---

Finance (No. 2) Bill

My suspicions, Sir John, were precisely confirmed by the hon. Gentleman’s intervention. Perhaps I may turn, as I had started to do, to the contribution of the hon. Member for South-East Cornwall, whose tribute to the success of the economy under this Government—and particularly the ongoing success of the venture capital schemes—I appreciate. He was right to say that the UK is one of the leading economies; in fact, a recent US report described the UK as the best business environment for small firms to access investment finance in. On the particular set of arguments that he laboured, I should point out that the package of changes in clause 91 is not about reducing cost or reducing support for this form of business investment. It is about focusing such support, first, where it is most needed; secondly, where the greatest value to the taxpayer lies; and thirdly, where it is likely to make the greatest contribution to the growth and productivity of the UK economy. I stress that this package of reforms is not about looking for savings. If the hon. Gentleman consults the Red Book, he will see that the scorecard cost of these proposals, which were announced in the Budget, for the next financial year is minus £15 million. In other words, for that and the following year, the additional cost of the proposals to the Exchequer is £15 million. He may also be interested to know that the cost of such schemes this year is £220 million.