Finance Bill

The hon. Gentleman makes an interesting point, and I am sure that the situation throughout the industry will lead to similar instances elsewhere. Even though the Government have halted VAT on participation fees, the industry still warns of further closures, and they are continuing. That suggests that the industry is still adversely affected by the changes to the taxation regime: it still hurts the industry to the point that more clubs are closing down. That suggests in turn that the industry's figures might be right and the Government's optimistic, because it is generally agreed that the Red Book VAT receipts figure of £50 million is something of an estimate. It is not that well defined. Perhaps the Government could look at the figure again, with the industry, to see whether there is a way forward. The industry maintains that it is more heavily taxed than other forms of gambling, as the hon. Member for Dundee, East said. His amendment seeks to retain GPT at 15 per cent. to maintain that parity, and he made a strong argument for it. Again, he mentioned casino GPT, which is on a sliding scale. If that were applied to bingo clubs, it would give all bingo clubs an effective rate of 15 per cent., because of the banding that applies to the casinos. The hon. Gentleman went through the reasons why we should support bingo, and I shall quickly touch on them to reinforce them, yet again, on behalf of our constituents. It is a softer form of gambling than others, such as internet gambling, casinos and so on, and it is attractive predominantly to women. Many women enjoy going to bingo clubs in groups, and sometimes with their husbands or whoever. They feel safe, it is a protected environment, they are looked after, and they cannot gamble too much of their money away. Daytime bingo sessions are sometimes the only entertainment that elderly members of our communities get in the week, and people very much look forward to going out with friends to enjoy bingo in the afternoons and so on. Those are often social occasions, and bingo clubs are a social amenity, but once they are gone there is little alternative other than, as the right hon. Member for Suffolk, Coastal (Mr. Gummer) said, online bingo in front of a computer screen, daytime TV or whatever. Let us compare bingo with forms of gambling that are unregulated and not subject to the same regime, such as internet gambling, poker and in-play betting. I am not opposed to in-play betting, but we see adverts in the middle of a football match and we can imagine them playing in a public house, where at half time someone comes on saying, "Bet in play. You can bet on the next corner, goal or booking". If drink is involved and lads are watching a football match, a lot of money could be spent over the telephone betting, yet we are not doing anything about that form of gambling. We are, however, coming down pretty hard on bingo, and allowing closures to take place that affect a very soft form of gambling. I now turn to the amendments. Obviously, I support and have added my name to amendment 4, tabled by the hon. Member for Dundee, East, which would return bingo to parity with other forms of gambling and retain the 15 per cent. rate. I think that it was the hon. Member for Wellingborough (Mr. Bone) who referred to casinos, and the amount of money gambled in casinos is vast. We read in the newspapers stories of people losing tens of thousands of pounds in an evening in a casino, yet that will be taxed at 15 per cent. Bingo is a relatively modest form of gambling, yet that taxation is going up to 22 per cent. Where is the logic? The rate of tax on a form of gambling for the rich and privileged is lower than that on a very soft form of gambling for predominantly working-class people. I cannot see the logic of that. If we are to tax any gambling at 22 per cent., it should be the harder forms, including the gambling done at casinos. Amendment 22 would make bingo duty chargeable at 16 per cent. rather than 22 per cent., while amendment 23 would make bingo duty chargeable at 17 per cent. I should have tabled a further amendment to make it chargeable at 18 per cent., because the figures provided by the bingo industry are based on a GPT figure of 18 per cent. The industry says that, on the basis of its figures, an increase in bingo duty to 18 per cent. would provide the same amount of money as that suggested in the Red Book. Furthermore, it could live with that; it would find that acceptable. The amendments were tabled on the basis of figures provided by the industry, which maintains that those figures are more accurate and relevant to where we are at the moment. Through my amendments, I am inviting the Government to reconsider the figures, perhaps with the industry. They should consider a rate of 18 per cent., 17.5 per cent. or whatever. They should also look at the VAT figures suggested by the industry and the VAT returns, and get a more accurate prediction of how the bingo industry will be affected by the changes. The Government should try to determine a rate acceptable to the industry, to Members of the House and to our constituents. That would probably mean an end to the closures. Amendment 24, also in my name, is similar to amendment 5, tabled by the hon. Member for Dundee, East. It would delay the implementation of the changes. I shall not add to the hon. Gentleman's comments about the court case, but there seems to be a sensible reason to delay the implementation of the measures and either return to parity or renegotiate with the industry until the court case has been decided. There is room for negotiation with the industry, to find out the true figures for the irrecoverable VAT and the returns from GPT. I hope that the Government will consider the amendments and the bingo industry figures, which I feel they have in their possession. I hope that they will think again.