Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Gilbert Excerpts

Tuesday 28th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

I will tell the right hon. Gentleman what the big tax cut was this Parliament: it was for working people through our increase in the personal allowance to £10,000. After last week, it is clear that the shadow Chancellor has learned absolutely nothing from the economic mess he brought upon this country. He said that Labour should have spent more money in the boom; he has set out fiscal plans that allow billions more of borrowing; and on the top rate of tax, he announced a plan that was attacked by Labour Ministers whom he served with in government, by the people who lent the Labour party money and by credible business people across the country—and his costings were shot down by the Institute for Fiscal Studies last night. There cannot have been a more disastrous policy launch in the history of the modern Labour party. On the day we learn that our economy continues to grow, is it not clear that the anti-business Labour party is now the biggest risk to the economic recovery?

[Stephen Gilbert (St Austell and Newquay) (LD)]

T3. That seems to be game, set and match.The European Commission is considering the removal of the aggregates levy exemption, which would affect the Cornish china clay industry and put up to 500 jobs at risk. Will my right hon. Friend confirm that the Government will do all they can to maintain the exemption and protect these vital jobs?

Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Gilbert Excerpts

Tuesday 5th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Nicky Morgan]

The hon. Gentleman will be aware that there is no APD charge from airports in his constituency. As he knows from our recent debate, APD makes an important contribution to the deficit reduction plans; we will always keep it under review, but it is a very important part of this Government’s attempts to rebalance the economy.

[Stephen Gilbert (St Austell and Newquay) (LD)]

APD can also have a disproportionate effect on regional airports operating lifeline routes with modest passenger numbers, such as Newquay’s. Will the Minister factor that into the discussions she is having with colleagues on the future of APD?

Investing in Britain’s Future

Stephen Gilbert Excerpts

Thursday 27th June 2013 Commons Chamber

[Danny Alexander]

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. I will say two things. First, I will draw his point to the attention of BDUK. Secondly, specific funding has been set aside to ensure that enterprise zones have the best broadband in the country. Broadband is a crucial part of those zones being able to attract the investment they need.

[Stephen Gilbert (St Austell and Newquay) (LD)]

Despite the welcome news on capital spend on flood defences, there remains the very serious issue of flood insurance. As my right hon. Friend will know, the current agreement with the insurance industry runs out in just three days’ time, yet he is not promising legislation until the autumn. What can be done in the meantime to maintain affordable and available flood insurance, so that people can protect, mortgage and sell their homes?

[Danny Alexander]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. Let me repeat what I said in my statement. The existing statement of principles will continue until such time as the new arrangements that I described in my statement are put into place. The new arrangements will last a very long time and will protect his constituents. Alongside the extra capital investment we have announced today, they will ensure that we keep people safe from the risk of flooding.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Gilbert Excerpts

Tuesday 14th May 2013 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Stunell (Hazel Grove) (LD)]

Q9. What plans the Government have to use the UK’s presidency of the G8 to tackle corporate tax evasion.

[Stephen Gilbert (St Austell and Newquay) (LD)]

Q10. What plans the Government have to use the UK’s presidency of the G8 to tackle corporate tax evasion.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Gauke]

My right hon. Friend makes an important point; indeed, we are doing that. We have signed an agreement with the US to implement FATCA as the new standard in tax transparency, and we are promoting that type of information around the world. We have reached agreements with the overseas territories and the Crown dependencies, while France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK have all agreed to exchange information based on the FATCA standard. That is very much the approach that we are taking in the G7, G8 and G20, and we have made remarkable progress so far.

[Stephen Gilbert]

Does the Minister recognise that, as well as capacity building in their domestic authorities, developing countries need better access to international tax information? Can that be part of the negotiations with the G8?

[Mr Gauke]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. It is important that we have better information that we can provide to developing countries. Whether we do that by exchanging information along the FATCA lines or by encouraging better global reporting to tax authorities by multinational companies, that information will prove very helpful for both developed and developing countries.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Gilbert Excerpts

Tuesday 11th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Danny Alexander]

I will not take any lectures on millionaires from the Labour party, which thought it appropriate that a millionaire private equity fund manager should pay less on his income than the person who cleans his office. Labour’s record on taxing the wealthy, dealing with tax avoidance and closing tax loopholes is nothing to be proud of, and the hon. Gentleman should stop raising that point.

