Oil and Gas Producers: Windfall Tax
Richard Thomson Excerpts(2 years, 10 months ago)
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Richard Thomson (Gordon) (SNP)
That we are living presently with a cost of living crisis is surely undeniable. Inflation is at 5.5%, and that is reflected in our food prices and our energy prices. It is exacerbated by a supply chain crisis due to coronavirus and from the twin shotgun holes that the UK Government have blasted in each of their feet through the Brexit that they have stumbled towards.
This motion, I am sorry to say, probably looked great on the desk of a researcher somewhere in this building, or that of a press officer, but it collapses the instant it comes into any kind of contact with reality. The problem we are facing with the cost of living crisis is undeniable. While we have heard many stories about the pressures facing our constituents—we have similar stories we can tell—I am sorry to say that I have not heard anything to persuade me why a one-off smash and grab on the North sea industry is the best way to deal with this crisis.
In Scotland, we are used to dealing with fuel poverty amidst energy plenty, but the real problem—I am sorry to say it is encapsulated by the motion from the Labour party today—is exacerbated by the short-termism that we have seen in UK energy policy. Some £375 billion has been taken out of the North sea since oil started coming ashore along with gas, but in the years of those peak revenues, the revenues were pumped out by a Conservative Government as quickly as possible to try to close a catastrophic balance of payments gap. That drove sterling up to unsustainable levels, drove out manufacturing jobs and drove 3 million on to the unemployment queues. Unlike Norway, we have been left with nothing tangible to show for it, whether a long-term oil fund for future generations, or an energy company such as Statoil, given that the UK equivalent, Britoil, was privatised early in the 1980s.
Successive UK Governments have lied about the extent of that resource, almost as assiduously as they have mismanaged the public policy that should have been going on around it. We are seeing that repeated in many respects with the failure of the UK Government to press on with the carbon capture project at Peterhead and with the intransigence that we see over electricity grid charges, and once again Scotland and Scottish jobs risk being the casualty of that.
It is perhaps hardly a surprise that trust among SNP Members in the UK Government to do the right thing by the North sea and its massive resources is low. Given our previous experience of windfall taxes and the impact they have had, we certainly have no confidence that a UK Government of any stripe can be trusted to use that windfall wisely. This measure is simply a short-termist one-off that will not tackle the fundamental problems.
Despite what some Members might believe, the finances and economics of the North sea have been precarious over the past few years. We will need oil and gas for years to come as fuel and feedstock as part of a transition. It may not fit the preferred narrative, but it is many of the energy companies operating in the North sea that are investing most heavily in the renewables revolution. To give an example, a couple of weeks ago, there was the announcement of the ScotWind round of investment. That is 25 GW of electrical power from the seabed around Scotland, which has brought £700 million up front for the Scottish Government. It will bring supply chain benefits, and once the projects are under way, there will be an ongoing revenue stream per megawatt-hour of energy generated. That is what can be done with the limited powers that the Scottish Government currently have. Would that we had had similar powers over oil and gas in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, we might have something to show for it.
If we are to reduce energy bills, we need to drive energy efficiency and reduce our CO2 emissions, and we need to recognise that the windfall tax will do nothing useful in that regard and will likely do great harm. It will sap confidence. It will destroy jobs in the North sea, and with that it will harm investment and damage the skills base and human capital we will be relying on for the renewables sector.
The UK Government have had a windfall of their own from these higher energy prices. They could use that to reduce consumer bills, cut VAT and restore the universal credit uplift that was so cruelly snatched away, and they could copy the Scottish Government’s £20 child payment. In the long term, they could use that windfall to decarbonise heating and industry, to improve the quality of housing and energy efficiency to reduce bills and, above all, to introduce a progressive tax and benefits system to embed social justice. That will not happen with a Conservative Government who are failing to move far enough and fast enough on energy transition and security. I am sorry to say that it certainly will not happen with a main Opposition who seem to prize headlines from short-term gimmicks over embracing the long-term principles that might actually address the problems of people’s household bills.
Storm Arwen: Power Outages
Richard Thomson Excerpts(3 years ago)
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Greg Hands
I stress that I am not apologising on behalf of the companies, but it is “up to three months”; I hope that it will be a lot quicker. Of course the Secretary of State and I will engage with the distribution network operators to make sure that it is done as quickly as possible. Ofgem is engaging with them as well.
