Lord Dodds of Duncairn
Main Page: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Dodds of Duncairn's debates with the Wales Office
(12 years, 2 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Prime Minister
My hon. Friend is right to raise this issue. There are real concerns about the hollowing out of some of our high streets and the number of empty properties. What we have done is double the small business rate relief scheme, and that has helped an estimated 330,000 small firms. We are also removing legal red tape that requires ratepayers to fill in paperwork to claim that relief, which is something that Labour refused to do when in office. From working with Mary Portas, we have a whole plan for how we can try to help reinvigorate our high streets, which is absolutely vital for our towns and cities across the country.
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North) (DUP)
The Prime Minister might have seen the headlines in the newspapers today that the happiest people live in Northern Ireland. As the Democratic Unionist party has been the major party of government for the past five years in Northern Ireland, we on the DUP Benches are not surprised by that. Of course, one thing that overshadows that happiness is the high and escalating price of petrol and diesel, which is the highest not only in the United Kingdom but in the European Union. Can the Prime Minister bring happiness to all parts of the UK by agreeing to do away with the August fuel tax increase and address fuel allowances as soon as possible?
The Prime Minister
I am delighted to hear that the people of Northern Ireland are the happiest in the United Kingdom, although I have to say that their representatives in the House do not always give that impression. Perhaps I have been missing something. We recognise that families and businesses are continuing to feel the pressure from very high prices. We have cut the fuel duty and scrapped the automatic fuel duty stabiliser. That has meant that average pump prices are 6p lower than they would have been under the previous Government’s plans, but clearly we are also being impacted by a higher oil price.