Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Justine Greening and Peter Bone

Thursday 12th October 2017 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

Absolutely, and it is worth my pointing out that in several areas, UK law already goes beyond existing EU law.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

Does the excellent Secretary of State agree that one of the many advantages of coming out of the EU is the fact that this Parliament will be able to improve equalities and human rights without being restricted by the European Union?

[Justine Greening]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We have been one of those countries around the world that has constantly stood up for human rights and that has been credible because of our human rights record and our legal framework. We are determined that there will be no backsliding. I have no doubt that this Government, and future Governments, will want to continue to make progress.

Schools: National Funding Formula

Debate between Justine Greening and Peter Bone

Thursday 14th September 2017 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

The formula I set out today covers primary and secondary—up to 16. We are making sure that we continue funding post-16 colleges and A-levels, and the hon. Gentleman will be aware that we have gone beyond that. We announced an additional £500 million in the last Budget to help boost technical education, which will be of benefit not just to further education colleges, but to sixth forms and sixth-form colleges.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

I thank the Secretary of State for coming to the House to sneak out an oral statement. She must have got the formula right, as so few Opposition Members are in the Chamber. She is also right to say that this is about not only funding, but the quality of education. She will know that my area has a number of inadequate schools and that the Education Fellowship Trust is a failing academy chain and is being replaced. The excellent Schools Minister is working hard on this issue, but it would help me enormously if I could be given an update, in due course, about progress on replacing that academy chain.

[Justine Greening]

My hon. Friend raises an important issue for his local community. A lot of work has been done to make sure that those schools are put under the control of a trust that can make sure it gives the best to local children. I know the Schools Minister will be happy to meet my hon. Friend to update him on the latest situation.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Justine Greening and Peter Bone

Thursday 6th July 2017 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

The hon. Lady raises an important point. We responded very constructively and positively to the Select Committee’s important report, and we have been very clear that we will review the Gender Recognition Act. That sits alongside a lot of other work that we will be doing to ensure that we take action on this.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

T4. The excellent Leonard Cheshire charity has estimated the disability employment gap to be 31.3%. What are the Government doing to close it?

National Funding Formula: Schools/High Needs

Debate between Justine Greening and Peter Bone

Wednesday 14th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

I make two points. In spite of the need to reduce the deficit over time, which the Government have set about doing, we have protected the core schools budget in real terms. In addition, I recognise that there is a need to reduce the year-on-year reductions schools faced, so those will be no more than 1.5%. Indeed, the overall reduction for any per-pupil amount will be no more than 3%. I hope the right hon. Gentleman will welcome that.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

Following on from that point, there is a similar fair funding formula in the health service, but Wellingborough is always at the bottom. It never catches up because we are not prepared to reduce the money that the best funded get. I am slightly worried that my right hon. Friend’s answer suggests that that sort of thing will creep into the school system. Are we actually ever going to move to the formula—are schools actually going to get the cash that the formula says they will?

[Justine Greening]

In the transition year, some schools that are so far behind as to be eligible will get 3%; those schools that are even further behind under the fair formula will get a further 2.5% the following year, when the formula operates in full and properly. My hon. Friend is right to flag up the issue. It is important that the schools that have been underfunded see those gains coming through. That is what we are proposing.

New Grammar Schools

Debate between Justine Greening and Peter Bone

Thursday 8th September 2016 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

I do not accept this either/or characterisation of policy. What we need to do is improve education at every stage of a child’s life, including early- years.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

rose—

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Bone]

I am not entirely sure what Northamptonshire has done to deserve getting the last questions.

I congratulate the hon. Member for Ashton-under-Lyne (Angela Rayner) on securing this urgent question, but I think she is under a misapprehension. I know that under Labour announcements were made in the press, but this Government make announcements here. At the meeting last night, there were no new announcements of policy, and I would be the first to object if the Government started to do that. Will the Secretary of State confirm that once the policy has been decided upon, she will come to the House and report on it?

