argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Tax: Small Businesses — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Melvyn John Stride (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for raising the FSB’s report. I have not only read it, but met the FSB to discuss the report in detail. I highlight to the House two of its important recommendations: one is around better guidance on taxation, and I have tasked officials on that mission within HMRC; and the second is Making Tax Digital, which we are rolling out for VAT-registered companies in 2019. The report states that this "presents an opportunity to simplify and speed up tax compliance."
Tax: Small Businesses — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Melvyn John Stride (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady neglects to mention the fact that small business confidence in the UK is now in positive territory for the first time in many years. We have gone to great lengths within the tax system, as I have just explained, to reduce the burden on small businesses. We rolled out £9 billion of business rates relief in the 2016 Budget and a further £2.3 billion of relief in the autumn Budget last year. We will continue to be on the side of small businesses.
Tax: Small Businesses — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Melvyn John Stride (Conservative, Centre-right): As I have just identified, the Government have done a huge amount to reduce the burden of business rates. We recognise the important fact that these taxes need to be paid, irrespective of whether businesses are profitable or otherwise. That is why we have gone to such lengths, providing £9 billion of relief in 2016, including transitional relief for those facing the largest potential increases in business rates, and a further £2.3 billion by way of bringing forward by two years the change in the indexation of business rates from retail prices index to consumer prices index, saving businesses £2.3 billion over the next few years.
Productivity — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is asking the right question. The only way to deliver a high-wage, high-skill economy of the future and to sustainably raise living standards is to raise our productivity growth rate. This requires investment by the Government in infrastructure, skills, and research and development. Since 2010, this Government have provided over half a trillion pounds in capital investment, increased investment in skills and reduced taxes for business. But raising the productivity growth rate also requires action at the level of the firm. Lower taxes provide a strong incentive for businesses to invest in raising their productivity. These tax reductions include the £9 billion package to reduce business rates that the Financial Secretary has just mentioned.
Productivity — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Andrea Marie Jenkyns (Conservative, Centre-right): Productivity is a key element in determining our future standard of living. The current productivity gap in Yorkshire and the Humber provides great opportunities for growth. However, significant and sustained investment is required to achieve this. Will my right hon. Friend commit to the excellent northern powerhouse project and ensure that the region gets the vital investment in infrastructure that it needs to improve productivity?
Productivity — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: Transportation
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right again. We will only build an economy that works for everyone and every region if we succeed in narrowing the regional productivity gap. For that reason, the Government are fully committed to the northern powerhouse. We have announced a funding boost of £436 million to improve transport connections within the northern city regions through the transforming cities fund, with a further £840 million to be competitively allocated to the largest cities in England. This builds on the record amounts of more than £13 billion over this Parliament that we are already investing in northern transport, which is more than any previous Government.
Productivity — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: Labor
Nicky Morgan (Conservative, Centre-right): One of the consequences of increasing productivity is of course higher wage growth, which I think would make everyone feel much better. The Chancellor may be aware of the Treasury Committee’s recent report on childcare, which called for more childcare support for those undergoing retraining—another way of increasing productivity. What were his thoughts on that, and what is his progress on talks with the national retraining scheme?
Productivity — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: Education
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): I am happy to tell my right hon. Friend that we have had a very productive first meeting with the CBI and the Trades Union Congress to flesh out the shape of the national retraining partnership, which is clearly going to be a crucial part of our investment in skills in future. I do take her point on childcare. We have of course seen the Select Committee’s report and will respond to it in due course.
Productivity — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): We have a challenge in this country around productivity, and it is not a new challenge, as the hon. Gentleman well knows. For eight years, the OBR has estimated UK productivity growth, and on eight occasions it has had to revise down the estimates that it had made. This is a long-term challenge facing this country. Rather than trading insults about what has happened in the past, I suggest that the most constructive approach would be for us to work on improving the UK’s productivity performance. That means investing in infrastructure—this Government have committed half a trillion pounds of capital investment since 2010—addressing the skills gap, ensuring that capital is available to businesses, and addressing management challenges at the level of the firm. All those strands need to be taken forward together if we are going to create the high-tech, high-wage economy that we all want to see in this country.
