Baroness Wilcox: I, too, am interested to hear the answer and hope that the Minister will enlighten the Committee on why Clause 210 does not refer to domestic infringements. It seems to be a discrepancy in the wording of the Bill, particularly as the 2001 regulations include that wording.
Baroness Wilcox: Not quite!
Baroness Wilcox: My Lords, will the Minister confirm that the states that already have stringent national legislation restricting the use of agency labour are experiencing high unemployment and have—in the case of France, and soon in that of Germany—economies that are in serious trouble? Will he confirm that he does not want to take us down that route?
Baroness Wilcox: asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they would support a move towards tax harmonisation within the European Union.
Baroness Wilcox: My Lords, I thank the Minister for that Answer, but I am not sure that I understand. Does he expect tax harmonisation to appear in the draft constitution being drawn up by the Convention on the Future of Europe?
Baroness Wilcox: asked Her Majesty's Government: How much money has been spent by the Cabinet Office on external consulting contracts in each of the years since 1996–97.
Baroness Wilcox: asked Her Majesty's Government: How much has been spent by the Treasury on external consulting contracts in each of the years since 1996–97.
Baroness Wilcox: asked Her Majesty's Government: What has been the impact of the introduction of the euro on price convergence in the euro-zone.
Baroness Wilcox: My Lords, I thank the Minister for answering my Question. Can he give the House some concrete examples of where prices have already come together?
Baroness Wilcox: My Lords, I join my noble friend Lord Saatchi in thanking the Minister for once again setting out the Government's fiscal strategy and approach to managing the economy and for allowing us this opportunity to debate the subject in your Lordships' House. As always in this House, we have had a fascinating debate and have been privileged to hear the contributions of some very distinguished...
Baroness Wilcox: My Lords, I support my noble friend Lord Saatchi in expressing disapproval at the fact that up to £100 billion has been omitted from the UK economy balance sheet. My noble friend summarised why this is potentially damaging and misleading and how, in the light of recent international accounting issues, now is the time for full disclosure and transparency. Many noble Lords also expressed their...
Baroness Wilcox: My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lord Peyton of Yeovil for introducing this important debate. He described with wit and chilling clarity the proliferation of regulations, the sheer size of government today and the dramatically increasing tax burden being imposed on each of us and on the beleaguered business community. However, my noble friend must be disappointed that no one on the Labour...
Baroness Wilcox: My Lords, we have been asked to take note of the report of the European Union Committee, Reducing the Risk: Regulating Industrial Chemicals. We have had the opportunity to read the report and to hear the speech of the eminent noble Lord, Lord Crickhowell, the committee chairman for this set of investigations. We have also heard from the noble Earl, Lord Selborne; the noble Baroness, Lady...
Baroness Wilcox: My Lords, I, too, want to express my gratitude to the noble Lord, Lord Morris, for bringing to the attention of the House the issue of misleading food labelling. I congratulate him on a most informative but deeply worrying and detailed account of the situation as he sees it. I believe that the debate will contribute to the ongoing progress towards clearer food labelling which is allowing...
Baroness Wilcox: My Lords, I thank the Minister for his detailed description of this proposal for the order. New to the Front Bench as a shadow Treasury spokesman, I now have my first opportunity to respond to a proposal for a draft regulatory reform, so I am delighted to speak on credit unions, a subject that I know well and on which I am passionately keen. While chairman of the National Consumer Council,...
Baroness Wilcox: asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they are concerned at the level of personal debt.
Baroness Wilcox: My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for that Answer. I am pleased that the Government are concerned about the levels of personal debt. Therefore, perhaps the noble Lord can enlighten me on the following question: how did the DTI consumer affairs Minister in another place come to the conclusion that people were in control of their debt when research from the Financial Services Authority shows...
Baroness Wilcox: My Lords, I am privileged to live in the county of Cornwall, and it is on that county and its future under the proposed regional assembly that I shall centre my remarks. Cornwall has the strongest identity of all the regions of Britain. Its boundary is sacrosanct, and, throughout the implementation of its Objective 1 regeneration programme, it has shown that it can pull together effectively...
Baroness Wilcox: My Lords, it gives me great pleasure to join my noble friend Lord Saatchi in welcoming the Bill and thanking the Minister for his clear explanation of it. As we have heard, the Bill rewrites income tax rules on employment income, pensions and taxable social security benefits. This is a welcome clarification of the existing law, making it easier to use and more accessible to Parliament, the...
Baroness Wilcox: Not yet!