[Stephen Gilbert (St Austell and Newquay) (LD)]

11. What steps he is taking to discourage tax avoidance by wealthy people.

[The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (Mr David Gauke)]

In seeking a fair contribution from the wealthy, the Government’s first priority is to tackle those who avoid or evade tax. The autumn statement contained a number of new measures to ensure that, including repatriating £5 billion in unpaid tax from Switzerland and new investment in Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to enable it to expand its anti-avoidance activity, in particular the specialist unit that supervises the compliance of affluent individuals.

[Stephen Gilbert]

People in Cornwall expect the wealthiest to pay their fair share of tax, so I welcome the Government’s planned offshore tax evasion strategy, which is much needed to track down funds that have been squirreled away and undertaxed. Will it cover British overseas territories as well as Crown dependencies, and what is the Minister’s assessment of the potential revenue?

[Mr Gauke]

Yes, it would. My hon. Friend gives me an opportunity to highlight the progress we have made in particular with the Isle of Man in ensuring there is much greater exchange of information. The net is closing in on those who wish to evade their taxes. Whether in Switzerland, Liechtenstein or the Isle of Man, it is becoming ever harder for them to evade paying taxes.

Autumn Statement

Stephen Gilbert Excerpts

Wednesday 5th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

As I have said, we have set out the public finance numbers applying to all the different scenarios, and, as I have said, we are spending the 4G money on, for example, the further education college in Morley. We are also using it to increase the annual investment allowance from the beginning of January.

[Stephen Gilbert (St Austell and Newquay) (LD)]

Hundreds of thousands of firemen, police officers, nurses and council workers throughout the country will be very pleased to learn that my right hon. Friend has ruled out the introduction of regional pay, but teachers may have some concerns. Can my right hon. Friend assure us that none of them will lose out in respect of any move towards greater incentivisation in the profession?

[Mr Osborne]

We asked the pay review bodies to make reports, and we have adopted their recommendations. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education will set out more details of the way in which we will implement the recommendations of the teachers’ pay review body, but it does include the uprating of the minimum and maximum bands in line with general public pay policy.

Air Passenger Duty

Stephen Gilbert Excerpts

Thursday 1st November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Paul Goggins]

The hon. Gentleman makes it clear that this is an issue not only for Manchester but for other airports and therefore the whole economy.

I am particularly concerned about the barrier that APD might pose to Manchester’s ambitious plans for an airport city—a plan that fits squarely with yesterday’s report by Lord Heseltine, which locates the focus for economic development absolutely in the city regions, the ambition, skill and energy of which are the drivers of that development. Manchester is at the forefront of that. The plans would result in major investment in manufacturing, office development, retail, leisure and an ambitious plan for a medipark that would mean major international investment in health and biotech industries. All that would be in the area around the airport and, crucially, would be facilitated by the presence of that international airport. It could become an economic hub drawing in investment from across the world, bringing high-value investment, much-needed jobs and links to destinations throughout the world.

The vision for the airport city has the Government’s full support. They have given it enterprise zone status, which brings with it rate relief and access to superfast broadband. It is utterly contradictory, however, to have that plan in place but then to impose on every business passenger passing through Manchester airport a tax on that business. It is like saying to an investor from north America, “We’re very grateful for your business, and by the way it’s going to cost you an extra £65 every time you want to visit that investment.” It is preposterous, and it is a barrier to the kind of economic growth that we need and want.

We cannot wish APD away. As the hon. Member for Witham said, it brings nearly £3 billion into the Treasury, which of course helps to pay for our schools and hospitals, but one way or another we must think our way out of this creatively. I support—I suspect that not all hon. Members would—a further investigation into regional APD variations, because they could encourage the use of spare capacity at some of our regional airports and facilitate the kind of economic development, such as our ambitions for airport city that I have described.

[Stephen Gilbert (St Austell and Newquay) (LD)]

The right hon. Gentleman is making precisely the point that I wanted to make. The way APD is implemented can harm the development of regional airports such as Newquay, so I hope that his idea has been heard by the Economic Secretary.

[Paul Goggins]

The Treasury has already considered the argument for regional variations, which has been made before, and I look forward to hearing what the Economic Secretary has to say. It seemed to park the idea after its review, but I hope that Ministers are prepared to reconsider it, particularly to encourage the use of spare capacity and to get behind the vision and drive for economic initiatives such as airport city.

