Category Archives: In Parliament

A Budget that boosts businesses, workers and public services

Dom hearing from local businesses at a Federation of Small Businesses roundtable last year

 

Yesterday’s Budget was good news for Elmbridge residents – boosting small businesses, workers and public services, as we rise to the immediate challenge of Coronavirus.

The Chancellor announced measures to support the economy through Coronavirus. The government announced a £12 billion support package, including £5 billion which will be available for the NHS and other public services.

Statutory Sick Pay will be expanded, and it will become easier for the self-employed to claim benefits. To support businesses affected, the government has increased business rates discounts for retail premises, saving each eligible business up to £25,000, and announced an emergency loans scheme.

More broadly, residents across Elmbridge will benefit from a cut in National Insurance Contributions. Raising the threshold for National Insurance Contributions from £8,632 to £9,500 in April will cut the average Elmbridge resident’s National Insurance payments by £104 in 2020/21. This, alongside raising the National Living Wage by 6.2% to £8.72 in April, will put more money in residents’ pockets.

The Chancellor also announced significant new public investment. The NHS will enjoy a £6 billion boost over the next five years, on top of the £34 billion increase already announced. A new £2.5 billion Potholes Fund was also announced. I’ll be working hard to make sure Elmbridge receives its fair share of this funding, to deliver more GP appointments and repair local roads.

 

 

 

 

Funding boost for Elmbridge Borough Council and Surrey County Council

Earlier this week the House of Commons approved a £49.2 billion funding package for local councils next year (2020/21). This is an increase of £2.9 billion on 2019/20, the biggest increase in councils’ spending power for a decade.

Elmbridge Borough Council (EBC)’s share of this is £18.1 million, an increase of £0.5 million on 2019/20. This will allow EBC to properly fund local services like bin collections.

£14.8 million (81.8%) of EBC’s total share will come from council tax. To raise this amount, EBC are increasing their portion of council tax by £5 (2.26%) on a Band D property.

Of the remainder, £2.3 million (12.7% of the total) will come from the council’s business rates income, with the remaining £1 million (5.6%) coming from government grants.

The funding available to Surrey County Council (SCC) will also increase. SCC will have access to £919.3 million in 2020/21, up by £53.6 million from 2019/20. This allows the council to maintain our roads, libraries and other services across the county.

Of this £919.3 million, £765 million (83.2%) will come from council tax. SCC has voted to increase their portion of council tax by 3.99% (£58 on a Band D property) to raise this amount. Importantly, 2% of this 3.99% increase is reserved for spending on social care services.

£115.1 million of the remainder of the funding SCC will have access to (12.5% of the total) will come from business rates income. The rest (£39.1 million, or 4.3%) comes from government grants.

These funding settlements demonstrate the government’s commitment to ensuring our local services in Elmbridge are properly funded, while setting limits on council tax rises to protect residents from excessive increases.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pushing for Permanent Accommodation for Cobham Free School

Today in the House of Commons, I asked Education Secretary Damian Hinds what the Government can do to support Cobham Free School to move into its permanent accommodation at Munro House. I was pleased that he agreed to meet with me to see what help the Department for Education can provide to seek early vacant possession of the site.

As local residents will know, Cobham Free School’s secondary department has been in temporary accommodation since 2014. Although it is welcome that the 6th Form is moving into Munro House in September of this year, the rest of the secondary department won’t join them until 2021. I share the frustrations of pupils and parents at this delay.

When I meet with the Secretary of State, I will continue to push for more support from the Department for Education to ensure that Cobham Free School can move into its permanent accommodation, in full, as soon as possible.

You can watch my question here (From 14:40m30s)

Meaningful Vote Speech

Yesterday, I spoke in the House of Commons debate on the government’s Brexit deal explaining why I could not support it.

In my speech, I set out how the draft deal would have severe, long-term, risks for our economy and trust in our democracy. The deal would also stifle the positive opportunities of Brexit that inspired over 17 million people to vote to leave the EU in June 2016.

