Justine Greening
Main Page: Justine Greening (Independent - Putney)Department Debates - View all Justine Greening's debates with the HM Treasury
(13 years, 5 months ago)
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Bill Esterson (Sefton Central) (Lab)
3. How many child trust funds have been set up in respect of looked-after children since such funds were introduced.
The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Justine Greening)
Local authorities report to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs all children coming into their care, and if a child does not already have a child trust fund, one is opened for them. Between April 2005 and April 2009, HMRC opened child trust fund accounts for 16,676 children.
Bill Esterson
Does the Minister agree that improving the life chances of all looked-after children should be an absolute priority for the Government, and will she consider supporting the amendments tabled to the Savings Accounts and Health in Pregnancy Grant Bill that address the issue of child trust funds for looked-after children?
Justine Greening
As the hon. Gentleman is aware, we are taking legislation through the House to get rid of the child trust funds. We think it is vital to support looked-after children, but the question is how best to do that while also tackling our fiscal deficit. We have come to the conclusion that what looked-after children need is support today, and that is what we will provide. Over the spending review period, £7 billion will go to supporting the most disadvantaged children in our country, including looked-after children. He will be aware that in the Department for Education, Eileen Munro is leading an inquiry into how social care can work better, including the support of looked-after children, and finally he will be aware that my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary will be considering proposals to bring forward a junior individual savings account, from which we will specifically ensure that looked-after children can benefit.
George Freeman (Mid Norfolk) (Con)
Does the Minister agree that it is appallingly disingenuous of Labour Members to posture as the friends of child savings, having left every man, woman and child in this country with debts of more than £22,000 each?
Mr Speaker
Order. The Minister, who is a dexterous Minister, will relate her answer to the policy of the Government, not that of the Opposition.
Justine Greening
I think it is a shame. The best thing we can do for all our children, including looked-after children, is to build a stronger country in which they can grow up and enter the workplace. I am afraid that it simply is not good enough to duck the serious questions of the day, which include sorting out not only our economy, but our broken welfare system, which does those looked-after children no service either.
Mr David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)
Will the Minister take time to remind the House of the Government’s manifesto commitment in the May general election to retain the child trust fund for the poorest third of children in society? Does she accept that looked-after children predominantly will fall into that poorest third? Will she therefore consider the amendments to the Savings Accounts and Health in Pregnancy Grant Bill so that she can meet her manifesto commitments, or will it be a case, again, of hitting the poorest hardest?
Justine Greening
I do not accept that we did not follow our manifesto commitment. The House had another difficult debate on Second Reading of the Bill, and yet again the Labour party seemed to want simply to ignore the challenges that our country faces. In doing so, it does the public a disservice.
Mr David Ward (Bradford East) (LD)
5. What the evidential basis is for his Department’s estimate of the additional tax revenue to accrue by 2014-15 from expenditure on measures to address tax evasion and avoidance, and fraud and debt.
Julian Smith (Skipton and Ripon) (Con)
12. What assessment he has made of the effect on the economy of recent trends in growth in the private sector.
The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Justine Greening)
This Government have been determined to show that Britain is back open for business, and gross domestic product growth has been strong over the past two quarters. That growth has been driven largely by the private sector. The Office for Budget Responsibility, which this Government established, is responsible for producing independent economic and fiscal forecasts, and the Chancellor has asked the OBR to publish a new forecast on 29 November. That forecast will incorporate the OBR’s assessment of the effect on the economy of recent trends of growth in the private sector.
Julian Smith
Does my hon. Friend agree that the hundreds and thousands of new jobs that have been created by the private sector in recent months make the outlook pretty positive? What encouragement would she give to budding young entrepreneurs in Yorkshire in existing businesses who are thinking of taking on a new employee?
Justine Greening
My hon. Friend is right. In quarter two alone, private sector employment grew by 308,000. I believe that many people in the country want not just to take jobs, but to create them. I would encourage them to get on with it, and to pursue their dreams and aspirations. They will have a Government behind them who are giving them a national insurance holiday for the jobs that they will create, and who are determined to support them by keeping corporation tax rates low when they are successful.
Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op)
Given that Government plans to cut half a million public sector jobs are expected to lead to the cutting of a further 1 million private sector jobs, does the Minister accept that it would be more effective to reduce the deficit in three ways—through progressive taxation, through economic growth and through savings—than simply to throw millions of people on to the dole and whole communities into poverty?
