Fiscal Responsibility Bill

I am choosing my words carefully. I do not have the evidence that that has happened, but there have been various media reports—I am not going to list them all here—that it has happened. We are not talking about the Office for National Statistics; these figures are produced, as I understand it, directly by the Treasury. If the Minister could address that particular point, we would all be happy. I am not claiming to be bringing evidence of this to the House, but I think that it would be helpful, given that this discussion does exist, if it was addressed. New clause 1, tabled in my name and that of my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend, East (James Duddridge), deals with consultation on the Bill. It is worth reminding the House of the purpose of the Bill. It is to provide greater credibility for the Government's fiscal policy. It was published at the time of the pre-Budget report, and it represents a policy that was heavily flagged at the Labour party conference last autumn. The intention behind the Bill is clearly to persuade those who lend to this country that it is a fiscally responsible country, and that the Government are a fiscally responsible Government. If the Bill is worth having, it might be worth knowing whether the argument is succeeding and whether those who are supposed to be persuaded that the Government will be fiscally responsible are, in fact, persuaded. The current evidence suggests that they are not persuaded. If I may, I shall provide a few quotations. The Minister is entitled to say that they are selective, but as we agreed earlier, all quotations are selective. William Buiter, a former member of the Monetary Policy Committee, has said:""Fiscal responsibility acts are instruments of the fiscally irresponsible to con the public."" Michael Saunders, one of the City's leading economists, has said:""the government's plans for legislation to cut the deficit are not convincing and are probably just camouflage—a sort of 'fiscal figleaf'—for the lack of genuine action"." Richard Lambert, the head of the CBI and also a former member of the Monetary Policy Committee, has said of the Bill:""it's…like…saying I'm going to join the gym and that means I'm fit already.""