Emma Reynolds MP: speeches 2024

Speeches

• 17 Oct 2024 · International Investment Summit · Hansard source

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  The shadow Secretary of State is demonstrating that from a sedentary position—it is the first time I have said that in a debate for some time. When we took over from the last Government, we recognised that there were issues we needed to address to improve the UK’s competitiveness. That is why we have already announced a series of steps to improve our business environment, such as driving through planning reform to get Britain building, removing the ban on onshore wind farms and giving the green light to key solar and data centre projects. We are also undertaking a pensions investment review, which the Chancellor has asked me to lead, to harness the potential of our £2 trillion pension industry to unlock new capital for our innovative businesses, to drive growth and to improve outcomes for future pensioners. We have launched Skills England to boost the nation’s skills and fill job vacancies by bringing together businesses, trade unions, mayors, universities, colleges and training providers. We are also resetting our relationship with our closest partners in the European Union.

• 17 Oct 2024 · International Investment Summit · Hansard source

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  I wonder whether she would be tempted to tell us about her favourite pub in Bournemouth—or whether there are any bears around.

• 17 Oct 2024 · International Investment Summit · Hansard source

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  Indeed, I did. Business wants the Government to take a pragmatic approach, not an ideological approach, to our relationships with our main trading partners, and that is exactly what our new Government are doing. I am pleased to report that we are not resting on our laurels; far from it. On Sunday, the Business Secretary announced the launch of an industrial strategy advisory council, which will be chaired by Clare Barclay, the CEO of Microsoft UK. The Business Secretary also announced our modern industrial strategy Green Paper, setting out eight growth-driving sectors: advanced manufacturing; clean energy industries; creative industries; defence; digital and technology; financial services; life sciences; and professional and business services. This is not about picking winners; it is about building on the UK’s unique strengths and untapped potential to enable our already world-leading services and manufacturing industries to adapt, grow and seize the opportunities to lead in new and emerging industries. At the summit, the Prime Minister set out the Government’s commitment to a pro-growth approach to competition and regulation, to create a dynamic business environment that will strengthen our foundations and help deliver our growth mission and industrial strategy. As investors made clear, they have a choice of where to invest. We must not rest on our laurels; we must make sure that we forge ahead with these policies, because we need investors to make a positive choice to invest in our country. As one private sector speaker said at the summit, we do not want investors just to invest; we want them to place a big bet on investing in the UK. The Chancellor also confirmed two new innovative measures to ensure that our public finance institutions can better catalyse billions of pounds in private investment. We turbocharged the UK Infrastructure Bank to become the national wealth fund, which will have £27.8 billion to catalyse investment that would not have otherwise taken place. We have also launched the British Business Bank’s new pathfinder British growth partnership, a vehicle to crowd pension fund investment and other institutional investment into venture capital funds and innovative businesses. We have committed to bringing forward a tax road map, long demanded by businesses across the economy, at the Budget. This will give businesses the certainty and predictability to plan for the future. As the Chancellor has already made clear, we will cap the rate of corporation tax at 25% for the duration of this Parliament. Gone are the days when a Government—the previous Government —would announce a decrease in corporation tax, then announce an increase and then, months later, reverse the decision again at the next fiscal statement. We want to ensure that businesses have predictability. We have also said that we will maintain our capital allowances offer, with full expensing and a £1 million annual investment allowance. We will also reform and turbocharge the Office for Investment, which will sit under our new joint Treasury-Department for Business and Trade Investment Minister, Poppy Gustafsson, the founder and former CEO of Darktrace. This is a clear demonstration of the Government’s commitment to better serving the needs of investors and breaking down the silos between Departments, which have too often prevented transformative Government policy. We are determined to drive the transformational investments that the country so desperately needs to fulfil its economic potential. Such measures, introduced within just 100 days, show that this Government are not just about warm words; we mean business, in every sense of the phrase. This week’s summit was a major vote of confidence in the UK’s economic future and in this Government’s commitment to realising it. The investments and partnerships forged at the summit will have lasting impacts, driving growth, innovation and sustainability for years to come. It was not just a one-off event; it was a first milestone in our ongoing work to build a deep and meaningful partnership with business, drive economic growth and create good jobs for working people up and down this country at all levels of society. As we move forward, let us work together across the House to ensure that the benefits of these investments are felt by all our citizens across every region of our great nation. Before I finish, I want to say that the particular highlight of the summit for me was the evening reception at St Paul’s, at which His Majesty the King was present and at which many of us were delighted to hear Elton John, who had some very warm words to say about our new Government. He said something like, “We’ve been in the doldrums for the last few years, but now we have a new Government under the leadership of a new Prime Minister and things are looking up.” As the Chancellor made clear in her closing speech at the summit, since taking power this Government have put unlocking private investment at the heart of everything we do. Our investment summit demonstrated our commitment to growth and that the UK is once again open for business.

