James Murray MP: speeches

Speeches

• 4 Dec 2024 · Farming and Inheritance Tax · Hansard source

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  I have given way already, so I am going to make some progress. The reforms should be seen in the context of the significant existing support for the farming industry in the wider tax system, including the exemption from business rates for agricultural land and buildings, the ongoing entitlement for vehicles and machinery used in agriculture to use rebated diesel and biofuels, and the exemption from the plastic packaging tax for the plastic film used to produce silage bales. On top of that, farmers are able to add together their profits from farming over two to five years and be taxable on the average of those profits, building flexibility into their tax arrangements for difficult years and unexpected challenges.

• 4 Dec 2024 · Farming and Inheritance Tax · Hansard source

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  I will not try your patience, Madam Deputy Speaker, but I feel that my hon. Friend’s intervention relates to the debate in hand, as we have had to take a tough decision on taxation policy in order to fund our public services. Those public services are, of course, enjoyed by people across the country, including farmers and those in rural communities.

• 4 Dec 2024 · Farming and Inheritance Tax · Hansard source

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  That is an important point. Looking at the pure asset value of farms does not tell us what their inheritance tax liability might be. As my hon. Friend rightly points out, any liabilities must be netted off against the value of any estate, and the ownership structure—the various nil rate bands, previous spousal transfers, giftings and so on—need to be considered.

• 4 Dec 2024 · Farming and Inheritance Tax · Hansard source

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  I note that the hon. Gentleman’s grasp of economics is about as good as Liz Truss’s was. As I have said, the importance of the claims data is that it tells us what the inheritance tax liability will be. I understand that Members are referring to many other sources and sets of data, but when we are looking at the impact of a change in inheritance tax relief, it is claims data that tells us what that is likely to be.

• 4 Dec 2024 · Farming and Inheritance Tax · Hansard source

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  When we approach policies in government we test them thoroughly and consider the details and the data, and we ensure that any conclusions we draw are based on the correct set of data, which is part of the conversation that we are having today. I do not know whether it is due to mischief or misunderstanding, but there is a certain focus on the total value of farms rather than on inheritance tax liabilities. The data on inheritance tax liabilities is the correct data to look at when evaluating the impact that the policy may have.

• 3 Dec 2024 · Business Rates: High Street Retailers · Hansard source

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  As the right hon. Gentleman will see in the National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill that we will be debating this afternoon, we have doubled the employment allowance to help small businesses to employ up to four people earning the national living wage without paying a penny in national insurance. That is dedicated support to help those small businesses, in the context of what, I admit, is a tough decision. If the right hon. Gentleman has a chance to contribute to the debate, he might say whether he supports the extra public services funding that comes from those difficult decisions.

• 3 Dec 2024 · Business Rates: High Street Retailers · Hansard source

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  To deliver our manifesto pledge, we intend to introduce permanently lower tax rates for high street retail, hospitality and leisure properties from 2026-27. This tax cut must be sustainably funded, so we intend to introduce a higher rate on the most valuable properties—those with a rateable value of £500,000 or above—from 2026-27. The Non-Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Bill, introduced last month, will enable the Government to deliver these changes, and it will come into effect in April 2026.

• 3 Dec 2024 · Business Rates: High Street Retailers · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is absolutely right about the importance of small, independent businesses in his constituency, and I am sure his sentiment is shared by Members across the House. Through our reforms, we are setting out to make sure that those properties with a rateable value of £500,000 or more pay so we can have a permanent tax cut for high street business. This category includes the large distribution warehouses used by online businesses, which will make sure that those online businesses make a fair contribution to ensuring that our high streets are the success we all want to see.

• 3 Dec 2024 · Business Rates: High Street Retailers · Hansard source

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  May I extend my congratulations to St Martha Greek taverna in Nantwich? Given the time, I am feeling a bit hungry now that we are talking about food. I reassure my hon. Friend that our plans to reform the business rates system would see a permanent tax cut for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses. While I do not know exactly the details or the rateable value of the property in question, I am sure properties like that would be eligible for the cut. It is crucial that we support those much-loved local businesses. I am glad he is doing all he can to champion them, and I look forward to my invite.

