§ Mr. ClellandTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what estimates he has made of the reductions in consumption of domestic fuel resulting from the imposition of value added tax.
§ Mr. EggarMy Department has published a range of energy demand projections in "Energy Paper 59", a copy of which is in the Library of the House. Those projections showed domestic sector energy demand approximately 6 per cent. higher in 2000 than in 1990. The imposition of VAT on domestic fuels is expected, in the long run, to reduce domestic sector consumption of coal by about 2 per cent. and of electricity and gas by about 4 per cent. This takes no account of the effects of any offsetting measures.