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Tag: 2020

  • Joanna Cherry – 2020 Speech on Refugees at the Turkey-Greece Border

    Below is the text of the speech made by Joanna Cherry, the SNP MP for Edinburgh South West, in the House of Commons on 10 March 2020.

    I thank the Minister for his answer. Last Friday, I met my constituent Sally Wainwright to hear about her experiences as a volunteer helping refugees and migrants on the Greek islands. As tensions have risen, mobs have attacked press and aid workers, refugee facilities have been set on fire and non-governmental organisations have had to pull out.

    It is clear that the 2016 deal between the EU and Turkey is breaking down. Last week, Turkey decided to open its borders with Greece, and it even bussed migrants close to the north-western border. We have seen the troubling pictures of hundreds of refugees or migrants attempting to land small boats on the Greek islands. Tens of thousands of people have headed for the land border and become trapped between Turkey and Greece. Greece has halted all asylum claims for a month and sent riot police and border guards to turn people back, to deter them from entering the country. Aggressive measures have been employed, and we have seen migrants stripped naked and beaten before being sent back across the border. We have had reports of a refugee being shot dead by live ammunition and of a child dying at sea.

    Yesterday, as the Minister said, President Erdoğan visited Brussels for talks, and there have been reports that the EU is considering taking up to 1,500 child refugees from the Greek islands to ease the pressure on the overwhelmed camps. My constituent tells me that hundreds of those child refugees are unaccompanied. In the Prime Minister’s Greenwich speech on 3 February, he said that

    “the UK is not a European power by treaty or by law but by irrevocable facts of history and geography and language and culture and instinct and sentiment.”

    British citizens such as my constituent Sally have lived up to that sentiment and done what they can. I want to know what the UK Government are going to do on the ground to ease this humanitarian disaster.

    The Government have also spoken about protecting vulnerable children and said that that will remain a priority after Brexit, so may I ask the Minister three specific questions? First, can he tell us what the UK is going to do to ease the plight of child refugees, particularly the unaccompanied ones, on the Greek islands? Secondly, what representations have the UK Government made to Greece and Turkey to end the human rights abuses that have been reported and to ensure that Greece follows the rule of law in relation to asylum applications? Thirdly, how will the UK Government assist the British non-governmental organisations that have been forced to suspend their operations amid concerns about the safety of their staff and their volunteers?

  • Nigel Adams – 2020 Statement on Refugees at the Turkey-Greece Border

    Nigel Adams – 2020 Statement on Refugees at the Turkey-Greece Border

    Below is the text of the statement made by Nigel Adams, the Minister for Asia, in the House of Commons on 10 March 2020.

    With your permission, Mr Speaker, I will answer the urgent question, because the Minister for the Middle East and North Africa is currently travelling back from the middle east.

    The Government are very concerned by the situation on the Greek-Turkish border, but we should not allow the crisis to detract from the reality that has created it. Continued brutal violence, particularly in Idlib, by the Syrian regime and its Russian supporters, has driven millions of refugees into Turkey and beyond.

    On 3 March, both the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary discussed the situation with their Turkish counterparts, and we have also discussed it with the Greek Foreign Minister. Dialogue is key, so we welcomed yesterday’s talks between President Erdoğan and European Council President Michel on the 2016 EU-Turkey migration deal. We will continue to support the implementation of that deal, as it is crucial to the effective management of the migratory flows and to preventing people from risking their lives by attempting to cross the Aegean. At the same time, we recognise Turkey’s generosity, and the burden of supporting millions of refugees who have fled the civil war in Syria.

    Both Greece and Turkey face additional challenges as a result of increased migrant flows, and we are providing support for their response. As well as providing humanitarian assistance in Syria, the UK is providing interpreters in the Greek island hotspots and search and rescue operations in the Aegean, and we are taking part in a range of capacity-building projects with Turkey’s Directorate General of Migration Management. We are also working across government to explore where the UK can provide further support to improve the conditions for migrants, especially the most vulnerable.

    As I have said, the principal cause of the migration situation is the reckless and brutal nature of the Syrian regime and the Russian offensive in Idlib. The Syria conflict has been one of the most destructive in recent human history, and we want the war to end as quickly as possible. We very much welcome the recent ceasefire between Turkey and Russia, but it cannot stop there. We also continue to support efforts to renew political dialogue to bring a lasting end to the Syrian conflict. We support the constitutional committee in Geneva as a first step towards obtaining the peace that the Syrian people so desperately need, and we regret that those talks have broken down. The regime and its backers must now demonstrate commitment to resolving this conflict by engaging in good faith with the constitutional committee and with the UN’s efforts. Preventing a further worsening of the humanitarian crisis is imperative, and the UK will do all we can to support those in need, while pressing for an end to the Syrian conflict that has impacted so many around the world.

  • Michael Gove – 2020 Statement on the UK’s Future Relationship with the EU

    Michael Gove – 2020 Statement on the UK’s Future Relationship with the EU

    Below is the text of the statement made by Michael Gove, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, in the House of Commons on 9 March 2020.

    Negotiators from the UK and the EU met in Brussels on 2 to 5 March 2020 for the first round of negotiations on the UK-EU future relationship.

    The negotiations were formally launched by the UK’s chief negotiator, David Frost, and by the European Commission’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, in a plenary session on 2 March.​

    The substantive discussions then took place within 11 separate negotiating groups, as agreed between the parties and as set out in the terms of reference. The session closed with a further plenary on 5 March.

    Both sides presented their positions as set out in the EU mandate and in the document “The Future Relationship with the EU—The UK’s Approach to Negotiations” (CP211). The UK’s team made clear that on 1 January 2021 the UK would regain its economic and political independence in full, and that the future relationship would need to reflect that reality.

    Discussions in some areas identified a degree of common understanding of the ground that future talks could cover. In other areas, notably fisheries, governance and dispute settlement, and the so-called “level playing field”, there were, as expected, significant differences.

    The next negotiating round will take place on 18 to 20 March in London. The UK expects to table a number of legal texts, including a draft FTA, beforehand.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2020 Speech on the Coronavirus

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2020 Speech on the Coronavirus

    Below is the text of the speech made by Jonathan Ashworth, the Shadow Secretary of State for Health, in the House of Commons on 9 March 2020.

    Our thoughts are naturally with the loved ones who have sadly died of covid-19. Let me also record, again, our thanks and gratitude to our hard-working NHS and Public Health England staff.

    May I press the Secretary of State a little further? He will know that we have called repeatedly for an emergency funding package for our NHS, he will know that the NHS is short of 100,000 staff, and he will know that critical care beds were at 81% capacity during the week for which the latest figures are available. The Chancellor has said that the NHS will receive whatever it needs. Does the Secretary of State agree that in this Wednesday’s Budget we need to see significantly more resources for the NHS, not just rhetoric?

    Scaling up and freeing up capacity in the NHS is now urgent. What is being done to scale up intensive care beds in the NHS, what is being done to expand access to the oxygen and ventilation machines that will be needed, and what is the current capacity of extra corporeal membrane oxygenation beds? We welcome the distribution of personal protective equipment to NHS staff, but does the Secretary of State agree that GPs and social care staff also need access to that equipment?

    Those in receipt of social care are some of the most vulnerable, and could be affected extremely badly by this virus. Indeed, many who work in social care are low paid, and if they have to go on sick leave there are huge implications for the delivery of social care. What advice has been given to social care providers and, indeed, local authorities to ensure that the most vulnerable are protected, and what plans are in place to protect staff and increase the number in the social care sector?

    Public health directors are expected to play a leading role in local preparations. They need to make decisions about deploying staff—Public Health England, for example, has asked for staff to be seconded—yet they still do not know their public health allocations for the next financial year, which will start in three weeks’ time. We are begging the Secretary of State: please tell local directors of public health what their Budget is for this coming April.

    We are still officially in the containment stage. At some point, we presume, we will need to move into the delay stage, when we understand that social distancing measures will be necessary. Many of our constituents are now asking—and I think it would benefit the House if the Secretary of State could explain to them—why we are not yet considering more home working, whether we should be asking those over 65 to isolate themselves, whether we should be cancelling larger events, and whether those returning from northern Italy, for instance, should be quarantined. I think it would help our constituents if the Secretary of State ran through the medical advice, although I understand why he has made the decisions that he has made.

    Can the Secretary of State also confirm that once we move into the phase in which measures of this magnitude are proposed, he will come to the House, explain why that has happened, and allow Members to question him? ​He has hinted, or suggested, that we will need emergency legislation for the mitigation stage. As a responsible Opposition, we would like to sit down with him in order to understand the content of that legislation, because we want to work on a cross-party basis; but let me leave him in no doubt that we also want statutory sick pay for all from day one. Asking people to wait five weeks for universal credit is not a serious solution.

