Clause 10 - Bioethanol
Finance Bill
3:00 pm
Mr John Healey (Economic Secretary, HM Treasury; Wentworth, Labour)
As the right hon. Gentleman will know, the pre-Budget report and the Budget rightly concentrate on the economic instruments. However, they are part of a wider context in which the policy instruments that may bear on a particular issue are summarised. That was the case in the most recent pre-Budget report and Budget, in which the Government confirmed for the first time our interest in a potential biofuels obligation. I suggest that he looks to the autumn pre-Budget report for the summary and the overview in which he is interested.
The right hon. Gentleman appeared to be taking me to task when he said that this country did not have a bioethanol plant. This country does not yet have a bioethanol duty discount, and that is precisely what the clause introduces. If the Committee endorses the clause, and it becomes part of the Bill, it will still be eight months away.
Question put and agreed to.
Clause 10 ordered to stand part of the Bill.