Henry Smith MP: We must stop our children getting hooked on cigarettes

Henry Smith is Member of Parliament for Crawley.

In March, the Health Secretary, Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, and his team called for the number of people dying prematurely in England to be reduced. Introducing standard tobacco packs would help reduce premature death and there are health, economic and moral reasons for it.

The document outlining their call to action, Living Well for Longer, contains a fairly ordinary sentence that is probably in every health document written since the ‘60s: “Tobacco use is the single biggest behavioural risk factor for premature death”.

Perhaps an ordinary sentence, but an extraordinary statistic. Shouldn’t it still shock us that thousands of people die from their habit every year, many in their middle age?  To put that ‘ordinary’ statement in context, smoking kills five times more people than road accidents, overdoses, murder, suicide and HIV all put together in the UK.

Henry Smith MP: George Osborne can kickstart growth by abolishing Air Passenger Duty

Henry Smith is Member of Parliament for Crawley.

At the Autumn Statement in December the Chancellor re-affirmed the Government’s economic strategy - to focus on reducing the deficit, restoring stability, rebalancing the economy and equipping the UK to compete in the global race. With over one million new private sector jobs created and the deficit reduced by a quarter since the General Election, it is clear that Great Britain is on the right track.

At the same time both the Chancellor and the Prime Minister have acknowledged that restoring growth is proving to be an even tougher challenge than expected. The damage to the UK economy caused by the previous Government was deeper than anyone predicted and persistent problems in the Eurozone continue to cause us difficulties.

Businesses create growth, not governments, but governments can create the right fiscal and regulatory environment that allows business to flourish. So as the Budget approaches, it is vital that we consider what more can be done to increase competitiveness and encourage businesses to trade, invest and grow, whilst maintaining discipline in the public finances.

I believe that tackling the severe inherited levels of Air Passenger Duty (APD) offers a unique opportunity to increase UK competitiveness, reduce the cost of business travel to stimulate trade and investment, and help hard-working families who want to visit family or friends or take a well-earned holiday.

Henry Smith MP: The Government should not raise air passenger duty further

Henry Smith is Member of Parliament for Crawley.

I share the concerns of the 500-odd constituents that have personally contacted me over the past two weeks regarding Air Passenger Duty (APD).

Many people will be aware that we already pay around eight and a half times the rates of APD than the European average and only four other countries charge APD in the European Union; Germany is reducing their APD and the Netherlands abandoned this form of tax altogether as it was costing their economy far more than it was raising.

If APD is increased further and not simplified, we risk damaging growth by increasing the tax burden on families and by giving our European competitors an unfair advantage in a global market.

Aviation accounts for about 5.5% of UK total emissions. To put that in context, road transport emissions account for about 18% and energy production emissions account for about a third of the UK total. In addition, it should be noted that the aviation sector contributes some £53 billion to UK Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs almost one million people, in addition to around 1.5 million employed in our tourism industry, and that about half of this country’s population fly each year.