Finance Bill

In the previous Parliament, under the previous Government, one outcome was that the wealthiest in...

I can confirm to my hon. Friend that that will continue to be the case. We have set out a Budget ...

The International Monetary Fund recently said that developing countries lose £212 billion a year ...

The UK has been instrumental in bringing in country-by-country reporting to tax authorities as pa...

Does the Minister accept that the target of £5 billion is really small beer when one considers th...

No, I do not accept that. Indeed, if one looks at Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs’ tax gap publ...

In the shift to the new tax on banks, the Government are sweeping in mutual banks, building socie...

The first point I have to make is that banks with the smallest profits do not pay the surcharge. ...

Perhaps the Minister can clarify the intention of the levy. Is it to continue modifying behaviour...

Essentially, it is to ensure that the banking sector, which poses particular risks and which bene...

The Financial Secretary seems to imply that the banking levy, which was developed at the start of...

There is no disagreement over the need for a contribution from the banking sector towards the pub...

The hon. Gentleman made a point a moment ago about the removal of the climate change levy for gre...

I do not accept that point. Removing this exemption will achieve better value for money in the Go...

The Minister will know that the Stormont House agreement contains plans to have a lower rate of c...

I am happy to give that undertaking to the right hon. Gentleman. We have always been clear that t...

The reality surely is that the AIA is being cut from the de facto £500,000 per year to £200,000, ...

I do not accept that point. First, the increase to £500,000 was temporary, as we always made clea...

Before the Minister moves off the issue of support for businesses, may I say that although there ...

Our record on business rates is that we have consistently looked after the interests of small bus...

The Minister will not be surprised to hear that I completely disagree with him, but it is not jus...

That is an unlikely alliance, but what I say to both the hon. Lady and the SMMT is that there is ...

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I will give way to the hon. Gentleman; an even more unlikely alliance might be about to be formed...

I can assure the Minister that there is not likely to be an alliance between me and the hon. Lady...

I understand the good point that the hon. Gentleman is making. There will be a need for discussio...

I am grateful to the Minister for his comments on the measures set out in the Bill. It is a somew...

My hon. Friend makes an important point. Just because the Chancellor calls an increase in the nat...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The Government have been busily trying to claim that the chan...

I feel for the hon. Lady, because she has only one Labour Back Bencher here to support her—perhap...

It is quality that counts, rather than quantity, and Labour Members will show their true quality,...

Does the hon. Lady share my concern that while many under-25s will lose their tax credits, they w...

The hon. Gentleman makes a really important point. Taken alongside the changes to student mainten...

To tie the issue of productivity, by which I think the hon. Lady means the record on labour produ...

The hon. Gentleman raises a very important point. When we debated tax credits before the Budget, ...

My hon. Friend knows that several Greater Manchester MPs have already voiced their concern about ...

My hon. Friend raises an important point. The northern powerhouse has very clearly got a power cu...

Can the hon. Lady confirm that it was put on record during the election campaign that if Labour h...

Infrastructure projects must be proceeded with on the basis of an economic case, and that was the...

Who are you backing?

I assume that the hon. Gentleman will be backing the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whom he so loya...

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for informing the House that the official Labour party position is...

That was not quite the cutting put-down that the Minister might have envisaged. That is our posit...

Given that the official Labour party position on the important Welfare Reform and Work Bill yeste...

That question probably sounded more cutting in the development in the hon. Gentleman’s mind than ...

Will the Opposition be supporting the reasoned amendment, opposing it or abstaining on it?

We will be abstaining on the reasoned amendment tabled by the Scottish National party. There are ...

The Opposition Front Bench were saying similar things yesterday about the Welfare Reform and Work...

I do not want to get into a tit-for-tat debate with the hon. Gentleman, but the SNP did not suppo...

I am grateful for the shadow Minister’s confirmation that she and her party support much of what ...

I will shortly turn to insurance premium tax, which is a very significant tax-raising measure tha...

