Oral Answers to Questions

John Baron Excerpts

Tuesday 11th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

We are seeking to renegotiate existing contracts to get better value for money for taxpayers and local communities. I have a figure here showing that in north Cumbria the public were being charged £466 to replace a light fitting under the PFI contract that was signed. That is completely unacceptable—it is people being ripped off. That is what we are seeking to end.

[Mr John Baron (Basildon and Billericay) (Con)]

2. What steps he is taking to support business creation.

[Chris Skidmore (Kingswood) (Con)]

3. What steps he is taking to encourage private sector job creation.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr George Osborne)]

Some 1.2 million private sector jobs have been created since the first quarter of 2010. Last year more new businesses were created than in any other year on record. In the autumn statement we took further steps to support job creation and business creation by reducing the corporation tax rate to 21%, extending the small business rate relief scheme to support 500,000 small businesses and increasing by tenfold the annual investment allowance to £250,000.

[Mr Baron]

The Labour Government more than doubled the national debt. This Government have done well to reduce the deficit by 25%, but this still means that we are adding to our debt, albeit at three quarters the pace. Financial repression and quantitative easing will ease the debt somewhat through higher inflation, but may I encourage the Chancellor, despite some positive measures in the autumn statement, to be bolder in encouraging economic growth, including by cutting small business corporation tax, which is the only credible way—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. We have got the gist of it; it was simply too long.