The Economy

Chris Bryant Excerpts

Wednesday 8th July 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Steve Barclay)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the economy.

It is a privilege to open this economic debate, and to do so hot on the heels of a statement from the Chancellor that places the Government’s plan for jobs at the heart of our recovery. The past few months have tested our economy in a way that few of us, if any, have experienced before. Never in our history have a Government ordered businesses across the country to close for an extended period, and never have a Government asked so many people to halt normal activity so completely. Shops closed, offices emptied and productions lines juddered to a halt as millions worked from home.

From the onset of this pandemic, the Government worked to ensure that our frontline public services would get whatever funds they needed. To date, £49 billion has gone towards the NHS, local authorities and others working to protect us from the virus, but our public servants were not alone in that endeavour. The very fact that so many of working age were willing to stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives is a sign of the cohesion and compassion that still exists within our society.

[Chris Bryant (Rhondda) (Lab)]

If the Minister does not mind me being a bit cheeky, I want to ask about the money that we need in the Rhondda to deal with the floods earlier this year. Some £67 million is needed by my local authority. Half of a tip fell into the river, and £2.5 million is needed to take away the 60,000 tonnes and to make the tip safe for the future. It is vital that the Government recognise that the Coal Authority is a Westminster responsibility, and the money must be found so that we can make people’s homes safe.

[Steve Barclay]

When it comes to speaking up for his constituents, I do not think the hon. Gentleman has ever held back, whether or not he is being cheeky in doing so. He raises a very important point about the investment in flood prevention. That is why the Chancellor set out a number of measures as part of the infrastructure package, and I will come on to say more—[Interruption]—if he allows me to get into my speech, about how we are accelerating a number of projects with that in mind. Given the history of coal and some of the tragedies that have happened in the past in Wales, we are very cognisant of the need to take action on such schemes. Again, that is being looked at by the Secretary of State for Wales, and I have been in discussions with him on that.

Let me now make some early progress. The Government were clear that we would stand by those whose livelihoods were in jeopardy through no fault of the own. We said we would do whatever it takes to protect and preserve the businesses and jobs on which our national prosperity and resilience ultimately depend, and we meant it. The House will be familiar with the scale and scope of our economic response, which has included business rates reliefs and grants for the worst-hit sectors, uplifts in welfare support for families struggling to make ends meet and more than £70 billion of business loans and guarantees approved to date. Meanwhile, the coronavirus job retention scheme and the self-employment income support scheme have preserved many millions of jobs and livelihoods across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, demonstrating once again the shared strength and resilience we derive from our Union.