Growing the UK Economy

Blake Stephenson Excerpts

Wednesday 29th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Darren Jones]

Pithy, Madam Deputy Speaker! Yes, I completely endorse my hon. Friend’s question. He knows very well that in the technology space there are huge opportunities for investment in the UK. Our AI investment zone announcement will be the first of many such announcements in the years ahead.

[Blake Stephenson (Mid Bedfordshire) (Con)]

I thank my constituency neighbour, the hon. Member for Bedford (Mohammad Yasin), for campaigning so tirelessly to bring Universal Studios to my constituency. Constituents in Mid Bedfordshire and across the country will be surprised not to hear the Government back Universal Studios. Will the Minister confirm when he intends to conclude negotiations with Universal Studios and come back to the House with an update?

[Darren Jones]

I am afraid I cannot give the hon. Gentleman a date, because negotiations are, as he will know, negotiations. They are ongoing, but I am hopeful that we will be able to come back shortly with updates to show that we are able to deliver deals much faster than his party, when it was last in government.

Finance Bill (First sitting)

Blake Stephenson Excerpts

Committee stage
Tuesday 28th January 2025 Public Bill Committees

[James Murray]

I thank the shadow Minister for his questions and his support for the clause. He mentioned a question that the ATT raised about the interaction between the extension of the 100% first-year allowance we are proposing, particularly for charge points, and the context of full expensing in the annual investment allowance. For businesses that are investing over the annual investment allowance limit, there may be circumstances where, if the first year allowance were not extended as it is by these clauses, some investment in EV charge point equipment would qualify for only a 50% first-year allowance rather than 100% full expensing. The Government want to support investment in EV charge point infrastructure by providing full relief for investment in equipment for EV charge points. That is why we have introduced this measure.

The shadow Minister asked for a specific figure. I do not have that to hand, but I am happy to look into what information is available and get back to him. More broadly, the 100% first-year allowance was due to expire in April 2025. This conversation has echoes of an earlier discussion we had around retail, hospitality and leisure business rates relief, and reliefs or allowances that we inherited and which are due to expire in April 2025. We have decided to extend this, and the reason why is to help support businesses and individuals who are buying or making electric vehicles and associated infrastructure. We see this as one of a series of measures to support the EV transition. It has come up in relation to a number of clauses, so I think it is clear to the Committee that the Government are pursuing a range of different interventions and policies to carefully calibrate the right level of Government support.

[Blake Stephenson (Mid Bedfordshire) (Con)]

In the interest of providing certainty, would the Minister explain why the Government did not choose a multi-year allowance on this, rather than going for an extension of only one year?

[James Murray]

As I was saying, we are seeking to calibrate the incentives carefully for the transition to EVs to support manufacturers and consumers and to give as much certainty as possible, while making sure that we have the right support in different parts of the tax system to provide value for money and support the transition in the right way. It is not a question of a single measure being responsible for supporting the transition. This relies on manufacturers and consumers playing their part, but the Government need to play their role, too, which is why this measure sits alongside others we have debated, including those that are not part of the Finance Bill but are part of the Government’s broader agenda. Collectively, they will support this transition.

Question put and agreed to.

Clause 23 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 24 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 25

Commercial letting of furnished holiday accommodation

Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill.

--- Later in debate ---

The Professional Association of Self Caterers UK points out that traditional holiday lets businesses provide critical bedstock in visitor economies, and estimates that the holiday lets that will be impacted contribute some £9.3 billion in economic activity and support 230,000 jobs. Even Labour’s Environment Secretary has recognised the economic value of holiday lets. In his speech to the Oxford farming conference this year, he spoke about supporting farmers to “innovate and diversify” their businesses by making it easier to convert large barns into holiday lets.

[Blake Stephenson]

Does my hon. Friend think that, by suggesting that farmers should diversify into holiday lets, the Environment Secretary intends that farmers should pay even more tax to the Treasury?

[Gareth Davies]

It is clear that the Government have launched an attack on farmers across rural communities in our country. The family farm tax is a disgrace. Farmers have protested and tried to make their voices heard, but still cannot get a meeting with the Chancellor of the Exchequer. I urge the Minister, who is very open to meetings, to have a word with his Chancellor, who is consistently in hiding and running out of the country when things get difficult as a result of her decisions.

Perhaps it is true that the Environment Secretary wants farmers to pay even more tax. Why else would he say to farmers in Oxford, “Convert your barns into holiday lets,” while over the road the Treasury is taking away these reliefs and making it more tax inefficient for them to do so? This is yet another area where the Labour Government seem intent on cancelling out genuinely pro-growth deregulation, which we welcome, with anti-growth taxation.

National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill

Blake Stephenson Excerpts

Committee of the whole House & 3rd reading
Tuesday 17th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Dr Sandher]

I absolutely understand the benefits of early years childcare, which is why we are so proud that it is a key part of this Government’s opportunity mission and is one of our milestones. We know that money invested today will pay dividends in the future. Labour Members we are absolutely committed to expanding and investing in early years childcare.

