Finance Bill

I entirely agree. The right hon. Gentleman foreshadows remarks that I was about to make on building adapted homes—zero-carbon homes, for which there are fiscal incentives in the Finance Bill. However, I am not aware that there are any fiscal incentives—in this Bill, or previously—to deal with matters such as those that he refers to. The drainpipes on older homes will need to be changed. In many parts of the country, people will need bigger drainpipes because of the increased incidence of sudden deluges. All Members will remember what happened in Boscastle in 2004, when 8 in of rain fell in a very short period. Lest any Member wishes to treat this matter with levity, let me say that I am not saying that bigger drainpipes would have prevented the disaster in Boscastle, but it is a graphic example of why we need adaptation to deal with heavy torrential downpours the like of which we have not hitherto experienced in the United Kingdom on a frequent basis. On present indications, they will become more frequent in winter. I am not aware of there being any fiscal incentives in this Finance Bill to address that. I am not aware of any incentives for adapting the heating and ventilation of homes that already exist, in contradistinction to the low-carbon tax break for new homes. That is a health issue as well as a comfort issue, because a lot of people will die. It is estimated that 20,000 older people died across Europe in 2003, including in the United Kingdom but principally in France, as there was very hot weather in July and August. Homes will need to be adapted. There will need to be fiscal incentives, particularly through VAT—by lowering the VAT rate and, perhaps, going to the European Commission and saying, ““All 27 countries face this, and we need to have powers to derogate in lowering the VAT rate for building adaptations to existing buildings.? Similar points apply to land drainage and other issues. We need tax breaks with very strict compliance mechanisms for the water companies to get them to build more reservoirs. We will need more reservoirs. On all current projections, there will be an increase in drought in the UK, particularly in southern England but also in East Anglia, which most of us would not consider part of southern England, and further north––even, on current indications, in parts of lowland Scotland.