Small Charitable Donations Bill
Lindsay Hoyle Excerpts(13 years, 4 months ago)
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Cathy Jamieson
I beg to move amendment 4, page 1, line 17, leave out ‘maximum donations limit’ and insert ‘the specified amount.’.
This amendment is consequential on amendment 3.
Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)
With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:
Amendment 3, page 1, line 19, leave out subsections (4) and (5).
This amendment removes the matching principle from the bill.
Government amendment 23.
Amendment 1, page 2, line 1, leave out ‘double’ and insert ‘triple’.
To increase the maximum claim to triple the amount of gift aid claimed each year. Cathy Jamieson
Amendment 5, in clause 4, page 3, line 13, leave out ‘for the purposes of section 1(4)’.
This amendment is consequential on amendment 3.
Amendment 6, in clause 6, page 4, line 27, leave out ‘for the purposes of section 1(4)’.
This amendment is consequential on amendment 3.
Amendment 17, page 4, line 38, leave out paragraph (a) and insert—
‘(a) the sum of the small donations that are made to the charity in the community building in the tax year, or’.
This amendment seeks to remove the requirement that donations under the community buildings amount can only be made by group members while the charity is running its charitable activities.
Amendment 18, page 5, line 3, leave out ‘by group members while it is running charitable activities in the buildings’.
This is consequential on amendment 17.
Amendment 19, page 5, line 5, leave out subsection (6).
This is consequential on amendment 17.
Amendment 20, in clause 7, page 5, leave out lines 20 and 21.
This is consequential on amendment 17.
Amendment 7, in clause 9, page 6, line 29, leave out ‘for the purposes of section 1(4)’.
This amendment is consequential on amendment 3.
Government amendment 30.
Cathy Jamieson
Again, I hope not to detain the House to any great extent. As the Minister will recall, we consistently pushed the Government to reconsider the matching principle in the Bill as we believed that it was too onerous for many small charities and would mean that many of them could not benefit from a scheme that was supposedly set up to help them.
The Government amendments show that the Minister has bowed to the pressure not just from members of the Committee but from people in the charitable sector who had serious concerns about the impact of the measures from the very start. I will not repeat all the comments made by the different organisations over the course of our discussions about the Bill.
We could of course continue to argue for the matching principle to be dropped completely and could make a case for that. However, given that the Government have seen fit to introduce changes that will take the ratio from 2:1 to 10:1, I think we should recognise that they have moved a significant amount, which has been welcomed by the sector. I look forward to hearing what the Minister has to say about his amendments and I want to make it clear that I do not think our amendments are required at this point as they have been superseded by his.
Fuel Duty
Lindsay Hoyle Excerpts(13 years, 4 months ago)
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Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)
I inform the House that the amendment in the name of the Prime Minister has been selected.
Caroline Lucas (Brighton, Pavilion) (Green)
On the day that the International Energy Agency has warned that two thirds of fossil fuels need to remain under the ground if we are to avoid catastrophic climate change, does the hon. Lady not see a contradiction in arguing for lower fuel prices, especially since the cost of motoring has fallen in the past 10 years while the cost of public transport has risen? Would a more consistent position not be to seek to support struggling households directly, using the money—
Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)
Order. The hon. Lady is testing the patience of the House. It is unfair. We are going to have to introduce a time limit already. If she wishes to speak, would she please put her name down? She cannot make a speech now. Short interventions are needed on both sides
Cathy Jamieson
I gave way because I respect what the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas) has to say, but I hope she will understand the real pressures on families and the pressures that individuals are facing as they try to get to work and go about their business.
It is not just Labour that is calling for the increase to be postponed. FairFuelUK, backed by the RAC and the Road Haulage Association, among others, has consistently and determinedly campaigned for lower fuel duty.
Sajid Javid
If the hon. Lady is patient, I will give way in a moment—[Interruption.]
Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)
Order. I do not need an answer back; I am just saying that the hon. Lady does not need to keep jumping to her feet. The Minister has promised to give way, but I do not know whether he is giving way now.
Sajid Javid
Not yet.
The hon. Lady does not want me to tell the House what the Labour Government did when they looked at this tax loophole. They declared:
“The Government has considered all the consultation responses and believes that on balance the negative effects of changing existing legislation outweigh the benefits"
To address just this issue, this Government have already strengthened HMRC's enforcement and compliance teams, and protected tens of millions of pounds of revenue. So the nub of today's debate is a call to clamp down on avoidance of a relief that the Opposition declared they could do nothing about, to pay for a cut in fuel duty that they supported. Mr Deputy Speaker, you couldn't make it up.
Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)
Order. I remind Members that the time limit on speeches is seven minutes.
Alison Seabeck (Plymouth, Moor View) (Lab)
I thank the hon. Gentleman for acknowledging that the Opposition motion openly states that there is a fragile economic recovery. Will he do likewise and acknowledge that there was a fragile economic recovery in June 2010?
Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)
Before the hon. Gentleman answers that question, I remind hon. Members that, if they intervene, and if they drop down the speaking list, they will understand why—they keep adding minutes to the debate.
