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Finance (No. 2) Bill

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising that issue. It shows that investment is going into the health service, which is improving people’s lives. I will be happy to have a discussion on another occasion in the Chamber when the debate is more narrowly focused on how one arranges the sums involved in public finance. We all have views on that. However the sums are arranged, the evidence is clear. That is that more and more resources are going into health and education. I will return to these issues. It is important that both the private sector and the public sector have the necessary buoyancy to generate growth in the economy. In the private sector, confidence is crucial. That is not something that we can determine in this place, and it is not something that we can determine solely in this nation. However, we can make a contribution to building that confidence. Our interest rates are at an historically low level, and that is a significant factor in giving those who want to invest the feeling that the cost is such that that can be met by the rewards that are down the road. Our tax rates are also important. I know that there has been a to-ing and fro-ing on the complexity of taxation. We would all want to see a simpler tax system, if that could be arranged, while still meeting the objectives of the system. However, there is confidence; people know roughly how much they will be expected to pay in income tax, depending on what they earn. Companies know roughly how much they will be expected to pay in corporation tax and other taxes, depending on their profitability. If anyone wants to have an argument with me about that, I will be happy to bring in some of the people whom I know in some financial institutions, who would be delighted to confirm what I say. [Interruption.] I nearly referred to my hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton, South-West (Rob Marris) in the context of financial institutions. For example, I would be happy to bring into the debate those who give evidence to my hon. Friend’s Committee, who would bear out what I say. Public sector resources are crucial. The starting point has to be basic education. If we do not invest in basic education—nursery schools and primary schools—it does not matter what we do in secondary schools and higher education institutes. Without that initial investment, we will not have the people coming through who have the necessary and basic educational tools to take on a new challenge. I hope that every party represented in the House agrees that such investment in primary education is essential and a vital path for public sector investment to follow. The resources available for public sector investment are extremely important. I have never said that the public sector should run manufacturing industry in a big way. I do not believe that that is an effective way of generating strength in the economy. However, the public sector has a role in nurturing the private sector and taking it through early days, particularly with small companies. There is a need to pump prime new technologies that have a major future.