House of Commons Public Bill Committee Proceedings

House of Commons

Session 2006 - 07
Internet Publications
Other Bills before Parliament

199

House of Commons

Tuesday 1st May 2007

Committee of the whole House

Proceedings

Finance Bill

(Clauses 1, 3, 7, 8, 12, 20, 21, 25, 67 and 81 to 84, Schedules 1, 18, 22 and 23, and

New Clauses relating to Microgeneration)

[Second day]

Clause 67 Agreed to on division.

Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer

Agreed to  6

Schedule  18,  page  218,  line  34,  leave out ‘6th April’ and insert ‘1st August’.

Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer

Agreed to  7

Schedule  18,  page  218,  line  40,  leave out ‘on or before 13th December 2006’ and

insert ‘before the appropriate date’.

Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer

Agreed to  8

Schedule  18,  page  219,  line  3,  at end insert—

  ‘(4A)
In sub-paragraph (4)(d) “the appropriate date” means—

(a)
13th April 2007 (in any case where, on the day of the making of the

insurances in respect of which the policy of insurance was issued, the

rights of the individual under the pension scheme included an actual

or prospective entitlement to a pension), and

(b)
14th December 2006 (in any other case).’.

Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer

Agreed to  9

Schedule  18,  page  219,  line  7,  at end insert—

  ‘(5A)
But where, on the day of the variation, the rights of the individual under the

pension scheme included an actual or prospective entitlement to a pension, a

relevant event does not occur by virtue of the variation if it was made in

pursuance of a proposal made in writing (by whatever means) and received by

or on behalf of the insurer before 13th April 2007.’.

Committee of the whole House Proceedings: 1st May 2007
200

Finance Bill, continued

Schedule, as amended, Agreed to.

Mr Christopher Chope

Mr David Curry

Mr Greg Knight

Mr David Wilshire

Julia Goldsworthy

Dr Vincent Cable

Negatived on division  3

Clause  12,  page  8,  line  22,  leave out ‘1st February’ and insert ‘21st March’.

Mr Christopher Chope

Mr David Curry

Mr Greg Knight

Mr David Wilshire

Julia Goldsworthy

Dr Vincent Cable

Philip Davies

Not called  4

Clause  12,  page  8,  line  23,  leave out subsection (5).

Mr Christopher Chope

Mr David Curry

Mr Greg Knight

Mr David Wilshire

Julia Goldsworthy

Dr Vincent Cable

Not called  5

Clause  12,  page  8,  line  27,  leave out subsection (6).

Julia Goldsworthy

Mr Colin Breed

Withdrawn  13

Clause  12,  page  8,  line  29,  at end add—

‘(7)
This section shall come into force on a day which the Treasury may by Order

appoint.

(8)
No order may be made under subsection (7) unless the Treasury has compiled and

laid before the House of Commons a report containing an assessment of the

impact of air passenger duty on the objective of reducing carbon emissions, and

including an analysis of the comparative effectiveness in meeting that objective

of the taxation of air passengers, on the one hand, and of aircraft according to their

emissions levels, on the other.’.

Clause Agreed to.

Committee of the whole House Proceedings: 1st May 2007
201

Finance Bill, continued

Julia Goldsworthy

Dr Vincent Cable

Mr Colin Breed

Withdrawn  19

Clause  81,  page  56,  line  7,  leave out ‘thinks’ and insert ‘has reasonable grounds for

believing’.

Mrs Theresa Villiers

Mr Mark Francois

Mr Mark Hoban

Mr Paul Goodman

Mr David Evennett

Withdrawn  2

Clause  81,  page  56,  line  47,  at end insert—

‘(2B)
Any power or function conferred by a provision of this Act shall, so far as it is

exercisable by an officer of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, only be

exercised by an officer who has been duly authorised for that purpose by the

Board of HMRC and who has been properly trained and supervised.

(2C)
For the purposes of subsection (2B), what constitutes “properly trained and

supervised” shall be decided by the Board of HMRC with the approval of the

responsible Minister.

