Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

Ben Lake Excerpts

Tuesday 21st March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Ben Lake (Ceredigion) (PC)]

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Lewisham East (Janet Daby).

With living standards falling at a record rate and incomes in real terms set to remain below pre-pandemic levels until 2028, it is impossible to deny that the Budget is set against severe economic headwinds. But given the impact that rising living costs are having on households across the UK, it is disappointing that the Budget failed to take advantage of the opportunity to ease the burden of higher fuel costs. Four in 10 homes in Wales are thought to be switching off their heating because of the cost, and typical energy bills are expected to remain at historically high levels for some time to come. Additional support could be delivered immediately by extending the energy bills support scheme and guaranteeing off-grid homes an additional round of the alternative fuels payment.

It is staggering that small businesses have been left without additional support for their energy costs. I am worried that many will be forced to close when support is reduced in April if the parameters of the energy bills discount scheme are not expanded. Off-grid businesses have had to endure the rise in alternative fuel costs with paltry Government support. I should like to know how the Government justify the comparative lack of support for off-grid businesses, many of which are located in rural parts of the country such as Ceredigion. Their omission from meaningful support schemes has placed them at a competitive disadvantage to those companies located in more urban areas, which surely goes against the levelling-up agenda, about which we have heard so much from the Government.

If we are concerned about addressing the productivity problems of this country, we need to look at some of the structural issues in the way the UK economy has operated for some decades. There is no better way, in the short term at least, to address some of those structural problems and the productivity issue in rural areas than by investing in digital connectivity improvements.

Gigabit connectivity in Ceredigion stands at 27% of premises, compared with the UK average of 68%. Far too many places in my constituency, and in rural areas in general, suffer from poor connectivity and that hampers their economic development. As the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee noted, the decision to allocate only 25% of the funding for Project Gigabit so far risks undermining the ambition to improve the connectivity of hard-to-reach premises in a timely manner and prevent them from falling even further behind other parts of the UK. I would therefore like the Minister, in summing up, to explain when the UK Government will release the rest of the funding. Will they commit to accelerating the timescales for the roll-out of gigabit broadband in very hard-to-reach areas, many of which often lack both fast broadband and 4G signal?

On HS2, the Chancellor could also have used the Budget to release the £1 billion or so owed to Wales in consequential funding from the £20 billion expenditure already allocated to HS2. Over the project’s lifetime, Wales could receive up to £5 billion in consequential funding to spend on improving our creaking public transport infrastructure. That sum could be transformational for areas in rural mid-Wales such as Ceredigion. Sadly, it does not seem to be coming our way.

The success of any Budget is measured in the way it addresses the immediate challenges facing the economy and whether it paves the way for future prosperity. For rural areas, this Budget sadly falls short on both counts.

Oral Answers to Questions

Ben Lake Excerpts

Monday 27th June 2022 Commons Chamber

[Eddie Hughes]

Our ambition to end rough sleeping in the lifetime of this Parliament does not just require the wholehearted investment of our Ministers but of Ministers right across the Government. We are working incredibly closely with Ministers from the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Work and Pensions to make sure that we do genuinely achieve that ambition. I look forward to working with Opposition Members in order to help us in that cause.

[Ben Lake (Ceredigion) (PC)]

13. What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on improving the digital connectivity of the hardest-to-reach premises as referenced in the levelling-up White Paper.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (Neil O’Brien)]

I am in regular contact with other Ministers on this subject, which is very important for rural areas. Through Project Gigabit we are investing £5 billion in better broadband. At the start of 2019, just 7% of Welsh households could get gigabit internet; now 51% can. We are investing a further £1 billion in the shared rural network, which will increase 4G coverage in mid and west Wales from 86% to 97%.

[Ben Lake]

The Minister will be aware that some 19% of properties in Ceredigion currently receive broadband speeds of under 10 megabits per second. Although there are plans to improve connectivity in a number of these areas, there are other communities in villages such as Plwmp, Brynhoffnant, Blaenporth, Penrhiwllan, Ffostrasol and Rhydlewis that are not currently subject to any plans. How will the Government ensure that such communities will benefit from improved connectivity even when commercial companies have not thus far brought forward any plans?

