§ 15. Dr. Winstanleyasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will amend the Purchase Tax regulations so that all school uniforms are exempted and not merely those below a certain size.
§ Mr. MacDermotNo, Sir. This would be impracticable.
§ Dr. WinstanleyIs the Financial Secretary satisfied with a system which discriminates between schoolgirls purely on the basis of bust measurement? Does he think it right, for example, that a miniskirt for an adult should be exempt from Purchase Tax whereas a gym slip for a well developed schoolgirl should not?
§ Mr. MacDermotWith changes in fashion, limitations merely by length of clothing become a somewhat inadequate test of what is suitable clothing for young children.
Mr. R. C. MitchellDoes not my hon. and learned Friend think it ridiculous that whether or not Purchase Tax is paid on 1200 a girl's school uniform depends on whether she is a late developer or an early developer?
§ Mr. MacDermotI take the point. It has proved difficult ever since the test was first introduced in 1940 to draw a satisfactory dividing line. What we do is to keep in close consultation with the trade and try to apply generous limits when dealing with articles which clearly are school uniforms.
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. We had better move on.