I commend my hon. Friend and the shadow Treasury team, because that particular lock would have no...

My hon. Friend makes an important point. I wonder whether we would have the tax lock had it not b...

The hon. Lady mentioned corporation tax. The Bill includes measures to reduce it first to 19% and...

As the Financial Secretary knows because we have already had such an exchange—I feel we are reliv...

I must say that I am listening to the hon. Lady with a degree of sadness. Last night, we saw the ...

The hon. Gentleman rather forgets that the Scottish National party is not a national party; in fa...

It is a pleasure to follow a Minister and a shadow Minister who, although it will not surprise yo...

The hon. Gentleman talks about logic, but one aspect of the Bill is the removal of the climate ch...

It is absolutely right that we remove the levy to ensure that, over time, we bring energy prices ...

Will my hon. Friend give way?

I will not, because I am about to conclude.

This is a Finance Bill that truly reaffirms the...

I beg to move an amendment, to leave out from “That” to the end of the Question and add:

“t...

You should have paid more attention to what I was saying.

Paying attention? That would be a good idea for the Labour party. You mentioned quality. If you s...

I hesitate to be mean-spirited to the hon. Gentleman, but it is obvious from his remarks that he ...

So that, no doubt, explains why you could not think up a reasoned amendment.

Order. I let the hon. Gentleman get away with it the first time, but now that he has done it for ...

My apologies, Madam Deputy Speaker.

Our amendment starts by stating:

“That this House...

Does my hon. Friend agree with concerns expressed by the British Insurance Brokers Association, w...

I agree entirely with my hon. Friend, and it must be a concern that the measure will lead many fa...

If the Government are serious about improving productivity, should they not also be serious about...

Absolutely, and I am glad my hon. Friend raised a matter that I will come to shortly. Investment ...

If we are to get sustainable economic growth in this country we need sustainable growth in bank l...

My hon. Friend answered his own remarks with his last four words. It has been a failure, and now ...

I agree with the hon. Gentleman about challenger banks and building societies, but rather than ov...

It is quite a complicated matter, I am told, and I would be willing to come back to it. I am sure...

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. Would he acknowledge that the Red Book anticipates t...

I fully accept that: it is a very good point.

The Chancellor recognises the importance of t...

Would the hon. Gentleman accept that carbon dioxide is not bad as such? It makes plants grow and ...

Climate change is largely man-made and carbon is no friend to the environment in that regard. I a...

The hon. Gentleman mentioned the “insane attack” on, I assume, onshore wind. In areas such as min...

I gently point out to the hon. Gentleman that the area of the United Kingdom that has made most p...

It seems slightly rude to intrude on the private squabbles between the Labour and SNP Front Bench...

I agree with everything my hon. Friend says about the complexity of the system. Does he agree tha...

I am not sure that that intervention was necessarily directed at me. I agree with much of the sen...

Does the hon. Gentleman consider it fair that people under 25 will not see the benefit of that pa...

The hon. Lady raises a good point, but she should recognise that while the national living wage w...

As a party that believes in low taxation, we welcome a number of measures in the Bill, including ...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way. While we are not political friends, we are at...

Of course, some of the measures in the Bill will take people out of tax altogether, which I am su...

Does my hon. Friend agree that part of the problem has been the preponderance of economic develop...

That is exactly right, but if we do not have the proper infrastructure to do that, we will be dis...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way again; he is underlining our friendliness. To ...

Order. I call Sammy Wilson.

The chief executive said it would be a good idea to have a long inquiry, and that is what is happ...

Order. I call Sammy Wilson.

Madam Deputy Speaker, I hope you will indulge the hon. Gentleman, as it is his birthday today. Th...

I would like to make it absolutely clear that there is no precedent for long interventions on an ...

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker.

rose—

I will give way, and I hope it will be a short intervention.

It will be a very short intervention. My hon. Friend the Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Mr MacN...

