Live Budget 2017

:00:07. > :00:12.Before I call the Chancellor of the Exchequer I remind all members that

:00:13. > :00:17.copies of the budget resolutions will be available in the office at

:00:18. > :00:23.the end of the Chancellor's speech. I also remind honourable members it

:00:24. > :00:32.is not the norm to intervene on the Chancellor of the Exchequer or the

:00:33. > :00:34.Leader of the Opposition. I know call the Chancellor of the

:00:35. > :00:42.Exchequer, the Right Honourable Philip Hammond. Thank you, Mr Deputy

:00:43. > :00:46.Speaker. I report today on an economy that has continued to

:00:47. > :00:50.confound the commentators with robust growth Labour market

:00:51. > :00:54.delivering record employment and a deficit down by over two thirds. As

:00:55. > :01:00.we start our negotiations to exit the EU, this budget takes for our

:01:01. > :01:05.plan to prepare Britain for a brighter future. It provides a

:01:06. > :01:10.strong and stable platform for those negotiations. It extends opportunity

:01:11. > :01:14.to all our young people, it further investment in our public services

:01:15. > :01:20.and it continues the task of getting Britain back to living within its

:01:21. > :01:24.means. We are building the foundations of a stronger, fairer,

:01:25. > :01:30.more global Britain. Mr Deputy Speaker, as the house knows, this

:01:31. > :01:33.will be the last Spring Budget. The Treasury has helpfully reminded me I

:01:34. > :01:40.am not the first Chancellor to announce the last Spring Budget. 24

:01:41. > :01:45.years ago Norman Lamont also presented what was billed then as

:01:46. > :01:50.the last Spring Budget. He reported on an economy growing faster than

:01:51. > :01:56.any other in the G7, and he committed to continued restraint in

:01:57. > :01:59.public spending. The then Prime Minister described it as the right

:02:00. > :02:05.budget at the right time from the right Chancellor. What they failed

:02:06. > :02:10.to remind me, Mr Deputy Speaker, is that ten weeks later he was sacked,

:02:11. > :02:13.so wish me luck today. LAUGHTER

:02:14. > :02:16.Mr Deputy Speaker, last year the British economy grew faster than the

:02:17. > :02:21.United States, faster than Japan, faster than France. Indeed, amongst

:02:22. > :02:28.the major advanced economies, Britain's economic growth in 2016

:02:29. > :02:33.was second only to Germany. Employment is at a record high and

:02:34. > :02:37.unemployment is at an 11 year low, with over 2.7 million people

:02:38. > :02:43.enjoying the security and dignity of work than in 2010, and very far cry

:02:44. > :02:50.from the 3 million unemployed predicted by the party opposite. I

:02:51. > :02:54.am pleased to report, Mr Deputy Speaker, on International Women's

:02:55. > :02:57.Day, that there is now a higher proportion of women in the workforce

:02:58. > :03:01.than ever before. I am even more pleased to report, as my right

:03:02. > :03:04.honourable friend the Prime Minister has remarked, since February the

:03:05. > :03:10.23rd there is a higher proportion of women in work in the parliamentary

:03:11. > :03:13.Conservative Party. But, Mr Deputy Speaker, there is no room for

:03:14. > :03:19.complacency and you will not find any on these benches. As we prepare

:03:20. > :03:24.for our future outside the EU, we cannot rest on our past

:03:25. > :03:27.achievements. We must focus relentlessly on keeping Britain at

:03:28. > :03:31.the cutting edge of the global economy. The deficit is done, but

:03:32. > :03:38.debt is still too high. Employment is up, but productivity remains

:03:39. > :03:41.stubbornly low. Too many of our young people are leaving formal

:03:42. > :03:45.education without the skills they need for today's labour market, and

:03:46. > :03:52.too many families are still feeling the squeeze. Almost a decade after

:03:53. > :03:58.the crash. So our job is not done. Our task today is to take the next

:03:59. > :04:01.steps in preparing Britain for a global future, to equip our young

:04:02. > :04:06.people with the skills they need to support our public services and to

:04:07. > :04:16.help ordinary working families as we build an economy that works for

:04:17. > :04:18.everyone. Mr Deputy Speaker, I thank the Office for Budget Responsibility

:04:19. > :04:22.for their report today and let me also take this opportunity to thank

:04:23. > :04:27.my right honourable friend the Chief Secretary and my ministerial team,

:04:28. > :04:30.who really are the unsung heroes of the Budget, doing much of the heavy

:04:31. > :04:37.lifting over the last few weeks, and of course my excellent PPS, the

:04:38. > :04:44.Right Honourable member for Salisbury. I turn now, Mr Deputy

:04:45. > :04:52.Speaker, to the OBR forecast, the spreadsheet bit, but bear with me

:04:53. > :04:58.because I have a reputation... OBR forecast the level of GDP in 2021 to

:04:59. > :05:02.be broadly the same as the Autumn Statement, however the path by which

:05:03. > :05:08.we get there has changed. Reflecting the recent strength in the economy,

:05:09. > :05:14.the OBR has upgraded its forecast for growth for next year from 1.4%

:05:15. > :05:27.to 2% and, Mr Deputy Speaker, I do not see too many people on the

:05:28. > :05:34.Opposition front bench doing this. In 2018-19 growth is forecast to

:05:35. > :05:42.slow the 1.6% before picking up the 1.7%, then 1.9%, returning to 2% in

:05:43. > :05:48.2021. Resilience in the economy is reflected in a strong labour market.

:05:49. > :05:56.Since 2010 the employment rate has risen from 70.2 to 74.6 with

:05:57. > :06:00.positive news for all parts of the United Kingdom. Unemployment has

:06:01. > :06:03.fallen fastest in Yorkshire and Humber and Wales, and wages have

:06:04. > :06:09.gone fastest in Northern Ireland. Productivity has grown fastest in

:06:10. > :06:13.Scotland and the North East. This positive trend is set to continue

:06:14. > :06:17.over the forecast period. The number of people in employment is set to

:06:18. > :06:28.grow in every year with a further two thirds of a million people in

:06:29. > :06:34.work by 2021. The OBR forecast inflation at 2.3% next year and 2%

:06:35. > :06:39.in 2019. Most importantly, Mr Deputy Speaker, despite higher than target

:06:40. > :06:46.inflation, real wages continue to rise in every year of the forecast.

:06:47. > :06:51.Mr Deputy Speaker, whilst the economic forecasts are broadly

:06:52. > :06:55.unchanged since the autumn, the OBR has substantially revised down its

:06:56. > :06:59.short-term forecast of public sector net borrowing. The OBR attributes

:07:00. > :07:05.this change to a number of one-off factors that they do not expect to

:07:06. > :07:11.reap the structural change over the forecast period. Combining these

:07:12. > :07:16.factors with a higher than forecast growth, and taking into account

:07:17. > :07:23.measures I shall announce today, the OBR no forecast borrowing in 2016-17

:07:24. > :07:34.to be lower than forecast in the autumn, at ?51.7 billion. Then ?58.3

:07:35. > :07:50.billion, 40.8 billion pounds in 18-19, opted finally -- all law than

:07:51. > :07:59.forecast at Autumn statements. Overall the percentage of GDP is

:08:00. > :08:03.expected to fall from -- 3.8% last year. For those who care about such

:08:04. > :08:07.things this means we are forecast to meet our 3% EU stability and growth

:08:08. > :08:14.pact target this year for the first time in most the decade. But I will

:08:15. > :08:17.not hold my breath, Mr Deputy Speaker, for my congratulatory

:08:18. > :08:24.letter from Jean-Claude Juncker. Borrowing is then forecast to be

:08:25. > :08:33.2.9% in 17-18 then the fault of the remainder of the parliament to 1.9%

:08:34. > :08:42.in 18-19, then 1% and 0.9%, before reaching 0.7% of GDP in 21-22, its

:08:43. > :08:47.lowest level in two decades. The OBR expects cyclically adjusted public

:08:48. > :08:54.sector net borrowing to be 0.9% in 2020-21, giving us ?26 billion of

:08:55. > :08:57.headroom against the headline 2% target in our new fiscal rules,

:08:58. > :09:04.maintaining our fiscal resilience of the period. The OBR's forecast of

:09:05. > :09:09.lower near-term borrowing coupled with recent strength in the economy

:09:10. > :09:15.means lower debt across the period. The OBR no forecasts debt will rise

:09:16. > :09:21.to 86.6% this year, before peaking at 88.8% next year. 1.4 percentage

:09:22. > :09:30.points lower than forecast in the autumn. It then falls in 2018-19 for

:09:31. > :09:46.the first time since 2001- 02, then continues to decline to 86.9% in 18

:09:47. > :09:50.have to have -- in 19-20. Mr Deputy Speaker, at the Autumn Statement, I

:09:51. > :09:54.set out our plan to return the public finances the balance in the

:09:55. > :09:58.next Parliament. It planned that is now underpinned by our new fiscal

:09:59. > :10:03.rules. That plan strikes the right balance between reducing our

:10:04. > :10:08.deficit, preserving fiscal flexibility and investing in

:10:09. > :10:12.Britain's future. Some have argued that lower borrowing this year makes

:10:13. > :10:20.a case for more unfunded spending in the future. I disagree. Britain has

:10:21. > :10:27.a debt of nearly ?1.7 trillion. That is almost ?62,000 for every

:10:28. > :10:36.household in the country. Each year, we are spending ?50 billion on debt

:10:37. > :10:38.interest, more than we spend on defence and policing combined.

:10:39. > :10:47.Borrowing over the forecast period is still set to be ?100 billion

:10:48. > :10:55.higher than predicted at Budget 2016. The only responsible course of

:10:56. > :10:56.action is to continue with our plan, undeterred by any short-term

:10:57. > :11:09.fluctuations and undistracted... Undistracted by the racist policies

:11:10. > :11:15.advanced by the opposition. -- by the policies. We on this side will

:11:16. > :11:26.not saddle our children with ever increasing debt.

:11:27. > :11:29.CHEERING AND JEERING. Mr deputy is bigger, I think

:11:30. > :11:34.honourable members opposite may need to have a word with their own front

:11:35. > :11:41.bench, which proposes borrowing another half ?1 trillion to saddle

:11:42. > :11:50.our children and Burton their futures. -- and to burden. The

:11:51. > :11:53.budget I set out today will again fund all funding -- spending

:11:54. > :11:59.decisions over the forecast period. A strong economy needs a fair,

:12:00. > :12:02.stable and competitive tax system, creating the growth that will

:12:03. > :12:07.underpin our future prosperity. My ambition is for the UK to be the

:12:08. > :12:10.best place in the world to start and to grow a business. Under the last

:12:11. > :12:15.Labour government, corporation was 28% and, by the way, they don't call

:12:16. > :12:24.it the last Labour government for nothing.

:12:25. > :12:34.JEERING. From April this year, it will fall

:12:35. > :12:41.to 19%, the lowest rate in the G20. In 2020, it will fall again to 17%,

:12:42. > :12:45.sending the clearest possible signal that Britain is open for business.

:12:46. > :12:51.Mr deputy Speaker, I am listening to the voice of business. As I

:12:52. > :12:58.committed the Autumn Statement, we have reviewed with business our RNC

:12:59. > :13:01.tax credit, the one place where I'm not going to hear the voice of

:13:02. > :13:13.business is from the benches opposite. I committed at the Autumn

:13:14. > :13:16.Statement to review with business our R tax regime. We have done so

:13:17. > :13:21.and concluded it is globally committed that to make the UK even

:13:22. > :13:24.more attractive for R we have accepted industry calls for a

:13:25. > :13:26.reduction in administrative burdens around the scheme and we will

:13:27. > :13:32.shortly bring forward measures to deliver them. In a digital age, it

:13:33. > :13:37.is right that we developed a digital tax system but, in response to

:13:38. > :13:40.concerns about the timetable expressed by business organisations

:13:41. > :13:43.and by several of my right honourable friends, including

:13:44. > :13:50.Treasury to collect -- chairman of the Treasury select committee, I

:13:51. > :13:53.have decided that for businesses below the VAT threshold, I will

:13:54. > :13:59.delay by one year the introduction of quarterly reporting, at a cost to

:14:00. > :14:03.the Exchequer of ?280 million. I have also heard the calls by North

:14:04. > :14:08.Sea oil and gas producers and the Scottish Government to provide

:14:09. > :14:14.further support for the transfer of late life assets. As UK oil and gas

:14:15. > :14:16.production declines, it is absolutely essential that we

:14:17. > :14:20.maximise exploitation of remaining reserves, so we will publish a

:14:21. > :14:26.formal discussion paper on the options in due course. There is one

:14:27. > :14:30.further area in which I can announce action to back British businesses.

:14:31. > :14:34.My right honourable friend, the Communities Secretary, and I, have

:14:35. > :14:39.listened to the concerns raised by colleagues in this house and by

:14:40. > :14:44.businesses about the effects of the 2017 business rates re-evaluation.

:14:45. > :14:50.Business rates raised ?25 billion per year, all of which by 2020 will

:14:51. > :14:53.be going to fund local government, so we cannot abolish them, as some

:14:54. > :14:59.have suggested, but it is certainly true in the medium-term that we have

:15:00. > :15:04.to find a better way of taxing the digital way of the economy, the part

:15:05. > :15:11.that doesn't use X and mortar. In the meantime, there is scope to

:15:12. > :15:14.reform the evaluation process, you can get smoother and more frequent

:15:15. > :15:18.to avoid the dramatic increases the present system can deliver. We will

:15:19. > :15:21.set out our preferred approach in due course and we will consult on it

:15:22. > :15:34.before the next re-evaluation is due. The re-evaluation itself is

:15:35. > :15:37.bylaw fiscally neutral, and of this re-evaluation of the government

:15:38. > :15:41.committed to a package of cuts to business rates now worth nearly ?9

:15:42. > :15:49.million, permanently doubling the of small business relate -- small

:15:50. > :15:55.business relief rate... Re-evaluation has undoubtedly raised

:15:56. > :16:03.hard cases. Especially for those businesses coming out of small

:16:04. > :16:06.business rate relief. So today, as I promised, I addressed those concerns

:16:07. > :16:11.with three measures which apply to the national business rate system

:16:12. > :16:14.for England. First, any business coming out of small business rate

:16:15. > :16:19.relief will benefit from an additional cap. No business losing

:16:20. > :16:24.small business rate relief will see their bill increasing next year by

:16:25. > :16:30.more than ?50 per month, and the subsequent increases will be capped

:16:31. > :16:34.at either the transitional relief cap or ?50 per month, whichever is

:16:35. > :16:40.higher. Second, recognising the valuable role that local clubs play

:16:41. > :16:48.in our communities, I will provide a ?1000 discount on business rates

:16:49. > :16:53.bills in 2017 for all clubs with a rateable value of less than

:16:54. > :16:59.?100,000, that is 90% of all pubs in England. Third, on top of these

:17:00. > :17:04.measures, I will provide local authorities with a ?300 million fund

:17:05. > :17:10.to deliver discretionary relief to target individual hard cases in

:17:11. > :17:14.their local areas. This fund will be allocated to local authorities by a

:17:15. > :17:26.formula. The Communities Secretary will set out details in due course.

:17:27. > :17:35.JEERING. Taken together, Mr deputy speaker,

:17:36. > :17:40.this is a further ?430 billion cut in business rates, targeted at those

:17:41. > :17:43.small businesses facing the biggest increases, protecting our pubs and

:17:44. > :17:46.giving local authorities the resource to respond flexibly to

:17:47. > :17:52.local circumstances. Just as a strong economy requires a tax system

:17:53. > :17:57.that is competitive, a strong society requires one that is fair,

:17:58. > :18:01.and because I have committed to funding my spending decisions in

:18:02. > :18:08.this budget, rather than borrowing more, I make no apology for raising

:18:09. > :18:13.additional revenues and for doing so in ways which enhance the fairness

:18:14. > :18:20.of the system. First and foremost, that means collecting the taxes that

:18:21. > :18:22.are due. Since 2010 we have secured ?140 billion in additional tax

:18:23. > :18:26.revenue by taking robust action to tackle avoidance, evasion and

:18:27. > :18:31.noncompliance. These actions have helped the UK to achieve one of the

:18:32. > :18:36.lowest tax gaps in the world, but there is more that we can do. In

:18:37. > :18:40.this budget, we set out further actions to stop businesses from

:18:41. > :18:44.converting capital losses into trading losses, to tackle abuse of

:18:45. > :18:49.foreign pension schemes, to introduce UK VAT on roaming telecoms

:18:50. > :18:53.outside the EU, in line with international standard practice, and

:18:54. > :18:58.from July we will introduce a tough new financial penalty for

:18:59. > :19:01.professionals who enable a tax avoidance arrangement that is later

:19:02. > :19:08.defeated by HMRC. Taken together, these measures will raise ?820

:19:09. > :19:13.million over the forecast period. Mr deputy speaker, as well as

:19:14. > :19:18.collecting taxes that are due, a fair system ensures that those with

:19:19. > :19:25.the broadest shoulders bear the heaviest burden. As a result of the

:19:26. > :19:31.changes we have made since 2010, the top 1% income tax payers now pay 27%

:19:32. > :19:37.of all income tax, a higher proportion than in any year under

:19:38. > :19:46.the last Labour government. But a fair system will also ensure

:19:47. > :19:49.fairness between individuals, so that people doing similar work for

:19:50. > :19:54.similar wages and enjoying similar state benefits paid similar levels

:19:55. > :20:00.of tax. As our economy, responding to the challenges of globalisation,

:20:01. > :20:04.shifting demographics and the emergence of new technologies, we

:20:05. > :20:06.have seen a dramatic increase in the number of people working as

:20:07. > :20:11.self-employed or through their own companies. Many of our most highly

:20:12. > :20:15.paid professionals work through limited liability partnerships and

:20:16. > :20:18.are treated as self employed. There are many good reasons for choosing

:20:19. > :20:25.to be self-employed or working through a company. Indeed, I have

:20:26. > :20:29.done both in my time. And I will always encourage and support the

:20:30. > :20:35.entrepreneurs and innovators who are the lifeblood of our economy. People

:20:36. > :20:38.should have choices about how they work, but those choices should not

:20:39. > :20:44.be driven primarily by differences in tax treatment. My right

:20:45. > :20:48.honourable friend, the Prime Minister, has asked Matthew Taylor,

:20:49. > :20:51.chief executive of the RSA, to consider the wider implications of

:20:52. > :20:56.different employment practices, and I look forward to his final report

:20:57. > :21:00.in the summer, and I am grateful to him for sharing his preliminary

:21:01. > :21:04.thoughts. He is clear that differences in tax treatment of a

:21:05. > :21:07.key driver behind the trends we are observing, a conclusion shared by

:21:08. > :21:17.the IFS and the Resolution Foundation. An employee earning 20

:21:18. > :21:20.and ?32,000 will incur between him and his employer ?6,170 of national

:21:21. > :21:26.insurance contributions. A self-employed person earning the

:21:27. > :21:34.equivalent amount will pay just ?2300, significantly less than half

:21:35. > :21:37.as much. Historically, the differences in NICs between those in

:21:38. > :21:40.employment and the self-employed reflected differences in state

:21:41. > :21:44.pension entitlement and contributory welfare benefits but, with the

:21:45. > :21:49.introduction of the new state pension last year, these differences

:21:50. > :21:54.have been very substantially reduced. Self-employed workers now

:21:55. > :21:58.build up the same entitlement to the state pension as employees, a big

:21:59. > :22:03.pension boost for the self employed. The most significant remaining area

:22:04. > :22:07.of difference is in relation to parental benefits, and I can

:22:08. > :22:12.announce today that we will consult in the summer on options to address

:22:13. > :22:17.the disparities in this area, as the FSB and others have proposed. The

:22:18. > :22:23.difference in national insurance contributions is no longer justified

:22:24. > :22:28.by the difference in benefit entitlements. Such dramatically

:22:29. > :22:32.different treatment of two people owning essentially the same

:22:33. > :22:37.undermines the fairness of our tax system. Employed and self-employed

:22:38. > :22:42.alike use our public services in the same way, but they are not paying

:22:43. > :22:45.for them in the same way. The lower national insurance paid by the

:22:46. > :22:53.self-employed is forecast to cost our public finance... This year

:22:54. > :23:03.alone. This is not fair to the 85% of workers who are employees. The

:23:04. > :23:07.abolition of class to NIX for self-employed people, announced in

:23:08. > :23:11.2016 and due to take effect in 2018, would further increase the gap

:23:12. > :23:15.between employment and self-employment. To be able to

:23:16. > :23:19.support our public services in this budget, and to improve the fairness

:23:20. > :23:25.of the tax system, I will act to reduce the gap to better reflect

:23:26. > :23:29.current differences in state benefits. I have considered the

:23:30. > :23:36.possibility of simply reversing the decision to abolish class to

:23:37. > :23:40.contributions, but the class to NIC is regressive and outdated and it is

:23:41. > :23:48.right that it should go. Instead, from April 2018, when the class two

:23:49. > :23:51.NICs is abolished, the main rate of class four NICs for this "Will

:23:52. > :23:59.increase to 10%, with a further increase in 2018. The confirmation

:24:00. > :24:05.of the abolition of class two and the class four increases I have

:24:06. > :24:10.announced today raises a net ?145 million per year for our public

:24:11. > :24:15.services by 2021-22. That is an average of around 60p per week per

:24:16. > :24:22.self-employed person in this country. Since class two

:24:23. > :24:29.contributions are payable at a flat rate, while class four is a

:24:30. > :24:33.proportion of profits, all self-employed people owning less

:24:34. > :24:39.than ?16,250 will still see a reduction in their total NICs bill.

:24:40. > :24:44.This change reduces the unfairness in the NICs system and it reflects

:24:45. > :24:51.more accurately the current differences in benefits available

:24:52. > :24:54.from the state. Alongside the gap between employees and the

:24:55. > :24:57.self-employed, there is a parallel unfairness in the treatment of those

:24:58. > :25:02.working through their own companies. Britain has the most competitive

:25:03. > :25:07.corporate tax regime in the G7, and we are determined to make Britain

:25:08. > :25:10.the most attractive place to start and to grow a business. But, to do

:25:11. > :25:15.that, we must ensure that our corporate tax regime does not

:25:16. > :25:23.encourage people across the U, me to form companies simply to reduce tax

:25:24. > :25:26.liabilities, pushing the burden of financing public services onto

:25:27. > :25:32.others. -- people across the economy. HMRC estimates that

:25:33. > :25:35.existing corporations cost the public finances over ?6 billion per

:25:36. > :25:40.year, and the obi I forecast that at the current rate of increase in

:25:41. > :25:46.additional additional cost to the Exchequer will occur from those

:25:47. > :25:50.choosing to incorporate ?3.5 billion per year in 2021-22. The gap in

:25:51. > :25:54.total tax and NICs between unemployed worker and one who has

:25:55. > :25:59.set up his own company will normally be greater even than the gap with

:26:00. > :26:02.the self-employed. And there are several perfectly legal ways in

:26:03. > :26:06.which that gap could be made bigger still. This is not fair and it is

:26:07. > :26:10.not affordable. Fairness demands that this discrepancy in treatment

:26:11. > :26:14.is addressed, just as I have addressed the discrepancy with the

:26:15. > :26:19.self-employed. The dividend allowance is increased the tax

:26:20. > :26:25.advantage of incorporation. It allows each director- shareholder to

:26:26. > :26:27.take ?5,000 of dividends out of their company tax-free over and

:26:28. > :26:34.above the personal allowance. It is also an extremely generous tax break

:26:35. > :26:39.for investors with substantial share portfolios. I have decided therefore

:26:40. > :26:42.to address the unfairness around direct shareholders tax advantage

:26:43. > :26:47.and at the same time to raise some much needed revenue to fund the

:26:48. > :26:53.measures I shall announce today by reducing the tax-free dividend

:26:54. > :27:00.allowance from ?5,000 to ?2000, with effect from April 20 18.

:27:01. > :27:05.About half the people affected by this measure are shareholders in

:27:06. > :27:12.private companies and the rest are investors in shares with holdings

:27:13. > :27:18.were typically over ?50,000 outside ISAs, and of course everyone will

:27:19. > :27:26.benefit from the increase in the annual ISA allowance to ?20,000 and

:27:27. > :27:32.a further increase in the personal allowance to ?11,500 from April. Mr

:27:33. > :27:36.Deputy Speaker, I now turn to duties and levies. Unusually for

:27:37. > :27:41.Chancellor, I am delighted to announce a reduction in the expected

:27:42. > :27:48.yield of attacks, the Soft Drinks Levy. I can confirm the final rates

:27:49. > :27:53.for the main and higher bands but producers are already reformulating

:27:54. > :27:58.sugar out of their drinks which means a lower revenue forecast for

:27:59. > :28:02.this tax. This is good news for our children, and in further good news

:28:03. > :28:09.for them today, I can confirm we will nonetheless fund DFE with the

:28:10. > :28:14.fool billion pounds we already expected from the levy this

:28:15. > :28:17.Parliament to invest in school sports and healthy living

:28:18. > :28:22.programmes. I am freezing for another year both the rates for

:28:23. > :28:27.hauliers and the road user levy, and I am introducing a new minimum

:28:28. > :28:31.excise duty on cigarettes based on a pack rise of ?7 35, and I can also

:28:32. > :28:39.confirm I will make no changes to previously planned rates and duties

:28:40. > :28:41.on alcohol and tobacco. The measures I have announced enhanced the

:28:42. > :28:46.sustainability of our public services into the future and by

:28:47. > :28:52.improving the fairness of the system helps us to keep tax rates low.

