Poundland
(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade if he will make a statement on the situation at Poundland and potential actions to protect jobs.
11,987 spoken contributions under 12 words (interjections such as “Will the hon. Member give way?”) are hidden. Show them
- Hansard source
- Hansard source
Poundland
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for granting this urgent question. I thank the Minister for the tone and content of her answer. At the heart of this matter are the 11,000 people whose jobs, through no fault of their own, hang in the balance, and who do not know whether they will have a job at all this side of Christmas. Those jobs are not concentrated in a big factory, but dispersed across this country in towns such as Hanley in Stoke-on-Trent and in your constituency of Chorley, Mr Speaker, as well as in the supply chains and distributors in Makerfield and Harlow, which my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Chris Vince) talked about. This company has survived because the workers turned it around. We are in the situation that we are in today because choices have been made by Gordon Brothers. It has rejected solvent bids and is seeking to push a company into administration for its own personal profit. Fundamentally, its interest does not appear to be the 11,000 constituents we all represent, who take home money to look after their kids, put food on the table and live the life that they deserve. I am very glad that the Minister continues with meetings, but the management of Poundland is not the problem; it is Gordon Brothers. If we get to a point where administration takes place and 11,000 jobs and supply chain jobs are put at risk, what levers can the Minister use to save as many jobs as she can? What pressure can this House, through her, put on the owners to accept one of the solvent bids in order to protect jobs? What can this House do to send a message to Gordon Brothers that its predatory capitalism when it comes to this company will not be tolerated? We in this country will always stand with people before profit.
- Hansard source
Poundland
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I should have put on record my membership of USDAW at the beginning of the urgent question, and I apologise to the House for inadvertently failing to do so.
- Hansard source
Family Protection Plan Withdrawal
<Question HRSContentId="{FA1F143E-C2E7-434C-948E-769752644321}">2. <QuestionText HRSContentId="{6736BA25-01B0-4C9F-81A5-5E8A09441851}">What discussions he has had with the Financial Conduct Authority on the impact of the withdrawal of the family protection plan by CMutual and Maiden Life Försäkrings on policyholders. </QuestionText></Question>
- Hansard source
Family Protection Plan Withdrawal
I thank my right hon. and learned Friend for her response and her work on this matter. The most vulnerable families paid FPP funeral cover for 25 years because it was all they could afford, and data shows that since its withdrawal, only 3% of policyholders have been able to secure alternative cover and at least 61 people have died without funeral protection. Despite numerous industry forum meetings to explore redress, no solutions have been agreed, even for the oldest and most vulnerable. Will my right hon. and learned Friend meet me, MPs with affected constituents and the independent coalition of credit unions as a matter of urgency, so that we can try to identify any possible next steps?
- Hansard source
Public Services and Economic Growth: Scotland
Last year, we provided the Scottish Government with a record spending review settlement, and last week at the Budget, we gave the Scottish Government a further £600 million through Barnett consequentials. We also announced £18 million for a UK advanced chip design academy led by Edinburgh University, £6 million to support the expansion of Glasgow’s Scottish event campus and £10 million of co-funding, with the Scottish Government, for two defence technical excellence colleges.
- Hansard source
Public Services and Economic Growth: Scotland
I agree with my hon. Friend. As she says, at the Budget we gave the Scottish Government an additional £600 million through Barnett consequentials on top of a record spending review settlement. Now we need the SNP Government to act to improve public services in Scotland with that money.
- Hansard source
Public Services and Economic Growth: Scotland
As my hon. Friend says, the Chancellor last week froze business rates in real terms for high street businesses, and has taken 70,000 small businesses on the high street in England out of paying business rates altogether. We have given the devolved Government in Scotland the Barnett consequentials for that, and I urge them to follow our lead.
- Hansard source
Public Services and Economic Growth: Scotland
I reassure the hon. Lady that we continue to support the Acorn project. The initial grant funding that this Government are providing until the end of 2026 remains in place, and we are exploring delivery through private investment and Government loans or equity investments in the future.
- Hansard source
Public Services and Economic Growth: Scotland
I thank the right hon. Member for his question, and suggest I write to him to set that out in more detail.