Richard Thomson (Gordon) (SNP)
On the Minister’s visit to Aberdeenshire, he managed to visit Banff and Buchan, where he met the local MP, and west Aberdeenshire, where he met the local MP. As the Member for Gordon, I can only assume that my invitation must have been lost in the post somewhere.
When it comes to getting in military support, yes, it is for the local resilience partnerships to make the request, but as the Minister knows full well, a strict set of criteria has to be fulfilled before the request has a chance of being approved. As part of the review of this incident, will the Minister commit to looking at the criteria for military aid for the civilian authorities so that in any future event like this we stand a better chance of being able to deploy the military at an earlier stage, when they can arguably have the greatest impact?
Greg Hands
I am told that the hon. Gentleman’s office was informed that I was coming to Ellon in his constituency, but may I use this opportunity to thank the school in Ellon and particularly the local responders, the local resilience partnership and others who were there providing assistance? The local armed forces, 3 Scots, were there as well, providing really excellent help to the community.
Once the local resilience forum had called out, or said that it needed assistance, the response was incredibly fast: I think it took less than half a day to make that deployment. I talked to the military liaison officer in Aberdeen on Friday; she was absolutely clear that she is a keen member of the local resilience forum and as soon as the call went out, the response was extremely quick.
Richard Thomson
Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. There is an important distinction to be drawn between visiting a constituency and inviting the MP to join you. I wonder how I might be able to correct the record, as the Minister said something that does not seem to be exactly in accord with how arrangements were made.
Mr Speaker
This is becoming a political decision, which I do not want it to be. What I would say to Ministers is that, when they visit an affected constituency held by whichever political party, it is good order to see the MP, and it should not look like they are visiting the constituencies of just one political party. I am sure that would never happen and I am sure it will be resolved in future.
Storm Arwen
Richard Thomson Excerpts(3 years ago)
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Kwasi Kwarteng
I thank my hon. Friend for the tireless work that she and other Members, on both sides of the House, have put in to make sure that their constituents are being well represented and to tell us what exactly it is like on the ground. That is how this House of Commons should work and I am very proud of that.
My hon. Friend will know that we are talking with the local resilience fora about generators. The companies—in her case, Northern Powergrid—are making an effort to get generators out to affected communities, and I am getting a regular update on what has been happening in that respect. I am very happy to speak to her, as I am to other Members, about this emergency.
Richard Thomson (Gordon) (SNP)
Like other Members, could I add my own thanks for the resilience and fortitude of those who have been left without power for so long and the dedication of the engineers who have been getting them back on grid? I also thank everyone involved in the volunteer response and in the local resilience partnerships.
While the priority has to be about getting those who remain off-grid back on to an electrical supply and supporting those who are not on-grid at the moment as best we can, there will at some point be an examination of how things could have been done better. There is an issue about the resilience of our communication infrastructure as well as our power infrastructure, because broadband went down and mobile phone networks went down, which hindered in many respects, the ability of people to respond. Will the Secretary of State consider, as part of that, looking at the obligations placed upon not just power distribution companies, but telecommunications providers to provide a more secure and robust service in all circumstances, no matter how adverse they might be?
Kwasi Kwarteng
I wholeheartedly agree with what the hon. Gentleman has just said. It is very easy for us simply to come up with a statement and then hope that the problem goes away, but I have made a firm commitment, as we did, as I have said, on 9 August 2019, when there was a power outage and we spent a couple of months, if not longer, having a proper inquiry as to what went wrong. I am confident that a lot of the measures that we came up with then did provide resilience. It is exactly in that vein that I want to approach this very difficult situation. It will not be the case that we will simply walk away from it; we will be trying actively to learn lessons. We cannot abolish extreme weather—well, we can in the long run, but we cannot do it perhaps as quickly as we would like—but we can certainly learn lessons to build more resilience.
Oral Answers to Questions
Richard Thomson Excerpts(3 years, 1 month ago)
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Lee Rowley
My hon. Friend gives a brilliant example of where the support that is being provided by the Treasury and the Chancellor can, over the long term, ensure investment in plant and machinery and improvement in productivity across the country.
Richard Thomson (Gordon) (SNP)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Lee Rowley)
The Government continue to work with the UK steel sector, through the UK Steel Council, regular meetings and constant dialogue, to understand its decarbonisation plans, whether through electric arc, industrial carbon capture equipment or other emerging technologies such as hydrogen.
Richard Thomson
In contrast to Germany’s €3 billion hydrogen plan, there was no new funding announced in the recent Budget for clean steel projects. As 2023 is far too late, with primary steel plants accounting for 15% of UK CO2 emissions, will the Government now commit funding to clean steel projects similar to the ones we see in Germany and Sweden, or will steel communities be left standing by once again while European competitors get on with levelling up their industries?
Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (Coronavirus) (Amendment of Schedule 10) (No. 2) Regulations 2021
Richard Thomson Excerpts(3 years, 1 month ago)
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Seema Malhotra (Feltham and Heston) (Lab/Co-op)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Huq. May I thank the Minister for his opening remarks? I would be grateful to him if he could respond to some of my questions, either in response today or in writing. I want to know which business organisations the Minister spoke to before deciding to move forward with the tapering as it is and as proposed by the Government. How will he keep the measure under review? It is both an extension of some support and a withdrawal of other support in the way that it has been tapered, and I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Rhondda for the point he made in relation to that.
We believe that it is right to maintain restrictions on serving winding-up petitions under schedule 10 to the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020. It is vital that businesses that have sustained pressure during the last 18 months are supported right through to the end of the pandemic. We acknowledge and welcome the raised limit, and at least there is considerable protection for small businesses with debts below £10,000. That is important and is in line with the measures that we have called for since June, when other support was withdrawn, to ensure that there are effective ways to deal with debt through the period of recovery, so that we do not see the loss of viable businesses that are allowed to fail because of the impact of covid-19.
Let us face it: covid-19 is not over yet, and there is still uncertainty about what might happen going forward and whether there will be further restrictions. It is important that the Government make it clear to Parliament how there will be flexibility in relation to business support that will be in line with potentially changing health measures. In this context, the pressures facing businesses this winter must be taken into account as the Government keep the measure under review.
The challenges are numerous: rising energy prices, the Government’s supply chain crisis, price inflation and consumer confidence declining to its lowest level since April, compounded further by the Government’s cruel decision to cut universal credit for 6 million families. Why does that matter? Let me take my constituency as an example, with 18,000 households affected and £18 million coming out of the local economy—£18 million that would be spent largely in local shops. There is a relationship between the choices being made on cuts to universal credit and the support that there will be for small businesses as household income reduces, as people are able to spend less on looking after their families, which they do largely in community businesses.
This is a time when businesses should be experiencing their golden quarter—the quarter leading up to Christmas, when they can make the majority of their profits for the year in order to address the debt that they may have accrued during the periods before—but many businesses will still be fighting for their survival and having to respond to one crisis after another. I am sure that the Minister has received representations from affected businesses. I can state one example of a business that told me it had to refund £8,000-worth of customer purchases a month ago because the goods were not going to arrive due to the supply chain crisis.
This is affecting businesses up and down the country. The last two quarters have also seen more than 100,000 business deaths in each quarter—more than in any other subsequent quarters in the recent past. Without a more robust response, quarter 4 of 2021 and quarter 1 of next year will be worse. Against this backdrop, it is no wonder that business groups, including the Federation of Small Businesses, have warned of falling business confidence. The cash liquidity crisis, which is also facing various sectors of the economy, from aviation to retail and leisure, will continue well into 2022. It is important for us not to just assume and want to believe that things were suddenly magically better from July onwards, because a lot of the uncertainty remains.
That brings us to the extension of the restrictions, even with the tapering, which we do support, as we did last month with the extensions that we debated then. First, with regard to the two-day gap that was created by the initial version of this instrument, how many businesses were issued with winding-up orders on 29 and 30 September? Does the Minister have those figures? Will those businesses now benefit from the protections that they should have had?
Last time, we also noted our concern that the Government were legislating for businesses to be protected from eviction but not rent-induced liquidation. The Minister then spoke of legislation being introduced to support the resolution of commercial rent arrears for tenants that were affected by the restrictions during the pandemic. What is the status of that? Rent debt will remain an anvil around the necks of many businesses, particularly those in the hospitality and retail sectors, which have been impacted—sometimes most—by the pandemic.
That can also be the case in areas of tourism that were very significantly impacted. Some of that picked up this summer, but aviation has seen a very stuttering recovery. In relation to the aviation supply chain across the country, which includes hundreds of thousands of businesses, the Minister will know that there is still huge uncertainty as international travel and even domestic travel are still recovering. It is estimated that the hospitality sector alone is facing billions of pounds of rent debt.
Therefore, when it comes to lifting the measure of support, along with the business rate and VAT reductions and the eviction restrictions, much of which will happen in March, this could well lead to a real risk of a cliff-edge scenario for businesses, particularly those that have been hit hardest by the pandemic and are not in those sectors that are recovering more quickly. The tail of the recovery is set to continue well into next year and even the year after, so what assessment is being made of what the additional support might be and how that can be tailored to deal with the slower recovery of particular sectors?
