argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Household Energy Bills: VAT — House of Commons, 2022-01-11
Topic: Labor
Simon Richard Clarke (Conservative, Centre-right): That was a typically temperate intervention from the hon. Gentleman. To make sure that work pays, we have cut the universal credit taper rate by 8p, from 63p to 55p. That is an authentically Conservative response to make sure that we target our interventions to help people. We are increasing the work allowance by £500. Taken together, that is a tax cut for 2 million low-income families, which is worth £2.2 billion, or an extra £1,000 a year in their pocket. It was a Conservative Government who introduced the national living wage in 2016, and it will be a Conservative Government who increase the national living wage in April by 6.6% to £9.50 an hour for workers aged 23 and over.
Household Energy Bills: VAT — House of Commons, 2022-01-11
Topic: Energy
Simon Richard Clarke (Conservative, Centre-right): It is vital that we make sure that we support households to make the changes to their homes that are needed to improve their energy efficiency. That is precisely why we have £471 million of spending, to date, on the social housing decarbonisation fund, which is worth £121 million, and the sustainable warmth programme, which is worth £350 million. Those are estimated to save households an average of £350 to £450 a year on their energy bills. In addition, the Government have consulted on expanding the energy company obligation to £1 billion a year of improvements for fuel-poor households. Those are precisely the kinds of things that we need to do to help with bills and deliver the net zero transition.
Household Energy Bills: VAT — House of Commons, 2022-01-11
Topic: Macroeconomics
Simon Richard Clarke (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman is right to say that we need to be moving towards technologies such as air source heat pumps. That is why our heat and buildings strategy sets out a plan to bring parity with gas boilers by 2030. That is precisely what we want to see, because those costs need to come down, and that is what we are enabling through our net zero strategy The Government are focused on protecting jobs, incomes and livelihoods through, by common assent, one of the most challenging periods in our lifetimes. Nineteen months of furlough protected almost 12 million jobs across the UK. The self-employment income support scheme, worth £28 billion, benefited nearly 3 million people. We significantly increased the generosity of the local housing allowance for housing benefit, and more than 1.5 million households are benefiting from an additional £600 a year. For those who need extra help with their housing costs, we provided £140 million for discretionary housing payments. Four million families are getting help with their council tax bills. We have provided nearly £5 billion for schools catch-up and we are rewarding our valued NHS and care workers, with more than 1 million NHS workers receiving a 3% pay rise in a year of otherwise wider pay restraint It has been a goal of successive Conservative Governments since 2010 to keep down the cost of living for working families. I mentioned the increase in the national living wage from April, which represents an increase of more than £1,000 in the annual earnings of a full-time worker on the national living wage. That sort of thing matters in places such as Stoke. We are committed to going further so that the national living wage reaches two thirds of median earnings for those over 21 by 2024, providing economic conditions allow.
Household Energy Bills: VAT — House of Commons, 2022-01-11
Topic: Macroeconomics
Simon Richard Clarke (Conservative, Centre-right): I do not think anyone is saying that we are going through an easy time. We have just emerged from the teeth of an international pandemic, which is still causing major challenges. We have now got to a situation where, despite all the dire predictions, we are back at almost pre-crisis levels of economic activity, and unemployment is fully 2 million fewer than was forecast at the height of the crisis in 2020. That is thanks to the co-ordinated policy decisions of this Government and it is certainly why this situation has not been much, much worse in millions of homes across the country.
Household Energy Bills: VAT — House of Commons, 2022-01-11
Topic: Labor
Simon Richard Clarke (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I think one of the Prime Minister’s bravest decisions was in July last year, when he took the decision to move to step 4 of the roadmap. The right hon. and learned Member for Holborn and St Pancras (Keir Starmer) was all over the airwaves saying that that would lead to disaster, and of course it led to us being able to unlock our society and restore economic activity and our social life, which is obviously so important to people’s mental and physical health. These changes would not have been made without that very clear example of leadership, in the face of, frankly, a complete absence of it from the Opposition The activity that we have undertaken includes doubling free childcare, worth around £5,000 per child per year, introducing tax-free childcare, and helping working parents with 20% of childcare costs up to £10,000. These are practical interventions of the kind that make a real difference to working homes. They are the sort of thing that bears down on the cost of living and makes sure that many people are weathering the storm As a Government, we want to help people into work and to gain the skills they need. We are investing £900 million in each year of the spending review on work coaches, who will provide effective support to help jobseekers on universal credit move into work and, for the first time ever, help people progress once they are in work. We have also invested over £200 million in the JETS—job entry targeted support—scheme, for those unemployed for over three months. Applicants are supported with CV writing, interview skills and job search advice, worth £1,000 per person. We also know that young people were disproportionately affected by the pandemic, which is why we invested in kickstart to fully fund and create hundreds of thousands of jobs for young people. So far, over 112,000 young people have started a kickstart job. To help those affected by long-term unemployment, we launched the restart scheme, which provides up to 12 months of intensive, tailored employment support We are giving employers £3,000 for every apprentice of any age they hire before the 31st of this month. That is a significant 35% wage subsidy for an apprentice on the national living wage and is in addition to the Government paying 95% of the training costs for smaller employers, who do not pay the apprenticeship levy. These are the kinds of things that this Conservative Government are doing to boost work and jobs and keep the economy moving forward, and our plan for jobs is working spectacularly.
