Middle East: Economic Response
Debate between Rachel Reeves and Neil Duncan-Jordan(3 weeks, 2 days ago)
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Rachel Reeves
I can confirm to my hon. Friend that the London Eye will be included. Apparently it is called an “observation attraction”—the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury and I made sure that such attractions are part of the package of measures. I totally agree with what she says about young children of primary school age having a deep understanding of the cost of living pressures faced by their families and carers at the moment. That is why it is so important that today’s measures particularly address the cost of the summer holidays for parents. I know that parents, whether in Vauxhall or in my own constituency of Leeds West and Pudsey, are not always as excited about the summer holidays as their children are because they are worried about the costs. I hope that the measures that I have announced today on the cost of children’s meals in restaurants and cafés, and to reduce the cost of days out, will go some way towards helping families to have a better summer.
Neil Duncan-Jordan (Poole) (Lab)
I welcome my right hon. Friend’s announcement, but I ask her to look further at introducing a package of emergency measures to keep down energy bills in a number of ways, including through an essential energy guarantee for all households, a nationwide social tariff and extending the windfall tax on the energy sector’s excessive profits.
Rachel Reeves
When I became Chancellor, I extended the energy profits levy on gas and oil to 78%. We will be able to bring in money as a result of that. We have also increased the electricity generator levy by 10 percentage points to help to decouple gas and electricity prices. Because of the measures I took in my Budget last year, I was able to take £150 off people’s energy bills. I recognise the impact of the cost of living on families, pensioners and businesses, which is why I have introduced a further range of measures today, particularly targeting and helping families, energy-intensive industries, and those who drive a lot for work.
Spring Statement
Debate between Rachel Reeves and Neil Duncan-Jordan(1 year, 2 months ago)
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Rachel Reeves
As the hon. Gentleman will know, our Prime Minister and President Trump discussed these issues when our Prime Minister was at the White House recently. We continue to work on those plans. The most important thing is that we protect our national security and can continue to operate out of that important base.
Neil Duncan-Jordan (Poole) (Lab)
Paragraph 1.14 of the OBR report outlines that the planned cuts to disability benefits will reduce personal independence payments for 800,000 claimants, and cut health-related universal credit for 3 million families. Is it not time that we asked those with the broadest shoulders to carry the heaviest burden, rather than the poorest in our society?
Rachel Reeves
As I have set out, the Office for Budget Responsibility does not assume in its numbers any changes in people going back to work. That is what we are going to work on, between the OBR, the DWP and the Treasury, over the summer, so that we develop those plans to ensure that people are not worse off but better off because they can progress into jobs that suit their abilities and needs. We want more people to have the fulfilment of a good job, with security, that pays a decent wage.