"The right hon. Gentleman says that in order to encourage business growth he will drop corporation tax. Why has he taken a completely opposite approach to those who are developing the North sea oil and gas reserves?..." Anne Begg - View Speech
"At what point—it was certainly not during any discussions, because there were none—did the Chief Secretary discover that slightly more than 50% of the business of offshore oil operators is in gas, and that the price of gas is the equivalent of about $55 a barrel?..." Anne Begg - View Speech
"Has the Secretary of State had discussions with the Department for Work and Pensions on the reforms to housing benefit, under which it will become impossible for someone who is under-occupying their house to get full housing benefit for that house? He talks about building new homes, but what proportion …..." Anne Begg - View Speech
"At the end of every Budget speech, the Chancellor has to pull a rabbit out of the hat. I will begin my remarks on the rabbit that I was not expecting today. It is something that will affect my constituency. Because I have been sitting in the Chamber since the …..." Anne Begg - View Speech
"Indeed, if the oil price goes up, the amount that the Chancellor gets will go up. These must at best be guesstimates. Therein lies the problem for the offshore industry. The North sea is a mature province, but there is still a lot of oil left. In fact, there are …..." Anne Begg - View Speech
"I could not agree more. In fact, I believe that 200 constituencies have 50 jobs or more that are directly related to the supply chain of the offshore industry. The change will come as a big shock out of the blue, and I do not think people are prepared for …..." Anne Begg - View Speech
"With all due respect, that is not how the Chancellor has sold it. Even if there has been a windfall, perhaps it would have been better had he given some warning of the change so that people in the oil industry in particular could have taken account of it in …..." Anne Begg - View Speech
"Indeed, the bank levy will come down to just £100 million by 2015-16.
The change to the oil and gas charge has come as a bit of a shock, and it worries me. From looking at the Red Book, I am getting more and more worried about what the Chancellor …..." Anne Begg - View Speech
"They do not match, because they are totally different things. In fact, the Prime Minister did not quite understand that. The DLA gateway is about tightening up the criteria for those coming on to DLA. That will come in with the introduction of personal independence payments. The reform of the …..." Anne Begg - View Speech