• 17 Oct 2024 · International Investment Summit · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That this House has considered the International Investment Summit. I am delighted to open this debate on the Government’s inaugural international investment summit, which we hosted at the Guildhall in London on Monday. Leaders of the world’s biggest companies, from Alphabet and BlackRock to Goldman Sachs and Novo Nordisk, came from all corners of the globe to meet Government Ministers and to listen to what our new Government had to say. Our message at the summit was clear: the UK is open for business once again. We have turned the page on the stagnation and instability of the previous Government, and in just over 100 days, this Government have put growth front and centre of our agenda and reassured investors that we will create the very best conditions for them to invest and to grow their businesses, restoring the economic stability and confidence for which businesses have been crying out for too long. The Prime Minister and the Chancellor made it clear that the UK has an enormous amount to offer, as did all the high-profile investors who spoke at the summit, including esteemed business figures such as Larry Fink, Eric Schwartz, Ruth Porat and more. We have made clear our commitment to growth and restored economic stability, and we have given businesses the confidence that they need for the long term. Businesses are safe in the knowledge that the UK at last has a Government whose central mission is to grow the economy and stimulate private investment, thereby ending the chaos and churn of the last 14 years. As both the Prime Minister and the Chancellor have set out, increasing investment into the UK is the Government’s No. 1 priority to drive growth. Our mission-driven approach allows us to think in terms of years, not weeks, and to commit to the hard yards required to break down the silos that have too often prevented effective government and got in the way of real growth-driving change. This is about ambitious policymaking for the long term, not sticking-plaster politics. As the Chancellor said earlier this week: “If the challenge is growth, investment is the solution.” I am delighted to say that, as a result of the stability dividend introduced by this Government, we announced a record-breaking £63 billion of shovel-ready investments across the country—more than at any previous summit, and more than double the total of last year’s summit—from global companies such as Eli Lilly, ServiceNow, Holtec and many others.

• 7 Oct 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  As I said previously, the ombudsman took six years to consider this complex case. We are looking into it very seriously, but I cannot make any announcements today. The right hon. Gentleman will have to wait for our announcement on this issue.

• 7 Oct 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for his question. I have looked into this issue, which has a long and complex history, and I would be very willing to meet him to discuss it in more detail.

• 7 Oct 2024 · Winter Fuel Payment: Medical Conditions · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for that question. I will meet him and any other Members of this House who have concerns on this matter.

• 7 Oct 2024 · Winter Fuel Payment: Medical Conditions · Hansard source

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  I welcome the hon. Gentleman to his place. Pensioners with a long-term health condition or disability may be eligible for disability-related benefits, such as disability living allowance or attendance allowance, and these benefits also provide for an additional amount in pension credit for those on low incomes.

• 7 Oct 2024 · Winter Fuel Payment: Medical Conditions · Hansard source

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  This is a decision that we neither wanted nor expected to make, but when we came into office there was a £22 billion black hole in the public finances. There are mitigations in place. We have extended the household support fund and the hon. Gentleman’s council will receive an extra £3.9 million. We are increasing the state pension. Through the triple lock, the state pension will increase by £1,700 in this Parliament. We will also deliver the warm home discount scheme, and I hope he will join me in making sure that every pensioner who is eligible for pension credit receives it, which will passport them to the winter fuel payment.

• 7 Oct 2024 · Pension Credit · Hansard source

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  We were pleased to see 160 local authorities respond positively to our call for action. They are working with us to drive the boost in uptake of pension credit. Apart from the national campaign that we have been running, we will bring together the administration of housing benefit and pension credit in a way that the former Government failed to do.

