways, broad band and housing. Without her I don't think

:47:33.:47:37.

we would be having the upgrade of the roads and there is a lesson when

:47:38.:47:42.

the South West votes blue, the voice of the South West is heard in

:47:43.:47:53.

Parliament. Isn't just over tax that people are concerned about the

:47:54.:47:57.

behaviour of the superrich. Will the Chancellor welcome the action taken

:47:58.:48:03.

by shareholders at BP against excessive pay awards. The chief

:48:04.:48:15.

executives pay at FTSE 100 companies has risen to 150 time that of

:48:16.:48:22.

employees. Will he tackle the renumeration bracket where an old

:48:23.:48:28.

boys network seems to operate and will he support the widening of

:48:29.:48:35.

shareholder and employee representation on committees? It is

:48:36.:48:41.

right that companies and the shareholders who own them think

:48:42.:48:46.

about their pay policy, act responsibly and don't pay excessive

:48:47.:48:50.

amounts to chief executives who don't deserve it. It is this

:48:51.:48:54.

government that introduced those shareholders votes. They didn't

:48:55.:48:58.

exist under previous Labour governments. So I'm glad that

:48:59.:49:02.

shareholders are using the opportunity we have given them. I

:49:03.:49:06.

don't think if what he is hinting at we should put trade unions on

:49:07.:49:10.

company boards, but I do agree that we should make sure that

:49:11.:49:13.

shareholders use all the tools available to them. Would the

:49:14.:49:18.

Chancellor update the House on discussions we has had for a city

:49:19.:49:27.

deal for Swansea bay and what he can do to help jobs in south west Wales.

:49:28.:49:36.

First, we are now in conversation with Swansea about what we can do

:49:37.:49:41.

for the city deal and we are aware we need to help the steel workers in

:49:42.:49:49.

Port Talbot and we are working to sell the site and helping those who

:49:50.:49:55.

have been made redundant and we are looking at the Tidal Bay scheme and

:49:56.:49:59.

whether we can make that fly as well. Announcements by the House of

:50:00.:50:08.

Commons library shows that cumulatively 86% of savings between

:50:09.:50:12.

2010 and 20 will have come from women's pockets. What has the

:50:13.:50:20.

Chancellor got against women? The analysis from the House of Commons

:50:21.:50:25.

library is fundamentally flawed. First of all it assumes that every

:50:26.:50:30.

pound of government borrowing benefits people. And it also doesn't

:50:31.:50:37.

highlight the fact that it is higher rate taxpaying women like myself who

:50:38.:50:41.

have had their child benefit ended, who form the largest part of that.

:50:42.:50:48.

Is she arguing that her party want to reinstate child benefit for

:50:49.:50:56.

higher late taxpayers? Last year I held a business breakfast where, the

:50:57.:51:00.

level of business rate was the biggest issue. My constituents are

:51:01.:51:04.

delighted with the Chancellor's doubling of small business rate

:51:05.:51:08.

relief. Could my honourable friend said what else the Government can do

:51:09.:51:13.

to support small businesses to ensure they invest for growth? Small

:51:14.:51:18.

businesses are fundamental to the economy and to job creation. That is

:51:19.:51:23.

why we had such a big package to help ease the burden of business

:51:24.:51:27.

rates and reduced corporation tax, which is paid by small companies in

:51:28.:51:36.

profit and it is the case that we have increased the investment amount

:51:37.:51:40.

and to help them with the brd of national living wage, we have

:51:41.:51:43.

increased the employment allowance to employ four people on the the

:51:44.:51:49.

national living wage and pay no national insurance. The papers

:51:50.:51:55.

unearthed revelations, with the relationship between tax and

:51:56.:52:01.

landownership. What steps is the government taking to ensure

:52:02.:52:06.

transparency of landownership across the UK? This Government is bringing

:52:07.:52:12.

in a register so we will know the beneficial ownership of people who

:52:13.:52:17.

hold property or structures of old property in the country. That is

:52:18.:52:21.

something we have not had before and we are making progress. At the

:52:22.:52:25.

budget the Chancellor outlined measures to bring in around ?12

:52:26.:52:34.

billion from measures against tax avoidance, from the measures since,

:52:35.:52:38.

what more does he expect to bring in? The OBR assesses and puts on the

:52:39.:52:46.

score card the estimated revenue we will raise, it is around and extra

:52:47.:52:51.

billion a year from the measures in the budget and in last year's budget

:52:52.:52:57.

we had ?5 billion worth of measures to raise money from clamping down on

:52:58.:53:05.

aggressive tax avoidance. But the fight continues. Following reports

:53:06.:53:13.

in this morning's daily mail that energy firms overcharged customers,

:53:14.:53:18.

does the Chancellor agree that Treasury cuts for building new

:53:19.:53:24.

renewable energy was another bad idea? Well, as we covered, the

:53:25.:53:33.

tariff system which is in place to encourage renewable energy has to

:53:34.:53:39.

deliver a balanced portfolio of energy. We encourage firms to pass

:53:40.:53:50.

on price cuts to customers. All 31 local firms who reached the final of

:53:51.:53:55.

the small business award will benefit from the corporation tax cut

:53:56.:53:59.

and will the Government support small businesses across the country.