[Neil O’Brien]

That is a very important observation. I mentioned some of the huge investments that we are making and the pace that things are moving, but we want them to happen even more quickly. I have a lot of respect for the hon. Member, and if he would like to discuss further how we can make the new roll-out go even faster, I would love to do that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Ben Lake Excerpts

Monday 7th March 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Housing (Stuart Andrew)]

Due to my role in planning, I cannot comment on specific plans, but national park policy empowers local communities by making it clear that they can designate areas of importance as local green space through their local plans. Such designations ensure that these important assets are provided with protection, reflecting their importance.

[Ben Lake (Ceredigion) (PC)]

T10. The airline Wizz Air has offered to fly Ukrainian refugees from Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania, and there are indications that Cardiff airport could be a destination for some of these flights. I understand that there have been initial discussions with the Welsh Government, but would the Secretary of State lend his support to co-ordinating a post-flight visa processing facility at Cardiff airport, so that Ukrainians fleeing the warzone can be brought to Wales quickly and safely?

[Michael Gove]

I am very grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising that, and I will look closely, with my colleague the Home Secretary, at that proposition. It is important that we have appropriate biometric checks, for reasons that are well understood, but I appreciate the generosity of the offer, and indeed we have been talking to the Welsh Government about how we can co-ordinate our efforts.

Shared Prosperity Fund: Devolved Administrations

Ben Lake Excerpts

Tuesday 1st March 2022 Westminster Hall

[Ben Lake (Ceredigion) (PC)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Edward. I will begin by thanking the hon. Member for Belfast South (Claire Hanna) for securing this debate and for the welcome opportunity to discuss the shared prosperity fund’s governance and scale, as well as the promises that were made to the devolved nations. Levelling up is an economic necessity, and for decades Plaid Cymru has drawn attention to the chasms that separate our nations in economic development, social opportunity and political attention. That is why, although I applauded the long-term vision contained in the levelling-up White Paper, I am concerned that it lacks the requisite funding and structural reform necessary to realise that vision. Quite simply, we need to get the shared prosperity fund right—a task that has been made even more difficult by a less than auspicious start. The Government dragged their heels in publicising the detail and in implementing the fund itself, and we now know that it also represents a broken manifesto promise, at least as it relates to Wales. On page 15 of the Welsh Conservative manifesto, the party committed

“to ensure that no part of the UK loses out from the withdrawal of EU funding”.

The Welsh Government have recently calculated that the Welsh budget will instead be £1 billion worse off by the year 2024 than if we had continued to receive EU funding through the structural funds. If we look to the EU and its €750 billion covid recovery fund, or to Germany’s historic €2 trillion, or £71 billion annual, investment in east Germany, we have an idea of the scale of the funding that levelling up truly requires.

I urge the Government, in the light of some of those examples, to raise their ambitions when it comes to levelling up—to levelling up levelling up, even—and to perhaps look at committing 1% of GDP over the coming decade, equivalent to some £22 billion annually, to the shared prosperity fund and the task of levelling up the nations and regions of the United Kingdom.

Sadly, in terms of governance, the UK Government are already repeating past mistakes by adopting the same centralised Whitehall model that created many of the regional inequalities in the first place. The shared prosperity fund must be administered by each nation, rather than being disbursed in a fashion that turns nations and regions against each other. Not only is that inefficient but it undermines devolved responsibilities for economic development, a point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr (Jonathan Edwards).

The shared prosperity fund must be better resourced and must work with rather than over the devolved nations. Anything else would be further proof that Westminster does not work for Wales. It would also call into question whether it works for the persistence of this Union.

Levelling Up

Ben Lake Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd February 2022 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

Yes, and I cannot think of a better mayor for Cumbria than my hon. Friend.

[Ben Lake (Ceredigion) (PC)]

Six of the nine areas in Ceredigion rank in the bottom 10% of areas across the UK for decent broadband coverage. How will the hardest-to-reach premises, such as those in Ceredigion, be targeted for public investment?

[Michael Gove]

I will work with the hon. Gentleman and, indeed, with the Senedd and the Welsh Government to ensure that we can roll out broadband. I recognise that lots of small businesses in Ceredigion—in Aberystwyth and all the way up to Machynlleth—need that support, and we will be there for them.

Oral Answers to Questions

Ben Lake Excerpts

Monday 29th November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend and constituency neighbour for making that important point. He represents a beautiful part of east Berkshire, and it is important that we maintain our protections for areas of environmental importance and areas of aesthetic distinction. We all need to recognise that sustainable additions to the current housing stock are an important part of making sure the next generation also have a chance to own homes, too.

