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Mr. Ryder : In the last 12 months, there has been one realignment of the exchange rate mechanism on 8 January 1990, involving a narrowing of the lira's margin of fluctuation from 6 per cent. to 2 per cent.
54. Sir David Steel : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the average inflation rate of countries participating in the exchange rate mechanism of the European monetary system.
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Mr. Major : Using data which exclude estimates of owner-occupier housing costs to provide figures on a more comparable basis, the average inflation rate of countries in the exchange rate mechanism of the EMS was 4.2 per cent. in November 1989.Crown Estates
25. Mr. Kennedy : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last met the First Crown Estates Commissioner ; and what matters were discussed.
Mr. Major : My predecessor met the First Crown Estates Commissioner on 12 July 1989. Their discussion covered chiefly the Crown Estate Office's performance in 1988-89 and the forward programme.
Public Expenditure
27. Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether any allocations have been made from the contingency reserve since the publication of the public expenditure White Paper.
30. Mr. Darling : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether any allocations have been made from the contingency reserve since the public expenditure White Paper.
Mr. Norman Lamont : Claims on the reserve have been, and will continue to be, announced after they are agreed.
Capital Flows
28. Mr. Lofthouse : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the short-term capital flows into the United Kingdom in 1989.
Mr. Norman Lamont : It is not meaningful to distinguish between short-term and long-term capital flows.
Gross National Product
34. Mr. Anthony Coombs : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the average growth of gross national product in the United Kingdom for the last four years for which figures are available ; and what it was between 1977 and 1979.
Mr. Norman Lamont : Over the four years ending 1988, the average annual rate of growth of United Kingdom gross national product, at constant factor cost, was 4.0 per cent. compared with 3.1 per cent. from 1977 to 1979.
Group of Seven
35. Mr. Yeo : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last attended a meeting of the Group of Seven finance Ministers ; and what subjects were discussed.
Mr. Ryder : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave him on 18 January, at column 345.
Confederation of British Industry
36. Mr. Oppenheim : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last met the Confederation of British Industry ; and what matters were discussed.
Mr. Norman Lamont : My right hon. Friend the Chancellor last met the CBI at the meeting of the National
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Economic Development Council on 10 January. The Council discussed various papers on the outlook for the economy, the plastics processing industry, and the Government's higher education policies.Football
39. Mr. Ashton : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total income the Exchequer received from tax on football pools and value added tax on football gate receipts, transfers and other commercial activities of the Football League clubs.
Mr. Ryder : Pool betting duty receipts in 1988-89 were £279 million. Information is not available on the value added tax collected from football gate receipts, transfers and other commercial activities of the Football League clubs.
55. Mr. Canavan : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue is received per year from football and football pools.
Mr. Lilley : Details of revenue received in direct taxes from football clubs, players and staff are not available separately from other income tax and corporation tax revenue. For details of indirect taxes, I refer to the answer given earlier today by my hon. Friend the Economic Secretary to the hon. Member for Bassetlaw (Mr. Ashton).
Taxation
42. Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will institute a review of the impact of the taxation system on the environment.
44. Mr. Gill : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consideration he has given to shifting the burden of taxation from production to consumption.
Mr. Lilley : I cannot anticipate my right hon. Friend's Budget statement.
45. Mr. Wallace : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received about the need to reform the taxation of savings ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lilley : I cannot anticipate my right hon. Friend's Budget statement.
47. Mr. Denzil Davies : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has any plans to introduce a substantial increase in investment tax allowances for manufacturing industry.
Mr. Major : I cannot anticipate my Budget statement.
Northern Region
43. Mr. Devlin : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the economy in the northern region.
Mr. Norman Lamont : The Government's economic policies have created the conditions for greatly increased prosperity in the northern region. The fall in the unemployment rate over the last year has been one of the fastest in the United Kingdom.
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Civil Service Catering
46. Mr. Key : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people are employed by the Civil Service catering organisation.
Mr. Ryder : As at 1 February 1990, the Civil Service catering organisation employed 1,250 staff including 1,024 industrial civil servants of whom 823 were part-time employees.
Customs and Excise
48. Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state any convenient figures he has for the numbers of Customs and Excise personnel qualified to discriminate between legal and illegal imports of listed flora and fauna, rain-forest birds and reptiles.
