Oral Answers to Questions — National Finance – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 10 Tachwedd 1964.
Mr Neil Marten
, Banbury
12:00,
10 Tachwedd 1964
asked the Chancellor of the exchequer if he will take steps to tax the income arising from those ancient toll bridges which at present pay no tax.
Mr Niall MacDermot
, Derby North
I regret that I cannot anticipate the Budget statement my right hon. Friend will make tomorrow nor the one he will make in the spring.
Mr Neil Marten
, Banbury
I rather expected a reply like that. Does the Minister realise that there is in my Constituency a toll bridge the tolls of which were created in 1766 and that ever since then they have been tax-free, death duty-free and rate-free? Will the hon. and learned Gentleman give an assurance that between now and the next Budget, his right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the exchequer will look seriously at this matter?
Mr Niall MacDermot
, Derby North
This matter was aired considerably in the last Parliament, as the hon. Member will remember. I certainly give an assurance that we will look at the matter.
Mr Willie Hamilton
, Fife West
Can my hon. and learned Friend give an assurance that if I put down a new Clause to the Finance Bill, which will be coming before the House in a short while, he and the Government will accept it?
Mr Niall MacDermot
, Derby North
My hon. Friend will understand that I cannot give him an assurance in the form in which he asks. He will, no doubt, recall the interest that was shown in the Amendment which he put down to the last Finance Bill.
The chancellor of the exchequer is the government's chief financial minister and as such is responsible for raising government revenue through taxation or borrowing and for controlling overall government spending.
The chancellor's plans for the economy are delivered to the House of Commons every year in the Budget speech.
The chancellor is the most senior figure at the Treasury, even though the prime minister holds an additional title of 'First Lord of the Treasury'. He normally resides at Number 11 Downing Street.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
In a general election, each Constituency chooses an MP to represent them. MPs have a responsibility to represnt the views of the Constituency in the House of Commons. There are 650 Constituencies, and thus 650 MPs. A citizen of a Constituency is known as a Constituent
A parliamentary bill is divided into sections called clauses.
Printed in the margin next to each clause is a brief explanatory `side-note' giving details of what the effect of the clause will be.
During the committee stage of a bill, MPs examine these clauses in detail and may introduce new clauses of their own or table amendments to the existing clauses.
When a bill becomes an Act of Parliament, clauses become known as sections.
As a bill passes through Parliament, MPs and peers may suggest amendments - or changes - which they believe will improve the quality of the legislation.
Many hundreds of amendments are proposed by members to major bills as they pass through committee stage, report stage and third reading in both Houses of Parliament.
In the end only a handful of amendments will be incorporated into any bill.
The Speaker - or the chairman in the case of standing committees - has the power to select which amendments should be debated.
