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Banking Bill (Money)

I am surprised that the Government are opposing the Lords amendment that would require a quarterly report on financial assistance. Our proposal in the Lords amendment is very much in accord with democratic values and the kind of practice that many of us see in the private sector when we report to our shareholders. The Government talk about normal mechanisms, but these are not normal times. As the Children's Minister himself has said, this is the most serious recession in 100 years. Even the Prime Minister thinks that we are already in a depression, but perhaps that is just his own state of mind. Taxpayers have a right to know what liabilities the Government—and, in turn, taxpayers—have. Those liabilities should be made clear to the public, whether we call them on-balance sheet liabilities, off-balance sheet liabilities or contingent liabilities. Unfortunately, however, this is part of the Government's pattern of hiding the real state of their finances. According to recent figures from the Office for National Statistics, net debt is about £697 billion, or 47 per cent. of gross domestic product. To put that in normal terms, it represents £25,000 per household. The reality, however, is that the Government are hiding about another £1.2 trillion off-balance sheet, primarily in public sector pension liabilities. So taxpayers actually owe more than £75,000 per household—