Wednesday, 3 April 1963
The House met at half-past Two o'clock
[Mr. SPEAKER in the Chair]
The VICE-CHAMBERLAIN OF THE HOUSEHOLD reported Her Majesty's Answer to the Address, as follows:
Read the Third time and passed.
asked the Minister of Defence what plans have been made for the deployment of the Sergeant missile by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation forces.
asked the Minister of Defence the total acreage of land retained by all three Services in the constituency of Petersfield.
asked the Minister of Defence what discussions have taken place with the Government of the United States of America regarding the establishment of a Polaris submarine base in the waters of Malta;...
asked the Minister of Defence whether, under his scheme for a reorganisation of the Services, each of the three chiefs of staff is to retain the right of direct access to the Cabinet.
asked the Minister of Defence whether he will consider recasting the planned services run-down in Malta.
asked the Minister of Defence which authority in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation will command the British V-bombers assigned by Her Majesty's Government to the North Atlantic Treaty...
asked the Minister of Defence what part the TSR2 aircraft is intended to play as part of the British or North Atlantic Treaty Organisation strategic nuclear deterrent.
asked the Minister of Defence what conclusions he has reached as a result of his examination of the proposed North Atlantic Treaty Organisation multilateral Polaris surface force regarding its...
asked the Minister of Defence if he will define a tactical nuclear weapon.
asked the Minister of Defence to what extent it remains the policy of Her Majesty's Government, in view of the danger of retarding the nation's economic development, to retain, as essential for...
asked the Minister of Defence how much defence costs per person per week.
asked the Minister of Defence if he will conduct a further review of expenditure on defence with a view to its reduction.
asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty when he anticipates that Messrs. Vickers will commence three-shift working on Her Majesty's Submarine "Valiant".
asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty if the intended building programme of British Polaris submarines will prejudice the fulfilment of the S.S.K. hunter-killer submarine requirement which is...
asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty if he will make a statement on the methods of disposing of obsolescent ships and boats.
Mr. Gresham Cooke: asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty what progress is being made in research into hydrofoil design; and whether orders are being placed for prototype hydrofoil craft for the...
asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty when it is expected to complete full tests of the Wasp helicopter; and when the five commissioned Tribal class frigates will be equipped with this aircraft.
asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty how many additional men will be required at Rosyth by the end of 1963 for the work which will be necessary to prepare this dockyard for the refitting and...
asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty how many naval ships are to be built on the Clyde in the year 1963–64; how many will be started in the next six months; and what will be the estimated...
asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty how much of the £241 millions to be spent in 1963–64 on new ships will be spent in Scottish shipyards; and what will be the estimated employment...
asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty what consideration is given to the unemployment situation when placing contracts for new naval vessels; and to what extent this consideration has weighed in...
asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty how many students have been enrolled for the first year of the three year degree course for electrical engineering at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich,...
asked the Secretary of State for War what steps he is taking to enable Scottish industry to manufacture under licence the Belgian machine gun now being purchased from Belgium for Her Majesty's Forces.
asked the Secretary of State for War whether the electronic computer organisation set up by the Royal Army Pay Corps is being utilised by all three defence services.
asked the Secretary of State for War why he has halted apprentice intake at Royal Ordnance Factory, Woolwich.
asked the Secretary of State for War (1) what disciplinary action has been taken as a result of failures to comply with War Office instructions that unit transport should be made available to the...
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if, in view of the grave shortage of mathematics and science teachers, he will extend to them the same favourable conditions in the appointment of...
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will consult with the appropriate authorities with a view to introducing legislation to establish in Glasgow permanent sittings of the Court of...
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what reply he has sent to the headmasters of Belmont High School and St. Margaret's High School, Ayr, in response to their letter of 5th March about...
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he will give a decision on whether there will in future be one Electricity Board for Scotland.
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when the Hunter Committee on Salmon is now expected to report.
