§ 17. Mr. Mawbyasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will seek to amend the Selective Employment Payments Act so that nationalised industries do not receive the refund in respect of those engaged in selling domestic appliances such as cookers and refrigerators.
§ Mr. DiamondNo, Sir. Gas and electricity showrooms are an integral part of the Board's main activities. They accordingly receive a refund in respect of the staff employed.
§ Mr. MawbyDid not the right hon. Gentleman hear his right hon. Friend refer a little earlier to S.E.T. as seeking to redress a balance? Will the right hon. Gentleman at least try to redress this balance whereby on the one hand he taxes private traders and then involves them in a situation in which they are indulging in unfair competition?
§ Mr. DiamondThere is no evidence whatsoever of unfair competition between the boards and private retailers of appliances. It is not surprising that there is none. The total amount involved is about 2d. in the £.
§ Sir G. NabarroIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that the Midlands Electricity Board extensively retails television and radio sets and that none of its staff pays S.E.T. from so retailing, whereas private enterprise competitors are required to pay this tax and are thereby gravely disadvantaged?
§ Mr. DiamondI repeat categorically that they are not gravely disadvantaged. The staff in question deal with a whole host of problems, such as disconnection of supplies—[Laughter.]—the provision of 285 information about supplies and tariffs, the handling of customers' queries, the receipt of customers' payments, and so on, of which retailing is a very small part.