Ben Gummer
I thank the hon. Lady for her comment, because it helps me to remind her that, when Britain was in recession at the back end of 2008, fuel duty went up by 2p. When it was in recession at the beginning of 2009, fuel duty went up by 2p. When it was in recession in September 2009, fuel duty went up by 2p. When there was a faltering recovery—which was probably credit fuelled—in March 2010, on the eve of an election, at the point when the figures showed that the economy was recovering, fuel duty went up by 1p. So much for the correlation between recession and fuel duty increases.
Mr Deputy Speaker
Order. Those who think they are bottom of the list will also have minutes removed.
Bill Esterson
I am always happy to be guided by you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I wonder whether the hon. Gentleman is aware of the research—
Alison Seabeck
The hon. Gentleman speaks from the experience of his own constituency, and the Chancellor will need to consider that very serious point when he sets out his Budget later this year.
There has also been a huge increase in housing costs. Average house prices are now 11.5 times higher than the median income, and private rents are set to rise by an estimated 65% over the next 10 years. That will create huge cost of living issues for people in my constituency. Road fuel prices are higher by about 2.1p a litre in rural areas and, on average, people who live in rural areas travel 53% further than those who live in urban areas. They are also less able to access public transport alternatives. In my area, there are poor rail services down to Plymouth and we have no airport. All those factors push people into cars, and rises in the price of fuel make it extremely difficult for our economy and the economies of individual families to thrive.
I shall finish my speech early because you pulled me up for intervening, Mr Deputy Speaker. I hope that the Chancellor will have listened to his colleagues on the Government Benches, and that he will also take seriously those on the Opposition Benches as we go through the Lobby tonight to make it absolutely clear that we need a temporary halt to the increase.
Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)
I should just like to point out to the hon. Lady that she has not given me back a minute, because she has taken an intervention. So we ended up with nothing!
Banking Union and Economic and Monetary Union
Lindsay Hoyle Excerpts(13 years, 5 months ago)
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Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)
I inform the House that Mr Speaker has selected the amendment in the name of Mr William Cash.
Beer Duty Escalator
Lindsay Hoyle Excerpts(13 years, 5 months ago)
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Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)
Order. I will have to drop the time limit to four minutes. I ask hon. Members not to make interventions so that we can get everybody in.
Richard Graham (Gloucester) (Con)
Does my hon. Friend agree that the British brewing sector, British pubs and the British people have paid a heavy price for the previous Government’s beer duty escalator? May I urge him to hold a review and then do what Treasury Ministers have done to the previous Government’s fuel duty escalator, which is to stop it? In that way, he will deserve a celebratory pint from all my constituents in Gloucester, a pint of beer from the—
Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)
Order. The Minister will not have time to drink the pint if we have such long interventions.
Sajid Javid
I thank my hon. Friend, and I will come on to that point.
The Government really do recognise the importance to the British economy of pubs and brewers. I fully support the industry, and I know that Members of all parties would like to see it prosper. We have heard a lot from hon. Members about beer duty, but let us be clear that the previous Government introduced the escalator. They increased beer duty by 60% while they were in office, and in fact for the poorest households it went up by 80%. That was the inheritance that we had to deal with. At the same time, as we all know, we were burdened with a huge budget deficit of £159 billion, or 11% of gross domestic product, which was greater than that of any other developed country. That inevitably meant that the incoming Government had to take some difficult decisions that the Labour party dodged. We had to deal with that legacy.
We set out a clear plan to deal with the deficit, part of which was the planned increase in beer duty rises until 2014-15, about which we have heard so much today. We have announced no changes to that policy. Cancelling the planned 2% duty rise represented by the escalator portion of beer duty would cost £35 million next year and £70 million the following year. If that tax were cancelled, the revenue would have to be recouped one way or another, either through further public spending cuts over and above what is already necessary or by finding increases in other taxes or duties.
Sir Bob Russell (Colchester) (LD)
On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. Would it be possible for you to discuss with Mr Speaker the conduct of the previous debate? Injury time was given on numerous occasions owing to hon. Members almost wandering in off the street, lobbing a bit into the debate and then disappearing. Perhaps injury time should not be allowed. In particular, the hon. Member for Bedford (Richard Fuller) and my hon. Friend the Member for North Cornwall (Dan Rogerson), were prevented from giving their thoughtful speeches in full, yet they were signatories to the motion.
Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)
I have a lot of sympathy with the hon. Gentleman, although as he knows, that is not a point of order. He may wish to take the matter up with the Procedure Committee and it will then be for the House to decide.
Air Passenger Duty
Lindsay Hoyle Excerpts(13 years, 5 months ago)
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Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)
Order. We have a lot of Members who wish to speak and they should recognise that if they have already intervened, they will go down the list—and not be upset about that.
Priti Patel
I take on board the hon. Lady’s point.
As well as compromising trade, the cost of APD is felt by the aviation and tourism sector across the country. Last year, more than 30 million visitors came to Britain and spent £18 billion in our economy. We all want to see that number increase, and I want to see more foreign tourists flying to our international airports and travelling to see attractions elsewhere in the country—including the county of Essex, where the tourist sector supports 54,000 jobs and adds £3 billion to our local economy.
