Contributions
3,765 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDEconomy UpdateMy hon. Friend is right that this intervention accords with our values by supporting those most in need at a time of acute distress, but he is also right to focus on the long…26 May 2022HANSARDEconomy UpdateAs I have said, it will be a difficult time, given the degree of shock that we are seeing to energy prices. We know that energy bills will, on average, will increase by about…26 May 2022HANSARDEconomy UpdateI am proud that the minimum wage has gone up significantly this year, which puts £1,000 extra into people’s paycheques. Actually, we have a long-term target to increase it to two…26 May 2022HANSARDEconomy UpdateI am proud that this Government worked to agree a new international taxation agreement, signed by over 130 countries, so that we can tax the profits of large digital companies…26 May 2022HANSARDEconomy UpdateI know councils are working as hard as they can to get the payments to people, and we of course remain engaged with them, to help provide the support that they need to do that as…26 May 2022HANSARDEconomy UpdateI agree wholeheartedly with my right hon. Friend. He makes excellent points, and he can expect me and this Government to deliver on all the things he thinks are important.26 May 2022HANSARDEconomy UpdateI am very happy to take away that suggestion when we design the guidance for the discretionary fund.26 May 2022HANSARDEconomy UpdateI know that my right hon. Friend the Energy Secretary is engaged with all the companies on how best to support people through this. With regard to the support that we have…26 May 2022HANSARDEconomy UpdateMy hon. Friend is right. The combination of all the support that we have announced means that almost everybody on means-tested benefits should be in receipt of £1,200 of direct…26 May 2022HANSARDEconomy UpdateSeventy per cent. of those in work will pay less tax this year than they did last year because of the changes that we have made. As I have said, now is the time to act because we…26 May 2022HANSARDEconomy UpdateJapan, as my right hon. Friend will appreciate, is a very particular case, but even Japan is experiencing its highest relative inflation rate in many years. For Switzerland, there…26 May 2022HANSARDEconomy UpdateSome 70% of people in work—including, I would imagine, the hon. Gentleman’s constituents—will pay less tax this year than last year as a result of the increase in the national…26 May 2022HANSARDEconomy UpdateMy hon. Friend is a champion for the industry and is right to be so. I am happy to come and meet him and representatives from the sector, because I share his view that the…26 May 2022HANSARDEconomy UpdateNo, we are not giving consideration to that. As I said, we are giving consideration to excess energy profits being made in other parts of the sector, on the generation side. As I…26 May 2022HANSARDEconomy UpdateI am fairly certain that my colleagues the Energy Secretary and Housing Secretary previously engaged with landlords’ associations to ensure that they passed on the benefit and I…26 May 2022HANSARDEconomy UpdateI think that the official Labour party view is that the windfall tax would raise £2 billion. The way we have structured ours means it will in fact raise £5 billion, which is a…26 May 2022HANSARDEconomy UpdateMy hon. Friend speaks with experience on this matter, given his previous roles. I will give a couple of examples. One we have touched on, which is energy supply and making sure…26 May 2022HANSARDEconomy UpdateWell, we did act, and that is why there is already £21 billion of support to help people with the cost of living this year. We are adding £15 billion to that today, after having…26 May 2022HANSARDEconomy UpdateWe are continuing to put record amounts into schools’ budgets—more than £14 billion over the next few years. We hear a lot from Opposition parties about the tax burden, but we are…26 May 2022HANSARDEconomy UpdateMy hon. Friend is a brilliant champion for the ceramics industry in Stoke. I have been pleased to meet him and his constituents on multiple occasions. This is something that the…26 May 2022