Local Government Finance Act 1988 (Prescription of Non-Domestic Rating Multipliers) (England) Regulations 2026

Lord Watson of Wyre Forest Excerpts

Tuesday 10th February 2026 Grand Committee

The Government have shown they can act decisively for the film industry. I urge the Minister to extend the same recognition to grass-roots music venues, recording studios, and artists’ studios before we lose irreplaceable cultural infrastructure that has taken generations to build and, once lost, will not return.

[Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Lab)]

My Lords, I declare my interest, as in the register, as the proud outgoing chair of UK Music, the umbrella body for the British music industry. I am sure I do not have to tell my noble friend that the United Kingdom is one of only three countries in the world that remain net exporters of commercial music. That is not an accident; it is the result of a delicate and highly successful ecosystem. After two terms and six years chairing UK Music, I have spent a great deal of time reflecting on what makes this country so distinctive in the breadth and quality of its music, and its renowned commercial success. There is no single explanation, but there are four essential pieces to that jigsaw.

The first is our songwriters. They are unique, special and precious. They are often contrarian, usually very clever, and sometimes fragile and tender, much like the songs they write. The second is our performers—the artists who wear their heart on their sleeve night after night, festival after festival. Last week, it was a pleasure to see British artists Lola Young and Olivia Dean win acclaim on the world stage at the Grammys. The third is our musicians. They are technically gifted, are often poorly paid and frequently struggle to make ends meet. Yet, for them, music is often not just a job but a vocation.

The fourth piece of that jigsaw, and often one of the most overlooked, is our producers and their recording studios. A few are famous, such as AIR Studios, founded by Sir George Martin, which still has trailblazing engineers such as Olga FitzRoy, who helped to give the London 2012 Olympic Games their music; she has also worked with Coldplay and my personal hero, George Michael. Then there is Mickie Most, the founder of RAK Studios, who worked with artists including Herman’s Hermits, The Animals and Jeff Beck.

However, there is also a generation of producers who are perhaps less well known but still highly regarded around the world. They include: Manon Grandjean, a leading figure from the grime scene, who has worked with Stormzy and Dave; Paul Epworth, a producer for both Adele and Florence and the Machine and the owner of the Eurythmics’ former studio; Catherine Marks, an award-winning producer who has worked with Alanis Morissette and Wolf Alice; and the great Cameron Craig, a mixer and producer for Grace Jones and Annie Lennox, with multiple Grammy awards to his name.

Together, these producers and studios shape the sound of modern Britain and underpin our global success. That is why I am extremely grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, for bringing this important report from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee to the attention of the Committee.

One of the reasons given for excluding recording studios from this measure is that, unlike music venues, they are not accessible to the public. With respect, that suggests a misunderstanding at the Treasury of what recording studios are and the role they play in the music ecosystem. Recording studios are not private; they are not private members’ clubs. They are working spaces. They are social and cultural. Anyone can hire them—artists, musicians, producers and engineers do so every day. Some of them even have bars. The sector spans everything from a small studio on an industrial estate to large facilities capable of hosting orchestras, as well as landmark studios that are part of our national cultural heritage.

This matters far beyond London, too. A brief example illustrates the point. Habitat Studio, a short walk from Manchester Piccadilly station, hosts between 120 and 150 bands every month, around 80% of whom are grass-roots artists. Alongside this, it works with established touring acts, charities and universities. Facilities such as this operate seven days a week, with small teams providing professional, affordable and reliable spaces for recording and rehearsals, and food and drink. They are not marginal operations. They are busy, productive and deeply embedded in their local music economies and cultural scenes.

What concerns me most is the logic underpinning their exclusion. First, there is an economic inconsistency. Studios face the same pressures as venues, including high energy costs, specialist premises and skilled staff. Supporting one part of the supply chain while excluding another risks distorting behaviour and, over time, pushing recording activity overseas. Secondly, studios act as regional anchors. They sustain skilled employment, support freelancers and help create creative clusters in towns and cities across the country. Thirdly, studios are not peripheral. They are upstream infrastructure. Without studios, there is no recorded music. Without recorded music, there is no touring product. Without touring, there is no export success.