Will the Minister also provide an update on the arbitration process that, I think, has been brought forward? On the detail of that in relation to rent arrears, I would be grateful for an update.
I will express just a few concerns about today’s SI. The legislation note describes the process, which the Minister outlined, of notice needing to be given, 21 days of consultation, and allowing a response from the debtor to then be taken into account. What happens if, unreasonably, the creditor does not wish to accept the proposal? Would that then be for the courts to decide? Could any court fees then be payable? If the debtor does not win the case against them, will they then be having to pay court fees as well? Perhaps the Minister can provide clarification, because I am not sure of the detail of that.
Could the Minister clarify one point? If the 21 days begins just a few days before the measures are due to end in March of next year, what does that mean for any of the disagreements going through between a creditor and a debtor? Will the 21 days that might start before the end of these provisions continue with those rights secured?
People may be concerned about their business, which might otherwise be viable but has been hit by covid and the continuing uncertainty over recovery. What are the Government doing to ensure that those who are concerned about the ending of the temporary insolvency measures seek effective early advice? I agree with R3 that businesses that seek advice early often have the best options open to them and the best advice to make decisions about their next steps. That often results in a more favourable outcome than if those businesses had waited and let problems spiral. What are the Government doing to make businesses aware of such advice? That may mean the involvement of grassroots business organisations.
If the Government are forced to introduce new measures this winter as a result of a health crisis that restricts business operations, will they review those measures and amend them as required? At a time when businesses need us most, the House should focus on how we support businesses not just to survive but to recover and thrive. They will be looking to us to make sure that support is not removed from businesses prematurely. That would have a catastrophic impact on businesses, high streets and communities across the country.
Richard Thomson (Gordon) (SNP)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Huq.
The Scottish National party is happy to support the regulations but with a note of caution. If we allow a company to continue to trade in the circumstances outlined, we must be mindful of the potential impact that may have down the line on the cash flow of other companies that are not protected and may find their own position weakened. It is also important to recognise the limitations of the insolvency Act, because of itself it does very little to support indebted firms to insulate themselves from the impact of rising prices elsewhere in the economy, particularly in the months ahead. It is certainly no substitute in economic terms for the stimulation of overall aggregate demand and finding ways to reduce business outgoings in other ways.
I will be brief because there is a much, much bigger economic event happening later today, and I am certain that there are at least one or two dots and commas that have not been pre-trailed to the press that we will all be desperate to find out about. I wait in hope rather than in any great expectation, but we will see what develops. What the Chancellor should be doing is delivering the full £350 billion of coronavirus business interruption loan scheme support to the businesses that need it. That needs to happen. For those businesses that are in genuine difficulty those loans should be converted to grants. If the Chancellor does that this afternoon, he may find that the measures in the regulations before us this morning will be needed much less frequently than they might otherwise be in the months ahead. But those months are bound to be extremely difficult on a number of fronts for families, individuals and businesses.
Chris Bryant (Rhondda) (Lab)
I thought the Minister started admirably with the first half of his first sentence, when he said that it was a delight to sit under your chairmanship, Dr Huq. It then went all horribly wrong.
Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (Coronavirus) (Amendment of Schedule 10) (No. 2) Regulations 2021
Richard Thomson Excerpts(3 years, 1 month ago)
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Richard Thomson (Gordon) (SNP)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Huq.
The Scottish National party is happy to support the regulations but with a note of caution. If we allow a company to continue to trade in the circumstances outlined, we must be mindful of the potential impact that may have down the line on the cash flow of other companies that are not protected and may find their own position weakened. It is also important to recognise the limitations of the insolvency Act, because of itself it does very little to support indebted firms to insulate themselves from the impact of rising prices elsewhere in the economy, particularly in the months ahead. It is certainly no substitute in economic terms for the stimulation of overall aggregate demand and finding ways to reduce business outgoings in other ways.
I will be brief because there is a much, much bigger economic event happening later today, and I am certain that there are at least one or two dots and commas that have not been pre-trailed to the press that we will all be desperate to find out about. I wait in hope rather than in any great expectation, but we will see what develops. What the Chancellor should be doing is delivering the full £350 billion of coronavirus business interruption loan scheme support to the businesses that need it. That needs to happen. For those businesses that are in genuine difficulty those loans should be converted to grants. If the Chancellor does that this afternoon, he may find that the measures in the regulations before us this morning will be needed much less frequently than they might otherwise be in the months ahead. But those months are bound to be extremely difficult on a number of fronts for families, individuals and businesses.
