The Budget 2017

:00:00. > :00:00.Hammond, as the government takes stock. Stay tuned for live coverage

:00:00. > :00:30.of the budget 2017. and welcome to our live coverage

:00:31. > :00:34.of The Budget. It's Philip Hammond's

:00:35. > :00:37.first as Chancellor and it's also likely

:00:38. > :00:39.to be his only Spring Budget because after today the Budget

:00:40. > :00:41.will move to the Autumn. And it's the last Budget

:00:42. > :00:43.before the Government triggers Article 50

:00:44. > :00:46.and starts the formal process of leaving the EU,

:00:47. > :00:53.possibly as early as next week. A few minutes ago the Chancellor

:00:54. > :00:55.emerged, Red Box in hand, from his official residence,

:00:56. > :01:02.Number 11 Downing Street, alongside him the Treasury ministerial team,

:01:03. > :01:04.including his number 2, David Gauke, who we'll be speaking

:01:05. > :01:19.to a little later on. The red box was made for David

:01:20. > :01:23.Osborne in 2011. The Chancellor posing for the traditional photo for

:01:24. > :01:26.the ranks of the photographs in Downing Street on Budget Day and

:01:27. > :01:31.later he will be making to the House of Commons and he is expected to get

:01:32. > :01:36.to the Despatch Box in around an hour's time because we have a little

:01:37. > :01:38.bit of talking to do and then we'll have Prime Minister's Questions, as

:01:39. > :01:44.usual on a Wednesday and then the Chancellor will get to his feet.

:01:45. > :01:46.Stay with us as we'll have all the Budget detail and reaction.

:01:47. > :01:55.I'm outside Parliament where the focus recently has been on Britain's

:01:56. > :01:59.future outside the EU I will be getting reactions from politicians

:02:00. > :02:05.across the political spectrum. I'm in Hull the UK City of Culture for

:02:06. > :02:09.2017 and I'll be getting reaction from businesses, large and small to

:02:10. > :02:13.the Chancellor's statement. What does the Budget mean to you and your

:02:14. > :02:23.family's finances? I will respond to your e-mails, text and tweets about

:02:24. > :02:26.the measures announced today. Plenty of voices, not just from Westminster

:02:27. > :02:29.but beyond Westminster which is crucial on a day like today.

:02:30. > :02:32.To help me make sense of it all, we're joined by our political

:02:33. > :02:34.editor, Laura Kuenssberg, our economics editor, Kamal Ahmed,

:02:35. > :02:44.They'll all be providing plenty of thoughts on social

:02:45. > :02:46.media as things happen, if you want to join

:02:47. > :02:53.the twitter conversation, use the hashtag #Budget2017.

:02:54. > :02:57.Use the hashtag and the comments can go into the same area and you can

:02:58. > :03:02.e-mail us as well: We'll try and put some

:03:03. > :03:05.of your tweets and emails to our experts and guests

:03:06. > :03:11.during the programme. So it's Chancellor,

:03:12. > :03:12.Philip Hammond's, big day and the Treasury released these

:03:13. > :03:15.images of Mr Hammond hard at work last night, putting

:03:16. > :03:24.the finishing touches to his speech before it's

:03:25. > :03:27.locked up in the Red Box. As expected, he's facing plenty

:03:28. > :03:36.of demands from the Opposition to increase spending

:03:37. > :03:39.in quite a few ares - He's had increased tax

:03:40. > :03:43.receipts recently. So I'm not asking him to go out

:03:44. > :03:45.on a huge spending spree. I'm asking him to tackle

:03:46. > :03:48.the crisis that's here now. It's all well and good saying you're

:03:49. > :03:50.saving money for later There is a crisis in our NHS

:03:51. > :03:54.at the moment, there's a He's got top understand

:03:55. > :04:00.what people are going through. John McDonnell there. He will talk

:04:01. > :04:04.to us again later. He will probably join us in the studio to give his

:04:05. > :04:08.response. Laura, can I turn to you. The content of any Budget is

:04:09. > :04:11.interesting. Any Budget is important but in such a turbulent and

:04:12. > :04:16.uncertain political time, really the context is - we have never seen

:04:17. > :04:20.anything like it. Absolutely not. When Philip Hammond steps out of the

:04:21. > :04:24.shiny black door of Number 11 this morning what has been on his smind

:04:25. > :04:27.that the country is stepping into an uncertain future, probably the most

:04:28. > :04:32.uncertain pattern any Chancellor has had to deal with for a very, very

:04:33. > :04:35.long time. I think today, therefore, we won't hear a very palatable

:04:36. > :04:39.message from him, really. There are going to be spending cuts and we

:04:40. > :04:44.expect some tax rises, too. Sure, the picture is likely to look a bit

:04:45. > :04:47.better than it did since the Autumn Statement, the last big event from

:04:48. > :04:52.the Chancellor but he is not prone to what he calls "lurches of

:04:53. > :04:55.sentiment", kind of careering from one thing to another, saying

:04:56. > :04:59.everything is fine and therefore I can splash the cash, that's not what

:05:00. > :05:04.we are going to see. There's a trio of tasks he has to achieve to keep

:05:05. > :05:07.his his and Theresa May's agenda. First, showing he is committed to

:05:08. > :05:11.balancing the books in a long term albeit at a slower rate than had

:05:12. > :05:15.been predicted. Second of all, always important on a Budget day,

:05:16. > :05:22.try to do that without any big political blunder. That's always at

:05:23. > :05:29.the back of every Chancellor's mind. Think last year and George Osborne

:05:30. > :05:32.made a big mistake and I think talking about solving some long-term

:05:33. > :05:36.problems that the country faces. Whether that's social care, we

:05:37. > :05:40.expect an announcement of a long-term review and additional cash

:05:41. > :05:44.now. But also things the Treasury are interested in, how do we make

:05:45. > :05:47.the tax system work better, for example, how do we confront the

:05:48. > :05:50.changes in technology? He has to deal with short-term pressures but

:05:51. > :05:55.he will provide clues to a long-term vision at a time which is really

:05:56. > :06:00.uncertain. . I think it is fair to say some of his colleagues didn't

:06:01. > :06:05.like the fact he used a phrase like "a roller coaster ride ahead of us",

:06:06. > :06:08.he used that last year. Are we likely to get that signal in those

:06:09. > :06:12.terms? I think the tone will certainly be, shall we say, very,

:06:13. > :06:17.very careful. Philip Hammond is not prone to behave in a way some of his

:06:18. > :06:22.Cabinet colleagues do, with the hints of a buck inneering future,

:06:23. > :06:28.Brexit Britain out, promising a land of milk and hobby. He is a caution

:06:29. > :06:32.politician in anyway case but it is no secret that the Treasury is at

:06:33. > :06:35.the concerned end of the spectrum around Whitehall at the potential

:06:36. > :06:39.impact of us leaving the European Union. That is why, rather than

:06:40. > :06:44.using a little bit of the headroom that he's got stored up, he's

:06:45. > :06:47.basically going to keep that back in case there are big bumps in the road

:06:48. > :06:51.as we head towards leaving the European Union. Remember, it's not

:06:52. > :06:55.the case that he suddenly has tens of billions sitting around in a bank

:06:56. > :06:58.account. It's that the country is predicted to be borrowing less.

:06:59. > :07:02.Therefore, there has been pressure on him to say - flash the cash now,

:07:03. > :07:06.get on with it, please a few more people but he's not going to do

:07:07. > :07:10.that, I don't think. That leads me to Kamal. That's the context. When

:07:11. > :07:15.he gets to the despatch box, today, what is the economic landscape we

:07:16. > :07:21.should be thinking of? Absolutely. I think the two big things to always

:07:22. > :07:24.look at, as Laura says, over the Budget, are borrowing and growth.

:07:25. > :07:31.Those are the two big issues. So so let's look back first of all on the

:07:32. > :07:37.borrowing numbers. If we go back to the November and the predictions in

:07:38. > :07:39.the Autumn Statement, this was the time of what you might describe as

:07:40. > :07:41."peak bloom." Most economic forecasters thought at this stage

:07:42. > :07:43.real headwinds because of the real headwinds because of the

:07:44. > :07:46.uncertainty around Brexit. that the economy could be seeing

:07:47. > :07:47.real headwinds because of the uncertainty around Brexit. The

:07:48. > :07:49.Office for Budget Responsibility, the Government's official economic

:07:50. > :07:53.watchdog, predicted, last November, that this would be what our

:07:54. > :07:58.borrowing looked like over the next five years. So 2016-17, you can

:07:59. > :08:06.seeiour yoking at around ?68 billion a year, falling every year, down to

:08:07. > :08:10.about ?20 billion in 2020-21, but, not hitting that idea of balancing

:08:11. > :08:15.the books until sometime after that date, into the next Parliament.

:08:16. > :08:20.Despite it being, as Laura says, a key Government pledge.

:08:21. > :08:25.Since then the economic news is cheerier and things are looking

:08:26. > :08:29.better and here are the predictions for what borrowing may look like,

:08:30. > :08:32.given the slightly higher tax receipts which means the Government

:08:33. > :08:37.has a little more headroom on borrowing, this are numbers from the

:08:38. > :08:41.Resolution Foundation. They suggest by 2021, the Government may

:08:42. > :08:47.understood its its target by about ?29 billion. So, just as I say, it

:08:48. > :08:51.is not money in a bank account that he can take out and stick into the

:08:52. > :08:52.NHS or whatever but it means slightedly less borrowing.

:08:53. > :08:53.he can take out and stick into the NHS or whatever but it

:08:54. > :08:56.slightedly less borrowing. So that's borrow, you mentioned

:08:57. > :09:01.growth as well. Tell us about that? Again, if we go back to what was

:09:02. > :09:04.predicted last November, the Office for Budget Responsibility said

:09:05. > :09:08.growth for this year would be a very cautious and pretty miserable,

:09:09. > :09:12.frankly, 1.4%. But since then we have had, again this better economic

:09:13. > :09:16.news. The consumer has been more resilient and kept spending. The

:09:17. > :09:21.Bank of England, you, a couple of months ago suggested, or a month

:09:22. > :09:28.ago, suggested the growth this year would be 2%. A much more robust

:09:29. > :09:31.figure and I'm sure today the OBR will upgrade that growth forecast,

:09:32. > :09:34.better news for Philip Hammond as he stands up to deliver the Budget but

:09:35. > :09:39.as important is what will happen after that? Is this pain cancelled

:09:40. > :09:44.or delayed? I think the OBR will suggest it is pain delayed possibly

:09:45. > :09:48.until next year, possibly, 2018. It originally estimated that in 2018

:09:49. > :09:56.growth would be around 1.7%. Lower than the Bank of England's growth

:09:57. > :10:01.forecast for this year. And the Bath has said in growth for 2018, it

:10:02. > :10:06.would blow in growth compared to this year. So it is likely that in

:10:07. > :10:08.growth - these are the two economic forecasters, the Bank of England and

:10:09. > :10:21.OBR, will forecasters, the Bank of England and

:10:22. > :10:37.OBR, will say there is likely to be a slowing in growth in 2018, of

:10:38. > :10:39.course when we will be in the teeth of the Brexit negotiations. #7

:10:40. > :10:39.forecasters, the Bank of England and OBR, will

:10:40. > :10:40.course when we will be in the teeth of the Brexit negotiations. #7 I'm

:10:41. > :10:43.wondering, given the traditional focus on Budget Day is to do with

:10:44. > :10:48.tax measures and other benefits, what is he likely to do there? Well,

:10:49. > :10:50.I think what is easy to forget on Budget Day, we have had previous

:10:51. > :10:53.Budgets and there are changes coming down the road which will be

:10:54. > :10:56.challenging for some of the groups that the Government says it wants to

:10:57. > :10:58.help, the just about managing, an economy that works for everyone.

:10:59. > :11:00.Let's look at what the Government has already announced in terms of

:11:01. > :11:03.what might be described as tax give-aways, to help some of the

:11:04. > :11:05.groups it wants to help. The tax-free personal allowance is going

:11:06. > :11:14.up to ?11,500. We'll probably see some more moves on that. That can be

:11:15. > :11:21.seen as a tax cut particularly for those on higher numbers. And they've

:11:22. > :11:25.raised the threshold to ?45,000 and it maybe easier for people to save

:11:26. > :11:29.what little money they have. But on the other side there is some of the

:11:30. > :11:31.pain that we mustn't forget. This is still a situation where the

:11:32. > :11:37.Government is constraining spending, it is not adding to spending. And if

:11:38. > :11:41.we look at some of the welfare changes already in place, we mustn't

:11:42. > :11:45.forget there is already the cut in working-age benefit which is still

:11:46. > :11:50.going through the system. The public sector pay freeze is still there at

:11:51. > :11:53.1%, despite inflation going up. What is called the Employment Support

:11:54. > :11:58.Allowance, an allowance for people who are ill or disabled going back

:11:59. > :12:04.into work. That is being cut back as well. As are child tax credits. So I

:12:05. > :12:07.think one of the big messages from the Chancellor today, is that, yes,

:12:08. > :12:13.things are looking a little better, possibly only in the short-term but

:12:14. > :12:16.still that drive towards balancing the books via austerity, is still

:12:17. > :12:26.very much front and central of the Government project. Plenty for us to

:12:27. > :12:29.think about. Simon you have been busy this week in Geneva, I'm

:12:30. > :12:32.wondering what is the business focus for you today? Businesses have been

:12:33. > :12:36.on a journey with this Government. When Theresa May arrived she came

:12:37. > :12:39.out of the traps early warning businesses - you better create a

:12:40. > :12:44.fair economy that works for everyone, if you don't I will step N

:12:45. > :12:53.it scared the horses a bit. -- step in. But the Chancellor needs

:12:54. > :12:57.business. The economy is made up of a few things, consumer spending, who

:12:58. > :13:00.have been keeping the economy afloat single handedly, and of Government

:13:01. > :13:03.spending which we know is going to be cut and it is business spending.

:13:04. > :13:08.He is going to want to try to stimulate that. I expect this Budget

:13:09. > :13:14.to dove tail in the with industrial strategy we heard earlier in the

:13:15. > :13:19.year to give people incentives to spend money, to take on new workers,

:13:20. > :13:23.train them, invest in new plants. For smaller businesses, it is all

:13:24. > :13:24.three-quart earnings, two-thirds of three-quart earnings, two-thirds of

:13:25. > :13:29.business also see their rates stay the same or fall for some in certain

:13:30. > :13:36.areas of country, particularly snout east they face sharp prize --

:13:37. > :13:39.particularly in the south-east. The Federation of Small Businesses say

:13:40. > :13:44.there are rises of up to 300%. I expect to see a bit of money top

:13:45. > :13:47.soften the edges of that. But it'll only soften the edges. These letters

:13:48. > :13:52.have been written, calculated they are on their way out the door from

:13:53. > :13:58.the local authorities. There will not be the scope a massive redrawing

:13:59. > :14:02.of the business rates. Small businesses under the cosh with the

:14:03. > :14:05.living wage. And if we do get this big change in self-employment that.

:14:06. > :14:13.Will be big. It'll be interesting to see whether we get the changes today

:14:14. > :14:18.or whether he nods to a future consultation. Many self-employed

:14:19. > :14:23.people pay less national insurance for people who are self-employed.

:14:24. > :14:27.Troublesome if he does that, some may remember the 2015 Tory manifesto

:14:28. > :14:31.pledge, not to raise, VAT, income tax and national insurance. But as

:14:32. > :14:35.Simon is hinting, there is appetite in the Treasury for a whole sale

:14:36. > :14:40.review of how this whole system works, which includes things like

:14:41. > :14:43.big online retailers getting off relatively scot-free compared to

:14:44. > :14:47.more traditional retailers in terms of taxation in the high street. The

:14:48. > :14:51.number from the OBR last fr last year, suggested the Government could

:14:52. > :14:55.be losing about ?3.5 billion a year in taxes because of the people's

:14:56. > :14:58.move on to self-employment and the gig economy, it is undermining the

:14:59. > :15:03.tax base where Philip Hammond has a real problem.

:15:04. > :15:09.Lead's pause for a second because we are here on Budget day and this is

:15:10. > :15:13.the focus our Westminster but we are getting reports that four people

:15:14. > :15:17.have been injured in a stabbing attack in the West Midlands. Police

:15:18. > :15:22.are telling of this. West Midlands Ambulance Service, I am being told,

:15:23. > :15:32.saying they are at the scene of a serious incident in the Maryhill

:15:33. > :15:39.area of Wolverhampton. -- Merry Hill area. It is being reported four

:15:40. > :15:42.people being injured after a stabbing in the West Midlands and we

:15:43. > :15:45.will keep you in touch with everything that is going on with

:15:46. > :15:50.that as it develops on the BBC News Channel and also developments on the

:15:51. > :15:53.BBC News Channel. We are focusing on Budget day and as Philip Hammond has

:15:54. > :15:56.already made his way to the House of Commons to get ready for the speech,

:15:57. > :15:58.we will have prime ministers questions in just under 15 minutes.

:15:59. > :16:03.Lots of reaction throughout the day and now we join Jane Parliament.

:16:04. > :16:13.But to Parliament and in a moment I will look at what Philip Hammond

:16:14. > :16:16.might have in store with Lord Lamont and Chris Leslie but as you have

:16:17. > :16:20.been reflecting on everything we're going to hear against 30 PM -- from

:16:21. > :16:25.4:30pm is against the backdrop of the referendum, Britain's decision

:16:26. > :16:26.to leave the EU. Before I talk to my guess, let's remind ourselves how

:16:27. > :16:29.the economy has led since that vote. The British people have spoken

:16:30. > :16:33.and the answer is - we're out. The Bank of England will not

:16:34. > :16:35.hesitate to take additional measures, as required,

:16:36. > :16:40.as markets adjust. If you're just managing,

:16:41. > :16:44.I want to address you directly. I've been here 25 years

:16:45. > :17:23.and I hope it's going to be We will pursue a bold and ambitious

:17:24. > :18:12.free trade agreement The industrial strategy that

:18:13. > :18:20.we've launched today sets I think Brexit is going

:18:21. > :18:48.to be a wonderful thing. So that is where we are today, the

:18:49. > :18:50.backdrop to what we will hear this lunchtime. Let's discuss Philip

:18:51. > :18:52.Hammond's options. Joining me now is the former

:18:53. > :18:53.Conservative Chancellor, Lord Lamont, and the former

:18:54. > :19:01.Shadow Treasury Minister, Welcome to both of you. The tone of

:19:02. > :19:06.this is going to be so interesting, Lord Lamont. We think things are a

:19:07. > :19:12.little more rosy economically but because of Brexit, he's got to be

:19:13. > :19:16.very cautious, hasn't it? I think that's right. I think it is

:19:17. > :19:19.important he emphasises the opportunities as well as the

:19:20. > :19:23.challenges but I think there are two things it has to do because of

:19:24. > :19:27.Brexit. One is to keep a little bit back. Some people are saying tax

:19:28. > :19:31.revenues are better but I think actually, he would be very wise to

:19:32. > :19:36.keep a bit back just in case there are schools in financial markets

:19:37. > :19:41.later. Secondly, in this Budget and in every other one that he does, the

:19:42. > :19:44.emphasis has to be on making Britain competitive. This is going to be a

:19:45. > :19:51.challenge for Britain outside the EU and we have do have everything

:19:52. > :19:55.competitive, our costs, our tax rates, our degree of regulation, all

:19:56. > :19:59.that. Those are the two themes, being competitive and actually

:20:00. > :20:02.holding something in reserve. But you say that is the case for every

:20:03. > :20:06.Budget but we are in uncharted territory. This is so different

:20:07. > :20:10.because by definition, no one really knows what is coming down the track.

:20:11. > :20:15.That's why I've said what I did! Chris Leslie, your thoughts on the

:20:16. > :20:19.balance he has to strike between a degree of optimism, as Lord Lamont

:20:20. > :20:23.says, but actually being cautious. Everyone is using that word this

:20:24. > :20:26.morning. When you hear Lord Lamont saying it could be a challenge, for

:20:27. > :20:33.that read there is a Harry Kane potentially on the horizon -- there

:20:34. > :20:37.is a hurricane potentially on the horizon for the UK economy. Brexit

:20:38. > :20:42.will dominate, lots of people talk about taxes here or there, spending

:20:43. > :20:44.here or there but that storm, I personally think the government is

:20:45. > :20:49.actively heading towards it because of its decision not to try to

:20:50. > :20:52.salvage single market membership, is already affecting consumers because

:20:53. > :20:56.sterling has fallen quite considerably, and inflation is

:20:57. > :20:59.starting to head upwards and we're already seeing consumer spending

:21:00. > :21:05.power begin to go on the wane. Retail sales down very much in the

:21:06. > :21:10.last months. So where is the engine of the economy going to come from as

:21:11. > :21:16.we head into this storm? For me, that is a serious problem. Where is

:21:17. > :21:21.the engine? First of all, I don't think it is inevitable there will be

:21:22. > :21:25.a storm or a hurricane coming down. Provided we can get, for most of the

:21:26. > :21:29.UK economy, tariff free access and a free trade deal, it will be just as

:21:30. > :21:33.good as the single market. You know, I think all of this myth about the

:21:34. > :21:37.single market, that it is some kind of Chinese garden with a large wall

:21:38. > :21:42.around it and we have do have a key to sell things in it, you know, the

:21:43. > :21:46.top three partners, trading wise, of the EU have no special trade

:21:47. > :21:49.arrangements with the EU. The idea we couldn't trade with them without

:21:50. > :21:53.a trade agreement is an illusion, it's completely wrong. But I think

:21:54. > :21:58.there is a very good chance of having a trade agreement and that is

:21:59. > :22:01.what the government... It's just nonsense to harp on about membership

:22:02. > :22:04.of the single market, which during the referendum, people advocating

:22:05. > :22:08.for Gabi Mayne said it would not make any sense if we were outside

:22:09. > :22:11.the EU to be part of it. On the other point you raised about the

:22:12. > :22:15.economy, so far, the economy has been remarkably resilient.

:22:16. > :22:20.Inflation, as Chris has said, has risen a bit but it is rising even

:22:21. > :22:25.higher in Germany than it is here. It is not high by historical

:22:26. > :22:28.standards. I don't think it is inevitable... Nothing is inevitable,

:22:29. > :22:31.if the government does the right thing and tries to get, well, we had

:22:32. > :22:35.better get a free trade agreement with Europe because without that, it

:22:36. > :22:40.is not just the service sector which will suffer, it will be goods and

:22:41. > :22:44.services, all of those companies, like Nissan, who have 5 million

:22:45. > :22:50.parts per day, they have to get from this warehouse of the EU, they only

:22:51. > :22:54.keep half a day's infantry on site. If you have friction in those goods

:22:55. > :22:59.and services, that trade, we are going to have a real problem for our

:23:00. > :23:03.business model in the UK, and so, we have do, I think, get the free trade

:23:04. > :23:07.agreement but if we don't, not only will we have big tariffs and

:23:08. > :23:11.potentially for components coming in, but also want the goods we want

:23:12. > :23:17.to sell worldwide. So our exports potentially will be inhibited and so

:23:18. > :23:20.I worry very much about where the living standards and the consumer

:23:21. > :23:25.spending power is going to come from when things get more expensive and I

:23:26. > :23:29.worry about the storm on the horizon with the trade issue, which could be

:23:30. > :23:33.really severely impaired. Gentlemen, we have to leave it there. We will

:23:34. > :23:36.find out in the next few hours. Chris Leslie and Lord Lamont, thank

:23:37. > :23:39.you for being with us and more reaction when we have heard from

:23:40. > :23:44.Philip Hammond outside Parliament. For now, back to you.

:23:45. > :23:51.Thanks to you and your guests. Reaction beyond Westminster as well.

:23:52. > :23:54.where Jo Coburn is with a range of guests to talk about the main

:23:55. > :23:58.Yes, I'm at a busy distribution centre which employs about 850

:23:59. > :24:02.people in Hull. We are bringing you breaking news of

:24:03. > :24:04.an incident in the West Midlands in which two people have died. It

:24:05. > :24:06.follows what police are describing as a domestic stabbing in

:24:07. > :24:14.Wolverhampton. There were called to the Merry Hill area of the city at

:24:15. > :24:18.around 9:45am, where it is believed a man attacked two women before

:24:19. > :24:23.inflicting injuries on himself. Three air ambulances were called to

:24:24. > :24:28.the scene, as well as a number of other ambulances and medical staff.