- Hansard source
Advanced Manufacturing
Can I take this opportunity to congratulate my hon. Friend on her election as Chair of the Justice Committee? As she rightly says, we inherited a prison system at breaking point after 14 years of Tory mismanagement. At the spending review, we significantly increased the funding for the Ministry of Justice, with an additional £550 million for probation, £450 million for courts and £7 billion for prison places. We have already delivered 3,000 new places through the largest prison building programme since the Victorian era. I will continue to work with the Justice Secretary on the issues mentioned by my hon. Friend.
- Hansard source
Advanced Manufacturing
We were left a terrible legacy by the Conservative party, and we have cut £1 billion from asylum costs during the time we have been in power.
- Hansard source
Advanced Manufacturing
The hon. Gentleman will know that an EU summit is coming up on 20 November, and we are still negotiating with the EU. We are putting right the botched Brexit that we inherited from the Conservative party, which put frictions at our border and increased costs for farmers, family businesses and others.
- Hansard source
Advanced Manufacturing
I remind the hon. Lady of her party’s role in trebling tuition fees when it was in coalition with the Conservatives. We have helped this year by capping interest rates at 6% for plan 2 and 3 loans, and from the academic year 2028-29, we will reintroduce targeted maintenance grants to support students from low-income households.
- Hansard source
Advanced Manufacturing
I will ensure that my hon. Friend gets a meeting with the relevant health Minister. More broadly, the Chancellor announced last week that in the spending review next year, we will set out a new preventative departmental expenditure limit spending category to get ahead of problems before they get more expensive, because we recognise that preventing problems before they arise is a good use of taxpayers’ money.
- Hansard source
Budget Resolutions
This Budget provides breathing space now and fresh hope for the future, which is the focus of today’s debate. I thank all hon. and right hon. Members across this House who have made contributions—not only today, but over the four days of the debate on this Budget—on the action we are taking in government to steer Britain through the global economic storms, kick-start good growth in every postcode, strengthen our national security and chart a new course for our country in the years ahead. Many Members, including my hon. Friends the Members for Barrow and Furness (Michelle Scrogham) and for Rossendale and Darwen (Andy MacNae), rightly stressed the challenges we are facing because of the storms in the global economy. We have heard a lot from Opposition Front Benchers—most of it hot air—but there was not a word of apology for calling on this Government to join the war in the middle east that is driving up energy costs, inflation and the cost of Government borrowing. We cannot wish away these global economic storms. Instead, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor has set out a course to steer this country through them. We have chosen to use some of the fiscal headroom established last year to absorb the impact of the Iran war and to protect the economy, British businesses and family budgets. As my hon. Friends the Members for Cities of London and Westminster (Rachel Blake) and for Darlington (Lola McEvoy) rightly said, fiscal discipline underwrites every policy of this Government. We will meet the fiscal rules in full, and for the first time, in the third year of the forecast. Last year, borrowing fell to its lowest level in six years as a percentage of GDP, and it continues to fall across the forecast. We will not take any lectures from the shadow Chancellor, the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs (Andrew Griffith) or the shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the hon. Member for North Bedfordshire (Richard Fuller). They like to claim that they were innocent bystanders who just happened to be Treasury Ministers at the time of the Liz Truss mini-Budget. We all know that they were the architects of the mini-Budget. The shadow Chancellor still maintains, and said as recently as September, that there were a “lot of good things” in the mini-Budget, and to this day the British people are paying the price for his failure. Liz Truss’s stint in office might have been short-lived, but the impact was long-lasting. The contrast with this Labour Government could not be clearer. I am proud that the IMF has said that the UK stands out as a country where “action to reduce debt and deficit has been taken decisively”. It has said that we will have the lowest deficit in the G7 by 2029. As my hon. Friend the Member for Macclesfield (Tim Roca) rightly said, the British economy has proven more resilient than many predicted, including Opposition Members. Indeed, it has defied expectations. The Tories and Reform like to talk down our economy, but the fundamentals of the British economy are strong. Public investment is up. Business investment is up to its highest level in 10 years. Productivity has finally turned a corner, and we had the joint-fastest growth in the G7 in the first half of this year.
- Hansard source
Budget Resolutions
The last Parliament was the worst Parliament on record for living standards. Since the last election, living standards have increased by 1.8%. I urge the right hon. Gentleman to read the executive summary from the OBR, which stated: “As a net importer of energy, the rise in energy prices constitutes a negative terms-of-trade shock for the UK, which pushes up on inflation and lowers real household disposable incomes.” Those are the global headwinds we are facing.
