Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Adam Price (Plaid Cymru). It was answered on Wednesday, 22 June 2005 on behalf of the Wales Office.

National Assembly Powers

Question: Yesterday, Andrew Davies, the Economic Development and Transport Minister in the Assembly, said that he was extremely concerned about the poor performance of the Welsh Development Agency's inward investment division. Will the Secretary of State therefore consider giving the National Assembly the power to vary corporation taxes so that we could have the kind of tax breaks that have been so successful in Ireland? I understand that the hon. Member for Normanton (Ed Balls) is keen, so he might have some luck with the Chancellor.

Answer: The answer is no, because, just like Plaid Cymru's proposals for varying income tax for Wales, it would raise an immediate question mark as to whether the extra spending per head in Wales provided by the Treasury was still justified. This is the kind of gobbledegook economics that is typical of Plaid Cymru.

Secondary information