National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill

Joe Robertson Excerpts

Committee of the whole House & 3rd reading
Tuesday 17th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Joe Robertson (Isle of Wight East) (Con)]

The Government knew that if they raised national insurance contributions in the Budget, it would be devastating for health and social care. That is why they exempted the NHS; they knew that it would be put under acute pressure by the Budget. They did not exempt some of the key partners that deliver health and social care in this country, that they will rely on to move people out of acute care and into community care, and that they will rely on to achieve prevention rather than cure—all things that the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care says he wants to do. They will rely on GPs, pharmacies, hospices and social care, yet the national insurance contributions fall on them.

Hospices will pay £260 million. According to Community Pharmacy England, pharmacists will pay £50 million. Social care will pay £2.4 billion. All that money will move across to the NHS, which is largely slanted towards acute provision. That runs completely counter to what the Health Secretary said he wants to do. His answer to those GPs, pharmacists and hospices who are deeply concerned is, “We will deal with this in due course.” “Due course” means “We have absolutely no idea and no plan at all.” He and, indeed, Treasury spokespeople say that they will deal with hospices in the usual contracting way.

The contracts of hospices like Mountbatten just outside my constituency on the Isle of Wight are with the integrated care board. They do not have a contract with Government, the Department of Health and Social Care or an NHS employer. Under those contracts, there is no clause for uplift of salary, or for recovering the increased cost of national insurance contributions. Saying, “We will deal with it in the usual way through contracting” shows either a complete lack of understanding of how hospice services contract with the public sector, or a complete indifference, disregard and, frankly, contempt.

As for other sectors of the economy, national insurance increases hit those who employ people—sectors that rely on larger workforces, such as hospitality and tourism, which my constituency on the Isle of Wight is heavily reliant on. This is a tax on working people, because it disincentivises employing working people, and even the OBR says that 60% of the impact will likely be felt by those on lower wages. It also says that growth will peak next year at 2%—in fact, that is the Treasury’s own figure—and then it will fall away for the rest of the decade. This is not a growth Budget. As for those working in hospitality and tourism, many of whom are seasonal or part-time workers, they will be brought into the national insurance tax regime for the first time.

Brilliant businesses in my constituency, such as the Yarbridge Inn in Brading, the Spyglass Inn in Ventnor, and all the independent hotels in Sandown, Shanklin and elsewhere, will be squeezed further, right at the time when they are trying to recover from covid, and when our tourism and hospitality sectors are competing with cheaper, overseas holidays. The sector is already heavily taxed compared with hospitality and tourism elsewhere in Europe. This is an unpatriotic tax, because it disincentivises the visitor economy and tourism in Britain.

I urge the Government to go back and look again at providing relief to hospitality and tourism, as well as to health and social care. As my right hon. Friend the Member for Beverley and Holderness (Graham Stuart) said, there is no shame in the Government recognising their mistakes in both sectors, and coming up with genuine relief for health and social care and for tourism and hospitality.

[Dan Tomlinson (Chipping Barnet) (Lab)]

I very much welcome the chance to speak in this debate on an important topic. I am sure that Members on both sides of the House will be glad to know that this is the first speech of mine that is not subject to a time limit, so I can speak for as long as humanly possible on the intricacies and joys of national insurance contributions, and I hope to stay on the topic at hand.

Not having a time limit also gives me the chance to make a great parliamentary speech on this important topic. We all know what good speeches look like; they are not a simple list of points reeled off in order, but may include great rhetorical flourishes, the use of the English language at its finest, and nuanced arguments. But, Madam Chair, I will make six simple points, in list form, in favour of the national insurance changes before us. I have missed my opportunity, but maybe I will make such a speech in future.

These changes are incredibly important. I urge Opposition Members to vote with the Government against the amendments, so that we can get the changes that we need for our country. The first reason that I think the changes are important and sensible is that they will mean that the Labour Government stick to the pledge we made in the election campaign not to increase taxes on working people. It is important that we rebuild trust in our politics, which has fallen to a record low. I know that this is contested in the House, but Labour is clear that these specific changes protect working people’s payslips and mean that we do not have to make the changes that others have suggested for income tax and value added tax. Trust in our politics is very important.

