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Column 460
Councillor Bill HughesSwansea City
Conservative
Councillor Jill Evans
Rhondda Borough
Mid Glamorgan County
Plaid Cymru
Northern Ireland
Councillor Simpson Gibson
Ards Borough
UDUP
Alderman Sean Neeson
Mayor of Carrickfergus
Alliance Party
Mrs. Parveen Akhtar Ahmed
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will arrange for Mrs. Parveen Akhtar Ahmed, the wife of Mr. Tariq Hussain Ahmed, of Bradford to be interviewed at the high commission in Islamabad as a matter of urgency ; when Mrs. Ahmed was granted a visa to join her husband in the United Kingdom ; whether her passport carries a stamp confirming that she has been granted indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom ; if he will arrange for Mr. Ahmed to be given full information about what documentation is required before Mrs. Ahmed attends an interview to determine when she is to be granted permission to rejoin her husband ; for how long Mrs. Ahmed has been seeking to return to the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : In the absence of any information in London about Mrs. Parveen Akhtar Ahmed's application for entry clearance, I have asked the British high commission in Islamabad to let me have a report. I shall arrange for the hon. Member to receive a substantive reply from the migration and visa correspondence unit of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as soon as possible.
Aisha Bibi
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when a decision is going to be taken by the United Kingdom post in Islamabad into the application by Aisha Bibi--Ref : HO K461344 ; and HUL/338/93--to join her husband, Zaib Alam Khan.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : In the absence of any information in London about an entry clearance application from Aisha Bibi, I have asked the British high commission in Islamabad to let me have a report. I shall arrange for the hon. Member to receive a substantive reply from the migration and visa correspondence unit of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as soon as possible.
Burundi
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what pledges have been made by donor Governments to finance the Organisation of African Unity initiative in respect of Burundi.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Several major donors have expressed an interest in providing financial and logistical support for the OAU's International Mission for Protection, Observation and
Confidence-building in Burundi. Discussions between potential donors and the OAU have been taking place in Addis Ababa.
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We have no plans to contribute towards financing the OAU initiative. The United Kingdom has already committed one million dollars to the United Nations Trust Fund for Liberia and we anticipate that other European partners, who did not contribute to this fund, will take the lead in Burundi.Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the arrival of OAU forces in Burundi.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We understand that the OAU plan to send 20 civilians and 180 military personnel in the first instance. As far as we know, none have yet arrived in Burundi.
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what mediation efforts are currently taking place in Burundi.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Both the OAU Secretary-General's representative, Senegal's representative in Ethiopia, Ambassador Fall and the United Nations Under-Secretary General, James Jonah, have recently visited Burundi to discuss the situation with the parties concerned. The United Nations Secretary-General's special representative, Ahmedou Ould Abdallah, has been holding discussions in Burundi since 2 December. The OAU discussed Burundi at its mini-summit in Cairo on 7 December.
Angola (Arms Embargo)
Ms Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the recently lifted arms embargo on Angola was imposed ; what publicity was given to the decision at the time ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : When Angola became independent in 1976, the restrictions on the supply of defence equipment which at that time applied to the Soviet Union and its close allies, were applied to Angola. We are not aware that this policy was made public.
TRAound of compensation sought by customers under the relevant citizen charters arising from the major breakdowns on the system from 24 November onwards.
Mr. Norris : London Underground currently estimates that the value of the claims made under their customer charter will be between £150, 000 and £200,000.
Road Safety Database
Mr. Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer to the hon. member for Blaenau Gwent (Mr. Smith) of 6 December, Official Report, column 22, which other member state abstained in the vote on setting up a Community road safety database.
Mr. MacGregor : The other member state to abstain was Germany.
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Rail Privatisation
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what so far has been the cost to public funds of railway privatisation.
Mr. Freeman : The costs set out include those of special advisers where appropriate, and the costs attributable to preparations for the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising and the Office of Rail Regulation before the start of this financial year :
Department of Transport: Running costs, etc.
|£ million
-------------------------------------------------
1991-92 |0.5
1992-93 |1.2
1993-94 expected expenditure |1.5
Department of Transport: Consultancy costs
|£ million
-------------------------------------------------
1991-92 |0.5
1992-93 |5.5
1993-94 expected expenditure |12.0
The Department of Transport's internal BR privatisation costs cannot be separately identified before September 1991.