:28:53. > :28:58.Economic policy does not exist in a vacuum, and economic growth is a

:28:59. > :29:04.means, not an end in itself. The object of of our economic policy is

:29:05. > :29:13.to support ordinary working families and to build an economy that works

:29:14. > :29:16.for them. And on this side of the house we know we can only deliver

:29:17. > :29:21.investment in our vital public services if we have strong economy

:29:22. > :29:27.and sustainable public finances. It is a simple proposition, yet one

:29:28. > :29:31.which the Opposition front bench seems to find strangely difficult to

:29:32. > :29:37.understand. We start from a strong base, real wages have grown for 27

:29:38. > :29:41.straight months. The wages of the lowest paid grew faster last year

:29:42. > :29:48.than in any of the previous 20 years. The poorest householdss have

:29:49. > :29:53.seen their labour incomes rise more in 2010 in the UK than in any other

:29:54. > :29:59.country in the G7 -- since 27. Last year we delivered a pay rise to over

:30:00. > :30:05.a million of the lowest paid to the national living wage, and next month

:30:06. > :30:09.we take more steps to support working families with the cost of

:30:10. > :30:16.living. The national living wage will rise again to ?7 50 in April,

:30:17. > :30:21.?1400 more for a full-time worker than when the national living which

:30:22. > :30:26.was introduced. The personal allowance will rise for the seventh

:30:27. > :30:31.year in a row to ?11,500 and a higher rate threshold to ?45,000. 29

:30:32. > :30:37.million people will be better off with the typical basic rate tax

:30:38. > :30:42.payer paying ?1000 less than in 2010. And we will meet our manifesto

:30:43. > :30:50.commitment to increasing the thresholds to ?12,500 and ?50

:30:51. > :30:57.respectively by the end of this Parliament I can also confirm today

:30:58. > :31:02.that the new N S and I bond that I announced will be available from

:31:03. > :31:08.April and will pay on deposits up to ?3000, a welcome break for

:31:09. > :31:14.hard-pressed savers. The universal credit Tepera rate will be reduced

:31:15. > :31:22.in April from 65% to 63%, cutting tax for 3 million families on low

:31:23. > :31:25.income. Next month, we will see the introduction of our flagship tax

:31:26. > :31:32.free childcare policy. That will allow working families across the UK

:31:33. > :31:36.to receive up to ?2000 per year towards the cost of childcare for

:31:37. > :31:40.each child under 12. The scheme will be rolled out to all eligible

:31:41. > :31:46.parents by the end of the year. From September, in addition, working

:31:47. > :31:50.parents with three and four -year-olds will get their free

:31:51. > :31:56.childcare entitlement doubled the 30 hours a week. That is worth around

:31:57. > :31:59.?5,000 a year -- to 30 hours a week. The young family with a

:32:00. > :32:02.three-year-old and both parents working. By the end of this

:32:03. > :32:07.Parliament of this Government will be spending on childcare ?6 billion

:32:08. > :32:11.per year. These childcare measures represent a further huge step

:32:12. > :32:18.forward in support for ordinary working families and for women in

:32:19. > :32:22.the workplace. And I am delighted to use the occasion of International

:32:23. > :32:26.Women's Day to announce the additional measures. Well, not quite

:32:27. > :32:35.announce them, because my right honourable friend the Prime Minister

:32:36. > :32:43.has already announced two of them. It is International Women's Day. It

:32:44. > :32:46.says here I will commit a further ?20 million of Government funding to

:32:47. > :32:50.support the campaign against violence against women and girls,

:32:51. > :32:55.which does, as my honourable friend said earlier, take the Government's

:32:56. > :33:00.commitment to this campaign to over ?100 million in this Parliament,

:33:01. > :33:05.which is on top of the Tampon Tax which today delivers another ?12

:33:06. > :33:11.million in support of women's charities across the United Kingdom.

:33:12. > :33:15.The Prime Minister also earlier mentioned the Government will commit

:33:16. > :33:20.a further ?5 million to return ships to the public and private sector,

:33:21. > :33:26.helping people back into employment after a career break. As next year

:33:27. > :33:31.is the centenary of the 1918 Representation Of The People Act Of,

:33:32. > :33:36.the decisive step in the political emancipation of women in this

:33:37. > :33:40.country, I will commit a further ?59 the project to celebrate this

:33:41. > :33:47.centenary and educate young people about its significance. As well as

:33:48. > :33:51.knowing the Government is on their side, people want to know they are

:33:52. > :33:56.getting a good deal from private markets as well. A well functioning

:33:57. > :34:02.market economy is the best way to deliver prosperity and security to

:34:03. > :34:07.working families, and the litany of failed attempts at state control of

:34:08. > :34:12.industry by Labour do not leave anyone in any doubt about that

:34:13. > :34:15.except apparently the honourable gentleman opposite who is apparently

:34:16. > :34:28.so far down a black hole that even Stephen Hawking has disowned him.

:34:29. > :34:31.This Government, Mr Deputy Speaker, recognises that sometimes markets,

:34:32. > :34:35.particularly in fast developing areas of the economy, can feel

:34:36. > :34:40.people. Sometimes the market does not deliver the outcome the

:34:41. > :34:45.textbooks suggest it should, and when that happens this Government

:34:46. > :34:49.will not hesitate to intervene. We will shortly bring forward any Green

:34:50. > :34:56.Paper on protecting the interests of consumers, but ahead of that we will

:34:57. > :35:02.take the first steps, to protect consumers from unexpected fees and

:35:03. > :35:06.to give consumer bodies greater enforcement powers. Together, Mr

:35:07. > :35:10.Deputy Speaker, these measures will boost incomes, help family budgets

:35:11. > :35:14.stretch a little further, support parents back into work, and tackle

:35:15. > :35:21.some of the frustrations that sometimes make it feel that the dice

:35:22. > :35:26.are loaded against ordinary people going about their everyday lives. Mr

:35:27. > :35:30.Deputy Speaker, this House knows only sustainable way to raise living

:35:31. > :35:34.standards is to improve our productivity growth. Simply put,

:35:35. > :35:43.higher productivity means higher pay. The stats are well known, with

:35:44. > :35:49.35% behind Germany, behind the G7 average, by 18%, and the gap is not

:35:50. > :35:52.closing. Investment in training and investment in infrastructure will

:35:53. > :35:57.start to close this gap, and this Government places addressing the

:35:58. > :36:01.UK's productivity challenge at the very heart of its economic plan,

:36:02. > :36:06.because the cornerstone of an economy that works for everyone, it

:36:07. > :36:13.must be rising living standards for ordinary working people. A key

:36:14. > :36:15.element of our plan is the ?23 billion of additional infrastructure

:36:16. > :36:21.and innovation investment that I announced at the Autumn Statement.

:36:22. > :36:25.Today, to enhance the UK's position as a world leader in science and

:36:26. > :36:29.innovation I am allocating ?300 million of that fund to support the

:36:30. > :36:35.brightest and best research talent, including support for 1000 new Ph.D.

:36:36. > :36:41.Places and Fellowships focused on stem subjects. ?270 million to keep

:36:42. > :36:43.the UK at the forefront of disruptive technologies like

:36:44. > :36:49.biotech, robotic systems and driverless vehicles, at technology I

:36:50. > :37:03.believe the party opposite knows something about.

:37:04. > :37:13.?16 million for a new five G mobile technology hub and 200 million

:37:14. > :37:19.pounds for a full fibre broadband network investment. On transport I

:37:20. > :37:25.am announcing today ?23 million for the Midlands from a ?220 million

:37:26. > :37:31.fund that addresses pinch points on the national road network, and I am

:37:32. > :37:36.launching a ?690 million competition for local authorities across England

:37:37. > :37:39.to tackle urban congestion and get local transport networks moving

:37:40. > :37:42.again. My honourable friend the Transport Secretary will announce

:37:43. > :37:47.details shortly. Because we believe local areas understand local

:37:48. > :37:52.productivity barrier is better than central government we make further

:37:53. > :37:57.progress with our plans to bolster the regions. In May, powerful mayors

:37:58. > :38:02.will be elected in six of our great cities. Across Britain, local areas

:38:03. > :38:06.will take control of their own economic destiny and we will support

:38:07. > :38:10.them to do so. I can inform the House I have reached a deal with the

:38:11. > :38:15.Mayor of London on further devolution. And I will follow the

:38:16. > :38:20.launch of the northern Power has strategy at Autumn Statement by

:38:21. > :38:22.publishing tomorrow our Midlands energy strategy addressing

:38:23. > :38:29.productivity barriers across the Midlands -- the launch of the

:38:30. > :38:31.Northern Powerhouse strategy. For the devolved administrations, our

:38:32. > :38:34.announcements today deliver additional funding of ?350 million

:38:35. > :39:11.for the Scottish Ah, ah, ah. Let's just move on. We

:39:12. > :39:21.are having a very good day. Come on, Chancellor! Wait for it... ?200

:39:22. > :39:27.million for the Welsh Government. And almost ?120 million for and

:39:28. > :39:31.incoming Northern Ireland executive. Demonstrating, Mr Deputy Speaker,

:39:32. > :39:44.once again that we are stronger together in this great United

:39:45. > :39:46.Kingdom. Mr Deputy Speaker, perhaps the single most important thing the

:39:47. > :39:51.Government can do to support ordinary working families is to

:39:52. > :39:55.invest in the future so that their children and grandchildren can make

:39:56. > :40:00.the most of the opportunities ahead. That means addressing the skills gap

:40:01. > :40:03.and ensuring that every child, regardless of background, has the

:40:04. > :40:08.opportunity to go to a good or outstanding school. At Autumn

:40:09. > :40:13.Statement, I focused on investment in infrastructure and research and

:40:14. > :40:17.development. Next step today in our plan to raise productivity and

:40:18. > :40:20.living standards is the focus on the quality of our children's education

:40:21. > :40:24.and the teaching of technical skills. Mr Deputy Speaker, while

:40:25. > :40:30.investing in education and skills of course helps to tackle our

:40:31. > :40:34.productivity gap, delivering greater prosperity, it does something else

:40:35. > :40:38.as well. It delivers greater fairness, because investing in

:40:39. > :40:43.skills and education is the key to inclusive growth, to an economy that

:40:44. > :40:47.works for everyone. Mr Deputy Speaker, if you speak to people from

:40:48. > :40:50.any background in any part of the country about their hopes and their

:40:51. > :40:55.aspirations for the future, you will hear a recurring concern for the

:40:56. > :41:00.next generation. Will they have the qualifications to find a job? Will

:41:01. > :41:03.they have the skills to retrain as that job changes and changes again,

:41:04. > :41:09.over a working lifetime? Will they be able to get on the housing plan,

:41:10. > :41:12.save for pension? In short the question that concerns so many

:41:13. > :41:19.people as will our children enjoy the same opportunities that we did?

:41:20. > :41:25.And, Mr Deputy Speaker, our job is to make sure that they do. That is

:41:26. > :41:28.why we are investing in education and skills, to ensure that every

:41:29. > :41:32.young person, whatever their background and wherever they live,

:41:33. > :41:37.has the opportunity to succeed and prosper. The proportion of young

:41:38. > :41:42.people not in work or education is now at the lowest since records

:41:43. > :41:45.began. That is a good base from which to build, but it is only by

:41:46. > :41:49.equipping them for the jobs of tomorrow that we ensure they will

:41:50. > :41:56.have real economic security. We have put education reform at the heart of

:41:57. > :42:01.our agenda since 2010, and that commitment is already paying off.

:42:02. > :42:05.89% of schools in England are now rated good or outstanding, the

:42:06. > :42:10.highest proportion ever recorded. What that means, Mr Deputy Speaker,

:42:11. > :42:13.is 1.8 million more children being taught in good or outstanding

:42:14. > :42:25.schools than when the party opposite left office in 2010. Our forthcoming

:42:26. > :42:28.Schools White Paper will ask for sponsorship of free schools,

:42:29. > :42:31.removing the barriers that prevent good faith -based schools from

:42:32. > :42:35.opening and it will enable the creation of new selective free

:42:36. > :42:38.schools so the most academically gifted children, of every

:42:39. > :42:40.background, get the specialist support they need to fulfil their

:42:41. > :42:50.potential. Today I can announce funding for a

:42:51. > :42:57.further 110 new three schools, on top of the current commitment to

:42:58. > :43:01.500. This will include new specialist maths schools to build on

:43:02. > :43:04.the plate success of Exeter mathematics school and King's

:43:05. > :43:11.College London maths school, which the Prime Minister Vilas deducted --

:43:12. > :43:14.visited this week. We commit to this programme because we understand that

:43:15. > :43:23.choice is the key to excellence in education. Mr Deputy Speaker, we

:43:24. > :43:29.recognise that, for many parents, the cost of travel can be a barrier

:43:30. > :43:32.to exercising that choice. Pupils typically travel three times as far

:43:33. > :43:38.to attend selective schools, so we will extend free school transport to

:43:39. > :43:47.include all children on free school meals who attend a selective school,

:43:48. > :43:50.because we, Mr Deputy Speaker, are resolved that talent alone should

:43:51. > :44:02.determine the opportunities that a child enjoys. Before they get too

:44:03. > :44:11.excited, Mr Deputy Speaker, we will invest in our existing schools, two,

:44:12. > :44:15.oh yes, we will, by providing an additional ?216 million over the

:44:16. > :44:19.next three years, taking total investment in school condition to

:44:20. > :44:26.well over ?10 billion in this Parliament. Mr Deputy Speaker, good

:44:27. > :44:31.schools are the bedrock of our education system, but we need to do

:44:32. > :44:35.more to support our young adults into quality jobs and to help them

:44:36. > :44:38.to gain world class skills. While we have an academic route in this

:44:39. > :44:43.country that is undeniably one of the best in the world, the truth is

:44:44. > :44:48.that we languish near the of the international league tables for

:44:49. > :44:51.technical education. Our rigorous, well-recognised system of A-levels

:44:52. > :44:55.provides students with the qualifications to move into our

:44:56. > :45:00.world-class higher education system, and we support this would further

:45:01. > :45:04.today by offering maintenance loans to part-time undergraduates and

:45:05. > :45:09.doctoral loans in all subjects for the first time. Long ago, Mr Deputy

:45:10. > :45:14.Speaker, our competitors in Germany, the US and elsewhere realised that,

:45:15. > :45:19.to compete in the fast moving global economy, you have to link technical

:45:20. > :45:23.skills to jobs, and I'm pleased to report, in National Apprenticeship

:45:24. > :45:27.Week, that our apprenticeship route is now finally delivering that

:45:28. > :45:32.ambition here, with 2.4 million apprenticeship starts in the last

:45:33. > :45:34.Parliament and the launch of our apprenticeship levy in April,

:45:35. > :45:39.supporting a further 3 million apprenticeships by 2020. But there

:45:40. > :45:46.is still a lingering doubt about the parity of esteem attaching to

:45:47. > :45:51.technical education, pursued through the further education route. Today,

:45:52. > :46:01.we end that down for good, with the introduction of T levels thanks to

:46:02. > :46:05.the work of people in this field, we have a blueprint to follow. Their

:46:06. > :46:09.review concluded that students need a much clearer system of

:46:10. > :46:13.qualifications, one that is designed and recognised by employers, with

:46:14. > :46:20.clear routes to work, more time in the classroom and good quality work

:46:21. > :46:22.placements. One that replaces the 13,000 or so different

:46:23. > :46:28.qualifications with just 15 clear, career focused roots, and delivering

:46:29. > :46:33.on those recommendations is the third part of our plan. Today, we

:46:34. > :46:38.will invest to deliver in full these game changing reforms. We will

:46:39. > :46:44.increase by over 50% the number of hours training for 16 to 19-year-old

:46:45. > :46:49.technical students, including a high-quality work placement of three

:46:50. > :46:54.months for every student so, when they qualify, they are genuinely

:46:55. > :47:01.work ready. Once this programme is fully rolled out, we will be

:47:02. > :47:05.investing an additional ?500 million per year in our 16 to 19-year-olds.

:47:06. > :47:10.To encourage and support the best of them to go on to advanced technical

:47:11. > :47:15.study, we will offer maintenance loans for those undertaking higher

:47:16. > :47:19.level technical qualifications at the new institutes of technology and

:47:20. > :47:25.national colleges, just as we do for those attending university, putting

:47:26. > :47:32.the next-generation first to safeguard their future and to secure

:47:33. > :47:36.our economy. Because changing Labour markets -- labour markets will mean

:47:37. > :47:40.that retraining is vital, with many of our young people today needing to

:47:41. > :47:45.reclaim at least once and perhaps more often during a working life

:47:46. > :47:48.that may span more than 50 years, we will consider how best to deliver

:47:49. > :47:53.high quality learning and training throughout working lives. DfEE will

:47:54. > :47:58.invest up to ?40 million in pilots to test the effectiveness of

:47:59. > :48:01.different approaches to lifelong learning, so that we can identify

:48:02. > :48:09.what works best and help the next generation to learn and train

:48:10. > :48:12.throughout their lives. Just as the principal that every child should

:48:13. > :48:17.have the opportunity to fulfil his or her potential is central to this

:48:18. > :48:21.government's values, so is the principle that everyone has access

:48:22. > :48:24.to our National Health Service when they need it, and that everyone

:48:25. > :48:32.should enjoy security and dignity in old age. Today, our social care

:48:33. > :48:36.system cares for over 1 million people, and I want to pay tribute to

:48:37. > :48:42.the hundreds of thousands of carers who work in it. But the system is

:48:43. > :48:47.clearly under pressure, and this in turn puts pressure on our NHS.

:48:48. > :48:53.Today, there are half a million more people aged over 75 than there were

:48:54. > :48:57.in 2010, and there will be 2 million more in ten years. That is why the

:48:58. > :49:01.government is already delivered more than ?7 billion of extra spending

:49:02. > :49:06.power to the system over the next three years, and it is why we are

:49:07. > :49:10.ensuring that local authorities and the NHS work more closely together,

:49:11. > :49:15.to enable elderly patients to be discharged when they are ready,

:49:16. > :49:19.freeing up precious NHS beds and ensuring that elderly people are

:49:20. > :49:23.receiving the appropriate care for their needs. Today, Mr Deputy

:49:24. > :49:28.Speaker, I am committing additional grant funding of ?2 billion to

:49:29. > :49:35.social care in England. Over the next three years. Mr Deputy Speaker,

:49:36. > :49:44.that is ?2 billion over the next three years, with ?1 billion

:49:45. > :49:50.available in 17-18. This will allow local authorities to act now to

:49:51. > :49:54.commission new care packages, and it forms a bridge to be better care

:49:55. > :49:58.funding that becomes available towards the end of the parliament.

:49:59. > :50:04.Of course, Mr Deputy Speaker, this is not only about money. While there

:50:05. > :50:07.are many excellent examples of best practice around the country, at the

:50:08. > :50:13.other end of the scale, just 24 local authorities are responsible

:50:14. > :50:18.for over half of all delayed discharges to social care, so

:50:19. > :50:21.alongside additional funding the health and human -- health and

:50:22. > :50:24.community secretaries will announce measures to identify and to support

:50:25. > :50:30.authorities that are struggling and to ensure more joined up working

:50:31. > :50:31.with the NHS. These measures and greater collaborative working under

:50:32. > :50:36.NHS sustainability and transformation plans will bring

:50:37. > :50:42.short and medium-term benefits, but long-term challenges of

:50:43. > :50:46.sustainability -- sustainably funding care in old age requires a

:50:47. > :50:50.strategic approach, and the government will set out its thinking

:50:51. > :50:55.on the options for future financing of social care in a green paper

:50:56. > :50:59.later this year. For the avoidance of doubt, Mr Deputy Speaker, I would

:51:00. > :51:04.like to make it clear that those options do not include and never

:51:05. > :51:11.have included exhuming Labour's hated death tax. The social care

:51:12. > :51:17.funding package that I have announced today will deliver

:51:18. > :51:20.immediate benefit to the NHS, allowing it to be focused on

:51:21. > :51:27.delivering the NHS England forward view plan, a plan which this

:51:28. > :51:32.government has supported, with a ?10 billion increase in annual funding

:51:33. > :51:34.by 2020, ?4 billion of it in this year alone. We recognise the

:51:35. > :51:38.progress that the NHS is making in developing sustainability and

:51:39. > :51:43.transformation plans, and we recognise as well that, in addition

:51:44. > :51:50.to the funding already committed, some of those plans will require

:51:51. > :51:55.further capital investment. So the Treasury will work closely with the

:51:56. > :51:59.hunt of health over the summer as the STPs progress and prioritised

:52:00. > :52:03.and, at autumn budget, I will announce a multi-year capitalisation

:52:04. > :52:10.programme to support and limitation of high-quality STPs across the

:52:11. > :52:13.health service in England. In the meantime, the Health Secretary

:52:14. > :52:18.expects that a small number of the strongest STPs may be ready ahead of

:52:19. > :52:25.autumn budget, and so today I am allocated an additional ?325 million

:52:26. > :52:31.of capital to allow the person selected plans to proceed. I have

:52:32. > :52:36.one further announcement related to the NHS. The social care package I

:52:37. > :52:41.have announced today will help to free up beds by using discharge of

:52:42. > :52:47.elderly patients. That is one of the two big pressures on our hospitals.

:52:48. > :52:53.The other is in appropriate A attendances by people of all ages.

:52:54. > :52:56.Experience has shown that on-site GP triage in A departments can have a

:52:57. > :53:03.significant and positive impact on A waiting times. I am therefore

:53:04. > :53:07.making a further ?100 million of capital available immediately for a

:53:08. > :53:12.new triage project at English hospitals in time for next winter.

:53:13. > :53:20.Mr Deputy Speaker, this government backs the NHS's plan. We are funding

:53:21. > :53:24.it with a ?10 billion above inflation increase by 2020. We have

:53:25. > :53:29.addressed the pressures on the NHS from the social care system with a

:53:30. > :53:33.total of 9.25 alien additional resources. We will protect the NHS

:53:34. > :53:37.from the effects of the changed personal injury discount rate, and

:53:38. > :53:43.we have set aside ?5.9 billion across the forecast period to do so,

:53:44. > :53:46.and today we have made a clear, new commitment to fund a capital

:53:47. > :53:52.programme for the implementation of high-quality STPs, with a first down

:53:53. > :53:58.payment for the early pioneers. Mr deputy 's Biko, as the voters of

:53:59. > :54:04.Copeland so clearly understood, we are the party of the NHS. -- Mr

:54:05. > :54:10.Deputy Speaker. CHEERING AND JEERING.

:54:11. > :54:14.We are the party of the NHS because we have not just the commitment and

:54:15. > :54:23.the will but also the economic plan that will secure the future of our

:54:24. > :54:27.most important public service. Last November, I set out our plan to

:54:28. > :54:30.build an economy that works for everyone, to enhance our

:54:31. > :54:35.productivity and protect our living standards. To restore our public

:54:36. > :54:40.finances to balance and to invest for our future. Today's Obiang

:54:41. > :54:48.report confirms the continued resilience of the British economy,

:54:49. > :54:51.and that this budget -- at this budget we continue with our plan,

:54:52. > :54:57.building on the foundation of our economic strength, reaching out to

:54:58. > :55:00.seize the opportunities which lie ahead, backing public services,

:55:01. > :55:04.supporting Britain's families, investing in the skills of our young

:55:05. > :55:12.people and making Britain the best place in the world to do business.

:55:13. > :55:16.-- today's OBR report. Our United Kingdom as a proud history. We have

:55:17. > :55:21.done remarkable things together, but we look forward, not backwards,

:55:22. > :55:27.confident that our greatest achievements are ahead of us. Today,

:55:28. > :55:33.we reaffirm our commitment to invest in Britain's future, and we embark

:55:34. > :55:37.on this next chapter of our history, confident in our strengths and clear

:55:38. > :55:44.in our determination to build a stronger, fairer, better Britain. I

:55:45. > :55:53.commend this budget to the house. CHEERING.

:55:54. > :56:01.Understanding order number 51, the first motion entitled Provisional

:56:02. > :56:05.Collection Of Taxes, was decided without debate. Well the Chancellor

:56:06. > :56:17.of the Exchequer please move formally? The question is the

:56:18. > :56:19.pursuant to section five of the 1968 act, the provisional statutory

:56:20. > :56:28.effect shall be given to the following motions. Pensions, motion

:56:29. > :56:35.number 12. Alcoholic liquor duty, motion number 40. Tobacco products

:56:36. > :56:39.duty, motion number 42. As -- As many as are of the opinion, say

:56:40. > :56:45.'aye'. To the contrary, 'no'. Ayes have it. I now call upon the

:56:46. > :56:50.Chancellor of the Exchequer to move the motion Amendment Of The Law, and

:56:51. > :56:54.this should take place today on the succeeding days. The questions on

:56:55. > :56:57.this motion and the remaining motions will be put at the end of

:56:58. > :57:07.the budget debate on Tuesday the 14th of March. Minister to move...

