Following the Government's statement on plans for local government reorganisation, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown asks the Minister to clarify when a decision will be made regarding the Gloucestershire County Council elections that are due to take place in May.
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown welcomes the deal to repurchase the MOD housing estate from Annington and asks if the Treasury are providing the further funds needed to pump-prime the housing refurbishments so desperately needed by our armed forces.
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown highlights the impact of the Budget on farming and urges the Government to reverse their changes to inheritance tax which will result in many family farms having to be sold. He raises his concerns about the decrease in investment in the agricultural sector, as well as the number of jobs that might be lost if the Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) goes ahead.
Following the Government’s response to an Urgent Question on the Budget’s impact on farming communities, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown confronts the Minister with a heartfelt plea he received from a 75-year-old farmer who is angry that this Budget has, in his words, “destroyed everything I have ever worked for.”
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown criticises raising taxes and borrowing by a staggering £40 billion each; with increases in inheritance tax, capital gains tax, mortgages, stamp duty, and employment costs. He raises real concerns that proposed changes to agricultural and business property relief will significantly impact farmers and rural communities, leading to the fragmentation of family farms and changes to national insurance will make it harder for small businesses to grow.
Speaking during Business Questions, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown calls on Parliament to urgently make the necessary decisions on the restoration and renewal project of the historic Houses of Parliament buildings as ongoing maintenance costs are running at £2 million a week.
Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, intervenes on the Chair of the Treasury Committee’s speech in the Budget Debate to welcome the Budget announcement of funding for the compensation schemes for victims of the infected blood and Post Office Horizon scandals and calls on the Government to ensure that these payments are made quickly.
In response to the Government’s plans to relax the fiscal rules so it can borrow more money, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown raises concerns that increased borrowing will mean interest rates will stay higher for longer causing hardship for today’s mortgage payers and tomorrow’s generation of taxpayers, because they will have to repay this extra debt.
Following the Government’s agreement with Mauritius on the future of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) and the new announcement of a deal with the Government of St Helena to house new migrants arriving in BIOT in the interim period, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown asks the Minister for the Overseas Territories how many migrants are expected to be transferred to St Helena and how the £6.5 million figure being paid to St Helena was calculated.