Capital Gains Tax (Rates)

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd June 2010 Commons Chamber

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

Thank you for calling me, Mr Deputy Speaker. May I, too, congratulate you on being elevated to the position of Deputy Speaker?

Before I came to the House today, I thought about what was I going to say, and I was mindful of that saying, “Whenever the clouds are on the horizon, you can either shelter from the storm or run with the wind.” I am conscious that this Government are doing more sheltering from the storm. The question for us, as elected representatives at Westminster, and for our constituents is: is there somewhere to shelter? That is what I shall comment on, but I am also conscious of the comments that I make. I always try to make constructive comments, because that is my nature, but I shall also underline some concerns that I, as an elected representative and MP, believe I am duty bound to mention.

In Northern Ireland, and in Strangford, which I represent, there is a very clear tightening of the belt. The marks are already there, and I just wonder how tight the belt will be by the time the Budget is eventually farmed out to all parts of the United Kingdom and all Departments. We in Northern Ireland are mindful of that in relation to the block budget.

I am very conscious also of the serious economic state that we are in. I am not ignoring it, and neither are the people of the United Kingdom. We all recognise that drastic measures need to be taken, but I have to ask: are they being taken in the right place and taken correctly, and will they adversely affect my constituents and, indeed, those of many other hon. Members who have spoken today? I recognise the need for health and perhaps international development to be ring-fenced, and that the Budget will not necessarily affect those areas. There is some talk about education, or at least some parts of it, remaining untouched as well, but in that case there will have to be cuts in other Departments.

I recognise that this House is very supportive and proud of the armed services as they fight in Afghanistan, Iraq and all over the world. Is a 25% cut in defence fair? The Prime Minister has given a commitment to the soldiers on the front line, wherever the war is taking place. However, if there is to be a 25% cut in defence, someone has to feel the pinch and the pain, and if it is not the soldiers on the front line—and it should not be—it has to be those at home. I am pleased that the cut will not affect the front line, but concerned about how it will affect other areas. Will it mean that commanders are pensioned off? Will it affect the MOD in buying equipment? The MOD will look for the best prices, as it probably should, but we do not want spending to be diminished in such a way that its position is undermined.

The cadet forces make a significant contribution across the whole United Kingdom, but particularly in Northern Ireland. It is very important for us in Northern Ireland to have cadet forces that bring the communities together. We have tried to achieve that for years, and we are now seeing the partnership begin to work better than it ever has before. Cadet forces, by their very nature, are drawn from both communities. There are more people from the Roman Catholic side of the community in the cadet forces in Londonderry, which the hon. Member for Foyle (Mark Durkan) represents, as well as in Limavady, Enniskillen and Strabane. That has come about because joining the cadet forces has been attractive to young boys and girls, who recognise that some day they will want to serve in the British Army and the other services, including the Royal Air Force.

I want to highlight lone parents. I welcome the fact that the Government want to encourage them back to work; I think we all want to do that. However, when they have the opportunity to do so, we want them to have the jobs to go to. It is great to have this support in theory, but how does it come about in reality? Do the people have jobs, and are there opportunities and options? I am not sure that there are. I am concerned about the Government’s position.

[Mark Durkan (Foyle) (SDLP)]

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. Does he accept that many of us represent constituencies with large numbers of single parents who are doing valiant work as parents, and that for them the problem is not a lack of work ethic but a lack of work?

[Jim Shannon]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention; I wholeheartedly agree with his comments. It is all very well to have the theory of getting lone parents back to work, but if the jobs are not there, that theory is undermined. The Government must consider that.

In Northern Ireland, some 60% of jobs are in the public sector or public sector-dependent. I said this in my maiden speech a fortnight or so ago, but I will say it again because it is very important. I understand that the Government’s pledge is to increase private sector jobs and build up that area. However, before anything changes in the public sector, there has to be a private sector that fills the gap, so that those opportunities are there.

I turn to the 2.5% rise in VAT. In the area that I represent, there are a great many small and medium-sized businesses, which by their very nature create a lot of jobs collectively. Individually, that may amount to three, four or five jobs in a family business, but collectively they run into many hundreds, probably thousands. Although the rise is not going to kick in until January 2011, it causes great concern for the area that I represent, and specifically for businesses. Some small businesses may be hanging on by the skin of their teeth, and finding it very hard to get through difficult times, while looking ahead to perhaps another two, three or four years of austerity and the associated difficulties. Many businesses will try to absorb the VAT increase rather than pass on the extra prices, which they cannot do—not because they do not want to, but because they cannot do it in the competitive market that they are in. They have to try to take on large multinational businesses that have a bigger market and can therefore absorb such costs.

[David Simpson (Upper Bann) (DUP)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that one of the biggest hindrances for small businesses across the whole United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland, is the level of bureaucracy and red tape that they have to handle, as they are very much hands-on operations? The new coalition Government have promised to remove that, and we need to see the evidence very quickly.

[Jim Shannon]

I thank my hon. Friend. I wholeheartedly agree, and I can give examples. I represent a very rural constituency. A questionnaire was recently put out to the farming community asking people about the biggest problem they had. They said that it was red tape and bureaucracy. The same applies to those in the fishing industry and those who have small businesses. It seems to be coming at them left, right and centre. Europe has an influence as well. That issue must be addressed very soon.

Let me turn to the position of pensioners. As representatives, we have an opportunity to really feel for people and to see issues they face. My area, like many others, boasts an increasing population of elderly people, and will have its greatest ever number of pensioners in coming years. I am very conscious of how pensioners budget, and how they will cope with a VAT increase on the products that they buy just to keep living. That is extra money that they have to find. Has consideration been given to how the increase will affect pensioners specifically?

