asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in view of some of the harsh results arising from the present three-year rule for the issue of a subcontractor's tax deduction certificate, if he will take steps to amend the rules, particularly so that hard cases can be more fairly treated.

I am very concerned at the harsh results the present three-year rule can produce in practice, and proposals for change will be set out in an Inland Revenue consultative document which will be issued shortly.