Finance Bill (First sitting)

Debate between Seema Malhotra and Roger Mullin

Thursday 17th September 2015 Public Bill Committees

[Seema Malhotra]

He is certainly a veteran. If there is a record for the Minister who has steered the most Finance Bills through Parliament, if he has not won it already, I am sure he is well on his way.

When I mentioned to a colleague that the Bill has only 50 clauses, they expressed concern that the Government are already running out of business, as they were in the months running up to the election. I recall that when I served on the Finance Bill Committee in 2012, that Bill had three volumes and 227 clauses. Indeed, last year’s Finance Bill had 295 clauses. This year, the Finance Bill has 50 clauses, and we are scheduled to have only eight sittings.

[Roger Mullin (Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath) (SNP)]

This is the third one in a year.

[Seema Malhotra]

I know it is. Perhaps the Financial Secretary does not have the same concerns.

Although some aspects of the Bill are to be welcomed, many others are worrying. The change to the climate change levy, for example, has been almost universally challenged. The increase in insurance premium tax, which will raise substantial amounts for the Government, will cause significant hikes in insurance premiums for millions of people across the UK, with possible adverse consequences for consumer behaviour that must be understood. Those issues were tackled, to some extent, in Committee of the whole House last week.

We need a Finance Bill that supports working people and does not penalise them, as the tax credit statutory instrument, which we discussed two days ago, does. We need a Finance Bill that supports business and provides long-term certainty, and which leads to investment now that will reap dividends in the future. A retrospective change to carbon taxes, for example, will not achieve that aim. That is the approach we will take in Committee.

Obviously it would not be proper to start proceedings without thanking the usual unsung heroes: not only the Treasury officials, whom I thank for their diligence, but the Clerks, Hansard and others who help keep our proceedings going smoothly.

I am sure I speak for all Members when I say that it is an honour and a privilege to serve on the Finance Bill Committee, and I am sure we will approach all the sessions in that spirit. Indeed, I hope we will scrutinise the Bill properly and methodically and do what we are all here to do, which is to serve the people of Britain.