In Parliament

Harriett Baldwin welcomes the Chancellor’s budget plans to reduce Government debt, ease labour shortages and help the economy grow whilst keeping inflation in check.

Following the Government statement about the future role of a potential digital pound, Harriett Baldwin asks if, given that major high street banks are passing on to savers so little interest since the Bank of England started to increase rates, people should be able to hold a digital account at the Bank of England and earn the Bank rate on their holdings. 

Harriett Baldwin highlights the Treasury Committee’s recent report titled “Fuel Duty: Fiscal forecast fiction”, which questions the 12p fuel duty raise that the Office for Budget Responsibility uses in its forecasts and asks if the Treasury will respond to that report before the Budget.

Harriett Baldwin highlights the merit of having forecasts produced independently of the Treasury by the Office for Budget Responsibility but calls for a more realistic approach concerning the fuel duty projections used in the forecast which are out of line with reality. 

Harriett Baldwin welcomes the fact that last year, despite coronavirus, the invasion of Ukraine, huge hikes in energy costs, rising interest rates and high inflation, UK businesses managed to generate more than 4.1% of economic growth—twice that of the United States, 25% higher than China, and higher than the eurozone.

Harriett Baldwin speaks in a debate to recognise the importance of the International Day of Education, and makes the case for every child in the world to have 12 years of quality education in particular raising the plight of refugee children whose education suffers because they have to flee conflict.

Following a Government statement on reports that the UK Government assisted Wagner Group head Yevgeny Prigozhin in circumventing the UK sanctions regime, Harriett Baldwin calls on the Government to instigate a ‘red flag’ system at the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation so that anything related to the Wagner Group is flagged up individually to the Minister responsible.

Harriett Baldwin backs an amendment to the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill that would introduce a £100 fee for the incorporation of a new company to fund the resources needed to reform Companies House to improve transparency over UK companies and combat economic crime.