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Finance Bill

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend, who is leaving the House at the election, for continually and rightly emphasising that point. In the last two years the extent of the public sector has increased by 200,000, and that is another burden that the Bill will not be able to fund. There is a massive problem, and the Government are making it worse. Other Members have mentioned fuel costs. Farmers in my constituency have told me that the costs of fuel to them and to the rural community are huge, and I entirely agree with them. Hauliers, and others involved in road transport, are having to pay much more because of increases in fuel prices, as are ordinary road users. There are so many increasing costs. As the Bill makes clear, there is also a problem of over-regulation. I have already quoted from page 69 of the Bill and the proposed new section 213J to the Finance Act 2004, which deals with the appropriate pension increase, so I shall not do so again. I will, however, refer to the provision relating to what is described as""The appropriate lump sum increase"," because I think it would be unfair not to make the House aware of it. I am sure that these provisions will not be understood by anyone except a very small elite—and, of course, the expensive accountants and lawyers who will be wheeled in to work it all out at enormous expense. The effect of over-regulation on those who are afflicted by it is in itself a disincentive that lessens our ability to run an efficient economy. People can spend all their time dealing with this. That applies to farmers dealing with the over-regulation of their affairs and with their tax problems, and to other small businesses. How are pensioners supposed to cope with this kind of thing, even if they are relatively well off? It is absurd to have legislation of this complexity. The definition of the "appropriate lump sum increase" is""(ACLS × CALSARF) – (UOLS × OALSARF)"." That is just the defined benefits arrangement in respect of the so-called "appropriate lump sum increase". That has to be weighed up with the "appropriate pension increase". which I cited earlier in an intervention. My right hon. Friend the Member for Wokingham mentioned allowances, about which new section 212J(1) says""C or P"—" whoever they may be—""has a relevant excess of allowances in relation to the relevant trade if—""RTWDV > BSV"" That is all it says. Subsection (2) says:""Section 212K defines RTWDV and section 212L defines BSV."" Honestly, this is absolutely ridiculous. This is the kind of legislation that we are being asked to passed. We are only on the Bill's Second Reading; we are not going to be able to examine things in Committee; and this is pure, unadulterated absurdity.