Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

David Linden Excerpts

Monday 20th March 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology (Michelle Donelan)]

Last week, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer delivered a Budget that gets straight to work in addressing the Prime Minister’s five priorities, which are of course the people’s priorities. We on the Conservative Benches are putting the country firmly on a path to halve inflation, grow the economy, reduce debt, cut waiting lists and stop the boats. [Interruption.] Opposition Members do not like that, not just because they do not have a plan to address the priorities themselves, but because they do not recognise the things that matter to the British people in the first place: strong, financially stable families; public services that innovate and pioneer new technologies; high-paying, high-quality jobs for our children; strong borders; and a respect for British law and our way of life.

It is because we on the Conservative Benches focus on the priorities of the entire country that the British economy is getting back on track. Ten-year gilt rates, debt-servicing costs, mortgage rates—all of them are falling, and inflation has already peaked. Despite continuing global instability, the Office for Budget Responsibility reported just last week that inflation in the UK will have fallen from 10.7% in the final quarter of last year to 2.9% by the end of 2023. Thanks to this Government’s responsive and responsible approach, we will have more money for public services benefiting British families right now, and less of a burden on our children and grandchildren. Our plan to deliver on the Prime Minister’s priorities is already starting to work. We have restored stability, and now it is time for the next part of our plan.

[David Linden (Glasgow East) (SNP)]

Who was it that caused the instability?

[Michelle Donelan]

It may have escaped the hon. Member, but we have had a global pandemic and a war in Ukraine.

We are using these firm foundations to build long-term sustainability and healthy growth—growth that will bring security, prosperity and opportunity to British businesses and British people. To get that growth, we are on a trajectory of innovation in every part of our economy. Since the industrial revolution, our country’s willingness to rethink and reimagine has led to the inventions of the telephone, the TV, the world wide web and much more. That is why, under this Government, our tech sector has already become third in the world to reach a value of $1 trillion, behind only the US and China. We are ranked fourth above China, Germany and Japan in the global innovation index, we are second in the global talent index and we have four of the world’s top 10 universities.

I could go on, but we are not a Government who are focused on where we were or where we are; we are a Government who are focused on the future. That is why we have set up the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology with one single mission—making Britain a science and technology superpower. It has been just six weeks since we became the new Department, and we have already published the UK science and technology framework, setting out our vision for science and technology. We have responded to the second largest bank failure in the US, and this Government helped facilitate a deal to save the UK arm of Silicon Valley Bank, protecting thousands of important jobs in the life sciences and tech companies, and safeguarding them in the long-term.

In the Budget, we announced a staggering £2.5 billion of funding for the quantum technologies that we anticipate will revolutionise everything from healthcare to farming. That built on the announcement we made of £370 million of new moneys for things such as technology missions, which will set Britain up to lead on artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, bioengineering and much more. These things matter, because the British public rightly expect Britain to be leading in the technologies of the future and for these technologies to deliver real tangible benefits to their local communities and their families.

--- Later in debate ---

[David Linden (Glasgow East) (SNP)]

As outgoing chair of the Scotch whisky all-party parliamentary group, I was interested that there was a lot of trumpeting of draught and draught relief in the Budget. Unfortunately for the Scotch whisky industry, the only thing that is blowing in now is a very cold draught as they see the 10.1% increase on duty. That represents another 97p added to the cost of a bottle of whisky.

Some Conservative Members will find that almost something in the abstract, but in a constituency such as mine, where there are roughly 400 direct supply-chain jobs connected to the Scotch whisky industry, that is hugely significant. It ill behoves a Conservative Government who made massive promises to the Scotch whisky industry about the fairness of the taxation system to hand out that 10.1% increase, but at the same time turn around and talk about tax cuts, for example, when it comes to draught beer and some wines. I will leave that for the Government to reflect on, specifically in relation to resolution 36.

Over the course of the Budget debate, there has been a lot of talk about taxation and pensions taxation. As someone who sits on the Select Committee on Work and Pensions and takes an interest in these issues, the vast majority of the commentary about that, particularly from the Government Benches, has been completely ill-thought out. It seems to me that many Members of the Government have no ability to tell the difference between the tapered allowance and the lifetime allowance.

The reality is that the Government’s cover story on abolishing the lifetime allowance altogether is that they are trying to tackle some of the shortages of clinicians and doctors in the national health service. In reality, 86%, I think it is, of people who will benefit from the lifetime allowance are not doctors or clinicians in the national health service. It strikes me as being an incredibly expensive policy, something that the OBR’s blue book refers to in its Budget commentary.

On the crisis that we have in terms of the workforce and the general issues that we have around economic inactivity, particularly among 16 to 25-year-olds and the over- 55s, there are some good things that can be done, particularly around childcare. There will be some big supply and demand issues when it comes to childcare, but that is something for the Government to work through. But tinkering with—not even tinkering with, but abolishing—the lifetime allowance and giving that massive giveaway, equating to some £900 million, according to the blue book, is a very expensive policy that will do nothing when it comes to retention of nurses in the NHS or in any of the other sectors that are experiencing workforce shortages.

One reason why the Government are having this big debate about economic inactivity is that the hostile immigration policies they pursue means they are left with a situation where they have lifted up the drawbridge and do not have people coming to these islands. Without inward net migration, we have a falling population, so do not be surprised when we have these situations. But the answer is not a massive giveaway of the kind we can see in Budget resolution 18 on the lifetime allowance.

This all has an impact on my constituents on the streets, whether they are in Easterhouse, Shettleston or Parkhead. The week before the Budget, my hon. Friend the Member for Aberdeen South (Stephen Flynn) and I went to visit Tollcross advice centre. For me, it is all about whether the Budget passes the Bernie test. Bernie is one of the staff at Tollcross advice centre. She told us quite clearly that the biggest issue that people come about is energy bills, yet this Government are scrapping the £400 energy rebate. Bernie and so many other people across my constituency find it utterly unfathomable that they live in a country that is energy-rich, yet they are having these sky-high energy bills. They wonder why. The problem, unfortunately, is that for Bernie and for so many people the Government have the wrong priorities: they are giving away almost £1 billion in tax cuts while many of my constituents have to experience high energy bills.

Finally, I want to say something about economic inactivity. The Government often talk about their plan for jobs, but it seems to me as a member of the Work and Pensions Committee that the Government’s interest is just in putting people into any old job. That is cost-inefficient for a lot of employers, who train up someone who, three or four months later, leaves. The answer is not moving things like the automatic earnings threshold in universal credit. It is not about sanctioning people, which is what this Government seem to be moving far more towards. The Government have said that this Budget is about being a science superpower, but the Red Book put in front of us last week shows the reality: we are moving closer to being a sanctions superpower. That is not something that my constituents in Glasgow East will tolerate—and the best way they can get rid of it is with independence.