Income tax (charge)

Tulip Siddiq Excerpts

Thursday 31st October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Sir Bernard Jenkin]

I am not going to give way any more. We need only look around the world to see that the idea that an ever-larger state makes the people richer is confounded by economic experience, otherwise the richest countries in the world would be those with the biggest state. It is businesses and free enterprise that generate the wealth that pays for the public services we need.

We can all recall Milton Friedman’s four ways to spend money. There is people’s own money that they spend on themselves: they think about it, spend it very carefully and make sure they get the maximum value for money. There is money that people spend on other people, such as when they buy a present: they may want to keep the cost down and may not be sensitive about whether the person really wants a particular gift or not. There is somebody else’s money that people spend on themselves: when people use expense accounts, they go on the most expensive aeroplane or get the biggest car their company will pay for. Finally, there is somebody else’s money that is spent on other people: that is what Governments do. It is a reality that Governments are the worst allocators of resource for ensuring future wealth creation. That is just a fact.

The record will always confirm that if we want to create more wealth, the smaller the state can be, the faster economic growth will be and the more we can afford to then spend on public services. This Government are profoundly un-strategic—just look at what the OBR says about investment:

“Tax rises in this Budget weigh on real incomes, so private consumption falls as a share of GDP”—

that means people are going to be getting poorer. It continues:

“Corporate profits are expected to continue falling as a share of GDP in the near term”.

It adds that

“business investment falls as a share of GDP as profit margins are squeezed, and the net impact of Budget policies lowers business investment.”

Is that good for the British economy? I submit not.

What about debt? If someone has too much debt, the one thing they should do is not borrow more money, if they want to get out of a debt trap—[Interruption.] Members on the Government Benches have surgeries attended by people who are in debt. The one thing hon. Members will tell them not to do is to stack up more debt, but that is what the Government have chosen to do. That is not a long-term policy.

Finally, what about GDP? I take no pride in saying that growth in GDP has been struggling for a decade or more—

[The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Tulip Siddiq)]

For about 14 years.

[Sir Bernard Jenkin]

Yes, I do not think we did enough to dynamise the British economy. We did not do enough, but I was very grateful for the support of the Liberal Democrats for the first five years of the Conservative Government. That helped us to keep public expenditure under better control so we could begin that process.

GDP per head has really been flatlining. We are falling significantly further behind the United States, but what are the trends? On these trends, we will be overtaken by Poland by 2030 in terms of GDP per head. What are this Government doing to address the real long-term trends? Let us look to 2050. What is the shape of public expenditure going to look like in 2050? This Budget does not begin to address that. What will be our national debt on a long-term basis? What is happening to our demographic, including the ageing population and the ratio of people in work and out of work? What are this Government doing to address that trend and to address the immigration trend, because that is adding to the cost of our economy?

How will we be able to increase defence spending? The Chief of the General Staff has recently said that this country could well be directly involved in a war within the lifetime of this Parliament. We will have to spend more on defence, as well as controlling the rest of the public sector. It is many decades since health, education and welfare started swamping out every other kind of expenditure in the Government. If we are to survive as a country, we will have to address these very damaging long-term trends.

Oral Answers to Questions

Tulip Siddiq Excerpts

Wednesday 28th February 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

On Monday we launched a consultation on the largest ever roll-out of new bathing water sites: 27 potential new bathing waters in England, including an extra one on the River Teme in Ludlow in my right hon. Friend’s constituency. He is right that substantial improvements have been made in recent years. Almost 90% of designated bathing waters in England now meet the higher standards of good or excellent, up from just 76% in 2010; all part of our plan for water which, alongside those on the Conservative Benches voting for the strictest storm overflow targets and plans for unlimited penalties for polluting water companies, was opposed by the Labour party.

[Tulip Siddiq (Hampstead and Kilburn) (Lab)]

Q9. The parent of a two-year-old in the UK is currently spending more than £14,000 a year on a full-time nursery place. Last year the Prime Minister promised parents that in April 2024 there would be a new free childcare offer. With only a month to go, parents do not know whether they can access that offer, because of staff shortages and the lack of childcare spaces. Will the parents to whom the Prime Minister made that promise be able to accept the offer that he talked about last year, or is this another example of a broken Tory promise?

[The Prime Minister]

We are delivering on what we said, which is 30 hours of free childcare a week for working parents of children from when they are nine months old until they start school. That is the largest ever expansion of childcare in our country’s history. Perhaps the hon. Lady might want to have a conversation with her Welsh Labour colleagues, who were given the funding to deliver childcare expansion in Wales, and what have they done? They have pocketed the money instead of matching our plans to support parents in England.

Israel and Gaza

Tulip Siddiq Excerpts

Monday 16th October 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I agree with my right hon. Friend that Iran both poses an unacceptable threat to Israel and has a destabilising influence throughout the region. That is why we have sanctioned more than 350 Iranian individuals, including the entirety of the IRGC. The new National Security Act 2023 also gives us the powers that we need to keep us safe here at home. I assure him that we will continue to work closely with our allies in finding the best possible way to contain Iran’s pernicious activities.

