Contributions
1,402 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Finance BillAs Chair of the Treasury Committee at the time, I had quite a lot to say about it, and I would point the hon. Gentleman to the public record in that regard. Let me return to…27 Nov 2024HANSARD Finance BillI take it as a familiar mark of respect from the hon. Gentleman. The fact of the matter is that the ONS’s figures for the third quarter of this year show growth of 0.1%. That is…27 Nov 2024HANSARD Finance BillMy hon. Friend makes an important and valid point. As he says, Labour is now claiming that there will be no incidence of this tax increase on working people, although it seems to…27 Nov 2024HANSARD Finance BillMy right hon. Friend makes a perceptive point, to which I will come momentarily, but first let me deal with VAT on private schools. We have already heard about the displacement…27 Nov 2024HANSARDIncome Tax (Charge)The Labour party pledged at the last election to usher in a new form of politics based on transparency and integrity. When pressed, Labour Members ruled out a large number of tax…04 Nov 2024HANSARDIncome Tax (Charge)We fought for the “triple lock plus” in our manifesto, which would have spared millions of pensioners from being dragged into income tax, many for the first time, under this…04 Nov 2024HANSARDIncome Tax (Charge)My right hon. Friend is right that this is another broken promise. At the general election, the now Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs gave an unequivocal…04 Nov 2024HANSARDIncome Tax (Charge)My right hon. Friend is a sensible man to give way to, and I will do so in a moment. The Chief Secretary to the Treasury recently admitted on Sky that putting up national…04 Nov 2024HANSARDIncome Tax (Charge)As the right hon. Lady knows full well, it is accepted that the key measure is absolute poverty after housing costs. She cannot flit between one measure and another when it suits…04 Nov 2024HANSARDIncome Tax (Charge)The number of children in poverty fell by 100,000 in total. I will come to the record of this Government in a moment, but first I give way to the Secretary of State.04 Nov 2024HANSARDIncome Tax (Charge)How can I finally resist the hon. Gentleman, who is just itching to make some point about integrity? The Floor is his.04 Nov 2024HANSARDIncome Tax (Charge)I stand by our record when I was Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, particularly on the support that the Department gave to the disabled, not least the results that we…04 Nov 2024HANSARDIncome Tax (Charge)I have just explained exactly what the OBR said. It said that it does not legitimise the black hole—the £22 billion, which has been repeated yet again from the Government Front…04 Nov 2024HANSARDIncome Tax (Charge)The Minister for Employment shakes her head, but my understanding is that while the Government may say they will make some changes, they are quite happy to take the savings that…04 Nov 2024HANSARDCarer’s AllowanceRegardless of what the right hon. Gentleman may or may not have said in his opening remarks, the text of the motion cannot be disputed. On the point of whether anyone should be…16 Oct 2024HANSARDCarer’s AllowanceI will give way, but I invite the right hon. Gentleman to explain how he would deal with fraud when he is pushing for none of the overpayments to be returned.16 Oct 2024HANSARDCarer’s AllowanceI welcome this debate on this important matter. There is unanimity across the House that carers up and down this country do an extraordinary job, often in very difficult…16 Oct 2024HANSARDCarer’s AllowanceIt is difficult to give a precise answer; what does the right hon. Gentleman mean by “a small amount over the earnings limit”? We know that, for the vast majority of the thousands…16 Oct 2024HANSARDCarer’s AllowanceQuite possibly not, which is why the Department operates on a case-by-case basis. That is the correct approach, rather than a blanket approach that says it does not matter if…16 Oct 2024HANSARDCarer’s AllowanceNo, I would not. I am not ruling out the possibility that it may yet become a mess, but certainly on our watch it was never a mess. In fact, it dispenses about £280 billion-worth…16 Oct 2024