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National Insurance Contributions Bill

I am genuinely grateful—I am not merely expressing the customary courtesy of the House—to the hon. Gentleman for that intervention. It was most useful. I take his point that, if we were measuring something that was a matter of fact—a number—the review would have much less scope for flexible interpretation. The hon. Gentleman was good enough to refer earlier to a comment that I made in Committee—that if the Government of the day wanted greater flexibility at the top of the range, they could achieve that by increasing the number at the bottom of the range. The 7.5 per cent. multiplier would therefore go higher up the scale, if one wished to see it in those terms. I regret that the Government are seeking extra leeway in regard to placing a tax burden on people earning about £40,000, but not seeking to establish a corresponding loosening of the tax burden on those at the lower end of the scale who would benefit the most from being able to spend a greater proportion of their own money as they saw fit. That said, I do not think that this Bill is the most controversial item of legislation that we will consider in this Session of Parliament—[Interruption.]—or even this week. It is worth scrutinising properly, however. We looked at it in detail in Committee and I continue to take the view that, although the Government are not seeking to abuse their position, the safeguards in the amendments provide a useful way of ensuring that that remains the case in the future as well.