Oral Answers to Questions

Carla Lockhart Excerpts

Tuesday 7th December 2021 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Frazer]

I do of course join my hon. Friend in congratulating those apprentices. The Government are continuing to invest in high-quality technical education and to reform the skills system so that it is employer-led, to give young people the right skills and training to enable them to succeed in life. More than 100,000 apprentices have been hired under our new incentive payment scheme, 75% of whom were under 25. Skills boot camps are upskilling people into high-growth sectors, including the digital sector.

[Carla Lockhart (Upper Bann) (DUP)]

5. What recent assessment he has made of the potential effect of the planned tax changes to red diesel fuel on (a) employment and (b) profitability within the UK construction industry.

[The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (Helen Whately)]

To help ourselves achieve net zero and improve UK air quality, we are reducing the entitlement to use red diesel, which currently enjoys a duty discount, from next April. The full duty rate more fairly reflects the damaging impact of diesel emissions, and will incentivise the development of greener alternatives.

[Carla Lockhart]

In my constituency and across Northern Ireland, small family-run construction companies and those operating on a larger scale are telling me that this move will cripple their profitability, and that alongside the significant increase in the cost of materials in the last year, it will make their operation even more challenging. Will the Chancellor and the Minister agree to meet industry representatives to hear about the real-life impact, and to explore how it can be addressed and how jobs and profitability in Northern Ireland can be protected?

[Helen Whately]

We recognise that this is a significant change for some businesses, but we have consulted on it since it was first announced in 2020. Those whom we have consulted include representatives of the construction sector and representatives from Northern Ireland, and the case simply is not compelling in comparison with the importance of reducing our harmful emissions. Red diesel leads to 14 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year, and we need to incentivise greener alternatives as part of our transition to net zero.