Amendment of the Law

Karl Turner Excerpts

Thursday 19th March 2015 Commons Chamber

[Alex Cunningham]

Certainly, it is an issue across the entire country. I hear from people who are told at 6 o’clock in the morning that they are required for work, or, worse still, that they are not required for work. That is nonsense. What surety of income does that give them as they go into the week ahead?

The value of the national minimum wage has dropped by 5% since 2010, which is why the amount spent on in-work benefits and tax credits has risen 18%. Why cannot this outgoing Government recognise that people want to earn their money and look after their families rather than exist in a dead end, low-paid role that leaves them dependent on the state? What of those who, through no fault of their own, are dependent on the state? I fear what the Chancellor is planning to do to them next. Why is the Chancellor so coy about spelling out where the £12 billion cut in welfare spending will fall? Is it because he knows that decent people will baulk at his plans to devalue further the incomes of our most vulnerable?

Has the Minister seen the report that came overnight from Herriot-Watt university for Centrepoint, which shows that more young people will be homeless as a result of Government policies, and that many in work could lose their jobs if their housing benefit is removed and they are forced to return to live with their parents? We should not forget that this Government’s policies have seen these young people shoulder a disproportionate share of austerity and its worst effects.

[Karl Turner (Kingston upon Hull East) (Lab)]

Before my hon. Friend moves on, will he estimate the number of people in his constituency who are living with their parents because they are unable to buy their own home? How many of them could afford to save £200 to get the advantage of the individual savings account?

[Alex Cunningham]

I may not have the exact statistics, but I do know that large numbers of young people are in such a position. When I go to local colleges, I hear the anxieties of young people. They say that they want to live independent lives, go to university, and develop their plan for their own home, but they cannot do any of that.

The education maintenance allowance has been removed, support from the access to learning fund and student opportunity fund has been cut, housing benefit for under-25s has been reduced, higher education tuition fees have been trebled, and careers services have been slashed. On top of that, youth services have been hit by funding cuts of £60 million since 2012. I saw nothing in the Budget to address those issues, just a prediction of many more cuts to come.

In the north-east, 11 of the 12 councils suffered higher than average reductions in spending power for 2014-15 along with a 5% funding reduction. That is 10 times higher than cuts in the south-east, and almost four times higher in percentage terms. Our front-line emergency services are suffering more than most, too. It is no secret that A and E departments up and down the country are having a torrid time as a result of this Government’s wanton neglect of the NHS. We have £3 billion wasted on a reorganisation that has increased bureaucracy and allowed confusion to reign; fewer nurses than in 2010; and a GP work force in crisis. But much less well publicised has been the net loss of 293 officers from Cleveland police force since 2010, with more to go as the police and crime commissioner faces another 5.1% budget cut. Cleveland police are £35 million worse off than they were in 2010-11.

That picture is repeated in the fire service, with many brigades struggling to budget for the coming year while having to maintain confidence in the speed and efficiency of their emergency response services. Despite being a centre for the petrochemicals industry and posing one of the biggest fire risks in Europe, Cleveland is facing one of the biggest hits to its spending, with additional cuts this year of 10.4%.

Would the Chancellor still have the temerity to suggest that the quality of public services has gone up, not down, if he could see that services such as Cleveland are having to replace trained, full-time firefighters with retained firefighters just to make ends meet? Would he also do so if he knew that his cuts had spurred the service to close the marine fire station at the centre of our industrial complex?

Energy intensive industries form a large part of the economy on Teesside and across the north-east. The Chancellor mentioned the steel and chemical industries, but he has done little to help them. Although it was announced that the feed-in tariff element of renewable compensation for energy intensive industries will be brought forward to the point of state aid approval, renewables obligation compensation will not be introduced until 2016. That means yet another year of struggling in highly competitive global markets against international competition, which has more favourable conditions, thereby risking jobs and growth in Teesside, as companies are undercut and the jobs moved elsewhere.

With energy prices being business critical, it is possible for these industries to operate only in countries with competitive prices. If we continue in that manner, the UK will fall off the list, and it is areas such as Teesside and the north-east that will again be hit the hardest. That represents yet another missed opportunity to stimulate growth and create jobs.