The second reason I encourage Members to vote with the Government tonight is that the changes provide vital funding for our public services. I am not too sure whether Conservative Members—I would be interested to hear from them—support the additional funding for public services. I said this in the previous debate on the Bill, so I am a bit like a broken record, but if they do support additional funding, would they raise it through additional borrowing or different tax rises?

[Joe Robertson]

rose—

[Dan Tomlinson]

Before I have even heard the hon. Member’s request to intervene, I happily give way.

[Joe Robertson]

I can offer the hon. Member a solution for growing the tax base: grow the economy. That is by far the best way of increasing the tax take. This Budget does not grow the economy—that is the problem.

[Dan Tomlinson]

I will come to growth, which is the sixth point on my very exciting list, but I will just say that this Budget will see growth increase in the short term and stay broadly unchanged over the forecast period, and the OBR says that the increased public sector investment that we are making will lead to a small but significant increase in growth in the long run. I wholeheartedly agree with the hon. Member that we need economic growth in this country.

It is important that we provide the revenue to fund our public services. I will not repeat the convincing and powerful arguments made by Labour Members about the broken nature of our public services. In Chipping Barnet, policing is really struggling, and 100,000 people in the Royal Free London NHS foundation trust area are waiting to be seen by our local hospital. We need to provide funding in a sustainable way.

The third point on my exciting list of reasons to vote with the Government tonight is that these changes provide stability. We all know that we need economic stability—it is the foundation of the economic growth that the hon. Member for Isle of Wight East (Joe Robertson) just made an important intervention on. I believe that the Chancellor and the Treasury team made the right decision, even though it was difficult, to raise revenues to fund our public services and put our public finances on an even keel once again. This change means that over the coming years, we will get to a place where, for the first time in a very long time, day-to-day spending will be matched by the tax revenues that are coming in. I think all Members of the House will agree that that is important, but I know that Labour Members prioritise that stability, which has been lacking for too long.

Fourthly, these changes cut taxes for the smallest businesses—a quarter of a million businesses, as my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow East (John Grady) made clear. Again, I am interested to know whether Opposition Members support or oppose the cut in taxes for the smallest businesses that this Budget provides.

Fifthly, we have prioritised sound public finances, which is a big change from recent years. The mini-Budget that was passed by Liz Truss contributed to pushing up interest rates in our economy, making things more difficult for families in my constituency and across the country. It also added not £6 billion, or even £16 billion, but £60 billion to Government borrowing costs each year—Members can see those numbers in the Office for Budget Responsibility’s report. That and other failures to manage our public finances over the past 14 years have driven up our public debt from £1 trillion, as it was in 2010, to £2.8 trillion, which I believe was the latest estimate from the Office for National Statistics. If we support additional spending on our public services, it is vital that we also make the right decision to raise revenue that will cover that increase in public spending, so that we can have the sound public finances that the public want from this Government.

Employer National Insurance Contributions

Joe Robertson Excerpts

Wednesday 4th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Kevin Bonavia]

I totally agree with my hon. Friend that this Government are supporting people across the whole country, including Scotland today, and I really hope the Scottish Government use the money they have been given well.

Returning to the Opposition motion, were they also opposed to our country being left a £22 billion black hole by the last Government? Where they also opposed to the disastrous Liz Truss mini-Budget, which included £45 billion of unfunded tax cuts, and which shocked the markets, crashed the pound and skyrocketed mortgage rates? Were they also opposed to the last Government’s spring Budget, which included myriad damaging unfunded promises in an attempt to flash the cash at the public ahead of an election? If they do now oppose all the above, they must agree with me that we have to restore economic stability by funding our pledges. That means finding money, and if it is not through this measure, would they tax working people or make another black hole? We have to face down the reality of these choices for what they are.

It is overwhelmingly clear that the shadow Cabinet, who were exiled into opposition this summer, have not learned a single thing. They have made £6.7 billion in unfunded spending commitments in just four weeks. At least we can be grateful that they are not in the position to do more damage at the moment. Turning to what the funds raised from this measure will do, are the Opposition opposed to investing an extra £25.6 billion to fix the foundations of our NHS or cutting waiting times with 40,000 extra elective appointments a week?