Britain’s music industry is one of the country’s great success stories. It depends on an ecosystem in which every part matters, from the songwriters to the performer, from the musician to the producer and the studio that brings that work to life. If we value that ecosystem, our tax and rating policies should reflect how it functions. To borrow a lyric from a song recorded by the Korgis at Crescent Studios in early 1980, I say to the Minister:

“Change your heart, look around you”.


Recording studios are not an optional extra. They are essential cultural and economic infrastructure and our policy should recognise them as such.

[Lord Fuller (Con)]

My Lords, having heard from the Deputy Chairman of Committees that we were going to the first Motion first, we have the second Motion first. I want to go back. I do not want to talk about studios. It is not that I do not know anything about recording studios; it is that I have nothing to add to what noble Lords have said.

I want to raise a wider point about what happens when you make changes in the business rates system. It is important that the business rates system has the right incentives and is fair to small businesses, particularly those on the high street that make such a cultural contribution to our nation. We have seen in the newspapers as well as in these regulations what happens when you make alterations to the business rates that pertain to pubs, hotels, restaurants, between retail and industrial, and to large businesses versus small. It is one of those truths that the winners tend to keep quiet, but it can be existential for losers. That is partly because the amount of money that is raised by business rates is fixed and, as you give a relief in one place, it pops up as additional burdens elsewhere. That is just the way the system works.

However, for local government, stability and buoyancy in the system are important. When you change the system, there are downstream consequences, because business rates very largely pay for the delivery of local government services. Yes, there is redistribution within the nation of the money that is raised. For example, we are in Westminster, which raises nearly £1 in every £12 raised in business rates in our nation, and that £2 billion or so is redistributed to Redcar, Redruth, Wroxham and all around the country with a complicated process of ceilings and floors. There are also systems within county areas, as they tend to be, so that all the councils can pool together to grow the economy. That is important, because the system is designed with powerful incentives for councils to grow the economy on the simple truth that the more you grow the economy, the more you keep. Of course, resets happen every now and again and they are a disincentive to grow. All that effort is wasted as the business rates baseline is washed away. That is the context within which I wish to make my subsequent remarks.

In the past few weeks, there have been technical changes in the way that baselines and pooling are done that would have had material effects on district councils. For most councils, about 10% of their net budget would have been swept away, badly impacting on homelessness, recycling, building and all the things that we need to get the economy going. That is especially germane because district councils outside the M25 and the urban metropolitan centres tend to be the planning authorities that get growth going.

I know that the District Councils’ Network and, more widely, the local government family are grateful that the technical changes that could have caused that 10% disaster have been fixed for the coming year, but for one year only. As we look at business rates more generally and at altering the application of business rates, we need to make sure that the Treasury and the local government department are better aligned in future years so that we avoid the perverse outcomes that we might have seen.

It is not fair on councils to have the uncertainty. It is certainly not the right thing for the economy, because confidence and long-term stability provide that central alignment between central and local government to generate wealth in these islands. It is incumbent on the national Government to ensure that they do not accidentally damage that delicate balance that keeps the economy growing, people in work and taxes paid.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I listened carefully to the noble Lord’s remarks and do not think he asked a specific question, which is why I did not give him a specific answer. Of course, the Treasury and MHCLG talk regularly on all matters and will continue to do so.

[Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Lab)]

I sincerely apologise to the Minister for my location here today. In studio terms, I have accidentally ended up on the B-side, not the A-side.

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

As my noble friend knows, some of the best songs are often on the B-side.

Pension Investments

Lord Watson of Wyre Forest Excerpts

Tuesday 23rd January 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

My noble friend makes the very important point that investment is always about diversification. We need a wide range of projects and vehicles to encourage the UK economy, and some of those may indeed be of the sort he refers to.

[Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Lab)]

My Lords, does the Minister believe that consolidating pension funds will lead to an increase or a reduction in the fees paid by pension savers?

Lotteries Regulation

Lord Watson of Wyre Forest Excerpts

Tuesday 16th July 2019 Commons Chamber

[Tom Watson (West Bromwich East) (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for her statement. I appreciate the prudent approach that she has taken to the issue. As she knows, I wrote to the previous Secretary of State last summer to raise my concern that society lotteries had been waiting for six years for the result of a review into their regulation. More than a year on, it is now a full seven years that the sector has been waiting for an answer from the Government. The delay in making that decision has left society lotteries facing an increasing uncertainty, unable to make substantial plans for the future.

Society lotteries achieve a lot of good for our country, as does the national lottery. They raise hundreds of millions of pounds a year for good causes, funding charities as varied as Barnardo’s, the Stroke Association, Friends of the Earth and Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, as well as many others. Major benefits of society lotteries include their flexibility and predictability, which charities tell me is exceptionally useful because it allows them to prioritise funds where they will have most impact.

The Minister is right that transparency must be paramount, and we agree with her about the importance of openness on what the costs of this fundraising process are and where the money goes. People who take part in the lotteries need to know that they are not just taking a punt but getting value for money.

I understand the feeling that sometimes there is a conflict of interest between society lotteries and the national lottery, and I agree with the Government’s stated aim to

“achieve a balance between enabling the sustainable growth of society lotteries on the one hand while also protecting the unique position of the UK-wide National Lottery”.

The Minister mentioned Mystic Meg. If she was Mystic Mims, what would she say the impact of the changes will be on the fundraising for good causes that the national lottery provides to the arts, culture, heritage and sport? When will the new regulations come into force?

The second issue is the age limit on national lottery products. There are 450,000 children gambling every week in our country; the number has quadrupled in recent years. For many young people, scratchcards are a gateway to gambling from the age of 16. We do not think that is right, particularly when we are struggling with an epidemic of gambling addiction across the country. Gambling is fun, but it can also be dangerous when it is poorly regulated or gets out of control for an individual. In my view, and in that of the Labour party, there is absolutely no need for a consultation on this issue.

The Minister’s predecessor, the hon. Member for Chatham and Aylesford (Tracey Crouch), announced last year that she would gather evidence on the topic. It is our strong view—I am sure Members across the House will agree—that we already have all the evidence we need. Those who gamble should be adults, so the minimum age for all gambling products should be 18. It is as simple as that.

[Mims Davies]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his welcome. I believe that this is a prudent approach. I have been very mindful that, as the Secretary of State and I as well as many other Members have found, people are fed up with waiting and want to know what the lottery landscape looks like. As Mystic Mims, I would say that this sets the landscape appropriately for protecting the national lottery and all the good that it does: it keeps the £1 million prize and the jackpot for the national lottery, but allows society lotteries that support causes such as our air ambulances, which are bumping along at the top of the headroom of the money they are able give to local causes, to be able to raise more money and support our local communities. That is the right approach.

On the minimum age issue, the hon. Gentleman will know that I cannot say any more ahead of the consultation. I seek the views of those in this Chamber and across the sector. The current licence period has seen a range of technological developments, which have changed the way that we play the national lottery, and it has also seen gambling behaviours change. We are therefore right to consider how the licence might look. It is right to consider whether it is appropriate to sell all national lottery games to those under 18 as part of future proofing it for the duration of the next licence.

On the timetable, I hope that we would lay the changes in autumn in order to see a move in 2020.

Discrimination in Football

Lord Watson of Wyre Forest Excerpts

Thursday 11th April 2019 Commons Chamber

[Tom Watson (West Bromwich East) (Lab)]

Although we are only halfway through proceedings, Mr Speaker, it is a pleasure to see you remaining jolly and calm.