With working people worse off than they were in 2010, millionaires receiving tax cuts while VAT has been bumped up to 20%, public services being decimated and front-line emergency services slashed, and at the same time that employment is insecure and those on low pay are struggling just to make ends meet, it is little wonder that people in the north-east, and indeed across the country, feel no connection at all with the two parties in government.

Tax Avoidance

Karl Turner Excerpts

Wednesday 11th February 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gauke]

I have nothing further to say on that point. The position is that Lord Green was appointed as a trade Minister. His appointment was supported across this House; many people from both sides of the House welcomed it.

[Karl Turner (Kingston upon Hull East) (Lab)]

We did not have the information.

[Mr Gauke]

The hon. Gentleman says from the Front Bench that the Opposition did not have the information, but just a few minutes ago he was saying that it was all in the public domain. He cannot have it both ways. The position is that Lord Green was appointed and his appointment was widely welcomed. We can hear the rhetoric from the Opposition, but the reality is that this Government have backed up rhetoric with hard, decisive action. Since we came to power in 2010—

Oral Answers to Questions

Karl Turner Excerpts

Tuesday 4th November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr George Osborne]

My hon. Friends the Members for Hexham (Guy Opperman) and for Carlisle (John Stevenson) have made a strong case for improving transport links in the north of England and between the north-east and Carlisle. They have already brought the A69 to my attention, and I would be happy to have that meeting.

[Karl Turner (Kingston upon Hull East) (Lab)]

T9. Given that the Chancellor is claiming to be the champion of the north, will he explain why he has given a £3 billion tax cut to people who earn £150,000 a year, while people in Hull are on average £1,600 a year worse off?

[Mr Osborne]

We have cut taxes, including taxes for people in the north of England, for 25 million working people. Under the Labour Government, the gap between the north and south increased. We are working across party divides with local authority leaders to get in the investment and change this decade-long imbalance in our country.

Finance (No. 2) Bill

Karl Turner Excerpts

Wednesday 9th April 2014 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Selous]

I speak as the chair of the all-party group on strengthening couple relationships. Family stability lies at the heart of this debate, and I was pleased to hear the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne North (Catherine McKinnell) say that she is a supporter of marriage.

This proposal is one of a range Government policies. The Government have put £30 million into strengthening relationship support. For the first time ever, the Department for Work and Pensions is conducting a family stability review. The good news is that family stability is increasing and strengthening, by a bit in the most recent figures. The scariest statistic in this whole area is that by the time children born today are 15, roughly half will see their parents separate. That saddens me hugely. My own parents divorced and I am very much less than a perfect husband myself—none of us is perfect. We all bring our baggage and personal experiences to these issues, so I understand the emotion on both sides of the House. We need to speak with care and moderation. When I look at the pain experienced by the children of friends of mine who are going through divorce, there is something that makes me want to try to do everything possible to increase family stability and reduce family breakdown.

I will not regale hon. Members with many figures, but I will mention the UK’s biggest household study, “Understanding Society, the UK household longitudinal study” by the university of Essex. Most academics and researchers in this area respect it as one of the most authoritative studies. It shows us that 93% of 13 to 15-year-olds whose parents are still together are living with parents who are married. I am not making that up or making a judgment on anyone; I am merely presenting the House with the facts. There may be many reasons for that, and I accept that there are cause and effect arguments both ways. I accept absolutely that poverty is a cause of breakdown, but I also accept that strong families are a bulwark against poverty.

We should use every tool in the box to try to strengthen family life for everyone, whatever relationship they are in at the moment. We need to care deeply about the 38% of constituents of the hon. Member for Plymouth, Moor View (Alison Seabeck). I want to strengthen family life for everyone. Some of the relationship support money that the Government have put forward will be for her constituents. The work we are doing on the family stability review will be for her constituents. I wish these debates did not become quite so heated, because I can assure her that Government Members who support this measure are for everyone—we are for all her constituents as well. We will defend the measures for everyone in the tax and benefit system—child benefit and child tax credits—because we recognise the important part that marriage plays in family stability. I do not want Opposition Members to think that this is a divisive policy. We are bringing this forward as part of a suite of measures to try to do deal with an epidemic of family breakdown in this country and because we want to do something to promote family stability.

