Live Budget Debate

0:00:00 > 0:00:08orders of the day.Ways and Means, adjourned debate on question.

0:00:11 > 0:00:20Now.The question is, as on the order paper, Mr John McDonnell.

0:00:20 > 0:00:27Thank you Madam Deputy Speaker. After a disastrous election campaign

0:00:27 > 0:00:39and a party Conference that literally fell apart, yesterday's

0:00:39 > 0:00:46Budget sole purpose was to revive the fortunes of the Conservative

0:00:46 > 0:00:52Party, and maybe fend off for a time the Tory pact that had been handing

0:00:52 > 0:00:55the Chancellor week after week -- red Tory pack that had been hounding

0:00:55 > 0:00:59the Chancellor. But actually what this Budget showed is it showed how

0:00:59 > 0:01:03out of touch and cut off from the real world of the economy and the

0:01:03 > 0:01:09real lives of people the Chancellor and this government really is. Mr

0:01:09 > 0:01:13Speaker, the Chancellor said on Sky News only this morning, the UK

0:01:13 > 0:01:18economy is fundamentally strong. What is strong about an economy

0:01:18 > 0:01:23where economic growth has been downgraded to the lowest in G7

0:01:23 > 0:01:26countries? What is strong about an economy where productivity growth

0:01:26 > 0:01:34has been revised down to the lowest since modern records began? Where

0:01:34 > 0:01:38business investment is, and I quote the OBR, significantly lower than

0:01:38 > 0:01:42expected in March, and where real pay and living standards continue to

0:01:42 > 0:01:51deteriorate. The official growth forecast from the government's of

0:01:51 > 0:01:55for Budget responsibility were the worst in its history. No government

0:01:55 > 0:02:00in modern times has ever presented a set of growth forecasts where growth

0:02:00 > 0:02:06in every year is less than 2%. Productivity growth is forecast to

0:02:06 > 0:02:14have ground to a halt this year, and barely increased next year. This too

0:02:14 > 0:02:18the worst downgrade in the OBR's history. The squeeze on living

0:02:18 > 0:02:24standards is now so great that the Resolution Foundation estimate real

0:02:24 > 0:02:32pay will not return to its pre-crash levels until 2023.The Shadow

0:02:32 > 0:02:37Chancellor is making a powerful case. The governor of the Bank of

0:02:37 > 0:02:44England has said the last time wages suffered such stagnation was 150

0:02:44 > 0:02:54years ago when Victoria had the Crown, we had Gladstone and Disraeli

0:02:54 > 0:03:00in Number 10 Downing Street, and when trade unions were illegal. Does

0:03:00 > 0:03:05the Shadow Chancellor agree with me, under a Labour government wages go

0:03:05 > 0:03:10up...Order, order! Before we go any further in this debate that's only

0:03:10 > 0:03:14just started, I should explain to the House there are a great many

0:03:14 > 0:03:18people who have indicated they wish to speak this afternoon. Speeches

0:03:18 > 0:03:22will have to be time-limited and short and it is simply not fair for

0:03:22 > 0:03:27people to make long interventions, and then possibly not stay for the

0:03:27 > 0:03:35whole debate, whereas some other colleagues... I'm not suggesting the

0:03:35 > 0:03:41honourable gentleman weight, he knows how to behave in the chamber.

0:03:41 > 0:03:45It is perfectly in order and good debating practice for the Shadow

0:03:45 > 0:03:48Chancellor and everyone else to take lots of interventions in order we

0:03:48 > 0:03:53can have a debate. But interventions must be short and members must

0:03:53 > 0:03:57recognise that every minute that is taken up in an intervention takes a

0:03:57 > 0:04:03minute of the speech of someone who waits to speak all day. It's a

0:04:03 > 0:04:07matter of being fair and decent each other. I wonder how that will work.

0:04:07 > 0:04:13Mr McDonnell.Thank you Madam Deputy Speaker. I will take some

0:04:13 > 0:04:16interventions but I'm cognisant of what you said about the need to

0:04:16 > 0:04:20insert your all people can speak. Can I just respond to my honourable

0:04:20 > 0:04:24friend. We all knew that election of a Tory government would set us back.

0:04:24 > 0:04:32What we didn't appreciate was that it would set us back a century.

0:04:32 > 0:04:41Average annual pay is now projected to be £1030 lower in 2020 to was

0:04:41 > 0:04:49forecast in the March 17 Budget. It's those delivering Alki services.

0:04:49 > 0:04:53The nurses, the midwives, the firefighters, the teachers, who are

0:04:53 > 0:05:00worse off than they were a decade ago. There is nothing that can be

0:05:00 > 0:05:07considered remotely strong. This is a weak economy. In terms of growth

0:05:07 > 0:05:12it is the weakest in the G7. We are in this mess, let's remember,

0:05:12 > 0:05:16because in the last seven years the government have implemented policies

0:05:16 > 0:05:19that have undermined and weakened our economy. The Chancellor was a

0:05:19 > 0:05:27key figure in all those policies. He and his colleagues were warned

0:05:27 > 0:05:30austerities spending cuts would fail to bring the debt of the deficit

0:05:30 > 0:05:36under control, that instead they would undermine the real economy. We

0:05:36 > 0:05:44were promised in 2010 by the present Chancellor's predecessor... I will

0:05:44 > 0:05:49shorten. That the deficit would be cleared by 2015. Yet today as well

0:05:49 > 0:05:54the debt burden is still rising. The Chancellor borrowed more in his

0:05:54 > 0:06:01first year in the job than any Chancellor in history. I give way.

0:06:01 > 0:06:05You paint a negative picture. Can you explain why patient satisfaction

0:06:05 > 0:06:09in the NHS is the highest for 20 years, we have the lowest

0:06:09 > 0:06:17unemployment for 43 years and the highest employment in our history?

0:06:17 > 0:06:21There are now waiting lists in the NHS of four million and predicted to

0:06:21 > 0:06:26go to 5 million because of lack of investment. The number of people

0:06:26 > 0:06:29employed we welcome, the increase in employment we welcome but 800,000 of

0:06:29 > 0:06:34them are on zero hour contracts. We now have over 2 million people in

0:06:34 > 0:06:45insecure work. It's no wonder people are anxious about their futures. As

0:06:45 > 0:06:49I said, the Chancellor has borrowed more in his first year in the job

0:06:49 > 0:06:55than any other Chancellor in history. 145 billion over £5,000 per

0:06:55 > 0:07:01household. The OBR now expect the deficit in 2021 to be most three

0:07:01 > 0:07:05times higher than it forecast in March. They blamed this

0:07:05 > 0:07:09deterioration and the collapse in productivity growth. Productivity

0:07:09 > 0:07:13growth has collapsed because investment has fallen. Government

0:07:13 > 0:07:17investment is £20 billion less in real terms today than it was in the

0:07:17 > 0:07:24last year of the last Labour government.Can I ask him or his

0:07:24 > 0:07:28iPad how much it would cost to service the government debt in the

0:07:28 > 0:07:35event that his own spending plans ever came to fruition?I welcome the

0:07:35 > 0:07:39opportunity to respond to the honourable gentleman, because what

0:07:39 > 0:07:46we've said very clearly unlike this government, on our fiscal rule we

0:07:46 > 0:07:49will not borrow the day-to-day expenditure. We will borrow to

0:07:49 > 0:07:52invest. That investment will grow the economy and as a result of that

0:07:52 > 0:07:57growth will cover any need to borrow. That's what any sensible

0:07:57 > 0:08:03government is doing right the way across Europe. That's why it's this

0:08:03 > 0:08:06attitude displayed by the honourable gentleman that has caused our

0:08:06 > 0:08:10economic problems. Lack of investment in seven years. Lack of

0:08:10 > 0:08:15investment that generates productivity.Many of the things

0:08:15 > 0:08:19that have been welcomed in this Budget, and some have by people

0:08:19 > 0:08:22outside of this House, have been measures we have been calling for

0:08:22 > 0:08:29since the downturn in 2008. If they were right now, they were right back

0:08:29 > 0:08:32then. It's a consequence of austerity and economic policies

0:08:32 > 0:08:35followed by the Tories that has made our economy flat line to seven

0:08:35 > 0:08:42years.Whatever has been put forward in the Budget yesterday is so

0:08:42 > 0:08:48trivial it will not have the effect that is required. Investment by

0:08:48 > 0:08:54businesses also is the lowest in the G7 countries. The few measures

0:08:54 > 0:08:57announced yesterday just won't address that. They went close the

0:08:57 > 0:09:00gap between the South and the rest of the country by investing in rail

0:09:00 > 0:09:05projects in the north-east but will receive just 2% of the total cost of

0:09:05 > 0:09:10Crossrail in London. Our economy and our people will only reach their

0:09:10 > 0:09:13potential when there is real, new investment, brought forward by

0:09:13 > 0:09:19government and the scale needed to meet the opportunity. The right

0:09:19 > 0:09:23approach in 2010 would be to target the real economy and real

0:09:23 > 0:09:27investments to produce great, and so bring the deficit into line. Because

0:09:27 > 0:09:32the investment needed then didn't materialise, productivity growth has

0:09:32 > 0:09:36stagnated. Because productivity growth has fallen away, the forecast

0:09:36 > 0:09:42deficit has been widened by the OBR to some 30 billion by 20 21. The

0:09:42 > 0:09:47government knows austerities and working, it has been reduced to

0:09:47 > 0:09:52fiddling the figures to meet its own targets. This is a quote from the

0:09:52 > 0:09:55OBR which I think is quite important, about how the government

0:09:55 > 0:10:03is going to meet some of its targets. I cried. -- I quite. The

0:10:03 > 0:10:07government has ensured net debt still falls fractionally as a share

0:10:07 > 0:10:13of GDP in 2018-19 and it has achieved this largely by announcing

0:10:13 > 0:10:18fresh sales of RBS shares and passing regulations that ease local

0:10:18 > 0:10:23and central government control over housing associations in England.

0:10:23 > 0:10:26Creative accountancy on a scale we've not seen under any government.

0:10:26 > 0:10:32The government has met its own debt target barely by exploiting a

0:10:32 > 0:10:37reclassification of Housing association debt and putting in some

0:10:37 > 0:10:43extraordinarily optimistic forecasts for its sales of RBS shares.I'm not

0:10:43 > 0:10:49generally trying to find a way out of our problems that we can agree. I

0:10:49 > 0:10:53accept his point he wants to borrow more to invest. The trouble is we

0:10:53 > 0:11:00already paying in interest more than what we spend on defence and police.

0:11:00 > 0:11:04I understand where he's coming from but whatever you spun the money and

0:11:04 > 0:11:14the interest will be accrued so how will he deal with that?That under

0:11:14 > 0:11:20his government debt has gone up by 800 billion. It is debt to pay for

0:11:20 > 0:11:25failure rather than investment. If you borrow to invest, you grow the

0:11:25 > 0:11:29economy and on that basis you put more people to work, with more

0:11:29 > 0:11:34skills, higher wages, they pay more taxes and it pays for itself. That's

0:11:34 > 0:11:40the lesson they still haven't learned. The government appears, as

0:11:40 > 0:11:44it demonstrated today, to be completely out of touch with the

0:11:44 > 0:11:53mess our economy is in. Also, they have no understanding of the

0:11:53 > 0:12:02consequences of their choices on the lives of our people.

0:12:02 > 0:12:07The Chancellor is trying to claim income inequality. It doesn't seem

0:12:07 > 0:12:12to be aware that 1 million food parcels have been handed out in

0:12:12 > 0:12:16this, the sixth richest economy on the planet. He may well be aware

0:12:16 > 0:12:19that London is home to more billionaires than before. But does

0:12:19 > 0:12:25he ever know that there are more homeless people than ever? How can

0:12:25 > 0:12:31he claim inequality is falling when that stark comparison is made. For

0:12:31 > 0:12:34the poorest, this Government's decisions will make them poorer

0:12:34 > 0:12:41still. Buried away in the annex at the very back of the Treasury's

0:12:41 > 0:12:45distributional analysis is truthfulness. It says the poorest

0:12:45 > 0:12:48fifth are being made poorer by the changes this Government is

0:12:48 > 0:12:51implemented. But those inside the poorest fifth will lose almost £250

0:12:51 > 0:12:58per year. In the House of Commons library again it has published the

0:12:58 > 0:13:04figures. It has confirmed that the burden of the cuts, 86% of the cuts

0:13:04 > 0:13:08made in tax and benefits measures since 2010 have fallen on who? When

0:13:08 > 0:13:14it. Is that water quality is about under this Government? 86% on the

0:13:14 > 0:13:18shoulders of women. I will come back to the honourable lady, certainly.

0:13:18 > 0:13:24On housing the Government's solution for the crisis is inept and

0:13:24 > 0:13:28counter-productive. The stamp duty cut for first-time buyers will not

0:13:28 > 0:13:36bring forward the new homes we need. No wonder the OBR expects only 3500

0:13:36 > 0:13:41additional sales to happen from the change. They say, and I quote again,

0:13:41 > 0:13:48that thanks to the price rises the main gainers from the policy are

0:13:48 > 0:13:56people who already own property. The problem is simple, maybe, perhaps,

0:13:56 > 0:14:01it does need explaining. You cannot solve a problem of housing supply by

0:14:01 > 0:14:06driving up housing demand. We are not the only people saying this.

0:14:06 > 0:14:13Conservative ministers reviewed the stamp duty reduction and they said

0:14:13 > 0:14:19this, that the cut hadn't had a significant impact on improving

0:14:19 > 0:14:23affordability for first-time buyers. And setting a target of £300,000 a

0:14:23 > 0:14:27year for the mid 2020s does little for the housing crisis we are

0:14:27 > 0:14:32suffering today. I will come back to the honourable lady, I think she was

0:14:32 > 0:14:40first.It was going back the few points, but the people in Taunton

0:14:40 > 0:14:43Deane actually have more money in their pockets, which is what they

0:14:43 > 0:14:53want. We have put up the national living wage. We've cut income tax by

0:14:53 > 0:14:57raising the personal allowance. And again we have frozen fuel duty. So

0:14:57 > 0:15:01people have actually got thousands more in their pockets than they had

0:15:01 > 0:15:07under the Labour Government.Never had it so good!

0:15:11 > 0:15:17Can I just say, I know the honourable lady is well-intentioned,

0:15:17 > 0:15:21but can I just say that she displays and ignorance about the large

0:15:21 > 0:15:29numbers of people who are not better off? Can I just... Can I just... Can

0:15:29 > 0:15:36I just suggest, can I just suggest this to her? I don't wish to be

0:15:36 > 0:15:42patronising anyway. No. If that's the way it's interpreted, it's

0:15:42 > 0:15:48certainly not how it's meant to be. I would just say that all of us who

0:15:48 > 0:15:52are on relatively high wages need to understand and be very careful when

0:15:52 > 0:15:59we talk about levels of income and levels of wealth. When we know so

0:15:59 > 0:16:02many people, 4 million of our children, are actually living in

0:16:02 > 0:16:06poverty. And two thirds of those children are living in households

0:16:06 > 0:16:11where someone is at work. That says something about low pay to me. It

0:16:11 > 0:16:16should do to all of us. I'll come back to the honourable gentleman.

0:16:16 > 0:16:24Can I just say that... The number of people sleeping on our streets has

0:16:24 > 0:16:32doubled since the Conservatives came to office in 2010. Over 3500 people,

0:16:32 > 0:16:393500 people, were forced to sleep on our streets last year. We have

0:16:39 > 0:16:4580,000 households living in temporary accommodation because

0:16:45 > 0:16:51councils simply don't have anywhere to house them. I repeat, in the

0:16:51 > 0:16:57sixth richest country in the world. Over 120,000 of our children without

0:16:57 > 0:17:04a home to call their own, living in temporary accommodation, that's up

0:17:04 > 0:17:1260% since this Government has been in power. That means, and we seen it

0:17:12 > 0:17:14in our constituencies, children brought up in places that are often

0:17:14 > 0:17:21not safe. Having to share communal bathrooms and kitchens, and being

0:17:21 > 0:17:28robbed of a normal family life and childhood. Ministers don't seem to

0:17:28 > 0:17:32understand the strength of anger many of us on these benches feel

0:17:32 > 0:17:36that our constituents are being forced to live in overcrowded,

0:17:36 > 0:17:40unsafe, and inadequate housing. The Government have the opportunity to

0:17:40 > 0:17:44deliver the funding that would build the homes we need. With only one

0:17:44 > 0:17:52third of the £44 billion announced today genuinely new. And no extra

0:17:52 > 0:17:57investment in affordable homes. This Government's record on failing

0:17:57 > 0:18:02housing will continue to blight the lives of hundreds of thousands

0:18:02 > 0:18:07trapped in overpriced, inadequate housing. I thought there was

0:18:07 > 0:18:11somebody else... The honourable lady.As somebody who was working in

0:18:11 > 0:18:16the construction industry in 2008 to 2009, and who watched the decimation

0:18:16 > 0:18:22of that industry at the tail end of the last Labour Government, and

0:18:22 > 0:18:27noted that nobody sprung to our aid to keep people in work in the

0:18:27 > 0:18:34industry, we have had to start from the go get. We have built 217,000

0:18:34 > 0:18:38houses this year. That's nearly double what was billed in the last

0:18:38 > 0:18:41time of the Labour Government. You walked away from the industry at

0:18:41 > 0:18:46that time. To stand there and sanctimoniously tell us that you did

0:18:46 > 0:18:53support us is wrong.Could I ask the honourable lady to re-examine the

0:18:53 > 0:18:56history of that period. And I point out the kick-start a programme which

0:18:56 > 0:19:01was developed by the Labour Government which was into the

0:19:01 > 0:19:10private and public sector to allow building to happen.You are wrong...