Mr Deputy Speaker
Order. I am introducing an eight-minute limit. I hope that I will not have to reduce that, but interventions cause problems.
Mr MacNeil
Surely the idea behind devolving APD would be to cut it to make Scotland more competitive.
Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)
Order. I warned the hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar Mr MacNeil) that he would be at the bottom of the list, but there is a danger that he will fall off the list because the amount of time available is disappearing.
Infrastructure (Financial Assistance) Bill
Lindsay Hoyle Excerpts(13 years, 6 months ago)
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Rachel Reeves
I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. It is not just people in the public sector; people in the private sector, particularly in construction, which has shed 120,000 jobs since the Government came to power, are also worried about their jobs and futures and about how they will get the money to feed and house their families. There is real concern and a real lack of confidence among households and businesses.
This summer showed that things could be done differently. The Olympics showed what can be achieved with an inspiring vision—the right combination of public, private and social enterprise, with the nation united behind it. We delivered on time and on budget, and it was a perfect platform for Britain at its best. Let us hope that the Olympics provided a much-needed boost for our economy, but the lesson to learn is not that we can now rest; if we really want to seize the economic opportunities before us and build a better future, we need to repeat that effort on a much bigger scale, with a nationwide plan for jobs and growth. Let that be the lesson for today and let us get to work on laying the foundations of the economy we need to build for the next generation. Let us have a Government who follow up their rhetoric with real action.
Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)
Before I call the next speaker, I inform the House that the limit on Back-Bench speeches will be nine minutes.
Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)
Order. May I make a quick point? The hon. Gentleman is making a lot of interventions and obviously wants to speak later in the debate. If he moves down the list of speakers, I presume he will understand why.
Tax Avoidance and Evasion
Lindsay Hoyle Excerpts(13 years, 6 months ago)
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Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)
I am going to introduce a 10-minute limit, so we should get everybody in.
Draft European Union Budget
Lindsay Hoyle Excerpts(13 years, 8 months ago)
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The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mr Mark Hoban)
I beg to move,
That this House takes note of an unnumbered Explanatory Memorandum dated 5 June 2012 from HM Treasury on the Statement of Estimates of the Commission for 2013 (Preparation of the 2013 Draft Budget); recalls the agreement at the October 2010 European Council and the Prime Minister’s letter of 18 December 2010 to European Commission President Manuel Barroso, which both note that it is essential that the European Union budget and the forthcoming Multi-Annual Financial Framework reflect the consolidation efforts of Member States to bring deficit and debt onto a more sustainable path; notes that this is a time of ongoing economic fragility in Europe, with countries across Europe taking difficult decisions to reduce public spending; agrees that the Commission’s proposed 6.8 per cent increase in European Union spending in 2013 is unacceptable; agrees that the Commission’s proposal for a larger European Union budget is not the way to fix Europe’s problems, and that large savings are feasible without compromising economic growth; notes that the proposed increase would impose unaffordable costs on taxpayers in the UK and other Member States; notes that UK contributions to the European Union budget have also risen in recent years due to the 2005 decision to give away parts of the UK rebate; and so supports the Government in seeking significant savings to the Commission’s proposals across all budget headings and in its strenuous efforts to limit the size of the 2013 European Union budget.
Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)
I must inform the House that Mr Speaker has selected the amendment in the name of the hon. Member for Nottingham East (Chris Leslie).
Mr Hoban
I am pleased to have this opportunity to discuss the 2013 EU budget.
As Members will know, the economic climate in the EU has changed dramatically in recent years, and the situation remains fragile. The uncertainty in the euro area is the biggest challenge facing the EU economy, and there is a risk that it will affect growth and jobs in Britain. That is why we have pressed the euro area to address both the immediate challenges and the long-term systemic issues that it faces. In the midst of one of the biggest debt crises to hit Europe, this Government and Governments across the EU have made difficult decisions in order to consolidate their public finances and implement structural reforms.
The EU budget, funded by EU taxpayers, cannot be immune from the changes that are sweeping across Europe. An ever-increasing EU budget is not the way in which to fix Europe’s problems, and it is time for the EU to live within its means. That requires a strict reprioritisation and the targeting of areas that support growth and reduce the waste and inefficiency that has become characteristic of EU spending.
VAT on Air Ambulance Fuel Payments
Lindsay Hoyle Excerpts(13 years, 8 months ago)
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Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)
Order. The Minister has finished and is not giving way. I call Guy Opperman.
Finance Bill
Lindsay Hoyle Excerpts(13 years, 9 months ago)
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Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)
Order. May I inform hon. Members that I want to bring the Minister in at twenty-past?
Julie Hilling
I took my car for a service last week at my local garage, which is a one-man band. He said, “For heaven’s sake, will you get rid of that lot? They are ruining my business.” When I asked him what he meant and what the Government were doing that was ruining his business, his reply was, “VAT—the 20% rate is destroying my business, and all the other small business owners I know think exactly the same.” Sadly, a reduction in VAT from 20% is not an option in this debate, but putting VAT on to so many other things just increases the problem for hard-pressed businesses and struggling people.