As we look at other countries, we see that this is not an outlandish or an unusual thing to do. In fact, the UK is the odd country out in the OECD. Across OECD countries, Mexico is the only other large economy not to have any recognition of marriage in the tax and benefit system. We have tax benefits for all sorts of policies. We have tax benefits for Christmas parties. Just because we favour a firm providing for Christmas parties does not mean that we are against Muslims, Sikhs or Hindus who might not choose to celebrate. It is just something we recognise. We have tax policies that support people parking their bicycles at work. Just because we favour people bicycling to work does not mean that we are against people who come to work in cars or scooters, or who walk, or take the train or the bus. We need to get out of the mentality that, because we are introducing a tax break for an institution we know is good for family stability, we are being in any way divisive.

[Karl Turner (Kingston upon Hull East) (Lab)]

The hon. Gentleman talks about family breakdown. Has he made an estimate of how many families will break down because of the bedroom tax, which is an awful policy? Could this money be used to scrap it?

[Andrew Selous]

There is relatively good news on the under-occupancy penalty. More families have been able to move, with nearly 200,000 one and two-bedroom properties available for families to move into. I have seen families who are better off because they are paying lower rent and lower heating bills, or are nearer a bus stop or a sick or disabled relative. We must remember the 1.7 million people on social housing waiting lists and the 300,000 people who are very overcrowded.

The general point the hon. Gentleman makes is of course important. There are many stresses on families today. The Government are cognisant of that fact and are introducing a whole suite of policies—freezing council tax and fuel duty, increasing the personal allowance and increasing the minimum wage—to try to make life easier for people. The good news on jobs and growth will also make things easier. We should not seek to divide people. As has already been said today, we know that over half of lone parents believe strongly that there should be both a mother and a father involved in bringing up children. That is something we need to remember as well.

I strongly support what the Government are doing. The sum can always be increased when the public finances allow it—at present, the Chancellor is playing with a limited amount of money—and we are returning to a policy that was well supported until 2000 and is common among OECD countries. I ask Members to focus on the widespread extent of family breakdown in our country, and to see this as one important policy for increasing the family stability which we know is so important to children.

Oral Answers to Questions

Karl Turner Excerpts

Tuesday 10th September 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

My hon. Friend, who is my constituency neighbour, knows as I do that manufacturing businesses are doing better now. Orders are up and exports, particularly to the new emerging markets, are up. In Daresbury in my hon. Friend’s constituency, we are committed to making sure that the manufacturing businesses at the cutting edge of technology get support, and we will continue to do that.

[Karl Turner (Kingston upon Hull East) (Lab)]

T4. I congratulate the Chancellor on his comedy haircut, but let me tell him that his policies are not very funny for people in my constituency, who are at least £1,500 a year worse off than they were in 2010. Does he accept that a certain few at the top are better off under his policies?

[Mr Osborne]

I have not heard in the 54 minutes of these questions either an apology for what happened under the Labour Government or a single economic policy being advanced. If the Labour party is against our welfare cuts or spending cuts, let it have the courage to get up and say that it would reverse them. We have not heard that at all in this questions session.

Economic Growth

Karl Turner Excerpts

Wednesday 15th May 2013 Commons Chamber

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Danny Alexander)]

This has been an interesting and, at times, informed debate. Some very good contributions were made in support of the Queen’s Speech, particularly by the hon. Member for Crawley (Henry Smith), my hon. Friends the Members for Eastleigh (Mike Thornton) and for Redcar (Ian Swales), and the hon. Members for Stourbridge (Margot James) and for Croydon South (Richard Ottaway). They were a pleasure to listen to on my 41st birthday—and I am grateful to the shadow Financial Secretary for his good wishes. Many Opposition Members spoke against the Queen’s Speech, notably the hon. Members for Glasgow North East (Mr Bain), for Huddersfield (Mr Sheerman) and for Birmingham, Erdington (Jack Dromey), who presented their arguments passionately.

The debate was opened by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer—[Interruption.] Of course it was opened by the shadow Chancellor; the Chancellor opened it on behalf of the Government. How could I forget the “busted flush”?