- Hansard source
Budget Resolutions
What I say to the right hon. Gentleman is that wages have risen faster in the first two years of this Government than they did in the first 10 years of his Government, so we will take no lectures from him or his party. Against this backdrop, the Chancellor is providing immediate breathing space for families and businesses. Our £100 household energy payment will support 20 million households in England. That is 80% of households, and it will be paid for by a time-limited 3% increase to the bank surcharge, which the Conservatives will oppose in the Lobby. We are going further on bills, by extending the removal of VAT on electricity until July and extending the 5p cut on fuel duty, and next year we will abolish gas standing charges. I thank my hon. Friends the Members for Camborne and Redruth (Perran Moon) and for Bracknell (Peter Swallow), and many others, for welcoming this energy support package. Overall, in 2026-27, households in England are estimated to benefit by about £160 on average from the support that we are providing on energy, according to new analysis published this morning. Households on the lowest incomes are expected to benefit the most, with the bottom 20% benefiting by about £230 on average, almost four times as much as the top 20%. Because we know that higher energy costs are a challenge for business too, we are reducing bills by up to 25% for more than 10,000 eligible businesses from next April through the British industrial competitiveness scheme, as was mentioned by my right hon. Friend the Business Secretary earlier. That will help to support the British firms at the heart of the future of Britain’s reindustrialisation. Beyond energy, we are supporting families by giving self-employed dads paid paternity leave, and I thank my hon. Friends the Members for Reading West and Mid Berkshire (Olivia Bailey) and for Dagenham and Rainham (Margaret Mullane) for welcoming that measure. We are backing British businesses and high streets, and here I would like to correct the record. Of course the brilliant men and women across the country who run small businesses are working people, and I thank them for their contribution to our local economies and our local high streets—the bakeries, the cafés, the restaurants, the beauticians, the hairdressers, the local pubs, and so much more. In the first week of this new Government in July 2024, we cut an extra 20% from business rates for pubs, social clubs and live music venues from April next year. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Hyndburn (Sarah Smith) for her invitation to the pub in her constituency, and I look forward to going there to eat the goulash. In this Budget, the Chancellor has gone further by taking 70,000 more small retail, hospitality and leisure properties out of paying business rates altogether. For all other businesses in those sectors, we are freezing their business rates in real terms. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Laura Kyrke-Smith)—my constituency neighbour—for what she said about that change in business rates, and the 2,000 small high street businesses across Buckinghamshire, including Aylesbury and indeed High Wycombe, that will be taken out of business rates altogether. To pay for this—as was mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Heywood and Middleton North (Mrs Blundell)—we are increasing machine games duty for higher-stakes machines, and we are carving out adult gaming centres and vape shops from business rate reliefs. We are also ensuring that online marketplaces collect and pay VAT, which they should be doing already. Many Members have mentioned young people during the debate. We want young people to have the chance to earn, learn and get on. As the Chancellor has rightly said, we have a moral duty to the next generation. We are raising pay for low-paid workers, while being careful not to price young people out of that crucial first job. We have also expanded access to work experience, and provided record funding for apprenticeships. We have introduced a scheme for first-time buyers, and have capped student loan interest rates at 6%. My hon. Friends the Members for Lichfield (Dave Robertson) and for Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare (Gerald Jones) mentioned the mineworkers pension scheme. It is this Labour Government who returned the investment fund to the members of the scheme in a previous Budget, and in this Budget the Chancellor has rightly introduced a measure to ensure that not a penny of the surpluses will come back to the Government. Instead, 100% of surpluses will go to the scheme members. As for the outstanding issue of the guarantor’s fund, the Chancellor has made it clear that we will go on to ensure that the full transfer takes place. As well as making decisions to provide breathing space now, the Chancellor took action for the long term to kick-start growth throughout the country, which is the only way to keep Britain’s families and Britain’s finances secure for the long term. That begins with, first, delivering the most ambitious devolution package in a generation. We are putting power in the hands of local leaders because they know the right levers to pull to drive growth and job creation in their local areas. Secondly, this Budget delivers radical reform of our energy system, because our priority is to bring energy costs down to help British business to compete and British households to cope. We will only buy and build new projects where they lower bills and can connect to the grid. We will further break the grip of international gas prices on our bills by moving more of our old renewables on to fixed-price contracts, and we will build cheaper, faster grid connections through GB Grid.
