Spending Review and Autumn Statement

Debate between George Osborne and Jack Dromey

Wednesday 25th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

I thank my hon. Friend for his support and for the work that he has done to champion the most disadvantaged and vulnerable in our communities. The troubled families programme is protected and supported in this spending review. The money for social impact bonds to help with complex social needs in our society is additional to that, as is the extra support for homeless people, which will go direct to councils rather than through the benefits system and have an extra £10 million put into it. There are a number of pieces of good news.

[Jack Dromey (Birmingham, Erdington) (Lab)]

Just days ago, our police service, reeling from the biggest cut in Europe of 17,000, was facing the catastrophe of being cut in half. Now, following pressure from the public, the police and the Labour party, the Chancellor has thought again, including embracing our proposals for sensible savings on procurement. Does he agree that the first duty of any Government is the safety and security of their citizens, and that a U-turn, however begrudging and belated, is to be welcomed?

Autumn Statement

Debate between George Osborne and Jack Dromey

Wednesday 3rd December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend. I have been to Ipswich and seen what he has done to attract businesses and jobs, and to champion big infrastructure improvements, such as in relation to the A14 and the Ipswich in 60 campaign. Those things would be under threat under a Labour Government. The Labour party’s rail franchising policy would prevent the improvement in train services to East Anglia. Big infrastructure projects that never happened under a previous Labour Government would almost certainly never happen under a future Labour Government.

[Jack Dromey (Birmingham, Erdington) (Lab)]

After another broken promise made in 2010 that front-line policing would be protected, 16,000 police officers have gone, including 8,000 from the front line. The Association of Chief Police Officers has said that, based on the Chancellor’s plans for the future, at least another 16,000 police officers will go, the majority from the front line, threatening its ability to discharge its statutory duties and protect the vulnerable. Is ACPO right?

[Mr Osborne]

Because of the hard work of the police and the reform that has been undertaken, crime is down and there is more policing on the front line. That shows that savings can be made to the Home Office budget while achieving reform. The hon. Gentleman’s question again reveals the default position of the Labour party. The shadow Chancellor attempts to say that it has newly converted to fiscal discipline and that it would take the difficult decisions. Every single Labour MP then gets up and complains about future spending and welfare decisions. That just shows that they are totally unreformed and unreconstructed.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between George Osborne and Jack Dromey

Tuesday 24th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

Youth unemployment is down 100,000 over the last year, and in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency the claimant count is down by 30%. I would have thought he would be welcoming that.

[Jack Dromey (Birmingham, Erdington) (Lab)]

When a proud Kingstanding dad of a newborn baby son tells me he has been on zero-hours contracts for two years and cannot plan from one week to the next, and says “Do them up there”—the Government—“get what life is like down here?”, and when a proud Stockland Green mother caring for her disabled son says, “My husband’s been made redundant twice in the last three years, with each new job less secure and on a lower rate of pay,” and adds, “What planet does the Chancellor live on?”, what does the Chancellor have to say to them?

[Mr Osborne]

I would say that through our long-term economic plan we are creating jobs in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency, with the economic security that that brings. We are legislating to deal with the abuse of zero-hours contracts, which for 13 years the Labour party did nothing about, and we have discovered in the last couple of weeks that the shadow Chancellor, who from the Opposition Dispatch Box has criticised zero-hours contracts again and again, uses them in his own office.

Autumn Statement

Debate between George Osborne and Jack Dromey

Thursday 5th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

My hon. Friend is right that the help for the high street announced today is significant—£1,000 off for shops, pubs, restaurants and cafés. For many shops that will be a lot better than a freeze and will wipe out their rates bill for a couple of years and help them in this difficult time. I know my hon. Friend has campaigned passionately on forces’ houses, and a lot of money is now going to military charities from the LIBOR fines. I know some of the bids being considered specifically involve forces’ housing, so that is one route through which we can ensure they get a better deal.

