Amendment of the Law

Debate between Danny Alexander and Sheila Gilmore

Monday 23rd March 2015 Commons Chamber

[Danny Alexander]

My right hon. Friend made his points so powerfully I did not see the need to repeat them, but I will certainly look into the matters he raises and respond to him. However, the Government have a very good record of investment in infrastructure, including the largest programme of rail investment since Victorian times; the largest programme of rail investment since the 1970s; and a huge investment programme in broadband infrastructure.

This is a Budget for fiscal responsibility that meets the supplementary target for debt as a share of GDP that the Government set in 2010. The deficit has fallen by a half over the Parliament, and every year we have borrowed less than set out in the autumn statement. This is a Budget, too, for a strong economy. The UK is the fastest-growing major economy in the G7. We have record numbers of people in work and the highest employment rate in our country’s history. It is very different from the predictions we heard from Labour Members, who said that jobs would be lost this Parliament. Instead, nearly 2 million jobs net have been created. Astonishingly, more jobs have been created in the UK since 2010 than in the whole of the rest of the EU combined. That is a truly extraordinary record.

There were measures in the Budget to support job creation and key sectors in the economy. I have mentioned the measures to support the oil and gas sector, which have been widely welcomed by Oil & Gas UK, Sir Ian Wood, who authored the Wood review, and many other figures in the oil and gas sector who see the package as one that will increase confidence in the sector.

I could mention the measures we took on alcohol duties, which were particularly warmly welcomed by the Scotch Whisky Association, as I discovered at its reception at the Scottish Liberal Democrat conference in Aberdeen on Friday evening. We also announced radical new measures to pilot full retention of business rate increments in Manchester and Cambridge, and a number of hon. Members have welcomed the wide review we announced of the way in which the business rate system operates.

This is a Budget that delivered on several key Liberal Democrat party priorities. I particularly note the package of measures to support mental health. The hon. Member for Birmingham, Edgbaston (Ms Stuart) wrongly said that the Budget did not mention the national health service. In fact, it contained a full package of measures to help fund additional support for people suffering from mental ill health. I pay tribute to the Minister of State, Department of Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Norfolk (Norman Lamb), who worked very hard to devise this package. It is a £1.25 billion package that provides measures for children’s mental health services, perinatal mental health services, and to improve support for the mental health of people who are out of work. Worth more than £1 billion over the next five years, we will be able to start new access standards and see 110,000 more children cared for over the next Parliament. Some £118 million will be invested over the next four years to complete the roll-out of the children and young people’s increasing access to psychological therapies programme. The measures to support mental health in this Budget mark a radical departure and a radical change. It is perhaps not surprising that some hon. Members said that the national health service was not mentioned in the Budget—so weakly has mental health been accorded its proper status under previous Governments. Because of the Liberal Democrat involvement in this Government, that particular thing has changed.

The Budget included further big increases in the income tax personal allowance, increasing the tax-free allowance to—[Interruption.]

[Sheila Gilmore (Edinburgh East) (Lab)]

rose—

[Danny Alexander]

No, I am not giving way. I am going to make some progress. The hon. Lady was not here for the debate, so I am certainly not giving way to her.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Danny Alexander and Sheila Gilmore

Tuesday 9th December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Danny Alexander]

I am well aware of the importance of this connection to my hon. Friend and to other Members of Parliament in the area. As he will be aware, the east midlands has already benefited from investment of approximately £70 million to improve line speeds on the midland main line up to 125 miles per hour. Further electrification is due to be extended to Nottingham by 2019. A decision on the Robin Hood line is a matter for the local authority, but we would certainly look on the idea favourably.

[Sheila Gilmore (Edinburgh East) (Lab)]

The importance of infrastructure is surely a sign of the importance of Government investment as a way of growing our economy. Does the Chief Secretary therefore agree that one further way that we could move forward on this is to build at least 200,000 new houses a year to help to build our economy?

