Speeches by Murray.

“I thank the right hon. Member for his kind words. As he will know, welfare measures are already going through Parliament and being investigated by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Social Security and Disability through the review that he is undertaking. This Government are determined to ensure that the safety net …”

“I am not going to engage in speculation about tax measures or any of the mechanics around them. The hon. Member and his hon. Friends will simply have to wait until 26 November to hear the specifics of the Budget. At that point, I am sure that he and his colleagues will have plenty to say.”

“I thank the right hon. Member for Central Devon (Sir Mel Stride) for opening the debate. I can tell that he spent his summer polishing some of his rhetorical flourishes, which he has shared with us today, but I suggest that he could have spent his time rather better. Thank you for your words of congratulation, Mr Speak…”

“Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker—the hint is taken. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Chris Vince) for his intervention, and I thank his mother for her service to HMRC in the past. People at HMRC do an absolutely critical job in collecting the tax that is important in funding our public services and ensuring…”

“I gently remind the hon. Member that council tax—a tax on property—exists in this country, so the principle of applying some taxes to property is well established in the UK, and has been for some time. She is trying to tempt me to engage in more speculation, but as I said to the shadow Chancellor, I am not going to eng…”

“I am going to make some progress, because a few moments ago I said I would do so. I have been gently reminded by Madam Deputy Speaker that I really must live up to my promise on that front. The right hon. Member for Central Devon asked me questions in his opening remarks—indeed, his colleagues have their sheets from th…”

“I will give way one more time, but then I will make some progress.”

“I listened very carefully to the shadow Minister. He has clearly been taking theatrical lessons from his colleague the shadow Chancellor, the right hon. Member for Central Devon (Sir Mel Stride). Indeed, I have listened to all his colleagues during this debate, and frankly they have quite some cheek. They speak from th…”

“One of the principles behind the reforms that we are looking to make to the gambling duty is to tackle issues of compliance by simplifying the system. The consultation is open at the moment, and I encourage the hon. Gentleman, and anyone else who is interested in contributing towards that, to make their views known.”

“I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question; he has engaged with me about the loan charge previously. As he knows, there is an independent review of the loan charge at the moment, and I think it is important that I as a Minister do not comment on that. Let the independent reviewer complete his work and report back to u…”

“My hon. Friend will have seen the Prime Minister’s work to reset relations with the EU. She mentions the single trade window, and it is the Government’s intention to deliver that. More widely, the Government are committed to minimising the administrative burdens and frictions experienced by businesses trading internati…”

“There is £200 million available, and the Government will look at all proposals for investing it.”

“I thank my hon. Friend very much for her question. I can reassure her that, alongside the loan charge review, the Government have published a consultation on a comprehensive package of measures to close in on the promoters of marketed tax avoidance schemes. As we know, these contrived schemes both deprive public servic…”

“I am happy to hear from the hon. Gentleman about how he will support our home-building plans in his constituency and across the country. We know that the most important thing to tackle the housing crisis is to support the reforms that this Government are making to the planning system to make sure we can build 1.5 milli…”

“The year before we came to power, the tax gap stood at £47 billion. That is unacceptable, which is why we announced the most ambitious-ever package of tax gap measures in the Budget, and went even further in the spring statement. We are now forecast to raise £7.5 billion from the tax gap in 2029-30, including by recrui…”

“It is excellent to hear my hon. Friend speak so passionately about Doncaster racecourse and the wider sector, and I reassure her that we will absolutely continue close dialogue with the horseracing industry on these proposals. I and my officials are working closely with the horseracing sector to identify any unintended…”

“We very much recognise the social and cultural value of horseracing, which is why on-course betting is exempt from duty, and horseracing is the only sport to receive a Government mandated levy. We are consulting on measures to simplify gambling duty and improve compliance. No decision will be made on rates before the B…”

“My hon. Friend is a powerful campaigner and advocate for tackling those who do not play by the rules. While I am unable to comment on individual taxpayer affairs because of my position, I very much recognise the issue. We are determined to tackle this problem, and HMRC is working across Government on enforcement action…”

“The shadow Minister forgets to mention the fact that we have had £30 billion of investment in green energy since the general election. I am sure he has consulted the spending review documents closely—I know he is a diligent shadow Minister in that regard—and he will have seen the investment that we are putting into Gre…”

“Of course, our colleagues in the Department for Business and Trade are having conversations with those businesses and industries that may be affected. I hope the hon. Member welcomes the trade deal that we got with the US—an economic deal that is so important for our prosperity and will see us being the only country to…”