Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Matt Western and Lucy Frazer

Thursday 11th January 2024 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Frazer]

The mid-term review is a very important point where we can look further, and indeed have looked further, at a number of issues, including competition, complaints and impartiality. We will be publishing the results of the mid-term review very shortly.

[Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)]

The Minister will know that Warwick and Leamington—Leamington being also known as Silicon Spa—enjoys the greatest concentration of games companies in the world. I appreciate what was said in the autumn statement, but there is a skills shortage. Can the Minister update us on what is being done to address that?

[Lucy Frazer]

The gaming industry in this country is world leading, and I have had the pleasure of visiting a number of gaming companies to see how they are thriving. We have a creative industries skills package, which we committed to in the creative industries sector vision, to ensure a pipeline of talent all the way from primary school right up until someone’s second or third job, and there are measures at every single one of those steps.

National Insurance Contributions (Increase of Thresholds) Bill

Debate between Matt Western and Lucy Frazer

2nd reading
Thursday 24th March 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Lucy Frazer)]

It is a privilege to close this debate on behalf of the Government. We have heard many excellent speeches from both sides of the House today and I thank all hon. Members for their contributions. Before I address their points, I will remind the House of the Bill’s purpose.

The Bill does three things: it cuts taxes to ensure that people have immediate help with the cost of living; it creates better conditions to enable businesses to invest and grow; and it ensures that people keep more of what they earn for years to come. The Bill makes changes to the national insurance contributions system, which will make it easier for households to manage their finances at this difficult time by putting billions of pounds back into their pockets.

As we have heard, the Bill has two main measures. First, it will increase the NICs primary threshold and the NICs lower profits limit to £12,750 from July. As my hon. Friend the Member for South Leicestershire (Alberto Costa) said, it is the largest single personal tax cut in a decade. It represents a £6 billion personal tax cut for 30 million people across the UK. In addition, almost 2 million people will be taken out of paying class 1 NICs, class 4 NICs, and the health and social care levy entirely.

Some hon. Members might be asking why we cannot introduce these measures sooner. The simple answer is that we feel that the July implementation date strikes the right balance and allows employers and payroll software firms to adapt to significant changes. My hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich West (Shaun Bailey) highlighted the importance of updating HMRC’s guidance.

Secondly, the Bill seeks to alleviate some of the pressures caused by the rising cost of living on those who earn low amounts and who work for themselves. This measure will benefit half a million self-employed people by saving them up to £165 a year. As the Chief Secretary to the Treasury has already outlined, removing class 2 NICs from this group of low-earning self-employed workers will not prevent them from building their eligibility to the state pension and other contributory benefits.

I will now turn to some of the points raised during the debate by right hon. and hon. Members. The hon. Member for Ealing North (James Murray) made a few points and highlighted the tax burden. It is important to remember, however, the context in which the legislation is being brought forward and the context in which previous choices were made. He will remember that the Chancellor saved many livelihoods with the £400 billion of support that he provided during the covid pandemic. He also asked how we compare with other countries and what other countries are doing at this time. I inform him that the new tax to GDP ratio will still mean that we are in the middle of the pack internationally and lower than Germany, France and Italy.

The hon. Gentleman and the hon. Member for Warwick and Leamington (Matt Western) asked why we have not brought in a windfall tax on oil and gas companies. Many Conservative Members pointed out the answers to that. First, it is a short-term measure and we are bringing in long-term measures that will withstand the future. Secondly, we need those companies to invest in the future to ensure that we have energy security and that we transition to more renewable energy sources. They also pay more taxes already—40p in the pound not 19p in the pound as other companies do—and they have already invested, by way of taxation, £375 billion in production taxes.

[Matt Western]

I understand the point, and none of us really wants to see short-term measures, but in difficult times such as those we are in they are sometimes needed. The windfall tax is short term, of course, but is not the 5p fuel duty cut also short term?