Children’s Services: Funding — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: Social Welfare
Questions: What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the adequacy of funding for children’s services.
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): First, we have actually increased the spending for the most vulnerable by £1 billion since 2010. That is funding for the most vulnerable through local authorities. I would point out to the hon. Lady that the important thing is the outcomes we are achieving. The fact that child development outcomes have improved since 2013 and that more children are getting that good level of development shows that we are investing our money in the right areas.
Children’s Services: Funding — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: Education
Questions: What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the adequacy of funding for children’s services.
Huw William Merriman (Conservative, Centre-right): There can be no greater service to children than that provided by our teachers. The Chancellor has been very generous in funding a pay rise for NHS staff outside the NHS budgets. What discussions have been had with the Department for Education to see if the same offer can be afforded to teachers?
Children’s Services: Funding — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: Education
Questions: What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the adequacy of funding for children’s services.
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): It is very important to point out that the agreement with NHS workers and NHS unions has been in exchange for productivity improvements. We are altering the contracts to make them more effective, helping the people in these jobs to achieve more at the same time as giving them a pay rise. The situation in schools is different. Headteachers have much more power over what they pay individual teachers. In fact, last year teachers got an average pay rise of 4.6%, including promotions, so headteachers do have that flexibility to make decisions about what is best for their school.
Children’s Services: Funding — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: Law and Crime
Questions: What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the adequacy of funding for children’s services.
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): I point out to the hon. Lady that real-terms spending in the Home Office is going up. We are funding the Home Office, but the important thing is what we do with that money, and that is why the Home Secretary has outlined the serious violence strategy to deal with that issue.
Small and Medium-sized Cities: Infrastructure — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: Transportation
Robert Edward Jenrick (Conservative, Centre-right): In this Parliament, investment, including in infrastructure, will be at its highest sustained level since the 1970s, and our cities large and small are an important part of that strategy. We recently launched the £1.7 billion Transforming Cities fund to upgrade infrastructure, in addition to £345 million of funding for local road projects in England.
Small and Medium-sized Cities: Infrastructure — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: Transportation
Robert Edward Jenrick (Conservative, Centre-right): The independent Infrastructure and Projects Authority has said that by the end of this Parliament, central Government funding for infrastructure will be greater in the north than in the south. The hon. Gentleman is speaking to the wrong Minister if he thinks that we do not care about the north. This son of a Liverpudlian and a Mancunian, born in Wolverhampton and representing North Nottinghamshire, needs no lessons from him.
Leaving the EU: No Deal — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Peter William Bone (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to the deputy Chancellor for her response. Has she had an opportunity to look at table 4.28 in the Office for Budget Responsibility report accompanying the autumn Budget, which shows a Brexit dividend of £55 billion in the four years between 2019 and 2023? Does the deputy Chancellor agree with her own figures showing that leaving the EU will be a great economic benefit to this country?
Leaving the EU: No Deal — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: International Affairs
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for his question. There is indeed money that will be released as a result of our leaving the European Union. We are working on the spending review, which will take place next year, and part of the job of that spending review will be looking at how we allocate that money domestically.
Leaving the EU: No Deal — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: International Affairs
Questions: Many of my constituents work in the financial sector —the financial services sector, specifically. Does the Chancellor not recognise that the closest possible alignment with the single market is the best possible outcome for this vital sector?
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): We have made huge progress in the European negotiations. We are seeing business confidence increasing and investment increasing, and by this autumn we should have agreed a clear framework with the EU so that businesses have certainty about future investment.
National Living Wage — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
John Luther Mercer (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend will know that the two biggest policies that have put more money into the pockets of the lowest earners in this country have come from this Government—namely, the increase in the tax threshold and the minimum wage. What more will the Government do to make sure that private businesses, together with public services, are working to continue to increase wages and improve the quality of life in cities such as Plymouth?