    Will the Secretary of State update the House on food supplies and the conversations that he has had with supermarkets? Can he reassure us that our constituents do not need to be panic-buying, as we saw people doing on social media in some parts of the country over the weekend? Finally, does he agree that whatever happens, we must find a way for Parliament to continue to hold Ministers to account so that we can ask questions on behalf of our constituents? However, we continue to offer to work constructively with the Government, because the public health interest and the safety of our constituents must always come first.

  • Rishi Sunak – 2020 Budget Speech

    Rishi Sunak – 2020 Budget Speech

    Below is the text of the Budget Speech made by Rishi Sunak in the House of Commons on 11 March 2020.

    Madam Deputy Speaker,

    I want to get straight to the issue most on everyone’s mind– coronavirus COVID19.

    I know how worried people are.

    Worried about their health, the health of their loved ones, their jobs, their income, their businesses, their financial security.

    And I know they get even more worried when they turn on their TVs and hear talk of markets collapsing and recessions coming.

    People want to know what’s happening, and what can be done to fix it.

    What everyone needs to know is that we are doing everything we can to keep this country, and our people, healthy and financially secure.

    We are clear that this is an issue above party.

    We will do right by you and your family and I know I will have the support of the whole House as I say that.

    This House has always stood ready to come together, put aside party politics, and act in the national interest.

    We have done so before and I know we will do so again.

    My RHF the PM, alongside officials and scientists, is leading the work on the public health response.

    Today, I want to set out our economic response so we bring stability and security.

    Let me say this: We will get through this – together.

    The British people may be worried, but they are not daunted.

    We will protect our country and our people.

    We will rise to this challenge.

    But let me also say:

    Yes, this virus is the key challenge facing our country today. But it is not the only challenge.

    We have just had an election where people voted for change.

    Change in our economy, change in our public services, change in the cost of living, change in our economic geography.

    This Budget delivers on that change.

    Yes, as we deal with coronavirus it is a Budget that provides security today.

    But it is also a plan for prosperity tomorrow.

    It is a Budget that delivers on our promises to the British people.

    It is a Budget of a Government that gets things done.

    Madam Deputy Speaker,

    Before I set out the details of our plan, let me first thank Members who’ve contributed to the discussions on how to respond to the coronavirus.

    Members from both sides of this House.

    Our economy is robust, our public finances are sound, our public services are well-prepared.

    My RHF the Health Secretary is working around the clock to protect the public’s health.

    And I will do whatever it takes to support the economy.

    First, let me explain the nature of the economic challenge and my overall strategy.

    The challenge is this:

    There is likely to be a temporary disruption to our economy.

    On the supply side, up to a fifth of the working age population could need to be off work at any one time.

    And business supply chains are being disrupted around the globe.

    This combination of people being unable to work…

    …and businesses being unable to access goods…

    …will mean that for a period our productive capacity will shrink.

    There will also be an impact on the demand side of the economy, through a reduction in consumer spending.

    The combination of those effects will have a significant impact on the UK economy.

    But it will be temporary.

    People will return to work.

    Supply chains will return to normal.

    Life will return to normal.

    For a period, it’s going to be tough.

    But I’m confident that our economic performance will recover.

    So given this analysis of the situation, let me set out our strategy to deal with it.

    We can’t avoid a fall in demand, because the primary driver of that reduction in consumption…

    …the primary reason people are not spending as normal…

    …is because they’re following Doctors’ orders to stay at home.

    So, the right immediate policy response is to provide security and support for those who get sick or can’t work through funding our public services, and a strengthened safety net.

    And on the supply side, the right response is to provide a bridge for businesses, to ensure that what is a temporary impact on our productive capacity does not become permanent.

    In other words, our response will be temporary, timely and targeted.

    This is the right response – and at the right time.

    That response is clearly and closely coordinated with the Bank of England.

    The Governor and I have been in constant communication about the evolving situation…

    …and our responses have been carefully designed to be complementary and to have maximum impact, consistent with our independent responsibilities.

    The Governor set out this morning the actions that the Bank will take to help UK businesses and households bridge across the likely economic disruption:

    A 50 basis point reduction to interest rates, to support business and consumer confidence;

    The introduction of an SME Term Funding Scheme, to help reinforce the transmission of the reduction in Bank Rate to the real economy;

    And they have released the counter-cyclical buffer, to further support the ability of banks to supply credit.

    The Government’s response will use fiscal action to support: public services, households and business.

    Together, we are taking action that is coordinated, coherent and comprehensive.

    Let me now set out our three-point plan.

    First, whatever extra resources our NHS needs to cope with coronavirus – it will get.

    So, whether its research for a vaccine, recruiting thousands of returning staff, or supporting our brilliant Doctors and Nurses…

    …whether its millions of pounds or billions of pounds…

    …whatever it needs, whatever it costs, we stand behind our NHS.

    Second, during this immediate crisis, if people fall ill or can’t work, we’ll support their finances.

    We’ll make sure that our safety net remains strong enough to fall back on.

    My RHF the Prime Minister has already announced that Statutory Sick Pay will be paid from day one, rather than day four.

    Today, with the assistance of My RHF, the Work and Pensions Secretary, I can go further.

    Statutory sick pay will also be available for all those who are advised to self-isolate – even if they haven’t yet presented with symptoms.

    And rather than having to go to the Doctors you will soon be able to obtain a sick note by contacting 111.

    But of course, not everyone is eligible for Statutory Sick Pay.

    There are millions of people working hard, who are self-employed or in the gig economy.

    They will need our help too.

    So to support them, during this period, we’ll make it quicker and easier to access benefits:

    Those on Contributory Employment and Support Allowance will be able to claim from day 1 instead of day 8;

    To make sure that time spent off work due to sickness is reflected in your benefits, I’m also temporarily removing the minimum income floor in Universal Credit;

    And I’m relaxing the requirement for anyone to physically attend a jobcentre; everything can be done by phone or online.

    Taken together, these measures on ESA and Universal Credit, provide a boost of almost £0.5bn to our welfare system.

    To further support our people, I am also creating a £500m Hardship Fund, distributed to Local Authorities…

    …who will be able to use that fund to directly support vulnerable people in their local area.

    So, in total, that’s a £1bn commitment to support the financial security of our people.

    But, Madam Deputy Speaker, the best way to support people is to protect their jobs.

    And we do that by supporting our businesses – the third part of our plan.

    The measures I’ve announced today on Statutory Sick Pay are crucial to support those who need to take time off work – but that cost would be borne by business.

    And if we expect 20% of the workforce to be unable to work at any one time, the cumulative cost would hit our small and medium sized businesses hard.

    So, in recognition of these exceptional circumstances, today I am taking a significant step.

    For businesses with fewer than 250 employees…

    …I have decided that the cost of providing Statutory Sick Pay to any employee off work due to coronavirus…

    …will, for up to 14 days, be refunded by the Government in full.

    That could provide over £2bn for up to 2 million businesses.

    This will significantly ease the burden on businesses, but we can do more.

    I have asked HMRC to scale up the Time To Pay service, allowing businesses and the self-employed to defer tax payments over an agreed period of time.

    Starting today, there will be a dedicated helpline with 2,000 staff standing ready to help.

    Although Time to Pay is important, it will still be the case that some good, well-run businesses will face problems with their cash flow.

    They may struggle to pay people’s salaries, pay their bills, or buy new stock.

    They will need loans to get through this period.

    So, today, I am announcing a new, temporary Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme.

    Banks will offer loans of up to £1.2m to support small and medium sized businesses.

    The government will offer a generous guarantee on those loans, covering up to 80% of losses, with no fees, so that banks can lend with confidence.

    This will unlock up to £1bn of attractive working capital loans to support small businesses, with more as needed.

    Taken together, I expect the combination of these measures to protect the vast majority of businesses through the worst of the crisis.

    But I have two other measures that will use the tax system to support businesses through this.

    Our manifesto promised that for shops, cinemas, restaurants, and music venues…

    …with a rateable value of less than £51,000…

    …we would increase their business rates Retail Discount to 50%.

    Today I can go further, and take the exceptional step, for this coming year, of abolishing their business rates altogether.

    But there are tens of thousands of other businesses in the leisure and hospitality sectors, currently not covered by this policy.

    Museums, art galleries, and theatres;

    Caravan parks and gyms;

    Small hotels and B&Bs; sports clubs, night clubs; club houses, guest houses.

    They would not benefit from today’s measure – but they could be some of the hardest-hit.

