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Finance Bill

My Lords, I apologise to the Minister, but this really will not do. A serious story in the Times and the lead story in the Financial Times says that the Government will abandon their 40 per cent target for debt. We need to know whether that story is just speculation, as he implies. He is now teasing us by saying that, when the circumstances change, things have to change. Do the Government plan to change that target or not? Listening to the debate this afternoon, it appears that the Government have no option. It really is an insult to Parliament for us to have a debate on these matters and not to be told what someone has obviously briefed the press on at some stage earlier this week.