Mr. Ryder : All staff employed on Customs control are trained to be alert to the possibility of illegal imports of endangered species of flora and fauna. Where this is suspected and the identification of particular specimens is required, qualified experts in the appropriate field are called upon to advise Customs.
Economic Growth
50. Mr. Barry Porter : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are his Department's latest estimates for economic growth for 1990 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Franks : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are his latest estimates for economic growth in Britain in 1990 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Norman Lamont : The latest forecast for GDP growth in 1990 is 1 per cent. as published in the Autumn Statement.
Savings
51. Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the total interest paid on savings in each of the last three years.
Mr. Ryder : Payments to the personal sector of dividends and interest on financial assets of all kinds amounted to £35.1 billion in 1986, £38.1 billion in 1987 and £45.4 billion in 1988. These figures are gross of tax. They include income on savings in the form of equity in life assurance and pension funds, and may be found in table 3.7 of the United Kingdom National Accounts "Blue Book" or on the CSO databank which is accessible through the Library.
Child Care
53. Mrs. Currie : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will outline the tax concessions which are available to working mothers receiving benefits in kind in the form of subsidies for child care from their employers.
Mr. Lilley : Employees earning less than £8,500 a year are not normally subject to tax on subsidised child care. Employers can qualify for tax relief on day-to-day expenditure on all forms of child care provision for their employees' children. Tax relief is also available for certain capital expenditure on child care facilities.
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Third World Debt
57. Mr. Galloway : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the current policy of the Inland Revenue in relation to the tax treatment of United Kingdom banks which make provision against Third world debt.
Mr. Lilley : The Inland Revenue operates the test laid down by law. This provides tax relief to the extent that the principal is estimated to be irrecoverable.
Personal Equity Plans
58. Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the impact of personal equity plans.
Mr. Lilley : Since its start in 1987, the personal equity plan scheme has proved very successful. By the end of 1989, nearly 700,000 plans had been started, with a total initial investment of more than £1.4 billion. More than 300 financial intermediaries now act as plan managers.
Labour Costs
59. Mr. Batiste : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what changes there have been in labour costs in (a) the United Kingdom and (b) West Germany over the past five years.
Mr. Ryder : Data on unit labour costs in manufacturing in the United Kingdom and West Germany are published in the CSO's Monthly Review of External Trade Statistics.
Charities
60. Mr. Cyril D. Townsend : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much money was raised by the Exchequer, in each of the last three financial years, through value added tax on charities.
Mr. Ryder : There is no comprehensive information available on the subject but it is estimated that charities pay between £150 million and £200 million in value added tax each year.
Narcotics Seizures
Mr. Butler : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the trend of seizures of narcotics in ports and airports.
Mr. Ryder : Her Majesty's Customs and Excise provisional figures for 1989 show substantial increases in the numbers and quantities of seizures of the major drug types.
The overall number of seizures shows an increase of some 40 per cent. while increases by weight were of the order of 40 per cent. for heroin, 50 per cent. for cocaine, and 130 per cent. for cannabis resin in 1989 as compared with 1988.
There is a continuing underlying trend for seizures of drugs consigned from or routed through other EC countries to represent a substantial proportion of total seizures. In 1989 they amounted to approximately 40 per cent. of the total weight seized.
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Civil Service Staff
Mr. Grocott : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total size of the Civil Service (a) in 1979, (b) in 1984 and (c) in 1989.
Mr. Ryder : Civil Service staff numbers for the years in question were as follows :
|Number
-----------------------------
1 April 1979 |732,275
1 April 1984 |623,972
1 April 1989 |569,215
Sewing Thread (Imports)
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the reasons for the delay in releasing Mr. Ashok Gosai's consignment of sewing thread from Felixstowe dock held in container No. GSTU3182901/20ft/1854556 ; and when he expects it to be released.
Mr. Ryder : Customs have withheld release of the goods as they were found to have been incorrectly declared and were prohibted to be imported without a Department of Trade and Industry import licence. Release of the goods will be considered by Customs as soon as these outstanding matters have been resolved.
Private Security Firms
Mr. George : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the names of all the private security firms currently employed by his Department, the number of employees for each firm on the contract, the total value of each contract and the total value of all contracts for each financial year since 1984-85.
