Budget Resolutions

Kevin Foster Excerpts

Wednesday 6th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[Kevin Foster (Torbay) (Con)]

It will come as no surprise to the right hon. Member for Islington North (Jeremy Corbyn) that while it is a pleasure to follow him, I do not agree with many of his suggestions. I do agree, however, that housing is one of the defining issues, and while I might not agree with his proposed solutions, it is certainly something we need to address.

It is worth looking at this country’s economic picture in context. During this Parliament we have had a once-in-a-century pandemic and the return of war between nations in Europe for the first time since 1945, with the resulting price shocks sent through the world economy. We must look at the context we are operating in—rarely mentioned in speeches from Labour Members. When we look at the achievements, we see the stunning figure of 800 new jobs created a day, and lower unemployment. Previously, when we have seen big economic shocks people have ended up unemployed, with all the impacts that brings for them and their family. Let us look at the figures published yesterday by the Department for Work and Pensions regarding how economic inactivity rates in the UK are lower than those in the USA, France, Italy and South Korea. Indeed, they are lower than the G7 and the EU average. That is real people being kept in jobs, and if we had not had the interventions during the pandemic that we are now having to pay for, it might have been a very different picture.

It is worth seeing today’s Budget, not least the changes in national insurance, which are probably its largest part, in the context of the autumn statement. On average, a £450 tax cut for those in work in January, is now followed by another reduction. As someone who wants lower taxes and for people to keep more of the benefits of their hard work, I was encouraged by some of the comments from the Dispatch Box about that issue, and about the fact that those in work pay a higher tax rate on their income than those who get their income in other ways, although it will be no surprise to those on the Treasury Bench that I will also mention tax allowances, particularly the thresholds for the basic rate of income tax. All those in employment will benefit from national insurance rates being reduced, but in future we must consider particularly those who have saved for a small retirement annuity on top of the state pension. The effects of the triple lock have seen the state pension rise to protect people against some of the impacts we have seen with things such as price rises, so how will that be considered going forward?

It would be remiss of me not to mention a couple of things that I was fairly pleased to see, the first of which is the rise in the VAT threshold. We see the impact of that clearly in Torbay, in the guesthouse that closes when it approaches the threshold or the restaurant that put online what day it will open based on its estimate of when it will hit the threshold through the trading year. Having that threshold raised means instant growth for the hospitality sector in the bay.

It is welcome to hear the tax relief on performing arts and theatres being made permanent. I notice that the Ambassador Theatre Group, which owns one of the largest theatres in Torbay, the Princess, welcomes that measure. The alcohol duty freeze was also welcome. Torbay has more than its share of hospitality venues that will benefit from and welcome that change. Alongside that, the fuel duty freeze helps families with their budgets.

The change on short-term lets taxation is welcome. Airbnb-style accommodation has offered choice in the tourism and accommodation market, but we certainly do not need to be offering tax breaks to encourage that further, particularly when we are seeing what were family homes for rent over a long period being converted into holiday accommodation. The Chancellor is right to respond to the calls that have been made to end that tax relief. It is not particularly needed. If we are to give support to the hospitality sector, it is better done via targeted business rates reductions or by raising the threshold, which would support all small businesses, not just small businesses of a particular type in the sector.

I see this Budget in the context of the large support being offered to Torbay’s regeneration. More than £100 million has been made available by the Government to support schemes ranging from the Paignton Picture House’s revival, to the Torquay Pavilion, to the regeneration of the town centre.

Mindful of the guidance from the Chair on the length of speeches, I will end on planning. It is not about looking to concrete over the green belt or other areas, but the need to reshape our town centres for the future. In many ways, we need to have the type of reshaping of our town centres in the digital age that we had in the late 1940s and early 1950s for the mass motoring age, when our towns and cities had to move away from mostly having horses and carts on the street to having motor vehicles. Now, town centres need to reshape. The process takes too long. Even schemes with wide public support and Government funding behind them can take months to get through the planning process. We need to look again at that issue to stimulate growth and greater prosperity.

Overall, I like the direction of the Budget, which will make a positive difference in Torbay. It looks to lower taxes as we can, and sets out a clear difference between ourselves, who want to give people the opportunity to keep more of what they earn and to aspire for themselves and their family, and a Labour party that is without a plan.