Budget Resolutions

Debate between Ed Davey and Marcus Jones

Tuesday 30th October 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Marcus Jones (Nuneaton) (Con)]

This is my ninth Budget in this place, and the majority of them have been framed by the fact that my party has had to clean up the mess left behind by the previous Labour Government in 2010. They have been framed by the comments of the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill (Liam Byrne), who wrote:

“I’m afraid there is no money. Kind regards—and good luck!”

That was the position that the country found itself in. I feel that yesterday’s Budget was a turning point and we are now starting to see light at the end of the tunnel. We need to give great thanks to the people of this country for their hard work and their determination to see the course through. Yesterday’s Budget means we are now starting to repay the faith of the British people.

I want to focus on three areas, the first of which is public services. The Chancellor was clear yesterday—he was right—that local government had made a significant contribution to tackling the deficit. I firmly believe it needs to be recognised for that, and we need to make sure it is properly funded. I welcome the £650 million package for social care that was announced yesterday, and the £420 million for roads and potholes that will be going to local government.

I also welcome the fact that for probably the first time ever road tax will be paying for our roads rather than being spent on other things. As a consequence, the budget for Highways England will go up by 40%. It is great to see my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in the Chamber because I warmly welcome the additional £20 billion that this Government are committing to our NHS each and every year. I look forward to seeing the 10-year plan for the NHS and, within that, the use of the £2 billion for mental health services, which are crucial. Mental health provision is important because the mental health challenges we are experiencing underpin many of the social challenges that we face in this country, so it will be great to see his proposals.

Security is the most important thing for and the first duty of any Government, so I really welcome the extra £1 billion for our armed forces and the £160 million that is going into counter-terrorism policing. I noted that the Chancellor referred to the police and the challenges our forces face in his Budget statement, so I hope that when the police settlement comes forward early next year, we will see positive progress. My local Warwickshire force is taking on additional officers, but it also faces challenges down the track, such as the pensions revaluation. I sincerely hope that that will be reflected in the policing settlement.

[Sir Edward Davey]

While the hon. Gentleman is talking about police funding, can he explain why he thinks the Chancellor did not announce any extra money, beyond the counter-terrorism policing increase, for community policing yesterday?

[Mr Jones]

Clearly the police have been given access this year to an additional £450 million, and an extra £160 million was given to counter-terrorism policing. I am sure the right hon. Gentleman, who was part of the coalition Government, will recognise that a process needs to be followed and that the police funding settlement will come forward in a few months’ time.

Secondly, on the cost of living, I am delighted that the Chancellor has chosen to freeze fuel duty again. It has not increased in this country since 2011, which is good news for motorists. In that time, the average motorist has saved £1,000 as a result of the decisions made by Conservative Chancellors. I am also really pleased that the rail companies have taken up the railcard for 26 to 30-year-olds, who will get a 30% reduction in fares.

I very much welcome the increase to the personal allowance. The lowest paid will now earn £12,500 before they have to pay income tax. That is a far cry from the £6,500 personal allowance in 2010, and it means that those people will have an additional £1,250 a year in their pockets compared with then. I also welcome the change to the 40p threshold, because although that rate is an important aspect of our tax system, many public servants, such as police sergeants and senior teachers, have been dragged into the 40p rate, as have been many tradespeople such as bricklayers. I do not think that that was ever the intention when that measure was introduced.

It is good to see the Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my hon. Friend the Member for North Swindon (Justin Tomlinson), on the Front Bench, because I welcome the universal credit changes, which will further underpin the principle that it always pays to work. It is excellent that £1.7 billion will be put into universal credit year on year, and that is in addition to last year’s package. It looks as though tweaks are being made to the system constantly to make sure that it responds to some of the challenges. I hope that another look will be taken at the assessment period, because several of my constituents have had challenges with that part of the process.

Finally, on high streets, I am delighted that 30% will be knocked off rates bills for people who own small retail businesses with a rateable value under £51,000. Business rates are an analogue tax in a digital world, and I am pleased that the Chancellor has started to recognise that. I recognise that larger retailers occupying anchor positions in high streets and town centres will not benefit from that change, so perhaps in future we will need to consider those businesses, too. A £675 million fund for the regeneration of our high streets is a massive start to help high streets throughout the country to regenerate. We need to make sure that we preserve our high streets, but not in their current form. We need to make them fit for the 21st century because they are places of massive community value. They are the community centre of towns and cities throughout the country.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ed Davey and Marcus Jones

Thursday 11th July 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davey]

As regards visiting the hon. Gentleman’s constituency and its installations, I shall consult my diary. At a meeting of the Nuclear Industry Council yesterday, we engaged on a range of issues, from skills to finance and future collaboration, and we have put in place the strongest ever supply-chain measures to ensure that the whole country, including people in his constituency, can benefit.