• 3 Dec 2024 · Business Rates: High Street Retailers · Hansard source

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  As the hon. Gentleman will know, we set out our plans for reforming business rates to ensure that retail, hospitality and leisure properties on the high street with rateable values below £500,000 will benefit from a permanent tax cut from this Government. The importance of that tax cut being permanent is that it gives businesses the stability they need to invest and grow. I look forward to his support for our reforms when we vote on them in due course.

• 3 Dec 2024 · Business Rates: High Street Retailers · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is right to highlight the importance to communities of having access to cash and banking services, which is why we have committed to rolling out more banking hubs across the country—100 by the end of this year and a total of 350 through our commitment. We want to work with local communities across the country to deliver that, so that all areas, like Ossett, can benefit from a local banking hub.

• 3 Dec 2024 · National Insurance Contributions · Hansard source

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  We recognise that we have taken a tough decision to increase the rate and broaden the base through changes to the secondary threshold. I welcome the work done by the organisation mentioned by the hon. Lady in her constituency, but perhaps the need for advice would be less if public services were stronger. One of the reasons we are taking these difficult decisions on taxation, welfare and spending is precisely to ensure that these public services can provide the service that people need.

• 3 Dec 2024 · National Insurance Contributions · Hansard source

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  The funding for the impact on public sector organisations includes funding for the devolved Governments, which is allocated through the Barnett formula in the usual way. It is the responsibility of the devolved Governments to manage devolved workforces. Might I say that if the bill is somewhat higher in Scotland, that may be due to the Scottish Government’s decisions about the size of the public sector?

• 3 Dec 2024 · National Insurance Contributions · Hansard source

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  I do not think the shadow Minister listened to my response to the previous question, in which I set out very clearly the definition of the public sector for the purposes of national insurance contributions. Look at what the OBR has said: yes, it recognises that we are asking businesses to contribute more and that this will have an impact, but it also says that the employment level will rise from 33.1 million to 34.3 million by 2029, meaning an increase in the employment level over this Parliament.

• 3 Dec 2024 · National Insurance Contributions · Hansard source

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  We recognise that the decision on national insurance contributions is a tough one, but we also recognise that it was necessary for the Chancellor to set out a Budget that included a record set of promises on home building. We are set to build 1.5 million homes over the course of this Parliament, investing in social and affordable housing. That is what will benefit the hon. Member’s constituents who need a decent home.

• 3 Dec 2024 · National Insurance Contributions · Hansard source

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  If the shadow Minister would like to know which public sector organisations will be compensated, he could look at what his Government did with the health and social care levy, because the definition of public sector organisations—it is a regularly cited definition—is set out through the Office for National Statistics. We will reimburse Departments and other public sector organisations.

• 3 Dec 2024 · National Insurance Contributions · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The problem with Conservative Members is that they are all happy to say that they want more funding for the NHS; they are just not prepared to pay for it. What they need to realise is that, in government, we have to take tough decisions to ensure that we can fund public services and fix the public finances.

• 3 Dec 2024 · National Insurance Contributions · Hansard source

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  As we set out in the autumn statement, the Government have set aside funding to support the public sector with the additional cost of employer national insurance contributions. The amounts are £4.7 billion in 2025-26, £4.7 billion in 2026-27, £4.8 billion in 2027-28, £4.9 billion in 2028-29 and £5.1 billion in 2029-30. The Government plan to update Parliament on allocations by Department as soon as possible.

• 3 Dec 2024 · National Insurance Contributions · Hansard source

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  As my hon. Friend will know, many hospices are independent charities and therefore will be able to access the employment allowance, which we have doubled to £10,500 a year, as well as the other wider tax reliefs in the tax system for charities, such as business rates relief and gift aid. Of course, hospices often have statutory obligations with the NHS as well, so I suggest that hospices discuss their contracts with their integrated care boards.

