The Economy

I can certainly assure my right hon. Friend that the need for transparency has been well understood in the working groups that we have set up in preparing for the G20 summit. Indeed, that is one reason why dealing with tax havens is so important. One problem has been that things have been hidden away in tax havens and there has not been any transparency. People have not known the true value of some of the things that have been going on, and that has contributed to the problems that we now see. I agree about the importance of transparency in financial services, which needs to be reflected in the regulatory system. I agree with those who warn against seeing the summit as a panacea that will fix all the world's problems at a stroke, but it can start an era of closer co-operation between nations so that our political structures better reflect our increasingly globalised world. It is a huge opportunity for the first steps towards a global new deal to secure recovery and long-term stability and growth. Last February, we moved to nationalise Northern Rock. In October we prevented the collapse of the banking system with further investments in UK banks, protecting people's savings and stabilising the system so that banks could function. Following our lead, other countries around the world took similar action, recognising that financial system collapse would be devastating. Now the Government are working with the banks to clean up their balance sheets. That is the importance of the asset protection scheme, and I am grateful to those who acknowledged that. As my hon. Friend the Member for Northampton, North (Ms Keeble) reminded the House, we have reached legally binding agreements with the banks that have received public support, to secure additional lending to British households and businesses over the next two years. I look forward to answering the questions that she asked me about reporting. Every major country in the world recognises that it is right to use the power of government to support countries' economies through difficult times. I do not agree with the right hon. Member for North-West Hampshire (Sir George Young) about the VAT cut, which is doing the job it was introduced to do. I point him to the comments of, for example, the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, which described it as an increasingly effective stimulus. I also refer him to the comments of the Bank of England in its inflation report in February and to the report from Goldman Sachs, which makes the same point. We have made investment—£3 billion—in the national infrastructure. That spending is beneficial not only to the economy, supporting businesses and jobs at a critical time— Motion lapsed (Standing Order No. 9(3)).