I commend the Minister for making this particular statement, and I thank her for advance sight of it. I am sure that I speak for those on both sides of the House when I say that we appreciate her personal commitment to tackling discrimination in sport in all its forms. I agree that the vast majority of football fans see racism, homophobia, sectarianism and bigotry as the ugly side of the beautiful game. But hardly a week goes by without an example of discrimination.

We were all shocked by the blatant racism during the game against Montenegro last month. Hearing Danny Rose say after that match that he cannot wait to see the back of football because of racism is deeply depressing, but sadly not surprising. When young players face abuse time and again, who can blame them for wanting to walk away? The bravery shown by those players is commendable, but they should not have to be brave when they are only trying to do their jobs. I agree with the Minister when she says that players should never be punished for walking off a pitch after receiving racist abuse, and I was disappointed to hear that the Wythenshawe Town manager, James Kinsey, has been sanctioned for taking his team off the pitch after alleged racism from a linesman.

I have some suggestions for the Minister to help to battle bigotry as soon as it rears its head. First, stewards can work more closely with police to identify offenders, intervene early and gather good evidence to facilitate arrests and charges. The Ministry of Justice could encourage the Crown Prosecution Service to give football hate speech a higher priority and impose harsher sentences. The Government could increase support for education programmes, such as those run by Show Racism the Red Card and Kick It Out, both of which have seen cuts as a result of central Government cuts to local government. Let us also be aware that the far right is attempting to infiltrate football again through groups such as the Football Lads Alliance, which marched in London only a few weeks ago, when some of their members were seen giving Nazi salutes.

We should also be aware that the problem is not only on the pitch and in the stands but online and in the media. The Minister mentioned Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha, who retweeted some of the horrendous racism he receives. Given that so much of the racist abuse directed at players is online, will the Minister explicitly include hate crimes aimed at sporting figures in the online harms consultation?

Raheem Sterling, in my view a hero, has called out the ways in which media portrayals fuel racism, in particular the disparaging way in which a young black player was treated for buying a house for his mum compared with a white player doing the same. Does the Minister agree that there is a problem and that some news outlets need to be more responsible?

It is not just racism. Other types of bigotry, such as homophobia and sectarianism, plague the game. The Scottish Parliament has united in committing £14 million since 2012 to tackle sectarianism on the terraces. Can the Minister match that for English football? Campaigns such as Football v Homophobia are doing great work, but six out of 10 LGBT supporters say they have witnessed homophobic abuse.

The Minister is right that the vast majority of fans abhor discrimination of any kind. A small number of thugs who propagate that vile bigotry ruin football for the players and millions of fans who love the game. We do not always agree on things across the House, but we are in absolute unity on this. Discrimination of any kind has no place in football. I and my team will do everything we can to work with her and her team to drive it out.

[Mims Davies]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his tone and collegiate approach on this issue. It is right that we stand and work together on the issue of intolerance, whether it happens in sport or our communities. Football cannot and should not be used as a cloak for racism and intolerance, and it is sad that players have decided to walk off the pitch because they have simply had enough. I applaud them. They reserve the right to stay on the pitch and do their job, and enjoy the game, and they reserve the right to walk off and do what they feel is right. We should be willing to tackle the ugly side, as the hon. Gentleman describes it, of the beautiful game.

Members on both sides of the House will have heard the reaction from Danny Rose, which was heartbreaking. We need to support the bravery of players to do their jobs and to speak out in this day and age, but they should not feel they have to do that. It is right that players should take action and we are working with the police to make sure that we support them. The UK Football Policing Unit, alongside the Home Office, will continue to work on concerns about hate crime, football and the rise of the far right coming together to spread intolerance and fear in our communities. It is right that we use the Online Harms White Paper in this, and the Secretary of State has just said that harassment will be included. It is right that sports stars and others on the frontline can be supported through this process.