Mr. Ryder : The Treasury employs one private security firm, Trafalgar Security Ltd., at Jameson house only. The cost is £4,900 per annum and involves part-time employment of one person. This function was previously undertaken by Group 4 at a cost of £2, 600 per annum, also involving part-time use of one member of staff. The Group 4 contract started in September 1987. Group 4 was replaced by Trafalgar in April 1989. Prior to September 1987 the security was provided by guards employed by Her Majesty's Treasury.
Public Sector Borrowing
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the levels of public sector borrowing or debt repayment in 1969 and 1978 and the latest year for which figures are available ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Ryder : There was a debt repayment of £0.6 billion in 1969- 70, borrowing of £9.2 billion in 1978-79 and a debt repayment of £14.4 billion in 1988-89.
At 3 per cent.of GDP, last year's debt repayment was the largest ever recorded. A further substantial debt repayment is expected this year.
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Banking Services
Mr. Allan Stewart : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he intends to publish the Government's detailed response to the report of the review committee on banking services.
Mr. Ryder : The Government are considering the review committee's report and intend to give their detailed responses shortly.
Personal Debt
Mr. Alton : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the average level of personal debt per adult in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Ryder : In 1989 the average level of personal debt in the United Kingdom was approximately £7,870 per adult.
Information Technology
Mr. Haselhurst : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will make a statement on the progress with the Government's plans for the future provision and management of their voice and data administrative telecommunications traffic.
Mr. Ryder : In March 1989 my right hon. Friend the then Paymaster General announced a collaborative study to identify possible options for aggregating Government voice telecommunications and integrating voice and data traffic. That study has been completed. It has concluded that it would be beneficial to the Government to proceed towards a private integrated digital network, to be known as the Government Telecommunications Service (GTS).
The study also concluded that such a network could be developed by building on the present Government Data Network (GDN). This is managed by Racal Data Networks Limited, and the contract for its operation envisages the possibility of such expansion and enhancement into an integrated network. Negotiations are therefore being opened with RDNL to see whether it can satisfactorily supply such an integrated service. If this approach is adoped, value for money would be secured by requiring that the provision of the supporting products and services for such a network, which form the major part of the value of the contract, would be let by RDNL on a sub- contract basis through competitive tender, in line with the Government's public purchasing policies.
Once these negotiations have been concluded, their outcome will be announced.
A summary of the statement of requirements for a Government Telecommunications Service, the Requirements Overview, has been placed in the Library.
EC Economic and Finance Council
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the outcome of the latest meeting of the European Community's Economic and Finance Council.
Mr. Ryder : The ECOFIN Council met in Brussels on 12 February. I represented the United Kingdom. The revised Financial Regulation which sets the rules for implementing the European Community Budget was agreed and will be adopted shortly. There was an initial discussion of the
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procedures for multilateral surveillance of member states' economies during stage one of EMU. Further discussion will be held at a future ECOFIN.It was agreed that a medium term loan facility for up to five years should be made available to Hungary for the ECU equivalent of $1 billion. The Community has decided to invite other industrial countries to associate themselves with this facility. The first tranche of this loan will be the ECU equivalent of $400 million and will be available once a stand-by arrangement has been agreed with the International Monetary Fund. This first tranche will be guaranteed by the Community budget and a supplementary budget will soon be adopted to provide this guarantee.
Finally, the Council took note of a statement by the Commission urging early agreement to three tax measures which have been designed to encourage cross border co-operation in tax affairs.
Public Works Loan Board
Mr. Robert B. Jones : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what will be the arrangements for lending to local authorities by the public works loan board in the forthcoming financial year.
Mr. Major : Every year the PWLB Commissioners, after consultation with the Treasury, determine loan quotas for each authority. Borrowing within these quotas is at very fine rates set by the Treasury. Additional loans may be made in specific circumstances at higher ("non quota A" and "non quota B") rates.
In recent years the Commissioners have, however, as a matter of course, made advances additional to the normal quotas available at quota rates. This was done with the agreement of the Treasury in order to assist in the management of the money markets. At present, however, local authorities are, in total, investing very substantial sums of money with the banking sector, whilst at the same time borrowing large sums from the PWLB. The combined effect of this is to cause difficulties in the management of the money markets. The Government therefore believe that it is now desirable to curtail the availability of funds from the PWLB at quota rates.
The PWLB Commissioners have reviewed the quota arrangements for the financial year 1990-91 and have today issued a circular (number 89) indicating that the quota entitlement for each authority will be : 75 per cent. of its net reckonable capital payments made during 1990-91 ; plus
4 per cent. of its net reckonable debt incurred for capital purposes, being the total amount outstanding less the total sums held in financial investments on 31 March 1990.
