0.7% Official Development Assistance Target

Jacob Young Excerpts

Tuesday 8th June 2021 Commons Chamber

[Hilary Benn (Leeds Central) (Lab)]

Well, this issue is not going to go away, is it? Why? Because it is about the promise, as we heard in the brilliant speech made by the right hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell). It is about the promise we made to people who in all likelihood know nothing of its existence, but whose lives have been changed by our generosity. They are people who have drunk clean water or gone to school and mothers who have seen their babies safely delivered or vaccinated, thanks to the immense generosity of the British people. The question is therefore a very simple one: how can it be right or moral to break this particular promise that we gave in good faith to others? The answer is very simple, too: it is not. It is wrong, and, as we have heard, it is damaging our international reputation.

The Prime Minister will sit down opposite the G7 leaders at the end of this week. They are facing exactly the same fiscal pressures as he is, but have the United States, Germany, France, Canada or the other G7 countries cut their aid budgets? No, they have not, because they understand the moral argument.

[Jacob Young (Redcar) (Con)]

The right hon. Gentleman listed a few countries. Of course, none of those countries actually commits 0.7% of their GDP anyway.

[Hilary Benn]

With respect to the hon. Gentleman, that is not the point. We made a promise. I presume he is as committed to keeping promises he makes as the rest of us here in this Chamber.

What of the human cost? We heard from the right hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May) in her powerful speech about lives blighted, lives shortened and lives lost. Let me just take one example. How can it be right to cut aid for clean water by 80%? The arguments against doing that are so strong, such as the importance of clean water for hand-washing in a pandemic. There is the fact that the single most important thing we can do if we want to reduce infant mortality, apart from improving immediate postnatal care, is provide clean water, because every day babies and small children die because they drink dirty water. Clean water helps girls to go to school, the very thing that the Government say is a priority.

As International Development Secretary—the right hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield talked about his experience—I learned that there are moments when those of who have the privilege to do the job have our minds changed. We learn and we understand, and we realise why something is so important. In this example, I came across a well one day with a lot of people standing around it. I was told that the well was closed. I had never come across a closed well before, but it was explained that because demand for water in that part of the city was so high, after the first rush of buckets was drawn from it in the morning, the well had to be closed so that the water table had time to replenish to allow the well to be reopened.

One of the people waiting was a girl of about 13 or 14. The well was here and she was standing there—I can remember it to this day. She told me in a very quiet voice that it was her responsibility in her family to get the water every day, because until she did so, she could not go to school. Because the well was closed not just that day, but many days, she was often late for class. That is what this is about: a lack of plentiful, clean water, which all of us here take for granted, meant a lack of education for her and millions of other girls like her.

Are we really going to say that it is acceptable to cut our support for clean water? Is anyone actually going to argue that these cuts are popular with the British people? I fundamentally disagree; the British people are much more compassionate than that. It is not a competition between charity at home and aid abroad. We can, we should, we must do both.

--- Later in debate ---

[Liam Byrne (Birmingham, Hodge Hill) (Lab)]

I congratulate the right hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell) and I thank the House authorities and Mr Speaker for the debate today. I have risen to speak because this decision seems, at one and the same time, to be a decision that dishonours our word, dismays our friends and delights our enemies.

I want to make just three points. The first is simple: this decision defaces and demeans the strategy that was set out in this House by the Prime Minister as long as 69 days ago, when he came to that Dispatch Box to present the Integrated Review to the House. He said that he was determined to build resilience at home and abroad and to tackle risk at source:

“We will be…dynamic abroad”.—[Official Report, 16 March 2021; Vol. 691, c. 161.]

He declared that 2021 will set the tone for the UK’s international engagement abroad—let us hope not, because on the eve of the G7 this Prime Minister is leading by retreating. The only dynamism he is showing is in the speed with which he is breaking his promises to the world.

The former Prime Minister, the right hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), did not make many speeches about foreign policy, but there was a phrase she used often that was good—the notion of the rules-based order. We should have a Government who extol the benefits and the virtues of a rules-based order. However, we now have a Prime Minister who is ordering the breaking of the rules, not just with the nonsense around the international protocols in Northern Ireland, but with our international promises to the world community. One has to ask, why would anybody trust him? The truth is that he will soon discover that unless he is more hard-line about keeping his promises, our influence in the world will diminish. Once upon a time, it was known abroad that our word was our bond. That is not something to surrender lightly.

