James Murray MP: speeches

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Speeches

8 Sept 2026 · Fuel Duty: Cost of Living · Hansard source
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I thank my hon. Friend for his request of the Chancellor at the Budget. As the Chancellor set out earlier, he will take those decisions at the Budget in the normal way, but my hon. Friend has made a powerful case for his constituents and used this opportunity to ensure that all of us on the Treasury Front-Bench team have heard what he has to say.
8 Sept 2026 · Fuel Duty: Cost of Living · Hansard source
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I agree with the hon. Lady about the importance of providing breathing space for families, which is a priority for us as a Government, and she mentioned her plans. I have set out what we have done since the general election to reduce fuel prices by 11p per litre compared with what they would have been otherwise. As I set out in my earlier remarks, the 5p cut has been extended to the end of the year, and as she would expect, any future decisions will be taken at the Budget by the Chancellor.
8 Sept 2026 · Fuel Duty: Cost of Living · Hansard source
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The hon. Gentleman is right to point to the fact that international events have an impact on prices here at home. We did not want to get involved in that conflict, unlike the Conservative party. None the less, we are impacted by it, and the right thing for us to do as a Government is to make sure we are providing breathing space for families as we weather international events.
8 Sept 2026 · Fuel Duty: Cost of Living · Hansard source
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Although my hon. Friend is right that fuel duty is one cost that families face, they also face a number of other costs, including through insurance. He is a formidable campaigner on a range of issues, so I would be happy to meet him to discuss this issue, or to ask my colleague, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Northampton North (Lucy Rigby), to do so, if she is better placed to respond.
8 Sept 2026 · Fuel Duty: Cost of Living · Hansard source
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As part of the £600 million package the Government announced in May, there will be no rise in fuel duty this year. This means that the temporary 5p cut will be extended till the end of the year, providing certainty to motorists. In total, the decisions taken since the 2024 general election to freeze fuel duty save motorists 11p per litre, or £120 per year for the average car, compared with the plans inherited from the previous Government.
8 Sept 2026 · Fuel Duty: Cost of Living · Hansard source
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I think the hon. Gentleman’s point is that the price of fuel is linked to international events, which, as I said earlier, I very much agree with. That is why it is important that we de-escalate the situation in the strait of Hormuz, which is the best way to bring down the cost of fuel. Meanwhile, the Government are determined to give families across the country breathing space—extending the 5p cut until the end of the year, a £2 cap on bus fares, and removing VAT from electricity bills—as we weather the impact of international events.
8 Sept 2026 · Business Rates: Hospitality Sector · Hansard source
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I thank my hon. Friend for highlighting the contribution that businesses such as Koh-I-Noor provide to local communities and economies. As he set out, the Government are helping pubs right now, because of the important community assets that they are and the real pressures that they face. I assure him that we will continue to look at what more we can do to support high street businesses more widely to help them to invest and grow.
8 Sept 2026 · Business Rates: Hospitality Sector · Hansard source
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The hon. Gentleman is right to point out the important role that pubs and hospitality play in providing jobs, including jobs for young people. However, I gently say to him that one of the issues with the Lib Dems is that they welcome extra investment in our NHS and public services, but they never want to pay for it. When it comes to hard decisions on the economy, all they offer is soft politics.
8 Sept 2026 · Business Rates: Hospitality Sector · Hansard source
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I know my hon. Friend is a great champion of pubs in her constituency. In fact, she has brought together people for her pub politics events, including at the Willy Wicket, the Beaufort Arms, the Baileys Court Inn—which I have been to—and the White Lion, where people come to talk about issues that matter to them. The support we are providing for pubs will be worth nearly £250 million next year. That will benefit around 32,000 venues, which helps to ensure that they and the jobs they provide will be there for the future.
