Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at on 9 December 1920.
Mr Frank Briant
, Lambeth North
asked the Chancellor of the exchequer what arrangements have been made, in view of the impossibility of assessing jointly a married couple, in the case of the husband being a weekly wage earner, and thus liable to quarterly assessment, and the wife a salaried employé, being assessed yearly, to ensure that the wife receives her proportionate share of the £225 and £45 allowance; and if he will say whether either of the following methods of assessment may be adopted, namely, assessment as a separate individual entitled to £135 abatement and to half the other family allowances, or to estimate the husband's salary on a minimum basis and in this way work out the proportionate shares of the allowances due to the husband and wife respectively?
The chancellor of the exchequer is the government's chief financial minister and as such is responsible for raising government revenue through taxation or borrowing and for controlling overall government spending.
The chancellor's plans for the economy are delivered to the House of Commons every year in the Budget speech.
The chancellor is the most senior figure at the Treasury, even though the prime minister holds an additional title of 'First Lord of the Treasury'. He normally resides at Number 11 Downing Street.
