Income Tax (Charge)

Jo Gideon Excerpts

Thursday 4th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Jo Gideon (Stoke-on-Trent Central) (Con) [V]]

This Budget provides the right balance, reflecting both the need to continue to protect those struggling the most and the recognition that, with the phenomenal success of our vaccination programme, the Government are right to focus on building back better, stronger, fairer and greener.

In Stoke-on-Trent, we have high hopes for the coming year, and last Friday we launched our city prospectus, “Powering up Stoke-on-Trent”. The Potteries has a proud heritage of pots and pits, and a bright future of advanced manufacturing, digital and creative industries, tourism and many other industries that are drawn to our geographical location and agile workforce. However, we cannot ignore the health inequalities that are a challenge to living productive lives and to productivity at work. Our residents have the lowest average life expectancy and poorest health in the region. Stoke-on-Trent is the national litmus test for the Government’s levelling-up agenda, and we believe that new opportunities should be available to all in our community.

Between February and November last year, the number of people on universal credit doubled, so the £20 uplift has been a lifeline for many, and I am glad that the Chancellor has recognised the need to keep it on for the next six months while investing in the comprehensive plan for jobs. Yet the Opposition are still talking about replacing universal credit, a crisis-tested system that is working well, which suggests that the leader of the Labour party is not so very different from the last one—ideology first; what works later. I will always support pro-work benefits and the widest range of measures to address the urgent and immediate challenges during these difficult times.

As brownfield sites across my constituency are repurposed for modern housing and new employment opportunities, confidence and aspiration grow in our local communities. I welcome the Treasury and the Department for Work and Pensions providing essential pathways out of unemployment and poverty, with both universal credit and the implementation of the Chancellor’s plan for jobs.

In addition to the kickstart scheme and extra work coaches, I welcome the additional investment in apprenticeships and traineeships, the new restart grant scheme, and the lifelong skills guarantee, which will ensure more opportunities for new and higher paid jobs, while the Help to Grow scheme will give small businesses the tools to flourish and create more jobs.

I thank the Chancellor for listening to my plea for support for capacity building in Stoke-on-Trent, with the allocation of £150,000 to help us develop bids for the levelling-up fund. I look forward to this fund unlocking major regeneration proposals in our prospectus, such as the East-West site in the city centre, which provides a mixed-use development including residential, leisure, an arena and a conference centre, as well as a possible tram service connecting the city centre. Our designation as a priority place for the community renewal fund recognises our city’s desire to grow our social infrastructure and empower our community to take ownership of unused or at-risk community assets.

Stoke-on-Trent is a city that is powering up. Before the pandemic hit, our city was on the up, and the pandemic has not stopped our ambitions. This Budget will create the right levels of confidence and the economic recovery that we all wish to see and encourage investment in our cities and regions. Stoke-on-Trent is a bellwether city for the success of levelling up, and my message today is: we are open for business.