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Balance of Payments
34. Mr. Fisher : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received on his balance of payments forecast included in the current year's Budget statement.
110. Dr. Moonie : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received on his balance of payments forecast included in the 1989 Budget statement.
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Employee Share Ownership
37. Mr. Knapman : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on the introduction of tax relief for employee share ownership.
40. Dr. Twinn : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on the introduction of tax relief for employee share ownership.
Mr. Norman Lamont : Tax reliefs encouraging the spread of employee share ownership have been in operation for up to 10 years and have enjoyed great success. A wide variety of representations and suggestions on the subject have been made over this period and have contributed to the many improvements introduced in nine out of the last 10 Budgets, and notably in that presented seven weeks ago.
Company Car Taxation
38. Mr. Riddick : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many representations he has received concerning the proposed increase in company car taxation ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Norman Lamont : My right hon. Friend has received about 50 representations concerning the proposed increase in the car benefit scale charges announced in the Budget.
International Monetary Fund and World Bank
39. Mr. Malins : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last attended a meeting of the International Monetary Fund ; and what was discussed.
47. Mr. Wilshire : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last attended a meeting of the International Monetary Fund ; and what was discussed.
Mr. Lilley : I refer my hon. Friend to the answer my right hon. Friend the Chancellor gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Bury, North (Mr. Burt).
87. Mr. Illsley : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
Mr. Lilley : A wide range of matters was discussed, as set out in the interim and development committee communique s, copies of which have been placed in the Library.
56. Mr. Tredinnick : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last attended a meeting of the World Bank ; and what was discussed.
93. Sir Michael McNair-Wilson : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last attended a meeting of the World Bank ; and what was discussed.
Mr. Lilley : My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer met the president of the World Bank in London on 26 April and discussed a wide range of issues.
EC (Economic and Monetary Union)
44. Mr. Beith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about his response to the Delors committee report on economic and monetary union in the European Community.
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Mr. Lilley : I refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend the Chancellor gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Dulwich (Mr. Bowden) on 21 April, at column 327 , and to the exchange between my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House and my hon. Friend the Member for Warrington, South (Mr. Butler) on 18 April, at column 181.
Pensioners
51. Mr. Stevens : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on the abolition of the earnings rule for pensioners announced in his Budget.
66. Mr. Greg Knight : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on the abolition of the earnings rule for retirement pensioners which he announced in his Budget.
101. Mr. Hanley : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on the abolition of the earnings rule for pensioners which he announced in his Budget.
Mr. Major : The abolition of the pensioners earnings rule was widely welcomed by interested individuals and organisations. In particular, the director general of Help the Aged wrote to my right hon. Friend after the Budget statement to record his appreciation of this and other Budget measures to help pensioners.
58. Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he next expects to meet representatives from retirement pensioners' groups ; and what matters he expects to discuss.
69. Mr. Ernie Ross : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he next expects to meet representatives from pensioners' groups ; and what matters he expects to discuss.
111. Mr. Robert Hughes : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he next expects to meet representatives from pensioners' groups.
Mr. Major : My right hon. Friend has no current plans to meet representatives from pensioners groups.
Visible Imports and Exports
53. Mr. Allan Roberts : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest estimate for visible imports and exports in the current year.
68. Mr Barron : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest estimate for visible imports and exports in the current year.
90. Mr. Sean Hughes : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest estimate for visible imports and exports in the current year.
Mr. Major : The Financial Statement and Budget Report for 1989-90 shows a forecast for the volume growth in both visible exports and visible imports in 1989 of 5 per cent. Forecasts of the value of visible exports and imports in 1989 are not published.
European Finance Ministers
54. Mr. Aitken : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last attended a meeting of European Finance Ministers ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Brooke : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply my right hon. Friend the Chancellor gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Dulwich (Mr. Bowden) on 21 April 1989, at column 327.
Small Business
55. Mr. Haynes : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the impact of interest rate rises since 1988 on small businesses.
102. Mr. Jim Marshall : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact of interest rate rises since 1988 on small businesses.
105. Mr. Martlew : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the impact of interest rate rises since last year on small businesses.
Mr. Peter Lilley : I refer the hon. Members to the answer I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Wallsend (Mr. Garrett).
Child Care
60. Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on the taxation of the use of child care facilities.
Mr. Norman Lamont : My right hon. Friend has received a number of representations on the taxation of the benefit to employees of subsidised workplace nursery facilities.