[Danny Alexander]

I totally agree with the hon. Lady. It is incredibly important to improve the rate of house building. I would set the figure at closer to 300,000 houses a year across the UK, rather than the 200,000 that she mentioned. She will know that in the autumn statement we extended the affordable house building programme for a further two years in order to build 275,000 affordable homes in the next Parliament. We are taking forward the idea of Government commissioning of housing, which would be a radical departure for this country, at Northstowe, and looking at it as a solution for the whole country.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Danny Alexander and Sheila Gilmore

Tuesday 29th April 2014 Commons Chamber

[Danny Alexander]

That is a very good question. My hon. Friend and I are both very proud of reaching the £10,000 tax-free allowance goal that the Liberal Democrats set in our election manifesto. Our increases in the tax-free allowance total more than £3,000, which is considerably more than the width of the former 10p starting rate band and is, of course, a 0% band. In that sense, it is literally twice as good as the previous policy.

[Sheila Gilmore (Edinburgh East) (Lab)]

For the 17% of wage earners who are already below the income tax threshold, much of what has been said is not of much help. Will the Chief Secretary directly commit to helping low-paid families with child care costs by reinstating the 80% level rather than the 70% level, which he introduced, so that people in that category can begin to gain rather than simply stand still or become worse off?

[Danny Alexander]

I am sure that if the hon. Lady had had longer, she would have welcomed today’s growth figures and the jobs and employment opportunities that that has created for people right across the United Kingdom, particularly in Scotland. The 3.2 million people that the hon. Lady mentions have already been taken out of tax by the actions of this coalition Government—something that she did not welcome. Of course, the extra opportunities to increase their time in work also helps those individuals. We are increasing our support for child care, with the Government providing free hours, extending support under universal credit and introducing tax-free child care, too. This Government have done far more than any previous Government to help working people with children get back into work.

Finance (No. 2) Bill

Debate between Danny Alexander and Sheila Gilmore

Tuesday 1st April 2014 Commons Chamber

[Sheila Gilmore (Edinburgh East) (Lab)]

rose—

[Danny Alexander]

I am going to make some progress. I will give way again later.

The measures relating to the annual investment allowance will mean that 99.8% of firms—almost 5 million businesses —will receive 100% relief on their qualifying investments. The Bill also provides a much-needed boost for our manufacturing sector by placing a cap on the carbon price support rate. That measure will cut energy bills for businesses and deliver around £4 billion in savings by 2018-19 without undermining investment in renewables in any way.

However, if we want to build a resilient economy with a broad base of industries that is fit to withstand isolated shocks, we have to provide support across our sectors. That includes supporting those innovative small businesses that could be the big global brands of the future. That is why the Bill further increases the generosity of the R and D tax relief for small businesses. From today, the payable credit for loss-making SMEs will rise from 11% to 14.5%. The Bill will also support investment in the high-growth-potential companies that need it most. The seed enterprise investment scheme, which has already helped more than 1,600 companies to raise over £135 million of investment, will be made permanent. The capital gains tax reinvestment relief will also be made a permanent feature of the scheme.

[Sheila Gilmore]

Will the Chief Secretary to the Treasury explain why his Government and his Chancellor decided, on first coming into office, to cut investment allowances, saying that they were not a good way of encouraging investment?

[Danny Alexander]

It was because our first priority in business taxation was to bring down the very high, internationally uncompetitive headline rate of corporation tax. It was 28% when we came to office, and it will come down to 21% this year and 20% next year. We also chose to reverse the Labour Government’s planned increase in the small firms rate of corporation tax from 21% to 22%. Instead, we took it down to 20%. Those were the right priorities at the start of this Parliament, but given the present encouraging environment for investment, it is now important for the Government to put in place incentives to bring some of that investment forward.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Danny Alexander and Sheila Gilmore

Tuesday 10th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Danny Alexander]

I think that is rather a good idea and I will take it up in the Treasury.

