Christmas Adjournment

Robbie Moore Excerpts

Thursday 19th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Robbie Moore (Keighley and Ilkley) (Con)]

I often think of our role as place-makers, problem solvers and great representatives of our constituencies, and on that basis, I say a huge thank you to all of my constituents for re-electing me. There is loads of fuel in the tank to keep me going in representing the mighty constituency of Keighley and Ilkley with great enthusiasm and energy. I reaffirm my commitment to doing my very best as their local champion.

Of course, place-making is all about driving local growth within our communities. That is why I want to go through some of the key projects across my constituency that I am honoured to be working on. A lot of this work comes on the back of money from the last Conservative Administration, who allocated and ringfenced £33.6 million specifically to Keighley through the Keighley towns fund. This funding is aimed at driving growth by using public sector money to try to drive private investment into the centre of Keighley.

One of those great projects is Providence Park, which is due to open early next year. Next door to that, we have Keighley train station, which has just benefited from a £9 million funding allocation. Further along the same road, Keighley fire station is undergoing development. We also have a new skills hub, a new manufacturing, engineering and tech hub, and a new health and wellbeing hub coming down the line shortly. That is not to mention our mighty Keighley Cougars, to which the last Conservative Administration allocated £2 million to regenerate the stands for the benefit of fans. Haworth village hall is benefiting from money to make sure that our community groups can continue their range of activities. Keighley central hall is also benefiting from money. The building of a new sixth-form college has also been announced. I urge the Government to stick to this plan, as I know it is currently under review. We need this new sixth-form college, announced by the last Conservative Administration, to be completed.

Madam Deputy Speaker, your constituents will also benefit from our new Airedale hospital, which is a huge achievement. From the moment I was elected in 2019, I campaigned tirelessly for ringfenced money to get our new hospital built, and I am very pleased that work is under way.

We also have the city of culture—or, as I like to call it, the district of culture—coming to the Bradford district. It is incredibly important that Keighley, Ilkley, Silsden and the Worth valley all benefit from the money that is coming to the Bradford district.

I also say a huge thank you to our small businesses. I hold small business awards every year, and I am incredibly grateful to everyone in my constituency who nominated our mighty small businesses. I am very pleased to say that this year’s winners were: Within the Wood, from the Worth valley; Clara’s Closet, from Keighley; Raymond Town Menswear, from Ilkley; and Isherwood’s butchers, from Silsden, which won our overall small business award. Thank you to those small businesses that keep our local economy going, and to all those who shop local.

Before closing, I would like to say that I was very saddened to learn of the death of an individual who worked tirelessly as chair of the Keighley towns fund. Unfortunately, Ian Hayfield passed away just a couple of days ago, and I want to put on record my incredible thanks for his tireless energy in driving positive growth in Keighley. I am sure everyone in Keighley will want to do the same.

I thank everyone in my constituency for their efforts in the run-up to Christmas, and I wish all Members a very happy Christmas.

Farming and Inheritance Tax

Robbie Moore Excerpts

Wednesday 4th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Robbie Moore (Keighley and Ilkley) (Con)]

This morning, ordinary farming families across all four corners of our United Kingdom will be waking up to another day of hard graft. If it is anything like my upbringing, the kids will be out early helping their parents feed the livestock, dad might be milking the cows or perhaps out crop-walking with the agronomist, rightly concerned about the impact of recent wet weather, and mum will no doubt be battling the elements, keeping the whole operation running smoothly and somehow still finding time to make sure everyone has their wellies on the right feet.

Anyone with experience of rural life understands all too well the constant struggle of keeping a family farm afloat. It is tough work—long hours, barely any room to breathe and a financial struggle for many. As I have said many times in this House, our farming families are not multimillionaires; many will be striving to make a profit, but a lot of our families will not be, with many of our farmers earning less than the minimum wage. But today these farmers will also be waking up with the crushing reality that they now face losing everything they have ever worked for—everything that their mum or dad or the generations before them worked for—all because of this Labour Government’s disastrous farm tax.

