Damian Hinds
Main Page: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)Department Debates - View all Damian Hinds's debates with the HM Treasury
(9 years, 4 months ago)
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Amanda Milling (Cannock Chase) (Con)
7. What fiscal steps he is taking to help people keep more of their earnings.
The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (Damian Hinds)
The Government are committed to raising the personal allowance to £12,500 and the higher-rate threshold to £50,000 by the end of this Parliament, but we will go further than that and ensure that in future people who work 30 hours a week for the minimum wage will not pay income tax.
Amanda Milling
Can the Minister provide an estimate of the number of people in my constituency of Cannock Chase who will benefit from the implementation of the Conservative manifesto pledge to increase the personal allowance to £12,500?
Damian Hinds
My hon. Friend is right to highlight the broad benefit of our policy. Increases in the personal allowance and the higher-rate threshold during the current Parliament will benefit 30 million people. It is not possible to make reliable projections for an individual parliamentary constituency, but I can tell my hon. Friend that 2.28 million taxpayers in the west midlands have benefited from personal allowance increases to date, and that a typical basic-rate taxpayer is £825 better off.
Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) (Lab)
Apart from specific tax steps, what steps is the Minister taking to ensure that employers actually pay the minimum wage?
Damian Hinds
Minimum wage compliance is, of course, vital, and work in that regard is ongoing. Universal credit encourages people to work more hours, and, in general, they should be doing higher-paid work.
Jeremy Quin (Horsham) (Con)
Will my hon. Friend join me in welcoming the fact that this Government, more than any other, have made quality childcare accessible to hard-working families?
Damian Hinds
My hon. Friend is right. The suite of childcare support that the Government are providing for families is unprecedented. It includes the doubling of provision for three and four-year-olds, the extension of provision under universal credit, and tax-free childcare.
Mr Speaker
Order. I think that the Minister meant to use the phrase “affordably, thereby enabling people also to keep more of their earnings.” I am sure that that is what he meant to say.
Ms Margaret Ritchie (South Down) (SDLP)
Will the Minister assure us that, as part of ensuring that people keep more of their incomes in their pockets, the Chancellor will not increase fuel duty in the forthcoming Budget?
Damian Hinds
During the last Parliament, the Government made difficult decisions in order to keep fuel duty frozen and save motorists £9 every time their tanks were filled. Of course, no decisions of that kind are cost-free, and difficult measures had to be taken so that we could afford the freeze. All taxes are kept under review, and my right hon. Friend the Chancellor will announce the details in the Budget.
Alan Mak (Havant) (Con)
8. What steps his Department is taking to (a) support savers and (b) promote home ownership.
Ruth Smeeth (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Lab)
12. If he will maintain current levels of and entitlement to child benefit over the next five years.
The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (Damian Hinds)
As the Prime Minister pledged before the election, this Government will not cut child benefit.
Ruth Smeeth
In my constituency, there have been reports of children returning to school in September malnourished because their parents are struggling to afford to feed them. Does the Minister agree that cuts to either child benefit or child tax credit would exacerbate the problem and make the issue of holiday hunger even more common?
Damian Hinds
The Prime Minister has made this extremely clear by stating categorically that child benefit stays as is. The most important thing in regard to affordability and household budgets is to increase employment and ensure that people are in good jobs. The Government have also done an awful lot to bear down on household costs to make them more affordable.
Rishi Sunak (Richmond (Yorks)) (Con)
Will my hon. Friend tell my constituents what this Government will continue to do to cut the costs of childcare for hard-working families?
Damian Hinds
The coalition Government had a very strong record on extending childcare, and we are going to go much further in this Parliament with the extension from 15 to 30 hours of childcare for the three and four-year-old children of working parents, the introduction of tax-free credits and the further extension of childcare provision under universal credit when that migration happens.
Stephen Metcalfe (South Basildon and East Thurrock) (Con)
14. What his policy is on the future ring-fencing of the science budget.