Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mark Garnier and Greg Hands

Tuesday 1st March 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mark Garnier (Wyre Forest) (Con)]

4. What progress has been made on implementing the charter for budget responsibility.

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Greg Hands)]

As part of our long-term economic plan, the Government’s charter for budget responsibility was approved by Parliament on 15 October 2015. The charter sets a path to this country’s long-term financial health and to a surplus. Unlike other parties in this House, we will be strong and consistent in our support for the charter. The Budget is on 16 March.

[Mark Garnier]

In 2010, the budget deficit stood at 11.1% of GDP. This year, it is set to be down by two thirds at 3.9% of GDP, which is a remarkable achievement given the economic headwinds coming from outside the UK. Will my right hon. Friend tell the House what discussions he is having with other parties, in particular those on the shadow Front Bench, about how to reduce the budget deficit and turn it into a surplus, and are they proving to be helpful?

[Greg Hands]

I thank my hon. Friend for his support for our budget reduction efforts. I have had no such discussions so far, nor any submissions from those on the Opposition Front Bench. I have, however, received a submission from Ed Balls’s former head of policy, Karim Palant, who said of the shadow Chancellor’s changing position on the charter:

“This kind of chaos less than a month into the job is the kind of blow even significant political figures struggle to recover from.”