- Hansard source
Budget Resolutions
We are securing energy in our country and giving people an energy support package, as I outlined. Crucially, we are putting an end to the Tories’ practice of loading levy costs on to bills, because, unlike them, we are determined to bring down energy bills for families. Thirdly, we are supporting companies to start, scale and stay in the UK. We are introducing a new founders’ relief for founders of high-growth companies, and a new young entrepreneurs allowance to cover a year of living costs for young founders while they turn their ideas into businesses. Crucially, and as recommended by the women in tech taskforce, we are establishing a new scale-up programme to support female founders. The British Business Bank will also double its commitments to women-led businesses. Finally, we have taken action to tackle the big challenges facing our country—most importantly, on defence. The first duty of any Government is to keep the country safe, and I am proud that this Labour Government have driven the biggest boost in defence spending since the end of the cold war. At the Budget last week, we took difficult decisions to reprioritise budgets across Whitehall in order to fund the £15 billion defence investment plan in full. At the spending review next year, we will set out the details of how we will meet our NATO commitment to spend 3.5% of GDP on defence by 2035. Crucially, that includes setting a target of 3% by 2030. This is a “credible path” to the UK meeting our NATO commitments—not my words, but those of the NATO Secretary-General, Mark Rutte, who has welcomed our plans. I know that there is plenty of disagreement in this House on the measures in the Budget, but there is one area where I think we agree: we stand shoulder to shoulder with the people and Government of Ukraine. This Budget provides £10 billion of additional economic and military support for Ukraine. Together, we are sending a clear message to Moscow that Britain will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes. This is a Budget built on fiscal discipline. It charts a way through difficult global economic headwinds. It provides breathing space for families and businesses now. It kick-starts work on the big changes needed to put this country on a better course on devolution, energy and defence, and it will deliver good growth in every postcode and strengthen our national security. This is a Budget built on Labour choices—breathing space today, and fresh hope for the future. Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That income tax is charged for the tax year 2027-28. And it is declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution should have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968. The Deputy Speaker put forthwith the Questions necessary to dispose of the motions made in the name of the Chancellor of the Exchequer (Standing Order No. 51(3)). 2. Income tax (main rates) Resolved, That for the tax year 2027-28 the main rates of income tax are as follows— (a) the basic rate is 20%, (b) the higher rate is 40%, and (c) the additional rate is 45%. And it is declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution should have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968. 3. Income tax (default, property and savings rates) Question put, That— (1) For the tax year 2027-28 the default rates of income tax are as follows— (a) the default basic rate is 20%, (b) the default higher rate is 40%, and (c) the default additional rate is 45%. (2) For the tax year 2027-28 the property rates of income tax are as follows— (a) the property basic rate is 24%, (b) the property higher rate is 44%, and (c) the property additional rate is 49%. (3) For the tax year 2027-28 the savings rates of income tax are as follows— (a) the savings basic rate is 24%, (b) the savings higher rate is 44%, and (c) the savings additional rate is 49%. (4) In consequence of the provision made by paragraphs (2) and (3), sections 5 and 7 of the Finance Act 2026 (which had set the property rates and savings rates for the tax year 2027-28) are repealed. And it is declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution should have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968.
- Hansard source
Young People and Work: Milburn Interim Report
The Minister listed some of the drivers of the problem, one of which, as many Members mentioned, is transport links, particularly for people in rural communities. As she will remember, the Transport Committee recommended that to help solve the problem, the Government should look seriously at Scotland and institute free bus travel for young people in England. Will the Government look at that again?
