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Mr. Webb: Using the same method to calculate that Conservative Members introduced 22 tax increases, how many tax increases have the current Government introduced?
Mr. Cunningham: It is not for me, but my right hon. Friend the Chancellor to answer that. If the hon. Gentleman asks him, I am sure that he will tell him.
It ill-behoves Conservative Members to attack the Government on those issues. Opposition Members suggested that we have hidden the extent of our borrowing--what about the £28 billion that the previous Government borrowed, or the £40 billion that they borrowed just to fund unemployment? How do they answer those questions? Ultimately, the British people have had to pick up the tab for that borrowing. The Labour Government have not only reduced borrowing, but delivered public services--including the new expenditure on the health service and on education that I mentioned.
The Opposition should reflect further on their comments. I noticed that the Opposition spokesmen were very good on the attack, but very poor on policy and suggesting alternatives. One or two of my hon. Friends tried to elicit from Opposition spokesmen what they would do in the same circumstances, but we are still waiting for an answer. They gave us the usual reply, "Wait and see what we put in our general election manifesto." It will be very interesting to see what they include in their manifesto.
Opposition Members also mentioned agriculture and fishing. Need I say more than "BSE"? Who made a mess of that? Who made it very difficult for Britain to export beef? The previous Government were certainly not forthcoming either in reporting on or dealing with that matter. A couple of weeks ago, we had a debate on the fishing industry. As hon. Members pointed out in that debate, who--more than 18 years ago--agreed the quotas that have created problems for our fishermen? Not Labour Members, but Conservative Members agreed those quotas, and they should be reminded of it.
The issue of the state earnings-related pension scheme has crept into the debate. It has been debated in the House on very many occasions. However, who caused the confusion with SERPS? We still do not know what Conservative Members would do to remedy the situation. The Government have cleared up the SERPS issue. Although the SERPS and general pensions mis-selling issues have been around since 1986, I do not hear Conservative Members saying very much about them.
An issue on which we should reflect--it is too late to do it in this Budget, but it should be food for thought for the next Budget--is an increase in the basic state pension. The Chancellor will have to have a look at that. In the next Budget, we must also address the issue of links or produce an alternative to them that will convince the United Kingdom's many pensioners. Although it is not the Chancellor's fault, after 18 years of the previous
Government many pensioners feel hard done by. We have to clear up those issues as soon as possible and say what will replace SERPS.Conservative Members were also complaining about the increase in the social security budget. I do not mind real terms increases in the social security budget if those who need help receive it. Previously, the Tories made cuts in the social security budget--they thought that it was more about cutting public expenditure than about helping the needy.
This Budget is a good and a balanced Budget. Although all Budgets are very difficult, I hope that this one is another step down the road of addressing the grievances that people have felt because of the previous Government's 18 years in office.
7.37 pm
Mr. William Ross (East Londonderry): I listened today to the right hon. Member for Ashton-under-Lyne (Mr. Sheldon), who said that the Government were in a very happy position because they have had a surge in revenue. I think that he was referring, at least partly, to the fact that we are now repaying debt, rather than having to borrow. I remember the roars of joy from Conservative Members--and even from Ulster Unionist Members--when, a good many years ago, we first had a public sector repayment situation. However, that disappeared. It also did not arise for quite the same reasons that the current one has arisen: because of a surge in revenue.
The Chancellor expects that revenue surge to continue. His projections show that, for the next few years, public expenditure as a proportion of gross domestic product will decrease. That makes it clear that he expects revenues to continue to increase. I just hope that his hopes are realised. However, I should not be so confident about it. As has already been said in the debate, even at the best of times we cannot forecast very far ahead.
Mr. Owen Paterson (North Shropshire): I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving away some of his limited time. Has he seen table C4 on page 196, which shows that by 2004-05 borrowing will increase to £13 billion?
Mr. Ross: That is exactly what I mean. I remember that, one year, there was a £50 billion overdraft that no one had really expected. I therefore do not think that any party should crow too much about the level of future danger. Those dangers are real, and it takes only a relatively small percentage change to put a Government into surplus or deficit.
I am looking for a Chancellor and a Government who will establish a programme that will, so far as is humanly possible, lead to a steady reduction in the nation's public debt. If we could get rid of that debt, even if it took 20 or 30 years, what a wonderful benefit it would be to the community and to the country generally.