Office of passenger rail franchising
|£ million
-------------------------------------------------
1993-94 expected expenditure |3.4
Office of rail regulator
|£ million
-------------------------------------------------
1993-94 expected expenditure |3.3
British Rail's costs and estimates are a matter for British Rail.
Testing Stations
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals he has in respect of the casual staff currently employed in testing stations ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key : The vehicle inspectorate--VI--has full peronnel responsibility for such staff. VI continues to employ casual staff because this allows it the flexibility it needs to deal with fluctuating demand and other short term staffing needs. Casual appointments will be kept under review and casual staff will be recruited, retained or released in order to meet the needs existing at any one time.
Electronic Road Tolling
Mr. Lidington : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he intends that electronic road tolling should apply to trunk roads which form part of the trans-European road network but which are not classified as motorways ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key : In his statement on 2 December about the Government's plans for motorway charging at column 650
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my right hon. Friend said that the precise definition of the network to be charged was an issue for further consideration.Motorways
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what communications he has had with either the Commission or the European Community or the Governments of its member states concerning charging vehicles for use of motorways ; and if he regards such schemes or proposals as a component of the single internal market in transport.
Mr. Key [holding answer 10 December 1993] : My right hon. Friend maintains regular contact with the Commission and his colleagues in other member states on motorway charging.
Council directive 93/89/EEC, adopted on 25 October this year, sets out, among other things, the conditions under which member states may impose tolls or user charges on heavy goods vehicles over 12 tonnes gross on motorways and similar roads. This direcive will help eliminate distortion of competition in road goods transport in the European Community.
A38
Mr. Hicks : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he hopes to announce the preferred route for the improvements to the A38 trunk road between Saltash and Trerulefoot ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key [holding answer 10 December 1993] : We are still considering responses to the recent public consultation, including suggestions for alternative routes.
I hope to announce the preferred route in spring 1944.
Research Laboratory, Crowthorne
Mr. Mills : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the size of the land holdings of the Transport and Road Research Laboratory at Crowthorne ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key : Under a valuation survey conducted in 1988 by Hillier Parker on behalf of the PSA, the size of the TRL site was found to be approximately 256 English acres which is 103.6 hectares.
A privatisation study is presently being conducted at TRL ; until this has been completed I am unable to give more information.
Motorways (Noise)
Mr. Mills : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to introduce type approval standards for the approval of noise levels produced by motorway road surfaces ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key : Type approval standards are not appropriate for the noise levels arising from road surfaces. The Department provides a specification setting limits on the surface texture, which seeks to minimise the level of noise from traffic consistent with safety requirements for adequate skidding resistance.
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NATIONAL FINANCE
Overseas Aid
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of gross domestic product the overseas aid budget will be in 1994-95, assuming the figures for the growth of the economy given in the Budget.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : I have been asked to reply.
The total provision for ODA's external assistance programmes, announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 30 November, amounts to 0.34 per cent. of forecast GDP in 1994-95, on the basis of the figures given in the Financial Statement and Budget Report. Not all of ODA's total provision counts as official development assistance under the OECD development assistance committee criteria. Internationally accepted ratios of overseas aid to gross national product (GNP) are calculated annually for the development assistance committee of the OECD, according to agreed international criteria and on the basis of expenditure by calendar year not on planning figures.
Prices
Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the latest information he has for (a) the last quarter and (b) over the last 12 months of the change in (i) manufacturers' prices and (ii) producer prices.
Mr. Nelson : The available information for October 1993 is as follows :
Producer prices-all manufacturing
|Materials and fuel|Output prices
|purchased
|per cent. |per cent.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Increase over last three months |-2.4 |0.2
Increase over last twelve months |0.9 |4.0
The increase over the last three months will be affected by seasonal fluctuations.
Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the underlying rate of inflation is accounted for by changes in the price of (a) clothing and footwear, (b) household and leisure goods and (c) council tax.
Mr. Nelson : The underlying rate of inflation, as measured by the 12 -month percentage movement in the retail prices index excluding mortgage interest payments, stood at 2.8 per cent. in October 1993. Of this clothing and footwear contributed 0.06 percentage points household and leisure goods 0.13 percentage points and council tax/community charge/rates 0.30 percentage points towards the overall figure.
