Central Ayrshire MP Brian Donohoe congratulates the Chancellor on his pre-Budget report, calling it 'Good for businesses, good for homeowners, good for families and good for the local economy – the right action for extraordinary times'

Local MP Brian Donohoe has congratulated the Chancellor Alistair Darling MP on today's pre-Budget statement.

'At a time when the whole country is looking for strong financial leadership and signs of hope, this was exactly the right message' said Mr Donohoe. 'We now have a timetable for the next few years: The UK – like every other country in the developed world – is facing recession and extraordinary financial uncertainty. But the Chancellor has now put a cap on that uncertainty by introducing immediate help where it's most needed. He has acknowledged that there will be negative growth for a while, but has given us the confidence that by 2010 the economy will have started to recover as a result of the safeguards he has put in place today: That's the message we need to hear – that an end is in sight. I believe his actions today are good for businesses, good for homeowners, good for families and good for the local economy, and I congratulate him for it.'

Turning to one important sector of the local economy, Mr Donohoe warmly welcomed the Chancellor's announcement that he has chosen not to alter the regulations surrounding aviation duty as 'fantastic news for Prestwick Airport'. It had been expected that duties would be changed such that they would be applied per plane as opposed to per passenger as a means of taxing emissions from freight as well as from passenger flights. This was a proposal that Mr Donohoe had already told the Chancellor he vehemently opposed. In August Mr Donohoe told the Chancellor of his concern that the new tax could prompt freight operators to leave Prestwick for European airports with no equivalent tax, which could result in large numbers of job losses and financial uncertainty at the Ayrshire airport. The Chancellor told the House of Commons today that although the per-plane Aviation Duty proposal had received all-party support, he had listened carefully to the warnings and now agreed that it could indeed harm the freight industry. Consequently he has opted to retain per-passenger duty, but with a new banding structure that increases according to the distance flown.

On another issue on which he has campaigned, Mr Donohoe said 'I am also very pleased that the Chancellor has charged Ofgem - the energy supply regulator - with making sure that reductions in wholesale energy prices are passed on quickly to consumers and ensuring greater transparency in energy prices in the future.'

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