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Budget is opportunity to relieve pressure on families - for The Inverness Courier

THE budget next month is a major opportunity for the Government to relieve some of the pressures on families in Inverness, Nairn and Badenoch and Strathspey who are being hit by the recession.

Mr Darling has already moved the date of the budget to 22nd April — one of the latest dates ever.

I hope he will use the time to decide on some changes that will make a real difference here in the Highlands.

Britain's tax system needs to be fundamentally changed. It is simply wrong that the poorest 20 per cent of people pay a greater share of their income in tax than the richest 20 per cent. In a low income area such as the Highlands, that unfairness is made even worse.

Mr Darling could deliver big tax cuts for ordinary people on middle and low incomes. Plans set out by Nick Clegg, the Lib Dem leader, would be worth about £700 for every taxpayer.

That could be afforded this year and every year by asking the richest to pay more: cracking down on tax avoidance, ending extra tax breaks for big pensions and taxing capital gains as income.

The budget should also launch a sustained drive to create green jobs now. The VAT cut has been an expensive flop, failing to boost the economy at huge cost.

By cancelling it now billions could be released to invest in insulating schools and homes, building new homes and investing in renewables.

Those jobs would — unlike the VAT cut — leave a lasting legacy. Better insulation would cut bills, reduce fuel poverty and cut carbon emissions too.

The Highlands stand to gain greatly from renewables, especially wave and tidal power, if only the Government would provide the investment to help kick-start those industries. The budget is a chance to do so.

In the Highlands a car is a necessity, not a luxury. Though oil prices have fallen, this has not come through in dramatic falls in fuel prices. Many people believe that once the recession is over, oil prices will rise dramatically once again.

Vince Cable MP has predicted that in a recovery oil prices could even reach $200 per barrel after a few years.

A fuel discount scheme for remote and rural areas should be announced in the budget.

That would allow a reduced rate of fuel duty to be charged in remote and rural areas, benefiting local people and filling stations alike.

This is a fair solution, given that most people in the Highlands have no choice but to cover longer distances in their cars and with little or no public transport alternative.

Highland Council's housing debt is a financial millstone around our area's neck.

The council has recently put forward an innovative plan for the Treasury to suspend repayments so that the £15 million saved could be spent improving council houses and building new ones.

These ideas would help the council create hundreds of jobs, as well as delivering more and better affordable homes.

I took council officials to present these ideas to the Treasury, and the minister responded positively. If this scheme was backed in the budget jobs could start to be created within days.

These are just four ideas that could deliver real benefits to the people of the Highlands. I will certainly be pressing the Treasury to show in the budget that the needs of our area have not been forgotten and that Mr Darling will take these into account.

SUPPORTING TOURISM

At home in Aviemore two weekends ago, the first blast on the whistle from the Strathspey steam train was as clear a signal that spring is here as the clocks going forward or the birds signing — even with snow stilly lying on the ground!

I am a strong supporter of the plans to extend the railway line to Grantown.

The extension will bring significant economic benefit and become an even more significant attraction drawing people to the Highlands.

With the recession hitting other industries it is even more vital that we build up tourism in the Highlands.

Investing in strong attractions, alongside our wonderful natural environment, will not only bring more people but encourage them to stay longer.

With tourism one of the industries that has the potential to buck the economic trends, it is all the more absurd that the UK Government has cut the funding that VisitBritain has to promote our country abroad.

Posted on: 07/04/2009