§ 10. Lieut.-Colonel Cordeauxasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will extend the provisions of Section 218 of the Finance Act, 1952, to enable a married man with children, whose wife is totally incapacitated by infirmity for the whole of the year of claim, to obtain tax reliefs for payments for a home help or the wages of a non-resident domestic employee.
Mr. AmoryI have noted my hon. and gallant Friend's suggestion, but I cannot anticipate my Budget statement.
§ Lieut.-Colonel CordeauxWill my right hon. Friend agree that, among the many families in which the wife is so incapacitated that permanent domestic help has been and will indefinitely be necessary for many years, the financial burden falls most heavily on the poorer families who, because of lack of accommodation or other reasons, are not able to employ resident domestic help? In considering his Budget, will he see whether he cannot do something to help those people?
Mr. AmoryI am rather chary about agreeing to anything at this time of the year, except the importance of my saying as little as possible on almost everything, but I will take note of what my hon. and gallant Friend has said.
Mr. WilsonSince we have pressed this and similar Amendments to Finance Bills in recent years, will the Chancellor consult some of his hon. Friends on the possibility that they might vote for some of those Amendments to future Finance Bills instead of merely raising the matter at Question Time?