:24:29. > :24:31.Initial reports we received said that several people were understood

:24:32. > :24:36.to have been injured in a serious assault in Wolverhampton. Then, as

:24:37. > :24:44.more details began to emerge from the West Midlands Police, we were

:24:45. > :24:47.told a man is believed to have attacked two women, before

:24:48. > :24:55.inflicting stab injuries on himself. West Midlands Police say that a

:24:56. > :25:00.woman in her 30s and a man in his 30s have died, while another woman,

:25:01. > :25:05.believed to be in her 50s, has been taken to hospital with what are

:25:06. > :25:12.described as critical stomach wounds. Police had to use stun

:25:13. > :25:17.grenades to storm the block of flats where the incident happened, to

:25:18. > :25:25.storm the flat in a bid to, we are told, destructive and detain the man

:25:26. > :25:29.who was wielding the knife. -- distract and detain. The woman

:25:30. > :25:34.believed to be in her 30s died at the scene. The man in his 30s was

:25:35. > :25:38.pronounced dead a short time later. We understand that a police officer

:25:39. > :25:46.has also been treated for minor injuries as a result of the

:25:47. > :25:50.incident. Just to recap if you are joining us, breaking news coming

:25:51. > :25:53.from the West Midlands, a number of people have been involved in a very

:25:54. > :25:58.serious incident, a domestic stabbing, we are told, in

:25:59. > :26:07.Wolverhampton. This happened at a block of flats in the Maryhill area

:26:08. > :26:12.of Wolverhampton. West Midlands Police have confirmed that two

:26:13. > :26:20.people have died. A woman in her 30s, and a man, the male suspect in

:26:21. > :26:24.the case, also believed to be in his 30s, pronounced dead a short time

:26:25. > :26:27.later, while the woman died at the scene. Another woman, thought to be

:26:28. > :26:32.in her 50s, taken to hospital with critical stomach wounds. Officers

:26:33. > :26:42.using stun grenades, as they stormed the flat in a bid to get to the man

:26:43. > :26:53.with the knife. A police officer treated for minor injuries, we are

:26:54. > :27:02.told. Three ambulances were called to the scene. We are just checking

:27:03. > :27:06.to find out if any more details are coming in from West Midlands Police

:27:07. > :27:10.about this serious incident. At the moment they are confirming the news

:27:11. > :27:16.of these two deaths, the woman in her 30s, the male suspect, also in

:27:17. > :27:21.his 30s, and a woman in her 50s, taken to hospital with critical

:27:22. > :27:26.stomach wounds. Eyewitnesses reported a large number of police

:27:27. > :27:36.officers arriving at Highfields court. We understand that is the

:27:37. > :27:46.area of Wolverhampton, where the fatal domestic stabbing has happened

:27:47. > :27:50.this morning. That is when police were called to the block of flats,

:27:51. > :27:58.when it was believed a man attacked two women, before inflicting stab

:27:59. > :28:03.injuries on himself. We are going to keep a close eye on any developments

:28:04. > :28:08.on that story. Let's return to the budget special.

:28:09. > :28:10.Yes, we are expecting to see some tax rises from the Chancellor. It is

:28:11. > :28:18.rumoured national insurance contributions for self-employed

:28:19. > :28:21.people could go up. At the moment, they pay about 9% on earnings of

:28:22. > :28:23.just over ?8,000. That compares to employed people who pay 12%. We

:28:24. > :28:28.could possibly see, there is speculation we will see a 3% rise on

:28:29. > :28:31.national insurance contributions for the self-employed. Also, we could

:28:32. > :28:36.see alcohol and tobacco duties going up. Maybe there will be a new tax on

:28:37. > :28:39.e-cigarettes. If you have any questions about what you do in the

:28:40. > :28:48.Budget, you can contact us in lots of ways, text 61124, e-mail

:28:49. > :28:54.HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk or tweet. Back to London.

:28:55. > :28:59.Thanks to the team in Hull because we will be back there later to get

:29:00. > :29:03.lots of reaction to the speech itself.

:29:04. > :29:05.You can also take advantage of the BBC's range

:29:06. > :29:07.of expert analysis, and all the latest Budget

:29:08. > :29:10.news on the BBC website - bbc.co.uk/budget.

:29:11. > :29:13.And later today, there will be a calculator on the site

:29:14. > :29:17.where you can work out the impact on your household's finances.

:29:18. > :29:24.It's heading towards midday here at Westminster on Budget Day.

:29:25. > :29:30.A magnificent sight, on the banks of the Thames, Parliament on Budget

:29:31. > :29:32.day. Very soon, we'll be

:29:33. > :29:34.in the House of Commons for Prime Minister's Questions,

:29:35. > :29:44.with the Chancellor's Let's take a peek inside the

:29:45. > :29:50.chamber. We have a session of departmental questions and I'm

:29:51. > :29:54.delighted to sell you today that it is questions to the Secretary of

:29:55. > :29:58.State for Wales. It doesn't get better than that as far as I'm

:29:59. > :30:04.concerned! And I hope the speaker is very donors with his time allocation

:30:05. > :30:07.-- generous with his time occasion. The Secretary of State for Wales

:30:08. > :30:10.just taking questions there before the speaker calls for the Prime

:30:11. > :30:12.Minister to take questions. Of course, the Chancellor is in place

:30:13. > :30:27.already, ready Is Laura, the Prime Minister has

:30:28. > :30:32.already said from scam number Ten what she expects the themes to be?

:30:33. > :30:37.Yes, she told the Cabinet this morning there would be "A strongp

:30:38. > :30:49.hand on fiscal tiller." But it would also "Put the wheels in motion for

:30:50. > :30:55.future growth and prosperity." The mixed metaphors are not mine. It

:30:56. > :30:58.shows they are trying to balance the books but equip the economy for a

:30:59. > :31:02.future outside the European Union, make it more dynamic and

:31:03. > :31:05.competitive. In the Autumn Statement we saw investment in infrastructure,

:31:06. > :31:09.roads, rails, if you like you have had the bricks and mortar in the

:31:10. > :31:13.autumn, today we might see the human capital. Skills, schools, how we

:31:14. > :31:18.actually look like an economy that's really gunning along, not in

:31:19. > :31:19.2016-17, 18, but much further ahead. Let's join the Prime Minister for

:31:20. > :31:27.question time. Thank you, Mr Speaker, I'm sure

:31:28. > :31:33.members across the whole House will wish to join me in marking

:31:34. > :31:36.International Women's Day as we celebrate the social, economic,

:31:37. > :31:40.cultural and political achievements of women, both here and around the

:31:41. > :31:46.world. But we also redouble our efforts to tackle the problems that

:31:47. > :31:48.women all toop often still face. Mr Speaker, this morning, I had

:31:49. > :31:52.meetings with ministerial colleagues and others N addition to my duties

:31:53. > :31:57.in this House, I shall have further such meetings later today. -- in

:31:58. > :32:00.addition. Can I join the Prime Minister in celebrating

:32:01. > :32:04.International Women's Day. Since 2010, Conservatives in Government

:32:05. > :32:08.have a proud record of protecting and supporting both those at risk

:32:09. > :32:13.and the victims of domestic violence and abuse. I saw this myself when I

:32:14. > :32:19.joined my local police and I would like to thank them for the difficult

:32:20. > :32:23.job they do but even as far as too many women are still at risk and are

:32:24. > :32:29.still suffering. What more account Prime Minister do to tackle this

:32:30. > :32:33.abhorrent crime? My honourable friend raises a very serious issue,

:32:34. > :32:36.one in which I have taken a particular personal interest and I

:32:37. > :32:40.attach very great importance to this issue. Tackling domestic violence

:32:41. > :32:44.and abuse is a key priority for the Government. And what we have done

:32:45. > :32:48.already in Government, I think, has the potential to transform the way

:32:49. > :32:52.in which we think and tackle these terrible crimes when they take

:32:53. > :32:55.place. We've already committed to bringing forward new legislation and

:32:56. > :32:58.today, I have confirmed an additional ?20 million to support

:32:59. > :33:03.organisations working to tackle domestic violence and abuse. This

:33:04. > :33:11.means the total funding available for our our strategy will be over

:33:12. > :33:17.?100 million this Parliament. THE SPEAKER: Jeremy Corbyn Thank

:33:18. > :33:22.you, Mr Speaker. Thank you, very much, Mr Speaker, could I start by

:33:23. > :33:27.wishing all women a very happy International Women's Day today. And

:33:28. > :33:31.I'm very proud that the Labour Party has more women MPs than all other

:33:32. > :33:43.other parties combined in this House. And a Shadow Cabinet of which

:33:44. > :33:51.half the members are women. A month ago go, Mr Speaker, I raised the

:33:52. > :33:53.question of the leaked texts between the leader of Surrey council and

:33:54. > :34:00.Government officials about social care. The Prime Minister's response

:34:01. > :34:05.was to accuse me of peddling alternative facts. Could the Prime

:34:06. > :34:13.Minister explain the difference between a sweetheart deal and a

:34:14. > :34:16.gentlemen's agreement? First of all, the right honourable gentleman

:34:17. > :34:21.references women in this House. I think I will point out to him that

:34:22. > :34:25.actually the Conservative Party has taken a further measure in relation

:34:26. > :34:36.to women in this House recently. We've replaced a Labour male MP with

:34:37. > :34:45.a female Conservative. CHEERS AND JEERS

:34:46. > :34:47.He has asked me about the issue in relation to Surrey County Council

:34:48. > :34:51.and the substance of what he is asking is has there been a

:34:52. > :34:55.particular deal with Surrey County Council that is not available to

:34:56. > :35:05.other councils? And the answer to that is no. As I've said before -

:35:06. > :35:10.the ability to raise a social care precept of 3% is available to every

:35:11. > :35:15.council. The issue of the retention of 100% of business rates is

:35:16. > :35:18.currently - is going to be available to a number of councils in ip a.

:35:19. > :35:22.Let's look at them. Liver -- in April. Let's look at them.

:35:23. > :35:28.Liverpool, Manchester, London, what do we know about those? Ah, they are

:35:29. > :35:32.all under Labour control. So what he's actually asking me is - why

:35:33. > :35:36.should a Conservative council have access to an arrangement that's

:35:37. > :35:44.predominantly currently available to Labour councils? Mr Speaker, my

:35:45. > :35:53.question was about the arrangements between the Government and Surrey

:35:54. > :35:59.County Council. A recording has now emerged saying that the Leader of

:36:00. > :36:02.Surrey County Council, David Hodge said there was a gentlemen's

:36:03. > :36:05.agreement between him and the Government which meant they would

:36:06. > :36:11.not have to go ahead with the referendum. My question is - what

:36:12. > :36:15.deal was done with Surrey County Council? Because there is an acute

:36:16. > :36:24.social care crisis that affects every council. 4.6 billion of cuts

:36:25. > :36:28.made to social care since 2010. Can the Prime Minister tell every other

:36:29. > :36:33.council in England what gentlemen's agreement is available for them? Can

:36:34. > :36:37.I say to the right honourable gentleman, on today of all days, I

:36:38. > :36:42.think if we could just be a little patient and wait half an hour for

:36:43. > :36:48.the Budget, he will actually find out what social care funding is

:36:49. > :36:53.available to all councils. If he's - I come back to it, if he is asking

:36:54. > :36:58.me if there was a special deal for Surrey that was not available to

:36:59. > :37:02.other councils, the answer is no. If he is looking to uncover a

:37:03. > :37:10.conspiracy I suggest he just looks behind him.

:37:11. > :37:17.Well, Mr Speaker, if all the arrangements were so clear and above

:37:18. > :37:23.board, will the Prime Minister place in the library of the House a record

:37:24. > :37:29.of all one-to-one meetings that have been held between the Communities'

:37:30. > :37:32.Secretary and the Chancellor, with any council leader or chair of

:37:33. > :37:38.social services anywhere in England? And can she explain, if there is no

:37:39. > :37:44.special deal, why Surrey is the only county council to be allowed into

:37:45. > :37:54.the business rates retention pilot when it's been denied to others? The

:37:55. > :38:00.business rate retention pilot will be coming into force for a number of

:38:01. > :38:06.councils this April. That includes, as I have already said in answer to

:38:07. > :38:09.his earlier question, Liverpool, Greater Manchester, Greater London,

:38:10. > :38:13.and some others. In 2019-20, it's going to be available to 100% of

:38:14. > :38:18.councils. For 2018-19, councils are councils. For 2018-19, councils are

:38:19. > :38:24.able to apply to the part of a further pilot. That goes for all

:38:25. > :38:29.councils across the country. The text, Mr Speaker, said there was a

:38:30. > :38:39.memorandum of understanding. The Prime Minister said there was no

:38:40. > :38:42.deal. She now is unclear about this. Did she actually know what

:38:43. > :38:47.arrangement was made with Surrey County Council? She is unkeen on

:38:48. > :38:54.answering questions on that. There is another area of deep concern over

:38:55. > :39:01.the whole country. Could the Prime Minister tell us how many new school

:39:02. > :39:05.places will be needed by 2020? Can I just say to the right honourable

:39:06. > :39:11.gentleman that really he should listen to the answers I give before

:39:12. > :39:15.he asks the next question. He said I didn't answer the question about a

:39:16. > :39:19.special deal for Surrey. I think I've answered it now three times but

:39:20. > :39:28.I'll do it a fourth time tl.s no special deal for Surrey that was not

:39:29. > :39:31.available to other councils. Mr Speaker, the Prime Minister was also

:39:32. > :39:36.asked a question just a moment ago about the number of new school

:39:37. > :39:41.places needed by 2020, perhaps she could explain why we have a crisis

:39:42. > :39:45.in school places and class sizes soaring, thanks to her Government?

:39:46. > :39:52.So what is the answer on the number of new school places needed, Prime

:39:53. > :39:57.Minister? Well, this Government has a policy, which is about increasing

:39:58. > :40:03.the number of school places but doing more than that. I want to

:40:04. > :40:06.increase the number of good school places, so that every child has an

:40:07. > :40:12.opportunity to go to a good school. That's what the money we are putting

:40:13. > :40:18.into education is about. It includes money for new free schools - those

:40:19. > :40:20.will be faith schools, university schools, comprehensives, grammar

:40:21. > :40:26.schools, university schools I have said, maths schools. There will be a

:40:27. > :40:31.diversity because what I want is a good school place for every child

:40:32. > :40:35.and parents to have a choice. What the right honourable gentlemanp

:40:36. > :40:42.wants is parents to take what they're given, good or bad. Mr

:40:43. > :40:48.Speaker, the National Audit Office tell us that a very large number of

:40:49. > :40:53.new school places are needed, 420,000, nothing she's said gets

:40:54. > :40:57.anywhere near to that. Instead, she proposes a flagship scheme to build

:40:58. > :41:00.the wrong schools in the wrong place, spending millions of vanity

:41:01. > :41:05.projects of grammar schools and free schools, whilst at the same time per

:41:06. > :41:14.pupil funding is falling in real terms. It is time that this colossal

:41:15. > :41:20.waste of money was addressed. It is doing nothing to help the vast

:41:21. > :41:25.majority of children, doing not to help with soaring class sizes.

:41:26. > :41:29.That's what this country wants, not vanity projects from her Government.

:41:30. > :41:35.It is no vanity project to want every child to have a good school

:41:36. > :41:39.place. The majority of free schools - the majority of free schools that

:41:40. > :41:43.have been opened, have been opened in areas where there is a need for

:41:44. > :41:46.school places and the majority have been opened actually in areas of

:41:47. > :41:50.disadvantage, where they are helping the very children we want to see get

:41:51. > :41:54.thep opportunity to get on in life. But I have to say to the right

:41:55. > :41:58.honourable gentleman, this is about a fairer society and on this Budget

:41:59. > :42:04.Day, what we see is we are securing the economy Labour want it weaken

:42:05. > :42:10.it. We are working for a fairer society. Labour oppose every single

:42:11. > :42:16.reform. We're fighting for the best deal for Britain, Labour are

:42:17. > :42:25.fighting among themselves. That's Labour, weak, divided and unfit to

:42:26. > :42:34.govern this great country. Thank you, Mr Speaker. This week it is

:42:35. > :42:43.likely that in my area four people will suffer a stroke. With this in

:42:44. > :42:51.mind and given that the highly successful stroke strategy expires

:42:52. > :42:56.this year, will my honourable friend update the stroke strategy which and

:42:57. > :43:00.put in place schemes that can increase the outcomes. The NHS wants

:43:01. > :43:05.to continue to build on the success he is of the current stroke strategy

:43:06. > :43:09.there. Have been huge improvements. We all recognise huge improvements

:43:10. > :43:12.over the last decade in stroke care and we want to deliver our ambition

:43:13. > :43:17.for truly world-leading care. On the particular treatment she refers to,

:43:18. > :43:22.I understand the NHS has improved the use of mechanical clot retrieval

:43:23. > :43:25.in specific cases. It does rigorously audit the quality of

:43:26. > :43:30.stroke care across the country so we can make sure we are delivering on

:43:31. > :43:33.our commitments and we have some of the fastest improvement in hospital

:43:34. > :43:42.recovery rates for stroke and heart attacks in Europe. On International

:43:43. > :43:48.Women's Day, we wish all campaigners for equality well, including the

:43:49. > :43:50.Waspy campaigners. Mr Speaker, the cross-parliamentary Brexit committee

:43:51. > :43:55.has recommended the UK must guarantee the status of EU nationals

:43:56. > :44:00.living in the UK and act unilaterally, if necessary. The

:44:01. > :44:03.committee then went on to say that the current process for

:44:04. > :44:07.consideration of the permanent residency applications is not fit

:44:08. > :44:12.for purpose and in the absence of any contrary resolution to relieve

:44:13. > :44:20.the anxiety, felt by the #12i789ed 3 million EU citizens resident in the

:44:21. > :44:23.UK, it is -- felt by the 3 million EU citizens, it is untenable as it

:44:24. > :44:26.now stands. Given the positive contribution thae. U nationals make

:44:27. > :44:30.to this country, what concrete plans does the Prime Minister have to deal

:44:31. > :44:33.with this? As the right honourable gentleman knows, we do want to have

:44:34. > :44:38.an early agreement, which will enable us to guarantee the status of

:44:39. > :44:46.EU citizens living in the UK but also, we need to guarantee the

:44:47. > :44:48.status of UK citizens living in the European Union. As regards the

:44:49. > :44:52.process of application, the Home Office are looking at this, as they

:44:53. > :44:53.always do, looking regularly at how they can improve the systems and

:44:54. > :45:03.simplify them. Mr Speaker, since 2010, the Home

:45:04. > :45:08.Office has seen its full-time staff equivalent cut by 10% so at current

:45:09. > :45:13.rates of processing applications for permanent residency, it would take

:45:14. > :45:18.the Home Office more than 50 years. 50 years to deal with 3.2 million

:45:19. > :45:23.European nationals in the UK. This is clearly totally and utterly

:45:24. > :45:26.unacceptable. So will the Prime Minister tell us how quickly she

:45:27. > :45:33.hopes to be able to guarantee all European nationals permanent

:45:34. > :45:36.residence? I would say to the right honourable gentleman, you can't just

:45:37. > :45:39.say and stand up because actually the Home Office is getting more

:45:40. > :45:43.efficient, it's going to be longer for answers to be given to these

:45:44. > :45:47.people. Yes, the Home Office is getting more efficient at how it is

:45:48. > :45:51.dealing with these things. I don't know if he's ever heard about

:45:52. > :45:57.technology but these days, actually, people apply online and they are

:45:58. > :46:03.dealt with online. Following the recent findings of the study on

:46:04. > :46:07.terror convictions in Britain, it is clear there are serious problems

:46:08. > :46:11.with how communities integrate into society, and the danger that this

:46:12. > :46:14.lack of integration, leading to acts of terror. Will the Prime Minister

:46:15. > :46:19.update the house on the government's counter extremism strategy and

:46:20. > :46:23.response to these findings? Again, this is a very serious issue that my

:46:24. > :46:26.honourable friend has raised and the government is taking a comprehensive

:46:27. > :46:31.approach to tackling terrorism, violent extremism at source but also

:46:32. > :46:35.obviously through counter extremism strategy, looking at extremism more

:46:36. > :46:40.widely. We want to defeat not just terrorism and violent extremism but

:46:41. > :46:43.extremism wherever it occurs. We will shortly publish a new

:46:44. > :46:47.counterterrorism strategy and in the coming months, we will respond to

:46:48. > :46:51.Dame Louise Casey's report on integration. But this is backed up

:46:52. > :46:55.by additional investment in the security and intelligence agencies,

:46:56. > :46:58.2.5 billion over five years and I clear the government is doing

:46:59. > :47:05.everything it can to tackle issues around integration, extremism and

:47:06. > :47:11.terrorism. I come from a Westminster Hall debate on behalf of my young

:47:12. > :47:18.constituent, Sam, who is 11, who developed narcolepsy as a result of

:47:19. > :47:21.receiving a vaccine to protect him from swine flu. Sam's mother is in

:47:22. > :47:32.the gallery today. In rare and devastating cases could the lease

:47:33. > :47:35.between pandemrix narcolepsy is proven and yet families face a long

:47:36. > :47:38.legal battle with the government. Will the Prime Minister today

:47:39. > :47:42.promised that no more of these disabled children will be handing

:47:43. > :47:45.all the courts. -- handed through the courts. Will she apologised to

:47:46. > :47:51.the families concerned and also oversee payments to support the

:47:52. > :47:54.children's long-term care needs. Can I first of all congratulate the

:47:55. > :47:57.honourable lady on securing the Westminster Hall debate on this

:47:58. > :48:03.important topic. She referred to at the end of her question to the issue

:48:04. > :48:06.of payments. Of course, I'm sure she realises the vaccine damage payment

:48:07. > :48:09.scheme is not a compensation team but a one-off tax-free lump sum

:48:10. > :48:14.which is paid to ease the burden of those who are disabled as a result

:48:15. > :48:17.of vaccination and it is part of a range of support provided. She has

:48:18. > :48:21.raised a very specific case and can I suggest you learn that obviously,

:48:22. > :48:25.she's had that Westminster Hall debate, we want to ensure the

:48:26. > :48:29.process is open and fair at every stage. The DWP looks at every claim

:48:30. > :48:33.based on its own facts and if she wants to write with the details, I'm

:48:34. > :48:36.sure my honourable friend the Minister for disabled people, health

:48:37. > :48:42.and work will look into the specific case she has raised. Closed

:48:43. > :48:47.question: Mr Michael Fabricant. Question for, sir. While I won't

:48:48. > :48:50.speculate on the statement is my right honourable friend the

:48:51. > :48:55.Chancellor will make very shortly, I can assure my honourable friend that

:48:56. > :49:00.the fundamentals of our economy are strong. Since 2010 from employment

:49:01. > :49:03.in the West Midlands has risen by 215000 and private sector employment

:49:04. > :49:07.alone grew by 80,000 over the last year. We have also seen schools and

:49:08. > :49:14.police budgets being protected and more doctors and nurses in his local

:49:15. > :49:18.hospitals. Michael Fabricant. And of course, we have also witnessed the

:49:19. > :49:22.post Brexit vote of confidence from Nissan, Boeing and Dyson, investing

:49:23. > :49:25.in other parts of the country. Good my right honourable friend speak a

:49:26. > :49:32.bit more about firms like Jaguar Land Rover in the West Midlands? I'm

:49:33. > :49:35.happy to say to my honourable friend that of course in the wider sense,

:49:36. > :49:41.our plans for the Midland engine show we want an economy that works

:49:42. > :49:45.for everyone. We have already confirmed over 330 million in the

:49:46. > :49:48.Croasdale funding, money going to the West Midlands engine investment

:49:49. > :49:53.fund, the Birmingham rail hub but it is important to recognise the

:49:54. > :49:56.investment being made in the UK by companies like Jaguar Land Rover who

:49:57. > :49:59.will be building their new range Rover model in Solihull. That is

:50:00. > :50:03.very good news for the West Midlands. It is also very good news

:50:04. > :50:09.for the British economy and is a sign of the confidence Jaguar Land

:50:10. > :50:13.Rover has in the UK for the future. Gordon Marsden. Mr Speaker, my

:50:14. > :50:17.casebook is now full of the anxiety is the DWP and Home Office are

:50:18. > :50:21.imposing on the honourable constituents, including officials'

:50:22. > :50:27.devs to overturn tribunal decisions protecting benefits and residents,

:50:28. > :50:30.including a family settled here for eight years and a man with a severe

:50:31. > :50:33.brain injury. Can I ask the Prime Minister if she wants people to

:50:34. > :50:37.respect Brexit means Brexit, shouldn't she respect that tribunal

:50:38. > :50:45.'s mean tribunal is, and not try to block them with grubby regulations,

:50:46. > :50:48.affecting 164,000 disabled people? If the right honourable gentleman is

:50:49. > :50:53.referring to the decision that has been taken in relation to the courts

:50:54. > :50:56.and the personal independence payments, as I explained in this

:50:57. > :51:02.house last week, as has been explained by the Secretary of State,

:51:03. > :51:07.this is about restoring the system to the state that it was intended to

:51:08. > :51:12.be when Parliament agreed it. It was agreed by the coalition government,

:51:13. > :51:17.agreed by this Parliament, after extensive consultation. Mark

:51:18. > :51:20.Menzies. Mr Speaker, in National apprenticeship week, it is important

:51:21. > :51:23.to recognise this government's commitment to investment and

:51:24. > :51:27.commitment in apprenticeships and skills. Would the Prime Minister

:51:28. > :51:29.look at encouraging a greater commitment to degree apprenticeships

:51:30. > :51:35.as part of the government strategy, as championed in businesses in my

:51:36. > :51:38.constituency like BAE Systems who have been at the forefront of

:51:39. > :51:41.developing these new programmes through its engineering degree

:51:42. > :51:45.apprenticeships scheme? My right honourable friend has raised a very

:51:46. > :51:48.important issue at, as we look to the future, we want to ensure that

:51:49. > :51:52.people in the UK have the skills they need for the economy of the

:51:53. > :51:56.future, degree apprenticeships will be an important part of this and as

:51:57. > :51:59.he refers to specifically, there are companies like BAE Systems which

:52:00. > :52:03.have been right at the forefront of developing those new programmes. I

:52:04. > :52:06.am pleased to say that overall, if we look at apprenticeships, the

:52:07. > :52:12.apprenticeship levy will take the total investment in England, ?2.45

:52:13. > :52:15.billion, double what was spent in 2010. That means it is more

:52:16. > :52:21.opportunities for young people to gain the skills they need for the

:52:22. > :52:24.future. Dan Jarvis. Tomorrow, a memorial will be unveiled to those

:52:25. > :52:29.men and women who served our country in Afghanistan and Iraq. Does the

:52:30. > :52:35.Prime Minister agree that we should all pay tribute to their service and

:52:36. > :52:39.commemorate their sacrifice? Not just with a memorial but through a

:52:40. > :52:46.commitment to learn from the past and do better in the future. The

:52:47. > :52:50.honourable gentleman raises a very important point. This will be a very

:52:51. > :52:53.significant ceremony when this memorial is unveiled and we should

:52:54. > :53:00.all, I think, across this house, paid tribute to those whom that

:53:01. > :53:05.memorial will be recognising, for the sacrifice they made. Those in

:53:06. > :53:09.our Armed Forces but also all those civilians who worked to deliver aid

:53:10. > :53:12.and health care and education. It is important that we recognise the

:53:13. > :53:18.sacrifices made by our Armed Forces and also by their families. That

:53:19. > :53:21.will be a significant moment tomorrow. We are very clear that we

:53:22. > :53:27.do need to learn the lessons from the past and that is exactly what we

:53:28. > :53:31.will do. Johnny Mercer. Thank you, Mr Speaker, and I was delighted with

:53:32. > :53:34.the Prime Minister's intervention in that it was in January which I still

:53:35. > :53:39.feel has not had the attention it deserves. -- intervention in mental

:53:40. > :53:43.health. In Plymouth, we are completely reconfiguring services

:53:44. > :53:47.because we realise parity of esteem means nothing without parity or

:53:48. > :53:50.provision. Will the Prime Minister, visit Plymouth and see some of the

:53:51. > :53:54.pioneering work we are doing, and perhaps in national mental health

:53:55. > :53:58.week in May where I am hoping Plymouth will take a national lead?