The Chancellor of the Exchequer referred to the welcome improvements in United Kingdom growth in the first quarter of the year, noting the contrast with today’s very unwelcome first-quarter figures in France and Germany. Labour Members certainly talk a great deal less than they did a year ago about their French connection. Perhaps they are worried about the fact that “FCUK” is now thought to be an anagram of their economic policy.

A few of the shadow Chancellor’s colleagues certainly seem to think that he should move on. One senior figure recently said “Balls is a busted flush when it comes to economic credibility.” Given a cost of £28 billion in extra borrowing, the Opposition’s alternative Queen’s Speech is certainly not economically credible, and I urge the House to reject their amendment.

This Queen’s Speech was motivated by the Government’s wish to create a stronger economy in a fair society, in which everyone can get on in life—

[Karl Turner (Kingston upon Hull East) (Lab)]

rose—

[Danny Alexander]

—including the hon. Gentleman.

[Karl Turner]

I suspect the right hon. Gentleman remembers that he visited my constituency last year to see the plans for a major new facility for Siemens to manufacture offshore wind turbines. Will he advise his Back-Bench Tory colleagues whether he thinks an in/out referendum would encourage Siemens to say yes or no?

[Danny Alexander]

I certainly do remember that visit, and I commend the hon. Gentleman for his work to secure that investment, along with many members of the Government, not least my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change. The Prime Minister has also worked very closely with Siemens in relation to that. My answer to the question is no, I do not think an in/out referendum or campaigning for Britain to leave the EU is particularly helpful in attracting inward investment of the sort the hon. Gentleman describes.

The Queen’s Speech contained a number of measures that will help people who want to get on, because the best way of increasing employment, increasing output and increasing growth is by creating a system that helps those who want to offer work and those who want to find work. Our new national insurance allowance will reduce the costs of employment for employers, and especially for small businesses looking to hire their first member of staff or expand their work force. We estimate that the £2,000 allowance in the Bill in question will benefit 1.25 million businesses, most of them small businesses. Our new tax-free arrangements on child care will reduce the cost of employment for employees, putting money back into the pockets of hard-working families and ensuring that it makes financial sense for parents to go out and seek work. The continuation of our reforms on trainees and apprenticeships will go a long way towards addressing employers’ concerns that some young people lack the right skills, attitudes or experience when applying for work. Alongside our much-needed welfare reforms through the introduction of the universal credit, these changes demonstrate that we are creating a society where it pays to find work, and where the Government will help all who want to do so.

Humber Economy (Fiscal Support)

Karl Turner Excerpts

Tuesday 27th November 2012 Westminster Hall

[Karl Turner (Kingston upon Hull East) (Lab)]

I can say with some certainty that it is always a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Amess, because, although I am a relatively new Member of the House, I have served under your chairmanship on numerous occasions already.

I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle (Alan Johnson) on securing this important and timely debate. I am delighted that the Economic Secretary to the Treasury is here to respond, and I urge him to listen carefully to hon. Members’ remarks and, perhaps more importantly, to act on them. It is often said that, in government, the power is in the purse, and policies across every Department must have sign-off and approval from the Treasury.

Before I make my plea for bespoke, targeted financial support for the Humber region, I would like to give a flavour of where the economy in Hull is now. I hope to offer a snapshot of the reality on the ground for people living in east Hull—and, indeed, struggling to live there as a result, let us be clear, of Government policy, which is hitting them particularly hard.

In the good-natured spirit of the debate, however, let me first thank the Minister for the Government’s support on issues such as the Humber bridge tolls. The hon. Member for Brigg and Goole (Andrew Percy)—or Goole and Brigg, as he likes his constituency to be called—was very involved in the tolls campaign before, during and after the general election campaign; indeed, Members of Parliament from across the parties were involved in it. Similarly, I thank the Government for the £25 million in regional growth funding to help the Green Port project, although the money is slow in coming.

I acknowledge the promise of help with infrastructure projects such as that at Castle street involving the A63, which runs through Hull West and into east Hull. I want to press the Minister on the Government’s continued support for the project. My right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle mentioned that the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, the hon. Member for Wimbledon (Stephen Hammond), has today cancelled, for the second time, his meeting with Hull MPs, which is particularly important given the concerns raised in this week’s British Chambers of Commerce report. Areas in east Hull have been awarded enterprise zone status, which offers businesses potential benefits, but all policies should be reviewed in terms of their outcomes, and I am sorry to say that the outcomes for the unemployed have failed Hull.