[Sheila Gilmore (Edinburgh East) (Lab)]

What does the Chief Secretary intend to do to help low-paid workers who are below the tax threshold? They will not gain from a further increase in the tax threshold and have seen previous gains wiped out by the loss of tax credits. How will it help low-paid workers?

[Danny Alexander]

I intend to stick to our economic plan, which is leading to economic growth, job creation and a sustainable economic recovery matched by rising productivity. That is the only way to raise living standards and that is what we intend to do.

National Infrastructure Plan

Debate between Danny Alexander and Sheila Gilmore

Wednesday 4th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Danny Alexander]

My hon. Friend draws attention to a very serious problem. Like him, I represent a large rural constituency, so I am very aware of these issues. Back in June, I announced additional funding to extend the target for the proportion of the population with access to superfast broadband. Today, we are announcing a small fund to stimulate innovation to find the best and cheapest technological solutions for getting superfast broadband to absolutely everybody, no matter how far they live from an exchange. We will get as far as we can towards that objective. If my hon. Friend has any ideas or if innovative companies in his constituency have any thoughts about that, I would be glad for them to contribute to the process.

[Sheila Gilmore (Edinburgh East) (Lab)]

Will the Chief Secretary rethink his view that housing does not have a place in infrastructure planning, particularly in relation to direct investment in affordable housing? Such investment would be a real win-win-win situation, because it provides the necessary houses, improves construction skills in apprenticeships and helps to bring down housing benefit spending far more effectively than the Government’s engaging in the kind of tinkering, such as the bedroom tax, that so much affects individuals, but makes no real saving.

[Danny Alexander]

I am very glad that the hon. Lady has given me the chance to talk about affordable housing, because I can refer to the fact that the number of affordable houses in this country fell by 421,000 during Labour’s time in office. We now have the largest annual house building programme for affordable homes through housing associations for two decades. I would have hoped that she would welcome rather than criticise that.

Investing in Britain’s Future

Debate between Danny Alexander and Sheila Gilmore

Thursday 27th June 2013 Commons Chamber

[Danny Alexander]

There is a broadband plan in Northumberland that has been negotiated by the local authority with the supplier, funded partly by national Government and partly by local government. Today’s announcement is about extending broadband to reach 95% of the population of Northumberland and to work with the industry to find ways to get broadband, whether mobile or 4G, to 99% of the population. We will keep my hon. Friend updated on that.

[Sheila Gilmore (Edinburgh East) (Lab)]

I fear that the Chief Secretary does not really understand housing finance. The homes to be built from 2015 have a subsidy level of under £20,000 per unit, and that is how he is able to announce that there are suddenly double the number that there might otherwise have been. The problem with that, as he knows full well, is that it requires much higher rent levels, and that will have a knock-on effect on the housing benefit budget for years into the future. Is that sensible?

[Danny Alexander]

The move from social rents to affordable rents for homes newly built by housing associations is a right and fair way to ensure that there is a balance between the subsidy given to the individual and the capital subsidy given to the builder of the house. It allows us to build many more houses for the amount of money that we have available, and the hon. Lady should be grateful for that.

Economic Growth

Debate between Danny Alexander and Sheila Gilmore

Wednesday 15th May 2013 Commons Chamber

[Sheila Gilmore (Edinburgh East) (Lab)]

The Chief Secretary and his party leader have chosen to flex their muscles on a couple of issues, including Europe and child care ratios. Can we therefore assume that they support all the other unfair measures on which they have chosen not to flex their muscles, such as the bedroom tax and people losing contributory employment allowance after a year?

[Danny Alexander]

I have to say to the hon. Lady that I think the fact that we inherited a welfare system where for too many people it did not pay to work is one of the greatest scandals of Labour’s time in government, so I make no apology whatever for reforming the welfare system and putting in place a universal credit where everybody on benefits knows they would be better off in work. That is the right thing for the country, and I am happy to support it.