0:19:10 > 0:19:15I just asked the honourable lady. And we can get a briefing during

0:19:15 > 0:19:19that period. I understand what she's saying. It was an immensely

0:19:19 > 0:19:23difficult period for the economy. She's right. And many people

0:19:23 > 0:19:27suffered. But can I just say to her that her party supported the policy

0:19:27 > 0:19:32is to deregulate the banks that brought about the speculation that

0:19:32 > 0:19:36resulted in the economic crisis in this country and elsewhere. There

0:19:36 > 0:19:42are thousands... Deputy Speaker, there are thousands trapped in

0:19:42 > 0:19:52poverty. As many as 1 million children, as many as 1 million

0:19:52 > 0:19:54children could be pushed into poverty as a result of cuts to

0:19:54 > 0:20:00Universal Credit. The introduction of Universal Credit has been a

0:20:00 > 0:20:07disaster that's pushed many thousands of people into despair.

0:20:07 > 0:20:11And in many cases outright destitution. Food bank charities

0:20:11 > 0:20:16have reported that they have gathered an extra 200,000 tonnes of

0:20:16 > 0:20:19food to cope with demand as a result of the introduction of Universal

0:20:19 > 0:20:34Credit. The trust will trust report -- the Trussell trust report has

0:20:34 > 0:20:44said that usage of food banks has gone up 30%. The Government does not

0:20:44 > 0:20:48grasp the scale of this problem. Members need to know what this

0:20:48 > 0:20:52poverty means for children in our society. It means not having a

0:20:52 > 0:20:56winter coat this winter, being left behind when the rest of the class

0:20:56 > 0:21:01goes on a school trip, and from the reports last year, going hungry

0:21:01 > 0:21:06during school holidays in their thousands. The Chancellor did

0:21:06 > 0:21:10nothing yesterday for self-employed people, second earners, disabled

0:21:10 > 0:21:14people, all of whom have seemed their living standards suffer,

0:21:14 > 0:21:20particularly acutely on to Universal Credit. He felt to mitigate the cuts

0:21:20 > 0:21:26from the Universal Credit programme from his predecessor. He failed to

0:21:26 > 0:21:29address the impact of the social security freeze... I shall come back

0:21:29 > 0:21:34to you, due to push millions of people into poverty. The additional

0:21:34 > 0:21:40funds put in place amount to £1 return for every £10 the Government

0:21:40 > 0:21:46is cutting from the system. This means those claiming Universal

0:21:46 > 0:21:51Credit will now have to take their first payment as a loan so the face

0:21:51 > 0:21:5612 months of reduced payments, and to some of the most desperate people

0:21:56 > 0:22:00in the country, to those already drowning in debt, the Chancellor has

0:22:00 > 0:22:07offered, what, more debt. And for those newly registered for Universal

0:22:07 > 0:22:11Credit and facing destitution this Christmas the Chancellor had nothing

0:22:11 > 0:22:16to say. Not a single extra penny, no matter how inadequate, will be

0:22:16 > 0:22:20available for the New Year. 59,000 families will be left without any

0:22:20 > 0:22:25support in the Christmas period. Families that include 40,000 of this

0:22:25 > 0:22:30country's children. And the percentage of -- of the percentage

0:22:30 > 0:22:34of children living in poverty is the highest since records began in 1961.

0:22:34 > 0:22:42In the sixth richest country in the world. Local councils. I just say to

0:22:42 > 0:22:45the members opposite, local councils are being starved of funds they need

0:22:45 > 0:22:48to protect the most vulnerable children in our society. Charities

0:22:48 > 0:22:54on the front line are clear and are reporting solidly that the cuts to

0:22:54 > 0:23:00parenting classes, children's groups, teenage pregnancy support,

0:23:00 > 0:23:06short breaks for disabled people, what the charities are saying the

0:23:06 > 0:23:10risk turning the current crisis into a catastrophe for the next

0:23:10 > 0:23:16generation of children and families. This year a record 70,000 children

0:23:16 > 0:23:22have been taken into care. One in 64 children in England is at risk of

0:23:22 > 0:23:30abuse or neglect. There are 1200 fewer children's centres than in

0:23:30 > 0:23:332010. And funding for early intervention to protect children is

0:23:33 > 0:23:42down 55%. Eight in ten schools have no funding to support children with

0:23:42 > 0:23:48special needs. And funding for early intervention to protect children

0:23:48 > 0:23:55down by 55%, as I said. There was not a single penny extra to address

0:23:55 > 0:24:00this emerging crisis in our children's services in the Budget. I

0:24:00 > 0:24:05say this now, and I say this across the house, the Chancellor and the

0:24:05 > 0:24:08Government are failing some of the most vulnerable children in our

0:24:08 > 0:24:14society. And I urge the Government to look again. Look again now at

0:24:14 > 0:24:20this issue that emerging as an emerging crisis. And it goes on, in

0:24:20 > 0:24:24education, schools are facing the first funding cuts per pupil in real

0:24:24 > 0:24:30terms since the 1990s. Head teachers are being forced to parents for

0:24:30 > 0:24:33funds to pay for basic supplies. 5000 headteachers wrote to the

0:24:33 > 0:24:42Government asking that those funds be returned. In the Prime Minister's

0:24:42 > 0:24:46constituency one headmaster is asking parents for £1 per day to

0:24:46 > 0:24:51help pay for stationery. The National Audit Office says schools

0:24:51 > 0:25:01face a £1.7 billion in real terms cut in funding by 2020. Eight in ten

0:25:01 > 0:25:05schools are being left without funding to adequately provide for

0:25:05 > 0:25:08special needs pupils. It means our most vulnerable children, deprived

0:25:08 > 0:25:14of the support they need, spending break times away from friends,

0:25:14 > 0:25:18alone, having their education discriminated against.Thanks for

0:25:18 > 0:25:25giving way. Just a point on children . I was told that there was not

0:25:25 > 0:25:29enough money for post-16 SEN provision because they cannot cut

0:25:29 > 0:25:32the number of teaching assistance they need because of the ratio is

0:25:32 > 0:25:38needed to care for these children. This person in my constituency was

0:25:38 > 0:25:49not able to offer a place to post 16 children.It is shocking. It is

0:25:49 > 0:25:53absolutely shocking. When we as a society are looking to integrate

0:25:53 > 0:25:57everybody into the mainstream as best we can. And it means those

0:25:57 > 0:26:03children will be deprived for the rest of their lives. More than 4000

0:26:03 > 0:26:08children with an approved health and social care plan are still not

0:26:08 > 0:26:11receiving what they are entitled to, which confirms what my honourable

0:26:11 > 0:26:16friend has reported. The cuts to local Government will mean schools

0:26:16 > 0:26:21forcing to turn away children with special needs. To compensate for

0:26:21 > 0:26:26this yesterday's Budget offered £177 million for additional maths and IT

0:26:26 > 0:26:31teachers, supposedly to make a spit for the future at a time when 10% of

0:26:31 > 0:26:40our schools offer IT GCSEs. £177 million to compensate for £1.7

0:26:40 > 0:26:45billion, £1 given back for every £10 taken away. And capital spending on

0:26:45 > 0:26:49schools is scheduled to be cut by £600 million over this Parliament at

0:26:49 > 0:26:50a time when class sizes are

0:26:55 > 0:26:59On the NHS, the experts and health professionals are agreed, the NHS is

0:26:59 > 0:27:04approaching breaking point. It needs proper funding. The chief executive

0:27:04 > 0:27:09of NHS England says the NHS needs 4 billion this year. He's warned 5

0:27:09 > 0:27:11million people being left on the waiting list without additional

0:27:11 > 0:27:20funding.Is he aware that within the NHS, CCGs are looking to introduce

0:27:20 > 0:27:27new taxes on patients. One CCG is proposing to make kidney dialysis

0:27:27 > 0:27:34patients pay for transport to their dialysis. This is a death tax of

0:27:34 > 0:27:39£120 a month. Either dialysis or death, and that is their options.

0:27:39 > 0:27:42Under the figures announced this week in the Budget there will be

0:27:42 > 0:27:46moral of this. There will be more people suffering, more lives put at

0:27:46 > 0:27:53risk as a result. Under this government, 4 million people are now

0:27:53 > 0:27:57waiting to care, the highest level in a decade. 100,000 patients were

0:27:57 > 0:28:01left waiting more than two weeks to see a specialist after being

0:28:01 > 0:28:06diagnosed with cancer. More than one intended and star treatment within

0:28:06 > 0:28:1062 days. Three in ten of the most urgent 999 calls are going answered

0:28:10 > 0:28:15within the targeted time. Yet the government has brought forward less

0:28:15 > 0:28:21than half the amount that is needed and other professionals sober

0:28:21 > 0:28:25assessments say is needed. The claim in yesterday's Budget that 10

0:28:25 > 0:28:30billion in capital funding is available is totally misleading. The

0:28:30 > 0:28:33government will provide less than half of this. The remainder will

0:28:33 > 0:28:39come from selling off the NHS Estates or from the private sector.

0:28:39 > 0:28:44Nor is the pay cap that has driven hard-working public sector workers

0:28:44 > 0:28:48to despair being tackled. The dedication of the staff is

0:28:48 > 0:28:51extraordinary. There are nurses waiting behind after 12 hour shifts

0:28:51 > 0:28:55to give care to keep the system from imploding. These are the same nurses

0:28:55 > 0:28:59who have seen their pay full so much in real terms that one in four of

0:28:59 > 0:29:05them must take a second job to make ends meet. The Royal College of

0:29:05 > 0:29:12nurses reports nurses visiting food banks. It isn't possible to run a

0:29:12 > 0:29:16health service worthy of the name of the underpaid and underpaid

0:29:16 > 0:29:21dedication of its staff alone. The Chancellor is able to offer nothing

0:29:21 > 0:29:25for them. I've given way and I'm worried to make sure people are

0:29:25 > 0:29:30involved. Thank you. The Chancellor is able to offer nothing for them.

0:29:30 > 0:29:34The cap isn't being removed because as the Treasury briefed once the

0:29:34 > 0:29:39Chancellor sat down, any pay rises the pay review board offer above 1%

0:29:39 > 0:29:44must be taken from existing budgets. It's a derisory offer to make after

0:29:44 > 0:29:50seven years of real term pay cuts. Worse than that, for NHS nurses, any

0:29:50 > 0:29:56additional pay will be linked to agenda for change modernisation, and

0:29:56 > 0:30:00what they really mean, threatening their working conditions, tearing up

0:30:00 > 0:30:09their terms and conditions of pay. Is it not also a common because 55%

0:30:09 > 0:30:18of civil servants' pay is not covered by a pay review body?That's

0:30:18 > 0:30:23how the government has avoided its own responsibility to ensuring that

0:30:23 > 0:30:28other civil servants have a proper pay rise. Can also say, for those in

0:30:28 > 0:30:31social care with the system approaching but quality care

0:30:31 > 0:30:35commission calls tipping point, the Chancellor hasn't offered a single

0:30:35 > 0:30:41penny either. Let me turn to the environment. The Chancellor had a

0:30:41 > 0:30:44view choice words about electric cars yesterday, I thought it was a

0:30:44 > 0:30:50wonderful metaphor, driverless car. On the bigger picture the Budget is

0:30:50 > 0:30:55potentially disastrous. The fact there will be no new low carbon

0:30:55 > 0:31:00electricity levies until 2025 could spend the end of much of the low

0:31:00 > 0:31:04carbon development of the UK. There wasn't a single mention in the

0:31:04 > 0:31:08Chancellor 's speech of renewables, sustainable sources of energy or

0:31:08 > 0:31:12investment in energy efficiency. It's quite clear that beyond a few

0:31:12 > 0:31:20gimmicks this is not a priority for the government. The Chancellor

0:31:20 > 0:31:23referred extensively to technological change which offers

0:31:23 > 0:31:26huge potential for our economy and society of we are prepared to commit

0:31:26 > 0:31:35the investment needed. That cut research funding by £1 billion in

0:31:35 > 0:31:41real terms. Not like the Chancellor's party, we on this side

0:31:41 > 0:31:43know that to realise the possibilities of new technology

0:31:43 > 0:31:47would require a government committed to providing the funding and

0:31:47 > 0:31:54investment needed. Not a government repackaging existing announcements

0:31:54 > 0:31:58in consecutive budgets, or the one that reallocate funds its already

0:31:58 > 0:32:03reallocated a year ago in the Autumn Statement claiming it is new

0:32:03 > 0:32:08research funding. The government says it is aiming to reach the OECD

0:32:08 > 0:32:13average of spending on RND by 2027. After years of languishing below it,

0:32:13 > 0:32:18Britain should aim to be above the average rather than belatedly

0:32:18 > 0:32:23hitting the average decade from now. Even the target displays a lack of

0:32:23 > 0:32:27ambition and foresight. They have the same problem with Brexit. They

0:32:27 > 0:32:32never planned for it before the referendum and now they can't see

0:32:32 > 0:32:36beyond their own slogans. 17 months after the result, there's not a

0:32:36 > 0:32:40single agreement with the EU. They are lurching towards the hardest

0:32:40 > 0:32:44possible Brexit, ripping up our existing relationship with our

0:32:44 > 0:32:48closest trading partners instead of trying to work to create a new one.

0:32:48 > 0:32:52Every major business group has baked them to take a different approach,

0:32:52 > 0:32:58from the CBI to the BCC. Already businesses are pulling back

0:32:58 > 0:33:03investment for fear of what might come. This government doesn't just

0:33:03 > 0:33:09lack ambition, they won't listen to advice and can't seem to see how

0:33:09 > 0:33:14disastrous a cliff edge plunge out of the EU would be for our economy.

0:33:14 > 0:33:18The Chancellor trailed this Budget is making Britain fit for the

0:33:18 > 0:33:23future. What it has actually demonstrated, as my right honourable

0:33:23 > 0:33:28friend said yesterday, is that this is a government no longer fit for

0:33:28 > 0:33:37office. Too divided to deliver, the Budget demonstrated this is

0:33:37 > 0:33:43increasingly a government without purpose, divided and in disarray,

0:33:43 > 0:33:48whose confidence is sapped, whose time is up. I say to them, it is

0:33:48 > 0:33:55better to go with a bit of dignity. Just go with a bit of dignity,

0:33:55 > 0:34:05rather than... It is better to go with a bit of dignity, a bit of

0:34:05 > 0:34:11dignity left, rather than humiliating disintegration. Labour

0:34:11 > 0:34:17is ready and willing now to form a government that this country needs,

0:34:17 > 0:34:22rather than this shambles that cannot even be described as a

0:34:22 > 0:34:34government.JEERING.Secretary of State Sajid Javid.It is a pleasure

0:34:34 > 0:34:37to respond to the Shadow Chancellor, although I am grateful that for

0:34:37 > 0:34:41everything we've just heard in the past half-hour, he didn't literally

0:34:41 > 0:34:49throw the book at me. On Saturday it will be exactly two years since the

0:34:49 > 0:34:53right honourable gentleman cited one of history 's worst mass murderers

0:34:53 > 0:34:57in the defence of his own economic policies. Let's take a look at some

0:34:57 > 0:35:01of the great leaps forward our economy has taken in those two

0:35:01 > 0:35:08years. Employment, up. House-building, up. Inward

0:35:08 > 0:35:12investment, up. Borrowing, down. Last year the British economy grew

0:35:12 > 0:35:18faster than any other G7 nation. This week the CBI said manufacturing

0:35:18 > 0:35:25order books haven't been this falls for almost 30 years. Siemens has

0:35:25 > 0:35:29said it is cutting jobs on the continent but expanding its UK

0:35:29 > 0:35:34operation, investing more money and creating even more jobs. Whatever

0:35:34 > 0:35:38way you look at it, this is a government that is getting things

0:35:38 > 0:35:43done. A government growing the economy, building a Britain fit for

0:35:43 > 0:35:47the future. Yesterday's Budget builds on that success and lays the

0:35:47 > 0:35:54way forward for much more to come. It's a Budget that will lead us

0:35:54 > 0:35:57building more homes in the right places and the right prices, protect

0:35:57 > 0:36:02and enhance our public services, and a Budget that will tackle the

0:36:02 > 0:36:07burning injustices that still plague too many people in this country.