[Tulip Siddiq (Hampstead and Kilburn) (Lab)]

I represent one of this country’s biggest Jewish communities, in my constituency of Hampstead and Kilburn. Following Hamas’s brutal attack on Israel, there has been an increase in antisemitic incidents in my local area. Most heartbreakingly, I have had emails from local parents who are very worried about their children going to a local Jewish school because aggressive men have been standing outside taking photos. Some of the parents have had their car tyres slashed. The Prime Minister has pledged support to Jewish institutions, but will he commit publicly to ensuring that the support actually reaches local Jewish schools? Will he provide some much-needed reassurance to parents in Hampstead and Kilburn?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady makes an excellent point. This morning I visited a Jewish school in north London to ensure that the community there knew that I will do everything I can to keep them safe. That is why last week I met with the Community Security Trust, which does an excellent job. We have provided it with extra funding, which it will ensure gets to the frontline, whether that is to schools, synagogues or other institutions. We will continue to do everything we can to keep our Jewish communities safe. What is happening to our schoolchildren is simply unacceptable and sickening, and we will work very hard to bring it to an end.

Infected Blood Inquiry Update

Tulip Siddiq Excerpts

Wednesday 19th April 2023 Commons Chamber

[Jeremy Quin]

On the timetable, we are determined to be in the best possible place to respond to the inquiry when it concludes. As I have said to other hon. Members, that does not preclude us taking other steps earlier, if that is what we determine to do, as a Government. We are working at pace to go through all the implications of the report.

On the hon. Gentleman’s second point, he will appreciate why I cannot go through individual recommendations at this stage, but I recognise the extremely strong case that Sir Brian has made for a number of those who have been affected, including carers who have given up a great deal to support others.

[Tulip Siddiq (Hampstead and Kilburn) (Lab)]

One of my constituents contracted hepatitis C from a botched blood bag in the 1980s. Her daughter wrote to me last year:

“I am furious that you have grudgingly decided to pay interim compensation after she finally could fight no longer, seven weeks after she died…In the meantime, I’m left with grief and nothing else to show for all the misery.”

In addition to all the horrors that my constituent and her mother went through, the daughter is not eligible for compensation as she is not a bereaved partner. Does the Minister think that is fair?

[Jeremy Quin]

I am very sorry to hear about the loss of the hon. Lady’s constituent. It was a significant and positive step forward that the Government accepted in full Sir Brian’s recommendation about those infected and bereaved partners and brought forward the £100,000 of compensation, which was paid last October. It is tragic that, for the reasons stated earlier in relation to the scale of ongoing loss from this scandal, individuals will have missed out on that compensation because of their death between the announcement and the payment of the compensation. I really feel for the family of her constituent.

The hon. Lady referred to payments beyond the interim payments that were made last year. Sir Brian has made a very specific recommendation on that. We are not responding to that today, but it is one of the many recommendations that we are working through.

Oral Answers to Questions

Tulip Siddiq Excerpts

Wednesday 25th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My right hon. and learned Friend is absolutely right. People in mental health crisis deserve compassionate care in a safe and appropriate setting. Too often, they end up in A&E when they should be receiving specialist treatment elsewhere. This week’s announcement on mental health ambulances, crisis cafés, crisis houses and mental health urgent treatment centres will ensure that patients get the vital help that they need while easing pressures on emergency departments and freeing up staff time. He is absolutely right to highlight the issue. Our announcement will make a major difference.

[Tulip Siddiq (Hampstead and Kilburn) (Lab)]

Q6. This week, as a trustee of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, I was honoured to hear from Lia Lesser, a holocaust survivor who came to this country by herself at the age of eight because her parents believed tat the UK was a safe haven for vulnerable children. I also read the Government’s own statistics that say 200 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children were missing from hotels in the UK. Ministers have admitted that they have no idea about the whereabouts of those children. Does the Prime Minister think that the UK is still a safe haven for vulnerable children?

[The Prime Minister]

Over the last few years, the United Kingdom has opened up its hearts and homes to hundreds of thousands of people from Syria, Afghanistan, Ukraine and Hong Kong and provided refuge and sanctuary to many children in that process, but the reports that we have read about are concerning. Local authorities have a statutory duty to protect all children regardless of where they go missing from, and in that situation they work closely with local agencies, including the police, to establish their whereabouts. That is why it is so important that we end the use of hotels for unaccompanied asylum seekers and reduce pressure on the overall system. That is what our plans will do.

Oral Answers to Questions

Tulip Siddiq Excerpts

Wednesday 8th June 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I know that my hon. Friend speaks for colleagues up and down the country. We want to make sure that councils are able to build in the right place and sensitively to local needs. That is what we insist on, but I want to make it absolutely clear that part of the genius of levelling up is that it will encourage us to take some of the pressure and heat out of the south-east of England, which has been overburdened for decades, and we can do it.