The measures in the Queen’s Speech will also help all those workers who want to get on and plan for their futures. Our changes to the single-tier pension will provide millions of people—particularly women with broken work records, the low paid and the self-employed—with a firm foundation to support their saving for retirement. The single tier will be implemented from April 2016, and I am sure Members will join me in congratulating the Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions, my hon. Friend the Member for Thornbury and Yate (Steve Webb), on his excellent work in bringing this policy forward to this stage.

The Queen’s Speech recognises that if we want our economy to succeed in the 21st century, we need to make significant changes to our business environment. We will not succeed in the 21st century if our businesses are slowed down by regulation, which is why we are taking steps through the deregulation Bill to remove excessive red tape from small businesses and to repeal legislation that no longer serves a practical use.

amendment of the law

Debate between Danny Alexander and Sheila Gilmore

Monday 25th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Danny Alexander]

Sit down; I am going to press on. The help to buy scheme, in its several manifestations, is designed to provide support.

We heard no apology whatsoever from Opposition Front Benchers for the mess they got this country into when in government. That is what we were looking for from the shadow Secretary of State for Local Government and the shadow Financial Secretary.

There were contributions from a number of distinguished members of the—

[Sheila Gilmore (Edinburgh East) (Lab)]

What does the Chief Secretary have to say about the Financial Times editorial which said that the Budget offered too little to boost growth now?

[Danny Alexander]

I disagree with it, for reasons that I will come to. I will now make some progress.

The right hon. Member for Edinburgh South West (Mr Darling) made a characteristically thoughtful contribution to the debate. He has made it clear, not least through his leadership of the Better Together campaign but also in response to an intervention, that the Scottish National party is not being open about the scale of the problems that an independent Scotland would face.

It was not the presence on the Opposition Front Bench of members of the former Government that was most noticed last week. Many Members will have sensed a presence in the Chamber, and looking up they would have seen Lord Mandelson, a former member of the previous Government, looking down. Afterwards, he gave his views on the Budget. He said in a speech the following night:

“I can't quite remember which member of the government it was who claimed to have abolished boom and bust. Well, we abolished boom…The whole argument about whether we’re cutting too far and too fast, it’s in the past. It is rather predictable party political stuff from over the despatch box, and it is a bit tiring to the public.”

The shadow Chancellor would do well to take note. Lord Mandelson then said the following, which is particularly significant in the context of an earlier intervention:

“I don’t think you can really take a chance, I think the markets, whose confidence in us to pay back what we borrow—that confidence is the determining factor. If that was seriously damaged by a lurch in policy I think that would be quite a risk which I would not blame the chancellor for refusing to take.”

That is sage advice from a former member of the previous Government, which Opposition Front Benchers would do well to take.

Last week’s Budget sent a message to hard-working families in each and every constituency up and down the country: if people want to get on in life, this Government will support them. If, in the short term, people want more money back in their pockets, we are taking measures to help them. They will pay less to fill up their car; they will pay less for a pint of beer; and, most importantly, if they earn less than £10,000 they will soon pay absolutely nothing in income tax.

If, in the near future, Mr Speaker, a constituent of yours wants to own their own home, this Government are making that a very real possibility through low-deposit mortgages, through mortgage guarantees and through doubling the affordable homes guarantee programme. For those who, in the distant future, do not want their children or grandchildren to still be paying off this generation’s debts, we are taking the steps to ensure that they will not. We are reducing the structural deficit, creating a tax landscape for economic growth and building an infrastructure for the UK to compete in the global race.

This evening, I want to talk about the steps this Government have taken to build a stronger economy and a fairer society. We are putting our faith in the private sector to help us build that stronger economy. We believe that the best way to do that is to create the most competitive tax regime in the G20. Further reducing the rate of corporation tax, which we announced in this Budget, will not only send a clear message that Britain is open for business, but will increase the return on those businesses’ investments and incentivise economic growth. Meanwhile, our £2,000 employment allowance, welcomed on both sides of the House, will be a real help for small and medium-sized businesses that want to expand and to employ more staff.

