George Osborne has told MPs on the Commons treasury committee that they have had ‘plenty of time’ to consider measures earmarked for this week’s Finance Bill, after he was told that the committee was unhappy with the timetable for the Bill’s passage through parliament.
Committee chairman Andrew Tyrie reminded the chancellor that the committee asked him last year for an interval between the second reading of the Finance Bill in the House of Commons and consideration of the Bill in a ‘committee of the whole house’. Osborne was giving evidence to the committee on last week’s Budget.
‘You’ve left a 48-hour gap, exactly as you did last year,’ Tyrie said. ‘You’ve ignored our request that you offer a wider gap.’
The committee said in January that MPs should be allowed more time between publication of the Bill and second reading ‘and, particularly, between second reading and committee of the whole house’. It added: ‘This may require the Budget to be somewhat earlier in future. We believe this to be an important issue of principle going to the heart of Treasury ministers' accountability to parliament.’
Asked to offer an explanation today, Osborne replied: ‘We publish the Finance Bill in draft in the autumn, so that is plenty of time for this committee and anyone else to take a good close look at it.’
Tyrie said: ‘I don’t think the committee will find that an adequate explanation.’
The Finance Bill is set to be published on Thursday, 28 March. The second reading has been scheduled for 15 April, when MPs return to the Commons after the Easter recess. A committee of the whole house will consider the Bill on 17 and 18 April.
As Tax Journal reported in January, since December 2010 the government has published most of the annual Finance Bill measures in draft and has allowed two months for technical consultation. Most of the draft measures for Finance Bill 2013 were published on 11 December 2012. Additional measures were published on 17 and 31 January 2013.
George Osborne has told MPs on the Commons treasury committee that they have had ‘plenty of time’ to consider measures earmarked for this week’s Finance Bill, after he was told that the committee was unhappy with the timetable for the Bill’s passage through parliament.
Committee chairman Andrew Tyrie reminded the chancellor that the committee asked him last year for an interval between the second reading of the Finance Bill in the House of Commons and consideration of the Bill in a ‘committee of the whole house’. Osborne was giving evidence to the committee on last week’s Budget.
‘You’ve left a 48-hour gap, exactly as you did last year,’ Tyrie said. ‘You’ve ignored our request that you offer a wider gap.’
The committee said in January that MPs should be allowed more time between publication of the Bill and second reading ‘and, particularly, between second reading and committee of the whole house’. It added: ‘This may require the Budget to be somewhat earlier in future. We believe this to be an important issue of principle going to the heart of Treasury ministers' accountability to parliament.’
Asked to offer an explanation today, Osborne replied: ‘We publish the Finance Bill in draft in the autumn, so that is plenty of time for this committee and anyone else to take a good close look at it.’
Tyrie said: ‘I don’t think the committee will find that an adequate explanation.’
The Finance Bill is set to be published on Thursday, 28 March. The second reading has been scheduled for 15 April, when MPs return to the Commons after the Easter recess. A committee of the whole house will consider the Bill on 17 and 18 April.
As Tax Journal reported in January, since December 2010 the government has published most of the annual Finance Bill measures in draft and has allowed two months for technical consultation. Most of the draft measures for Finance Bill 2013 were published on 11 December 2012. Additional measures were published on 17 and 31 January 2013.