Let us stop this. Let us stand up to it. Everybody needs to be on the right side of this and call it out. Let us support Show Racism the Red Card and Kick It Out. People should use the app and report to their clubs. People in the stands know who these people are, and we need to make sure they do not do it in our name, the name of our club or the name of football.

Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) (Amendment) Bill

Lord Watson of Wyre Forest Excerpts

2nd reading: House of Commons
Friday 8th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[Tom Watson (West Bromwich East) (Lab)]

I thank the right hon. Member for Chipping Barnet (Theresa Villiers) for bringing this important Bill to the House today. I am glad to say that it has the support of both the Government and the Opposition. She spoke with her customary dignity and authority on an issue on which she has not only served her constituents well but served the British Jewish community well—and, indeed, the Jewish community throughout the world. That is perhaps why the Bill has enjoyed so much support across the House today. I was particularly impressed with the speech by the hon. Member for Torbay (Kevin Foster) and his allusion to the idea of the Nazi Kulturkampf, because we know that if we eradicate culture, we are halfway towards eradicating humanity.

Devon has been well represented in the Chamber today. The hon. Member for North Devon (Peter Heaton-Jones) spoke movingly of his parents and of his grandparents who served their country with great valour. I am sure that they would have been proud of his speech. I could not help but be moved by the short contribution by my hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport (Luke Pollard), who found out last year that he was actually Jewish. He is part of a richer cultural heritage for that, and he should be very proud that he has that heritage in his family.

I was also moved, as ever, by the contribution by my hon. Friend—my very old friend—the Member for Ealing North (Stephen Pound), who spoke very movingly about the power of physical objects and paid tribute to the work done on this Bill by Andrew Dismore, the former Member of Parliament for Hendon and current London Assembly Member for Barnet and Camden.

As a former Friday Whip, I remember him well. Once, after he had spoken for three hours, he said, “Mr Speaker, as I begin to conclude,” and everyone cheered. But then he added, “my opening remarks,” and everyone let out a breath of dismay. He was a great Friday Chamber Member.

However, Andrew Dismore also worked tirelessly to get the Act through the House back in 2009—even rolling out his sleeping bag and sleeping on the floor of the Public Bill Office overnight to make sure he had a high enough slot to get it heard, and how proud we are of him for doing that. He was the driving force behind Holocaust Memorial Day, introducing the private Member’s Bill that established it in 2001. He was always, and has always been, outspoken against antisemitism and helped to highlight the work of the great Holocaust Memorial Day Trust. Let me use this opportunity to also praise the work of the Holocaust Educational Trust—an institution dear to my heart and, I am sure, to all of us in the Chamber—which is ably led by the wonderful Karen Pollock.

The holocaust was one of the worst events in human history. I do not need to rehearse the facts about the millions of lives extinguished and the millions more changed forever. The horror of the Shoah will never be forgotten, and we must pay thanks to the important work of all the organisations that make sure the world will never forget.

The Bill addresses a very important subject: the return of cultural objects looted by the Nazis. During the Nazi reign of terror, millions of precious cultural objects were stolen from the Jewish community. Some have been recovered, but many thousands remain missing. As the hon. Member for Erewash (Maggie Throup) so ably noted, around 100,000 objects stolen by the Nazis are still missing today. It is estimated that 20% of Europe’s cultural treasures were lost during world war two.

Nothing can undo the horror of that period, but we should do everything we can now to reunite cultural objects that surface with their rightful owners. More than 70 years on from world war two, there are still families who have not been reunited with heirlooms that rightly belong to them. As many survivors of the holocaust are passing away, it is vital that their descendants have confidence that this Parliament and this Government are committed to ensuring that they get back what is rightfully theirs, and I hope this debate will assure them that we are.