• 7 Oct 2024 · Pension Credit · Hansard source

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  The winter fuel payment was once described as the “largest benefit paid to pensioners…regardless of need, giving money to wealthier pensioners when working people on lower incomes do not get similar support.” Those are not my words, but the words of the Tories’ 2017 manifesto.

• 7 Oct 2024 · Pension Credit · Hansard source

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  We have been running a national campaign since September across a range of channels, including print and broadcast media, to encourage pensioners to check their eligibility and make a claim, and we will continue to work with external partners, local authorities and devolved Governments to boost the take-up of pension credit.

• 7 Oct 2024 · Women’s State Pension Age: Compensation · Hansard source

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  I was the first Minister for eight long years to meet Women Against State Pension Inequality campaigners to hear their experiences directly. However, we do need time to carefully consider the ombudsman’s report and evidence before we can outline our approach.

• 7 Oct 2024 · Women’s State Pension Age: Compensation · Hansard source

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  The ombudsman’s report is a serious report that took six years to complete and deserves serious consideration. We are carefully reviewing the details of that complex report and will come to a conclusion in the round.

• 7 Oct 2024 · Women’s State Pension Age: Compensation · Hansard source

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  The ombudsman took six years to look into what is a serious, significant and complex set of cases. We need time to look at that seriously, and we are doing precisely that.

• 10 Sept 2024 · Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source

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  The savings we have estimated—£1.4 billion this year and £1.5 billion in the next financial year—take into account a boost in the uptake of pension credit. We are absolutely determined to see an increase in that uptake, so the Secretary of State and I have already engaged with charities and local authorities. The Secretary of State spoke to Age UK and Citizens Advice about how we work together. Last week was Pension Credit Week of Action. I encourage hon. Members to look at my X, although I know it is not so fashionable with everyone these days, for a video of a visit I did last week precisely to raise awareness of pension credit. Pension credit is not a simple process—we are looking at how to simplify it—but charities such as Age UK and Citizens Advice will help pensioners to go through it online. The online version is much simpler than the paper version, believe it or not, as the paper version has lots of questions that will not be applicable. We are also delivering a major campaign in print and broadcast media, including for people to reach out to retired families, friends and neighbours to urge them to check if they are eligible. We will write to all pensioners about housing benefit; this is a question that one of my hon. Friends asked me yesterday. He had a constituent on housing benefit who was concerned that that would be taken into account as a form of income when the Government looked at his eligibility for pension credit. I confirm that that is not the case: housing benefit is not taken into account with regard to income. [ Official Report, 8 October 2024; Vol. 754, c. 4WC.] (Correction) Please, I urge pensioners on housing benefit, who will be receiving a letter from the Department, to apply for pension credit. As a Government, we are looking to merge the administration of housing benefit and pension credit to make that much simpler for people. The previous Government promised they would do that—some years ago, in fact—but were not going to until 2029. We think that that was slow decision making, and we are seeking to do it as soon as is operationally feasible. It is not a simple exercise, but it is something that we should do.

• 10 Sept 2024 · Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source

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  I am afraid I cannot give way at this point, because I only have a few seconds left, but I thank my hon. Friend once more for providing the opportunity for this debate. Unfortunately, given the fiscal inheritance, we have had to make some very difficult decisions. We made other decisions in July as well, such as pausing the hospitals programme to review what we will do with it. There are other decisions to come. However, it is right that we take the difficult decisions to protect our economic stability, and to drive growth in our economy, higher tax receipts and improvements in our public services. We are absolutely determined as a Government to deliver a better NHS, with waiting times down, and better public services, which will benefit pensioners and people across our economy and our country. Question put and agreed to.

