Carla Lockhart
Main Page: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)Department Debates - View all Carla Lockhart's debates with the HM Treasury
(1 day, 7 hours ago)
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Rachel Reeves
When the previous Government intervened in the case of an energy price shock, more than a third of the benefit went to the top third of income earners. That makes no sense at all when Government resources are stretched and when it resulted only in higher interest rates, higher inflation and higher taxes for the exact same people. That is why we are looking at what targeted action could be taken. It is also why, at the beginning of this month, the new state pension increased by up to £575 and we got rid of the two-child limit on universal credit, which will lift almost half a million children out of poverty over the course of this Parliament.
Carla Lockhart (Upper Bann) (DUP)
No farmers means no food, no hauliers means empty shelves, and no construction means a country that is not moving forward. In Northern Ireland, those three industries are now taking to the streets to protest, which is clear evidence that this Government’s inaction is pushing them to the brink. Will the Chancellor today do the right thing and commit to cutting fuel duty, scrapping punitive carbon taxes, and properly supporting the industries and sectors that are fundamental to this country’s security and stability?
Rachel Reeves
In Northern Ireland and across the country, people got £150 off their energy bills in April, and of course Northern Ireland was the biggest beneficiary of the support for heating oil—that support went disproportionately to Northern Ireland, given its greater reliance on heating oil compared with the rest of the country. The British industrial competitiveness scheme will reduce business energy costs for 10,000 manufacturing firms from this year, taking up to 25% off their electricity costs, and decoupling will reduce electricity prices for both businesses and households. When those contracts for difference come in, that will have a direct impact, but in the meantime the higher electricity generator levy that is coming in this year will provide revenues so that the Government can help cushion this shock for businesses and families.