We must recognise the need to accelerate the economic growth that can come from airports. With that growth would come higher tax returns. We have to get off this hook. The alternative is to keep overtaxing the aviation industry, which should be one of our best industries, and to watch it decline further and further under this burden we have placed on it, without facilitating economic development in and around our airports, which could put our constituents back to work and get our economy on the move again. I welcome this debate and hope that the Minister is listening, because this issue has to be addressed.

Beer Duty Escalator

Stephen Gilbert Excerpts

Thursday 1st November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Gilbert (St Austell and Newquay) (LD)]

I am grateful to have been called to speak in this timely and important debate. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Burton (Andrew Griffiths) for his work on this issue, and to my Liberal Democrat colleague, my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds North West (Greg Mulholland), for the work that he does with the all-party save the pub group. I also thank the Backbench Business Committee for responding to the legitimate calls from the public for the House to debate this topic.

I share the concerns expressed by other Members about the inevitable effect of the beer duty escalator, and I join them in calling for a review. Without a review, I fear many more pubs in my beautiful constituency might close, leading to job losses, mostly among younger people. The loss of these important institutions in our communities might also lead to cultural decline.

The pub is a gathering place for the local community. As has been said, it is the equivalent of this Chamber out there in the country, where debates are held every day. It is a place where people can gather to drink safely and responsibly. Speaking for my constituency, the pub is also part of Cornwall’s legendary charm. Many Members will have been to Cornwall and walked down the narrow streets and sat inside the solid granite walls of our local pubs, rich in history, legend and atmosphere. We need these pubs to survive to keep Cornwall full of character and competitive in the tourist market. Having spent the past few weeks talking to constituents about this subject, I can confidently say that if the beer duty escalator continues without review, jobs, community spirit and the local economy will be under threat.

The beer and pub industry contributes £45 million a year to the local economy in my constituency. St Austell brewery is a fantastic local family business that has more than 160 years of history, that runs 170 pubs, predominantly in Devon and Cornwall, and that employs a significant number of my constituents. Since the beer duty escalator’s introduction in 2008, the brewery has seen a 23% reduction in demand, and on an annual turnover of about £100 million, it pays £25 million in tax. The burden is too high not only for that brewery but for the countless independent and unique pubs from coast to coast in the heart of Cornwall. Some 2,500 people are employed in the sector in my constituency.

[Alison McGovern (Wirral South) (Lab)]

The hon. Gentleman is painting a wonderful picture of pubs in Cornwall. Does he agree that it is important that we visit and support not only local pubs, but local breweries such as the Brimstage brewery in Wirral, which has an excellent relationship with local pubs, ensuring that people in Merseyside can drink good, local beer?

[Stephen Gilbert]

The hon. Lady is, as ever, a firm advocate for her local brewer, just as I am for mine. I take on board the point she makes; she is entirely right.

I will not detain the House for too long, but it must be recognised that beer tax in the United Kingdom is high compared with that of equivalent countries in the European Union. Ours is nine times higher than France’s and 13 times higher than Germany’s. British consumers pay 40% of the total EU beer duty, and beer duty has increased by 42% since 2008. Of course, I share my right hon. Friend the Chancellor’s view that we are all in it together, but we need to redress the balance and ensure fairness.

[Sir Alan Meale (Mansfield) (Lab)]

Drinkers in Britain pay 40% of the EU beer tax bill, but consume only 13% of the beer.

[Stephen Gilbert]

The hon. Gentleman cites a stark contrast. When he makes the point in that way, the uneven spread becomes even more apparent and visible.

I support the motion, because we need to protect pubs, which are at the heart of our communities, not only in Cornwall, but across the country. We need to make sure that we are doing all we can to drive down youth unemployment, and the beer and pub sector plays a key part in that.

Finance Bill

Stephen Gilbert Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd July 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gauke]

The final details as to what exactly will or will not constitute marketing something as hot will be set out in the HMRC guidance. However, I take on board my hon. Friend’s perfectly reasonable point that something that is presented essentially as fresh, but cooling, is different from something that is clearly presented as hot at the point at which one purchases it.

[Stephen Gilbert (St Austell and Newquay) (LD)]

I am tempted to ask my hon. Friend whether he knows how many different chocolate eyes a gingerbread man must have to go from being zero-rated to standard-rated. The answer is on HMRC’s website.

On packaging, new schedule 1 uses the wording:

“whether or not the packaging was primarily designed for that purpose”.