Business Investment
Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will publish a table giving business investment measured in current prices as a percentage of gross domestic product, measured in current prices (a) for each year since 1974 and (b) for each quarter since 1988 ; and what was the average for the periods 1974 to 1979 and 1979 to 1992 ;
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(2) what proportion of gross domestic product he estimates is accounted for by gross business investment (a) in 1993-94 and (b) in each year since 1989.Mr. Nelson : The latest estimates of business investment at current and constant prices and gross domestic product at current and constant market prices to the third quarter of 1993 are available on the CSO database which may be accessed by the House of Commons Library. The relevant database identifiers are DEOO and CAOB at current prices and DEMS and CAOO at constant prices. Her Majesty's Treasury does not publish financial year forecasts of business investment.
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Incomes
Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total and average investment income and earned income in 1992-93 of (a) the top 1 per cent., (b) the top 5 per cent., (c) the top 10 per cent., (d) the bottom 70 per cent., (e) the bottom 50 per cent., (f) the bottom 10 per cent. of taxpayers and (g) all taxpayers.
Mr. Dorrell : Latest estimates are given in the table :
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Quantile group of |Total earned |Average earned |Total investment |Average investment
taxpayers |income<1> (£ |income (£) |income (£ billion)|income (£)
|billion)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Top 1 per cent. |24 |95,500 |8 |29,900
Top 5 per cent. |62 |49,200 |13 |10,100
Top 10 per cent. |95 |37,700 |16 |6,400
Bottom 70 per cent. |156 |8,800 |9 |700
Bottom 50 per cent. |91 |7,200 |8 |600
Bottom 10 per cent. |11 |4,500 |1 |500
All taxpayers |345 |13,700 |35 |1,400
<1> Income from employment, self-employment and pensions.
VAT
Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the estimated yield in 1993-94 of the imposition of VAT at (a) 5 per cent., (b) 17.5 per cent. and (c) 22 per cent. on (i) books, (ii) newspapers, (iii) magazines, (iv) rent and (v) fares on passenger transport.
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Sir John Cope : The actual yield would depend on the effects on consumers behaviour. Without allowing for such behavioural changes, the Treasury publication, Tax Ready Reckoner and Tax Reliefs' shows the cost of not standard rating currently zero rated items. The figures for books, newspapers and magazines has been apportioned into each category using shares of consumers' expenditure. From these figures it is possible to derive the following table in £ million for 1994-95.
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|5 per cent. |17" per cent.|22 per cent.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Books |95 |330 |415
Newspapers |155 |550 |690
Magazines |65 |220 |275
Domestic passenger transport |330 |1,150 |1,445
The publication also shows the cost of net standard rating VAT exempt items. Rent on domestic dwellings is exempt and not zero rated. If the exemption were removed the estimate on the basis given above would be £2,300 million at 17.5 per cent. Equivalent calculations for 5 per cent. and 22 per cent. have not been made.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to close the loopholes for VAT liability afforded by the pre-payment of accounts.
Sir John Cope : None. Under both United Kingdom and EC law, VAT is chargeable at the rate in force when payment is made if that precedes the delivery of the goods or the issue of a tax invoice.
Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the rates of VAT charged in each other EC country for (a) food in shops, (b) food in restaurants, (c) books, (d) magazines, (e) newspapers, (f) household fuel, (g) rents, (h) house purchase, (e) children's clothing, (j) community centres and (k) transport fares.
Sir John Cope : Rates of VAT charged in each other EC country for food in shops, books, magazines, newspapers, household fuel, house purchase, children's clothing and
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transport fares are set out in the Official Report, 24 November 1993, columns 66-70. VAT rates on food in restaurants, rents and community centres according to the latest information available, are set out in the tables.(b) VAT on food in restaurants in the EC Country |Rate per cent. --------------------------------------------- Belgium |19.5 Denmark |25 France |18.6<1> Germany |8 Greece |18 (13)<2> Ireland |12.5 Italy |9<3> Luxembourg |3 Netherlands |17.5 Portugal |16 (12)<4> Spain |6, 15<5> United Kingdom |17.5 <1> The following rates apply generally in Corsica: 0.9 per cent., 2.1 per cent., 8 per cent. and 13 per cent. <2> The rate in brackets applies in the departments of Lesbos, Chios, the Dodecanese and the Cyclades, and in the islands of Thasos, the Northern Sporades, Samothrace and Skyros. <3> Excluding the supply of food in luxury premises including luxury hotels. <4> The rate in brackets apply in the autonomous regions of Madeira and the Azores Archipelagoes. <5> The standard rate applies to the supply of food in luxury hotels.
