| Previous Section | Home Page |
Residential Homes
Mr. Callaghan : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement about the level of benefits paid to people in residential nursing homes.
Mr. Burt : A total of 273,000 people receive help through income support with residential care and nursing home fees at a cost of £2.5 billion . This compares with 12,000 people who received such help in 1979 at a cost of £10 million.
Since April 1985 practically all the income support limits for residential care and nursing homes have been increased in real terms. The limit for elderly people in residential care homes increased by 13 per cent. in real terms and the limit for elderly people in nursing homes by 36 per cent.
These limits are reviewed each year as part of the general benefit uprating exercise and an announcement will be made as usual later this year.
Income Support Quarterly Statistical Enquiry : Residential Care and Nursing Home Report November 1992.
Invalidity Benefit
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to alter the invalidity benefit rules to disqualify people who undertake voluntary work.
Mr. Scott : We are reviewing invalidity benefit in the context of the fundamental review of social security expenditure. The review covers all aspects of the benefit including rules relating to the treatment of work. No decisions have yet been made.
Benefit Claimants
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish the number, age and gender of claimants without accommodation, by Benefits Agency local and district offices, and the number who are submitting sick certificates.
Mr. Burt : I understand from Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency, that the information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will extend the right to apply for industrial injuries disablement benefit for those suffering from chronic bronchitis, emphysema or both to shipyard workers as well as miners ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Scott : The Industrial Injuries Advisory Council advises my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on the prescription of diseases for industrial injuries disablement benefit. I understand the council has not received the necessary scientific evidence to suggest that bronchitis and emphysema should be recommended for prescription in relation to shipyard workers.
Column 847
Mr. Jim Cunningham : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many mothers on means-tested benefits have been financially penalised for not naming absent fathers since April 1993.
Mr. Burt : The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Ros Hepplewhite, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member shortly and a copy will be placed in the Library. Letter from Ros Hepplewhite to Mr. Jim Cunningham, dated 28 October 1993 :
As Chief Executive of the Child Support Agency it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking how many mothers on means tested benefits have been financially penalised for not naming the fathers since Agency to implement. The majority of these have not yet been implemented.
I hope you will find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report and a copy will also be placed in the Library.
NATIONAL FINANCE
VAT (Domestic Fuel)
Rev. Martin Smyth : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consideration is being given to exempting day nurseries from VAT on fuel.
Sir John Cope : None. Many fee-paying day nurseries already pay VAT on their purchases of fuel. Nurseries that use small amounts of fuel and charitable providers of free day nursery care may currently buy fuel zero- rated, but such supplies will become liable to VAT at 8 per cent. from 1 April 1994 and at the standard rate from 1 April 1995.
Ms Quin : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what regional assessment of the effect of VAT on domestic heating his Department has undertaken.
Sir John Cope [holding answer 27 October 1993] : No specific regional assessment has been made. Expenditure within a region varies widely and depends on a wide range of factors.
Office Costs
Mr. Byers : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the estimated amount to be spent in 1993-94 on rent and other costs associated with the offices of his Department at Parliament street, London.
Column 848
Sir John Cope : The Treasury's rent and works service charges for its offices in Parliament street are estimated in 1993-94 to be :
|£
------------------------------------------
Rent (including VAT) |6,748,822
Works services charge |1,370,850
This accommodation is on the common user estate owned by the Crown and administered by Property Holdings. In addition a contribution in lieu of rates of £1,676,655 has been made to the Crown Property Unit of the Valuation Office of the Inland Revenue.
It is also estimated that in 1993-94 other associated Treasury costs in the Parliament street building will be as follows :
|£
------------------------------------------------------------
Fuel and Utilities |280,000
Cleaning Costs |260,000
Charges for maintenance and minor new works |250,000
Private Pensions
Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what additional costs are included in departmental budgets and accounts in respect of achieving an equivalence in accounting treatment with the additional costs incurred by private sector companies in respect of the loss of tax relief on private sector pensions above the earnings cap.
Mr. Dorrell : None. Departments are expected to contain any pay- related costs within their existing budgets.
EC Contributions
Mr. Marlow : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will set out what happens to the level of resources available to the European Community for each of the years for 1993 to 2000 on the basis of the growth rates assumed at Edinburgh and for average European growth rates of 0.25 per cent. per annum, 0.5 per cent. per annum, 1 per cent. per annum and 2 per cent. per annum less than those assumed.