[Justine Greening]

I think that was a very good choice, Mr Speaker, and yes I can assure my hon. Friend that I will come to make a statement.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Justine Greening and Peter Bone

Wednesday 16th December 2015 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

I had the chance to meet the head of UNRWA only last week with the Minister of State, Department for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for New Forest West (Mr Swayne), and we discussed the need to ensure that its funding is sustained. UNRWA does critical work, and in the context of the need to improve the international response to more protracted crises, we can learn a great deal from its work with Palestinian refugees.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

15 . Does the Secretary of State agree that it would be better if money was put into direct projects rather than through third-party organisations when we cannot really be sure of the outcome?

[Justine Greening]

I hope I can reassure my hon. Friend that the agencies and organisations with which we work are ones in respect of which we know we can achieve value for money and results on the ground. He knows that I am passionate about being an aid disciplinarian and making sure that we get value for money. Critically, though, we have to work with the organisations that are there. We have a multilateral aid review under way to make sure that improvements in value for money continue progressively over time.

Humanitarian Aid: Refugees in Greece and the Balkans

Debate between Justine Greening and Peter Bone

Tuesday 3rd November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

I have set out very clearly the approach that the UK has taken to helping people who are affected by this crisis. Our approach of taking people directly from the camps is safer and more secure. I have also set out how we have already provided asylum for several thousand people who have arrived in the UK, after making the journey because of the Syrian crisis.

The hon. Gentleman asks about unaccompanied children. If we look at Jordan, for example, about 80% of the children who originally arrived there unaccompanied were subsequently reunited with their broader family. The point that the Prime Minister quite rightly made is that it is very easy in this House to talk emotively about numbers and children. The reality is that we must be extremely careful to ensure that we do not make decisions on their behalf that fundamentally take them further away from the family with whom they would wish to be reunited. The hon. Gentleman has made his point very well, and I have responded to him.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

Obviously, there is not agreement in the European Union on how to deal with these problems. Has the excellent Secretary of State thought of talking to the Council of Europe, which covers many more countries, about an overall solution?

[Justine Greening]

We are having a range of discussions to see how the situation can be better managed in Europe. This is not just about the challenge we face in the Syria region. Frankly, that challenge is to have the kind of support at the scale needed, but which is currently not being delivered. I have seen for myself from discussions among EU Ministers from countries in the Schengen region that there is very little agreement. What we need, in effect, is a co-ordinated approach within the Schengen region, but as far as I could see at the time—this was certainly the case last Monday—there was no political prospect of achieving that.

Although such discussions need to go on, the UK is right to provide additional support on the ground. However, we clearly all need to keep in mind the key objective, which is to help Syrian refugees in the region. People are leaving the region because food rations from the World Food Programme are starting to be cut, and because they are worried about how their children will have an education when so few Syrian children can be in school, in spite of the best efforts of countries such as the UK. We were instrumental in setting up the No Lost Generation initiative, through which many children are in school, and we are working with the World Bank to look at how to have better livelihood programmes. There is no doubt that the answer involves, first, some political resolution—ultimately—in Syria, and secondly, some political resolution in Europe, too.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Justine Greening and Peter Bone

Wednesday 4th February 2015 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

The right hon. Lady is quite right to raise that as an issue to be considered. There is no evidence at the moment to suggest that what she is worried about is happening. In addition, part of our support for the reconstruction mechanism has been to fund a monitoring process so that the right checks can be made to avoid such things happening.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

I listened carefully to what the Secretary of State has said. How on earth does she know that Hamas is not using such material to build tunnels for terrorist purposes? How do we know?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Justine Greening and Peter Bone

Wednesday 5th November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

We are always concerned about these sorts of incidents of violence. In the end, people will have to get back around the negotiating table, and we will have to have talks that go further than the ceasefire that is currently in place. They need to get back under way in Egypt, and ultimately people need to agree that the current status quo is simply untenable, and communities on both sides need to work towards having a better future for their children than they are currently experiencing.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

The Secretary of State is absolutely right that we need a political settlement, but is she concerned that, of all the money that is being given, some will be siphoned away for Hamas to build new tunnels—terror tunnels—back into Israel? What is the Secretary of State doing to ensure that British taxpayers’ money does not contribute to that?

