Finance Bill

I congratulate the right hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field) on bringing about this debate and raising the issue of siblings and inheritance tax. As he has already suggested, we are not inclined to support the new clause. I shall explain why, but it is not because we do not appreciate the legitimate concern felt by many siblings who have lived together for a number of years. I suspect that he was most concerned about cases in which, as a result of the inheritance tax charge falling on the estate when one sibling died, it would be necessary for the surviving sibling to sell the property—the joint home. That is an understandable concern; our party, and, I suspect, Members of all parties, have a great deal of sympathy for people faced with those circumstances.