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Finance (No. 2) Bill

Earlier, I set out the purpose and outlined details of clause 13 and I am glad that the hon. Member for Wycombe (Mr. Goodman) says that it is going in the right direction. It may interest hon. Members, especially the hon. Member for Falmouth and Camborne (Julia Goldsworthy), to know that, in 1997, only 4 per cent. of the cars that were registered that year had emissions below 140 g per km. In 2005, the figure was 18 per cent. Our reformed vehicle excise duty system plays a part and makes a contribution, alongside other policies, towards driving down the average emissions by cars. I am especially grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton, South-West (Rob Marris) for reiterating many of the points that I made about the Government’s strong environmental record. I take his point about gas guzzlers as an early representation for the Budget in 2007. I commend the clause to the House. Question put and agreed to. Clause 13 ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clauses 14 and 15 ordered to stand part of the Bill. Bill (Clauses 13 to 15, 26, 61, 91 and 106 and Schedule 14) reported, without amendment.