:53:59. > :54:02.I thank my honourable friend because I know this is an issue he has

:54:03. > :54:12.championed and it is very close to his areas of concern. He's done a

:54:13. > :54:14.lot of lot of work on mental is important as he talks about the

:54:15. > :54:17.parity of esteem, which the government has introduced, and more

:54:18. > :54:19.money is going into mental health provision than ever before. I would

:54:20. > :54:23.certainly be delighted to see the work done in Plymouth provided my

:54:24. > :54:28.diary allows it. Julie Cooper. In my constituency of Burnley, primary and

:54:29. > :54:31.secondary schools are severely underfunded. Maintained nursery

:54:32. > :54:36.schools are struggling to survive. Why that at this time, when we

:54:37. > :54:38.cannot adequately fund the schools we already have, if the Prime

:54:39. > :54:42.Minister suggesting spending millions of pounds creating new

:54:43. > :54:47.grammar schools that will help only a minority of children? This is as

:54:48. > :54:53.unfair as the new funding formula and will do nothing to help social

:54:54. > :54:57.mobility. Let's be clearer about what the government has done. There

:54:58. > :55:05.are record amounts of funding going into education in this country. The

:55:06. > :55:07.Conservative led government introduced the pupil premium. The

:55:08. > :55:11.Conservative government has protected the core schools Budget.

:55:12. > :55:14.When it comes to new money that will be going into schools as a result of

:55:15. > :55:18.today's announcements, that money is not about a return to a binary

:55:19. > :55:22.system of grammar schools and secondary moderns. That is not what

:55:23. > :55:27.we are going to do. What we are doing is ensuring we give a

:55:28. > :55:32.diversity of provision so yes, grammar schools but comprehensives,

:55:33. > :55:36.faith schools, universities ghouls, maths schools. What I want is a good

:55:37. > :55:39.school place for every child, and more than that, the right school

:55:40. > :55:46.place for every child. Amanda Milling. On this International

:55:47. > :55:50.Women's Day, it is absolutely fantastic we have the highest female

:55:51. > :55:56.employment rate on record. We have the highest percentage of women on

:55:57. > :56:00.FTSE 100 boards on record. The gender pay gap is at the lowest on

:56:01. > :56:18.record. And we have an amazing female Prime Minister. CHEERS AND

:56:19. > :56:22.JEERS. Never, Bill -- however, I'm sure the Prime Minister will agree

:56:23. > :56:25.there much more to do, in particular supporting women back to work after

:56:26. > :56:29.a career break. Can my right honourable friend outline what more

:56:30. > :56:36.the government are going to do to level the playing field? I thank my

:56:37. > :56:39.honourable friend for her question. When I stood on the steps of Downing

:56:40. > :56:42.Street last July, and talked about a country that works for everyone, I

:56:43. > :56:47.meant that and that is why we are taking a number of measures...

:56:48. > :56:54.Including an International Women's Day, today, and we will be setting

:56:55. > :57:02.up a new fund to help mothers returning to work after a long

:57:03. > :57:05.career break. Returnships are important and open to both men and

:57:06. > :57:08.women but it is important to recognise the majority of those who

:57:09. > :57:12.take time out of a career women who are devoting themselves for

:57:13. > :57:14.motherhood -- demanded for a period and often getting back into

:57:15. > :57:17.employment is difficult and they find it closed off which is why it

:57:18. > :57:20.makes economic sense but it is also right unfair for those women that we

:57:21. > :57:29.provide for the returnships to get them back in the workplace. Everyone

:57:30. > :57:32.agrees that early years education is crucial for the welfare and future

:57:33. > :57:37.of our children. However, nurseries in my constituency tell me that the

:57:38. > :57:40.funding for 30 hours for free childcare is not sufficient and not

:57:41. > :57:45.enough and many of them will be forced to close. What steps will the

:57:46. > :57:51.Prime Minister take to ensure those nurseries don't close? Can I say to

:57:52. > :57:55.the honourable lady, she talks about the 30 hours that is being

:57:56. > :57:58.introduced, if you just look at what we are doing on childcare, we have

:57:59. > :58:04.introduced 15 hours free childcare a week for three and four-year-old is

:58:05. > :58:08.already, 15 hours free childcare for disadvantaged -year-olds and help

:58:09. > :58:12.win up to 70% of childcare costs for people on low incomes and shared

:58:13. > :58:17.parental leave and we will spend a record ?6 billion on childcare

:58:18. > :58:20.support by end of this Parliament. It is this Conservative government,

:58:21. > :58:24.conservatives in government have the record of supporting parents in

:58:25. > :58:31.relation to childcare needs. Michelle Brooke. Does my right

:58:32. > :58:34.honourable friend agree with me that it is indefensible for the police

:58:35. > :58:38.and crime commission in west Yorkshire to be raising council tax

:58:39. > :58:44.precept when he's got ?120 million in reserve and overspent this year's

:58:45. > :58:47.Budget by ?4 million? -- Alec Shelbrooke. Can I say to my

:58:48. > :58:51.honourable friend, the decision about what to do on the police

:58:52. > :58:54.precept on council tax is a matter for the directly elected police and

:58:55. > :58:58.crime commission for West Yorkshire as it is in every area that has a

:58:59. > :59:02.policing crime commission. But I would encourage those commissioners

:59:03. > :59:06.to look at ways of introducing efficiencies into their forces

:59:07. > :59:11.before looking to increase local taxes. I think what we have seen

:59:12. > :59:14.over the last six years is that police forces can find sensible

:59:15. > :59:22.savings and can reduce crime at the same time. Brian Davis.

:59:23. > :59:27.Mr Speaker commune at the Royal College of physicians have found

:59:28. > :59:32.that 40,000 people die prematurely each year from diesel pollution at a

:59:33. > :59:36.cost of ?20 million to the economy, and that YouGov have found 45% of

:59:37. > :59:41.diesel drivers are willing to switch, given the right scrappage or

:59:42. > :59:47.tax incentive schemes. So will she today commit to a fiscal strategy

:59:48. > :59:52.and a new clean air act to put us on a new, cleaner, healthier

:59:53. > :59:56.trajectory, to take global leadership rather than be dragged

:59:57. > :00:01.into the courts to fulfil basic EU air quality standards? As the

:00:02. > :00:05.honourable gentleman will know, we are looking at the measures that we

:00:06. > :00:09.need to introduced to improve air quality. There has been improvements

:00:10. > :00:12.in recent years but we do need to go further and that is what the

:00:13. > :00:15.government is looking at across departments, obviously, with the

:00:16. > :00:21.Department for environment, food and rural affairs actually paying most

:00:22. > :00:26.attention to that because it is in their remit and we will bring

:00:27. > :00:31.proposals on air quality forward in due course.

:00:32. > :00:36.International Women's Day is a chance to reflect on how governments

:00:37. > :00:39.and democracies across the world serve women. Will my right

:00:40. > :00:42.honourable friend confirm that when it comes to female Prime Ministers,

:00:43. > :01:01.it's 2-0 to the Conservatives? Well, I'm grateful to my honourable

:01:02. > :01:05.friend for having pointed that out, which I refrained from doing earlier

:01:06. > :01:09.in response to questions but I think it is very telling that the Labour

:01:10. > :01:12.Party spend a lot of time talking about rights for women and giving

:01:13. > :01:17.support to women and getting women on, whereas it's a Conservative

:01:18. > :01:19.Party that is the party, in this House, that has provided two female

:01:20. > :01:29.Prime Ministers. Thank you, Mr speaker. Will the

:01:30. > :01:33.Prime Minister give an undertaking that any new Scotland Act will only

:01:34. > :01:36.be drafted after full consultation with the people of Scotland, and

:01:37. > :01:47.with the consent of the Scottish Parliament? I would say to the

:01:48. > :01:51.honourable lady, I'm not sure if she's referring to discusses

:01:52. > :01:57.currently taking place about the powers that might be available to

:01:58. > :02:00.the devolved administrations available to the devolved

:02:01. > :02:11.administrations when we discuss to leave the EU but we knows full well

:02:12. > :02:17.that we all... Crowd Comms a business in my

:02:18. > :02:26.constituency operates out of its small market down and has offices in

:02:27. > :02:31.Seattle and Sydney. And it has high-quality jobs for people

:02:32. > :02:34.available themselves of fast broadband and telephone

:02:35. > :02:38.communication. This is the recipe for growing the rural economy. Will

:02:39. > :02:42.my right honourable friend ensure it undertake her Government does all

:02:43. > :02:45.that it can to I will can the blackspots in rural areas? I can

:02:46. > :02:48.assure my honourable friend that we want to ensure we are doing that. My

:02:49. > :02:52.right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Culture,

:02:53. > :02:55.media and sport is looking at our digital strategy and ensuring

:02:56. > :02:59.broadband is available in rural areas and indeed at good speeds in

:03:00. > :03:05.other areas which might be less rural than my honourable friend's

:03:06. > :03:12.conzitcy. -- constituency. THE SPEAKER:

:03:13. > :03:19.Finally, Mr Tim Farron. Thank you Mr Speaker. Order, order. I don't know

:03:20. > :03:23.why honourable members are cheering because it is finally or the

:03:24. > :03:25.popularity of the honourable gentleman. You are very

:03:26. > :03:29.uncharacterically kind. Mr Speaker uncharacterically kind. Mr Speaker

:03:30. > :03:32.on International Women's Day we stand with women and girls across

:03:33. > :03:36.the world and note with resolve that we must take not for granted the

:03:37. > :03:40.progress we have made towards equality over the last few decades.

:03:41. > :03:46.Mr Speaker, yesterday we heard that hundreds of families of soldiers who

:03:47. > :03:49.died in Iraq and Afghanistan have been denied seats at tomorrow's

:03:50. > :03:54.unveiling of the memorial to our fallen troops. Inviting a relative

:03:55. > :03:58.of each of those killed in Iraq and Afghanistan would have taken up

:03:59. > :04:03.fewer than one-third of the 2,500 seats at that event. Will she now

:04:04. > :04:10.apologise to those families for what I assume is a careless oversight and

:04:11. > :04:13.rectify that mistake immediately to the so bereaved families can come

:04:14. > :04:17.and pay their respects to their fallen loved ones? Can I reassure

:04:18. > :04:21.the honourable gentleman to assure him that charitable groups

:04:22. > :04:25.representing the bereaved were asked to put forward names I have a

:04:26. > :04:28.tendees and we look forward to welcoming so we can acknowledge the

:04:29. > :04:32.sacrifice their loved ones made. Over half of those attending

:04:33. > :04:37.tomorrow are current or members of Armed Forces. No-one from the

:04:38. > :04:41.bereaved community has been turned away and everyone who has applied

:04:42. > :04:46.has been successful. I am' reassured if there are any bereaved families

:04:47. > :04:48.who wish to attend the Ministry of Defence will make every effort to

:04:49. > :04:53.ensure that they can do so. Speak speak order.

:04:54. > :04:55.Prime Minister's Questions comes to a close, and we now

:04:56. > :05:01.have a change in the Speaker's Chair.

:05:02. > :05:07.We are now getting towards the Budget statement.

:05:08. > :05:09.By tradition, the principal Deputy Speaker, currently

:05:10. > :05:11.the Labour MP Lindsay Hoyle, also known as the Chairman of Ways

:05:12. > :05:15.and Means, takes the chair for the Budget statement.

:05:16. > :05:20.Proposals for raising taxation used to originate

:05:21. > :05:32.So we are getting ready for the budget.

:05:33. > :05:38.Thank you Mr Deputy Speaker. I report today on an economy that has

:05:39. > :05:42.continued to confound the commentators with robust growth. A

:05:43. > :05:47.labour market delivering record employment and a deficit down by

:05:48. > :05:51.over two-thirds. As we start our negotiations to exit the European

:05:52. > :05:57.Union, this Budget takes forward our plans to prepare Britain for a

:05:58. > :06:00.brighter future. It provides a strong and stable platform for those

:06:01. > :06:06.negotiations. It extends opportunity to all our young people. It delivers

:06:07. > :06:10.further investment in our public services, and it continues the task

:06:11. > :06:14.of getting Britain back to living within its means. We are building

:06:15. > :06:21.the foundations of a stronger, fairer, more global Britain. Mr

:06:22. > :06:25.Deputy Speaker, as the House knows, this will be the last Spring Budget.

:06:26. > :06:29.The Treasury has helpfully reminded me that I am not the first

:06:30. > :06:35.Chancellor to announce the last Spring Budget. 24 years ago, Norman

:06:36. > :06:40.Lamont also presented what was billed then as the last Spring

:06:41. > :06:47.Budget. He reported on an economy that was growing faster than any

:06:48. > :06:50.other in the G7 and he continued to commit to restraint in public

:06:51. > :06:53.spending. The then Prime Minister described it as the right Budget at

:06:54. > :06:59.the right time, from the right Chancellor. What they failed to

:07:00. > :07:08.remind me, Mr Deputy Speaker, was that ten weeks later he was sacked.

:07:09. > :07:11.So, wish me luck today. Mr Deputy Speaker, last year the British

:07:12. > :07:16.States, faster than Japan, faster States, faster than Japan, faster

:07:17. > :07:20.than France. Indeed amongst the major advanced economies, Britain's

:07:21. > :07:27.economic growth n 2016 was second only to Germany. Employment is at a

:07:28. > :07:31.record high. Unemployment is at an 11-year low, with over 2.7 million

:07:32. > :07:37.more people enjoying the security and dignity of work than in 2010. A

:07:38. > :07:40.very far cry from the 3 million unemployed predicted by the party

:07:41. > :07:44.opposite. And I'm pleased to report, Mr Deputy

:07:45. > :07:48.Speaker, on International Women's Day, that there is now a higher

:07:49. > :07:53.proportion of women in the workforce than ever before. I'm even more

:07:54. > :07:56.pleased to report, as my right honourable friend, the Prime

:07:57. > :08:00.Minister has remarked, since February 23rd, there is a higher

:08:01. > :08:05.proportion of women in work in the parliamentary Conservative Party.

:08:06. > :08:10.But Mr Deputy Speaker, there is no room for complacency and you will

:08:11. > :08:15.not find any on these benches. As we prepare for our future outside the

:08:16. > :08:19.EU, we cannot rest on our past achievements. We must focus,

:08:20. > :08:24.relentlessly, on keeping Britain at the cutting edge of the global

:08:25. > :08:30.economy. The deficit is down, but debt is still too high. Employment

:08:31. > :08:34.is up, but productivity remains stubbornly low. Too many of our

:08:35. > :08:38.young people are leaving formal education without the skills they

:08:39. > :08:43.need for today's labour market. And too many families are still feeling

:08:44. > :08:50.the squeeze, almost a decade after the crash. So, our job is not done.

:08:51. > :08:54.And our task today is to take the next steps in preparing Britain for

:08:55. > :09:00.a global future - to quip our young people with the skills they need, to

:09:01. > :09:03.support our public services and to help ordinary working families, as

:09:04. > :09:11.we build an economy that works for everyone.

:09:12. > :09:14.Mr Deputy Speaker, I thank the Office for Budget Responsibility for

:09:15. > :09:18.their report received today. Let me take this opportunity to thank my

:09:19. > :09:23.right honourable friend the Chief Secretary and my ministerial team

:09:24. > :09:29.who really are the unsung heroes of the Budget, doing much of the heavy

:09:30. > :09:34.lifting over the last few weeks and of course my excellent PPS, my right

:09:35. > :09:41.honourable friend. I turn now, Mr Deputy Speaker, to

:09:42. > :09:46.the OBR forecast. This is the spread sheet bit but bear with me, because

:09:47. > :09:53.I have a reputation to defend. The OBR forecast the level of GDP for

:09:54. > :09:56.20221 to be broadly the same as at Autumn Statement however the path we

:09:57. > :10:02.get there has changed. Reflecting the recent strength in the economy,

:10:03. > :10:07.the OBR has upgraded its forecast for growth this year, next year,

:10:08. > :10:14.from 1.4% to 2%. And Mr Deputy Speaker, I don't see too many people

:10:15. > :10:29.on the Opposition front bench doing this. In 2018-19, growth is forecast

:10:30. > :10:35.to slow to 1.6%, before picking up to approximate 1.7%, then 1.9%,

:10:36. > :10:38.returning to 2% in 2021. Resilience in the economy is

:10:39. > :10:45.reflected in a strong labour market. Since 2010, the employment rate has

:10:46. > :10:50.risen from 70.2, to 74.6, with positive news for all parts of the

:10:51. > :10:55.United Kingdom. Unemployment has fallen fastest in Yorkshire and the

:10:56. > :11:00.Humber and Wales. Wages have grown fastest in Northern Ireland. And

:11:01. > :11:05.productivity has grown fastest in Scotland and in the north-east.

:11:06. > :11:09.And this positive trend is set to continue over the forecast period.

:11:10. > :11:15.The number of people in employment is set to grow in every year, with a

:11:16. > :11:22.further two-thirds of a million people in work by 2021. The OBR

:11:23. > :11:26.forecast inflation at 2.4% this year, then 2.3% next year and 2% in

:11:27. > :11:32.2019. And most importantly, Mr Deputy

:11:33. > :11:38.Speaker, despite higher than target inflation, real wages continue to

:11:39. > :11:42.rise in every year of the forecast. Mr Deputy Speaker, while the

:11:43. > :11:48.economic forecasts are broadly unchanged since the autumn, the OBR

:11:49. > :11:52.has substantially revised down its short-term forecast of public sector

:11:53. > :11:56.net borrowing. The OBR attributes this change to a number of one-off

:11:57. > :11:59.factors that they do not expect to lead to a structural improvement

:12:00. > :12:03.over the forecast period. Combining these factors with the higher

:12:04. > :12:09.short-term forecasts for growth and taking into account the measures

:12:10. > :12:17.that I shall announce today, the OBR now forecasts borrowing in 2016-17

:12:18. > :12:22.to be ?16.4 billion lower than forecast in the autumn, at ?51.7

:12:23. > :12:31.billion. Then, ?58.3 billion in 2017-18,

:12:32. > :12:40.?40.8 billion in 18-19. ?21.4 billion, ?20.6 billion and finally

:12:41. > :12:43.?16... In 21-22. All lower than forecast at Autumn Statement.

:12:44. > :12:50.Over all, public sector net borrowing, as a percentage of GDP is

:12:51. > :12:53.predicted to fall from 3.8% last year to 2.6% this year. And

:12:54. > :12:59.forethose who care about such things, it means we are forecast to

:13:00. > :13:06.meet our 3% EU be stability and growth pact target this year for the

:13:07. > :13:18.first time in almost a decade. But I won't hold my breath, Mr Deputy

:13:19. > :13:20.Speaker, for my congratulatory letter from Jean-Claude junker.

:13:21. > :13:36.Borrowing is then forecast to be 2.9% in 17-19 and then to fall.

:13:37. > :13:42.21-22 will be the lowest level in two decades. The OBR expect

:13:43. > :13:51.cyclically adjusted public sector net borrowing to be 6.9% in 2020-21.

:13:52. > :13:56.Giving us a #23rs target in the new fiscal rules, maintaining our fiscal

:13:57. > :13:59.resilience over the period. The OBR's forecast of lower near-term

:14:00. > :14:03.borrowing, coupled with recent strength in the economy, be means

:14:04. > :14:10.lower debt across the period. The OBR now forecast that is debt will

:14:11. > :14:16.rise to 86.6% this year before peaking at 88.8% next year. 1.4%

:14:17. > :14:25.points lower than forecast in the autumn. It then falls in 2018-19,

:14:26. > :14:37.for the first time since 2001-2, to 88.5%, and then continues to decline

:14:38. > :14:43.to 86.9% in 1920, 83% in 20-21 and 79.8% in 21-22. Mr Deputy Speaker,

:14:44. > :14:45.at the Autumn Statement, I set out our plan to return the politic

:14:46. > :14:48.finances to balance in the next Parliament. A plan that is now

:14:49. > :14:58.underpinned by our new fiscal rules. That plan strikes the right balance

:14:59. > :15:01.between reducing the deficit, preserving fiscal flexibility and

:15:02. > :15:08.investing in Britain's future. Some have argued that lower borrowing

:15:09. > :15:14.this year makes a case for more unfunded spending in the future. I

:15:15. > :15:22.disagree. Britain has a debt of nearly ?1.7 trillion. Almost ?62,000

:15:23. > :15:28.for every household in the country. Each year, we are spending ?50

:15:29. > :15:34.billion on debt interest, more than we spend on defence and policing

:15:35. > :15:40.combined. And borrowing, over the forecast period, is still set to be

:15:41. > :15:45.?100 billion higher than predicted at Budget 2016. So the only

:15:46. > :15:49.responsible course of action, Mr Deputy Speaker, is to continue with

:15:50. > :15:57.our plan, undeterred by any short-term fluctuations and

:15:58. > :16:06.undistracted... Undistracted by the reckless policies advance by the

:16:07. > :16:10.opposition. Because, Mr Deputy Speaker, we on this side will not

:16:11. > :16:18.saddle our children with ever increasing debt.

:16:19. > :16:29.SHOUTING Mr Deputy Speaker, I think the honourable members opposite may

:16:30. > :16:33.need to have a word with their own front bench, which proposes

:16:34. > :16:38.borrowing another ?500 billion to saddle our children and burden their

:16:39. > :16:43.futures. So, Mr Deputy Speaker, the Budget I

:16:44. > :16:47.set out today will again fund all additional spending decisions over

:16:48. > :16:52.the forecast period. Mr Deputy Speaker, a strong economy needs a

:16:53. > :16:56.fair, stable and competitive tax system, creating the growth that

:16:57. > :17:01.will underpin our future prosperity. My ambition is for the UK to be the

:17:02. > :17:08.best place in the world to start and grow a business. Under the last

:17:09. > :17:11.Labour government, corporation tax 28%. By the way, they don't call it

:17:12. > :17:20.the last Labour government for nothing!

:17:21. > :17:31.From... From April this year, from April this year, it will fall to

:17:32. > :17:36.19%, the lowest rate in the G20. In 2020, it will fall again to 17%,

:17:37. > :17:41.sending the clearest possible signal that Britain is open for business.

:17:42. > :17:47.Mr Deputy Speaker, I am listening to the voice of business. As I

:17:48. > :17:51.committed at the Autumn Statement, we have reviewed with business hour

:17:52. > :17:54.aren't the tax credit regime, the one place where I am not going to

:17:55. > :18:06.hear the voice of business is from the benches opposite! -- our R tax

:18:07. > :18:10.credit regime. We have done so, and we have concluded that it is

:18:11. > :18:15.globally competitive. But to make the UK even more attractive for R,

:18:16. > :18:19.we have accepted industry calls for a reduction in administrative

:18:20. > :18:23.burdens around the scheme, and we will shortly bring forward measures

:18:24. > :18:27.to deliver them. In a digital age, it is right that we develop a

:18:28. > :18:32.digital tax system, but in response to concerns about the timetable

:18:33. > :18:37.expressed by business organisations, and by several of my right

:18:38. > :18:41.honourable friends, including the chairman of the Treasury Select

:18:42. > :18:45.Committee, I have decided that for businesses with turnover below the

:18:46. > :18:50.VAT registration threshold, I will delay by one year the introduction

:18:51. > :18:57.of quarterly reporting, at a cost to the Exchequer of ?280 million. And I

:18:58. > :18:59.have heard the cause by North Sea oil and gas producers and the

:19:00. > :19:04.Scottish Government to provide further support for the transfer of

:19:05. > :19:09.late life assets. As UK oil and gas production declines, it is

:19:10. > :19:13.absolutely essential that we maximise exploitation of remaining

:19:14. > :19:19.reserves, and so we will produce a formal discussion paper on the

:19:20. > :19:23.options in due course. Mr Deputy Speaker, there is one further area

:19:24. > :19:25.in which I can introduce action to back British businesses. My right

:19:26. > :19:29.honourable friends community secretary and I have listened to the

:19:30. > :19:35.concerns raised by colleagues in this House and by businesses about

:19:36. > :19:40.the effect of the 2017 business rates revaluation. Business rates

:19:41. > :19:44.raises ?25 billion a year, all of which, by 2020, will be going to

:19:45. > :19:49.fund local government, so we cannot abolish them, as some have

:19:50. > :19:53.suggested. But it is certainly true, in the medium term, that we have to

:19:54. > :19:56.find a better way of taxing the digital part of the economy, the

:19:57. > :20:01.parts that does not use bricks and mortar. But in the meantime, there

:20:02. > :20:05.is scope to reform the revaluation process, making it smoother and more

:20:06. > :20:10.frequent to avoid the dramatic increases that the present system

:20:11. > :20:15.can do live. We will set out our preferred approach in due course,

:20:16. > :20:23.and we will consult on it before the next revaluation is due. The

:20:24. > :20:28.revaluation itself, Mr Deputy Speaker, is by law this Bill

:20:29. > :20:31.neutral, and ahead of this revaluation, the Government

:20:32. > :20:37.committed to a package of cuts to business rates now with nearly ?9

:20:38. > :20:42.billion. -- this can be neutral. It raises the threshold so that six and

:20:43. > :20:46.a thousand small businesses are taken out of paying rates

:20:47. > :20:51.altogether. But the revaluation has undoubtedly raised some hard cases,

:20:52. > :20:55.especially for those businesses coming out of small business rates

:20:56. > :20:59.relief. So today, as I promised many of my right honourable friends I

:21:00. > :21:03.would, I address those concerns with three measures which applied to the

:21:04. > :21:08.national business rate system for England. First, any business coming

:21:09. > :21:14.out of small business rate relief will benefit from an additional cap.

