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.

Budget Changes

Nadhim Zahawi Excerpts

Monday 21st March 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gauke]

This is a Government who have increased spending on the disabled. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions will shortly make a statement on Government policy in this area.

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

You frequently remind us, Mr Speaker, about the people listening and watching at home—our constituents. On the second day of the Budget debate, the shadow Chancellor pledged that if the Government would look again at the personal independence plans, the Opposition would not play politics with that. Does my hon. Friend agree that this is too serious an issue to play politics with?

[Mr Gauke]

My hon. Friend has a point. We have had assurances about not playing politics once or twice before from the shadow Chancellor. I am not sure he has always delivered on that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Nadhim Zahawi Excerpts

Tuesday 1st December 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

We are doubling investment in renewable electricity and energy, and much of that is going into Scotland. We also increased the capital budget for the Scottish Government, so instead of lobbying us for capital projects, they now have the resources to pay for such things themselves.

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

T3. I recently attended the skills show in Birmingham, which was an incredible example of the opportunities on offer in Britain for young people, including jobs, training and apprenticeships. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the levy he announced in the autumn statement is an excellent further step to ensure that young people in the UK are earning and learning— or preferably both—as that is the route towards a more productive workforce that is ready for jobs in the 21st century?

[Mr Speaker]

The hon. Gentleman is a celebrated denizen of the House and he should provide a better example to his new colleagues. Questions from both sides of the House are just too long—good, but too long.

Greece

Nadhim Zahawi Excerpts

Monday 6th July 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

The risks stem from the fact that we are the world’s largest financial centre. We are also the global centre for the trading of the euro. We are a very open economy; on most measures, we are the most open and interconnected of all the world’s advanced economies. We are therefore affected by financial conditions in Europe. We saw that a few years ago, but we are in a much stronger place than we have been in the past because we have been paying down our very large deficit, because we have been strengthening our economy, because we have been recapitalising our banking system and making sure our banks are stronger, and because we have a much better system of regulation, in which the Bank of England is in charge of regulating the banks. Those are all steps that we have taken. I do not think anyone will be particularly surprised to hear that when we assemble in a couple of days to hear the Budget, we will hear the further measures needed to reduce that budget deficit and ensure that we fix the roof while the sun is shining.

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

Such external shocks do focus the mind. May I bring the Chancellor back closer to home? He has tough decisions to make on Wednesday. Has he had any representations from the Opposition Benches about where those cost savings should come, and support for the long-term economic plan?

[Mr Speaker]

That has very little to do with Greece. The hon. Gentleman has put his point on the record, but it is nothing to do with the statement today, to the details of which we ought to attend.

Greece

Nadhim Zahawi Excerpts

Monday 29th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

I very much commend my hon. Friend for the work he does. Let me reiterate that HMRC is ready to operate the time to pay scheme to help both the self-employed and small businesses—and, indeed, larger firms—who have problems because there have some kind of financial transaction with a Greek company and have been caught up in the Greek Government’s capital controls. There is advice on the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills website, and they can get bespoke advice by phoning the helpline.

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

It is worth placing on the record my constituents’ gratitude to the Chancellor for taking us out of the eurozone bail-out mechanism. London serves as a centre for the Greek shipping industry. What assessment has the Chancellor made of the impact on that industry of the crisis in Greece?

[Mr Osborne]

Frankly, a lot of that industry is pretty international these days, and I suspect quite a lot of those involved in it have foreign bank accounts as well as Greek bank accounts. It is a very important industry, and it is one of the industries that can help the Greek economy if that economy is competitive. One of the big issues in Greece has of course been the competitiveness of the Greek ports in particular.

More broadly, I thank my hon. Friend for his support of the action we took during the last Parliament. More properly, I should credit the Prime Minister, who secured exit from the eurozone bail-outs at an important European summit.

European Union Referendum Bill

Nadhim Zahawi Excerpts

Tuesday 16th June 2015 Commons Chamber

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

Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that it does not matter which side one is on? Even people on the yes side should not want their victory to be tainted by the perception of a fix.

[Alex Salmond]

Absolutely; that is why I am making this argument from the yes side of the campaign.

