asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if his attention has been called to paragraph 132 of the First Report of the Gas Council; what steps have been taken to clear the obscurity about the liability of the council to Income Tax and Profits Tax; and if he will make a statement.

I have read the paragraph to which the hon. Member refers, but as I have already told him, I cannot make statements about the liability to tax of particular taxpayers.

Can the Chancellor of the Exchequer give an assurance that the Gas Council is treated for the purposes of tax in exactly the same way as a private company?

In exactly the same way as a private company in the same position would be.