0:36:07 > 0:36:11First among those injustices is the state of the housing market. As I

0:36:11 > 0:36:17said before, your home is much more than just a place that you go to

0:36:17 > 0:36:22sleep in at night. It shapes who you are, it provides stability and

0:36:22 > 0:36:25security, it shapes your life chances and opens up or closes off

0:36:25 > 0:36:29all kinds of opportunities. A fair affordable housing market builds

0:36:29 > 0:36:33strong families and strong communities. A broken one is of

0:36:33 > 0:36:39course a barrier to social mobility and a root cause of

0:36:39 > 0:36:42intergenerational unfairness. The way to fix the broken housing market

0:36:42 > 0:36:49is to build more homes, and that is exactly what we are doing. Last year

0:36:49 > 0:36:54217,000 net additions to the housing stock, the highest such figure in

0:36:54 > 0:36:58almost a decade. But we are under no illusions that there is much, much

0:36:58 > 0:37:04more to be done. Labour's answer to the housing crisis, in fact Labour's

0:37:04 > 0:37:08answer to everything, is simply to throw more of someone else's money

0:37:08 > 0:37:15at the problem and just hope it goes away. The last time they tried it we

0:37:15 > 0:37:24ended up with a house-building at its lowest level since the 1920s,

0:37:24 > 0:37:30and an economy on its knees. This country needs at least 300,000 new

0:37:30 > 0:37:35homes a year. Do you know how many Labour started in its last four

0:37:35 > 0:37:50years in office? Let me tell you. 75,000. The lowest number of annual

0:37:50 > 0:37:59starts in peace time since the 1920s.I'm grateful to the ministers

0:37:59 > 0:38:03are giving way and I'm delighted he's saying there's going to be a

0:38:03 > 0:38:06renaissance in house-building. Can we look forward to an announcement

0:38:06 > 0:38:11of a renaissance in council house-building, will the Minister

0:38:11 > 0:38:16accept that the cost of building Council houses is in large measure

0:38:16 > 0:38:21covered by the income generated from the rental stream? Basically is a

0:38:21 > 0:38:25free hit. Why went to the Minister at mid-it's important we start to

0:38:25 > 0:38:31build council houses to tackle the housing crisis?I'm glad the

0:38:31 > 0:38:35honourable gentleman raised the issue of council houses because it's

0:38:35 > 0:38:39another opportunity to remind this House, in 13 years in office, Labour

0:38:39 > 0:38:43build fewer council houses since the return of a Conservative led

0:38:43 > 0:38:50government. Yesterday's measures would lead to more council houses by

0:38:50 > 0:38:57the most ambitious and of course we welcome that.Can he explain how it

0:38:57 > 0:39:04is logical to cut stamp duty on houses worth less than £300,000,

0:39:04 > 0:39:09which will increase the price of properties, thereby cutting the tax

0:39:09 > 0:39:13coming in, increasing the price of properties, not benefiting

0:39:13 > 0:39:19first-time buyers, only those who are selling the properties?For a

0:39:19 > 0:39:23start he should speak to the leader of his own party. He stood there

0:39:23 > 0:39:28yesterday claiming it was his policy in his manifesto. I think the

0:39:28 > 0:39:31honourable gentleman needs to go home and do some homework of his

0:39:31 > 0:39:42own. When Labour came to power in 1997, the average home cost three

0:39:42 > 0:39:47and a half times the average wage. By the time they slunk out of office

0:39:47 > 0:39:55in 2010, it was nearly seven times. As for the neediest in society,

0:39:55 > 0:40:01Labour cut the number of social homes for rent by more than 420,000

0:40:01 > 0:40:13units. That's their track record.He says we need 300,000 new homes a

0:40:13 > 0:40:16year to address the housing crisis, presumably he's is therefore just

0:40:16 > 0:40:21committed to making sure 300,000 new homes a year are built. Until he

0:40:21 > 0:40:32does address the supply-side, he's got to stop fuelling demand side

0:40:32 > 0:40:37pressures. As the OBR said, the measure he's taken on reducing stamp

0:40:37 > 0:40:41duty is fuelling demand at a time when he's not meeting the supply

0:40:41 > 0:40:48pressures.Where the honourable gentleman is right, is the need for

0:40:48 > 0:40:52further planning reform, and that's why the Budget follows on from the

0:40:52 > 0:40:55housing white paper earlier this year with further planning reforms,

0:40:55 > 0:40:59some of which shall come to in a moment. Where he's completely wrong

0:40:59 > 0:41:03is on stamp duty. He should have that conversation with young people

0:41:03 > 0:41:11when they are buying their first house, they can save up to £5,000.

0:41:11 > 0:41:15Does my right honourable friend agree with me that what we need now

0:41:15 > 0:41:19is clarification? What will the party opposite do when it comes to a

0:41:19 > 0:41:23division on the plans to scrap stamp duty for first-time buyers? Are they

0:41:23 > 0:41:27saying they are going to block those plans, in which case that says more

0:41:27 > 0:41:31about where they stand than any words they could ever say.My

0:41:31 > 0:41:36honourable friend went to be surprised to learn that they don't

0:41:36 > 0:41:40know what they will do. They have no idea other than borrowing billions

0:41:40 > 0:41:43and billions of pounds more and trying to bankrupt this country once

0:41:43 > 0:41:48again. What Labour don't understand and what they have never understood

0:41:48 > 0:41:52is that getting more homes built requires action on many fronts. It's

0:41:52 > 0:41:57the easiest thing in the world to say we will build more homes, but

0:41:57 > 0:41:59it's meaningless unless you address where you are going to build them,

0:41:59 > 0:42:04what you're going to build, Howell, who is going to build and who is

0:42:04 > 0:42:09going to pay for it all.

0:42:09 > 0:42:16On your point of where to build and having people to build them, does

0:42:16 > 0:42:18the honourable gentleman recognise that giving all of this money to

0:42:18 > 0:42:22create maths teachers will not help the skills shortage we have in the

0:42:22 > 0:42:24building industry to create the builders we need to build the

0:42:24 > 0:42:34properties.I thought the honourable lady would have welcomed the extra

0:42:34 > 0:42:37investment in maths in our country. If she was listing to the Budget she

0:42:37 > 0:42:45would have also welcomed the partnership we are beginning in

0:42:45 > 0:42:49order to invest in the skills of the future and the additional funding

0:42:49 > 0:42:53for the construction industry in terms of getting more skills for

0:42:53 > 0:42:57that particular industry. -- if she was listening. Action on many fronts

0:42:57 > 0:43:02is what our housing white Paper promise. That is what the Budget

0:43:02 > 0:43:06delivers, with over £15 billion of new financial support to help make

0:43:06 > 0:43:11that happen. Over the next five years will commit to a total of at

0:43:11 > 0:43:15least £44 billion of capital funding, loans, and guarantees to

0:43:15 > 0:43:19support our housing market. To boost the supply of skills and resources

0:43:19 > 0:43:25and land for building. And to create the financial incentives to deliver

0:43:25 > 0:43:30300,000 net additional homes a year on average. To put it another way,

0:43:30 > 0:43:33almost three times as many as the shadow Housing Minister managed when

0:43:33 > 0:43:38he was the actual housing minister. I'm grateful to the honourable

0:43:38 > 0:43:42gentleman. He talks of action. Can you tell us why this Government

0:43:42 > 0:43:47isn't actually taking action on the developers who sit on land? The

0:43:47 > 0:43:51Chancellor spoke about consultation yesterday. We all know what needs to

0:43:51 > 0:43:57happen, why don't they just do it? What bewilders me is that those

0:43:57 > 0:44:02benches were completed yesterday that the Budget, but nobody is

0:44:02 > 0:44:06listening. If she was listening she would have heard some of the

0:44:06 > 0:44:10measures the Chancellor announced, including the change in the delivery

0:44:10 > 0:44:13test and an enquiry which I will come onto in a moment. I will give

0:44:13 > 0:44:20in a moment. The Government provided new money for the home-building

0:44:20 > 0:44:26front to get house-builders building again. Yesterday the Chancellor also

0:44:26 > 0:44:30promised £630 million for small sites to unlock the delivery of

0:44:30 > 0:44:3540,000 homes, £400 million for a state regeneration, and £1.1 billion

0:44:35 > 0:44:38to unlock strategic sites, including new settlements and urban

0:44:38 > 0:44:43regeneration schemes. And £8 billion of new financial guarantees to

0:44:43 > 0:44:48support private house-building and the purpose-built private renting

0:44:48 > 0:44:54sector.I'm grateful for you giving way. Can he explain why talk's

0:44:54 > 0:44:57Conservative lead counsel submitted a local plan which undershot the

0:44:57 > 0:45:05amount of houses he is speaking about? Why such a disparity within

0:45:05 > 0:45:14his own counsel? -- York's Conservative lead local council.

0:45:14 > 0:45:18Once the proposals go through it will be clear that no council will

0:45:18 > 0:45:23be able to avoid the houses they actually need to build. In the areas

0:45:23 > 0:45:27where supply and demand are most badly mismatched, where most homes

0:45:27 > 0:45:32are unaffordable to most people, we will increase local authority

0:45:32 > 0:45:36housing revenue account borrowing caps by a total of £1 billion. This

0:45:36 > 0:45:40will allow ambitious councils to invest in new homes where they are

0:45:40 > 0:45:43most needed. We will bring together public and private capital to

0:45:43 > 0:45:50support the delivery of five new locally led towns in areas of high

0:45:50 > 0:45:57demand. We are committed to building in the Oxford Cambridge corridor. We

0:45:57 > 0:46:01have agreed on one of our most ambitious housing deals with

0:46:01 > 0:46:09Oxfordshire to deliver 1000 homes by -- 100,000 homes by 2021.On the

0:46:09 > 0:46:14note of garden towns, Taunton has been made one, I'm proud of that. As

0:46:14 > 0:46:18well as building more homes we are going to build homes people want to

0:46:18 > 0:46:21live in. We are going to make good communities and good places to live

0:46:21 > 0:46:25with the right infrastructure and all of the right facilities. We are

0:46:25 > 0:46:29going to be the Government that really put us on the 21st century in

0:46:29 > 0:46:34terms of homes.My honourable friend is right. It's not just about

0:46:34 > 0:46:38building homes, it's about building communities, and that means also

0:46:38 > 0:46:43supplying the infrastructure required. I'll come onto that in a

0:46:43 > 0:46:51moment.He's been generous. Could you give us an indication as to how

0:46:51 > 0:46:56many additional council houses will be built as a consequence of his

0:46:56 > 0:47:00proposition to lift the debt cap to the level he proposes us. I don't

0:47:00 > 0:47:07think it's very many, less than 10,000.More than you did!Another

0:47:07 > 0:47:10opportunity to remind ourselves we've already seen more council

0:47:10 > 0:47:14houses built under the Conservatives than we did under 13 years of Labour

0:47:14 > 0:47:17Government. He keeps making that point and I welcome it. How many

0:47:17 > 0:47:23more houses, well, that will depend on those local authorities about how

0:47:23 > 0:47:26ambitious they are, as the objective is to see thousands more each year

0:47:26 > 0:47:34by increasing the cap. We have also set out measures that have got the

0:47:34 > 0:47:42work force in this... To develop vital construction skills such as

0:47:42 > 0:47:47plastering and bricklaying. Getting the country building will require

0:47:47 > 0:47:53more than just money. It also needs planning reform. We will focus on

0:47:53 > 0:47:56getting homes built in urban areas where people want to live and where

0:47:56 > 0:48:01the most jobs are created. This will include making best use of our urban

0:48:01 > 0:48:06land while continuing the protection of our green belt. We'll focus on

0:48:06 > 0:48:10creating high-quality, high density homes in cities and centres around

0:48:10 > 0:48:13transport hubs. And to put the needs of our young people first we will

0:48:13 > 0:48:20ensure that councils in high demand areas permit more homes for

0:48:20 > 0:48:26first-time buyers and renters. We are also launching an independent

0:48:26 > 0:48:30enquiry into the land banking issue with the promise of serious action

0:48:30 > 0:48:35if it is shown that developers are holding back supply for financial

0:48:35 > 0:48:39reasons rather than practical reasons. I'm pleased my right

0:48:39 > 0:48:43honourable friend has agreed to lead this work.

0:48:43 > 0:48:49He is going on yet again about investment in the south of England.

0:48:49 > 0:48:52He hasn't mentioned the word Yorkshire or the north of England in

0:48:52 > 0:49:00anything he has said. Are we going to get the electrification of the

0:49:00 > 0:49:04trans-Pennine Trail system? We have real opportunities to grow the

0:49:04 > 0:49:07population and the wealth of this country in the north, but this

0:49:07 > 0:49:15Government does not hear that message.The honourable gentleman

0:49:15 > 0:49:19will know, if he's had an opportunity to study the Budget more

0:49:19 > 0:49:22closely, that the Chancellor referred to housing deals we are

0:49:22 > 0:49:29working on in greater Manchester, in Leeds, in the West Midlands, and he

0:49:29 > 0:49:34mentions the trans-Pennine Railway, and he'll also know there was an

0:49:34 > 0:49:37additional £300 million offered to its just yesterday by the

0:49:37 > 0:49:44Chancellor. I'm sure he will welcome that. -- offered to it just

0:49:44 > 0:49:48yesterday.The moment ago he mentioned the review into the

0:49:48 > 0:49:52build-out of houses. One of the particular issues in my constituency

0:49:52 > 0:49:54is many planning permission is granted but there seems to be a

0:49:54 > 0:49:58delay before we see the houses built. We are getting the blight but

0:49:58 > 0:50:02not the benefit and therefore not the affordability. Can I welcome

0:50:02 > 0:50:05these plans to make sure we not only get planning permission is but

0:50:05 > 0:50:11actually the houses built. My honourable friend is right to

0:50:11 > 0:50:17highlight this. There are many councils, like hers, willing to take

0:50:17 > 0:50:21sometimes tough decisions and provide the land for new homes and

0:50:21 > 0:50:23give the planning permissions only to find the developers are not

0:50:23 > 0:50:30building them, either at all or far too slowly. That's why the measures

0:50:30 > 0:50:34we put in the housing White Paper make a difference. I'm not sure if

0:50:34 > 0:50:38it is enough. That's why we wanted to have this independent enquiry.

0:50:38 > 0:50:43I'm sure it will make a big difference too. The planning and

0:50:43 > 0:50:47building process will be overseen by a new national agency, homes

0:50:47 > 0:50:54England. It's remit will be far larger, bringing together money,

0:50:54 > 0:50:57expertise, planning, and compulsory purchase orders. It will allow it

0:50:57 > 0:51:04offers specific solutions faced by certain areas. Maximising impact on

0:51:04 > 0:51:08getting the right homes built in the right places. It's no good building

0:51:08 > 0:51:13homes if you can't afford them. Growing the economy and raising

0:51:13 > 0:51:19wages is key to this. As we saw last week, young people face a very

0:51:19 > 0:51:23different housing market to the one that was enjoyed by their parents'

0:51:23 > 0:51:27generation. We will get more homes built but it won't be overnight.

0:51:27 > 0:51:33What happened overnight is a change, which means no stamp duty will be

0:51:33 > 0:51:37applied to the vast majority of first-time buyers. On average, for

0:51:37 > 0:51:48the first-time buyer, they will save £1600. In addition, we've also

0:51:48 > 0:51:53provided £200 million for a pilot to extend right to buy housing in the

0:51:53 > 0:51:56Midlands. Allowing them to own their homes they've lived in for many

0:51:56 > 0:52:02years, giving them the same opportunity as council tenants.