:21:15. > :21:17.No business losing small business rate relief will see their bill

:21:18. > :21:22.increase next year by more than ?50 a month. And the subsequent

:21:23. > :21:29.increases will be capped at either the transitional relief cap or ?50 a

:21:30. > :21:35.month, whichever is higher. Second, recognising the valuable role that

:21:36. > :21:41.local pubs play in our communities, I will provide a ?1000 discount on

:21:42. > :21:46.business rates bills in 2017 for all pubs with a rateable value of less

:21:47. > :21:53.than ?100,000. That is 90% of all pubs in England. And, third, I will,

:21:54. > :21:58.on top of these two measures, I will provide local authorities with a

:21:59. > :22:02.?300 million fund to deliver discretionary relief to target

:22:03. > :22:09.individual hard cases in their local areas. This fund will be allocated

:22:10. > :22:13.to local authorities by a formula, and my right honourable friend the

:22:14. > :22:23.Communities Secretary will set out details in due course. Taken...

:22:24. > :22:31.Taken together, Mr Deputy Speaker, this is a further ?435 million cut

:22:32. > :22:36.in business rates, targeted at those small businesses facing the biggest

:22:37. > :22:39.increases, protecting our pubs, and giving local authorities the

:22:40. > :22:44.resource to respond flexibly to local circumstances. Mr Deputy

:22:45. > :22:48.Speaker, just as a strong economy requires a tax system that is

:22:49. > :22:57.competitive, a strong society requires one that is fair. Because I

:22:58. > :23:00.have committed to funding my spending decisions, rather than

:23:01. > :23:06.borrowing more, I make no podgy for raising additional revenues and for

:23:07. > :23:10.doing so in ways which enhance the fairness of the system. -- I make no

:23:11. > :23:16.apology. First and foremost, that means collecting the taxes that are

:23:17. > :23:22.due. Since 2010, we have secured ?140 billion by taking robust action

:23:23. > :23:27.to tackle avoidance, evasion and noncompliance. This has helped the

:23:28. > :23:32.UK attain one of the lowest tax gaps in the world, but in this Budget we

:23:33. > :23:35.set out further actions to stop businesses from converting capital

:23:36. > :23:41.losses into trading losses, to tackle abuse of foreign pension

:23:42. > :23:44.schemes, to introduce UK VAT on roaming telecoms outside the EU in

:23:45. > :23:50.line with international standard practice, and from July we will

:23:51. > :23:54.introduce a new financial penalty for professionals who enable a tax

:23:55. > :24:01.avoidance arrangement that is later defeated by HMRC. Taken together,

:24:02. > :24:06.these measures will raise ?820 million over the forecast period.

:24:07. > :24:11.But, Mr Deputy Speaker, as well as collecting taxes that are due, a

:24:12. > :24:16.fair system ensures that those with the broadest shoulders bear the

:24:17. > :24:24.heaviest burden. As a result of the changes we have made since 2010, the

:24:25. > :24:30.top 1% of income taxpayers now pay 27% of all income tax, a higher

:24:31. > :24:36.proportion than in any year under the last Labour government. But a

:24:37. > :24:41.fair system, a fair system will also ensure fairness between individuals,

:24:42. > :24:46.so that people doing similar work for some low wages, and enjoying

:24:47. > :24:51.similar state benefits, pay similar levels of tax. As our economy

:24:52. > :24:54.responds to the challenges of globalisation, shifting demographics

:24:55. > :24:58.and the emergence of new technologies, we've seen a dramatic

:24:59. > :25:02.increase in the number of people working as self-employed or through

:25:03. > :25:06.their own companies, indeed many of our most highly paid professionals

:25:07. > :25:11.work through limited liability partnerships and are treated as

:25:12. > :25:14.seldom ploy. There are many good reasons for choosing to be

:25:15. > :25:20.self-employed, or working through a company. Indeed, Mr Deputy Speaker,

:25:21. > :25:24.I have done both in my time. And I will always encourage and support

:25:25. > :25:27.the entrepreneurs and the innovators who are the lifeblood of our

:25:28. > :25:35.economy, people should have choices about how they work, but the choice

:25:36. > :25:37.should not be judged primarily by differences in tax treatment. My

:25:38. > :25:42.right honourable friend the Prime Minister has asked Matthew Taylor,

:25:43. > :25:46.the chief executive of the RSA, to consider the wider implications of

:25:47. > :25:51.different employment practices and I look forward to his final report in

:25:52. > :25:53.the summer, and I am grateful to him for sharing his preliminary

:25:54. > :25:58.thoughts. He is clear that differences in tax treatment are a

:25:59. > :26:02.key driver behind the trends we are observing, a conclusion which is

:26:03. > :26:07.shared by the IFS and the Resolution Foundation. An employee earning

:26:08. > :26:16.?32,000 will incur between him and his employer ?6,170 of national

:26:17. > :26:21.insurance contributions. A self-employed person earning the

:26:22. > :26:30.equivalent amount will pay just ?2300, significantly less than half

:26:31. > :26:35.as much. Historically, the differences in NICs reflected a

:26:36. > :26:38.difference in state pension entitlement and contributory welfare

:26:39. > :26:42.benefits, but with the introduction of the new state pension last year,

:26:43. > :26:47.these differences have been very substantially reduced. Self-employed

:26:48. > :26:52.workers now build up the same entitlement to a state pension as

:26:53. > :26:56.employees, a big pension boost for the self employed. The most

:26:57. > :27:00.significant remaining area of difference is in relation to

:27:01. > :27:03.parental benefits, and I can announce today that we will consult

:27:04. > :27:10.in the summer on options to address the disparities in this area, as the

:27:11. > :27:13.FSB and others have proposed. Mr Deputy Speaker, the difference in

:27:14. > :27:19.national insurance contributions is no longer justified by the

:27:20. > :27:21.difference in benefit entitlements. Such dramatically different

:27:22. > :27:26.treatment of two people earning essentially the same undermines the

:27:27. > :27:33.fairness of our tax system. Employed and self-employed alike, use our

:27:34. > :27:37.public services in the same way, but they are not paying for them in the

:27:38. > :27:43.same way. The lower national insurance paid by the self-employed

:27:44. > :27:47.is forecast to cost our public finance billions this year alone.

:27:48. > :27:54.This is not fair to the 85% of workers who are employees. The

:27:55. > :27:57.abolition of class two NICs for self employed people, announced by my

:27:58. > :28:02.right honourable friend the member for Tatton in 2016, and due to take

:28:03. > :28:07.effect in 2018, would further increase the gap between employment

:28:08. > :28:13.and self-employment. To be able to support our public services in this

:28:14. > :28:17.Budget, and to improve the fairness of the system, I will act to reduce

:28:18. > :28:21.the gap to better reflect the current differences in state

:28:22. > :28:25.benefits. I have considered, Mr Deputy Speaker, the possibility of

:28:26. > :28:31.simply reversing the decision to abolish class two contributions, but

:28:32. > :28:36.the class two NIC is aggressive and outdated. It is absolutely right

:28:37. > :28:41.that it should go, so instead, from April 2018, when it is abolished,

:28:42. > :28:46.the main rate of class four NICs for the self-employed will increase by

:28:47. > :28:53.1% up to 10%, with a further 1% increase in April 2019. The

:28:54. > :28:55.combination of the abolition of class two and the class four

:28:56. > :29:07.increases I have announced today raises a net ?145 million a year for

:29:08. > :29:12.our public services by 2021-22, an average of around 60p per week per

:29:13. > :29:16.self-employed person in this country. And since class two

:29:17. > :29:22.contributions are payable at a flat rate, while class four is chargeable

:29:23. > :29:28.as a proportion of profits, all self-employed people earning less

:29:29. > :29:35.than ?16,250 will still see a reduction in the total NICs bill.

:29:36. > :29:39.This change reduces the unfairness in the NICs system and reflect more

:29:40. > :29:44.accurately the current differences in benefits available from the

:29:45. > :29:47.state. Mr Deputy Speaker, alongside the gap between employees and the

:29:48. > :29:50.self-employed, there is a parallel self-employed, there is a parallel

:29:51. > :29:58.unfairness in the treatment of those working through their own companies.

:29:59. > :30:10.Britain has the most competitive corporate tax regime in the #2k3w7.

:30:11. > :30:15.We must ensure that our corporate tax regime does not encourage people

:30:16. > :30:18.across the country to form companies to reduce tax liabilities, pushing

:30:19. > :30:24.the burden of financing our public services on to others. HRMC

:30:25. > :30:29.estimates that existing corporations cost the public finances over ?6

:30:30. > :30:34.billion a year and the OBR forecasts that at the current rate of increase

:30:35. > :30:43.an additional annual cost to the exchequer will occur from those

:30:44. > :30:50.chosing to incorporate of ?3.5 billion a year by 2021-22. The gap

:30:51. > :30:54.in total tax and NICs between an employed worker and one who has set

:30:55. > :30:57.greater than the self-employed and greater than the self-employed and

:30:58. > :31:01.there are perfectly legal ways in which that gap can be made bigger

:31:02. > :31:05.still. It is not fair and not affordable. Fairness demands this

:31:06. > :31:08.discrepancy and treatment has addressed, just as I have addressed

:31:09. > :31:12.the discrepancy with the self-employed. The dividend

:31:13. > :31:18.allowance has increased the tax advantage of incorporation. It

:31:19. > :31:21.allows each director shareholder to take ?5,000 of dividends out of

:31:22. > :31:27.their company, tax-free, over an above the personal allowance. It is

:31:28. > :31:31.also an extremely generous tax break for investors with substantial share

:31:32. > :31:35.portfolios. I have decides, therefore, to address the unfairness

:31:36. > :31:39.around director shareholders' tax advantage and at the same time,

:31:40. > :31:45.raise some much-needed revenue to fund the measures I shall announce

:31:46. > :31:50.today, by reducing the tax-free dividend allowance from ?5,000, to

:31:51. > :31:55.?2,000, with effect from April 2018. About half the people affected by

:31:56. > :32:01.this measure are director shareholders of private companies.

:32:02. > :32:06.The rest are investors in shares with holdings worth typically, over

:32:07. > :32:13.?50,000, outside ISAs and of course everyone will benefit from the

:32:14. > :32:19.generous ?4,760 increase in the annual ISA allowance to ?20,000 and

:32:20. > :32:26.a further increase in the personal allowance to ?11,500 from April.

:32:27. > :32:29.Mr Deputy Speaker, I now turn to duties and levies and unusually for

:32:30. > :32:34.a Chancellor I'm delighted to announce a reduction in the expected

:32:35. > :32:41.yield of a tax. The soft drinks levy. I can confirm today the final

:32:42. > :32:44.rates of 18 and 24p per litre for the main and higher bands

:32:45. > :32:48.respectively but producers are already reformulating sugar out of

:32:49. > :32:54.their drinks which means a lower revenue forecast for this tax. This

:32:55. > :33:00.is good news for our children. And in further good news for them today,

:33:01. > :33:04.I can confirm that we will nobbled fund DFE with the full ?1 billion we

:33:05. > :33:10.originally expected from the levy this Parliament to invest in school

:33:11. > :33:16.ports and healthy living programmes. I am freezing, for another year the

:33:17. > :33:21.VED rates for hauliers and the HGV road user levy. I'm introducing a

:33:22. > :33:26.new minimum excise duty on cigarettes based on a pack price of

:33:27. > :33:29.?7.35 and I can also confirm I will make no changes to previously

:33:30. > :33:33.planned upratings of duties on alcohol and tobacco.

:33:34. > :33:37.The tax measures I have announced enhance the sustainability of our

:33:38. > :33:41.public services into the future and by improving the fairness of the

:33:42. > :33:46.system, helps us to keep tax rates low.

:33:47. > :33:51.Mr Deputy Speaker, economic policy does not exist in a vacuum and

:33:52. > :33:57.economic growth is a means, not an end in itself. The objective of our

:33:58. > :34:00.economic policy is to support ordinary working families and to

:34:01. > :34:10.build an economy that works for them. And on this side of the House,

:34:11. > :34:13.we know that we can only achieve rising living standards and deliver

:34:14. > :34:18.vote. In vital public services, if if we have a strong economy and

:34:19. > :34:21.sustainable public finances. It is a simple proposition, Mr Deputy

:34:22. > :34:25.Speaker, yet one which the Opposition front bench seems to find

:34:26. > :34:29.strangely difficult to understand. We start from a strong base. Real

:34:30. > :34:36.wages have grown for 27 straight months. The wages of the lowest paid

:34:37. > :34:40.grew faster last year than in any of the previous 20 years. And the

:34:41. > :34:45.poorest households have seen their labour incomes rise more since 20

:34:46. > :34:50.#10e in the UK, than in any other country in the G7.

:34:51. > :34:54.-- since 2010. Last year we delivered a pay rise to over a

:34:55. > :34:57.million of the lowest paid through the national living wage and next

:34:58. > :35:02.month we take more steps to support worker families with the cost of

:35:03. > :35:09.living. The national living wage will rise again to ?7.50 in April,

:35:10. > :35:14.over ?500 more for full-time worker than this year and ?1,400 more than

:35:15. > :35:19.when the national living wage was introduced. The personal allowance

:35:20. > :35:24.will rise for the 7th year in a row to ?11,500 and the higher rate

:35:25. > :35:29.threshold to ?45,000. 29 million people will be better off with a

:35:30. > :35:34.typical basic rate taxpayer paying ?1,000 less than in 2010.

:35:35. > :35:39.And we will meet our manifesto commitment to increasing the

:35:40. > :35:41.thresholds to ?12,500 and ?50,000 thresholds to ?12,500 and ?50,000

:35:42. > :35:45.respectively by the end of this Parliament.

:35:46. > :35:51.Mr Deputy Speaker, I can also confirm today that the new NS I

:35:52. > :35:57.bond which I announced at Autumn Statement will be available from

:35:58. > :36:01.April and will pay 2.2% on deposits up to ?3,000, a welcome break for

:36:02. > :36:08.hard-pressed savers and the Universal Credit taper rate will be

:36:09. > :36:13.reduced in April from 56% to 63%, cutting tax for 3 million families

:36:14. > :36:18.on low income. Next month, we will see the

:36:19. > :36:23.introduction of our flagship tax-free childcare policy. That will

:36:24. > :36:28.allow working families across the UK to receive up to ?2,000 a year,

:36:29. > :36:32.towards the cost of childcare, for each child under 12. The scheme will

:36:33. > :36:37.be rolled out to all eligible parents by the end of the year. And

:36:38. > :36:41.from September, in addition, working parents with three and

:36:42. > :36:46.four-year-olds will get their free childcare entitlement doubled to 30

:36:47. > :36:51.hours a week. That, Mr Deputy Speaker, is worth around ?5,000 a

:36:52. > :36:54.year to a young family with a three-year-old, and both parents

:36:55. > :36:59.working. By the end of this Parliament, this Government will be

:37:00. > :37:04.spending on childcare ?6 billion a year.

:37:05. > :37:12.These childcare measures represent a further huge step forward in support

:37:13. > :37:16.for ordinary working families and for women in the work place. And I

:37:17. > :37:17.am delighted to use the occasion of International Women's Day to

:37:18. > :37:21.announce three additional measures. Well not quite announce them, Mr

:37:22. > :37:31.Deputy Speaker, because my right honourable friend the Prime Minister

:37:32. > :37:37.has already announced two of them. It is National Women's Day. It says

:37:38. > :37:40.here - "I will commit a further ?20 million of Government funding to

:37:41. > :37:44.support the campaign against violence against women and girls."

:37:45. > :37:47.Which does, as my right honourable friend said earlier, take the

:37:48. > :37:53.Government's commitment to this campaign to over ?100 million in

:37:54. > :37:58.this Parliament. That is on top of the tampon tax which today delivers

:37:59. > :38:02.another ?12 million in support of women's charities across the United

:38:03. > :38:06.Kingdom. The Prime Minister earlier also

:38:07. > :38:10.mentioned that the Government will commit fought ?5 million to

:38:11. > :38:13.promoting returnships to the public and private sector, helping people

:38:14. > :38:20.back into employment after a career break.

:38:21. > :38:23.Mr Deputy Speaker, as next year is the centenary of the 1918

:38:24. > :38:28.Representation of the People Act, the decisive step in the political

:38:29. > :38:33.emans pays of women in this country, I will commit a further ?5 million

:38:34. > :38:38.to are projects to celebrate this centenary and to educate young

:38:39. > :38:41.people about its significance. Mr Deputy Speaker, as well as knowing

:38:42. > :38:44.the Government is on their side, people want to know that they are

:38:45. > :38:49.getting a good deal from private markets too.

:38:50. > :38:56.A well-functioning market economy is the best way to deliver prosperity

:38:57. > :38:59.and security to working families and the litany of failed attempts of

:39:00. > :39:04.state control of industry by labour, leaves no-one in any doubt about

:39:05. > :39:11.that, except, apparently the right honourable gentleman opposite, who

:39:12. > :39:12.is now so far down a black hole that even Stephen Hawking has disowned

:39:13. > :39:25.him. This Government, Mr Deputy Speaker,

:39:26. > :39:28.recognises that sometimes markets, particularly in fast-developing

:39:29. > :39:32.areas of the economy, can fail people. Sometimes the market does

:39:33. > :39:37.not deliver the outcome the textbooks suggests it should and

:39:38. > :39:41.when that happens, this Government will not hesitate to intervene. We

:39:42. > :39:46.will shortly bring forward a green paper on protecting the interests of

:39:47. > :39:51.consumers. But, ahead of the green paper, we will take the first steps

:39:52. > :39:57.to protect consumers from unexpected fees or unfair clause, to simplifies

:39:58. > :40:03.T . Krs and to give consumer bodies great enforcement powers. --

:40:04. > :40:08.simplify Ts Cs. Together this will boost incomes, help family budgets

:40:09. > :40:15.stretch further, support parents back into Bosch and tackle some of

:40:16. > :40:19.the frustrations that sometimes make it feel that the dice are load he

:40:20. > :40:24.had against ordinary people going about their ordinary lives. This

:40:25. > :40:28.House knows that the only sensible way to raising living standards is

:40:29. > :40:33.to improve the productivity growth. Simply put - higher productivity

:40:34. > :40:38.means higher pay. The stats are well-known with 35% behind Germany,

:40:39. > :40:42.18% behind the G7 average average and the gap is not closing. Mr

:40:43. > :40:44.Deputy Speaker, investment in training and investment in

:40:45. > :40:51.infrastructure will start to close this gap. And this Government places

:40:52. > :40:55.addressing the UK's productivity challenge at the very heart of its

:40:56. > :41:00.economic plan. Because the cornerstone of an economy that works

:41:01. > :41:10.for everyone must be rising living standards for ordinary working

:41:11. > :41:13.people. . The key elements of our plan is the additional investment

:41:14. > :41:17.from infrastructure that I announced at the Autumn Statement. Today to

:41:18. > :41:22.enhance the UK's position as a world leader in science and innovation I'm

:41:23. > :41:25.allocating ?300 million of that fund to support the brightest and best

:41:26. > :41:29.research talent, including support for 1,000 new PhD places and

:41:30. > :41:37.fellowships, focussed on stem subjects. ?270 million to keep the

:41:38. > :41:41.UK at the forefront of disruptive technologies like biotech, robotic

:41:42. > :41:43.systems and driverless vehicles, technology I believe that the party

:41:44. > :42:03.opposite knows something about. ?16 million for a new 5G mobile

:42:04. > :42:07.technology hub and ?200 million for local projects to leverage private

:42:08. > :42:11.sector investment in full fibre broadband networks. On transport,

:42:12. > :42:17.I'm today announcing ?90 million for the North and ?23 million for the

:42:18. > :42:24.Midlands from a ?220 million fund that addresses pinchpoints on the

:42:25. > :42:28.national road network and I'm launching a ?690 million competition

:42:29. > :42:32.for local authorities across England to tackle urban congestion and get

:42:33. > :42:35.local transport networks moving again. My right honourable friend

:42:36. > :42:40.the Transport Secretary will announce details shortly.

:42:41. > :42:42.And because we believe local areas understand local productivity

:42:43. > :42:45.barriers better than central government, we make further progress

:42:46. > :42:49.with our plans to bolster the regions.

:42:50. > :42:54.In May, powerful mayors will be elected in six of our great cities.

:42:55. > :42:58.Across Britain, local areas will take control of their own economic

:42:59. > :43:04.destiny and we will support them to do so. I can inform the House that I

:43:05. > :43:09.have reached a deal with the Mayor of London on further devolution. I

:43:10. > :43:12.will follow the launch of the foreign powerhouse strategy at

:43:13. > :43:16.Autumn Statement by publishing tomorrow our Midlands energy are

:43:17. > :43:25.strategy, addressing productivity barriers across the Midlands.

:43:26. > :43:27.-- Midlands engine strategy. And for the desolved administrations, our

:43:28. > :43:32.announcements today deliver additional funding of ?350 million

:43:33. > :43:37.for the Scottish Government, ?200 million... #

:43:38. > :44:03.CHEERS Inaudible shouts

:44:04. > :44:06.Let's just move on. We are doing very W let's not spoil a good day.

:44:07. > :44:13.#k078 on, Chancellor of the Exchequer.

:44:14. > :44:17.-- come on. Wait for it. ?200 million for the Welsh Government.

:44:18. > :44:23.And almost ?120 million for an incoming Northern Ireland executive.

:44:24. > :44:27.Demonstrating, Mr Deputy Speaker, once again, that we are stronger

:44:28. > :44:37.together in this great United Kingdom.

:44:38. > :44:42.Mr Deputy Speaker, Mr Deputy Speaker, perhaps the single most

:44:43. > :44:46.important thing government can do to support ordinary working families is

:44:47. > :44:49.to invest in the future so that their children and grandchildren can

:44:50. > :44:54.make the most of the opportunities ahead. That means addressing the

:44:55. > :44:58.skills gap and ensuring that every child, regardless of background, has

:44:59. > :45:05.the opportunity to go to a good or outstanding school. At Autumn

:45:06. > :45:08.Statement, I focused on investment in infrastructure and R The next

:45:09. > :45:13.step today in our plan to raise productivity and living standards is

:45:14. > :45:21.to focus on the quality of our children's education. Mr Deputy

:45:22. > :45:24.Speaker, while investing in education and skills of course helps

:45:25. > :45:29.to tackle the productivity gap, delivering greater prosperity, it

:45:30. > :45:32.does something else as well. It delivers greater fairness. Because

:45:33. > :45:38.investing in skills and education is the key to inclusive growth, to an

:45:39. > :45:42.economy that works for everyone. Mr Deputy Speaker, if you talk to

:45:43. > :45:45.people from any background, in any part of the country, about their

:45:46. > :45:49.hopes and aspirations for the future, you will hear a recurring

:45:50. > :45:52.concern for the next generation # row will they have the

:45:53. > :45:56.qualifications to find a job, will it have the skills to retrain as

:45:57. > :46:00.that job changes and changes again over a working lifetime? Will they

:46:01. > :46:04.be able to get on the housing ladder, to save for a pension? In

:46:05. > :46:09.short, the question that concerns so many people is, will our children

:46:10. > :46:17.enjoy the same opportunities that we did. Mr Deputy Speaker, our job is

:46:18. > :46:22.to make sure that they do, and that is why we are investing in education

:46:23. > :46:25.and skills, to ensure that every young person, whatever their

:46:26. > :46:29.background, wherever they live, has the opportunity to succeed and

:46:30. > :46:35.prosper. The proportion of young people not in work or education is

:46:36. > :46:39.now the lowest since records began. That is a good base from which to

:46:40. > :46:43.build, but it is only by equipping them for the jobs of tomorrow that

:46:44. > :46:47.we ensure that they will have real economic security. We have put

:46:48. > :46:52.education reform at the heart of our agenda since 2010, and that

:46:53. > :46:58.commitment, that commitment is already paying off. 89% of schools

:46:59. > :47:02.in England are now rated good or outstanding, the highest proportion

:47:03. > :47:06.ever recorded. What that means, Mr Deputy Speaker, is 1.8 million more

:47:07. > :47:13.children being taught in good or outstanding schools than when the

:47:14. > :47:17.party opposite left office in 2010. Our forthcoming schools white paper

:47:18. > :47:22.will ask universities and private schools to sponsor new free schools.