[Justine Greening]

I can categorically assure my hon. Friend that no aid money goes to Hamas. We have safeguards in place to ensure compliance with both UK and EU legislation on terror funding.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Justine Greening and Peter Bone

Wednesday 9th April 2014 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

I hope I can reassure the hon. Lady that we are working with the ILO in Bangladesh, and as she knows we have also sent over experts to help with building practices and construction. As the hon. Lady points out, it is nearly a year since the tragic collapse of the Rana Plaza building, and we have worked very hard since then with the Bangladesh Government and industry to make sure that we learn from that terrible disaster.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

Although I welcome enormously what the Secretary of State is doing, is not one of the problems in creating jobs in developing countries the fact that major trading blocs such as the European Union are stopping market access to them?

[Justine Greening]

Protectionism, including by the EU, ultimately does not help anyone. [Interruption.] That is one of the reasons why getting a deal in Bali was so important. I had the chance to make that point personally to the director general of the WTO yesterday. [Interruption.]

Overseas Aid (Private Sector Contracts)

Debate between Justine Greening and Peter Bone

Monday 11th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

On the right hon. Gentleman’s last point, we do have transparency. In fact, I think I am right in saying that my Department was rated as the most transparent organisation in the series of stakeholder organisations involved in development. In answer to his earlier question, he will be aware that the definition of official development assistance—as set out by the OECD and monitored by the development assistance committee, or DAC, the organisation that brings together donors—is clear cut, and we will stay within it.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

May I thank the shadow Minister for asking the question? I would like him to ask a lot more parliamentary questions such as that, because it is great to give the Secretary of State’s speeches a more widespread audience. She is absolutely right: the answer to the problem is not aid, but trade.

[Justine Greening]

I agree with my hon. Friend; indeed, so would the Indian Finance Minister, who said aid is the past, trade is the future. This is about ending aid dependency by driving growth and job creation.

Rail Investment

Debate between Justine Greening and Peter Bone

Monday 16th July 2012 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

I will need to confirm that specific point, but I am certainly aware that track improvements will happen at Leicester. I believe that they will also happen at Derby, but I will need to find out about Market Harborough and write to the hon. Gentleman.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

Rail passengers in Wellingborough will warmly welcome the statement, but does the Secretary of State share my concern that the announcement was leaked to the press in advance of being given to Parliament? Would she express her surprise that the Deputy Prime Minister was on television promoting the statement, apparently in breach of the ministerial code?

[Justine Greening]

I was concerned. This is obviously an important announcement, and I can understand why people would be keen to make it. I e-mailed and wrote to all Departments to emphasise to them when the announcement was embargoed until, so of course it was disappointing to see some of it leak out earlier.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Justine Greening and Peter Bone

Thursday 28th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

14. What her policy is on the issuing of renewal notices for driving licences.

[The Secretary of State for Transport (Justine Greening)]

If the photograph on a driver’s licence needs to be renewed, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency sends a renewal notice 56 days before the licence expires. If the licence needs to be renewed because the driver has reached the age of 70 or has a shorter-period licence due to a medical condition, the renewal notice goes out 90 days before the licence expires.

[Mr Bone]

Someone close to my heart had a driving licence that expired, and did not receive such a notice. Mrs Bone is following Transport questions closely, so would it not be helpful—there must be tens of thousands of people who are driving with expired licences—to include on the licence, in clear, large print, the expiry date?

[Justine Greening]

My hon. Friend makes a perfectly reasonable point. Holders of a photocard driving licence are required by law to renew the photograph on the licence every 10 years so that it remains a good likeness of the driver. I take his points on board—I absolutely do not want to see drivers caught out—and, as he is aware, we are looking more broadly at how we can make sure that our driving licence works well for motorists, not least investigating when we can begin to put the country’s flag on it for a change.

