Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Anthony Browne and Rishi Sunak

Wednesday 24th May 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady obviously missed the comments by the International Monetary Fund yesterday upgrading our growth performance, she obviously missed the survey of thousands of global chief executives just recently placing the UK as their No. 1 European investment destination, and it sounds like she also missed my trip to Japan last week, when we announced £18 billion of new investment in the UK economy.

[Anthony Browne (South Cambridgeshire) (Con)]

Q12. Liberal Democrat-run South Cambridgeshire District Council is the first in the country to put its staff on a four-day week without any reduction in pay, which has led to a reduction in services and an increase in costs. Yet last week the Liberal Democrats decided to extend the trial to a year. Why? Because the staff were happier. Now unions are pushing to spread the four-day working week across the public sector, something that the TaxPayers’ Alliance estimates will cost £30 billion. Does my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister agree that the public sector is here to serve the public and that the Liberal Democrats are not working?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Anthony Browne and Rishi Sunak

Wednesday 7th December 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

We fully respect the decision of the Supreme Court and believe strongly in the United Kingdom. As I said to the hon. Lady last time, we will work constructively with the Scottish Government to deliver for the people of Scotland.

[Anthony Browne (South Cambridgeshire) (Con)]

Q2. Financial scams are the most common form of crime, causing immense emotional and financial distress to millions of people. Government efforts in this matter have tended to focus on making sure that scammers cannot launder their proceeds of crime and that victims get compensation. Both of those things are really important, but they are acting after the scam has happened. Does my right hon. Friend agree that Departments, regulators and industry, perhaps guided by an anti-scams taskforce, could do far more to prevent scams from happening in the first place? Will he meet me to talk about this?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is right to highlight the hurt that scammers and fraudsters can cause. We are working closely with industry to block more fraudulent calls from reaching the public and, importantly, our new Online Safety Bill will place duties on the largest internet companies to tackle scam ads. I would be happy to meet him to discuss this further.

Financial Statement

Debate between Anthony Browne and Rishi Sunak

Wednesday 23rd March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Rishi Sunak]

All the people the right hon. Gentleman mentioned will benefit from the proposals we put forward last month, with £9 million to help everybody. The doubling in size of the household support fund is there for his local council and others to use to support those most in need, and he is right to highlight the winter fuel payments, which are payments of up to £300 for those pensioners. Many of those on pension credit will also have access to the warm home discount, which is an extra £150.

[Anthony Browne (South Cambridgeshire) (Con)]

As a member of the Treasury Committee and chair of the Conservative Back-Bench Treasury committee, I congratulate the Chancellor on this spring statement’s tax cutting and tax simplifying, with many measures to help hard-working families make ends meet and to promote economic growth. I also very much welcome the publication of the tax plan. Too often, Governments are tactical about their tax policies, leaving great uncertainty for businesses about what will happen next. We now have a strategy for the years ahead. Tax policy must be informed by a strategy; it also needs to be credible and fair. Can my right hon. Friend confirm that, in all the measures the Treasury has introduced since 2019, it is the poorest households that have benefited the most and the wealthiest that have contributed the most?

[Rishi Sunak]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on his new appointment and look forward to working with him in both his committees over the coming months, particularly to flesh out the business tax options that we want to finalise by the autumn Budget. He is right to say that the distribution analysis published today, which looks at all tax, welfare and spending decisions, shows that this Government have been highly progressive in their actions and that those on the lowest incomes have benefited the most.

Economic Update

Debate between Anthony Browne and Rishi Sunak

Monday 11th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Rishi Sunak]

The hon. Lady’s party called specifically for that money to be used to support small businesses and high streets; indeed, not only have we just done that but we have done it to the tune of £4.5 billion, not the £2 billion that her party was calling for.

[Anthony Browne (South Cambridgeshire) (Con) [V]]

Green finance has a crucial role to play if we want to build back better and transition to a net zero economy by 2050. The UK has a critical role in the development of the sector internationally, not just as a global leader in finance but with this year’s presidency of COP26 and chairmanship of the G7. Will the Chancellor outline for the House what he is doing to develop the vital green finance sector?

[Rishi Sunak]

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point: not only are we leading in the world in reaching our net zero targets but we are a global financial centre, and we have combined the two to lead the greening of the financial system, which is an opportunity for us. We are going to issue a sovereign green bond this year and will be the first major economy to make mandatory the climate-related financial disclosures recommended by the international taskforce, which will help to cement our global leadership. I look forward to hearing from my hon. Friend the other things that we can do in this vital year for our journey to net zero.