Business Investment
61. Mr. Gerald Howarth : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the latest figures for the growth of business investment in the economy.
Mr. Major : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply my right hon. Friend the Chancellor gave earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Scarborough (Sir M. Shaw).
Contingency Reserve
62. Mr. James Lamond : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what allocations from the contingency reserve he is currently considering.
Mr. Major : Additions to programmes from the 1989-90 reserve have been, and will continue to be, announced after they are agreed.
Money Supply
64. Mr. John Townend : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the latest figure for the increase of MO.
Mr. Lilley : In the year to March 1989 MO grew by 6.2 per cent. in seasonally adjusted terms. Of this rise, 6 per cent. occurred in the six months to September. Since then the increase has been only 0.2 per cent. Though the postal dispute in the autumn may have affected the figures to some extent, there has clearly been a marked slowdown.
VAT
65. Mr. Amess : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the estimated annual yield on value added tax levied on hospital radio broadcasting equipment.
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Mr. Lilley : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Derby, North (Mr. Knight) on 20 February, at column 479 .
Private Medical Treatment (Tax Relief)
67. Mr. McFall : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received concerning his proposal to offer private medical tax relief.
96. Mr. Clelland : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received concerning his proposal to offer private medical tax relief.
Mr. Norman Lamont : I refer the hon. Members to the reply my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary gave to the hon. Member for Barnsley, West and Penistone (Mr. McKay) earlier today.
Institute for International Economics
75. Mr. Eastham : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when Treasury officials last met representatives from the Institute for International Economics ; and what matters were discussed.
92. Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when Treasury officials last met representatives from the Institute for International Economics ; and what matters were discussed.
109. Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when Treasury officials last met with representatives from the Institute for International Economics ; and what matters were discussed.
Mr. Major : Treasury officials met three members of the institute on 13 April to discuss a number of international economic issues.
Job Creation
76. Sir Fergus Montgomery : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the growth in total employment since June 1987.
Mr. Major : Total employment in the United Kingdom has increased by 1,152,000 since June 1987.
Drink and Tobacco Duty
78. Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the reduction in taxation revenue in the event of the proposals for harmonised duties on drink and tobacco, as proposed by the Commission, being implemented ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lilley : Given the very large changes in taxation that the Commission's proposals would require, any estimates are subject to wide margins of error. In addition, the Government have made it clear on numerous occasions that they do not consider tax approximation to be necessary for the completion of the internal market, and implementation of the Commission's proposals would require unanimous agreement of the member states. With those qualifications, the latest estimate of the revenue loss in a full year from adoption of the Commission's proposals on drink and tobacco is some £3.9 billion.
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National Insurance
80. Mr. Summerson : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on the changes in employees' national insurance contributions announced in his Budget.
Mr. Bright : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received on the changes in employees' national insurance contributions announced in his Budget.
Mr. Lawson : The reforms of national insurance contributions that I announced in my Budget have been widely welcomed.
Personal Disposable Income
81. Miss Widdecombe : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the annual average rate of growth of real personal disposable income since 1983.
Mr. Norman Lamont : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply my right hon. Friend the Paymaster General gave earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth, East (Mr. Atkinson).
Business Expenses
85. Mr. French : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last considered raising the figure at which employers have to declare to the Inland Revenue the salaries, benefits and business expenses of employees and directors.
Mr. Norman Lamont : I assume that my hon. Friend is referring to the return of expenses and benefits which employers are required to make for directors and employees earning at a rate of £8,500 a year or more. All aspects of the tax system are kept under review. But the Government have at no time sought to increase the £8,500 threshold at which employees pay tax on benefits in kind since in principle all employees should pay income tax on the whole of their earnings whether received in cash or in kind.
Budget Forecast (Error)
89. Dr. Bray : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer to what he attributes the error in his forecast of the current balance for 1988, made in his 1988 "Financial Statement and Budget Report".
Mr. Major : As noted in this year's Financial Statement and Budget Report, the difference between the published estimate of the current balance for 1988 and the forecast for 1988 made in last year's FSBR mainly reflected the unexpected strength of domestic demand, particularly investment, combined with very high levels of capacity utilisation in some industries.
Drug Smuggling
99. Mr. David Evans : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what resources are now devoted by Her Majesty's customs to the prevention and detection of drug smuggling ; what were the totals of class A and class B drugs seized in 1988 ; and what were the comparable figures for previous years.
