Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Treasury – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 13 May 1999.
Mrs Barbara Roche
Financial Secretary, HM Treasury
12:00,
13 May 1999
Of course I know that my hon. Friend takes a very close interest in these matters, as he is chairman of the all-party British offshore oil and gas industry parliamentary group. I strongly agree with his assessment of the great importance of the industry. That is why I have twice met representatives of the industry; and my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the exchequer has also met them. As the House will know, there were three helpful measures in the Budget, including one to reduce compliance costs. We continue to have discussions with the industry. We should take into consideration the current rosier price of oil and not come to any hasty conclusions.
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.
