§ Mr. LoughtonTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what research he has commissioned to determine whether the new individual savings account will achieve its objective of encouraging more people to save. [47083]
§ Mr. Geoffrey Robinson[holding answer 23 June 1998]: As stated in the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton (Mr. Gibb) on 19 May 1998, Official Report, column 304, information was obtained from three surveys from the March Budget. Details of the survey specifications and a summary of the main findings have been placed in the Library.
Since the Budget, the Inland Revenue has taken part in a syndicate to commission research from NOP, which included questions about the public's awareness of, and initial reactions to, aspects of the ISA proposals. The results of this research cannot be published for contractual reasons.
§ Mr. GibbTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list those circumstances in which a lower rate or basic rate taxpayer would benefit from holding equity shares through an individual savings account after 2004. [45997]
§ Mr. Geoffrey Robinson[holding answer 15 June 1998]: The Individual Savings Account offers savers the certainty that they will be able to save completely free of all tax, including capital gains tax, for at least ten years, irrespective of any change in their circumstances,