Taxation: VAT on Retrofitting Buildings

Debate between Lord Empey and Lord Newby

Thursday 25th July 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Newby]

My Lords, a reduced VAT rate of 5% already applies to the installation of various energy-saving materials, including insulation materials, in residential properties. There are many instances where people incur expenditure in a way that helps to reduce energy use, but given the current fiscal pressures, it is not possible to relieve such expenditure from tax.

[Lord Empey]

My Lords, as suppressing the demand for energy and encouraging job creation are two of the Government’s key objectives, is there not a strong case for reducing VAT more generally on the retrofitting of buildings as a simple and quick way of ensuring that both these objectives are achieved at minimal cost to the Treasury? Will the Minister not take a leaf out of the Americans’ book and look at this again, as it has been a successful policy across the Atlantic?

[Lord Newby]

My Lords, the Government recognise that energy efficiency has a major role to play in meeting carbon reduction objectives while reducing energy costs for consumers, and the process of doing that can and does generate jobs. That is why we have introduced the Green Deal, which, as noble Lords will be aware, encourages home energy-efficiency improvements, paid for by savings on energy bills. The energy company obligation will work alongside the Green Deal, focusing on hard-to-treat homes and low-income households.

Sterling: Exchange Rate

Debate between Lord Empey and Lord Newby

Tuesday 25th June 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Empey]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to bring about a lower exchange rate for sterling.

[Lord Newby]

My Lords, the UK does not have an exchange rate target. The Government’s macroeconomic framework includes an independent Monetary Policy Committee responsible for monetary policy that seeks to deliver price stability through an inflation target of 2% as measured by the 12-month increase in the consumer prices index. Under this framework the exchange rate is allowed to adjust flexibly.

[Lord Empey]

It is a great source of disappointment to me, and I am sure to many in your Lordships’ House, that the export-led recovery which we had all hoped for has not yet occurred. Does the Minister agree that while we take no action with our exchange rates and play by the Queensbury rules, our principal trading competitors in China and Japan are not so constrained as they deliberately manipulate the value of their currencies to the grave disadvantage of our exporters? Will he join with US President Obama, who in the past few weeks has expressed similar concerns?

[Lord Newby]

The UK exchange rate has fallen by about 20% since 2007. It was hoped that that would give a big stimulus to exports; it has given some, but not as much as we would have liked. On China, our trade to China over the past three years has increased by 76%. In April, for the first time, trade in goods to China reached £1 billion in a month. The access to China is proving rather better than the access to some other countries.

Northern Ireland: Corporation Tax

Debate between Lord Empey and Lord Newby

Monday 15th October 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Newby]

My Lords, I can confirm that the Government are committed to rebalancing the Northern Ireland economy. The remaining issues, not surprisingly, are financial, and essentially there are two. The first relates to the initial reduction of the block grant, which follows from any devolution of corporation tax to Northern Ireland. There is something called the Azores criteria, which means that if a devolved Administration take full fiscal responsibility for a tax change, they must face a reduction in their block grant equivalent to the current corporation tax take from firms based in Northern Ireland. The second point is about how you deal with the ongoing adjustment over time to take account of inflation. At this point, it is far too early to say what will happen if the working group does not reach a positive conclusion.

[Lord Empey]

My Lords, first, will the Minister confirm that in the event of the devolution of corporation tax-setting powers to Northern Ireland, the Assembly could set different rates of tax for larger and smaller businesses? Secondly, will the Minister agree that the case for the devolution of these powers is stronger than equivalent demands from the Scottish Government and that Her Majesty’s Government will not be influenced by the campaign for Scottish independence when reaching their decision?

[Lord Newby]

My Lords, I can confirm that, as the current UK corporation tax system has different rates for smaller and larger businesses, it would be possible in principle if corporation tax were devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly for two rates to obtain in Northern Ireland. I agree that the argument in favour of the devolution of corporation tax to Northern Ireland is of a different nature to the devolution of corporation tax to Scotland because of the proximity of the Republic of Ireland, which of course has a significantly lower corporation tax rate.