Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rachael Maskell and Oliver Dowden

Wednesday 17th May 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is right to raise this issue. Such people are often associated with fly-tipping, which is a blight on our landscape. I will ensure that I raise all the issues he has raised with me with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, who has ministerial responsibility.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

Q13. Crisis mental health services are in crisis, and patients and families are being gaslit and put at risk. This week is Mental Health Awareness Week, but there is no Government awareness to ensure that my constituents are safe, and that funding and workforce needs are met. Why are the right hon. Gentleman’s Government sitting on their hands? A devastating report is sitting on the Health Secretary’s desk while patients in York and across the NHS are being failed. Can the trust and I have an urgent meeting?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

I am sure that a ministerial colleague in the Department of Health and Social Care will be happy to have that meeting. I would just say that this Government have put more money into mental health services, and we are funding 150 wider capital schemes. This Government have made mental health services a priority.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rachael Maskell and Oliver Dowden

Thursday 8th December 2022 Commons Chamber

[Oliver Dowden]

My hon. Friend raises an important point, and I pay tribute to her tireless work in promoting her constituency and the wider county of Cornwall. The Government are committed to supporting local growth and to levelling up areas across the country, including the south-west and Cornwall. As the Chancellor announced in his autumn statement, the Government intend to take forward a refocused investment zone programme. We will shortly announce further details.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

12. What progress his Department has made on establishing Government hubs outside London.

Small Businesses: Tax Reporting

Debate between Rachael Maskell and Oliver Dowden

Monday 25th January 2016 Westminster Hall

[Oliver Dowden]

That is an important point. While there are questions to raise, it is important not to get carried away. The overall direction of Government travel is towards having a digital system for tax returns, and I hope that Members agree that that is the right thing to do. The questions are about the speed and pace of roll-out and appropriate consultation.

The difference between VAT and what is contemplated here is that VAT returns have a threshold, so the very smallest businesses do not fill them out, but they will do so in this case. That is an argument for caution. Another concern raised by petitioners is the nature and financial cost of digital reporting. It would therefore be helpful if the Government gave greater clarity on the scale, cost and nature of the information to be provided. Estimates suggest that businesses already pay on average £3,600 a year to ensure that they are compliant with their tax and regulatory obligations and we, as a Government, must take away from that, not add to it. Surely, that is the measure of any successful tax reform. It is therefore vital that the net effect of the measure is to reduce, not add to, that regulatory burden.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

Is it not right that, before the Government proceed any further with their proposals, they make a full analysis of not only the financial cost and burden they will put on small businesses, but the cost in time and infrastructure?

[Oliver Dowden]

I hope that all that will be considered in the consultation that the Government have committed to undertake.