Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between George Osborne and Nigel Adams

Tuesday 27th October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

Of course we are in a constant dialogue with the solar industry, and solar energy use has dramatically increased over the last five years, but so have the costs of that technology. Quite reasonably, then, we have reduced the subsidy going to solar. There has to be consistency in what Labour Members argue for. On the one hand, they say, quite reasonably, “Please deal with the energy prices that are affecting the steel industry”, but then their spokesman gets up and says, “Please add more cost on to energy bills in order to subsidise renewables.” The trouble is we cannot have both.

[Nigel Adams (Selby and Ainsty) (Con)]

8. What support his Department provides to people affected by large-scale redundancies.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between George Osborne and Nigel Adams

Tuesday 27th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

My hon. Friend is right. As I said at the beginning, the fall in the oil price, for all the challenges it poses in the North sea, is good for the British economy and good for British families. It is being felt at the pump, where petrol is now cheaper than when this Government came into office. One of the reasons why is that we abolished Labour’s fuel duty escalator. As a result, petrol is 20p per litre less than it would have been had we stuck with the shadow Chancellor’s disastrous tax plans. We have to make sure that motorists feel the full benefit of the falling oil price. As I say, it was a good move to abolish that disastrous escalator.

[Nigel Adams (Selby and Ainsty) (Con)]

4. What assessment he has made of the effect of lowering the rate of national insurance on levels of employment.

[Adam Afriyie (Windsor) (Con)]

6. What assessment he has made of the effect of reducing employers’ national insurance contributions on employment.

[Nigel Adams]

I am very grateful to the Chancellor. Will he join me in congratulating the entrepreneurs and risk takers who, across my constituency, have stepped up to the plate since 2010—so much so that we now have 60% fewer people claiming out-of-work benefits? What further measures can my right hon. Friend deliver to ensure that the economic recovery continues in my part of North Yorkshire?

[Mr Osborne]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that unemployment in his constituency has fallen. Twelve thousand extra jobs have been created in his constituency. That is because local businesses are benefiting from the employment allowance, and there is more to come with the cuts to national insurance for employing under-21s and apprentices. One of the reasons businesses are coming to his constituency is that he is such a champion of his constituency as a place to invest and employ. He goes out of his way to bring businesses and jobs to his constituency. That is why unemployment has fallen so fast there.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between George Osborne and Nigel Adams

Tuesday 2nd September 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

I follow the practice that previous holders of this job have followed over the past 20 years, which is not to comment on the exchange rate, but as I said in my response to the first question in this session, the weakness in the eurozone is an emerging risk to the UK economy and something to which we need to be alert.

[Nigel Adams (Selby and Ainsty) (Con)]

Constituents of mine have been targeted by phone fraudsters calling them at home pretending to be from their bank, and several have had their bank accounts emptied, leaving them devastated. Will the Minister meet me and other hon. Members whose constituents might have been affected to discuss a way forward to ensure that banks have in place proper, robust security measures to prevent that from happening again?

Autumn Statement

Debate between George Osborne and Nigel Adams

Thursday 5th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

I am glad that the hon. Gentleman notes that the Northern Ireland Executive will get additional resources because of the way in which the Barnett formula is applied. We are clear that we want to be fair to Northern Ireland. In designing our reoccupation relief we noted how some of Northern Ireland’s schemes to help people reoccupy empty properties have been successful. There is no doubt that empty shops on the high street—partly driven by technological change—are not a good advert for a community.

If the welfare cap is breached it is up to the Chancellor of the day to come to the House and say either, “I am prepared to breach the welfare cap: let’s have a vote on that”, or, “I am not prepared to breach the welfare cap and here are the measures I am prepared to take”. Those measures would also have to be voted on. In other words, the Chancellor will be accountable to the House for welfare spending, instead of the situation we have had for the past decade, in which welfare spending doubled with no statement ever being made from this Dispatch Box.

[Nigel Adams (Selby and Ainsty) (Con)]

On behalf of retired coal miners across the country, I thank my right hon. Friend for his recent announcement restoring the concessionary fuel allowance—it was the right and proper thing for him to do. I also commend him for his announcement on business rates, which will be welcomed by small businesses in Selby and Tadcaster and across my constituency. Will he join me in thanking those entrepreneurs and business people in my constituency whose efforts have resulted in a reduction in unemployment of more than 30% since the last election?

[Mr Osborne]

My hon. Friend led an effective and powerful campaign on behalf of his constituents and other former miners who had lost their concessionary fuel allowance because of the collapse of the company they had worked for. I stepped in to help because he and others, including my hon. Friends the Members for Sherwood (Mr Spencer), for Nuneaton (Mr Jones) and for North Warwickshire (Dan Byles), came to talk to me about the matter. It was a simple case of doing the right thing and, thanks to my hon. Friend, we have done it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between George Osborne and Nigel Adams

Tuesday 5th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Nigel Adams (Selby and Ainsty) (Con)]

11. What estimate he has made of the number of jobs created in the private sector in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [R]

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

In the past year, employment in the private sector has increased by 380,000, more than offsetting the fall in public sector employment of 104,000. For every public sector job lost, more than three have been created in the private sector. That confounds the predictions of those who thought it could never happen.

[Mr Osborne]

I am delighted by the news of the new jobs being created by Waitrose in Northwich; as my hon. Friend well knows, I represent part of that town. That will be good for the people who live in it, and I hope that some of my constituents will find work there. The employment allowance, which we debated in this Parliament this week, is going to take £2,000 off the national insurance bill of every firm, but the biggest benefit will be felt by the smallest companies; 450,000 firms will be taken out of employer NICs altogether. That is a real boost for business, and it shows how we can help to support the recovery.

[Nigel Adams]

Unemployment is down by almost 30% in my constituency since the last election. Given that Selby lost almost 2,000 jobs in 2004 in the mining industry, that is very encouraging. Given UK Coal’s recent troubles and its callous decision to withdraw concessionary fuel from some ex-miners and their widows, what comfort can the Chancellor give to these pensioners, who potentially face fuel poverty this winter?

[Mr Osborne]

I know that this difficult situation has been brought about by the failure of UK Coal. I congratulate my hon. Friend on leading this campaign to do something about the situation, and I know that my hon. Friends the Members for Sherwood (Mr Spencer) and for Nuneaton (Mr Jones) have joined him in coming to see me about it. We are looking very carefully at the case for what we can do to help those who have had their concessionary fuel allowance taken away because of the failure of UK Coal. I am personally looking at this case and I hope to have some good news shortly.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between George Osborne and Nigel Adams

Tuesday 16th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Nigel Adams (Selby and Ainsty) (Con)]

2. What fiscal measures he has introduced to provide assistance for pensioners since his appointment.

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

With your permission, Mr Speaker, if I dare ask for it, I should like to answer this question with questions 6 and 7.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Osborne]

Even in these constrained times, the coalition Government have been able to find additional assistance for pensioners. We have re-linked the basic state pension to earnings and provided a triple guarantee that the basic state pension will be raised by the higher of earnings, prices or 2.5% from next April. We have also protected other key pensioner benefits and made the previous Government’s temporary pre-election increase in cold weather payments permanent, because this Government treat pensioners with the dignity and respect that they deserve.

[Nigel Adams]

I am grateful to the Chancellor for that reply. Many pensioners and those approaching pension age in my constituency of Selby and Ainsty will welcome his words, but will he tell me what will be the impact in future years of the link to earnings in respect of the basic state pension?