I have spoken to hundreds of farmers in the days since the Budget, as have the shadow Secretary of State and many colleagues sat behind me, and we have learned that Labour’s catastrophic Budget really is an anxiety that very few farmers were ready for. We have heard about many of their concerns in the debate. My hon. Friend the Member for Weald of Kent (Katie Lam) spoke about those, such as Ross in her constituency, who may have ill health and other challenging circumstances, who do not have time to plan.

My right hon. Friend the Member for Braintree (Mr Cleverly) talked about farming accountants raising incredibly distressing calls from farmers. My hon. Friend the Member for Bridlington and The Wolds (Charlie Dewhirst) and my right hon. Friend the Member for Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge (Sir Gavin Williamson) raised the impact on the wider rural economy and the whole of the UK production sector. My hon. Friend the Member for North Cotswolds (Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown) and my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Wiltshire (Dr Murrison) rightly mentioned the challenges the whole Budget will have on our farming, including the dire consequences of employer national insurance.

My hon. Friends the Member for Mid Norfolk (George Freeman) and for Broxbourne (Lewis Cocking) rightly highlighted the concerns of family farms that will have been in the family for many generations facing being split up. My hon. Friend the Member for Gordon and Buchan (Harriet Cross) and my right hon. Friend the Member for Salisbury (John Glen) rightly challenged the Government’s own data and figures and lack of understanding of values.

But the core issue is that this is all about trust. Before the general election, Labour looked our farmers in the eye and told them continually that there would be no changes to inheritance tax. Indeed, the hon. Member for High Peak (Jon Pearce) even at a hustings before the general election classified this as Conservative scaremongering, and many Labour MPs now sitting opposite proudly stood with placards saying they would back British farming. Yet here we are, 35 days after Labour introduced the family farm tax and 15 days after thousands of family farmers rallied in London, and there is not a shred of contrition from the Ministers sitting opposite—not even the slightest bit of empathy for those ordinary farming families who know the value of their businesses and who have looked at the detail and have been hit hard by Labour’s family farm tax—and that is because their level of arrogance is stark, as we have seen in this debate.

The hon. Members for Ribble Valley (Maya Ellis), for Peterborough (Andrew Pakes) and for Forest of Dean (Matt Bishop) could not even mention one farmer in their constituency who supported this policy. The hon. Member for North East Derbyshire (Louise Jones) seems to be convinced that this will impact only the wealthiest. The hon. Member for Hexham (Joe Morris), who I believe is not in his place, and the hon. Member for North Northumberland (David Smith) both say they have engaged with their farmers and heard their views, but then failed to mention anything in support of scrapping Labour’s disastrous family farm tax. No wonder their farmers are up in arms.

The hon. Member for Bassetlaw (Jo White) turned up but failed to mention anything about inheritance tax relief. And the hon. Member for Penrith and Solway (Markus Campbell-Savours) rightly highlighted Labour’s broken promises. I pay tribute to him for mentioning it, but will he have the courage to commit, to back our farmers and to vote with us for scrapping Labour’s family farm tax?

The hon. Member for Rugby (John Slinger) spoke, made no reference at all to inheritance tax, but did mention the Budget. I can tell him that after the Budget, in one single week ending 8 November, 1,022 companies filed to shut down. I also point out that we saw 1.1 million more businesses between 2010 and 2023. The NFU, the CLA, the TFA and farming organisations up and down the UK say that Labour’s Budget will tear apart British farming, UK food production and our domestic food security agenda. The Central Association of Agricultural Valuers, whose members’ job it is to determine the value of farms, says that the Government have got their figures completely wrong. Those very same tax experts who the farming Minister rolled out in defence of this policy just a few weeks ago have now gone on to criticise it.

