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Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

I welcome the Budget, but I have a few points to raise about issues of concern. We need to look at exactly where we are. The truth is that employment has risen by over 2.6 million since we came into office. We have the highest employment rate in the G7 economies. The new deal has helped nearly 900,000 young people into work. The adult rate of the national minimum rage will soon be £5.52 an hour and the national minimum wage will be £4.60 for young people. But those of us from areas that have suffered economic deprivation over the last 20, 30 or 40 years, are watching closely to see the impact of the Budget. I accept the points raised by the Opposition about the impact of the 10p rate being removed and also about the issue of working tax credits. Working tax credits themselves are a good thing. If they are not working properly—as in far too many cases—they do not help. If they help, it will be true that, by 2009, a family with two children will, in effect, be able to earn £24,000 before paying tax. That is a good thing. However, it behoves the Government, the Treasury and the Department for Work and Pensions to make sure that the tax credit system is sorted out and works—for the benefit of people outside and of our party and our Government. The TUC brief was clear. The TUC said that it believes that, as a result of the personal tax changes, by April 2009 families will be at least £200 a year better off. The poorest fifth of the population could be £50 better off. A single earner, on median earnings, with two children could be as much as £500 a year better off. But that will happen only if we get the tax credit system right. That is a challenge for our Government. Child poverty figures will be 200,000 lower. It is welcome that 600,000 fewer pensioners will pay income tax. It is right that only 43 per cent. of pensioners will pay tax. I want to talk about what is happening where I live. In 1986, I worked in the coal-mining industry in a village where male unemployment was 19.6 per cent. Then the pit was shut and 720 men were sacked, so the situation got even worse. Today, unemployment is 3.7 per cent. Even going back to 1997, there has been a drop in unemployment of 57 per cent. Two years ago, the jobcentre was knocked down so that a factory that builds earth-moving equipment could be extended. That is a great sign of progress and we should all welcome it. I want to move on to education and, in doing so, I want to try to answer the questions that the Opposition have asked over the last four or five days about where the money goes—a theme I want to come back to. The truth is that education spending will rise to £90 billion by 2011—the highest level ever. Spending will be increased from 4.7 per cent. of GDP in 1997 to 5.6 per cent. in 2011. Surely we should all welcome that. Because of that increased investment, we will be able to provide one-to-one tuition for 600,000 children, to double apprenticeship numbers to 500,000 and to increase higher education student numbers to 1.2 million. We will be able to make every school an extended community school—the schools are up for that. We will be able to increase spending from £2,500 per pupil in 1997 to £6,600 in two short years from now. Surely we can all say yes to those figures. We have to welcome the Government’s commitment to implement the Leitch review. We all know that there is a skills shortage in this country and that we must up-skill our adults to ensure that they can compete in the global world. When the Bill to achieve that comes before the House, I hope that it will receive cross-party support. We should welcome the fact that there will be 3,500 Sure Start centres in this country in the next two years. We will also increase the amount of education received by three and four-year-olds to 15 hours a week.