Contributions
238 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDSpring StatementI can confirm to my right hon. and learned Friend that the OBR’s central forecast is based, as before, on an assumption of a deal done with the European Union so that we exit via…13 Mar 2019HANSARDSpring StatementI am sure it was a momentary oversight by the hon. Lady that she did not say anything about the decommissioning measures that will be so important to her local industry in…13 Mar 2019HANSARDSpring StatementMy right hon. Friend is right, of course, about the OBR’s Brexit assumption—I said so earlier and the OBR has said so clearly. It has to make an assumption, and until there is a…13 Mar 2019HANSARDSpring StatementWhat the hon. Lady has not mentioned is that business investment recovers to 2.3% next year, and, over the forecast, recovers entirely, so this is a cyclical change, not a…13 Mar 2019HANSARDSpring StatementAs my right hon. Friend knows, we are not able, under the current regime, to discriminate between cars made in British factories and cars made elsewhere, but we do keep all fiscal…13 Mar 2019HANSARDSpring StatementI do not know why the right hon. Gentleman would want to break the habit of a lifetime in finding something positive to say in response to a statement, but I will take him at face…13 Mar 2019HANSARDSpring StatementI can give my right hon. Friend that assurance. I am acutely conscious of the fact that we are committed to building a tunnel under the Thames but we have not yet committed to the…13 Mar 2019HANSARDSpring StatementI welcome the right hon. Gentleman’s comments. I draw the House’s attention to the fact that one of the features of the jobs growth we have delivered is the regional distribution…13 Mar 2019HANSARDSpring StatementLet me make this clear, for the avoidance of doubt. The NHS 10-year plan has been published, but the funding plan that we have announced is a five-year plan, and there will be a…13 Mar 2019HANSARDSpring StatementI have answered the question. The benefits freeze will end at the end of the forthcoming year.13 Mar 2019HANSARDSpring StatementWhile the hon. Gentleman is entitled to his point of view and often makes a valuable contribution to the debate, he has to be careful that he does not accidentally veer off-piste…13 Mar 2019HANSARDSpring StatementThere will be many demands on the available funding at the spending review, and we intend to look at the public’s priorities in the round. Our challenge, as always, is to ensure…13 Mar 2019HANSARDSpring StatementYes. My right hon. Friend—perhaps unsurprisingly, given his constituency—is very interested in these issues, and I would be happy to meet him to go through the numbers. There are…13 Mar 2019HANSARDSpring StatementI can confirm that we want to move ahead as quickly as possible with agreeing the individual projects and getting disbursement under way. I would be delighted to visit Carlisle,…13 Mar 2019HANSARDSpring StatementThe hon. Lady talks about reductions in economic forecasts. It is actually one year— [ Interruption. ] I will answer the question in my own way, if the hon. Member for Kingston…13 Mar 2019HANSARDSpring StatementNobody shares my hon. Friend’s ambition to see faster growth more than I do. There are many ways we can deliver that, but it has to involve raising productivity in both the public…13 Mar 2019HANSARDSpring StatementI have never been afraid to acknowledge that, as far as the economy is concerned, Brexit uncertainty is a distraction, and it is something we need to get lifted as soon as…13 Mar 2019HANSARDSpring StatementAs my hon. Friend knows, we put £1.3 billion into the schools budget in 2017, and we have protected per pupil real funding since then. He will also know that there is a…13 Mar 2019HANSARDSpring StatementI shall look forward to it. Today is not a fiscal event, and the opportunity to look at spending priorities in the round will happen at the spending review. What I have described…13 Mar 2019HANSARDSpring StatementWe have seen the proportion of people on low pay falling to its lowest level in 20 years. I have already mentioned the statistics on the number of people in work, and I agree with…13 Mar 2019