Energy White Paper
Richard Thomson Excerpts(4 years ago)
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Alok Sharma
My right hon. Friend is, I know, a great champion for renewables, and, indeed, for his own constituency, and he will know that I very much agree with him. Marine renewables is a technology that very much excites me. He will have seen that we recently held a call for evidence on the potential of marine energy projects, and that we have also announced the ambition of 1 GW of floating wind by 2030, supported by CFDs and innovative funding. I suggest that if there are particular projects that he thinks are viable in his constituency, he should point them in the direction of the CFD auction process when it takes place next year.
Richard Thomson (Gordon) (SNP)
It is absolutely crucial that we achieve transition to net zero, and that that transition is just. There can be no just transition to net zero without the skills and expertise in human capital in the North sea oil and gas industry. An essential component of that will be securing a sector deal between Government and the industry. Can the Secretary of State tell us when he expects to be able to announce the successful conclusion of sector deal negotiations with the industry?
Alok Sharma
The Minister for Business, Energy and Clean Growth and I have a regular dialogue with the sector and, of course, I am fully aware of the importance of oil and gas as an employer in Scotland and, indeed, across the whole of the UK. I can tell the hon. Gentleman that, in November, we received a formal proposal from industry for a deal, and we will now move into negotiations with the sector. On timing, we aim to complete the negotiations and publish that in Q1 next year.
SMEs and the Net Zero Target
Richard Thomson Excerpts(4 years, 1 month ago)
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Richard Thomson (Gordon) (SNP)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Ghani. I congratulate the hon. Member for Thirsk and Malton (Kevin Hollinrake) on securing the debate and commend him for the work that he does through the all-party parliamentary group.
The hon. Gentleman made a number of points about the importance of innovation in the role of banking. In the aftermath of the 2008 banking crash, a number of banks looked to rebalance their balance sheets off the back of their SME clients, and we must make absolutely sure that does not happen in the aftermath of this crisis.
The pressures on SMEs and the difficulties in ensuring they play a full part in the pursuit of the goal of net zero are well understood. The goal of many SMEs will understandably be to ensure their survival, often week to week and month to month, rather than to focus on the wider goal of net zero.
There are two roles for the Government, the first of which is to help to ensure that the businesses are still there and to help them to transform through the legislative environment, as well as facilitating change and innovation through grants and investment. On ensuring that businesses are still there, it is unfortunate that, even with the extension of the furlough, the owners of so many SMEs find themselves on the list of the excluded—those remunerated through dividends. That sends out a poor message that we are not helping them to do what they do best and grow their businesses and position them for recovery. The Minister needs to hear that, and although I am sure he has heard it many times, I make no apology for repeating it. I wish him strength in making that argument where it needs to be made.
The other role for the Government is in helping businesses to transform. It will help if there are no cliff-edges and no surprises. The Government have intervened through the bounce back loan scheme and the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme. The hon. Member for Thirsk and Malton spoke of the difficulties that businesses in his constituency faced, particularly if they operate through non-traditional lenders, in accessing CBILS and BBLS. A number of businesses in my constituency face the same difficulties and needless obstruction to what was intended by the schemes.
Croydon Council was mentioned, not necessarily in dispatches, but let me speak up for the role of local authorities. As a former council co-leader, one of the things of which I was proudest was being the first authority in the UK to introduce a carbon budget, which stood alongside the revenue budget and the capital budget so that decisions could be taken on an equal footing. What became very apparent very quickly was the difficulty, once the low-hanging fruit had gone, with some of the decisions that had to be taken to make progress and operate within the resource envelope. That was in the context of an annual revenue budget of £500 million and a capital budget of £100 million, so the difficulties for SMEs are well understood.
We have heard points made about the shared prosperity fund. I could have a debate all to myself about the bumpiness and uncertainty around devolved funding at the moment. I will not go down that particular rabbit hole at this point, except to say that it helps if there is clarity on investments and no cliff edges from the Government. That will enable the making of strategic, tailored decisions to get us to our goal.
