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Business of the House

There is often a degree of scepticism about the value of business questions and early-day motions. My early-day motion 1123 states: [That this House believes that the proposal to offer tax relief on the purchase of homes under the Self-Invested Personal Pension Scheme rules commencing in April 2006 provides insufficient public benefit, will encourage the purchase of second homes, and will put Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs in a difficult policing position in regard to the pensionholder’s use of a property; notes that the investment industry’s estimates of the volume of this business far exceeds the Government’s and that there may be a higher loss of taxation than expected; and calls upon the Government to apply the tax relief solely to homes made available for social housing, and to ensure that such homes are offered free of rent to the social housing provider managing the property.] The motion deals with self-invested personal pensions, an issue that I have raised several times. I am pleased that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has seen fit to withdraw the second home option from that particular tax incentive. Will my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House say whether there has been any indication from the Treasury team that the second recommendation in that motion will be taken up? It proposes that such incentives might be allowable if the home concerned were made available for social letting at an affordable rent. Such housing is in very short supply in parts of my constituency.