:57:08. > :57:10.The question is that to amend the law in respect of the national debt

:57:11. > :57:17.and public revenue and to make further revenue in connection with

:57:18. > :57:24.finance. It does not extend to the making of any amendment with respect

:57:25. > :57:28.to the value added tax, so as to provide personally for zero rating

:57:29. > :57:32.or supply acquisition or importation. Secondly, for the

:57:33. > :57:36.refunding and amount of tax. Thirdly, for any relief other than

:57:37. > :57:40.the relief that, firstly, so far as it is applicable to the goods,

:57:41. > :57:45.applies the goods of every description and, secondly, so far as

:57:46. > :57:53.it is applicable to the services that apply to services of every

:57:54. > :57:59.description. I now call the Leader of the Opposition, the right

:58:00. > :58:02.honourable Jeremy Corbyn. Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. This was a budget

:58:03. > :58:10.of utter complacency about the state of our economy. Utter complacency

:58:11. > :58:15.about the crisis facing our public services, and complacent about the

:58:16. > :58:21.reality of daily life for millions of people in this country. Entirely

:58:22. > :58:25.out of touch with that reality of life for millions. This morning,

:58:26. > :58:31.over 1 million workers will have woken up not knowing whether they

:58:32. > :58:37.would work today, tomorrow or next week. Millions more workers know

:58:38. > :58:44.their next pay packet will not be enough to make ends meet. Millions

:58:45. > :58:47.struggling to pay rent or mortgage, with private renters on average

:58:48. > :58:53.paying almost half their income in rent. Yesterday, Mr Deputy Speaker,

:58:54. > :59:00.over 3000 people in this country will have queued up at the banks to

:59:01. > :59:10.feed themselves and their families -- queued up at food banks. Over

:59:11. > :59:15.4000 people will have slept rough last night on the streets of this

:59:16. > :59:18.country, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer made his boast about a

:59:19. > :59:22.strong economy. But who is reaping the rewards of this economy? Four

:59:23. > :59:27.million and it is simply not working. Not working for the NHS, in

:59:28. > :59:36.its worst crisis ever, with funding being cut next year. Not working for

:59:37. > :59:40.our children's schools, not working for our children's schools where

:59:41. > :59:45.pupil funding continues to be cut. Not working for our neighbourhoods,

:59:46. > :59:50.which have lost 20,000 police officers, leaving the force in a

:59:51. > :59:57.perilous state in many parts of the country. And not working for our

:59:58. > :00:03.dedicated public services, and the people who work in them. Nurses,

:00:04. > :00:09.firefighters, teachers, no pay rise for seven years for them. And for

:00:10. > :00:13.people with disabilities, who are twice as likely to be living in

:00:14. > :00:20.poverty, and that this Government is denying them the support that the

:00:21. > :00:22.courts say they need. 4 million children living in poverty, which

:00:23. > :00:29.will rise by another million in coming years. Not working for the

:00:30. > :00:34.thousands of young people who can't get anywhere to live, can't get on

:00:35. > :00:38.the housing ladder and cannot in many cases leave their parental

:00:39. > :00:42.home. Parents have grown up children who would expect to be debt free by

:00:43. > :00:46.now but are having to bail out student debt or try to help with the

:00:47. > :00:51.deposit to get housing if they can manage it. And a million elderly

:00:52. > :00:56.people, and I will come onto this again, denied the social care they

:00:57. > :01:01.need, due to the ?4.6 billion of cuts made by his government with the

:01:02. > :01:07.support of the Lib Dems over the last five years. Not for pensioners,

:01:08. > :01:11.for whom the security of the triple lock remains in doubt. Mr Deputy

:01:12. > :01:18.Speaker, that is the reality facing Britain today. I government cutting

:01:19. > :01:24.services and living standards of the many to fund and continue to fund

:01:25. > :01:29.the tax cuts of the few. There are some people, Mr Deputy Speaker, who

:01:30. > :01:34.are doing very well under the Conservative Government. The chief

:01:35. > :01:41.executives of big companies, now paid 180 times more than the average

:01:42. > :01:45.worker and taxed less. Big corporations making higher profits

:01:46. > :01:53.and being taxed less. Speculators making more and being taxed less.

:01:54. > :01:58.And wealthiest families taxed less due to cuts in inheritance tax. All

:01:59. > :02:02.of this adds up to ?70 billion of tax giveaways over the next five

:02:03. > :02:07.years. To those who need it the least. This Government is a

:02:08. > :02:13.government with the wrong priorities. Let me give you three

:02:14. > :02:19.examples. The pain of losing a child is unimaginable for most of us. But

:02:20. > :02:21.for those who do that pain is worsened by the stress of having to

:02:22. > :02:26.pay for their own child's funeral. I pay for their own child's funeral. I

:02:27. > :02:31.pay tribute to my friend the member for Swansea East for her campaign to

:02:32. > :02:35.establish a children's funeral fund, but far from establishing such a

:02:36. > :02:38.fun, costing just ?10 million a year, the Government is instead

:02:39. > :02:43.cutting support for bereaved families. Three in four bereaved

:02:44. > :02:49.families will receive less. This is utterly heartless. Despite generous

:02:50. > :02:53.tax giveaways at the top end there was no money either for the 160,000

:02:54. > :02:59.people with disabilities that a court has ruled deserve a higher

:03:00. > :03:07.rate of personal independence payments. These are people with

:03:08. > :03:11.debilitating mental health conditions, dementia, schizophrenia,

:03:12. > :03:16.post-traumatic stress disorder. The Prime Minister came to office

:03:17. > :03:20.talking about fighting burning injustices. Less than nine months

:03:21. > :03:27.later, she seems to have forgotten all about them, because none of them

:03:28. > :03:32.are being fought today. Lope holds people back and it is holding our

:03:33. > :03:40.country back -- low pay holds people back. We are the only... Wages are

:03:41. > :03:44.still below the 2008 level. Workers are still work of -- worse.

:03:45. > :03:48.Inflation rising. An urgent need to Inflation rising. An urgent need to

:03:49. > :03:52.address the pressure on people's incomes. Massively rising personal

:03:53. > :03:58.debts, rising energy bills and the cost of the weekly shop, transport

:03:59. > :04:02.costs and housing costs or rising. The Chancellor faced a series of

:04:03. > :04:06.tests as to whether he would stand on the same side as the people or

:04:07. > :04:11.not. He could have raised the minimum wage to the level of the

:04:12. > :04:17.living wage, the real living wage of ?10 per hour, as we, the Labour

:04:18. > :04:23.Party, are pledged to do. It would pay for a pay rise for 6 million

:04:24. > :04:29.people in this country, 62% of them are women. He failed to do that.

:04:30. > :04:34.Since 2010 millions of public sector workers have endured a pay freeze

:04:35. > :04:40.and then it pay cap. Dedicated public servants who keep our

:04:41. > :04:48.services going have lost over 9% of their real wages or will have done

:04:49. > :04:54.by 2020. He could have ended the public sector pay cap, as we are

:04:55. > :04:58.pledged to do, and given a pay rise to 5 million dedicated public

:04:59. > :05:02.servants who we all rely on day in, day out in our hospitals, our health

:05:03. > :05:09.service in general and our local government. He failed to do that. It

:05:10. > :05:12.is an insult to say they deserve falling living standards when we all

:05:13. > :05:16.know those in the public sector are working harder than ever, covering

:05:17. > :05:23.the jobs of those that have gone. There is a crisis as well, Mr Deputy

:05:24. > :05:27.Speaker, in job security. Millions of workers... Millions of workers

:05:28. > :05:33.don't know whether or not they'll be working from day to day. Millions of

:05:34. > :05:38.workers who don't know how many hours they'll be working this week

:05:39. > :05:43.or next week. Just imagine what it's like to try and plan your life if

:05:44. > :05:49.you don't know what your income is going to be from one week to the

:05:50. > :06:03.other. Because, Mr Deputy Speaker, that is the... Order. Can I just say

:06:04. > :06:05.to these benches, I want to hear the leader of the opposition, I don't

:06:06. > :06:13.want to hear him down because you might not be interested, but there

:06:14. > :06:18.are constituents out there who want to hear what the alternative is...

:06:19. > :06:22.If the whip wants to be funny, he can go and get a cup of tea now.

:06:23. > :06:25.Let's show the same respect that was shown to the Chancellor of the

:06:26. > :06:28.Exchequer the Jeremy Corbyn. Gallery-mac thank you, Mr Deputy

:06:29. > :06:33.Speaker. There is nothing funny about being one of 9000 workers and

:06:34. > :06:37.view our contracts, 55% of them women. He could have announced a ban

:06:38. > :06:44.on view our contract, as we are pledged to do. Again, the field.

:06:45. > :06:50.These zero hour contracts are only the tip of an iceberg. 4 million

:06:51. > :06:54.workers in Britain in insecure work, 2.3 billion working variable shift

:06:55. > :07:00.patterns, 1.1 million on temporary contracts. They have long argued for

:07:01. > :07:04.clamp-down on bogus self-employment, but today the Chancellor seems to

:07:05. > :07:12.put the burden on self-employed workers instead. There has to be

:07:13. > :07:14.something for something, so I hope the Chancellor of the Exchequer will

:07:15. > :07:20.bring forward extra Social Security in return. One policy Labour backs

:07:21. > :07:23.is extending statutory maternity pay the self-employed women, which is

:07:24. > :07:32.likely to cost just ?10 million per year. Lope and insecure work have

:07:33. > :07:37.consequences for us all. Mr Deputy Speaker, in reality we all pay for

:07:38. > :07:45.Lope. There are a million working households having to claim housing

:07:46. > :07:49.benefit. -- we all have to pay case low pay. Because their wages are not

:07:50. > :07:53.enough to pay the rent. There are 3 million working families who simply

:07:54. > :07:59.rely on tax credits to make ends meet. This is modern Britain. The

:08:00. > :08:03.most effective way of boosting wages and increasing job security, as all

:08:04. > :08:10.studies show, is actually to improve collective bargaining through a

:08:11. > :08:14.trade union. Words that the Chancellor did not use in his

:08:15. > :08:22.speech, but instead of a trade union act which would further perpetuate

:08:23. > :08:28.-- instead we have a trade union act that will further continue Lope, but

:08:29. > :08:32.we would protect collective bargaining and repeal the Trade

:08:33. > :08:37.Union Act. This is a Chancellor and the Government not on the side of

:08:38. > :08:47.the workers, not on the side of the taxpayers, who pick up the bill for

:08:48. > :08:49.low pay and insecure work. An International Women's Bay, did the

:08:50. > :08:57.Chancellor deliver a budget that works for women? -- Day. According

:08:58. > :09:01.to the House of Commons library analysis commissioned by my friend,

:09:02. > :09:11.the member for rather, who is doing a brilliant job speaking up for

:09:12. > :09:14.women from our front pages -- for Rotherham. 86% of this has fallen on

:09:15. > :09:18.women and women's lives have been made more difficult through

:09:19. > :09:21.successive moves from this Government, women struggling with

:09:22. > :09:27.more care and responsibility due to the continuing state of emergency in

:09:28. > :09:33.social care. There will be women born in the 1950s go with little

:09:34. > :09:39.notice having to face a crisis in retirement that they could not

:09:40. > :09:42.possibly predicted. 67 women per year are forced out of their jobs to

:09:43. > :09:46.maternity discrimination and they cannot afford this Government's

:09:47. > :09:51.extortionate fees to take their employer to a tribunal in search of

:09:52. > :09:56.justice. When an up and down the country who will have to wait

:09:57. > :09:59.another 60 years -- women up and down the country will have to wait

:10:00. > :10:04.another 60 years before the gender pay grab is close. Women, hundreds

:10:05. > :10:07.of women being turned away from domestic violence shelters every

:10:08. > :10:11.year through lack of space or appropriate services or because they

:10:12. > :10:16.have simply been closed. Mothers struggling under more pressure

:10:17. > :10:19.through at the universal and tax credits, and if this was not bad

:10:20. > :10:26.enough, to cut benefits to children whose only crime is to be born third

:10:27. > :10:31.or fourth in a family. Most shamefully, as of next month when it

:10:32. > :10:37.will have to prove their third child is a product of rape if they wish to

:10:38. > :10:44.qualify for a child tax credit for that child. I pay tribute to my

:10:45. > :10:47.friend the member for Rotherham and the honourable member for Glasgow

:10:48. > :10:55.Central for there campaigning on this issue. I hope the Chancellor

:10:56. > :11:01.will reverse this cut. There is a housing crisis, a crisis of supply

:11:02. > :11:07.and of affordability. Since 2010 house-building has fallen to its

:11:08. > :11:11.lowest rate since the 1920s. The building of social homes for rent is

:11:12. > :11:16.at its lowest level for a quarter of a century. Did he empower councils

:11:17. > :11:20.to tackle the housing crisis by allowing them to borrow, to build

:11:21. > :11:26.Hauser council housing, as we have pledged to? No. Have they replaced

:11:27. > :11:31.council houses, sold under Right To Buy, as they promised? No. Just one

:11:32. > :11:37.in six have been replaced. Was there any commitment to return to the

:11:38. > :11:41.council 's ?800 million Right To Buy proceeds the Treasury has taken

:11:42. > :11:46.back, which would build 12,000 homes? No. That he scrapped the

:11:47. > :11:49.unfair Bedroom Tax, as we have pledged to do? No. That he reversed

:11:50. > :11:56.housing benefit cuts that would take support away from 10,000 young

:11:57. > :12:00.people, despite the opposition of Shelter, Races and Centrepoint,

:12:01. > :12:06.which even the member for Southgate described as captain wood

:12:07. > :12:10.catastrophic. Last week the Institute for Government said there

:12:11. > :12:14.were clear warning signs of the impact of Government cuts on

:12:15. > :12:17.schools, prisons, health and social care -- described as catastrophic. A

:12:18. > :12:21.sledgehammer has been taken to public services in recent years and

:12:22. > :12:26.the Chancellor no expect praise for patching up a small part of that

:12:27. > :12:30.damage. -- now expects praise. The budget did not provide the funding

:12:31. > :12:36.necessary now for the crisis in our NHS which the BMA reckons needs an

:12:37. > :12:39.extra ?10 million. It did not provide a funding necessary to end

:12:40. > :12:44.the state of emergency in social care now which needs to billion

:12:45. > :12:49.pounds per year just to plug the gaps, according to the Kings fund --

:12:50. > :12:54.which needs to billion pounds per year. It is not met by ?2 billion

:12:55. > :13:00.over three years. Money is needed now. More than a million mainly

:13:01. > :13:06.elderly people desperate for social care still can't get it. The money

:13:07. > :13:09.it to be made available now. Because this Government ducks really tough

:13:10. > :13:18.choices, like asking corporations to pay a little bit more in tax. Not

:13:19. > :13:22.every local authority can just text Nick and get the deal they want.

:13:23. > :13:28.Other council services are suffering as well. Our communities are

:13:29. > :13:31.stronger when we have good libraries, and they are valuable,

:13:32. > :13:34.obviously for children but for the entire community. 67 closed last

:13:35. > :13:42.year because of local government underfunding. 700 sure start centres

:13:43. > :13:47.closed because of lack of funding for local authorities, denying the

:13:48. > :13:52.life chances that a Labour Government delivered to them with

:13:53. > :13:57.the opening of Sure Start centres in the 90s. 600 youth centres have

:13:58. > :14:00.closed as well. These painful decisions are being taken by

:14:01. > :14:05.councils not because they want to do it, but just because they don't have

:14:06. > :14:09.enough money even to keep essential services running because of the

:14:10. > :14:15.slashing of their budget year on year.

:14:16. > :14:23.And it goes on. Last councils proposed to sell of school playing

:14:24. > :14:27.fields, the equivalent of 500 football pitches. 500 pitch is not

:14:28. > :14:32.available for young people to indulge in sport. It is our duty to

:14:33. > :14:37.ensure all our young people wherever they live have a decent chance to

:14:38. > :14:43.grow up with a library, a playing field and a sure start centre. It is

:14:44. > :14:47.not a lot to ask. The Chancellor boasts of a strong economy, but

:14:48. > :14:52.abandoned the targets of the previous Chancellor, so let's give a

:14:53. > :14:58.more realistic context to the figures. The deficit that was going

:14:59. > :15:03.to be eradicated in 2015, you all remember the long-term economic

:15:04. > :15:08.plan? The debt was going to peak at 80% of GDP and then start falling.

:15:09. > :15:15.Our economy is not prepared for Brexit. We still have an economy

:15:16. > :15:17.suffering from underinvestment and overreliance on consumer spending

:15:18. > :15:23.and wholly unsustainable levels of personal and household debt.

:15:24. > :15:29.Investment must be evenly spread around our country and despite the

:15:30. > :15:35.announcements today, London continues to receive six times as

:15:36. > :15:39.much investment as the North East and so that is why Labour is backing

:15:40. > :15:43.a fair funding formula for investment so that every area gets

:15:44. > :15:47.its fair share of government spending. What has been announced

:15:48. > :15:50.today does not achieve that. You cannot build a Northern Powerhouse

:15:51. > :15:59.or a Midlands engine if the investment does not follow the sound

:16:00. > :16:04.bite. Money spent on research and development is well below the OECD

:16:05. > :16:08.average. The strongest economy spent over 3%. In the immediate term

:16:09. > :16:12.Chancellor did not have much to say about it, he must focus his

:16:13. > :16:33.attention is on the precarious future of workers jobs, including

:16:34. > :16:37.Forbes in Bridegend. -- Ford. The government need to drop the threat

:16:38. > :16:43.of turning Britain into a tax haven. One of the biggest challenges facing

:16:44. > :16:48.our country is environmental. It is climate change. This government is

:16:49. > :16:51.failing to drive a mission led strategy as our own Business Select

:16:52. > :16:56.Committee has recommended. The Chancellor failed to make energy

:16:57. > :17:04.efficiency and national infrastructure priority. No

:17:05. > :17:08.commitment to achieving zero carbon efficiency and unclear about

:17:09. > :17:12.investment in public transport that will reduce pollution. The poor air

:17:13. > :17:18.quality is appalling. It is killing thousands of people in this country.

:17:19. > :17:22.It's taking away the life chances of many children growing up alongside

:17:23. > :17:27.polluted roads. The good work being done by Labour's London mayor said

:17:28. > :17:32.the Khan, the good work being done by the Welsh Labour government has

:17:33. > :17:36.recognised this as an urgent public health crisis, particularly for

:17:37. > :17:42.children. We have two deal with this crisis and do with it urgently.

:17:43. > :17:45.There cannot be an industrial strategy of productivity gains

:17:46. > :17:51.unless there is serious investment in skills. Adult skills training

:17:52. > :17:55.cup, further education cup, the small amount committed today are

:17:56. > :18:00.long overdue, but woefully insufficient. Over the coming years

:18:01. > :18:05.the school budget is being cut by 8%. Does the Chancellor really want

:18:06. > :18:10.fewer teachers and teaching assistants, larger classes, shorter

:18:11. > :18:15.school days? Which is it? I agree with the Prime Minister that every

:18:16. > :18:19.child deserves a good education. Every community deserves good

:18:20. > :18:22.schools. You do it by working with the communities to provide the

:18:23. > :18:27.schools, not propping into than selective schools that are not being

:18:28. > :18:35.demanded by those communities. The money announced yesterday for new

:18:36. > :18:41.grammar schools is a vanity project. Why not honour their own 2015

:18:42. > :18:46.manifesto pledge to protect per-pupil funding, which is clearly

:18:47. > :18:51.not happening? This is a budget that lacks ambition for this country and

:18:52. > :18:56.lacks fairness. It demonstrates the appalling priorities of this

:18:57. > :19:05.government. Another year with tax breaks for the few, public service

:19:06. > :19:10.cuts for the money. The Prime Minister said, if you are just

:19:11. > :19:15.managing, I want to address it. This budget has done nothing to tackle

:19:16. > :19:21.low pay all solve the state of emergency that persists for so many

:19:22. > :19:30.people, demanding and needing health and social care now and not making

:19:31. > :19:33.an economy that what everyone. It is built on unfairness and built on

:19:34. > :19:40.failure to tackle and fairness in our society. I don't think there was

:19:41. > :19:45.a great deal of Concorde in the House about that speech, but I do

:19:46. > :19:51.think there is some agreement across the House about a number of things

:19:52. > :19:54.that the Chancellor said. In fact, I think there has been a quiet

:19:55. > :19:59.consensus in this phrase. The deficit reduction, ever since

:20:00. > :20:06.Alistair Darling's budget of 2010. I'm delighted the Chancellor is

:20:07. > :20:12.persisting with those reductions. Before picking up on a few majors,

:20:13. > :20:19.associate those that affect small businesses, I'd like to make one

:20:20. > :20:22.point about fiscal policy overall. The Chancellor doesn't have very

:20:23. > :20:28.much room for manoeuvre. He is heavily boxed in. I see him nodding

:20:29. > :20:31.in agreement. On the spending side, three quarters of spending is

:20:32. > :20:36.covered by manifesto barges, so every round of savings has on a

:20:37. > :20:41.progressively small area which makes it painful for it to absorb. On the

:20:42. > :20:55.tax side he is just as constrained, I would say even more, because he

:20:56. > :21:03.invested the tax lots and a commitment to reduce corporation tax

:21:04. > :21:08.to 15%. That puts over 80% of revenue out of his reach. There is

:21:09. > :21:14.also the fuel duty frees, I think it is effectively a freeze, which was

:21:15. > :21:19.announced in the Autumn Statement. All those tax and pledges are a

:21:20. > :21:24.fallout of an electoral bidding war. Dealing with that is a matter for

:21:25. > :21:28.another day. I just pick up on a few detailed measures we just heard

:21:29. > :21:33.something about, particularly as they affect small businesses and I'm

:21:34. > :21:39.particularly concerned about small businesses. I'm delighted to hear

:21:40. > :21:42.there was some good news for them, but it's just worth going through

:21:43. > :21:46.the list of things they are having to deal with at the moment. The

:21:47. > :21:54.doubling of insurance premium tax announced last year. Automatic

:21:55. > :22:08.enrolment for pensions, the living wage, revaluation of the rates and

:22:09. > :22:11.making tax digital. Plus the proposals we have just had

:22:12. > :22:22.announced. Let us turn... Will give way. I'm very grateful. He is giving

:22:23. > :22:26.a good analysis, but on the point about the increase in national

:22:27. > :22:30.insurance contributions for the self-employed, doesn't he think that

:22:31. > :22:39.the Chancellor needs to explain why he is breaking the manifesto promise

:22:40. > :22:43.made in the 2015 general election manifesto on that? He thinks there

:22:44. > :22:53.is a strong argument for matching what people get out of it from the

:22:54. > :22:57.receipt side to the contribution side. I will look at the point he

:22:58. > :23:03.has made on the specific manifesto pledge. No doubt we will have a

:23:04. > :23:09.further exchange of it. I want to say a few words about making tax

:23:10. > :23:16.digital. He has announced some quite important changes the. We need to be

:23:17. > :23:22.clear what the problem is that he is seeking to address with what he has

:23:23. > :23:27.announced. Until this statement today, from 2018 several million

:23:28. > :23:31.people, most of them small traders, would have been required by law for

:23:32. > :23:35.the first time to fill in their tax returns electronically. Some of

:23:36. > :23:39.those traders would even have a smartphone let alone a computer. I

:23:40. > :23:43.think the effects of those plans would be to impose a massive and

:23:44. > :23:50.unfair burden on small businesses. So it's very good news that the

:23:51. > :23:56.Chancellor has made a concession and it appears to be aligned with at

:23:57. > :24:00.least one of the suggestions made in a report by the Treasury committee

:24:01. > :24:05.on this. The most important thing he is doing is raising the starting

:24:06. > :24:11.threshold, or keeping be starting threshold for another year at the

:24:12. > :24:15.VAT threshold. That is ?83,000. That is the good news, but the not so

:24:16. > :24:21.good news is that it looks like it is only relief for a year. Could I

:24:22. > :24:26.ask the Chancellor to consider phasing in the lower thresholds? He

:24:27. > :24:32.has suggested a lower threshold of 10,000, which seems extremely low to

:24:33. > :24:37.me. Indirectly he is looking puzzle, but he will find that that is what

:24:38. > :24:42.HMRC have been talking about. Phasing it in over a run of three or

:24:43. > :24:49.four years, dropping it dramatically from 83 or whatever the vat

:24:50. > :24:56.threshold becomes... I will in a moment when I have completed what I

:24:57. > :25:01.want to say on making tax digital. I understand why the Chancellor is

:25:02. > :25:05.doing this. I'm sure HMRC have told him that there is a huge amount of

:25:06. > :25:08.money sitting waiting to be collected and he needs the money and

:25:09. > :25:15.he is nodding his head in agreement to that as well. Actually, I think I

:25:16. > :25:18.right in saying that they have previously suggested there is 2

:25:19. > :25:23.billion of uncollected tax available. I doubt that and so does

:25:24. > :25:27.the Treasury committee. In fact, if the Chancellor is brutal about his

:25:28. > :25:31.introduction to this, he might not get very much money. Some businesses

:25:32. > :25:35.will going into the grey economy and some will cease trading will

:25:36. > :25:43.together. So be pot of gold might not be there at all. I give weight

:25:44. > :25:46.to the honourable gentleman. I'm honourable to the right honourable

:25:47. > :25:50.gentleman for giving away. I agree that delayed by the year is

:25:51. > :25:54.insufficient. Does he agree that the Chancellor needs to look at the

:25:55. > :25:59.other recommendations made by the select committee. If not, today

:26:00. > :26:05.would be good news for accountants and bad news for small businesses.

:26:06. > :26:09.He has made a powerful point and I support his support for the

:26:10. > :26:13.proposals that we worked up together on making tax digital and I will

:26:14. > :26:16.make those points as vigorously as I can on behalf of the committee and

:26:17. > :26:22.I'm sure the Chancellor is listening now. What we should do is listen

:26:23. > :26:26.Leave welcome the news we have had. There is an acknowledgement that the

:26:27. > :26:27.pre-existing proposals were not workable and we have already had a

:26:28. > :26:40.bit of adjustment. I am grateful to my honourable

:26:41. > :26:48.friend for giving way. Would he still recognise with me that those

:26:49. > :26:52.over that threshold, not necessarily enormous businesses but some

:26:53. > :26:57.struggling with the additional burdens that he mentions, some

:26:58. > :27:04.dealing with business rates, the changes to dividend taxation, Mr

:27:05. > :27:08.Deputy Speaker, I declare an interest as one of those people that

:27:09. > :27:13.struggling to accommodate the new system within the next 12 months

:27:14. > :27:19.basically will be a challenge and will have a significant compliance

:27:20. > :27:24.cost others businesses. My honourable friend on the Treasury

:27:25. > :27:28.committee is also making the point that people in modest but larger

:27:29. > :27:32.businesses will also find the bureaucratic burden of the

:27:33. > :27:40.introduction of the making tax digital proposals pretty tough. We

:27:41. > :27:45.have taken a lot of evidence on this and I think it's clear that it is.

