Letter dated 03/12/2007 from Lord Davies of Oldham to Lord Northbrook regarding public finances in the context of the debate on the Pre-Budget Report 2007 for the purposes of Section 5 of the European Communities (Amendment) Act 1993. 3 p.

Letter dated 03/12/2007 from Lord Davies of Oldham to Lord Northbrook regarding public finances in the context of the debate on the Pre-Budget Report 2007 for the purposes of Section 5 of the European Communities (Amendment) Act 1993. 3 p.

My Lords, I am not sure whose spirits the noble Lord was whistling such a cheerful tune to keep up—obviously not the packed benches behind him. There are more people on this side. I salute the noble Lord who is loyally going to join in in support of the Minister....

My Lords, I am not sure whose spirits the noble Lord was whistling such a cheerful tune to keep up—obviously not the packed benches behind him. There are more people on this side. I salute the noble Lord who is loyally going to join in in support of the Minister....

rose to move, That this House takes note with approval of the Government’s assessment as set out in the Pre-Budget Report 2007 for the purposes of Section 5 of the European Communities (Amendment) Act 1993. The noble Lord said: My Lords, each year the Government report information to the Commission...

rose to move, That this House takes note with approval of the Government’s assessment as set out in the Pre-Budget Report 2007 for the purposes of Section 5 of the European Communities (Amendment) Act 1993. The noble Lord said: My Lords, each year the Government report information to the Commission...

My Lords, each year Section 5 of the European Communities (Amendment) Act 1993 requires Her Majesty's Government to report to Parliament for its approval on an assessment of the medium-term economic and budgetary position in relation to public investment expenditure and the social, economic and environmental goals set out in...

My Lords, each year Section 5 of the European Communities (Amendment) Act 1993 requires Her Majesty's Government to report to Parliament for its approval on an assessment of the medium-term economic and budgetary position in relation to public investment expenditure and the social, economic and environmental goals set out in...

My Lords, it is not very often that we have a chance to debate Treasury matters, so I thank my noble friend for moving this Motion. Apart from the Minister, all the speakers in this debate spoke last Wednesday and so we may go over some of the same ground,...

My Lords, it is not very often that we have a chance to debate Treasury matters, so I thank my noble friend for moving this Motion. Apart from the Minister, all the speakers in this debate spoke last Wednesday and so we may go over some of the same ground,...

My Lords, we have had a short but very interesting debate and I thank my noble friends for coming out, as the noble Lord, Lord Haskel, pointed out, for the second week running to talk about the economy. The Motion refers to the Pre-Budget Report which was announced in another...

My Lords, we have had a short but very interesting debate and I thank my noble friends for coming out, as the noble Lord, Lord Haskel, pointed out, for the second week running to talk about the economy. The Motion refers to the Pre-Budget Report which was announced in another...

My Lords, it must be a pleasure for the Minister to be able to introduce a broad policy debate such as this, compared with dealing with the travails of Northern Rock and the incompetence of HM Revenue and Customs. I congratulate him on the gusto with which he did so....

My Lords, it must be a pleasure for the Minister to be able to introduce a broad policy debate such as this, compared with dealing with the travails of Northern Rock and the incompetence of HM Revenue and Customs. I congratulate him on the gusto with which he did so....

My Lords, I am grateful to all noble Lords who have spoken in this debate. I was grateful for the generous welcome for my presence of the noble Lord, Lord Newby, and even for the rather less enthusiastic welcome from the noble Baroness. I regret that this is not my...

My Lords, I am grateful to all noble Lords who have spoken in this debate. I was grateful for the generous welcome for my presence of the noble Lord, Lord Newby, and even for the rather less enthusiastic welcome from the noble Baroness. I regret that this is not my...

Well, my Lords, we have one measure of inflation, which is the standard for the nation. I understand the enormous enthusiasm that the noble Baroness is presenting for the low paid worker, although—as with that enormous concern for pensioners and others with low incomes to whom she also referred—it was...

Well, my Lords, we have one measure of inflation, which is the standard for the nation. I understand the enormous enthusiasm that the noble Baroness is presenting for the low paid worker, although—as with that enormous concern for pensioners and others with low incomes to whom she also referred—it was...

My Lords, my point was: how can public sector employees be expected to be bound by the CPI when their cost of living is based on the RPI? It is difficult for them to accept 2 per cent pay increases when their rate of inflation is over 4 per cent,...

My Lords, my point was: how can public sector employees be expected to be bound by the CPI when their cost of living is based on the RPI? It is difficult for them to accept 2 per cent pay increases when their rate of inflation is over 4 per cent,...

My Lords, I hope that my noble friend will forgive me. I had completely forgotten his elevation at this juncture in the debate so that he is actually presiding over our affairs. In that case, I shall be even more solicitous in praising him for his contribution earlier this evening....

My Lords, I hope that my noble friend will forgive me. I had completely forgotten his elevation at this juncture in the debate so that he is actually presiding over our affairs. In that case, I shall be even more solicitous in praising him for his contribution earlier this evening....

My Lords, the Minister makes a stout defence of the use of CPI as the Government’s favoured measure, but said that it excluded certain items that are within the ordinary costs of individuals. Can he explain why the Government used that measure in their wage discussions with public sector employees?

My Lords, the Minister makes a stout defence of the use of CPI as the Government’s favoured measure, but said that it excluded certain items that are within the ordinary costs of individuals. Can he explain why the Government used that measure in their wage discussions with public sector employees?

My Lords, those figures are of course those of the noble Lord and not the Government. However, we clearly stressed to public sector workers that—as the noble Lord will recognise—there is a trade-off between the people employed in the public sector, the investment that we are able to make there,...

My Lords, those figures are of course those of the noble Lord and not the Government. However, we clearly stressed to public sector workers that—as the noble Lord will recognise—there is a trade-off between the people employed in the public sector, the investment that we are able to make there,...

Lords debate on motion to take note with approval of the Government's assessment as set out in the Pre-Budget Report 2007 for the purposes of Section 5 of the European Communities (Amendment) Act 1993. Agreed to on question.

Lords debate on motion to take note with approval of the Government's assessment as set out in the Pre-Budget Report 2007 for the purposes of Section 5 of the European Communities (Amendment) Act 1993. Agreed to on question.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the National Statistics Quality Review of Ministry of Defence Finance and Economic Statistics Implementation Plan, what progress his Department has made in creating a defence-specific inflation index; and if he will place a copy in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the National Statistics Quality Review of Ministry of Defence Finance and Economic Statistics Implementation Plan, what progress his Department has made in creating a defence-specific inflation index; and if he will place a copy in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the defence inflation planning assumptions are for financial years 2007-08 to 2010-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the defence inflation planning assumptions are for financial years 2007-08 to 2010-11.

Three hundred thousand cases.

Three hundred thousand cases.

Given that the Chancellor's predecessor consistently overestimated corporation tax receipts and ended up having to borrow £100 billion more over the last five years than was originally forecast, what assurance can the right hon. Gentleman give that his revenue and borrowing figures are any more robust than his predecessor's?

Given that the Chancellor's predecessor consistently overestimated corporation tax receipts and ended up having to borrow £100 billion more over the last five years than was originally forecast, what assurance can the right hon. Gentleman give that his revenue and borrowing figures are any more robust than his predecessor's?