8 Sept 2026 · Business Rates: Hospitality Sector · Hansard source
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The hon. Gentleman has some cheek, given the number of pubs that closed when his party was in government. The Labour party is making sure that the business rates system is set right for the future. Not only have we announced a 20% cut in business rates for pubs as a result of the new Prime Minister taking office, but I was pleased to announce a review of the way in which pubs and hotels are valued for the future, following concerns raised by the sector. That review will report in time for decisions taken on the basis of it to be in place for the next revaluation.
8 Sept 2026 · Business Rates: Hospitality Sector · Hansard source
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I thank the hon. Gentleman for talking about the Station House in his constituency; I am sure we all have pubs in our own neighbourhoods that we feel are at the heart of the local communities that we represent. The 20% business rates cut that we announced was a down payment on further reform. We will continue to look into what we can do to support pubs, hospitality and other high street uses, because we know how much they matter to everyone in this Chamber and all the people whom we represent.
8 Sept 2026 · Business Rates: Hospitality Sector · Hansard source
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I wonder whether any other Members might say that they have the most pubs in their constituency, or whether the hon. Lady has done her research. [Interruption.] I hear her saying that hers are the best pubs, a claim that even more Members may challenge in the Chamber. Although the hon. Lady and I have some differences, I think that we share a desire to see a fairer business rates system. I know that the 20% cut for pubs and community venues was widely welcomed, and the Prime Minister and the Chancellor have made it clear that we want to go on looking at what we can do to support our hospitality venues, pubs and other high street uses. This is not a question of taking one policy announcement from July and thinking that that is the end of the story, because we know how important high streets are to communities across the country, and we want to see them thrive.
8 Sept 2026 · Business Rates: Hospitality Sector · Hansard source
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As the Prime Minister made clear when he took office, we are giving pubs and community venues real breathing space through the 20% cut to their business rates, but our reform of business rates and our support for the high street does not end there. We are considering every possible opportunity to support retail, hospitality and leisure businesses on the high street, so that high streets in all our communities across the country can thrive.
8 Sept 2026 · Business Rates: Hospitality Sector · Hansard source
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We love our pubs, so to support them the Prime Minister announced in his first week after taking office a 20% cut in business rates for them, as well as for social clubs and live music venues, from April 2027. That is building on the 15% reduction earlier this year. I and other Ministers have regular discussions with representatives from the pubs and hospitality sector to understand the impact of business rates support.
8 Sept 2026 · Business Rates: Hospitality Sector · Hansard source
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I very much agree with my hon. Friend about the vital role that pubs and clubs play in local communities on either side of the border. As she rightly points out, business rates decisions in Wales are a decision for the Welsh Government. In England, we have taken action to support community venues and high streets, including the targeted business rates support for pubs. I urge the Welsh Government to consider doing the same.
8 Sept 2026 · Business Rates: Hospitality Sector · Hansard source
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My hon. Friend is a great champion for pubs and other hospitality venues in his constituency, including Arkell’s brewery, which I know supplies pubs across Swindon and Wiltshire. As he rightly points out, we have provided support for pubs and community venues, which the Prime Minister announced soon after taking office. We will consider all options for what we can do to further support them in the Budget.
8 Sept 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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My hon. Friend is right to highlight the importance of removing the low-value imports relief and levelling the playing field with high streets. As she will know, my predecessor announced in June that we are bringing forward the implementation of the measure to October 2028 to benefit high streets across the country as quickly as possible.
8 Sept 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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I congratulate the organisation in my hon. Friend’s constituency for successfully fundraising for two defibrillators. As she knows, decisions on fiscal matters are taken at the Budget. She makes a powerful case, but we have to evaluate whether VAT reliefs are passed on in full to consumers. That is one of the key considerations when taking decisions of this sort.
8 Sept 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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As I said a moment ago, decisions on fiscal matters are taken at the Budget, but I urge the hon. Gentleman to urge the Scottish Government to follow the UK Government’s example by providing support to pubs in Scotland, too.
8 Sept 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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Fiscal decisions are taken at the Budget, but I join my hon. Friend in urging the Welsh Government to consider extending the support that we have given to English pubs to pubs in Wales.