- Hansard source
Budget Resolutions
This Budget contains much that people across Tooting, Balham and Earlsfield will truly welcome. In the months beforehand, people in our communities gave me clear criteria for a Budget—one that recognises the poly-crisis we are in by giving them breathing space in the cost of living crisis and easing the burdens of the cost of business too. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor has delivered that and more. Local people have told me that they welcome the £100 household energy payment and the business rates package, which means that retail, hospitality and leisure properties in Tooting will see their business rates either frozen in real terms, reduced or cut to zero. That is over 70,000 additional high street businesses taken out of business rates altogether. This Budget rightly recognises that high streets are the heartbeat of our local communities and the foundation of our collective identity, as I have seen locally with our bustling town centres. The Prime Minister has made good growth in every postcode the north star of his Government. He is talking about postcodes across our capital—not just SW1 but E13; not just N1 but SW17. We have a vibrant array of neighbourhoods, each with its distinctive history, character, community and unique personality. Despite everything its opponents throw at us online, that is what makes London the best city in the world. People from all around the world, from the US to Russia, are trying to divide our communities and break our cohesiveness—the thing that makes us proud to be British—and we will never, ever let them achieve that. But we know that there is more to do, particularly on London’s failing housing market. That is why the Government are rightly taking action through the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 and their commitment to work with our mayor and councils to deliver more council homes. As temperatures drop, the immediate priority must be to truly end rough sleeping. When people see their fellow citizens sleeping rough, it offends their sense of a fair society. When I am doing my shifts in St George’s hospital and I see people who are homeless coming through our doors, it breaks my heart—it breaks the heart of every nurse, doctor, receptionist and healthcare worker who has to look after them. We have the most incredible homelessness inclusion team at St George’s, but it is a scourge on modern British society that people are sleeping rough. It is a public health emergency and a moral catastrophe. Tweaking will never be enough, and the Prime Minister and Chancellor’s commitment to double spending on ending rough sleeping to almost £900 million is a signal of this Government’s values of compassion, dignity and decency. That is the difference a Labour Government make. Every day, the country and our capital are turning around the trajectory of industrial decline and putting fresh hope in every heart.
- Hansard source
Budget Resolutions
I welcome much of what the Chancellor of the Exchequer has said in the Budget, but tonight I will speak of our NHS, for we will not grow our economy if we are not well. Norfolk and Suffolk foundation trust is the mental health trust that serves my constituents, and it has been transformed thanks to its brilliant staff and inspired leadership—I thank all of them. Last week I learned that some of the teams have been early adopters of AI, using it to transcribe patient consultations. More time with the patients and less time staring at computers—imagine that! Some of us remain suspicious of AI in healthcare, but who here has not asked their phone about a symptom or a medical worry? Many GPs already use AI-assisted triage to tackle the dreaded 8 o’clock rush. I am therefore pleased to hear that we will fund the technology that will increasingly shape our health service. Let us embrace it, not fear it. I welcome the Government’s approach to healthcare, but much remains to be done. Too many of our patients are being asked to be just that: patient. We have record NHS staffing and resources since the pandemic, yet activity has not increased proportionately. Why is that? How much genuinely improves people’s health? We know that health depends on housing, wealth and much else besides. Falling life expectancy in some of our communities and the problems in maternity services demand urgent political attention. I welcome the Chancellor’s announcement of funding for surgical robots, having heard how they are helping patients at West Suffolk hospital, but frankly, if I were asked where I would invest taxpayers’ money, my answer would be: in primary care and neighbourhood health centres.
- Hansard source
Budget Resolutions
If the right hon. Gentleman simply listens to the next part of my speech, he may be reassured. Let us build on GP partnerships and shift resources from hospitals to communities. We could have centres that are open in the evening, at which there are specialist nurses, mental health professionals and pharmacists. These would be places where the patients know their doctor, and the doctor knows their patients.
- Hansard source
Budget Resolutions
I am grateful for the hon. Lady’s intervention. Keeping people healthy and at home, wherever possible, should be supported by our developing national care service. It is a simple but transformative move, and I am delighted that our Government will fund it. In Suffolk, seven new NHS dental practices have been announced, including two in Bury St Edmunds. I applaud the organisation Toothless in Suffolk for its advocacy, but the dental contract must be reformed. Why has this been delayed? A new dental school is opening at the University of East Anglia, and we must ensure that graduates choose NHS dentistry, rather than private practice. It was a privilege to serve on the Public Bill Committee for the Health Bill. I welcome the single patient record, alongside the retention of Healthwatch and the Health Services Safety Investigations Body. Patient voices and independent safety investigations must remain central. Some of our political opponents suggest that the NHS has had its day and advocate for an insurance-based system. I profoundly disagree. My father joined the NHS at its foundation in 1948, having served as an RAF medical officer. I spent more than 40 years as a surgeon, and my son works as an A&E doctor in London—78 years of continuous family service to the NHS. Perhaps the NHS is in my DNA. It is certainly in the DNA of the Labour party. Finally, I want to say something about medical research. We celebrate Jenner, Lister and Fleming, but let us remember the extraordinary British scientists of my lifetime, including Nobel prize winners Crick, Hodgkin, Milstein, Nurse, and Hassabis, whose AlphaFold work revolutionised protein structure prediction. There are many others, including the grandfather of my hon. Friend the Member for Luton South and South Bedfordshire (Rachel Hopkins), the unsung Harold Hopkins. Their achievements remind us why supporting scientific research must remain a national priority. I remain a great optimist for our NHS—there is fresh hope for the future—but we must cherish our NHS. We must invest in it and protect it.
