National Insurance Contributions Bill

Does my hon. Friend agree that since the SIPPs fiasco, no one should ever believe a Government Minister again, if, indeed, they ever did so? If there is any doubt about that at all, they should pay attention to the distinction that he made between the Minister’s suggestion that, if the Government said something, everyone should believe it and act on it, and the fact that people did act on SIPPs and had their fingers burned. We now know where we stand—we should never ever believe what a Government Minister says, especially one from the Treasury.