[Jack Dromey (Birmingham, Erdington) (Lab)]

What does the Chancellor have to say to the hard-working, aspirational Erdington family with whom I spoke this morning? The dad has lost his job twice in the past three years, with each new job on a yet lower rate of pay. The mum is a full-time carer for their disabled son. They are increasingly struggling to pay their mortgage and energy bills. They say to me, “Like all our friends, Jack, we don’t recognise the Chancellor’s recovery. Does he understand people like us?”, and in particular they ask, “What planet does the Chancellor live on?”. What does the Chancellor have to say?

[Mr Osborne]

I would say to his constituents, and anyone else, that times have been incredibly difficult for this country because we had the deepest recession in this country’s modern history. We had a 7% fall in GDP, which makes the country poorer. I argue that the best way to help that family, and many other families, is by keeping mortgage rates low and ensuring that more and better jobs are created in the economy, and that people can work longer hours if they want to. All those things are happening because we are standing behind our businesses and have control of our public finances. We are now investing in the next generation to ensure that that family can have a brighter future.

Spending Review

Debate between George Osborne and Jack Dromey

Wednesday 26th June 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

There is a specific issue around borrowing powers and the M4 corridor through Newport. That has to be done in partnership with the Government in London, but we are very aware of the benefits of that scheme. The Welsh Assembly and the people of Wales will welcome what we are proposing to do on the devolution of further tax and borrowing powers. We will set that out shortly.

[Jack Dromey (Birmingham, Erdington) (Lab)]

With the Government’s own figures showing that, despite all the promises, house building is down, construction is down, homelessness is up, rents are up, and housing waiting lists are at a record level, does the Chancellor accept that it is the legacy of his actions, including the catastrophic decision to cut £4 billion in affordable housing investment in 2010, that brings him to the Chamber today, and that he is responsible for three wasted years?

[Mr Osborne]

No, I do not accept that at all. The last Labour Government had a shocking record on house building, especially affordable house building. If the hon. Gentleman turns up in the Chamber tomorrow, he will hear some positive announcements about affordable house building.

Economic Policy

Debate between George Osborne and Jack Dromey

Monday 25th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

I am not sure that that was worth waiting for. Let me say to the hon. Gentleman that he either thinks it is important for us to confront our debt problem—in which case he should support me as we make the difficult decisions that will enable us to do that—or he thinks that that is not important, and that we can take a difficult situation and make it very much worse. No amount of handwritten notes will help him in those circumstances. The main handwritten note from the Labour party that I remember is the one that said there was no money left.

[Jack Dromey (Birmingham, Erdington) (Lab)]

In the name of protecting our triple A rating, the Chancellor cut £4 billion of affordable housing investment, causing house building to collapse, pushing housing benefit bills up, and creating the biggest housing crisis in a generation. Rather than continuing to borrow to pay the costs of failure, will he now endorse the shadow Chancellor’s call for investment in affordable house building to create jobs and apprenticeships and to get the economy moving, which he has so signally failed to do?

[Mr Osborne]

That is a call for yet more borrowing. At least the hon. Gentleman is happy to advocate that in the House of Commons, whereas the shadow Chancellor dare not talk about his economic policy.

The capital spending in the plans that we inherited from the last Labour Cabinet—which, presumably, were agreed to by all members of that Cabinet—was lower than the capital spending in the plans that we have now. Why? Because we have made difficult decisions on welfare bills and other areas of resource spending in order to invest in capital. As for housing, with schemes such as Firstbuy and NewBuy and the new housing guarantees, we are getting behind the housing industry. [Interruption.] The hon. Gentleman says “Going down”, but the rate of housing starts under the last Labour Government was the lowest since the 1920s. That is the situation with which they left us.

Autumn Statement

Debate between George Osborne and Jack Dromey

Wednesday 5th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

There will be more money for the regional growth fund. That has been helpful in securing and creating up to half a million new jobs. I am glad to say that I am sure businesses across Yorkshire will benefit from that. We are also, of course, investing in enterprise zones and LEPs across Yorkshire, and Yorkshire businesses will benefit from the enhanced capital allowance and the increase in the annual investment allowance.