- Hansard source
Budget Resolutions
I do not claim to be an expert on the selection of software programmes for the single patient record, but I believe that a single patient record will be transformative. If we ever lost our NHS, we would never ever get it back.
- Hansard source
Poundland
The current situation is not the Government’s fault, and it is certainly not the fault of the excellent employees at Poundland. It is the fault of the worst type of greedy capitalism. A number of my constituents have contacted me about the situation, and what they want to know from the Government is what robust response they are giving the owners. My constituents want to be assured that no stone will be left unturned, and they want to know what options the Government can pursue.
- Hansard source
Budget Resolutions
Without a doubt, the greatest concern for most of my constituents is the cost of living, in particular the cost of energy. The biggest factors driving up the costs are the Ukraine war and, of course, President Trump’s ill-conceived and, frankly, stupid decision to go to war with Iran. It is just not credible to claim that in the current financial climate this Government could put right in just over two years 14 years of Tory mismanagement of the economy and the impact of those two wars. It is also worrying that we have a generation of young people who feel they will be worse off than their parents. Clearly, it is shocking that we have a million young people not in education, employment or training. I welcome many of the measures introduced by the Chancellor in the Budget, in particular the breathing space scheme whereby households in bands A to D will get a £100 payment directly into their bank account this winter to help deal with rising energy bills. It is good that the Budget supports households with the rising cost of energy bills by extending the temporary 0% rate of VAT on electricity until 2027 and capping new levies on energy bills at 0% until 2030. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, so I welcome the fact that we are taking more businesses out of paying business rates by increasing small business rates relief thresholds for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties. Likewise, I support removing eligibility for vape shops and adult gaming centres, to help our high streets to become vibrant places once more, supporting independent businesses and creating town centres where people want to live. I initiated a new town centre plan for Widnes with Halton borough council to help regenerate our town centre as the money becomes available, so I am pleased that the Government have allocated £1.24 million to renovate derelict buildings. When added to the £1.5 million Widnes Pride in Place town centre impact fund allocated last year, that can help kick-start some of the improvements we want to see in Widnes town centre, and I look forward to working with Halton council on that. I am also pleased that Knowsley council has been allocated £1.55 million, and I look forward to discussions with the council on how that will be used.
- Hansard source
Budget Resolutions
I will not, given the time. I look forward to hearing more from the Chancellor about the fiscal devolution road map, reforming the long-term funding model for regional and local government. It has the potential over time to make a real difference to the economic performance of many of our cities and towns outside London. We have had the biggest increase in defence spending since the cold war. It is also true that we face the biggest threat since the cold war. I am pleased that the Chancellor has announced that he is fully funding the defence investment plan and has a target date of 3% of GDP by 2030, but I think we need to see the plan for reaching that target sooner rather than later. It remains my view that threats are escalating, and we need to be spending 3% before the end of this Parliament. The previous Tory Government hollowed out and grossly underfunded our armed forces, leaving them in a truly shocking state, with the smallest Army since the Napoleonic wars, every single recruitment target missed and an equipment programme that was in disarray—over budget, behind schedule or both. Now they have the cheek to try to erase their woeful record on defence. This Government are working hard to make sure that our armed forces are ready for war, but there is more to do. I want to turn briefly to the zero emission vehicle mandate. I declare an interest, as chair of the all-party motoring group, and I have both Jaguar Land Rover and Ford plants in my constituency. The consultation on the ZEV mandate review closed on 23 October 2026. Both Ford and JLR want Ministers to publish their response and clarify the mandate’s direction ahead of the 2027 compliance year. Early clarity will help manufacturers to plan, sustain investment and support an ambitious, deliverable transition. Ford tells me that it is committed to a truly electrified future, but the transition must reflect customer need, charging infrastructure and vehicle users’ needs. There are specific challenges for vans. We have big challenges ahead in bringing down debt and the cost of welfare. It will take some tough decisions and challenging work, but it has to be done, and we must have a credible long-term plan. We cannot just pick an arbitrary figure out of the air to save on welfare; we need a proper, thought-out strategy that is informed by the Milburn and Timms reviews. Finally, productivity remains a real challenge in the economy. We need to deal with the lack of capital investment to make sure we have sustained growth in our economy.