Much more targeted support is needed from the Government. The jobs crisis in Hull and the region more generally needs to be addressed as a matter of absolute urgency. It would be difficult to overstate just how desperate times are with regard to jobs in Hull. Forty people are chasing every job vacancy in my constituency, and those figures are replicated across the city. I suspect that the Minister will cite falling unemployment nationally as an indication that things are improving, and while I of course welcome any reduction, I reiterate the fact that that dip is not happening in east Hull or across the city. I fear that we may be seeing a generation of underemployed people—the working poor—who fall off the unemployment figures, but still live in real financial poverty.

Unemployment continues to rise every month in my constituency, but youth unemployment is of particular concern. Between 2001 and 2010, the number of people not in education, employment or training in Hull was reduced by 6%, from 17% to 11%. That was still far too high—we must be honest about that—but the figures were definitely heading in the right direction.

Previous reassurances from the Government that the private sector will pick up the slack resulting from cuts to public sector jobs are simply not borne out in the Humber region. The Chancellor’s promised rebalancing of the economy has failed in Hull, and long-established private companies are going bust or making significant redundancies every week. In recent weeks, job losses have been announced at BAE Systems, Seven Seas, Kimberley-Clark, McCain, Comet, Willerby Holiday Homes, Smith and Nephew, and Crown Paints, to name a few household names. Yesterday, Hull city council also announced a consultation on a further 171 potential job losses.

We are currently in a 90-day consultation process with Seven Seas, after which we may see 259 skilled jobs leave Hull. Seven Seas was established in Hull 73 years ago off the back of the fishing industry and the trade in cod liver oil. We are working with the business’s representatives in an attempt to persuade them not to leave the city just because, as they put it, the economy is failing them. Without a shadow of a doubt, they blame the Government’s economic policies for the firm’s failure and for the need to consider outsourcing production. Comet is another company that started in Hull a considerable time ago, and hundreds of people are praying that a buyer will come in to take over now that the company has gone into administration.

Let me mention some of the positives about the region, and particularly my city. My right hon. Friend said that the renewables sector and the Siemens investment could deliver for Hull what oil did for Aberdeen. The Siemens factory is expected to be built in 2014, with the berth built the following year. About 700 jobs will be created almost immediately, with thousands more following in the supply chain. It is crucial, therefore, that we get some certainty from the Government, because it is fair to say that we have had mixed messages from them in recent months. The Liberal Democrats swear that this is the greenest Government ever while the Treasury scraps subsidies to solar energy and gives tax cuts to offshore gas exploration. The Energy Secretary says that wind is wonderful, while having to slap down a junior Minister—the Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change, the hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Mr Hayes)—for stating that the Government have had enough of wind. We need absolute clarity from the Government if we are to secure this terribly important investment in the city.

My right hon. Friend touched on education, and Hull has some excellent educational establishments, of which Wilberforce college in my constituency is just one. However, organisations such as the Humber Education Business Partnership, which historically brought educational bodies and industrialists together, have lost Department for Education funding.

The LEP is an important factor, although I do not think that it provides as much support as the regional development agency. The Government should take recommendation 61 of the Heseltine report seriously, because it reinforces the fact that LEPs need more power and money to deliver for the areas they plan to provide for.

I want briefly to touch on the city deal. I welcome Hull’s opportunity to bid for city deal funding, and I hope the Humber bid is successful. The leader of Hull city council, Councillor Stephen Brady, is looking forward to working with public and private sector partners from across the Humber to develop a Humber city deal proposal. Hull needs targeted, bespoke support, and the city deal may go some way towards helping us to sort out the current economic downward spiral.

I also want briefly to address the issue of the A63 at Castle street. This week’s British Chambers of Commerce report said that just three out of 13 transport projects identified by the Government as crucial to economic growth have been given the go-ahead. I hope there is nothing sinister about the Under-Secretary of State for Transport cancelling appointments—and doing so, I have to say, at rather late notice. I really want to hammer home the point that the A63 at Castle street is crucial to the economy of Hull and the region.

