Income tax (charge)

Nigel Evans Excerpts

Tuesday 17th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Jonathan Gullis (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Con)]

I am delighted to speak in this debate about levelling up, especially in relation to the Budget. Following the comments of my esteemed hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent South (Jack Brereton), I could not think of a better place for the levelling up agenda to take place. We in Stoke-on-Trent are at the heart of the midlands engine. We are on the cusp of the northern powerhouse. We have the M6, the A50 corridor, the A500, the Handsacre HS2 link is coming to our fine city, and we have four international airports within 60 minutes of us. I could not think of a better place, and I am delighted that the Chief Secretary is in his place. I remember when he came with me to Stoke-on-Trent North to visit some of the amazing businesses that we saw on display. He was excited and impressed, and I am sure, having had my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent South as his Parliamentary Private Secretary in his previous role, that he has heard about Stoke-on Trent more times than he cares to imagine. I know that the Treasury will be looking to ensure that this fine city, and obviously Kidsgrove and Talke, are delivered for as well. [Interruption.] I say to the hon. Member for Aberdeen South (Stephen Flynn): I will say Stoke-on-Trent much more, believe me, my friend!

I welcome the business-friendly measures set out in the Budget by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor, especially the effective abolition of business rates for businesses in properties valued at £51,000 or less as we fight coronavirus for the next financial year. This is excellent news for the high street across my patch, and an opportunity for regeneration as we rebuild after coronavirus, so that we can review business rates to make them fairer and not a burden to our beloved high streets.

I welcome the town deal in Kidsgrove and the opportunity that that will bring to economically regenerate a much-forgotten town, but I also wish to urge that we see an opportunity to improve the high streets within the city of Stoke-on-Trent. Many Members might be aware that, while we are a city under the Office for National Statistics definition, we are the six towns. Sadly, under the future high streets criteria, we are unable to access that type of funding. I hope that when that scheme is rolled out again, towns such as Burslem and Tunstall, but also ones such as Fenton and Longton in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent South, will get an opportunity to bid. Burslem, tragically, already has the most closed high street shops in the UK. With this terrible coronavirus, which is going to ravage our economy, the high street will only suffer more.

That is why I urge the Government to continue what they did in Burslem by match funding us to allow £10 million for the Royal Doulton site, so we can redevelop and repurpose the use of some of the land and buildings that we have. Sadly, in Stoke-on-Trent, Kidsgrove and Talke, property is so cheap that there is no financial incentive for developers to go in, regenerate those high streets and turn buildings into purpose-built flats. I would be most grateful for any help from the Government in that regard. As we learn to adapt to the consumer changes brought about by the digital revolution, it is absolutely right and correct for the Government to step in and take action to protect the hearts of our towns and cities.

In addition to the supportive measures for business announced in the Budget, I was delighted, as I know many of my constituents will be, to see the national insurance contribution thresholds increase, saving the average employee £104 per year from April. In Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke, changes to national insurance mean that people can keep more of their hard-earned cash, and with the increase in the national living wage, those hard-working people will also see a pay rise.

I can hardly go any further without mentioning education. I have a vision of prosperity for Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke. That vision can materialise only through investment in education. With the Government investing vast sums in further education, silicon Stoke is very much a real possibility. I want to see Stoke on Trent College partnering with Staffordshire University and Keele University to become an institute of technology and a beacon of the technological revolution. That is even more possible with the money invested prior to this Budget in the redevelopment of Burslem campus, which has included a new, innovative £10.5 million technology hub.

My ambition is to bring free schools to my constituency. I want schools with high standards and high expectations, both at primary and secondary level, which could therefore drive outcomes. That could lead into the ambition of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor for one of 11 16-to-19 specialist maths schools to be opened in Stoke-on-Trent, Kidsgrove and Talke, with support, I hope, from local entrepreneurs such as Denise Coates of Bet365, Carol Shanahan of Synetics Solutions and Ian Donaldson of Autonet.

Added to that is the £14 billion going into schools to level up per-pupil funding. That means my constituents in Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke can be provided with more opportunity to unlock their potential. It is fantastic to see investments also announced in apprenticeships and sports.

On a similar note, the Government announced a whopping £5 billion of investment in ensuring that gigabit-capable broadband—that is full fibre, 5G and so on—can reach every UK home by the end of 2025. I have held meetings with the excellent Swedish firm, VX Fiber, operating in Stoke-on-Trent, which informed me that the UK is around 15 years behind Sweden in this technology. This money is enormously welcomed, not only to bring silicon Stoke ever closer, after the Government have already invested £9.2 million to support gigabit into every home in Stoke-on-Trent, but to increase entrepreneurial endeavours, boost the housing market and increase provisions for flexible working. I have been working with my Staffordshire colleagues to bring the very best connections to Stoke-on-Trent, Kidsgrove and Talke, so much so that silicon Stoke is slowly morphing into silicon Staffs.