There is some ambiguity as to whether a simple paper bag might be caught by that definition. Can the Minister assure us that people will be able to get their pies and pasties in a paper bag from the bakery without their being standard-rated?

[Mr Gauke]

The purpose of that wording relates to packaging that is specifically designed for the retention of heat. For example, hon. Members will all have experience of a paper bag with a foil interior that is used for such purposes. I do not think that a simple paper bag would fall into that category. In most people’s experience, pasties and suchlike are generally left on shelves rather than contained within bags while in the shop. I hope that that provides some clarification.

--- Later in debate ---

[Catherine McKinnell]

I repeat what I said before: the Government’s current policy of increasing VAT to 20% is taking money out of people’s pockets and is causing a slump in demand. It is very strange that these questions are coming from a Government who are borrowing more than they intended over the spending period, not less.

[Stephen Gilbert]

The hon. Lady mentioned a figure of about £400 a year. What I missed, and what I am hoping she will be able to clarify, is whether that is per person or per family. If we knew that, we might all be able to do the maths as to how much this measure would cost the Exchequer.

[Catherine McKinnell]

The figure that the hon. Gentleman is looking for is £450 for a couple with children. It would put money back into their pockets, boost the economy and drive growth. Let us not forget that the Institute for Fiscal Studies has predicted that the Government’s tax credit changes will mean that families will be £511 worse off this year and £1,250 a year worse off by 2015.

--- Later in debate ---

[Catherine McKinnell]

I could probably answer the hon. Gentleman’s question with just four words: “out of double-dip recession.”

The Government’s economic credibility, not to mention any reputation for competence they might have had, has taken a massive hit over the VAT changes. They put VAT on pasties and took it away. They put VAT on caravans, then they reduced it to 5%. They put VAT on churches and kept it. Then they invited payment of the charge up front. Churches could claim it back by submitting forms to the Treasury for access to a special fund, which essentially is a big pot of all the money that they paid up front in the first place. What a shambles. Do the Government even know what they are doing any more? They say that their U-turns show that they are listening. When they got it so horrendously wrong, it is good that campaigners were able to get through to them.

I know that hon. Members on both sides of the House have worked hard to get the Government to listen on the subject of the VAT changes, but is it not all too serious to be left to second chances? Do not the people of this country deserve a Government who can get it right first time? People saw in the Budget a true reflection of a Chancellor who tried to sneak through thoughtless changes and got found out.

Let us look at some of the Government’s tax changes. The selection speaks volumes about this Government. They gave a tax cut to banks and to millionaires, but showed no mercy to people who eat pasties. The pasty tax will go down in history as one of the most incompetent Government debacles ever. The attempt to raise the price of pasties and sausage rolls by 20% was claimed to be necessary to close an anomaly, but was universally seen as evidence of an out-of-touch Government trying their luck and grabbing tax on a food that Ministers never eat. The Save Our Savouries campaign run by The Sun pointed out that caviar is still VAT-exempt. Perhaps we can learn something from that. Perhaps the Minister will comment on that in his concluding remarks.

The Prime Minister told us:

“I’m a pasty eater myself. . . I love a hot pasty”,

but he gave himself away when he said that his last pasty was from a shop that turned out not to exist. It was just one gaffe after another. The Chancellor ended up giving evidence to the Treasury Committee on how to tell whether a pasty was hot or cold. Members pointed out that because products would be subject to VAT if they were above ambient temperature when bought, pasties could cost different amounts on summer and winter days.

[Stephen Gilbert]

Notwithstanding some of the flaky accusations the hon. Lady is making against the Government, can she explain why Labour Members will not join in supporting the Government on new schedule 1, which addresses the concerns that were expressed during the consultation process?

[Catherine McKinnell]

Our position is that we would like none of the VAT changes to be introduced so by voting against new schedule 1 today, as I have already explained, we vote against all the VAT changes.

As was pointed out, if the pasty counter was near the oven, the ambient temperature would be higher. If it was near the chiller, the ambient temperature may be lower. Greggs’ official consultation document asked whether servers would ultimately have to take the temperature of both the pasty and the surrounding air to determine whether a 20% surcharge should be applied. The proposal was universally and rightly rounded on as ridiculous. Ken McMeikan, the chief executive of Greggs the bakers, which I am proud to say is based in my part of the world, Tyne and Wear, deserves a mention for his excellent campaign against the pasty tax. A massive £30 million was wiped off the value of the company in the week after the Budget as orders were threatened and jobs put at risk. Along with several hundred other bakers, Mr McMeikan delivered a petition to 10 Downing street. He told Ministers:

“we are the voice of half a million people. We embody their resentment at what this Government is trying to impose against the people’s will. . . ordinary hard working people simply do not want this pasty tax.”