The Government know that if we want to see growth we cannot, as our predecessors did so catastrophically, look to one industry or one city. Several Opposition Members mentioned the importance of manufacturing industry, but when in government Labour became over-dependent on one square mile, thanks to the shadow Chancellor’s prawn cocktail offensive. We know that for a stronger, more balanced economy, we need growth across different sectors, and we need growth up and down the country. That is why we are taking forward the measures from the Heseltine review; it is why my right hon. Friends the Business Secretary and the Deputy Prime Minister unveiled our aerospace investment in Bristol before the Budget; it is why we are supporting the asset management sector, which is so important, particularly to the Scottish economy and to Edinburgh; and it is why, as well as supporting renewables, we are developing proposals so that communities can benefit from any shale gas discovered in their area. It is right that local communities see the benefits of natural resources in their locality.

We also need to make sure that our industrial base is broad, as we have seen only too clearly the dangers of over-reliance on one specific sector. That is why my right hon. Friend the Business Secretary is overseeing £1.8 billion of funding to support strategies in 11 key sectors, working to ensure that our economy makes the most of its potential in life sciences, construction and many other areas. While we build this stronger economy, we are also making sure that we build a fairer society. The Labour party likes to portray itself as the party of taking from the rich and giving to the poor, but everyone who was paying income tax at the l0p rate and was then paying income tax at double that rate will soon, thanks to this Government, be paying no income tax at all. That policy comes straight from the Liberal Democrat manifesto to the pockets of millions of hard-working families up and down the country, thanks to this coalition Government.

Of course we recognise that, despite these actions, times are still difficult for many families up and down the country. For that reason, we have taken the decision to cancel this September’s fuel duty increase, which was baked into the public finances by the Labour party. That cancellation has been welcomed across the House, but especially by Members with more rural constituencies such as mine.

I must also congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds North West (Greg Mulholland) on his tireless and passionate campaigning on beer duty. I know that he has some wonderful pubs and a very good beer shop in his constituency, I know how many excellent breweries we have up and down the country, and I know that our scrapping of the beer duty escalator will be a real boon both for the pub trade and for the brewing industry.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Danny Alexander and Sheila Gilmore

Tuesday 11th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sheila Gilmore (Edinburgh East) (Lab)]

6. What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the funding arrangements which he agreed with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for the Work Programme.

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Danny Alexander)]

The Work programme is the biggest single payment-by-results programme Great Britain has ever seen. The funding arrangements I agreed with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions ensure that providers are paid to find sustained job outcomes for those who are or are at risk of being long term unemployed. For the very first time, providers are paid in part through the benefit savings that they generate.

[Sheila Gilmore]

The Chief Secretary wants us to look at the cheapness of the scheme to providers, but buying cheap can be a false economy if the product does not work. The price here is being paid by people staying in long-term unemployment, not getting jobs and still being on benefit. Is not the Work programme a failure?

[Danny Alexander]

No, I do not believe it is. The hon. Lady refers to costs, and she will know that the flexible new deal, which the Work programme replaced, cost £7,495 per job outcome; that compares with costs of about £2,000 under the Work programme. It is a great deal more cost-effective. The hon. Lady will also be aware that 56% of those first Work programme starters have come off benefits and that up to September this year, there have been 200,000 job entries, as reported by providers, so there is a sense of progress in the Work programme, too.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Danny Alexander and Sheila Gilmore

Tuesday 6th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sheila Gilmore (Edinburgh East) (Lab)]

The Government make a great deal of creating 1 million private sector jobs—[Hon. Members: “Hear, hear!”] Wait, wait. Half of those jobs, according to their statements, were in place after eight months of their coming to office, meaning that in the following 22 months only another half a million jobs were created. That suggests that the rate of growth has slowed substantially as a result of the Chancellor’s policies.