Mr. Nelson : On the basis of the economic growth assumptions and the own resources ceilings agreed at the Edinburgh European Council, the information requested for the years 1993-1999--the period covered by the Edinburgh financial perspective--is as follows :
Column 849
|1993 |1994 |1995 |1996 |1997 |1998 |1999
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Own resources ceilings
(percentage of GNP) |1.20 |1.20 |1.21 |1.22 |1.24 |1.26 |1.27
Own resources ceilings
(mecu-1992 prices)
Edinburgh economic assumptions<1> |65,820|67,272|69,527|71,858|74,859|77,968|80,551
Reduced real growth in Community GNP:
-¬ per cent. per annum |65,521|66,799|68,871|71,002|73,790|76,667|79,014
-" per cent. per annum |65,359|66,470|68,364|70,308|72,890|75,547|77,669
-1 per cent. per annum |65,035|65,816|67,359|68,935|71,116|73,347|75,038
-2 per cent. per annum |64,387|64,516|65,379|66,249|67,672|69,107|70,004
<1>Edinburgh assumed real growth in Community GNP of 1.4 per cent. in 1993, 2.2 per cent. in
1994 and 2.5 per cent. a year thereafter.
Exchange Rate Mechanism
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what review he is currently giving to membership by the United Kingdom of the ERM ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nelson : I have made it clear that sterling could not join the ERM for some time ahead--possibly not in this Parliament. Re-entry cannot be considered until there is greater convergence between the monetary policies appropriate for all the Community economies and I should also need to be satisfied that the system would be operated to the benefit of all its members.
Income Tax
Mr. Mandelson : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the direct revenue yield in a full year at 1993-94 levels of income from restricting (a) personal allowances, (b) relief from pension contributions and (c) other reliefs to relief at (i) 25p and (ii) 20p giving, in each case, the numbers of people affected.
Mr. Dorrell : Estimated full-year yields at 1993-94 income levels based on a projection of the 1991-92 survey of personal incomes and other survey data are given in the table. The figures do not take account of any behavioural effects which might result from the introduction of such changes, and show the yield from restructuring each allowance or relief separately. If two or more were restricted the total yield would be greater than the sum of the individual figures.
Restriction to
Basic rate 20p
|Yield |Numbers affected|Yield |Numbers affected
Effect of |£ million |Millions |£ million |Millions
restricting
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(a)Personal
allowances<1> |1,600 |2.9 |6,500 |25.7
(b)Relief for pension 530 1.4 1,100 10.5
(c)Other reliefs |200 |0.6 |<2>n/a |n/a
<1>Including the married couples' and related allowances.
<2>Information on reliefs given at source is not available from the Survey of Personal Incomes so it
is not possible to estimate the effect of restricting other reliefs to 20 per cent.
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Darlington (Mr. Milburn), 24 February, Official Report , column 585 , if he will update the estimates given to include figures for 1993-94, expressing all estimates in 1993-94 prices.
Column 850
Mr. Dorrell : The table shows the direct revenue costs in a full year compared with reintroduced tax rates of 45, 50, 55 and 60 per cent. The band widths for the tax rate schedule have been calculated by uprating the corresponding parts of the 1987-88 regime by movements in retail prices index as in the statutory indexation formula. The estimates take account of the introduction of independent taxation from 1990-91 and the restriction of mortgage interest relief to the basic rate from 1991-92.
|Estimated change in
|tax revenue at
|rates in excess of
|40 per cent.
|At current prices |At 1993-94 prices
Year |£ billion |£ billion
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1988-89 |2.6 |3.4
1989-90 |3.2 |3.9
1990-91 |3.7 |4.1
1991-92 |4.3 |4.5
<1>1992-93 |4.4 |4.5
<1>1993-94 |4.6 |4.6
<1>Provisional estimates.
The estimates do not allow for any behavioural effect that might have resulted had the tax rates above 40 per cent. been retained and do not include capital gains tax.
Balance of Payments
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answers to the hon. Member for Taunton (Mr. Nicholson) on 17 February, Official Report, column 206 , if he will update the estimates giving figures for 1994-95 and for a full year.
Mr. Dorrell : Assuming statutory indexation in 1994-95 the basic rate limit would be £24,200. Estimated costs on yields at 1994-95 income levels compared with the indexed base are given in the table.
Band of taxableRevenue cost at
income over whi1994-95 income
35 per cent. ralevels from
would be chargeintroducing a 35
per cent. rate
£ million
£ |In 1994-95|Full-year
-----------------------------------------------
24,200-26,000 |140 |190
24,200-30,000 |380 |510
24,200-35,000 |600 |800
Column 851
Level of taxRevenue yield at
income above1994-95income
50 per cent.levels from
would be chaintroducing a 50
per cent. rate
£ million
£ |In 1994-95|Full-year
--------------------------------------------
50,000 |1,450 |1,950
60,000 |1,210 |1,620
70,000 |1,030 |1,380
The estimates do not allow for any behavioural effect that might result from such changes to the tax system and do not include capital gains tax.
Column 852
Coin Designs
Mr Burns : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans Her Majesty's Government has to issue new designs for circulating coins.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : Her Majesty the Queen has been graciously pleased to approve my recommendation for a new series of designs for the reverse of the £1 coin. The designs will represent each of the four parts of the United Kingdom and will be adopted in turn during the years 1994-97.
|
| Home Page |