Budget Resolutions

Sajid Javid Excerpts

Wednesday 11th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid (Bromsgrove) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Liverpool, Riverside (Kim Johnson). I congratulate her on her maiden speech. I cannot say I agree with everything she said, but we do have something in common as the children of working-class migrants. I very much welcome her to the House.

I want to begin by warmly congratulating my right hon. Friend the Chancellor on his first Budget. He had only four weeks to write this Budget, and he has risen to the challenge. Although I do recognise much of it, it is different in one significant respect—there has been a dramatic change, as he set out, in the global economy. This means that we must of course face these challenges as a nation. Therefore, he has been absolutely right to focus his attention on the threat posed by coronavirus, so before I turn to a few other measures in the Budget, let me say a few words about that. First, on the economic context, back in October, the IMF downgraded global economic growth forecasts, including, of course, those for the UK. The UK also faces a trio of other structural changes over the coming years: our new trading relationship with our European friends, a new immigration system, and the transition to carbon neutrality by 2050. All three of those are absolutely the right things to do, but they will mean adjustments for business.

Now we have a new challenge to contend with. We must do all we reasonably can to delay the spread of coronavirus and to care for the sick, so my right hon. Friend has been absolutely right today to pledge that every resource necessary will be made available for the NHS, for the DWP and for local authorities. While our No. 1 priority must of course be public health, we are facing the most severe threat to our economy since the global financial crisis. As the Chancellor said, it is first and foremost a supply-side challenge, but it is also a demand-side problem. We must also get on to the front foot to support the financially vulnerable, who will be as fearful for their economic security as they are for their health. Likewise, a number of otherwise viable companies may be unable to withstand the downturn, so while I welcome the actions that my right hon. Friend has set out today, he must stand ready to do more as the situation demands, and not necessarily wait for the comprehensive spending review or the next Budget.

[John Redwood]

There is a £6.6 billion saving this year on interest on Government debt anyway, but of course there has been another major collapse of interest rates since those figures were put together, so there is something on the other side of the account. I would therefore urge my right hon. Friend indeed to say that we need to spend what it takes.

[Sajid Javid]

My right hon. Friend is, characteristically, absolutely right to make that observation. I think he will also agree that while this is welcome, and will, absolutely, cut the cost of interest, it also reminds us that interest rates are incredibly volatile, and no Government should rely on interest rates remaining low for an incredibly long time.

I have often said that small and medium-sized businesses are the beating heart of the economy, and rightly where our focus should be. If SMEs are the heart, then cash flow is their lifeblood, and that is where we must focus our help most, so I very much welcome the emergency support package for SMEs that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor set out today. If I may, I will make three quick observations about what more can be done. First, on time to pay, I strongly welcome the announcement today to extend the existing HMRC scheme. While it is absolutely right that we carry out the fundamental business rates review that we set out in our manifesto, this will not happen overnight, as the Chancellor recognised, so we need to act now. I do welcome the announcements on business rates that he made today, but may I also suggest that the time-to-pay arrangement is extended to business rates too? Although they are collected by local authorities, not HMRC, it is possible to delay collection while making sure that no local authority loses out in terms of cash flow.

Secondly, on support for workers, firms should not have to shed workers because of temporary cash-flow problems. That is why I would like to keep open the option of a temporary cut in employers’ national insurance —perhaps over a three-month period—thereby relieving the cost of labour.

Thirdly, since the financial crisis, it is true that monetary policy has lost some of its potency. A decade ago, central banks were the star turn; now they are more like the supporting act, but they can help. That is why I strongly welcome the action by the Bank of England that was announced this morning, and I am pleased to see the co-ordination that has taken place with the Treasury. I am particularly encouraged by the restart of the term funding scheme, especially how the incentives have been set out to encourage an increase in lending to SMEs.

While the coronavirus has captured the attention of the front pages, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor is right not to lose sight of the long-term failures of UK economic policy under successive Governments—failures that have caused profound regional inequalities and a sense of anger and betrayal in many of our communities. We need to put people and place back at the heart of a more human capitalism. I therefore welcome the investment in skills and education, especially the £1.5 billion for FE capital. We should think about not only the flow of students but the stock of skills that we have in our country. There are talented individuals who have left full-time education and would benefit from retraining. That is why I am unapologetically keen on a long-term plan for skills, including the right to retrain for all working adults.

It is clear from today’s Budget that my right hon. Friend shares my enthusiasm for the infrastructure revolution and my conviction that, with the right scale and the right mix of investment in roads, rail, digital, decarbonisation and flood defences, we can tackle our most significant economic challenges: low productivity and regional inequality. As I have long said, we should take advantage of record low interest rates to invest properly in our economic future.

I welcome the Chancellor’s indication that he will continue the work that was begun to rewrite the Green Book, so that we can better allocate investment across the nations. I hope that he will look carefully at what else we can do to help the infrastructure revolution, including looking at planning, especially reform of the compulsory purchase order regime; the infrastructure delivery model, so that we do not have a repeat of the overspending on HS2; and labour market requirements at a time of record employment.

I urge the Chancellor to consider in his next fiscal statement 100% capital allowances—in other words, full expensing for businesses, to encourage them to invest more in capital. I want to end by underlining the importance of fiscal responsibility.

[Sir Desmond Swayne]

As someone who longs for lower taxes and smaller government, what assessment has my right hon. Friend made of the Chancellor’s ability to remain within the existing fiscal rules?

[Sajid Javid]

I was pleased to hear the Chancellor say that this Budget is within the fiscal rules, but as my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May) said, we do not yet know the impact of these emergency measures. We also do not know the impact of the term funding scheme announced today by the Bank of England. A lot of the fall in debt over the next few years is because of the term funding scheme coming to an end, but that might now change, so it is worth keeping that in mind.

The British economy is in a strong position to weather the current storm, but we must not forget that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor is only able to deploy the firepower that he has today because of the choices that consecutive Conservative Chancellors have made—choices to control spending, to control borrowing and to control debt. That is why the fiscal rules that we set out in our manifesto are important. Sticking to those rules in normal times is what separates us from Opposition parties. They help us to keep our economy strong and to keep taxes low, and they preserve our flexibility for when we need it most. It is not always possible to forecast when the next threat will emerge, nor what form it will take, but it is possible to prepare, and I know that the Chancellor and I are grateful that our predecessors had the foresight to do so.

[Wes Streeting (Ilford North) (Lab)]

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

[Sajid Javid]

I will not give way.

The British people have responded to the coronavirus crisis with stoicism and selflessness, as well as a distinct sense of humour—especially when it comes to toilet rolls. The British people are following the lead that has been set by right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Chancellor who, in the most challenging of circumstances, have resolved to act prudently on the basis of evidence and to act in the national interest. I have every faith that in the coming months they will do the right thing and that, whatever happens, as a country we will emerge stronger on the other side.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

It is a pleasure to call Sam Tarry to make his maiden speech.