8 Sept 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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We are providing a 20% cut in business rates for pubs in England. I urge the Scottish Government to do the same for Scottish pubs.
7 Sept 2026 · VAT on Medication: Compassionate Access Schemes · Hansard source
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As the changes we are discussing concern a potential tax change, I am afraid I cannot give my hon. Friend further detail about any timeline, but I reiterate that I have imparted to my officials in the Treasury and HMRC the urgency that I feel about this, and that my hon. Friend and others will share. I am glad he joins me in calling on Bayer to take confidence from what we have announced and to rejoin the early access scheme as soon as possible. I again thank my hon. Friend for securing this debate, and for the constructive way in which he has raised this issue, both this evening and in the past. In concluding, I would like to pause to reflect on the impact of continued access to medicines for patients. Individual Members have raised with me the importance that early access to medicines can have, especially for those in the most tragic of circumstances, who sadly have few other options. I have been moved in hearing those cases, and it is vital that we keep those medicines accessible. I am grateful to Members from across the House for bringing this issue the attention it deserves. I am also grateful for the constructive engagement that my officials have had with the pharmaceutical sector, and I know we have a common goal of resolving the issue swiftly. I look forward to setting out further detail once that work has concluded and when final decisions have been taken. Question put and agreed to.
7 Sept 2026 · VAT on Medication: Compassionate Access Schemes · Hansard source
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It is a pleasure to respond to this debate. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Danny Beales) for securing it, and for all his engagement and campaigning on this important issue. I know from my conversations with my hon. Friend that he cares deeply, as do I, about ensuring that patients can access innovative medicines, particularly when there is unmet clinical need. Free-of-charge arrangements play an important role in giving patients early access to medicines, as my hon. Friend so powerfully illustrated when he spoke about the patients and families who have shared their stories with him. I was moved to hear the experiences of those patients, and am grateful to my hon. Friend for sharing them this evening. My thoughts, as I am sure every Member’s thoughts will be, are with those patients and families, including the family of the young woman who my hon. Friend told us had tragically passed away. I am sure that everyone in this House agrees that we must find a solution that means that those patients, and others like them, can continue to access lifesaving medicines. Before responding to the points made, I will first set out some of the context for the existing VAT treatment of donated medicines. This evening’s debate concerns the application of long-standing VAT rules to some medicines supplied free of charge. Under UK VAT law, some transactions where no money changes hands are treated as though a supply has been made, and these are known as deemed supplies. These rules help to keep the VAT system fair where a business has reclaimed VAT on its costs. These are not new rules introduced by this Government; they are long-standing features of the VAT system dating back to the early days of VAT, before the VAT Act 1994. His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs wrote to the sector in 2023 as part of the process of ensuring that businesses pay the correct tax. However, the Government recognise concerns raised by pharmaceutical companies and patient groups about the potential impact of this treatment on free-of-charge access and, ultimately, on patients. That is why, as my hon. Friend mentioned, on 23 June, my predecessor announced that the Government would bring forward a new approach as soon as possible. As set out in the written ministerial statement on 2 July, the Government are considering either changes to the VAT rules or a reimbursement scheme. The new approach will be effective for donations made on or after 23 June 2026. Officials in the Treasury, HMRC and the Department of Health and Social Care have been working closely together and engaging constructively with the pharmaceutical sector to develop the detail of both options. That work must ensure that any approach supports patients while being legally robust, operationally workable and sustainable. We recognise that free-of-charge medicines are supplied through a variety of arrangements. Those include early and expanded access, post-trial access and arrangements that operate after Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency authorisation. My hon. Friend raised the question of which medicines would be in scope of the new approach, and the Government are considering this question carefully in collaboration with the sector. The solution must capture genuine patient access arrangements without creating unintended consequences elsewhere in the VAT or supply systems. It is important that we complete that work quickly, so that patients across the UK can benefit from innovative medicines