Lindsay Hoyle
Main Page: Lindsay Hoyle (Speaker - Chorley)Department Debates - View all Lindsay Hoyle's debates with the HM Treasury
Amendment of the Law
Lindsay Hoyle Excerpts(9 years, 1 month ago)
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Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)
Order. I have to apply an eight-minute time limit to ensure that everybody gets eight minutes.
Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)
Order. Let me say to Members that we have more time than expected because of some withdrawals, so I can lift the time limit to 12 minutes. I call Brian Binley.
Mr Binley
The deficit was reduced because you spent more money—of course that would reduce the deficit.
I thank the hon. Lady for her intervention, because it leads me on to the next part of my speech. You failed to mend the roof while the sun was shining. You failed to recognise the fact that there was a global storm approaching. You massively increased borrowing when every business in the land was doing just the opposite—I can tell you that as a business man. Indeed, you almost broke the country.
Mr Deputy Speaker
I think you need to sit down for a second. Once was fine, but I think that was your fifth “you”. I am being accused of a lot of things that I know you will not want me to take responsibility for.
Mr Deputy Speaker
Order. I can assure the hon. Gentleman that there will not be a lax approach. I will allow him to get on with his speech without any more “yous”.
Mr Binley
I am most grateful, Mr Deputy Speaker. I will remember that.
This Government need no lessons from the Opposition, even if they had lessons to give, which I have failed to hear during this Budget debate. The Minister will not be surprised to know that I will again bang the drum for business, as I have in this place for the past 10 years. In many respects, I am sorry that this place does not have more business entrepreneurs, and often fails to appreciate their needs or the sort of economic atmosphere in which they work best. Thankfully, this Chancellor has had a plan. It is a plan that is working, and business confidence continues to rise. The Budget will frame our prosperity for the entirety of the next Parliament. I have no doubt that there will come a time when, if the Opposition ever again assume the seat of government—pray the Lord that it will never happen—they will recognise the reality of the situation, instead of talking in Shakespearian fairy tales, as the shadow Chancellor did.
The Chancellor has introduced Budget measures that business will welcome: the reduction of the rate of corporation tax to 20%; the abolition of national insurance contributions for those employing under-21s, and indeed young apprentices, which will come into effect in April next year; the extension of small business rate relief and the much welcomed employment allowance; and especially the promise of a major review of business rates. Business will be delighted by the abolition of class 2 national insurance contributions for the self-employed, which will follow in the next Parliament, and by the abolition of annual tax returns. On behalf of small businesses up and down the country and of the independent operators—it is so important for this nation that those single men and women plough their own furrow—I thank you.
Chris Heaton-Harris
It will be a great loss not to have my hon. Friend in the House after the general election, because he is a worthy champion of the wealth creators of this country. In his valedictory speech to this place, will he share with us some of his great expertise on why small businesses are the bedrock of British society, and how they employ so many people to the benefit of our tax system?
Mr Binley
I would be delighted to do so. Small businesses are the bedrock of the growth in the number of businesses overall because, first, they welcome the Government’s approach, and secondly, they have the courage to go out, put their own money on the line and add to the number of jobs available in this country. I am delighted to say that that is exactly what I did 25 years ago, and the companies I founded now employ 300 people —that is what entrepreneurialism is about—and to say that that is a part of my record and always has been.
The Chancellor has acknowledged that the success of the Budget will not be calculated by the accumulation of individual measures. I will therefore speak about the economic architecture that will help to achieve his ambitions. I want to comment on how his efforts to rebalance the economy are taking off, something which requires a bold and strong local infrastructure that supports businesses.
In particular, I want to speak about the importance of local enterprise partnerships. I am delighted to say—here is a compliment—that I understand that the Opposition have welcomed LEPs and will continue to use them. That is sensible, and we should give the Opposition credit when they agree with sensible measures. LEPs are critical to the rebalancing of a successful economy in every part of the UK. As some of my colleagues know, I am the vice-chairman of the Northamptonshire LEP. I may be the only Member of the House to be so intimately involved in an LEP. I believe that it is important for hon. Members to take an active interest in their LEPs and be associated with them with a view not to running them or overpowering their potential, but to being involved because they can be a great help. I hope that the Opposition spokesman, the hon. Member for Hartlepool (Mr Wright)—to be fair, he is a great supporter of small business—will take that message on board.
Northamptonshire had the vision to create the Northamptonshire enterprise partnership before LEPs were mooted. I pay tribute to the leaders of the county council for their foresight. The pressures on local government funding will increasingly restrict the ability of local authorities to sustain their support for LEPs. If we are to make them work, they need to be owned by the entirety of the local economic community, and not just by one sector.
Why has the performance of LEPs across the country been so patchy? I believe that it is because many of them, particularly many of the smaller ones, are not in receipt of the support that they need to create the sort of administration that will produce the growth that we are seeking. The original design for LEPs envisaged local businesses as the main source of income for the administrative costs. However, in areas where small businesses are the main engine of economic growth, that is an optimistic expectation. In Northamptonshire, some 94% of those working in the private sector work in SMEs. SMEs simply do not have the spare cash fully to support the LEPs in the way the Government originally envisaged.
I would like to see a system whereby a proportion of the finance that is available for the projects that LEPs handle is allocated to sustain their administration. I hope that the Economic Secretary will recognise that I am not asking for more money, but for some of the money that is devoted to local growth to be redirected to the administration of LEPs so that they can achieve the objective of growth.
This Budget must be seen as the prelude to prosperity in the next five years. Frankly, the Chancellor will need the support of LEPs after the election. That support will have to be strong and sensible. Consequently, the Government will have to give careful thought to how best to organise and manage the structure of LEPs. I appeal to the Economic Secretary to recognise that, in view of the Government’s policies that were expressed by the Chancellor, LEPs will need a little more financial help if they are to do their job correctly on behalf of the Government.
I am happy to offer an exemplar for what can be achieved by a LEP. I refer to my own LEP in Northamptonshire —there’s nothing like blowing your own trumpet! The economy in Northamptonshire is recovering well from the great recession. The food and drink sector is the largest sector in our county in terms of employment and turnover. We are building a new food and drink academy at one of the important colleges just outside Northampton. More than 40,000 people are employed in the auto sport and aerospace industry. They are grateful for the help that has been given to the industry, but they want it to continue. Our craft industry, which makes the best boots and shoes in the world, has received help from the LEP. Church’s, which is one of the best-known brands, has had help to extend its manufacturing facility. Northamptonshire’s enterprise zone has created more than 1,000 jobs.
Finally, Northamptonshire’s Challenge 2016 project, which aimed to achieve a massive reduction in youth unemployment, has far exceeded our expectations. Two years ago, we had more than 5,600 young people not in education, employment or training; there are now a little under 1,500. That is the success of this Government—giving people opportunity and aspiration. I say to those who tell me that young people do not have aspiration that it is amazing how aspirational young people become when they have a job.
If we are to put ourselves in the premier league of economic growth, the measures in the Budget must be combined with an effective local economic framework. I am confident that Northamptonshire will continue to provide an example of how best to drive regeneration and economic growth, but it will need more help, as will many LEPs across the country. I beg that you consider that factor—you being the Economic Secretary, Mr Deputy Speaker—