That is a very worrying intervention for those of us who wish to get to the airport and go back t...

indicated dissent.

I know that the Member from the Green party gets appalled when we talk like this, but why do we e...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I will give way in a moment. Let me just finish the argument.

The renewables obligation is ...

rose—

I will give way in a moment.

High-energy users are increasingly finding that the United Kin...

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rose—

I apologise—[Interruption.]

Order. Mr Wilson, have you given way or have you finished your speech? None of us is sure what ha...

I have given way. [Hon. Members: “Who to?”] I have given way to the hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan...

Oh right, the birthday boy!

And on my birthday, too. I am sure that the hon. Member for East Antrim (Sammy Wilson), the gentl...

Mr Wilson was very worried about the amount of time we are taking—we can go to any hour—and I thi...

Of course, the hon. Gentleman is absolutely wrong when he talks about there being no price on car...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way. I am not sure whether or not it is parliament...

Perhaps the hon. Lady takes a different view of what is small and what is large from what I do bu...

Does the hon. Gentleman accept that on a sunny day in East Antrim, one gets a magnificent view of...

The right hon. Gentleman compares nuclear energy with renewable energy, but of course we have the...

I promise not to take as much time as the hon. Member for East Antrim (Sammy Wilson), but I enjoy...

The hon. Lady said that she would like work to pay. Is she saying that the Institute for Fiscal S...

I wish the hon. Gentleman a very happy birthday. I take his point, but what has been missed from ...

Does the hon. Lady not accept that using language such as “national living wage” is sinister misc...

I disagree. By 2020, the living wage will be £9, because that is the level at which we have set i...

The hon. Lady is imputing various motives and feelings to Opposition Members, and is not doing so...

I assume that Opposition Members will support the wage increase for the lowest earners. I am plea...

I represent what is on paper one of the most prosperous constituencies in Scotland, yet more than...

There are lots of hard-working families in my constituency and if the right hon. Gentleman visits...

Will the hon. Lady give way?

I will not give way; the hon. Lady will be pleased to know that I am almost at the end of my spee...

First, as this is the last day of term—or at least it has the feel of the last day of term—may I ...

I hope the hon. Lady agrees that the Chancellor, in his description of the new wage that he has e...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention and wish him a happy birthday. I am sure it is wo...

My hon. Friend makes an important point. May I remind her of the promise made—it sounds bizarre n...

I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention. Does she also remember the huskies trip? I am not su...

Is it not the case that raising the tax threshold to £12,500 may help not only those in the City ...

I am very concerned about those people who are on that level. Indeed, many people in the financia...

I fully support what the hon. Lady is saying, and she had no less an authority than Tim Harford i...

I agree. There are many positive examples of universal free childcare in other European countries...

There are two questions we ought to consider when thinking about passing this Finance Bill: first...

Will the hon. and learned Lady give way?

I will.

I thank the hon. and learned Lady; I feel that I am taking advantage of this birthday— I might st...

What is absolutely essential is that we have a strong economy, because through a strong economy w...

rose—

I have already taken one intervention from the hon. Gentleman, so I will carry on.

The ques...

The hon. and learned Lady asks what the Opposition are waiting for before balancing the books. I ...

It is interesting that the Opposition were pushing—

Answer the question.

I am answering the question. It is interesting that the Opposition were pushing for less austerit...

The hon. and learned Lady is just not right on the detail. This is not the time for amendments to...

I am grateful for that intervention. But clearly it is the time, because the SNP has tabled an am...

rose—

So I come to the points raised.

Order. We can have only one person on their feet. Mr Salmond, you know that better than anybody. ...

Mr Deputy Speaker, I am not giving way.

Go on, for old times’ sake.

If it was the birthday boy, I would be giving way.

It is remarkable that the position of bo...

Will the hon. and learned Lady give way?

On the economy, it is an economic necessity— [Interruption.] When is your birthday?

Will the hon. and learned Lady give way?

