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The Autumn Statement announces for the first time that the UK government will also open negotiations with Stirling. This means that the UK government will have agreed, or be in discussions with, each of Scotland’s cities.

There will be no cost to employees, and the maximum cost to business will be an annual £7.18 per employee.

For the Environment Agency, the new arrangements are expected to boost the income it receives from its visitor moorings and improve its ability to monitor usage and take enforcement action if necessary.

The 4.2 per cent increase keeps the National Living Wage on course for the 2020 goal. The recommendation was a finely balanced decision. On the one hand, it is a significant increase at a time of average pay growth of around 2 per cent and should help protect low-paid workers from the higher inflation likely to result from the depreciation of sterling. On the other hand, it is lower than we previously projected and should help manage risks to employment.

Mr Speaker, I said that the tax system must be fair and that means rewarding those who work hard by helping them to keep more of what they earn.