0:52:02 > 0:52:07I'm grateful for you giving way. Will he just take into account that

0:52:07 > 0:52:12this change, much as it is being scoffed at, has given a couple in my

0:52:12 > 0:52:17constituency, both who work in the public sector, £2500 when they are

0:52:17 > 0:52:21buying their own home. That's a massive impact to a younger

0:52:21 > 0:52:24generation struggling already. I'd like to thank him on behalf of my

0:52:24 > 0:52:30constituents for that policy. I am pleased to hear that. I also

0:52:30 > 0:52:33have overnight received e-mails from members of the public that welcome

0:52:33 > 0:52:40this change. I'm sure the Leader of the Opposition has. I'm sure he is

0:52:40 > 0:52:43excited to share them at Prime Minister's Question Time next week.

0:52:43 > 0:52:47CHUCKLES Not everyone is lucky enough to have

0:52:47 > 0:52:52a home at all. One person living on the street is too many, but the

0:52:52 > 0:52:56latest figures are simply unacceptable. It's clear to anyone

0:52:56 > 0:53:00walking around, any of our major cities, that the current approach to

0:53:00 > 0:53:03tackling homelessness isn't enough. It's time for a bold new way of

0:53:03 > 0:53:07doing things and this Budget provides some of the resources

0:53:07 > 0:53:11required to do just that. I have been a fan of the housing first

0:53:11 > 0:53:15approach for some time. It does exactly what it says on the tin.

0:53:15 > 0:53:19Getting people off the street and into a safe and secure home first.

0:53:19 > 0:53:29And then dealing with the problems which may have forced them onto the

0:53:29 > 0:53:31street in the first place. It sounds obvious. But it's a complete

0:53:31 > 0:53:33reversal of the traditional way of doing things under successive

0:53:33 > 0:53:39governments. Earlier this year I saw for myself how it has eliminated

0:53:39 > 0:53:44rough sleeping in Helsinki. I want to see if we can make it just as

0:53:44 > 0:53:50effective here in our own country. That's why the Chancellor announced

0:53:50 > 0:53:53yesterday £28 million into housing first pilot in the West Midlands,

0:53:53 > 0:53:57greater Manchester, and the Liverpool city region.

0:53:57 > 0:54:02Will the Secretary of State not realise that this isn't particularly

0:54:02 > 0:54:07in the victory. The Labour Government indeed did end the

0:54:07 > 0:54:11obscenity of rough sleeping in less than ten years. -- isn't

0:54:11 > 0:54:16particularly innovative. If the Government hadn't removed those

0:54:16 > 0:54:21safety nets, support services, and housing, we wouldn't have people

0:54:21 > 0:54:29sleeping rough on our streets in the first place.It was higher than ever

0:54:29 > 0:54:32under the Labour Government!I know the honourable lady means well. On

0:54:32 > 0:54:39this issue there is usually a welcome cross-party approach. The

0:54:39 > 0:54:43honourable lady would be wrong to suggest that rough sleeping was

0:54:43 > 0:54:47ended at any time under any Government in this country. Under

0:54:47 > 0:54:51the last Labour Government statutory homelessness peaked in 2007. Since

0:54:51 > 0:54:57then it is down by more than 15%. I hope she can agree that we can all

0:54:57 > 0:55:01work together to do more to combat homelessness. Hopefully she will

0:55:01 > 0:55:05also welcome the announcement of the homelessness reduction task force

0:55:05 > 0:55:10which will pilot a number of new ideas to try and help cut rough

0:55:10 > 0:55:14sleeping by 2022 and eliminate it altogether. Working together by

0:55:14 > 0:55:232027. Homes themselves are only part of the picture. Communities need

0:55:23 > 0:55:27roads, railways, schools, GP surgeries, and much more besides.

0:55:27 > 0:55:30Investing in infrastructure can unlock a huge range of sites and

0:55:30 > 0:55:34avoid putting too much pressure on existing communities already feeling

0:55:34 > 0:55:39squeezed. That's why we are committing a further £2.7 billion to

0:55:39 > 0:55:43more than double the size of the housing infrastructure fund.

0:55:43 > 0:55:46Investing not just in houses but also in the services we all depend

0:55:46 > 0:55:53on. Our support for public services isn't just limited to new

0:55:53 > 0:55:58communities. We are putting an additional £6.3 billion of new

0:55:58 > 0:56:03funding into the NHS. Upgrading facilities, improving care,

0:56:03 > 0:56:06improving accident and emergency performance, reducing waiting times,

0:56:06 > 0:56:14and helping more people this winter. I still do bank shifts, and I am a

0:56:14 > 0:56:19nurse, I don't recognise what you are describing. Hospitals have

0:56:19 > 0:56:24leaking roofs. Nurses leave shifts at least an hour late. Our pay has

0:56:24 > 0:56:29been capped. We have lost 40% since 2010. I'm sorry, I don't recognise

0:56:29 > 0:56:35the NHS you are talking about. -- I have a nice he was also working

0:56:35 > 0:56:40shifts at a bank.If the country had taken Labour's approach to the

0:56:40 > 0:56:42economy we would be heading for bankruptcy again. There wouldn't be

0:56:42 > 0:56:48any new money for the NHS. I hope she can join members across this

0:56:48 > 0:56:53house in welcoming the additional £2.8 billion next year going to the

0:56:53 > 0:56:57NHS in resource spending and the additional £3.5 billion that's been

0:56:57 > 0:57:03available for the next five years in capital spending.

0:57:03 > 0:57:14On the point about the country being bankrupt, I wonder if you could

0:57:14 > 0:57:16remind the House how much extra this government has borrowed since it

0:57:16 > 0:57:28came into power.800 billion.The Labour government have not once got

0:57:28 > 0:57:35up to the dispatch box and apologised for what they did to this

0:57:35 > 0:57:41country during 13 years in office. The Chancellor also promised to

0:57:41 > 0:57:45provide additional funding for a future NHS pay supplement so our

0:57:45 > 0:57:49nurses are properly rewarded without taking money out of patient

0:57:49 > 0:57:53services. We are also investing more in our schools which will get £600

0:57:53 > 0:58:02for every extra people who takes on a level or core maps. £49 million

0:58:02 > 0:58:08will go towards helping students that re-sitting GCSE maths and

0:58:08 > 0:58:15£350,000 of extra funding a year will be given to every specialist

0:58:15 > 0:58:19maths school set up across the country. It's a massive investment

0:58:19 > 0:58:23in new Morrissey that sadly comes too late for the shadow Treasury

0:58:23 > 0:58:29team. It will help ensure that our young people have the skills they

0:58:29 > 0:58:35need to compete in the high-tech jobs in the future of the 21st

0:58:35 > 0:58:38century. Not all public services are the responsibility of central

0:58:38 > 0:58:46government. Many are delivered by brilliant local councils. I'm well

0:58:46 > 0:58:49aware of the pressure local authority budgets are under,

0:58:49 > 0:58:53particularly with regard to social care, and that's why in the spring

0:58:53 > 0:58:58Budget this year we provided an extra £2 billion to help meet their

0:58:58 > 0:59:05immediate needs in this vital area. I remain totally committed to

0:59:05 > 0:59:09delivering fair, effective funding the councils at all levels and it's

0:59:09 > 0:59:13something we will return back to in next month's local government

0:59:13 > 0:59:19financial settlement. In the meantime, we are pushing ahead with

0:59:19 > 0:59:23our pilot schemes for 100% local business rates retention including

0:59:23 > 0:59:28in London. And we're reforming business rates themselves.

0:59:28 > 0:59:32Revaluations will switch from every five years to three years avoiding

0:59:32 > 0:59:35the cliff edge that can currently confront many businesses

0:59:35 > 0:59:40particularly smaller ones. We are changing the law so businesses

0:59:40 > 0:59:44affected by the so-called staircase tax decision can have their original

0:59:44 > 0:59:48bills reinstated and backdated. And we are bringing forward the change

0:59:48 > 0:59:54in operating from RPI to CPI. It will not take effect from next

0:59:54 > 1:00:00April, saving businesses £2.3 billion over the next five years.

1:00:00 > 1:00:04Madam Deputy Speaker, one council, the Royal Borough of Kensington and

1:00:04 > 1:00:08Chelsea, has had to deal with an unprecedented tragedy this year. The

1:00:08 > 1:00:10fire at Grenfell Tower shouldn't have happened and shouldn't have

1:00:10 > 1:00:15been possible. Since the blaze the people of North Kensington have

1:00:15 > 1:00:19shown themselves to be remarkably resilient, courageous, proactive,

1:00:19 > 1:00:24and deserve the full support of this government. We have already provided

1:00:24 > 1:00:28financial support for the victims of the terrible tragedy. This Budget

1:00:28 > 1:00:32also sets aside a further £28 million to pay for community mental

1:00:32 > 1:00:37health support, regeneration support for the area around Grenfell Tower

1:00:37 > 1:00:45and to provide a new space for the local community to come together.

1:00:45 > 1:00:49The most recent addition to the local government family are the

1:00:49 > 1:01:01combined authorities led by the six directly elected mayors. I will.Can

1:01:01 > 1:01:10he clarify what the Chancellor said yesterday regarding funds for fire

1:01:10 > 1:01:13safety precautions. Is he saying that where local authorities are

1:01:13 > 1:01:18told by an independent fire safety officer that sprinklers should be

1:01:18 > 1:01:22retrofitted into tower blocks, that the government will assist them with

1:01:22 > 1:01:29paying for that?I'm happy to make that clear but I pulled the

1:01:29 > 1:01:33Chancellor was clear. As I say, I want to help the honourable

1:01:33 > 1:01:36gentleman with this. What the Chancellor has said is that any

1:01:36 > 1:01:40local authority, they need to do whatever is essential to keep their

1:01:40 > 1:01:47residents say. If that is fitting sprinklers of course that is what

1:01:47 > 1:01:52they should do. In doing so they need to approach the government for

1:01:52 > 1:02:03financial support and we will provide it.Can he confirm that the

1:02:03 > 1:02:08fund for relief in Grenfell will be available immediately and won't have

1:02:08 > 1:02:12to be waiting for the 1st of April so that the poor victims who have

1:02:12 > 1:02:17suffered greatly can get the help they need right now?I'm happy to

1:02:17 > 1:02:23confirm that. The new funding the Chancellor announced yesterday will

1:02:23 > 1:02:32be available immediately. The most recent addition to the combined

1:02:32 > 1:02:35authorities led by the six directly elected mayors. Under this Budget

1:02:35 > 1:02:43they will be able to improve local transport with a new transforming

1:02:43 > 1:02:46cities fund. The remainder will be opened to competition by other

1:02:46 > 1:02:52English cities. A second devolution deal has been agreed with the

1:02:52 > 1:02:58incredible Andy Street from the West Midlands. A new devolution deal has

1:02:58 > 1:03:03been struck north of the time. And we are developing a local industrial

1:03:03 > 1:03:07strategy with greater Manchester. We are also investing £300 million to

1:03:07 > 1:03:14insure HS two infrastructure can accommodate improvements. This kind

1:03:14 > 1:03:20of devolution is how you deliver growth and opportunity across the

1:03:20 > 1:03:24country. It's how you boost productivity, secure new jobs and

1:03:24 > 1:03:27increase security for hard-working people wherever they live. It

1:03:27 > 1:03:31underlines the fact this is a Budget for the whole country, a Budget for

1:03:31 > 1:03:48the many not the few.Maybe this will wake them up as well.On

1:03:48 > 1:03:54Tuesday night, almost 24 hours before the Budget was delivered, the

1:03:54 > 1:03:57Leader of the Opposition e-mailed his supporters calling on them to

1:03:57 > 1:04:05oppose everything the Chancellor was going to say. I know that Marx once

1:04:05 > 1:04:15said "Whatever it is I'm against it", but that was Groucho not Karl!

1:04:15 > 1:04:21LAUGHTER Their economic plans are no laughing matter. On Sky News

1:04:21 > 1:04:28yesterday as Shadow Housing Minister said, "Just look at what the

1:04:28 > 1:04:32Institute for Fiscal Studies said about the spending plans in our

1:04:32 > 1:04:33manifesto"

1:04:33 > 1:04:35about the spending plans in our manifesto". So I did, and here's

1:04:35 > 1:04:43what they say. "What Labour actually want you to hear is that they are

1:04:43 > 1:04:48spending increases that they promise would be funded by tax increases

1:04:48 > 1:04:54solely affecting the rich and companies. This would not happen. In

1:04:54 > 1:04:58the longer term, much of the cost is likely to be passed to workers

1:04:58 > 1:05:04through lower wages or consumers, through higher prices. " Those are

1:05:04 > 1:05:17the words of the Independent ISS. -- I F S.Is the Minister aware that

1:05:17 > 1:05:23the IFS is now saying workers are losing to decades of earnings

1:05:23 > 1:05:35growth?What I am aware of is that what workers want is work. That's

1:05:35 > 1:05:38why we should celebrate that we have more people employed today than at

1:05:38 > 1:05:43any time in our history, and we have the lowest unemployment rate in 40

1:05:43 > 1:05:50years. Madam Deputy Speaker, labour talk a good game, but all they have

1:05:50 > 1:05:55is blank cheques they know will never be cached, and empty promises

1:05:55 > 1:06:00they know they will never be able to keep. Over and over again the Shadow

1:06:00 > 1:06:04Chancellor refuses to say how much his spending plans would cost, how

1:06:04 > 1:06:09much would he have to borrow, how much debt he would have to pile on

1:06:09 > 1:06:17to the next generation. He says, "We don't need a number". He says,

1:06:17 > 1:06:23that's what type ads are for. He even accused one reporter of wanting

1:06:23 > 1:06:28to pluck a figure out of the. No, we don't want him to pluck a figure out

1:06:28 > 1:06:49of thin air. We want him... We want him to tell the British people how

1:06:49 > 1:06:55much his plans would cost. His failure to do so can only mean one

1:06:55 > 1:07:01of two things. Either he has no idea what the cost would be, in which

1:07:01 > 1:07:09case he is not fit to be Chancellor, or he doesn't know. But is refusing

1:07:09 > 1:07:13to share his dirty little secret because he's all too aware of how

1:07:13 > 1:07:27shameful is.I have taken a vow that I will not be throwing about any

1:07:27 > 1:07:31form of book in the chamber again. And I suggest that we will send him

1:07:31 > 1:07:34a copy of the Grey book which identified every policy, it didn't

1:07:34 > 1:07:41fight the costings of it in the funding source, all of them

1:07:41 > 1:07:44including our capital transformation fund, which would build the homes

1:07:44 > 1:07:48that we need, would ensure we have a fair taxation system, and in that

1:07:48 > 1:07:55way we would find... I have to say to him, the only numbers in the Tory

1:07:55 > 1:08:04manifesto weather page numbers. -- word be page numbers.Once again the

1:08:04 > 1:08:08Shadow Chancellor says he'll provide the numbers but fails to do so at

1:08:08 > 1:08:14every single occasion he's failed to provide any numbers. He did it again

1:08:14 > 1:08:17yesterday after the Budget and he will no doubt keep doing it for as

1:08:17 > 1:08:22long as he feels he can get away with it. It's no surprise that while

1:08:22 > 1:08:25we are building a Britain that is fit for the future, they are

1:08:25 > 1:08:30planning a run on the pound. Yesterday the Chancellor stood here

1:08:30 > 1:08:34and laid out a compelling vision for housing, public services, making

1:08:34 > 1:08:40this a country that works for everyone. And today his Shadow

1:08:40 > 1:08:44Chancellor appears again peddling a bankrupt ideology that will bankrupt

1:08:44 > 1:08:49this country and take our schools and hospitals with it. His reckless

1:08:49 > 1:08:53plans would drive up interest rates and unemployment. He claims to be on

1:08:53 > 1:08:57the side of many but his policies would make it harder for people to

1:08:57 > 1:09:01pay their rent, harder for people to pay their mortgage, harder for

1:09:01 > 1:09:09ordinary working people to save up for a home of their own. Whenever

1:09:09 > 1:09:14the Shadow Chancellor speaks, he tries to paint a picture of a

1:09:14 > 1:09:19fading, failing divided nation. He talks down our economy, our

1:09:19 > 1:09:23prospects, our public services and our people. It suits his purpose I

1:09:23 > 1:09:30suppose. But the country he describes is not the country that I

1:09:30 > 1:09:37recognise. Because when I look at the world that my parents grew up

1:09:37 > 1:09:41in, no electricity, no plumbing, my mother wasn't even allowed to go to

1:09:41 > 1:09:47school, it reminds me again of just how lucky I am to have been born

1:09:47 > 1:09:52British. Just how lucky we all are to have been born British. We have

1:09:52 > 1:09:57one of the world's biggest, most successful economies. We speak the

1:09:57 > 1:10:00language of global business, the language of the World Wide Web, the

1:10:00 > 1:10:04World Wide Web that we invented. We are home to more Nobel prizewinners

1:10:04 > 1:10:11bar one. Our legal system is the most respected in the world. We are

1:10:11 > 1:10:15unrivalled in art, culture, the creative industries. The NHS is the

1:10:15 > 1:10:18envy of countless nations. We've given the world everything, from

1:10:18 > 1:10:23steam engines to Shakespeare and even the glorious game of cricket.