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Mr. Lilley : From April 1986 to April 1988 the number of Customs officers mainly engaged in the prevention of drug smuggling rose from 2,958 to 3,565, an increase of 20.5 per cent. 412.3kg of class A drugs were seized by Customs in 1985-86, 269.5kg in 1986-87 and 706.8kg in 1987-88, an increase of 71 per cent. over the period. The corresponding figures for class B drugs were 21,744kg in 1985-86, 20, 231kg in 1986-87 and 23,448kg in 1987-88 ; an increase of 8 per cent. over the two years.
Third World Debt
103. Ms. Abbott : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the latest Group of Seven initiative on Third world debt.
Mr. Lilley : The Finance Ministers of the Group of Seven discussed Third world debt in Washington on 2 April. A copy of the press statement is available in the Library of the House, together with a copy of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer's remarks to the IMF interim committee on 3 April.
Foreign Investment
106 Mr. McLeish : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the net flows of foreign investment into the United Kingdom in the form of (a) long-term direct investment and (b) short-term banking flows.
108 Mr. Cox : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the net flows of foreign investment into the United Kingdom in the form of (a) long-term direct investment and (b) short-term banking flows.
Mr. Major : The most recent information on flows of direct investment and banking inflows into the United Kingdom has been published by the CSO in the March edition of Economic Trends. However, it is not possible to distinguish between long-term and short-term flows.
All-seater Football Grounds
Mr. Allen : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will introduce a levy on the football pools to pay for major football grounds to install all-seating arrangements.
Mr. Lilley : Pools promoters make substantial payments, akin to a voluntary levy, to the Football Trust. The Government have no intention of introducing a statutory levy.
Football Pools
Sir John Farr : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total amount (a) staked on football pools in each of the past three years and (b) paid to the Government in tax in each of the past three years.
Mr. Lilley : Following is the information :
Pool Betting (£ million)
|Stakes|Duty
-----------------------------
1986-87 |598.2 |254.2
1987-88 |647.5 |275.2
1988-89 |656.1 |278.9
Reply Paid Envelopes
Mr. Madden : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which Departments issue reply paid envelopes to those
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required to supply information by law to the Executive ; and what changes in policy there have been since 1979 in the issuing of reply-paid envelopes.Mr. Brooke [holding answer 2 May 1989] : There is no central policy. It is for individual Departments to decide whether it is appropriate for the cost of replies to official correspondence to fall on the sender or the general taxpayer. Information on current departmental practice is not held centrally.
Investment and Consumption
Mr. Butler : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what has been the rate of growth of (a) total investment and (b) total consumption over the past seven years.
Mr. Major : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Canterbury (Mr. Brazier).
Additionality
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government in relation to the system of additionality, by which public bodies in the United Kingdom receiving EEC money have United Kingdom taxpayers' money commensurately deducted.
Mr. Brooke [holding answer 3 May 1989] : Receipts from the European Community budget are taken into account each year when the United Kingdom's public expenditure plans are decided. This enables United Kingdom public spending programmes to be set and maintained at higher levels than would otherwise have been possible.
SCOTLAND
Council House Sales
Mr. Stern : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give details of the current monthly level of council house sales in Scotland.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Information returned to the Scottish Development Department shows that between October and December 1988 Scottish local authorities sold an average of 2,200 dwellings a month. Figures of sales in the first quarter of 1989 are not yet available.
Speech Therapists
Mr Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many speech therapists are available for Scottish schools ; and of these how many are employed (a) in Strathclyde and (b) in Glasgow.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Information is not held centrally in the form requested.
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the schools in Glasgow to which speech therapy services are provided, showing the number of pupils requiring this service in each school, the number of hours of service provided to each school and the average hours given to each pupil in need.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : This information is not held centrally.
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Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which authorities in Scotland have statutory responsibilities for supply of speech therapists to Scottish schools ; what recent discussions he has had with them ; and if he will make a statement on Government policy on this matter.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Statutory responsibility rests with education authorities to secure the provision of speech therapy for children whose record of needs specifies that requirement. The service is almost exclusively provided by speech therapists employed by health boards. In February last year I met the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities to discuss therapy services, including speech therapy services, for school children, and in March I met the chairmen of health boards who undertook to review the provision of services in their areas. I have repeatedly encouraged joint assessment and planning of services and in November 1988 published a planning council report about planning effective speech therapy services.
Charities
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects to publish his conclusions on the responses to the consultative memorandum on the supervision of charities in Scotland ; and if he will make a statement.
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