    So for this year I have decided to extend the 100% retail discount to them as well.

    That means any eligible retail, leisure or hospitality business with a rateable value below £51,000 will, over the next financial year, pay no business rates whatsoever.

    That is a tax cut worth over £1bn, saving each business up to £25,000.

    And it means, over the next twelve months, nearly half of all business properties in England will not pay a penny of business rates.

    I’m also launching today a fundamental review, to be concluded at the Autumn Budget, into the long-term future of business rates.

    But even with the temporary extension of the retail discount to the leisure and hospitality sectors…

    …many of our smallest businesses already pay no business rates, so would not benefit from this policy.

    So to support them to manage their fixed costs, I am going to go a step further.

    I am providing, to any business currently eligible for the small business rates relief, a £3,000 cash grant per business.

    This is a £2bn cash injection direct to 700,000 of our smallest businesses.

    Let me summarise for the House the fiscal impact of our immediate response to coronavirus.

    Taken together, the extraordinary measures I have set out today represent £7bn to support the self-employed, businesses and vulnerable people.

    To support the NHS and other public services, I am also setting aside a £5bn emergency response fund – and will go further if necessary.

    Those measures are on top of plans that I will set out later in this Budget, which provide an additional fiscal loosening of £18bn to support the economy this year.

    That means I am announcing today, in total, a £30bn fiscal stimulus to support British people, British jobs and British businesses through this moment.

    And, of course, if further action is needed as the situation evolves – I hope the whole House knows, I will not hesitate to act.

    I believe this represents one of the most comprehensive economic responses of any government anywhere in the world, to date.

    The Governor of the Bank of England and I are in close contact with our counterparts, around the world, in the G7 and the G20.

    And to support the global response, I’m also making new funding of £150m available for the IMF’s relief efforts.

    Madam Deputy Speaker,

    Coronavirus will have a significant impact on our economy – but it will be temporary.

    I will do whatever it takes to get our nation through it. I’m acting today with a multi-billion-pound commitment:

    More money for our NHS.

    More generous Sick Pay.

    Faster access to benefits if you’re self-employed.

    Extra local support for the most vulnerable.

    Tax cuts, loans and grants for businesses to protect people’s jobs.

    Comprehensive action, and if more action is needed, I will take it. And I know all Members of the House will want to give this plan their full support.

    Madam Deputy Speaker,

    Before I turn to the economic forecasts, I hope the House will join me in thanking the Office for Budget Responsibility – and Robert Chote, in particular.

    After ten years, this is his last Budget in charge.

    He’s led the OBR with dedication and integrity – and established that institution as one that is respected around the world.

    Madam Deputy Speaker,

    Let me now turn to the growth forecasts.

    Since the OBR closed their forecast, it has become clear that the spread of coronavirus will have a significant impact on our economy in the coming quarters.

    But given the nature of the shock is temporary, I still want to set out for the House the OBR’s judgement on the economy over the medium term.

    Even before coronavirus hit, we were facing a slowing world economy.

    There has been, across developed economies, including here in the UK a decade-long slowdown in productivity.

    This, combined with the political uncertainty over the last three years…

    …which affected business investment in particular…

    …has led the OBR to downgrade our productivity over the forecast period…

    …and to slightly reduce GDP growth, compared to the March 2019 forecast.

    But while the world may slowdown, we will act here with a response that is brave and bold, taking decisions now for our future prosperity.

    We are investing in world class infrastructure, and to lead the world in the industries and technologies of the future.

    The central judgement I’m making today is to fund an additional £175bn over the next five years for our future prosperity.

    The OBR have said that, as a direct result of the plans I’m announcing, growth over the next two years will be 0.5 percentage points higher than it otherwise would have been.

    For the benefit of the House, the GDP forecast without fully accounting for the impact of coronavirus would have led to growth of 1.1% in 2020 and 1.8% in 2021, then 1.5%, 1.3%, and 1.4% in the following years.

    And today the OBR have made an estimate they’ve never made before.

    They have said, in their words, that today’s “large planned increase in public investment should boost potential output too”.

    If future Governments have the same determination to continue our approach, the UK’s long-term productivity will increase by 2.5%.

    The OBR have confidence in the long-term future of our economy – and so do I.

    Madam Deputy Speaker,

    More investment and higher growth mean more jobs and higher wages.

    We already have more people working in our economy than ever before.

    Women’s employment is at a record high.

    And since 2010, full time weekly wages have grown faster in every region and nation of the UK than they have in London.

    The OBR expect half a million more people will be in work by 2025.

    Wages are expected to grow in real terms in every year of the forecast period.

    The story of this government has been the story of a national jobs miracle.

    And, Madam Deputy Speaker, given the last few weeks I’ve had, I’m all in favour of jobs miracles.

    On inflation, the OBR forecast 1.4% this year, increasing to 1.8% next year and then, for the rest of the forecast period, remaining on or around target.

    And I’m sure the whole House will join me in taking this opportunity to thank Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England for his 7 years of dedicated public service.

    We congratulate him on his new role as Finance Adviser for COP26.

    And welcome his successor Andrew Bailey, who takes up his post on Monday.

    [FISCAL STRATEGY]

    Madam Deputy Speaker,

    Let me turn now to the fiscal forecasts.

    The economic impacts of coronavirus remind us of the importance of fiscal responsibility.

    Our public finances are strong, with the deficit down from 10% in 2010 to less than 2% last year.

    Our economy is well-prepared for the future and it is well-prepared because of 10 years of Conservative-led Governments and Conservative Chancellors.

    But it’s important that we update our fiscal framework to remain at the leading edge of international best practice.

    Our economic security depends on maintaining the following principles:

    Low and stable inflation delivering price stability;

    Fiscal sustainability;

    And independent, effective institutions – like the Bank of England and the OBR.

    These features of our framework will always be protected.

    But there is a live global debate about what our low interest rate environment means for fiscal strategy…

    …about the case for fiscal policy to play a more active role in stabilising the economy …

    …and about the best ways to measure productivity-enhancing investment in the economy, such as human capital, or measuring value on the public balance sheet.

    So I want to take time to consider these questions over the coming months…

    …so that our fiscal framework allows us to make the right long-term decisions for our economic security and prosperity.

    I will review the fiscal framework, consulting widely with a range of experts.

    And will report back in the autumn, if I conclude that any changes are necessary,.

    But at the same time, credibility comes as much from what we do as what we say.

    We were elected on a manifesto that promised to meet a specific set of fiscal rules.

    Today’s Budget is about delivering our promises.

    That’s why, despite the speculation, today’s Budget…

    …is delivered not just within the fiscal rules in our manifesto, but with room to spare.

    And I’m setting the amount that government will spend for the rest of this Parliament within those rules as well.

    Today the OBR report a current budget surplus in every one of the next five years.

    And in the target year of 2022-23, we have fiscal space of nearly £12bn.

    The OBR forecast that borrowing will increase slightly from 2.1% of GDP in 2019-20 to 2.4% in 2020-21 and 2.8% in 2021-22.

    It falls to 2.5%, 2.4% and 2.2% in the following years.

    And the OBR forecast that headline debt will be lower at the end of the Parliament than it is today, falling from 79.5% this year to 75.2% in 2024-25.

    I’m sure the House will understand that given how urgently we’ve developed our economic response to the coronavirus…

    …that package of measures have not yet been captured in the fiscal forecasts, and nor have the fiscal impacts of the Bank’s actions.

    But the House will also note that the target year for our current budget fiscal rule is not until 2022-23.

    So even within our current framework, I have the flexibility to act as required over the next two years.

    Madam Deputy Speaker,

    As we enter a period of challenge, we start from a position of strength.

    The economy growing.

    More jobs.

    Higher wages.

    Stable inflation.

    Sound public finances.

    We promised to manage our economy responsibly – we’re getting it done.

    Madam Deputy Speaker,

    This Budget responds, at scale, to the immediate threat of Coronavirus.

    And it reports on an economy whose foundations are strong.

    It is a Budget that provides for security today.

    But let me now outline our Plan for Prosperity tomorrow.

    This is the first Budget of a new decade.

    The first in almost fifty years outside the European Union.

    And the first of this new government.

    At the election, we said we needed to be one nation.

    While talent is evenly spread, opportunity is not – we need to fix that.

    This is a Budget that will deliver on our promises to the British people.

    And it is the Budget of a Government that gets things done.

    We promised to get Brexit done, and we got it done.

    We promised to let hard working families keep more of what they earn.

    This Budget gets it done.

    We promised to back our businesses to innovate, invest and trade.

    This Budget gets it done.

    We promised to invest in science and research.