--- Later in debate ---

[Sajid Javid]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for that comment. I do not know why that meeting has been cancelled. I am sure that there is a constructive reason, but I will take his point to the Minister and ensure that he is aware of the strength of feeling on that issue.

[Karl Turner]

I can probably assist the Minister. I think that that Minister cancelled on one of those occasions because he was on holiday. Perhaps the Minister might want to visit Hull, to see the A63 and Castle street for himself. He would understand the need, if he did.

[Sajid Javid]

I do not know whether the hon. Gentleman is inviting me, but I would be happy to come to Hull. I love Hull. I have lots of friends there, and am happy to go and make some more.

It is only right that the Government protect the most challenging regions from public spending cuts, to the extent that they can. The formula grant in Humber was £609 per person in 2011-12, compared with an average of £372 across England and £190 in Richmond upon Thames. I am sure that Members will agree that that reflects, to a large extent, local needs.

The hon. Member for Great Grimsby rightly mentioned housing. I want to point to the Infrastructure (Financial Assistance) Bill, which has now received Royal Assent. Up to £10 billion of the £50 billion of guarantees are earmarked for housing spending, and if Members know sponsors of such projects in the region, I encourage them to make an application to the relevant Department to find out whether it is possible to take advantage of the guarantees.

In conclusion, I again thank the right hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle for securing this constructive debate, and I also thank all the Members who have taken part. I noted the right hon. Gentleman’s comments about the great Andrew Marvell, and if I understood him correctly, I think that he is basically telling the Government to get on with it. I think that it is fair to say that the Government have taken a lot of action, but I hear him loudly and clearly, and the Government will continue to take action and pay a great deal of attention to the region.

Changes to the Budget

Karl Turner Excerpts

Monday 11th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I am disappointed in the hon. Gentleman. He started out as such a good boy, and it is a pity that he spoiled that thereafter. I know that a similar sin will not be committed by the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull East (Karl Turner), because he is a good listener and a quick learner.

[Karl Turner (Kingston upon Hull East) (Lab)]

I welcome the Government’s U-turn on the caravan tax, which would have adversely affected many thousands of people throughout the country. However, will the Minister take this opportunity to apologise to the 350 employees of Willerby Holiday Homes in my constituency who were told that they would potentially be made redundant as a result of the Government’s barmy idea, and will he describe the effect on the industry of the introduction of the 5% tax on caravans?

[Mr Gauke]

First, let me say that I am grateful to have an opportunity to return to the Dispatch Box. On the point the hon. Gentleman raises, I really do not think that the changes, which in our original proposals would not have come into effect until October and which now will not come in until April, can be the source of some of the current difficulties within the caravan industry. We think we have the right policy now and that a 5% rate is fair.

Jobs and Growth

Karl Turner Excerpts

Thursday 17th May 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Ellwood]

I remind the right hon. Gentleman that the recession that lasted for five quarters, for which he was directly responsible, gave us a GDP growth figure of minus 2.3%. The figures that we are dealing with now are minus 0.3% and minus 0.2%. That means that we are heading in the right direction. It might technically be a recession of two quarters, but Labour is talking down the economy, which is not what the British electorate want to hear.

It is thanks to the measures that this Government are implementing that our economy is growing faster than that of the eurozone, twice as fast as Germany’s and three times as fast as that of France. Our borrowing costs have fallen to record lows, and thanks to the management of the deficit, we are able to retain our triple A rating. And yet, Labour are keen to peddle the idea that there is no plan for a recovery. That argument has just been put forward by the hon. Member for Leeds East (Mr Mudie).

I will give some examples of what the plan is. I have mentioned how we are managing the deficit so that borrowing costs are low. We are also creating one of the most competitive business tax systems in the developed world; cutting red tape by scrapping unnecessary and out-of-date regulations, which are costing UK businesses more than £350 million; and creating one of the most educated and flexible work forces in Europe by creating apprenticeship schemes and energising our schools system through the academy programme. Of course, we are also boosting investment and exports to rebalance the economy by setting up enterprise zones across the country, developing regional growth funds and replacing the regional development agencies with the more effective local enterprise partnerships. I certainly welcome the one that has just been launched in Dorset, which is already starting to release faster broadband and upgrade the county’s infrastructure.

