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National Insurance Contributions Bill

I shall just deal with that point, because that has been a bit of a recurring theme this afternoon. I do not honestly think it tenable to hold to the point that the Treasury can deal with such matters in a capricious way, simply changing its mind. The basis of the retrospective regulations flows from the Statement in 2004. A fair reading of that makes it clear what type of arrangements it seeks to deal with. Just a change of mind on existing schemes that have been specifically incentivised by legislation would not be caught by that. It is not fair to suggest that, simply by whim, the position would be reversed. It is anchored very much in the Statement. What the Statement was intended to cover is abundantly clear.