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Finance Bill

I agree wholeheartedly with the hon. Lady’s desire for greater scrutiny, understanding and public debate about tax matters. I commend to her membership of the Standing Committee that considered the Finance Bill. All members of the Committee and people in the Public Gallery had the opportunity to understand and scrutinise in a transparent way tax policy decision-making, which was most illuminating. The hon. Lady said in answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Wirral, West (Stephen Hesford) that it was impossible to distinguish clearly between technical aspects of tax policy discussion or cleaning up, and policy decisions. Given her point about democracy, does she accept that because of that ambiguity, if we were to accept the proposal for a commission, it would mean that scrutiny of policy decisions would move from the House to the commission?