(Except clauses 3, 5, 6, 15, 21, 49, 90 and 117 and new clauses amending section 74 of the Finance Act 2003)
Finance Bill
10:30 am
Jane Kennedy (Financial Secretary, HM Treasury; Liverpool, Wavertree, Labour)
I beg to move,
That the Committee shall meet—
(a) on Tuesdays at 10.30 a.m. and 4.30 p.m., and
(b) on Thursdays at 9.00 a.m. and 1.00 p.m.,
when the House is sitting.
Sir Nicholas, what a pleasure it is to be here under your chairmanship. I am also pleased that Mr. Cook and Mr. Hood will be sharing the duty of chairing the Committee. I know that your wealth of experience and skill will keep us in order and make sure that our debates are to the point. I look forward to the next few weeks during which the Bill will be scrutinised. I welcome Mr. Sandall to his role. I also extend a welcome to the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge who will be leading for the official Opposition. I am sure that we shall have a number of lively and interesting debates. I welcome also the hon. Member for Taunton and his colleagues who represent the Liberal Democrats, and the hon. Member for Dundee, East.
I welcome my colleagues on the Labour Benches, as I do the Exchequer Secretary and, in particular, the Economic Secretary. It is good to see her back after her short leave from us. We are delighted that she has been able to bring forward little George. We welcome him. I am sure that we will have a good Committee. I know that we shall have cause to be grateful to the organisations that have made representations to us during our deliberations. They always help to shed light on areas that would perhaps otherwise be obscure to members of the Committee, and I look forward to our debates being informed by the information that has been put forward.