Finance Bill

As the hon. Gentleman acknowledges, the Minister is surely right that if the threshold were £350,000, the house in question would have to be worth £700,000. However, that would be just as true for a married couple, or a same-sex couple in a formalised partnership. The question that the Minister needs to answer—the hon. Gentleman may choose to put it to her in these terms—is: why should two women who have established a civil partnership be eligible for that relief, but not two sisters who choose to live together in a house worth more than £700,000?