There has to be good news in everything, like the curate’s egg that is good in parts. It is hard to find enough good parts in this curate’s egg, but that is by the way. The fact that the income tax threshold has been raised by £1,000 is good news—I give credit where credit is due. It will benefit some households to the tune of £175, at least, and perhaps more elsewhere.

At the same time, however, there is a negative factor: child benefit will not rise for three years in line with inflation. People will say, “Well, that’s how things are, and that’s how it has to happen.” As someone who keeps his ear close to the ground and understands how these things work—I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth, and I know how difficult it is for people to make do—I understand that the child tax credit and the working tax credit are critical. Many people visit my office and advice centre, just as they visit many other Members, and I can see what is involved in balancing the books and working out the weekly family budget. These people do not live beyond their means by any standard, but they require tax credits just to survive.

My provincial press today—I bought the papers this morning—gave five or six examples of people who will be affected. They included families with four children, single parents with two children, and some who are self-employed. Those people recognise the need for something to be done, but they do not feel particularly in tune with its impact on them. That concerns me, and I have to put it on the record. None of those half a dozen examples in the provincial press or the Belfast Telegraph involved people who would not feel pain over the coming period.

The Government encouraged people to take up tax credits, and they enjoyed a certain quality of life as a result. All of a sudden, that could change. I should like to say something about those in the middle class bracket. When someone is on £35,000 to £40,000 a year, we sometimes think they are doing all right, but half that income might go on their mortgage, and people’s hopes for their children and communities are in their houses. I am concerned about the impact on such families of reducing or freezing working tax credits or child tax credits over a three-year period.

The one great commodity over which international wars have been fought—there will probably be many more of them—is oil. The price of oil today is $77.55 a barrel, and prices for oil, diesel and petrol were at their highest three years ago, when a barrel cost $147. Who makes the extra money and extra profit, and how? Clearly, someone is making it. The hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (John Thurso) referred to the concessionary fuel scheme in his area. I represent a rural area, so I would be keen to know how that works. Perhaps the Government should consider reducing fuel duty to enable people to get over the hard times much more easily than in the past. Elderly people struggle to fill their tanks with oil.

For the fishing industry at Portavogie, which is an important part of Strangford, fuel costs represent 60% of the boats’ running costs. A great many of those fishermen are having difficulty getting through the times they face at this moment. There is some talk about European funding, but there have been delays. The hardships that the fishing industry faces are critical, and it may not survive.

I welcome the Government’s commitment to reduce corporation tax from 28% to 24%, which is significant. Last week, I met bank officials in my town, and they outlined the measures they would like. By and large, the Government have reflected what the banks wanted. However, what the banks want is not always best, as we have seen over the past year or two. The reduction in corporation tax is good news. The Government have realised that businesses need that help. The Chancellor stated that that is the lowest rate in any major western economy and the best rate in the G20, but the Republic of Ireland’s corporation tax is 12%. As Northern Ireland has a land border with the Republic, I suggest that corporation tax should be looked at more sympathetically for us than elsewhere.

Businesses are very conscious of corporation tax. I have met a number of business people in my area recently. Pritchitt Foods in Newtownards is one of the largest employers in the area, and corporation tax is the biggest factor for that company in trying to make its business work. It is a go-ahead, progressive firm that creates significant employment in my area. It feels that the 4% reduction will go part of the way to addressing its concerns. I have asked the Government about this matter, and I understand that they will be making a statement in October about corporation tax in Northern Ireland. I look forward to seeing whether we can have a further reduction, which would help us. We also have the largest energy costs in the whole United Kingdom. I suggest that that also needs to be offset and considered.

I could not let this occasion pass without commenting on child poverty. Wearing my other hat as an Assembly Member in Northern Ireland, I had the opportunity to contribute to an inquiry on the underlying issues. Some 20% of children in Northern Ireland are deprived through poverty. What will happen to those who find themselves in child poverty over the next couple of years? There is some £80 per household for children in Northern Ireland, as against £600 in other parts of the United Kingdom, so child poverty will be much more important to us.

The next days and months will tell us clearly what impact the Budget will have. I am concerned that the welfare savings of £11 billion will devastate the poor. Will the Chancellor look seriously at that?

I think that England and Slovenia have been playing for 15 minutes—I do not know what the score is—and am mindful that some Members will wish to see what is happening, but I want to make one last point, on disability living allowance. When I read of the DLA changes, I was exasperated and deeply concerned, because I felt that they were a direct attack on those who can least face up to such an attack. There are some delays in relation to how the system will be run. Many of the cases that I have fought as an elected representative have been on behalf of those who need DLA—those who have mobility problems, who are getting over cancer operations or who have immobilising diseases. Such cases have involved those with heart problems, and many involve people who have extensive care needs.

Why target a section of the community who basically need that money more than anything else? Do the Government see savings? They may see savings, but I see the people and their needs, as a great many other hon. Members do. I ask the Government to reconsider, and to look carefully at whether they should pursue savings from those who receive DLA. Doing so will impact on a group of people who can least respond and deal with the financial implications. People who are on DLA focus on their health and how to get through the day, as do the people who care for them. If the Government add to that a financial burden by making it hard for them to receive their benefits, their health will be affected. I am not in the business of doing that, and I hope the Government are not.

I rest my case on that point, and I hope that my comments will be taken on board. The Budget delivers some things for us. I am not being critical of all of it, but I am critical of some measures. I ask the Government to take those matters on board. I hope that they will have some better ideas on DLA. We all have to work with the Budget—we cannot do so individually—but the Government need to take on board the needs of those who are less able to face the financial burdens that will come upon them.