My second point is that the Prime Minister risks a serious imbalance in our foreign policy. In today’s world, defence of the realm entails a mixture of deterrence and development. President Biden has a useful guide. He says, “You talk about values. Show me your budget and I will tell you what your values are.” We now have a situation where defence spending is rising by £24 billion and development spending is falling by £4 billion—a £28 billion gap.

[Jacob Young]

When the right hon. Gentleman was Chief Secretary to the Treasury, did the UK ever meet its 0.7% target?

[Liam Byrne]

We were proud to set the ambition, and we set a critical path to doing it, because we knew precisely this—that development and deterrence are two sides of the same coin. They are essential to the defence of the realm.

The Prime Minister, when he presented the Integrated Review, boasted that we were about to send the new Queen Elizabeth carrier group on a worldwide tour. In how many of the 100 countries where we are cutting aid will that carrier group come into port? I bet that everywhere it does, we will find that our projection of power is as nothing compared with the power of a project to make poverty history.

Two thirds of the world’s poorest live in fragile, conflict- affected and violent states. It beggars belief that under the Government’s proposals, nations such as Libya and Iraq will no longer receive bilateral aid. There should be a simple rule of policy that we will not drop aid in places where we drop bombs, or where others drop bombs that they bought from us. Investing in places where we can alleviate poverty is one of the biggest investments we can make in safeguarding our security for the years to come.

My final point is simply this. The Chair of the International Development Committee, my hon. Friend the Member for Rotherham (Sarah Champion), helpfully set out the extraordinary range of cuts that are now being confronted. As chair of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, I asked the IMF this afternoon for an update on the sheer scale of investment that is needed to get the global community back on its feet. Low-income countries will now need $200 billion extra to step up their covid response, followed by $250 billion extra in accelerated investment as we try to move from the pandemic to the Paris agreement. We are now going to—

Finance Bill

Jacob Young Excerpts

Report stage & 3rd reading
Monday 24th May 2021 Commons Chamber

[John McDonnell [V]]

I am glad you are sitting down, Madam Deputy Speaker, because I do not want to shock you. I want to see if we can try something different tonight. Let us try and undertake some rational policy making. Let us try and base policy on evidence, shall we?

I have tabled a number of amendments—Nos. 24, 25 and 26—as a humble seeker after truth, basically, because I do not think the Government have made the case for freeports. I also think that the risks of this policy are huge. It could accelerate tax avoidance in this country on a massive scale and cause economic damage to the neighbouring areas of freeports. We are shovelling huge tax giveaways to corporations and developers for, as far as I can see, literally no return to society.

In its analysis of the Chancellor’s Budget, the Office for Budget Responsibility said of freeports:

“Further details have been announced in the Budget but came too late to be incorporated into our forecast.”

The OBR have therefore not made a comment—we await it. Freeports were not assessed by the OBR. However, it is not just the OBR that does not know the answer about the effects of freeports; neither do the Government. My hon. Friend the Member for Oxford East (Anneliese Dodds) asked the Treasury on 16 March what estimates it had made of the total annual cost of tax reliefs granted to the freeports. The Chief Secretary to the Treasury replied on 22 March to say—rarely have I seen this from a ministerial response—that

“it is not appropriate to comment on estimates at this stage.”

This is in the middle of policy making! He continued:

“they will therefore be scored at a future fiscal event.”

Therefore, what we are being asked to do tonight is sign off a blank cheque that will be filled in at a later date.

This is just irrational. Shoddy policy making on this scale is becoming all too familiar with this Government, but this is a bit of a shocker. It is just not good enough, so it would be really useful if tonight the Minister took us through the answers to a few simple questions. What are the annual costs of the proposed tax reliefs when the freeports are set up? What is the estimate of increased economic growth that will come from them? What is the estimate of increased job creation stimulated by the freeports? What is the estimate of increased tax revenues to the Exchequer as a result of this policy? And, to reinforce that, where is the evidence? If there are answers to those questions, where have they come from? Have they been independently assessed?

