Topical Questions

Answer from Rishi Sunak (Chancellor of the Exchequer)

It is obviously difficult for me to comment on the case of a particular individual. The previous Chancellor, my right hon. Friend the Member for Bromsgrove (Sajid Javid), asked Lord Morse to conduct an independent review and the Government accepted and implemented the vast majority of its recommendations. People who settled early had the benefit of certainty from their settlement, but my hon. Friend should write to the Financial Secretary to the Treasury and we will ensure that we look at that case, as he requests.

Answer from Rishi Sunak (Chancellor of the Exchequer)

We are cognisant of and aware that there is price inflation; indeed, last week's Budget addressed that and explained to the British people some of the global factors that are behind the rise in prices and are not unique to this country. As I said then, where this Government can act, we will. Whether it is the interventions for HGV drivers that my hon. Friend the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury set out, the £0.5 billion household support fund or, indeed, the freezing of fuel duty, this Government are doing what they can to help with the cost of living.

Answer from Rishi Sunak (Chancellor of the Exchequer)

With regard to a VAT cut for fuel, perhaps I should point out to the hon. Lady some of the remarks from independent commentators about what that would do. The Institute for Fiscal Studies said that the benefit would accrue “to higher-income households.” The Resolution Foundation said a VAT cut<br/>“would not be targeted and would be quite expensive”.<br/>Tax Research UK said:<br/>“This cut will not help the poorest much…this plan is a subsidy to the best-off, not the least well off.” Instead, we have provided £0.5 billion, targeted at those who need our help. The hon. Lady mentioned £108; the household support fund will be able to provide £150 to between 2 million and 3 million of the most vulnerable families in our country. Indeed, the national living wage is going up next year, which will ensure a £1,000 increase for someone who works full time on the national living wage, and because of the cut to the universal credit taper a single mother with two kids who works full time and rents will be £1,200 better off.

Answer from Rishi Sunak (Chancellor of the Exchequer)

First, may I put on record my thanks to my hon. Friend, who raised this issue with me some months ago in the run-up to the spending review? I hope that he and his communities are pleased with the funding that was allocated, thanks to his and other interventions. I am of course prepared to work with him and the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to consider all relevant proposals and assess the right options for the taxpayer in this country.

Answer from Rishi Sunak (Chancellor of the Exchequer)

We did have a measure in last week's Budget to support the hospitality sector with its recovery, and that is the £1.7 billion cut to business rates next year. That represents the largest single-year cut to business rates in more than 30 years outside of the coronavirus. It provides a 50% discount to hospitality businesses, which I know are important to our local communities. I am sad that the hon. Member did not raise the not one but two levelling-up fund bids that Liverpool enjoyed last week, which I know will also help to regenerate parts of the city and provide improved transport connections to benefit local businesses.

Answer from Rishi Sunak

I am happy to provide my hon. Friend with that reassurance and I hope that his council engages constructively with him, as so many others have and have seen the benefits of that in last week's announcements. We will open round 2 in due course and it will most likely launch no later than the spring. I can tell him also that we have no plans to change the current way that we assess the priority categorisations, so High Peak should remain as it was.

Answer from John Glen

The Government are committed to making the UK a hostile place for illicit finance and economic crime, ensuring all donations comply with legislation. We have taken tough action through our No Safe Havens strategy and 2019 economic crime plan. We will continue to work on these matters.

Answer from Rishi Sunak

The Dartford crossing is one of the most congested pinch points in the strategic road network, and the Thames crossing development aims to mitigate this. National Highways has recently launched a consultation for this project.

Answer from Rishi Sunak

The cut in domestic air passenger duty is accompanied by a new ultra-long-haul band and investment in sustainable aviation fuel. The net effect on carbon emissions is expected to be neutral or even reduce them, according to an independent forecaster.

Answer from Simon Clarke

The Government's core housing supply programmes include £1.5 billion for infrastructure and reforms to NHS capital regime will improve integration between health providers, local government, and care.

Answer from Rishi Sunak

We want to ensure we learn lessons from the first round and incorporate them into future rounds. We are keen to get on with this process so that communities can start seeing benefits as soon as possible.

Answer from Lucy Frazer

I know that my hon. Friend will have campaigned hard for the funds that have come through. We will continue to support people across the House and in her constituency to level up.

Answer from Rishi Sunak

I did engage with representatives from local authorities in the run-up to the spending review. Last week's spending review outlined an additional £1.6 billion a year of cash grant for local authorities, ensuring local government core spending power will rise at about 3% a year in real terms over the spending review period; this is historically high and warmly welcomed by councils up and down the country, allowing council tax increases to be kept at more moderate levels.

Answer from Helen Whately

The £56 million Stoke-on-Trent was awarded in the first round of the levelling-up fund for regeneration projects across the city. The UK shared prosperity fund, worth over £2.6 billion, will allocate funding across the UK. Further details of the fund will be set out later this year.

Answer from Rishi Sunak

We have moved out of crisis phase now, so our interventions to support the economy are broader in scale. I am confident that measures such as investing in infrastructure, innovation and skills will lead to economic growth and benefit her businesses.

Answer from Helen Whately

We are overhauling UK's outdated alcohol duty rules, taxing drinks according to their strength. This approach encourages responsible drinking and tackles problems caused by cheap high-strength drinks.

Answer from Rishi Sunak

HMRC's time to pay service has supported tens of thousands of businesses through the crisis, offering flexible repayment periods. The bounce back loan scheme introduced by my hon. Friend comes with a pay-as-you-go option to ensure businesses can settle on a payment plan.

Answer from Helen Whately

We are delighted to introduce the draft relief for supporting the on trade purchasing drinks in pubs. We will consult on the details including keg size, and also bring forward technical changes to small brewers relief.

Answer from Simon Clarke

We have committed to £30 billion net zero strategy just before this fiscal event, with clear evidence of how we are moving to ensure we double down on international commitments.