:47:23. > :47:26.It will remove the barriers that prevent more good faith based free

:47:27. > :47:29.schools from opening and enable the creation of new selective free

:47:30. > :47:34.schools so that the most academically gifted children, of

:47:35. > :47:41.every background, get the specialist support they need to fulfil their

:47:42. > :47:47.potential. Today, I can announce funding for a further 110 new free

:47:48. > :47:52.schools, on top of the current commitment to 500. This will include

:47:53. > :47:56.new specialist maths schools to build on the clear success of Exeter

:47:57. > :48:00.mathematics school, and King's College London maths school, which

:48:01. > :48:03.my right honourable friend the Prime Minister visited earlier this week.

:48:04. > :48:14.We commit to this programme because we understand that choice is the key

:48:15. > :48:18.to excellence in education. But, Mr Deputy Speaker, we recognise that,

:48:19. > :48:23.for many parents, the cost of travel can be a barrier to exercising that

:48:24. > :48:29.choice. Pupils typically travel three times as far to attend

:48:30. > :48:33.selective schools, so we will extend free school transport to include all

:48:34. > :48:41.children on free school meals who attend a selective school, because

:48:42. > :48:43.we, Mr Deputy Speaker, are resolved that talent alone should determine

:48:44. > :48:58.the opportunities a child enjoys. And before they get too excited, Mr

:48:59. > :49:01.Deputy Speaker, we will invest in our existing schools too, by

:49:02. > :49:09.providing an additional, oh yes, we will, by providing an additional

:49:10. > :49:13.?216 million over the next three years, taking total investment in

:49:14. > :49:19.school condition to well over ?10 billion in this Parliament. Mr

:49:20. > :49:24.Deputy Speaker, good schools are the bedrock of our education system, but

:49:25. > :49:27.we need to do more to support our young adults into quality jobs and

:49:28. > :49:33.help them gain world class skills, and while we have academic wood that

:49:34. > :49:38.is one of the best in the world, the truth is that we languish near the

:49:39. > :49:43.bottom of the international league tables for technical education. Our

:49:44. > :49:49.rigorous, well-recognised system of A-levels provides students with the

:49:50. > :49:52.qualifications to move into our world-class higher education system,

:49:53. > :49:55.and we support these route further today by offering maintenance loans

:49:56. > :50:01.to part-time undergraduate and doctoral loans in all subjects for

:50:02. > :50:05.the first time. But long ago, Mr Deputy Speaker, our competitors in

:50:06. > :50:09.Germany, the US and elsewhere realised that, to compete in the

:50:10. > :50:15.fast-moving global economy, you have to link technical skills to jobs,

:50:16. > :50:17.and I am pleased to report, in National Apprenticeship Week, that

:50:18. > :50:22.our apprenticeship route is now finally delivering that ambition

:50:23. > :50:25.here, with 2.4 million apprenticeships started in the last

:50:26. > :50:29.our apprenticeship levy in April our apprenticeship levy in April

:50:30. > :50:35.supporting a further 3 million apprenticeships by 2020. But there

:50:36. > :50:42.is still a lingering doubt about the parity of esteem attaching to

:50:43. > :50:45.technical education pursued through the further education route. Today,

:50:46. > :50:54.we end that is doubtful good with the introduction of T-levels. Thanks

:50:55. > :50:58.to the work of Lord Sainsbury, Baroness will and other experts, we

:50:59. > :51:01.have a blueprint to follow. Their review concluded that students need

:51:02. > :51:05.a much clearer system of qualifications, one that is designed

:51:06. > :51:08.and recognised by employers with clear routes into work, more time in

:51:09. > :51:15.the classroom and good quality work placements. One that replaces the

:51:16. > :51:21.13,000 or so different qualifications with just 15 clear,

:51:22. > :51:26.career focused roots, delivering on those recommendations is the third

:51:27. > :51:31.part of our plan. So today we will invest to deliver in full these game

:51:32. > :51:38.changing reforms. We will increase by over 50% the number of hours'

:51:39. > :51:40.training for 16-19 -year-old technical students, including a

:51:41. > :51:45.high-quality three-month work placement for every student. So when

:51:46. > :51:51.they qualify, they are genuinely work ready. Once this programme is

:51:52. > :51:56.fully rolled out, Mr Deputy Speaker, we will be investing in an

:51:57. > :51:59.additional ?500 million a year in our 16-19 -year-olds, and to

:52:00. > :52:04.encourage and support the best of them to go on to advanced technical

:52:05. > :52:09.study, we will offer maintenance loans for those and taking higher

:52:10. > :52:13.level technical qualifications at the new Institute of Technology and

:52:14. > :52:20.national colleges, just as we do for those university. Putting the

:52:21. > :52:25.next-generation first to safeguard their future and secure our economy.

:52:26. > :52:30.Mr Deputy Speaker, because changing labour markets will mean that

:52:31. > :52:34.retraining is vital, with many of our young people today needing to

:52:35. > :52:39.retrain at least once, and perhaps more often during a working life

:52:40. > :52:44.that maize ban more than 50 years, we will consider how best to deliver

:52:45. > :52:49.high quality learning and training throughout working lives. The FA

:52:50. > :52:52.will invest up to ?40 million in pilots to test the fact is of

:52:53. > :52:58.different approaches to lifelong learning. -- DfE. So that we can

:52:59. > :53:03.identify what works best and help the next-generation learn train

:53:04. > :53:07.throughout their lives. Mr Deputy Speaker, just as the principle that

:53:08. > :53:11.every child should have the opportunity to fulfil his or her

:53:12. > :53:14.potential is central to this Government's values, so is the

:53:15. > :53:19.principle that everyone has access to our national Health Service when

:53:20. > :53:26.they needed and that everyone should enjoy security and dignity in old

:53:27. > :53:29.age. Today our social care system cares for over 1 million people, and

:53:30. > :53:35.I want to pay tribute to the hundreds of thousands of carers work

:53:36. > :53:39.in it. But the system is clearly under pressure, and this in turn

:53:40. > :53:46.puts pressure on our NHS. Today there are 500,000 more people aged

:53:47. > :53:50.over 75 than there were in 2010, and there will be 2 million more in ten

:53:51. > :53:55.years' time. That is why the Government has already delivered ?7

:53:56. > :53:59.billion extra spending power to the system over the next three years,

:54:00. > :54:02.and it is why we are ensuring that local authorities and the NHS work

:54:03. > :54:07.more closely together to enable elderly patients to be discharged

:54:08. > :54:11.when they are ready, freeing up precious NHS beds, and ensuring that

:54:12. > :54:17.elderly people are receiving the appropriate care for their needs. So

:54:18. > :54:23.today, Mr Deputy Speaker, I am committing additional grant funding

:54:24. > :54:29.of ?2 billion to social care in England over the next three years.

:54:30. > :54:38.Mr Deputy Speaker, that is ?2 billion over the next three years

:54:39. > :54:42.with ?1 billion available in 2017-18, this will allow local

:54:43. > :54:48.authorities to act now to commission new care packages and forms a bridge

:54:49. > :54:52.to the better care funding that becomes available towards the end of

:54:53. > :54:57.the parliament. Of course, Mr Deputy Speaker, this is not only about

:54:58. > :55:01.money. While there are many excellent examples of best practice

:55:02. > :55:06.around the country, at the other end of the scale, just 24 local

:55:07. > :55:11.authorities are responsible for over half of all delayed discharges to

:55:12. > :55:15.social care, so alongside additional funding, the health and communities

:55:16. > :55:18.secretaries will announce measures to identify and support authorities

:55:19. > :55:24.which are struggling and to ensure more joined up working with the NHS.

:55:25. > :55:29.These measures, and greater collaborative working and NHS

:55:30. > :55:31.sustainability and transformation plans, will bring short and

:55:32. > :55:38.medium-term benefits, but long-term challenges of sustainable funding

:55:39. > :55:42.for care in old age requires a strategic approach. And the

:55:43. > :55:45.Government will set out its thinking on the options for the future

:55:46. > :55:51.financing of social care in a green paper later this year. For the

:55:52. > :55:55.avoidance of doubt, Mr Deputy Speaker, I would like to make it

:55:56. > :56:05.clear that those options do not include, and never have included,

:56:06. > :56:09.exhuming Labour's hated death tax. The social care funding package that

:56:10. > :56:13.I have announced today will deliver immediate benefit to the NHS,

:56:14. > :56:18.allowing it to refocus on delivering the NHS England forward Plan A plan

:56:19. > :56:25.which this Government has supported with the ?10 billion increase in

:56:26. > :56:31.annual funding by 2020, ?4 billion in this year alone. We recognise the

:56:32. > :56:35.progress that the NHS is making in developing sustainability and

:56:36. > :56:39.transformation plans, and we recognise too, Mr Deputy Speaker,

:56:40. > :56:42.that in addition to the funding already committed, some of those

:56:43. > :56:46.plans will require further capital investment. So the Treasury will

:56:47. > :56:52.work closely with the Department of Health over the summer, as the

:56:53. > :56:55.programmes are prioritised and progress, and that autumn budget, I

:56:56. > :57:02.will announce a multi-year capital programme to support implementation

:57:03. > :57:06.of high-quality STPs across the health service in England. In the

:57:07. > :57:10.meantime, my right honourable friend the Health Secretary expects that a

:57:11. > :57:19.small number of the strongest STPs may be ready ahead of autumn budget,

:57:20. > :57:23.so I am allowing more capital to allow the first selected plans to

:57:24. > :57:28.proceed. Mr Deputy Speaker, I have one further announcement relating to

:57:29. > :57:33.the NHS. The social care package that I have announced today will

:57:34. > :57:36.help to free up beds by easing discharge of elderly patients. That

:57:37. > :57:40.is one of the two big pressures in our hospitals. The other is

:57:41. > :57:47.inappropriate A attendances by people of all ages. Experience has

:57:48. > :57:52.shown that on-site GP triage in A departments can have a significant

:57:53. > :57:57.and positive impact on A waiting times. I am therefore making a

:57:58. > :58:02.further ?100 million of capital available immediately for new triage

:58:03. > :58:10.project at English hospitals in time for next winter. Mr Deputy Speaker,

:58:11. > :58:14.this government backs the NHS's plan. We are funding it with a ?10

:58:15. > :58:19.billion above inflation increase by 2020. We have addressed the

:58:20. > :58:24.pressures on the NHS from the social care system with a total of ?9.25

:58:25. > :58:28.billion additional resources. We will protect the NHS from the

:58:29. > :58:32.effects of the changed personal injury discount rate and have set

:58:33. > :58:39.aside ?5.9 billion across the forecast period to do so. And today

:58:40. > :58:43.we have made it clear them up -- a clear new commitment to a capital

:58:44. > :58:48.programme to find high-quality STPs with the first down payment for the

:58:49. > :58:54.early pioneers. Mr Deputy Speaker, as the voters of Copeland so clearly

:58:55. > :59:01.understood, we are the party of the NHS!

:59:02. > :59:07.Mr Deputy Speaker, we are the party of the NHS colours we have not just

:59:08. > :59:12.the commitment and the will, but also the economic plan that will

:59:13. > :59:19.secure the future of our most important public service. Mr Deputy

:59:20. > :59:24.Speaker, last November, I set out our plan to build an economy that

:59:25. > :59:29.works for everyone, to enhance our productivity and protect our living

:59:30. > :59:35.standards, to restore our public finances to balance, and to invest

:59:36. > :59:40.for our future. Today's OBR report confirms the continued resilience of

:59:41. > :59:44.the British economy, and that this Budget we continue with our plan,

:59:45. > :59:50.building on the foundation of our economic strength, reaching out to

:59:51. > :59:55.seize the opportunities that lie ahead, backing our public services,

:59:56. > :59:59.supporting Britain's families, investing in the skills of our young

:00:00. > :00:05.people, and making Britain the best place in the world to do business.

:00:06. > :00:10.Mr Deputy Speaker, our United Kingdom has a proud history - we

:00:11. > :00:16.have done remarkable things together. But we look forwards, not

:00:17. > :00:21.backwards, confident that our greatest achievements are ahead of

:00:22. > :00:25.us. Today we reaffirm our commitment to invest in Britain's future, and

:00:26. > :00:32.we embark on this next chapter of our history confident in our

:00:33. > :00:36.strengths and clear in our determination to build a stronger,

:00:37. > :00:43.there, better Britain. I commend this Budget to the House.

:00:44. > :00:47.STUDIO: The Chancellor, Philip Hammond, the conclusion of his first

:00:48. > :00:52.Budget speech. We will be back in the Commons in a moment, because, of

:00:53. > :00:56.course, we will get the response from Labour's Jeremy Corbyn, who was

:00:57. > :01:00.the butt of quite a few criticisms there from the Chancellor as he went

:01:01. > :01:04.through the statement. Let's look at some of the main measures quickly

:01:05. > :01:07.before we go back to the Commons. They include ?2 billion of

:01:08. > :01:11.additional funding over three years for adult social care in England.

:01:12. > :01:15.That's been one of the main focuses over the past few months. The

:01:16. > :01:19.pressure on the social care system. He has allocated an extra ?2 billion

:01:20. > :01:21.over three years. Big changes in national insurance, because the

:01:22. > :01:24.national insurance for self-employed workers is to increase by 1% to 10%

:01:25. > :01:27.in April 2018 and again after that. workers is to increase by 1% to 10%

:01:28. > :01:30.in April 2018 and again after that. There will be talk about that. We

:01:31. > :01:34.will discuss it here in the studio and of course on business rates,

:01:35. > :01:38.because lots of businesses, concerned after the revaluation

:01:39. > :01:44.about the impact, ?1,000 business rate discount for pubs in England

:01:45. > :01:48.with the rateable value of under ?100,000, that accounts for 90% or

:01:49. > :01:55.so of all the pubs in England. It affects lots of them. Let's look at

:01:56. > :02:02.the other main measures: ?300 million for businesses facing large

:02:03. > :02:06.rates increases. A reduction of tax redifficultened allowance for ?5,000

:02:07. > :02:09.to ?2,000 in April 2018. That will affect directors who are

:02:10. > :02:15.shareholders and the sugar tax levy confirmed at 18 p and 24 p per later

:02:16. > :02:20.for main and higher bands. Those are the main measures. Now we will go

:02:21. > :02:24.back into the chamber. The Deputy Speaker is basically going through

:02:25. > :02:26.some of the financial measures, some of the technical demands on the

:02:27. > :02:30.House at this point. I think of the technical demands on the

:02:31. > :02:35.House at this point. I think that Labour's Jeremy Corbyn will be on

:02:36. > :02:39.his feet within a few seconds. Maybe time for a comment from Laura?

:02:40. > :02:44.Interesting to see Philip Hammond, normally a very dead pan politician

:02:45. > :02:46.feeling relaxed and confident enough to be frequently cracking jokes

:02:47. > :02:50.throughout that Budget. Very interesting indeed. The big

:02:51. > :02:55.challenge is whether the rhetoric - we heard lots of the use of the word

:02:56. > :02:58."fairness", matches the reality. This was a Budget of utter

:02:59. > :03:05.complacency about the state of our economy. Utter complacency about the

:03:06. > :03:10.crisis facing our public services and, complacent about the reality of

:03:11. > :03:15.daily life for millions of people in this country. Entirely out of touch

:03:16. > :03:24.with that reality of life for millions. This morning, over ?1

:03:25. > :03:29.million workers will have woken up, not knowing whether they'll work

:03:30. > :03:33.today, tomorrow or next week. Millions more workers know their

:03:34. > :03:40.next pay packet will not be enough to make ends meet. Millions

:03:41. > :03:43.struggling to pay rent or mortgage, with private renters, on average,

:03:44. > :03:50.paying nearly half their income on rent. Yesterday, Mr Deputy Speaker,

:03:51. > :03:57.over 3,000 people in this country will have queued up at food banks to

:03:58. > :04:02.feed themselves and their families. Last night, Mr Deputy Speaker over

:04:03. > :04:08.4,000 people will have slept rough on the streets of this country. And

:04:09. > :04:14.the Chancellor made his boast about a strong economy. But who is reaping

:04:15. > :04:20.the rewards of this economy? For millions, it is simply not working.

:04:21. > :04:26.Not working for the NHS. In its worse crisis ever, with funding

:04:27. > :04:32.being cut next year. Not working for our children's schools. Not working

:04:33. > :04:38.for our children's schools, where pupil funding continues to be cut.

:04:39. > :04:42.Not work for our neighbourhoods which have lost 20,000 police

:04:43. > :04:50.officers. Leaving the force in a perilous state in many parts of the

:04:51. > :04:55.country. And not working for our dedicated public services and the

:04:56. > :05:01.people who work in them. Nurses, firefighters, teachers, no pay rise

:05:02. > :05:06.for seven years for them. And for people with disabilities,

:05:07. > :05:11.who are twice as lakely to be living in poverty -- twice as likely, and

:05:12. > :05:15.this Government is denying them the support that the courts say they

:05:16. > :05:21.need. 4 million children living in poverty which will rise by another 1

:05:22. > :05:24.million in coming years. Not working for the thousands of young people,

:05:25. > :05:29.who can't get anywhere to live, can't get on the housing ladder and

:05:30. > :05:34.cannot, in many cases, leave the parental home.

:05:35. > :05:39.Parents of grown-up children, who would expect to be debt-free by now,

:05:40. > :05:45.but having to bail out student debt or try to help with a deposit to get

:05:46. > :05:49.housing, if they can manage it and a million elderly people and I'll come

:05:50. > :05:53.on to this again, denied the social care they need due to the ?4.6

:05:54. > :05:58.billion cuts made by his Government with the support of the Liberal

:05:59. > :06:02.Democrats over the past five years. Not for pensioners, for whom the

:06:03. > :06:10.security of the triple lock remains in doubt. Mr Deputy Speaker, that is

:06:11. > :06:14.the reality facing Britain today. A Government cutting services, and

:06:15. > :06:19.living standards of the many, top fund and continue to fund the tax

:06:20. > :06:22.cuts of the few. There are some people, Mr Deputy Speaker, who are

:06:23. > :06:26.doing very well under the doing very well under the

:06:27. > :06:33.Conservative Government. The chief executives of big companies, now

:06:34. > :06:37.paid 180 times more than the average worker and taxed less.

:06:38. > :06:42.Big corporations making higher profits than being taxed less.

:06:43. > :06:47.Speculators making more and being taxed less.

:06:48. > :07:00.And wealthiest families taxed less, due to cuts in inheritance tax. A

:07:01. > :07:02.give way to those who need it the least. This Government is a

:07:03. > :07:08.Government with the wrong priority. Let me give you three examples: The

:07:09. > :07:14.pain of losing a child is unimaginable for most of us. But for

:07:15. > :07:19.those who do that, that pain is worsened by the stress of having to

:07:20. > :07:25.pay for their own child's funeral. I pay tribute to my friend, the member

:07:26. > :07:28.for Swansea East, for her campaign to establish a Children's Funeral

:07:29. > :07:32.Fund but far from establishing such a fund costing just ?10 million a

:07:33. > :07:36.year, the Government is instead cutting support for bereaved

:07:37. > :07:41.families. Three in four bereaved families will receive less. This is

:07:42. > :07:46.utterly the whatless. Despite generous tax give-aways at

:07:47. > :07:51.the top end, there was no money, either for the 160,000 people with

:07:52. > :07:57.disabilities that a court has ruled deserve a higher rate of personal

:07:58. > :08:04.independence payments. These are people with debilitating mental

:08:05. > :08:10.health conditions. Dementia, schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress

:08:11. > :08:13.disorder. The Prime Minister came to office talking about fighting

:08:14. > :08:16.burning injustices. Less than nine months later she seems to have

:08:17. > :08:22.forgotten all about them because none of them are being fought today.

:08:23. > :08:28.Low pay holds people back and it is holding our country back. We are the

:08:29. > :08:34.only major developed country in which economic growth has returned,

:08:35. > :08:40.yet workers are worse off, wages are still below the 2008 level.

:08:41. > :08:43.Inflation rising, an urgent need to address the pressure on people's

:08:44. > :08:49.incomes. Massively rising personal debts. Rising energy bills and the

:08:50. > :08:53.cost of the weekly shop, transport costs and housing costs all rising.

:08:54. > :08:57.The Chancellor faced a series of tests as to whether he would stand

:08:58. > :09:02.on the same side of the people or not. He could have raised the

:09:03. > :09:09.minimum wage to the level of the living wage. The real living wage of

:09:10. > :09:15.?10 per hour, as we, the Labour Party are pledged to do.

:09:16. > :09:19.It would pay for a pay rise for 6 million people in this country, 62%

:09:20. > :09:27.of whom are women. He failed to do that. Since 2010, millions of public

:09:28. > :09:33.sector workers have endured a pay freeze and then a pay cut. Dedicated

:09:34. > :09:38.public servants who keep our services going, have lost over 9% of

:09:39. > :09:42.their real wages, or will have done by 2020.

:09:43. > :09:50.He could have ended the public sector pay cut, as we are pledged to

:09:51. > :09:55.do, and given a pay rise to 5 million dedicated public servants

:09:56. > :09:58.who we all rely on day-in, day-out in our hospitals, our health service

:09:59. > :10:04.in general and our local government. He failed to do that. It's an insult

:10:05. > :10:08.to say they deserve falling living standards when we all know those in

:10:09. > :10:12.the public sector are working harder than ever, covering the jobs of

:10:13. > :10:19.those that have gone. There is a crisis, too, Mr Deputy Speaker in

:10:20. > :10:26.job security. Millions of workers don't know whether or not they'll be

:10:27. > :10:30.working from day to day. Millions of workers who don't know how many

:10:31. > :10:37.hours they'll be working this week or next week. Just imagine what it's

:10:38. > :10:41.like to try and plan your life if you don't know what your income is

:10:42. > :10:50.going to be from one week to the other. Because, Mr Deputy Speaker,

:10:51. > :10:55.that is the reality... Order. Can I just say to these benches, I want to

:10:56. > :11:00.hear the Leader of the Opposition. I don't want him shouted down because

:11:01. > :11:04.you may not be interested but our constituents out there want it hear

:11:05. > :11:09.what the alternative is. -- want to hear.

:11:10. > :11:15.If the whip wants to be funny he can go and get a cup of tea now. So,

:11:16. > :11:17.let's just show the same respect that was given to the Chancellor of

:11:18. > :11:20.the Exchequer. Jeremy Corbyn. Thank you Mr Deputy

:11:21. > :11:25.Speaker. There is nothing funny about being one of 900,000 workers

:11:26. > :11:30.on zero hours contracts. 55% of them women. He could have announced ban

:11:31. > :11:35.on zero hours contracts, as we are pledged to do. Again, he failed. But

:11:36. > :11:41.zero hours contracts, Mr Deputy Speaker, are only the tip of an

:11:42. > :11:47.iceberg. 4.5 million workers in Britain, in insecure work. 2.3

:11:48. > :11:53.million working variable shift patterns, 1.1 million on temporary

:11:54. > :11:57.contracts. We have long argued to clamp-down on bogus self-employment

:11:58. > :12:03.but today the Chancellor seems to put the burden on self-employed

:12:04. > :12:07.workers instead. There has to be something for something deal, so I

:12:08. > :12:13.hope the Chancellor will bring forward extra Social Security in

:12:14. > :12:16.return. One policy that Labour backed, extending statutory

:12:17. > :12:21.maternity pay it self-employed women, which is likely to cost just

:12:22. > :12:24.?10 million per year. -- to self-employed women. Low pay and

:12:25. > :12:30.insecure work have consequences for us all. Mr Deputy Speaker, in

:12:31. > :12:32.reality we all pay for low pay. There are a million working

:12:33. > :12:42.households having to claim housing benefited. Just get that figure. 1

:12:43. > :12:47.million working households claiming housing benefit because their wages

:12:48. > :12:50.million working families who simply million working families who simply

:12:51. > :12:54.rely on tax credits to make ends meet. This is modern Britain. The

:12:55. > :13:00.most effective way of boosting wages and increasing job security, as all

:13:01. > :13:04.studies show, is actually to improve collective bargaining through a

:13:05. > :13:09.trade union. Words that the Chancellor did not use in his

:13:10. > :13:15.speech. But instead of a trade union act we have, which will further

:13:16. > :13:20.Shackell unions and perpetuate chronic low pay, which actually

:13:21. > :13:28.costs us all a lot of money through in-work benefits, we will promote

:13:29. > :13:32.collective bargaining and repeal the Trade Union Act. This is a

:13:33. > :13:35.Chancellor and a Government not on the side of the workers, not on the

:13:36. > :13:40.side of the tax payers who pick up the bill for low pay and insecure

:13:41. > :13:43.work. Mr Deputy Speaker, on International Women's Day, did the

:13:44. > :13:49.Chancellor deliver a Budget that works for women? According to the

:13:50. > :13:52.House of Commons' library analysis, House of Commons' library analysis,

:13:53. > :13:58.commissioned by my friend, the member for Rotherham, who is doing a

:13:59. > :14:03.brilliant job speaking up for women from our front benches, 86% of the

:14:04. > :14:07.savings the Treasury has made from tax and benefits have fallen on

:14:08. > :14:12.women. Women's lives have been made more difficult through successive

:14:13. > :14:16.policies of this Government. Women struggling with more caring

:14:17. > :14:26.responsibility, due to the continuing state of emergency in

:14:27. > :14:29.social care. The Waspie women, born in the 1950s, who with little notice

:14:30. > :14:34.facing a crisis in retirement they could not possibly have predicted.