We are asking questions about the future, but we should look back, because this is not a new policy. Those of us who have been in the House a while—and that does not take long—can recognise this as a rebranding of the enterprise zones policy that the Conservative party wheeled out in the 1980s under Michael Heseltine and also in the last decade, when George Osborne fronted it up. Let me remind the House what the Public Accounts Committee said in May 2014. Its report was pretty damning about George Osborne’s enterprise zones, describing them as “particularly underwhelming”. The Committee criticised the Government for over-optimistic claims about job creation. The job numbers did not materialise—it is as simple as that. The Centre for Cities think-tank found that the jobs that were created were “overwhelmingly low skilled” and therefore low paid.

Enterprise zones were not just a disaster; they raised people’s hopes and shattered them in many areas around the country, and in many ways led to some of the disillusionment with politics and Government overall. Tax breaks for corporations in underinvested areas just does not make an industrial strategy. My view is that the Government should be investing, but in a planned upgrading of the infrastructure of this country, not making areas fight for scraps in this form of pork barrel politics.

The Conservatives’ strategy of tax breaks for developers and big business as a way of stimulating growth failed in the 1980s and again in the 2010s, and it risks failing again in the 2020s. The Government are asking us all to take a leap in the dark, and having twice before witnessed that leap in the dark, I think the result will be the same—it will be failure. I know that a number of Members, including some Ministers, have said it will be different because of Brexit and claim that being outside the EU gives greater freedoms than were available to enterprise zones, but if that is the case, why can they not quantify them and put that evidence in front of the House, in some form of rational policy making? The UK Trade Policy Observatory, based at the University of Sussex, has pointed out that as UK import tariffs are already low, any further tariff reduction would

“have next to no benefits”.

I am pleased that Labour’s Front-Bench team is behind new clause 25, which my hon. Friend the Member for Erith and Thamesmead (Abena Oppong-Asare) moved eloquently, as it is welcome. If passed, it would at least have the effect of creating a robust framework for the House to assess the success or failure of freeports policy, but surely no Members of this House who consider themselves to be serious, rational policy makers can vote for something like this proposal, which is so lacking in any evidential base.

[Jacob Young (Redcar) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell), although he will forgive me for not taking any economic advice from him. He talks about economic assessment with no sense of self-awareness that he was the man responsible for the 2019 Labour party manifesto. I believe I am the first Member to speak who shall represent a freeport area, so, on behalf of the people of Teesside, may I say thank you to the Government for designating us a freeport zone?

I wish to speak against new clause 25, which would only delay the implementation of our new freeport policy. I direct Members to my recently updated entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, as a member of the new—currently shadow—Teesside freeport board. If we consider the intentions behind new clause 25, we will see that they are ones that Teessiders know all too well. Labour never wanted our new freeports, despite them being in places such as Redcar and Cleveland, Middlesbrough and Hartlepool, places that Labour used to say it cared about. True to form, new clause 25 is the Labour party in desperation to see our freeport policy fail, so that it can simply say, “I told you so.”

The same attitudes were shown in Labour’s position on the EU referendum, and the people of Teesside have already shown them how they feel about that. Our new freeport in Teesside will create 18,000 jobs over the next five years, and since the freeport designation in the Chancellor’s Budget, we have already seen the announcement of more than 2,000 jobs coming to Teesside, with GE picking Teesside as the destination for its new wind turbine blade manufacturing, supporting the Government’s plan for a green industrial revolution. Adding more bureaucracy, form filling and complications through new clause 25 would only delay those new jobs and prevent us from getting on with the task at hand, which is the transformation of Teesside.

In Redcar and Cleveland we are proud of our area’s industrial heritage and the vital role the steelworks and foundries have played in the past, providing those raw materials to build the railways, ships and bridges that were once the envy of the world, and in many cases still are. The fires in our furnaces were the beating heart of the industrial revolution, and now with hydrogen, wind power and carbon capture all promised and planned within our freeport zone, it will be Teesside’s innovation and technology that leads our green industrial revolution.

When Labour lost Hartlepool, the front page of The Northern Echo held a column from a former Labour MP saying that Labour needs to listen. Well, now would be a good time to start, but instead, here we are again, with the public supporting our freeport policy and Labour voting against it. Labour Members may not want any election advice from me, but I have some for them anyway: stop dwelling on problems and start looking to the potential and to solutions. Stop standing in the way of our freeport policy and work with us to make it a success. Stop talking Teesside down and start helping us to turn it around, and vote against new clause 25 tonight.