    This Budget gets it done.

    We promised to deliver green growth and protect our environment.

    This Budget gets it done.

    We promised to level up, with new roads, railways, broadband and homes.

    This Budget gets it done.

    And, yes, we promised record funding for our NHS and public services.

    This Budget gets it done.

    This Government delivers on its promises and gets things done.

    Madam Deputy Speaker,

    Our plan for prosperity starts immediately by putting more money in people’s pockets.

    It was a Conservative Government that in 2016 introduced the National Living Wage, giving Britain’s lowest paid workers the biggest pay rise in 20 years.

    And in just three weeks’ time, around 2 million workers will see their wage rise again by 6.2% – for a full-time worker, that’s a pay rise of almost £1,000.

    That is the biggest cash increase ever.

    But we’ve promised to go further.

    Today we’re publishing a new Remit for the independent Low Pay Commission.

    They now have a formal target that, as long as economic conditions allow, by 2024 the National Living Wage will reach two-thirds of median earnings.

    On current forecasts, that means a living wage of over £10.50 an hour.

    We promised to end low pay – we’re getting it done.

    And as people earn more – we’ll also cut taxes on their wages.

    I am increasing, in just four weeks’ time, the National Insurance threshold from £8,632 to £9,500.

    That’s a tax cut for 31 million people, saving a typical employee over £100.

    And taken together, our changes to the National Living Wage, income tax, and now National Insurance…

    …mean that someone working full time on the minimum wage will be more than £5,200 better off than in 2010.

    The Conservatives are the real workers’ party.

    I can also confirm, now we’ve left the EU, that I will abolish the tampon tax.

    From January next year, there will be no VAT whatsoever on women’s sanitary products.

    And I congratulate all the Members and RH Members who campaigned for this, including the former Member for Dewsbury, who led the charge.

    Let me turn now to duties.

    Scotch whisky is a crucial industry – and our largest food and drink export.

    My Scottish Conservative colleagues, including My HF the Member for Moray, have highlighted to me the impact that the recent US tariffs are having.

    We will continue to lobby the US government to remove this harmful tariff.

    In the meantime, I’m announcing today £1m of support for promoting Scottish food and drink overseas and £10m of new R&D funding to help distilleries go green.

    And to further support the industry I can also announce that this year the planned increase in spirits duty will be cancelled.

    Madam Deputy Speaker,

    Pubs are at the centre of community life.

    But too many have closed over the last decade.

    We’re already promised to introduce a business rates ‘pub discount’, of £1,000, for small pubs.

    But I’ve heard calls from many Honourable and Right Honourable Members, including My HF the Member for Dudley South, that we need to do more…

    …especially given the possible impact of coronavirus on pubs.

    So today I can announce that, exceptionally, for this year, the business rates discount for pubs will not be £1,000 – it will be £5,000.

    And I’m also pleased to announce that the planned rise in beer duty will also be cancelled.

    And because of decisions I’ve taken elsewhere in the Budget, I am also freezing duties for cider and wine drinkers as well.

    For only the second time in almost twenty years, that’s every single one of our alcohol duties frozen.

    Madam Deputy Speaker,

    I have heard representations that after nine years of being frozen, at a cost of £110bn to the taxpayer, we can no longer afford to freeze fuel duty.

    I’m certainly mindful of the fiscal cost and the environmental impacts.

    But I’m taking considerable steps in this Budget to incentivise cleaner forms of transport.

    And many people still rely on their cars.

    So I’m pleased to announce today that for another year fuel duty will remain frozen.

    Compared to pre-2010 plans, that’s a saving of £1,200.

    Madam Deputy Speaker,

    Wages – up.

    National insurance – cut.

    The tampon tax – abolished.

    Spirits duty – frozen.

    Beer duty – frozen.

    Wine and cider duty – frozen.

    Fuel duty – frozen.

    We promised to cut taxes and the cost of living – and we got it done.

    [BUSINESS]

    Madam Deputy Speaker,

    As Conservatives, we know that to put more money in people’s pockets, we need a thriving private sector.

    That is what drives growth, that is what creates jobs, that is what lifts living standards.

    So the second part of our plan for prosperity is to unleash the power of business.

    Businesses need support to start up, grow and export.

    So today, I provide:

    £130m of new funding to extend Start-up Loans;

    £200m for the British Business Bank to invest in scale-ups;

    Another £200m for life sciences;

    More money for Growth Hubs;

    21 cities with British Library business support;

    £5bn of new export loans for businesses;

    And dedicated trade envoys representing the North, the Midlands, Wales and the West of England in embassies around the world.

    Madam Deputy Speaker, businesses also need a fair tax system.

    We were elected on a manifesto that promised to review and reform Entrepreneurs’ Relief.

    I’ve now completed that review – and here’s what we’re going to do.

    Entrepreneurs’ relief is:

    Expensive – at a cost of over £2bn a year.

    Ineffective – with less than 1 in 10 claimants saying the relief has been an incentive to set up a business.

    And unfair – with nearly three quarters of the cost going to just 5,000 individuals.

    Just because it is called Entrepreneurs’ Relief doesn’t mean that it’s entrepreneurs who mainly benefit.

    For all these reasons, I have heard representations that I should completely abolish it.

    The Institute for Fiscal Studies have criticised it.

    The Resolution Foundation called it “the UK’s worst tax break”.

    I’m sympathetic to that argument.

    But at the same time, we shouldn’t discourage those genuine entrepreneurs who do rely on the relief.

    We need more risk-taking and creativity in this country, not less.

    So I have decided not to fully abolish Entrepreneurs’ Relief today.

    Instead, I will do what the Federation of Small Businesses called “a sensible reform” and reduce the lifetime limit from £10m to £1m.

    80% of small business owners are unaffected by today’s changes.

    Those reforms save £6bn over the next five years – and I’m giving most of that money straight back to business through three additional measures.

    The Research and Development Expenditure credit will be increased from 12 to 13% – a tax cut worth £2,400 on a typical R&D claim.

    The Structures and Buildings Allowance will be increased from 2 to 3%, giving an extra £100,000 of relief if you’re investing in a building worth £10m.

    And, to cut taxes on employment, I will deliver our promise to increase the Employment Allowance by a third to £4,000.

    That’s a tax cut this April for nearly half a million small businesses.

    Another step towards the dynamic, low tax economy we want to see.

    Madam Deputy Speaker – we promised to cut taxes on business – we’re getting it done.

    Madam Deputy Speaker, to help our businesses lead the next generation of high productivity industries…

    …we also need to invest now in the technologies of the future.

    We are the country of Newton, Hodgkin and Turing – ours is a history filled with ideas, invention and discovery.

    And it is truly a national history.

    The first steam railway ran between Stockton and Darlington.

    The first television was invented by a Scot.

    A Welshman invented the first hydrogen fuel cell.

    And Jocelyn Bell Burnell, born in Northern Ireland, discovered the first radio pulsars.

    To compete and succeed over the next decade and beyond, we need to recapture that spirit.

    So, the third part of our Plan for Prosperity is to invest in ideas.

    Madam Deputy Speaker, in our manifesto we made a promise to double investment in research and development to £18bn.

    I will not be doing this today.

    Instead, I will increase investment in R&D to £22bn a year.

    That is the fastest and the largest increase in R&D spend ever.

    As a percentage of GDP, it will be the highest in nearly forty years – higher than the US, China, France and Japan.

    And a major step towards our target of increasing public and private investment in R&D to 2.4% of GDP.

    We won’t wait to get started – next year, funding will grow by 15%, the fastest year-on-year growth on record.

    Detailed allocations of our new investment in ideas will be set out at the Spending Review.

    But I can make some announcements today.

    I’m investing £1.4bn in our world-leading science institute at Weybridge, where, as we speak, they’re working to analyse samples of Coronavirus.

    To secure our leadership in the technologies of the future, I’m investing over £900m in nuclear fusion, space and electric vehicles.

    And as we invest in ideas, we’re also changing the way we fund science in this country.

    I can confirm that we will invest at least £800m in a new blues-skies funding agency here in the UK…

    …modelled on the extraordinary ‘ARPA’ in the US.

    And as we invest in ideas, we’re also changing where we fund science in this country.

    Today, 50% of R&D funding goes to London, the East and the South East of England.

    We’re investing £400m incremental funding into high quality research, with much of that funding going to brilliant universities around the country.

    We promised to make this country one of the scientific and research centres of the world – we’re getting it done.

    Madam Deputy Speaker,

    There can be no lasting prosperity for our people, if we do not protect our planet.

    So the fourth part of our Plan for Prosperity, is:

    To create the high skill, high wage, low carbon jobs of the future.