[Danny Alexander]

Once again, Labour Members are on the search for bad news, but the hon. Lady has picked the wrong subject. More than 1 million private sector jobs have been created since the election. The most recent figures show that tens of thousands more jobs have been created in the private sector and the largest ever number of people in employment in this country. That should be welcomed by everyone in the House, including her.

Finance (No. 4) Bill

Debate between Danny Alexander and Sheila Gilmore

Monday 16th April 2012 Commons Chamber

[Danny Alexander]

I thank my hon. Friend for his support, but I cannot confirm that intention at this stage. We have a major ongoing problem with the sustainability of our public finances. We set out in the spending review last year, and reaffirmed in this year’s Budget documentation, the need for further spending—

[Sheila Gilmore (Edinburgh East) (Lab)]

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

[Danny Alexander]

I am just responding to the previous intervention, if the hon. Lady will just hold her horses for a second.

We confirmed in the Budget document the need for further fiscal consolidation in the years 2015-16 and 2016-17. We cannot simply promise to reverse measures, although that is the policy of the Labour party, which seems quite happy to return to its old habit of high spending and introducing measures that would return this country to the mess that Labour has already put us in.

[Sheila Gilmore]

Over the Easter recess, did the right hon. Gentleman have a chance to reflect on the question that I asked him during the Budget debate? Why, having listened to people’s concerns about child benefit, was he not prepared to make any concessions to the much poorer group of people who were going to lose their tax credits?

[Danny Alexander]

I explained in the Budget debate that reforms to tax credits were necessary to deal with the rapidly growing cost of a system that had started out costing £18 billion a year and was now costing £30 billion. It will still cost about £30 billion, but that money will be more focused on those on lower incomes. When we first came into office, we inherited a tax credit system that could pay tax credits to people on £50,000 or £60,000 a year—

[Sheila Gilmore]

rose—

[Danny Alexander]

Let me answer the hon. Lady’s point. Reform of the system was necessary. It was one of the hard decisions that we have had to make in dealing with the massive budget deficit and the huge mess that her party left the British economy in. Recognition on her part that that has to be dealt with would be a welcome way in which to start her next intervention.

[Sheila Gilmore]

This is a matter of fairness. I am not talking about the tapering off of tax credits at the top end, although I might have a view on that as well. I am talking about the changes that came into force the week before last, which are hitting the very lowest earners—people at the very bottom end, who will not benefit from the changed tax thresholds as they already earn too little to pay income tax. Has the right hon. Gentleman reflected on why he is prepared to make concessions on child benefit to the much better off taxpayers when he is not prepared to reconsider the hit that some of the very lowest earners are taking? Those people might end up having to give up work as a result.

[Danny Alexander]

I notice from the matters for debate selected by the hon. Lady’s Front-Bench colleagues for the next two days’ consideration of the Bill that restoring child benefit for this country’s highest earners and multimillionaires is a major priority for her party. As for the tax credit changes, in a system where we expect a lone parent to work 16 hours in two days a week to qualify for tax credits, it is reasonable to ask more from a household that has two earners working 24 hours a week in three days. I view that change as reasonable.

Amendment of the Law

Debate between Danny Alexander and Sheila Gilmore

Monday 26th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Danny Alexander]

First, I am very grateful to the hon. Lady for at least agreeing that we are going considerably further on the personal income tax allowance. That was sadly lacking from most of the contributions from the Opposition. They will also know that the OBR’s forecast that was published alongside the Budget revised downwards the forecast for the claimant count this year, next year and in every year over this Parliament.

As I was about to say, in this Budget we have announced the largest ever increase in the amount that people can earn tax-free—an increase next April of £1,100 to £9,205. That is a tax cut of £3.5 billion for working families and is the biggest ever increase in the personal allowance. It is the biggest income tax cut for people on low and middle incomes for a generation—a tax cut for more than 23 million people. It means £220 for every basic rate taxpayer, or £170 in real terms. The tax bill of someone who works full time on the minimum wage will already have been halved by this Government.