The Government are looking incredibly isolated. Public support for this policy has been wiped out since it was announced, leaving Labour MPs as its only defenders. Up to now, they have all failed to publicly call out our city-dwelling Prime Minister and Chancellor’s callous Budget. Now, we have even had the Exchequer Secretary, the hon. Member for Ealing North (James Murray) being wheeled out to open this debate, as the Government’s last remaining hope to try to defend this disastrous attack on our farming families. The Government have lost the experts, they have lost the industry and it now seems they have lost their own Secretary of State from the Front Bench—it is great to see that he has just walked into this debate and turned up—and it is weak and embarrassing.

[Sarah Dyke (Glastonbury and Somerton) (LD)]

The shadow Minister says that Labour Members do not know any farmers—I do. I am proudly a sixth-generation farmer’s daughter. My brother still farms, but for how much longer I do not know. My dad died exactly a year ago today. My mum is a partner in the business, and she is now 81. My brother is not married and he lives in a rather lovely farmhouse, but we do not know for how much longer that will be. He is worried about his farm. He is worried that he will be the one to close the gates for the very last time. Does the shadow Minister agree that we must move to a compromise, a transition and a clawback mechanism? Let us look to incentivise our farmers, rather than this punitive tax.

[Robbie Moore]

The hon. Member highlights the devastating consequences that Labour’s Budget will have on our family farms.

Many questions remain unanswered, so with the opportunity of Treasury and DEFRA Ministers sat side-by-side, I will put a few to them. First, if this is a unified Government, why did the Treasury tell DEFRA about this policy only the night before the Budget? Secondly, why did Ministers not take into account claimants of BPR in the limited datasets they have released? I am happy to give way to the farming Minister if he wants to answer that specific point, because he has not answered it to date. Thirdly, why do the Government believe it unnecessary to take into account the size of family farming businesses when determining the impact of their £1 million cap on agricultural property relief and business property relief? Finally, for the sixth time of asking in this place, why has no detailed economic impact assessment for this policy ever been produced?

Our position is clear: we back our British farmers, and the Conservative party will reverse this family farm tax. That is exactly why we will force this vote today, but we cannot do it alone. I therefore conclude by reaching out to Labour MPs across the Chamber. I know there are some sitting behind the Front Bench who have first-hand experience of rural life, who understand the consequences of this family farm tax and who are saying in private that the Government have got this terribly wrong. I say to those Members that it is not too late to save our farming families from this cruel farm tax and from those faceless multinational corporations that will no doubt sweep up any land that is forced to be sold as a result of this policy. It is not too late to join our British farmers, many farming organisations across the UK and the tens of thousands of farmers who were in Whitehall just a few weeks ago. Many Labour Members committed to back British farming before they entered this place, and now is their chance to prove it.

British farmers are watching, and Labour MPs have a clear choice either to back British farming and scrap this catastrophic tax or to put party politics before the voices of their constituents and farmers. I urge everyone in the House to do the right thing: to put British farmers first and vote against Labour’s family farm tax.

Winter Fuel Payment

Robbie Moore Excerpts

Tuesday 10th September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Robbie Moore (Keighley and Ilkley) (Con)]

I rise to voice my strong opposition to the Labour Government’s cruel choice to scrap the winter fuel allowance for an estimated 10 million pensioners across the country. I have been contacted by hundreds of pensioners in my constituency who are all incredibly concerned about the dire consequences of this Government’s decision. I met many of them in surgeries and at Keighley agricultural show this weekend, and they are telling me that they are going to struggle to pay their bills this winter. Statistics show that just over 64,000 pensioners across the Bradford district, including 20,000 in my constituency, will be negatively impacted as a result of the Labour Government’s decision. That, quite frankly, is a disgrace.

