The Government are committed to providing high-quality financial advice to all sections of society. That is why we commissioned the independent expert, Otto Thoresen, to examine the feasibility of a high-quality national generic financial advice service. His interim report is due shortly, and his final report is due in the new year. We will respond next spring.
I thank my hon. Friend for that answer, but I am extremely concerned about the situation that the Norwich and District citizens advice bureau faces, and I am sure that what I say about Norwich is true of other places across the country. The number of cases dealt with by the debt advisory services has gone from 24,000—that is the average at Carrow road, which is where Norwich City football club’s ground is—to more than 30,000 in the past year. We need guidance on keeping the services going, on helping the advisers, on credit unions, perhaps, and on informing the public of what is available to them. The services are in crisis management and it is not tolerable.
I agree with my hon. Friend, and that is one of the reasons why last week’s pre-Budget report included, I am delighted to say, an announcement of £130 million for our financial inclusion fund over the comprehensive spending review period. That is up from £120 million in the current period. The current fund has been used to pay for about 500 debt advisers across the country. I do not know about the situation in Norwich, but I am happy to look into it. We will decide how to spend the additional money by the end of the year. I would have thought that the availability of those funds would enable us to continue, if not increase, the provision of advice that is already available.
Do the Chancellor and the other Treasury Ministers recall that in past years, their party attached tremendous importance to the ownership of the commanding heights of the economy? What is their policy now towards sovereign wealth funds? Are they taking expert legal advice on how to treat them, bearing in mind that the United States, Germany, France and Japan will not allow their major companies to be bought by foreign Governments, but we, apparently, are contemplating doing so?
I was wondering when the hon. Gentleman would get to the European examples. I was not part of Militant Tendency myself, but I am clear about our current policy. As my right hon. Friend the Chancellor made clear earlier this year, we welcome investment into Britain. We think our country is richer as a result of having open borders, inward investment and open trade. That is our policy, whether it is a sovereign wealth fund or any other that invests in Britain.
The Minister may be aware that the Treasury Committee produced three reports on financial inclusion in 2006 alone. We are pleased to note that the Government have taken up a number of the initiatives proposed. The main conclusion of those reports is that poorer people are excluded from financial services. With that in mind and in advance of Otto Thoresen’s report, does my hon. Friend agree that generic financial advice not tied to particular sales products is the most effective building block in creating an effective financial inclusion strategy?
I agree with my right hon. Friend, and I congratulate him and his Committee on the important work that they are undertaking. The answer to his question is yes, and that is why we have commissioned Otto Thoresen to do his work. He has made it clear that he sees a need for so-called generic financial advice that is not tied to a particular product. We are currently working out the best means of providing that in a way that is accessible to everyone, with different delivery channels depending on the needs of the individual. I look forward to working with him and his Committee in developing these proposals further.
Of course we welcome the Government’s belated attempts to ensure that all families have access to genuinely independent generic advice, but surely that is just one side of the coin when some banks are behaving so irresponsibly? In light of the Chancellor’s comments in the Daily Mail this morning, does the Minister agree that when her Department made the decision to bail out Northern Rock with taxpayers’ money, it should have done so on the condition that the board and senior management were dismissed?
No, absolutely not, because it is the board and the management that are responsible for the company. We are not interested in acting as shadow directors or in any way limiting the freedom of the private sector to work effectively. We took the actions that we took in the public interest to guarantee deposits and prevent contagion in that bank.
On behalf of my hon. Friend the Member for North-East Derbyshire (Natascha Engel) and myself, I congratulate the Government on accepting our sound financial and employment advice, with the result that we have saved the jobs at the Markham tax office from today. It is a wonderful achievement. Whatever she does, my hon. Friend the Minister should not take any financial advice from the Notting Hill finance group. Therein lies a problem. We would finish up with 3 million unemployed, mortgage rates at 10 per cent. and Black Wednesday.
I could not agree more. I congratulate my hon. Friend and my hon. Friend the Member for North-East Derbyshire (Natascha Engel) on the success of their local campaign. I can reassure my hon. Friend the Member for Bolsover (Mr. Skinner) that I have no intention of taking any financial advice from the Opposition, particularly their leader, who I understand was advising the then Government on Black Wednesday.
The Minister and I agree on the need for people to have access to high-quality financial advice, but did she read last week about the tragic case of a Mr. D of Westminster who, following poor advice from his neighbour, increased capital gains tax paid by successful entrepreneurs and cut it for those who sell their second homes? What does she think she can do to make sure that Mr. D and his colleagues get better advice next time round?
I am entirely confident that we acted on the best possible advice. I remind the hon. Gentleman that the headline rate of capital gains tax, even after the changes, is still half what it was when his party was in power. Capital gains tax is now simple and sustainable, and it is one of the most competitive rates internationally. The annual exemption remains at £9,200.