The Bill repeals the sunset clause in the Act brought in by the Labour Government in 2009, which gives our national museums and galleries the power to return these special cultural objects on the recommendation of the Spoliation Advisory Panel. Since the panel was established in 2000, 23 cultural objects taken by the Nazis have been returned to their rightful owners, and we must ensure that the panel can continue its vital work. Some of those treasures have been referred to already. The right hon. Lady mentioned the John Constable painting that was stolen by the Nazis after the invasion of Budapest, which was returned by the Tate in 2015. The 800-year-old manuscript the Beneventan Missal has also been returned.

The panel has carried out its work fairly and delivered justice to the families of those whose precious possessions were stolen. It works in co-operation with our national museums and galleries, which support its work and are in agreement on the urgency and necessity of returning stolen objects to their owners.

As the right hon. Lady said, this is carefully targeted, specific legislation that works well. Once the Bill has passed, which I hope it will soon, the panel will be able to continue its important work. It is particularly important for those whose stolen possessions have, sadly, still not been found that, once they are, the Bill will give them the power to get back what is theirs. Also, for those who may not even know about this process, and may not even harbour a hope of getting back what their families once treasured, the Bill should give them that hope.

It is important that we support this cause and the moral beliefs underpinning it when the spectre of antisemitism is on the rise once again. I was horrified to read in the news just days ago that antisemitic hate crimes hit a record number in 2018. That is something that should scare and anger us all, and we must do everything in our power to stamp it out.

Before I congratulate the right hon. Lady on bringing in this important Bill, let me just reflect on what the hon. Member for Torbay said about the wider symbolism beyond this Bill that unites this House. Such unity is borne out of a commitment to oppose antisemitism in all its forms, wherever it exists and in every institution, and it requires a zero-tolerance response.

As we unify and commit to supporting this Bill, let us not forget our honourable colleagues on both sides of the House who have been the subject of death threats, the subject of racist abuse, the subject of misogynistic abuse and the subject of bullying and antisemitism. As the deputy leader of my party, let me say to my friend and comrade, my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Wavertree (Luciana Berger), as I do to honourable colleagues facing that abuse, that she has our solidarity and she has our support as she battles the bullying hatred from members of her own local party. They bring disgrace to the party that I love.

I would like to end by thanking the right hon. Member for Chipping Barnet once again for her work on this vital Bill, which delivers a small amount of justice to those who have suffered so greatly.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

Before I call the Minister, I want to add on behalf of the whole House that I am sure every Member of this place would echo what the hon. Gentleman has just said about the hon. Member for Liverpool, Wavertree (Luciana Berger). She has the support of us all, and we must all stand together to stand up for her and defend her in every way possible. We must root out the sort of behaviour that is going on, which has no place in our free democracy.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Watson of Wyre Forest Excerpts

Wednesday 9th December 2015 Commons Chamber

[John Penrose]

My hon. Friend is entirely right, and large numbers of people are concerned about that issue. I am happy to tell him that my right hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Sir Eric Pickles) is at this moment considering a report, and if my hon. Friend has any suggestions about what should be in it, he is welcome to make them.

[Mr Tom Watson (West Bromwich East) (Lab)]

I am glad the Minister noticed that there was a parliamentary by-election in Oldham last week. When he carefully studies the figures he will see that there are 1,814 fewer voters in Oldham West and Royton than there were at the general election. If those figures are extrapolated across the country, they show that more than 1 million fewer people are registered than were a year ago. That was predicted; it has happened intentionally. By design, this Minister is responsible for silencing the voices of more than 1 million voters in Britain. How does he feel about being the only Minister in British history to disfranchise 1 million people?

[John Penrose]

I see that the conspiracy theorists are out in force this morning. The entries that will have been crossed off the register as a result of the introduction of individual elector registration—a measure that was supported in principle by the Labour party—will be those for people who have died or moved house. Anybody who is a legitimate elector and who has a pulse will have been confirmed on the electoral register. If anybody is worried that they may not be registered, they can register online before May—it takes under three minutes, which is less than the time needed to boil an egg—and they will get their vote.

