Budget Resolutions

Neil Parish Excerpts

Monday 1st November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Neil Parish (Tiverton and Honiton) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to speak in this debate. I start by saying that I very much welcome the Chancellor’s Budget statement. I look forward to levelling up the north, south, east, west, south-west, and particularly Devon, which is the centre of the universe; there is no doubt about that. I cannot imagine that there has ever been an easy time to be Chancellor, but the challenges that the economy has faced in the past 18 months make it especially difficult now. That being said, we are in a better place than expected, and I am pleased to hear that the economy is on track to return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year.

There was a lot that I liked in the Chancellor’s Budget, and a lot that will be welcomed in Devon. In particular, many of my constituents will be delighted to hear that they will get cheaper pints of cider, even if only by 3p. Indeed, patrons will be cheering all the way from the Culm Valley Inn in Culmstock to the Masons Arms in Branscombe. It is not just the patrons who will benefit; as the Chancellor said, local pubs do a lot of their trade on draught, so the cut to draught beer and cider duty will make a huge difference to these pubs. The reform of alcohol duty is long overdue, and I commend the Chancellor on making it happen.

Pubs will also benefit from a huge cut to business rates, as will small businesses across the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors. I look forward to hearing more detail about the planned small producer relief, which will help many small cider producers in my constituency, such as Norcotts Cider in Honiton.

As well as supporting businesses, the Chancellor is rightly providing extra funding for public services, including the NHS and schools, both of which have been badly disrupted by the pandemic. The extra £6 billion for the NHS to tackle the backlog of checks, scans and surgeries is very welcome. So is the cash boost for schools. It is absolutely right that funding should be set aside for catch-up training for students whose education has been disrupted, but schools can also expect a £1,500-per-pupil boost over the next three years, which is very welcome indeed. We talk about levelling up, and having a high-wage, high-skilled economy, and that starts with education. We need to be sure that we give the next generation of workers the skills and qualifications that they need. We also need to invest now in the infrastructure that they will be using in the years ahead, so I support the levelling-up agenda.

I am particularly delighted that the Chancellor has given the green light to £5 million of development funding to progress the plans for Cullompton station, and Wellington station in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Taunton Deane (Rebecca Pow). My neighbour and I have long worked for this, and we are really happy to see the Devon and Somerset Metro Group come to fruition. Cullompton is a town set for expansion, and we need to be ready for that, as well as tackling the challenges we face now. The extension of the Devon metro will help cut congestion on our roads, slash commuter time for students, and create exciting new opportunities for local business. Construction is set to start in 2024, and with this funding, the project is on track for great success, if you will pardon the pun, Madam Deputy Speaker. I hope we will not have to wait too long for extra levelling-up funding.

Finally, I am glad that the Chancellor announced that the commitment to spending 0.7% of gross national income on foreign aid will be back on the statute books by 2024. If the economy improves more than expected, I hope we can put that right in ’23, because that 0.7% is absolutely essential for the rest of the world.