    To level up, with completely new industries in our regions and nations.

    To raise our productivity and lift our quality of life even as we cut our emissions.

    The Treasury’s Net Zero Review will set out the Government’s strategic choices ahead of COP26 later this year.

    Today’s Budget takes the first steps.

    First, we will increase taxes on pollution.

    Electricity is now a cleaner energy form than gas – but our Climate Change Levy, paid by companies, taxes electricity at a higher rate.

    So as another step towards equalising the rates and encouraging energy efficiency, from April 2022 I’m freezing the levy on electricity and raising it on gas.

    I will support the most energy-intensive industries to transition to Net Zero, by extending the Climate Change Agreements scheme for a further two years.

    To tackle the scourge of plastic waste, we will deliver our manifesto promise to introduce a new Plastics Packaging Tax.

    From April 2022, we will charge manufacturers and importers £200 / tonne on packaging made of less than 30% recycled plastic.

    That will increase the use of recycled plastic in packaging by 40% – equal to carbon savings of nearly 200,000 tonnes.

    Let me now turn to Red Diesel.

    The Red Diesel scheme allows selected users to pay duty of just over 11p per litre for diesel, compared to almost 58p per litre for everyone else.

    But the sectors using red diesel are some of the biggest contributors to our air quality problem – emitting nearly 10% of the most noxious gases polluting the air of cities like London.

    This is a tax relief on nearly 14 million tonnes of Carbon Dioxide every year…

    …the same as the entire population of London and Greater Manchester taking a return flight to New York.

    It’s been a £2.4bn tax break for pollution that’s also hindered the development of cleaner alternatives.

    So I will abolish the tax relief for most sectors.

    That’s the right thing to do – but I recognise it will be a big change for some industries.

    So firstly, this change will not take effect for two years – giving businesses time to prepare.

    Secondly, I have heard the concerns about agriculture, particularly from the NFU, and [rural colleagues] including My RHF the Member for Sherwood…

    …so I have decided that agriculture will retain the relief.

    I’ll also keep the relief for rail, for domestic heating, and there will be no impact on fishing.

    We’ll consult over the summer with other sectors.

    And thirdly, to help develop cleaner alternatives to red diesel and other fossil fuels, we will more than double R&D investment in the energy innovation programme to £1bn.

    As well as taxing pollution – we will invest and cut taxes on clean transport.

    We’re introducing a comprehensive package of tax and spend reforms to make it cheaper to buy zero or low emissions cars, vans, motorbikes and taxis;

    We’re investing £300m in tackling nitrogen dioxide emissions in towns and cities across England;

    And we’re investing £500m to support the rollout of new rapid charging hubs, so that drivers are never more than 30 miles away from being able to charge up their car.

    Taken together, this Budget invests £1bn in green transport solutions.

    Madam Deputy Speaker,

    Many Members around this House will have seen the devastating impact of the recent floods on homes and businesses in their own constituencies…

    …and particularly the HM for Barnsley East, my HFs the Members for Calder Valley, and Telford, and My RHF the Member for Ludlow.

    I can announce today that I’m making £120m available immediately to repair defences damaged in the winter floods.

    To support those areas that have been repeatedly flooded, I’m providing £200m of funding directly to local communities to build flood resilience.

    And to protect people and over 300,000 properties, I’m doubling our investment in flood defences over the next six years to £5.2bn.

    Madam Deputy Speaker,

    We’re also supporting natural habitats like woodlands and peat bogs.

    I can confirm today that to protect, restore and expand these wonderful habitats – and capture carbon – we will provide £640m for a new Nature for Climate Fund.

    Over the next five years, we will plant around 30,000 hectares of trees – that’s a forest larger than Birmingham – and restore 35,000 hectares of peatland.

    This Government intends to be the first in history to leave our natural environment in a better state than we found it.

    Madam Deputy Speaker,

    I can make one further announcement on green growth.

    Carbon Capture and Storage is precisely the kind of exciting technology where Britain can lead the world over the next decade.

    I can announce today that we will invest at least £800m to establish two or more new Carbon Capture and Storage clusters by 2030.

    Once up and running, these clusters will store millions of tons of carbon dioxide that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere.

    The new clusters will create up to 6,000 high skill, high wage, low carbon jobs in areas like Teesside, Humberside, Merseyside or St Fergus in Scotland.

    It’s levelling up in action.

    Madam Deputy Speaker – green jobs; better flood defences; cheaper electric vehicles; innovative new technologies.

    We promised to protect our environment – we’re getting it done.

    Madam Deputy Speaker,

    We as a party know that talent is evenly spread in this country, but opportunity is not. We have to put that right.
    We need to build the infrastructure that will lay the foundations for a new century of prosperity. We need to grab the opportunity to upgrade, to improve, to enhance, to level up.

    That starts today with the next part of our plan – as we get Britain building.

    Madam Deputy Speaker,

    Over the next five years, we will invest more than £600bn pounds in our future prosperity.

    Public net investment will, in real terms, be the highest it has been since 1955.

    Take the average amount we’ve invested over the last forty years in real terms – we’re tripling it.

    Capital budgets in 2024-25 alone will reach over £110bn.

    I will set out the detailed capital allocations at the Spending Review – but I’m taking three major steps today.

    First, we’re going to change the whole mindset of Government.

    To make sure economic decision-making reflects the economic geography of the country…

    …we’re reviewing the Treasury’s Green Book…

    …we’ll have Treasury offices in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland…

    …and I can announce today that we’re also opening a new economic campus in the North…

    …with over 750 staff from the Treasury, and the departments for business, local government and trade.

    And we won’t stop there – our ultimate ambition is to move 22,000 civil servants outside central London.

    Second, because of this changed mindset, we’ll invest more in our nations, cities and towns.

    Today’s Budget provides an extra £640m for the Scottish Government, £360m for the Welsh Government, and £210m for the Northern Ireland Executive.

    I’m announcing £242m of funding for new City and Growth Deals, taking our investment in these deals to more than £2.7bn.

    We’ve agreed today a new devolution deal in West Yorkshire, with a directly-elected Mayor for the region.

    And to make sure that it isn’t just Londoners who benefit from the kind of long-term transport deal that helped TfL…

    …I’m announcing today that the new West Yorkshire Mayor will, along with seven other Metro Mayors…

    …get new, London-style funding settlements, worth £4.2bn.

    These settlements are in addition to the Transforming Cities Fund, which will invest over a billion pounds in local transport in 12 further cities, including Stoke, Preston, Derby and Nottingham, and Southampton.

    Third, we’re going to build broadband, railway, roads – if the country needs it, we will build it.

    Today’s Budget provides £5bn to get gigabit-capable broadband into the hardest to reach places.

    And £510m of new investment into the shared rural mobile phone network…

    …which means that in the next five years 4G coverage will reach 95% of the country.

    And let me thank My RHF the Culture Secretary, who will get this done.

    We’re also going to build better railways:

    With spades going in the ground on HS2…

    …our commitment to fund the Manchester-Leeds leg of the Northern Powerhouse Rail…

    … funding today for a new station at Cambridge South and the Midlands Rail Hub…

    …Darlington station moving to the next stage of development and approval…

    …and funding to make a dozen train stations more accessible.

    And there’s more money for our roads too.

    Today, I’m announcing the biggest ever investment in strategic roads and motorway – over £27bn of tarmac.

    That will pay for work on over 20 connections to ports and airports, over 100 junctions, 4,000 miles of road.

    I’m announcing new investment in local roads, alongside a new £2.5bn pothole fund – that’s £500m every single year; enough to fill, by the end of the Parliament, 50 million potholes.

    The details of all the road schemes I’m funding will be published later today – and I thank my RHF the Transport Secretary for his efforts.

    Our ambition is truly national.

    The A417 in the South West.

    The A428 in the East.

    The A46 in the Midlands.

    Unclogging Manchester’s arteries.

    Freeing the traffic north of Newcastle.

    And, something my North and Mid Wales colleagues will be particularly pleased to hear…

    …we’re protecting beautiful villages in the Welsh Borders, as we finally build the Pant-Llanymynech bypass.

    We promised to get Britain moving – and we’re getting it done.

    And there’s one more road I want to mention.

    It’s one of our most important regional arteries.

    It is one of those totemic projects symbolising delay and obstruction.

    Governments have been trying to fix it since the 1980s.

    Every year, millions of cars crawl along it in traffic.

    Ruining the backdrop to one of our most important historic landmarks.

    To the many H & RHMs who have campaigned for this moment – I say this:

    The A303 – this government’s going to get it done.

    Madam Deputy Speaker,

    Today we’ve announced the biggest programme of public investment ever.

