To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will request the Security Commission to undertake an investigation into the unauthorised disclosure of information relating to taxation measures in the Pre-Budget Report 2008.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will request the Security Commission to undertake an investigation into the unauthorised disclosure of information relating to taxation measures in the Pre-Budget Report 2008.

To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Answer by Lord Myners on 11 March (Official Report, House of Lords, col. 1165), how the banks' forecasts compare with the forecasts in the Pre-Budget Report 2008.

To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Answer by Lord Myners on 11 March (Official Report, House of Lords, col. 1165), how the banks' forecasts compare with the forecasts in the Pre-Budget Report 2008.

Lords debate on motion to take note with approval of the Government's assessment as set out in the Pre-Budget Report 2008 for the purposes of Section 5 of the European Communities (Amendment) Act 1993. Agreed to on question.

Lords debate on motion to take note with approval of the Government's assessment as set out in the Pre-Budget Report 2008 for the purposes of Section 5 of the European Communities (Amendment) Act 1993. Agreed to on question.

My Lords, I agree with my noble friend Lady Noakes that it really is pretty absurd that the United Kingdom should have to submit any report of our financial affairs to Brussels. After all, the EU’s own financial management is in a frightful mess, largely uncontrolled, wasteful and even fraudulent....

My Lords, I agree with my noble friend Lady Noakes that it really is pretty absurd that the United Kingdom should have to submit any report of our financial affairs to Brussels. After all, the EU’s own financial management is in a frightful mess, largely uncontrolled, wasteful and even fraudulent....

My Lords, the House is asked to note with approval the Government’s economic assessment as set out in the Pre-Budget Report of 2008. I do not approve of it at all. As for all opposition speakers, even my initial thoughts were that the document already looked rather out of date....

My Lords, the House is asked to note with approval the Government’s economic assessment as set out in the Pre-Budget Report of 2008. I do not approve of it at all. As for all opposition speakers, even my initial thoughts were that the document already looked rather out of date....

My Lords, the debate is taking place on the basis of the Pre-Budget Report, a massive 232 page document, which the Government and the Minister suggest is an appropriate document for European Union members. Although it is dated November 2008, it has been completely overtaken by events, by a series...

My Lords, the debate is taking place on the basis of the Pre-Budget Report, a massive 232 page document, which the Government and the Minister suggest is an appropriate document for European Union members. Although it is dated November 2008, it has been completely overtaken by events, by a series...

My Lords, I still have not understood whether the Minister and Her Majesty’s Government think that it is a good idea or a bad idea to withhold billions of pounds—more like £20 billion a year gross—from an organisation which cannot account for it.

My Lords, I still have not understood whether the Minister and Her Majesty’s Government think that it is a good idea or a bad idea to withhold billions of pounds—more like £20 billion a year gross—from an organisation which cannot account for it.

My Lords, I am always grateful to the ever polite and courteous Minister. I said no such thing. I simply said that the PBR submitted by the Chancellor last November did not produce a credible framework for providing a structure whereby public expenditure could be reviewed properly when circumstances allowed....

My Lords, I am always grateful to the ever polite and courteous Minister. I said no such thing. I simply said that the PBR submitted by the Chancellor last November did not produce a credible framework for providing a structure whereby public expenditure could be reviewed properly when circumstances allowed....

My Lords, much has already been said, and I will be brief. When I spoke in your Lordships’ House in the debate on the economy after the Chancellor’s proposals for the economic recovery of this country had been revealed in the Pre-Budget Report, I tried to make clear quite how...

My Lords, much has already been said, and I will be brief. When I spoke in your Lordships’ House in the debate on the economy after the Chancellor’s proposals for the economic recovery of this country had been revealed in the Pre-Budget Report, I tried to make clear quite how...

My Lords, I will ensure that I am even more informed on matters relating to the EU Commission, although I doubt whether I will ever be as informed as the noble Lord on that particular matter. But it may be that I represent a party with a broader range of...

My Lords, I will ensure that I am even more informed on matters relating to the EU Commission, although I doubt whether I will ever be as informed as the noble Lord on that particular matter. But it may be that I represent a party with a broader range of...

My Lords, when the Minister revisits that, will he bear in mind that the Commission is responsible for one-third of the expenditure?

My Lords, when the Minister revisits that, will he bear in mind that the Commission is responsible for one-third of the expenditure?

My Lords, the Minister is very naughty because he tries to put words into people’s mouths that they did not utter. I simply said that, sooner or later, a Government would come to office who had to replicate the public expenditure White Paper produced by my noble and learned friend...

My Lords, the Minister is very naughty because he tries to put words into people’s mouths that they did not utter. I simply said that, sooner or later, a Government would come to office who had to replicate the public expenditure White Paper produced by my noble and learned friend...

Perish the thought, my Lords, that I should seek to put words in the mouth of the noble Lord, Lord Ryder, for to do so could be described only as reckless. I never leave this Chamber without an increased admiration for the contributions of the noble Lord, Lord Higgins, to...

Perish the thought, my Lords, that I should seek to put words in the mouth of the noble Lord, Lord Ryder, for to do so could be described only as reckless. I never leave this Chamber without an increased admiration for the contributions of the noble Lord, Lord Higgins, to...

My Lords, the Minister quoted a particular paragraph, or it may have been a chart—it is extremely difficult to find these things on the spur of the moment. Will the Minister provide the House with the Government’s forecast of what they think will happen to the money supply? I leave...

My Lords, the Minister quoted a particular paragraph, or it may have been a chart—it is extremely difficult to find these things on the spur of the moment. Will the Minister provide the House with the Government’s forecast of what they think will happen to the money supply? I leave...