Brighton's Tory MP says Budget is good news for young people

While Green MP for Brighton Pavilion Caroline Lucas called the Budget a ‘failure’, her Tory colleague in Kemptown Simon Kirby praised the Chancellor.

He said: “This is a Budget that ensures young people in Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven can get the skills they need to do the high-paid, high-skilled jobs of the future, whilst ensuring more children have the chance to go to a good or outstanding school.

“It helps ordinary working families with the cost of living, and supports the NHS and our elderly by providing substantial funding for the social care system.”

He said the Chancellor Phillip Hammond announced ‘the most ambitious post-16 education reforms since A-levels were introduced 70 years ago’, by providing funding to increase the number of training hours for 16 to 19-year-olds by over 50 per cent, with 15 new technical routes and work placements for every student.

The Budget also announced funding for a 110 new free schools, and an additional £216 million over the next three years for existing schools.

Mr Kirby said the Budget will further help the most disadvantaged pupils access the best schools by extending free transport to every child entitled to a free school meal to selective schools.

He added: “The Government has listened to the concerns raised by business about the effects of the business rates revaluation. Today’s Budget sees a £435 million package, meaning businesses coming out of Small Business Relief will have their increases capped at £50 per month in 2017-18; pubs with a Rateable Value of under £100,000 – 90 per cent of all pubs – will see a £1,000 discount on their 2017 Business Rates bill; and local authorities will receive a further £300 million to target individual hard cases in their areas.

“Today’s Budget also commits additional grant funding of £2 billion to social care in England over the next three years. Alongside that, a further £100 million is being made available immediately for up to 100 new triage projects at A&E in English hospitals in time for next winter.”