The Growth Plan

Debate between Kwasi Kwarteng and Philippa Whitford

Friday 23rd September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

I think the hon. Gentleman has got the mathematics slightly wrong. The business support is for six months, and the household support is for two years. Those are two things that need to be disaggregated. On long-term pricing, of course, nobody in this room—indeed, nobody in the world—has any idea what the price will be in two years, so it would be misleading to put a price on that.

[Dr Philippa Whitford (Central Ayrshire) (SNP)]

It is not just the American President; the dogs in the street know that trickle-down economics does not work. This statement pushes money into the pockets of bankers in the City of London and big fossil fuel companies. It will kill high streets. It will take money away from local economies. To make the entire UK economy dependent on one big city while strangling everywhere else is the opposite of levelling up. The Government’s “Growth Plan” document claims, on page 32, that the price cap will

“bring the average household bill down to £2,500”.

That is still £600 more than it is now, and double what it was in January. What will the Chancellor do to help people right now? In particular, will he cut VAT on fuel, as Germany has done?

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

The investment zones and our ability to incentivise investment will help a whole swathe of communities across the UK. The reversal of the national insurance increase and bringing forward the 1p reduction will also help thousands and thousands, if not millions, of our constituents.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kwasi Kwarteng and Philippa Whitford

Tuesday 10th November 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Business, Energy and Clean Growth (Kwasi Kwarteng)]

The Department has engaged regularly with the Chancellor and other partners across the devolved Governments, including in Scotland, since the beginning of the covid-19 outbreak to make sure that businesses have the right information, guidance and support that they need.

[Dr Whitford [V]]

A pub owner in my constituency has seen his business severely impacted by covid-19 restrictions but has been unable to access a bounce back loan, as the bank where he has his business account is not part of the scheme and none of the accredited lenders are accepting new business accounts. Will the Secretary of State widen the number of banks eligible to provide these loans or ensure that the big lenders accept additional business customers, so that small businesses can access the support they need to get through this crisis?

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

Obviously, I am not familiar with the exact details that the hon. Lady refers to. What I can point out is that in her constituency of Central Ayrshire, banks have provided something like £37 million of business loans, but I would be very interested to hear the specifics of that case and to see what we can do to meet those concerns.