:27:46. > :27:49.In the granite digit returns were bigger feature. The question is how

:27:50. > :27:56.we get there. This is a generational change. It is important not sour

:27:57. > :28:00.relations between small businesses and the Revenue. But can be easily

:28:01. > :28:03.done if you hit them over the head with the help of extra money in year

:28:04. > :28:09.one and your two or three when with just a little more caution they can

:28:10. > :28:11.be brought into the system actually yielding higher long-term revenue

:28:12. > :28:24.because you will have their cooperation. A second change and I

:28:25. > :28:30.won't linger on this one because, it's to do with business rates, what

:28:31. > :28:34.he has announced is very welcome relief, he's announced three

:28:35. > :28:39.concessions, they cost quite a bit of money taken collectively, they

:28:40. > :28:43.are not only important, they are essential changes, small businesses

:28:44. > :28:46.hit by this are the lifeblood of the local economy, in all our

:28:47. > :28:50.constituencies and the measures will certainly give them some relief from

:28:51. > :28:58.the pressure they were under. The red book suggests that he might

:28:59. > :29:03.consider proposals to encourage or find a way of getting to more

:29:04. > :29:05.frequent revaluations of business rates, I'm pleased about that

:29:06. > :29:12.because the big problem cost is the cliff edge created by revaluations

:29:13. > :29:16.every five or seven years. In a nutshell what is needed is more

:29:17. > :29:23.frequent re-evaluation and quicker appeals, both of them. It surely is

:29:24. > :29:27.not beyond the wit of man to devise a form that can deliver both. While

:29:28. > :29:37.I am thanking the Chancellor I would also like to thank him for agreeing,

:29:38. > :29:42.as he did before the committee for publishing the analysis of the

:29:43. > :29:46.business measures on a basis of that comparable to those published in the

:29:47. > :29:49.last parliament. The committee will look at those measures carefully and

:29:50. > :29:56.in a more considered way than in the past, less of a rush. This will

:29:57. > :30:02.enable us to look carefully at the distribution and analysis. I will

:30:03. > :30:05.give way. In the spirit of thanking the Chancellor will you join me in

:30:06. > :30:12.thanking the Chancellor for wanting to consult on page 35 of the red

:30:13. > :30:18.book when introducing a new duty on white ciders which as many of us

:30:19. > :30:22.note is damaging for young people and homeless people, this will be a

:30:23. > :30:27.way to get to grips and make sure that we don't have an our streets

:30:28. > :30:34.this damaging and two Gbytes I do. The honourable gentleman has made

:30:35. > :30:39.his point, I never talk much on cider in the House of Commons

:30:40. > :30:42.because it results in a great deal of correspondence, whatever you say

:30:43. > :30:46.about it. I think I will avoid it altogether! I just want to end with

:30:47. > :30:52.a couple of larger points about the backdrop to the budget. I want to

:30:53. > :30:59.discuss just two big risks that the Chancellor is having to deal with.

:31:00. > :31:04.The first and by far the biggest is the economic prosperity to our

:31:05. > :31:09.constituents and to the stability of the West of resurgence of economic

:31:10. > :31:13.nationalism. This is a bit of it in Britain and a great deal more of

:31:14. > :31:17.that elsewhere in the world. Protectionism has been on the rise

:31:18. > :31:21.for some time and is already affecting noble growth. It's worth

:31:22. > :31:27.bearing in mind that global growth has been any make and the last five

:31:28. > :31:32.years compared to the average of the last Thursday and that includes the

:31:33. > :31:36.effect of the financial crash. A big difference in those numbers. And

:31:37. > :31:39.global trade growth has been weaker, it's is now declining as a share of

:31:40. > :31:43.world economic activity and we should all be concerned about that.

:31:44. > :31:48.The link between prosperity and trade, though, does not seem to have

:31:49. > :31:58.registered with President Trump. At least not yet. He has withdrawn from

:31:59. > :32:04.the transpacific partnership, TTIP looks to be a disaster, he has

:32:05. > :32:07.called the World Trade Organisation a disaster and is threatening to

:32:08. > :32:12.withdraw from that as well. Not the Prime Minister, she has got it in

:32:13. > :32:16.the greatest advocate for free trade in the world and she's right. If we

:32:17. > :32:21.were to return to protectionism we could read the book of the 1930s. I

:32:22. > :32:27.will, one last time, I've got one more point to make. Was the

:32:28. > :32:31.honourable member as disappointed as I was that the Chancellor did not

:32:32. > :32:36.mention that real wages were reduced at a stroke by 15% through

:32:37. > :32:40.devaluation? And whilst that secures more exports in the short term, that

:32:41. > :32:44.will be offset by tariffs in the future so how does he see the

:32:45. > :32:52.prospect of a trade when we get hit over the head with tariffs from the

:32:53. > :32:59.single market? I will end with the word on Brexit. I will not comment

:33:00. > :33:04.on the exchange rate, except to say that the devaluation, of course,

:33:05. > :33:12.does make the country poorer but devaluations can come and go, and we

:33:13. > :33:18.need to look at the effect in the markets put there by the markets to

:33:19. > :33:21.act as a shock absorber, as a consequence of the Brexit division

:33:22. > :33:28.in a much longer term framework than judging it as we are now, so soon

:33:29. > :33:32.after the event. I do think that Brexit poses the risk of trade

:33:33. > :33:37.shock. If the honourable lady will forgive me I would like to wind up,

:33:38. > :33:41.because I am sure that the honourable lady will want to make

:33:42. > :33:47.her own speech in a moment. There certainly will be a trade shock if

:33:48. > :33:51.we researched to WTO rules. So I am very pleased that the Prime Minister

:33:52. > :33:56.has made it clear that she is working for what she calls a bold

:33:57. > :34:01.and ambitious deal of the EU. Deep engagement, political and economic,

:34:02. > :34:06.from outside the EU almost certainly commands a majority in the house and

:34:07. > :34:12.in the country, cutting off Britain almost certainly does not. Hopefully

:34:13. > :34:19.all parties and no negotiations grasp the importance of securing a

:34:20. > :34:27.deal wanting a comprehensive deal in what will amount to 18 months of

:34:28. > :34:31.negotiations and getting one and not the same thing. This will be a

:34:32. > :34:35.massive undertaking, businesses know this, this is why many won't wait to

:34:36. > :34:38.find out if they will be a deal, they will start moving economic

:34:39. > :34:51.activity out before 2019 and the supply chains will start adjusting

:34:52. > :34:55.and to the UK Bosman detriment. Mr Deputy Speaker, one further point.

:34:56. > :34:59.There is a straightforward way of safeguarding the UK from that risk

:35:00. > :35:04.in the UK must ask for it in the negotiations. It must certainly

:35:05. > :35:08.requires only qualified majority voting and it is available under

:35:09. > :35:15.Article 50 of the treaty. The UK should make clear now that after

:35:16. > :35:23.leaving the EU, but is having repealed the 1972 act, requiring a

:35:24. > :35:31.standstill on the terms of any detail should be put in place. That

:35:32. > :35:38.is a crucial ingredient must bring certainty. Mr Deputy Speaker when

:35:39. > :35:42.the Conservatives came to power in 2010 there was ballooning public

:35:43. > :35:49.debt and the second slowest growth in the G7. That amounted to a

:35:50. > :35:55.massive challenge. No public finances are stronger only after six

:35:56. > :36:00.years of hard work. But the two risks to which I have alluded could

:36:01. > :36:06.amount to a cocktail difficult to handle especially if mistakes are

:36:07. > :36:09.made. The Chancellor has told us that he has taken a cautious

:36:10. > :36:15.approach by reducing borrowing. I strongly support him in that. And he

:36:16. > :36:22.has my support to persist even if he hits heavy weather. Can I just say

:36:23. > :36:28.it will be ten minutes after this next speech. Stewart Rosie. In many

:36:29. > :36:33.ways the Chancellor did not disappoint us. A self-effacing jokes

:36:34. > :36:38.about spreadsheets, this band lines about being stronger together and

:36:39. > :36:47.then it went downhill. Barely a mention of Brexit. The most

:36:48. > :36:52.momentous challenge facing the UK, barely a mention of Brexit, what

:36:53. > :37:00.this Chancellor would do to mitigate the damage, I had hoped very much to

:37:01. > :37:05.welcome a concrete package of measures concerning the oil and gas

:37:06. > :37:09.sector, but instead we've been offered an options paper. One of my

:37:10. > :37:14.sharp eyed assistant tells me that is the same promise made in 2016 so

:37:15. > :37:27.maybe at some point the Chancellor will actually deliver the paper and

:37:28. > :37:30.take some concrete measures. A budget can sometimes be assessed

:37:31. > :37:33.more by what is omitted than what is included and I would've thought they

:37:34. > :37:39.would have been more reference to the City deals today, how important

:37:40. > :37:47.they are for not negotiating. I will give way in a moment. While he did

:37:48. > :37:52.mention in passing living standards, and Fenners, he didn't dwell for

:37:53. > :37:57.very long, in fact not at all on the contrary analysis of the counter

:37:58. > :38:04.analysis to his assertions, which is that child poverty will increase by

:38:05. > :38:09.30% by 2122, entirely explained by the direct impact of tax and benefit

:38:10. > :38:17.reforms. He spoke about an increase to the minimum wage which is of

:38:18. > :38:24.course welcome, he ignored the assessment that forecast less than

:38:25. > :38:28.5% between now, 2020 and 2021, in a sense, more than a decade with no

:38:29. > :38:33.real earnings growth. I will happily give way. In the subject of

:38:34. > :38:37.emissions from the Chancellor's statement, hundreds of women have

:38:38. > :38:40.travelled to Westminster today from Scotland, from greater Manchester,

:38:41. > :38:44.all over the country to campaign against the unfairness of them not

:38:45. > :38:48.being properly informed about changes to their state pension.

:38:49. > :38:52.Would he agree with me that it is disrespectful to say the least on

:38:53. > :38:57.International Women's Day that those women fighting for justice on their

:38:58. > :39:02.pension got no mention from the Chancellor of the Exchequer? And the

:39:03. > :39:10.final mission today is any readdress the those women. Mr Deputy Speaker,

:39:11. > :39:16.it is worth reminding ourselves how we got to where we are today, not

:39:17. > :39:22.all this Chancellor's fault, the Tory targets and deficit and

:39:23. > :39:27.borrowing promised in 2010, were simply not met. To demonstrate the

:39:28. > :39:33.scale of this failure we were told that debt would begin to fall as a

:39:34. > :39:36.share of GDP in 2014-15, a current account would be a balance the

:39:37. > :39:40.following year, public sector borrowing would be barely ?20

:39:41. > :39:44.million. As many of us want at that time, that would not and did not

:39:45. > :39:54.happen. Dad won't begin to fall as a share of GDP until 18 - 2010-2019.

:39:55. > :39:59.And public sector borrowing was not the barely 20 billion promised them,

:40:00. > :40:06.it was ?72 billion. In short, I would argue that the first five

:40:07. > :40:11.years of Tory austerity failed and we have little confidence that the

:40:12. > :40:16.second five years will be better. But to the present and for the

:40:17. > :40:22.future, last autumn the Chancellor said that net debt would peak at

:40:23. > :40:28.?1.83 trillion. 12 zeros. Today he gave the startling news that the

:40:29. > :40:33.huge progress, it will now be peaking at ?1.83 trillion. Borrowing

:40:34. > :40:40.is down a few hundred million for 2017-2018 and the current budget due

:40:41. > :40:46.to be in surplus by 2020 is barely changed. The forecasts are as bad as

:40:47. > :40:52.they were promised in the autumn, and barely changed from last spring.

:40:53. > :40:59.And what growth there is seems to be driven in large measure by an

:41:00. > :41:11.assessment of around 4% over the next few years. But the OBR say that

:41:12. > :41:18.there will be a 0.1% fall in business investment in 2017, before

:41:19. > :41:28.and certainty begins to dissipate. Before it begins to dissipate! We

:41:29. > :41:32.are about to have Article 50", a tortuous negotiation between one and

:41:33. > :41:37.two years, and they are saying that the will dissipate, sometime at the

:41:38. > :41:39.back end of this year. But almost beggars belief. I will happily give

:41:40. > :41:51.way. Currently explain why he and his

:41:52. > :41:57.party thought there would be a sharp slowdown? They were wrong then and

:41:58. > :42:03.on the wrong about Article 50? I can say with absolute certainty that

:42:04. > :42:09.there was never a threat of an immediate collapse. There will be no

:42:10. > :42:14.problem in week one, month one or year one, year to you or your three.

:42:15. > :42:28.That gets us beyond renegotiation. The danger was always long-term.

:42:29. > :42:32.Much of his previous failure came because the last Tory government

:42:33. > :42:35.struggled the lifeblood from recovery by cutting too much too

:42:36. > :42:41.quickly with no or little regard to the consequences. That was a row set

:42:42. > :42:48.in stone with the old fiscal charter. It was almost irrespective

:42:49. > :42:51.of economic conditions. The new fiscal charter which wasn't given a

:42:52. > :42:56.looking today is certainly more flexible than the last one, but it

:42:57. > :43:00.still targets a surplus early in the next Parliament. I have to say the

:43:01. > :43:08.numbers and the timescale look precarious. The forecast for an

:43:09. > :43:13.account surpluses are tiny, not even reaching one and a half percent of

:43:14. > :43:18.GDP in this Parliament. If there is any external shock, any capital

:43:19. > :43:22.flight, if we suffer more devaluation, if negotiations go

:43:23. > :43:28.badly, these figures could fall apart very quickly indeed. These

:43:29. > :43:33.numbers, Mr Deputy Speaker, are being delivered before the full

:43:34. > :43:38.impact of the hard Tory Brexit are felt. We cannot even assess properly

:43:39. > :43:44.what the consequence of that is as the OBR tell us, and I am quoting,

:43:45. > :43:49.there is no meaningful basis for predicting the precise end point of

:43:50. > :43:55.the negotiations as a basis for our forecast. This is a simple

:43:56. > :44:01.assumption, pretending Brexit does not exist. Quite a ridiculous thing

:44:02. > :44:05.to do with the Article 50 in vacation looming. However a central

:44:06. > :44:09.forecast from the OBR is in stark contrast to what we already know.

:44:10. > :44:13.The Treasury have reported previously be UK could lose up to 66

:44:14. > :44:19.billion from a hard Brexit. The GDP billion from a hard Brexit. The GDP

:44:20. > :44:22.could fall by almost 10% if the UK reverts to WTO rules, that was made

:44:23. > :44:29.by the chair of the select committee. Other assessments mirror

:44:30. > :44:32.this. The LSE say in the long run reduce trade and low productivity

:44:33. > :44:45.will be a huge problem for the UK and will increase the cost of Brexit

:44:46. > :44:53.to between 6.5 and 9.5% of GDP. That's up to ?6,000 per household.

:44:54. > :45:04.It was suggested appointment -- unemployment could also fall. A hard

:45:05. > :45:09.Tory Brexit could mean 80,000 lost jobs and a drop in wages. If we add

:45:10. > :45:19.to that the report from the FDIC executives, saying Brexit is already

:45:20. > :45:23.having a negative impact, half the businesses survey to have seen a hit

:45:24. > :45:28.to margins due to devaluation. We can see the scale of the problem and

:45:29. > :45:34.that is what we should have seen today, mitigation to match that. To

:45:35. > :45:40.be fair to the Chancellor, he did move a little last autumn with

:45:41. > :45:56.announcements of capital for our anti-. -- R and D.

:45:57. > :46:08.The figures from last year's Autumn Statement actually showed public

:46:09. > :46:10.sector net investment falling in 17-18 and not recovering until we

:46:11. > :46:16.get into the next Parliament. The figures today for public sector

:46:17. > :46:21.growth investment actually show them falling this coming year, 17-18, to

:46:22. > :46:27.the forecast made only three and a half months ago. The money should be

:46:28. > :46:32.spent now to mitigate instead of waiting until the OBR told them the

:46:33. > :46:36.damage has been done. However, it's not all about broken promises of

:46:37. > :46:41.that deficit and borrowing. It's not even about repeating the mistakes of

:46:42. > :46:49.the past on investment. We are now in such uncertain times that

:46:50. > :46:53.protecting jobs and trade and current accounts should be front and

:46:54. > :46:57.centre, but little was said today. The red book tells us that the

:46:58. > :47:01.current account is in negative territory for the entire forecast

:47:02. > :47:05.period. The impact of net trade will be a zero or a drag on GDP growth

:47:06. > :47:14.for almost every year in the forecast period, and this is after

:47:15. > :47:20.an average 15% devaluation in sterling since the EU referendum.

:47:21. > :47:26.So... Of course I'll give way. Is he aware that the rebel also points out

:47:27. > :47:32.that over the forecast period the cumulative current-account deficit

:47:33. > :47:38.is over 30% of GDP? They would have to sell an awful lot of UK companies

:47:39. > :47:41.to fund it. It is precisely the point. The choices are that we grow

:47:42. > :47:47.and take exports seriously all we do what Tory governments have always

:47:48. > :47:53.done and soul of the family silver. What growth there is is, as I said,

:47:54. > :47:58.forecast to be based on heroic levels of business investment after

:47:59. > :48:10.the uncertainty of Brexit ends this year. Has consumption with a rise in

:48:11. > :48:22.household indebtedness, Central government funding is welcome, but

:48:23. > :48:26.with House prices for course to rise... We know the impact of this

:48:27. > :48:32.were youngsters trying to get onto the property ladder. On household

:48:33. > :48:37.that in particular, I would have thought the Chancellor will be more

:48:38. > :48:40.alert to concerns that even after excluding mortgage payments,

:48:41. > :48:45.household debt has now reached record levels. This is not a

:48:46. > :48:49.balanced recovery, but it is an issue of trade which is most

:48:50. > :48:56.worrying. The figures are clear. We have the figures for 2015. 80

:48:57. > :49:01.billion in the red. A deficit in the trading goods, ?120 million in the

:49:02. > :49:04.red, but at least he did not repeat the claims of his predecessor that

:49:05. > :49:15.we could double exports by the end of this decade to ?1 trillion.

:49:16. > :49:17.Perhaps he should tell the Secretary of State for International trade who

:49:18. > :49:20.still thinks it sensible to keep the target, even though he doesn't

:49:21. > :49:26.believe it can be met. This is not all the fault of this Chancellor,

:49:27. > :49:30.many failings have been embedded in the UK economy for decades and it's

:49:31. > :49:34.not just about exports, it's about support for innovation which I do

:49:35. > :49:38.welcome, and for manufacturing as well as boosting productivity across

:49:39. > :49:44.the board. We should have had those specific plans today. He has had

:49:45. > :49:51.enough time in office. If a substantial GDP growth not be less

:49:52. > :49:54.than 2% in every year for the forecast period, lower than

:49:55. > :50:01.precrisis trends, we should have seen measures to boost productivity.

:50:02. > :50:05.For percent higher than the 2007 level, compared to next to nothing

:50:06. > :50:11.in the UK. Targeted support for high-growth export focused SMEs.

:50:12. > :50:15.Taking more businesses out of business rates in England in tiling,

:50:16. > :50:18.not just a bit more help for a short period of time. I welcome what he

:50:19. > :50:22.said about education because if they said about education because if they

:50:23. > :50:25.inclusive growth, but we won't get inclusive growth, but we won't get

:50:26. > :50:30.inclusive growth if people are worried about putting food on the

:50:31. > :50:34.table because the welfare cuts are squeezing down incomes. I will give

:50:35. > :50:38.way. I am grateful to him for giving way. He was talking about

:50:39. > :50:43.significant emissions and I want a fish is my concern about another

:50:44. > :50:49.omission. Nothing in this statement about the climate crisis, green

:50:50. > :50:56.energy, reversing the solar tax hike, nothing about air pollution.

:50:57. > :51:01.Is it not a reckless squandering of a vital opportunity? What we have

:51:02. > :51:09.seen over the last two years will confirm that. The contract for

:51:10. > :51:13.change that were not helpful and all of the matter is that the honourable

:51:14. > :51:17.lady has raised that she is right to keep on making those points. One of

:51:18. > :51:25.the reasons the government cannot fund its policies is because of the

:51:26. > :51:29.issue with tax yield. We look at the corporation tax yield. It flat

:51:30. > :51:33.lines, it falls and it definitely falls in real terms. For the last

:51:34. > :51:43.four years of the forecast period that has happened. We have seen a

:51:44. > :51:53.scandalous attack on aspiration, on the self-employed. Taxing them more,

:51:54. > :52:02.4.2 billion or so from people, the Pope will -- the party of

:52:03. > :52:06.aspiration, putting in disincentives to starting business, to employ

:52:07. > :52:11.people, to stepping out on one's own. I think that is a decision that

:52:12. > :52:18.will come battle this Chancellor. A good way one more time. Will he not

:52:19. > :52:26.agreed that if a person works they should be taxed equally and it is a

:52:27. > :52:30.non-level playing field between those employed and self-employed.

:52:31. > :52:35.Does he think that is either fair or sustainable? This is the problem

:52:36. > :52:39.with Tories. They talk about business as if they know it,

:52:40. > :52:43.assuming every businessman as a multi billionaire. Most

:52:44. > :52:50.self-employed business people, when they start, they own less than the

:52:51. > :52:55.minimum wage. If they can set one or 2000 at the end of the to make ends

:52:56. > :53:02.meet, it's the right thing for them to do. If they become Microsoft in

:53:03. > :53:06.the future, they paid tax and everyone will benefit, but none of

:53:07. > :53:10.these people will now do this automatically. They will take a

:53:11. > :53:16.second look, have a pause, wonder if the risk is worth it because of the

:53:17. > :53:23.disincentive put in place. I won't give way at the moment. I want to

:53:24. > :53:39.make a little bit of progress. The Chancellor also... The problem is it

:53:40. > :53:47.is rather smoke and mirrors with the money spoke about today. Scotland's

:53:48. > :53:54.discretionary spending will be down 1 billion at the end of the

:53:55. > :54:00.Parliament. Every little helps, but I don't think we will be putting out

:54:01. > :54:06.the bunting to celebrate the Chancellor's la Jess. The other

:54:07. > :54:12.point I was to make is about Brexit. The hard Tory Brexit, the elephant

:54:13. > :54:16.in the room, barely mentioned by the Chancellor is approaching quickly.

:54:17. > :54:20.It does mean we revert to different rules regarding tariffs and

:54:21. > :54:23.regulated barriers is a better deal cannot be struck and I have no

:54:24. > :54:28.confidence in the ability of this government to deliver that deal.

:54:29. > :54:32.There is no guarantee of deal will be done and if the Chancellor

:54:33. > :54:36.expects the plans today and can cope with the consequence of a cliff edge

:54:37. > :54:41.Brexit, which the Prime Minister plans, then the whole government are

:54:42. > :54:45.in for a very rude awakening. Let's look at some facts. The economic

:54:46. > :54:52.value of EU citizens working in the UK is enormous. We were told last

:54:53. > :54:58.year that the impact of restrictions on migration alone due to Brexit

:54:59. > :55:03.could lead to a loss of over 1% of GDP. That's a 1% fall in GDP due to

:55:04. > :55:07.restrictions on migration alone, that will more than half the

:55:08. > :55:11.government's GDP growth forecasts for every single year in this

:55:12. > :55:15.forecast period, rendering them meaningless. Just put some colour

:55:16. > :55:21.into that, my honourable friend from Dundee West met with the computer

:55:22. > :55:27.games industry today. 98.4% of the companies that responded to them

:55:28. > :55:32.said the government should guarantee the status of EU nationals working

:55:33. > :55:37.in the UK and do it immediately. So it would be, if not a fiscal

:55:38. > :55:40.measure, an active and positive economic one for the Chancellor to

:55:41. > :55:49.have done that today. It would have been an act of positive economic

:55:50. > :55:52.measures to make sure that lost EU funding was replaced post-2020,

:55:53. > :55:59.specifically the less favoured area support scheme and particularly if

:56:00. > :56:05.EU loses the EU before the closure wind in 2019. It would been a

:56:06. > :56:07.positive measure today talk about substantial and long transitional

:56:08. > :56:10.arrangements for the financial sector to avoid the loss of jobs and

:56:11. > :56:26.income and headquarters and tax. I think my honourable friend for

:56:27. > :56:30.giving way, is he like me concerned about the announcement in the Irish

:56:31. > :56:34.press that since Brexit over 1000 UK companies have registered or taken

:56:35. > :56:39.steps to register offices in Ireland? I'm not shocked, not

:56:40. > :56:43.surprised by it. What we need to do is make sure certainly in Scotland,

:56:44. > :56:48.in the UK, if the government can find the will to do and that we make

:56:49. > :56:53.this as attractive a place as possible to continue to invest and

:56:54. > :56:58.run businesses and that means staying in the single market and

:56:59. > :57:02.finally staying in the EU. The final thing, a reference to announcements

:57:03. > :57:07.made not today but in relation to the budget in the last week. There

:57:08. > :57:13.was the decision to have extra departmental spending cuts and the

:57:14. > :57:17.decision on PIP and other welfare measures. We believe that the latter

:57:18. > :57:23.demonstrates the efficacy of the welfare cup in balancing the books

:57:24. > :57:28.on the back of the poor. Confirming many predictions the UK is heading

:57:29. > :57:33.to become more equal than any time since the days of Margaret Thatcher

:57:34. > :57:36.and the form of confirming that this government has learned nothing,

:57:37. > :57:41.tweaking the numbers to fit the ideology, being driven by a Thomas

:57:42. > :57:46.Detry agenda, failing to realise again you cannot cut your way to

:57:47. > :57:52.growth, but Mr Deputy Speaker the real tragedy of this is, just a week

:57:53. > :57:58.or so before Article 50 is invoked, Brexit, if it is the word that dare

:57:59. > :58:02.not speak its name then this country is not prepared for the economic

:58:03. > :58:10.tsunami that this government will unleash. Ten minute limit, John

:58:11. > :58:15.Redwood. Mr Deputy Speaker, I would remind the house of my register in

:58:16. > :58:18.the business interests, the good news is on the forecast. I am

:58:19. > :58:23.delighted that the government has now gone back to the forecast it put

:58:24. > :58:29.to us in March 2016 when it rightly said that the UK economy would grow

:58:30. > :58:34.by 2% in 2016 and would grow by a little over 2% in 2017. Forecasts

:58:35. > :58:41.that I could welcome them, once I held to throughout the last year and

:58:42. > :58:47.I'm delighted that the Treasury is largely back now with those more

:58:48. > :58:53.sensible forecasts. We need to ask why the Treasury and the OBR and the

:58:54. > :58:56.Bank of England and many independent forecasters got the forecast so

:58:57. > :59:00.comprehensively wrong in the summer of 2016 and why were the Autumn

:59:01. > :59:05.Statement forecasts still so wrong very recently at the end of last

:59:06. > :59:09.year. It makes me wonder whether we need some efficiency improvements in

:59:10. > :59:14.the economic forecasting departments. Do we really need all

:59:15. > :59:17.these forecasters we have in OBR, Treasury and the Bank of England if

:59:18. > :59:19.they are going to get it so comprehensively wrong and make the

:59:20. > :59:25.Chancellor's job so difficult trying to chart a stable course through a

:59:26. > :59:31.set of forecasts but I rather like a wild ride to a kind of nightmare

:59:32. > :59:35.world, we need to discover that there is no nightmare but a good

:59:36. > :59:41.outlook. I give way. Thank you Mr Deputy Speaker. The honourable

:59:42. > :59:44.gentleman says that if forecasters in the OBR and the Treasury and the

:59:45. > :59:49.Bank of England got the forecast wrong they ought to be got rid of.