[Jack Dromey (Birmingham, Erdington) (Lab)]

Seven Government Get Britain Building launches have proved to be false dawns. Housing starts are down; homelessness is up; we have a mortgage market where people cannot get mortgages and rents are at a record high in the private rented sector. Does the Chancellor now accept that his decision to cut £4 billion-worth of investment was directly responsible for a 60% collapse in affordable house building? Will he now accept personal responsibility as the Chancellor of the Exchequer presiding over the biggest housing crisis in a generation?

[Mr Osborne]

House building was at an all-time low under the Labour Government—the lowest, I think, since the 1920s or 1930s. That is what had happened. Of course, things such as problems in the mortgage market were created by the banking crisis and the financial crisis. The banking crisis happened, by the way, when the right hon. Member for Morley and Outwood (Ed Balls) was the City Minister. The funding for lending scheme is bringing mortgage costs down. The Firstbuy scheme helps with shared equity, and the new buy scheme is helping people who cannot afford their first deposit, so we have those schemes out there, helping to repair problems in the financial markets. We are also committing money for additional affordable homes and we are providing guarantees to social landlords to build not just social homes, but homes for the private rented sector. We are dealing with the problems that occurred when the hon. Gentleman’s party was in office.

Autumn Statement

Debate between George Osborne and Jack Dromey

Tuesday 29th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

The short answer to that is yes.

[Jack Dromey (Birmingham, Erdington) (Lab)]

Last year, the Chancellor cut £4 billion from housing investment. Does he accept responsibility for the catastrophic 99% collapse in affordable house building in the past six months, which is 187% in the west midlands? Does he agree that today he is restoring but 10% of what he cut, when the need for building homes and jobs has never been greater?

[Mr Osborne]

The Government’s capital spending plans are higher than those that the Labour party put forward in March 2010, which the Dromey family enthusiastically endorsed and tried to persuade the country to vote for. It is striking that, with the hon. Gentleman’s background, he has not mentioned the strikes, which will do huge damage to our economy and jobs. Why do not he and his colleagues condemn them and make sure that our country is working?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between George Osborne and Jack Dromey

Tuesday 21st December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

That was another of the problems in the in-tray. We have announced reforms to the controlled foreign companies regime, on which we published a consultation paper a couple of weeks ago, and I expect to return to the matter in the Budget.

[Jack Dromey (Birmingham, Erdington) (Lab)]

The Chancellor has said that he will be tough but fair in his cuts to Britain’s public services. Is it fair that West Midlands police service, serving an area of high need, will be hit twice as hard as Surrey, and as a consequence lose 1,200 police officers, 270 of whom will be compulsorily retired by next April?

[Mr Osborne]

The police settlement is fair. Here is yet another example of the Labour party’s position. In the past hour, we have heard Opposition Members oppose all the welfare reforms, the local government reductions, and the reductions in the Ministry of Justice and Home Office budgets. Their position is completely non-credible.

Office for Budget Responsibility

Debate between George Osborne and Jack Dromey

Monday 14th June 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

My hon. Friend is right. On page 58 of the report, Sir Alan and the fellow members of his committee set out some of the liabilities that need to be factored into longer-term fiscal forecasts, which include an ageing population, unfunded public service pension liabilities and the PFI contracts. They point out that some £43 billion of PFI contracts are off the national balance sheet.

[Jack Dromey (Birmingham, Erdington) (Lab)]

In the real world of the real economy, last Friday I met a dozen world-class machine tool manufacturers at their annual exhibition in Birmingham. They were unanimous in their view that the Government were right to borrow to invest in the economy to boost it and their order books. Are they wrong?

[Mr Osborne]

If they are similar to the machine tool manufacturers I have met in Birmingham in recent months, they are also very concerned about the size of the budget deficit and that, unless we get a grip on it, there will be an ever higher spiral of tax rises and interest rate increases that would do enormous damage to them and to the people whom they employ.