1:10:23 > 1:10:29We may not be the biggest, we may not be the brashest, but Britain is

1:10:29 > 1:10:34without doubt the best country in the world to work, to play, to learn

1:10:34 > 1:10:38and to live. A country with an incredible history and an amazing

1:10:38 > 1:10:43future still yet to come. This Budget builds on that history and it

1:10:43 > 1:10:46embraces the future. This is a country that should be proud, and

1:10:46 > 1:10:49this is a Budget that truly does it justice and I commend it to the

1:10:49 > 1:11:02House.It's an honour to speak on behalf of the SNP in this second day

1:11:02 > 1:11:11of debate on the second 2017 Budget. But this Budget is no better than

1:11:11 > 1:11:18the last one. The UK Government are in chaos. The Cabinet are hamstrung

1:11:18 > 1:11:22and unable to take basic decisions. Brexit and the likely economic

1:11:22 > 1:11:26fallout is said to have a dramatic impact on household budgets of so

1:11:26 > 1:11:30many people. The OBR unlike the government has taken this threat

1:11:30 > 1:11:34seriously. They've downgraded our GDP figure accordingly. This is the

1:11:34 > 1:11:40worst downgrade in the OBR's projections since its creation seven

1:11:40 > 1:11:45years ago. The outlook of GDP growth is worse on all counts than even the

1:11:45 > 1:11:52OBR's predictions in spring.

1:11:52 > 1:12:00GDP might seem like anything aerial concert -- concept. But this equates

1:12:00 > 1:12:09to £1000 per year in wages. That is £19 per week. £19 per week less to

1:12:09 > 1:12:13spend on essentials like food and electricity. How will lower income

1:12:13 > 1:12:17families cope if they are spending -- Krista Bakker spending slashed by

1:12:17 > 1:12:26an extra £19 per week. -- if their spending is slashed by next June 19

1:12:26 > 1:12:32pounds per week. The Fraser and Islander institution have reported

1:12:32 > 1:12:40that the GDP damage the heart Brexit could cost Scotland 80,000 jobs.

1:12:40 > 1:12:44That is 80,000 folk having to struggle through the job centre

1:12:44 > 1:12:48system, whose journey back to employment has been even more

1:12:48 > 1:12:53painful and less dignified why the number of job centre is closed by

1:12:53 > 1:12:57this Government. The Scottish Government estimates that a heart

1:12:57 > 1:13:02Brexit could reduce GDP by £11 per year in Scotland by 2013. -- hard

1:13:02 > 1:13:09Brexit. That is even less to spend on public services. That is only the

1:13:09 > 1:13:17impact on Scotland. This amount would pay the salary for 185,000 new

1:13:17 > 1:13:23police officers. 161,000 teachers, and that is only the impact in

1:13:23 > 1:13:31Scotland. The Chancellor has announced large as for Scotland, £2

1:13:31 > 1:13:42billion, but this is smoke and mirrors. -- has announced largesse.

1:13:42 > 1:13:47This money has to be paid back. It can't be used for front line

1:13:47 > 1:13:50services. If the Chancellor was going to make an announcement for

1:13:50 > 1:13:53Scotland he should have done an actual announcement, real money

1:13:53 > 1:13:58which could be spent by the Scottish Government at its discretion.

1:13:58 > 1:14:04Between 2011 and 2019 Scotland's Budget has seen a cut of £2.6

1:14:04 > 1:14:10billion in real terms. Over £200 million less to spend on front line

1:14:10 > 1:14:20public services next year. The grant as been reduced by £531 million. Is

1:14:20 > 1:14:25this £2 billion more for the Scottish Government to spend? It is

1:14:25 > 1:14:37not. The Chancellor has announced the VAT will not apply to police and

1:14:37 > 1:14:43Fire Services. He hasn't agreed to give us the rebate we are owed, £140

1:14:43 > 1:14:54million is owed to Scotland.Thank you. Is it not the fact that the SNP

1:14:54 > 1:15:00Government were given good notice and warning that the impact of their

1:15:00 > 1:15:04centralisation of Scottish police and fire and rescue would create

1:15:04 > 1:15:08this situation? Is it not the case that it is the Scottish members of

1:15:08 > 1:15:12parliament here who's lobbying of ministers has delivered a situation

1:15:12 > 1:15:19where we get the SNP Government out of the mess they created?Not long

1:15:19 > 1:15:22ago Murdoch Fraser, Scottish Conservative member, was saying in

1:15:22 > 1:15:26the Scottish parliament we shouldn't have the money paid back to us. That

1:15:26 > 1:15:31it should not be paid back because it was our fault for centralising.

1:15:31 > 1:15:35Centralisation which the Scottish Tories supported. It was in their

1:15:35 > 1:15:38manifesto. The Chancellor has agreed this was unfair, that this was

1:15:38 > 1:15:42taking money away from our front line public services, yet he is

1:15:42 > 1:15:46refusing to refund this money. We have raised this issue. We have

1:15:46 > 1:15:52called for this change to be made 140 times by the Deputy Speaker. The

1:15:52 > 1:15:58Scottish Tories have raised it once in this house. Once. 140 times we

1:15:58 > 1:16:03have raised it. It's ridiculous for them to suggest that pressure from

1:16:03 > 1:16:10them has twisted the Chancellor's arm. And in fact, if it was true

1:16:10 > 1:16:14that the Scottish Tories had twisted the Chancellor's arm, if it is true

1:16:14 > 1:16:18that he was only willing to listen to representations from Conservative

1:16:18 > 1:16:21members of Parliament, what does that say about the Chancellor's

1:16:21 > 1:16:33honour? On money for Scotland... Order. I missing

1:16:36 > 1:16:40-- I am listening very carefully. She's choosing her words carefully.

1:16:40 > 1:16:45I'm sure she isn't impugning the member of any member of this house.

1:16:45 > 1:16:48She asked a rhetorical question, and I'm sure she will not push it any

1:16:48 > 1:16:57further than that.Thank you I won't. The other thing the SNP have

1:16:57 > 1:17:03been calling for, that the Scottish Tories have been unable to do, is

1:17:03 > 1:17:07the £190 million convergence uplift owed to our farmers. That money

1:17:07 > 1:17:12should come to Scottish farmers and we will continue to push for that.

1:17:12 > 1:17:17If the UK Government was not in such chaos it would have recognised the

1:17:17 > 1:17:21folly of Brexit. But even if they do decide to proceed with this

1:17:21 > 1:17:24incredibly damaging policy, there is certainty they could give now that

1:17:24 > 1:17:36would reduced slightly the economic harm. They could abandon their

1:17:36 > 1:17:40migration cap. This would help keep our public services fully staffed.

1:17:40 > 1:17:48Earlier this year the NNN is the produced an annual report on the

1:17:48 > 1:17:53number of registered nurses and midwives. -- NMNC. Registrations in

1:17:53 > 1:18:01the last 12 years were down. 86% from Italy. 87% from Romania. And

1:18:01 > 1:18:0895% from Spain. These are trained nurses and midwives who have done

1:18:08 > 1:18:13their training, who are registering to work in the UK, in the NHS, to

1:18:13 > 1:18:17work in our front line services, to provide nursing care and midwifery

1:18:17 > 1:18:21care for people who are in incredibly vulnerable states. This

1:18:21 > 1:18:25Government is closing the door. They are ensuring that few of these

1:18:25 > 1:18:29people come. Ensuring our public services are worse staffed as a

1:18:29 > 1:18:39result. On housing, we need workers from the EU. In London alone, one

1:18:39 > 1:18:44third of construction workers are from the EU. The Government cannot

1:18:44 > 1:18:48say they intend to build more housing while at the same time

1:18:48 > 1:18:54shutting the door to many of those skilled construction workers. The

1:18:54 > 1:18:56Chancellor has announced this wonderful new policy of no stamp

1:18:56 > 1:19:00duty for first-time buyers buying a house for less than £300,000 in

1:19:00 > 1:19:06England and Wales. In time honoured tradition one of the Chancellor's

1:19:06 > 1:19:10biggest Budget commitments has fallen apart in less than 24 hours.

1:19:10 > 1:19:18The OBR have confirmed that house prices would increase. £3.2 billion

1:19:18 > 1:19:26it has cost. But the OBR expects 3500 houses to change hands as a

1:19:26 > 1:19:31result of this. That's £924,000 each the Government is subsidising these

1:19:31 > 1:19:40new houses. £924,000 each house, for this policy. One of the tax experts

1:19:40 > 1:19:44I follow on Twitter has said that virtually every tax expert thinks

1:19:44 > 1:19:52this policy sucks. Would she share with the house the

1:19:52 > 1:19:58effects of the SNP Government's housing tax, which has been an

1:19:58 > 1:20:04unmitigated disaster. Perhaps she should be more full as to the

1:20:04 > 1:20:07effects of her Scottish Government and what they have done to the

1:20:07 > 1:20:15Scottish property market.I was just a way to talk about that. I was just

1:20:15 > 1:20:21about to talk about that it is way more progressive than the situation

1:20:21 > 1:20:26put forward by the UK Government. Before I go on to that, though, I

1:20:26 > 1:20:31want to make clear the Scottish Government is investing £3 billion

1:20:31 > 1:20:34in affordable housing. 50,000 affordable homes will be built over

1:20:34 > 1:20:39the course of this Scottish parliament. 35,000 of those will be

1:20:39 > 1:20:42for social rent, which is sadly missing from the UK Government's

1:20:42 > 1:20:47proposal. We are supportive of social housing, council housing, and

1:20:47 > 1:20:52housing association housing. It's very important thereon more bodies

1:20:52 > 1:20:55available to rent. On land and buildings transaction tax, those

1:20:55 > 1:20:59buying a house for less than £145,000 in Scotland pay no stamp

1:20:59 > 1:21:12duty in Scotland. Going over that threshold incurs a low stamp duty

1:21:12 > 1:21:16charge. For first-time buyers they will only pay £600. That has been in

1:21:16 > 1:21:25place for the last two years. £180,000 is more realistic for a

1:21:25 > 1:21:29first-time buyer than £300,000. How many first-time buyers without

1:21:29 > 1:21:34inherited wealth have got £30,000 in the bank to put down for a deposit?

1:21:34 > 1:21:39The effect of the LB TD in Scotland was that over the first two years

1:21:39 > 1:21:4693% of those buying a house in Scotland for more than £145,000 paid

1:21:46 > 1:21:53less stamp duty than they would have done in England. -- the effect of

1:21:53 > 1:22:02the LBBT in Scotland. 92% of those paid less than they do down here.

1:22:02 > 1:22:09That's a significant portion. That's 93%. The action our Government has

1:22:09 > 1:22:13taken was thought through. The action isn't like the piecemeal

1:22:13 > 1:22:20approach the UK Government takes. Successive chancellors have insisted

1:22:20 > 1:22:25on the right to pull rabbits out of hats at budgets. This has led to the

1:22:25 > 1:22:29drastic unravelling that occurs after almost every Budget. The

1:22:29 > 1:22:33Chancellor, if the Chancellor was Collegiate, if he consulted on

1:22:33 > 1:22:37measures, is he approached issues like stamp duty, small business

1:22:37 > 1:22:41taxation, income tax, with the intention to review the whole system

1:22:41 > 1:22:47we would see much better policy decisions being made. We need more

1:22:47 > 1:22:52coherence from Government. We need less drama from chancellors. They

1:22:52 > 1:23:02shouldn't be trying to pull rabbits out of hats, they should be trying

1:23:02 > 1:23:04to create a system which works, rather than a system that will give

1:23:04 > 1:23:07them a big headline the day after Budget day. Eve you were to ask

1:23:07 > 1:23:11somebody under 30 whether they expect to have a pension, they would

1:23:11 > 1:23:16likely tell you they don't. -- if you were to ask. If you ask them

1:23:16 > 1:23:19whether they thought they would be able to buy a house, they would

1:23:19 > 1:23:26likely laugh at you. But if you asked them about their security,

1:23:26 > 1:23:29about how precarious their housing situation is, their work situation

1:23:29 > 1:23:33is, they will tell you how difficult it is to save for the future. They

1:23:33 > 1:23:37will tell you how difficult it is to build a stable life when their

1:23:37 > 1:23:41landlords move them on every year. And when they have to share with

1:23:41 > 1:23:44other people. They will tell you how difficult it is to safer the future

1:23:44 > 1:23:52when working on zero hours contracts. When the Chancellor is

1:23:52 > 1:23:55suggesting the minimum wage is not enough to live on, and doesn't apply

1:23:55 > 1:24:01to under 26s, what they need is not a cut in stamp duty. What they need

1:24:01 > 1:24:05is not the ability to put £20,000 into a savings account and save

1:24:05 > 1:24:13tax-free. What that actually need is for their income to be significantly

1:24:13 > 1:24:17higher than their expenditure. They need an increase in the minimum

1:24:17 > 1:24:20wage. They needed the crease in rent. And a decrease in the cost of

1:24:20 > 1:24:29living. -- the need is a decrease in rent. The price of bread has gone up

1:24:29 > 1:24:352%, the price of fish has gone 10%, the price of butter has gone up 12%,

1:24:35 > 1:24:40a 3% rise on children's clothing. We have wage stagnation. People cannot

1:24:40 > 1:24:50afford the most basic of essentials. Millennials, people under 30, need a

1:24:50 > 1:24:54decrease in rent. The typical millennial has earned £8,000 less

1:24:54 > 1:24:59during their 20s than those in the preceding generation. We have an

1:24:59 > 1:25:03economic time bomb which is ticking. Household debts continue to rise.

1:25:03 > 1:25:08Interest rates are going up. That's a major problem, given the household

1:25:08 > 1:25:12debt increase we have seen. Increasing the personal allowance is

1:25:12 > 1:25:18welcome news from the Chancellor, but it isn't enough. Increasing it

1:25:18 > 1:25:28by £350. That's £350 you will not pay 20% tax on. That's pennies in

1:25:28 > 1:25:31the grand scheme of things. It won't make the difference we want to see

1:25:31 > 1:25:34by having a real living wage. I mentioned the issue is the IFS have

1:25:34 > 1:25:40raised, that they are predicting two decades of lost wage growth. The UK

1:25:40 > 1:25:44Government continues to fail. This Budget didn't help. This Government

1:25:44 > 1:25:49is in chaos. The Chancellor has taken no real action to undo the

1:25:49 > 1:25:55years of austerity, wage stagnation, that punishes our most vulnerable.

1:25:55 > 1:25:58The Government should tear this Budget up and start again. With

1:25:58 > 1:26:06spending commitments that will help our most vulnerable. With a U-turn

1:26:06 > 1:26:13on the benefits freeze. With the devolution of powers for Scotland so

1:26:13 > 1:26:18we can tackle things properly. You are harming the whole of the UK and

1:26:18 > 1:26:28the SNP will fight you every step of the way, Chancellor.

1:26:28 > 1:26:34Thank you. I hope to find an early opportunity to speak out on the

1:26:34 > 1:26:38right level of defence spending to meet the threats that our country

1:26:38 > 1:26:43faces, and to do so more freely than the constraints of government

1:26:43 > 1:26:49allowed. But today I want to focus on the Budget before us. This is the

1:26:49 > 1:26:54first Budget of this Brexit Parliament, and I warmly welcome it.

