National Insurance Contributions Bill

Certainly. The idea of governing by ministerial fiat, by statement, is dangerous, and not only in the context of the measure that we are discussing. One might consider the consequences of this year’s pre-Budget report, where the Treasury unsaid what it had previously said about the eligibility of the inclusion of ordinary houses in self-invested personal pensions. An earlier ministerial statement had announced that from April 2006 it would be possible for people to include property in their SIPPs and on that basis many companies set up businesses and incurred expense and risk. The Government will not compensate people who were adversely affected by anticipating Government legislation. I have no quarrel with people anticipating legislation. They took the Government’s word as a true intention of what would happen. It turns out that that is not going to happen. As recently as 14 November this year, I received a letter from the Economic Secretary justifying and, indeed, commending the proposals that SIPPs should include assets such as houses. He pointed out that that would not have an adverse effect on the property market. In any event, he said, only 1 per cent. of pension funds would be affected. Anyone who assumed from that letter that they should invest in such pension funds or set up schemes to facilitate such investment would have been acting in advance of the Finance Bill and therefore at their own risk. Unfortunately, no compensation is available in such a situation, but the Government are suggesting that if they make an announcement through a written answer on national insurance contributions, it should be regarded as gospel. Their approach is therefore inconsistent. We appear to be moving into a new era of government by fiat—whatever Ministers say goes—while, at the same time, letters are written to introduce provisions for compensation for people who act on the basis of those Government statements only to find that they have acted to the detriment of their interests.