[Ben Lake (Ceredigion) (PC)]

T9.   The 2019 Conservative manifesto promised that Wales will not lose any powers or funding as a result of our exit from the EU. If Wales is to receive £167 million from the levelling-up fund, as opposed to the £375 million a year it received from EU structural funds, from which funding pot can the people of Wales expect to receive the shortfall?

[Michael Gove]

I would challenge the hon. Gentleman’s arithmetic, but I know time is short. All I will say is that when I visited Merthyr Tydfil and Pontypridd less than a fortnight ago there was jubilation, not on my arrival but on the arrival of the money from the levelling-up fund that is helping fantastic figures in Welsh local government to deliver for their citizens. I hope I have the chance to visit Ceredigion to see how we can support more projects there.

Greensill Capital

Ben Lake Excerpts

Tuesday 13th April 2021 Commons Chamber

[Paul Scully]

May I respectfully suggest to the hon. Gentleman, through the Speaker, that if he wants the Chancellor to come to answer a question, he might ask a question that relates to the Treasury rather than one that comes under the British Business Bank, which is a responsibility of BEIS? As for the Chancellor, as I say, the system has worked. The hon. Gentleman may be touting his Opposition day debate tomorrow about wider things, but the Chancellor asked his officials to push for wider capital flows to be able to go through larger and smaller businesses, as we all wanted, and he rejected Greensill’s ask to try to change the CCFF scheme to involve banks including Greensill. That process worked.

[Ben Lake (Ceredigion) (PC)]

From a former Prime Minister texting Ministers in pursuit of his own financial interests to concerns over Russian state access to the other place, it is little wonder that questions have arisen as to the integrity of decision making in the UK. I acknowledge the Government’s commitment to investigate the Greensill debacle, but will they go further by implementing the Intelligence and Security Committee’s recommendations regarding undue influence in decision making, particularly in the practice of Lords for boards, to safeguard the transparency of our democratic decision making?

[Paul Scully]

The review specifically looks at supply chain finance and the discussions with Greensill. As I say, Nigel Boardman will do his work and report back at the end of June.

Covid-19: Hospitality Industry

Ben Lake Excerpts

Wednesday 24th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Ben Lake (Ceredigion) (PC)]

Like others, I congratulate the hon. Member for North Devon (Selaine Saxby) on securing this very important debate.

I agree with a lot of the points that have been made by hon. Members who have spoken, but would like to add a few more. Despite the unprecedented support from every level of government, including the Welsh Government and local authorities, yesterday’s Office for National Statistics data offered quite a sobering reminder of the devastating impact that the pandemic continues to have on businesses and employment in Wales. A year into lockdown, the Welsh unemployment rate has risen by 1.1%, while Wales’s perennially high economic inactivity rate has reached 24.4%, meaning that a quarter of the Welsh workforce is either not in employment or not seeking employment. I hope this debate will be a helpful reminder to Government of the importance of the hospitality sector both as an opportunity for jobs and for the way in which it helps particular regions, particularly coastal and rural areas, where other opportunities are sadly fewer and further between.

Before the pandemic, the hospitality sector contributed £59.3 billion to the UK economy and employed over 2.3 million workers across the UK. That in itself speaks for the significant contribution that the sector makes, but it was also an important gateway into the labour market for younger workers, with approximately one in 14 young adults employed in the pub and brewing sector alone. This sector is particularly important in rural areas such as my constituency of Ceredigion, where approximately 4,500 people, or 17% of the local workforce, are employed directly by the hospitality sector. It is worth noting that the sector, through local procurement and purchases from wholesalers such as Harlech Foodservice and Castell Howell, plays an important role in supporting the wider economy and rural incomes. Businesses in the hospitality supply chain, from food wholesalers and breweries to culinary suppliers and contract caterers, have not received as much attention, but they are essential for the success of the sector and should be supported by the Government.

While this month’s Budget contained several welcome measures for hospitality, I again urge the Chancellor to extend the 5% rate of VAT to the full financial year rather than six months and to consider proposals for a specific draught-beer duty to encourage on-premises consumption—a point that has been made very effectively by other hon. Members. Such measures would help to ensure that hospitality businesses can make the most of the upcoming summer season. Hopefully we can all look forward to a summer of unlocking. With potentially several months of restrictions, in various forms, to come, I urge the Government to be attentive to the needs of hospitality as a pivotal employer and significant economic multiplier. Particularly for those people in areas hardest hit by the pandemic, its survival is essential for post-pandemic recovery.

