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Finance Bill

I am sure that this House is very jealous of its privileges and would always be the master, as the hon. Gentleman puts it, of tax legislation. We already receive representations from many outside bodies. It has been abundantly clear to me as I have witnessed the Bill’s progress through the House, including in Committee, that Treasury Front Benchers, prestigious though they must be in matters of tax law, rely heavily on the Box for their advice. Conservative Front Benchers rely heavily on professional advice, as the hon. Member for Cities of London and Westminster (Mr. Field) acknowledged. I felt sorry for my hon. Friend the Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne), because the hon. Member for Cities of London and Westminster read out the briefings so well that my hon. Friend had little left to say. We should recognise that we already rely on many people from outside who contribute to the formulation of our tax law. As politicians, we are all generalists and amateurs, and we need as much help and clarification as we can get from outside bodies and experts to improve the quality of legislation on the statute book.