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Finance Bill

It was not a disastrous proposal last year and it is not a disastrous proposal this year. It is a long-term proposal and, yes, the hon. Gentleman is absolutely right: as oil prices fall, the duty at the pump will increase; as oil prices rise, the duty at the pump will decrease, protecting families from fluctuations in the price of oil at the pump and the Exchequer from fluctuations in revenues. It is a perfectly sensible proposal, and we shall go on making the case for it until the Government finally give up, go to the polls, move over and let someone else sort out these problems. We are consulting on the details of its implementation, and a great deal will depend on the level at which one fixes the baseline oil price. I absolutely concede that point to the hon. Gentleman, but I urge the Government at the very least to consider the proposal. I am certain that the Treasury has in fact considered something similar. If the hon. Gentleman wants to make a submission to our consultation, I guarantee that it will be given VIP treatment when it is received by the shadow Chancellor's office. Clause 20 deals with bingo duty, to which my hon. Friend the Member for Beverley and Holderness (Mr. Stuart) has already referred. It increases the duty by almost 50 per cent., which is a blow to an already beleaguered industry, although the Government say that the increase is offset by the impending removal of VAT as a result of a VAT tribunal decision that is in the final stages of resolution in the High Court. The industry has long campaigned for the removal of VAT, which is not levied on other forms of gambling, but Ministers, facing defeat in the courts, appear to have pre-empted the legal process and neutered its likely result. The industry is horrified, and they were even more horrified to hear the Financial Secretary on 23 April describe the package as "welcome to the industry". I assure him that it is anything but. If that is indicative of the level of communication between the Treasury and the industry that it regulates, we have a bigger problem than I thought. I hope that in his winding-up speech he will confirm that he is now under no illusion whatever about how wrong he is on that count, and that he will set the record straight. I know that Members from all parts of the House will want to say more on the issue during the course of the debate.