Finance (No. 3) Bill — House of Commons, 2018-11-19
Topic: Mixed Topics
Lindsay Harvey Hoyle (Labour, Centre-left): With this it will be convenient to discuss the following: Clauses 69 to 77 stand part Amendment 10, in clause 78, page 51, line 32, after "may", insert— "(subject to section (Review of expenditure implications of Part 3))" Antecedent to new clause 10. Clause 78 stand part. Amendment 14, in clause 89, page 66, line 30, at end insert— "(1A) The Chancellor of the Exchequer must, no later than the date provided for in subsection (1C), lay before the House of Commons a statement of the circumstances (in relation to the outcome of negotiations with the EU) that give rise to the exercise of the power (1B) The statement under subsection (1A) must be accompanied by— (a) an assessment of the fiscal and economic effects of the exercise of those powers and the circumstances giving rise to them; (b) a comparison of those fiscal and economic effects with the effects if— (i) a negotiated withdrawal agreement and a framework for a future relationship with the EU had been agreed to, and (ii) the United Kingdom had remained a member of the European Union; (c) a statement by the Office for Budget Responsibility on the accuracy and comprehensiveness of the assessment under paragraph (a) and the comparison under paragraph (b) (1C) The date provided for in this subsection is— (a) a date which is no less than seven days before the date on which a Minister of the Crown proposes to make a motion for the purposes of section 13(1)(b) of the European Union Withdrawal Act 2018 and after the passing of this Act, or (b) a date which is no less than seven days before the date on which a Minister of the Crown proposes to make a motion for the purposes of section 13(6)(a) of the European Union Withdrawal Act 2018 and after the passing of this Act, or (c) a date which is no less than seven days before the date on which a Minister of the Crown proposes to make a motion for the purposes of section 13(8)(b)(i) of the European Union Withdrawal Act 2018 and after the passing of this Act, or (d) the date on which this Act is passed, whichever is the earliest." This amendment requires the first use of the powers intended to modify tax legislation in the event of a no deal Brexit to be accompanied by a statement of the circumstances and a comparative analysis of their impact, accompanied by an OBR assessment. Amendment 15, page 66, line 30, at end insert— "(1A) No regulations under this section may be made until the Chancellor of the Exchequer has laid a statement before the House of Commons setting out— (a) a list of the powers in relevant tax legislation that the Treasury has acquired since June 2016 in connection with the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union, (b) a list of the powers in relevant tax legislation the Treasury expects to acquire if— (i) a withdrawal agreement and a framework for a future relationship with the European Union have been agreed to, or (ii) the United Kingdom has left the European Union without a negotiated withdrawal agreement (c) a description of any powers conferred upon the House of Commons (whether by means of the approval or annulment of statutory instruments or otherwise) in connection with the exercise of the powers set out in subsection (b)." Amendment 22, page 66, line 30, at end insert— "(1A) The Chancellor of the Exchequer must, no later than a week after the passing of this Act and before exercising the power in subsection (1), lay before the House of Commons a review of the following matters— (a) the fiscal and economic effects of the exercise of those powers and of the outcome of negotiations for the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union giving rise to their exercise; (b) a comparison of those fiscal and economic effects with the effects if a negotiated withdrawal agreement and a framework for a future relationship with the EU had been agreed to; (c) any differences in the exercise of those powers in respect of— (i) Great Britain, and (ii) Northern Ireland; (d) any differential effects in relation to the matters specified in paragraphs (a) and (b) in relation between— (i) Great Britain, and (ii) Northern Ireland." Amendment 7, page 67, line 1, leave out subsection (5) and insert— "(5) No statutory instrument containing regulations under this section may be made unless a draft has been laid before and approved by a resolution of the House of Commons." This amendment would make clause 89 (Minor amendments in consequence of EU withdrawal) subject to affirmative procedure. Amendment 20, page 67, line 2, at end insert— "(5A) No regulations may be made under this section unless the United Kingdom has left the European Union without a negotiated withdrawal agreement." Amendment 2, page 67, line 13, at end insert— "(7) This section shall, subject to subsection (8), cease to have effect at the end of the period of two years beginning with the day on which this Act is passed (8) The Treasury may by regulations provide that this section shall continue in force for an additional period of up to three years from the end of the period specified in subsection (7) (9) No regulations may be made under subsection (8) unless a draft has been laid before and approved by a resolution of the House of Commons." Clause 89 stand part Amendment 8, in clause 90, page 67, line 16, after "may", insert— "(subject to subsections (1A) and (1B))" This amendment is antecedent to Amendment 9. Amendment 9, page 67, line 18, at end insert— "(1A) Before proposing to incur expenditure under subsection (1), the Secretary of State must lay before the House of Commons— (a) a statement of the circumstances (in relation to negotiations relating to the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union) that give rise to the need for such preparatory expenditure, and (b) an estimate of the expenditure to be incurred (1B) No expenditure may be incurred under subsection (1) unless the House of Commons comes to a resolution that it has considered the statement and estimate under subsection (1A) and approves the proposed expenditure." This amendment would require a statement on circumstances (in relation to negotiations) giving rise to the need for, as well as an estimate of the cost of, preparatory expenditure to introduce a charging scheme for greenhouse gas allowances. The amendment would require a Commons resolution before expenditure could be incurred. Clause 90 stand part New clause 10—Review of expenditure implications of Part 3— "(1) The Chancellor of the Exchequer must review the expenditure implications of commencing Part 3of this Act and lay a report of that review before the House of Commons within six months of the passing of this Act. (2) No regulations may be made by the Commissioners under section 78(1) unless the review under subsection (1) has been laid before the House of Commons." This new clause would require a review within 6 months of the expenditure implications of introducing a carbon emissions tax. It would prevent Part 3 coming into effect until such a review had been laid before the House of Commons. New clause 11—Report on consultation on certain provisions of this Act (No. 2)— "(1) No later than two months after the passing of this Act, the Chancellor of the Exchequer must lay before the House of Commons a report on the consultation undertaken on the provisions in subsection (2) (2) Those provisions are— (a) sections 68 to 78, (b) section 89, and (c) section 90 (3) A report under this section must specify in respect of each provision listed in subsection (2)— (a) whether a version of the provision was published in draft, (b) if so, whether changes were made as a result of consultation on the draft, (c) if not, the reasons why the provision was not published in draft and any consultation which took place on the proposed provision in the absence of such a draft." This new clause would require a report on the consultation undertaken on certain provisions of this Act – alongside new clauses 9, 13 and 15. New clause 17—Review of the carbon emissions tax (No. 2)— "Within twelve months of the commencement of Part 3 of the Act, the Chancellor of the Exchequer must review the carbon emissions tax to determine— (a) the effect of the carbon emissions tax on the United Kingdom’s carbon price in the context of non-participation in the European Union emissions trading scheme, and (b) the effect of the carbon emissions tax on the United Kingdom’s ability to comply with its fourth and fifth carbon budgets."