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Finance (No. 2) Bill

I am putting the evidence to the Committee. In the Netherlands and in Sweden, whatever the Finance Ministers decide to do, as in the UK, there have been rising costs, poor targets and a lack of impact on the important areas that the Committee has identified. The hon. Gentleman asked why the Government did not target misuse of the scheme. That is a bit rich, as the Conservatives did not manage to get any of their amendments selected, for precisely the reason that we constantly give: it is extremely difficult to draft legislation to cover certain types of equipment while excluding others, because the technology is changing. The hon. Member for Rayleigh said, ““Well let’s do it once a year.”” Once a year, he wants a completely new statement that would be out of date already, excluding equipment that would not otherwise have been included in the system. Opposition Members say that the scheme should be restricted—perhaps to basic rate taxpayers or someone else—while complaining about administrative burdens and the scheme’s complexities. So, the Government had to take a decision. If the scheme is poorly targeted and abused and if we cannot target it sensibly, the Government must determine the best way to proceed, and the best way to proceed is the way that the Government have said: through our digital strategy and the announcements that I have made today. My hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton, South-West (Rob Marris) asked, ““Why change overnight?”” We had problems in the system, which I will come to, and we could not find a way to squeeze them out of the system, and we needed to ensure that we refocused. I cannot see how that could have been done in any other way. When the scheme was introduced in 1999, it was made clear that it would be kept under review. When the digital strategy came out, it was made clear that that review was ongoing, particularly in respect of targeting. There can be no doubt in any quarter that the Government were considering this, although I accept that some people do not like the outcome.