MPs debate tax avoidance and evasion and Schools White Paper
13 April 2016 (updated on 13 April 2016)
MPs debated tax avoidance and evasion in the House of Commons on Wednesday 13 April 2016. The debate was the first of two to take place on subjects chosen by the Opposition.
Tax avoidance and evasion
MPs disagreed to the Opposition motion (Division No. 235, Ayes 266 votes, Noes 300 votes)
The Opposition motion for debate was:
"That this House notes with concern the revelations contained within the Panama Papers and recognises the widespread public view that individuals and companies should pay their fair share of tax; and calls upon the Government to implement Labour’s Tax Transparency Enforcement Programme which includes: an immediate public inquiry into the revelations in the Panama Papers, HMRC being properly resourced to investigate tax avoidance and evasion, greater public sector transparency to ensure foreign companies wanting to tender for public sector contracts publicly list their beneficial owners, consultation on proposals for foreign companies wanting to own UK property to have their beneficial owners listed publicly, working with banks to provide further information over beneficial ownership for all companies and whom they work for, the swift implementation of full public country-by-country reporting with a fair turnover threshold as well as ensuring robust protection for whistle blowers in this area, ensuring stricter minimum standards of transparency of company and trust ownership for Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories, consideration of the development of the Ramsey Principle by courts, implementation of an immediate review into the registry of trusts, and the strengthening and extension of the General Anti-Avoidance Rule to cover offshore abuses."
- Watch Parliament TV: Opposition Day debate on tax avoidance and evasion
- Read Commons Hansard: Opposition Day debate on tax avoidance and evasion
- Read current Parliamentary material in Topics: Taxation
Schools White Paper
The second Opposition Day debate was on the Schools White Paper.
MPs agreed to an amendment to the Opposition motion (Division No. 236 Ayes 302 votes, Noes 204 votes)
MPs then agreed to the amended Opposition motion (Division No. 237 Ayes 297 votes, Noes 201 votes)
The Opposition motion for debate was:
"That this House believes that every child deserves an excellent education; notes that the Government is proposing to force all primary and secondary schools in England to become academies as part of multi-academy trusts or chains by 2022 at the latest; further notes that the vast majority of schools affected by this policy will be primary schools, over 80 per cent of which are already rated good and outstanding; notes that there are outstanding academies and excellent community schools but also poor examples of both types of such school; further notes the Fourth Report from the Education Committee, Academes and free schools, Session 2014–2015, HC258, which highlights that there is no evidence that academisation in and of itself leads to school improvement; notes that the Schools White Paper proposes the removal of parent governors from school governing bodies which will reduce the genuine involvement of parents and communities in local schools; and calls on the Government to put these proposals on hold as there is insufficient evidence that they will raise standards."
- Watch Parliament TV: Opposition Day debate on Schools White Paper
- Read Commons Hansard: Opposition Day debate on Schools White Paper
- Read current Parliamentary material in Topics: Schools
Related information
About Opposition day debates
Opposition days are days allocated in the House of Commons in each session for the discussion of subjects chosen by the Opposition.
Seventeen days are at the disposal of the Leader of the Opposition, the leader of the largest opposition party, to decide which matters are debated. Three days are usually divided between the other opposition parties.
The Government can also provide a day, or part of a day, for a debate in the name of the leader of an opposition party without it being one of the allotted days. These are known as 'unallotted' days.
The Opposition generally use them to raise questions of policy and administration. Frequently, two separate subjects are debated on an opposition day.
Watching Opposition day debates from the public gallery
UK residents and overseas visitors can watch proceedings in the House of Commons by visiting the public gallery.
This article was produced by the Commons Digital Outreach Team. Follow the @HouseofCommons on Twitter for updates on the UK House of Commons Chamber.