Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Fiona Bruce and George Osborne

Tuesday 2nd September 2014 Commons Chamber

[Graham Evans (Weaver Vale) (Con)]

14. What progress he has made on his long-term economic plan.

[The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr George Osborne)]

The Government’s long-term economic plan is working, and the International Monetary Fund expects the United Kingdom to grow faster than any other G7 country this year. But the job is not yet done; there are growing risks abroad from a disappointingly weak eurozone and persistent risks at home from Opposition Members who would abandon the long-term plan and return Britain to the economic mess they left it in.

[Fiona Bruce]

I welcome the statistics out today on the Government’s flagship Help to Buy scheme. It is helping those families it was designed for: those buying a house worth less than the national average—overwhelmingly, these are people outside London and the south-east. The policy is boosting aspiration and helping hard-working families on to the housing ladder. So will my right hon. Friend confirm that he will not listen to the Labour party, which has opposed the policy, and will instead continue with Help to Buy as part of our long-term economic plan to deliver greater economic security and a brighter future for our country?

[Mr Osborne]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right about that. We heard lots of scare stories from the Opposition about how this scheme would be used only in central London and the like. The fact is that today’s figures show that almost 50,000 people have been helped by Help to Buy, and that 80% of those have been helped outside London and the south-east of England. In her own council area, more than 300 families have been helped. Members of Parliament from west Yorkshire would like to note that Leeds is the No.1 location for people using Help to Buy. The scheme is working, it is about backing aspiration and it is about helping people get on in life.

Autumn Statement

Debate between Fiona Bruce and George Osborne

Thursday 5th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

We are helping lone parents in particular by offering them more help to obtain work, or to obtain the skills and training that they need in order to find work. All the evidence—and I know that the hon. Lady has spent a great deal of her life examining it—suggests that if children of lone parents can be in working households, that will really assist their life chances. Lone parents often have the least skills and have received the least help, and we are doing a huge amount to change that.

[Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con)]

I welcome the Chancellor’s statement. Does he agree that, while by reducing corporation tax the Government have already shown that Britain is open for business, today—with the announcement of real help for high street retailers, support for SME exporters, and the extension of small business rate relief—they are showing that Britain is very much open for small business, too?

[Mr Osborne]

My hon. Friend and neighbour has been a champion of small businesses. I am delighted that the change that we have brought about today with a £1,000 discount for shops and high streets will mean that in Congleton, Holmes Chapel and Middlewich, the people whom she represents will get a better deal.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Fiona Bruce and George Osborne

Tuesday 8th February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

The hon. Lady asks why the legislation is “running late”. The previous shadow Chancellor wrote to me and asked for pre-legislative scrutiny, and I agreed to the request. Obviously, that has not been communicated to those on the Opposition Front Bench.

[Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con)]

4. What assessment he has made of the prospects for growth of the manufacturing sector.