Budget 2013: ‘A Budget for an Aspiration Nation’ and real positives for people and businesses in the Congleton Constituency
After hearing the Budget today, Fiona Bruce MP said from Parliament:
‘The Chancellor in his Budget, today, confounded predictions that this would be a ‘boring Budget’ – quite the opposite! It is an innovative Budget with some original proposals offering real and practical benefit for people of all ages and for local businesses in the Congleton Constituency.’
Acknowledging that small businesses are the engine of growth in our communities, the Chancellor has delivered substantial support for people who work hard to develop local businesses and create the much needed jobs we need in our local communities. So every small business will offered a £2000 Employment Allowance – real money in their hands to help them grow, money which would otherwise have been paid in National Insurance to the Government. I know from having run a small business for over 20 years that this sum can make a significant difference – often the difference between employing and training someone or not, or even in difficult times the difference between keeping going and calling a day to the very hard work which is involved in developing any business.
In addition, Corporation Tax will be reduced to 20p – the lowest rate of tax for companies in any major country in the world. This is sending out a real message not only that Britain is open for business, but that our country values and respects the contribution which businesses of all sizes make to our nation and that support for the creative industries, research and development and capital investment in businesses is the right way for our country to return to economic health and wellbeing. To crush businesses with massive tax bills only means they cannot invest in the equipment they need, market or develop their products and expertise, and create jobs. This was what happened under the last government when businesses felt swamped not only with regulation and red tape which this government has worked hard to tackle but also when Corporation Tax was a whopping 28%. The Congleton Constituency consists of over 4000 small businesses – this Budget will give them real support to grow.
It was heartening to hear from the Chancellor that despite the difficult economic times, both nationally and internationally, which the country experiences, huge sums have been saved as a result of the Government working more efficiently – for example the Cabinet Office has cut £5billion in administration costs and government departments will at the end of this financial year have under spent by a total of £11billion – whilst school and health spending has been protected. As the Chancellor said, if ‘we want to bring borrowing down we have to control spending and this is what we have done ... we have got to continue making difficult decisions so Britain can live within its means ... under Labour we had uncompetitive tax rates; now tax rates are more competitive and the rich will pay a greater proportion of tax revenues with new rules to tighten up offshore and tax avoidance schemes. Our aspiration is support those who work hard and play by the rules.’
For young people struggling to get on to the housing ladder, this Budget has delivered some of the most innovative opportunities ever. Many first time buyers in my constituency cannot afford to buy their first home simply due to house prices and consequential large deposits required – even if they can get a mortgage in the first place. So the provision of one fifth of the cost of a new build home (20% of the purchase price) as an interest free loan from the Government for up to 5 years to help all first time buyers of newly built homes (up to £600,000) to buy their first house will be a real boost in this part of Cheshire. So too will the Government’s £130billion package of help for guaranteed mortgages under the Help to Buy Scheme, dramatically increasing the availability of mortgages for homebuyers. And as everyone knows, so many local businesses benefit when the housing market moves – from insurance brokers to carpet fitters, from surveyors to plumbers, from white goods stores to gardeners – the list is endless.
For every working person, whatever they earn and whether full or part time, this government’s increase in the amount someone can earn before they pay any income tax have been of real benefit. Everyone earning over £6,500 under the last Labour government paid income tax. The Coalition Government has progressively increased this tax free income and today’s further announcement by the Chancellor raising this sum to £10,000 by April next year also raised the loudest cheer in the Chamber! This means that 2.7 million of the lowest paid workers in the country will pay no income tax at all. This will particularly benefit young people and low paid workers – although it does in fact benefit everyone – on average families will pay £700 less in income tax than they did in 2010. This underlines the importance which the Government sees in widening the gap between welfare and work so that it really does pay to work.
The Congleton Constituency has many elderly residents and I and a group of colleagues in Westminster have been campaigning since we were elected for a fair compensation for elderly Equitable Life investors who lost money under the failed Equitable Life Schemes. In particular, we have been pressing for the Government to compensate pre-September 1992 investors and today’s news that an ex-gratia payment of £5,000 will be paid to every elderly pre 1992 investor is most welcome and will go some way towards remedying the injustice these investors have suffered.
Finally, for people in a rural and semi-rural constituency like Congleton, a really important issue has been the cost of petrol – whether getting to work, school or the shops. The Chancellor’s announcement that he is cancelling Labour’s fuel duty rise that was due to come into place this September means that tax on petrol has been frozen for two years under this Government. For a family car this means £7 less every time we fill up at the petrol pumps compared with what the price would have been under Labour with its planned Fuel Duty Escalator. I know how much this saving alone means to household budgets and small businesses.
In conclusion, Fiona added:
‘We now work in a global environment where the competition for businesses in the Congleton Constituency is not just regional or even, but is international and that our hard working entrepreneurs deserve all the support they can get.
The provisions in this Budget today will substantially help our local businesses to compete and reaffirm the Government’s commitment to promote UK as the most competitive country in the world to do business.’