• 10 Sept 2024 · Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. For those just above the threshold, we have extended the household support fund. I urge hon. Members to work with me, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and the Deputy Prime Minister, who have written to local authorities to encourage them to ensure that those just above the threshold who are struggling get the support they need with bills. [ Official Report, 8 October 2024; Vol. 754, c. 4WC.] (Correction) Obviously, that is discretionary, but we encourage local authorities to use that. In addition, the Minister for Energy Consumers has met with the 15 largest energy providers and urged them to give all the support they can to those who are either likely to get into debt, or who are already into debt on their fuel bills. Support is available. There is also the warm homes discount, which is available to a larger cohort than those on pension credit. That will go live in October; again, I encourage hon. Members to join us in urging those struggling with their bills to apply for the warm homes discount, which is worth £150. There are measures that the Government are taking. We are absolutely determined to boost the uptake of pension credit. It is a national scandal that up to 880,000 eligible pensioners are missing out on pension credit thanks to the previous Government. That is worth on average £3,900 per year, but obviously depends on personal circumstances. If people apply for pension credit and are successful, it passports them to all sorts of other benefits. My hon. Friend the Member for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes (Melanie Onn) rightly said that pensioners eligible for the savings credit part of pension credit are also eligible for pension credit, and therefore will be passported to receive winter fuel payments. It is quite a complex area, because it depends on whether someone is on the old or new state pension. Gordon Brown, when he was Chancellor, introduced the savings credit precisely to help the cohort of people that hon. Members are concerned about. George Osborne, on taking office, cut that benefit and made it unavailable for younger pensioners, so the cut off is 2016. That is something that we have been left; as my hon. Friend the Member for York Central said, it is not a legacy that we have chosen. I hope to work with all hon. Members present, who are clearly concerned about their constituents, to boost the uptake of pension credit.

• 10 Sept 2024 · Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source

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  This is the first time I have served under your chairmanship, so thank you, Dr Huq. I start by thanking my hon. Friend the Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell) for providing the opportunity for this debate, and thanking her and others for their attendance. The previous Government left us with unfunded and undisclosed spending commitments. It is very surprising that none of them is in their place for this debate. I may not know some of the new Conservative MPs, but I see empty places opposite me, although elsewhere there are hon. Members from other parties. Hon. Members are acutely aware of the £22 billion black hole in this year’s public finances left by the previous Government. The Office for Budget Responsibility has said that that represents “one of the largest year-ahead overspends against…forecasts outside of the pandemic years”, and the Chancellor only discovered this after the election. She has been clear that the decision about means-testing the winter fuel payment was not one that this Government expected or wanted to make, but given the in-year overspend that we uncovered, it is a necessary one. While protecting the poorest pensioners on the lowest incomes and with the greatest need, it is the right decision given the tough choices that we face. To be very clear, I have spoken to a number of the hon. Members present about the Government’s decision, and there is actually fairly widespread agreement that the benefit should not be universal. Plenty of very wealthy pensioners who do not need it are getting transfers of £200—or £300, if they are over 80—into their bank accounts. It is right that we target the support at the poorest pensioners.

• 10 Sept 2024 · Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source

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  Dr Huq, I am sure Members will soon get used to the bizarre ways of this House. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Bicester and Woodstock (Calum Miller) for his question. As I set out, the Chancellor was not expecting to do this but had to do it urgently because of the £22 billion black hole in our public finances. The black hole is in-year. What if we did not tackle it? Look at what happened under the previous Government, with Liz Truss’s mini-Budget: they put forward unfunded tax cuts and sent the markets into turmoil. Interest rates increased, putting mortgage rates and rents up, and that led to higher inflation. People on fixed incomes, such as pensioners, would really suffer were we not to secure economic stability. Economic stability is the foundation of all that we want to do in Government. I say to pensioners and others across the country: this is a necessary step to make the improvements that we want in our NHS, bringing down waiting times, and in our schools, ensuring that we have the highest standards.

• 10 Sept 2024 · Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source

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  I honestly think that Conservative Members have some brass neck. During their time in power, we lost an average of 3 million working days a year to strikes because of their failure to deal with industrial action, and we lost 1.4 million NHS appointments which were cancelled, which meant that pensioners and others were in pain for longer than they needed to be. We will not take lectures from the Conservatives. We have had to take this difficult decision to means-test the winter fuel payment because of the £22 billion black hole in year, this year. [Interruption.] They may not want to hear it, but they should apologise for leaving that black hole. It was created by repeated and reckless unfunded spending—

• 10 Sept 2024 · Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source

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  I have said to the hon. Lady that I will not give way, and I will not give way, so she should sit down. The Government encourage Members to boost awareness and encourage people to apply for the warm home discount.

• 10 Sept 2024 · Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source

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  rose —

• 10 Sept 2024 · Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source

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  I am going to make a little bit of progress. Many hon. Members, both on—

• 10 Sept 2024 · Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source

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  No, I will not. For the very first time, we are writing to all pensioners in receipt of housing benefit who are potentially eligible to encourage them to claim pension credit—again, something that the last Conservative Government never did.