Standing Committee A
Tuesday 6 January 2004
(Morning)
[Mr. Joe Benton in the Chair]
9.30 am
The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Ruth Kelly): I beg to move,
(1) during proceedings on the Child Trust Funds Bill the Standing Committee (in addition to its first meeting on Tuesday 6th January at 9.30 a.m.) shall meet—
(a) at 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday 6th January, and
(b) at 9.30 a.m. and 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday 13th January, Thursday 15th January and Tuesday 20th January;
(2) proceedings on the Bill shall (so far as not previously concluded) be brought to a conclusion at 5.00 p.m. on Tuesday 20th January.
Let me start by saying what a pleasure it will be to work with you in the Chair, Mr. Benton. Last night, the Programming Sub-Committee had a constructive meeting at which the schedule was set out for our sittings.
Question put and agreed to.
The Chairman: I take the opportunity to remind the Committee that there is a money resolution and a Ways and Means resolution in connection with the Bill, and copies of those are available in the Room. Adequate notice should be given of amendments and, as a general rule, my co-Chairman and I do not intend to call starred amendments, including any that may be reached during an afternoon sitting of the Committee. Clause 1
Child trust funds
Mr. George Osborne (Tatton) (Con): I beg to move amendment No. 1, in
clause 1, page 1, line 3, leave out 'child trust funds' and insert 'baby bonds'.
The Chairman: With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:
Amendment No. 2, in
clause 1, page 1, line 4, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 8, in
clause 3, page 2, line 29, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 10, in
clause 3, page 2, line 32, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 11, in
clause 3, page 2, line 39, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 12, in
clause 3, page 3, line 2, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Column Number: 4
Amendment No. 13, in
clause 4, page 3, line 16, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 14, in
clause 4, page 3, line 18, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 16, in
clause 5, page 3, line 38, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 19, in
clause 5, page 3, line 41, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 22, in
clause 6, page 4, line 4, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 23, in
clause 6, page 4, line 7, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 26, in
clause 6, page 4, line 15, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 28, in
clause 6, page 4, line 20, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 31, in
clause 7, page 4, line 23, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 32, in
clause 7, page 4, line 26, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 33, in
clause 8, page 4, line 32, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 35, in
clause 8, page 4, line 35, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 36, in
clause 9, page 4, line 39, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 38, in
clause 9, page 5, line 4, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 39, in
clause 9, page 5, line 7, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 40, in
clause 10, page 6, line 10, leave out 'child trust funds' and insert 'baby bonds'.
Amendment No. 41, in
clause 10, page 6, line 22, leave out 'child trust funds' and insert 'baby bonds'.
Amendment No. 42, in
clause 11, page 6, line 27, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 44, in
clause 12, page 6, line 34, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 46, in
clause 12, page 6, line 37, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 47, in
clause 12, page 6, line 38, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 49, in
Column Number: 5
clause 12, page 6, line 40, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 50, in
clause 12, page 6, line 41, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 51, in
clause 13, page 7, line 7, leave out 'child trust funds' and insert 'baby bonds'.
Amendment No. 52, in
clause 13, page 7, line 11, leave out 'child trust funds' and insert 'baby bonds'.
Amendment No. 53, in
clause 14, page 7, line 31, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 54, in
clause 14, page 7, line 33, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 55, in
clause 14, page 7, line 35, leave out 'child trust funds' and insert 'baby bonds'.
Amendment No. 56, in
clause 15, page 8, line 1, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 57, in
clause 15, page 8, line 4, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 58, in
clause 15, page 8, line 6, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 59, in
clause 15, page 8, line 8, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 60, in
clause 15, page 8, line 9, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 61, in
clause 15, page 8, line 12, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 63, in
clause 16, page 8, line 26, leave out 'child trust funds' and insert 'baby bonds'.
Amendment No. 64, in
clause 17, page 8, line 42, leave out 'child trust funds' and insert 'baby bonds'.
Amendment No. 65, in
clause 17, page 9, line 6, leave out 'child trust funds' and insert 'baby bonds'.
Amendment No. 66, in
clause 17, page 9, leave out line 15 and insert 'baby bonds'.
Amendment No. 67, in
clause 17, page 9, line 21, leave out 'child trust funds' and insert 'baby bonds'.
Amendment No. 68, in
clause 17, page 9, line 29, leave out 'child trust funds' and add 'baby bonds'.
Amendment No. 69, in
clause 18, page 9, line 35, leave out 'child trust funds' and insert 'baby bonds'.
Amendment No. 70, in
clause 18, page 9, line 37, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 71, in
clause 18, page 9, line 39, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 72, in
Column Number: 6
clause 18, page 9, line 40, leave out 'child trust funds' and insert 'baby bonds'.
Amendment No. 73, in
clause 18, page 10, line 2, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 74, in
clause 18, page 10, line 5, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 75, in
clause 18, page 10, line 8, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 76, in
clause 18, page 10, line 10, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 77, in
clause 18, page 10, line 10, leave out 'Child Trust Funds' and insert 'Baby Bonds'.
Amendment No. 78, in
clause 19, page 10, line 22, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 79, in
clause 19, page 10, line 27, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 81, in
clause 19, page 10, line 31, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 83, in
clause 20, page 10, line 37, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 84, in
clause 20, page 10, line 38, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 85, in
clause 20, page 10, line 40, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 89, in
clause 20, page 11, line 38, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 90, in
clause 20, page 11, line 42, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 91, in
clause 22, page 13, line 1, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 93, in
clause 22, page 13, line 7, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 95, in
clause 22, page 13, line 9, leave out 'child trust fund' and insert 'baby bond'.
Amendment No. 96, in
clause 25, page 15, line 5, leave out 'Child Trust Funds' and insert 'Baby Bonds'.
Amendment No. 98, in
Amendment No. 99, in
clause 29, page 16, leave out line 10.
Amendment No. 100, in
clause 31, page 16, line 18, leave out 'Child Trust Funds' and insert 'Baby Bonds'.
Amendment No. 101, in
title, line 1, leave out 'child trust funds' and insert 'baby bonds'.
Column Number: 7
Mr. Osborne: Thank you, Mr. Benton. I promise that you will not need to work as hard in Committee as you have just have done by calling out all the amendments. It will be a pleasure to work under your guidance. I welcome you to the Chair and the Minister to the Committee. As I have said to the hon. Lady before, the Conservative association in my constituency is twinned with the Conservative association in her constituency. Her seat is our target seat, although such ideas proved singly unsuccessful in the previous election and in 1997 when the Conservative party lost my constituency in the process of targeting hers. However, it will be a great pleasure to shadow the hon. Lady in Committee.
My big group of amendments seeks to achieve a simple objective: to change the name of the policy that we shall be discussing from ''child trust funds'' to ''baby bonds'' to put the Committee in touch with the real world. No one in the real world calls such measures child trust funds; they are called baby bonds. I searched the internet and found out that, during the past month, 254 references were made in the national press to baby bonds. Each headline in respect of the policy refers to baby bonds.
The public describe the measure as ''baby bonds''. I received a Christmas card from Mrs. Warden in Hampshire, which is hundreds of miles from my constituency, in which she wrote:
''Gordon Brown's 'BABY BOND' another gimmick! I look in on the House daily, does Ruth Kelly know what she is doing''.
On 29 December, a letter from Mr. Andy Clark from Crawley, West Sussex was printed in The Sun. He wrote:
''It would be better for Chancellor Gordon Brown to channel the money from the proposed baby bonds into the NHS''.
Indeed, if anyone was interested in what they were doing today, I suspect that many members of the Committee would say that they were members of the baby bond Committee.
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