Tuesday Volume 585 2 September 2014 No. 30 HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) Tuesday 2 September 2014 £5·00 © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2014 This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 145 2 SEPTEMBER 2014 146 in central London and the like. The fact is that today’s House of Commons figures show that almost 50,000 people have been helped by Help to Buy, and that 80% of those have been helped Tuesday 2 September 2014 outside London and the south-east of England. In her own council area, more than 300 families have been helped. Members of Parliament from west Yorkshire The House met at half-past Eleven o’clock would like to note that Leeds is the No.1 location for people using Help to Buy. The scheme is working, it is PRAYERS about backing aspiration and it is about helping people get on in life. [MR SPEAKER in the Chair] Graham Evans: Businesses and families across my constituency will all benefit from recent investments in BUSINESS BEFORE QUESTIONS the Halton curve railway, the Mersey gateway bridge and the Hartree centre for supercomputing in Daresbury. I urge my right hon. Friend the Chancellor to continue TRANSPORT FOR LONDON BILL [LORDS](BY ORDER) the important work he is doing as part of the long-term economic plan to build the northern powerhouse, which BUCKINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL (FILMING ON will continue to create jobs and economic security in HIGHWAYS)BILL [LORDS](BY ORDER) Weaver Vale and across the north of England. Second Readings opposed and deferred until Tuesday 9 September at Four o’clock (Standing Order No. 20). Mr Osborne: Of course, I want Weaver Vale and Cheshire to be part of that northern powerhouse, and may I commend my hon. Friend for the campaigns he Oral Answers to Questions has fought to get the second Mersey crossing, the Halton curve and the investment in Daresbury? Those are things that Labour MPs, including the one who used to represent his seat, campaigned for for years and got TREASURY nothing from a Labour Government. We now have a Conservative MP delivering for his constituents under a The Chancellor of the Exchequer was asked— Conservative Chancellor. Long-term Economic Plan Ian Lucas (Wrexham) (Lab): In 2010, the Chancellor said that he would eliminate the deficit by 2015. Why 1. Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con): What progress he has he failed? has made on his long-term economic plan. [905043] Mr Osborne: For the reasons that I have set out 14. Graham Evans (Weaver Vale) (Con): What before—with the slower growth in Europe. This is progress he has made on his long-term economic plan. extraordinary: all we get at Treasury questions and [905057] generally from the Labour party are requests for more spending and more borrowing, but now Labour Members The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr George Osborne): seem to be complaining that we have not cut enough. The Government’s long-term economic plan is working, Over the summer, we did our sums, we added up their and the International Monetary Fund expects the United summer spending spree and we found there had been Kingdom to grow faster than any other G7 country this £21 billion of Labour spending commitments in the year. But the job is not yet done; there are growing risks past five or six weeks alone. That is another reminder of abroad from a disappointingly weak eurozone and persistent why it cannot be trusted with the British economy risks at home from Opposition Members who would again. abandon the long-term plan and return Britain to the economic mess they left it in. Jonathan Edwards (Carmarthen East and Dinefwr) (PC): New research by the Inequality Briefing highlights Fiona Bruce: I welcome the statistics out today on the the fact that nine of the 10 poorest regions in northern Government’s flagship Help to Buy scheme. It is helping Europe are in the UK—these include the ones I represent those families it was designed for: those buying a house in west Wales. The UK is also home to the richest worth less than the national average—overwhelmingly, region in northern Europe: inner London. What has these are people outside London and the south-east. happened to the long-term plan to geographically rebalance The policy is boosting aspiration and helping hard-working the UK economy? families on to the housing ladder. So will my right hon. Friend confirm that he will not listen to the Labour Mr Osborne: The first thing I would say to the hon. party, which has opposed the policy, and will instead Gentleman is that of course we need to tackle long-standing continue with Help to Buy as part of our long-term regional disparities in our country, and we are putting economic plan to deliver greater economic security and investment into Wales, including transport and a brighter future for our country? infrastructure investment, to try to lift the economic performance of Wales. The broader point I make is that Mr Osborne: My hon. Friend is absolutely right we need to bring the economic geography of our country about that. We heard lots of scare stories from the closer together. That is an argument I have made about Opposition about how this scheme would be used only the north of England. The gap between the regions 147 Oral Answers2 SEPTEMBER 2014 Oral Answers 148 grew under the last Labour Government. By making Party Spending (OBR Audit) the long-term investment under our long-term plan we hope to reduce the disparities under this Government. 2. Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) (Lab): If he will take steps to allow the Office for Budget Responsibility to Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester) (Con): The crucial audit the spending plans of political parties. [905044] task now is to develop a long-term supply side reform agenda. Does the Chancellor agree that at the heart of that must be policies to release the energies of millions The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mr David of small businesses and sole traders up and down the Gauke): Autumn statement 2013 announced that, as country? With that in mind, will he examine the policies required by legislation, the OBR is launching an external of both the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Mirrlees review of its publications over the course of 2014. The review, which in different ways have proposed to reduce external review team will publish its independent report the burden of national insurance contributions when tomorrow. Following the outcome of that review, the that is affordable? Is that not an essential part of Britain’s Government will hold their own review of the OBR at long-term recovery? the start of the next Parliament. Mr Osborne: I agree with the sentiment that my hon. Kevin Brennan: That was very interesting but it had Friend expresses that we want to make it easier to nothing to do with the question. The figure of £21 billion employ people. I would argue that the reductions that that the Chancellor mentioned in his answer to question we have already made in national insurance on coming 1 will presumably be sent now by the Minister to the into office and the provision of an employment allowance, OBR to be checked as to whether it is factually correct, which has been enormously popular among smaller or is the figure a political smear, as usual from the businesses, and next year’s move to remove under 21-year- Chancellor, that he is not prepared to stand up by olds from the jobs tax are all steps we are taking to sending it for scrutiny to the OBR—yes or no? support the creation of jobs in the economy. Of course, the Labour party would like to put up the jobs tax, but Mr Gauke: As far as the figure of £21 billion is that would be deeply counter-productive and put people concerned, much of it is based on the Labour party’s out of work. own announcements. I do not know why the hon. Gentleman is complaining about that. If the Labour Chris Leslie (Nottingham East) (Lab/Co-op): Does party wants to have credibility on fiscal policy, perhaps the Chancellor find it a cause for concern that the Bank it should stop making so many announcements of spending of England has halved its forecast for wage growth for splurges. Our view is that the OBR is in its infancy. We the rest of this year? want the organisation to succeed and therefore do not want to draw it into party political matters. Mr Osborne: Of course one of the challenges across the western world has been wage growth. The shadow David T. C. Davies (Monmouth) (Con): If the OBR Chancellor put it very well in an interview he gave last ever does decide to look at the figures put forward by week. He said: the Labour party, perhaps it will be able to explain how “I think that the fact that you had the massive…financial crisis it is possible for the Labour party to be able to call for which happened on our watch meant people saw their living reductions in borrowing and in the deficit while making standards hit.” all sorts of promises to spend billions of pounds that it There is an admission of where the source of the simply does not have. Does it not show that the Labour problem is, and the solution is to grow our economy, Members are as incoherent on economics as they were create jobs and help people get on in life, and that is when they lost the last general election? what we are doing.