1:26:54 > 1:26:59It is indeed extraordinary that we still have no answers from the front

1:26:59 > 1:27:04bench opposite and the amount of additional borrowing they would

1:27:04 > 1:27:07undergo or indeed 24 hours later, on the amount of additional interest

1:27:07 > 1:27:13they are prepared to rack up. These are legitimate questions, this is

1:27:13 > 1:27:18untried journalism. A Shadow Chancellor should be able to tell

1:27:18 > 1:27:22this House exactly what more he would be spending and borrowing. Let

1:27:22 > 1:27:28me particularly welcome the additional money for the National

1:27:28 > 1:27:34Health Service, and the measures for long-term investment in our

1:27:34 > 1:27:38infrastructure. But long-term investment will need to be

1:27:38 > 1:27:42accompanied by other and deeper structural reforms, so we can be

1:27:42 > 1:27:48encouraged to save again rather than to spend on credit. We can reverse

1:27:48 > 1:27:51some of the more pernicious side-effects of quantitative easing

1:27:51 > 1:27:58that seem to benefit those who already hold significant assets.

1:27:58 > 1:28:04Unemployment I think has been probably the greatest... The fall in

1:28:04 > 1:28:08unemployment has been the greatest single achievement since 2010.

1:28:08 > 1:28:12Unemployment has fallen not because of one single policy, but because of

1:28:12 > 1:28:18the cumulative reductions in taxation and regulation over the

1:28:18 > 1:28:23last seven years, almost every of them opposed by benches opposite.

1:28:23 > 1:28:30The 5 million small businesses, the nearly 5 million self-employed,

1:28:30 > 1:28:34these are the real wealth creators. These are the people who work every

1:28:34 > 1:28:42hour that God sends, who invest and risk their own money to create in

1:28:42 > 1:28:47turn the tax revenue that funds our public services. I hope over this

1:28:47 > 1:28:51Parliament we will continue to keep cutting the form filling and letting

1:28:51 > 1:28:57them keep more of what they owe. I want to commend to my right

1:28:57 > 1:29:00honourable friend is for areas on which I hope we can make even more

1:29:00 > 1:29:05progress. The first is low-paid work. No government has done more

1:29:05 > 1:29:10for the low paid with the introduction of the national living

1:29:10 > 1:29:15wage and taking so many more people out of tax altogether. But we need

1:29:15 > 1:29:22to keep going. Is it logical to keep raising the personal allowance but

1:29:22 > 1:29:26not the National Insurance threshold? A full-time work on the

1:29:26 > 1:29:31national living wage pays almost as much in National Insurance is in

1:29:31 > 1:29:37income tax. Those working part-time for example 25 hours a week earning

1:29:37 > 1:29:44between 8000 and 11,000 miss out, as we increase the threshold is. I hope

1:29:44 > 1:29:49my honourable friends will look at that again. Secondly, I welcome

1:29:49 > 1:29:53steps in this Budget to tax the global digital companies more

1:29:53 > 1:29:59effectively.Will he acknowledge the leadership of the government of

1:29:59 > 1:30:06which he was a part in driving that particular agenda internationally?I

1:30:06 > 1:30:10certainly recognise that and it's important these things are

1:30:10 > 1:30:14approached internationally. Our constituents of course benefit from

1:30:14 > 1:30:17the greater convenience and efficiency these digital retailers

1:30:17 > 1:30:25provide. But it can't be right that our high streets, our small shops,

1:30:25 > 1:30:29our local businesses, they're all the pain of local rates when like

1:30:29 > 1:30:38Amazon pay rates simply on a handful of warehouses. Their staff too,

1:30:38 > 1:30:41Andersen staff, Google staff, Facebook staff, they need well

1:30:41 > 1:30:45funded schools and good local services and a proper NHS. It is

1:30:45 > 1:30:52right they should pay. It is right they should pay their proper share

1:30:52 > 1:30:56of local and national taxes, and I applaud the steps the Chancellor is

1:30:56 > 1:31:03setting out down that particular part. One nation should mean one

1:31:03 > 1:31:07economy for large and small businesses alike. Thirdly, if we

1:31:07 > 1:31:13want to be one economy, then more of our people should have a stake in

1:31:13 > 1:31:19it. The year that Margaret Thatcher left office, 11 million adults in

1:31:19 > 1:31:25our country held shares. Today, despite a significantly larger

1:31:25 > 1:31:32population, only 8 million do so, a quarter less. When I privatised

1:31:32 > 1:31:42Royal Mail, I offered free shares to each of its 150 employees, despite

1:31:42 > 1:31:47union advice and possibly because of union advice, 99% of the employees

1:31:47 > 1:31:55took them up. And we deliberately skewed that share offer towards

1:31:55 > 1:32:03small investors. As a result, 20% of Royal Mail is now owned by its own

1:32:03 > 1:32:11staff and by small investors. That's what we should be doing. With all

1:32:11 > 1:32:15our remaining state shareholders, including the banks and the new

1:32:15 > 1:32:18social enterprises. And we should go further. Employee owned companies

1:32:18 > 1:32:26are more productive. They are more profitable. It isn't higher

1:32:26 > 1:32:30productivity, isn't that the Golden fleece for which my right honourable

1:32:30 > 1:32:35friend is keep searching? We need not just one John Lewis partnership,

1:32:35 > 1:32:42we need 1000 John Lewis partnerships across our economy. Existing schemes

1:32:42 > 1:32:49like share incentive plans and expanding the number of share

1:32:49 > 1:32:56ownership companies.I speak from a bitter personal experience having

1:32:56 > 1:33:01been a Royal Mail employees. I would say to my honourable and he's

1:33:01 > 1:33:07absolutely right that other than the trade unionists who drive the Royal

1:33:07 > 1:33:11Mail train, there are a huge number of workers who benefited hugely from

1:33:11 > 1:33:14having that share option and I like to pay tribute to those workers who

1:33:14 > 1:33:21are doing a good job and will be delivering outpost in the Christmas

1:33:21 > 1:33:28period.I want to see this example followed much more widely. Let us

1:33:28 > 1:33:32incentivise our companies with a lower tax rate to offer free shares

1:33:32 > 1:33:41to all of their employees. Finally, exports. Our constituents of course

1:33:41 > 1:33:45benefit from cheap imported goods. But we are now importing far more

1:33:45 > 1:33:53than we export. We've run deficits of over £30 billion in goods and

1:33:53 > 1:33:58services in each of the last five years. Over £43 billion in the last

1:33:58 > 1:34:04year alone. And this, in an island of entrepreneurs, of engineering

1:34:04 > 1:34:13excellence, of ingenuity. It's good that according to the CBI a quarter

1:34:13 > 1:34:18of manufacturers now expect an increase in the order book. But the

1:34:18 > 1:34:24cheaper pound should not obscure as from the reality, that outside the

1:34:24 > 1:34:29single market we are going to live or die by what we can sell to the

1:34:29 > 1:34:38world in goods and services. This isn't just down to government, there

1:34:38 > 1:34:42were serious deficits in the Labour years as well. Too many medium-sized

1:34:42 > 1:34:50companies don't bother to export at all. Outpost Brexit, we must clearly

1:34:50 > 1:34:59put exports front and centre of our economic policies. Campaigns like

1:34:59 > 1:35:02global Britain are important but they are just campaigns. We now need

1:35:02 > 1:35:11to hard-wire exporting into every British business. Exporting should

1:35:11 > 1:35:16be a condition of all our major government support schemes. Our

1:35:16 > 1:35:23grants and our loans. In return, the Chancellor and I welcome this, is

1:35:23 > 1:35:27beefing up our export finance, making it easier for first-time

1:35:27 > 1:35:35exporters to take the plunge, and I fully support that. So, a ferret

1:35:35 > 1:35:42economy, much wider employee share ownership, exporting at the heart of

1:35:42 > 1:35:46every government industrial programme, these are some of the

1:35:46 > 1:35:52necessary steps towards our new economic future. Let us agree across

1:35:52 > 1:36:04this House, Brexiteers and Europhiles alike, that muddling

1:36:04 > 1:36:09along, mere managerialism isn't going to be enough. Brexit Britain

1:36:09 > 1:36:12demands a bigger vision. More confident, outward looking, self

1:36:12 > 1:36:21rewarding, let us build on this successful sensible Budget to enable

1:36:21 > 1:36:32Britain to be bolder still.It may surprise some of the people and

1:36:32 > 1:36:37those benches particularly that I agree with several of the major

1:36:37 > 1:36:41themes of the right honourable gentleman who's just spoken, and in

1:36:41 > 1:36:46fact we have worked on manufacturing and other items and I think we would

1:36:46 > 1:36:53agree on the need for greater expenditure on our defence sector.

1:36:53 > 1:37:01We've worked together on that. I was surprised at his conversion, perhaps

1:37:01 > 1:37:09I didn't know he was a passionate advocate of employee share

1:37:09 > 1:37:15ownership. But there are other things we didn't agree with. This is

1:37:15 > 1:37:25my 43rd Budget, so if I am a bit cynical and pessimistic it's because

1:37:25 > 1:37:32I've sat through 43 budgets since I came to the House in 1979. Some of

1:37:32 > 1:37:36them have been amazingly bold and ambitious and brave. I remember

1:37:36 > 1:37:49sitting on those benches when a bank in juiced global economic meltdown,

1:37:49 > 1:37:53when brave men like Alistair Darling stood there and made the right

1:37:53 > 1:37:57decisions about getting our country through. So putting the record

1:37:57 > 1:38:01straight sometimes is very important. All budgets are usually

1:38:01 > 1:38:05compared to a magician 's performance. We all know what a

1:38:05 > 1:38:11magician is like. Take your eye off the main business by some very nice

1:38:11 > 1:38:16sparkly things and rabbits coming out of hats. My experience is you

1:38:16 > 1:38:23never really can judge a Budget until the Sunday papers hit the

1:38:23 > 1:38:28doormat on Sunday morning. That's when you get a relatively mature

1:38:28 > 1:38:34view on what is happening in that Budget. I'll give you an example.

1:38:34 > 1:38:431.6 billion. The Chancellor switches from percentages to pounds, to

1:38:43 > 1:38:48billions. I noticed yesterday he said 1.6 billion towards the

1:38:48 > 1:38:54National Health Service. I had the House of Commons library checked,

1:38:54 > 1:39:00that is 1.2% of the overall NHS Budget. It doesn't look very much,

1:39:00 > 1:39:081.6 billion sounds a lot of money, 1.2% doesn't. So we have to be very

1:39:08 > 1:39:13careful that we judge this Budget carefully. I think it's the most

1:39:13 > 1:39:16depressing Budget I've ever heard, not only because of the growth

1:39:16 > 1:39:21figures. Not only because of the dire situation so many people are

1:39:21 > 1:39:27still in, but the shadow of Brexit looms over everything the Chancellor

1:39:27 > 1:39:32said yesterday. The reason it couldn't be a Budget of passion and

1:39:32 > 1:39:37imagination and new ideas and real change, is because he was hemmed in

1:39:37 > 1:39:46not only by the people behind him who wouldn't give him an inch if you

1:39:46 > 1:39:50made any slight mistake, but also because that passionate Brexiteer

1:39:50 > 1:39:55majority behind Tim that will not let anyone question this is

1:39:55 > 1:40:00absolutely disgraceful decision to take ourselves out of the European

1:40:00 > 1:40:07Union. I confess, not everyone on my front bench agrees with me, but I

1:40:07 > 1:40:15will fight to the very end of the Brexit process to make sure that we

1:40:15 > 1:40:22post-operative we possibly can. I want to deal with four things

1:40:22 > 1:40:26briefly. Firstly let's start with productivity and growth. Sometimes I

1:40:26 > 1:40:32hear productivity bandied around. Not many people know the definition

1:40:32 > 1:40:35of productivity, a measure of the efficiency of a person, machine,

1:40:35 > 1:40:44factory system in converting stuff into useful outputs. We ain't very

1:40:44 > 1:40:48good at it. We aren't very good at productivity. And all parties we

1:40:48 > 1:40:58haven't quite managed to become as productive as we should. My view is

1:40:58 > 1:41:04that... There was a slight mention in his concluding remarks of

1:41:04 > 1:41:08managerialism. That's different than competent managers. What this

1:41:08 > 1:41:12country needs more than anything else in the private sector, in the

1:41:12 > 1:41:19public sector, what we need more than anything is first-class

1:41:19 > 1:41:24management. Too often we are producing out of our universities

1:41:24 > 1:41:29and colleges to many people with soft social science degrees and arts

1:41:29 > 1:41:33degrees and not enough managers who know how to run this country and run

1:41:33 > 1:41:41the industries and create wealth. Very little in this Budget about

1:41:41 > 1:41:45encouraging managers. Some nice things about science and maths. But

1:41:45 > 1:41:53the fact of the matter is we need good managers and more of them.Just

1:41:53 > 1:41:56on the point of those skills you mentioned that we need for managers.

1:41:56 > 1:42:01What you'll find is this government since Michael Gove for the Education

1:42:01 > 1:42:07Secretary rid of all the development of those soft skills, all those

1:42:07 > 1:42:10development in teamwork, leadership, oral communication, with his

1:42:10 > 1:42:17ideological focus on fact retention.

1:42:17 > 1:42:23I would like to move onto skills. We can talk about higher education. No

1:42:23 > 1:42:26doubt when I was chairman of the education select committee and

1:42:26 > 1:42:32people said how disgraceful we were going to give away 50% of people

1:42:32 > 1:42:36going to university in our country I was in favour of that move. I came

1:42:36 > 1:42:41into politics to get every child in this country the very full

1:42:41 > 1:42:48possibility of developing their potential absolutely to the full. If

1:42:48 > 1:42:53you are a member of Parliament, as I am, with a very successful

1:42:53 > 1:42:59university in my town, I'm keen on my university. The global award for

1:42:59 > 1:43:10teaching recently. It is the gold standard for teaching. I've got a

1:43:10 > 1:43:17good university. But the people who train people for my local

1:43:17 > 1:43:29businesses, are my local FE colleges, that is the Cinderella of

1:43:29 > 1:43:37our education system. I will give way...One of the problems now is

1:43:37 > 1:43:46the lack of security of those who are doing the teaching. Those in

1:43:46 > 1:43:50higher education and further education. Most of my friends are on

1:43:50 > 1:43:55short-term contracts now, who cannot invest in their future, let alone

1:43:55 > 1:43:59the future of the people they are teaching. That's the wrong way to do

1:43:59 > 1:44:10that, surely?My honourable friend is absolutely right. The percentage

1:44:10 > 1:44:14of short-term contracts, especially in colleges and universities, isn't

1:44:14 > 1:44:20good and does not bode well for a happy team delivering high-quality

1:44:20 > 1:44:27afterwards. If I can just emphasise... FE colleges are

1:44:27 > 1:44:32absolutely vital if we are going to produce the people that work in the

1:44:32 > 1:44:37sectors in which we must improve our productivity. There is very little

1:44:37 > 1:44:43sign that is being taken seriously. My own college, a brand-new college,

1:44:43 > 1:44:50a fine building, because we invested in the new building, an

1:44:50 > 1:44:57extraordinarily good building, why shouldn't kids going into FE

1:44:57 > 1:45:02colleges have the nice environment university students have? They are

1:45:02 > 1:45:06now in deep financial trouble. They are struggling. Then if we take the

1:45:06 > 1:45:14fact that in the education department... And I have called for

1:45:14 > 1:45:22this for many months and years, that to have a GCSE in English and maths

1:45:22 > 1:45:25which is a practical qualification as well as an academic

1:45:25 > 1:45:30qualification. At the moment most F E colleges up and down the country

1:45:30 > 1:45:34are warehousing tens of thousands of young people who cannot get on with

1:45:34 > 1:45:38their lives, cannot start an apprenticeship, because they don't

1:45:38 > 1:45:43have GCSE in English and maths. Not only that, on the other side we know

1:45:43 > 1:45:49that although there are some very good reforms that have come out of

1:45:49 > 1:45:53the Sainsbury recommendation, a good piece of policy in many ways, the

1:45:53 > 1:46:01new skills levy, the apprenticeship levy being paid by employers up and

1:46:01 > 1:46:05down the country, the good policy. Excellent policy. It was based on

1:46:05 > 1:46:10getting somebody who knows about their stuff to give evidence. The

1:46:10 > 1:46:16Government has not looked in this Budget at one of the ramifications

1:46:16 > 1:46:21of the policy, that is 62% drop in the number of young people starting

1:46:21 > 1:46:28an apprenticeship this year. A 62% drop. In terms of an income stream

1:46:28 > 1:46:38for a FE college, that's appalling. Many of them have regulators and

1:46:38 > 1:46:42financial arrangements, and visitors, we had the commission in

1:46:42 > 1:46:49the House of Commons only this week. There is a very real problem at my

1:46:49 > 1:46:53college, and many other colleges in a similar situation. They are

1:46:53 > 1:47:02struggling. And this Budget does nothing to reach that. First of all,

1:47:02 > 1:47:09skills. My third point is on housing. I believe everyone in this

1:47:09 > 1:47:13country should have the chance of a decent home. We have a situation in

1:47:13 > 1:47:19our country were very many people cannot afford a decent home. I

1:47:19 > 1:47:25reflect on the history of housing crises over the year. -- over the

1:47:25 > 1:47:30years. The Victorians saw the problem. As the railways came they

1:47:30 > 1:47:35had the Garden suburbs. The real programme for it. After the First

1:47:35 > 1:47:40World War, homes fit for heroes. The Liberal Government encouraging the

1:47:40 > 1:47:45building of council houses. What a wonderful initiative that was.