I visited a local school breakfast club with Mr McMeikan and I know just how committed Greggs is to local schools and community projects. It did not deserve to have its business torpedoed by Ministers who are too out of touch ever to have eaten one of its products. Eventually the Government backed down on the pasty tax—they had to because that was the only move they could make—but they left behind them a legacy of arrogant disregard for ordinary people that will not quickly be forgotten. My only hope now is that the U-turn that has been made will be made properly. Representatives of Greggs are still raising concerns that the new wording of the regulations on hot food now state that VAT should be charged if it

“is provided…in packaging that retains heat (whether or not the packaging was primarily designed for that purpose)”.

The hon. Member for St Austell and Newquay (Stephen Gilbert) raised the matter with the Minister, but his answer did not provide certainty, so I would be grateful if he would clarify in his reply exactly how the Government will ensure certainty for this slightly battered production market.

Any sort of paper bag or wrapping could inadvertently help to retain heat, so there is a danger that pasties could still be caught in the regulations and that this whole incompetent mess of U-turns and retractions will all have been for nothing. I hope that the Government will take the opportunity to clarify that point and reassure Greggs and other bakers up and down the country that supplying customers with paper napkins, for example, which could inadvertently slow down the cooling process, will not result in an extra 20% charge for their customers.

Greggs would like confirmation, as I am sure would other bakers across the country, on whether taking trays of baked products from the oven and stacking them in counters that have no other means of heating or heat retention would be considered to be slowing down the cooling process. The practice is used by bakers to minimise food handling and the number of trays in use, but there are genuine concerns in the industry that it could constitute slowing down the cooling process and so incur a VAT charge.

The Government’s second U-turn was on their attempt to charge 20% VAT on static caravans—[Interruption.] I am asked from a sedentary position “Are you only on the second U-turn?” Yes, I am. I venture to guess that caravan holidays, like pasties, are not familiar to most members of the Cabinet. They saw an opportunity to take some extra tax and went ahead without considering the impact on individuals, jobs, growth or tourism. Because of the huge campaign mounted against the policy—I pay tribute to Members on both sides of the House for that, particularly hon. Members who represent the Hull constituencies, who are particularly concerned about the impact on jobs in their area—the Government backed down, but they are still trying to impose the 5% charge, as the Minister set out in more detail earlier.

The Treasury’s own figures show that 20% VAT on static caravans would result in a 30% fall in demand. The industry estimates that it would result in 1,000 job losses in manufacturing, excluding the supply chain. We know that at least one factory in the supply chain, Willerby Holiday Homes, put all 700 of its staff on a 90-day consultation as a direct result of the Government’s announcement that it would levy 20% VAT on its product. The National Caravan Council states that 4,300 jobs might be lost in holiday parks, plus another 1,500 jobs from associated suppliers.

I appreciate that the Minister has sought to give some reassurances on the change and indicated that the Government are listening, to the extent of reducing the VAT rate to 5%. However, he has made it clear today that no actual calculation has been made on the potential impact of the 5% charge, which is of great concern. Even the reduced charge of 5% will mean either that caravan holidays will become more expensive for holidaymakers or that holiday parks will be forced to absorb losses and job cuts. At a time when consumers are already severely squeezed, many people will simply have to go elsewhere. In turn, the whole economy of holiday towns would be hit, with shops, pubs and attractions losing their main business. Is that really what the Government intended?

--- Later in debate ---

[Catherine McKinnell]

I not only welcome it but point out that we proposed it, and the Chancellor shortly followed us on the same day. Our proposal to bring about an immediate reduction in VAT to 17.5% would deliver that 3p fuel duty reduction for drivers and put money in their pockets not only in respect of fuel but right across the board. It is a measure that is absolutely required to turn our economy round from the double-dip recession we are in.

[Stephen Gilbert]

Is not the real VAT bombshell the fact that the hon. Lady does not know how much this policy would cost Her Majesty’s Treasury? In the hour or so for which she has been talking, has she had any inspiration from colleagues?