Spending Review 2020 and OBR Forecast

Debate between Anthony Browne and Rishi Sunak

Wednesday 25th November 2020 Commons Chamber

[Rishi Sunak]

I do not believe that we are behind France and Germany. We are phasing out internal combustion engine vehicles 10 years before France, and we are phasing out coal 13 years before Germany. Indeed, the Prime Minister’s 10-point plan will support up to a quarter of a million green jobs, building on the progress that we have made by being the country that has decarbonised the fastest out of all major economies.

[Anthony Browne (South Cambridgeshire) (Con)]

My constituency is home to the global headquarters of AstraZeneca, the private sector company that has committed to producing, on a not-for-profit basis, the so-called Oxford vaccine—not just for the British population, but for developing countries around the world. It is doing that through Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, of which the UK, as the Chancellor said earlier, is the biggest financial supporter. The coronavirus pandemic is the biggest crisis facing the world, and the UK is in a leading position in tackling it. Will my right hon. Friend confirm that, as a result of the spending review, the UK will continue to be able to play that leading role against the pandemic?

[Rishi Sunak]

I can give my hon. Friend that assurance. He highlights a perfect example of this country making an enormous difference to millions of people around the world, not just with our aid budget but through the quality of our research and then our desire to find commercial partners who will bring that life-saving treatment to millions of people at cost. It is a fantastic example, and my hon. Friend is right to highlight it.

Economic Update

Debate between Anthony Browne and Rishi Sunak

Wednesday 8th July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Rishi Sunak]

I know that this will make a big difference. It is important though that it is time limited. That is in keeping with most other countries that have done something similar—they have also run theirs through to the end of the year. I will happily bear all future tax suggestions in mind, but, in the short term, I hope that the right hon. Gentleman’s constituents and businesses get the boost in confidence and demand that they will need.

[Anthony Browne (South Cambridgeshire) (Con)]

It is bold, it is imaginative, and it is well-targeted. I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Chancellor on this package, which will do so much to promote jobs and growth across the country. I very much welcome the cut in VAT and in stamp duty, but most welcome of all is the kick-start scheme, which brings hope to young people in these difficult times. Unlike Labour’s future jobs fund, it is not just focused on the public sector. Does he agree that it will have most impact if it is fully embraced by the private sector, and private businesses take advantage of the opportunity to take on young workers?

[Rishi Sunak]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. It is important that we provide as many opportunities for young people as possible. One thing we want to improve and build on is the involvement of the private sector. I hope that this becomes a galvanising cry to businesses, small and large, up and down the country to take on a kick-starter to help play their part in the recovery, and I know that this is an area in which he has strong experience from his time in London. I appreciate the advice and suggestions that he has given me about how to encourage and incentivise businesses to create jobs and opportunity.

The Economy

Debate between Anthony Browne and Rishi Sunak

Monday 27th April 2020 Commons Chamber

[Rishi Sunak]

I thank the hon. Member for that comment, and I like his phrase at the end—we will see whether it shows up in a future speech. He is absolutely right that we are all in this together. We have gone through this as a collective endeavour as a country, whether as business, Government or individuals, and it is right that people act responsibly during this process. That is something I have urged all businesses to do, and I hope they continue to do that. He is correct: as we emerge from this, it is right to look at things in the round. As we went through this together, we must repair the economy all together.

[Anthony Browne (South Cambridgeshire) (Con)]

I congratulate my right hon. Friend on the bounce-back loans, which I am confident will provide much relief to a lot of small businesses in my constituency. I also congratulate him on the strong support measures across the range, which have helped a lot of people in South Cambridgeshire. Will he confirm that he will keep the package of measures under review, both to identify any other groups that we can help, but also to make sure that as we transition out of lockdown, we do so successfully? In particular, the job retention scheme, which, as he said, now employs 4 million people, has been very successful in protecting jobs. We need to make sure that when it does come to an end, it does so in a way that minimises redundancies.

[Rishi Sunak]

My hon. Friend is well informed on these issues. I know he has put a lot of specific thought into this topic, and I welcome further engagement with him. He is right. We must think carefully about exiting these schemes to provide maximum support to the labour market and businesses, and to ensure that we do not inadvertently distort things and hamper our recovery by stopping people going to work and businesses re-employing them, which is the outcome we all want to see.