To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they will give to proposals for a tax on financial transactions. [HL2795]

The Government continue to engage in the international debate on the subject of financial transaction taxes, following the Prime Minister's speech to G20 Finance Ministers at St Andrews in November, where he raised the issue of a new social contract between banks and society, and called for a global plan to make the financial sector contribute in recognition of the cost to taxpayers of government interventions in the sector. The International Monetary Fund has been commissioned by the G20 to produce a report on these issues. The Government look forward to seeing the results of this work later on this year.