1:47:45 > 1:47:53Between the wars, the new towns. And after the war, prefabs. In every

1:47:53 > 1:47:58housing crisis we contract, there has been a resolute determination to

1:47:58 > 1:48:04have a policy to fix it. I have to say, this policy announced yesterday

1:48:04 > 1:48:08in the Budget is not bold, it's not imaginative, it won't fix it.

1:48:08 > 1:48:14Looking behind the Chancellor, as he made certain remarks come I looked

1:48:14 > 1:48:25at this row of people who jump up and down in their constituency until

1:48:25 > 1:48:35they were told that it won't be in your constituencies. The NIMBY 's

1:48:35 > 1:48:42ruling that party and they should stop being so powerful. On the

1:48:42 > 1:48:48North-South divide, so little in this Budget was about the North of

1:48:48 > 1:48:53England. Precious little amount. Yorkshire. One asked the Secretary

1:48:53 > 1:48:55of State whether this Budget yesterday actually gave us the money

1:48:55 > 1:49:01to electrify the Pennine rail link he could not answer because it isn't

1:49:01 > 1:49:08in there and we haven't got it. This is a country with greater gaps

1:49:08 > 1:49:14between the regions than any other country in the OECD countries. The

1:49:14 > 1:49:18real chance we would have had in that Budget yesterday, if the

1:49:18 > 1:49:22Chancellor could have grasped it, is actually investing in the northern

1:49:22 > 1:49:30regions of this country. Giving us great transportation, giving us

1:49:30 > 1:49:37great investment, investing in the north rather than just the south. We

1:49:37 > 1:49:41will fight this Budget. Fight it for Yorkshire, for working people, and

1:49:41 > 1:49:48we will change it when there is a Labour Government.Order. There are

1:49:48 > 1:49:54so many people who are wanting to speak. I do ask colleagues to be

1:49:54 > 1:49:57considerate of others. Otherwise we will not get everybody in. I will

1:49:57 > 1:50:04have to impose a five minute time limit. I want to remind people,

1:50:04 > 1:50:09remind colleagues, that interventions make it more difficult

1:50:09 > 1:50:17for others to get in to speak.After 30 minutes of what was pure gold

1:50:17 > 1:50:22from the member of Huddersfield, I'm going to have a more focused and

1:50:22 > 1:50:26narrowcast speech. I welcome the opportunity to follow a fellow

1:50:26 > 1:50:34graduate of the London School of economics. Before he started

1:50:34 > 1:50:39rubbishing the soft skills sciences.

1:50:42 > 1:50:45I welcome this Budget. I particularly welcome, I should

1:50:45 > 1:50:50declare my own interest, in that I'm a member of the task force which was

1:50:50 > 1:50:54referenced in the White Paper. I'd like to thank the Secretary of State

1:50:54 > 1:51:02for succumbing to run the task force, and its funding. This is the

1:51:02 > 1:51:05Budget for housing. I welcome the announcement that the Right

1:51:05 > 1:51:09Honourable member for Dorset will do an urgent review into why there is a

1:51:09 > 1:51:18gap between planning and actual build. It is a complicated subject.

1:51:18 > 1:51:21Although it isn't that complicated. The real reason why there is such a

1:51:21 > 1:51:29gap between planning permissions and actual build out of housing, it's

1:51:29 > 1:51:33because house-builders have no incentive to build more houses than

1:51:33 > 1:51:38they can sell. The home builders Federation, the trade body for the

1:51:38 > 1:51:49house-builders, did a study. It was commissioned by Hougaard. The

1:51:49 > 1:51:57conclusions were startling. -- it was commissioned by YouGov. The

1:51:57 > 1:52:01majority were unlikely to buy. If 70% did not want to buy your product

1:52:01 > 1:52:06you might consider changing it. But there are severe risks to that for

1:52:06 > 1:52:10volume house-builders because they already face a whole welter of

1:52:10 > 1:52:14planning conditions as it is before they can start. Essentially we have

1:52:14 > 1:52:20a broken housing market in which demand cannot influence supply

1:52:20 > 1:52:24sufficiently and drive volumes. It's the reason I particularly welcome

1:52:24 > 1:52:28the housing White Paper which is the first explicit acknowledgement that

1:52:28 > 1:52:33we have a housing model that is broken. The precondition for solving

1:52:33 > 1:52:38your problems is that you realise you have problems. Government

1:52:38 > 1:52:41realises we have a broken housing model and we need to fix it and this

1:52:41 > 1:52:46Budget takes many good steps in that direction. My fundamental belief is

1:52:46 > 1:52:51that if we want to make development a good word, in itself at the moment

1:52:51 > 1:52:55it is often seen as pejorative and the word developer is often seen as

1:52:55 > 1:52:59a swear word, then the only way to do that is the need to make

1:52:59 > 1:53:02development a good word and the only way to do that is to have good

1:53:02 > 1:53:08development. Most people feel they have no say over what is built and

1:53:08 > 1:53:13where it is built. We need to change that. We need to change the

1:53:13 > 1:53:16conversation. Development should be about making well designed and well

1:53:16 > 1:53:20built places which are well connected, well served, well run

1:53:20 > 1:53:23with good governments, that are environmentally sensitive, where

1:53:23 > 1:53:30Green is normal, with a thriving economy with jobs. Fairer for

1:53:30 > 1:53:34everyone. In other words we should separate the business of place

1:53:34 > 1:53:38making, which is what these things are all about, from the business of

1:53:38 > 1:53:44home building. All of those things are part of the public wheel, part

1:53:44 > 1:53:50of the public responsibility to make good places. When people get into

1:53:50 > 1:53:53planning the often find out they cannot do those things. They often

1:53:53 > 1:54:00end up as the person who says no. To separate place making from

1:54:00 > 1:54:04homemaking is to have large numbers of service plot at scale. Which

1:54:04 > 1:54:07thanks to the self build and Customs building house now on the statute

1:54:07 > 1:54:12it's going to be easier than ever before. I know people sometimes

1:54:12 > 1:54:15think it is a minor obsession of mine. They would be right. But it's

1:54:15 > 1:54:22for good reasons. It touches on all areas of public policy. Under the

1:54:22 > 1:54:30act, not only individuals can register to get land, but also

1:54:30 > 1:54:32associations of individuals. An association of individuals could be

1:54:32 > 1:54:37the governors of the high school looking to fill difficult to fill

1:54:37 > 1:54:42teaching posts. It could be recruitment the social work managers

1:54:42 > 1:54:48in difficult to fill positions. It could be the MoD looking to retain

1:54:48 > 1:54:52military personnel. It could be the Royal British Legion looking to look

1:54:52 > 1:54:57after veterans better. It could even be ex-offenders. Having had the

1:54:57 > 1:55:01chance only last week to brief the Secretary of State on the right task

1:55:01 > 1:55:04force's latest proposals that the Lord Chancellor has invited me to do

1:55:04 > 1:55:07the same in relation to ex-offenders because there is so much more this

1:55:07 > 1:55:18policy could do. The spin ahead of yesterday's Budget

1:55:18 > 1:55:21announcement kept repeating the Chancellor has no wiggle room. But

1:55:21 > 1:55:25after seven years why has the Government got none? The

1:55:25 > 1:55:28Conservatives cannot keep blaming the Labour Government. Not that they

1:55:28 > 1:55:32ever should have done given we had come out of the global financial

1:55:32 > 1:55:36crisis in 2010 and the UK came out of that crashed in better shape than

1:55:36 > 1:55:43many other countries. Here in the UK the Conservatives blew it all away.

1:55:43 > 1:55:46On their fiscally illiterate austerity project that hamper the

1:55:46 > 1:55:50country's great and damage our public services. Seven years later

1:55:50 > 1:55:55wages are down, growth is down, we have the lowest of all G-7 countries

1:55:55 > 1:55:59growth. Productivity is down. Embarrassingly poor with our

1:55:59 > 1:56:07competitors. Borrowing and debt up. Yesterday we saw further downgrading

1:56:07 > 1:56:11of projections and productivity. Thanks to the disaster that Brexit

1:56:11 > 1:56:15is to our economy. In seven years cuts have had to be made to

1:56:15 > 1:56:18virtually all of our public services. There are deeper cuts

1:56:18 > 1:56:22still to come. Over 80% of the burden of those cuts have fallen on

1:56:22 > 1:56:29women's shoulders. The titbits the Chancellor has dropped in on welfare

1:56:29 > 1:56:35benefits, housing, and other public services in yesterday's Budget...

1:56:35 > 1:56:39Big headlines, small beer. Due to the pressure of time in this debate

1:56:39 > 1:56:43I'll address my remarks are just a few of the proposals of the

1:56:43 > 1:56:47Chancellor. I believe housing policies need to be evidence -based.

1:56:47 > 1:56:52All policies should. But never on a less so than in the Chancellor's

1:56:52 > 1:56:59book about housing. He says he wants to restore the dream of home

1:56:59 > 1:57:02ownership. That's OK but in my constituency in west London many

1:57:02 > 1:57:07people just dream of having a home, let alone owning one. Young and even

1:57:07 > 1:57:12not so young people are unlikely to be able to lead their parents home.

1:57:12 > 1:57:15Families and poor quality temporary accommodation. They can hardly

1:57:15 > 1:57:20afford them. They are often at risk of moving again and again. No hope

1:57:20 > 1:57:29for them. The charter states that average house prices in London are

1:57:29 > 1:57:36twice the average salary. There is not a jot of evidence that proves

1:57:36 > 1:57:41building more homes in London brings prices down in the current distorted

1:57:41 > 1:57:44housing market. Even if it did, shaving a few hundred pounds off the

1:57:44 > 1:57:48asking price of a new home will not help my constituents are earning

1:57:48 > 1:57:54less than £100,000 or without the 6-figure deposit from the bank of

1:57:54 > 1:58:01mum and dad.

1:58:01 > 1:58:05Does the Chancellor mean affordable or social rent? That is a drop in

1:58:05 > 1:58:14the ocean. Hounds -- Hounslow Council alone has 10,000 families

1:58:14 > 1:58:18needing affordable rented homes. The last time this country built more

1:58:18 > 1:58:23than 250,000 homes a year in the 70s, 40% were council homes. We need

1:58:23 > 1:58:30to aspire again to building good quality, affordable all, providing

1:58:30 > 1:58:36stable homes. And with reduced benefit bills. The Chancellor's

1:58:36 > 1:58:43redbrick says councils need support to build homes as soon as possible.

1:58:43 > 1:58:46If the Chancellor is serious there needs to be a monetary figure to

1:58:46 > 1:58:50that and he can start by lifting the borrowing cap applicable to all

1:58:50 > 1:58:54authorities, without them having to go through unspecified hoops to be

1:58:54 > 1:58:59allowed to invest in new council housing, and also give them the

1:58:59 > 1:59:02ability to reinvest receipts from council house sales in building new

1:59:02 > 1:59:12council homes. On stamp duty, 3.2 billion giveaway will benefit 3500

1:59:12 > 1:59:19buyers by £2000. Nice for them but that's at a cost of the taxpayer of

1:59:19 > 1:59:24£924,000. How many council homes with that money buys. It puts prizes

1:59:24 > 1:59:27up for struggling first-time buyers, it benefits those already on the

1:59:27 > 1:59:32housing ladder and it won't help anyone earning less than 150,000

1:59:32 > 1:59:39pounds in west London. In conclusion, this Budget scratches

1:59:39 > 1:59:43the surface for those struggling as a result of the governments failed

1:59:43 > 1:59:48fiscal policies over the last seven years. It does nothing for those on

1:59:48 > 1:59:52low wages or insecure and zero hours contracts, nothing for those who

1:59:52 > 1:59:58need a substantial growth in council house nothing for those in our local

1:59:58 > 2:00:02services. The Chancellor brought little or nothing for the many and

2:00:02 > 2:00:10took nothing away from the few.It's a pleasure to be called in this

2:00:10 > 2:00:14important debate and followed the honourable member for Brentwood and

2:00:14 > 2:00:20eyes are worth. I'd like to focus my remarks specifically on housing and

2:00:20 > 2:00:25how they directly impact on my constituency of North Cornwall. Also

2:00:25 > 2:00:28digress slightly into how some of the other elements in the Budget

2:00:28 > 2:00:32will affect my constituents. The honourable member for Huddersfield

2:00:32 > 2:00:40said we were nimbys on the side of the House. I've often taken the view

2:00:40 > 2:00:45we need more houses in Cornwall and I'm pleased to see we are setting a

2:00:45 > 2:00:49target to deliver for working people across the country. There are a

2:00:49 > 2:00:52number of factors that have stopped our housing supply chain and we need

2:00:52 > 2:00:56to meet some of those challenges to support local people who need those

2:00:56 > 2:01:01houses. Supply of land and land banking are big issues for us in

2:01:01 > 2:01:05Cornwall and also around the rest of the country. I welcome the review

2:01:05 > 2:01:09being put in place in the spring and being carried out by the Right

2:01:09 > 2:01:13honourable member of the Dorset West. I'm hoping we can find some

2:01:13 > 2:01:24practical solutions to deliver on sites. Either with a stick and

2:01:24 > 2:01:29carrot or brick and that approach. There are some developers land

2:01:29 > 2:01:34banking and I think it's time we took that issue to the fore. With

2:01:34 > 2:01:39local neighbourhood plans allocating land for delivery, we've seen many

2:01:39 > 2:01:49large housing developers make in-house

2:01:53 > 2:01:57applications are... I welcome the new home builders fund and the small

2:01:57 > 2:02:03sites and and I hope many of our hard-working builders and

2:02:03 > 2:02:07subcontractors will also benefit. Could I ask for the government if

2:02:07 > 2:02:11they are able to use of that home-builders fund to support the

2:02:11 > 2:02:23self build projects that exist at the moment. This will be welcome

2:02:23 > 2:02:28news for councils like Cornwall whose revenue will be increased but

2:02:28 > 2:02:32will also see homes that haven't been used in the past bringing back

2:02:32 > 2:02:37into use. One of the biggest wins for Cornwall was the rollover of the

2:02:37 > 2:02:43second home stamp duty levy. 3% was implemented last year, and of the

2:02:43 > 2:02:46money allocated, 20 million in the south-west, Cornwall benefited to

2:02:46 > 2:02:52the tune of £5 million. That allocation has freed up 1000

2:02:52 > 2:02:56affordable houses in Cornwall to be delivered for local people. I'm

2:02:56 > 2:03:00looking forward to seeing how the money is going to be spent going

2:03:00 > 2:03:06forward, working with Cornwall rural Housing Association, the registered

2:03:06 > 2:03:12social housing to see that money delivered for people looking to get

2:03:12 > 2:03:16into the housing market in Cornwall. I welcome the abolition of stamp

2:03:16 > 2:03:19duty that was announced, taking thousands of pounds of the cost of

2:03:19 > 2:03:23purchasing your first home. In itself it might not be such a big

2:03:23 > 2:03:27measure but in conjunction with the lifetime ice and the rise in the

2:03:27 > 2:03:31personal allowance we are now seeing it package of measures put together

2:03:31 > 2:03:35by this government to support people trying to do the right thing -- the

2:03:35 > 2:03:45lifetime ISA,..

