James Murray

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. He referred to the impact of the Windsor framework, which as he correctly pointed out, imposes an upper limit of just over £90,000 on the threshold in Northern Ireland. The Windsor framework is therefore relevant to the threshold in Northern Ireland and, by extension, to the Government’s decisions in Great Britain as well. The debate is becoming slightly wider than the question about the VAT threshold, but I can understand why that is the case. The VAT threshold—in fact, VAT as a whole—is only one of the factors in the landscape that businesses face. Although we recognise that we have taken some difficult decisions on employer’s national insurance contributions, as I said earlier, the important point to focus on is the stability that those decisions have brought to the public finances and that they have put our public services back on their feet. Many businesses that I speak to recognise that they need their workforce to be healthy and to be able to get on a train and get to work. Businesses need people who are coming out of school to be trained and to have the right skills to access the jobs of the future. They need the Government to create the right environment for growth, because private sector businesses will drive growth and create wealth and prosperity across the country. Businesses want a partner in Government who will provide the infrastructure, reforms and investment to enable them and everyone across our country to flourish. That is the wider context in which this debate takes place. This debate has mostly been about the VAT threshold. It has taken a wide definition of the VAT threshold and its connected policies, but I understand why: the threshold sits within a wider context that affects small businesses. We all agree that small businesses are at the heart of all our local communities and economies, and we all want them to thrive. That is why the Government have taken steps to ensure that the tax system supports them. We have doubled the employment allowance, increased the small employers’ compensation rate, frozen the small business multiplier, introduced permanently lower business rates for smaller retail, hospitality and leisure businesses from next year, and committed to maintain the small profits rate and £1 million annual investment allowance. The industrial strategy, published yesterday, goes even further to support small businesses, including by announcing the creation of a new business growth service that will streamline access to Government support, advice and funding for small businesses. The VAT threshold strikes a balance between keeping the majority of businesses out of VAT altogether while ensuring that we can support public services and maintain fiscal responsibility. I thank you again for your chairmanship, Mr Vickers. I thank all hon. Members who have contributed to the debate and, in particular, I thank the hon. Member for Mid Leicestershire for securing the debate.