Financial Statement

Debate between Matt Vickers and Rishi Sunak

Wednesday 23rd March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Rishi Sunak]

With regards to the livelihoods of ordinary people, they have just received a £330 tax cut today and a discount on their fuel bill, with more tax cuts to come. This Government are on the side of hard-working British families.

[Matt Vickers (Stockton South) (Con)]

I want to ask about the national insurance threshold change—the one that Martin Lewis described as “the big one”. Can my right hon. tax-cutting Friend confirm that this will result in an actual tax cut for more than 30 million people—in fact, for anyone who earns less than £35,000?

[Rishi Sunak]

My hon. Friend and constituency neighbour is absolutely right, and I thank him for his support. This change will put £330 in the pockets of 30 million hard-working British families, including many in Stockton South, and it means that 70% of workers will be better off, even accounting for the new health and care levy.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Matt Vickers and Rishi Sunak

Tuesday 26th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Rishi Sunak]

It is absolutely right that businesses get the funds as quickly as possible. What I would say is that central Government have disbursed that funding to local councils across the country, so it is actually for businesses to take up with their local authority why they have not received the money. There are two sets of grants: there are of course our monthly grants, which have been going for a while now, and the one-off payments of up to £9,000 that we announced earlier this year. But the hon. Gentleman is right to urge urgency. I know my colleagues in the Business Department are doing exactly that with local councils, but ultimately the responsibility will lie with individual councils.

[Matt Vickers (Stockton South) (Con)]

Teesside is on the up. It is a place with untapped potential, skills and expertise, and a place with boundless ambition that will play host to the biggest economic success story of the next decade. Can my right hon. Friend think of anywhere better to host Treasury North than one of the country’s first free ports?

Spending Review 2020 and OBR Forecast

Debate between Matt Vickers and Rishi Sunak

Wednesday 25th November 2020 Commons Chamber

[Rishi Sunak]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right about the importance of safer streets. I am pleased to tell him that this spending review makes available £400 million more for the Home Office and local policing to make sure that we can recruit an additional 6,000 police officers next year, on top of the 6,000 this year, in order to make great progress on our way to 20,000 by 2023.

[Matt Vickers (Stockton South) (Con) [V]]

My right hon. Friend has had to make some tough decisions on issues such as foreign aid, but can he assure me that by doing that, he will be able to focus on domestic priorities and a levelling-up agenda that can do so much for so many in Teesside?

[Rishi Sunak]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. This spending review is about focusing on the priorities of our constituents. I am sure that he and his constituents will be pleased to know that we have made £3 million available today for the Tees Valley hydrogen transport hub. Teesside is at the heart of our hydrogen revolution, bringing new jobs, attracting investment and driving growth in his local area. That is an example of the kind of local priority that we can now fund, having made these tough decisions.

Covid-19: Economy Update

Debate between Matt Vickers and Rishi Sunak

Thursday 22nd October 2020 Commons Chamber

[Rishi Sunak]

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point about the supply chains of those who serve the hospitality industry. I draw his attention to two things. The tier 2 grant programme that I announced today will contain a 5% discretionary top-up, which local authorities can use at their own discretion to support local businesses; they may choose to use some of it to address the needs that he outlines. Also, we have not targeted the enhanced generosity of the job support scheme purely at the hospitality industry, or indeed purely at businesses operating in tier 2 areas, because we recognise the complexity of the supply chains that he mentions. The very generous job support scheme will be available for all businesses in all parts of the country, regardless of sector, which I think will make an enormous difference to the businesses that he mentions.

[Matt Vickers (Stockton South) (Con)]

They say that good things come in small packages. Well, my right hon. Friend might be small, but he has delivered a huge package of job-saving, business-boosting support that will benefit the people of Stockton South and people right across the country. I thank the myth, the man, the legend who is my right hon. Friend for this life-saving support for businesses in my patch. Will he continue to review and react promptly to the ever-changing situation in his characteristically charismatic way?

[Rishi Sunak]

I am very grateful for my hon. Friend’s kind—I think—compliments; he knows that he is a large part of the reason why I am in this House, so he can take as much of the credit or blame for that as is required. I can give him the reassurance that he seeks. I have been delighted to visit his local businesses with him, and I know that he is an enormous champion for his local community, high streets and businesses. He works very hard on their behalf, and I know that the measures that we have announced today will make a difference to him and make sure that his community continues to be a thriving place.