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he received a letter from the Braehead School Parent-Teachers' Association regarding unemployment among school leavers in the Buckhaven and Wemyss...
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he received from Aberdeen Trades Council its letter of 4th March, 1963, expressing concerned at the increasing unemployment in the engineering...
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland why he proposes to close the demonstration school of Aberdeen Educational College; and what he proposes to substitute for it.
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will take the steps necessary to enable him to issue as soon as possible a report on the present ownership of land in Scotland, in view of the...
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what action he is taking to control the price of building land in Scotland.
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many geriatric beds will be provided by the extension to Liberton Hospital; and how many persons are at present on the waiting list in Edinburgh.
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland, having regard to paragraph 103 of the Report on Transport Services in the Highlands and Islands, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Highland...
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will institute an inquiry into why Cumbernauld New Town Corporation has only built an average of 276 houses per annum since the new town was...
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the number in Scotland of girls under 18 years of age being given day release from employment for further education at the latest available...
I beg to give notice that on Friday, 26th April, I shall call attention to the need for improved methods and organisation of Commonwealth co-operation, consultation and administration, and move a...
I beg to give notice that on Friday, 26th April, I shall call attention to the need for improving efficiency in the construction industries, and move a Resolution.
I beg to give notice that on Friday, 26th April, I shall call attention to the present state of the Press and other means of mass communication, and move a Resolution.
Considered in Committee.
3.32 p.m.
I begin with a brief description of the Exchequer out-turn last year. The main details are shown in the first three tables of the Blue Paper.
The abolition of Schedule A calls in question the future of the old Land Tax which is collected along with it. It now yields only £200,000 a year from some 80,000 or 90,000 assessments. I...
There is one other agreeable consequence. Under the present law, people who brew beer either for their own consumption or, in the case of farmers, for consumption by their workpeople are required...
I come now to a number of minor tax changes, some in the field of Customs, some in the field of tax Inland Revenue.
First, some changes affecting certain of the duties charged on imports from our partners in the European Free Trade Association.
I intend to introduce certain improvements in the control and collection of the match duty operative from 1st September next.
I also propose to abolish the system of Excise licences for the sale of tobacco. The purpose of these licences is not to produce revenue—they cost only £1 for a four-year period and...
I have decided to abolish the £1 Television Licence Excise Duty, which was imposed in 1957—though, as I shall explain, this will not affect the cost to the viewer. The B.B.C. now faces...
I turn now to the regulator. I propose to extend for a further year the power enabling the Treasury to operate the Customs regulator, that is to say, the power to raise or lower certain...
I come now from those Customs points to some points affecting Inland Revenue. The Finance Bill will give effect to two proposals I have already announced, namely, to make it clear that tax is...
I turn now to a point relating to motor cars. The 1961 Finance Act limits tax allowances for business cars to those appropriate to a car costing £2,000. This restriction, which I fully...
Now I have something to say on Estate Duty. Last year, as the Committee will remember, the exemption limit was raised from £3,000 to £4,000. This year I propose to raise it to...
During last year's Finance Bill debates there was considerable support for the proposal that tax allowances should be granted to mineral operators in respect of sums laid out on the purchase of...
It will be necessary to include provision in the Finance Bill for the redemption of guaranteed 2¾ per cent. Land Stock, 1921, or after, the sinking fund for which will be full in the coming...
I might mention here that I have two proposals designed to protect the Revenue, both of them arising out of recent decisions of the courts. First, Estate Duty. Gifts made in consideration of...
I turn now to the question of gambling. As the Committee will be aware, my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary said last year that a review would be made of the whole field of gambling, and...
I turn now to the questions of tax reform and simplification. In the various proposals I have to lay before the Committee I have borne in mind the need for tax simplification. Schedule A, I...
I turn now to the main theme of this Budget: expansion without inflation and the achievement of the 4 per cent. growth target. Before deciding what measures the Government should take to this end...
