THE announcement in the Budget to scrap VAT on the fuel used by air ambulance charities was good news and I congratulate York resident Ken Sharpe for spearheading the campaign on this.

He gathered more than 100,000 signatures on a petition, which persuaded the Government to listen to the arguments that I put forward during my debate in Parliament on this issue. Removing VAT means that the Yorkshire Air Ambulance will save £7,000 a year, money that can now be spent on rescuing seriously ill and injured people.

I also welcome the Chancellor’s decision to reduce the tax burden on bingo clubs from 20 per cent to 10 per cent, which means that clubs across the country can now invest more in their premises, modernisation and jobs. I have campaigned at Clifton Bingo Club and Mecca Bingo in Fishergate for fairer taxation for bingo and both the Labour Government and the Coalition have now cut it. Bingo is a popular social activity, unlike other, harder, forms of gambling, and I am glad the Government recognises this. Unfortunately they have not taken effective action against the fixed odds betting terminals which take problem gamblers to the cleaners. Taxing these high stake ‘fruit machines’ is not the answer. The stakes should be cut from the present £100 per spin to, say, a maximum of £2.

Other Budget announcements tell a different story and will do little to tackle the cost-of-living crisis. Under this Government the standard of living for ordinary people has reduced by £1,600 a year. I hear from many constituents whose benefit has been sanctioned unfairly – most recently a young woman with mental health problems – who are forced to get food parcels from food banks. More than 3,000 families in York were forced to get food parcels last year.

A Labour Budget would contrast significantly with George Osborne’s short-term policies. We would impose a tax on bank bonuses to help get unemployed young people into work. We would expand free childcare for working parents to 25 hours a week for 3 and 4 year olds. We would cut taxes for 24 million working people on middle and low incomes with a lower 10p starting rate of income tax. Labour’s commitment to fairness will include reversing the £3 billion tax cut for people earning over £150,000.

Labour will cut business rates for small firms and 200,000 homes a year will be built by 2020 to help bring down rents and tackle the housing crisis.

York City Council and other York employers like the Citizens Advice Bureau, Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Housing Trust, York CVS and Aviva have signed up to paying their workers not just the minimum wage but the Living Wage. A Labour government after the general election will encourage all employers to follow York City Council’s example by offering businesses a 12 month tax rebate of up to £1,000 for every low paid worker who gets a pay rise under the scheme. This will help to cut social security bills and to reduce the deficit.

Labour will scrap the controversial bedroom tax which has caused so much misery for so many people in rented accommodation. Research by the University of York published in October, based on data from Housing Associations who have tenants affected by the bedroom tax, suggested that the Coalition Government’s move bedroom tax is likely to cost much more than the Government estimated.

I welcome the announcement last week by one energy company to freeze its prices until 2016, as well as the electricity and gas regulator Ofgem’s announcement that they will investigate the UK’s “big six” energy suppliers over the cost of their gas and electricity bills. I have been calling on the Government to explain why household energy bills have gone up by more than £300 a year under the Coalition Government – more than twice as fast as the basic increase in energy costs. Some York people now have to choose between heating their home or buying food.

Labour will freeze energy prices until the beginning of 2017. 45,282 households in York Central and 38,270 in York Outer will benefit from such a freeze, saving on average £120 on their energy bills. This standstill period should be used by the Government and energy companies to develop new energy efficiency measures and other ways of keeping fuel bills down.