James Murray

The Chancellor takes decisions on fiscal policy at fiscal events, as my hon. Friend will know, but the employment allowance increase applies broadly across different sectors and parts of the economy, and sits alongside other reliefs in the tax system. I think that this will be of interest to him, given that he asked specifically about helping young people into work. The Government are protecting employer national insurance relief for all employees under the age of 21 and apprentices up to the age of 25. More recently, we have secured a commitment from the hospitality sector to create more than 100,000 opportunities for young people who are not in education, employment or training. That response from industry sits alongside the Government’s work through the youth guarantee and our reforms in respect of skills and employment support. I might briefly address some other points from hon. Members. Some Members referred to the impacts of energy costs on hospitality businesses, and we recognise the impact that global events beyond our control are having on the costs of running a business in the UK. As all Members will have seen in the Budget two weeks ago, the Chancellor and the Government are taking that very seriously and starting the longer-term reforms needed to make the energy system fairer, cheaper and easier for businesses. That includes action to control new policy costs, reform energy institutions and improve access to grid connections. Some hon. Members asked about the UK’s treatment of hospitality, compared with what happens among EU countries. A number of European countries do apply reduced rates to hospitality. France and Italy apply rates of 10%, Germany applies a rate of 7% and Ireland applies a rate of 9% for most hospitality supplies. But different countries make different choices about the balance of taxation and expenditure. The UK’s standard VAT rate is close to the OECD average and, as I set out earlier in my remarks, VAT is only one element of the business environment—it sits alongside business rates, which I have set out—and should not be considered in isolation.