On Wednesday the Chancellor gave us his Spring Statement. I don’t think anyone would relish being in his position at the moment. Covid, supply chain issues and now the war in Ukraine have all contributed to a huge rise in inflation and life is going to be very difficult for everyone for some time.
The sanctions that we have placed on Russia are not cost free for us but I hope that we all think that, morally, this is the correct course to take when one country invades another sovereign country for absolutely no legitimate reason at all.
The alternative would be an embolden Russia who would have further ambitions than Ukraine. I met with the Ambassador from Georgia this week and talked about the two areas which Russia has taken in her country. I am organising a meeting for MPs with the three female Eastern European Ambassadors in May as I think that will give a different perspective for us.
The Chancellor’s Tax Plan has been welcomed, especially the cutting of National Insurance for over 30 million people, 70% will still pay less even counting the new NI social care levy. The same people will also benefit from 2024 with a cut in basic rate income tax to 19% as will businesses with the rise in Employment Allowance.
I hope that we will be able to see the decrease in petrol prices on forecourts, although it still seems very high probably because the tax is taken at source so we will have to wait for that to filter through.
As part of the Department for Work and Pensions, I was looking out for how we are helping the most vulnerable and was pleased to see the £1 billion Household Support Fund will help our poorest families with targeted support through councils and there is also help with energy costs too.
We are about to launch a campaign to get more pensioners to see whether they are eligible for pension credit – this could make a big difference for pensioners so please contact Age UK to see whether you are eligible.
As I mentioned before, we are concentrating on getting people back to work as that is the best way out of poverty and our work coaches are doing a fantastic job filling the over 1 million job vacancies around the country. The one real shining light in what is a challenging time is the number of people in work and the number of job vacancies.
This week, I went to a Westminster event about hydrogen heating, which is being piloted in several places including Southampton. Around 95% of households are connected to the grid and most people support the switch to green home heating solutions but can’t afford it, so replacing boilers when they need it to ones that can be converted is important and several manufacturers are already doing it. There is a campaign to introduce hydrogen heating early and I will be supporting it.
I also met with British International Investment - the latest incarnation of the Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC). It is one of the most effective ways of helping developing countries and I am a big supporter. Over the last 10 years, it has received £4bn from our Overseas Development Aid to help private companies build projects. 80% of investment is recycled capital as it gets interest back from the projects, these include microfinancing.
There is no government-to-government lending so it means that money goes directly to those who need it and it is a great way of building economies as well as our soft power. As countries get more disillusioned with Chinese investment, it is a good way of filling that space although it is different from the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative as it is largely lending to governments.
It may be a good plan to have a British Development Bank to help with government-to-government lending too and I will be asking Ministers about this. You can find out more about CDC/BII here: Development Finance Institution - CDC Group
Yesterday, I was hoping to present an award at the Health Awards at the Science Museum but it became a 3 line whip to get the new NI legislation through and I was unable to go. This is incredibly frustrating as it turned out that we did not need a vote but that is how it works as things often change at the last minute in Parliament.
Today I have been co-hosting with Safran Helicopter Engines UK in Segensworth at the company’s media launch for a campaign with Leonardo Helicopters to win an MOD contract for the New Medium Helicopter which will replace some of the types currently in service.
Safran makes the engines and employs a lot of people from the constituency, many more if they win the contract. Safran is working with local schools to provide work placements and I constantly push for more apprenticeships to be provided when I visit businesses.
It is British Spring Clean Week and I will be out in Bishops Waltham tomorrow to help.
Have a great weekend.
