Theresa Villiers MP has urged the Chancellor to continue with grants and furlough support for local businesses in Barnet.
As part of the process of re-Budget engagement between Chancellor of the Exchequer and backbench MPs, Theresa has spoken to Mr Sunak via Zoom and also submitted written representations.
Speaking in the lead-up to the Budget, the MP for Chipping Barnet said “Extension of Covid support schemes and the Business Rates holiday beyond April is needed to help my constituents, especially those working in the pub and hospitality sector.”
“The UK’s hugely successful vaccination programme means that the end of the Covid emergency is finally in sight. But the roadmap for re-opening indicates that many businesses in Barnet will have to stay shuttered for several more weeks. So Government support should continue and I warmly welcome the £5 billion announced earlier this week to help our local high streets. This will provide an essential lifeline for pubs, restaurants and other businesses in Barnet.”
In her written Budget submission, Theresa repeated her call for help for workers who have so far missed out on the furlough and self-employed support schemes.
Recognising the strain on the public finances, the MP suggested that additional revenue could be raised through an extra tax on overseas buyers who purchase property in London. She backed further efforts to close down aggressive and artificial tax avoidance schemes used by global companies to drastically reduce their business tax bill; and also expressed support for increasing taxation on big online retailers to provide headroom for reform of business rates to reduce the burden on bricks-and-mortar retailers in our local high streets.
Finally, Theresa reiterated her long term support for continued investment in recruiting more police and increased funding for schools in Barnet, including maintained nursery schools. These are issues on which she has campaigned for several years and she has welcomed recent Government progress on delivering 20,000 more police as well as additional spending on schools.