    £27bn for strategic roads this Parliament.

    Funding to fill 50m potholes.

    New railways and stations.

    £5bn for broadband.

    A new Mayor for West Yorkshire.

    Investment in every region and nation of the United Kingdom.

    We promised to get Britain building – this Budget is getting it done.

    Madam Deputy Speaker,

    Only by having a plan for prosperity will we grow the economy.

    Only by having a growing economy can we invest in our public services.

    And only by investing in our public services, the people’s priority, can we send a clear message to those who rely on them:

    You are our priority.

    Our public services are the one of the most important tools by which we, the government, can level up and spread opportunity…

    …so that no matter who you are or where you were born, you’ll have every chance to succeed in our modern dynamic economy.

    That starts with education.

    We’ve already provided schools with a three-year settlement worth over £7 billion by 2022.

    My RHF the Education Secretary is taking forward our plans to increase per pupil funding next year by an average of over 4%.

    Today, I’m providing every region in the country with funding for specialist 16-19 maths schools…

    …£25,000 per year, on average, for each secondary school to invest in arts activities…

    …and £30m a year to improve PE teaching…

    …along with £8m for the Football Foundation’s scheme to build new pitches for around 300,000 people to play on.

    And to support families, I’m providing £2.5m to fund research into how best to integrate family services, including family hubs, championed by My HF the Member for Congleton.

    Next, I’d like to take the opportunity to pay tribute to my predecessor and friend, the RH Member for Bromsgrove.

    One of the issues he is most passionate about is levelling up further education.

    At the Spending Round, he increased funding for 16-19 education by £400m.

    Today I can secure his legacy, with £1.5bn of new capital over five years to dramatically improve the condition of the FE college estate.

    My predecessor wanted to level up FE – Saj, we’re getting it done.

    Madam Deputy Speaker, I have one final education announcement.

    I’ve talked today about Britain being the country of scientists, inventors and engineers.

    But we’re also the country of Shakespeare, Austen and Dahl.

    Our greatest export to the world is our language.

    Our greatest asset is the free exchange of ideas and debate.

    And our greatest responsibility is the education of our people.

    A world-class education will help the next generation to thrive.

    Nothing could be more fundamental to that than reading.

    And yet digital publications are subject to VAT.

    That can’t be right.

    So today I am abolishing the reading tax.

    From 1st Dec, just in time for Christmas, books, newspapers, magazines or academic journals, however they are read, will have no VAT charge whatsoever.

    There will be no VAT on historical fiction by Hilary Mantel, manuals and textbooks like “Gray’s Anatomy”, or, indeed, works of fantasy like John McDonnell’s “Economics for the Many”. The irony is, it sold so few, it is literally his own little-read book.

    Madam Deputy Speaker,

    Our second priority is to make sure people have affordable and safe housing.

    Today I can make good our promise to extend the Affordable Homes Programme with a new, multi-year settlement of £12 billion.

    This will be the largest cash investment in affordable housing in a decade.

    To support Local Authorities to invest in their communities, I’m cutting interest rates on lending for social housing by 1 percentage point…

    …making available more than £1bn of discounted loans for local infrastructure…

    …and consulting on the future of the Public Works Loan Board.

    I’m confirming nearly £1.1bn of allocations from the Housing Infrastructure Fund…

    …to build nearly 70,000 new homes in high demand areas across the country…

    …a new £400m Fund for ambitious Mayors like Andy Street in the West Midlands, to build on Brownfield sites…

    …and tomorrow, my RHF the Housing Secretary will set out for the House comprehensive reforms to bring the planning system into the 21st century.

    But the housing challenge is most acutely felt by those with no home at all.

    So today I’m confirming nearly £650m of funding to help rough sleepers into permanent accommodation.

    That will buy up to 6,000 new places for people to live…

    …enable a step change in support services…

    …and help us meet our promise to end rough sleeping in this Parliament.

    And to fund those rough sleeping measures…

    …I’m confirming today that our manifesto promise to introduce a new stamp duty surcharge for non-UK residents…

    …will be introduced at a rate of 2% from April 2021.

    Madam Deputy Speaker,

    I have one further measure to announce on housing.

    Two and a half years on, we’re still grappling with the tragic legacy of Grenfell.

    Last year, we allocated £600m to remove unsafe Aluminium Composite Material (or ACM) from high rise residential buildings.

    Today I go further.

    Expert advice is clear that new public funding must concentrate on removing unsafe materials from high rise residential buildings.

    So, today, I am creating a new Building Safety Fund worth £1 billion.

    That is what the independent experts have called for.

    That is what the Select Committee has called for.

    That is even what the Opposition have called for.

    That new fund will go beyond dealing with Aluminium Composite Material to make sure that all unsafe combustible cladding will be removed…

    …from every private and social residential building above 18 metres high.

    And My RHF the Housing Secretary will spearhead our efforts to make sure developers and building owners do their fair share as well.

    Madam Deputy Speaker,

    There is no more cherished public service than our NHS.

    Whatever resources the NHS needs to deal with coronavirus – it will get.

    We all benefit from a thriving health service – so it is right that we ask everyone to contribute.

    Business benefits from our NHS.

    So, as promised in our manifesto, the Corporation Tax rate will not be cut this year, but will remain at 19% – still the lowest rate in the G20.

    Migrants benefit from our NHS.

    And we all want them to do so – but it’s right that what people get out, they also put in.

    There is a surcharge already, but it doesn’t properly reflect the benefits people receive.

    So, as we promised in our manifesto, we are increasing the Immigration Health Surcharge to £624, with a discounted rate for children.

    To raise further funds for the NHS, I’m announcing a package of measures today to clamp down on aggressive tax avoidance, evasion and non-compliance…

    …including extra funding for HMRC to secure £4.4bn of additional revenue.

    And those extra contributions allow me to take three further steps to support our health services.

    First, mental health support can be critical for many people – and particularly for our veterans.

    Thanks to the campaigning from My HF the Member for Wolverhampton South West, and My RHF the Member for Harwich and North Essex…

    …I will be supporting veterans’ with mental health needs with a £10m donation to the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust…

    …and I’m also confirming today that, to encourage employers to offer veterans work, we’ll introduce a new National Insurance relief.

    Second, I’ve listened to concerns, from all sides of this House, that the pensions tax system is preventing Doctors from taking on more hours.

    To significantly reduce the number of people that the tapered annual allowance affects…

    …I’m increasing both taper thresholds by £90,000, removing anyone with income below £200,000.

    Based on their vital work for the NHS, that will take around 98% of consultants and 96% of GPs out of the taper altogether.

    At the same time, I’m reducing the minimum annual allowance to £4,000 – which will only impact those with incomes above £300,000.

    This is a £2bn commitment that supports our hardworking Doctors.

    Let me turn now to the overall funding settlement for the NHS.

    We’ve already provided the NHS with a record funding increase.

    £34bn over five years – the biggest cash increase in public services since the Second World War.

    Today I can go further.

    I can announce over £6bn of new funding in this Parliament to support the NHS.

    That new money will deliver:

    50,000 more nurses.

    50 million more GP surgery appointments.

    And work starting on 40 new hospitals.

    And you heard that right, 40 new hospitals.

    We promised to back our NHS – this Budget gets it done.

    I have one last point to make about public services.

    We have now left the EU.

    We promised to get Brexit done, and we got it done.

    We promised to regain control of the money we send to Brussels.

    And for the first time ever, today’s OBR forecast shows that the billions of pounds we would have sent to the EU, we can now spend on our priorities.

    Today, I’m launching the next Spending Review, to conclude in July, setting out detailed spending plans for the Parliament.

    Let me set out for the House our new totals for spending on public services.

    The OBR have said that today’s Budget will be the largest sustained fiscal boost for thirty years.

    Next year, day-to-day departmental spending will grow at the fastest rate in fifteen years.

    Over the spending review period, its set to grow at the fastest rate since 2004.

    An average growth rate in real terms of 2.8% – twice as fast as the economy.

    That means that by the end of the Parliament, day-to-day spending on public services will be £100 billion higher in cash terms than it is today.

    More police – safer streets.

    More nurses – better healthcare.

    More teachers – better education.

    Madam Deputy Speaker, the House now knows what the electorate already knows:

    The Conservatives are the party of public services.

    Madam Deputy Speaker,

    We’re at the beginning of a new era in this country.

    We have the freedom and the resources to decide our own future.

    A future where we unleash the energy, inventiveness and creativity of all the British people.

    And a future where we look outwards and are confident on the world stage.

    That starts right now with our world-leading response to the coronavirus.

