Areas with Additional Public Health Restrictions: Economic Support

Robert Largan Excerpts

Tuesday 6th October 2020 Commons Chamber

[Steve Barclay]

The slightly puzzling thing is that the hon. Gentleman does not seem to accept yes for an answer. When I was asked by the Scottish Government Finance Minister whether I would give further guarantees on Barnett consequentials, we agreed that, thereby enabling the Scottish Government to make spending commitments with that guarantee, yet that point is not recognised at all. The reality is that it is because of our broad shoulders and ability to act across the United Kingdom that we have been able to protect 930,000 jobs in Scotland at the peak in July, and 65,000 businesses in Scotland have benefited from our loan schemes. Our ability to act across the United Kingdom enables us to better protect jobs.

[Robert Largan (High Peak) (Con)]

I urge my right hon. Friend not to forget areas like the High Peak which, although not under local restrictions themselves, are impacted economically by the local restrictions next door in Greater Manchester. I wish to highlight specifically the events industry, which, if it is allowed to trade again, could be a crucible for economic recovery. The situation is imminent—lots of fantastic events, such as Buxton International Festival, are having to make decisions now about when their event can go ahead next year—so I urge my right hon. Friend to look urgently at measures for the industry.

[Steve Barclay]

My hon. Friend is quite right that the impact on business is not constrained to those areas most acutely affected by the virus; there is a wider displacement effect on businesses, including in neighbouring constituencies. We very much recognise that issue, which very much shaped the approach that the Chancellor set out in the winter plan, particularly in respect of the cash-flow pressures faced by those businesses. Together with the job support that he brought forward, the package recognises the very real pressures businesses face and will provide comfort as we go through the winter period.

The Economy

Robert Largan Excerpts

Wednesday 8th July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Robert Largan (High Peak) (Con)]

We face a unique economic challenge that requires bold action, and that is exactly what we have seen from the Chancellor today. It is important to recognise that we are able to take such measures to save jobs now only because of the difficult decisions that have been made over the past 10 years. If we had listened to the Opposition, I dread to think what state our public finances would be in and how much more limited our room for manoeuvre would be in this crisis.

Let me be clear: this is not a choice between economic growth and public health. The two are intrinsically linked. Poverty also leads to excess deaths. Economic growth does not guarantee progress, happiness or personal fulfilment, but the absence of growth makes those things so much harder to come by, and the most vulnerable inevitably end up suffering most.

The Government are absolutely right to focus on infrastructure investment as a key part of creating jobs and stimulating economic growth across the whole country, particularly in places such as the High Peak. The truth is that over the past few decades, Governments of all parties have failed to invest properly in transport infrastructure outside London and the south-east. If we are serious about creating jobs and tackling regional inequality, we have to invest in transport infrastructure in places like the High Peak. The rest of the country is not less productive than London because the people are less intelligent or do not work as hard; it is because our public transport systems are decades behind the capital’s.

There is so much potential to be unlocked and so many projects that would make a huge difference. Let me put forward a few suggestions. Let us build the Mottram bypass and the trans-Pennine tunnel to solve the long-standing congestion problems around Glossop and remove the road bottleneck between Manchester and Sheffield. While we are at it, let us upgrade the Hope Valley line and improve the rail links between Manchester and Sheffield. These are two of our country’s major cities and the transport links are simply not good enough. I am prepared to bet that if senior civil servants were commuting to work from places such as New Mills, Chinley or Bamford, that line would have been upgraded decades ago. We badly need to upgrade Manchester Piccadilly station to remove the bottleneck that holds back the entire northern rail network.

We need to connect communities that have been effectively excluded from the public transport network. The people of Gamesley were first promised a railway station more than 50 years ago. Building Gamesley station would create jobs, get cars off the road and transform the life chances of people in one of the most deprived areas of the country.