:59:50. > :59:53.Well plenty of forecasters in the City of London got their forecast

:59:54. > :59:58.wrong before the crash 2018. I am sure that he doesn't believe that we

:59:59. > :00:02.should end the banking trade in the City of London. I think the

:00:03. > :00:07.honourable lady did not listen to what I said, I said do we need so

:00:08. > :00:10.many of them, we don't need so many to get it wrong. We could be more

:00:11. > :00:14.economical with getting it wrong if that is what they persist in doing!

:00:15. > :00:21.Certainly the official forecasters did completely missed the ranking

:00:22. > :00:25.crash which some of us did not mess and they got the forecast of the --

:00:26. > :00:30.the impact of the Brexit forecast wrong and they presently is now

:00:31. > :00:33.redefining what remains of the remaining campaign but I remember

:00:34. > :00:37.that they supported a campaign that said that in terms that those

:00:38. > :00:40.official forecasts were right confidence would be damage and

:00:41. > :00:44.consumer expenditure would fall, whereas it went up strongly. And

:00:45. > :00:47.they said investment would collapse and it did not collapse because the

:00:48. > :00:55.demand was there and the companies need to meet it. I give way. Just to

:00:56. > :00:59.remind the right honourable member, thank him for giving way, I remember

:01:00. > :01:02.being on the Treasury Select Committee when we interviewed the

:01:03. > :01:05.Chancellor and I took into account for his bogus forecasts which were

:01:06. > :01:12.clearly over the top and clearly bound to turn people off, and led to

:01:13. > :01:18.the wrong result happening on June 23. I am delighted that the

:01:19. > :01:21.honourable gentleman shared my scepticism, I just wish he had said

:01:22. > :01:26.more when we fought the referendum because I don't remember him being

:01:27. > :01:32.on my side making similarly helpful comments before people voted. I

:01:33. > :01:37.agree, one difficulty I found when I was construction minister is that

:01:38. > :01:41.the stats are often incomplete and based on partial information. Would

:01:42. > :01:45.he agree that if we had forecasts that were more infrequent we might

:01:46. > :01:50.get the forecast right more often. That may be right. I think we need

:01:51. > :01:53.to look at the entire question of why it went so wrong on this

:01:54. > :01:59.occasion and we need to probe further as to why they went so wrong

:02:00. > :02:04.in 2011-2008 when they disrupted the world economy in the West and they

:02:05. > :02:08.disrupted the Labour government very dramatically because there was

:02:09. > :02:12.absolutely no foresight about the consequences of the actions they

:02:13. > :02:16.were taking over the banking system, first allowing it to expand too vast

:02:17. > :02:22.and then collapsing and to quickly with the awful consequences that we

:02:23. > :02:26.know. That brings me neatly on from the bad forecast, I'm delighted that

:02:27. > :02:29.I can fully support the government's latest forecasts because they are in

:02:30. > :02:34.line with when I have been throughout and go onto the monetary

:02:35. > :02:37.situation. I think that the government does need to recognise

:02:38. > :02:43.that there's a new move afoot. We will probably see an interest rate

:02:44. > :02:49.rise in the USA next week, we may see 25 point rises over this year

:02:50. > :02:52.because they now recognise that the economy is more in advance, that

:02:53. > :02:57.there's more inflation in the system, that they need to start to

:02:58. > :03:00.normalise interest rates more. We may even hear from the European

:03:01. > :03:04.Central Bank tomorrow that they are no longer thinking of cutting rates

:03:05. > :03:09.further because they are already negative and they may need to be

:03:10. > :03:11.thinking in due course about tapering their rather generous

:03:12. > :03:15.quantitative easing programme. So we are moving into a world where

:03:16. > :03:20.interest rates are tending upwards rather than falling or staying

:03:21. > :03:24.stable. And if we are too slow in responding to that mood, I think we

:03:25. > :03:29.will find undue pressure on the pound. I don't think it's to do with

:03:30. > :03:31.Brexit, it's to do with interest-rate differentials, the

:03:32. > :03:35.pound began to fall away and the summer of 2015, most of the

:03:36. > :03:40.devaluation we have seen took place by April of last year before the

:03:41. > :03:44.vote, but there has been more pressure in recent weeks, when

:03:45. > :03:47.people look at these interest-rate differentials and say why don't I

:03:48. > :03:51.had my money in dollars because I'm not immediately getting a pick-up in

:03:52. > :04:05.interest but they will be further rate rises in America. So we need to

:04:06. > :04:07.factor that in which is why I welcomed the decision to increase

:04:08. > :04:10.public spending in certain areas. As a constituency MP, I very much

:04:11. > :04:12.welcome and want to see more money spent on social care. I am in

:04:13. > :04:15.high-cost area of the country with issue was pinching and more people

:04:16. > :04:17.need that assistance. I think the government is right to make a

:04:18. > :04:21.sensible contribution. I look forward to seeing the details. I

:04:22. > :04:25.think we are running out of time so I can't take any more interventions.

:04:26. > :04:31.By welcomed the decision to add more money for schools and for the NHS,

:04:32. > :04:34.because they're all so my area has been poorly funded for many years.

:04:35. > :04:41.We are looking forward to getting a much better settlement and a fair

:04:42. > :04:45.funding for our schools, I hope there will be something for our

:04:46. > :04:50.schools as a result of this sensible decision by the Chancellor to make

:04:51. > :04:54.increases. I think the government will generally welcomed the extra

:04:55. > :04:59.funding for NHS funding and social care. I also hope the rate relief

:05:00. > :05:03.fund will be generous. Because I again have an area where there are

:05:04. > :05:06.likely to be substantial increases in the rates, but the businesses are

:05:07. > :05:10.not necessarily generating that extra turnover that makes it easy to

:05:11. > :05:15.pay those sharp increases. We need to look after our small and growing

:05:16. > :05:19.businesses in particular and I help the fund will be well targeted and

:05:20. > :05:25.will deal with what would otherwise be a series of cut hard cases. And I

:05:26. > :05:28.welcome that extra spending and that relief on tax. Because I'm not as

:05:29. > :05:36.worried as some are about the level of the UK debt. We need to remember

:05:37. > :05:41.that the figures the government are giving us are grossed out and they

:05:42. > :05:46.are saying that over 80% of GDP is high and needs to be brought down.

:05:47. > :05:50.Of course quite a bit of that debt is owned by the Bank of England on

:05:51. > :05:54.our be half so we owed the money to ourselves! The adjusted figure is

:05:55. > :05:58.65% which I think is a reasonable level especially at a time of low

:05:59. > :06:03.interest rates when we all think that whatever happens on advanced

:06:04. > :06:06.country monetary policies they will remain abnormally low for a long

:06:07. > :06:11.period of time, well below the average we were used to before the

:06:12. > :06:16.banking crash. So I don't think this is a bad time for the state to

:06:17. > :06:22.borrow, particularly if it is investing in projects we need and

:06:23. > :06:26.may have some return. We definitely need to transport, strength and

:06:27. > :06:30.broadband, as much as it can be done by Private Finance, we definitely

:06:31. > :06:33.need better control of flooding and at the same time more water reserves

:06:34. > :06:38.the fast-growing areas of the country. We need a lot of extra

:06:39. > :06:42.housing and that brings that the need for more provision, schools and

:06:43. > :06:46.hospitals. And if we to carry on growing at the rate we have been

:06:47. > :06:49.growing in recent years we must accept that there's now a backlog of

:06:50. > :06:55.infrastructure requirements, everything from roads to water

:06:56. > :06:59.supply, through to getting our broadband up to speed, and

:07:00. > :07:03.sufficient incapacity. I want as much of that is possible to be

:07:04. > :07:07.financed in the private sector and a lot of it will and can be, but the

:07:08. > :07:12.government does have an important role in all these areas, it has to

:07:13. > :07:18.offer licenses, let us to organise the planning positions, there may be

:07:19. > :07:22.some parts of networks which will not be financially viable without

:07:23. > :07:26.government money, and that is certainly true of our road system

:07:27. > :07:31.because we have a free at the point of use system in the UK owned by the

:07:32. > :07:37.state, so because we need better roads that clearly needs to be a

:07:38. > :07:41.decent amount of investment in roads by Her Majesty's government. So come

:07:42. > :07:45.and Mr Deputy Speaker, I know the budget and the tax side was

:07:46. > :07:49.mercifully short of measures although I'm always in favour of

:07:50. > :07:55.measures that cut taxes rather than increasing them and I would have

:07:56. > :07:58.welcomed more of those because I think the Chancellor understandably

:07:59. > :08:02.wishes to go onto one budget a year in the autumn. So I think we look

:08:03. > :08:08.forward to a budget that deals with taxation in the autumn and he has

:08:09. > :08:10.set out a number of ideas for consultation or perhaps

:08:11. > :08:15.preannouncement where I trust there might be some modification by the

:08:16. > :08:18.time we get to the proper autumn budget. I would urge my right

:08:19. > :08:25.honourable friend to understand just how crucial the flexibility is in

:08:26. > :08:29.our economy that comes from so much and a growing volume of self

:08:30. > :08:35.employment, and we need to make sure that it is as easy as possible to

:08:36. > :08:39.get into self employment and that it is as worthwhile as possible when

:08:40. > :08:43.people are successful. I always think it's a good idea to try to

:08:44. > :08:49.confine tax rises too taxing things that you don't approve of much. We

:08:50. > :08:53.have a number of "Sinner" taxes and they are easier to sell to the

:08:54. > :08:57.public. I don't think we should go out of our way to tax work and

:08:58. > :09:02.enterprise and success. I know you have to do some of it because you

:09:03. > :09:06.need a lot of revenue for a range of public services that we offer but I

:09:07. > :09:12.think our taxes on those things are high enough and we might find that

:09:13. > :09:16.we raise more revenue from more work and more enterprise if the rates are

:09:17. > :09:20.lower because there's definitely a beneficial effect if you can get

:09:21. > :09:25.your rates to a competitive level worldwide. We need to understand, Mr

:09:26. > :09:29.Deputy Speaker, that other countries around the world are getting the

:09:30. > :09:33.idea of cutting their tax rates and the new president of the USA is

:09:34. > :09:38.working with Republicans on Capitol Hill at the moment over a major set

:09:39. > :09:43.of tax proposals which could cut American corporate tax rates and

:09:44. > :09:48.American income tax rates dramatically which would give

:09:49. > :09:53.America a very important competitive advantage and make America a more

:09:54. > :10:00.attractive place for talent and inward investment, we need to bear

:10:01. > :10:03.that in mind as we go into our autumn budget cycle, because I do

:10:04. > :10:08.want the UK to be the most important competitive economy in the world.

:10:09. > :10:11.And my last point in response to the previous speaker from the SNP is

:10:12. > :10:15.that he shouldn't start painting this picture of misery and collapse

:10:16. > :10:19.for three years' time, given that there was no collapse immediately

:10:20. > :10:25.after the result of the vote. Were we to end up on world Trade

:10:26. > :10:29.Organisation terms, we would collect ?12 billion of tariff revenue which

:10:30. > :10:33.we could give back to businesses here, they would only collect 5

:10:34. > :10:39.billion of the revenue on our exposed to them. So we'd be better

:10:40. > :10:42.off on that transaction, and also better off because we would

:10:43. > :10:46.presumably substitute imported food from cheaper part of the worlds if

:10:47. > :10:50.large tariffs had been placed by them on their food exports to us

:10:51. > :10:58.which should be an extraordinary type of self harm.

:10:59. > :11:04.The Chancellor spoke today about his determination to tackle the dangers

:11:05. > :11:08.lurking in the small print of contracts, so let's look at the

:11:09. > :11:17.small print of the Chancellor's own budget. Inflation, wages stagnate

:11:18. > :11:22.in, household debt rising and an NHS system and social care system on its

:11:23. > :11:29.knees. Education has been cut by ?4.6 billion. 2 billion was

:11:30. > :11:33.announced today, but it's not enough to deal with an ageing population

:11:34. > :11:37.and huge cuts faced by local authorities. Not even in the small

:11:38. > :11:42.print of the budget today was the issue of Europe. Not a single

:11:43. > :11:46.mention by the Chancellor of the European Union or the negotiations

:11:47. > :11:50.which we presume will begin at the end of this month. And there is

:11:51. > :11:56.increasing concern that a Tory hub Brexit falling back on WTO rules and

:11:57. > :12:01.tariffs will harm our exports and inwards investment further, and yet

:12:02. > :12:05.nothing today to assure businesses and investors that we will have a

:12:06. > :12:10.system that will work for them in the years ahead. And today is

:12:11. > :12:15.International Women's Day, but there is very little in the budget today

:12:16. > :12:22.that does anything at all to help women. Women have born 86% of the

:12:23. > :12:28.cuts, benefit cuts, tax rises and the cuts to in work benefits. ?80

:12:29. > :12:33.billion a year been taken out of the pockets of women in the last seven

:12:34. > :12:38.years under this Tory led government and yet the budget today does

:12:39. > :12:45.nothing to reverse that trend. When it comes to household debt, the

:12:46. > :12:48.figures are startling. The whole forecast is dependent on consumers

:12:49. > :12:55.continuing to spend, but that consumption is based on consumers

:12:56. > :13:02.racking up debts. Our savings ratio has been falling since 2010 and is

:13:03. > :13:10.now at a record low. Unsecured debt up 10% last year, household debts to

:13:11. > :13:21.income ratio is now 145%, up 6% in one ear. I will give way. If a young

:13:22. > :13:24.person takes out a mortgage, is it sensible to borrow? Unsecured debt,

:13:25. > :13:29.as the Right Honourable gentleman knows, also grew by 10% last year.

:13:30. > :13:35.That is not secured against anything solid at all. The household income

:13:36. > :13:39.ratio is back with the levels we experienced in 2008. It should so in

:13:40. > :13:45.all of our minds seeds of doubt about the sustainability of our

:13:46. > :13:48.economy. I am concerned about the ability of consumers to carry on

:13:49. > :13:53.bearing this burden. They will either have to do it by increasing

:13:54. > :13:59.their debts or by real wage increases, and yet in the budget

:14:00. > :14:03.today we saw real wage contract sharply because of the sharp

:14:04. > :14:10.increases in inflation that we are seen as a result of the depreciation

:14:11. > :14:14.of our currency. This is not an economy well placed to withstand the

:14:15. > :14:17.strains and shocks that lie ahead. My argument today is that this

:14:18. > :14:24.dangerous reliance on borrowing and debt is directly connected to the

:14:25. > :14:25.government's failure to put wealth and opportunity in the hands of the

:14:26. > :14:31.many rather than just the few. many rather than just the few.

:14:32. > :14:36.Whilst the front bench on the other side said they are on the side of

:14:37. > :14:40.ordinary people, they have not shown this. Last week the Institute for

:14:41. > :14:44.Fiscal Studies show that we are on course for a rapid rise in

:14:45. > :14:49.inequality over the next five years. The bottom 10% of the earnings

:14:50. > :14:54.distribution, those who already have the least, will see their incomes

:14:55. > :14:59.fall, particularly due to universal credit. Meanwhile those Wolfsburg --

:15:00. > :15:03.those with the most will see their take-home pay increase by 10%. This

:15:04. > :15:13.is a direct consequence of government failure to increase

:15:14. > :15:21.wages. One in ten people is paid less than the living wage. This

:15:22. > :15:27.cannot be right. But that is not it. The government has now ignored to

:15:28. > :15:33.independent court rulings that will save them ?3.7 billion by cutting

:15:34. > :15:36.access to disability benefits to over 160,000 people. No mention of

:15:37. > :15:42.this in the budget today. As switching people from disability

:15:43. > :15:45.living allowance to personal independence payments as seen people

:15:46. > :15:50.lose the most ability cards because the benefits have been cut under

:15:51. > :15:53.these under the changes to the assessment rules. This is not the

:15:54. > :15:57.sort of country I want to live in and I don't think it's the sort of

:15:58. > :16:00.country our constituents want to live in either. It's not only a

:16:01. > :16:04.betrayal of the hard-working majority that this government

:16:05. > :16:07.promised to put first, but it is a disregard for the poorest and most

:16:08. > :16:14.vulnerable in all of our communities. It is not the way to

:16:15. > :16:17.build a better balance for a more broad-based economy that we need to

:16:18. > :16:22.build for the more turbulent times we will see. Let me give a few areas

:16:23. > :16:25.where I think the decisions today have been misjudged and how the

:16:26. > :16:32.government could have delivered a fairer budget. First of all, the

:16:33. > :16:37.government are going ahead with a cut to inheritance tax for the

:16:38. > :16:40.richest people in our country. The money should be spent on expanding

:16:41. > :16:47.free childcare for families, particularly those on the lowest

:16:48. > :16:56.income. Almost half of this inheritance tax giveaways will go to

:16:57. > :17:00.the south-east. -- London and the south-east. What about Scotland,

:17:01. > :17:08.Wales, Northern Ireland and in the rest of the UK which does not

:17:09. > :17:16.benefit one pen with -- 1p. I will give way. She said it was important

:17:17. > :17:20.Did she hear that this government Did she hear that this government

:17:21. > :17:25.spends ?6 billion a year on childcare? The honourable lady will

:17:26. > :17:30.also know the manifesto promise that her government were elected on has

:17:31. > :17:34.been delayed time and time again and if the honourable lady really thinks

:17:35. > :17:39.that the support that is going to we hope come forward in September is

:17:40. > :17:42.enough to help women and families get back to work and deliver the

:17:43. > :17:47.high quality childcare for all children that we need, I'm afraid

:17:48. > :17:52.that she is deluded. Cutting inheritance tax is unfair and

:17:53. > :17:55.misguided and is a blatantly unfair policy that is further evidence of

:17:56. > :17:58.this governmentnot warped sense of priorities when we should be doing

:17:59. > :18:06.more to help the millions of families struggling with childcare

:18:07. > :18:09.costs. Just one in 2500 people in England and Wales will benefit from

:18:10. > :18:18.this cut to the inheritance tax which will leave 26,000 of the

:18:19. > :18:25.richest families out of inheritance tax. It's another policy benefiting

:18:26. > :18:30.the well off when we should be investing in the future of all our

:18:31. > :18:34.people. I would like to turn to the issue of those who are

:18:35. > :18:38.self-employed. The Chancellor today made changes to national insurance

:18:39. > :18:49.contributions for those who are self-employed. I'm all in favour of

:18:50. > :18:59.cracking down on bogus self-employed status. I'm also in favour of

:19:00. > :19:04.cracking down on tax avoidance by individuals incorporating rather

:19:05. > :19:09.than being direct employees. But I am worried about these changes. My

:19:10. > :19:14.back of the envelope calculations suggest that a self-employed person

:19:15. > :19:20.on ?20,000 a year will end up paying ?20 extra a month because of these

:19:21. > :19:24.changes in national insurance. But also in the budget documents we know

:19:25. > :19:29.and from previous announcements in budgets that the cuts to corporation

:19:30. > :19:34.tax are worth ?3.8 billion and primarily benefit the largest

:19:35. > :19:38.businesses. In this budget we are increasing taxes on the self

:19:39. > :19:42.employed by ?2 billion. It seems it's the wrong priority and we

:19:43. > :19:46.should do more to help the self-employed and small businesses

:19:47. > :19:51.and less to help big business who are already making large profits.

:19:52. > :19:55.Also in the budget documents the Chancellor spoke about tax

:19:56. > :20:08.avoidance, but the tax avoidance measures amounted to over 800

:20:09. > :20:12.billion pounds. It's right the Chancellor says that we should look

:20:13. > :20:16.paternity benefits for those who are paternity benefits for those who are

:20:17. > :20:20.self-employed, but what about other benefits people get and take for

:20:21. > :20:25.granted if they are direct employees? Sickness benefits, access

:20:26. > :20:29.to universal credit. Is a chance that was going to look at access to

:20:30. > :20:34.those things for the self-employed as well as ensuring those who are

:20:35. > :20:38.self-employed and get a mortgage and get a private pension, things that

:20:39. > :20:47.are too many self-employed people they find are to them today. Yes, I

:20:48. > :20:51.will give way. I'm listening with interest to her speech. She's made

:20:52. > :21:01.reference to a number of benefits. She might recall that in late 2013 B

:21:02. > :21:07.Lader -- the Labour Party shadow member said they would be tougher on

:21:08. > :21:17.benefits. I said I would be tougher than the Tories on controlling the

:21:18. > :21:21.rising bill on benefits. We have more being spent on housing benefits

:21:22. > :21:25.because we are not building social housing and we have unemployed

:21:26. > :21:29.people not being paid a living wage. I will take no lectures at all from

:21:30. > :21:35.the Tories on controlling Social Security benefits. In fact, you have

:21:36. > :21:37.breached your Social Security cap and you have had to come back to

:21:38. > :21:44.this Parliament to explain yourselves. Third, Mr Deputy

:21:45. > :21:47.Speaker, I welcomed the announcement that the government wants to crack

:21:48. > :21:54.down on the small print in contracts. I have a specific

:21:55. > :22:05.request, and the minister at the dispatch box knows about this. In

:22:06. > :22:10.2013 Parliament charges... If you go overdrawn with high street bank, you

:22:11. > :22:14.can be charged as much as ?5 a day, almost ?100 a month. If this

:22:15. > :22:17.government is serious about protecting consumers from

:22:18. > :22:22.unscrupulous business practices, it should get tough on the banks who

:22:23. > :22:28.are using overdraft services to -- charges to exploit customers,

:22:29. > :22:32.especially those who are vulnerable. Finally I want to say something

:22:33. > :22:37.about grammar schools. In the budget documents it says the government are

:22:38. > :22:45.going to be spending ?1 billion on new schools, presumably primarily

:22:46. > :22:50.grammar schools, and get only ?260 million -- and yet only ?260 million

:22:51. > :22:57.combine for all other schools. How can that be fair? Is that spending

:22:58. > :23:01.?25 million on bussing children to these new grammar schools, why don't

:23:02. > :23:05.we do more to ensure all our children have the best possible

:23:06. > :23:09.start in life. That will be a fair budget and a budget that addresses

:23:10. > :23:13.the concerns of all our constituents. We won't get it from

:23:14. > :23:21.the Conservatives, we will only get it from Labour. It is a pleasure to

:23:22. > :23:25.follow the Right Honourable Lady, the member for Leeds West, who spoke

:23:26. > :23:32.in her speech with greater passion, more clarity, far greater clarity

:23:33. > :23:37.and much more intellectual coherence than the speech given by the leader

:23:38. > :23:44.of her party some moments ago. I have to say, this budget for me is

:23:45. > :23:52.really important. Is important for three key reasons. First, because I

:23:53. > :23:57.think the matters of avoidance of matters of which I have complained

:23:58. > :24:02.about for a long time and care about very deeply. Second, Brexit will

:24:03. > :24:08.touch and concern my constituency of Dover and deal very deeply in deal.

:24:09. > :24:13.I will set out why we need to be ready on day 12 years hence for all

:24:14. > :24:17.eventualities that may occur. Finally I'm going to talk about the

:24:18. > :24:23.cost of motoring and in making sure that we have a fair deal for people

:24:24. > :24:30.who drive their cars because 90% of all journeys in this country, all

:24:31. > :24:33.vehicles, or miles travelled are on our roads, so it's important we are

:24:34. > :24:41.fair to people who travel on the roads. First on avoidance. I'm

:24:42. > :24:46.passionate about having a level playing field for Internet retailers

:24:47. > :24:50.and big businesses and big multinationals and the like free

:24:51. > :24:54.trade in this country yet don't contribute to the tax system, about

:24:55. > :25:01.which I've talked about on many occasions. Amazon, Apple, Google,

:25:02. > :25:04.Star and the rest of them. Also, a level playing field is needed for

:25:05. > :25:10.those who retail on the Internet. I deeply concerned that the two long

:25:11. > :25:17.there has been a serious problem with retailers from overseas not

:25:18. > :25:22.accounting for VAT and customs duty on the imports into the United

:25:23. > :25:29.Kingdom. That needs to change. My calculations, the government

:25:30. > :25:38.calculations think it is 2 billion. I think it's possibly 7 billion. I

:25:39. > :25:45.welcome the National Audit Office is investigating this. I give way.

