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Government Capital Expenditure

There is an issue about greater transparency in the banking system—I agree with the hon. Lady to that extent. However, it is vital that we restore confidence if we are to get the economy working again. The amount of debt and borrowing into which the Government are taking us will not restore confidence for a long time. The Financial Secretary cited the Institute for Fiscal Studies report approvingly. I do not have time to go through every detail, but it is extremely gloomy about the public finances. It states:"““The government's ballooning budget deficit will soon require it to issue debt on a scale last seen at the end of the second world war.””" In the context of perceiving the fiscal stimulus as an enormous help, it is interesting to examine the work undertaken by Oxford Economics, which believes that the fiscal stimulus means that 35,000 fewer jobs will be lost in 2009 than would otherwise be the case. However, it also states that the VAT rise, which will occur to return VAT to its previous level, will cost 30,000 jobs in 2010 and lead to a neutral year in 2011, and that the increase in national insurance will cost 91,000 jobs in 2012 and 84,000 jobs in 2013. This is a short-term measure that leaves the UK in a vulnerable position. I return briefly to the subject of public works—