I am suggesting not only that the rules should be written back into the Bill, but that there should be an enforcement mechanism. I commend new clause 4 to the Committee. It suggests that there should be a fairness committee of Privy Councillors, of which I am one. Who knows? I might be favoured in such a recommendation. The committee of Privy Councillors, selected by the Speaker of this House and the Presiding Officers of the Assemblies of Northern Ireland and Wales and the Parliament of Scotland, would have the job of making sure that the rules were abided by. It would have the power of injunction in England and interdict in Scotland to prevent the publication of anything that it believed may breach the rules of purdah, and the right to refer matters to the prosecuting authorities. New clause 3 sets out the appropriate penalties for Ministers who have the audacity to breach the rules of purdah and for civil servants who forget that they are there to serve the public, not their political point of view.

I commend those proposals to the Committee. I will listen closely to the debate. I know that many right hon. and hon. Members have similar concerns. I say to those on the Treasury Bench that, just as they were mistaken not to understand the resentment at the lack of respect that was shown by floating the idea of holding a referendum on the same day as our national elections in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, they would make a grave mistake if they did not understand the cross-party concern about a potential breach of purdah by Ministers and the civil service. I hope that our proposals are given proper and due consideration.

Oral Answers to Questions

Nadhim Zahawi Excerpts

Tuesday 27th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Danny Alexander]

As I said, the published analysis is incomplete because it ignores public expenditure. Public expenditure is a very important part of fiscal consolidation, but it is the shift in public expenditure, towards such things as early years education, the pupil premium and supporting disadvantaged young people through the education system, that is a vital part of improving life chances. I hope the hon. Lady will want to recognise that the measures the Government have taken have been aimed at improving the life chances of people. That is why we are making so much progress on attainment in schools, reducing child poverty and so on.

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

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

[The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr George Osborne)]

The core purpose of the Treasury is to ensure the stability and prosperity of the economy.

[Nadhim Zahawi]

We in Stratford-on-Avon are rightly proud of our world-class chamber orchestra, the Orchestra of the Swan, which, as well as playing to packed audiences in Stratford, is busy exporting British culture to the US and China. What assessment has my right hon. Friend made of the extra jobs and growth resulting from the new tax relief for theatres and orchestras?

[Mr Osborne]

The new tax relief for theatres has been a real success. It has been taken up by many theatres and is supporting regional productions. Separately, at my hon. Friend’s request, we have also helped the Royal Shakespeare Company to take its plays to China. Orchestra tax relief, the consultation on which we announced last week, will be another huge boost for British culture and music. We will set out further details in the Budget about how it will work, but it will be there to support a thriving orchestra industry—if that is the right word!

Autumn Statement

Nadhim Zahawi Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

First, what the hon. Gentleman’s question reveals is, of course, that when the Labour party says it is committed to fiscal discipline, it does not mean that at all. It opposes welfare changes that bring the welfare budget down, and it opposes all the difficult decisions required to bring public expenditure under control. Because we are able to take those difficult decisions on day-to-day spending, we are able to make investments in infrastructure that will really help all parts of the United Kingdom. A shining example of that is the electrification of the valley lines, which the Prime Minister went to south Wales to talk about. That never happened in all the years that the hon. Gentleman was a Labour Minister and represented the seat as a Labour MP.

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

May I, on behalf of the Orchestra of the Swan, thank the Chancellor for the tax relief, which of course comes on top of the tax relief for the Royal Shakespeare Company? Savers were among the hardest hit under Labour’s great recession. Does not today’s autumn statement and the help that we are providing to savers demonstrate that this Government and the Conservative party are on the side of savers, who would be put at risk if Labour ever got anywhere near his position?

[Mr Osborne]

First, may I say that I know the Royal Shakespeare Company does a brilliant job? We were able to help it earlier this year with support for touring around the world. Such people are looking at the theatre tax break and at what they can do to use it. I hope that the orchestra tax break is of help to the Orchestra of the Swan, which my hon. Friend mentioned.

On savers, I have announced today that people can pass on their ISAs to their spouse tax free. That major step forward in the ISAs regime comes on top of the increase to £15,000 for the new ISA and, of course, the new freedoms on pensions.

Oral Answers to Questions

Nadhim Zahawi Excerpts

Tuesday 24th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gauke]

As a Government we are trying to do everything we can to help the construction industry, whether that is through the beneficial effect of Help to Buy, the local infrastructure fund, or the changes to planning. It is worth pointing out that construction output, according to the Office for National Statistics, is 4.6% up from where it was 12 months ago. The purchasing managers index also shows significant increases in construction. We are moving in the right direction.