Justine Greening
The hon. Gentleman seems to have managed to get from a reduction of half a million in the public sector head count to millions on the dole. The number that he cited is in the independent report from the Office for Budget Responsibility, which was published after our emergency Budget. Although the report showed that there would be a reduction in the public sector head count of about 490,000, it also showed—and I assume that the hon. Gentleman accepts all of it—that there would be an increase in employment of 1.6 million, and that, year on year, there would be reductions in unemployment and increases in employment. If he accepts the figure of half a million, does he also accept those figures?
Margot James (Stourbridge) (Con)
I congratulate the Government on extending the enterprise finance guarantee scheme, but I note that it is closed to companies that export because of our over-zealous application of European Union state aid rules. Can my hon. Friend update the House on any plans that the Government have to overcome that obstacle to the achievement of our exporters’ growth potential?
Justine Greening
We are examining ways in which we can help our UK companies to export more easily. The Prime Minister and the Chancellor have already led delegations to two key markets, China and India, where we hope that we can export more. That is critical if we are to put our economy back on its feet and it stands alongside the measures that we are taking to support companies creating jobs here, and the measures that we are taking to encourage investment in our country.
Katy Clark (North Ayrshire and Arran) (Lab)
13. What assessment has been made of the likely effects on Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs’ tax inquiry services for the public of the outcome of the comprehensive spending review.
Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)
14. What assessment he has made of the effects on his Department’s ability to reduce the deficit of the reduction in the UK’s EU budgetary rebate; and if he will make a statement.
The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Justine Greening)
The latest forecast of the UK contribution to the EU budget shows that the UK abatement will decline from £5.6 billion in financial year 2008-09 to £2.8 billion in financial year 2010-11. The Office for Budget Responsibility will publish new projections of the UK contribution to the EU budget, including the abatement, in its autumn forecast.
Mr Bone
Under the previous Labour Government our total net contribution to the EU was £19.8 billion; under the coalition Government it will be £41 billion. Will the British people not think it bizarre, bewildering and a betrayal that over half the money saved by cuts will go not to reduce the deficit, but to subsidise other western European countries?
Justine Greening
My hon. Friend is right that alongside the domestic economic mess we inherited, we also inherited an EU budget deal that was completely out of touch with the situation faced by many European countries. The fall in our abatement is largely due to the give-away agreed by the previous Government in 2005, which will be fully phased in from 2011. It is expected to cost the UK about £2 billion per annum. That is £2 billion that was needlessly given away for absolutely nothing in return—yet another failing of the British people by the Labour party.
Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)
15. What mechanism he plans to use to ensure that households which include one or more higher rate taxpayer cease to receive child benefit payments.
Glyn Davies (Montgomeryshire) (Con)
17. What recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on the co-ordination of efforts to reduce Government deficits.
The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Justine Greening)
The UK has been actively engaged in G20 discussions. The Prime Minister and the Chancellor attended the G20 summit on 11 and 12 November, which delivered the Seoul action plan and pledged to continue co-ordinated efforts to generate strong, sustainable and balanced growth. In this action plan, the advanced economies committed to
“formulate and implement clear, credible, ambitious and growth-friendly medium-term fiscal consolidation plans in line with the Toronto commitment, differentiated according”—
of course—
“to national circumstances.”
Glyn Davies
Bearing in mind reports of continuing threats to some of our EU partners, does the Minister agree that the International Monetary Fund’s recent growth forecasts underline the need for an ambitious and credible strategy for dealing with the budget deficit?
Justine Greening
My hon. Friend is right about that. The IMF clearly supported the efforts that the coalition Government have been making both in the emergency Budget and the spending review to get to grips with the terrible fiscal deficit handed over by the previous Government. The OECD also welcomed the balance that we struck in the spending review between not only protecting growth, but tackling debt.
David Simpson (Upper Bann) (DUP)
Can the Minister confirm that the international counterparts discussed the subject of the Republic of Ireland, its deficit and the possible EU bail-out for it? Will that cost the United Kingdom money?
Justine Greening
At this stage, we cannot speculate about other countries’ finances. Obviously, the Irish are taking very difficult decisions and actions to try to get the situation under control. I do not think that we should pre-empt actions that Ireland or any other country takes and the impact that such actions may ultimately have on the UK taxpayer.
Mrs Mary Glindon (North Tyneside) (Lab)
T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.