Citizens Advice, Age UK and hundreds of charities across the UK have also come out against these proposals, warning that low-income households that are already struggling to make ends meet will be forced this winter into impossible choices between heating their homes or putting food on the table. It is incredibly disappointing to see the hon. Member for Shipley (Anna Dixon) from the Bradford district, vote with the Government this evening, ensuring that she does not stand up for the wider Bradford district, as I will be doing.

It is Labour’s choice that we are putting pensioners at risk as a result of this decision, and Labour’s choice that is putting my constituents, pensioners who are vulnerable, in the dire position of having to decide whether they heat their homes or put food on the table this winter. I only hope that quick changes will be made to ensure that pensioners are looked after in the run-up to winter.

Public Spending: Inheritance

Robbie Moore Excerpts

Monday 29th July 2024 Commons Chamber

[Rachel Reeves]

I know how hard our teachers, doctors, nurses, armed forces, police officers and prison guards work to keep us all safe, healthy and educated. They deserve the pay awards that we have announced today. It was the independent pay review bodies that recommended those pay increases. It would be extraordinary not to honour them, and we have done so today.

[Robbie Moore (Keighley and Ilkley) (Con)]

May I welcome you to the Chair, Madam Deputy Speaker? During the general election campaign, the now new Health Secretary and the local Labour party in Keighley and Ilkley told my constituents that they were fully committed to delivering the full rebuild of the Airedale hospital—one of those hospitals that struggles with aerated concrete—following my efforts to secure the full funds. With millions of pounds being spent on the project and works well under way, can I seek reassurance from the Chancellor that this new Labour Government will not deny my constituents their right to a full rebuild of Airedale hospital?

[Rachel Reeves]

The hon. Gentleman says he secured the funds, but he did not; the money was not there. That is why I am having to make this statement today. I share his frustration and anger, but it should be with the previous Government, who did not fund these schemes.

Financial Services Reforms

Robbie Moore Excerpts

Tuesday 11th July 2023 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Griffith]

The Government Actuary’s Department is the source of those figures, which we published this morning—I draw the hon. Lady’s attention to that fact. Clearly, there are a number of assumptions within that. I do not think it is right to be sceptical. These are reforms that have been formed with wide consultation, including from across the House. I hope that we can form a growing consensus so that the industry receives a signal from this place that it is ultimately time to stop talking and to get on with investing. That is the outcome that we seek.

[Robbie Moore (Keighley) (Con)]

I welcome the statement, particularly the aim to unlock assets in the local government pension scheme through an acceleration of pooling with the aim of doubling existing investments in private equity to 10%, which could unlock £25 billion by 2030. Does the Economic Secretary agree that the reforms are a welcome step to improve our growth prospects and boost investments?

[Andrew Griffith]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. The local government pension scheme is a huge opportunity for this country. In many cases, it is already very progressive. It is investing in local opportunities and allocating its capital to the sort of private growth assets that we wish to seek. With £365 billion under management, an increased rate of progress towards asset pooling, which, as the Government have made clear, should attract at least £50 billion, will provide the scale to invest well on behalf of beneficiaries. That is a great opportunity for us all.

Council Tax and Stamp Duty Alternatives

Robbie Moore Excerpts

Wednesday 17th May 2023 Westminster Hall

[Robbie Moore (Keighley) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Harris. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Barrow and Furness (Simon Fell) for securing this important debate. Like other hon. Members, I feel that council tax needs to be reformed, but I want to limit my contribution to the nuanced empty homes premium that exists in the current council tax structure, which is unfairly disadvantaging many of my constituents in Keighley and Ilkley and many people across the country.

Since 2013, local authorities in England have had discretionary powers to charge additional council tax on properties that are unfurnished for two years or more, with more tax being charged the longer the property is unfurnished. In my constituency, Bradford council charges 200% after two years, which rises to 300% after 10 years. The policy might have been introduced for all the right reasons at the time: discouraging individuals from banking multiple properties, and encouraging empty homes to be brought back into the fold. However, that tax hike has had unintended consequences.