:14:35. > :14:38.54,000 women a year are forced out of their jobs through maternity

:14:39. > :14:42.discrimination. They can't afford this Government's extortionate fees,

:14:43. > :14:48.to take their employer to a tribunal in search of justice. Women up and

:14:49. > :14:52.down the country, who will have to wait another 60 years before the

:14:53. > :14:57.gender pay gap is closed. The hundreds, hundreds of women being

:14:58. > :15:01.turned away from domestic violence shelters every year, through lack of

:15:02. > :15:06.space or appropriate services, or because they have simply been

:15:07. > :15:08.closed. Mothers struggling, put under more pressure through cuts to

:15:09. > :15:20.Universal Credit and tax credits. If this wasn't bad enough, to cut

:15:21. > :15:23.tax credits for children who are born third or fourth in a family.

:15:24. > :15:28.Most shamefully, Mr Deputy Speaker, as of next month, women will have to

:15:29. > :15:32.prove that their third child is a product of rape if they wish to

:15:33. > :15:38.qualify for a child tax credits for that child. I paid tribute to my

:15:39. > :15:42.friend the member for Rotherham, and the honourable member for Glasgow

:15:43. > :15:49.Central, for their campaigning on this issue. I hope the Chancellor

:15:50. > :15:56.will reverse this cut. There is, Mr Deputy Speaker, a housing crisis, a

:15:57. > :16:00.crisis of supply and affordability. Since 2010, house building has

:16:01. > :16:04.fallen to its lowest rate in peace time since the 1920s. The building

:16:05. > :16:09.of social homes for rent is at its lowest level for a quarter of a

:16:10. > :16:12.century. Did he empower councils to tackle the housing crisis by

:16:13. > :16:17.allowing them to borrow to build council housing, as we are pledged

:16:18. > :16:22.to do? No! Have they replace council houses sold under right to buy, as

:16:23. > :16:27.they promised? No! Just one in six have been replaced! And was there

:16:28. > :16:33.any commitment to return to the council is the ?800 million right to

:16:34. > :16:37.buy proceeds the Treasury has taken back which would build 12,000 homes?

:16:38. > :16:42.No. Did he scrapped the unfair bedroom tax, as we are pledged to

:16:43. > :16:48.do? No. Did he reverse housing benefit cuts that would take support

:16:49. > :16:53.away from 10,000 young people, despite the opposition of Shelter,

:16:54. > :16:56.Crisis and centre point, which even the honourable member for Enfield

:16:57. > :17:02.Southgate correctly described as catastrophic? Last week, the

:17:03. > :17:06.Institute for Government said there were clear warning signs of the

:17:07. > :17:09.damaging impact of government cuts on schools, prisons, health and

:17:10. > :17:13.social care. This government has taken a sledgehammer to public

:17:14. > :17:16.services in recent years. The Chancellor now expects praise for

:17:17. > :17:22.patching up a small part of that damage. The Budget did not provide

:17:23. > :17:29.the funding necessary now for the crisis in our NHS. The BMA reckons

:17:30. > :17:33.it needs a next ?10 billion. It didn't provide the funding necessary

:17:34. > :17:39.to end the state of emergency and social care now, which needs to

:17:40. > :17:45.billion pounds a year just to plug the gaps, according to the King's

:17:46. > :17:51.Fund. That is not met by ?2 billion over three years. The money is

:17:52. > :17:54.needed now. More than 1 million people, mainly elderly people,

:17:55. > :18:01.desperate for social care, still can't get it. The money ought to be

:18:02. > :18:04.made available now. Because this government ducks really tough

:18:05. > :18:11.choices, like asking corporations to pay a little bit more in tax. Not

:18:12. > :18:16.every local authority can just text Neck and get the deal they won't!

:18:17. > :18:22.Another council services are suffering as well. Our communities

:18:23. > :18:26.are stronger when we have good libraries, and they are valuable,

:18:27. > :18:30.obviously for children, but for the entire community. 67 closed last

:18:31. > :18:38.year because of local government underfunding. 700 sure start centres

:18:39. > :18:41.closed because of lack of funding from local authorities, denying the

:18:42. > :18:45.life chances that a Labour government delivered to them with

:18:46. > :18:52.the opening of those centres in the 1990s. And 600 youth centres have

:18:53. > :18:57.closed as well. These painful decisions are being taken by

:18:58. > :19:00.councils not because they want to do it but because they don't enough

:19:01. > :19:04.money even to keep essential services running because of the

:19:05. > :19:09.slashing of their budgets year-on-year. And it goes on! It

:19:10. > :19:13.affect our communities and our lives in so many ways. Last year, councils

:19:14. > :19:19.proposed a sell-off of school playing fields to the equivalent of

:19:20. > :19:25.500 football pitches. 500 pitches not available for young people to

:19:26. > :19:28.indulge in sport. It is our duty as a community, surely, to ensure all

:19:29. > :19:31.our young people, wherever they live, have a decent chance to grow

:19:32. > :19:38.up with a library, with a playing field, with a Sure Start centre. It

:19:39. > :19:42.is not a lot to ask. The Chancellor boasts, Mr Deputy Speaker, of a

:19:43. > :19:46.strong economy, but abandons the target of the previous Chancellor,

:19:47. > :19:50.so let's give a more realistic context to today's figures. The

:19:51. > :19:56.deficits that was going to be eradicated in 2015, you all remember

:19:57. > :20:01.the long-term economic plan? The debt was going to peak at 80% of GDP

:20:02. > :20:07.and then start falling. Our economy is not prepared for Brexit. We still

:20:08. > :20:12.have an economy suffering from underinvestment and an overreliance

:20:13. > :20:17.on consumer spending and wholly unsustainable levels of personal and

:20:18. > :20:22.household debt. Investment must be evenly spread around our country.

:20:23. > :20:28.Despite the announcements today, London continues to receive six

:20:29. > :20:33.times as much investment as the north-east, and so that is why

:20:34. > :20:38.Labour is backing the fair funding formula for investment so that every

:20:39. > :20:42.area gets its fair share of capital spending. What has been announced

:20:43. > :20:47.today doesn't achieve that. You can't build a Northern Powerhouse or

:20:48. > :20:51.a Midlands Engine if the investment does not follow the sound bite. Our

:20:52. > :20:56.country currently spends 1.7% on research and development, well below

:20:57. > :21:01.the OECD average. The strongest economies spend over 3%. In the

:21:02. > :21:06.immediate term, and the Chancellor did not have much to say about this,

:21:07. > :21:10.he must focus his attention is on the precarious future of skilled

:21:11. > :21:20.workers and' jobs at Vauxhall in Ellesmere port in Luton and Ford in

:21:21. > :21:22.Bridgend. It would give these companies more confidence if the

:21:23. > :21:25.Government were committed to negotiating for tariff free access

:21:26. > :21:28.to the single market and dropped the reckless threat of turning Britain

:21:29. > :21:32.into a tax saving on the shores of Europe. One of the biggest

:21:33. > :21:38.challenges facing our country, Mr Deputy Speaker, is environmental, it

:21:39. > :21:43.is climate change. This government is failing to lead, failing to drive

:21:44. > :21:48.a mission led industrial strategy as our own business select committee

:21:49. > :21:52.has recommended. The Chancellor failed to make energy efficiency a

:21:53. > :21:56.National Infrastructure Plan and the. No commitment to establishing

:21:57. > :22:01.zero carbon standards on new building, and unclear about

:22:02. > :22:07.investments in public transport that will definitely reduce pollution.

:22:08. > :22:11.The poor air quality is appalling. It is killing thousands of people in

:22:12. > :22:16.this country. It is taking away the life chances of many children

:22:17. > :22:21.growing up alongside polluted roads. The good work being done by Labour's

:22:22. > :22:25.London Marathon, Sadiq Khan, the good work being done by the Labour

:22:26. > :22:29.government, has recognised this as an urgent public health crisis,

:22:30. > :22:36.particularly for children. We have to deal with this crisis and deal

:22:37. > :22:38.with it urgently. There cannot be, Mr Deputy Speaker, an industrial

:22:39. > :22:43.strategy or productivity gains unless there is serious investment

:22:44. > :22:47.in skills. Adult skills training cut by 54%, further education by 14%,

:22:48. > :22:53.and the small amounts committed today are long overdue but woefully

:22:54. > :22:59.insufficient. Over the coming years, the schools budget is being cut by

:23:00. > :23:02.8%. Does the Chancellor really want fewer teachers and teaching

:23:03. > :23:06.assistants, larger classes, shorter schooldays? Which is it? I agree

:23:07. > :23:09.with the Prime Minister that every child deserves a decent education,

:23:10. > :23:15.every community deserves decent schools. You do it by working with

:23:16. > :23:18.those communities to provide those schools, not blogging into them

:23:19. > :23:22.selective schools which are not being demanded by those communities.

:23:23. > :23:26.The money announced by the Prime Minister yesterday for the new

:23:27. > :23:30.grammar schools is frankly a vanity project. Cancel this gimmick,

:23:31. > :23:36.project selection and segregation, and why not honour their own 2050

:23:37. > :23:41.manifesto pledge to protect per-pupil funding, which is clearly

:23:42. > :23:44.not happening? -- 2015. This is a Budget that lacks ambition for this

:23:45. > :23:48.country and lacks fairness. It demonstrates again the appalling

:23:49. > :23:52.priorities of this government, another year, tax breaks for the

:23:53. > :23:56.few, public service cuts for the many. When she took office, the

:23:57. > :24:00.Prime Minister said, if you are one of those families, if you are just

:24:01. > :24:05.managing, I want to address you directly. This Budget does not

:24:06. > :24:11.address them, it failed them! This Budget has done nothing to tackle

:24:12. > :24:13.low play, to solve the state of emergency that persists for so many

:24:14. > :24:20.people, demanding and needing health and social care now. And nothing to

:24:21. > :24:23.make a fair economy truly working for everyone. It is built on

:24:24. > :24:32.unfairness, and it is built on failure to tackle an fairness in our

:24:33. > :24:36.society. Andrew Tyrie! STUDIO: Jeremy Corbyn, the Leader of

:24:37. > :24:39.the Opposition, with his response, basically saying that he says there

:24:40. > :24:45.is a crisis in public services which has not been addressed by this

:24:46. > :24:49.Budget. We will put those points to the Chief Secretary, David Gauke,

:24:50. > :24:56.when he joins us later, and John McDonnell will be with us too. There

:24:57. > :25:00.will be a long debate. Days on the Budget, and if you want

:25:01. > :25:07.uninterrupted coverage, you can go to our colleagues on BBC Parliament.

:25:08. > :25:11.I think it is a good moment now to take us through the Budget measures,

:25:12. > :25:16.quite a few of them, and we will go through those before we have a chat

:25:17. > :25:18.in the studio with our colleagues, and indeed with Paul Johnson from

:25:19. > :25:25.the Institute for Fiscal Studies, who has joined us. We have taken

:25:26. > :25:30.delivery of the Red Book, I think it is there to say it is slimmer than

:25:31. > :25:38.usual! Is that fair to say? Much slimmer than usual! Only 64 pages.

:25:39. > :25:46.There are 77 measures in the 2016 budget, 28 in this one. Go I feel I

:25:47. > :25:55.will probably mention those 28, let's have a look at those measures.

:25:56. > :26:02.A significant upgrading then a slight downgrade in growth, so that

:26:03. > :26:08.forecast slightly adjusted, but as I say, this year has been upgraded by

:26:09. > :26:14.a bit. Let's go on to the borrowing forecasts, and a significant

:26:15. > :26:18.reduction, in fact, in the forecast for 2016-17, at 51 billion. But then

:26:19. > :26:22.we see the figures going on, no balancing of the books, as we see,

:26:23. > :26:27.by the end of the parliament, but tapering away to 16 billion, that is

:26:28. > :26:33.the latest borrowing forecast by 2021-22. We will be asking Paul to

:26:34. > :26:39.tell us more about that. Let's talk about debt, 86.6% of GDP in 2016-17,

:26:40. > :26:46.going down gradually, according to these latest forecasts, to 79.8% by

:26:47. > :26:51.2021-22. That is the broad picture in terms of debt and borrowing and

:26:52. > :26:56.the growth forecasts. Let's go on some measures, some policies. Health

:26:57. > :26:58.and social care, well, this was one of the major announcements today,

:26:59. > :27:03.after all the talk of pressure on the social care system in England,

:27:04. > :27:07.an announcement to do with England. ?2 billion of additional funding

:27:08. > :27:11.over three years for the social care system in England, is that enough?

:27:12. > :27:14.Well, we will be talking to some people later and asking if it

:27:15. > :27:23.answers the needs. Jeremy Corbyn doesn't think it does. Annexed the

:27:24. > :27:27.?100 million to place GPs in A departments next winter. -- an extra

:27:28. > :27:30.?100 million. The Chancellor says that is to address the fact that

:27:31. > :27:39.many people turn up inappropriately for treatment at A departments. An

:27:40. > :27:43.extra ?325 million for the first NHS sustainability and transformation

:27:44. > :27:46.plans to be implemented, again, some of these reforms coming in to try to

:27:47. > :27:52.deal with the pressures, the very real pressures within the NHS

:27:53. > :27:56.system. Let's look at some tax changes. Well, national insurance

:27:57. > :28:02.for self-employed workers to rise to 10% in April 20 11% in April 20 19.

:28:03. > :28:07.I think it is there to say this will be a controversial change, simply

:28:08. > :28:11.because there are lots of people saying this is a direct

:28:12. > :28:17.contravention of a promise made in the Conservative manifesto, not to

:28:18. > :28:20.raise any of the taxes, VAT, income tax, national insurance. We will ask

:28:21. > :28:26.the Minister about that. The tax-free dividend allowance cut two

:28:27. > :28:29.?2000, that is to do with company directors and the advantages they

:28:30. > :28:36.get. And any personal tax-free allowance is to rise, as planned,

:28:37. > :28:40.?12,500 by 2020. Business rates, Simon was talking about these

:28:41. > :28:44.earlier, people wanting help with their rising business rates. There

:28:45. > :28:49.will be ?300 million fund for businesses facing big increases to

:28:50. > :28:53.their rates bills. Pubs in England, ?1000 discount for pubs with a

:28:54. > :28:59.rateable value under ?100,000, the vast majority of pubs in England,

:29:00. > :29:02.well over 90% getting that discount. And firms losing small business rate

:29:03. > :29:08.relief will have a cap, their increases will be capped at ?50 per

:29:09. > :29:12.month. All of that is meant to help, we will ask Simon whether it will do

:29:13. > :29:16.the trick, and given what he has been told by people in business

:29:17. > :29:24.about that. Money for the devolved administrations - an extra ?350

:29:25. > :29:29.million for the Scottish Government, an extra ?2 million for the Welsh

:29:30. > :29:36.blood, ?120 million or thereabouts for the Northern Ireland executive,

:29:37. > :29:40.when there is one in place. Then ?690 million competition launched

:29:41. > :29:43.for local councils to tackle urban congestion. Those are the packages

:29:44. > :29:57.not just for the devolved nations but for local authorities too.

:29:58. > :30:07.110 new free schools will get funding. There's an introduction of

:30:08. > :30:12.what we call T-levels to raise the status of technical educational

:30:13. > :30:17.vocation. The Chancellor said that was a matter of priority for him.

:30:18. > :30:21.Some other measures, the last set, as I go through the Budget measures

:30:22. > :30:26.today, the National savings bond will be available from April, at

:30:27. > :30:33.this time of very low interest rates, it will pay 2.2% interest on

:30:34. > :30:38.deposits up to ?3000. The receipts to fund a further ?12 million for

:30:39. > :30:45.women's charities on sanitary products. And some ?200 million to

:30:46. > :30:48.encourage investment in local full fibre broadband networks. Even a

:30:49. > :30:52.question at Prime Minister's Questions today about the quality of

:30:53. > :30:54.broadband networks, especially in rural areas, so ?200 million to

:30:55. > :31:03.encourage investment there. That is a broad sense of where we

:31:04. > :31:07.are and there were some eye-catching proposals from the Chancellor, not

:31:08. > :31:10.least to do with social care and the changes in national insurance. We

:31:11. > :31:17.will talk to Paul with us, but Laura, I'm going to start with you.

:31:18. > :31:20.On the political side, there's a broader picture clearly but can we

:31:21. > :31:25.deal with the issue of manifesto pledges which may or may not have

:31:26. > :31:30.been broken? In national insurance terms, what is your view? As simply

:31:31. > :31:35.as I can, the Tory manifesto promised no increases in income tax,

:31:36. > :31:38.VAT or national insurance rates. In the Budget today, Philip Hammond has

:31:39. > :31:42.gone against the spirit of the pledge, absolutely, no question

:31:43. > :31:46.about that because he has increased what is known as class for national

:31:47. > :31:51.insurance payments, they will go up from 9% to 11% by 2018. Where the

:31:52. > :31:58.Treasury will try to get itself off the hook on what I would describe as

:31:59. > :32:00.a technicality is when that manifesto pledge was put into law,

:32:01. > :32:03.the law that was passed referred only to a different class of

:32:04. > :32:06.national insurance payments. What ended up in black and white in

:32:07. > :32:12.legislation was a narrower promise than the Tory manifesto but if you

:32:13. > :32:14.are only picking up the Tory manifesto and having a look he will

:32:15. > :32:18.bring Philip Hammond has gone against it and I think that might be

:32:19. > :32:22.a bit itchy politically but the scale of the measure overall might

:32:23. > :32:26.mean they get off the hook? The broader picture, what did you make

:32:27. > :32:31.of the statement itself in what it said about where the government

:32:32. > :32:34.thinks it is? Safety first is really the headline from this. Philip

:32:35. > :32:38.Hammond tiptoed through the controversial area of Brexit but

:32:39. > :32:41.only at the beginning. He basically said it is the broad canvas but I

:32:42. > :32:44.think quite deliberately chose not to make lots of references to what

:32:45. > :32:49.happens when we leave the European Union or before then threw his

:32:50. > :32:54.statement. I think basically he gave moderately with one hand and took

:32:55. > :32:58.away moderately with the other. What I do think is worth drawing from

:32:59. > :33:03.that is the emerging picture of what people at the top of government hope

:33:04. > :33:07.people will come to see, they hope, is sort of Theresa May's

:33:08. > :33:11.meritocracy. There is one phrase he used that stuck in my mind, he said,

:33:12. > :33:16."We believe talent should be the only driver", so whether that is

:33:17. > :33:21.improving access to further education, better skills, trying to

:33:22. > :33:25.help people who are, as Theresa May would say, getting on with it, with

:33:26. > :33:29.something like the small print clause, the kind of things that

:33:30. > :33:33.really make consumers mad, I think that emerging jigsaw of the overall

:33:34. > :33:37.ethos was in there. But the real challenge is whether that matches up

:33:38. > :33:41.to how people actually feel in terms of the economy. Labour already

:33:42. > :33:45.pointing out a couple of things, they have gone through the numbers,

:33:46. > :33:48.that real household income has been revised down on average, they are

:33:49. > :33:52.forecasting people will be worse off cumulatively over the next five

:33:53. > :33:56.years, to use of Labour's numbers and they have pointed out the

:33:57. > :34:03.National Living Wage was meant to be ?9 by 2020 and today it has been

:34:04. > :34:07.suggested it will only be ?8.75. As ever, rhetoric, reality, where do we

:34:08. > :34:10.end up? Paul Cole your day, there were some big numbers in terms of

:34:11. > :34:15.the growth forecast and all the rest it but what caught your eye? The

:34:16. > :34:18.first thing is the big change in the public finances for this year

:34:19. > :34:23.relative to what the Office for Budget Responsibility were saying in

:34:24. > :34:27.November. It is something like ?16 billion increase, improvement in the

:34:28. > :34:31.public finances for this year. That is by far and away the biggest

:34:32. > :34:37.adjustment the OBR has made in a year since it came into existence.

:34:38. > :34:41.The reason for that? There are two bits, about half of it is just one

:34:42. > :34:48.of things, that will happen this year and will not happen again. Some

:34:49. > :34:50.of that is some strange spending accounting, we are giving European

:34:51. > :34:56.Union less money, as it happens, in the first quarter of the year and

:34:57. > :34:59.more in the last three quarters of the year. There are some changes

:35:00. > :35:02.associated with the changes to dividend taxation that came in last

:35:03. > :35:06.year which means we are getting quite a lot more money in this year

:35:07. > :35:11.but we will get less next year. There are some departmental spending

:35:12. > :35:14.changes where departments don't seem to be spending all the money they

:35:15. > :35:21.have got and then there are some longer term, better news, which is

:35:22. > :35:23.that some other tax revenues, from corporation tax and PAYE income tax

:35:24. > :35:27.are doing a bit better than expected. But no change at all to

:35:28. > :35:33.the public finances three or four years down the road. So really, it

:35:34. > :35:37.is a here and now change but looking on, prospects look, how do they look

:35:38. > :35:41.to you? For the public finances, they haven't changed, pretty much,

:35:42. > :35:47.in terms of the economy, looking a bit better in the short term but

:35:48. > :35:50.again, the accord it -- economy according to the official forecast

:35:51. > :35:54.will be roughly in 2020 where it was expected to be in November but as

:35:55. > :35:59.Laura says, actually, also the bad news in a way is that the earnings

:36:00. > :36:03.forecast and income forecast have gone down. This talk of the

:36:04. > :36:07.Chancellor building up a kind of store of money, a war a Brexit

:36:08. > :36:12.savings account, what is the evidence of that and where is that

:36:13. > :36:19.going to happen? That is always nonsense. There is no war chest! The

:36:20. > :36:24.Chancellor says there is ?1.7 trillion of debt, where is the war

:36:25. > :36:27.chest there, and we are borrowing ?50 billion this year? The only way

:36:28. > :36:34.you could think there is a war chest is that the Chancellor has said he

:36:35. > :36:38.would be OK borrowing ?45 billion in 2020 and cried forecasts are only to

:36:39. > :36:41.be borrowing ?20 billion. In that sense, he could borrow more and

:36:42. > :36:45.still meet his own fiscal targets but of course, if we end up there,

:36:46. > :36:49.then he's got another big period of austerity to get through to get down

:36:50. > :36:52.to zero which is where he wants to be next parliament. That is the

:36:53. > :36:54.point I wanted to raise, when he spoke last year about a

:36:55. > :37:04.roller-coaster ride, we're talking now people will be saying some of

:37:05. > :37:07.the figures look much better, the is in a better state than we thought it

:37:08. > :37:09.would be, so has that roller-coaster in the medium term disappeared or is

:37:10. > :37:12.there still one head? It is always important to compare where we are

:37:13. > :37:15.not in terms of the forecast than where we were a year ago and they

:37:16. > :37:17.are still all down relative to a year ago. There's a roller-coaster

:37:18. > :37:23.ride in the sense that there are changes in the forecast and we still

:37:24. > :37:27.seem to be on a bit of an upswing but the expectation is for a

:37:28. > :37:31.downswing later. It is really important to be clear with these

:37:32. > :37:34.forecasts, though, and I don't know if the OBR have said it but all

:37:35. > :37:38.forecasters are saying at the moment there is probably more uncertainty

:37:39. > :37:42.about where we will be in for five years' time than pretty much ever in

:37:43. > :37:45.the last 20 or 30 years. I think what is striking when you look

:37:46. > :37:50.through the Budget measures is not only the limited number of them but

:37:51. > :37:55.in the next two years, there is actually a slight fiscal loosening.

:37:56. > :37:59.Spending and tax changes, there are more giveaways than take away is. So

:38:00. > :38:06.he has used a bit of the headroom, straightaway, on the social care

:38:07. > :38:12.changes, on the higher taxes on dividends for company directors, to

:38:13. > :38:16.enable him to support the economy slightly more aggressively than

:38:17. > :38:20.maybe he would have done in the past. But all that, as Paul said,

:38:21. > :38:23.has to be gained back towards the end of the forecast period, so yet

:38:24. > :38:29.again, as we often had with George Osborne, it is paying, not cancelled

:38:30. > :38:34.but delayed. So they push back the cuts that are going to be coming in.

:38:35. > :38:37.So by the end of the forecast period, there will be this

:38:38. > :38:40.tightening again into the next Parliament. I think the

:38:41. > :38:44.self-employed issue is the start of the big debate of the next few

:38:45. > :38:48.years. OK, it is a small start now, with the change in national

:38:49. > :38:53.insurance class four. I think there is a big issue with the clash with

:38:54. > :38:59.the spirit of the manifesto commitment. But what Phillip Hammond

:39:00. > :39:01.clearly wants to do is what the Treasury are calling equalisation.