    This is a Budget delivered in challenging times.

    We will rise to this moment.

    We will get through this together.

    This Budget delivers security today.

    But it also lays the foundations for prosperity tomorrow.

    This is just the start.

    Over the next few months we’ll tackle the big issues head on.

    From our National Infrastructure Strategy…

    …to social care…

    …and further devolution.

    This is the Budget of a Government that gets things done:

    Creating jobs.

    Cutting taxes.

    Keeping the cost of living low.

    Investing in our NHS.

    Investing in our public services.

    Investing in ideas.

    Backing business.

    Protecting our environment.

    Building roads.

    Building railways.

    Building colleges.

    Building houses.

    Building our Union.

    A Budget that delivers on our promises.

    A People’s Budget from a People’s Government.

    And I commend it to the House.

  • Matt Hancock – 2020 Statement on the Coronavirus

    Matt Hancock – 2020 Statement on the Coronavirus

    Below is the text of the statement made by Matt Hancock, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in the House of Commons on 9 March 2020.

    The coronavirus outbreak continues to advance around the world. The number of cases in China and South Korea keeps rising but at a slowing rate, but the outbreak in Iran, Italy, Switzerland and now France and Germany is growing. In Italy alone, we have seen 1,492 more cases overnight and 102 more deaths. Here in the UK, as of this morning, there were 319 confirmed cases. Very sadly, this now includes four confirmed deaths. I entirely understand why people are worried and concerned, and we send our condolences to the families.

    The UK response is guided by our four-point action plan: we continue to work to contain the virus, but we are also taking action to delay its impact, to fund research and to mitigate its consequences. Throughout, our approach is guided by the science; that is the bedrock on which we base all our decisions. Our plan sets out what we are prepared to do, and we will make the right choice of which action to pursue at the right moment. The scientific advice is clear that acting too early creates its own risks, so we will do what is right to keep people safe. Guided by science, we will act at the right time, and we will be clear and open about our actions and the reasons for them. These are the principles that underpin the very best response to an epidemic such as this.

    On research, I can report to the House that we have made available a further £46 million to find a vaccine and develop more rapid diagnostic tests, and we will continue to support the international effort. Here at home, the NHS is well prepared, with record numbers of staff, including nurses and doctors. I thank all those involved for their work so far. The number of calls to NHS 111 has increased—we have now added an extra 700 people to support that effort—and 111 online is now dealing with more inquiries than the voice calls.

    To date, Public Health England has tested nearly 25,000 people, and the time taken to test is being reduced, as we are bringing in a new system for faster results, but of course responding to coronavirus will take a national effort; everyone must play their part. Of course, that means Government, and it also means everyone washing their hands more often and following public health advice, but there is much more we can all do, through both volunteering and supporting the most vulnerable. We will shortly introduce legislative options to help people and services to tackle the outbreak. The Bill will be temporary and proportionate, with measures that will last only as long as necessary in line with ​clinical advice. I can also report that over the weekend, we initiated action to help 120 passengers on the Grand Princess cruise ship off the coast of California to return home.

    We will stop at nothing to get our response right.

  • Grant Shapps – 2020 Statement on Flybe

    Grant Shapps – 2020 Statement on Flybe

    Below is the text of the statement made by Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for Transport, in the House of Commons on 5 March 2020.

    In the early hours of this morning, Flybe ceased trading.

    We appreciate the impact this will have on Flybe passengers and employees. Our immediate priority is to ensure passengers are kept informed of alternative travel options and employees who have lost their jobs are assisted in accessing support and advice. We know this will be a worrying time for Flybe staff and our Jobcentre Plus rapid response service stands ready to help anyone whose job may be at risk.

    Affected passengers have been advised not to turn up to the airport. For those passengers who did arrive at UK airports today, Her Majesty’s Government in-person support has been available to provide them with information. The majority of Flybe’s destinations are served by different transport options, and we have asked train and coach operators to accept Flybe tickets and other airlines to offer reduced rescue fares to ensure passengers can make their journeys as smoothly as possible. Following talks with Britain’s train operators, all Flybe staff and customers will be offered a free, alternative way home this week. To redeem the journey, present your employee ID or flight confirmation details. Government staff will continue to further assist at airports. A number of airlines have stepped forward to provide rescue fares for passengers.​

    For the small number of passengers who are abroad, there is sufficient capacity on other commercial airlines to return to the UK. Again, the Civil Aviation Authority is encouraging these airlines to offer rescue fares. The CAA website will also provide information on how people may be able to claim back money they have spent on tickets from travel insurance providers, travel agents or their credit card providers.

    We are urgently working with industry to identify opportunities to re-establish key routes, and have spoken with airlines and airports today to emphasise this. We are pleased to see that airlines have already committed to operating a number of these routes in the near future.

    I am conscious of the impact on all regions of the UK, particularly Northern Ireland, given the importance of air-based connectivity. The aviation Minister has spoken to counterparts in the devolved Administrations to ensure they are kept informed of the latest developments and are aware of the response plans put in place by my Department and the CAA.

    Levelling up connectivity across our regions and nations is a top priority for this Government, which is why we are undertaking a review of regional connectivity to ensure the UK has the domestic transport connections local communities rely on—including regional airports. The Treasury is also reviewing air passenger duty (APD) to ensure regional connectivity is supported while meeting the UK’s climate change commitments to meet net zero by 2050.

    These measures featured in conversations with Flybe back in January and, in turn, they agreed to continue operating.

    Since then, we explored multiple options with Flybe’s shareholders to find a solution, but the directors decided it was not viable to keep Flybe operating. Unfortunately, in a competitive market companies do fail, but it is not the role of Government to prop them up.

    Globally, aviation is facing challenges due to the impact of coronavirus. The Government are well prepared for this. As the wider economic picture becomes clearer, the Chancellor has said that he stands ready to announce further support where needed. I have today written to Airport Co-ordination Limited, the independent UK slot co-ordinator, asking them to explicitly take into account the implications of flying empty planes on the UK’s environmental commitments in reaching decisions on slot alleviation in relation to coronavirus.

  • Robert Buckland – 2020 Statement on Joseph McCann

    Robert Buckland – 2020 Statement on Joseph McCann

    Below is the text of the statement made by Robert Buckland, the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, in the House of Commons on 5 March 2020.

    On 6 December 2019 Joseph McCann was given 33 life sentences at the central criminal court for a series of violent sexual attacks which he committed between 21 April and 6 May that same year. His victims, ranging from an 11-year-old boy to a 71-year-old woman, each suffered a terrifying ordeal, and I pay tribute to them for the courage they showed in giving evidence to secure McCann’s conviction. Mr Justice Edis ordered that McCann serve a minimum of 30 years before being eligible for release on parole.

    When he started these attacks, McCann was being supervised on licence by the national probation service, having been released automatically from prison on 15 February, after he had served half of a three-year determinate sentence for burglary and robbery offences, less time spent on remand. However, an initial management review and then a full serious further offence (SFO) review confirmed that the court imposed that sentence on 25 January 2018 on the understanding that it would run concurrent to a recall to prison in connection with an indeterminate sentence of imprisonment for public protection (IPP) which he had received in 2009 for aggravated burglary. However, staff in the national probation service (NPS) south-east and eastern division failed to recall McCann, both when he was remanded into custody on 21 August 2017 and when he received the new sentence on 25 January 2018. Had he been recalled, he would not have been released automatically on 15 February last year; rather, the parole board would have conducted a full risk assessment in order to determine whether it was safe re-release him on licence.

    There was only a limited amount which could be shared publicly, whilst we awaited the outcome of McCann’s trial, but under ministerial direction officials re-launched the recall policy framework in early July, giving NPS divisional directors and chief executives of community rehabilitation companies personal responsibility for ensuring that their staff understood the purpose of recall and the threshold for recall. Then, in January this year, alongside the recall policy framework, new mandatory training on recall for all probation staff was launched together ​with fresh operational guidance, to support staff in the judgments they need to make when presented with evidence of an offender’s increased risk or an offender breaching licence conditions.

    As a vital part of our service to victims, the NPS offers victims the opportunity to receive a copy of the SFO review, redacted only to fulfil our statutory obligations to protect the rights to privacy of third parties. After McCann had been sentenced on 6 December, NPS victim liaison officers contacted McCann’s victims and asked them whether they would like to meet an assistant chief of probation, in order to have the findings of the SFO review explained to them and to hear the action which has been taken to address the failings which the SFO review sets out. Meetings were then arranged, having regard to the victims’ preferences and availability, the first on 27 February and the final one on 5 March.

    Our primary responsibility is towards the victims, which is why I have waited until they have received the full SFO review before announcing further measures.