[Robin Millar (Aberconwy) (Con)]

It is a privilege to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Redcar (Jacob Young). Like him, I shall take this opportunity to make a few brief remarks in support of freeports, although, as hon. Members would expect, they will be in support of a freeport in Wales, and north Wales in particular. In doing so, I shall speak against new clause 25.

Freeports and free economic zones are a common feature of international trade, with dozens utilised by our closest allies. Not only have they propelled many of the world’s previously impoverished nations to prosperity, but there are well-established international frameworks for their operation. Indeed, the OECD code of conduct for clean free trade zones is an example, to which this Government have already pledged compliance.

The measures set out in new clause 25 are simply unnecessary, and the additional costs, such as the paperwork proposed, will only reduce the attractiveness of Britain’s ports. Let us make no mistake: the ultimate bearer of extra costs will be not multinational business, but the workers of this country who will miss out on prosperity from export-driven work.

Wales occupies a vital position in UK trade. If we consider just the Republic of Ireland, we will see that in 2019, two thirds of goods carried from the Republic of Ireland came via Wales, and four fifths of goods carried to the Republic of Ireland went via Wales. I also note that Holyhead is on the international trade routes that link Dublin to Moscow, such is the strategic importance of the location and role of Wales—particularly of north Wales. It is essential, therefore, that we create an environment there that is attractive to investment and private finance. According to the British Venture Capital Association, Wales has one of the lowest average investments from venture capital in the UK, accounting for just 3.3% of all funding over the period 2016 to 2018.

A freeport offers a structured environment for investment. Whether linked with the advanced manufacturing cluster of north-east Wales—Wales’s hottest economic growth spot—or the green energy projects and innovation found on Ynys Môn, or the leading telecoms research at the University College of North Wales, the structured reliefs and incentives of a freeport offer businesses and investors a clear and attractive proposition and are a clear demonstration of the Government’s commitment to the area.

This Finance Bill makes clear the Government’s aim of growth, development and levelling up for Wales. It also presents an exciting opportunity for co-operation and collaboration with the Welsh Government. With their assistance on, for example, the additional reliefs possible for the planning laws within their control, there is an opportunity not only to deliver a freeport in Wales, but to create one of the most attractive freeport models for investment in the UK.

In conclusion, our United Kingdom is an island nation and a trading nation, and our prosperity has always come from across the seas. Freeports are an essential step towards stronger trade and exports in a global Britain, and this Finance Bill will deliver that. In Wales, we know that, although we are outward-looking, our strength comes from within. For centuries, we have exported our goods and resources around the globe. North Wales slate has roofed the world, and copper from the Great Orme in Aberconwy was used to forge bronze-age implements used in areas ranging from Brittany to the Baltic.

A freeport in Wales—in north Wales—is an opportunity to ensure our connection to a global economy, to bring investment and growth that will bring jobs, and to secure our tradition of global export for another generation. I shall be voting against new clause 25.

Ministerial Code/Register of Ministers’ Interests

Jacob Young Excerpts

Tuesday 18th May 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. A criticism is only on the substantive motion. This cannot be used. It has already been tried earlier. The rules of the House must be obeyed. I know it is not what Members want to hear, but I am in charge of ensuring that the rules are kept to. Unfortunately, we cannot continue with that question.

[Jacob Young (Redcar) (Con)]

We all know that Government procurement is a long, clunky and expensive process. It was therefore of clear national importance for the Government to fast-track some procurement decisions, particularly in relation to PPE, to protect people and keep people safe. Does the Minister agree that the recent elections in Teesside, where we gained a new Member of Parliament and a landslide for the Tees Valley Mayor, show that the public support our decisive decision making over the Labour party’s political point scoring?

[Penny Mordaunt]

My hon. Friend makes a very good point. The British public want us to focus on the issues that matter to them. They want us to recover quickly, both economically and in dealing with the backlog of issues we have in education and healthcare. They want us to get on and deliver. What they do not want is this Punch and Judy politics. They are tired of that. They want some delivery. They want some competence. That is why they are electing Conservatives across the country.

Finance (No. 2) Bill

Jacob Young Excerpts

2nd reading
Tuesday 13th April 2021 Commons Chamber

[Jacob Young (Redcar) (Con)]

Let me start by expressing my sadness at the death of His Royal Highness Prince Philip. I send my condolences and those of the people of Redcar and Cleveland to Her Majesty the Queen and the royal family at this difficult time.

I direct Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as a board member of the South Tees Development Corporation.