[Mr Marcus Jones]

I commend the Government’s effort to strengthen our energy system and bring about a sustainable reduction in electricity demand, but does the Secretary of State agree that we must take action to ensure that sufficient generating capacity is available in the short term?

[Mr Davey]

I strongly agree with my hon. Friend. It is important that we take action on both the demand and the supply side. With Ofgem and National Grid’s proposals, which are out to consultation, we will see measures on the supply and demand side in the short term, and of course our proposal for a capacity market will do that in the medium term. I hope that he realises that we are looking at every single measure in a very structured way.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ed Davey and Marcus Jones

Thursday 14th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davey]

I must remind the hon. Gentleman that the figures based on the old way of counting show that fuel poverty increased under the last Government. This Government have conducted an independent review of the way in which fuel poverty is measured, and it showed that the last Government could not even measure it correctly. According to the old measurement, the Queen was sometimes in fuel poverty. However, we are reforming not just the measurement of fuel poverty but the policies themselves, and I shall be producing a fuel poverty strategy later this year.

[Mr Marcus Jones (Nuneaton) (Con)]

I want to thank the Minister of State, my hon. Friend the Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Mr Hayes) for the care and support he has shown for the workers at the Daw Mill colliery during this difficult time. In addition to the work he is doing, will he make representations to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to ensure that it is fully engaged with local organisations in the provision of careers advice, support and retraining opportunities for the workers who cannot be redeployed in the coal industry?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ed Davey and Marcus Jones

Thursday 1st November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Marcus Jones (Nuneaton) (Con)]

16. What steps he is taking to ensure that nuclear power provides a significant proportion of the UK's future electricity supply.

[The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (Mr Edward Davey)]

The Government remain committed to ensuring that conditions are right for investment in new nuclear power in the UK without public subsidy, and we have taken action to remove potential barriers. The carbon floor price and electricity market reform will provide the certainty needed for investment in low carbon generation, including nuclear. The Government are talking to NNB GenCo about the potential terms for Hinkley Point C, and earlier this week I welcomed the excellent news that Hitachi had acquired Horizon Nuclear Power.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Jones]

I congratulate my right hon. Friend and his ministerial team on encouraging the substantial investment to secure Britain’s nuclear future that Hitachi has announced only this week. Will he say a little more about what the Government are going to do to ensure that we secure as many British jobs as possible from this substantial investment?

[Mr Davey]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. This is not only good news and a huge vote of confidence for the UK’s energy policy; it is also good news for British industry. Hitachi has already signed a memorandum of understanding with Rolls-Royce and Babcock, and the supply chain potential is huge, with 6,000 jobs during construction at Wylfa and Oldbury, and 1,000 permanent jobs after construction. When I announced the Hitachi decision, I also announced that we had set up the Nuclear Industry Council to enable the Government to work with the industry to maximise the potential for the supply chain in this country.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ed Davey and Marcus Jones

Thursday 8th December 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davey]

The Government’s strategy is to ensure that we are not gold-plating. I am sure that my hon. Friend will have been pleased that on 23 November we published a call for evidence on the TUPE regulations, which he mentioned. It is available on the Department’s website and I encourage all right hon. and hon. Members to respond.

[Mr Marcus Jones]

I recently met local business people at a constituency event sponsored by the Federation of Small Businesses, and they told me that they were apprehensive about taking on additional employees because of the culture of employment tribunals, to which employees can take even the most spurious claims without any personal risk whatever. What can the Minister do to address that issue, which, if tackled, would encourage more employers to take on extra staff?

[Mr Davey]

We have listened to both employer and employee concerns about the cost and complexity of going to employment tribunals, and believe that our reforms will make a positive difference to both parties. We have set out our conclusions and our response to the “Resolving Workplace Disputes” consultation. Critical aspects of our new approach include a major new emphasis on mediation and a new pre-claim conciliation service by ACAS, and, finally, a fundamental review of the rules and procedures is now being undertaken by Lord Justice Underhill.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ed Davey and Marcus Jones

Thursday 27th October 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davey]

During the passage of the Postal Services Act, we heard a lot of criticism of the regulatory regime that the Labour party put in place. We put in a much stronger regime, which has been greatly welcomed.

[Mr Marcus Jones (Nuneaton) (Con)]

2. What steps he is taking to support manufacturing.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ed Davey and Marcus Jones

Thursday 14th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Marcus Jones (Nuneaton) (Con)]

With reference to the Minister’s response to the question from my hon. Friend the Member for Tewkesbury (Mr Robertson), Triton Showers, which employs 400 people in my constituency, is extremely concerned that the waste electrical and electronic equipment directive is now being aggressively enforced by the Environment Agency. Bearing in mind the Minister’s earlier answer, will he now make representations to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on this issue, which is causing real concern in the electric shower industry?

[Mr Davey]

I will certainly look at this. As I said in my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Tewkesbury, the guidance is slightly separate from the directive, so there is a need for clarity. That is why we are trying to renegotiate these matters in the recasting of the directive.