As the housing market is being squeezed and young families struggle to get on the housing ladder, that additional tax on home buyers—particularly on young families who might want to buy an empty property, renovate it and do it up, but are unable to do so in the two years of free time that they have before the 200% kicks in—makes it unachievable. When many are struggling to get builders and contractors in, and might find difficulties because the home is not in the condition they thought it would be in and they have to make it adequate and fit to live in, the 200% increase through the empty homes premium is having a negative impact on the many householders who want to do up their properties.

There is also an impact when individuals want to sell a property but cannot sell it within the period of time that the home is vacant. The Treasury has indicated that that is something that it is likely to review; the levelling-up White Paper is also looking at reviewing it. My plea to the Minister is that he look at the negative consequences of the empty homes premium when carrying out a further report.

Oral Answers to Questions

Robbie Moore Excerpts

Tuesday 21st March 2023 Commons Chamber

[John Glen]

As the Prime Minister said just last week,

“the Mayor of London should listen to the voices of commuters, families”—

including many of my hon. Friend’s constituents—

“and small businesses as he inflicts his…tax on them.”—[Official Report, 15 March 2023; Vol. 729, c. 832.]

As the House has just heard, our Budget last week supported hard-pressed motorists by cancelling the planned increase of about 11p in fuel duty, saving drivers about £5 billion this year.

[Robbie Moore (Keighley) (Con)]

3. What fiscal steps he is taking to support businesses with the cost of energy.

[Julian Sturdy (York Outer) (Con)]

6. What fiscal steps he is taking to support businesses with the cost of energy.

[The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Jeremy Hunt)]

The Government have provided unprecedented support to help households and businesses with energy costs, totalling £94 billion for households and £8 billion for businesses. That is more than £100 billion over 2022 and 2023.

[Robbie Moore]

One of my local foundry businesses based in Keighley, Leach & Thompson, has kindly contacted me to say that British Gas wants to charge it £41.50 a day as a standing charge and that its unit rate has doubled. That is having a dramatic impact on the business. The Government have helped with the unit charge, but will the Chancellor outline what steps he is taking to help support small and medium-sized businesses with the extortionate standing charges being quoted by energy companies?

[Jeremy Hunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue, which I know is shared by many Members across the House. That is why on 9 January I wrote to Ofgem asking it to update me on its investigation into the business market, which is not a regulated market like the consumer market. It has replied saying that it has concerns. It is concerned about significant changes in standing charges, about an increasing number of suppliers asking for security deposits and raising the cost of those deposits, and about potential breaches of the rules of the energy bill relief scheme. It will get back to me with its solutions as soon as possible.

Autumn Statement

Robbie Moore Excerpts

Thursday 17th November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Jeremy Hunt]

The hon. Lady is right to raise those concerns. Flexibility on council tax is only part of the way we are funding the £4.7 billion increase in the social care budget. Part of it is coming from the delay in the Dilnot reforms, and part of it—£1 billion and then £1.7 billion—is coming from central Government coffers. We recognise those concerns. This package is designed in its entirety to give maximum possible support to the most vulnerable people, and I hope it will be welcomed in her constituency.

[Robbie Moore (Keighley) (Con)]

Last week I met residents of Moor Help in Long Lee, attended a coffee morning to speak with constituents in Silsden town hall, met Ilkley Good Neighbours, and had several constituency meetings in Keighley. All were asking me for the pensions triple lock to be protected, so I thank the Chancellor on their behalf. Will he confirm that by protecting pensioners with the triple lock, the Government will be providing the biggest ever cash increase to the state pension?

[Jeremy Hunt]

I absolutely confirm that, and it was the right thing to do. We are also giving lots of other help to pensioners, including £500 off their fuel bills on average across the country, and an extra payment of £300 for all pensioner households to help with cost of living pressures next year. That is on top of existing help such as the winter fuel payment.