:54:00.:54:06.

I join my honourable friend who is a voice for that area and

:54:07.:54:09.

congratulating the businesses in the area. We are helping them with

:54:10.:54:13.

improvements to roads and infrastructure in the area.

:54:14.:54:19.

Ministers will have heard concerns of small businesses about the

:54:20.:54:24.

changes to quarterly tax returns, what are they doing that this is in

:54:25.:54:33.

place to monitor that and ensure it does not become burdensome to small

:54:34.:54:38.

businesses. Let me be clear that we are not talking about quarterly tax

:54:39.:54:42.

returns, this is about reporting and not about doing a full return and

:54:43.:54:46.

the purpose of the changes is to reduce the burden on businesses.

:54:47.:54:50.

This will start to be introduced in 2018, I hope that we will be setting

:54:51.:54:54.

out fourth information about the plans in the coming weeks. But the

:54:55.:54:58.

intention is to ensure that we reduce the tax gap, but also help

:54:59.:55:02.

businesses comply with the tax system. I would like to thank the

:55:03.:55:11.

Chancellor for their good humour in dealing with with me. I will move a

:55:12.:55:17.

new clause to the Bank of England Bill. Will the government accept now

:55:18.:55:24.

clause 9? It is right that betake action against money laundering and

:55:25.:55:28.

that needs to be done internationally. We should focus our

:55:29.:55:33.

resources and the force of law where the risks are greatest. I have been

:55:34.:55:37.

concerned that the banks are at risk of going too far and being

:55:38.:55:46.

disproportion Nate. And I have written to the chief executives of

:55:47.:55:52.

banks, but my honourable friend has worked with us and tabled an

:55:53.:55:56.

amendment and we are happy to accept that amendment, because we are

:55:57.:56:05.

trying to achieve the same goal. The Public Accounts Committee report

:56:06.:56:10.

highlight of the ?16 billion of the tax gap that is tax fraud, the money

:56:11.:56:15.

brought into the Treasury for that stayed static at 3% of total tax

:56:16.:56:20.

liabilities. Does he think that there is more to be done here and

:56:21.:56:26.

given the 35 individuals being investigated would increase to 100

:56:27.:56:30.

by 2020, does that demonstrate there is a combap of opportunity that the

:56:31.:56:32.

Chancellor has missed? We are taking strong action on tax

:56:33.:56:46.

evasion is. There is 90 investigations in terms of offshore

:56:47.:56:52.

tax evasion ongoing the moment. We announced last summer and additional

:56:53.:56:55.

?800 million going into HMRC to support the activity that they are

:56:56.:57:02.

undertaking. We are getting access to the common reporting standard and

:57:03.:57:06.

registers of beneficial interest much more information that we can

:57:07.:57:16.

take on. Many have gone out of the Chamber and there is a lack of

:57:17.:57:24.

stamina. I welcome the funding consultation and I want as the

:57:25.:57:27.

Chancellor when taking into account the figures for the growth in people

:57:28.:57:31.

numbers will he be taking into account the actual numbers for the

:57:32.:57:34.

new school year is not the previous school year to ensure we have a

:57:35.:57:40.

truly fair formula? The National funding formula will look at

:57:41.:57:44.

historical unfairness. School budgets will be set on the pupil

:57:45.:57:51.

sensors giving schools the certainty they need. The consultation also

:57:52.:57:56.

proposes to include a new factor to recognise in year growth targeting

:57:57.:57:59.

funding to schools with significant increases in pupil numbers. Nobody

:58:00.:58:05.

has accused me of lack of stamina yet but am I right and accurate in

:58:06.:58:14.

my assessment that Labour funds can only -- can only be used for

:58:15.:58:19.

charitable purposes and not to Government departments? I think the

:58:20.:58:23.

question is in relation about the air ambulance Northern Ireland. We

:58:24.:58:28.

are working with both the charity and the Northern Ireland executive

:58:29.:58:32.

in terms of how the funds are delivered. They will be going to the

:58:33.:58:39.

air ambulance charity and I know he welcomed this. In his document

:58:40.:58:45.

published yesterday, the Chancellor pose the question, is a national

:58:46.:58:48.

security best served by retreating from the world? I hope he's not

:58:49.:58:53.

foolish to suggest that those that wish the UK to leave the EU was to

:58:54.:58:57.

retreat from the world because the truth is far from that. We want the

:58:58.:59:03.

