Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

Tom Randall Excerpts

Monday 8th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Tom Randall (Gedling) (Con)]

I read in the newspapers this morning that millions of people are going to sit in front of their television sets this evening, and as I cannot imagine they will be watching anything other than the Parliament channel I would like to take this opportunity to say that this is a good Budget that will help the economy in its long recovery from the strains of the last year.

The theme of this evening’s debate is supporting businesses through the crisis, and the scale of that support can be seen in the assistance given to businesses in Gedling over the last year: over £12 million in business interruption loans; over £44 million in bounce back loans; nearly £9.5 million under the self-employed income scheme; and 88,000 meals under eat out to help out. But Government support cannot be reduced to a list of statistics on a spreadsheet; behind every loan or grant there is a business and a family struggling to get by. That was brought home to me when a constituent, a small businessman, stopped me in the street and said, with tears in his eyes, “If you see Rishi, tell him thank you for the self-employed support scheme; it’s been a life saver.” The Chancellor’s interventions have helped to save jobs, and he and the Treasury should be commended on their work.

The Government schemes are among the most generous in Europe, but not all have benefited. I welcome the major improvement in access to the self-employed scheme now that the tax return deadline for this year has passed, enabling over 600,000 more people to claim the fourth and fifth grants. The all-party group on gaps in support has produced a report with further proposals, which I will read with interest.

No Government can create jobs, but they can create the conditions that encourage job creation, and I therefore welcome the creation of a new wave of freeports in the UK, particularly the fantastic news that one of them will be in the east midlands. Centred around East Midlands airport, the freeport will focus on innovation, low carbon and trade. I was disappointed to hear that the Leader of the Opposition disparaged this scheme by saying that the creation of freeports “isn’t levelling up” but is “giving up.” The east midlands freeport has the potential to create up to 60,000 new jobs in the region, and as I already have constituents who work in and around the East Midlands airport site, some of those jobs will go to Gedling residents. That is to be applauded, and I hope the Leader of the Opposition will reflect on his comments. I further applaud the launch of the levelling-up fund and look forward to working with colleagues in Gedling to put in what I hope will be an extremely successful bid.

These are difficult times and I appreciate that they will not get easier in the very short term, but I congratulate the Treasury and the Chancellor on setting us on the course to future prosperity.