Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland Labour MP, Tom Blenkinsop, today (25th April 2012) said that industry on Teesside ‘have been let down badly’ by the government as figures showed a 0.2% drop in output – meaning that the UK is back in recession.

Tom said:

“Only a few short days ago Teesside was celebrating as SSI cast the first hot metal from the Redcar Blast Furnace and the first steel slabs cast at Lackenby. Tata, too, said that new orders for steel pipe were also good news for Teesside. But the efforts and hard work of these companies – hard work and grind replicated by other firms in this area – is being undermined by a government whose indolence in their stewardship of the economy is undermining all of their efforts.  It is proof positive that the views of a Commons Committee that the government has ‘no strategy for leadership and are drifting’ are spot-on. George Osborne should now really consider his position in the light of these dreadful figures.”

Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland Labour MP, Tom Blenkinsop, is calling on local businesses to get in involved in ‘Manufacturing Excellence 2012’, a UK-wide awards programme which identifies and celebrates outstanding UK manufacturing.

Manufacturing Excellence from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers offers £20,000 worth of free consultancy to all manufacturing businesses that enter.

Tom said:
“Manufacturing industry has been our lifeblood on Teesside but lately it has been hit hard by the global recession and now by weak policy from the Coalition Government. Cancelling big public sector projects like the Building Schools for the Future programme hasn’t helped.

“The manufacturing sector are begging the Government to develop a stronger strategy for growth in the UK and to move away from the over reliance on the financial and services sector.

“It is therefore good to see the Manufacturing Excellence Awards recognising how important the industry is to the UK economy and I would encourage local firms to apply for awards potentially up to £20,000 in free consultancy advice. After being overlooked by the Tory-led Government for the Green Investment Bank Headquarters, in favour of Edinburgh, this money could be a huge boost for Teesside businesses.”

Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland Labour MP, Tom Blenkinsop, today (April 10th 2012) said that Prime Minister David Cameron ‘must bring his chancellor, George Osborne, to heel’ after a national newspaper revealed that the Chancellor may be using advice from the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) to increase the level of direct taxation on state pensions yet again.

Tom said: “The state pension, which rises from £102.15 to £107.45 a week today, is currently paid before tax is deducted. Now it has been revealed by the Independent newspaper that the Chancellor is considering slapping a 20 per cent basic tax rate on the sum at source, reducing it to £85.96 a week for millions.”

“They say that the Treasury’s tax advisers are looking into the idea and will report to George Osborne later this year in time for the next Budget. They are using the work of the Office of Tax Simplification in exactly the same way this was used as an excuse for bringing in the ‘granny tax’ at the recent budget.”

“The Independent has a quote from John Whiting, the tax director of the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS), admitting that the idea has been aired and that the idea of bringing the state pension into the pay-as-you-earn system was ‘the front-runner’ in their inquiry work, although he admitted that this would cause ‘cash-flow issues’ for some pensioners.”

“The stark reality is that the two parties that make up the Coalition never had tax increases for pensioners in their manifestoes and it was not in even the small print of the Coalition agreement. It is wrong also for them to use work done by a civil service committee as a cloak for more financial attacks on hard done by pensioners. If the Chancellor is looking for ‘simplification’ then I would suggest he simplifies and tightens up on the tax loopholes which – it has also been admitted today – are leaving millionaires free to use elaborate tax avoidance measures to evade any payment back to the country in which they made their money. If he won’t do this, then I would call on the Prime Minister to intervene to make sure this happens instead.”

Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland MP, Tom Blenkinsop, has today (5th April 2012) expressed concern over reports that charities are under threat following the tax relief policy announced in Chancellor George Osborne’s controversial Budget last month.

The latest attack on the Budget comes from the think-tank Centre for Social Justice, which was formerly run by Welfare Minister Iain Duncan Smith and has been heavily influential with developing Government policy for charities.

Tom said:

“It’s a clear sign of how poor the recent Budget statement was that, over two weeks on from the announcement, it continues to draw new criticisms. “When a think-tank so heavily involved with Government ministers comes out against these proposals it is clear that the tax relief policy isn’t right. Already they are saying that big charity donors are now not only likely to give less but perhaps not at all.”

