We started this week passing legislation that cuts stamp duty to zero for all homes under £500,000. Usually, laws take several weeks to debate and pass, but as this was a piece of emergency legislation to help boost our economic recovery after lockdown, so this was approved by the Commons on a single day. This temporary reduction in stamp duty will mean that the average buyer will save £4,500 on their house purchase and 9 out of 10 buyers will not pay any duty when purchasing their main home. This will be a fantastic boost to our housing market, which has struggled due to Coronavirus, and will make it easier for many people, including many young people, to buy property.
On Tuesday morning we were back in the Chamber to listen to the Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden’s, statement on Huawei and British telecommunications more widely. I am keen to make sure we roll out 5G and superfast broadband as soon as possible – especially to rural areas like the Meon Valley – but it was becoming increasingly clear that the Chinese government should be treated with caution, both on security grounds and due to the appalling suppression of civil rights in Hong Kong.
Of course, this will have an impact on our ability to quickly expand 5G and broadband provision, so I pressed the Government to put further investment into research and development in UK infrastructure to ensure that British companies are in a position to fill the gap left by Huawei. I was pleased that the Culture Secretary agreed more investment was needed and suggested an announcement on this would come from the Treasury. You can watch my question and the response here on my Facebook page.
This morning in the newly refurbished Waterlooville Community Centre, I was talking to some architects who have a great vision for Waterlooville and was pleased that the local councillors were there. They have a great vision and I am looking forward to helping to take this forward. Earlier in the year I raised these plans in with the Prime Minister in PMQs as a great example of how we can plan for economic recovery even during this pandemic. You can read the question on Hansard here.
This meeting meant I was unable to watch the PM’s statement today live, but I have since looked at what was said. It is great news that the rate of infection in the UK below 1, meaning the virus is under control. This means that we can continue to ease lockdown restrictions, benefitting businesses and helping life return to normal.
I am particularly pleased that gyms and pools will be opening at the end of next week, and that theatres, concerts and beauticians will return the week after that. Schools will reopen in September, sports stadiums in October and the PM hopes that we will have reached normalcy by Christmas – something I know a huge number of families will welcome. To achieve this goal, we must all remain vigilant, continue to social distance and take common sense precautions to ensure that we stop the virus spreading.
