§ Mr. GibbTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 30 March 1998,Official Report, column 441, if he will publish the findings of the public opinion research conducted by (a) Fishburn Hedges on presentational aspects of the individual savings account and (b) Ogilvy and Mather on presentational aspects of the working families tax credit. [38217]
§ Mr. Geoffrey Robinson[holding answer 7 April 1998]: The Chancellor announced in the Pre-Budget Report that he was considering proposals for an individual savings account and a working family tax credit, and that he would be consulting widely on these in the run-up to the Budget. Fishburn Hedges and Ogilvy and Mather were employed by the Treasury to look at the presentational aspects of the proposals. Their appointment was entirely consistent with long-established rules on the appointment of consultants by Government. The Chancellor drew on their work in preparing the Budget.