:25:46. > :25:51.Would the honourable gentleman agree that this hammers small businesses,

:25:52. > :25:56.and to create a level playing field is it time for the government to

:25:57. > :26:02.act? The honourable lady makes a very powerful point. This is why I

:26:03. > :26:08.welcome greatly on page 37 of the Redbook, paragraph 3.49, the call

:26:09. > :26:13.for evidence on the VAT split pay model, the government is looking at

:26:14. > :26:16.it, it is absolutely welcome, the work of many campaigners to

:26:17. > :26:21.highlight the situation is getting the government looking at it closely

:26:22. > :26:25.and HMRC looking at it closely and the public health committee looking

:26:26. > :26:29.at it closely, getting the National Audit Office to look at it closely

:26:30. > :26:34.and I am more confident now than for a long time that we may see a more

:26:35. > :26:38.level playing field for British businesses to compete fairly and

:26:39. > :26:42.squarely from those from overseas in Internet trading. It's also

:26:43. > :26:46.important to have a level playing field for workers, be they employed

:26:47. > :26:50.or self-employed. I've heard the remarks of the Leader of the

:26:51. > :26:54.Opposition and indeed the SNP asking isn't it appalling that there should

:26:55. > :27:02.be a level playing field surely the South employed and the employed. I

:27:03. > :27:06.think the Chancellor was right to bring in measures today. I thank the

:27:07. > :27:14.honourable gentleman forgiving way. What will he say to the self

:27:15. > :27:18.employed in my constituency and the 2500 self-employed people in his

:27:19. > :27:22.constituency who read the Tory manifesto and the times and pledged

:27:23. > :27:33.there would be no increase in national insurance. There would be

:27:34. > :27:36.no increase but in class for that is a different matter and making sure

:27:37. > :27:45.it is more of a level playing field is a different matter. For me it's a

:27:46. > :27:51.matter of fairness, social justice, fairness and the right thing to do

:27:52. > :28:00.must come first. I regret that the Labour Party don't seem to take that

:28:01. > :28:05.position. I give way. I would not normally intervene but I say to the

:28:06. > :28:09.honourable member holiday-maker, parental leave, self-employed people

:28:10. > :28:14.do not have access to these in work benefits so how can it be right to

:28:15. > :28:18.increase the tax on them? Is fascinating, one moment Labour and

:28:19. > :28:21.the trade unions say it is outrageous and we need to stop the

:28:22. > :28:28.gig economy and the next minute they say it is outrageous that we should

:28:29. > :28:33.protect the self-employed. The Labour Party is completely unfit for

:28:34. > :28:38.government. Let me turn to the matter of Brexit. In my constituency

:28:39. > :28:42.of Dover, last summer we saw a taste of what will come if we are not

:28:43. > :28:46.ready. We saw queues of traffic or on the motorways, and that will be a

:28:47. > :28:53.tea party, some say, compared to where it will if we are not ready.

:28:54. > :28:56.This is why we need to have more investment in the M20 to make sure

:28:57. > :29:04.it is wider and stronger in joining the aid to. So we have the

:29:05. > :29:07.infrastructure and investment in the port as well to make sure we're

:29:08. > :29:11.ready from day one. I know some members of the party opposite look

:29:12. > :29:18.forward to this day, and like to feast on it, frankly. I take a

:29:19. > :29:23.different feel. That's why I am making this call for investment to

:29:24. > :29:30.be brought forward and four us to get on with it. Make this investment

:29:31. > :29:38.in the port of Dover more than we have most graciously made in Calais

:29:39. > :29:44.in recent years. We need to be ready on day one if we do not get a deal.

:29:45. > :29:48.In two years I hope we will get a deal. I hope the commission will

:29:49. > :29:54.negotiate in good faith, the way they go on about nonexistent and

:29:55. > :30:01.non-legally insistent liabilities, even then if we get a deal from the

:30:02. > :30:07.commission, they are in an even worse place than the European

:30:08. > :30:15.Commission. It is, I hope, a deal that we will manage to do. I believe

:30:16. > :30:18.that the Prime Minister is the only leader we could possibly have that

:30:19. > :30:23.will deliver such a deal but it may be that we don't manage this in two

:30:24. > :30:26.years' time because we have the French election cycle and the German

:30:27. > :30:31.election cycle as well so we need to be ready if we have to be ready if

:30:32. > :30:37.the European Union isn't able to do a deal. I think we are ready and

:30:38. > :30:41.able but I don't necessarily think the European Union is ready. In that

:30:42. > :30:45.case we need to be able to keep the seamless flow of trade. I'm also

:30:46. > :30:52.making the case and looking at industry experts as to how we can

:30:53. > :30:55.manage a seamless flow from Calais, we have very good relationships with

:30:56. > :30:59.the French authorities and we need to make that work. I think it is

:31:00. > :31:02.important that all sides of this House are interested in making that

:31:03. > :31:08.work because it needs to work for all of us. It's not much good if you

:31:09. > :31:13.have a queue at Dover to get your Scottish whiskey ad of the country,

:31:14. > :31:17.it can't be good for the Northern Power has if they can't get what

:31:18. > :31:21.they need to power the northern powerhouse. This is why all of us

:31:22. > :31:28.need to invest in making sure that the Channel ports need to be

:31:29. > :31:34.working. I believe we need to have a debate on as sub and we can make

:31:35. > :31:41.sure that we are ready on day one, for Scotland, for Wales, for the UK,

:31:42. > :31:45.it matters to us all, and Ireland, we are all in this together, we all

:31:46. > :31:54.need to work together for the good of us all. Of course. Would he not

:31:55. > :31:58.agree that after we trigger Article 50 it will be for the other EU

:31:59. > :32:03.member states to decide what will be good for them and if we hold the

:32:04. > :32:08.line on migration and we won't be in the single market, that is just it.

:32:09. > :32:15.Other people deserve a final day on the exit package because that is

:32:16. > :32:20.what we voted for -- we all say. Liverpool and the people of this

:32:21. > :32:28.nation, if he likes it or not, voted for an end to unchecked controls and

:32:29. > :32:31.migrants, and voted that we would not stay in the single market

:32:32. > :32:36.because we were not compatible with that and equally we would leave the

:32:37. > :32:38.customs union if we were to have successful Department of

:32:39. > :32:42.International trade. I simply say if there is no free trade deal agreed

:32:43. > :32:47.on day one we need to be ready, for our part. I believe we can be,

:32:48. > :32:50.should be, must be, and I am setting out how we need help deliver and for

:32:51. > :32:57.the good of this nation finally, motoring. I really welcome and four

:32:58. > :33:01.sevenths years we have had a freeze in fuel duty. I'm proud of the work

:33:02. > :33:09.that's been done by this fake who will which are currently share and

:33:10. > :33:14.the chairman, it's great because it means hundreds of pounds less for

:33:15. > :33:19.drivers. But as a good thing for the hard-working classes of modern

:33:20. > :33:23.Britain who travel by road, 90% of all vehicle miles by road and it is

:33:24. > :33:28.important that we are fair and just to the end of diesel cars. I hear

:33:29. > :33:33.people say that we must make sure we put more taxes on drivers of these

:33:34. > :33:36.cars. After Kyoto people were encouraged to buy them by the

:33:37. > :33:40.previous government. It is right that we support them in replace them

:33:41. > :33:43.if necessary, it is wrong to demonise them. It is right to make

:33:44. > :33:48.the right decisions going forward and I think we should increase taxes

:33:49. > :33:51.going forward but it is very important that we treat this matter

:33:52. > :33:56.sensitively and carefully and also that would that the statistics and

:33:57. > :34:02.the numbers. And these are really clear. In London, diesel cars are

:34:03. > :34:05.10% of the problem. We don't care about polluting planes, Timber said

:34:06. > :34:10.of the problem, dirty diggers and construction sites, more than 10% of

:34:11. > :34:14.the problem. We don't hear about club and London buses, 10% of the

:34:15. > :34:23.problem, ageing trains with fumes at each station, almost 10% of the

:34:24. > :34:26.problem. We need to look at the whole thing, not just pick a segment

:34:27. > :34:29.and bully these people and not the rest. We need to deal with this so

:34:30. > :34:32.that everyone gets fresh air and is able to breathe easier. Second, we

:34:33. > :34:37.need to invest more inroads to ease congestion, not to increase it. It

:34:38. > :34:45.is important that we look beyond road network to the wider road

:34:46. > :34:50.network, the problem of congestion across the country costs the country

:34:51. > :34:55.and the economy money and costs the country money in terms of the

:34:56. > :35:02.pollution problem as well. If we keep traffic flowing smoothly we can

:35:03. > :35:06.reduce pollution. If we invest in the future of electric cars we will

:35:07. > :35:10.reduce pollution, if we treat motorists fairly and encourage them

:35:11. > :35:14.to make the right decisions we were reduce pollution. We can have a

:35:15. > :35:18.positive future for motoring with modern technology, modern vehicles,

:35:19. > :35:22.reducing pollution, having roads which are effective and which will

:35:23. > :35:27.make the economy will successful and productive and enable a better

:35:28. > :35:34.future for our children in terms of economic prosperity and in terms of

:35:35. > :35:37.files. Christopher Leslie. Mr Deputy Speaker, I think it's always good to

:35:38. > :35:42.try and find an area of the budget way you'd like to show common ground

:35:43. > :35:46.so I would like to say how much I am pleased to say that the Midlands

:35:47. > :35:50.engine is something that the Chancellor focused on in his speech

:35:51. > :35:54.and I will talk about that on another occasion but initialled Tom

:35:55. > :36:01.Arscott, there were a couple of issues that stood out. The fact that

:36:02. > :36:13.there is a shocking 20% cut in local authority spending from 2016-2017

:36:14. > :36:18.from 8.2 billion, a 20% drop for Council funding is an incredibly

:36:19. > :36:23.difficult thing to be coped with, for the services that depend on

:36:24. > :36:30.that. My honourable friend from Leeds West asked if Roy would

:36:31. > :36:33.associate myself with this part of the budget speech, the incongruence

:36:34. > :36:37.between the money given to the free schools for capital spending and

:36:38. > :36:41.just one quarter of that amount, ?260 million for the thousands of

:36:42. > :36:45.other schools that the rest of our children use. I think this is

:36:46. > :36:51.typical of the government's priorities. In the short time I

:36:52. > :36:54.have, two key issues stand out in this budget speech. One is this

:36:55. > :37:01.issue of the self-employed. I'll come to that in a moment. The first

:37:02. > :37:11.is about the looming Harry Kane on the horizon, the government deciding

:37:12. > :37:16.-- hurricane. The government heading straight towards it by trying to

:37:17. > :37:20.negotiate our ability to stay in the single market. For Chancellor of the

:37:21. > :37:25.Exchequer at this moment of the economic cycle to fail to even

:37:26. > :37:32.mention Brexit or our imminent exit from the EU is incredible! To not

:37:33. > :37:40.have our potential exit from the single market as part of the core

:37:41. > :37:45.analysis let alone finding ways to bolster our economies so we are

:37:46. > :37:50.prepared for that storm is, I think, a real betrayal of the interests

:37:51. > :37:56.that our economy and constituents need. I will give way. He clearly

:37:57. > :37:59.hasn't read the report on the Budget Statement because its first

:38:00. > :38:05.statement on page one says, as the UK begins the formal process of

:38:06. > :38:10.exiting the UDP in union... So he can hardly argue that the Treasury

:38:11. > :38:15.bench hasn't taken into account our departure from the EU -- the formal

:38:16. > :38:19.process of exiting the European Union. If a Mark White and the

:38:20. > :38:23.Chancellor not mention it in his speech? Someone said recently that

:38:24. > :38:29.this is no purpose government, everything has been blown out of the

:38:30. > :38:33.water because of Brexit. Why pretend it is not an issue and that it is

:38:34. > :38:39.fine and we will cope, don't worry, there is nothing to see here, Brexit

:38:40. > :38:44.is going to be at the front and centre of our considerations. What

:38:45. > :38:48.has happened since sterling has been devalued so significantly? We've

:38:49. > :38:58.have seen consumer spending which has been propping up the economy so

:38:59. > :39:06.smudge in recent months, if we don't have consumers in to Limerick with

:39:07. > :39:12.spending power, if wages would keep pace with that don't be surprised if

:39:13. > :39:24.this economy starts to shudder, and as the OBR says on page six, we see

:39:25. > :39:29.a squeeze growth. At least the Chancellor acknowledged that in his

:39:30. > :39:35.speech but unless we find some way of catching up with Germans and the

:39:36. > :39:40.French who produce in four days what our employees take five days to

:39:41. > :39:44.produce, unless we narrow that productivity gap we are not going to

:39:45. > :39:49.generate the wages we need to make sure we have the growth and

:39:50. > :39:57.prosperity. The uncertainty that hangs over businesses that export,

:39:58. > :40:03.trade for their income, is immense. That's not just in terms of market

:40:04. > :40:09.access, 80% of the economy is services, and whatever they

:40:10. > :40:13.agreement the ministers get, and they had better get a free trade

:40:14. > :40:17.agreement, those tend not to deal with service sector trading issues.

:40:18. > :40:22.The National Institute of economic and social research predicted a 61%

:40:23. > :40:31.potential for an our services trade, even with a free trade agreement. So

:40:32. > :40:35.ministers have their work cut out. Not to mention it in the budget

:40:36. > :40:42.speech is astonishing. I feel that is the big issue. I will give way.

:40:43. > :40:50.The Chancellor did mention it. In the second sentence of his Budget

:40:51. > :40:54.speech he said, we start our negotiations to exit the European

:40:55. > :41:02.Union and this Budget lays forward our plan for a bright future. Well,

:41:03. > :41:06.the Brexit analysis that should be in the Budget should be taking

:41:07. > :41:10.account of the drivers that produce economic growth. It is going to

:41:11. > :41:13.affect consumers, we know that. He didn't touch on those issues. It's

:41:14. > :41:18.going to affect business investment, he didn't touch on some of those

:41:19. > :41:23.issues. Trade, well, obviously, that's going to be affected. Of

:41:24. > :41:27.course, public sector investment and public service expenditure is going

:41:28. > :41:31.to be radically affected by this. The reason I keep banging on about

:41:32. > :41:36.the impact on the financial services sector is because it general rates

:41:37. > :41:39.?67 billion of revenue for our Exchequer which I need in Nottingham

:41:40. > :41:43.East in my constituency to pay for those schools and the hospitals and

:41:44. > :41:49.the vital public services and the Minister knows this is the case, as

:41:50. > :41:52.well. So, this has to be at the centre of our analysis and the

:41:53. > :41:55.centre of our policy expectations and I am as stonished that the

:41:56. > :42:03.Government tried to skirt around it. They don't want to talk about it,

:42:04. > :42:07.they hope it's going to disappear. We have to on this side of the House

:42:08. > :42:13.acknowledge there is no magic money tree for all of the issues that are

:42:14. > :42:19.coming ahead. We know that debt is very high, we know borrowing is

:42:20. > :42:22.high. In fact, something that the Chancellor didn't spot - didn't talk

:42:23. > :42:27.about, he is projecting borrowing to rise, go up in the next financial

:42:28. > :42:32.year from ?51 billion to ?58 billion. We do have to be very

:42:33. > :42:37.prudent and careful with taxpayers' money, that's absolutely the case

:42:38. > :42:43.and the OBR predict real problems over the next 20, 30, 40 years

:42:44. > :42:47.because of an ageing population, because of health expenditure

:42:48. > :42:52.questions, as well. Just as there is no magic money tree, there is also

:42:53. > :42:57.no such thing as the have your cake and eat it world outside the single

:42:58. > :43:04.market. Those on the fringes of politics and I would say to those

:43:05. > :43:08.hard Brexiteers who think they can continue with the economic

:43:09. > :43:15.relationship we have with the 27 other European countries, with no

:43:16. > :43:19.economic effect whatsoever, they're living in cloud Cuckoo land. We

:43:20. > :43:23.should be trying to salvage aur relationship with the single market

:43:24. > :43:27.and preserve that frictionless tariff-free trade which is at the

:43:28. > :43:29.cornerstone very much of many of our industries, particularly the

:43:30. > :43:34.manufacturing and car industries and so forth. The second big issue I

:43:35. > :43:38.wanted to touch on was this question about those in self-employment. Five

:43:39. > :43:44.million people in self-employment in this country. I have 5100 people in

:43:45. > :43:50.self-employment in Nottingham East. They were have seen the Chancellor's

:43:51. > :43:53.decision to break a Solemn manifesto promise at the last general election

:43:54. > :43:57.where the Conservatives promised that there would be no increase in

:43:58. > :44:03.national insurance contributions, to have ripped up that promise and to

:44:04. > :44:08.increase national insurance on the self-employed, not by 1%, by to then

:44:09. > :44:12.go up to 11% of national insurance contributions, I feel they will see

:44:13. > :44:16.as a betrayal of the offer that was made and the promise that was made

:44:17. > :44:21.by the Conservatives at the last general election. Those five million

:44:22. > :44:26.self-employed people have a number of disadvantages relative to those

:44:27. > :44:29.with stable salaried employment contracts which I think makes their

:44:30. > :44:33.lives more precarious. Those are the entrepreneurs who general rate much

:44:34. > :44:37.of the wealth and the prosperity that we need in this country. As my

:44:38. > :44:42.honourable friend said they don't necessarily have that holiday pay,

:44:43. > :44:47.the sick pay or opportunities that exist in full-time employment and

:44:48. > :44:51.salaried work. They have less likelihood of an ability to save for

:44:52. > :44:55.the long-term. Often haven't had their company pensions and so forth

:44:56. > :45:01.that exist in other forms of employment. They have an enormous

:45:02. > :45:06.risk if they fall ill, with poor insurance coverage for loss of

:45:07. > :45:11.earnings and the self-employed also find it much harder to get a

:45:12. > :45:16.mortgage because of their income is far less predictable than for those

:45:17. > :45:21.on stable salaried contracts. Yes, I will give way. I am grateful. He is

:45:22. > :45:25.making a very telling point about the self-employed. Isn't this also

:45:26. > :45:30.an attack on rural communities where many people don't have the choice or

:45:31. > :45:33.ability to access jobs in employment and have to be self-employed?

:45:34. > :45:37.Exactly right. The self-employed don't have that same security which

:45:38. > :45:41.I think is the reason why we have had this discrepancy in the levels

:45:42. > :45:47.of taxation historically. Nearly half of the UK's self-employed are

:45:48. > :45:52.in low pay, compared with a fifth of those in employment and the SMF

:45:53. > :45:56.researches suggests 1. 7 million earn less than the national living

:45:57. > :46:00.wage and the Government's new universal credit rules are going to

:46:01. > :46:03.cap self-employment recipients of universal credit on the assumption

:46:04. > :46:05.they receive the living wage over a standard working week which isn't

:46:06. > :46:12.necessarily the case in seasonal work or elsewhere. So the

:46:13. > :46:17.self-employed who are working longer, despite earning less,

:46:18. > :46:21.typically twice the proportion working 50 hours each week than in

:46:22. > :46:25.employment, they are going to be paying a significant price if

:46:26. > :46:29.they're on ?27,000 of profits, taking home, they will be hit by an

:46:30. > :46:33.extra ?30 a month now because of this decision and by the way I would

:46:34. > :46:39.say to my honourable friends the other change that the Chancellor

:46:40. > :46:42.announced, cutting the difficult depd allowance to just ?2,000 is

:46:43. > :46:49.another hit to the self-employed -- dividend. That is also how they have

:46:50. > :46:54.derived their income. So, if you would, a double whammy for the

:46:55. > :46:57.self-employed. Hit by a broken promise by the Conservatives, they

:46:58. > :47:05.said they wouldn't increase national insurance and they are doing so. And

:47:06. > :47:10.hit again by the cut in the dividend allowance, harm to those running

:47:11. > :47:13.small businesses, really hitting their incomes and devaluing the

:47:14. > :47:17.trust that should exist in politics when politicians make a promise,

:47:18. > :47:23.they ought to be able to keep them. It erodes the belief that people can

:47:24. > :47:28.have in the words of ministers to be trusted and on behalf of those 5100

:47:29. > :47:32.self-employed constituents that I have in Nottingham East, the five

:47:33. > :47:42.million self-employed nationwide, they will not forget this betrayal.

:47:43. > :47:47.Thank you. It's a great pleasure to follow the right honourable

:47:48. > :47:52.gentleman and it's a pleasure also to support this statement and also

:47:53. > :47:57.the OBR and fiscal outlook that supports it which gives generally

:47:58. > :48:02.very good news indeed and confound many of the doom-sayer that is have

:48:03. > :48:06.been talking over the last several months. Can I say from the outset

:48:07. > :48:10.that whilst I agree very much with the statement and the points made

:48:11. > :48:14.and some of the things that it has announced, I do have some small

:48:15. > :48:18.concerns around national insurance and in that I find myself in

:48:19. > :48:22.agreement with the concerns expressed by the honourable member

:48:23. > :48:26.for Nottingham East and the honourable lady, the member for

:48:27. > :48:30.Leeds West. It's very important to ensure that we don't disadvantage

:48:31. > :48:35.self-employed people. This party on this side always has been and I hope

:48:36. > :48:40.always will be the party that supports white van man and may I say

:48:41. > :48:46.on this particular day also white van woman and it's vitally important

:48:47. > :48:52.in abolishing class two and instituting class four for those

:48:53. > :48:58.previously covered by class two that we don't disadvantage those

:48:59. > :49:01.individuals and my back of the cigarette calculations do indeed

:49:02. > :49:03.support the concerns expressed by the honourable member for Leeds

:49:04. > :49:10.West, her figures more or less are the same as mine. I hope very much

:49:11. > :49:17.we could have some reassurance from the Treasury front bench later on

:49:18. > :49:23.that plumbers and electricians and plasters and people of that sort are

:49:24. > :49:28.not going to be disadvantaged particularly as we consider further

:49:29. > :49:31.measures that will equilrate them of employed people of the sort

:49:32. > :49:36.described around paternity benefits and the like which of course ignore

:49:37. > :49:40.the fact that employed people have advantages that the self-employed

:49:41. > :49:45.very often do not. I don't have a university in my constituency but I

:49:46. > :49:49.do have an FE college and I know the principal of Wiltshire College will

:49:50. > :49:53.welcome the announcement made today in relation to T-levels. We have

:49:54. > :49:59.long ignored technical education in this country, to our great

:50:00. > :50:02.disadvantage. I rather suspect that our poor productivity compared with

:50:03. > :50:07.our European competitors is in large part due to the fact we haven't

:50:08. > :50:13.skilled our workforce in the way that we should have been doing since

:50:14. > :50:19.1945. So I very much welcome this development. I also welcome the

:50:20. > :50:22.funding for children wishing to access selective education and I

:50:23. > :50:25.think the point was missed by the honourable lady, the member for

:50:26. > :50:31.Leeds West, that this is money of course for children on free school

:50:32. > :50:36.meals. It's not generally available. It's a measure that seeks to improve

:50:37. > :50:39.the chances of the poorest. I would have thought the party opposite

:50:40. > :50:44.would be welcoming that. That said, can I say from the outset that I

:50:45. > :50:48.oppose further grammar schools t would not be good for areas like

:50:49. > :50:52.mine. I fear it is a development because of course the flipside of

:50:53. > :50:55.that would be an increase in the number of secondary modern schools

:50:56. > :51:01.which I don't think has been positive in the past and I would not

:51:02. > :51:05.like to see visited on areas like mine in the future. I will be

:51:06. > :51:11.concerned if the measures announced today which do appear to advantage

:51:12. > :51:17.disproportionately free schools seeking to select their intake were

:51:18. > :51:22.grammar schools by the back door. I am particularly concerned for health

:51:23. > :51:25.and social care and I very much welcome the positive announcement

:51:26. > :51:28.that is have been made today, by my reckoning ?2. 4 billion over three

:51:29. > :51:32.years to health and social care, would be very helpful over and above

:51:33. > :51:36.the announcements that had previously been made and in

:51:37. > :51:39.particular the increase by 3% on the pre-September which will help

:51:40. > :51:43.towards social care. On that can I sound a cautionary note. It would be

:51:44. > :51:49.wrong in principle if we were to shift from raising money for social

:51:50. > :51:52.care from general taxation, which is currently the situation, to a system

:51:53. > :51:58.based upon property, the reason for that is very obvious. In that the

:51:59. > :52:04.most disadvantaged areas are those areas least capable of sustaining

:52:05. > :52:08.that kind of tax burden. 3. 4 billion over three years is a great

:52:09. > :52:12.deal of money and I am particularly pleased that the Chancellor in his

:52:13. > :52:18.statement suggested that in the autumn statement there would be

:52:19. > :52:22.more, to fund the capital costs of STPs, many of us in areas again

:52:23. > :52:25.would be profoundly affected by those, would be concerned those

:52:26. > :52:30.costs are not being met and the revenue savings over the years that

:52:31. > :52:34.are necessary to guarantee the five-year forward view will not be

:52:35. > :52:42.possible without the injection of significant sums of money of which I

:52:43. > :52:46.hope this is the start. I very much welcome, therefore, the ?300 million

:52:47. > :52:52.announced for those capital costs and I look forward to even more in

:52:53. > :52:55.the Autumn Statememt. The ?100 million announced for accident and

:52:56. > :52:58.emergency is extremely welcome. We have got off relatively lightly this

:52:59. > :53:02.winter, it has been a relatively mild winter, we can't expect that to

:53:03. > :53:05.be the case in the future. I also welcome the ambition of the

:53:06. > :53:11.Chancellor to get this money in place in order to deal with next

:53:12. > :53:15.winter's winter pressures, that's indeed ambitious and I hope very

:53:16. > :53:19.much he is able to achieve that. In particular, achieve a system of

:53:20. > :53:21.tri-I can't think that will ensure people are treated appropriately and

:53:22. > :53:27.by the right practitioner. -- triage. If I can cite one example,

:53:28. > :53:31.Luton and Dunstable hospital which appears to be an example of best

:53:32. > :53:35.practice in that respect and should be mirrored and copied and emulated

:53:36. > :53:40.elsewhere. But we are still left with a big

:53:41. > :53:44.problem and that is the future funding of our National Health

:53:45. > :53:49.Service. When skaf beverage made his report in the mid 1940s he tried to

:53:50. > :53:55.address society's five great evils as best he could and suggested that

:53:56. > :53:59.spending on healthcare would reduce over time the costs of the NHS. How

:54:00. > :54:05.wrong he was. It's just an example of how we can get our predictions so

:54:06. > :54:12.badly wrong with devastating consequences. Of course At Lee's

:54:13. > :54:16.Government rapidly realised that was wrong and it led to Bevan's

:54:17. > :54:20.resignation over what became known as teeth and specs in fairly short

:54:21. > :54:24.order. The fact of the matter is that the burden of disease is going

:54:25. > :54:28.up because of our ageing population, which is something we must welcome

:54:29. > :54:33.and that the expectations of patients are also going up, which is

:54:34. > :54:40.to be welcomed. As are innovations and medical advances but all this

:54:41. > :54:43.costs a great deal of money. The office of budgetary responsibility

:54:44. > :54:50.makes that very clear and makes clear that we need to find a great

:54:51. > :54:52.deal of money over the next several years, indeed eye-watering sums.