Levelling Up

Ben Lake Excerpts

Tuesday 16th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Eddie Hughes]

I thank my hon. Friend for her question. I think we should just repeat part of it: seven out of the nine north Wales seats are now held by Conservatives.

[Ben Lake (Ceredigion) (PC)]

Seven out of 10.

[Eddie Hughes]

Well, we can argue about that—it is still seven. When we make very good use of the £125,000 that will be given to Wrexham County Borough Council to help it work up its bid for the levelling up fund, I have no doubt that the enthusiasm for voting Conservative will spread to the remaining seats in north Wales.

--- Later in debate ---

[Eddie Hughes]

I would suggest two things: first, that the council engages quickly with its excellent local MP to identify appropriate projects for this funding; and secondly, that it fully utilises the £125,000 that will be given to help it work up an impressive and commercially appropriate bid.

[Ben Lake (Ceredigion) (PC)]

I, too, welcome the Minister to his place. He made reference in his statement to devolution and bringing economic decision making closer to the communities that it affects, but the levelling-up fund seems to do the opposite as far as Wales is concerned by excluding the Senedd from decisions that would be taken in Whitehall. It does, however, tie the success of community projects to representations made by MPs in this place. Can he give us any reassurances that Wales will not lose out now that his Government are cutting the number of Welsh MPs by a fifth?

[Eddie Hughes]

I think the thrust of the statement I have made today is that we fully intend to reach out to all four nations to ensure that everybody joins in our attempt to level up right across the United Kingdom. As Ceredigion is in category 1 of the levelling up fund, I hope the hon. Gentleman will be identifying suitable projects to support and endorse to ensure that further funding comes to his constituency.

Coronavirus: Supporting Businesses and Individuals

Ben Lake Excerpts

Tuesday 23rd February 2021 Commons Chamber

[Ben Lake (Ceredigion) (PC)]

Diolch, Madam Deputy Speaker, for calling me to speak in this important debate, in which we have heard a surprising amount of consensus from both sides—in between a few rhetorical flourishes.

Plaid Cymru would welcome the extension of the 5% reduced rate of VAT, but believes that the measure should be extended for the entirety of the forthcoming financial year. Members will of course be familiar with the dreaded three-winters scenario that many in the hospitality sector have suffered. Although the vaccination programme’s progress to date is very promising, we remain in its early stages. At this point, it is difficult to predict how things will develop in the coming months, so extending the VAT reduction for the entire financial year would offer welcome certainty, as well as boosting the sector and helping businesses to get back to their feet. That is particularly pertinent in the economically marginalised areas that are less likely to benefit from large-scale public projects. In Ceredigion, for instance, the hospitality sector employs approximately 4,500 workers, or 16% of the local workforce. Just as important, of course, are our high streets, which deserve and should get our support, so I hope the Chancellor will consider extending the business rates relief package when he unveils the Budget next week.

There is also an urgent need for the Government to look again at the framework for the repayment of Government-guaranteed debt. UKHospitality has estimated that the sector lost around £72 billion in sales in 2020 and faces, frankly, a debt mountain, including £4.2 billion in state-backed loans. It is therefore important that businesses that took out bounce back loans and CBILS are required to pay only when they are in a position to do so—in other words, when they have bounced back from the pandemic. Affording such a level of flexibility, and thus preventing avoidable business failures, would help to protect jobs, the taxpayer’s investment in the recovery and the integrity of our financial system. I hope the Chancellor will recognise that in his Budget.

Finally, I urge the Government to maintain the furlough scheme, to give employees and employers security as our economy adjusts. The scheme should be phased out only once both the pandemic and the prevailing economic conditions have stabilised; to do otherwise would risk undermining its very success in having protected jobs and risk stifling any nascent economic recovery. I also add my voice to those calling for an extension of the self-employed income support scheme, including the expansion of the eligibility criteria called for in the motion, and for an equivalent director support scheme so as to offer support to those who have thus far not received a penny.

Having done so much to protect the economy and the workforce, we must not withdraw support prematurely, as to do so would risk throwing away vast amounts of taxpayers’ money and potentially our economic recovery.