Rail Reform

Debate between Justine Greening and Peter Bone

Thursday 8th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

We will be moving in that direction. Our aim is first to reduce the above-inflation fares and then to get rid of them. Of course, a huge amount of investment is being made in all the other key things my hon. Friend talked about, which I am very supportive of and, indeed, excited about. I think that it is a great time for the railways. The sort of investment that is being made to improve passenger capacity and experience is unprecedented, and we will ensure that we get every bang for the buck out of it that we can for the public.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

I thank the Secretary of State, as I think the whole House will, for making copies of the report available before the statement, which was very much appreciated.

Is it not wonderful that we have heard socialist ideas from the Opposition Benches? They suggest that we should renationalise the railways and everything will be wonderful. Have they forgotten that under British Rail they were managing decline and putting prices up? Under privatisation far more people have wanted to get on the trains, so the solution is to find more capacity, not renationalise.

Civil Aviation Bill

Debate between Justine Greening and Peter Bone

Monday 30th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

Yes, we have considered that and we are very happy that we will continue to strike the appropriate balance in our internal departmental expertise on security in all those areas. That is absolutely vital and we will not compromise on it in any way. We seek to have a more proportionate and smart approach to ensuring that we maintain the very highest standards of security and safety in our airports.

The final area of the regulatory framework that the Bill seeks to reform is the regulations covering the air travel organisers’ licensing scheme, or ATOL as it is known to millions of people each year. Those people have the peace of mind that comes from knowing that their package holiday is financially protected and that they will not be left stranded if a travel company becomes insolvent. Since the scheme was set up the holiday market has diversified, partly due to the innovations that internet booking has allowed. As a result, the holiday industry has told us that it is no longer clear to consumers whether their holiday has the protection of ATOL. Clause 94 will allow us to make regulations to improve clarity for the consumer by adding more flight-based holidays into the ATOL scheme, including holidays sold by airlines. That will mean that businesses selling holidays that include a flight should have a more coherent and consistent regulatory framework in which to operate.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

I refer hon. Members to my declaration in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. This area is very important because it is not clear to consumers at the moment whether they are protected or not, with some people on a flight being covered while others on the same flight are not. I do not think the Government are going far enough in that they are not going to say that all people on all flights are covered, but why not?

[Justine Greening]

No doubt my hon. Friend will want to return to this issue in Committee, but I think that our proposals are measured and will mean a real step forward in the number of consumers that ATOL can protect, while also making ATOL more financially sustainable in the longer term, which is important. The clauses that relate to the reform of ATOL are long overdue and are welcome. I appreciate that he might want them to go further and I look forward to having that debate in Committee because this is an incredibly important aspect of the Bill for people up and down the country who want to be able to book their holiday knowing that it has the protection they want behind it.

In conclusion, the Bill brings together the Government’s commitment to having a successful and sustainable aviation sector with our agenda on regulation. It will allow the CAA to modernise the way it regulates, bring a stronger consumer focus to its activities and improve transparency and accountability. It will also create a stable environment for investment in airports and will allow the UK aviation sector to continue to thrive and develop. I commend the Bill to the House.

Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base

Debate between Justine Greening and Peter Bone

Wednesday 11th May 2011 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

As my right hon. Friend will be aware, important discussions on economic governance are under way and are being resolved. I assure him that we have no intention, as I have said, of seeing any further powers transferred to Brussels. We keep a watching brief on not only the topic that we are discussing, but across the board. I am sure he is aware of a number of areas in which we are expressing concerns to the Commission, because we are concerned that further powers may be taken by Brussels.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

Has my hon. Friend noticed that Her Majesty’s official Opposition do not seem to care much about this matter? I cannot see anybody other than the shadow Minister on the Labour Benches.

