§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer by how much he expects imports of each tobacco product to increase as a result of the changes in tobacco taxation he announced in his Budget Statement; and if he will show the increases by percentage and by value for each manufactured product and indicate the country of origin by percentage and value.
§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardThe aims of the increases in tobacco taxation announced in the Budget statement include an overall fall in tobacco comsumption, both of United Kingdom manufactured and imported tobacco products to which the increases equally apply. It is too early yet to predict the impact of the tax changes on individual classes of tobacco products, let alone by country of origin.
§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer by how much he expects the sale of each home-produced tobacco product to decline as a result of the changes in taxation of tobacco products he announced in his Budget statement; and how many jobs he expects will be lost in each of the counties of the United Kingdom as a result in the present financial year.
§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardIt is estimated that consumption of tobacco products will be about 4 per cent. lower in 1991–92 as a result of the increase in taxation of tobacco products announced in the Budget statement. Reliable estimates are not available for individual products. I cannot predict the impact of these tax changes on jobs in the tobacco industry; this will depend on a wide range of other factors.