[Sheila Gilmore (Edinburgh East) (Lab)]

While he was arguing for the rise in the tax threshold, did the right hon. Gentleman at any time argue for the people who are losing their working tax credit from April this year, or did he just not bother to argue for those very low-paid people?

[Danny Alexander]

We have argued for measures to ensure that people on low and middle incomes are taken out of income tax altogether. We have made significant changes to the tax credit system, which, frankly, under the previous Government, reached way up the income distribution. The changes we have made are appropriate and fair, and it is right that we have drawn back on a system that was costing many billions of pounds under the previous Government.

Taken with the previous increase in the income tax personal allowance, this measure means that this coalition Government have reduced tax paid already by basic rate taxpayers by £350 in real terms. It is this coalition Government who, as a result of the measures in this Budget, will have lifted 2 million people out of income tax altogether—59% of them women, to respond to a point made during the debate. That is the right measure on taxation and the Labour party should support it. Labour thought it was right to double the tax on people on low incomes, but we do not; we think it right to halve the tax on people on the minimum wage.

Youth Unemployment and Bank Bonuses

Debate between Danny Alexander and Sheila Gilmore

Monday 23rd January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sheila Gilmore]

McDonald’s, which is apparently getting £10 million a year for training people in the things that it normally trains them in and calls the process apprenticeships, said in The Sunday Times yesterday that it had not created a single extra job with that money. What is the Chief Secretary’s response to that?

[Danny Alexander]

I have visited companies around the country, in Scotland and England, that have created a significant number of new jobs and new apprenticeships, providing a significant increase in skills. That is the right way to go about it, and that is what we are trying to do with the increase in apprenticeships. I hope that the hon. Lady will welcome that. It is fair to say that the apprenticeships programme and the youth contract complement our Work programme, which is the biggest payment-by-results employment programme that this country has ever seen. The Work programme will provide personalised support to around 2.4 million people over the next five years, helping those most at risk of long-term unemployment.

Public Service Pensions

Debate between Danny Alexander and Sheila Gilmore

Tuesday 20th December 2011 Commons Chamber

[Danny Alexander]

I agree that, while we are securing very good pensions for public service workers, we must not neglect the fact that many millions of private sector workers have no pension provision at all. That is what the NEST scheme is intended to address. The opt-in arrangement for a new basic pension scheme, which will be rolled out over the next five or six years, will enable those millions in the private sector who currently have no provision to build some up for themselves. I hope that, in due course, my hon. Friend will join us in promoting that scheme to constituents.

[Sheila Gilmore (Edinburgh East) (Lab)]

Would not the negotiations have proceeded more quickly and smoothly had the Chief Secretary’s party not colluded in the constant denigration of public sector workers, and the setting of one group against the other? The Chief Secretary is still doing that today in seeking to create a huge divide between public and private sector workers, and to make one group envious of the other.

[Danny Alexander]

Opposition Members seem to be making increasingly desperate attempts to find new ways of saying that they do not agree with what we have offered. It would be simpler for them to say that they welcome the agreements that we have reached in many areas.

I said in my statement, but will happily repeat for the hon. Lady’s benefit, that the contribution made to the country by public service workers such as teachers, civil servants, nurses, local government workers, firefighters and prison officers is enormously important. That is why one of the Government’s objectives has been to ensure that they continue to receive better pension provision than any other work force in the country, which is absolutely right. I hope that, on reflection, she will choose to welcome that.

Jobs and Growth

Debate between Danny Alexander and Sheila Gilmore

Wednesday 12th October 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Danny Alexander)]

This has been a very good debate in which we have heard 31 contributions from Back-Bench colleagues on both sides of the House. The right hon. Member for Edinburgh South West (Mr Darling) made clear his continuing support for paying our subscriptions to the IMF. We heard particularly passionate speeches by the hon. Member for Islwyn (Chris Evans) and my hon. Friend the Member for South Staffordshire (Gavin Williamson), who made strong pitches on behalf of their constituents, as did many other hon. Members.