Household Energy Bills: VAT — House of Commons, 2022-01-11
Topic: Macroeconomics
Simon Richard Clarke (Conservative, Centre-right): I do not think that focusing on a jobs-led recovery is the wrong thing to do. Indeed, that is precisely what is vital to the life chances of families up and down the country. I have already set out all the measures that we are undertaking, from the warm home discount to winter fuel payments and our wider action on energy costs, which go to the heart of our programme to ensure that the cost of living remains affordable. However, it simply cannot be the case, and I do not think that even those on the shadow Front Bench are suggesting this, that we can completely offset fluctuations in the market price of energy. All we can do is provide families with targeted support, and that is what we are doing, openly, honestly and I think effectively, this winter We also need to remember the overriding context of this whole debate, which goes back to the issue we were debating yesterday evening: fiscal responsibility. That needs to be factored into this debate as well. When it comes to managing the economy throughout this challenging period, we have acted quickly, effectively and responsibly. For all that this Government have done to support families and businesses over the last couple of years—I remind the House again: £400 billion-worth of support—we cannot, and will not, abdicate our fiscal responsibilities. Our level of debt means that we are vulnerable to shocks, including changes to interest rates and inflation. A sustained one percentage point rise in interest rates and inflation would cost over £22 billion by 2026-27. As things stand, inflation is expected to average 4% this year and 2.6% next year. The good news is that we are on course for a return to target by the end of 2023, but, as I told the House yesterday evening, the fact that we have faced two "once in a generation" shocks in just over a decade highlights starkly why we must have the buffers to provide support when it is needed most, and why we must act to rebuild those buffers over the years ahead No one in this Government is under any illusion about the challenges that families are facing with their household finances, and we will of course continue to look closely at all the options that exist. The Business Secretary has been meeting industry representatives regularly, and we in the Government are committed to doing the best job we can to protect consumers. We have acted, not just on energy bills but in dozens of ways, to support working families. Our record on handling the economy during the pandemic and, indeed, over the last decade of recovery speaks to our commitment to see right by the British people, and that, I assure the House, is something that we will continue to do.
Household Energy Bills: VAT — House of Commons, 2022-01-11
Topic: Energy
Jacob Young (Conservative, Centre-right): On low-carbon energy, if the hon. Gentleman wants us to get on a more sustainable footing where we do not rely on oil and gas as much, why did he, his SNP colleagues, the Lib Dems and even some Labour MPs oppose the Nuclear Energy (Financing) Bill last night?
Household Energy Bills: VAT — House of Commons, 2022-01-11
Topic: Macroeconomics
Craig Mackinlay (Conservative, Centre-right): I may have missed it, but an element of clarity may be needed in the SNP’s position. The hon. Gentleman said that the SNP will support the reduction in VAT. Is it right that the SNP’s ambition is to be an independent country in the EU, under which his ambition to have 0% VAT on fuel would be completely scuppered and dictated to by other people in Brussels? Is that the SNP’s position?
Household Energy Bills: VAT — House of Commons, 2022-01-11
Topic: International Affairs
David James Duguid (Conservative, Centre-right): I am interested in the hon. Gentleman’s point about an independent Scotland being able to make its own decisions. Within their devolved responsibilities, the SNP Scottish Government announced the £500 million north-east just transition fund. Is he aware of any announcement yet from the Scottish Government of precisely what the money will be spent on?
Household Energy Bills: VAT — House of Commons, 2022-01-11
Topic: Energy
David James Duguid (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome any funding in support of the energy transition. Much of it comes from the oil and gas companies themselves. In that respect, I welcome the stance of the hon. Gentleman and the SNP against Labour’s calls for a windfall tax on the oil and gas industry. I believe that is what he said, so I welcome that. The specific question that I am asking of the Scottish Government via SNP Members of this House is what precisely that nice-sounding £500 million will be spent on. It is not that I do not welcome it.
