Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Watts and Danny Alexander

Tuesday 10th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Dave Watts (St Helens North) (Lab)]

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

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

The core purpose of the Treasury is to ensure the stability and prosperity of the economy.

[Mr Watts]

The Chief Secretary seems to be spending most of his time feathering his own nest in his constituency, but can he take some time out from that important work to confirm that energy bills will go up by more than £50 and that energy companies, who are making fat profits, will not pay one penny to reduce bills?

[Danny Alexander]

I can confirm to the House that the action the Government are taking will ensure there is £50 off people’s bills this year. That is as a result of serious-minded work to ensure we reduce the pressure the Government are putting on people’s bills. That includes taking the warm homes discount, which helps 2 million low-income people in this country, on to the Government’s balance sheet. That is the right option, compared with the complete con that unfortunately is still being peddled by the Opposition.

Tax Avoidance (Public Servants)

Debate between Lord Watts and Danny Alexander

Thursday 2nd February 2012 Commons Chamber

[Danny Alexander]

I think the hon. Gentleman should be careful about how he characterises these arrangements, given that they are currently subject to a review.

[Mr Dave Watts (St Helens North) (Lab)]

On a day when another 100 of my constituents have lost their jobs because of the failed economic policy of this Government, how does the Chief Secretary to the Treasury think those people will feel about the Government allowing tax dodges, and allowing Ministers to take no responsibility for their actions? When are the Government going to come clean?

[Danny Alexander]

I suspect that they will feel, as I do, that urgent action needs to be taken. We have changed the arrangements in this case, and the review will root out whether any other such arrangements were put in place either under this Government or when the hon. Gentleman’s party was in office. He should wait carefully for the results of the review.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Watts and Danny Alexander

Tuesday 24th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Danny Alexander]

Of course, the burden of the deficit reduction is fair overall, and we know that the burden falls most highly on the richest 20% of the population. However, with spending cuts needing to continue for longer—another two years—we need to redouble our efforts, both to tackle tax avoidance and to deliver the income tax cuts that we have promised, by lifting the personal allowance as rapidly as the nation can afford. Those are, of course, issues that we shall be considering in the run-up to the Budget.

[Mr Dave Watts (St Helens North) (Lab)]

Why does the Minister not look at employing more tax inspectors, given that billions of pounds are going unpaid because there are not enough tax inspectors to do the job?

[Danny Alexander]

Not only have we looked at that; we are doing it. In the spending review, we announced an extra £900 million for HMRC, which is creating an extra 2,000 specialist posts to tackle tax avoidance and tax evasion. It took the hon. Gentleman’s party 12 years just to set up a specialist unit at HMRC to deal with high net worth individuals. We have extended that to ensure that there is a specialist unit to deal with the tax affairs of all those who pay, or should pay, the 50p rate.

Public Spending

Debate between Lord Watts and Danny Alexander

Thursday 17th June 2010 Commons Chamber

[Danny Alexander]

I was not aware of that Department’s spending on luxury sofas—perhaps I should have been. It is precisely that kind of expenditure on which we need to bear down heavily in the context of the spending review and through the efficiency and reform group that we have established, to ensure the maximum amount of space in Departments’ budgets to spend on the front-line services that Members on both sides of the House care about.

[Mr Dave Watts (St Helens North) (Lab)]

Can I try to get a straight answer to a straight question? What assessment has been made of the impact of this announcement on jobs and growth, and will the Chief Secretary publish that assessment and put it in the Library?

[Danny Alexander]

The position on that is as I set out to the shadow Chief Secretary: the biggest risk to jobs and growth in this country is failing to take appropriate action to deal with the deficit. That is the context of this Government’s policy. If we continued with the irresponsible habits of the previous Government, we would soon be in a great deal worse a position than the one in which we now find ourselves.