[Joe Robertson (Isle of Wight East) (Con)]

The hon. Gentleman talks about the NHS. What does he have to say to pharmacies, which report that his Government’s measures will cost pharmacists £50 million, even after taking into account the employment allowance?

[Kevin Bonavia]

I say to all Members of this House that people have to see these measures in the round. This Budget will support all our businesses in the long run. Are the Opposition now opposed to protecting the triple lock, increasing carer’s allowance, freezing fuel duty, paying workers properly and supporting local councils? Are they opposed to boosting education funding by £6.7 billion and hiring 6,500 extra teachers, who our children desperately need to secure their future? If they are opposed to those things, they are not listening to the British public who, in my constituency of Stevenage and in hundreds of other seats, voted at the last election for a change from years of Conservative chaos.

Change with Labour will bring a decade of national renewal to fix our public services from the ground up. Businesses can only have the confidence to invest in the UK if we bring stability to the economy, put money into the pockets of customers and develop thriving public services for the workforce that will in turn improve productivity for businesses. Business confidence was demonstrated by the record-breaking £63 billion in investment secured for the UK economy at the international investment summit. Under Labour, Britain is open for business.

Today, the Conservative Opposition are asking us to pretend that we can grow our economy and rebuild our public services without saying how it would all be paid for. This Tory Opposition, with their motion today, show that they have learned nothing from 14 years of Tory fantasy economics. The shadow Chancellor brought up fantasy economics, and his party delivered that for 14 years in government. Today we have a Labour Government. The country voted against fantasy economics in July, and today I will vote against it too.

National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill

Joe Robertson Excerpts

2nd reading
Tuesday 3rd December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Joe Robertson (Isle of Wight East) (Con)]

It is the job of any Government to grow the economy and grow jobs. The best way of delivering money for public services is to grow the tax base without having to increase taxes, so it is hardly surprising that the Chancellor wrapped up her bad Budget as a growth Budget. Unfortunately, when she unwrapped it at the Dispatch Box, it was nothing of the kind. The Treasury’s own analysis said that growth would peak at 2% next year, and then fall for the rest of the decade. The OBR’s analysis said that the Budget was inflationary. It is bad for the economy and it is bad for the businesses that we rely on to grow our tax base for public services.

I turn now to public services, particularly health and social care. The Chancellor knows—and knew—that the increase in national insurance contributions will be devastating for healthcare, which is why she exempted the NHS, but that shows an extraordinary lack of understanding of how healthcare is delivered in this country. The NHS directly delivers a part of healthcare that is free at the point of use, but much of the rest is delivered indirectly through contracting, via partnerships such as GP practices, charities such as hospices, and businesses such as pharmacy, dentistry and social care providers. The NHS cannot exist without those key healthcare services, none of which shares in the exemption from the national insurance contribution rises.

The chief executive of Hospice UK has said that that means charitable income raised by hospices to the tune of £30 million will be taken in national insurance contributions to fund the NHS, which does not properly fund hospices in the first place. The British Dental Association wrote to the Secretary of State to ask whether there has been an impact assessment of the effect of national insurance contribution rises on the finances of dentists. The answer was that no impact assessment had been done. The Government do not even understand the effects of their Budget and these national insurance contribution rises on healthcare in this country.

For two local hospices just outside my constituency, Mountbatten Isle of Wight and Mountbatten Hampshire, which serve my constituents, the combined effect of these national insurance contribution rises and the pay rises for nurses, for which the NHS will not pay the hospices, is £900,000 of costs, with not a penny promised or delivered through the contract with the integrated care board.

It is all very well for Labour Members to say that this Budget will deliver for the NHS, but that is not much good when it will put further pressure on GP practices, pharmacies, hospices, dentistry and social care. If those services crumble, the NHS will not be able to continue in its current form, so I urge Labour Members to press the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to get on with his reforms to properly fund GPs, hospices, pharmacies and dentists before they have to make tough decisions that will mean redundancies and job losses.

Finance Bill

Joe Robertson Excerpts

2nd reading
Wednesday 27th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Graham Stuart]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady. I am happy to do so, although it is worth pointing out that we are supposed to reflect today on the actual proposals put forward by the Government of which she is now a member.