as quickly and safely as possible. It is equally important that we get this right to avoid inadvertently omitting important avenues by which medicines are donated, or opening the door to abuse. That is why we are working closely with industry to craft the scope appropriately. My hon. Friend asked which forms of donation would be in scope, and whether the solution would apply only to donations to the NHS. He will appreciate that I am not in a position to announce any final decisions today, while work remains ongoing with the firms. However, I can reassure him that I have no desire to artificially circumscribe the scope of the new approach and unduly leave out genuine donation practices. My hon. Friend asked about timelines. I regret that as we are talking about a potential tax change, I cannot give further detail, beyond reassuring him that I have reiterated the urgency that we both feel, and the need to reach a swift resolution, and I have imparted that urgency to my officials. On historical liabilities, the new approach will apply to donations made on or after 23 June 2026, but I am happy to hear input from firms on that point as we go through the process. On co-ordination in the case of AstraZeneca, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on the tax affairs of an individual taxpayer, but I would certainly encourage firms in the round to share the detail of any specific concerns they have with my officials. On whether HMRC could publish a business brief to fix this issue, as a matter of existing law, firms must account for VAT on donated medicines. An HMRC brief can communicate a change in policy only when the law itself has changed, or following a judicial decision requiring a change in law. A Revenue and Customs brief cannot itself make the change in law. Finally, I share my hon. Friend’s desire to see Bayer return to the early access scheme, so that patients can regain access to innovative medicines. We have committed to applying the new approach retrospectively to donations made on or after 23 June 2026, and I hope that Bayer takes confidence from that and rejoins the early access scheme as soon as possible.
2 Sept 2026 · Employer National Insurance Contributions: Small Businesses in Hampshire · Hansard source
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It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Barker. I thank the hon. Member for North East Hampshire (Alex Brewer) for raising this issue today and for bringing representatives of businesses in her constituency to Parliament to listen to this debate about such an important issue. As the hon. Member mentioned, the Government are prioritising growth. In the first half of this year, we were the fastest growing economy in the G7. The Government’s vision is to make sure that growth is felt in every community, high street and postcode. Small and medium-sized businesses are central to that ambition, because they play such an important role in every community across the country, creating jobs, supporting local economies and helping to drive better living standards. Sustainable economic growth depends on stable public finances. Fiscal discipline has to be the bedrock of economic stability, and that stability is necessary to support investment, confidence and long-term growth. As hon. Members will know, the Government have taken decisions on tax, welfare and spending in order to repair the public finances, protect economic stability and fund the public services on which families and businesses rely and into which the hon. Member for North East Hampshire called for greater investment. As part of that wider fiscal consolidation, changes have been made to employer national insurance contributions. Those changes were introduced from April 2025 and were accompanied by significant protections for smaller employers, including the more than doubling of the employment allowance to £10,500. That means that around 900,000 employers—around 40%—will have no employer national insurance liability at all. In North East Hampshire alone, around 2,300 employers benefited from the employment allowance in ’25-26. Overall across the country, the employment allowance was estimated to be worth around £7.4 billion in the last tax year. In addition, businesses can claim employer national insurance contribution reliefs, including for under-21s and under-25 apprentices, which are worth around £2.5 billion a year. That means that employers pay no employer national insurance contributions for apprentices under 25 or employees under 21 on earnings up to £50,270. The UK’s 5.7 million small and medium-sized enterprises are central to growth across the country. The Government are backing them to succeed, supporting entrepreneurship and helping people to live well in every part of the country. Again, I thank the hon. Member for securing today’s debate. Question put and agreed to.
14 Jul 2026 · NHS Workforce: Sickness Absence · Hansard source
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This Government are committed to improving the health and wellbeing of our hard-working NHS staff, and we have set an ambition to reduce sickness absence to its lowest recorded level. As part of meeting that ambition, we have launched new staff standards to improve their working lives, and we will introduce staff treatment hubs to focus on the biggest causes of sickness absence.

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