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Finance Bill

Of course I will, Madam Deputy Speaker, but I just point out that taxation is, of course, related to the costs of the Government, and part of the costs of the Government are the quangos. The quango in question, the LSC, is about to be replaced by three more quangos. Nobody can say that that is an efficient delivery of money to sixth forms, for which we require good education so that we can deliver the competitive economy that we will need for the future. That is the scandal of so much of what the Government have done. Instead of creating systems, so that business can modernise, invest and take that great big step forward that it needs to take, the Bill and the Budget weigh business down with yet more bureaucracy. It is appalling that for the past 10 years, the Finance Bill has had to come in two documents, as I think that my right hon. Friend the Member for Wokingham (Mr. Redwood) pointed out. Each year, every accountant, company director and finance department has to plough through the implications of an inch of new law. That is no way to create a competitive economy. We should go back to a simplified system. The Government should not micro-manage, giving a little bit here and a little bit there as they decide which way a company should go. It is up to the business to make decisions about its direction. The tax system should support those decisions, not hinder them. The same argument applies to issues of productivity. Instead of being able to invest in systems that help our people to become more productive, the British economy is becoming ever less productive because of the expansion of the public sector overall. Sadly, unless and until we can change that whole approach to productivity, and take the dead weight of the public sector off the backs of those people who are delivering our wealth, we will not be able to deliver better living standards for our people.