2:03:47 > 2:03:54I would like to move on to the tech sector. I welcome the news about the

2:03:54 > 2:03:585G investment and the electric charging points. We must be a world

2:03:58 > 2:04:02leader in terms of getting the right regulatory framework for our

2:04:02 > 2:04:05start-up and tech companies. I further welcome the news of the

2:04:05 > 2:04:10tripling of the amount of computer science courses and the new National

2:04:10 > 2:04:13Centre for computing. That's great news for our young people. In

2:04:13 > 2:04:18Cornwall we are one of the biggest growth tech sectors outside of

2:04:18 > 2:04:22London, and that has developed over a period of time and is fantastic

2:04:22 > 2:04:27news for our industry is down there. I've only got 47 seconds left. I

2:04:27 > 2:04:37welcome the 7% increase and cheap cider and I welcome the concessions

2:04:37 > 2:04:42made on Universal Credit. In winding up, I'm pleased that fuel duty has

2:04:42 > 2:04:48once again been frozen. We've introduced T-Levels, 20-30

2:04:48 > 2:04:56-year-olds will be given a third off their rail fares. We've seen tax

2:04:56 > 2:04:59exemptions for our Armed Forces so they are able to rent in the private

2:04:59 > 2:05:05sector. And from my constituents on investment in the fabulous shared

2:05:05 > 2:05:08lives service. All be supporting this Budget and look forward to

2:05:08 > 2:05:16voting for it soon.It's a pleasure to follow the Member for North

2:05:16 > 2:05:19Cornwall. I'm going to be making just one argument today and a half

2:05:19 > 2:05:30of steelworkers in south Wales and across the country. Fret pension

2:05:30 > 2:05:35freedom laws are proving to be a moneyspinner for the government. The

2:05:35 > 2:05:40OBR forecast it will raise over £1 billion this financial year. But

2:05:40 > 2:05:44right now in south Wales, a pensions problem in the steel industry is

2:05:44 > 2:05:50developing. One we cannot ignore in the race to raise funds. Around

2:05:50 > 2:05:57130,000 members of the Tata retirement fund are facing a

2:05:57 > 2:06:00December deadline for one of the most important decisions of their

2:06:00 > 2:06:06lives. There pension funds can soon be transferring to the pension

2:06:06 > 2:06:12protection fund or a new British steel two scheme. But for those

2:06:12 > 2:06:17members yet to claim their pension, there's a third option. Since April

2:06:17 > 2:06:23be fund trustees have received requests for around 11,000 quotes

2:06:23 > 2:06:29for pension transfers with 1700 members transferring benefits. I've

2:06:29 > 2:06:33got constituents who aren't sure what they are going to do with their

2:06:33 > 2:06:39hard earned pension pots. Some have complained about a clear guidance

2:06:39 > 2:06:43and poor administration. Knowing that workers can withdraw their

2:06:43 > 2:06:47pension pot, there are concerns that some advisers are suggesting

2:06:47 > 2:06:53transferring money to higher risk or badly performing schemes. All the

2:06:53 > 2:06:58while raking in hefty administration fees. This situation has been

2:06:58 > 2:07:03described in the Financial Times as a feeding frenzy for unscrupulous

2:07:03 > 2:07:09advisers. It would be heartbreaking if, facing the pressure to make a

2:07:09 > 2:07:12decision, workers were pressed into life altering decisions that

2:07:12 > 2:07:17destroyed their futures. Futures where they wanted to enjoy the

2:07:17 > 2:07:24fruits of their labour or need help with costs of care. I've written to

2:07:24 > 2:07:27the Financial Conduct Authority who've already sent supervisors to

2:07:27 > 2:07:31the region to see what can be done to protect these workers. But I'm

2:07:31 > 2:07:36also asking the government what they can do to avoid potential disaster

2:07:36 > 2:07:43for many. I'm going to ask the Minister... Has the government

2:07:43 > 2:07:47Minister Don and assessment on whether the independent financial

2:07:47 > 2:07:53protection provision close to the steelworks has the capacity to deal

2:07:53 > 2:07:59with this level of demand? If they cannot, the pensions advisory

2:07:59 > 2:08:04service able to help if there is a problem? With the Financial Conduct

2:08:04 > 2:08:09Authority visiting Port Talbot, had they received evidence of financial

2:08:09 > 2:08:16sharks so that action can be taken? Given that these stories have broken

2:08:16 > 2:08:21so close to the deadline, does the government think this deadline is

2:08:21 > 2:08:22appropriate, and has any consideration being given to it

2:08:22 > 2:08:33possible delay? Madam Deputy Speaker, the pension law changes are

2:08:33 > 2:08:37setup to provide an income stream for the years ahead. But there is a

2:08:37 > 2:08:44duty of care to ensure that the freedom of is provided for these

2:08:44 > 2:08:48workers. Otherwise I'm afraid of steelworkers and their futures

2:08:48 > 2:08:55across the UK for the years ahead. Can I just begin my remarks by

2:08:55 > 2:09:00saying what a pleasure it was to be in the chamber to hear what I think

2:09:00 > 2:09:03was the first backbench speech from my right honourable friend the

2:09:03 > 2:09:09Member for Sevenoaks and what a wise contribution it was. I want to

2:09:09 > 2:09:14welcome the measures in this Chancellor's Budget. Big investment

2:09:14 > 2:09:17in the NHS, additional improvements to the Universal Credit programme,

2:09:17 > 2:09:22stamp duty cut for first-time buyers, investment in our economy

2:09:22 > 2:09:26secured and the government delivering on its commitment,

2:09:26 > 2:09:30building a country that's fit for the future. What I want to do this

2:09:30 > 2:09:35focus on the work that I want to do to achieve rolling back out in North

2:09:35 > 2:09:40Devon and in the wider south-west. I want to start unashamedly by looking

2:09:40 > 2:09:45at the jobs and employment situation. If there is one measure

2:09:45 > 2:09:48of the success and the strength of an economy that we ought to be

2:09:48 > 2:09:54looking at its the levels of employment. Here are some figures

2:09:54 > 2:09:59for my constituency. In 2010 when the Conservative government came to

2:09:59 > 2:10:07power, unemployment in North Devon was more than 1015 claimants. That

2:10:07 > 2:10:12was 2.3% of the adult population. Today in 2017 it has more than

2:10:12 > 2:10:19halved. 501 claimants. The figures for youth unemployment are even more

2:10:19 > 2:10:29impressive. 290 in 2010 representing 4.2%. Now, 115 claimants of youth

2:10:29 > 2:10:34unemployment. That's fewer than 1.8%. That's a remarkable

2:10:34 > 2:10:36achievement. There's more to be done but those figures show the

2:10:36 > 2:10:44underlying strength of the economy and I welcome that this Budget

2:10:44 > 2:10:48continues that trend. I want to cover a number of issues in the

2:10:48 > 2:10:53briefly in the time available. One of them is the NHS. We had the

2:10:53 > 2:10:57welcome announcement of the £10 billion capital investment to help

2:10:57 > 2:11:03NHS England implement their STPs. I want to ensure North Devon gets its

2:11:03 > 2:11:08fair share. We had an STP review process which concluded the clinical

2:11:08 > 2:11:14case for all the acute services to be retained at North Devon District

2:11:14 > 2:11:19Hospital. I welcome the fact the capital investment and the 2.8

2:11:19 > 2:11:24billion on top of that for general funding, that needs to come and get

2:11:24 > 2:11:28our fair share in North Devon, so that the clinical need that's been

2:11:28 > 2:11:32identified can be properly resourced. Let me talk about

2:11:32 > 2:11:36housing. We do have housing need in North Devon as nearly everywhere

2:11:36 > 2:11:43else. This £45 billion package of investment is welcome. I was rather

2:11:43 > 2:11:48disappointed by the Shadow Chancellor 's rather glossing over

2:11:48 > 2:11:59the fact that a third of this money is brand-new.

2:11:59 > 2:12:03£15 billion of new investment. That is something to be glass half full

2:12:03 > 2:12:08about, not glass half empty. Productivity is important, and the

2:12:08 > 2:12:14heart of Southwest has its prospectus for productivity. It is

2:12:14 > 2:12:16currently out for consultation and it highlights a number of projects

2:12:16 > 2:12:22to improve the regional economy. I attended a growth summit in Exeter a

2:12:22 > 2:12:26month ago. There are a lot of ideas there and a lot of huge potential in

2:12:26 > 2:12:32our area. We have vibrant cities in the south-west, and amazing

2:12:32 > 2:12:36coastline, historic towns and stunning moorland. But it is more

2:12:36 > 2:12:41than the environment. Within that environment, there are people doing

2:12:41 > 2:12:44innovative business work, small and medium-sized enterprises which are

2:12:44 > 2:12:48the driving force of the regional economy. I'm delighted that the

2:12:48 > 2:12:52Chancellor's Budget does so much to support them. The partnership's

2:12:52 > 2:12:56ambition in the south-west is to double the size of the region's

2:12:56 > 2:13:03economy to £70 billion by 2036. And it is seeking the right

2:13:03 > 2:13:09interventions and government backing to achieve this. Finally, when we

2:13:09 > 2:13:12are speaking about money and investment, it would be remiss of me

2:13:12 > 2:13:17not to mention the one project which I am passionate about, the North

2:13:17 > 2:13:23Devon link road, linking the M5 with Barnstable. We talk about the

2:13:23 > 2:13:27northern powerhouse. Within Devon, the northern powerhouse 's

2:13:27 > 2:13:32Barnstable. But you can't get there easily at the moment. We have such a

2:13:32 > 2:13:35brilliant local economy that can thrive even more, were their

2:13:35 > 2:13:40investment in the North Devon link road that we need. I continue to

2:13:40 > 2:13:45push that point and I welcome the Chancellor's investment in our

2:13:45 > 2:13:51public services. In conclusion, I welcome this Budget. It rightly

2:13:51 > 2:13:55focuses on our national challenges. I will push the point to make sure

2:13:55 > 2:14:02that money is similarly focused on North Devon.Madam Deputy Speaker, I

2:14:02 > 2:14:06think this is a body that will be remembered more for the brutal

2:14:06 > 2:14:11demonstration by the OBR of the failure of seven years of Tory lead

2:14:11 > 2:14:17austerity policies than any of the policy announcements contained

2:14:17 > 2:14:29within it which are supposed to deal with the consequences. What I've

2:14:29 > 2:14:32unremarkable about what I've unremarkable from listening to the

2:14:32 > 2:14:37budgets in 2010 is that the date for the elimination of our public sector

2:14:37 > 2:14:39deficit, which we were told was essential for the long term

2:14:39 > 2:14:47prosperity of this country, has been put back year after year. And this

2:14:47 > 2:14:52particular OBR report demonstrates that it has effectively been

2:14:52 > 2:15:04abandoned. It doesn't reflect the official recognition of the

2:15:04 > 2:15:07consignment of the so-called Long term economic plan to a place where

2:15:07 > 2:15:17we all thought it was anyway, and that is of course never-never land.

2:15:17 > 2:15:25The key finding of that report was the damning demonstration of the

2:15:25 > 2:15:35declining our growth and productivity, over 2% during the

2:15:35 > 2:15:40Labour government and now a much reduced to 0.7% if we are lucky.

2:15:40 > 2:15:43Absolutely crucial to our future prosperity is productivity and

2:15:43 > 2:15:49economic growth. It provides people with money in their pockets and tax

2:15:49 > 2:15:54payments to pay for our public services. It is not surprising that

2:15:54 > 2:15:58because of the failure of this government to understand and to

2:15:58 > 2:16:03generate economic growth over the last seven years, we are now

2:16:03 > 2:16:09struggling. This is not talking down, as the Chancellor said, it is

2:16:09 > 2:16:15a reflection of the experience that every MP finds in his surgery. The

2:16:15 > 2:16:19people who come because they can't get an operation in due time within

2:16:19 > 2:16:23their local health authority, or can't get an appointment at their

2:16:23 > 2:16:28local GP. The headteachers who tell us of the funding problems they are

2:16:28 > 2:16:32having which are impairing the education of our children. The

2:16:32 > 2:16:36police numbers, I had a detective inspector who came to me to say his

2:16:36 > 2:16:39morale was so low, he was leaving the police because with the

2:16:39 > 2:16:44reduction of numbers and the rise in crime, he couldn't face the fact

2:16:44 > 2:16:47that they were not delivering the service that he wanted to. The

2:16:47 > 2:16:53housing shortage, the problems because of the roll-out of Universal

2:16:53 > 2:16:59Credit, all the consequences of seven years of austerity, we are

2:16:59 > 2:17:05being confronted with on an almost daily basis in our surgeries. We

2:17:05 > 2:17:10need a profound change in direction. Unfortunately, that was not evident

2:17:10 > 2:17:15in this Budget. That does not mean to say that I think everything in

2:17:15 > 2:17:19the Budget was bad. There were a number of measures which are to be

2:17:19 > 2:17:27applauded. But essentially, they are too little, too late, they are not

2:17:27 > 2:17:34consistent and they are incoherent. The sinews of our economy and

2:17:34 > 2:17:38society that generate improvements and productivity are first of all

2:17:38 > 2:17:44skills. And whilst the measures taken to improve maths are to be

2:17:44 > 2:17:49welcomed, the fact remains that the money taken out of the education

2:17:49 > 2:17:52service, which is needed at all levels within it to ensure that we

2:17:52 > 2:17:57have a level of literacy and numeracy that will enable students

2:17:57 > 2:18:03to make the most of the money being put in for the maths teaching,

2:18:03 > 2:18:09unfortunately is not being replaced. The FE funding is peanuts, the money

2:18:09 > 2:18:14being put in in comparison to what has been taken out. And the

2:18:14 > 2:18:17apprenticeships, for all the government's rhetoric on it, I am

2:18:17 > 2:18:20still getting companies tell me that they cannot recruit apprentices of

2:18:20 > 2:18:29the quality they need. I would briefly point out that not all the

2:18:29 > 2:18:35changes necessary to increase productivity involved that much

2:18:35 > 2:18:39money. A change in our culture in schools that will put an obligation

2:18:39 > 2:18:43on schools to work with industry to ensure that their vocational

2:18:43 > 2:18:51training is recognised much more highly than it is. The comments made

2:18:51 > 2:18:56by the right honourable member for Sevenoaks about employee share

2:18:56 > 2:18:59ownership, where productivity is much higher. And of course, changes

2:18:59 > 2:19:04in our financial regulation which encourage long term rather than

2:19:04 > 2:19:10short-term investment.I am pleased to follow the member for Bromwich

2:19:10 > 2:19:17West. I welcome the positive announcements demonstrated through

2:19:17 > 2:19:20this Budget. This government is listening, it is in touch and it is

2:19:20 > 2:19:26acting to make lives better. Some of the announcements will certainly put

2:19:26 > 2:19:32money in the pockets of people in Chorlton Dean -- Taunton Deane and

2:19:32 > 2:19:35make lives better, in particular, increasing the personal allowance,

2:19:35 > 2:19:39freezing fuel duty and judging by the number of Texan cause I have had

2:19:39 > 2:19:42about the Railcard for 25 to 30-year-olds, that will help a lot

2:19:42 > 2:19:46of people, not least my daughter, who is 25 and was wondering how she

2:19:46 > 2:19:49was ever going to be to visit us in Taunton again because rail tickets

2:19:49 > 2:19:56were so expensive. So that has gone down exceptionally well. I am going

2:19:56 > 2:19:59to focus on housing. I welcome the government's commitment to housing

2:19:59 > 2:20:03in Taunton and Wellington. We are making a major contribution already

2:20:03 > 2:20:09to meeting the national targets and yes, there is often opposition. But

2:20:09 > 2:20:13there is a demand and I so often meet constituents who are so pleased

2:20:13 > 2:20:18to have got the housing ladder to use the help to buy to buy their

2:20:18 > 2:20:22first home and the more we can help people, the better. I am proud to

2:20:22 > 2:20:26say that Taunton has garden town status, and that is attracting the

2:20:26 > 2:20:30funds to set up a framework to redevelop the kind of housing and

2:20:30 > 2:20:37places to live that I believe people want. There is a great opportunity

2:20:37 > 2:20:41to develop sustainable, energy efficient, environmentally friendly

2:20:41 > 2:20:43properties with sustainable drainage, settlements with

2:20:43 > 2:20:47connectivity and green spaces where no chicken live amongst the people.

2:20:47 > 2:20:52If we design places like this, then inevitably, they will be more

2:20:52 > 2:20:58accepted. And within these developments, it is essential that

2:20:58 > 2:21:01we have the right infrastructure. I'm going to give one example. We

2:21:01 > 2:21:08have just had 1600 houses agreed through planning in an area, but it

2:21:08 > 2:21:14is controversial because it needs a small piece of road going through

2:21:14 > 2:21:20the development. The developers said they can't afford to put in the road

2:21:20 > 2:21:23and the 25% affordable housing and make them liable, so now they are

2:21:23 > 2:21:27just committed to 15% affordable housing. But luckily, help is on the

2:21:27 > 2:21:31horizon because the Council applied for a housing infrastructure fund