:54:53. > :54:56.What for me is particularly important is not the future but

:54:57. > :54:59.what's happening now. It is certainly the case that compared

:55:00. > :55:02.with countries like Germany and France and the Netherlands,

:55:03. > :55:07.countries which most people in this country would wish to be compared

:55:08. > :55:10.with, our healthcare outcomes are significantly worse. In my view,

:55:11. > :55:14.there is a causal link between the amount of money you are prepared to

:55:15. > :55:19.spend on healthcare and the outcomes you will eventually get.

:55:20. > :55:21.The amount of money we spend on healthcare is very much less than

:55:22. > :55:38.the aforementioned cups. Of course the OECD contains

:55:39. > :55:42.countries like Mexico and Turkey, Hungary and Poland, great countries

:55:43. > :55:48.but they have health care economies that surely are less advanced than

:55:49. > :55:52.our Bolan and don't percent are reasonable comparative. That poor

:55:53. > :55:59.five-year-old Ashya King had to go to the Czech Republic for his proton

:56:00. > :56:05.beam therapy. That would strike most people in this country is distinctly

:56:06. > :56:09.odd, we find cancer drugs routinely available on the continent are not

:56:10. > :56:14.available here or if they are here have taken much longer to appear up

:56:15. > :56:18.on the market than in comparable countries. Cancer staging is delayed

:56:19. > :56:23.in this country with obvious consequences for people's chances of

:56:24. > :56:28.survival. It is hardly surprising that the much cited Commonwealth

:56:29. > :56:33.fund that is the UK turns out of 11 in terms of outcome for conditions

:56:34. > :56:38.amenable to health care. Last year the ONS reasonably tweaked the

:56:39. > :56:43.figures so that the EU case have spend related better to the OECD

:56:44. > :56:48.methodology. This road in publicly funded health care costs, which is

:56:49. > :56:53.reasonable, what it did do was to bump up the UK's spent on health

:56:54. > :56:59.care a couple of notches against the international league table, from

:57:00. > :57:03.8.7% to 9.9%. That meant we overtook Spain, Portugal and Greece but we

:57:04. > :57:09.were still well behind France, Germany and the Netherlands. The

:57:10. > :57:13.question for me is how we close that gap. Many honourable and right

:57:14. > :57:16.Honourable members have suggested a commission to examine long-term

:57:17. > :57:22.future funding of health care. We need that level of public

:57:23. > :57:25.conversation that will enable us to examine how we're going to leave in

:57:26. > :57:30.the significant funds necessary to close that gap. I hope very much

:57:31. > :57:42.that just as we are having a green paper on social care which is to be

:57:43. > :57:46.welcomed, government will be open to how we can fund health care through

:57:47. > :57:54.this or other mechanisms are open to it. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker.

:57:55. > :57:59.Today we have had a budget that has made promises on investing in

:58:00. > :58:03.education and looking at the security and dignity of work, to

:58:04. > :58:09.quote the Chancellor and putting areas in charge of its economic

:58:10. > :58:12.destiny. These may seem appealing, I want to unpick the figures behind

:58:13. > :58:17.some of these, starting with the NHS. The Public Accounts Committee

:58:18. > :58:20.has spent a lot of time in the last year and a half raising concerns

:58:21. > :58:24.about the underinvestment and lack of a sustainable plan for the NHS

:58:25. > :58:28.particularly in light of the increasing demand of a growing

:58:29. > :58:35.ageing population. The figures speak for themselves, if you just take

:58:36. > :58:41.financial data from NHS England, trusts in the last few years, the

:58:42. > :58:50.size of the deficit for trusts rose from 91,000,020 13-14 to over five

:58:51. > :58:54.million and we saw shenanigans as the Department of Health struggled

:58:55. > :58:58.to make the books balance. Measures criticised by the National Audit

:58:59. > :59:02.Office in particular as one measure that would not be sustainable. Even

:59:03. > :59:09.the permanent secretary acknowledged that. So we are concerned about the

:59:10. > :59:13.funding, let's look at what France is promised on social care for

:59:14. > :59:19.instance. ?2 billion over three years, front loaded so that there is

:59:20. > :59:23.?1 billion available in 2017. But the link to egg local government

:59:24. > :59:28.Association, representing the authorities spend this, estimate the

:59:29. > :59:33.current shortfall as 1.3 billion. Even the 2017 figure isn't enough

:59:34. > :59:37.and it drops off after that. It is an irony that this cash injection

:59:38. > :59:41.follows a 10% reduction in social care funding since this government

:59:42. > :59:48.has been in power since 2010. And the latest survey of local authority

:59:49. > :59:51.directors of social care says only around one third of them believe

:59:52. > :59:56.they can deliver their statutory duties this year, that force to 8%

:59:57. > :00:00.next year. So even with that injection of cash I don't think they

:00:01. > :00:05.will be 100% confidence in local government that social care can be

:00:06. > :00:08.delivered. Then we look at the capital injection that the

:00:09. > :00:14.Chancellor has promised for the SDPs. This may be helpful but ?300

:00:15. > :00:20.million sounds a lot of money but if you spread that across the SDPs, 44

:00:21. > :00:25.of them, around England, it is very little to fund what may be needed.

:00:26. > :00:32.And given the raid on capital budgets in the last year, where it

:00:33. > :00:37.was raided to resource funding it shows the contrary approach and the

:00:38. > :00:41.lack of planning. We keep seeing pots of money thrown at different

:00:42. > :00:46.parts of the NHS and social care system, what we need is a long-term

:00:47. > :00:49.sustainable solution. I hope the Treasury will watch closely as the

:00:50. > :00:53.Department of Health and local bodies spend this money to make sure

:00:54. > :00:58.it is spent as sustainably as possible, what we really need is

:00:59. > :01:01.that long-term settlement. One education I represent proudly, the

:01:02. > :01:13.Borough of Hackney, with excellent schools. We have some of the

:01:14. > :01:17.best results in the country, some of the top 1% of schools in the

:01:18. > :01:19.country. So for the Chancellor to talk about focusing on the quality

:01:20. > :01:22.of children's education we are doing that already without a grammar

:01:23. > :01:23.school in sight. And the focus on the creation of selected grammar

:01:24. > :01:27.schools is disappointing partly because we can show what works in

:01:28. > :01:30.Hackney and in other bowlers with excellent education but ulcer

:01:31. > :01:34.because if you look at the existing free school programme we see a

:01:35. > :01:38.problem. If the government is putting more money into education it

:01:39. > :01:42.is in cash terms but with pupil numbers increasing this amounts to

:01:43. > :01:47.an effective cut the people of about 8%. So there is a key question about

:01:48. > :01:51.how the government presents its figures and also a key question

:01:52. > :01:55.about what price the government places on choices. It is not taking

:01:56. > :02:01.into account in this announcement the concerns of the National Audit

:02:02. > :02:05.Office in its recent report on school funding. By 2015 the

:02:06. > :02:10.Department for Education had spent 1.8 million pounds on schools, it

:02:11. > :02:15.had estimated that it would spend ?900 million and 315 schools. So it

:02:16. > :02:20.has doubled in price already. Compare this to the total estimate

:02:21. > :02:25.for the existing programme of 9.7 by 20 21. The education and funding

:02:26. > :02:30.agency is one of the biggest purchasers of land and nationally.

:02:31. > :02:34.We have a property market going on often with land prices increasing

:02:35. > :02:41.because of bidding wars which the EFA plays a role in. If you measure

:02:42. > :02:50.this as my honourable friend from Leeds said, the cost is substantial,

:02:51. > :02:54.there's a bill to return all schools in England to a satisfactory

:02:55. > :02:59.condition, not even very good, and a further ?7.1 billion would bring

:03:00. > :03:02.parts of school buildings to a satisfactory - good condition where

:03:03. > :03:09.a school is generally good yet has an area that needs attention. We may

:03:10. > :03:12.need more school places in some places, but they are not always

:03:13. > :03:18.located in the areas of greatest demographic need. I will give way.

:03:19. > :03:23.Mum I'm grateful to my honourable friend forgiving way. Would she

:03:24. > :03:28.agree that it is diverted resources from schools that need improvement,

:03:29. > :03:33.for example there is one in the constituency of Durham which has

:03:34. > :03:38.wanted improvement for many years, but will not get them because of the

:03:39. > :03:41.division of funds to free schools. My honourable friend raises an

:03:42. > :03:46.important point. It is concerning that we see too many free schools

:03:47. > :03:51.not filling their places and in many cases not being required to pay back

:03:52. > :03:57.to the government, to the taxpayer indeed, for those empty spaces. 46

:03:58. > :04:03.secondary free schools, which is 21% of the total, are in local authority

:04:04. > :04:08.areas where no new capacity is needed up to 2020. And free school

:04:09. > :04:11.places are more expensive than places provided by local authorities

:04:12. > :04:15.mainly because of this land purchasing that the FA is going

:04:16. > :04:23.through. A place in the primary preschool opening in 2014 cost one

:04:24. > :04:27.third more than one created by a local authority through a planned

:04:28. > :04:34.programme and a place in a secondary free school cost ?19,100. That's 50%

:04:35. > :04:37.more than a local authority place. This is tax payers money that is

:04:38. > :04:45.being overspent and is not delivering results. We have seen a

:04:46. > :04:50.number of failures of free schools, schools and subscribed in Suffolk,

:04:51. > :04:57.three free schools have more than half of their places not filled. My

:04:58. > :05:02.friend from Oldham has highlighted this year around the Collective

:05:03. > :05:06.Spirit School, said to be broken up. In Hackney what has worked is good

:05:07. > :05:10.leadership, good education, committed pupils and parents. The

:05:11. > :05:14.structure of the school is much less important than those things but this

:05:15. > :05:20.amount of money going on a hell for Levitt delivery and a numerical

:05:21. > :05:25.target to be met by 2020 whatever the cost is not sensible. To add to

:05:26. > :05:30.that selective free schools, grammar schools on top of that beggars

:05:31. > :05:34.belief. I want to touch as well Madame Deputy Speaker on the issue

:05:35. > :05:37.of business rates, a big one for my inner London constituency where we

:05:38. > :05:43.have over 10,000 signatures on a petition that we presented to London

:05:44. > :05:48.just yesterday from small businesses across east London concerned about

:05:49. > :05:52.the impact in some cases of an increase in business rates from up

:05:53. > :05:57.to 250%. Very different if you run a bike shop or a small jewellery

:05:58. > :06:00.company to increase your prices to cover those overheads. So the

:06:01. > :06:06.reliefs welcome although we need to see more about this long-term review

:06:07. > :06:09.and what that will mean for businesses. Because when you're's

:06:10. > :06:13.relief is just staving of problems for the future... I thought my

:06:14. > :06:18.honourable friend wanted to come in them. The problem is that the

:06:19. > :06:22.government backed this money in its settlement to local government and

:06:23. > :06:26.councils than cannot reduce business rates themselves, there's not a

:06:27. > :06:31.magic pot of money when they didn't see this coming. We are proud of our

:06:32. > :06:35.diverse high streets with small independent businesses. More than

:06:36. > :06:40.96% of businesses in my constituency employ fewer than six people. They

:06:41. > :06:45.are small and these business rate increases are a real issue. I will

:06:46. > :06:49.give way. I thank my honourable friend forgiving way. She's right,

:06:50. > :06:54.these are temporary measures, even if welcome. The government say they

:06:55. > :06:59.will compensate local authorities for any loss of income from these

:07:00. > :07:02.changes, is this something the public accounts committee wants to

:07:03. > :07:07.do to make sure this compensation is permanently built into the system?

:07:08. > :07:11.My honourable friend raises an important point, the committee will

:07:12. > :07:15.look at business rates and how effective and efficient that

:07:16. > :07:18.proposal is in the coming weeks. I will keep my honourable friend and

:07:19. > :07:24.other members Mac alert to that because clearly this issue concerns

:07:25. > :07:28.many of us. I welcome the changes and that they don't go far enough

:07:29. > :07:33.and they may have hidden costs. The Chancellor mentioned tax although I

:07:34. > :07:37.was disappointed that he did not mention if the government would look

:07:38. > :07:41.at tax relief. We've seen quite a lot of work on tax in the Public

:07:42. > :07:45.Accounts Committee is in the Treasury Select Committee does and

:07:46. > :07:48.that many tax increases that cost more than budgeted for, some said

:07:49. > :07:54.Fallon for too long and are challenged. When we have challenged

:07:55. > :07:58.HMRC to publish its list of tax reliefs they've been reluctant to do

:07:59. > :08:01.so which we find extraordinary because transparency means we could

:08:02. > :08:05.find serious change in this area because they may often be

:08:06. > :08:09.individuals or companies who often point out that some of these tax

:08:10. > :08:13.reliefs are no longer fit for purpose. I think the black bee

:08:14. > :08:17.attacks which had been on the statute for over 100 years was just

:08:18. > :08:20.recently dropped. Perhaps that is the pace at which these things

:08:21. > :08:24.happen and we could urge the government to move a bit faster to

:08:25. > :08:28.make sure tax reliefs are doing what they intend to do. The Chancellor

:08:29. > :08:31.talked about the security and dignity of those at work. He

:08:32. > :08:36.highlighted several issues and I echo the comments honourable friend

:08:37. > :08:41.have made about the self-employed, I have a large number of them in my

:08:42. > :08:45.constituency. I was disappointed that he did not look at people on

:08:46. > :08:48.low pay part-time jobs, many of them want to work more hours but their

:08:49. > :08:53.employers don't create full-time jobs because of disincentives in the

:08:54. > :08:57.national insurance and tax systems especially for the employer. Many of

:08:58. > :09:01.those people working multiple part-time jobs, and the difficult

:09:02. > :09:05.end of the scale, working hard, paying tax on as they are working

:09:06. > :09:10.over the threshold, although they don't get many of the free benefits

:09:11. > :09:14.like dental care and so on. And they are struggling to survive. Just

:09:15. > :09:18.about managing barely covers them. They are struggling. They find it

:09:19. > :09:23.hard to get on the next rung of the ladder. It behoves the Treasury to

:09:24. > :09:27.take a close look at that and I will take that abides at the chamber with

:09:28. > :09:30.the minister. The national living wage is welcome in my constituency

:09:31. > :09:34.although we need to look at the knock-on effects. Already causing

:09:35. > :09:38.huge challenges for incidents in delivering social care. I hope the

:09:39. > :09:45.Treasury is working to see how it can ameliorate the impact on costs

:09:46. > :09:48.of provision in some sectors. This is, Madame Deputy Speaker, not a

:09:49. > :09:53.budget on the side of ordinary people. The impact on the

:09:54. > :09:57.self-employed, the lack of action on the lowest paid, the smoke and

:09:58. > :10:02.mirrors on funding for the NHS and social care, too many short-term

:10:03. > :10:05.cash injections into the NHS and not looking at the evidence before

:10:06. > :10:11.injecting more money into programmes like the free school programme. And

:10:12. > :10:16.no measures to support that stability in low-paid jobs. So I

:10:17. > :10:19.think it leaves many answers as many honourable members have pointed out

:10:20. > :10:23.especially as the Chancellor did not address the elephant in the room,

:10:24. > :10:26.how will Brexit affect the economy and what measures will he take to

:10:27. > :10:34.provide a Thank you. The honourable lady lays

:10:35. > :10:39.down the challenge that not enough was said on Brexit. Let me try and

:10:40. > :10:43.put this right. It is a challenge I am happy to rise to because if one

:10:44. > :10:48.thinks back to just a few months ago we were expecting this to be the

:10:49. > :10:51.punishment Budget that the right honourable member, my friend, the

:10:52. > :10:57.right honourable friend for Tatton was going to be telling us it was

:10:58. > :11:02.doom and gloom and I have looked up a quotation from the Secretary

:11:03. > :11:08.General of the OECD which gave us good news yesterday. He said that

:11:09. > :11:12.there would be a Brexit tax of ?2200 per person and he went on to tell

:11:13. > :11:16.that yous the costs are piling up and we are still two months away

:11:17. > :11:24.from the referendum. He said it was getting worse and worse and I rather

:11:25. > :11:28.feel as the diners must when the words appeared written on the wall,

:11:29. > :11:32.and Daniel came and translated them and said that you have been weighed

:11:33. > :11:37.in the balances and found wanting. Then they went to bed after the

:11:38. > :11:42.feast and woke up the next morning and instead of the mead having taken

:11:43. > :11:47.over, it was business as normal and that's what's so impressive about

:11:48. > :11:51.this Budget. We are in a period of transition indeed with Brexit. We

:11:52. > :11:57.are heading out of the door, I am glad to say, in spite of their

:11:58. > :12:01.Lordships obstructism but we are doing From Frost a position of

:12:02. > :12:05.extraordinary strength and remarkable stability. That stability

:12:06. > :12:11.is deliberate and is part of Government policy. It is worth

:12:12. > :12:17.looking at page 57 of the red book. You see here the percentage of GDP

:12:18. > :12:22.that is anticipated to come in as public sector receipts. That is

:12:23. > :12:28.going to be consistently between 36 and 37. 5% over the period we are

:12:29. > :12:34.looking at. If you go back over a much longer time period you go back

:12:35. > :12:39.all the way to the period of Harold Wilson's Prime Ministership you see

:12:40. > :12:48.that public sector receipts remain in the region of 34. 5 to 38. 5%. It

:12:49. > :12:52.is remarkably difficult, however detailed, however fiddly the changes

:12:53. > :12:59.in taxation are, to raise that level of taxation much above the levels we

:13:00. > :13:03.are currently at. Therefore, what we are talking about within this Budget

:13:04. > :13:08.is more a question of how the coat is cut, how the cloth is cut, rather

:13:09. > :13:13.than whether there should be more taxation or not. What then has to

:13:14. > :13:20.happen is that expenditure has to fit in with that and to ensure that

:13:21. > :13:24.expenditure remains under control is going to remain the business of

:13:25. > :13:28.Government, whether it is this Conservative Government, the last

:13:29. > :13:32.coalition Government or was heaven forefend a socialist Government if

:13:33. > :13:36.they ever manage to return from their current sorry state. Of

:13:37. > :13:40.course, delighted to give way. Wouldn't he agree that at a stroke

:13:41. > :13:45.the Brexit vote actually reduced the size of the cloth, it shrank it by

:13:46. > :13:49.15% through the devaluation, the value of our economy, our wages and

:13:50. > :13:53.savings and our assets and what's more after we have the short-term

:13:54. > :13:59.window of growth because of devaluation we are going to face

:14:00. > :14:02.tariffs that clobber us again. Well t really depends how you mshure you

:14:03. > :14:06.are in cloth. I am in favour of measuring my cloth in imperial

:14:07. > :14:09.measures, that's to say pounds and ounces, inches and feet and so on

:14:10. > :14:14.and therefore using sterling as my base for measuring things. If you do

:14:15. > :14:18.that, our international assets have gone up enormously, because any

:14:19. > :14:22.dollar assets we hold are worth 15% more in pounds, that's more income

:14:23. > :14:26.coming in, that helps reduce the deficit, it's good news for the

:14:27. > :14:31.British economy. Our exporters, 15% more competitive. That deals with

:14:32. > :14:35.any tariffs that may be imposed if any are imposed. And what's more, we

:14:36. > :14:39.are at the front of the queue for trade deals with the strongest

:14:40. > :14:43.economy, the biggest economy in the world. So, actually post-Brexit

:14:44. > :14:47.we're fighting fit. The Chancellor of the Exchequer said that he would

:14:48. > :14:52.ensure that we were and we are, we are open for business with the

:14:53. > :14:57.world. With the continuing cuts in corporation tax we are showing that

:14:58. > :15:01.we are absolutely willing to compete with anybody in attracting capital

:15:02. > :15:04.and investment and being ready to do business in a way that investors

:15:05. > :15:09.will like. Of course I will give way. Can I give him two notes of

:15:10. > :15:13.caution. Firstly, he just said, quote, post-Brexit we are fighting

:15:14. > :15:16.fit. Can I remind the honourable member we haven't even triggered

:15:17. > :15:21.Article 50 yet. We are a member state of the European Union and are

:15:22. > :15:26.likely to be for the next two years and two weeks. The other note I

:15:27. > :15:32.would sound to him is he praised the red book, I cannot see, perhaps he

:15:33. > :15:36.can tell me, any of the forecasts in this book which are caveated to say

:15:37. > :15:41.that when we do Brexit, the situation may change for the better

:15:42. > :15:44.or for the worse. No caveats at all. Well, the forecasts are taken from

:15:45. > :15:48.the office for budget responsibility and if he looks at the thicker

:15:49. > :15:51.report from the OBR he will see their comments in relation to Brexit

:15:52. > :15:56.and to the trade deals. The OBR is still rather negative on trade

:15:57. > :16:01.deals. I think the OBR is wrong. I have the greatest respect for the

:16:02. > :16:05.OBR because I think it's the one body that joined the Brexit - that

:16:06. > :16:10.during the Brexit campaign behaved properly and within its remit and

:16:11. > :16:13.didn't dabble its fipgers into the politics of the Brexit debate. Their

:16:14. > :16:17.view is cautious on trade and thinks that over the next ten years

:16:18. > :16:22.post-Brexit our trade position will be less good. I happen to think that

:16:23. > :16:25.is wrong. Of of course I give way to the honourable lady. I am very

:16:26. > :16:29.grateful to the honourable gentleman actually. He doesn't need to give

:16:30. > :16:36.way to me, he needs to give way to the OBR whom he was complimenting so

:16:37. > :16:39.much. Who say, paragraph 4. 6 page 86, given the uncertainty regarding

:16:40. > :16:45.how the Government will respond to the choices and trade-offs with

:16:46. > :16:51.which it will be confronted in the negotiations, there is no meaningful

:16:52. > :16:55.basis for predicting the precise... Well, that was broadly the point I

:16:56. > :17:00.was making, they are quite cautious. I wasn't disputing that the OBR is

:17:01. > :17:04.cautious but I am not cautious. The OBR, I am sorry to say, much

:17:05. > :17:09.although I respect it and they do their work diligently, got it

:17:10. > :17:12.hopelessly wrong a year ago and it to revise its forecasts for GDP

:17:13. > :17:18.growth consistently because it didn't manage to get it right. It

:17:19. > :17:22.revised down at the November Autumn Statememt and stas had to revise

:17:23. > :17:26.back up again now. I think it's a terrible mistake, although I was

:17:27. > :17:30.earlier quoting, to take these forecasts from these people as being

:17:31. > :17:36.wholly writ. They are not. What it comes down to is a question of

:17:37. > :17:39.judgment and a question of both political and economic judgment. The

:17:40. > :17:43.political judgment is, is this Government going to be competent to

:17:44. > :17:47.negotiate well and effectively? I have complete confidence that they

:17:48. > :17:50.will do that, that they will be able to negotiate in the councils of

:17:51. > :17:55.Europe more effectively than anybody else could on our behalf. The second

:17:56. > :17:58.is the economic judgment. There it is going to be a balance between

:17:59. > :18:02.what we get from the European Union and what we can do with the rest of

:18:03. > :18:06.the world. I expect that if we are trading more freely with the rest of

:18:07. > :18:12.the world that will more than compensate for the risks that we may

:18:13. > :18:18.take in having a harder terms of trade with the European Union. So,

:18:19. > :18:21.having taken up the challenge from the honourable members who both

:18:22. > :18:24.wanted a Government view on Brexit, I can't claim to speak for the

:18:25. > :18:29.Government, but I can at least claim to try and say something on Brexit.

:18:30. > :18:34.I want to go through some of the details because there is some very

:18:35. > :18:38.good news in this Budget on the deficit that although ?51. 8 billion

:18:39. > :18:44.is a deficit for this year, is still a very large amount of money, as a

:18:45. > :18:48.percentage of GDP we are now back within the norms of the types of

:18:49. > :18:52.deficits that governments can run with. It is not to say that I think

:18:53. > :19:00.having a deficit is a good thing in principle. But at 2. 6% you are at

:19:01. > :19:04.about the level of GDP growth, it's about remaining steady as a total

:19:05. > :19:09.debt to GDP, if you go no further than that, it is an amount that can

:19:10. > :19:13.be lived with. And that's important because although there is more to be

:19:14. > :19:19.done, the vast bulk of what was necessary to live within our means

:19:20. > :19:24.has now been done. But there are some little points I should make

:19:25. > :19:29.where I have concerns. I would encourage the Government not to

:19:30. > :19:33.proceed with the personal injury discount rate reduction to minus 0.