But the hon. Lady is right to highlight the Conservative’s economic record. I have a criticism of those of us on the Conservative Benches: I do not think we do enough to talk about it. From 2010 to 2024, which economy in Europe grew the most? Was it Germany or the UK? Oh, it was the UK! Was it France or the UK? Oh, it was the UK! Which country in Europe created 4 million more jobs? For which Government did the horrible scar of youth unemployment, which was a permanent feature even in the good years prior to the crash—for those interested in the history of employment—stay horribly high, with its long-term scarring impact on young people? It was the Labour Government.

All that was turned around. People were paying tax at £6,500 when Labour left power. That was lifted to £12,500. They may be decrying and disowning their part in the coalition Government, but the Liberal Democrats should have some pride in what we were able to do together. We inherited an economic basket case. We brought discipline back. But while we were fixing the foundations, we did not lose sight of the fact that we knew where the wealth comes from. It comes from the private sector, not the public sector—from those small shops, those restaurants, all those other businesses on which the country relies for its wealth. This Budget has gone down and damaged each and every one of them, one by one. It has looked around for targets—the “broad shoulders” for the socialist envy to vent itself on—and who better than landowners?

So the Budget focuses on people. I am not an expert on every area of the economic life of this country, but let us suppose that I looked across the entire economy and tried to find people in private enterprise using their own assets. Where would people have millions of pounds in assets and be prepared to receive a 1% return on them? Who would keep that up, year after year, simply in order to feed the nation as part of a pact—a compact—between them and the Government, indeed the whole country? Who would be prepared to do that, and to feed us, while asking so little in return? Attacking farmers, of all groups in society, is one of the most retrograde and regrettable of attacks.

[Joe Robertson (Isle of Wight East) (Con)]

As my right hon. Friend knows, I worked for a charity for six years—or a decade, as the Chancellor of the Exchequer likes to call it. Would he care to reflect on the damage done to charities by this Government’s Budget? They are already in a squeeze, and the Government have squeezed them further through their decisions on employment rights and also through taxation in the Budget.

[Graham Stuart]

We are seeing a kind of socialist envy and attack on misguided targets. For instance, children with special educational needs in private schools will be pulled out of those schools mid-year because their families can no longer afford to send them there. That was not the intent; not only did Labour Members want to stand on an honest prospectus, but that is not, I am sure, what they wanted. Nevertheless, that is what is happening. [Interruption.] It is exactly what is happening.

My hon. Friend is right, however, to point out that this is not just about a class-based assault on people who do not deserve to be assaulted. It is also about sheer ineptitude. Let us consider the £22 billion for the NHS. Why so little for social care? Surely Labour Members, however green and new to the House, must be aware that the NHS depends on the social care system, but because of the increases in national insurance contributions and the minimum wage, its costs are rising by about £2.5 billion and it is getting £600 million. Hospices will be affected, and so will small charities.

VAT: Independent Schools

Joe Robertson Excerpts

Tuesday 8th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Joe Robertson (Isle of Wight East) (Con)]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I congratulate the hon. and gallant Member for North East Derbyshire (Louise Jones) on her maiden speech, and thank her for her military service before entering this place.

It is an enormous honour and privilege to represent Isle of Wight East. It is one half of the former Isle of Wight constituency and, if I may say, the better half of the island, only because its wise residents chose to elect a Conservative MP unlike our neighbours in the west. I pay tribute to my predecessor Bob Seely, who served here with dedication, passion and commitment and made a genuinely significant contribution to our shared understanding of Russia and Ukraine, and of international relations more widely. I am sure that whatever the future holds for Bob, he will continue to contribute in that sphere. I also pay tribute to his predecessor Andrew Turner, who served for 16 years and first got me involved in local activism while I was still at school.

The Isle of Wight is known for many things and is much loved, not least of all for sailing. This week is genuinely significant for sailing, as Sir Ben Ainslie and his team have qualified for the America’s cup. The America’s cup was first sailed for around the Isle of Wight in 1851. Unfortunately, the British boats did not win then, and we have never won it, so this is very significant. I send Sir Ben, Sir Jim and the whole team my sincere best wishes to bring back the cup to the Isle of Wight, where it belongs.