Household Energy Bills: VAT — House of Commons, 2022-01-11
Topic: Energy
Christopher James Skidmore (Conservative, Centre-right): I rise to make a plea to Members from all parties that, regardless of the emotions that are raised in this debate, we maintain our united commitment to decarbonisation and energy transition, because, ultimately, net zero was part of all of our manifestos. I worry about having debates such as this, because they tend to become the start of a slippery slope. The shadow Front-Bench spokesperson, the hon. Member for Leeds West (Rachel Reeves), mentioned that this was going to be a temporary VAT cut. Rarely are tax rises or tax cuts temporary. We need a responsible debate about the form that taxation takes, particularly in a post-covid era where Government spending has, regrettably, been at record levels. The fact is that the VAT tax base raises about £134 billion a year—6% of GDP. If we get into the situation of whataboutery where we suddenly say that we will take VAT off here versus VAT off there, it is very difficult to argue a case for maintaining a tax that is actually one of the most sustainable forms of taxation in terms of raising revenue—revenue that is spent on the NHS, on welfare and on the vulnerable constituents mentioned by the hon. Member for Tooting (Dr Allin-Khan) in her powerful speech just now I want to make the case that the best long-term form of ensuring that we reduce energy bills is investment in renewable forms of energy and in insulation. We need to take a long-term view to achieve a long-term gain, as opposed to this short-term perspective of taking a one-year windfall tax as a revenue-raising exercise. It is not a sustainable mechanism by which to deliver a systems-based approach to net zero. We need everyone, not just in this Chamber, but in the country, pulling together to be able to deliver on net zero. Making certain organisations pariahs will not turn the dial back.
Household Energy Bills: VAT — House of Commons, 2022-01-11
Topic: Energy
Christopher James Skidmore (Conservative, Centre-right): That is what I mean by the slippery slope. It is the slippery slope of suddenly saying, "Well, what about reducing VAT? Let’s turn to the green levies—they are actually making up 12% of total cost —which are one of the best ways in which we can enact levelling up and regeneration in former coalfield communities and post-industrial landscapes by ensuring that we have future green investment, such as in Net Zero Teesside or on the Humber where we have seen a revolution in offshore wind. If we want to debate how we deliver on energy prices, it must be by looking at the energy sources for the future, and not at the energy sources of the past. The reason we have an energy cost crisis at the moment is that wholesale gas prices have risen by 400%.
Household Energy Bills: VAT — House of Commons, 2022-01-11
Topic: Environment
Christopher James Skidmore (Conservative, Centre-right): No, it was not the correct decision to close that gas storage facility. We have the lowest gas storage in the whole of Europe—I think it is about 4% or a couple of days’ worth of gas storage. That historic decision demonstrates why we need to take a long-term perspective, rather than short-term political wins We need to act like a Government, which the Opposition are clearly not prepared to do at the moment, and that is to think that difficult decisions need to be taken and need to be taken now, in order for us to think how we not only decarbonise, but reduce our emissions by 70% by 2030, as part of our nationally determined contribution. It beggars belief, to quote the hon. Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Alan Brown), that countries attending COP26 in Glasgow will turn to us, thinking, "Actually, an Opposition party was calling for a reduction in taxation on gas and fossil fuels as a result of reducing VAT." I do not think that that is a responsible position for the Opposition to take Instead, when looking at raising taxation, we need to think about how we responsibly introduce a carbon tax, in the same way as we introduced a carbon tax on coal back in 2012—£18 a tonne on CO2 ended up quite quickly reducing carbon emissions from coal from 140 million tonnes a year to 80 million tonnes a year, and they have dropped ever since. We could do the same with other forms of fossil fuels if we worked responsibly and together, just as we did when we introduced the Climate Change Act 2008 or net zero. We can work together to come up with a consensus that will outlive any one Government or any one party, because that is what we need to do if we are going to be able to deliver net zero by 2050.
Household Energy Bills: VAT — House of Commons, 2022-01-11
Topic: Energy
Fay Alicia Jones (Conservative, Centre-right): It is a pleasure to be called in this debate on household energy. I have a number of problems with today’s motion, which is not a rational debate on how to manage the spiralling cost of living while recovering from the pandemic and meeting our climate change goals. This motion is designed to do nothing more than construct a misleading trope for social media. The Opposition are bringing it forward this afternoon in an attempt to wrestle control of the Order Paper, which they have no business doing, in order to deliver a blunt instrument that will not benefit those on low incomes. They ignore their own role in the spiralling cost of living in Wales I notice that what is missing from the motion is anything about the rural cost of living—something that I am desperately concerned about. We understand that we pay a high price for the beautiful landscape in which we live, but that price is becoming unreasonable. Looking at energy, around 12.5% of those living in rural areas across the country are in fuel poverty. The Energy Saving Trust estimates that this is slightly higher than in urban areas. We invariably have antiquated heating systems and poor insulation, and around two thirds of my constituents live off the gas grid, myself included.
