Income Tax (Charge)

Sarah Hall Excerpts

Monday 4th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Hall (Warrington South) (Lab/Co-op)]

This is a Budget for change—a Budget that recognises the need to fix the foundations of our economy. For too long, millions of people across the country have been denied opportunities to work and build a better life. Too many children are growing up in poverty, harming their life chances. In Warrington South, there are now 1,000 more children in poverty than there were in 2015, and more than 68% of those children come from a home where a parent works. Sadly, in some parts of my constituency, child poverty rates are as high as 43%.

But poverty is not just a statistic: behind every number is a person. Poverty is a barrier that stands between potential and reality—between dreams and opportunity —and it is unacceptable that there are parents and carers in Warrington South who go hungry just to ensure their children can have an evening meal. Poverty affects every aspect of a person’s life, from their average life expectancy to their general health, their social wellbeing, what grades they can achieve at school and their ability to contribute to society. Across Warrington South and across the country, people were badly let down by the last Government, with their legacy of economic chaos, falling living standards and broken public services. I therefore welcome this Government’s plans to tackle these issues, driving down poverty and rebuilding our public services.

This is a Budget that protects the payslips of working people and will boost pay for over 3 million of the lowest-paid workers, with an increase to the minimum wage. It is a plan to get Britain working again, with trailblazing devolution agreements in work and skills, and more than £20 billion of additional funding for the NHS to cut waiting times, increase appointments and help to get people back to work—I look forward to meeting with the Health Secretary to discuss Warrington hospital. We will employ more teachers to support the next generation to achieve their full potential, and roll out breakfast clubs across the country, because no child should go to school hungry.

We are supporting people across Warrington South by preserving the pension triple lock and increasing pensions, reducing the cap on deductions from universal credit, increasing carer’s allowance and providing more than £1 billion in household support funding, allocating an additional £1.8 billion to expand childcare, and allocating additional funding to transform the apprenticeship levy into a growth and skills levy. In July, this country voted for change. We voted to treat people with dignity and respect, to lift up the vulnerable and to offer hope and opportunity for all. This Budget marks the first steps in a new direction. We will fix the foundations and rebuild our public services.