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Finance Bill

I gave the Prime Minister's PPS the opportunity to speak—I think he is the first Prime Minister's PPS to speak in a debate in this House and refer back to his crib sheet, which he also had to refer to earlier. Let me remind him of the centrepiece of the pre-Budget report in October: a change in the rules on inheritance tax. We will not take any lessons from him on these matters. Of course, the hon. Gentleman is part of the problem: the constant listing of briefings and changes of mind. The Exchequer Secretary said, ““Watch this space”” on Friday. The Chief Secretary was on the airwaves on Saturday, trying to pretend that nothing was going to change. Today, we have a new line—the ““jam tomorrow”” line. The argument is: ““We don't have the time to sort this crisis out before Monday. Just wait till the pre-Budget report and we will sort it all out then.”” But this is not a problem that has suddenly emerged in the past few days. No one can pretend that this crisis came as a surprise. The Prime Minister and the Treasury knew last year that a net 5.3 million households would be worse off as a consequence of the abolition of the 10p rate. In fact, the Exchequer Secretary herself was signatory to a Treasury Committee report of last year that was highly critical of the decision to scrap the 10p rate—it cropped up during our debates on the Budget and the Finance Bill last year. The Government have had plenty of time to put together a package to soften the blow on the losers. Let us not forget how quickly the Government can move when they want to. They quickly backtracked on non-doms, and let us remember how quickly they reversed their position on inheritance tax, after facing pressure from business. Why is it that the 5.3 million households who have lost out have to wait until the PBR? Why do they have to wait when the Government can move so quickly if they want to? Of course, why should the people affected believe that there will be jam tomorrow? As the Institute for Fiscal Studies points out, the number of childless, working age adults in poverty has increased by half a million since 1997. They are not going to listen to the promises, hints and suggestions made by the Treasury and the Prime Minister. They want prompt action, and I suggest that Labour Members hold their Ministers to account on the matter, because the pressure put on the Treasury during the past few weeks has clearly started to create movement.