Household Energy Bills: VAT — House of Commons, 2022-01-11
Topic: Transportation
Richard John Holden (Conservative, Centre-right): I have a similar situation in my North West Durham constituency. Does my hon. Friend agree that some of the other issues, particularly around the cost of transport, also need to be addressed? I take her point wholly that this debate today is very much about playing politics with the situation. Obviously the Government are thinking about important measures for the future, but that is not about handing everything over to the right hon. Member for Doncaster North (Edward Miliband) and his pals, who failed to win general elections themselves.
Household Energy Bills: VAT — House of Commons, 2022-01-11
Topic: Macroeconomics
Lee Anderson (Conservative, Centre-right): Now then, if Labour Members really wanted to help the poorest people in society, they would not come to this House with a motion to cut somebody’s bill by £61 a year. There were Labour MPs drinking in the Terrace bar last night who spent more than that on a round of drinks Do I want VAT removed from our energy bills? Of course I do. Everybody does. That is why last week I signed a letter to the Chancellor, asking him to cut the VAT on bills. I also want the removal of levies on domestic energy, which are nearly a quarter of an electricity bill. That sort of saving is a real saving, which would make a real difference to the people in Ashfield and Eastwood, but of course there is not much of an appetite for that in this place as we strive to be net zero in record time No one disagrees with what we are trying to do to save the planet, but a lot of us are sat here on over 80 grand a year—and some people have second jobs—and we are telling poor people that they must pay more to heat their homes. Frankly, when it comes to heating homes, people do not care where their gas or electricity comes from, in the same way as they do not care where their petrol or diesel comes from when they go to fill up their cars. All people want is to be able to afford their bills—that is all Labour Members are trying to play politics with people’s lives so that they can get a cheap social media clip saying, "The nasty Tories are voting against a cut in VAT." They rely on the great British public not knowing how the process works in this place. It is a pitiful way of conducting themselves Let us be honest, this is not a vote to help poorer people pay their bills. It is a vote to take over the Order Paper so the Opposition can return us to the disastrous days of a few years ago that almost cancelled Brexit. There is no doubt that people are struggling and the cost of living is increasing with the increase in fuel prices, but who is to blame for that increase? We cannot just blame the pandemic, as we are all to blame. Successive Governments have never taken this seriously. We closed all our pits and we do not produce gas like we used to. Both Conservative and Labour Governments, let us be honest, have ignored this for years I see Labour Members shaking their heads, but they are not really interested in helping people in places like Ashfield, which has been ignored for decades. Ashfield has had no investment at all, but so far under this Government we have had £70 million, two new schools coming and hopefully a new railway line. We have millions of pounds coming to Ashfield, and what is Labour’s answer to levelling up Ashfield? A saving of £1 a week on energy bills. That is absolutely disgraceful, and Labour Members should hang their head in shame.
Household Energy Bills: VAT — House of Commons, 2022-01-11
Topic: Macroeconomics
Jacob Young (Conservative, Centre-right): I take on board what the hon. Gentleman is saying. I am confused, because the hon. Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Alan Brown) signalled that the SNP will be supporting today’s motion, yet this is a tax cut for the very millionaires the hon. Member for Edinburgh East (Tommy Sheppard) is talking about.
Household Energy Bills: VAT — House of Commons, 2022-01-11
Topic: Macroeconomics
Jack Edgar Brereton (Conservative, Centre-right): I struggle to believe what we are seeing from the Labour party today: a party that has repeatedly opposed Brexit and did everything it could to try to stop us leaving the EU is now proposing something that would have been impossible had we remained in the EU. We see right through these underhand attempts by the Labour party to subvert democracy and take over control of Government time. The reality is that, yes, our constituents across the country are feeling the pressures of inflation and increased energy costs, but this is not just a UK issue; this is an issue faced by the global economy as we emerge from the pandemic, as well as a result of the actions of adversaries, including Putin’s Russia, which are ramping up global energy costs in an attempt to prop up their own domestic failings The challenges of the cost of living faced by my constituents in Stoke-on-Trent South are nothing new. For decades the neglect of our city by the Labour party has seen wage levels remain far below the national average. It is only now that we are starting to see things change, with wage levels increasing with a resurgent Stoke-on-Trent economy.
Household Energy Bills: VAT — House of Commons, 2022-01-11
Topic: Social Welfare
Lee Anderson (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is talking about the deprivation and years of neglect in his own patch in Stoke; does he agree that that pattern was repeated all over the country in the north and the midlands and that we are finally putting it right?