Report stage (second day). New clause 2 (Determination of beneficial entitlement for purposes of group relief), agreed to. New clause 3 (General block exemption regulation), agreed to. New clause 4 (Co-operative societies etc), agreed to. New clause 5 (Tax relief for theatrical production), agreed to. New clause 6 (Exclusion of incentivised electricity or heat generation activities), agreed to. New clause 13 (Pension flexibility: further amendments), discussed with new clause 9, and new schedule 5, agreed to. New clause 9 (Pension flexibility: Treasury analysis), negatived on division (241 to 295). New clause 10 (Review of reform to the annual investment allowance), negatived on division (247 to 306). New clause 1 (Oil contractor activities: ring-fence trade etc), discussed with new clauses 2 to 6, and new schedules 1 to 4, agreed to on division (301 to 7). New schedule 1 (Oil contactor activities: ring-fence activities etc) agreed to. New schedule 2 (General block exemption regulation), agreed to. New schedule 3 (Taxation of co-operative societies etc), agreed to. New schedule 4 (Tax relief for theatrical production), agreed to. New schedule 5 (Pension flexibility: further amendments), agreed to. New Clauses 61, 73, 207, 291 and Schedules 6, 7, 9, 10, 27 and 33, amendments made. Third reading, agreed to on division (289 to 228). Bill passed.

Report stage (second day). New clause 2 (Determination of beneficial entitlement for purposes of group relief), agreed to. New clause 3 (General block exemption regulation), agreed to. New clause 4 (Co-operative societies etc), agreed to. New clause 5 (Tax relief for theatrical production), agreed to. New clause 6 (Exclusion of...

Further to that point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Is there anything that you can do to stop these eager Front Benchers seeking Cabinet preferment in the forthcoming reshuffle from making spurious points of order, when what they should do with statistics is allow the Office for Budget Responsibility to...

Further to that point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Is there anything that you can do to stop these eager Front Benchers seeking Cabinet preferment in the forthcoming reshuffle from making spurious points of order, when what they should do with statistics is allow the Office for Budget Responsibility to...

Now that we have reached the final stages of consideration of the Finance Bill, may I join the Minister in commending all hon. Members in all parts of the House who took part in the scrutiny, and in considering all the details? As he said, there were 31 hours of...

Now that we have reached the final stages of consideration of the Finance Bill, may I join the Minister in commending all hon. Members in all parts of the House who took part in the scrutiny, and in considering all the details? As he said, there were 31 hours of...

I do not know whether the hon. Gentleman is an investment fund manager who has done well out of this, but I will give way and find out.

I do not know whether the hon. Gentleman is an investment fund manager who has done well out of this, but I will give way and find out.

I am sure those investment fund managers have absolutely no interest in the abolition of SDRT in any way! I thought the hon. Gentleman was once a Liberal Democrat. Before the general election, the Liberal Democrats used to pretend they were in favour of standing up for the vast majority...

I am sure those investment fund managers have absolutely no interest in the abolition of SDRT in any way! I thought the hon. Gentleman was once a Liberal Democrat. Before the general election, the Liberal Democrats used to pretend they were in favour of standing up for the vast majority...

The hon. Gentleman represents very many of those investment fund managers. He is doing the job he was sent to do, but this is a matter of priorities, and I have to say that the Opposition just disagree. The Treasury has finite resources at its disposal, and at a time...

The hon. Gentleman represents very many of those investment fund managers. He is doing the job he was sent to do, but this is a matter of priorities, and I have to say that the Opposition just disagree. The Treasury has finite resources at its disposal, and at a time...

One would have thought that by now Ministers would have twigged that for all the talk of growth and the recovery, their constituents, never mind ours, are not seeing the benefits in their daily lives. That

should have been a focus in the Finance Bill. It should have focused more...

One would have thought that by now Ministers would have twigged that for all the talk of growth and the recovery, their constituents, never mind ours, are not seeing the benefits in their daily lives. That

should have been a focus in the Finance Bill. It should have focused more...

