Tax Avoidance (HSBC)

Debate between George Osborne and Ian Swales

Monday 23rd February 2015 Commons Chamber

[Ian Swales (Redcar) (LD)]

Does the Chancellor think that corporate entities that advise on tax evasion or enable it to take place should themselves be subject to criminal prosecution?

[Mr Osborne]

Yesterday the Chief Secretary referred to a policy that the Treasury has been considering for the purposes of the Budget, involving the penalties that should be paid by those who actively facilitate tax evasion. As I have said, we are considering that policy, but the hon. Gentleman will have to wait for the Budget.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between George Osborne and Ian Swales

Tuesday 27th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Ian Swales (Redcar) (LD)]

The north-east chamber of commerce recently said:

“Businesses are surging into 2015 on a wave of sustained growth and positivity”,

and unemployment is falling faster in the north-east than anywhere else in the country. Will the Chancellor ensure that the north-east is properly connected to the northern powerhouse and that the necessary infrastructure investment is delivered?

[Mr Osborne]

I assure my hon. Friend that that will be the case. The north-east is an incredibly important part of the northern powerhouse, and that is why we are investing in road and rail links there. We are also putting investment into science there, for example at Newcastle university, and of course in his constituency he has seen steelmaking begin again after it ended under the Labour Government. People will have a clear choice at the general election.

Autumn Statement

Debate between George Osborne and Ian Swales

Wednesday 3rd December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

I do not want to go into too much of the detail that will be on the table in the important cross-party talks, but clearly one challenge that the Northern Ireland Executive face is that they have not implemented some of the welfare reforms, which has led to a hole in their budget. There are not currently credible proposals on the table from all the parties—I use the term “all” in the collective sense. There is not yet collective agreement on how to address the challenges that the lack of welfare reform has created. That is why I phrased my statement as I did. We have the cross-party talks and we have an important couple of weeks ahead, as Members from Northern Ireland know. Let us hope that we make real progress in those talks.

[Ian Swales (Redcar) (LD)]

I warmly welcome the new £28 million national formulation centre, which I believe is heading for Sedgefield in the north-east. That was one of the key asks of the chemistry growth partnership and is listed in the green book. Will the Chancellor continue to support the chemical industry, which is the UK’s biggest manufacturing exporter and is helping to make the north-east one of the fastest growing regions of the UK?

[Mr Osborne]

My hon. Friend is right that the new catapults that we have set out—the formulation centre and the investment in the high-value manufacturing catapult—will help the north of England, particularly around the area that he represents. Support for the chemical industry is important. The changes to energy taxation in the Budget will help the chemical industry. There might be an opportunity to look at specific things that we could do to help the chemical industry further, rather than all energy-intensive industries. I am happy to have that discussion with him and other Members who represent constituencies with chemical manufacturers.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between George Osborne and Ian Swales

Tuesday 5th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

I am happy to write to the hon. Lady with that number. Let us be clear: the Labour party and the shadow Chancellor said it was a complete fantasy that private sector job creation would outstrip the loss of public sector jobs required by fiscal consolidation. That is complete nonsense and we have not yet had an apology from the shadow Chancellor.

[Ian Swales (Redcar) (LD)]

Companies up and down the country have been investing in manufacturing capacity for the green infrastructure of tomorrow. Those in the north-east Energi Coast consortium have already invested £400 million. Will the Chancellor confirm the Government’s commitment to support the renewable energy industry?

LIBOR (FSA Investigation)

Debate between George Osborne and Ian Swales

Monday 2nd July 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

I do not think that that question deserves an answer. The inquiry will do its job, and I hope it will do so on a cross-party basis.

[Ian Swales (Redcar) (LD)]

With Friday’s FSA report into the inappropriate selling of base rate swap products, does the Chancellor believe that the culture behind that latest scandal should also be part of the inquiry?

[Mr Osborne]

The Joint Committee will look more broadly at the culture in the banking industry, but the very specific point that my hon. Friend makes is about a mis-sold retail product. What I want to do, and what I am sure our constituents would want us to do, is make sure that the compensation is paid out as quickly as possible. I do not want any inquiry to delay that. We want to make sure that small businesses, in particular, which are having cash-flow problems because of the products that they were mis-sold, get the compensation they need. I do not want to impede that process.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between George Osborne and Ian Swales

Tuesday 26th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

The very low interest and mortgage rates in Britain are extremely welcome to families and businesses across the country. If we want to know what the alternative looks like, we just have to look across the channel at countries that have not been able to maintain their credibility in international markets, where we see rising bank lending and funding costs and increased costs for Government borrowing. We have now five countries in the eurozone who have had to apply for bail-outs. It is because we have fiscal credibility despite inheriting the largest budget deficit in the European Union that we have been able to keep our interest rates very low.

[Ian Swales (Redcar) (LD)]

I, too, welcome the announcement of extra liquidity for our banks, but how will the Chancellor ensure that our international banks lend this money to British businesses?

[Mr Osborne]

The funding for lending scheme, which the Governor and I announced at the Mansion House, is explicitly designed to address the high bank funding costs and it is tied to lending into the UK economy, so that is precisely what this new scheme is designed to do.

Eurozone Crisis

Debate between George Osborne and Ian Swales

Thursday 27th October 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

We keep under close surveillance not only British banks but the branches of Cypriot banks and the subsidiaries of other banks operating here in the UK. So we are closely monitoring the Cypriot banks, as we do with the other eurozone banks in Britain.

[Ian Swales (Redcar) (LD)]

Has the Chancellor seen any credible figures that show that Greece can solve its long-term deficit and debt problems and still remain in the eurozone?

[Mr Osborne]

Yes, I think that there are plenty of things that Greece can do, which the Greek Government have already identified, to make itself much more competitive. It is coming from a long way behind, but it can do quite a lot in regard to its labour market, its pension ages, its tax rates and the like that would make it considerably more competitive than it is today.