National Living Wage — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: Labor
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): What is unfair is the fact that, under the last Labour Government, youth unemployment went up to 20% and those young people were left on the scrapheap, whereas we have reduced youth unemployment by 40%. We have more young people in work earning the vital skills for their future.
National Living Wage — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend is right, and the reason is that we have taken the time to reduce the deficit to make it easier for employers to take on staff. We have reduced corporation tax, making it easier for companies to hire people. That is why we have the lowest unemployment since 1975, and rising wages. It is a shame that Members on the Opposition Benches cannot acknowledge that massive achievement.
National Living Wage — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: Labor
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): It is extremely worrying that those on the Opposition Benches would rather see young people out of work and without opportunities than in work, learning and getting the skills for their future. All the evidence shows that if we set the rate too high we see youth unemployment, which is exactly what happened under the previous Labour Government.
Corporation Tax — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Melvyn John Stride (Conservative, Centre-right): There can be no doubt that this Government’s record on reducing corporation tax from 28% in 2010 to 19% now, and further on down to 17% in 2020, has driven growth, kept prices down, pushed wages up and, indeed, led to more employment. Since 2010, we have seen more than 3 million more people in employment, and, as the Chief Secretary to the Treasury has just outlined, the lowest unemployment since 1975.
Corporation Tax — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Melvyn John Stride (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend uses the expression "play by the rules". I should make it very clear to the House that those that do not play by the rules will be clamped down on by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. We have brought in £175 billion in respect of clamping down on avoidance, evasion and non-compliance since 2010. We have, as my right hon. Friend the Chancellor has outlined, the lowest tax gap in our history, at 6%. Those who play by the rules will benefit from our pro-business policies: bringing taxes down, providing relief on business rates, and other measures such as the employment allowance, worth £3,000 for the first employee as a relief on national insurance contributions.
Corporation Tax — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Melvyn John Stride (Conservative, Centre-right): We have debated at great length the issue of distributional analysis, in this Chamber and around the Finance Bill and other measures. The hon. Lady will know that all tax measures are subject to TINs and to various assessments. We are also bound by the Equality Act 2010 when we take decisions in respect of taxation. As a Minister, I can assure her that I take my duties in that respect extremely seriously.
Corporation Tax — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Colin James Clark (Conservative, Centre-right): Businesses in my constituency welcome the cut in corporation tax, but does not my right hon. Friend share my concern that businesses in Gordon are being damaged by punitive business rates and the highest income tax rates in the United Kingdom?
Corporation Tax — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Melvyn John Stride (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend raises an important issue, which is probably best listened to very carefully by some of those on the Opposition Benches. I can only speak for the UK Government here in this House, and we will continue to be on the side of businesses, small and large, to ensure that their tax burden is as low as possible.
Corporation Tax — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Melvyn John Stride (Conservative, Centre-right): Let me make two simple points. First, corporation tax cuts are clearly to the benefit of businesses who employ people, create wealth and generate the taxes we need to fund our vital public services. Secondly, we have cut corporation tax from 28% to 19% since 2010, and the corporate tax take has risen by 50%.
Productivity — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: Labor
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): Productivity, as I have already said, is at the very forefront of the Government’s agenda. That is why we established the national productivity investment fund, a £31 billion package of investment in infrastructure and research and development, and committed to introducing a national retraining scheme, which we are developing in partnership with the CBI and the TUC to ensure that British workers have the skills they need to benefit from technology change. The focus now has to be on moving forward with firm-level initiatives, such as Be the Business led by Charlie Mayfield and Made Smarter led by Juergen Maier, that start to look at the challenges we face at the level of the firm in this country to make sure that we are doing what we need to do not only in infrastructure and skills but in investment in management at the level of the firm.
Productivity — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Nicholas Soames (Conservative, Centre-right): May I congratulate my right hon. Friend on all the steps he is taking, with the Government, to improve productivity, which is very badly needed indeed in our economy? Does he agree that it is becoming increasingly difficult, with a very modern, interconnected, internet-driven economy, to successfully garner the information needed to truly assess how well we are doing on productivity and across the whole scale of Government statistics on the economy? Does he agree that this is first-order business and that we need to get this matter resolved so we may have a better picture overall?