We have a plan, with the backing of our local enterprise partnership, businesses such as JCB and Bet365, and local universities, for a Staffordshire 5G-connected regional growth deal. That would make Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent the first region in the UK to develop a publicly owned digital infrastructure, underpinned by fibre, 4G and 5G, and would make us the first region in the UK to provide 100% gigabit coverage, as this Budget demands. Such a development would create both an at-scale commercial 5G network and a regional 5G demonstrator for future roll-out across the UK. That could potentially unlock billions into a region that, for too long, has seen very little investment.

In one of the first debates I took part in, I advocated a freeze in beer duty and championed the great British pub, so I am over the moon to see duty rates frozen on beer, cider and spirits. I know that Titanic Brewery, a first-class brewing company that I have mentioned before in this House, will be relieved and will be celebrating appropriately.

I applaud my right hon. Friend the Chancellor and the Treasury team for their hard work on finding a way to freeze fuel duty for another year. That is an essential measure to ease the cost of living for many across the country and help people and businesses reliant upon vehicles. I do believe we should set our sights to the longer term when considering greener transportation and more public transportation, and this Budget’s record investment in infrastructure will certainly help to deliver that. However, in the meantime, I believe securing access to be extremely important, and I am proud to be a part of a Parliament that is taking ordinary people’s lives and concerns seriously.

I would like to take this moment to unreservedly welcome Stoke-on- Trent’s shout-out in the Red Book as a potential multi-modal transport hub, under the transforming cities fund. Such a hub would change the landscape of travel across Stoke-on-Trent. A revamped travel map for Stoke could improve connections, with Longport receiving a park and ride, if we are given, as we must be, the full ask in the transforming cities fund bid, and finally deliver accessibility for all at Kidsgrove. Back in 2015, under my predecessor’s predecessor, £5.5 million of public money was given to Network Rail for this, but it is yet to deliver those important Access for All upgrades—that is an abomination.

We could also realise the huge potential for improved cycle and pedestrian routes, especially alongside the Trent and Mersey canal to Stoke station, and pave the way for improved bus services. We hope that that would be through the excellent superbus pilot, which I know my colleagues from north Staffordshire have been anxiously bidding on in order to secure it, especially for Stoke-on-Trent, Kidsgrove and Talke. To parrot the words of my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent South again, we have seen 1 million fewer passengers on our buses in the past 12 months and 5.4 million fewer over the past decade. That is a shocking thing to hear and it is certainly not going to help us to reach our net zero target, so that superbus pilot, with the transforming cities fund, would fundamentally revolutionise public transport across Stoke-on-Trent.

This vision stands strong enough on its own, but let us imagine the connective capabilities when the Handsacre link of HS2 is delivered to the area. The transforming cities fund and the opportunities it unleashes for my constituency cannot be understated. This hyper-connectivity could set the foundation for further expansion, such as reopening the Stoke to Leek line, bringing back Milton station and having a station at Chatterley to serve Tunstall. It will also be central to delivering on our campaign promise of levelling up, and regenerating post-industrial towns and cities, while remaining conscious of the environmental framework to reduce emissions and improve air quality. I understand that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor has an awful lot on his plate, and of course our response to coronavirus must take precedence over all other things, but I would like to raise some issues that remain prominent to my constituents.

Chatterley Whitfield is an incredible example of a heritage site that has huge historical significance and huge potential. Would the Minister be willing to meet me to discuss regeneration projects for sites such as Chatterley Whitfield and how we can create financial incentives for former coalfield sites and communities, as we have seen in the industrial Ruhr, in Germany?

Kidsgrove sports centre is another key local campaign of mine, and its closure, under the then Labour-controlled Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, was a blow to the local community. Is my right hon. Friend the Chancellor making all provisions necessary to ensure that, public health allowing, core community hubs, especially those focused on encouraging a healthy lifestyle, are supported to remain open and active?

I wish to finish by putting on record my thanks to all those in our NHS, social care, schools and other public services, and hope that every one of them is as safe as possible. I know that that feeling is shared among Members from all parties. Like them, I will work tirelessly to ensure that people, businesses and voluntary sector groups are protected as much as possible during these unprecedented times. Never in my lifetime have I ever known such a situation.

In my short time as the Member of Parliament for Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke, I have met some remarkable people such as June Cartwright, and organisations such as Middleport Matters Community Trust. I know that they will work tirelessly to ensure that we level up Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke and unlock its potential. I know that my community is stronger than any adversity.

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)]

I congratulate the Whip on duty, the hon. Member for Walsall North (Eddie Hughes), on having resisted any temptation to say yes to any request in that speech in the Minister’s absence.