There will be no minimum quota entitlement. The normal arrangements by which loans may be made under the non quota A and non quota B facilities will, however, continue to operate. Local authorities' ability to borrow in the market will not be affected.
With effect from today the Commissioners will no longer be prepared, as a matter of course, to make loans available in addition to the quota and at quota rates.
In order to limit the level of borrowing in the remainder of this financial year, the Commissioners have also decided to restrict advances within quota from the date of the circular to 31 March 1990, to not more than one tenth of each authority's quota for the current financial year.
The Commissioners will be prepared to consider requests from local authorities for advances additional to normal quotas at quota rates where the changes listed
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above will cause an authority exceptional difficulties, for example where it faces unusually high levels of maturing debt. The decision will be for the Commissioners, but I understand that, in deciding whether to make an advance, they will take into consideration, along with other factors, the level of the authority's investments and that the Commissioners are unlikely to be prepared to agree to an advance if, and to the extent that, it appears to them that these investments could be used instead.An authority wishing to borrow from the board in addition to quota may also apply for non quota B loans. The Commissioners will continue to be prepared to consider applications for such advances where it can be demonstrated that additional capital finance is needed in the relatively near future. The rate of interest on non quota B loans is currently 1 per cent. above non quota A loans. From 1 April 1990 I have decided that the rate of interest on non quota B loans will be 2 per cent. above the rate of interest on quota loans.
At present the interest rate on quota loans is set at the lowest possible level consistent with the constraints of the 1968 National Loans Act. I have decided that for the future this fine rate will no longer be appropriate. Quota rates will therefore be gradually increased so that they are closer to, but still below, market rates. This will be done by maintaining PWLB rates when general interest rates fall.
Premium Bonds
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the average value of the purchases of premium bonds in the six months before the change in the minimum purchase to £100 and the period since then in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the total for the United Kingdom.
Mr. Ryder [holding answer 13 February 1990] : In the six months prior to the change in the minimum purchase, the average value of a premium bond purchase was £142. In the six months following the change, the average was £338. Separate figures are not available for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Company Visits
Mr. McGrady : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many visits were made to Northern Ireland in 1986-87, 1987-88 and 1988-89 by companies seeking to invest in Northern Ireland ; and what were the locations visited and number of times visited, itemised by parliamentary constituency.
Mr. Needham : The number of visits made by companies considering investment in Northern Ireland during the financial years 1986-87, 1987-88 and 1988-89 was 157, 176, and 159 respectively. The locations visited within Northern Ireland and the number of visits made to each location are detailed by district council area in the table. In many instances, particularly on repeat visits to Northern Ireland for detailed discussions with the Industrial Development Board, visits have been confined to IDB house.
Information in the form requested ie by parliamentary constituency is not readily available and could be compiled only at
disproportionate cost.
Number of visits to locations within Northern Ireland by companies
considering investment
District council area |1986-87 |1987-88 |1988-89
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Antrim |15 |28 |36
Ards |4 |1 |2
Armagh |- |3 |1
Ballymena |3 |3 |8
Ballymoney |2 |- |5
Banbridge |1 |1 |1
Belfast |44 |47 |50
Carrickfergus |16 |12 |9
Castlereagh |9 |1 |9
Coleraine |5 |3 |5
Cookstown |1 |1 |-
Craigavon |14 |5 |9
Down |3 |1 |3
Dungannon |3 |3 |3
Fermanagh |1 |5 |3
Larne |11 |7 |6
Limavady |- |- |-
Lisburn |12 |10 |12
Londonderry |5 |12 |10
Magherafelt |1 |1 |1
Moyle |6 |1 |1
Newry and Mourne |5 |5 |4
Newtownabbey |10 |18 |22
North Down |19 |11 |10
Omagh |- |- |2
Strabane |- |1 |2
|------- |------- |-------
Totals |190 |180 |214
Grants
Mr. McGrady : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will instruct the Industrial Development Board for Northern Ireland, in future, to publish details of grant assistance made available to companies and in each case state the percentage of the total project cost of the grant assistance made available.
Mr. Needham : Since the termination of "British Business" which contained information on grant assistance offered to NI companies, the Industrial Development Board has been considering ways of publishing this information. However, information on particular project costs will remain commercially confidential.
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