Productivity — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend is right that there is some evidence of a measurement challenge around the productivity figures. My right hon. Friend the Member for New Forest West (Sir Desmond Swayne) asked a few moments ago about the relationship between rising wage costs and continued economic and employment growth. The question is why the tightening labour market is not driving a higher productivity performance and whether an element of that is in fact a management challenge. A great deal of time and energy is being spent on this issue. Indeed, the figures on productivity for the last two quarters do, on the face of it, show some improvement. Now, one swallow does not make a spring and we should be very cautious about interpreting—even a summer, Mr Speaker. I am even less ambitious! We should be very cautious about interpreting those figures, but, as we see record high levels of employment in the economy, we should expect them to help to drive the UK economy’s productivity performance.
Productivity — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: Transportation
Stephen William Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): I listened to my right hon. Friend set out the Government’s plans for investment in transport and infrastructure a few moments ago. What direct impact on productivity does he expect those investments to have in the regions where they occur?
Productivity — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: Transportation
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): We are undertaking the largest rail investment programme since Victorian times and the largest road investment programme since the 1970s. Overall, the Government are now investing public capital at the highest rate for 40 years. This is one of the components that drives productivity in one of the areas where we have a long-standing gap with our principal competitors: too little public infrastructure. We are closing that gap and that will have a positive impact on productivity growth, but we still have to tackle skills, capability at the level of the firm, and access to capital. It is an important strand, but it is only one strand of the productivity conundrum.
Productivity — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: Education
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): The Government are highly committed to the apprenticeship programme. I recognise that starts are down—we always expected that—but something else is happening, because analysis shows that now that employers are contributing with their own levy to apprenticeship programmes, they are opting for higher-level apprenticeships. There are fewer starts than we expected, but we are seeing a much higher level of apprenticeship. There are more degree-level apprenticeships and more apprenticeships at the higher levels. The Department for Education and the Treasury are looking carefully at how this is working—[Interruption.] This is a serious issue, but the important question is about making sure that the skills that the economy needs are generated.
Productivity — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Philip Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): Not for the first time, I do not recognise the picture of our economy that is painted by Opposition Front Benchers. Figures today tell us that we have new record high numbers of people in employment, and new record low unemployment figures. That should be something that we are celebrating. Real wages are forecast to turn positive from this quarter and to go on growing thereafter. Employment is expected to grow by another 500,000 by 2022. We are working hard to ensure that productivity performance increases across the economy because that is the only sustainable way to achieve higher wages and higher living standards.
Building our Future Programme — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: Labor
Melvyn John Stride (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman will know that all staff who may be affected will have face-to-face consultations with HMRC staff a year before any changes occur. Some 90% on average of those across the programme will be in a position of having left employment or retired, or finding it perfectly acceptable to move, in this case to Newcastle. I would be delighted to meet the hon. Gentleman to discuss the issue.
Productivity — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: Education
Robert Edward Jenrick (Conservative, Centre-right): The Government are working across Departments to help to prepare businesses and working people to seize the opportunities that technology will bring. At the Budget we announced, among other measures, a trebling of fully qualified computer science teachers, the creation of a T-level in digital skills and the retraining partnership that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor has spoken about.
Productivity — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: Environment
Robert Edward Jenrick (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady raises an important point. We are working closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and my right hon. Friend the Chancellor announced a call for evidence on single-use plastics in the spring statement. We intend to make proposals in due course.
National Debt — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
John Philip Glen (Conservative, Centre-right): Public sector net debt as a percentage of GDP was 85.1% at the end of February 2018, which was 0.9 percentage points higher than last February. The latest forecast shows that debt will fall this year, two years before the fiscal rules require.
National Debt — House of Commons, 2018-04-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
John Philip Glen (Conservative, Centre-right): The important point is that the debt is going down this year. We want to avoid a situation like that in the last three years of the last Labour Government, when public sector net debt doubled.