You can read the full text of my speech on Hansard here, or watch a video of my speech here.

Budget 2018

Yesterday, The Chancellor, Philip Hammond, announced the government’s Autumn Budget.
First, there was good economic news. GDP growth forecasts have been revised up for 2019 and 2020, whilst unemployment forecasts have been revised down – with unemployment forecast to be just 3.7% in 2019. With unemployment already at a 43-year low, and wages growing at the fastest rate for nearly a decade, our economy will remain robust and strong for the foreseeable future.
Next, the government will support the High Street by introducing £900 million of further business rates relief over the next two years. This will benefit nearly half a million small retailers, saving them 1/3 in business rates bills – a total saving of up to £8,000 a year. The Chancellor also announced the creation of a £675 million ‘Future High Streets Fund’, which will rejuvenate town centres and improve transport links. An extra £420 million has also been pledged to fill potholes. This is good news for small businesses and consumers across Elmbridge.
The budget contained good news for local families too. The income tax threshold (the point at which people start paying income tax on their earnings) will increase to £12,500 from April 2019 and the higher rate threshold will increase to £50,000. This will save the average taxpayer £1,205 in tax compared to 2010. Fuel duty has again been frozen – for the ninth consecutive year – which means that, by next year, the average driver will have save £1,000 since 2010.
Finally, on investment in our public services, the Chancellor announced an extra £2 billion more per year for mental health services. This will provide more mental health ambulances, a dedicated mental health crisis hotline, and greater community support. It comes as part of our long term plan for NHS funding, which will mean an extra £20.5 billion more in real terms per year by 2023-24. The Chancellor also announced we will support schools with an extra £400 million next year – an average of an extra £10,000 for every primary school and £50,000 for every secondary school.

Update on Illegal Traveller Encampments in Elmbridge

This month many residents have contacted me regarding illegal traveller incursions across Elmbridge, in particular in Cobham, Claygate, Long Ditton, Esher and Walton-on-Thames. I share the acute frustration many residents feel at these illegal encampments, and I am taking action at every level to tackle the issue.

First, locally, I met with Elmbridge’s new Neighbourhood Police Inspector, Dallas McDermott, at the end of July to talk through police enforcement action in Elmbridge and to convey the concerns of local residents about illegal incursions. Inspector McDermott reassured me that Surrey Police understand the frustration of residents and have been taking a more pro-active approach against illegal encampments than they had in the past.

This has produced results. I am relieved that the encampments on the Recreation Ground in Long Ditton, Claygate Recreation Ground, Halfway Car Park in Walton, Cobham Recreation Ground and the Lower Green Recreation Ground in Esher have all been removed, with full clear-up operations underway at all the sites.

As well as this, the Conservative-run Elmbridge Borough Council has secured an injunction in the High-Court preventing people from entering or occupying the borough’s parks, open spaces and car parks for the purposes of living there (including caravans, mobile homes and vehicles). Anyone who breaches the injunction will be liable for sanctions including imprisonment, fines and seizure of assets. It will also make it easier for the Council to move illegal encampments on, as they will not need to go through the process of securing a Court Order for each individual site, saving time and money.

While local enforcement is important, we also need a change at the national level. In April of this year, as Housing and Planning Minister, I brought forward new proposals to strengthen enforcement powers, provide county-wide authorised sites and consider introducing a new offence of criminal trespass.

I moved from that role in July to become the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, but I have had regular discussions with my successor, Kit Malthouse, about the proposals. I raised the matter with him again recently, following the incursions in Elmbridge. He has reassured me that the government has finished consulting on the proposals, and will be setting out its plans shortly.

As someone who lives in the community, I totally appreciate the level of frustration with illegal encampments. More importantly, I will continue to work at a local and national level to prevent their recurrence and reinforce the powers available to deal with them.

Ensuring Fairness in the Housing Sector

Yesterday, I opened the Second Reading debate for the government on the Rating (Property in Common Occupation) and Council Tax (Empty Dwellings) Bill.

Put simply, the Bill does two things.