(2D)
Subject to subsection (2E), the number of officers authorised under subsection

(2B) shall not exceed 500 at any one time.

(2E)
The Treasury may by order amend the number of officers mentioned in

subsection (2D).

(2F)
The annual report of HMRC shall include an analysis of the use made by officers

of HMRC of the powers or functions conferred on them by this Act. The report

shall cover the frequency of use of the relevant powers or functions and the

circumstances in which they were invoked.

(2G)
The report mentioned in subsection (2F) shall also include an analysis of the use

made by officers of HMRC of the equivalent powers and functions in Northern

Ireland and Scotland.’.

Julia Goldsworthy

Dr Vincent Cable

Mr Colin Breed

Not called  18

Clause  81,  page  57,  line  12,  at end add—

‘(12)
This section shall come into force on a day which the Treasury may by Order

appoint.

(13)
No Order under subsection (12) may be made unless—

(a)
the Treasury has prepared and laid before the House of Commons a code

of practice relating to the exercise of the powers conferred by this section,

setting out in particular the circumstances in which the relevant powers

of arrest are expected to be used; and

(b)
the code mentioned in sub-paragraph (a) has been approved by a

resolution of the House of Commons.’.

Committee of the whole House Proceedings: 1st May 2007
202

Finance Bill, continued

Mrs Theresa Villiers

Mr Mark Francois

Mr Mark Hoban

Mr Paul Goodman

Mr David Evenett

Negatived on division  20

Clause  81,  page  57,  line  12,  at end add—

‘(12)
Any power of arrest conferred by a provision of this Act as it amends section 114

of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 shall, so far as it is exercisable by

an officer of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, only be exercised by an officer

or officers serving in the Criminal Investigation Directorate of HMRC.’.

Clause Agreed to.

Clauses 82 and 83 Agreed to.

Schedule 22 Agreed to.

Clause 84 Agreed to.

Schedule 23 Agreed to.

Julia Goldsworthy

Dr Vincent Cable

Mr Colin Breed

Withdrawn  15

Clause  20,  page  15,  line  10,  leave out sub-paragraph (b).

Clause Agreed to.

Julia Goldsworthy

Dr Vincent Cable

Mr Colin Breed

Not called  16

Clause  21,  page  15,  line  29,  leave out sub-paragraph (c).

Julia Goldsworthy

Dr Vincent Cable

Mr Colin Breed

Not called  17

Clause  21,  page  16,  line  5,  leave out sub-paragraph (c).

Clause Agreed to.

Committee of the whole House Proceedings: 1st May 2007
203

Finance Bill, continued

New Clause relating to microgeneration

Microgeneration etc.

Mrs Theresa Villiers

Mr Mark Francois

Mr Mark Hoban

Mr Paul Goodman

Mr David Evennett

Alan Simpson

Not called  NC1

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
The Chancellor of the Exchequer must, within one year of the passing of this Act

and annually thereafter, prepare and publish a report on such fiscal measures he

considers appropriate to assist with—

(a)
microgeneration;
5
(b)
energy efficiency; and

(c)
small scale local energy generation.

(2)
In preparing the report under subsection (1), the Chancellor of the Exchequer

shall take reasonable steps to consult local authorities and such persons as in his

opinion have an interest in—
10
(a)
enhancing the United Kingdom contribution to combating climate

change; and

(b)
alleviating fuel poverty.

(3)
In this section—

“microgeneration” has the same meaning as in section 82 of the Energy Act
15
2004;

“small scale local energy generation” means generation of energy—

(a)
in the case of electricity, generation by plant not exceeding 20

megawatts, and

(b)
in the case of heat, production by plant not exceeding 100
20
megawatts thermal.’.

As an Amendment to Mrs Theresa Villiers’ proposed New Clause (Microgeneration

etc.) (NC1):—

Julia Goldsworthy

Dr Vincent Cable

Mr Colin Breed

Not called  (a)

Line  8,  after ‘persons’ insert ‘including, in particular, Government Departments’.

Bill (specified Clauses and Schedules) reported, with Amendments.