Let me take this opportunity to congratulate the shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury on her appointment. The hon. Member for Bassetlaw (John Mann) made a pitch for her job, but I think she is quite safe. She has a tough job to do in controlling the free-spending instincts of many of her colleagues. The Chancellor referred to the £11 billion cost of a commitment made in amendments that she tabled to the Pensions Bill on her last day as shadow Pensions Minister, and I hope that others will not follow her example.

The shadow Chief Secretary will have to think carefully about whom she asks for advice. Perhaps she could ask the shadow Chancellor, or perhaps not. Perhaps she could ask my predecessor but one, the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill (Mr Byrne), who left a message for my predecessor saying that there was no money left. That is not the only message that he has left recently. [Interruption.] Calm down. My hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth North (Penny Mordaunt) received a message yesterday on her answering machine from the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill saying, “Could you put in to speak tomorrow? The shadow Chancellor needs all the help he can get.” It is to be assumed that he had confused my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth North with the hon. Member for Newport East (Jessica Morden), who is next to her in the House of Commons telephone directory. Perhaps the shadow Chief Secretary could turn for advice to her former boss, the Governor of the Bank of England, who last year backed this Government’s strong and powerful deficit reduction plan, and who last week reiterated that this Government have a credible plan to repay our debts. In the end, the test for her and her party will be whether they have plans that are in any way credible. On today’s evidence, the answer is no.

I will answer a couple of the questions that have been asked about Labour’s plans. It has set out plans today for the Pensions Bill that would cost an additional £31 billion of debt. Somebody asked what the interest on that would cost. It would cost £1.2 billion a year or £3.2 million a day. That is just on the spending commitments that Labour has made this week.

Likewise, the shadow Chancellor seems somewhat confused about his own policy on the switch from RPI to CPI. As I understand it, he will support the switch, for which I am grateful, for three years. That means that he will seek to reverse it in 2014-15. That would cost an extra £6 billion at the end of this Parliament. The shadow Chief Secretary has her work cut out with the shadow Chancellor, as well as with everyone else. That is why I say that only the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives have a credible economic plan.

As many speakers in this debate have recognised, when we came into government we inherited the largest peacetime deficit this country has ever faced. We were borrowing one pound for every four that we spent. We were on a completely unsustainable trajectory, which compelled Standard & Poor’s to put the UK’s triple A rating on negative watch. We had to take the difficult and sometimes unpopular decisions to pull the country out of that hole. We are taking action not because it is easy, but because it is the right thing to do in the national interest. We are already seeing the benefits from our plan.

[Sheila Gilmore]

I wonder whether the right hon. Gentleman will apologise to all the people who voted Liberal Democrat having heard his party say in the election campaign that to cut too fast would be detrimental to the economy.

[Danny Alexander]

No, I will not because our plan for deficit reduction is necessary to restore the credibility of this country’s finances. If there is any apologising to be done, it is from Opposition Members.

As I was saying, we are already seeing the benefits from our plan. Standard & Poor’s took the UK’s rating off negative watch and reaffirmed our rating in its latest report.

Amendment of the Law

Debate between Danny Alexander and Sheila Gilmore

Tuesday 29th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Danny Alexander]

As I was saying, the right hon. Gentleman should look at page 55 of the Red Book, which states:

“As announced by DWP at the introduction of the Welfare Reform Bill 2011, the Government will no longer remove the mobility component of DLA for people in residential care in October 2012. Mobility provision for people in residential care will be reviewed as part of the wider reform of DLA to be introduced from 2013-14.”

That is a clear and sensible position.

[Sheila Gilmore (Edinburgh East) (Lab)]

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

--- Later in debate ---

[Danny Alexander]

I will not give way.

That leads me to our fourth ambition for growth—a better educated work force who are the most flexible in Europe.

[Sheila Gilmore]

rose—

[Hon. Members]

Give way!