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Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

Yes, and we all look forward to having a Liberal Government that will actually introduce those changes, of course. There has been no real movement on VED, but there has been movement in the Budget on waste. The landfill tax escalator has been increased from £3 to £8 a year from April 2008, but why is there not a lower rate of landfill tax for waste that has been biologically treated before landfill? Some waste cannot be dealt with otherwise, and it should attract a lower level of landfill tax. There was also an opportunity to deal with incinerators, which are springing up all over the country—that development is driven by the Government. There should be an incineration tax to maximise the use of greener ways of dealing with waste. Also, what do we find in the Budget on energy efficiency, which is the most critical, and the easiest, means through which to make genuine improvement and change? Absolutely nothing. The Budget mentions zero stamp duty for new homes that meet the zero carbon standard, which appears to send a signal to the building industry to invest in zero-carbon homes for the future, but no. The Chancellor has put a five-year limit on that zero duty. It will end in 2012, so the likelihood of builders changing the way that they build homes is small to non-existent. [Interruption.] Indeed; it is truly a zero-rated Budget. The Government’s record in this Budget and the previous 10 is one of failure to put the environment at the heart of their policy, and it is in direct contradiction with the promises made when they came to power. I turn from the environment to the other issues that most concern my constituents. The last Labour party manifesto promised that the share of national wealth spent on education would increase by the end of this Parliament. I should be interested to hear the Minister confirm or deny that. The truth is that, at 2.5 per cent., it is growing at less than the predicted rate of growth of the economy. [Interruption.] Does the Economic Secretary want to intervene?