--- Later in debate ---

[Diana Johnson]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman again, but I would still like to hear from the Minister exactly what the figure will be. My understanding—I was at the same meeting with the caravan manufacturers in Beverley as the hon. Member for Beverley and Holderness (Mr Stuart)—was that a figure was levied across the whole price of the caravan, including the chattels in the caravan at around 3% or 4% of the overall cost. Will the Minister clarify that? Are there two figures that we need to be aware of, or is it just 5% overall of the total amount of the purchase? I have to tell the Government that if this were intended to make things clearer, the truth is that it is making things even more complicated and less transparent.

Let me return to the BS 3632 specification. I was saying that I thought that that was not a sensible way to make tax policy. I know that the distinction between static caravans and those used for residential purposes 365 days of the year is based on the reference to BS 3632. If we look at the responses to HMRC’s consultation, we see that while many respondents felt it would be relatively straightforward to upgrade static caravans to meet the BS 3632 standard so that they could benefit from zero-rated standing, many others said that the costs of doing so would be prohibitive. There is a confusion there, which is why I would like the Minister to be very clear about it.

With certified British standards changing all the time because manufacturing gets better and better, how often does the Minister think he would need to return to this tax provision to update it? I doubt whether it will be set in stone for years to come; it will have to be looked at and changed in the future. I heard the Minister’s reassurance that we would not see changes to the standard in the future, but he is opening the door to potential changes. The system that the Minister has devised, based on the British standard and keeping the distinction between static, residential and touring caravans, does not make things clearer and more transparent; rather, I think it extends the anomalies in the tax system.

An even bigger issue for me is the lack of clear evidence of what the change to VAT policy will do for my constituents and for jobs in my city. That is what really concerns and worries me. I know that the Minister has listened carefully to my pleas about employment and jobs. I hope he will think again and will instruct his officials to do a proper piece of work, so that when MPs scrutinise Government policy, they will have accurate figures to look at in order to assess whether the Government’s policies will result in what they say they are trying to achieve. In this case, I do not think the Government will see additional revenue in the Exchequer. If they bring forward this ill thought-through proposal, which will disproportionately affect my constituents, there will be a loss to the Government.

[Stephen Gilbert]

I feel as if I have fallen into a parallel universe in this debate. It is interesting, is it not, that although Labour crashed the economy so totally, Labour Members today want to provide a £12 billion giveaway by reducing VAT—something that would presumably have to be paid for by further cuts in the public services that they say they want to protect, or indeed by an increase in borrowing. It seems inconceivable to me that this measure is on the amendment paper in the name of Labour Members. I recall that when I was growing up there was television programme called “Jamie and the Magic Torch”. I used to enjoy it considerably, but it seems that we have a show on the other side of the Chamber tonight called “Ed and the Magic Money Tree”, with the Opposition unable to be clear or consistent about their VAT policy.

Another bizarre aspect of the debate is that when the Government are forced into what my hon. Friend the Member for Brigg and Goole (Andrew Percy) refers to as a “recalibration” on a number of issues, which my constituents certainly welcome, the Opposition oppose the measures that the Government are taking to address the problems that they initially highlighted. It strikes me as utterly bizarre that, a few months ago, the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne North (Catherine McKinnell)and her hon. Friends raised concerns, as did I and other hon. Members, about the pasty tax, the caravan tax, the problems affecting static caravans and other issues, yet tonight the same hon. Lady and her colleagues are going to vote against the U-turn that the Government have made. It may well be the case that the Government have made a U-turn, but it is clear from the positioning going on tonight that Labour has taken a wrong turn.

Labour Members cannot have it both ways. They cannot criticise a Government for being cavalier when they do not listen, and then criticise them as chaotic when they do listen. As they well know, the reality is that on all these issues, particularly on tackling anomalies in the VAT system, the problems were set out in the consultation that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor rightly announced. That consultation was widely subscribed to by many interested parties, and the Government took the responses to it into account and changed their view on the back of the evidence they received. I for one recognise that none of us has a monopoly of wisdom. It is surely in the finest traditions of good government that the people likely to be affected by these rules are listened to and that a Government take advice if a deleterious effect is pointed out.

Labour Members talk about the need to consult, but when they abolished the 10p tax rate, plunging millions of the lowest paid into further tax, I do not think they consulted on that measure. That is why, as I say, the last few moments of the debate have been somewhat eye-opening, highlighting the sheer opportunism of the Opposition in opposing a U-turn. They call for consultation, then, in the very debate that shows that the Government are listening, they choose to ignore it. Frankly, as I said at the outset, that is bizarre.