First, it allows councils to charge double the rate of Council Tax on homes left empty for over 2 years. Currently, local authorities can levy a 50% premium, which has seen the number of long-term empty homes drop by a third since 2010. We now want to go further. This Bill will allow councils to double the amount of council tax on vacant residential properties, to incentivise bringing long-term empty housing back into use.

Second, the Bill reverses the so-called ‘staircase tax’. The staircase tax resulted from a Supreme Court ruling, which changed the way business rates were calculated. It meant that businesses who worked from two linked areas of the same building (but which were separated by a wall or staircase) faced multiple rates assessments, rather than just one. As a result, many hard-pressed businesses faced an unjustified tax hike. We are amending the law to reverse these changes, which will support small businesses and the high street. 

So, the Bill was an important boost for small businesses, and for increasing the supply of residential homes. The Bill passed the House of Commons at Second Reading. You can read my contributions to the debate here, and watch my speech here (from 18:03:45).

Government Consultation on Illegal Caravan Encampments

Today, I announced a Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) consultation on the enforcement powers available to councils and the police to address unauthorised traveller encampments. The latest data shows 84% of caravans are located on sites authorised for travellers, so the vast majority of the traveller community are behaving lawfully, decently and properly.

But there are still 3,700 caravans on unauthorised sites – the highest level since 2014. Local communities are understandably frustrated and concerned by the illegal occupation of land, some of the anti-social behaviour which can accompany it, and the clear-up costs when the caravans move on. We’re consulting on powers to prevent and address such incursions, and to make sure that the rule of law applies rigorously across the board.

You can read more about the announcement here. You can listen to my discussion on the subject on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme here (from 1:33:15).

Spring Statement

Today, the Chancellor, Philip Hammond, delivered his Spring Statement – billed as an update on the state of the economy, rather than a mini-budget. The Chancellor confirmed that the UK economy is performing better than previously forecast. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the UK’s independent economic watchdog, increased its forecasts for UK growth to 1.5% for 2018. This morning, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OECD joined them in raising their forecast for growth this year.

This means our economy will grow more quickly, which will lead to more jobs, and greater tax revenue. The OBR expect unemployment to remain close to its 40-year low, so we can continue to build on our strong record of over 3 million jobs created since 2010. The OBR also join the Bank of England in predicting that pay will start to increase faster than inflation this year, and for the foreseeable future. This is good news for working families, particularly those on low and middling incomes.

A number of recent budgetary measures will directly benefit us, locally, in Elmbridge. We have abolished stamp duty for first-time buyers entirely for those spending under £300,000, and on the first £300,000 for those spending less than £500,000. This will exempt 80% of this group from paying stamp duty entirely, while cutting the bills for 95%. It has already helped 60,000 people get onto the housing ladder, and saves the average first-time buyer in Elmbridge £5,000.

We are also supporting local businesses and the High Street. The government has introduced a package of Business Rate relief worth almost £10 billion. The government has also brought forward the planned switch from RPI to CPI by two years, to next month, a move which will save businesses £2.3 billion over the next five years. This will support local small businesses, in Elmbridge and nationally, which are vital for driving job creation.

Finally, the tax-free allowance will rise to £11,850 from next month. This means that the average worker will take home an extra £1,075 a year compared to 2010. You can read a summary of the key points made by the Chancellor here.

 

Better Court Services for Users

On Friday, I announced two new Courts and Tribunals Service Centres to be opened in The Midlands, as part of the £1 billion modernisation reforms to our courts and justice system.

The centres, based in Birmingham and Stoke-on-Trent, will transform the way we manage court and tribunal cases by transforming from traditional paper-based systems to modern digital systems. As well as making courts and tribunals easier to access for working people, the two centres will generate over 600 jobs over the two areas. The new operating model will improve efficiency, reduce delays and increase the amount of cases processed.

The move is an important step towards making the justice system more sensitive for witnesses, as well as delivering better value for money for taxpayers.

You can read the Ministry of Justice press release on my announcement here, and the BBC reporting here.