The island is well known for its dinosaur fossil records and rock festivals, and as a holiday destination for many happy families from across the UK and internationally. Our biggest town is Ryde, which, together with Sandown and Shanklin, has some of the best beaches in the United Kingdom. Sandown is the home of the Wildheart Animal Sanctuary, which is soon to welcome two new residents—two European brown bears are coming to the sanctuary very soon. In the south we have Ventnor, known for its microclimate and bohemian atmosphere. We have ye olde Kynges towne of Brading, which dates back to Roman times. Brading Roman Villa is a popular visitor destination today, as is Havenstreet steam railway.

However, it is not just the fantastic places on the island and the wonderful scenery that make it special—it is the people. It is warm, generous people like Sally Grylls, a tireless campaigner for better dementia care and better support for those looking after their relatives with long-term frailties, and generous people like Kirsty Chapman at Better Days Café, who help provide food and warmth to those who struggle.

However long I have on these green Benches, I hope to make my own significant contribution, particularly to the most pressing issue of our day: dealing with the pressures in health and, particularly, social care. The biggest reform the NHS needs is to deal with the pressure in social care, to relieve pressure on our hospitals. This Government have said some good things about what they would like to achieve, and I urge them to act quickly. Putting off every reform to a future commission that will report some months or years down the line is not dealing with the issue sufficiently quickly. There are things the Government can already do, and I know from my time working for a national nursing charity immediately before entering this place that we can redirect existing funding better to community services, to help people live at home longer and avoid hospital admissions.

I also hope to contribute to the debate on integrated UK transport. The Secretary of State for Transport has spoken much of buses and rail and improving passenger experience. But we are a collection of islands, and she has said nothing of ferry services. If the Government fail to intervene on ferry services, my residents on the Isle of Wight risk becoming the only community in the United Kingdom entirely reliant on foreign-owned, private, unregulated, debt-laden companies for essential travel—for health, to see their relatives and to access work and other essential services not available on the island. That cannot be allowed to happen, and I urge the Government to intervene.

Finally, on the debate today on taxing children’s education, I remind the Government that not every independent school is a wealthy, famous boarding school. There are good community independent schools such as Ryde School on the Isle of Wight, which make a genuine contribution to the community in which they exist. The Secretary of State put out an unfortunate tweet in which she said that she would prefer to see careers advice in state schools than astroturf for private schools. The private school on the Isle of Wight provides the only competitive astroturf on the entire island, and makes it available to the local hockey teams and football teams. The Government must recognise that contribution.

For however long I have in this place, I look forward sincerely to working with all Members across the Chamber, including my neighbour, the hon. Member for Isle of Wight West (Mr Quigley), to help improve the lives of our constituents, the British people.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

I call John Grady to make his maiden speech.

Winter Fuel Payment

Joe Robertson Excerpts

Tuesday 10th September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Joe Robertson (Isle of Wight East) (Con)]

My hon. Friend makes a good point about those with health conditions. Does she agree that there is no provision in the proposal for those living with dementia or long-term frailty? Those are not means-tested diseases or conditions, yet the Government have not made any provision or assessment of how those living with dementia will miss out.

[Rebecca Smith]

I agree. My hon. Friend makes an incredibly important point about those vulnerable older people who live with dementia; many of our constituents will be in that situation.

Why are we not looking at alternative ways to deal with this cliff edge? A couple of years ago, the Conservative party proposed the council tax rebate scheme, which used the council tax system as a mechanism to ensure the most vulnerable received support. Single-person households, those where someone had dementia, or households in receipt of council tax credit because they did not have a particularly high income received a discount through the council tax rebate scheme. That system could be replicated with the winter fuel payment, which would offer an alternative way of avoiding that cliff edge for so many residents.

Finally, I know that health has already been mentioned, but I wish to use this as an opportunity to highlight the fact that so many more elderly people will need hospital care this winter, but that is massively impacted and at risk because the Government will not confirm which of the new hospital programmes are going forward. In particular, the emergency and urgent care centre in Plymouth will be vital to providing the healthcare that our older people will need if they are unable to heat their homes or to look after themselves, and to ensuring that they have all the support they need.