- Hansard source
Poundland
Last week, workers in Lichfield woke up, put on their uniforms, went to work and were told that their jobs were under threat—not because the company is not viable or profitable, but because the company’s owner, Gordon Brothers, is choosing not to do the right thing. It is choosing to put jobs at threat for its own selfish interests. I know the Minister and USDAW are working really hard on this, but can she give the House a reassurance that everything will be done to make sure that Gordon Brothers steps up, does the right thing and backs its workers? It is the workers who have turned the business around, not the owner, and it is time that Gordon Brothers recognised that and backed those workers.
- Hansard source
Budget Resolutions
My hon. Friend is giving a really powerful speech about the importance of reindustrialising our communities and halting deindustrialisation. Does he agree that we need to do everything we can to get the ceramics impact fund, which was designed by the Government to support the ceramics sector, out of the door and into businesses where it can make a difference as soon as possible?
- Hansard source
Budget Resolutions
I am always a little worried when Members cheer because I am last! I join colleagues in recognising and supporting important measures in the Budget that will give people across Lichfield, Burntwood and the villages—the place I call home—valuable breathing space. There are 34,790 households across my constituency that will receive £100 directly into their bank account in January because of this Budget. That comes on top of the removal of VAT from energy bills, the return of the £2 bus fare, and the promise to get rid of standing charges on gas. Haulier businesses have also been supported by the delay to the fuel price escalator. We could go on and on and on. Any of those changes on their own will not be the end of the cost of living crisis, but I am already hearing from people back home who are so happy that this Government understand the importance of giving them that breathing space in their personal finances. The changes to small business rates relief announced by the Chancellor in the Budget will mean that many businesses in our town and city centres and in our villages will be lifted out of paying any business rates at all, and many more will see a smaller bill. Fifteen premises in the centre of Sankey’s Corner in my constituency will be taken out of paying that bill at all—that is a huge number of shops that will now have more money to put back into their businesses and the community. I have been unable to get the total figure for how much will be saved there, but it looks like it will mean an investment into that community of anywhere between £50,000 and £100,000 per year forever. That is a real investment in a high street in Burntwood by this Government. Similarly, of around a dozen shops on the high street in the village of Fradley, four will no longer be paying business rates at all and a further four will have their bills cut because of this Budget. On top of that, across Lichfield and East Staffordshire, some 764 retail, hospitality and leisure businesses will see their rates frozen in cash terms because of decisions made by this Labour Government. I am pleased that the Government are pressing ahead with plans for devolution across Staffordshire and Stoke. While the previous Government pushed power and funding into the West Midlands conurbation and the East Midlands combined authority, they gave a cold shoulder to the county to the north. This Government are prepared to step up and give our county the powers, and drive the economic growth, to bring good jobs across our area. Just yesterday, I spoke to the principal of South Staffordshire college about the importance of getting these powers to where they need to be, so that our skills training can meet the needs of our local area, especially the rural areas of my constituency and the wider county. The economy needs workers, and ensuring that those workers have the skills they need is something that is so important to areas like Staffordshire. I am excited to get the decisions on skills made in the right places. There are a few other points that I wanted to pick up, but in the interests of time I will turn finally to the mineworkers’ pension scheme and the British Coal staff superannuation scheme. The pension schemes for former coalminers and mineworkers have been poorly set up for so long, so I am very pleased that this Government have moved even closer to delivering the justice that coalfield communities—like mine, in Burntwood, Handsacre and the surrounding areas—deserve. The end of the Treasury grabbing half of the scheme surpluses should be applauded; the end of the standstill clause so that bonus pensions can be guaranteed should be applauded; and the previous return of the investment reserve to the people who earned it should be applauded. All those steps for communities should be applauded, and they simply would not have happened without a Labour Government. However, there needs to be action on the last remaining piece of the jigsaw: the final reserve—the guarantor’s fund. The commitment from the Chancellor to move quickly on this, and the commitment this week from the Work and Pensions Secretary this to happen in weeks not months, have been really welcome, but we cannot wait. Miners have already waited for far too long. Every day, miners leave the scheme. Every day, we lose people. We cannot afford to wait any longer. We must push for them, because it is their money—they earned it—and this Labour Government need to do what we should always do: stand up for our mining communities.