[Justine Greening]

Perhaps the actions of Labour Members demonstrate how ashamed they are that their Government gave away much of the rebate that the Conservative party, which is now part of the coalition Government, had achieved for our country.

Coinage (Measurement) Bill

Debate between Justine Greening and Peter Bone

Friday 1st April 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Justine Greening)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes North (Mark Lancaster) on bringing the Bill successfully to this stage. As we have heard, the Bill is wholly supported by the Government and, I think, by Members across the House.

I am pleased that, as my hon. Friend observed, the Bill will allow the Royal Mint to provide an Olympic coin programme that will surpass its predecessors and ensure the Royal Mint’s place as a leading international provider of commemorative coins. As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister said in an endorsement letter to the Royal Mint:

“As we move towards the Games it is wonderful to see British companies, such as the Royal Mint, commemorating the journey in a way that brings British skill and craftsmanship to the attention of the world.”

In doing so, the Royal Mint will also generate a revenue stream for the Exchequer, as my hon. Friend the Member for Bury North (Mr Nuttall) noted. Under the UK coin contract, the Royal Mint pays a royalty to Her Majesty’s Treasury for commemorative coins. It is estimated that the Olympic coin programme, including the kilogram coins, will generate a royalty payment of approximately £1.8 million, although the exact amount will depend on sales volumes, retail price and metal prices. However, the mint will no doubt receive additional profits, which it can invest in developing the Royal Mint and its business over the coming years, which will be welcome. The Royal Mint has similar royalty arrangements with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games, and the International Olympic Committee. As this Bill is not limited to the Olympic coin programme, future events celebrated with kilogram coins would generate similar revenue.

As my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes North noted, today is indeed April fools’ day. This debate brings to mind a 2008 April fool, when a Canadian radio station interviewed a Royal Canadian Mint spokesman who revealed plans to replace the Canadian $5 bill with a $3 coin. The coin was dubbed a “threenie”, in line with the nicknames of Canada’s $1 coin—which is commonly called a “loonie”, as it depicts a common loon on the reverse—and the $2 coin, which is affectionately known as the “toonie”.

[Mr Bone]

Not as an April fool, but in commemoration of the fact that my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes North (Mark Lancaster) has taken this Bill through the House, can the coin be called “The Lancaster”?

[Justine Greening]

It may well end up with that nickname, which would be appropriate for a coin that, as we heard, will not just be minted to commemorate the Olympics but could be used to commemorate a whole range of special events in this country where we think that coin collectors might be interested in adding to their collections.

With their large size, the kilogram coins will be an exciting, artistic and eye-catching piece of numismatic art that will no doubt be treasured and passed on to future generations. At almost 1,100 years old, the Royal Mint is a tradition in itself. The production processes—from design and modelling, to the blast furnaces, and the striking of blanks and ultimately coins—are the epitome of a successful manufacturing company. As my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer said in last week’s Budget speech, manufacturing is crucial to the rebalancing of our economy. Under this Government manufacturing is now growing at a record rate, with 14,000 more jobs created in the sector in the last three months alone.

As the House will be aware, the Budget announced several measures to help promote and further develop British manufacturing, over and above the efforts that the sector is already making. I have no doubt that the Royal Mint will continue to pioneer new processes and develop as a pivotal part of British manufacturing. The Royal Mint has been based in south Wales since the 1960s and employs 850 people. I had the chance to meet them last year when I went down there to look at their production process and learn more about the practicalities of minting coins. I had a fascinating trip, but also learned an awful lot about the skill that the employees have to use to ensure that the coins that are minted—the coins that end up in our pockets and that we spend in shops every day—are ones that we can rely on.

Budget Responsibility and National Audit Bill [Lords]

Debate between Justine Greening and Peter Bone

Monday 14th February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

I think that demonstrates the value of the OBR. For the first time we shall have a set of entirely independent forecasts to which Members can refer.