Taxation: Silage Film

Robbie Moore Excerpts

Tuesday 18th January 2022 Westminster Hall

[Nigel Mills (Amber Valley) (Con)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered taxation of silage film.

I am grateful for the chance to raise these issues in debate. Before we begin, I am not seeking to question or doubt the merits of the plastic packaging tax, which I fully support, along with all efforts to make sure that as much plastic as possible that we use is recycled. My concern is shared by many colleagues, plastic manufacturers and farming industries: guidance was—I could say sneaked out—released by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs just before Christmas, and unexpectedly added silage film to the list of items caught by that tax. That was not a position that anyone expected. Industries had not prepared for that, and the costs will fall directly on farmers at a very difficult time for them.

My interest in this stems both from the fact that there is a collection of farmers in Amber Valley who use silage film and from the fact that I have a large employer who uses recycled plastic pellet to make, among other things, refuse sacks for the NHS and damp-proof membrane for construction products. The irony of the situation is that, in the years in which I have been an MP, the main problem that that business has had is securing enough plastic to wash at a different plant and recycle so that it can use it in its production process. The best source of plastic that it can get is silage film, which is being exported illegally as clean waste around the world, rather than being washed and recycled at home. Our enforcement bodies were not enforcing the law that was in place, so we are in a rather strange situation. The industry has been investing, and has been keen to recycle the film for years, and if we ended up by accident with a new tax that the Government introduced to try to encourage more plastic recycling it would stop the recycling of that film so we would end up in a worse position. I am sure that that is not what the Government intended.

I have four arguments for the Minister as to why the HMRC guidance should be corrected or withdrawn before 1 April. First, the primary purpose of silage film is not packaging—it is to ensure that harvested grass can be fermented into silage. Secondly, the purpose of the plastic packaging tax is to encourage the use of recycled material and increase the recycling of plastic material. Extending the charge to silage film will not generate more use of recycled material in the film, and will lead to less recycling of the film that is used. Thirdly, I am not sure that silage film falls within the definition of the measures that were introduced in the Finance Act 2021, so the guidance is incorrect and inconsistent with the law. Fourthly, I contend that this is seriously damaging for our farming industry at a difficult time, and would reduce its competitiveness against international rivals. All of those cases are strong reasons why the guidance, which appears to be out of sync with what had been planned, should be withdrawn.

The first case I should like to make is about the primary purpose of the silage film. I would not claim to be an expert on silage or its creation, but the information that I have had from the National Farmers Union, for which I am grateful, and from other farming bodies, is that the film is very specialised. It is very thin. Generally, contractors go on to farms and, in simple terms, mow the grass and wrap it in film so that is airtight and watertight, so that fermentation can take place and produce silage to feed animals through the winter. If that film is not airtight and watertight, the grass will rot and cannot be fed to animals. That is quite a technical process and the film is an expensive and highly specialised product. It cannot be any old plastic: it has to be a very thin film that is air and watertight, and that can survive being used to wrap on a farm in those conditions, rather than in a nice, safe factory setting.

The main aim of using that film is not simple wrapping or packaging to store the grass; there is a much greater purpose of converting the grass into something that can be used to feed animals through the winter. If that plastic does not fulfil that purpose, there will be no food for animals and we will have to import soya or other foods from around the world to get them through the winter.

[Robbie Moore (Keighley) (Con)]

I should declare that while I am not one, my family are farmers and have a plastic recycling business. I want to pick up on the point that my hon. Friend is eloquently making about the nub of the issue: silage wrap should not be classed as packaging but is integral to the grass fermentation process to make silage. Does he agree that our colleagues at the Treasury need to realise this very fine point so that legislation and taxation can be addressed accordingly?

