HC Deb 17 February 1998 vol 306 cc523-4W
Mr. Malcolm Bruce

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many responses he has received to his consultative document "The New Individual Savings Account" broken down into(a) letters, (b) trade submissions and (c) other responses; and if he will make a statement. [24554]

Mr. Geoffrey Robinson

[holding answer 22 January 1998]: Comments were asked for by 31 January. By 4 February, the Inland Revenue had received

  • 3,096 letters from individuals
  • 273 trade submissions
  • 7 other responses.

Ministers had received a further 3,303 responses by the same date, although this figure includes some duplication as a number of respondents copied their responses to more than one recipient.

We are grateful to everyone who has taken the time to share with us their views on the ISA proposals and we will consider them all carefully. Consultations of this kind allow the Government to draw on the widest possible range of experience and expertise. The ISA is an important and, we believe, exciting initiative, and we want to get it right.