Oral Answers to Questions

Nadhim Zahawi Excerpts

Tuesday 14th November 2023 Commons Chamber

[David Simmonds (Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner) (Con)]

11. What steps his Department is taking to encourage pension schemes to invest in the UK.

[Nadhim Zahawi (Stratford-on-Avon) (Con)]

13. What steps his Department is taking to encourage pension schemes to invest in the UK.

[Mr Speaker]

While we are basking in those questions, would somebody like to answer them?

--- Later in debate ---

[Jeremy Hunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for his interest in this issue—of course, he has great experience of local government. Working with the former Economic Secretary to the Treasury, my hon. Friend the Member for Arundel and South Downs (Andrew Griffith), who I see is in the Chamber, we announced major reforms in July to help local government pension funds lead the way in the transformation we are looking for, in particular by sending a direction that they should invest in pools worth more than £50 billion. That will make it easier for them to have the expertise necessary to invest in infrastructure.

[Nadhim Zahawi]

I welcome the proposals that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor made in his Mansion House speech, which will increase investment in the United Kingdom. In his upcoming autumn statement, I implore him to build on his Budget announcement with a policy that was originally advocated for in a paper by the Adam Smith Institute, a think-tank I am proud to be patron of, as is set out in my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I implore him to make full expensing permanent and to scrap the hated factory tax.

[Jeremy Hunt]

I have a very small bone to pick with my right hon. Friend, because when I became Chancellor I was hoping to say that I was the first Chancellor who was once an entrepreneur, but he pipped me to the post. However, he is absolutely right to say how important it is to have competitive business investment taxes. I was very proud in the spring Budget to introduce full expensing for three years, which gives us some of the most competitive business taxes in the OECD. Only five other countries do that, and I will of course keep under review any possibility to extend that tax break.