In the short time I have, I want to focus my remarks on clause 109 on freeports and on why I was so pleased to see Teesside play such a prominent role in the Chancellor’s Budget. Freeports are not of course new to Britain, but our ability to use them properly was strengthened by Brexit and the Prime Minister’s EU withdrawal agreement. Outside the EU, freeports have a significant role to play in our recovery and in levelling up our left-behind areas such as Redcar and Cleveland, and clauses 110 and 111 will help achieve that.

Our Teesside freeport is the largest in the UK, with a plan to create 18,000 jobs over the next five years. In less than a month since that Budget announcement, we have seen the creation of more than 2,000 jobs in offshore wind, with General Electric building its new turbine blade manufacturing plant within our freeport. However, the journey to this point was not a happy one. One of Teesside’s darkest days was in October 2015 when SSI fell into liquidation, with the end of 170 years of steel making on Tees and the loss of 3,000 jobs overnight. For many of us in Teesside this felt like a fatal blow and a shock from which we could not recover. For me as a chemical industry worker at the time, I remember the sinking feeling that we would be next—the next domino to fall into industrial collapse—but Teessiders throughout time have shown their immense resilience, and we refused to allow our decline to be inevitable.

In 2017, the election of a Conservative, Ben Houchen, as the Tees Valley Mayor began the journey of devolution in Teesside and the transformation of our area. That year we formed a development corporation to cover the site—the first mayoral development corporation outside London. Although there were many bumps along the road, by February 2020 the deal was done to get full control for the rest of the site, taking full ownership of the former steelworks. In July last year, Teesworks was launched, the new name for the now 4,500 acre site, and in August demolition began, clearing the way for the new jobs to come. It is the largest development site in Europe alongside the deepest port on the east coast, publicly owned and led by a Mayor who is determined to deliver for his area.

We started this journey with the loss of 3,000 jobs on Teesside, but now that site sits at the heart of the UK’s largest freeport, with a plan to create 18,000 jobs over the next five years. The Teesside freeport, which covers Teesworks, Wilton, port of Hartlepool, port of Middlesbrough, Wilton Engineering and Teesside airport, will be our gateway to global trade and the engine room for the northern powerhouse. This is our plan to level up our region, transform Teesside and truly build back better. Recoveries of the past have seen some areas boom while other areas go bust, and over the last 12 months we have faced a crisis like no other in our history. Now we will build a recovery like no other, where nowhere is left behind.

Leaving the EU: Impact on the UK

Jacob Young Excerpts

Wednesday 17th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Jacob Young (Redcar) (Con)]

This is the second debate today in which the SNP has rehashed arguments that have been long settled, whether in relation to the 2014 Scottish independence referendum or the 2016 EU referendum. It just so happens that the SNP was on the wrong side of both those arguments. No wonder it wants a rehash of those referendums.

I am proud to be a Conservative Member of Parliament, standing between these Benches having delivered Brexit—something 65% of my constituents in Redcar and Cleveland voted for. We have not just delivered Brexit, because in December we delivered the EU-UK trade deal, which is a fantastic landmark trade deal that many Opposition Members—I know not many of them have turned up for the debate today—did not even vote for, including those from SNP, which has initiated this debate today. They speak of the economic consequences of the UK’s departure from the EU. Let me tell the SNP: those consequences would have been far worse if they had gotten their wish and we had not passed the EU-UK trade deal. But we have not just delivered that trade deal; we have delivered many trade deals since our departure from the EU—more than 66, with many more to come, including with the US, I hope.

Brexit was about many things—taking back control of our trade, taking back control of our borders, taking back control of our laws. Aside from the steps that we have taken on trade and laws, we have introduced our points-based immigration system, finally to take back control of our border.

The EU vote was not just about leaving the EU; I have had this conversation multiple times with my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office. The EU vote was about communities like mine in Redcar and Cleveland finally getting their voice heard, whether in Brussels or in Westminster, so that they were actually speaking to those in the corridors of power. One of the best things to come out of the Chancellor’s Budget statement only a few weeks ago was the fact that the Government are moving civil service jobs to Teesside, prioritising our towns and allowing people in those left-behind communities to speak to power once again. So, I reject the SNP motion, I fully back the Prime Minister’s amendment, and I thank the Government for all they have done in delivering Brexit for my constituents.

