Speeches by Murray.

“I have already given way to the right hon. Gentleman, so I will make some progress. Within the policy, provision for pupils with special educational needs is an important matter that a several right hon. and hon. Members have raised with me. The Government recognise the importance of that too, and I am glad to confirm …”

“My hon. Friend is right to point out that the lack of funding that the previous Government put into the state sector has implications. It takes a toll on children if schools are not properly funded. If the capital budgets for schools are not properly funded, as well as their revenue budgets, that has an impact on child…”

“I am absolutely confident, through all my engagement with OEUK and many firms that work in the oil and gas sector, that our approach strikes the right balance, as needed in our economy. It recognises that oil and gas producers will have a role in the energy mix for years to come, while also being clear that it is cruci…”

“I will make some progress. That is the impact the changes have on domestic flights and short-haul destinations in economy class. However, in addition to the broad changes in air passenger duty rates, the higher rates for larger private jets will also increase by a further 50% to ensure they contribute fairly to the pub…”

“Let me put these decisions into context for the hon. Gentleman. The increase equates to £1 more for people taking domestic flights in economy class and £2 more for those flying to short-haul destinations in economy class. None of the decisions are easy, but we have to take them to fix the public finances and to get our…”

“As the hon. Gentleman knows, mental health, more broadly, is a priority for this Government. On the policy around VAT on private school fees, the impact on pupils in private schools having to change to a state school is expected to be very limited. The Government estimate that 35,000 pupils—less than 0.5% of all state …”

“I am afraid I will not give the hon. Gentleman inside information on any ongoing discussions between the Treasury and devolved Governments. The policy for reimbursing increases in employer national insurance contributions is well established. The last Government followed a similar process in relation to the health and …”

“We know that other countries tax in different ways. Norway has a high headline rate, although it has a different set of structures of allowances and so on. It is important for us that we calibrate the headline rate and the allowances in the right way. That is why we have taken the measured decision to increase the rate…”

“I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. Four weeks ago today, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor delivered the first Budget of this new Government. It was a historic, once-in-a-generation Budget—a Budget to deliver economic stability, to fix the public finances and to secure a step change in investment…”

“I will come to the energy profits levy in a moment, but we have engaged with the oil and gas industry to ensure that we raise the money we need for the clean energy transition while supporting investment and jobs in that industry. We recognise that oil and gas will play a part in the energy mix for years to come, but w…”

“The hon. Gentleman raises a crucial point about ensuring that the tax system is fair and that it supports the behaviour that we seek to incentivise. That leads me neatly to my next point. As part of the discussion paper on transforming business rates, we have committed to consulting on adopting a general anti-avoidance…”

“As I will explain, the test of “wholly or mainly concerned” is 50% of pupils, or more, having an EHCP specifying that their educational needs can be met only in a private school. I will provide some more detail in a moment. Of course, the Government have prioritised funding for the state education system in this Budget…”

“My hon. Friend is right that we, as a Government, are focused on improving state education for children across the country, because we know that every parent aspires for their child to get the best possible education. That is what our plans seek to achieve, and I would welcome it if the Opposition supported our efforts…”

“I thank the hon. Lady for her intervention, but what will have a positive impact on state schools across the country is the extra funding that we announced in the Budget. If Opposition Members want to support extra funding for schools, they have to support some of the tough decisions to raise that revenue in the first …”

“Let me point the hon. Gentleman to a document that has already been published: “Removal of eligibility of private schools for business rates charitable relief”, which sets out the impact and all the figures that he requests. There are 2,444 private schools in England, 1,139 of them are charities, and we expect that und…”

“Was that 75% business rates relief for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses due to expire in April 2025?”

“I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. Last month, the Chancellor set out the Government’s first Budget. That Budget was a once-in-a-generation event to wipe the slate clean after 14 years of the Conservatives. At that Budget, we laid the foundations for our No. 1 mission of economic growth. The scale …”

“Let me remind the hon. Gentleman that, around the difficult decision that we had to take on employer national insurance contributions, we provided explicit protection for small businesses by more than doubling the employment allowance from £5,000 to £10,500, which will benefit hundreds of thousands of small businesses …”

“I thank the hon. Gentleman for a rare intervention, but this Bill is about business rates in England. Some of his wider points may relate to the removal of the VAT exemption for private school fees in other countries and nations of the UK. Those provisions will be debated as part of the Finance Bill on Wednesday and, i…”

“I hope that the hon. Member will welcome the fact that we have committed an extra £1 billion in 2025-26 to high needs funding in the education system. The Government are committed to reforming England’s SEND provision to improve outcomes and return the system to financial sustainability. I would welcome her support for…”