My constituents would want me to welcome new schedule 1 and Government amendment 17. Those provisions will protect jobs in Cornwall, protect the Cornish high street and high streets across the country, protect the secondary spend in the wider economy and will ensure that Cornwall, which is already a disadvantaged part of the our United Kingdom, is not further disadvantaged by proposals that the Government have, thankfully, amended.

I would also like to thank the Minister. In all the discussions between him, me and my hon. Friends, he has always been entirely professional, courteous and constructive in his engagement. I would like to thank others, too. As the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne North knows, Greggs is based in her constituency. Its effort to mobilise more than 500,000 signatures across the country for a petition that my hon. Friends in Cornwall and I were able to deliver to Downing street showed the level of grass-roots concern about proposals that could have been very damaging.

I thank the National Association of Master Bakers; that is not a sentence that one wants to rush through! Its engagement with this issue has been constructive and professional, and it has represented the views of its industry to the Government very effectively. For what will probably be the only time in my life, I also thank and pay tribute to The Sun, which ensured that the issue touched the popular zeitgeist and was able, ultimately, to deliver change. More locally, the Western Morning News, the voice of the south-west, played a useful role in keeping the issue in the public eye.

I can tell the Minister that people in Cornwall are relieved that this coalition Government took soundings, listened and, at the end of the day, delivered a result that will protect an iconic and important Cornish industry. It is estimated that the measure will safeguard about 13,000 jobs in Cornwall, put hundreds of millions of pounds into the local economy, and guarantee the production of the 180 million Cornish pasties that are made in the county every year.

[Bob Stewart]

Everyone has been saying how great it is that VAT will no longer be charged on pasties, but I should point out those who own fish and chip shops are at a slight disadvantage by comparison. I just want to balance the equation a bit, and that is one of the things that we were trying to put right.

[Stephen Gilbert]

I entirely agree with my hon. Friend. He will be pleased to know that new schedule 1 will deliver the level playing field to which he and my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister have referred, and on the subject of which I have received representations from fish and chip shops in my constituency.

If a product in a fish and chip shop is being kept artificially warm it is standard-rated, and new schedule 1 will ensure that the same applies in a pasty or pie shop. The simplicity for which the Government aimed has been delivered, as has the level playing field for suppliers of hot food. I hope that my hon. Friend will convey to the fish and chip shop proprietors in his constituency with some enthusiasm the message that, as a result of the constructive process of consultation and engagement undertaken by the Government, the special status of baked goods which are hot only as a product of their baking process has been recognised. The fact that a freshly baked hot pasty which is simply cooling down will remain VAT-free should be welcomed by one and all.

[Sheila Gilmore]

The hon. Member for St Austell and Newquay (Stephen Gilbert) seemed to think that he was living in a parallel universe, and, indeed, most of we Opposition Members thought that we were living in one as well. The process that has taken place is rather like the process that takes place when someone says “I want £10 from you”, and then, after a great deal of argument, says “I will make it just £2, so you should be happy”, and we find ourselves saying “Thank you so much for listening.”

Yes, it was good that the Government listened. I do not think that any Opposition Member has said otherwise, although we might have preferred them to listen from the outset. They had an opportunity to do so on Second Reading. One or two Conservative and Liberal Democrat Back Benchers voted against the Government even then in order to make their views known, but many others who had heard the Government say that the measures were necessary voted for them. Yes, it is good that the Government have listened, but it might have been better had they never embarked on this road. We must ask whether it was sensible for the Treasury—which, one assumes, is in charge of our economy to some extent—to spend the last four months dealing with matters which it had, after all, generated in the first place.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Gilbert Excerpts

Tuesday 26th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

Last year we cut fuel duty and froze it. This year, we have frozen it again and the hon. Gentleman should welcome that. I know that he is in a slightly difficult position in that he was one of the Labour MPs who voted for the increase that we have now delayed, but he should just get up and welcome these moves.

[Stephen Gilbert (St Austell and Newquay) (LD)]

Economic growth in Cornwall would be discouraged by the introduction of regional pay or the regionalisation of benefits. Will the Chancellor undertake to publish the Government’s evidence to the independent pay review bodies that are considering this issue?

[Mr Osborne]

I point out to my hon. Friend that we have published that evidence. As I say, the matter is now with the independent pay review bodies, so let us wait to hear what they have to say.