Covid-19: Ethnic Minority Disparities

Jacob Young Excerpts

Monday 1st March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Kemi Badenoch]

Our methodology drew on a wide range of data sources, including long-term data from the DHSC and Public Health England on covid-19 incidence, data on social integration, and evidence on the prevalence and specific support needs of, for example, disabled people in an area. The methodology was tested across the Government, and with many colleagues in the local government sector, before the funding was announced. To reach disproportionately impacted communities beyond those 60 areas, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has funded two voluntary community and social enterprises to carry out national communication and engagement activities, including health promotion and encouraging vaccine uptake.

We are trying to ensure that best practice is shared across local community areas. It is not just the presence of ethnic minority communities that means they are at risk—indeed, I spoke earlier about what places a specific individual at risk. We consider multiple factors, and those are what end up determining which communities get the funding. I assure the hon. Lady that her community will benefit, even if it does not get specific money under this scheme.

[Jacob Young (Redcar) (Con)]

I commend the Minister and her Department for their efforts in encouraging the vaccine take-up for all. For my constituents in Redcar and Cleveland, one of the biggest hurdles is the distance to the local mass vaccine centre, which in some cases is more than 25 miles. Will she join me in calling on the Government to roll out a mass vaccine centre in Teesside, so that we can encourage take-up for all?

[Kemi Badenoch]

I am sorry to hear that some people are finding the distance difficult when it comes to getting their vaccine, and I will take up that issue on my hon. Friend’s behalf to find out what is going on.

Government's Management of the Economy

Jacob Young Excerpts

Tuesday 23rd February 2021 Commons Chamber

[Jacob Young (Redcar) (Con)]

I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.

Today we have seen once again Opposition Members playing the blame game: trying to point the finger at the Government for everything and anything, including for a crisis that has come to us from well beyond our shores. I did find it odd when I read the subject of today’s Opposition day debate, given the legacy of the previous Labour Government. Our record in office has been tested by the electorate three times in the past 10 years, and each time the public have chosen to elect a Conservative Government over Labour’s woeful opposition. The reason I believe the Conservatives have been the public’s choice in each of those elections is that we chose to offer hope and aspiration. That is still true today, with an optimistic Government speaking about the immense challenges we still face, but ones that the British people will rise to, versus an Opposition who are focused on doing down our efforts to protect the economy and save as many jobs as we can.

We can see the same thing playing out locally in Teesside in our upcoming mayoral elections. In 2015, Redcar lost its steelworks with the closure of SSI, but rather than accepting our fate as a once great region that built the world, we rose to the challenge of transforming the site, taking public control of 4,500 acres, beginning our regeneration of it and being backed by more than £200 million of Government investment so far. This regeneration is being spearheaded by our Conservative Mayor, Ben Houchen, with ambitious plans for the Teeswork site to build a new greener Teesside that champions carbon capture and storage, wind power and hydrogen. Key to all of this is our goal of a free port in Teesside, with an ambitious plan to bring in more than 18,000 jobs over the next five years. Meanwhile, Labour locally offers only negativity, doing down the opportunity presented to us and talking down Teesside and the plans that we have.

Let me speak directly to today’s motion. I thank the Labour party for this opportunity to remind ourselves how grateful we are to successive Conservative Governments who have fixed the roof while the sun was shining. Never could we have been in a better position to deal with a crisis of this magnitude—if, of course, it is at all possible to be prepared for such a crisis. Since 2010, after nine years of consecutive growth, our economy has grown by 19%, which is faster than Italy, France and Japan. That is an entire decade of uninterrupted growth. We had to turn this country around from where Labour had left it, with no money in the Treasury and a deficit running out of control. The Conservative management of the economy has meant that we were able not only to rebalance the books, but to create record high employment across the country to support the public services on which we so heavily rely at this time.

The reality is that those very successes were built on the strong foundations on which we relied when the pandemic hit. Without solid finances, we would not have been able to put in place some of the most generous support schemes in the world, including for businesses and the self-employed, and millions would have suffered unnecessarily. I am proud to stand behind this Government’s record of fixing the roof while the sun was shining.

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)]

Order. The wind-ups will begin no later than 3.40 pm.

Exiting the European Union (Excise)

Jacob Young Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd February 2021 Commons Chamber

[Jacob Young (Redcar) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (Neale Hanvey), and I share the northern sentiments of my hon. Friend the Member for South Ribble (Katherine Fletcher).

