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Finance Bill

We have had discussions with representatives of the retail industry and others about the timing of the change. The main thing they said they needed was certainty about the date so that they could plan, which is why we have set a date. Extending the VAT reduction until, say, the end of January to move it outside the sales period would have cost substantially more. We made a judgment, and the Chancellor made a judgment, about what time would be right, bearing in mind the scale and timing of the fiscal stimulus. I repeat that the change in the VAT rate is part of the fiscal stimulus, which we believe is the right measure to take and which evidence shows is helping the economy through a difficult time, but which Conservative Members have continually opposed.