Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Roger Williams and Danny Alexander

Tuesday 9th December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Roger Williams (Brecon and Radnorshire) (LD)]

T6. On small business Saturday I visited retail businesses in Brecon, Llanwrtydwells and Talgarth. They told me how pleased they were with the employment allowance, which gave them a reduction of up to £2,000 in their employer national insurance contributions. More than 1,000 businesses benefit from that in my constituency, but up to 500 that are eligible have not applied. What can we do to encourage them to take up this important measure?

[Danny Alexander]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving me the opportunity to highlight the importance of these changes. As a local Member of Parliament, he has a particularly important role to play in promoting them, as he has done for the businesses already taking them up. I encourage him to continue to do that and to talk to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills about whether there is more we can do to get that message across.

Investing in Britain’s Future

Debate between Roger Williams and Danny Alexander

Thursday 27th June 2013 Commons Chamber

[Danny Alexander]

As we are the first Government to have committed to undertake that work, I thought that the hon. Lady would have welcomed it.

[Roger Williams (Brecon and Radnorshire) (LD)]

There will be a broad welcome for the certainty that is brought by the Chief Secretary’s announcement of a new prison in north Wales. However, any announcement on infrastructure spending by Departments whose responsibilities are devolved to Wales will have Barnett consequentials. Will he give a flavour of the consequentials that will accrue to the Welsh Government?

[Danny Alexander]

The Barnett consequentials of the 2015-16 public spending round were set out in the Chancellor’s statement yesterday. On the resource side, the Welsh Assembly Government will see a small reduction in their budget and, on the capital side, a small increase. I am sure that they will work with him to ensure that the money is used wisely for the benefit of the people of Wales.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Roger Williams and Danny Alexander

Tuesday 8th June 2010 Commons Chamber

[Roger Williams (Brecon and Radnorshire) (LD)]

A Select Committee in the other place found that reform of the Barnett formula could lead to a reduction in the budget deficit. In terms of the imperative of achieving that, will not the Treasury team look once again at that Select Committee report?

[Danny Alexander]

I am happy to look at the report, but as I said in answer to earlier questions, we made it clear in the coalition programme for government that, although we recognise those concerns, the priority must be to address the budget deficit, and that is what we are going to do.