The hon. Lady has strayed on to the detail and implications of the policy, and I think that it is perfectly fair for her to do so. We have always said—I believe that Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England, said the same last year—that the recovery would be choppy. It is not at all unusual for an economy emerging from recession, particularly a recession as long and severe as the one that we have undergone, to experience at least one instance of either flat or negative growth.

I do not want to be called to order, Mr Deputy Speaker, so I shall move on. Let me simply say to the hon. Lady that she has confirmed my point that benefiting from independent forecasts for the first time will be key to holding a good-quality, informed political debate about the Government’s economic policy and how it is progressing, and that the OBR has also said that we are on course to achieve our fiscal mandate.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

Will the Minister clarify something for me? If the OBR says that growth will be x in the next year, must the Chancellor abide by that? Obviously, measures in his Budget may encourage growth: he may cut taxes, for instance.

[Justine Greening]

The OBR makes an independent fiscal forecast and assessment of the economy. The Treasury may or may not agree with that forecast and assessment, but the point is that it is done entirely independently of the Government. Rightly, however, it will remain the prerogative of Ministers to decide policy. That is the clear distinction we have set out throughout the Bill.

We needed to make sure that we have official forecasts for the economy that the public can trust, even if that means we end up giving away some of our powers as Treasury Ministers. As my right hon. Friend the Chancellor has said, we need to fix the Budget to fit the figures, not fix the figures to fit the Budget. That is why the OBR was established, and the Institute for Fiscal Studies has said it is a “welcome” innovation.

To enable the OBR to get to work immediately, it initially operated on a non-statutory basis. It was headed by Sir Alan Budd, a highly respected fiscal and macro-economic expert in our country. The interim OBR produced an independent assessment of the economy and public finances both ahead of, and at, the Budget in June. We gave it direct control over that forecast, with full access to all the data, assumptions and economic models. It made all the key judgments and decisions underpinning the economic and fiscal forecasts. Great strides were also made in transparency. More information was published than ever before. That fact was noted by both the Treasury Committee and the IFS.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Justine Greening and Peter Bone

Tuesday 16th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[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.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Justine Greening and Peter Bone

Tuesday 12th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

Sir Philip Green is one of those people I was talking about in my first answer: somebody who has got involved trying to come up with constructive suggestions on how we can tackle the fiscal deficit left by the hon. Gentleman’s party. The bottom line is that we want to ensure that we support business. His party was against the package of corporation tax reductions that we brought forward in the Budget, which will support companies across this country. We also got rid of his party’s job tax.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

10. What recent discussions he has had with the Minister for the Cabinet Office on the cost to the public purse of the Government Whips Office and the Opposition Whips Office.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Justine Greening and Peter Bone

Tuesday 8th June 2010 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

I know that that argument has been made by the industry, and I am aware of its campaign on fair taxation. We want fair taxation. One of the Government’s key priorities is tackling the budget deficit, and ultimately the best way for us to support not just bingo clubs but other companies in Britain employing staff is to get the economy back on its feet, creating jobs so that people have money in their pocket to spend, including in bingo clubs.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

18. What recent representations he has received on the level of the budget deficit.

[The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Justine Greening)]

We have received a number of representations on the budget deficit, not least from many other European countries, which are now taking steps, as we are, to reduce their deficit—a point that still seems lost on the Opposition.

[Mr Bone]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for answering my question and for her arrival at the Dispatch Box, which is very welcome on our side of the House. Will she take a representation from me on reducing the Budget deficit? Can the emphasis be put on cutting public expenditure, rather than increasing taxes? Does she have any idea of the proportion that will be raised by tax increases and by public expenditure cuts?

[Justine Greening]

We have said that we want to see the bulk of the deficit reduced by restraining public spending. I know that a number of other countries have taken proportions of roughly 80%:20% on restraining public spending and increasing taxes. We are particularly keen to cut out as much of the waste as possible. As we work our way through the previous Government’s horrific spending plans—not that they had any projections into the future—we will do our best to make sure that we do not just bring down our public spending, but use this opportunity to ensure that it delivers better public services for the public whom it is there to serve.