Mr. Andrew Tyrie (Chichester): Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Mr. Ross: No. I am sorry, but we each have only 10 minutes to speak. The hon. Gentleman may get a chance to make his own speech.
Hon. Members have referred to the fuel allowance for the over-60s. No doubt the £150 is welcome, as are the concessions on television licences that were announced
some time ago, but I do not favour that way of supporting pensioners. It would be much better if we lumped together the £150 for the fuel allowance and the £70 or £80 for the television licence and gave pensioners an extra fiver a week throughout the year. It would be much better to allow people to decide how to spend their entire pension income rather than giving them money for a specific purpose. It is not the right way to do it--it smacks of grandmother looking after the children and doling out so much money for sweeties and so on. People should be allowed to make up their own minds. They do not suddenly lose the capacity to manage their affairs when they reach 65.I welcome the increase in the savings limit from £3,000 to £6,000 before income support is affected. When, earlier, I asked the Secretary of State for Social Security how he had arrived at the figure of £6,000, he told me that he had just doubled the previous figure; he had just plucked a figure out of the air. If I told my bank manager that I needed £20,000 and, when asked why I wanted it, said "I just thought of the figure", I do not think that I would get an overdraft. The House deserves a better explanation than the laughter that I got when I questioned the Secretary of State. I asked whether the figure was indexed, and if so whether it was linked to earnings or inflation. I do not think that he knew.
I went to the Library and picked up one of its excellent booklets, which shows the value of the pound from 1750 to 1998. I noticed that from 1988 to 1998, which is the period that we are interested in, there was a 52 per cent. increase. We can take it that 160 per cent. or 165 per cent. would have been sufficient indexation for that period. On what basis will the Government increase the savings limit before entitlement to income support will be affected next year and the year after? Can we be told? Has anyone thought that far ahead? If not, it is time that someone did, because the answer that I received was not good enough.
The costs of care for the elderly in nursing homes has not been addressed. A Committee of this House produced an excellent report some years ago; action on it is long overdue. When will it happen? When will something be done for British pensioners overseas, some of whom live in penury for many years? It is time that that was addressed if we are really trying to do something for our pensioners.
I am also concerned about road fuel. The right hon. Member for Caernarfon (Mr. Wigley) and the hon. Member for North Tayside (Mr. Swinney) referred to the cost of petrol in Scotland and Wales. Lucky fellows--they do not know how lucky they are. I am sorry that they are not here to hear me say this. They do not have a land frontier. A friend of mine happened to be in Londonderry one day and his medium-sized car was nearly empty of diesel. He drove across the frontier and saved £13 in one fill. The savings on filling up a lorry would run to a lot more. The practical result of that is the destruction of the fuel retailers within 20 miles of the border. They have gone or are existing on a small income from groceries, praying that something will happen to improve their position. The Government have to take action. I heard of one firm that drives its lorries across the border once a week and saves £11,000 a month. That is in addition to
the smuggling that helps the terrorist organisations that control the trade. When will the Government do something about that dreadfully serious situation?The other related issue that concerns me is the 25p increase in tax on a packet of cigarettes. That does no good and we have argued against such increases for years. The cigarettes go out of Gallaghers in Ballymena today and are on the market stalls in two weeks. It is time that this counter-productive tax was stopped and the Government reached a common-sense arrangement.
I am also concerned about the reduction in air passenger duty for economy flights in Europe. That is all well and good, but those of us in Northern Ireland who want to get to Great Britain in a day have to fly. I cannot get from my constituency to Westminster by ferry and car in a single day, yet we are not given the concession that the Government have found for the highlands and islands. The Chancellor's excuse for that concession was that it would reflect the importance of air transport to the daily life of that remote region. Twenty miles of water makes Northern Ireland a remote region. It is time that the Government recognised that we have a problem that cannot be resolved except by a reduction in that tax. It is a nasty discrimination against the people of Northern Ireland.
I welcome the money that is being made available for schools and roads, but I should like to know what sums are involved. I should also like to know whether the funding is a one-off or will be repeated. We need to be told. I want to know how much money is available for roads. Are we still expecting to sell Belfast city harbour? It is time that we were given that information.
No mention has so far been made of the fact that landfill tax is going up by 10 per cent.--far more than the level of inflation--from £10 to £11 a tonne. That is another of those little figures plucked out of thin air with no explanation. We all know the problems that the landfill tax has caused in some rural areas, with illegal dumping right, left and centre. I am not sure that it is the best way to raise revenue.
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