Clause 27
Saving Gateway Accounts Bill
9:30 am
Mark Hoban (Shadow Minister, Treasury; Fareham, Conservative)
I partly support the hon. Member for Taunton in his amendments. On the first two, it is right that any changes to the tax status of these accounts should be dealt with by affirmative resolution not just in the first use of these powers but subsequently. We could end up with a situation in which a future Government decided to tax the income or the matching payment on these accounts without the requirement to debate that measure in Parliament unless someone prays against it. So, the key features of this Bill should be subject to affirmative resolution when there are subsequent amendments.
I am very sceptical about the requirement for every subsequent adjustment to be covered by affirmative resolution. We need to be pragmatic in deciding where the use of affirmative resolution is appropriate and where it is not. I am also minded to say that it is all very well for the hon. Gentleman to propose these measures, but in the end, he or his colleagues are required to turn up to the relevant debates. I found that out in a debate on Monday afternoon, when it was just the Economic Secretary and myself on the Front Benches, with no representative on the Liberal Front Bench. So the hon. Gentleman should be very wary about what he calls for in these amendments.