- Hansard source
Young People and Work: Milburn Interim Report
It is pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms McVey. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Wrexham (Andrew Ranger) on securing this very popular and important debate. The Milburn report shows that we have to change how we talk about young people out of work and education. As has just been cited, 84% of those who we call NEETs do not want to be out of work. They do not lack potential or desire; they lack opportunity. That is the problem we have to fix. The report also shows that disconnection begins long before the age of 16, in school. Sadly, I see that in Southampton, where persistent absence has been creeping up year on year. I very much welcome the push in the curriculum and assessment review to make school more engaging—to broaden the curriculum so that there are more hooks, including, as my hon. Friend the Member for Bracknell (Peter Swallow) said, in the humanities. If we allow children to switch off at around 14, they are far more likely to be out of education and training at 18. Southampton has also shown some great opportunities that work. Safe New Futures is a local charity that works with long-term unemployed young people, combining mental health support and group cognitive behavioural therapy with job-ready skills and vocational training. When I visited, one young person told me that, after an incredibly difficult period, the course had given them the confidence to enter the world of work and pursue their career. Half of the NEET participants in that scheme go on to find work. Saints Works, which is run by Saints Foundation—the charitable wing of our excellent football club—combines skills growth and mentoring, and then in-work follow-up support once someone has got into a job. We also have a young adults employment hub, which brings the council, jobcentre work coaches and youth workers under one roof. None of those are national schemes; they are all local partnerships that know their young people by name, and that is the lesson I hope the final report draws. My question to the Minister is this: when we respond to the final report, will there be sustained funding for local programmes like these that are getting the work done?
- Hansard source
Small Businesses: Bexleyheath and Crayford
<Question HRSContentId="{148FCBF7-D2D8-402F-B45B-856A8960A537}">9. <QuestionText HRSContentId="{F70214CD-4864-4A52-9FE2-858088A3222F}">What fiscal steps he has taken in the autumn Budget 2026 to help support small businesses in the Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency. </QuestionText></Question>
- Hansard source
Small Businesses: Bexleyheath and Crayford
I welcome the fact that a significant number of independent high street businesses across Bexleyheath and Crayford will be released from having to pay business rates from next April as a result of those decisions. One of those businesses is the Bird & Barrel micropub in Barnehurst, which also runs the hugely popular Bexley Brewery in Slade Green. Will the Minister outline the additional support that will be given to small alcohol producers and brewers as a result of the decisions in the Budget?
- Hansard source
Refining Sector: Competitiveness
At the Budget, the Government announced that they intend to expand to refinery products the CBAM—the carbon border adjustment mechanism—subject to the consultation launched on Budget day.
- Hansard source
Refining Sector: Competitiveness
My hon. Friend has been a strong representative of the workers at the Pembroke refinery. He has been campaigning on this issue for a long time and I thank him for his continued engagement. His constituents should know that he definitely has their back. The Government have launched a consultation and are seeking views from a range of stakeholders on the practical, technical and economic considerations of any potential expansion. This is, as my hon. Friend will know, a complex area and it is important that we take the time to get the detail right.
- Hansard source
Refining Sector: Competitiveness
I thank the hon. Member for his question. The Government have been considering a replacement for the energy profits levy. From 2030, or sooner if prices fall below the relevant thresholds, the new and improved design of the tax for the long term, the oil and gas revenue levy, will be coming into force.
- Hansard source
Refining Sector: Competitiveness
It was the Opposition who fluffed it when it came to approving Rosebank and Jackdaw. They could not make sure that they signed the right paperwork at the right time. We had to clean up their mess in that and a whole range of other areas.
- Hansard source
Advanced Manufacturing
Our 10-year advanced manufacturing sector plan backs jobs, investment and growth, and we have committed up to £4.3 billion to the advanced manufacturing sector to 2030.
- Hansard source
Advanced Manufacturing
My hon. Friend is right to raise the importance of reindustrialisation. Too many places were harmed by the deindustrialisation that accelerated in the 1980s. The need for more good jobs in more parts of England matters in the south, as well as in the north; it matters in our towns, as well as in our urban centres; and, of course, it matters in Portsmouth too. My hon. Friend is a strong advocate for her community, and I look forward to working with her to build on Portsmouth’s proud industrial and maritime strengths.