    In order to address the serious concerns which have arisen in this case and to provide wider public assurance, I have decided, exceptionally, to publish a version of the SFO review. This is not the full review, necessarily redacted, which has been shared with McCann’s victims, but it is a thorough and open account of what went wrong in this case and what has been done to put it right.

    Further, so we can be absolutely sure that all the lessons of this terrible case have been learned and addressed, I have asked Her Majesty’s chief inspector of probation, Justin Russell, to conduct an independent review. Justin has decided that the review will be in two parts: the first by pursuing specific lines of enquiry in relation to the management of McCann in custody and in the community and by considering whether HMPPS has taken all the organisational action necessary to improve practice in the areas in which it was found wanting, the second to take a wider look on the culture and understanding of recall in the probation service. The chief inspector has placed the terms of reference for his review here: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/about-our-work/inquiriesandreviews.

    When I receive the chief inspector’s reports, I will consider whether more needs to be done to strengthen probation practice. I am determined to do all that is necessary to protect the public from known offenders. They, and McCann’s victims in particular, deserve no less.

  • George Eustice – 2020 Statement on Bovine TB

    George Eustice – 2020 Statement on Bovine TB

    Below is the text of the statement made by George Eustice, the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in the House of Commons on 5 March 2020.

    I am updating the House on today’s publication of the Government’s response to ​Professor Sir Charles Godfray’s independent review of our 25-year strategy to eradicate bovine TB (bTB) in England by 2038.

    BTB is one of the most difficult and intractable animal health challenges that England faces today. Around 30,000 cattle have to be slaughtered annually due to infection. Our cattle breeders suffer the loss of prize winning animals and valued herds and this loss creates considerable trauma in the farming industry.

    BTB is a very difficult disease to eradicate for a number of reasons. It is a slow moving, insidious disease which is difficult to detect. The diagnostic tests that exist are not perfect; the disease can survive in the environment for several months. BTB is harboured in wildlife with badgers being a known vector. The BCG vaccine provides only limited protection and does not cure infected badgers. There is no example of a country that has successfully eradicated bTB without also addressing the presence of the disease in wildlife.

    However, the United Kingdom has previously managed to turn the tide on bTB and we can do it again. In the 1930s around 40% of cattle herds suffered from bTB. A combination of cattle movement controls, testing and slaughter of infected cattle and wildlife controls through badger culling managed to bring the disease to near eradication by the early 1980s.

    However, since the late 1980s, bTB has spread and the 2001 foot and mouth disease outbreak led to a suspension in testing and then widespread restocking of farms. This meant that in the first five years of this millennium, the disease once again spread rapidly and became our number one animal health challenge.

    Our 25-year strategy to eradicate bTB published in 2014 is founded in science. It applies the lessons of our history in previous attempts to control the disease as well as evidence from other countries around the world and trial work conducted in the UK during the 1970s and, more recently, during the randomised badger culling trial conducted between 1998 and 2007.

    The cornerstone of our strategy, as before, is a policy of regular testing and removal of infected cattle from herds. We have also incrementally introduced tougher restrictions on cattle movements from herds at risk of infection and more sensitive tests. We have introduced measures to encourage greater risk management and more information for the keepers of cattle. We have also deployed wildlife controls in areas where the disease is rife and we have deployed new biosecurity measures to try to break the cycle of infection between cattle and badgers.

    Since the initial badger cull pilot in 2013, a policy of badger control has been rolled out in many parts of the high risk area (HRA) in the south-west and west of England. As of 2019, 57% of the HRA is now subject to a licensed cull of badgers. This policy, while difficult and inevitably contentious, is starting to yield results. The latest epidemiological analysis conducted by Downs and others has shown that the incidence of the disease in the first cull areas of Somerset and Gloucester has fallen substantially, by 37% and 66% respectively.

    However, the badger is an iconic, protected species and no one wants to be culling badgers forever. An intensive badger cull was only ever envisaged as a phase of the strategy, not a perpetual state of affairs. Therefore, five years into the current strategy, it is appropriate to ​take stock and consider how the policy might be evolved. That is why the Government asked Sir Charles to conduct a review of the bTB strategy which concluded in October 2018.

    The UK benefits from world-leading science and the Government believe we should deploy our expertise to accelerate the development of a deployable cattle vaccine against bTB. While the current BCG vaccine will never provide full protection, the Government will accelerate work to authorise a test that can differentiate between the disease and the vaccine, and will provide the funding necessary to initiate the research and trial work needed towards the aim of having a deployable vaccine in the next five years. Vaccination is manifestly easier to deliver to herds of cattle than to wildlife and could significantly reduce the spread of the disease both between cattle and between cattle herds and wildlife. BTB is a global challenge and not every country can afford to test and remove cattle. The UK can harness its world-leading science in developing solutions such as vaccination that would also be valuable to other countries trying to fight the disease.

    The Government will also begin an exit strategy from the intensive culling of badgers, while ensuring that wildlife control remains a tool that can be deployed where the epidemiological evidence supports it. As soon as possible, we intend to pilot Government-funded badger vaccination in at least one area where the four-year cull cycle has concluded, with simultaneous surveillance of disease. Our aim is to identify an exit strategy from culling in those areas that have completed the four years of intensive culling by deploying vaccination to the remaining badger population.

    While the Government must retain the ability to introduce new cull zones where the disease is rife, our aim will be to allow future badger culls only where the epidemiological evidence points to a significant reservoir of the disease in badgers. We envisage that any remaining areas would join the current cull programme in the next few years and that the badger cull phase of the strategy would then wind down by the mid to late 2020s, although we would need to retain the ability to cull in a targeted way where the epidemiological evidence requires it.

    In the edge area, where some vaccination projects have been supported, our aim will be to ensure that badger culling is only authorised in areas where the epidemiological evidence points to a problem in badgers. We will continue to support badger vaccination projects in areas where the prevalence of disease is low. We will also investigate the potential for projects where adjacent vaccination and culling could complement each other in controlling disease. Changes to our guidance to Natural England on licensing badger control will be subject to consultation.

    Finally, the Government will invest in the deployment of better, more frequent and more diverse cattle testing so that we are able to detect the presence of the disease earlier and remove it from cattle herds faster. As a first step, the frequency of mandatory surveillance testing in two counties which form part of the HRA—Shropshire and Staffordshire—will increase from annual to six-monthly from later this year. We expect this to be extended to all parts of the HRA from 2021. Improving the efficacy of our testing regime through better diagnostics is a key component of a successful strategy.​
    There is no single answer to tackling the scourge of bTB but by deploying a range of policy interventions, we can turn the tide on this terrible disease and achieve our long-term objective of eradicating it by 2038.

  • Ben Wallace – 2020 Statement on Defence and Security Industrial Strategy

    Ben Wallace – 2020 Statement on Defence and Security Industrial Strategy

    Below is the text of the statement made by Ben Wallace, the Secretary of State for Defence, in the House of Commons on 5 March 2020.

    I want to inform the House of our work to review the UK’s defence and security industrial sectors, which will inform the broader integrated review of security, defence, development and foreign policy.

    The UK has built up a world-leading defence and security industrial base over many decades with a broad footprint across the UK, helping our armed forces and the broader national security community to deter or defeat any threat that presents itself. At the same time, these industries make a significant contribution to our prosperity through investment, exports, skills, and research and development. The defence and security industry employs hundreds of thousands of people—including thousands of apprentices—across the breadth of the Union, from building warships in Scotland and armoured vehicles in Wales, to manufacturing aircraft in England and satellites in Northern Ireland. Our industries are also at the forefront of technology development in creating new ways to prevent and defend against terrorism and serious organised crime. And on the international stage, UK defence and security companies play a crucial role in maintaining the UK’s global influence, underpinning our strategic partnerships with key allies.

    Many of the UK’s defence and security companies are flourishing, but suppliers from large companies to small and medium-sized enterprises are also now facing a range of challenges for the future. They are impacted by the pace of technological change, the need for innovation and partnership, and increased competition from abroad, alongside the difficulty of sustaining necessary skills. We need to consider how to address these challenges and maximise potential opportunities.

    The integrated review will define the long-term strategic aims for our national security and foreign policy and determine the capabilities and reforms needed to meet those aims. The review of the UK’s defence and security industrial sectors will support this work by considering how to ensure the UK continues to have competitive, innovative and world-class defence and security industries that drive investment and prosperity across the Union, and that underpin our national security now and in the future.

    The Ministry of Defence will lead a cross-Government team to progress this work, engaging closely with industry, Parliament, and other stakeholders over the course of the review. The House will be kept informed as work progresses.