[Nigel Mills]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for making that point, with which I entirely agree. It is not a point that the Government have ever challenged in the past. Only last year, the Environment Agency published a paper on the positions and technical interpretations in respect of responsibility for packaging. On page 31, the document accepts that the primary function of silage wrap is producing the product. I accept that it is a different Government Department, but it has accepted that the primary function of silage wrap is to produce silage, not to package, store or protect it. The Minister may argue that that is a different Department and that it is not Treasury policy, but we are trying, on a cross-Government basis, to reduce the amount of plastic that is used and encourage the use of recycled plastic and of recycling. We have measures coming in to make the producer pay for the collection and recycling of their packaging material through the whole system. It seems bizarre that the Treasury, HMRC and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have different definitions of what counts as packaging in that situation. People come under one set of rules but not the other, even though they are charging for similar sorts of things. I hope that we can achieve consistency across Government.

If the Minister is not convinced by that compelling argument for consistency across Government, I refer her to a 2018 HM Treasury consultation on tackling the plastic problem that concluded that silage film came into the category of non-packaging plastics. Even the Treasury has, in the past, accepted that silage film is not a packaging plastic. I therefore hope that there is no doubt that the primary purpose here is not simple packaging. Looking through the list of items that fall inside and outside this tax, one of the general themes is the primary purpose of the plastic. It is hard to see from that list why silage film has been treated inconsistently with other plastics that are excluded.

My second contention is that what has been done here is contrary to the policy intent. The guidance notes set out that the plastic packaging tax was designed to encourage to the use of recycled plastic instead of new plastic material in plastic packaging. In turn, the tax would create demand for recycled plastic and stimulate increased recycling and collection of plastic waste, diverting it from landfill or incineration. That is the Government’s own stated intent. Because of the very specialised nature of the film––which has to be incredibly thin, light-proof and waterproof, and capable of achieving those things when being used for wrapping in a farm setting––the industry and farming lobbying bodies are absolutely clear that there is no way any level of recycled plastic can be used in that film with current technology and achieve the effect needed for the fermentation of grass. No matter what this tax is from 1 April, there will not be any quantity of recycled plastic incorporated in the film, as that is not technologically possible at the moment. Therefore, including silage film in this tax will not generate increased use of recycled plastic; it will simply be a tax on farmers that they can barely afford to pay, given their current situation.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (Helen Whately)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Edward. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Amber Valley (Nigel Mills) on securing the debate and on his comments. I have listened carefully to what he has said. I share his expressed aim of ensuring that we get this tax right, and I very much appreciate the tone that he took.

As context to this debate and to the plastic packaging tax overall, I think that we can all agree that plastic waste is a significant and serious environmental threat, because plastics do not decompose. They can last centuries in landfill sites. With our commitment to reach net zero while driving jobs and growth, and our pledge, through the Environment Act 2021, to leave a better world for future generations and build back greener, the Government are determined to use our battle against pollution and climate change to make a positive difference to people’s lives and the wider economy. That is why we have been focused for some years on developing the right incentives, so that businesses can play their part in supporting us in the green economic transition.

That includes our introduction, back in 2015, of a 5p levy on single-use plastic bags, which led to a more than 95% drop in plastic carrier bag sales in England’s main supermarkets. Last year, we went even further, doubling the levy to 10p. As part of DEFRA’s 2018 resources and waste strategy and our 2019 manifesto, we said that we would introduce the tax on plastic packaging that we are discussing today. We estimate that the tax will lead to around 40% more recycled plastic being used in packaging in 2022-23, compared with current levels. Given that the use of new plastic in manufacturing generates more carbon than recycled plastic, we estimate the tax will save nearly 200,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide in the same year.

Turning specifically to how the tax relates to silage film, let me address the points that my hon. Friend made so logically. First, the design and structure of the plastic packaging tax reflects extensive stakeholder consultation, including two design consultations in 2019 and 2020 and three technical consultations on the legislation. Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs has also established an industry working group made up of trade bodies and organisations, which was consulted on the finer detail of the policy, legislation and guidance. As part of that consultation work, Treasury and HMRC officials met Berry BPI, a plastic packaging manufacturer based in my hon. Friend’s constituency. There has been substantial consultation and engagement, so I was surprised to hear my hon. Friend say that the guidance comes as a surprise.