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

The construction industry has benefited from the business-friendly policies of this Government. Does my hon. Friend agree with my constituent, the former Trade Minister, Lord Digby Jones, when he says that the Leader of the Opposition is the “least business-friendly” leader of any political party in years?

[Mr Speaker]

On the subject of private sector investment in the construction industry, rather than the characteristics of an individual, a brief reply, Minister Gauke. We are grateful.

Payday Loan Companies

Nadhim Zahawi Excerpts

Monday 20th January 2014 Commons Chamber

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

I am sure that we would all much rather that people did not have to resort to payday loans to make ends meet. My hon. Friend the Member for Dover (Charlie Elphicke) cited the behaviour of the banks in respect of overdrafts as a possible reason for the rise of the industry, but I cannot help but think it correlates with the last Government’s economic policy, whereby we saw an explosion in household debt, the decoupling of median pay from GDP and a recession that wiped out 7.2% of our national income. We have to deal with the world as we find it, not as we would like it to be. If desperate people do need credit at short notice, I would much prefer they got it from legitimate companies which can be monitored and regulated, than through illegal means. My hon. Friend cited pieces of research that say that people will not go to loan sharks, but a significant minority do end up going to loan sharks, who would do anything to get their money back.

[Naomi Long (Belfast East) (Alliance)]

One concern in my constituency is that paramilitary organisations are often the loan sharks and, although the consequences that flow from a payday lender are of concern, the consequences of defaulting on such a loan are serious in the extreme.

[Nadhim Zahawi]

The hon. Lady makes a very powerful point. I have seen evidence of conversations between a young lady and a loan shark in a coffee shop where she was having to agree to lie to her husband to try to get some more money, otherwise her limbs would be damaged.

The question is how we regulate the sector. As with any financial market, we need a system of clear rules backed up by tough enforcement. A good regulator needs to have blood on its sword, and I hope that the FCA will use its enforcement powers to drive the most egregious players out of the market. I am on record as calling the behaviour of some of these companies rapacious.

Unlike the Office of Fair Trading, the FCA will have the power to cap the total cost of credit, which is welcome news, but I want to see the FCA go further than the terms of its consultation in two areas. First, it should mandate the use of real-time data sharing as a condition of being able to trade in this market. The hon. Member for Glasgow North (Ann McKechin) made that point eloquently. It is vital that we make it harder for consumers to take out multiple loans from different companies. Such borrowing can quickly spiral out of control, trapping people in huge debt. As we know from macro-economic policy, we cannot borrow our way out of a debt crisis.

[Mike Crockart (Edinburgh West) (LD)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that, although real-time information is essential, it would be good if the companies checked any information at all? When I conducted some research, I made an application for a loan under the name Boris Peep, using my constituency address as the address for the individual. The loan was approved by WageDayAdvance. I then received—

[Mike Crockart]

I then received numerous texts saying, “Hi Boris, your loan application has been approved.” That surely shows that no real-time information was used at all.

[Nadhim Zahawi]

My hon. Friend raises an important point. It just shows how farcical the system is when Bo Beep can lose her sheep, but get a loan from a payday lender.

Secondly, I want to see the FCA introduce a roll-over limit of one. Failure to meet a loan repayment should be a clear signal that the borrower is in financial trouble. The answer is not then for the lender to refinance the debt. The purpose of payday loans is to tide the borrower over until payday; they should not be allowed to become long-term financing instruments. Two roll-overs equate to three months, which is far too long. Getting the regulation right is important, but if we do more to support the incomes of the lowest paid, this market will lose much of its raison d'être.

I warmly welcome my right hon. Friend the Chancellor’s support for an inflation-busting rise in the minimum wage. Such a rise would put more money in the pockets of millions of hard-working people, reducing reliance on high cost credit. Of course, the most direct impact Government can have on our income is to take less of it in tax. That is why the increase in the personal allowance, which has a disproportionate impact on the low paid, is so important. Someone working a 40-hour week on the minimum wage is now paying half the income tax they paid under the previous Government.

In the longer term, we need to get more people into work and improve workplace productivity, so that higher wages can be paid for out of higher profits. The Government’s reforms to schools and welfare will help us get there. I believe in markets, but all markets need strong frameworks to ensure that the consumer can make free and informed choices—free from coercion and informed about the risks. Nowhere is that need more clear than in the market for high-cost consumer debt.