LIBOR (FSA Investigation)

Lord Watson of Wyre Forest Excerpts

Monday 2nd July 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

I will certainly take a close look at my hon. Friend’s Bill and get back to him on it.

[Mr Tom Watson (West Bromwich East) (Lab)]

The Chancellor said in his statement that he had asked Mr Wheatley whether participation in the setting of LIBOR should become a regulated activity. Does the Chancellor accept that public confidence in the British Bankers Association has completely ruptured, and that for the public it is a question not of whether, but of when, we take that responsibility away from it?

[Mr Osborne]

I completely agree with the hon. Gentleman that confidence in the process of setting LIBOR has been damaged—of course—by these revelations. That is precisely why, if I may say to him, I want to get on with it: that is why I have asked Mr Wheatley to do his report in the next couple of months, not even by the end of the year—so that we have the opportunity in October of amending, just before it becomes law, the Financial Services Bill. The hon. Gentleman is an expert on public inquiries, and I am sure he will agree that a public inquiry would take years to get to that point. Let us get to that point this autumn.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Watson of Wyre Forest Excerpts

Tuesday 21st December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

I can indeed give my hon. Friend that assurance. This is an issue that the eurozone is publicly considering, as well as other potential routes forward for the eurozone. My efforts are concentrated on getting our gilt auctions away, and I can reassure him that, thanks to the measures we have taken, that is going well at the moment.

[Mr Tom Watson (West Bromwich East) (Lab)]

I see on my copy of the Liberal Democrat “Whip” for this week that all Lib Dem Ministers have been instructed to visit Oldham East and Saddleworth three times before 13 January. Will the Chief Secretary to the Treasury tell me on what days he intends to visit, and will he take the Business Secretary with him, so that they can outline their “Maoist revolution”?

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I assume that the hon. Gentleman is requesting a visit in which the Minister will talk about the policies of the Government.

Finance (No.2) Bill

Lord Watson of Wyre Forest Excerpts

Monday 8th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Tom Watson (West Bromwich East) (Lab)]

The important point about the new clause is the unique position of the video games industry. It has the potential for explosive growth and to create far more high-level, highly paid, highly skilled jobs in the UK. Yet its competitors, with a fiendish interpretation of international competition rules, are picking off the very best designers and developers from UK production shops one by one. The industry worked long and hard with the Treasury to build a robust model for a specific rate to allow the industry to grow over the coming years. That is why hon. Members are so concerned—many jobs are at risk if the new clause is not accepted.

[Mr Hanson]

My hon. Friend makes the important point that those are high-skilled, highly technical jobs that will bring investment to this country. They are intellectual capacity jobs that are helping to grow the areas of our international markets that we need to grow.

To follow up on what the hon. Member for Dundee East said, Edward Troup, the managing director of budget, tax and welfare at the Treasury, said to the Scottish Affairs Committee:

“There would be issues; there would be boundary issues,”

but crucially, he continued, “but it would work.” I am not trying to make political capital out of the matter, but if it is proved that the tax break would work—meaning that it can be applied, can deliver, will keep jobs in this country, will grow business and will help resources be reinvested in the British economy—will the Exchequer Secretary be willing to accept the principle and introduce an appropriate clause in some future Finance Bill?

If it is found that the tax break would work but the Exchequer Secretary will not introduce it, I will have to presume that he is not interested in doing so, rather than that he is concerned about its applicability and workability. If so, he is on an entirely different page from the one that the Under-Secretary was on in April, that the Chancellor was on before the general election and that the hon. Member for Bath, who is part of the coalition, was on at that time.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Watson of Wyre Forest Excerpts

Tuesday 8th June 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I know that the Chief Secretary will want to stick to the narrow subject of external consultants.

[Mr Tom Watson (West Bromwich East) (Lab)]

Is Andy Coulson a consultant? How much are you paying him?

[Danny Alexander]

He works at No. 10 Downing street—[Interruption]—and I will give the hon. Gentleman a full response if he wants one.