Topical Questions

Answer from Jeremy Hunt

My Christmas wish for the economy is that 2023 is the year when we bring down inflation, and that means staying the course outlined in the autumn statement and giving people as much help as we can with the cost of living crisis. I am pleased that, yesterday, my hon. Friend the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury was able to announce that we are freezing alcohol duty for a further six months.

Answer from Jeremy Hunt

I enjoyed working with the hon. Gentleman on the Select Committee. One thing that we both said needed to happen was to have an independently reviewed workforce plan for the NHS, so he will be pleased that I was able to announce that in the autumn statement.

Answer from Victoria Atkins

The Government have announced cost of living support worth £26 billion in 2023-24. More than 8 million of the most vulnerable households across the UK will continue to be supported through to next winter via additional cost of living payments. In my hon. Friend's constituency, that equates to 11,600 households who will be eligible for £650 of extra support this year through the means-tested benefits cost of living payment. I urge all colleagues across the House to look at the help for households website—helpforhouseholds.campaign.gov.uk—which can signpost people to the various funds and ways in which they can get support.

Answer from Jeremy Hunt

First of all, may I wish the shadow Chancellor, the right hon. Member for Leeds West (Rachel Reeves), a merry Christmas in her absence and a speedy recovery from the lurgy that I gather she has? I look back on the last 12 years of this Conservative Government with a great deal of pride. What the right hon. Gentleman never likes to mention in his comparisons is that Labour had a golden economic inheritance from the Conservatives in 1997 and left us with an economy that had run out of money. What have we done? We are the third highest-growing economy in the G7.

Answer from Victoria Atkins

I welcome my hon. Friend's strong support for his local economy and the small businesses that play such a vital part in his constituency. The VAT registration threshold, at £85,000, is more than twice as high as the EU and OECD averages, which keeps 3.2 million small businesses out of VAT—the majority of businesses in this country. I hope my hon. Friend will welcome the fact that since the start of the pandemic more than £35 billion has been provided to the tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors in grants, loans and tax breaks. As a Government, we recognise their incredible value and how important they are to the wellbeing of our constituencies.

Answer from John Glen

The cost of strikes is always regrettable. It is regrettable to those who rely on the services that those individuals deliver.

Answer from John Glen

I am sorry that I cannot give an early Christmas present. Allocations from that funding are the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. I encourage my right hon. Friend to speak to the Health Secretary, who is working hard with the Treasury and other parts of Government to look at capital projects across the whole of health. Announcements will be made in due course, early in the new year, I hope.

Answer from James Cartlidge

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for that important point. Yes, I would draw attention to the cost of living support for those on disability benefits, which is extremely important, together with the energy price guarantee. On the specific point about the warm home discount, I am happy to look into that and write to the hon. Lady, but I remind her that in the autumn statement the Chancellor made a very significant commitment to energy efficiency which will apply to the whole country: the 15% target and £6 billion more funding for energy efficiency.

Answer from James Cartlidge

Few colleagues put a question about inflation more eloquently than my hon. Friend. He makes an interesting suggestion. The support we have put in place has come through a variety of mechanisms, such as direct support for our constituents to help with cost of living and the energy price guarantee. He asks about how we ensure that that reduces inflation; the key point is that the OBR has confirmed that because of the energy price guarantee, the peak of inflation will be 2.5% lower than it would have been. That shows that our support is not only making a difference to our constituents this winter but is reducing the underlying cause of inflation, and that is in the best interest of the whole of the United Kingdom.

Answer from Victoria Atkins

I hope that, in the spirit of Christmas cheer, the hon. Lady will accept that the trade and co-operation agreement is the world's biggest zero-tariff, zero-quota trade deal. It provides a strong base for UK businesses to trade with the EU. We continue to support businesses trading with the EU, as well as helping them seize new opportunities with fast-growing economies around the world through our free trade agreements.

Answer from John Glen

My hon. Friend is an expert in this area. He is absolutely right to point to that concern. We must ensure joined-up regulatory innovation to make sure there are no unforeseen circumstances. He puts his finger on a very important point.

Answer from Jeremy Hunt

The hon. Lady is right about the importance of retention. That is why we are pleased to have 32,000 more nursing staff than at the start of the Parliament, which takes us some way towards our 50,000 additional nursing staff target. When there is a cost of living crisis, as we have at the moment, the best way to resolve this is an independent process. It is an independent process; when I was Health Secretary, it often made rulings that were not comfortable. The best way to resolve the situation is to respect that process.

Answer from Jeremy Hunt

My right hon. Friend always asks important and challenging questions. I do not agree with the way forward that he has outlined, but Ken Clarke revolutionised our education system by introducing Ofsted, which has led to a massive increase in standards in our schools. That was the reason I introduced the Ofsted system in our hospitals through the Care Quality Commission, which is also seeing a big improvement in standards.

Answer from Victoria Atkins

For the majority of businesses trading in Northern Ireland, VAT continues to be accounted for in much the same way as when they trade in the rest of the UK. We are confident that the implementation of the Northern Ireland protocol for VAT mitigates the risk of double taxation in Northern Ireland. We know of one example and HM Revenue and Customs is working with that business to see what more can be done, but I am happy to take up the hon. Gentleman's question outside the Chamber.

Answer from John Glen

I would be very happy to meet my hon. Friend. Representing a rural constituency myself, I totally understand the tension in fully reflecting the needs of a sometimes diverse set of communities.

Answer from John Glen

We always need to be vigilant about tax evasion and work closely with the overseas territories and Crown dependencies. A lot of progress has been made, but more is due.

Answer from Victoria Atkins

My right hon. and learned Friend is one of the people who knows most about corporate criminal liability. I would be happy to take his question away and discuss it with him, because justice system addresses not just individuals but companies too.

Answer from John Glen

I recognise significant concerns about delivery. I am in ongoing conversations with the Secretary of State for Transport to look at what more can be done.

Answer from John Glen

I am more than happy to meet my hon. Friend again to discuss the matter. The situation with capital programmes is under urgent review, and further announcements will be made in the new year.

Answer from Jeremy Hunt

I can absolutely confirm that the House will not have to wait very long for that announcement—and yes, it will have a chance to scrutinise the announcement in detail.

Answer from Jeremy Hunt

We will certainly do that. I know the 75% discount for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses will make an enormous difference to businesses in Gloucester.

Answer from James Cartlidge

I am happy to confirm that the levy will raise £40 billion. A key purpose is to help fund support for businesses and constituents, with higher cost of living payments for vulnerable people on benefits.

Answer from Jeremy Hunt

I am very proud of the fact that, having inherited an economy that was bankrupted by the hon. Lady's party, we have given it one of the strongest growth rates in the developed world.

Answer from James Cartlidge

In my statement yesterday I not only confirmed a six-month extension of the alcohol duty freeze, but announced that next August we will introduce an ambitious reform package which will include—this is happening for the first time ever, and is only possible because of our departure from the European Union—a duty rate differential between what is on tap, namely draught beer, cider and so on, and what is in the supermarkets. That will create a level playing field which I think is in the best interests of our pubs.

Answer from John Glen

I think that communities up and down the country are doing amazing work to support, in particular, the Ukrainian visitors who came here this year at very short notice. We have just agreed a new package of support with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, which gives guarantees going forward into next year.