To draw my remarks to a close, the Scottish Government have their own programme for Government, which has strategic, targeted aims to embed generational equality and regional prosperity. A part of that is about investing £100 million in a new green jobs fund over the next five years to support businesses to provide sustainable and/or low carbon products, and a £60 million youth guarantee to provide increased opportunities for green apprenticeships. That is on top of the investment that needs to go into broadband. The £600 million R100 programme will bring broadband to all parts of Scotland, which will be of particular benefit in helping SMEs in rural areas to survive and thrive, and there is also the investment of £62 million in the energy sector. Many companies, big and small, in the oil and gas sector have an enormous role to play in the big strategic transition that we need to meet, and that is important.
To wrap up, it is imperative that the Government prioritise the SME sector. We need sector-specific roadmaps with clear goals and deadlines. We need to extend the mandate for British business banks’ support for SMEs making the transition, and make specific provision for SMEs in the shared prosperity fund. We need a more expansionary fiscal policy to support SMEs, and we need to encourage the diversity of supplies to SMEs.
Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Departmental Spending
Richard Thomson Excerpts(4 years, 5 months ago)
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Richard Thomson (Gordon) (SNP)
It is vitally important that we recognise that not every business, not every sector and not every area will recover at the same rate. It is vitally important that support is not removed prematurely or arbitrarily. That is as true for individuals who furlough under the self-employment income support scheme as it is for businesses themselves.
As something approaching normality returns as lockdown eases, we must allow the returning demand in the economy to do whatever it can, but some things are too important to be left entirely to market forces. That means that we will need Governments across these islands to target investment and support. That means, as the right hon. Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd (Liz Saville Roberts) said, a VAT cut to boost the tourism sector. It means converting loans into grants and perhaps the Government taking equity stakes in key strategic sectors.
In the remaining time I have, let me say there is no more strategically important sector to this country than the North sea in terms of the billions it generates for the Treasury, whether that is through the petroleum revenue taxes or through the economic activity that it generates elsewhere. It is on the brink of thousands of job losses. The Scottish Government have already invested £62 million in an energy transition deal. We need the UK Government to match that ambition and invest that money. There is no route to net zero without harnessing the expertise of that sector. Time, just as it is for me in this debate, is running out for something to happen. The UK Government must act, in congress with the industry and very swiftly.
Business and Planning Bill
Richard Thomson ExcerptsMonday 29th June 2020
(4 years, 5 months ago)
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Richard Thomson (Gordon) (SNP)
May I take this opportunity to warmly congratulate the hon. Member for South Ribble (Katherine Fletcher) on her fantastic maiden speech? The Business and Planning Bill was perhaps not the most auspicious starting point for a maiden speech, but she gave us an industrial, geological and historical tour de force of the constituency. She follows a distinguished predecessor in her constituency, and I am sure I will not be alone in saying that I look forward to hearing more from her throughout this Parliament.
I will keep my remarks comparatively brief, as the Bill only really affects Scotland in respect of three clauses: clauses 12, 13 and 14. However, it would be remiss of me to miss the opportunity to say, on some of the licensing aspects, that the picture painted by the Minister of pavement cafés opening up the length and breadth of England presented a very—what’s the word?—European picture of England, which my party certainly, and I am sure others too, very much looks forward to seeing.
I turn to clauses 12, 13 and 14. The changes in the Consumer Credit Act are welcome. I hope that they lead to more instances of loans being given to the businesses that require them. I must say, though, that I am somewhat sceptical that that will lead to the transfer of cash that we need in that respect. The right hon. Member for Doncaster North (Edward Miliband) was absolutely right that we are really only at the start of our response to this crisis, and we are going to have to revisit this.
It is extraordinary that we have not heard from the Chancellor about his coming back to deliver what should be an emergency Budget. Much more still needs to be done as the crisis and our response to it evolve. In that respect, I very much commend the 10-point plan announced earlier today by Scotland’s First Minister, who talked about a major fiscal stimulus for the economy, VAT reductions for hospitality, investment in low carbon and digital, and of course changes to increase flexibility in the Scottish fiscal framework.
I will now deal with the other clauses that affect legislation in Scotland. The changes to the Road Traffic Act 1988 regarding driving licences and vehicle certifications are reasonable, proportionate and risk based, and we support them. It would be sensible to keep those measures under regular review, along with other aspects of the Bill. However, I make this plea to the Minister: we must return to the status quo ante as soon as reasonably possible, once it is possible to clear the backlog of testing of drivers’ continued fitness to drive and of vehicles themselves.
The Bill is a narrow one and a necessary one, but what we should really be hearing about is the emergency Budget that we need as we plot our way out of this crisis economically.
Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)
I call Paul Howell to make his maiden speech.