§ 2.53 p.m.
Lord Bruce of DoningtonMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the second Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will state, in respect of the year ended 5th April 1982, the estimated amount of revenue, in excess of those comprised in the Budget Estimates, receivable in respect of direct and indirect taxes respectively due to the rises in the price of petrol since 5th April 1981 and to date.
§ Lord CockfieldMy Lords, it is not the practice to publish revisions of Budget estimates during the course of the financial year. The overall effect on the revenue of the rise in petrol prices is not however likely to be significant, one way or the other.
Lord Bruce of DoningtonMy Lords, may I thank the noble Lord for that uninformative reply? May I ask him whether he has in his possession—whether or not he reveals it to the House is another matter—the amounts which have been saved or which have been gained by the Government as a result of these particular interests? Is he aware that in the absence of his estimates one guess has been a gain of some £500 million to the Exchequer as a result? Would it not be fair to the motorist or even to the consumers of energy if the Government authorised some reduction in fuel prices or in energy prices rather than put the money once again into the all-absorbing public sector borrowing requirement?
§ Lord CockfieldMy Lords, far from being uninformative, despite the convention that it is not the practice to publish revised estimates, I gave the noble Lord a very clear indication of what the position was. I said that the overall effect on the revenue is not likely to be significant one way or the other. The position is that out of the approximately 85p a gallon tax on petrol at the present moment, 63p or thereabouts is a specific duty which is not affected by any change in the price. It is only the smaller proportion of approximately 22p VAT which is affected by a rise in price. At the same time, an increase in price tends—other things being equal—to lead to a fall in consumption. If there is a fall in consumption, there is a loss of the specific duty as well as of the ad valorem duty.