UK to break free from the shackles of the EU and its superstate and

:59:04.:59:07.

embrace the exciting world out there which befits the world's fifth

:59:08.:59:13.

largest economy, a nuclear power and a permanent member of the United

:59:14.:59:18.

Nations Security Council. I respect his views and we are having a

:59:19.:59:23.

referendum and his boat and my vote count equally. Our membership of the

:59:24.:59:29.

European Union does enhance our national-security and that is a

:59:30.:59:33.

point made by the Secretary General of Nato last week. I would observe

:59:34.:59:38.

that not a single one of this country's allies or friends abroad

:59:39.:59:41.

are recommending that we leave the EU. A number of people sleeping

:59:42.:59:51.

rough on our streets -- the number of people sleeping rough on our

:59:52.:59:55.

streets has doubled. It is a shocking indictment on society as a

:59:56.:00:02.

whole. Will the Chancellor now step in and intervene in the shambles

:00:03.:00:07.

that is the Housing Bill and make sure that the support for homeless

:00:08.:00:12.

people in terms of hostels and specialist accommodation is

:00:13.:00:17.

protected? We in the budget provided over ?100 million extra to help with

:00:18.:00:23.

the problem of homelessness and the problem of rough sleeping and we

:00:24.:00:29.

have provided money for the second stage as they believe hostels to

:00:30.:00:31.

make sure they have secure accommodation to go to. I am happy

:00:32.:00:36.

to listen to further representations or ideas he and any other member

:00:37.:00:44.

has. The Treasury can't even get its forecasts on growth and the deficit

:00:45.:00:50.

correct the next year. Doesn't the Chancellor realise that instructing

:00:51.:00:54.

his officials to produce a report based on thoroughly tendentious

:00:55.:00:59.

figures about what might or might not happen in the event of Grexit,

:01:00.:01:05.

simply belittles the reputation of the Treasury for economic competence

:01:06.:01:10.

and forecasting? Why doesn't he give us his vision compared to our vision

:01:11.:01:15.

of a free people in a free parliament 's controlling our own

:01:16.:01:18.

borders and leading the world towards free trade? Are positive

:01:19.:01:25.

vision is that by being part of a reformed EU we can raise living

:01:26.:01:30.

standards, create more jobs, make sure that consumers have access to

:01:31.:01:36.

lower prices. We have set out a range of possibilities for the

:01:37.:01:39.

alternative that might happen if Britain leads the EU. All of that

:01:40.:01:42.

will make Britain permanently poorer but I would say that if he wants to

:01:43.:01:50.

produce their own plan, their own analysis, be my guest. Bass with the

:01:51.:01:57.

financial Secretary to the Treasury confirmed details obtained by Crown

:01:58.:02:00.

dependencies and overseas territories shepherd the UK will not

:02:01.:02:05.

be passed onto any tax jurisdictions. There is a real

:02:06.:02:09.

chance the UK would be complicit in tax evasion. Will the Chancellor

:02:10.:02:12.

review this to make sure taxes paid where it is due? It is the case that

:02:13.:02:20.

the Crown dependencies and David -- overseas dependencies are ensuring

:02:21.:02:26.

they have got beneficial interests. It is also the case that the UK's --

:02:27.:02:35.

the UK is cooperating with the bid jurisdictions. Public registers

:02:36.:02:39.

should be the norm but before we get that point we will look at the

:02:40.:02:43.

opportunities for those central registers and that information will

:02:44.:02:52.

be shared to jurisdictions. I remember when the charger establish

:02:53.:02:58.

the OBE are. I cannot think what could have changed. The dossier is

:02:59.:03:10.

looking to breaking the manifesto. The competitions of his new policy

:03:11.:03:15.

on mass migration in areas such as school places, housing, health and

:03:16.:03:19.

transport are not explicit in the document. Why is that? We're having

:03:20.:03:25.

a referendum and people will take different views on the prospects for

:03:26.:03:29.

the UK going forward. The public want facts and information. We have

:03:30.:03:34.

set out in the analysis produced by the Treasury what we think the

:03:35.:03:38.

likely impact on the economy will be. That analysis has been supported

:03:39.:03:42.

now by the London School of economics. It is giving a similar

:03:43.:03:47.

message to the message given by the Bank of England about the economic

:03:48.:03:52.

shock that will come if we leave and you have bodies like the

:03:53.:03:54.

International Monetary Fund and others saying a similar thing. In

:03:55.:03:58.

terms of the weight of evidence and the weight of opinion, it is clear

:03:59.:04:02.

there have been economic prices if we left the EU. Some would regard

:04:03.:04:06.

that as a price worth paying which is a respectable argument but not

:04:07.:04:14.

one I agree with. We must now move on. Statement the Secretary of State

:04:15.:04:20.

for Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Secretary Philip Hammond. With

:04:21.:04:27.

permission I would like to update the House on the current situation

:04:28.:04:31.

in Libya and what the Government is

:04:32.:04:32.

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