Let me finish the sentence; then I will give way. On the economy, it is an economic necessity tha...

I have no problem at all with getting to a position where any state lives within its means; it is...

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that the question is how we get there. But when we are in ...

Will the hon. and learned Lady give way?

No; I have not finished. There is one further point. We are not taking from the very poorest; we ...

rose—

I gave way and I shall just continue.

rose—

I shall continue. On society, it is very important that people are encouraged to work and that wo...

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I have two fundam...

The hon. Lady cannot have it both ways: she is either anti-austerity or she is not. The measures ...

I say to the hard-working families in my constituency that I do not see why they have to choose b...

rose—

I would love to hear it, but not that much, so I am going to continue.

Then we have the sen...

On the VED changes being intended to tackle the debt or the deficit, I am sure the hon. Lady will...

I thank the hon. Gentleman—my hon. Friend—for that well-made point.

As campaigners have poi...

I applaud the content of the Finance Bill, and I am keen to explore certain clauses within it. Be...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

No, I will not give way. I will make some progress, if I may, and refer to my predecessor, Mr Gre...

Once the hon. Gentleman’s constituents get past the Blairite spin he is giving us, I am sure they...

My constituents will be delighted that after the terror that this Government took over from, we a...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

No, I will make some progress, if I may.

I was bemused by the Opposition’s attempts to lay ...

I am listening carefully to the hon. Gentleman. I am especially pleased to hear that he pays grea...

I will say that this Government, by creating millions of jobs, will give that individual the oppo...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

No, I will not give way. I will make progress.

The first four clauses demonstrate that the ...

Thank you for your forbearance, Mr Deputy Speaker. I had to slip out of the Chamber to take part ...

My hon. Friend might recall that before the general election, if memory serves me right, only one...

I know that is true from talking to the small businesses in my constituency.

The Chancellor...

Is it not therefore all the more important —at a time when the banks are still not lending fully—...

I take my hon. Friend’s point. We need incentives that co-ordinate and integrate, not just a seri...

Mr Deputy Speaker, you and others have made the comment that today is a day on which a birthday h...

The hon. Gentleman gives me the opportunity to make a bilingual intervention—in Irish and in Scot...

We are getting far off the Finance Bill.

The Government told us that the Finance Bill shoul...

It will not have escaped the hon. Gentleman’s notice that the Government seem to have run out of ...

The right hon. Gentleman makes a very good point. I think many people will wonder about the pauci...

There are questions about where Labour and Tory Members are at the moment. Will the hon. Gentlema...

Maybe they are away celebrating other people’s birthdays. [Laughter.] Maybe the hon. Gentleman, h...

Will the hon. Gentleman accept that Members from eight political parties last night voted against...

Yes, I certainly have no problem with that, and I welcome the breadth of opposition. I also welco...

I have the utmost respect for the hon. Gentleman, and he knows that, but the real reason why we h...

I would offer the hon. Gentleman the mutual observation of respect, but would also say, first, th...

I rise to speak in support of the SNP amendment and, hopefully, to persuade the House to deny the...

IFS figures state that a £1,000 increase in work allowance available to a single parent earning £...

I agree with my hon. Friend and was just about to make that point, which has been endorsed by the...

rose—

rose—

Order. The right hon. Member for Gordon (Alex Salmond) puts me in something of a dilemma, because...

I am grateful for the opportunity, Madam Deputy Speaker. I have been here for some substantial ti...

Order. It is not for anyone else to judge who will speak and not speak in the Chamber. The right ...

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I am very interested in your ruling, Madam Deputy Spea...

That has never been the case. If a Member is not here for the Minister’s opening speech and the o...

Further to that point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I understand the ruling entirely, but will ...

Normally, speeches from the Treasury Front Bench and the Official Opposition Front Bench count as...

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. May I just point out that it is not immediately obviou...

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his graceful point of order.

5.11 pm

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for calling me to speak. It seems that it is third time lucky.