• 3 Dec 2024 · National Insurance Contributions · Hansard source

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  The Liberal Democrat spokesperson began her question by saying that we all want public services; the problem is that not all of us in this Chamber are prepared to pay for them. That is exactly why we have to take difficult decisions to ensure that we can fund our ambitious plans for the NHS, education and indeed housing. The impact of the impact assessment is published in the tax information and impact note, which is published alongside the legislation, which I am sure the hon. Lady will have seen. It comes down to the basic point that we have to make tough decisions on taxation if we want to fund those public services.

• 3 Dec 2024 · National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill · Hansard source

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  I said that the OBR said that its forecast would have been “materially different” had it known what the previous Government did not share with it at the time of its March forecast. I have been absolutely clear, and I suggest that the hon. Gentleman reads the OBR forecast as it might be illuminating—

• 3 Dec 2024 · National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill · Hansard source

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  We are protecting public services by providing relief directly to Departments and other public sector employers. Third parties, private organisations, or those who have a contract with the public sector are dealt with differently and they should approach their local council, or whoever is sponsoring them, to talk about their funding arrangements. I might draw the hon. Lady’s attention to the fact that local government financing is increasing by 3.2% next year as a result of decisions that this Government have taken. I expect she would probably support that increase in funding, but sadly she does not have the guts to support what we need to do to raise the money in the first place.

• 3 Dec 2024 · National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill · Hansard source

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  I will, one more time, and then I will make progress.

• 3 Dec 2024 · National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. That will depend on the exact set-up of the hospice, but typically hospices are independent charities, so they will be able to use the employment allowance against their national insurance contributions liability. They will also be able to access the other tax reliefs in the system that benefit charities, such as business tax relief and gift aid relief, which we have maintained in the Budget. We have taken the decision to maintain—

• 3 Dec 2024 · National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill · Hansard source

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  GP funding for 2025-26 will be confirmed by the Department for Health and Social Care in the usual way as part of the GP contracting process, and it will consider all the pressures on GPs in the round. I will make some progress, because the points we have made are clear. It is important for me to look also at what the Opposition might do, given the important vote today on these tax changes, which are necessary to raise funding for the NHS and other public services. I would like to think that the Opposition might join us today, back our plans to provide extra funding for the NHS and support this Bill to help pay for it. It seems though, from an article in The Sunday Times in the name of the shadow Chancellor, the right hon. Member for Central Devon (Mel Stride), that that may not be the case. In that piece, he wrote that the Conservatives apparently “want to provide further funding for the NHS.” Sadly, they refuse to take the tough decisions to pay for it. I note that in that article, the shadow Chancellor rehashed the discredited pledge from the recent Conservative manifesto to make £12 billion of welfare savings, which the Institute for Fiscal Studies politely described at the time as being “difficult in the extreme.” Perhaps he missed the admission from his predecessor, the right hon. Member for Godalming and Ash (Jeremy Hunt), during the election campaign that those welfare cuts were in fact not new, and the money had already been spent. Either way, it is hard to fathom why the new shadow Chancellor would rest his first intervention on a pledge from a manifesto that led to his party losing nearly 250 seats. It only serves to underscore the fact that the Conservatives are getting further and further away from being a credible Opposition by the day. We recognise that the decision to increase employer’s national insurance will have impacts. Although measures in this Bill will help to protect small businesses and charities, other measures mean that larger businesses and organisations will have difficult decisions to take. Let me be clear, however: the Budget was a one-off and a once-in-a-generation event. The difficult decisions we took meant that we were able to wipe the slate clean of the previous Government’s fiscal irresponsibility and economic mismanagement. Public services now need to live within their means and the means we have set them for the rest of this Parliament. The Budget delivered stability and fiscal responsibility, meaning that our focus can now be resolutely on boosting investment and growing the economy. That fiscal responsibility is possible only when we take tough decisions. This Bill makes it clear that this Government will not shy away from tough decisions and that we will do what is right in the circumstances we face. I commend it to the House.