Infrastructure is more than just transport. We need to turbocharge the roll-out of fast and reliable broadband, especially to rural areas like mine; we need to get on and build new urgent care centres at Tameside Hospital and Stepping Hill Hospital, and push ahead with plans for a new major health centre in Buxton; and we need to repair the dam at Toddbrook reservoir near Whaley Bridge, hopefully with a new hydro scheme and a circular path.

I am aware that I have just rolled off a list of ambitious projects. To deliver them, we need more than just political will; we need to get the nuts and bolts of delivery right. I have talked about bottlenecks in our transport network, but to solve them we need to address the bottlenecks in our construction industry and our planning system. It might not be as glamorous or exciting as the big money announcements, but it is just as essential. We need to make certain we have the skills and the people in place to build the infrastructure, and the supply chains to get them the materials and machinery they need. Therefore, I wholeheartedly welcome the Chancellor’s announcements on training schemes and apprenticeships, but we should be thinking more carefully about how they can be targeted to the industries that we need to build infrastructure.

To sum up, the next few months will be extremely difficult. There is no magic wand or silver bullet and we will not get everything right, but I am confident that if we work together, we will get through this.

Economic Update

Robert Largan Excerpts

Tuesday 17th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Robert Largan (High Peak) (Con)]

I represent the Peak District, where hotels, restaurants, pubs and the tourism industry in general are absolutely central to the local economy. I therefore welcome the economic measures announced, but people and businesses are struggling right now. So may I urge the Chancellor to make certain that loans and grants are paid and put into people’s bank accounts as soon as possible?

[Rishi Sunak]

My hon. Friend is exactly right. That is why the steps we are taking are designed to work at pace. Loan schemes will be available from early next week and the Communities Secretary is ensuring that the grant payments are processed as quickly as possible through local authorities in the coming days and weeks.

Beer and Pub Taxation

Robert Largan Excerpts

Wednesday 5th February 2020 Westminster Hall

[Mr Clarke]

The hon. Member is an assiduous attender of Westminster Hall debates, and I am absolutely delighted to say that his persistence will be rewarded. My officials and I will always be glad to engage with the sector.

One of the most important issues that came up in the debate was raised by the hon. Member for St Albans (Daisy Cooper) and my hon. Friends the Members for Devizes (Danny Kruger) and for North West Durham (Mr Holden): the impact of business rates and the associated challenges. Since 1 April 2019, eligible pubs with a rateable value below £51,000 have received a one-third discount on their business rates bills. As my hon. Friend the Member for Totnes (Anthony Mangnall) rightly pointed out in his excellent speech, they will receive even greater support from 1 April as we increase the discount from one third to 50% and introduce a new £1,000-worth of relief for pubs with a rateable value below £100,000. Eligible pubs will be able to claim both reliefs.

[Robert Largan (High Peak) (Con)]

I am pleased about the support the Government are putting into pubs. As hon. Members have mentioned, they are the centre of our communities. I want to highlight a pub in my constituency, The Pride of the Peaks in New Mills, which this Christmas gave 50 hampers and Christmas meals to elderly people to help combat loneliness. Does the Minister agree that pubs are the absolute heart of our communities?

[Mr Clarke]

My hon. Friend’s intervention draws attention to precisely the social value that pubs add. His constituency is a rural one in Derbyshire, and many small pubs currently benefit from 100% rural rate relief, as well as small business rate relief. Those are the kinds of reliefs that we want to encourage in order to ensure that we support businesses in all areas of the country, not just in our big towns and cities.

All pubs will continue to benefit from wider reforms to business rates, most notably the switch from RPI indexation to CPI indexation, which took place in April 2018. That change alone is saving business rate payers over £6 billion over the next five years. More widely, the Government are committed to carrying out a fundamental review of the business rates system, and further details will be announced in due course.

The hon. Member for Barnsley East mentioned the impact of pub closures on the high street, which is something the Government take into account. We have initiated the future high streets fund, which is designed to mitigate the pressures on the high street due to changing retail patterns.