[Tulip Siddiq (Hampstead and Kilburn) (Lab)]

Q10. My constituent Mark is trying to sponsor two sisters from Ukraine to come to the UK. These two sisters were housed in dangerous temporary accommodation in Montenegro for several weeks while the UK Home Office refused to process the application of the younger sister because she is 13 and travelling without her parents, even though she had her 18-year-old sister with her. The 18-year-old sister is now in London but the 13-year-old sister has been sent back to her home town in Ukraine, which is under siege. Will the Prime Minister tell me, hand on heart: does he think sending vulnerable children back to a war zone is the right policy?

[The Prime Minister]

Of course I understand the hon. Lady’s indignation about the case she mentions, and I know that my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary will be looking into it, but the record of this country in processing I think well over 100,000—120,000—visas for Ukrainians so far is very creditable and I thank all the staff who have been involved in that effort.

Ukraine

Tulip Siddiq Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd February 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, and in every conversation I have had in the last few weeks and months about Ukraine, we have focused on this issue of supporting the Ukrainian economy. One of the reasons that Volodymyr Zelensky has been so reluctant to accept the idea of even the possibility of an invasion is precisely because of the threat to Ukrainian economic stability. We must shore up that country, and that is why I announced a further $500 million of support today from the UK Government.

[Tulip Siddiq (Hampstead and Kilburn) (Lab)]

I thank the Foreign Office and the Minister for Europe and North America for helping me last week when my constituents Alice Wood and Ben Garratt were stuck in Ukraine and needed to get back with their baby son Raphael and were issued with emergency travel documents. Following on from that, can I ask the Prime Minister whether he has made an assessment of the safety of British nationals who are stuck in Ukraine and whether he will relax immigration laws and expedite visa applications to ensure that they can return home safely if they wish to do so?

[The Prime Minister]

I am glad that the FCDO was able to help out. We have a dedicated helpline for family members and anybody who is concerned. I think there are about 1,100 currently still in Ukraine, and there is a helpline that people should ring. I will read out the number. It is 01908 516666. There you go!

Oral Answers to Questions

Tulip Siddiq Excerpts

Wednesday 20th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Absolutely. I know that my hon. Friend knows of what she speaks. She is completely right to say that they are partners in care and should not be considered as visitors. That is why the current guidance has been put in place—and yes, we will be monitoring it to ensure that it is observed.

[Tulip Siddiq (Hampstead and Kilburn) (Lab)]

On 7 March this year, my constituent Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s unjustified five-year prison sentence will finally come to an end. What assurances has the Prime Minister had from the Iranian authorities that Nazanin will have her ankle tags removed, that she will get her British passport back, and that she will be allowed to board a flight back to the UK in 45 days’ time?

[The Prime Minister]

I can tell the hon. Lady, who I know has campaigned hard and well on behalf of her constituent, and quite rightly, that we are working virtually round the clock to secure the release of all the dual nationals that concern us in Tehran. Without going into the details of the cases, which are, as she knows, complex, we are doing everything we can to secure what we regard as the completely unjustified detention in Tehran of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, although, as the hon. Lady knows, she is now out on furlough, admittedly in the conditions that she describes.

Covid-19: Winter Plan

Tulip Siddiq Excerpts

Monday 23rd November 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I do indeed congratulate all the arts venues in Deal that have pulled together in the way that my hon. Friend describes. Let us hope that we can get them all fully open as soon as possible, so that they can enjoy the benefits of a new deal for Deal, or an even better deal for Deal, which I am sure she is championing.

[Tulip Siddiq (Hampstead and Kilburn) (Lab)]

My constituents are excited about seeing their families over Christmas, but they are also nervous about putting their elderly relatives at risk. Will the Prime Minister consider using the expanded testing capacity to allow families to get a covid test ahead of visiting elderly relatives at Christmas, even if they do not have symptoms?

[The Prime Minister]

That is certainly one of the use cases that we are considering. Rolling that out across the whole country in time for Christmas might be difficult, but the hon. Lady will have heard what we are doing with those types of test in care homes to allow people to see their loved ones.

Oral Answers to Questions

Tulip Siddiq Excerpts

Wednesday 17th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Yes. I thank my hon. Friend for the way he campaigns for business in Aylesbury. We will do what we can to flex the social distancing rules, but only as we make progress in driving the incidence of the virus down. I think everybody understands the tension that the whole country is operating under and the trade-off that we have to make. We must continue to defeat the virus. We will stick ruthlessly to our plan to continue with the opening of hospitality sectors on 4 July at the earliest and proceed on that basis.

[Tulip Siddiq (Hampstead and Kilburn) (Lab)]

Last week, in response to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham, Deptford (Vicky Foxcroft), the Prime Minister said:“newly shielded people may be asking themselves whether they will be entitled to furlough funds. I have been made aware of the issue very recently. I can assure her that we will be addressing it forthwith.”—[Official Report, 10 June 2020; Vol. 677, c. 281.]Since then, the deadline for applying for the furlough scheme has been and gone, and there has been no announcement about the support for shielding workers. Is this yet another U-turn, or has the Prime Minister just forgotten what he said in the Chamber last week?

[The Prime Minister]

No. The furlough scheme should be available for everybody.