It is a bit cruel debate to be talking about holidays and airports and duty free while we are still unable to enjoy all those things, but as we begin to look beyond the pandemic and progressively reopen our borders to travellers, these measures will ensure fairness between travellers to EU and non-EU countries. Since 1 January, for the first time in over 20 years, duty-free goods are available to be purchased by all passengers at ports, airports and international rail stations, as well as on board ships, aircraft and trains on any international route.

It goes without saying that these changes will hugely benefit regional airports such as Leeds and Newcastle as they serve mostly EU destinations, but, unfortunately, Teesside airport will not be benefiting just yet. After years of under-investment and neglect by our local Labour councils in the Tees valley, five years ago Teesside airport was earmarked for closure; in fact, it was due to close this year. Most of our flights had stopped, leaving only a business connection to Amsterdam, and our airport became easyJet’s training ground, rather than a runway for holidaymakers.

Because of Labour’s complete lack of interest in this regional asset, there is not duty-free shopping at Teesside airport any more. However, we do have plans for change. The Tees Mayor, Ben Houchen, honoured his pledge to the people of Teesside and saved Teesside airport. He has since invested in turning it around—so much so that he was criticised recently by Labour’s candidate for Mayor, who said that

“the Mayor spends far too much time at the airport spending huge amounts of investment there, trying to bring jobs there”,

which is quite an odd line of attack.

From just one flight to Amsterdam, we are now flying back to holiday destinations such as Alicante, Bulgaria and Majorca. Soon, following the investment and improvement that Ben is putting into the airport facilities, we will see the return of duty free at Teesside airport too, so that holidaymakers in the UK can gain from this travel must. Thanks to this Government, they will see the real benefits of duty free. It is great to see that the changes that are an essential part of the post-Brexit VAT framework were put in place with minimal infrastructure changes and at minimal cost. I am also pleased to see that the UK has adopted one of the most generous alcohol allowances in the world for residents returning home. The booze allowance that Teessiders can now bring home has been quadrupled, allowing UK residents to save up to £120 of UK duty. Of course, this also applies to anyone travelling back to the UK, not just those outside the EU. That is something I will definitely enjoy, once we are able to travel again.

I understand the concerns that Members have about VAT RES, but I disagree with them. It was a hugely expensive scheme that really only benefited wealthy areas of the UK. No one shopping on the high streets in Redcar or Marske would benefit from it. Extending it to the EU instead of removing it completely would have cost us £1.4 billion every year, and that is why most visitors did not even use it. I am sure that my constituents and the constituents of many across the House would rather see that £1.4 billion spent on business rate reductions for coastal towns; on more investment in communities such as Eston, South Bank and Grangetown; and on further targeted measures to support our high streets.

Thanks to the measures we are debating today, we can make duty free great again, we can get boozing done and we can target measures on our high streets to make them more strong and stable. I fully support these measures and look forward to my constituents in Redcar and Cleveland benefiting from them at Teesside airport soon.

Future Relationship with the EU

Jacob Young Excerpts

Thursday 10th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

Most of the things that businesses will have to do are not contingent on these final negotiations. As I mentioned, there has been a huge amount of investment in people, technology and infrastructure, and there will be a phased approach next year. We are giving businesses, colleagues and other intermediaries who will be working with those businesses the information they need to prepare well; that includes the hon. Lady’s casework team, who will have had the pack that I mentioned earlier. If there are outstanding issues, specifics or technical matters that you need help on—I am sorry, Mr Speaker: I mean “the hon. Lady needs help on”, or indeed you, Mr Speaker—we are available to assist. Please do make use of those services.

[Jacob Young (Redcar) (Con)]

This Saturday, it will be a whole year since I was elected on a manifesto pledge to get Brexit done. Two thirds of people in my community voted to leave the EU and take back control of our laws, borders, fishing waters and money. Will the Minister confirm that we will not sell out on any of those priorities, and that no trade deal remains better than a bad trade deal?

[Penny Mordaunt]

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. I congratulate him on reaching his anniversary, and I thank him for all the work he is doing to represent his constituents’ interests in this matter and many others.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jacob Young Excerpts

Tuesday 20th October 2020 Commons Chamber

[Kemi Badenoch]

[Jacob Young (Redcar) (Con)]

[The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Rishi Sunak)]

[Jacob Young]

[Rishi Sunak]