STOURBRIDGE MP WELCOMES PRE- BUDGET REPORT
Lynda Waltho, MP for Stourbridge, welcomed the Pre-Budget Report delivered by the Chancellor Alistair Darling as a clear indication of the Government’s continuing commitment to securing Britain’s recovery from the economic downturn.
Lynda said: “People in Stourbridge wanted to hear in this Pre- Budget Report what the Government’s priorities were for the coming year. They wanted to know what the Government was going to do to help businesses grow, keep people in their jobs and homes, protect our public services, give pensioners dignity in retirement and what support they were going to give the unemployed . We learnt that not only does the Government share their priorities but they are committed to taking tough decisions to make sure that those priorities are met and delivered”.
The Chancellor made clear that the Labour Government is deeply committed to increases in spending in key areas. The Chancellor also announced a freeze in the rate of Corporation Tax paid by small businesses, while maintaining a raft of measures to support these businesses through the recovery. He also reaffirmed the Government’s support for pensioners, home owners and those young people currently struggling to find a job.
Lynda continued: “The Government has said loud and clear that even in difficult times we will never put this country’s health, education and safety at risk. The announcement that the Labour Government will protect investment in the NHS, Sure Start, schools and police is news that will be welcomed throughout Stourbridge. In Stourbridge schools we now have over 280 teaching assistants working with and improving our children’s learning experience, up from just 60 in 1997.
I very much welcome the extension of the tax rate freeze for small businesses, the ongoing action to encourage lending by banks and other measures such as help with deferring tax bills. In the last year alone the Government has helped businesses in the Dudley Borough with £29 million worth of investment .I know that these further measures will make a real difference to small businesses and those who depend on them in Stourbridge.
The action taken to help pensioners in the Pre-Budget Report includes a 2.5% rise in the basic state pension from April 2010. The Government is also making sure that pensioners in Stourbridge need never worry about heating costs. Cold Weather Payments will increase to £25 a week this winter. They will also receive an extra £50 alongside their winter fuel payment – and an extra £100 if they are over 80.
The guarantee that every young person out of work for more than six months will receive training or a college place gives hope to those who currently cannot find employment, this is a promise that I welcome. We need to do as much as we can to ensure that never again will we consign a generation to long term unemployment.
After the worst economic crisis in 60 years, together with a deep and painful recession, it is vital that the Government’s actions are decisive. That way, we reject the decade of low-growth and austerity the Conservatives offer and set out how we can have a richer and fairer country, built on thriving industry and first class public services”.
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