Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

Lord Grayling Excerpts

Monday 8th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling (Epsom and Ewell) (Con) [V]]

I do not think any reasonable person could have expected to see anything except a tough Budget this year. The measures taken by the Chancellor over the past year have been essential. We could not have stood by while so many fellow citizens saw their jobs and livelihoods disappear, so I pay tribute to the Chancellor for his speedy response and for the massive support packages he has put in place. Instinctively, I believe in low taxes and small government, but in a crisis like this, measures of this kind—unwelcome but necessary tax increases—are vital, as, I am afraid, are pay freezes, except in the NHS. I also very much agree with the Chancellor’s continuing focus on jobs. I say that as a former Minister for Employment who spent a long time trying to help people back into work a decade ago, when unemployment was 2.6 million. Getting people back into work has to be our priority.

However, there are a few areas where I would like the Treasury to have another look. The first is the situation facing people who have missed out on support over the past 12 months, and in particular those who pay themselves by dividend. I understand why the Treasury took the approach it did at the start of the pandemic, and I agreed with that approach then, but after 12 months and three lockdowns, the Treasury should be taking a different view. It should be offering support to those people, potentially as part of an expanded self-employment income support scheme. We have to do something for them now.

My second concern is the travel and tourism sector. The Secretary of State pointed out what a dreadful time this has been for businesses in that sector. From airlines to event managers, businesses across the sector have been crippled over the past year, and as of now, they have no certainty about when they can return to anything like normality. This sector is vital to our economy, and my constituency hosts a large number of small businesses that operate in it. I urge Ministers to make 17 May the start of an unlocking process. We cannot continue with borders shut to the degree that they are now. But if that is not going to happen and international travel cannot begin again without onerous restrictions, the Chancellor will need to return to the issue.

Finally, will Ministers look again at the conditions that apply to the rescue package put in place for zoos? The fund was welcome, but it is very difficult for zoos to apply for it. It makes no sense to have a rescue fund go unspent while the zoos go bust. Can Ministers look at this again and change the ways of applying for the fund?

This was a Budget that none of us would have wanted. I hate to see taxes rise, but a smart Budget deals with the challenges of the moment, and this Budget did that very well.