:39:02. > :39:03.That means people who are self-employed are taxed in a way

:39:04. > :39:07.that is more similar to those that are in full-time employment. It is

:39:08. > :39:12.surprising, though, and I would be interested to us David Gauke about

:39:13. > :39:16.it, why at the start of this debate and the tax rises on the

:39:17. > :39:20.self-employed side of the ledger, with the self-employed people,

:39:21. > :39:24.rather than the firms that you self-employed people and gain from

:39:25. > :39:27.that because they don't do national insurance contributions, don't put

:39:28. > :39:32.in pension contributions, don't allow for holiday entitlement? The

:39:33. > :39:34.government has started it, started the squeeze on those working in that

:39:35. > :39:39.area rather than the firms to gain from them. The Treasury's point on

:39:40. > :39:43.this which they are trying to circulate their arguments right now,

:39:44. > :39:47.after the statement, is that the intent of the manifesto was

:39:48. > :39:50.delivered by that legislation we were talking about, the tax lock,

:39:51. > :39:55.but what they are saying is, the point is it is not fair to the 85%

:39:56. > :39:59.of workers who are employees, given that these days, the benefits and

:40:00. > :40:05.entitlements are broadly similar. That is their case which is kind of,

:40:06. > :40:08."Whatever we said in the manifesto, this government", which in a lot of

:40:09. > :40:18.weight is a new government, different with different priorities

:40:19. > :40:21.to David Cameron in George Osborne, "In our calculation, we don't think

:40:22. > :40:24.this is on", and they are prepared to take a hit on it and they know

:40:25. > :40:26.they will because they have the arguments ready. Business rates was

:40:27. > :40:28.the big thing for small business owners going into this and the

:40:29. > :40:31.answer was a bit complicated and short lived. Basically, if you are a

:40:32. > :40:34.small business and you were below the small business rates relief cap

:40:35. > :40:37.which is ?15,000, the rateable value of your premises, if you are going

:40:38. > :40:43.into the new bracket, the cap on your increase will be ?50 per week,

:40:44. > :40:46.?50 per month, I should say and if you are a pub and your rateable

:40:47. > :40:49.value is under ?100,000, you will get a ?1000 discount on your

:40:50. > :40:54.business rates next year. That is not to say you will pay ?1000 less,

:40:55. > :40:58.you are only going to pay ?1000 less than you would have paid with a

:40:59. > :41:02.massive increase a lot of people out of pocket still. A ?300 million fund

:41:03. > :41:06.to be administered by local authorities for the hardest hit, to

:41:07. > :41:09.be administered area by area. It is a complicated problem so they are

:41:10. > :41:13.farming it out to local authorities, if you like, you have to deal with

:41:14. > :41:19.it with the ?300 million. But will the humility of effect do the trick?

:41:20. > :41:23.?455 million in total in the giveaways are very short lived and

:41:24. > :41:30.eventually, the rate rises will come through. They say they are going to

:41:31. > :41:33.have a review, so unless this review, how much do companies like

:41:34. > :41:35.Amazon pay compared to the corner shop, unless that delivers major

:41:36. > :41:39.reform, and we won't know that yet, essentially, as Kamal Ahmed said,

:41:40. > :41:43.this is paying delayed, not cancelled. Interestingly, a range of

:41:44. > :41:46.things including the new T-levels, the focus on technology and

:41:47. > :41:49.vocational skills, which lots of people in business have been

:41:50. > :41:54.demanding some again, interesting to know what business makes this

:41:55. > :41:57.qualification. I think they are broadly supportive, too many people

:41:58. > :42:01.are focused on things like A-levels. I've been at the Geneva motor show

:42:02. > :42:05.all week and they say they can't the right people, the labour supply may

:42:06. > :42:09.be more constrained when we are outside the EU. If we are going to

:42:10. > :42:15.build Heathrow, Hinkley Point, whatever, HS2, and bolster industry,

:42:16. > :42:19.we're going to need these people and I think this will be broadly

:42:20. > :42:23.supported. It kind of fits in with the industrial strategy we heard

:42:24. > :42:26.about a few weeks ago. A quick final thought from Paul because David

:42:27. > :42:30.Gauke will join us, the Treasury minister, in a moment, and then we

:42:31. > :42:35.will go to Hull and get a response. Your headline thought from the

:42:36. > :42:38.Budget today is? A couple of things, firstly, short-term gain to the

:42:39. > :42:42.public finances but nothing improving in the long run. I quite

:42:43. > :42:46.like some of the ways we have heard that we're going to have some

:42:47. > :42:50.consultation on some big things, so more consultation on the

:42:51. > :42:53.self-employed, more consultation on social care, more consultation on

:42:54. > :42:57.some of the tax issues rather than jumping in feet first. On the

:42:58. > :43:01.self-employed changes, an extra 2% on national insurance still doesn't

:43:02. > :43:05.get them anywhere near as highly taxed as employees, so in a sense,

:43:06. > :43:07.it is a move in the right direction one thing we have not talked about

:43:08. > :43:14.is this reasonably significant increase in the taxation dividends.

:43:15. > :43:16.That is what people who run and own their own companies can pay

:43:17. > :43:20.themselves, what you receive if you own shares. This is an doing almost

:43:21. > :43:25.mostly undoing a change that George Osborne announced only in July 2015,

:43:26. > :43:30.that was only introduced last April. Probably a move just about in the

:43:31. > :43:37.right direction in terms of evening up the tax treatment of

:43:38. > :43:42.self-employed and owner managers. But not a very steady world where

:43:43. > :43:47.you make a change last April and change it really quite significantly

:43:48. > :43:51.this March. A slightly rueful look from George Osborne, nodding his

:43:52. > :43:54.head during it. I wonder whether it was, as you are raising the amount

:43:55. > :43:57.of national insurance the self-employed are pain, people might

:43:58. > :44:01.think, "In that case, I'll incorporate myself into the

:44:02. > :44:06.company", but they saw it coming so they reduced the amount of tax

:44:07. > :44:09.relief. A quick word from Laura. That may prove to be politically

:44:10. > :44:11.more troublesome than the national insurance weight because people who

:44:12. > :44:20.set up their own Company and pay themselves dividends would probably

:44:21. > :44:24.be natural Tory voters. That might get them or exercised. Thank you for

:44:25. > :44:26.joining us, Paul. We will see you again.

:44:27. > :44:40.I am at Arco distribution centre, close to the centre of Hull, which

:44:41. > :44:43.is City of Culture for 2017 and part of the Northern Powerhouse. We used

:44:44. > :44:48.to hear a lot about that. I think there was only one mention today in

:44:49. > :44:51.Philip Hammond's speech when he talked about ?90 million going to

:44:52. > :44:55.the Northern Powerhouse in transport. Let's find out if that is

:44:56. > :44:59.enough for this man, Thomas Martin, the managing director of Arco. Is it

:45:00. > :45:05.enough for you to get your teeth into?

:45:06. > :45:13.It is a start, but it is only one mention. Our shareholders have

:45:14. > :45:18.invested hundreds of millions, but we cannot do it on our own. I hope

:45:19. > :45:20.to hear more about transport infrastructure, evidence that the

:45:21. > :45:25.Chancellor was taking the Northern Powerhouse as seriously as I think

:45:26. > :45:30.you should be. And what about the future of your company? It is a

:45:31. > :45:34.success story here and Hull, but against a backdrop of decline, what

:45:35. > :45:38.would you like to have heard? There is about seven times as much money

:45:39. > :45:42.being spent in the south as the North, and I understand that for

:45:43. > :45:45.historical reasons, but for a Chancellor trying to balance the

:45:46. > :45:50.books and get value for money, ?1 spent in the North can go a lot

:45:51. > :45:55.further, so I am pleased about skills, the apprenticeships. We have

:45:56. > :45:59.made our own luck, we already have future experts in our programme. I

:46:00. > :46:03.think he is trying, he could have been more direct, with a more overt

:46:04. > :46:09.industrial strategy. I heard some tactics, I didn't hear an overall

:46:10. > :46:14.vision for UK plc. On inflation, that figure going up to 2.4%,

:46:15. > :46:18.worried about that? He was very honest in terms of the public

:46:19. > :46:22.finances, I think perhaps less connected with what really might

:46:23. > :46:26.happen in terms of inflation. We have 1000 containers a year coming

:46:27. > :46:30.through, costs are going up significantly as a result of the

:46:31. > :46:33.devaluation of the pound. Thank you very much, more reaction from local

:46:34. > :46:43.businesses and from the Chambers of Commerce in the ground in Hull.

:46:44. > :46:46.First of all, unemployment levels, Philip Hammond says that

:46:47. > :46:51.unemployment has fallen fastest here as part of a group of areas in the

:46:52. > :46:55.UK, put that into context. Well, Yorkshire and Humber is seeing a

:46:56. > :47:01.reduction in unemployment, and these are good times for Hull,

:47:02. > :47:05.particularly with the offshore wind revolution that is going on,

:47:06. > :47:10.Siemens, the German company, is investing 300 million here, 1000

:47:11. > :47:18.jobs being created in wind turbines, and a Danish energy company are

:47:19. > :47:21.spending ?6 billion as part of their offshore energy agenda, and that

:47:22. > :47:26.will all help as part of growing this part of the world. That sounds

:47:27. > :47:29.like a rosy picture, is that how you view it? It is difficult for small

:47:30. > :47:35.businesses like me to get an audience with the likes of Siemens,

:47:36. > :47:38.there is a lot of competition from national companies, so it is

:47:39. > :47:47.difficult to fight for the revenue that is being generated locally. So

:47:48. > :47:50.what do you say to someone like Sally who cannot get access to

:47:51. > :47:54.funds? Philip Hammond is talking about a bit of money going towards

:47:55. > :47:59.broadband investment, but is that really going to improve the

:48:00. > :48:01.fortunes. The? It is important that politicians are careful when they

:48:02. > :49:49.spend money on rebadged initiatives, businesses grow, they have to get

:49:50. > :49:53.the balance right. Thank you very much for giving us your views. There

:49:54. > :49:59.will be lots of changes that will affect you, the viewers, in finance,

:50:00. > :50:05.let's find out more from our personal finance expert.

:50:06. > :50:09.Yes, as we've been hearing, national insurance convolutions for the

:50:10. > :50:12.self-employed will go up by one percentage point in April, and up

:50:13. > :50:17.again next year by one percentage point up to 11%. The dividend

:50:18. > :50:22.allowance is something that directors and shareholders of their

:50:23. > :50:26.own companies can use to take ?5,000 with dividends out of their

:50:27. > :50:30.companies as part of their personal allowance, that is going to be

:50:31. > :50:35.reduced to ?2000 from next year. Laura has been in touch to say, I am

:50:36. > :50:42.a single mum of two, children under the age of ten, was there anything

:50:43. > :50:50.drastic for me? Nothing really drastic, Laura, but the personal

:50:51. > :50:55.allowance will rise to ?11,500. That is the point above which you start

:50:56. > :50:57.paying income tax, so there will be a little bit more money in your

:50:58. > :51:04.pocket. For higher rate taxpayers, the rate is going to go, the

:51:05. > :51:08.threshold is going to go from ?43,000 up to ?45,000, although that

:51:09. > :51:19.will not apply in Scotland. And if you have money to save, from April,

:51:20. > :51:21.you will get 2.2% on up to ?3000 of savings every year, although when it

:51:22. > :51:27.was originally announced in the Autumn Statement, critics said it

:51:28. > :51:32.was rather underwhelming. If you have got any questions for us,

:51:33. > :51:37.please get in touch, 61124, or you can e-mail us. Back to you in

:51:38. > :51:46.London. Thank you very much to everyone in

:51:47. > :51:50.Hull, we will be back in a short while for more reaction. Delighted

:51:51. > :51:53.to welcome to the studio of the Chief Secretary to the Treasury,

:51:54. > :51:57.David Gauke, thank you for coming in. Here is a quote, a Conservative

:51:58. > :52:04.judgment, you will be familiar with this quote, will not increase the

:52:05. > :52:10.insurance in the next parliament, why has that manifesto promise been

:52:11. > :52:14.broken? The intent of the manifesto commitment was legislated for,

:52:15. > :52:17.covering class one national insurance contributions, the rate

:52:18. > :52:22.that applies to employees. It did not cover class four, which is what

:52:23. > :52:27.we are increasing today, and one of the reasons for that was, at the

:52:28. > :52:32.same time we were reforming class two, more accurately abolishing

:52:33. > :52:34.clash two, so you have got to remember that almost self-employed

:52:35. > :52:38.people, if you look at all the reforms, the national insurance

:52:39. > :52:40.contributions over the next couple of years, most of them will be

:52:41. > :52:43.paying less in national insurance paying less in national insurance

:52:44. > :52:49.contributions, not more. The relatively higher earners will be

:52:50. > :52:53.paying more, that is true, but the majority of self-employed will pay

:52:54. > :53:03.lower levels of NICs in three years' time. OK, so let's say that there

:53:04. > :53:07.are four references to tax and your plans on tax in the manifesto, here

:53:08. > :53:11.is another. We can commit to no increases in VAT, income tax or

:53:12. > :53:14.national insurance. Tax rises on working people would harm our

:53:15. > :53:20.economy, reduce living standards and cost jobs. Now, looking at what you

:53:21. > :53:24.revealed today, notwithstanding the revealed

:53:25. > :53:28.explanation you just given us, there is an increase in national insurance

:53:29. > :53:32.which goes against at least the spirit of that, is that not right?

:53:33. > :53:38.Well, what I would say, this is a context where there is, there is

:53:39. > :53:41.quite substantial reform of national insurance contributions, with many

:53:42. > :53:44.people winning from it, but we are also faced with a growing

:53:45. > :53:49.unfairness, if you like, because what we now have is a situation

:53:50. > :53:53.where national insurance contributions are contributions to

:53:54. > :53:55.pay for certain benefits. If you are employed and self-employed,

:53:56. > :53:59.traditionally there were quite big differences between the benefits

:54:00. > :54:04.that you got, on things like the state pension, for example. Well,

:54:05. > :54:08.actually, that difference is going from 2016, we brought in the new

:54:09. > :54:12.state pension, so the self-employed are in as good a position as the

:54:13. > :54:16.employed. We have said today that one of the outstanding differences

:54:17. > :54:22.is on paternity and maternity pay, and we are looking to get rid of

:54:23. > :54:27.that. And in a world where, essentially, you are getting the

:54:28. > :54:31.same at the end of the process, you should put the same amount in. And

:54:32. > :54:35.that is exactly what... Well, that is what we are moving to, there is

:54:36. > :54:39.still a gap, but we are closing that gap, and I think it is right that we

:54:40. > :54:44.do that. The Chancellor underlined that point, and you have again, but

:54:45. > :54:50.I come back to you to say, you make a promise not to raise national

:54:51. > :54:52.insurance, and then you raise it, that is the issue you have got. You

:54:53. > :54:55.have explained the logic around it, have explained the logic around it,

:54:56. > :55:00.fact that you made a promise and you fact that you made a promise and you

:55:01. > :55:06.have not kept to it. We legislated, I took through the Bill that was

:55:07. > :55:11.essentially... But you put national insurance up. At that time, we were

:55:12. > :55:13.clear, within the legislation, we were focusing on the main rate

:55:14. > :55:21.national insurance contributions, which was class one, the 12% rate.

:55:22. > :55:24.That is not clear, is it? We also explained, my memory is we explained

:55:25. > :55:31.to Parliament that because of the reforms that we were doing, and

:55:32. > :55:36.because we needed to look at the issue, because of that potential

:55:37. > :55:41.unfairness, we excluded class four from... We can commit to no

:55:42. > :55:47.increases. I also come back to the point that this problem is growing,

:55:48. > :55:53.and as I say, in a context where we are making a new announcement today,

:55:54. > :55:58.looking at maternity pay, specifically. Employed, given that

:55:59. > :56:05.we have essentially removed the differences. -- for self employed.

:56:06. > :56:08.We have removed all the major differences in the entitlements that

:56:09. > :56:12.the self-employed get versus the employed, and I think in the context

:56:13. > :56:17.of also, we do need to pay for the additional spending on social care,

:56:18. > :56:23.skills, schools. The Chancellor explain that. It is right that we

:56:24. > :56:28.take this step to say that it is a relatively, if you look across the

:56:29. > :56:31.board, it is a relatively modest increase in terms of the national

:56:32. > :56:35.insurance contributions that are levied on the self employed, but I

:56:36. > :56:40.do think, in the circumstances, it is the right step. But you are not

:56:41. > :56:46.acknowledging even that it is a promise that you have not kept. The

:56:47. > :56:51.intent was on the main rates. I think that was how we... Very

:56:52. > :56:54.difficult for someone reading that, it would seem to be a bit of a

:56:55. > :56:59.stretch for you to say that you are not aware of the technicalities

:57:00. > :57:05.within the definition - we can commit to no increases, that is very

:57:06. > :57:10.clear. As I say, for the majority of self-employed, they are actually

:57:11. > :57:15.seeing a reduction in terms of their contributions, and if you take into

:57:16. > :57:20.account personal allowance, all self-employed earnings up to over

:57:21. > :57:26.?32,000 a year will be paying less. That is understood, just picking you

:57:27. > :57:30.up on the commitment, OK Laura? Isn't it the thing, Minister, that

:57:31. > :57:33.people understand when you change your mind, but what people find

:57:34. > :57:41.frustrating is when you clearly break a promise? Well, I think, you

:57:42. > :57:45.know, we have looked at the situation... And you have changed

:57:46. > :57:48.your mind, but what about the manifesto commitment? As I say, I

:57:49. > :57:53.think we have got a situation where we have closed the gap in terms of

:57:54. > :57:56.the benefits entitlements, effectively eliminated it, that we

:57:57. > :58:03.have got a growing situation with the cost, and a sense that if we

:58:04. > :58:05.don't take action, and Matthew Taylor is doing a review of these

:58:06. > :58:28.issues this specific manifesto promise,

:58:29. > :58:31.that it was basically made up on the roof and maybe a rather silly

:58:32. > :58:38.promise to make in the first place, that you would commit forevermore

:58:39. > :58:42.not to raise income tax, VAT or national insurance? If you look at

:58:43. > :58:46.our record as a government over this period of time, you will see it is a

:58:47. > :58:53.record where we are cutting direct taxes, we are holding the VAT, we

:58:54. > :58:57.are cutting taxes through the personal allowance razors, and when

:58:58. > :59:03.it comes to those direct taxes, we are not looking for more, but there

:59:04. > :59:07.is a very specific case, and the more we look at this, the more we

:59:08. > :59:11.can see there is a problem that is going to build up, and it is a

:59:12. > :59:15.long-term problem. If we don't take action on this, we do place an

:59:16. > :59:20.unfair burden, you know, if you are employed... You have made that case,

:59:21. > :59:24.Minister, would you rule out making other increases to VAT or income tax

:59:25. > :59:29.Kaymer that is the question people will ask, you cannot blame them for

:59:30. > :59:34.saying, hang on a second, how many of these other commitments, you

:59:35. > :59:37.mentioned VAT and income tax, should we disregard the sections of the

:59:38. > :59:43.manifesto because you have already wiped one of them out? What else is

:59:44. > :59:47.up for grabs? We have legislated in this Parliament, we will not

:59:48. > :59:51.increase VAT, income tax, we will not increase class one national

:59:52. > :59:54.insurance contributions. We have legislated, we would have to take

:59:55. > :59:59.additional legislative action to be able to do that. As I say, when we

:00:00. > :00:06.took this matter through the House of Commons, back in 2015, I think,

:00:07. > :00:08.we specifically excluded class four national insurance contributions

:00:09. > :00:14.because at that point there clearly was an issue, and as I say, put it

:00:15. > :00:19.in the context of abolishing class two, which, you know, provides a tax

:00:20. > :00:23.cut for all the self-employed in isolation, but still means a net tax

:00:24. > :00:24.reduction in terms of national insurance contributions for the

:00:25. > :00:33.majority. How many people are affected, I

:00:34. > :00:36.should have asked this earlier, by this change? In terms of the number

:00:37. > :00:42.of people who are self-employed, I think it is about 4.2 million, the

:00:43. > :00:47.majority of whom will be paying less national insurance contributions in

:00:48. > :00:51.three years' time the layout paying today. Can we pause for a second, a

:00:52. > :00:53.bit of housekeeping for me because viewers in Scotland are leaving us

:00:54. > :01:00.now but thank you for joining us and we wish you a good afternoon. Here

:01:01. > :01:05.on the BBC News Channel and BBC Two, we are carrying on, and son, your

:01:06. > :01:07.questions to the Minister? This change of message about no raising

:01:08. > :01:13.of national insurance and then saying you did not mean a particular

:01:14. > :01:15.class. There is an issue that entrepreneurialism, the government

:01:16. > :01:17.said start your own business and it worked, people could pay more tax

:01:18. > :01:22.because they were taking more risk, they were starting the red

:01:23. > :01:24.businesses and there's been an enormous increase in

:01:25. > :01:27.self-employment, about 50% of all the jobs that have been created

:01:28. > :01:32.since the crisis of 2008 at come from the self-employed. Now you are

:01:33. > :01:35.saying you're going to come down like a time of bricks and tax some

:01:36. > :01:40.of the growth and looking at some other numbers, bearing in mind you

:01:41. > :01:43.are already going to cancel class two national insurance, this looks

:01:44. > :01:48.like if you add together the cut in the dividend allowance and the class

:01:49. > :01:52.four increase, it amounts to a ?2 billion tax in the next five years

:01:53. > :01:56.on the self-employed. What kind of message is that? That was not the

:01:57. > :02:02.message we were sold a few years ago. I don't accept the point. This

:02:03. > :02:07.is a government which is very supportive of small businesses. We

:02:08. > :02:10.have done a whole host of things, today, in terms of business rates

:02:11. > :02:14.but in things like the employment allowance, the cuts in corporation

:02:15. > :02:19.tax, some of the changes to capital gains tax are very helpful for

:02:20. > :02:23.smaller businesses. Absolutely, we recognise the importance of the

:02:24. > :02:26.entrepreneur to the economy. But these are the same small businesses

:02:27. > :02:30.who are facing water enrolment, you have given them some relief on the

:02:31. > :02:33.business rate increase but only delayed it and they will come down

:02:34. > :02:37.the road at some point. They will be feeling bruised by that. And most

:02:38. > :02:44.small businesses benefit from the business rate reduction. --

:02:45. > :02:46.re-evaluation. That is before you put in the permanent extensional

:02:47. > :02:50.small business rate relief and so on. We've done a lot for small

:02:51. > :02:54.businesses. But the point I will make is if you have got essentially

:02:55. > :02:59.three people doing essentially the same job, one is employed, one is

:03:00. > :03:04.self-employed but unincorporated and the other is working through their

:03:05. > :03:08.own company, and they are paying very substantial differences in the

:03:09. > :03:17.level of tax and national insurance contributions, that creates an

:03:18. > :03:21.unfairness on the employed, the 85%, who pay substantially more in tax

:03:22. > :03:25.and national insurance and that problem will grow. The easiest thing

:03:26. > :03:28.in the world would be for a government, and it might be very

:03:29. > :03:31.politically easy to pretend the problem doesn't exist and it won't

:03:32. > :03:36.be there but it will grow and grow and only you know, there's nothing

:03:37. > :03:40.wrong, in fact, it is no bad thing at all that we have large levels of

:03:41. > :03:47.self-employment in this country but if it creates an unfair burden on

:03:48. > :03:51.the employed, then you are storing up a problem and at some point, the

:03:52. > :03:55.government has to act and better to act now than later. Some people

:03:56. > :03:58.would say, and the point was made earlier, what you should do is look

:03:59. > :04:01.at the employers who are using self-employed status of their

:04:02. > :04:07.workers, I'm thinking of the delivery companies of this world,

:04:08. > :04:15.who using the self-employed status for their benefit. Why did you start

:04:16. > :04:19.there? Why did you go after the boys first? I can see why you make that

:04:20. > :04:22.point and it is a fair challenge to us and the answer is, this is a much

:04:23. > :04:26.more complicated problem. Matthew Taylor is undertaking a review for

:04:27. > :04:31.the government. He has given us his interim findings in a letter today.

:04:32. > :04:36.But he is reporting back later this year. I think it is right that we

:04:37. > :04:39.look at some of those issues. Firstly, we have to deal with what

:04:40. > :04:43.is described as falls self-employment but some of this is

:04:44. > :04:46.genuine self-employment but it does not really fall within any of the

:04:47. > :04:50.usual parameters and the economy is changing and there are different

:04:51. > :04:55.jobs. As I say, if there is a vast disparity in the way in which we tax

:04:56. > :04:58.those people, you know, it can create distortions and it can create

:04:59. > :05:03.unfairness. It is right we address it but it is a more complicated one

:05:04. > :05:08.and we need to make sure we take our time to get it right. What about

:05:09. > :05:12.employers, will they also face tax increases into the future as you

:05:13. > :05:17.review the situation? There's obviously clear disparities if you

:05:18. > :05:22.do employ people on self-employed status. You get a great advantage as

:05:23. > :05:27.an employer because of the reduced national insurance contributions and

:05:28. > :05:32.pension contributions, no holiday entitlement, etc. Surely that has to

:05:33. > :05:35.change as well? It comes back to what I said earlier, it is a really

:05:36. > :05:39.complicated area and I think it is right we are looking at this. But

:05:40. > :05:43.with a view to increasing the burden is on employers? That is a huge

:05:44. > :05:50.thing to take on. In terms of shifting it, the reality is that if

:05:51. > :05:55.you are an employer with employees, you pay national insurance

:05:56. > :05:58.a substantial. If you go down a a substantial. If you go down a

:05:59. > :06:02.different route, you might not pay anything at all and again, that is a

:06:03. > :06:03.similar type of distortion, a similar type of unfairness, you

:06:04. > :06:14.like. quite carefully. But with a view to

:06:15. > :06:18.changing it, clearly? With a view to trying to level the playing field.