That is already on the record. Our view is that the proposed change in corporation tax from next April—from 21p to 20p—should not proceed. That help, instead of going to 2% of companies, should go to 98% of businesses, including the small and medium-sized companies that are the backbone of...

That is already on the record. Our view is that the proposed change in corporation tax from next April—from 21p to 20p—should not proceed. That help, instead of going to 2% of companies, should go to 98% of businesses, including the small and medium-sized companies that are the backbone of...

I will give way to the Minister if he will tell us what that investment allowance will fall back down to in 2015. Will he tell us?

I will give way to the Minister if he will tell us what that investment allowance will fall back down to in 2015. Will he tell us?

We know the Minister’s game. He is again trying to scare firms and businesses with various suggestions on tax. We have made it very clear that we need to ensure that corporation tax levels remain at their most competitive among the G7. We will set out our tax plans in...

We know the Minister’s game. He is again trying to scare firms and businesses with various suggestions on tax. We have made it very clear that we need to ensure that corporation tax levels remain at their most competitive among the G7. We will set out our tax plans in...

Let the record show that the Conservative Minister did not rule out increasing VAT to above 20%. It is telling that he gave a heavy hint that that remains open as an option. We can have these discussions and examine these particular issues, but I am looking at the missed...

Let the record show that the Conservative Minister did not rule out increasing VAT to above 20%. It is telling that he gave a heavy hint that that remains open as an option. We can have these discussions and examine these particular issues, but I am looking at the missed...

That is my point. The Press Gallery is not bursting at the seams because the Government do not want people to think about what could have been in the Finance Bill. That is not something they want to

talk about. They want it to be a “steady as she goes”...

That is my point. The Press Gallery is not bursting at the seams because the Government do not want people to think about what could have been in the Finance Bill. That is not something they want to

talk about. They want it to be a “steady as she goes”...

Government Members and Ministers do not understand how important it is that we ensure that the recovery is sustained and sustainable. A premature rise in interest rates has considerable risks. Three quarters of credit and debt is floating, so if interest rates do rise prematurely, significant harm will come to...

Government Members and Ministers do not understand how important it is that we ensure that the recovery is sustained and sustainable. A premature rise in interest rates has considerable risks. Three quarters of credit and debt is floating, so if interest rates do rise prematurely, significant harm will come to...

I do not know what evidence the hon. Lady has for that spurious assertion.

We will see what happens in the coming months. We will make sure that mortgage customers in the hon. Lady’s constituency know that the increases in interest rates are partly related to the condition of the housing...

I do not know what evidence the hon. Lady has for that spurious assertion.

We will see what happens in the coming months. We will make sure that mortgage customers in the hon. Lady’s constituency know that the increases in interest rates are partly related to the condition of the housing...

rose—

rose—

You are completely right, Mr Deputy Speaker. We have had this debate going on throughout the day.

The Minister is a Member of Parliament for Hertfordshire. If his constituents find work in London, under one set of statistics the jobs are classified as located in London, but under the set of...

You are completely right, Mr Deputy Speaker. We have had this debate going on throughout the day.

The Minister is a Member of Parliament for Hertfordshire. If his constituents find work in London, under one set of statistics the jobs are classified as located in London, but under the set of...

It is for investment managers.

It is for investment managers.

It is for investment managers.

It is for investment managers.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to improve support for small and medium-sized enterprises which are in need of short-term assistance and flexibility through improved partnership working between the HM Revenue and Custom's (HMRC) simplified import VAT accounting duty deferment team and the HMRC...

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to improve support for small and medium-sized enterprises which are in need of short-term assistance and flexibility through improved partnership working between the HM Revenue and Custom's (HMRC) simplified import VAT accounting duty deferment team and the HMRC...

The Minister was generously trying to find a point of consensus and I want to build on that, following the question asked by my hon. Friend the Member for Ogmore (Huw Irranca-Davies). The Minister talked about what might be raised by closing avoidance loopholes for the very richest, but what...

The Minister was generously trying to find a point of consensus and I want to build on that, following the question asked by my hon. Friend the Member for Ogmore (Huw Irranca-Davies). The Minister talked about what might be raised by closing avoidance loopholes for the very richest, but what...