:19:34. > :19:38.7%. I think the idea that awards are going to the Government should be

:19:39. > :19:43.calculated with a negative time cost of money is wrong. And it would

:19:44. > :19:46.actually be better for the Government to underwrite annual

:19:47. > :19:53.payments and cheaper, rather than to make lump sum payments with a

:19:54. > :19:56.discount rate of a negative kind. I think this is - the honourable

:19:57. > :20:00.gentleman says I don't understand it, I do understand, the Government

:20:01. > :20:03.is obliged by law to do this but the Government has the ability to

:20:04. > :20:09.introduce new laws to this House and can often do that as part of finance

:20:10. > :20:12.bill. I give way. He tax about periodic payments, those are

:20:13. > :20:15.structured settlements, in order to calculate that future value you have

:20:16. > :20:19.to use a discount rate, that's what it's all about. You can set rates in

:20:20. > :20:23.a different way. You can set them and then adjust them for inflation

:20:24. > :20:28.at a lower initial rate rather than having a payment based on a capital

:20:29. > :20:33.sum. I think moving it - redues it from 2. 5% to minus 0. 7% is a

:20:34. > :20:38.mistake and undue cost to the Exchequer. I also have concerns

:20:39. > :20:42.about the probate tax. I see that it is likely to be judged by the

:20:43. > :20:47.national statistics people as a tax, rather than a charge. I don't think

:20:48. > :20:51.it's right that the Government should introduce stealth taxes. I

:20:52. > :20:55.think that probate charges should relate to the cost of the probate

:20:56. > :21:00.work and that is broadly relevant to the size of the estate. There may be

:21:01. > :21:05.some more work for bigger estates, but it's not necessarily going to be

:21:06. > :21:10.as large as has been proposed. Then the biggest issue is the national

:21:11. > :21:19.insurance contributions. I see the logic for why the Government wants

:21:20. > :21:23.to do this. There is an unfairness between self-employment and

:21:24. > :21:30.employment. But the question is, not so much in terms of revenue, but

:21:31. > :21:32.whether in having a structure of an economy that encourages

:21:33. > :21:36.self-employment is overall beneficial and whether that is a

:21:37. > :21:40.price worth paying. If we look at what has happened since 2008, and

:21:41. > :21:45.why unemployment in this country has remained so low as we went through a

:21:46. > :21:49.very deep and challenging recession, that is partly because of the great

:21:50. > :21:55.flexibility within our labour market. And part of that flexibility

:21:56. > :21:59.is because of self-employment, where employers do not have to take on all

:22:00. > :22:06.the risks of full employment with all the Ben fits that takes, with

:22:07. > :22:12.the holiday pay, sickness pay and so forth. And that means that the

:22:13. > :22:15.self-employed are a major contributor to the flexibility of

:22:16. > :22:20.the economy. Although I very much doubt that increasing their national

:22:21. > :22:25.insurance contributions by 1% and subsequently by 2% is going to

:22:26. > :22:31.change this balance fundamentally, often things economically happen at

:22:32. > :22:35.the margins, rather than being an easily identifiable inflexion point

:22:36. > :22:39.when you are starting out. So I would be very cautious about this

:22:40. > :22:43.change and would urge the Government to look at the whole question

:22:44. > :22:48.between national insurance and income tax in the round, because

:22:49. > :22:54.national insurance is ?130 billion of revenue. It is an enormously

:22:55. > :23:00.important source of funding for what the Government wishes to do. But its

:23:01. > :23:03.relationship to income tax is one that creates confusion and

:23:04. > :23:09.distortions within the system and this is just one of those

:23:10. > :23:14.distortions and I am not sure that making a minor change at the edges

:23:15. > :23:19.is the right way to go about changing the relationship of

:23:20. > :23:23.taxation between the self-employed and the ordinarily employed. So I

:23:24. > :23:27.have three minor cautions on the Budget. But actually, I think it was

:23:28. > :23:31.a Conservative Party slogan, Britain's on the right track, don't

:23:32. > :23:41.turn back. That seems to me to be where we are.

:23:42. > :23:47.The Chancellor started his Budget speech off in my view in a very

:23:48. > :23:51.appropriate way by making a confession, the confession was that

:23:52. > :23:57.the commentators and that includes himself, and his predecessor, and

:23:58. > :24:04.many others in this House, had got it wrong when it came to the growth

:24:05. > :24:09.of the UK economy. And in fact he started, we have confounded the

:24:10. > :24:13.commentators with the robust growth which not only has occurred since

:24:14. > :24:18.the historic vote to leave the European Union, but indeed is

:24:19. > :24:21.predicted over the next number of years. A number of members are

:24:22. > :24:27.already said he didn't make mention of Brexit. But as I think there are

:24:28. > :24:31.many members in this House who still feel that Brexit has only been

:24:32. > :24:38.properly mentioned if it is mentioned in negative terms. They

:24:39. > :24:43.don't want to hear the good news that Brexit and the decision to

:24:44. > :24:49.leave the EU has not destroyed and will not destroy our economy. Of

:24:50. > :24:56.course, the Chancellor also made the point and he quickly made the point

:24:57. > :25:01.at the very start, that this Budget was designed to prepare the United

:25:02. > :25:03.Kingdom for a brighter future and to prepare it for a stable platform

:25:04. > :25:17.when we enter negotiations. We have got to accept that the money

:25:18. > :25:20.that has been spent on infrastructure development, the

:25:21. > :25:24.money that is going to be spent on innovation, research and

:25:25. > :25:29.development, the money that is going to be spent on education, the

:25:30. > :25:38.changes for technical education, all of designed those to make the

:25:39. > :25:48.economy more competitive and enable us to take opportunities that will

:25:49. > :26:00.be presented when we are free of the EU and able to make trade deals with

:26:01. > :26:05.countries across the world. To say this does not acknowledge the

:26:06. > :26:11.challenges that we are going to face when we leave the EU is incorrect. I

:26:12. > :26:15.want to welcome some challenges, and on a number of occasions we have

:26:16. > :26:25.raised with the Treasury the issue of making tax digital, and the

:26:26. > :26:30.debates that we have had at Westminster, harder lines, a harder

:26:31. > :26:33.line than shown today. I am glad that the Chancellor has accepted

:26:34. > :26:39.that meeting tax digital was going to create problems for small

:26:40. > :26:48.businesses, and the arguments used to extend and Dolly making tax

:26:49. > :26:57.digital for one year will be applied for more years. Any businesses,

:26:58. > :27:02.either because they do not have facilities, access, they are going

:27:03. > :27:11.to rely on accountants and find it impossible to meet this requirement.

:27:12. > :27:15.The second issue that I want to welcome, the extra ?200 million that

:27:16. > :27:26.is going to be available for innovative broadband initiatives. We

:27:27. > :27:30.have seen too many, especially in rural areas in my constituency, the

:27:31. > :27:35.monopoly that BT has, and despite the amount of money that they have

:27:36. > :27:40.received we still do not have proper broadband coverage. And sometimes

:27:41. > :27:47.innovation has been stifled by the BT monopoly. And I hope that we will

:27:48. > :27:54.see innovation from that point. And of course, the other issue that I

:27:55. > :27:57.want to welcome, the 120 million available to the Northern Ireland

:27:58. > :28:03.Executive. I only asked the Minister, given the attitude that

:28:04. > :28:10.Sinn Fein have adopted over the last few days to the negotiations, when

:28:11. > :28:20.anybody who does not accept what they want is accused of waffle...

:28:21. > :28:31.Will the money be held for the Assembly? Interest added? I fear it

:28:32. > :28:40.could be some time before the executive can spend it. The

:28:41. > :28:46.forecasts for growth, still heavily dependent upon consumer spending.

:28:47. > :29:01.And that consumer spending is dependent upon consumer borrowing.

:29:02. > :29:06.Until 2020, it is going to become 153% of average household income. I

:29:07. > :29:12.have difficulty with the government, I understand that government has to

:29:13. > :29:18.control consumer spending and borrowing, but why is it acceptable

:29:19. > :29:28.for growth to be fuelled by high levels of consumer debt? Consumer

:29:29. > :29:34.debt twice the percentage of GDP, why is it acceptable to have

:29:35. > :29:40.consumers keep on borrowing, fuel growth, but the government not to

:29:41. > :29:44.accept that you could have arguments across the regime, and plenty of

:29:45. > :29:53.good infrastructure projects that could return and provide return good

:29:54. > :29:56.for the economy. Why is it not acceptable for the government to

:29:57. > :30:03.look at marginal increases in spending on those projects? I give

:30:04. > :30:11.way. The honourable member media were, that according to the library

:30:12. > :30:17.paper, twin household debt level rise above trend, the likelihood of

:30:18. > :30:26.recession increases, and the IMF found that recessions preceded by

:30:27. > :30:34.household debt are more severe. Dangers here. There are dangers. I

:30:35. > :30:42.understand that consumer spending is such a huge component of GDP, we

:30:43. > :30:47.need to have buoyant spending. That is why I think this constant talking

:30:48. > :30:51.down of the economy is not good. But at the same time, we have got to

:30:52. > :30:59.recognise that focused public investment across the economy is

:31:00. > :31:02.first of all is affordable and secondly, desirable. But it seems to

:31:03. > :31:12.be a resistance from the Chancellor. I give way. On that specific point,

:31:13. > :31:20.would he agree that rather than the Chancellor keeping the investment

:31:21. > :31:25.war chest for two years, better to spend now? Offset the future?

:31:26. > :31:34.Especially given the government fixed capital spending is due to

:31:35. > :31:42.fall over the next year, strong case for that. And when interest rates

:31:43. > :31:47.are low, predicted to go up, now is the time to borrow. This second

:31:48. > :31:51.issue has been raised by a number of members, but it is so important to a

:31:52. > :31:59.constituency like mane so it has got to be said. The entries in tax

:32:00. > :32:08.through national insurance on the self-employed. I serve a

:32:09. > :32:14.constituency, half rural. Many people depend upon self-employment,

:32:15. > :32:18.as a way that they can have a job. And because we have lost a number of

:32:19. > :32:23.jobs across big manufacturing closures over the last couple of

:32:24. > :32:25.years, many people who have lost jobs have moved into

:32:26. > :32:34.self-employment. The local enterprise agencies in my own

:32:35. > :32:42.constituency have probably put people, because of training, about

:32:43. > :32:49.1400 put people, because of training, into self-employment. They

:32:50. > :32:56.take the risk with the redundancy work long hours, money, don't work

:32:57. > :33:01.for great money, they do not have the benefits and security that

:33:02. > :33:07.people in full-time employment have, and for the government to say that

:33:08. > :33:17.the system has been abuse... And we have got to level up taxation... We

:33:18. > :33:25.do not do that in other areas of taxation. The BBC give top

:33:26. > :33:33.presenters, self employment, to avoid taxation. If that's an abuse,

:33:34. > :33:37.stop! But do not impose additional costs on people who have actually

:33:38. > :33:43.helped to bring the employment numbers up. Unemployment numbers

:33:44. > :33:49.down. Taking risks and going into self-employment. I think that while

:33:50. > :33:55.the Chancellor tried to make small the amount of money that would be

:33:56. > :34:01.involved, nevertheless for many of those people they are struggling at

:34:02. > :34:06.the margins. Trying to get businesses up and running, and the

:34:07. > :34:10.difference in taxation is going to be significant. And I think the

:34:11. > :34:18.government has got that wrong. It is an issue that hopefully is not going

:34:19. > :34:21.to come back to bite them. But I do not think it has been well

:34:22. > :34:30.explained. And the last issue, housing. If we look at the numbers,

:34:31. > :34:34.one way of increasing employment and productivity is to have good housing

:34:35. > :34:42.stock, letting people move around. But we have found that housing

:34:43. > :34:47.investment is due to fall by 50% this year. Staying at that level. As

:34:48. > :35:00.a result, the statistics attached to the budget indicate that house

:35:01. > :35:06.prices will go up by twice the rate of inflation.

:35:07. > :35:11.Making the average house price nine times the average salary. Many young

:35:12. > :35:20.people are not go in to get the chance. Yes, we have got Buy to Let,

:35:21. > :35:22.etc, but we have increased costs for the rental market. It was

:35:23. > :35:28.disappointing that in the budget the Chancellor would not raise any

:35:29. > :35:34.proposals about how he is going to deal with the housing issue. It is

:35:35. > :35:38.as much art of making the economy fit for the future as it is giving

:35:39. > :35:46.people the opportunity for a decent home. Order. Unfortunately I have

:35:47. > :35:57.got to reduce the time to eight minutes. Limit, that's from now.

:35:58. > :36:00.Nigel Mills. Thank you. I want to start by welcoming the overall

:36:01. > :36:09.message, and direction of the budget. It was not a boring budget,

:36:10. > :36:15.sensible and cautious. And when most of us between budgets and about what

:36:16. > :36:21.the Nigel budget -- ideal budget should look like, we should not be

:36:22. > :36:28.having expensive rabbits pulled out the hat for grandstanding. When we

:36:29. > :36:35.get one of those, we cannot work out what to say. We talk about the

:36:36. > :36:38.things that are not there. This is absolutely correct thing for the

:36:39. > :36:43.government to do, carrying on on the course that has been set. We know

:36:44. > :36:46.that we have got a period of uncertainty for to use, working out

:36:47. > :36:51.the deal that we are going to get from the EU. It would be totally the

:36:52. > :36:54.wrong time to be meeting big tax cuts, spending lots of money and

:36:55. > :36:58.then finding out it was not the correct thing to do. But we should

:36:59. > :37:03.be welcoming what the budget statement has shown, that growth was

:37:04. > :37:13.stronger than we thought, even after the Autumn Statement. It is back-up

:37:14. > :37:18.to 2%. I think that is going to allow the deficit to come back down

:37:19. > :37:22.by the end of the parliament. Actually, the deficit following as a

:37:23. > :37:31.percentage of GDP. That is what we promised. A couple of things to

:37:32. > :37:38.note. Overall the period, to the end of the forecast, it involves tax

:37:39. > :37:45.receipts rising by 20% to 802 billion, 2021/22. That is an

:37:46. > :37:52.optimistic assumption, and in public spending rises by only 14.6%. I say,

:37:53. > :37:59.only. Large amount. But that is how we are going to close the deficit.

:38:00. > :38:04.The tax portion of economic rules, higher increase in spending, the

:38:05. > :38:12.increase in public spending is shown to be 4%. High. In excess of

:38:13. > :38:17.inflation. I think it is difficult to say that it is austerity budget,

:38:18. > :38:21.when we have got public spending increasing. I want to talk about

:38:22. > :38:29.measures of particular interest to the people of Amber Valley. We have

:38:30. > :38:36.the important increases of the living wage, ?7.50, tax-free

:38:37. > :38:40.threshold, and childcare, those contribute to why we can see the

:38:41. > :38:46.subplots and come for households increasing each year. And wages are

:38:47. > :38:51.still going to be shown to be increasing higher than inflation. We

:38:52. > :39:00.also welcome measures to mitigate the business valuation, fall by just

:39:01. > :39:05.over 5%. I think it is correct that we have got measures to help

:39:06. > :39:11.businesses that have the individual rises, and I welcome the measure

:39:12. > :39:18.that supports pubs by ?1,000 a year. It is a shame that the beer duty

:39:19. > :39:26.freezes have stopped. But that is going to help those situations. I

:39:27. > :39:30.welcome the transport funds. How those are going to be spent, for the

:39:31. > :39:33.East Midlands particularly. I am nervous when things are called

:39:34. > :39:39.Midlands, I think the East Midlands things it is these Midlands, the

:39:40. > :39:43.West Midlands thinkers, Exeter is the West Midlands. I especially

:39:44. > :39:47.welcome the measures to transform the technical education, water

:39:48. > :39:51.quality and the esteem in which the disabled. It is important that

:39:52. > :39:54.people can get more quality technical education that they can

:39:55. > :39:59.get, the skills that they need to get a decent paid job. The more it

:40:00. > :40:02.can do to achieve that, that has to be the best situation.

:40:03. > :40:10.I welcome the increase in social care funding. I agree with the chair

:40:11. > :40:13.in an ideal world you do this in o long-term basis, there was a clear

:40:14. > :40:17.case for short-term money to get us over the particular situation.

:40:18. > :40:20.Ironically my local County Council sent a letter to MPs during the

:40:21. > :40:24.Budget statement calling for an increase of ?2. 3 billion over the

:40:25. > :40:29.rest of this parliament so I am sure they'll be very glad they've got an

:40:30. > :40:33.increase of ?2. 4 billion over the next three years. I suspect that

:40:34. > :40:37.won't fix the problem. I am not sure how much money it would take to fix

:40:38. > :40:44.the issues with that, it's a welcome step until we can find the people

:40:45. > :40:47.long-term solution. I welcome the funding for the NHS transformation

:40:48. > :40:52.plans. The one in Derbyshire has perhaps not had so much attention as

:40:53. > :40:55.it might have done, it's quite complicated. There is a clear need

:40:56. > :41:00.for capital funding to allow the measures that are in there to be

:41:01. > :41:05.effective and I hope that in the case of amber valley that the money

:41:06. > :41:08.promised to allow us to rebuild the hospital to be used for more

:41:09. > :41:12.outpatient appointments can be found and that project can be definitely

:41:13. > :41:17.confirmed because I think a key part of fixing the pressure on hospitals

:41:18. > :41:20.is having more work done in the community rather than the hospital

:41:21. > :41:23.themselves. A couple of issues. There is a lot of concern about

:41:24. > :41:29.making tax digital, I always thought one of the key things we had to do

:41:30. > :41:32.was not apply that below the VAT threshold, businesses who are not

:41:33. > :41:36.having to regularly account for VAT are one that is may Notre Dame have

:41:37. > :41:43.accounting records they can easily use. I am not sure in a year's time

:41:44. > :41:46.that will have changed. I hope this is a delay while we work out what

:41:47. > :41:51.that level is. I would also suggest if we are going to go ahead we

:41:52. > :41:54.should make it voluntary for those small businesses, if there are clear

:41:55. > :41:58.advantages to them of keeping better records, of knowing what their tax

:41:59. > :42:02.bills will be in real time, let's let them choose to opt in and find

:42:03. > :42:05.benefits. That would boost more confidence in the reform. I am not

:42:06. > :42:09.sure how many would choose to opt in, maybe if we can show the

:42:10. > :42:16.benefits are there, that would be a good thing. Perhaps as a final note,

:42:17. > :42:23.the two areas I have some concerns about will be the schools capital

:42:24. > :42:27.funding. I have no idealogical objection to grammar schools and

:42:28. > :42:33.selection, if they can help improve standards let's give it a try. What

:42:34. > :42:38.I am not really sure about, if you target this through the mechanisms

:42:39. > :42:41.that are being chosen I am not sure areas like amber valley where we

:42:42. > :42:45.have issues with school standards, I think the league tables from last

:42:46. > :42:48.year were pretty disappointing, if you allocate funding in that way I

:42:49. > :42:51.am not sure how areas like mine actually get those new schools and

:42:52. > :42:55.get access to that funding. I think we have to find a plan which works

:42:56. > :42:59.for the areas that need the educational standards to improve and

:43:00. > :43:02.fund it rather than hoping that somewhere there are some parents

:43:03. > :43:06.with enough money and time to do something which I have seen no

:43:07. > :43:12.evidence of happening. I look forward to how the Government show

:43:13. > :43:16.how the plans they have will work to benefit areas like mine. Finally,

:43:17. > :43:21.final remarks on changes to self-employment. Any tack rise that

:43:22. > :43:27.discourages any activity is not attacktive especially when we are

:43:28. > :43:30.reliant on self-employment. We should put in context, national

:43:31. > :43:34.insurance people in employment is somewhere just under 26%, if you

:43:35. > :43:38.count employees and employers. So a rise to 11% for the self-employed is

:43:39. > :43:41.not anything like levelling that situation out. It's hard to see that

:43:42. > :43:45.even with the advantages that you don't get in self-employment that it

:43:46. > :43:49.equates to a gap of that size. I think that will be unwelcome news

:43:50. > :43:57.for those people probably struggling and not getting all the rights they

:43:58. > :44:03.ought to. As it is international women's Day,

:44:04. > :44:08.I wanted to start by remarks paying tribute to Mary Dennis, who was one

:44:09. > :44:16.of the headscarf revolutionaries from Hull who fought to improve

:44:17. > :44:20.safety in the trawler industry after many husbands, sons and brothers

:44:21. > :44:25.died whilst at work and she won that battle and very sadly died in the

:44:26. > :44:30.last few days. I also wanted to quote another formidable woman, the

:44:31. > :44:34.late Barbara caps who will said in politics guts is all and I think

:44:35. > :44:38.particularly today when we have got the waspy lobby here, I want to pay

:44:39. > :44:43.tribute to their guts for standing up and for saying that there is an

:44:44. > :44:47.injustice that's been done to them and to keep campaigning and I am

:44:48. > :44:53.very disappointed there's nothing in the Budget today to deal with the

:44:54. > :44:58.injustice. So, two points I wanted to make at the outset. First of all,

:44:59. > :45:03.I was very surprised indeed that the Chancellor made no mention of Brexit

:45:04. > :45:08.in his statement today. As this is the major issue facing this country

:45:09. > :45:15.it was very surprising. Secondly, I wanted to comment on the clear

:45:16. > :45:19.breaking of the Conservative manifesto in 2015 by the Government

:45:20. > :45:22.introducing the rise in national insurance contributions for the

:45:23. > :45:27.self-employed. I checked, it was actually four times it was mentioned

:45:28. > :45:33.in the 2015 Conservative manifesto that they wouldn't raise national

:45:34. > :45:37.insurance so for the 9200 self-employed people in my Hull

:45:38. > :45:40.constituency, hairdressers, electricians and plumbers and I know

:45:41. > :45:43.many of them are already part of that group that are just managing,

:45:44. > :45:47.the group that the Prime Minister has said she wanted to be on the

:45:48. > :45:52.side of, so I think this is a real kick to that group in my

:45:53. > :45:57.constituency. Now, I want to focus really on three issues today. First

:45:58. > :46:01.of all, social care. I welcome what the Chancellor said about the need

:46:02. > :46:05.for a review. Of course we need to have that, we need a long-term

:46:06. > :46:09.strategy for dealing with social care, certainly my view is we need a

:46:10. > :46:12.national care service, aKen to what we have with the National Health

:46:13. > :46:19.Service that was created after the - in 1948. I think the time's come for

:46:20. > :46:25.that to be set up. But the social care announcement that was made by

:46:26. > :46:31.the Chancellor that to spend ?1. 2 billion in 2017-18, ?800 million and

:46:32. > :46:35.?400 million seems to on the face of it only close half the gap overall

:46:36. > :46:39.that we know that exists in social care and there are no specifics

:46:40. > :46:44.about how this will be distributed. I just wanted to comment on the

:46:45. > :46:48.issue of disadvantaged areas like Hull and the crisis we are facing in

:46:49. > :46:51.social care with a third - we are the third most disadvantaged area in

:46:52. > :46:55.the country, we have more people in need of social care than other parts

:46:56. > :46:59.of the country and we have fewer people who are able to self-fund.

:47:00. > :47:07.The policies which the Government have so far brought forward to deal

:47:08. > :47:12.with social care, the increase in the council tax precept up to 3%. In

:47:13. > :47:19.Kingston that will only raise because of our low council tax base,

:47:20. > :47:25.will only raise ?8 per head. If you contrast that with Kingston upon

:47:26. > :47:30.Thames, they can raise ?15. 27 per head, so clearly that policy is not

:47:31. > :47:36.going to meet the needs of areas like Hull that have that low council

:47:37. > :47:41.tax base. So I am looking for the Minister perhaps to set out very

:47:42. > :47:44.clearly some guarantees about the most disadvantaged areas getting

:47:45. > :47:50.funding from that pot of money that's been made available. Of

:47:51. > :47:53.course, we know that in politics it is all about making choices and one

:47:54. > :47:58.policy area I thought the Government could have looked at to fill this

:47:59. > :48:04.gap in social care was put forward by the women's budget group. They

:48:05. > :48:10.were talking about how successive cuts in corporation tax by 2021 will

:48:11. > :48:14.amount to about ?13 billion per year and they compared and contrasted

:48:15. > :48:20.that with the cost of free social care for those with critical care

:48:21. > :48:24.needs which would cost ?14 billion. So different decisions could have

:48:25. > :48:28.been taken by the Government about where they choose to raise money and

:48:29. > :48:33.spend money than the ones that have been put in the Budget today. I

:48:34. > :48:37.wanted now just to turn to investment in the north. I checked

:48:38. > :48:43.the red book. There's just one reference to the northern powerhouse

:48:44. > :48:48.and the north-south regional divide. It says, a set out in the industrial

:48:49. > :48:51.strategy Green Paper the Government's bm -- the Government

:48:52. > :48:56.will be announcing the Midlands engine strategy and is continuing to

:48:57. > :49:01.build the northern powerhouse. Now, I wanted again to raise with the

:49:02. > :49:05.Minister the fact that if you look particularly at transport

:49:06. > :49:11.investment, the latest Treasury figures that per head of population

:49:12. > :49:17.in London the spend is ?1943, in Yorkshire and the Humber, ?190.

:49:18. > :49:21.There is a real gap about the investment that's going into the

:49:22. > :49:25.north. I notice the Chancellor made reference at one point to ?90

:49:26. > :49:31.million being made available to the north. The north is such a large

:49:32. > :49:36.area. ?90 million for the north. I think it just shows the Government

:49:37. > :49:42.really haven't got a handle on the needs of, it was over four years, as

:49:43. > :49:47.my honourable friend pointed out. So no money identified to help Hull,

:49:48. > :49:50.particularly with the electrification we have been

:49:51. > :49:55.fighting for, for many years even though we put together our plan to