:06:19. > :06:22.Is that enough you have done now, to get rid of this disparity, as you

:06:23. > :06:26.see it, between being self-employed and employed? Is that the end of it

:06:27. > :06:36.now? Can you remake your manifesto pledge, even though you did not

:06:37. > :06:39.stick to the first one, can you make a pledge for no more increases in

:06:40. > :06:42.national insurance? I think we have got the balance right now. So no

:06:43. > :06:44.more increases? I think we have the balance right now and Matthew

:06:45. > :06:47.Taylor's report, we have to wait to see what it was a but we have tilled

:06:48. > :06:49.the balance in a direction which I think is fairer for those who

:06:50. > :06:51.eventually see themselves paying eventually see themselves paying

:06:52. > :06:55.quite a lot more if they are employed than if they were

:06:56. > :06:59.self-employed. We are battling the clock minister and you need to go

:07:00. > :07:02.going to say, everyone will be going to say, everyone will be

:07:03. > :07:07.looking very carefully at the legislation from that tax law in

:07:08. > :07:08.2015. I'm interested, briefly, beyond painting a broad canvas at

:07:09. > :07:13.the start, hardly any mention of the start, hardly any mention of

:07:14. > :07:14.Brexit from the Chancellor. Was he deliberately tiptoeing around the

:07:15. > :07:19.subject because it is a controversial on the benches behind

:07:20. > :07:23.him? I don't think so, but Brexit is a massive issue for the country and

:07:24. > :07:26.the government but we also have to get on and do the other things. We

:07:27. > :07:30.care system that is working care system that is working

:07:31. > :07:34.properly. We have to make sure we invest in skills. We have to make

:07:35. > :07:39.sure we have sound public finances, thinking about the long term there.

:07:40. > :07:42.Today was a day where, I know everyone is very focused on Brexit

:07:43. > :07:47.but today was the day when we needed to address some of the other issues

:07:48. > :07:51.that we have as a country and I the Chancellor did that very well. Are

:07:52. > :07:54.you not worried that the numbers suggest wages are still going to be

:07:55. > :07:58.falling back and National Living Wage is predicted to be less than it

:07:59. > :08:02.was the last time? People will still be really feeling the pinch for a

:08:03. > :08:06.long time according to today's numbers. The way we address that and

:08:07. > :08:10.get living standards improving on a sustainable basis is about improving

:08:11. > :08:16.productivity. That means the investment in infrastructure we saw

:08:17. > :08:19.in the Autumn Statement, the investment in skills we saw today, a

:08:20. > :08:21.competitive tax system, which, when you look at encouraging investment,

:08:22. > :08:25.what we have done in terms of corporation tax. All those things

:08:26. > :08:27.will drive up productivity and living standards and that is the way

:08:28. > :08:31.we can ensure we are a prosperous country. Minister, good of you to

:08:32. > :08:34.comment as usual on Budget day and thank you for fielding our question.

:08:35. > :08:38.David Gauke, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

:08:39. > :08:42.I will remind you very quickly of the today as we see them. We have

:08:43. > :08:48.been talking about national insurance for self-employed workers,

:08:49. > :08:52.rising to 10% in April next year and 11% in April 2000 19. The additional

:08:53. > :08:56.funding for social care, we did not discuss that but we mentioned it

:08:57. > :08:59.earlier, an additional ?2 billion of funding over the next three years

:09:00. > :09:02.for social care in England because we know of the huge pressures on the

:09:03. > :09:06.system and funding announced four new grammar schools and new free

:09:07. > :09:10.schools, 110 of them in England, very much one of the Prime

:09:11. > :09:16.Minister's principal projects, something she is very keen to

:09:17. > :09:20.promote. The other main measures, ?300 million fund for firms facing

:09:21. > :09:23.large business rate increases. Simon was talking about the measures to

:09:24. > :09:28.try to relieve some of the pressure after that revaluation. As part of

:09:29. > :09:32.that, a ?1000 business rate discount for pubs with a rateable value of

:09:33. > :09:38.under ?100,000, which is the vast majority of pubs in England. And the

:09:39. > :09:44.National savings bond for savers, as interest rates are very low, this

:09:45. > :09:49.will pay 2.2% on deposit up to ?3000 from April. Lots of other measures,

:09:50. > :09:54.too, but we have condensed that to half a dozen at this point. Let's go

:09:55. > :09:58.straight out to the green outside parliament and join Jane.

:09:59. > :10:05.some of the issues with my guess you have joined me. I should explain

:10:06. > :10:09.there's a very noisy pensions protest behind me. Douglas Carswell

:10:10. > :10:12.of Ukip and Tim Farron of the Liberal Democrats, I hope we can

:10:13. > :10:15.just about he read other thing! Douglas Carswell, you have said

:10:16. > :10:18.quite a few times that you hoped Phillip Hammond would be more

:10:19. > :10:22.fiscally responsible than his predecessor. Do you think he has

:10:23. > :10:30.been? I'm a bit worried that the amount of public debt is heading

:10:31. > :10:33.back up again. The best that can be said for this Budget is that it is

:10:34. > :10:36.very dull and not flashy but it's not fundamentally sorting out the

:10:37. > :10:38.biggest problem we face which is the accumulation of big amounts of

:10:39. > :10:43.public debt. At the same time as the public debt is going back up, he is

:10:44. > :10:46.managing to attack the self-employed and self-employed national insurance

:10:47. > :10:50.contributions. I'm not happy about either of those things. Tim Farron,

:10:51. > :10:55.you are nodding through some of that. Yes, the obvious being from

:10:56. > :10:59.the Budget is you cannot have well funded health services, social care

:11:00. > :11:02.or education or indeed to solve the problems of the things we are

:11:03. > :11:05.complaining about today with a hard Brexit. You choose to leave the

:11:06. > :11:09.single market and the customs union, which was not on the ballot paper,

:11:10. > :11:13.then there is a cost, 100 billion extra borrowing and 60 billion war

:11:14. > :11:17.chest to pay for the loss of trade and income and tax receipts relating

:11:18. > :11:20.to point that out. We think today, to point that out. We think today,

:11:21. > :11:25.if you look at the attack on business in particular, the little

:11:26. > :11:30.sticking plaster, if that am of the relief to those who will be hit by

:11:31. > :11:34.business rate increases is nothing at all and if you look at the impact

:11:35. > :11:37.of the national insurance contribution rises on self-employed

:11:38. > :11:41.people, it is immense. Something like one in four people in my

:11:42. > :11:44.constituency the South Lakes are self-employed and it will be huge

:11:45. > :11:46.blow to them. It seems to me that we have a government who thinks they

:11:47. > :11:49.can take business for granted because they have a dreadful

:11:50. > :11:53.opposition who does not keep them on their toes. We'll come back to some

:11:54. > :12:05.of that but isn't that part of the point, Douglas

:12:06. > :12:09.Carswell, Philip Hammond has to be cautious because he has to retain

:12:10. > :12:12.the war chest? By definition, we don't know what is coming. It is not

:12:13. > :12:14.a case of Brexit, and at some point, the Japanese and Italian bond

:12:15. > :12:16.markets are going to go pop and governments will find... But it is

:12:17. > :12:23.another layer of uncertainty? The gross predictions have gone up from

:12:24. > :12:28.1.4%, to 2.2%. It is pretty healthy growth. Just south of 2% for the

:12:29. > :12:32.next four or five years. Given the OBR's success rate at forecasting

:12:33. > :12:36.these things, I'm not sure we can take anything beyond the next 18

:12:37. > :12:40.months seriously. But in terms of growth projections, there is some

:12:41. > :12:44.pretty good news today. Tim Farron, can we find some positives? Your

:12:45. > :12:46.party were very keen to see more investment in health and social care

:12:47. > :12:50.and quite a lot of money coming forward for social care. Do you

:12:51. > :12:55.think the government finally thinks this is an area that needs tackling?

:12:56. > :12:59.?2 billion sounded good until he said it was over three years, we

:13:00. > :13:02.need something like 4 billion every year as a minimum so it is a poor

:13:03. > :13:09.but it is a reminder of what limited room for manoeuvre he has got. As

:13:10. > :13:16.Douglas pointed out, we are at the mercy

:13:17. > :13:19.powerful market which is the 120 miles away across the Channel. I'd

:13:20. > :13:23.rather not fight the referendum but I'm happy to. What this Budget

:13:24. > :13:26.really tells us is that the significant economic decisions will

:13:27. > :13:30.be taken in about six months' time. This very big decisions on business

:13:31. > :13:34.rates, the fact there is no substantive answer to the big

:13:35. > :13:39.question, how we fund social care, I think, in a sense, this Budget kicks

:13:40. > :13:43.things into touch to be deferred in six months' time. Isn't that partly

:13:44. > :13:46.because we are now heading into an autumn Budget as well? There is

:13:47. > :13:50.great uncertainty as well. The point about growth is significant and the

:13:51. > :13:59.growth we have, which is modest but it's there, is based almost entirely

:14:00. > :14:01.on consumer spending and the great fear about that is, as inflation

:14:02. > :14:04.goes up, which is predicted, we have all seen petrol prices go up by 15%

:14:05. > :14:06.over the last six to 12 months, those kind of things stop people

:14:07. > :14:09.spending money and if your entire economy is based on consumer

:14:10. > :14:13.spending, you are in trouble which is why he needed to invest for the

:14:14. > :14:16.long-term and he has not done that. Is there some better news much

:14:17. > :14:19.longer term, looking at the education announcements, T-levels, a

:14:20. > :14:23.lot of rhetoric about making Britain fighting fit for the future, I mean,

:14:24. > :14:25.a recognition that vocational a recognition that vocational

:14:26. > :14:30.qualifications are worthy and imported is a good thing? Important,

:14:31. > :14:34.and to blur the line between vocational and academic education is

:14:35. > :14:38.a long sought call that I share with the Chancellor. The problem we have

:14:39. > :14:40.in all of this is that it is new gimmickry, new words and slogans

:14:41. > :14:43.that don't mean much different to what we have had in the past,

:14:44. > :14:47.replacing qualifications that already have a good brand

:14:48. > :14:55.recognition with employers, for instance. The real issue, if you

:14:56. > :14:58.about money, 3 billion will be lost about money, 3 billion will be lost

:14:59. > :15:01.funding and give them a third of the funding and give them a third of the

:15:02. > :15:05.Berlin to pet projects like grammar schools to free schools, whether you

:15:06. > :15:07.agree with them a lot, it is a diversion from the real problem

:15:08. > :15:15.which is giving teachers the tools they need to teach our kids.

:15:16. > :15:20.Isn't it about diversification? Isn't it about saying stem topics

:15:21. > :15:24.are very important, we need to get more children interested in that,

:15:25. > :15:30.particularly girls on International Women's Day, and to make Britain a

:15:31. > :15:33.modern, forward-looking country? Vocational education is critically

:15:34. > :15:37.important, and that intent within this Budget is that we should

:15:38. > :15:41.welcome that, but the detail is worrying, some of it. The money is

:15:42. > :15:50.going to the pet projects, the crazy thing is that some wonk in the DfE

:15:51. > :15:58.has dreamt up, and now every teacher has to live with it. Just a pet

:15:59. > :16:01.project, the approach to education? In my constituency, the Government

:16:02. > :16:04.managed to spend ?3 million on a Bradley is cool that they closed

:16:05. > :16:11.after three years. Spending more money differently is very welcome.

:16:12. > :16:15.-- on a brand-new school. We need to make sure these reforms don't just

:16:16. > :16:20.improve education in some of the better off parts of London. Douglas

:16:21. > :16:29.Carswell, Tim Farron, thanks very much for joining us. Much more from

:16:30. > :16:32.a very noisy College Green to come. Quite noisy at there, we heard the

:16:33. > :16:38.guests loud and clear, thank you very much. We will be talking to the

:16:39. > :16:42.SNP in just a moment, but I thought I would take you through some of the

:16:43. > :16:47.figures to do with precise duties on tobacco and alcohol, because they

:16:48. > :16:51.were not specified in the budget speech. Why don't we take you

:16:52. > :16:56.through them? By the way, it is also important to underline that some of

:16:57. > :16:58.these changes were put in place in 2014, so they are just coming

:16:59. > :17:04.through the system now much they were not all announced in one go

:17:05. > :17:09.today. But, for example, a packet of 20 cigarettes will cost 35p more

:17:10. > :17:16.from 6pm this evening, as a result of changes in the Budget. It will

:17:17. > :17:24.cost, actually, the changes that were put in place in 2014, those are

:17:25. > :17:27.still coming through. It will cost 42p for a 30 grams packet of

:17:28. > :17:35.hand-rolling tobacco. A pint of beer will cost 2p more from Monday, and

:17:36. > :17:48.other changes to duty on our colour coming through. A bottle of whisky,

:17:49. > :17:51.36 sense the Mike -- 36p more. Those changes coming through from Monday.

:17:52. > :17:57.Not all of those are measures that were announced today, some were

:17:58. > :18:01.brought in two years ago. I will go straight to the Houses of

:18:02. > :18:05.Parliament, we are joined by the SNP's Roger Mullin, thank you for

:18:06. > :18:09.joining us, congratulations on the best tie in the House of Commons

:18:10. > :18:14.today, no question about that! Thank you very much indeed! Why don't I

:18:15. > :18:19.ask you first, Roger, what is your main take on the Budget today? We

:18:20. > :18:23.had the announcement on extra money for the Scottish Government. My main

:18:24. > :18:28.take is the Chancellor is living in a parallel universe. How on earth

:18:29. > :18:31.anyone can talk about the Budget for an hour and not mention the biggest

:18:32. > :18:36.challenges facing the UK is beyond me, no mention of Brexit, no mention

:18:37. > :18:41.of how he will fill the gap in the loss of revenues in agriculture or

:18:42. > :18:45.the university sector. And doing absolutely nothing to tackle the

:18:46. > :18:50.problem of austerity on the one hand, which the Government has

:18:51. > :18:53.chosen, and the squeezing of savings of pensioners and the like on the

:18:54. > :18:57.other hand, created by the Bank of England policies. So in every major

:18:58. > :19:04.issue, he failed to comment. Given that he outlined the nature of the

:19:05. > :19:07.debt that the UK is an two, and continues to be an two, did you

:19:08. > :19:20.really think he had the leeway to address those problems? -- be under.

:19:21. > :19:24.He has to address the issues of leaving the European Union, because

:19:25. > :19:28.he keeps telling us we are leaving the European Union, and I have

:19:29. > :19:32.looked at some of the documents accompanying the speech, and his

:19:33. > :19:36.assumptions are wholly flawed, parallel straight lines, her weight

:19:37. > :19:38.of them saying, we don't know how to plan for the future, therefore we

:19:39. > :19:48.are doing nothing about facing the challenges of Brexit. -- a way. I

:19:49. > :19:53.think this is a deeply worrying Budget, deeply worrying as we are

:19:54. > :19:58.about to trigger Article 50 and get negotiations started to exit. He did

:19:59. > :20:02.mention North Sea oil and gas, he talked about tapering revenue from

:20:03. > :20:06.there. I'm just wondering, in the light of that, do you agree with

:20:07. > :20:10.some of your own colleagues in the SNP who think that your economic

:20:11. > :20:13.case for independence should no longer include oil revenues because

:20:14. > :20:21.of the fact that they have dipped so significantly? I think what the

:20:22. > :20:27.argument is, looking at the future, we can base our economy very

:20:28. > :20:32.strongly, the whole breadth of the economy, and I'll is, in that sense,

:20:33. > :20:35.a bonus. I think there has been a bit of misrepresentation. I have no

:20:36. > :20:42.problem with looking to the future and making sure the revenues from

:20:43. > :20:47.oil properly husbanded for the first time. Correct me if I am wrong, I

:20:48. > :20:52.think Andrew Wilson said that making oil numbers a central place in 2014

:20:53. > :20:56.was a mistake, so do you agree with that? The logic would be that you

:20:57. > :21:02.move away when you make a case in future. I prefer to look to the

:21:03. > :21:06.future, I don't share Andrew's interpretation of 2014, but that is

:21:07. > :21:08.immaterial, what and who myself think about that. What is

:21:09. > :21:12.is how we build the future, and we is how we build the future, and we

:21:13. > :21:18.want to create a future for Scotland that is built on growth in across

:21:19. > :21:20.the whole breadth of the economy. the whole breadth of the economy.

:21:21. > :21:24.That is the really important message. So a case for independence,

:21:25. > :21:28.whenever it comes again, we'll have to partly depend on the whole

:21:29. > :21:35.question of oil revenues, as it did in 2014? -- will have to. It will

:21:36. > :21:38.have to depend on the entire Scottish economy, it would be

:21:39. > :21:43.foolish to say otherwise. There are so money facets to it, it is

:21:44. > :21:47.changing so fast, we have one of the fastest-growing new technology

:21:48. > :21:51.sectors in Europe, so many riches in terms of whisky, which I see they

:21:52. > :21:56.are bumping up duty on again today. So there is such strength across the

:21:57. > :22:02.economy, to focus only on one aspect would not be sensible, would not be

:22:03. > :22:05.in Scotland's interest. You mention the big Brexit issue clearly, and

:22:06. > :22:11.there was some kind of mention right at the start, but you are right,

:22:12. > :22:14.Roger, it didn't feature later on. In the context of Brexit, given that

:22:15. > :22:19.your party conferences happening very soon, when can we expect a more

:22:20. > :22:24.clear signal, if you like, from Nicola Sturgeon and from your other

:22:25. > :22:29.colleagues about your plans in terms of revisiting the whole independence

:22:30. > :22:33.issue? It depends on two things, Huw, when Article 50 is going to be

:22:34. > :22:39.would be foolish to make any would be foolish to make any

:22:40. > :22:42.definitive comment until after that period. Secondly, it crucially

:22:43. > :22:47.the UK Government to the Scottish the UK Government to the Scottish

:22:48. > :22:51.Government's proposals of last year. We know neither of those things, so

:22:52. > :22:57.it would be sensible to wait until we get both of those points resolved

:22:58. > :23:00.before we make a final decision. I heard one minister recently saying,

:23:01. > :23:04.a Westminster ministers saying that it would make no sense to have an

:23:05. > :23:09.independence referendum until you saw the shape of the final Brexit

:23:10. > :23:13.deal, which of course is 2019 or thereabouts. What is your thought on

:23:14. > :23:18.that? We are going to have to see the final deal 18 months in, because

:23:19. > :23:21.it is a six-month period for the deal to be approved by all the

:23:22. > :23:26.countries in Europe, and it is going to be in the public domain. We will

:23:27. > :23:30.know in about 18 months what the shape of the exiting deal is going

:23:31. > :23:34.to be, so it won't take the full two years for that. Secondly, we are

:23:35. > :23:38.going to get information as things come along, we are going to have to

:23:39. > :23:42.keep other institutions informed, like the Council of Ministers. I

:23:43. > :23:46.think we will have a very good sense of where the UK is going, we will

:23:47. > :23:50.begin to get that within a few months of the triggering of Article

:23:51. > :23:56.50. Let's talk about the other sense, your sense of where public

:23:57. > :24:01.opinion is moving in Scotland right now, what is your sense of that?

:24:02. > :24:05.Well, I can only judge it on two things, the most recent poll that I

:24:06. > :24:12.am aware of suggested 49% would vote yes, a big improvement on when Alex

:24:13. > :24:15.Salmond triggered the last election referendum, 28% yes at that time.

:24:16. > :24:20.The second thing is what is happening on the ground. My view on

:24:21. > :24:24.the ground is that there is an expectation that there has got to be

:24:25. > :24:30.a change. And in the future. Whether that change is the UK Government

:24:31. > :24:35.allowing us to stay in the single market, or whether we move towards

:24:36. > :24:39.an independence referendum, in some senses, that is in the choosing of

:24:40. > :24:44.the UK Government. Will they man up and give us a bespoke deal? Very

:24:45. > :24:53.interesting, as ever, Roger, thank you very much for joining us. Roger

:24:54. > :24:56.Mullin is of the SNP giving us is responses to the Budget and the big

:24:57. > :25:03.question of if and when the First Minister will come forward with a

:25:04. > :25:10.second independence referendum. It is a good moment to go back to Hull

:25:11. > :25:15.and joint Jo. Yes, Huw, you know how much

:25:16. > :25:21.politicians love to Don hard hats and high-vis jackets. Well, that is

:25:22. > :25:24.exactly what these ladies here are packaging up for distribution.

:25:25. > :25:28.Safety equipment and protective clothing. This is a company that has

:25:29. > :25:33.been in the same family for four generations. It is a success story

:25:34. > :25:38.in Hull, it employs about a dividend 50 people. We have talked already to

:25:39. > :25:44.the managing director, let's find out what other people in the area

:25:45. > :25:49.think to Philip Hammond's statement. Jo is a cafe owner, Darren is the

:25:50. > :25:54.deputy leader of Hull City Council. One of the big issues that was going

:25:55. > :25:58.to come up in this statement, this Budget, was social care and the

:25:59. > :26:01.pressures on it. For a council like yours, were you relieved to hear

:26:02. > :26:08.there will be a cash injection? We were relieved partly, the sector has

:26:09. > :26:13.lost ?4.6 billion, so the idea of putting 1 billion back in next year

:26:14. > :26:18.is welcome, but it is not enough, and whilst we welcome that, we look

:26:19. > :26:21.forward to the green paper that they are talking about, because there

:26:22. > :26:26.needs to be urgent reform for adult social care. As we know, when adult

:26:27. > :26:32.social care sneezes, the whole NHS catches a cold, and it is important

:26:33. > :26:36.that we recognise that most of the precepts of those councils up and

:26:37. > :26:39.down the land has only just said the increases in the living wage. We

:26:40. > :26:43.need new money for health and social care to replace the money taken out

:26:44. > :26:47.in the last five years. So you are waiting to hear about the long-term

:26:48. > :26:52.solutions, the proposals being put forward by the Government. As a

:26:53. > :26:56.local business, Hull is UK City of Culture, that must be good for

:26:57. > :27:04.business. Definitely, it is uplifting. It is good, people are

:27:05. > :27:07.more positive, the business is doing well. Will that be enough to offset

:27:08. > :27:09.the rise in the national living wage? That is something that was

:27:10. > :27:15.announced in the autumn but will come into force next month. The good

:27:16. > :27:17.news about business rates will help offset that, and the business doing

:27:18. > :27:22.so well will obviously be a good thing as well. We may have to

:27:23. > :27:28.increase prices, hopefully not much. I employ ten people. Are you

:27:29. > :27:32.thinking of expanding? Not in the near future. What about information?

:27:33. > :27:38.The projection is it will go up to about 2.4%, the highest it has been

:27:39. > :27:41.in quite a while, what impact does that have? We will have to increase

:27:42. > :27:46.prices in line with that, because otherwise we will not make any

:27:47. > :27:52.money, basically! So it will make quite a difference. What about other

:27:53. > :27:54.money coming into Hull? There was an announcement on broadband, 90

:27:55. > :27:59.million going into the Northern Powerhouse in terms of transport,

:28:00. > :28:03.that must be welcomed. Yes, but it is a bit timid, really, because we

:28:04. > :28:08.as a council have invested ?70 million in the infrastructure of the

:28:09. > :28:12.city, and businesses have invested about ?1 billion. In that

:28:13. > :28:16.perspective, it is a very small amount nationally. What we need to

:28:17. > :28:20.do is see real evidence on the ground. There is not even

:28:21. > :28:25.electrified rail between Hull and Selby, that has to be a priority,

:28:26. > :28:28.because if the Chancellor is serious about productivity, electrified

:28:29. > :28:31.trail between Hull and Selby, connecting our railways to the rest

:28:32. > :28:36.of the country, is a must for this area. I wanted to see less timid

:28:37. > :28:42.capital investment, because the time to invest in infrastructure is

:28:43. > :28:44.during a recession. What about the issue of self-employed people?

:28:45. > :28:48.National insurance contributions going up, maybe a breach of a

:28:49. > :28:55.manifesto commitment, will that affect you or people you know? Some

:28:56. > :28:58.people I know, yes, definitely. I am employed by my company, so I pay

:28:59. > :29:04.national insurance like anybody else does. A lot of people will be

:29:05. > :29:09.affected. Amongst your friends, your family, are they mainly self

:29:10. > :29:17.employed? Are people working for themselves? Half and half. So barely

:29:18. > :29:21.evenly split? What about UK City of Culture, good news all round?

:29:22. > :29:24.in the first few weeks, and people in the first few weeks, and people

:29:25. > :29:30.are talking about Hull for all the right reasons, and on the BBC

:29:31. > :29:36.weather map every night! People know where it is, come and visit. A

:29:37. > :29:40.positive on the BBC Weather map! There are issues coming into force

:29:41. > :29:45.from a personal finance perspective, we can go to Ruth Alexander.

:29:46. > :29:51.We have had some questions from the audience. Robert asks what the

:29:52. > :29:54.government is doing to encourage people to save? Something the

:29:55. > :29:58.Chancellor mentioned and something he has previously announced was the

:29:59. > :30:04.national savings bond where you will be able to save up to ?3000 per year

:30:05. > :30:07.and get 2.2% on it. Interest rates are not high so it does not sound

:30:08. > :30:13.that great, though. Valerie wants to know, what about increases in petrol

:30:14. > :30:16.and beer and spirits? Fuel duty will remain frozen for the seventh year

:30:17. > :30:21.in a row and alcohol duty will rise by inflation from Monday, so about

:30:22. > :30:26.2p on a pint of beer and about 30p on a litre of whiskey. We would love

:30:27. > :30:32.to hear more of your question so get in touch, text 61124, e-mail us at

:30:33. > :30:42.HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk or tweet us. Thank you very much to Ruth and Jo

:30:43. > :30:47.Coburn and we will be back in Hull in a short while. The time is one

:30:48. > :30:50.minute past three and this is the point at which we say goodbye to

:30:51. > :30:53.viewers on the BBC News channel but I will see you at 5pm, hopefully.

:30:54. > :30:55.Thank you for joining us and