Oral Answers to Questions

Alan Mak Excerpts

Tuesday 16th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Damian Hinds]

During the last Parliament, the Government made difficult decisions in order to keep fuel duty frozen and save motorists £9 every time their tanks were filled. Of course, no decisions of that kind are cost-free, and difficult measures had to be taken so that we could afford the freeze. All taxes are kept under review, and my right hon. Friend the Chancellor will announce the details in the Budget.

[Alan Mak (Havant) (Con)]

8. What steps his Department is taking to (a) support savers and (b) promote home ownership.

[Iain Stewart (Milton Keynes South) (Con)]

13. What steps his Department is taking to (a) support savers and (b) promote home ownership.

[The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Harriett Baldwin)]

The Government stand firmly on the side of people who want to work hard, save up, buy their own homes, and retire with dignity. We have increased allowances for individual savings accounts, introduced the Help to Buy scheme, pensioner bonds and pension freedoms, and taken 95% of people out of tax on their savings.

[Alan Mak]

Alongside the support that has been introduced over the last five years, maintaining a strong economy and low interest rates is one of the most important ways of helping home owners. Can my hon. Friend assure my constituents in Havant that the Government will continue to ignore the Opposition’s calls for more taxes and more spending, which put our economy at risk and make it harder for people to get on to the housing ladder?

[Harriett Baldwin]

What a pleasure it is to welcome my hon. Friend to the Chamber. He is absolutely right: more people are employed than ever before, and mortgage rates are extremely low. As a result of our long-term economic plan, my hon. Friend’s constituents in Havant, and constituents elsewhere, can now aspire to own their own homes one day.