More broadly, this measure is also about investing in our young people. One in three young people is experiencing mental health problems, and one in 20 is too sick to work. That number is only rising. There has been a threefold increase in health problems that make it too difficult to do day-to-day activities. This generation of mine is without hope and without health. For those who have been struck down by hopelessness, and who are now too sick to work, our “Get Britain Working” programme, combining health, skills and employment support, is rebuilding confidence. It is helping people into good jobs, and is restoring dignity, purpose and sense of community to every person and place in our nation.

This Bill speaks to our governing philosophy, which is that those with the broadest shoulders should carry the heaviest load. As we have seen, we are changing our nation and rebuilding hope in our communities, our country, and indeed our democracy. We are building a country that gets better, rather than worse; where every person can get a good job; where every person can afford a decent home; and where every person can get the skills that they need, so that we can all live once again in a country where working hard means a decent life. That is what we are investing in, and that is why we are proud to raise revenue through the measure that we are debating today.

[Blake Stephenson (Mid Bedfordshire) (Con)]

I rise to support the amendments and new clause 1 in the name of my hon. Friend the Member for Grantham and Bourne (Gareth Davies). If this Government’s goal was to fix the foundations, I am afraid the result has been subsidence. Business confidence has plummeted, and two thirds of firms think that Labour’s Budget, including the NI increase, will damage investment.

An economy grows on the back of hard-working people investing, taking risks and employing local people in constituencies like mine of Mid Bedfordshire. How does the Labour party reward those people for their hard work? It raises their taxes, it makes it harder for them to employ people, and it reduces the amount they take home at the end of the month. It justifies that by telling them that they are not really working people.

Conservatives understand that growth is created from the hard work of entrepreneurs up and down our country, driving our economy forward. Across the country, millions of people want stronger economic growth. That is what they voted for, but they now have a low-growth, high-tax, job-cutting Labour Government. They were promised change, but they did not expect that change to be to Labour’s manifesto commitment not to increase national insurance. That change hikes the cost of employing someone by £800, reduces the number of jobs in the economy, reduces the wages of working people and increases prices in shops.

Oral Answers to Questions

Blake Stephenson Excerpts

Tuesday 29th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. What is the hon. Gentleman standing for? I hope he is not. I call Blake Stephenson.

[Blake Stephenson (Mid Bedfordshire) (Con)]

15. What taxes she classes as taxes on working people.

[Mr James Frith (Bury North) (Lab)]

16. What steps she is taking to minimise taxes on working people.

[The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (James Murray)]

As hon. Members know, any changes to tax policy will be set out in tomorrow’s Budget. Members will also know that our approach to fixing the foundations of the economy will be one that protects working people. This Labour Government will honour our commitment to protect working people by not increasing national insurance, basic, higher or additional rates of income tax, or VAT.

[Blake Stephenson]

The Government have got into an absolute pickle over the definition of working people. People deserve certainty. In Mid Bedfordshire, we are proud of the hard work of the owners of nearly 5,000 small businesses. They are working people creating jobs and growing our economy, and all while providing for their families. They are lying awake at night worrying about yet higher taxes. Will the Chancellor give them a peaceful night’s sleep ahead of tomorrow’s Budget and confirm that she will honour her manifesto commitment not to raise taxes on them?

[James Murray]

I do not think I am pre-empting anything tomorrow by confirming that the Chancellor will absolutely stick to our commitment not to raise taxes on working people through national insurance, the basic, higher or additional rates of income tax, or VAT. And I might add that what people and businesses in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency might want is stability in the economy, a Government who support investment in the economy, and a Government who will get the economy growing and make people across Britain better off.

Independent Schools: VAT and Business Rates Exemptions

Blake Stephenson Excerpts

Tuesday 8th October 2024 Westminster Hall

[Blake Stephenson (Mid Bedfordshire) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dame Caroline. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Bromsgrove (Bradley Thomas) for securing this debate. I should declare that I am a governor at Shillington and Stondon Federation, and a Central Bedfordshire councillor.

Labour Members are notable by their absence. I can only imagine that they are ashamed of this policy to charge VAT on education. Parents across the country and in Mid Bedfordshire deserve to be able to send their child to the best school for them. Parental choice is crucial to ensuring that our children get the best start in life, but too many parents in Bedfordshire are already struggling to get that for their children. The Department for Education has acknowledged that Bedford borough’s secondary schools are effectively full. A new school will not come along until 2027, and it is anticipated that even that school will be filled by future housing growth.

Just over 15% of children in Bedford borough, and nearly 10% of children in central Bedfordshire, did not receive an offer for their first choice secondary school. That situation will get worse as our population grows. Across Bedfordshire, 19 independent schools currently support 5,744 pupils. It is a policy of envy—the Labour Government want to drive pupils away from the independent sector and into state schools. That means less choice for parents and bigger class sizes, reducing the quality of education for all.

The Government have talked about growing the economy, but imposing VAT on independent schools will fundamentally damage the economy in Bedfordshire. Independent schools contribute £800 million to the east of England’s economy, supporting 47,000 jobs. In a recent visit to Orchard school in Barton-le-Clay in my constituency, I was struck by its wider economic impact. It employs local people, uses local suppliers, and supports local businesses.