Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Harriett Baldwin and Danny Alexander

Tuesday 14th May 2013 Commons Chamber

[Danny Alexander]

The hon. Lady will know that housing completions are 19% above the trough of 2010, numbers of housing starts are 58% above the trough of 2009, and she should welcome that improvement. In the Budget, we announced a £5 billion package to help the construction sector through the Help to Buy shared equity scheme, which will support the construction of 76,000 properties, as well as a massive expansion of the Build to Rent programme. It is staggering that the hon. Lady cannot bring herself to welcome those measures.

[Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)]

Will the Minister welcome today’s figures showing that the number of first-time buyers increased by 20% this month? Will he also welcome the fact that the Department for Communities and Local Government has shown that 37,000 new homes for social rent were built last year, which is a record since 1997?

[Danny Alexander]

I welcome those figures. They suggest that the policies being pursued by this Government are having the desired effect.

Public Service Pensions

Debate between Harriett Baldwin and Danny Alexander

Wednesday 2nd November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Danny Alexander]

The full-time equivalent basis for pension reform is being approached in exactly the same way that the previous Government treated it. The hon. Lady’s tests for affordability, fairness and a workable settlement are all met. She did not say, in the end, whether she supported the deal on the table to date. It is incumbent on the Opposition to understand the deal and support it. It is also incumbent on them to make clear their position on strike action. I hope that she agrees with me that, in light of the new offer and the constructive approach taken to the negotiations, she should not support trade unions going ahead with strike action later this month.

[Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)]

I welcome the extensive work that has gone into these proposals and would like to ask a question specific to my constituency and many others. Many teachers in my constituency work in the state sector, but over their careers they will often spend periods in the independent sector too. Will the proposals continue to allow inter-changeability between the two sectors?

[Danny Alexander]

If agreement is reached, they will. The arrangements that the hon. Lady describes are an important part of the discussions, but they depend on reaching a sustainable agreement on the future of public service pensions along the lines I have set out.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Harriett Baldwin and Danny Alexander

Tuesday 10th May 2011 Commons Chamber

[Danny Alexander]

I am not sure that the right hon. Gentleman opposed any of the items on that list in votes in the House.

As I said earlier, we have cut income tax by increasing the income tax threshold. We have also introduced a triple lock on pensions, increased cold weather payments, and increased the child element of child tax credit. Of course we must look at the way in which the income tax system works, but our priority has been to cut income tax for people on low and middle incomes by increasing the tax threshold. That is the tax priority of this Government.

[Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)]

7. What steps he is taking to ensure that the Financial Services Authority exempts from new domestic regulation businesses employing fewer than 10 people and new businesses for the next three years.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Harriett Baldwin and Danny Alexander

Tuesday 12th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[Danny Alexander]

The hon. Gentleman will have to wait until the statement on 20 October to hear the details of our spending decisions, but as I have made clear in answer to earlier questions, of course we consider it important to understand and manage the regional impact of spending cuts. We have established a regional growth fund, the details of which will be in the spending review statement, which will enable areas such as his to win support for projects that help economic growth in difficult times.

[Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)]

17. What assessment he has made of the effect on GDP of proposals to increase the level of economic growth in the June 2010 Budget.