"13. What assessment he has made of the role of community budgets in improving the efficiency of public expenditure; and if he will make a statement...." John Pugh - View Speech
"Ernst and Young estimates that between £9 billion and £20 billion can be saved by the national roll-out of community budgets. Given that the pressure is on us, should that roll-out be sooner rather than later?..." John Pugh - View Speech
"My hon. Friend is giving a list of remedies for tax avoidance schemes. Would not most of them have been caught by a general anti-avoidance rule?..." John Pugh - View Speech
"The hon. Gentleman said that retrospective taxation is a threat. Does not the previous Government’s pre-approval scheme, which puts proposals through the Treasury to find out whether they are sound, get round that and remove that fear?..." John Pugh - View Speech
"I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Redcar (Ian Swales) on introducing this important debate. I begin with the slightly shocking confession that I recently bought a cup of coffee in Starbucks at the Leicester Forest service station. I had no alternative. I am afraid that on that occasion …..." John Pugh - View Speech
"One of the reports considered by the right hon. Lady’s Committee contained an acknowledgment by the Treasury that £1.1 billion was lost as a result of premature staff reductions. A report by the National Audit Office gives the figure of £1.1 billion losses to HMRC as a result of accelerating …..." John Pugh - View Speech
"I congratulate the right hon. Member for Oldham West and Royton (Mr Meacher) on stimulating this debate. I also welcome the Exchequer Secretary, who survived the ministerial cull. We all welcome his dry wit and expertise. Indeed, I debated this very subject with him in Westminster Hall about a year …..." John Pugh - View Speech
"Yes, and that indicates clearly that legal uncertainty and endless litigation are not central and natural features of a GAAR. They do not happen in other countries.
We cannot excuse a poorly drafted GAAR, so we have to get it right. We cannot console ourselves with the thought that the …..." John Pugh - View Speech
"T7. What success are we having in stamping out VAT fraud, specifically missing trader fraud, which affects us more than it does other EU countries and costs us almost £10 billion?..." John Pugh - View Speech
"Should not something be done about the destructive polarisation of the public and private sectors that this issue encourages?..." John Pugh - View Speech