Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Stephen Metcalfe

Tuesday 29th January 2019 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Metcalfe (South Basildon and East Thurrock) (Con)]

7. What progress his Department has made on reducing the deficit since 2010.

[The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr Philip Hammond)]

In 2010, the Government inherited from Labour a deficit at a post-war high. Since then, owing to decisions the Government have taken and the hard work of the British people, the deficit has reduced by about four fifths and is forecast to be just 1% of GDP by 2021-22. The Government’s balanced approach is ensuring that debt is falling while also supporting vital public services, keeping taxes low and investing in Britain’s future.

[Stephen Metcalfe]

I am sure the Chancellor will join me in celebrating the fact that for the first time we are starting to see a sustained reduction in our overall debt. Does he agree that the worst thing we could do is hand over the levers of our economy to the Labour party so that it might leave us yet another toxic inheritance to clean up?

[Mr Hammond]

My hon. Friend is right. The public finances have reached a turning point. This is the first time in 17 years that we are not borrowing for day-to-day expenditure. Debt has peaked and now begun to fall—its first sustained fall in a generation—and the last thing we want is for the hard work of the British people to be thrown away by the incompetence of a Labour Government delivering higher debt and higher interest payments, which they always do.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Stephen Metcalfe

Tuesday 11th September 2018 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Metcalfe (South Basildon and East Thurrock) (Con)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

[The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr Philip Hammond)]

My principal responsibility is to ensure economic stability and the continued prosperity of the British people, both during this period of heightened uncertainty and beyond it after Brexit. I will do so by building on the plans that I set out in the autumn Budget and the spring statement. This Government will continue to take a balanced approach to the public finances that enables us to give households, businesses and our public services targeted support in the near term as well as investing in the future of this country and getting debt down to cut interest costs and deliver fairness to the next generation.

[Stephen Metcalfe]

South Essex has the potential to play a huge part in delivering on those aspirations, as I and some of my Essex colleagues saw last Friday as we took a Clipper journey from Purfleet out to Southend and back. It was an extraordinary experience. May I therefore invite the Chancellor to come and join us and see the part that south Essex can play in making Britain great again?

[Mr Hammond]

I think it comes back to the same point: it depends if my hon. Friend is buying.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Stephen Metcalfe

Tuesday 22nd May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

Once we have left the European Union the money that was reaching the UK from EU sources will be allocated to the UK shared prosperity fund, and over the course of this year we will consult on both the distribution and the application of those funds and the size that that fund should be.

[Stephen Metcalfe (South Basildon and East Thurrock) (Con)]

9. What steps he is taking to support first-time home-buyers throughout the UK.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Stephen Metcalfe

Tuesday 17th April 2018 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Metcalfe (South Basildon and East Thurrock) (Con)]

Automation, machine learning and artificial intelligence have the potential to offer huge productivity gains. What discussions has my right hon. Friend had with colleagues across Government about providing leadership in this important field so that we can reap the maximum productivity boost and be at the forefront of this exciting technology?

[Mr Philip Hammond]

As I have said many times in this House, we have two choices: we can either run away from this challenge; or we can run towards it and embrace it. In fact, if we want to maintain the living standards of our people and the status of our economy in the future, we have no choice but to embrace it—and we are doing so. I announced at the autumn Budget funding to support the uptake of digital technologies across Government, allowing the Government to be an exemplar, but we are also promoting these technologies to private business. The UK is at the forefront of many of these cutting-edge technologies.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Stephen Metcalfe

Tuesday 16th January 2018 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Metcalfe (South Basildon and East Thurrock) (Con)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

[The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr Philip Hammond)]

My principal responsibility is to ensure the stability and prosperity of the economy, which means building on the ambitious steps laid out in the autumn Budget to tackle the key challenges we face so that we can create an economy fit for the future. I look forward to doing so, ably supported by my excellent ministerial team. Our balanced approach to the public finances enables us to give households and businesses support in the near term, and to invest in the future of this country, while also being fair to the next generation by reducing a national debt that remains too large.

[Stephen Metcalfe]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that lowering business taxes, as this Government have done, is not a race to the bottom but is vital in building and maintaining the strong economy on which we all depend?

[Mr Hammond]

Yes, I agree with my hon. Friend. Keeping business taxes competitive so that we can attract international investment to this country is essential, but there is a quid pro quo: if taxes are low, they must be paid. We are determined to ensure full compliance and to lead in international forums in looking at ways of improving corporate tax compliance.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Stephen Metcalfe

Tuesday 18th July 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Philip Hammond]

The hon. Lady is now asking a different question. The Prime Minister has been very clear that Britain is a very large economy in relation to our European neighbours and we would expect to have a bespoke arrangement with the European Union as our long-term future status quo, and indeed a bespoke arrangement for any interim period that is agreed. The hon. Lady is quite right that as we go forward with this process, we need to deliver on our commitment to leave the European, but to do so in a way that protects the British economy, protects British jobs and protects Britain’s prosperity, and that is what we will do.

[Stephen Metcalfe (South Basildon and East Thurrock) (Con)]

T5. Will my right hon. Friend, for the benefit of the House, confirm the cost to the economy of cancelling student debt, say whether that is affordable and explain what effect it would have on the work we have done to reduce the deficit?