In the first half of 1962, there was a brisk rise in demand and output. Exports rose by 5 per cent. between the fourth quarter of 1961 and the second quarter of 1962, and industrial production by...
The position we have now reached is one where there is substantial underemployment of resources, but where costs have been held stable in relation to those of our competitors. A projection of...
At this stage, I must say something about the external position and the future of sterling. We can reasonably hope for some continued improvement in our current balance this year. On the other...
I have weighed up very carefully the various factors. On the one hand, we have spare capacity and present trends of demand do not seem strong enough to ensure of themselves a full enough...
To illustrate the consequences of such measures for the Exchequer in the coming year I shall give the Committee first the Exchequer figures for 1963–64 on the basis of the present tax rates.
It is important that the significance of this should not be misunderstood here or abroad. The line which now divides our Budget accounts is confusing, chiefly because people think that it...
The measures that I now propose to outline are designed to achieve our growth target of 4 per cent. a year without inflation. Clearly, there must be two elements in them: measures designed to...
We can see this fact most clearly in the context of exports. The attainment of a 4 per cent. growth rate needs an even greater increase in our exports. This is a formidable task, but I am...
I now have to turn to the measures I have to lay before the Committee for promoting our target of 4 per cent. rate of growth. In dealing with the problems of expansion I turn, first, to its human...
I have been talking of the need to make full use of our national resources of manpower in the economic context. There is one aspect of this problem that is of particular urgency because it has a...
I announced on 17th December that the Government were prepared to agree to an additional £10 million of aid to under-developed countries, provided that this additional aid could be linked...
So much for further public outlay for the benefit of the development districts. I now turn to the question of inducing firms to establish themselves or to expand in these areas.
The measures will, I am confident, be of great assistance to the development districts. But they are still not enough. I have, therefore, been looking at the question of using the tax system.
I have been dealing with the human element in a growth programme. I turn now to some of the problems of a more industrial character: the basic industries and the need for private industry to...
First, two basic industries and services—transport and energy.
Turning to energy, the electricity industry's investment will increase this year by £114 million. The gas industry is in a period of technological transformation, and its investment is up by...
There is one other aspect of oil duty, that on light oils used as raw materials, or as solvents or preservatives, or for similar purposes, in industrial processes, The duty of 2s. 9d. a gallon on...
I turn now to manufacturing industry generally. For a programme of more rapid growth two things are needed: first, a higher level of investment; and, secondly, a better use of our resources, both...
I announced last November major improvements in the capital allowances designed to encourage new investment in industry. The Finance Bill will put these into effect. They include, as the...
It is one thing to encourage the investment of capital by increased capital allowances. The other side of the coin—perhaps equally important—is to encourage the provision of the...
I have now described a series of measures designed to remove obstacles to growth and to encourage the development of our national resources, both human and material. These are the foundations of...
First, one change that is the consequence of recent legislation. National Insurance contributions are soon to be increased, and I propose to raise the fiat standard adult employees allowance from...
At present, a single person aged 65 or over is exempt from Income Tax if his income does not exceed £300 and a married couple of whom one is 65 or over are exempt up to an income of...
Age relief applies where the taxpayer or his wife is aged 65 or over and his total income is not more than £800 and it gives the equivalent of earned income relief to investment income. I...
The small income relief similarly gives the equivalent of earned income relief to investment income if the taxpayer is under 65 and his total income does not exceed £400. I propose that it...
I turn now to the general range of Income Tax payers. I think that my main effort should be directed to improving the position of married people, particularly those with children.
In total, the changes in taxation I have announced will reduce revenue receipts by £269 million in 1963–64. Before Budget changes the accounts, as I have explained, show a surplus...
As the Committee is now receiving the Resolutions, I should like to mention a small change that I am making this year. In the past, what is known as the Incidental Charges Resolution has listed...
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Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.—[Mr. Peel.]
Debates in the House of Commons are an opportunity for MPs from all parties to scrutinise government legislation and raise important local, national or topical issues.
And sometimes to shout at each other.