[Karl Turner (Kingston upon Hull East) (Lab)]

What does the hon. Gentleman think the imposition of VAT on static caravans will do for jobs, growth and exports?

[Mr Ellwood]

Again, the hon. Gentleman is repeating a point that has been made by Labour and that the Chancellor has already heard.

To be fair to other Members who want to get in, I will conclude by saying that we need to remain firm on our plan. We need to focus on where we want to be in 2015. It was courageous of the Government to set out a plan for growth and I commend it to the House.

--- Later in debate ---

[Eric Ollerenshaw]

I would love to, but I have less than three minutes. I am sorry.

This Government are committed to: an M6 link road around Lancaster, which has been on the stocks since 1948 but nothing was done about it in 13 years of the Labour Government; the northern hub investment, which will improve connectively between the northern cities and enable them to compete; and investment in broadband through Broadband Delivery UK. People talk about superfast broadband, but a third of my constituents do not have access to normal broadband, and that is the failure of real investment over the past 13 years. I believe that the Government are now doing something about that and that things are happening to build that environment and infrastructure so that the north can compete like any other region of the country. Labour Members talk about a lack of vision, but the vision came from the coalition in the very first months. The commitment from my right hon. Friend the Chancellor was that we deal with the deficit but, at the same time, attempt to restructure and rebalance the country not only between sectors, but between regions. That is the vision of the coalition.

[Karl Turner]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Eric Ollerenshaw]

I have no time to give way.

Members have talked about the regional growth fund, which is now committed to making the majority of its spend in the north. That will add to the balancing out through real jobs for real factories. At the same time, while the Government are listening, I suggest that too much of the regional growth fund is still concentrated on metropolitan areas. There is a lot more to the north-west than Greater Manchester and Merseyside, and many businesses need to access the fund, so I hope that it will increase as it develops.

I also look forward to the Local Government Finance Bill returning to the House, because I believe that the freedoms that that will give local authorities through business rate retention will be a truly local way of improving investment and contributing to businesses. I welcome the commitment that the Local Government Association and my county council have made to looking at local government bonds as a way of raising investment for local businesses. The key is to unleash the regions and give them the infrastructure to compete not only on the national stage, but on the international stage, and that means superfast broadband and the ability to use our own money to invest in our own business. I congratulate the Government on what they have done about this so far.

Static Caravans (VAT)

Karl Turner Excerpts

Thursday 26th April 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gauke]

That estimate was made on the basis of the evidence that the Treasury and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs had before them. The point I wish to make is that a genuine consultation is taking place and we look forward to receiving evidence that my hon. Friend has and others have, so that we can make a further assessment of those costings.

Let me now discuss the impact on caravan manufacturers. We recognise that the impact on static holiday caravan manufacturers will not be trivial. The level of the impact will, of course, depend on the variety of products produced by those manufacturers. Many hon. Members are concerned about caravan sites, but it is worth bearing in mind that caravan holiday parks have a variety of sources of revenue, most of which will not be affected by the VAT change. Such sources include: charging a siting fee; running a shop; group insurance scheme commission; commission on the resale of used holiday caravans; and commission on letting on behalf of the owners—sub-letting—and so on.

I recognise that applying VAT to the sale of new holiday caravans will not be welcome, as this has been a significant income stream for many parks. However, there is a good deal of flexibility within the range of products and services that caravan holiday parks offer to allow them to adapt their mix of business to the new VAT treatment of holiday caravans. I recognise that there are challenges involved in adapting to these changes in the tax regime, but there is scope for adaptation.

The main point I wish to make today is that we would welcome any evidence provided through the consultation, which, as my hon. Friend has pointed out, has been extended, be it evidence on the costing or on other matters.

[Karl Turner (Kingston upon Hull East) (Lab)]

rose—

[Mr Gauke]

I have only one minute left, and I just wish to complete this point. We have listened to earlier representations, and we have extended the consultation period until 18 May to allow HMRC to engage further with representative bodies in order to better understand the implementation issues and how best to define a “holiday caravan” for VAT purposes. We are particularly keen to use the consultation to ensure that the new rules are workable and simple for businesses to administer. We understand the strength of feeling on this matter and genuinely want to listen to the concerns—