Thank you, Chair. I wish to speak against amendment 1, in the name of the hon. Member for North East Fife (Wendy Chamberlain), and against new clause 1, in the name of the right hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell). Amendment 1 is simply impractical. Employers, HMRC and payroll systems do not have time to bring these measures into effect by April. Our own pay body, IPSA, could not make these changes in time, let alone small and medium-sized enterprises and bigger companies. July is the earliest that can be done, and the Government should be commended on the pace with which the change will be universally introduced, bearing in mind that we will be midway through the financial year. The Government understand the needs of constituents. The cost of living challenge is hitting now, post-covid, and the Government are acting with haste.
My opposition to new clause 1 is similar: timing. We should not postpone this measure by undertaking impact reports that would cause unnecessary delays for families who need support with the cost of living as soon as possible. Wrexham has more than the Welsh and UK average of lower income households, and under the Welsh Labour Administration, for the past 22 years those numbers have been increasing, with more child poverty and more struggling households. We all accept that the situation has not been helped by the global pandemic, which none of us foresaw. Nor did we foresee the war on the fringes of Europe.
This is not strictly within the remit of the Bill, but I concur with my hon. Friend the Member for South Dorset (Richard Drax) in his call to increase defence spending.
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To go back to the Bill, the national insurance threshold increase will save those struggling families in my constituency of Wrexham hundreds of pounds a year, in addition to the help that the Government have already provided through the 6.6% increase in the national living wage. As my hon. Friend the Member for Peterborough (Paul Bristow) mentioned on Second Reading, there is also the change in the universal credit taper rate.
I find it perplexing that Labour would challenge this Bill, which benefits my constituents and 2.2 million people across the country. In Wrexham, there are two areas that the Welsh Labour Government have declared to be among the most deprived in Wales. This Bill will directly help them. Why is Labour opposing it—does it not want people living in those areas to benefit financially?
The Chancellor has an excellent and responsible fiscal policy based on fairness and understanding of need; I should briefly mention the health and social care levy in this context. The importance of ringfencing that revenue must not be underestimated. The No.1 challenge facing my constituency is access to quality healthcare, which, as a former nurse and social worker, I understand acutely. There are issues with accessing a GP, years and years are spent on waiting lists, ambulance wait times are an issue and some people have no choice but to take out loans to pay for care privately in Labour-run Wales. That is unacceptable. People are having to move over the border to England, and that is also unacceptable. I urge the Opposition to understand the needs of their constituents and the fact that people want good public services and low taxation.
Lastly, let us not forget that the Welsh Labour Government will benefit from this levy through the Barnett formula. The Government are fiscally responsible, and committed to spending where needed. For my constituents in Wrexham, this is the deed to match the words “levelling up”.