Under the new rules, people will only be able to claim tax relief on £50,000 or a quarter of their income, whichever is larger.
Tom added:

“On top of this we have the Prime Minister, David Cameron, set to invest £600 million into a fund for his failed ‘big society’ which seems like a knee jerk reaction to less charitable big donors following the failed Budget. David Cameron should put his ego aside and invest this money into Local Authorities that are struggling under immense cuts and are cutting back on things such as vital youth services and other struggling local organisations.”

Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland Labour MP, Tom Blenkinsop, today (26th March 2012) revealed that hidden in the ‘very small print’ of the Chancellors tax announcements after the budget was ‘a bombshell’ for local people who rented static caravans as holiday or leisure homes.

In the 2012 budget it was announced in the detailed ‘Red Book’ that from the 1st October 2012 VAT (Value Added Tax) will be applied to static caravans, which could make your next holiday home 20% more expensive to buy. Previously, static caravans were in what the government has referred to as a ‘Tax Loophole’, meaning that they were 0% tax rated. The new budget will bring static caravans in line with touring caravans, meaning they will be taxed at the current VAT rate of 20%.

Tom said “This is a ticking time bomb for everyone in my constituency who prefer a quiet holiday near home rather than jetting off to Malaga or Benidorm. These are people who prefer to holiday at – for instance – the Hazelgrove Caravan park in Saltburn and who, through this, help the local economy and local shops. I suspect that it was this vital cash contribution to local seaside resorts that helped these caravans to be zero rated for VAT purposes. Now, at a stroke of the Chancellors pen, this has been set aside, meaning a big rental hike for ordinary families.

I also fear that some Caravan and Holiday Home owners might be tempted to milk this VAT rise by imposing rental rises which go beyond merely passing on the new VAT burden or attempt to push through these increases now, rather than waiting for the October implementation date. It is crucial that static caravan tenants look very carefully at the letters they get from caravan proprietors.”

Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland Labour MP, Tom Blenkinsop, today (23rd March 2012) hit out a new possible European Commission guidelines on regional aid for industrial development which are, he said, ‘an arrow aimed at the heart of much of Teesside industrial base’.

Tom said “Teesside, like many other older industrial areas of the UK, is currently on the European Regional Aid map, which allows for local agencies and the Business Ministry to apply for EC cash to help inward investment and for business expansion which leads to jobs growth.

Now the Commission’s Competition Directorate has issued a discussion paper which suggests changes to the regulations on the targeting of this aid cash. Crucially, they are now suggesting that it be restricted to only apply to Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SME’s) after the new round of regional aid begins in 2014.

Now in some parts of the UK, this might pass without comment. But it is an arrow aimed at Teesside economic heart. Historically Teesside’s economic base has been in chemicals, steel, port related employment and heavy engineering. That remains the case today, and of recent years much of our job creation have been in these sectors, such as with PD Ports and the associated distribution centres, the Nifco plant at Eaglescliffe which will be supplying Nissan and investment at both Wilton and Billingham and Wilton where firms like Huntsman, Sembcorp and Air Products have made major investment decisions.

What all these examples have in common is that they are all large firms, as the economic drivers and sectors of importance to Teesside are dominated by their very nature by large employers. SME’s are valuable, but they don’t build multi-million chemical plants or steelworks. We should encourage SME’s, obviously, but in this area, they depend on supply-side orders and the wealth generated by large firms for their existence.

To make matters worse, the EC has to review the Assisted Areas Map after 2014, and given the scale of problems in Southern Europe, and the unpopularity of the UK in Europe arising from our Prime Minister’s ‘little Englandism’, the UK – and Teesside – may be in the firing line is areas have to be deleted from this map.

I will be urgently be making representations to both Business Ministers and to our local Member of the European Parliament, my colleague Stephen Hughes, to build up a case to make the Competition Authorities in Brussels think again on these ideas – certainly as far as Teesside is concerned.”