My hon. Friend talked about DEFRA’s producer responsibility obligations, which it is in the process of reforming. I am clear that, as he indicated, those obligations and the tax are different schemes with different sets of rules and objectives, and they use intentionally different definitions of packaging. The definition for the plastic packaging tax covers products designed to contain, protect, handle, deliver or present goods at any stage in the supply chain. Unlike DEFRA’s responsibility obligations, the tax includes goods that meet that definition even if they are used by an end user. That is in order to better achieve the objective of the tax, which is to reduce the environmental harm caused by plastic.

During silage season, large amounts of silage film are used by farmers throughout the country. I am sure hon. Members are aware of the quantity of plastic used; I see it in my own area of the countryside. As we attempt to reduce the use of non-recycled plastic and the amount of plastic overall that ends up in landfill, it is right and it makes sense for the Government to include the use of plastic for silage in the tax. Like cling film and plastic wraps, silage film meets the definition I outlined because it is suitable for use in the supply chain for the containment of silage, but it can also be used by farmers—the main end users—to make their own silage.

[Robbie Moore]

I want to pick up on what I feel is the nub of the issue. Silage wrap is used as part of the process of fermentation to produce silage; it is not classified as packaging in isolation. Could the Minister explore that point specifically?

[Helen Whately]

I fully appreciate my hon. Friend’s point, which I will come to in a second. There are two sides to this issue. On the one hand, silage film can be part of the supply chain; on the other, it can be used by farmers, as end users, to make their own silage by wrapping grass and other crops with the film. If the Government exempted silage wrap and similar items, such as pallet wrap and cling film, we would be shying away from dealing with the overall challenge posed by the use of plastic packaging. That would undermine the aim of this tax, which is to reduce the environmental harm caused by plastic. I do not for a moment dispute that the film is part of the process of turning grass into silage. However, that does not exempt it from falling within the definition for the tax.

That definition is targeted so that it does not include plastic packaging products that are essential for goods to be used, in contrast to products that are essential for goods to be manufactured. Therefore, products such as tea bags, coffee pods, inhalers and lighters are not taxable because the product contained by the packaging simply could not be used by the end user without the packaging. However, that is not the case for silage film.

Covid-19: Ethnic Minority Disparities

Robbie Moore Excerpts

Monday 1st March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Kemi Badenoch]

I believe that we have answered this question before; if memory serves me correctly, I think I have written to the hon. Lady on this subject. It is something that the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities is looking at. The commission will be reporting shortly and will be able to give a statement on ethnicity pay reporting. I would like the hon. Lady to send me her statistics about workforce inequality; they are not statistics with which I am familiar, and it would be very interesting to look at the evidence base on that.

[Robbie Moore (Keighley) (Con)]

The vaccine roll-out is the best tool in our fight against covid-19, and we must do all we can to ensure that there are no racial disparities in its uptake. This Saturday, I was lucky enough to visit Keighley central mosque, where 525 vaccinations were delivered on that day alone. Will my hon. Friend join me in congratulating all those involved, particularly Mohammed Nazam from Keighley Muslim Association, and the Modality Partnership, for all their efforts to ensure that everyone is protected against covid-19?

[Kemi Badenoch]

I agree with my hon. Friend, and add my congratulations to Keighley Muslim Association on its success, and particularly to Mohammed Nazam. Working with religious leaders and others to promote vaccine uptake among ethnic minorities, including housing vaccination centres in mosques and other places of worship, is important to ensure that we achieve good vaccine coverage within these groups. The NHS has now opened 47 vaccination sites in places of worship and community centres, as this boosts perceptions of vaccine safety and improves access. High-profile visits to these sites have a huge impact on the faith community being visited.