Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: HM Treasury

Oral Answers to Questions

Dave Doogan Excerpts
Tuesday 7th July 2020

(4 years ago)

Commons Chamber
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Jesse Norman Portrait Jesse Norman
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I hesitate to give my right hon. Friend a history lesson, but he will recall that Ronald Reagan was a deep admirer of FDR and quite a heavy spender in his own right. Inheritance tax is paid on only one in 25 estates, and therefore it is not quite as large an issue in terms of the number of people affected as my right hon. Friend suggests. We take these issues very seriously and return to them recurrently at fiscal events.

Dave Doogan Portrait Dave Doogan (Angus) (SNP)
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What steps he is taking to support the economy during the covid-19 outbreak.

Margaret Ferrier Portrait Margaret Ferrier (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (SNP)
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What steps he is taking to support the economy during the covid-19 outbreak.

Rishi Sunak Portrait The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Rishi Sunak)
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The Government have taken unprecedented steps to keep as many people as possible in their existing jobs, support viable businesses to stay afloat and protect the incomes of the most vulnerable. We are now carefully and safely reopening our economy.

Dave Doogan Portrait Dave Doogan [V]
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I have previously raised the issue of the 3 million taxpayers being excluded from Government support with the Prime Minister, the First Secretary of State and the Leader of the House, all of whom have repeated details of the Government support provided to other groups. To be clear, it is understood that 2.6 million self-employed people were supported and 9 million people were furloughed. What remains an issue, though, is the 10% of the workforce who have received no meaningful support to help navigate covid. Specifically on the 3 million excluded, will the Chancellor provide an eleventh-hour lifeline such as that provided for the arts, or is he planning to cut 3 million workers adrift? It is one or the other, and it is now or never.