(g) VAT on rents in the EC
The letting of immovable property is exempt from VAT in every member state, although some member states operate an option to tax in certain circumstances.
(j) VAT on community centres in the EC
Leasing of such buildings is exempt in all member states. For purchase (including construction) in other member states the rates in the table on house purchase apply.
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether the issue of value added tax on imported works of art is likely to be considered at the December meeting of ECOFIN ; and what views he will be expressing on this subject at that meeting ; (2) if he will make a statement of his policy on the future of imported works of art in connection with value added tax ; (3) what assessment he has made of the possible impact of the imposition of value added tax on imported works of art upon London's world position as a centre for the trade in art objects ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir John Cope : The subject of VAT on second hand goods, including works of art, antiques and collectors items, was discussed again at ECOFIN today and agreement was reached on the Seventh VAT Directive. Under this agreement margin schemes will be extended to all second hand goods. No VAT other than that in the member state of purchase will be payable when works of art, antiques and collectors items are moved from one member state to another.
Imports of such items into the European Union from third countries will be charged VAT at not less than 5 per cent. except in the United Kingdom where imports of pre-1973 works of art will be charged at an effective rate of 2 per cent. until mid-1999. Items imported temporarily for resale and subsequent export outside the EU will not be chargeable with VAT. The Commission will review the effects of the new arrangements in 1998 and report to the Council.
My right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer and I have had full consultations with the art trade on these matters throughout the very long period they have been under discussion. The agreement avoids potentially damaging legal actions and means that the United Kingdom art market will have the most favourable VAT regime in the EU and will be able to maintain its pre-eminence in the world.
Company Failures
Mr. Fraser : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was lost, in the last year for which figures are available, in public revenue in PAYE, national insurance contributions and VAT from (a) companies which went into voluntary creditors liquidation and (b) unincorporated businesses which became bankrupt.
Mr. Dorrell : This information is available only at
disproportionate cost.
Capital Expenditure
Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer by how much he estimates net public capital expenditure will fall by 1997.
Column 468
Mr. Portillo : Outturn and projections for public sector capital expenditure are set out in table 5.3 of the Financial Statement and Budget Report 1994-95.
Taxation
Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate for 1993-94 the number of people claiming (a) one-parent benefit and (b) the widowed mother's allowance, who are taxpayers.
Mr. Dorrell : In 1993-94 it is estimated that about 350,000 taxpayers will claim one-parent benefit and about 40,000 taxpayers will claim widowed mother's allowance.
Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the number of additional people brought into the tax system as a result of the freezing of personal tax allowances proposed in the March Budget.
Mr. Dorrell : In 1993-94 no one was brought into income tax as a result of the changes announced in the March Budget. However, about 300,000 more people pay tax in 1993-94 under the Budget proposals compared with statutory indexation of personal allowances.
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was (a) the total income, both earned and unearned, (b) the total national insurance contributions and (c) the total tax paid by (i) the top 1 per cent., (ii) the top 5 per cent., (iii) the top 10 per cent., (iv) the bottom 50 per cent. and (v) all taxpayers for Scotland, England Wales and Northern Ireland in each year since 1979.
Mr. Dorrell [holding answer 10 December 1993] : Readily available estimates based on the Survey of Personal Incomes are in the tables. For 1980-81 and 1989-90, married couples are counted as one taxpayer and their incomes are combined. Following the introduction of independent taxation in 1990-91. husbands and wives are counted separately. The estimates of total income relate to income subject to income tax and exclude non-taxable income such as certain social security benefits. The quantile groups of taxpayers are defined by reference to the number of taxpayers in each country in each year.
Information on quantile groups of taxpayers within each country of the
United Kingdom
1980-81
Quantile group of tax unit |Total income |Income tax liability
[NL] |Per cent. |£ million
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scotland
Top 1 |556 |202
Top 5 |1,750 |491
Top 10 |2,870 |732
Bottom 50 |3,350 |421
All taxpayers |11,900 |2,240
England
Top 1 |6,300 |2,480
Top 5 |18,200 |5,470
Top 10 |29,100 |7,790
Bottom 50 |32,600 |4,170
All taxpayers |116,000 |22,300
Wales
Top 1 |319 |129
Top 5 |893 |266
Top 10 |1,400 |374
Bottom 50 |1,610 |190
All taxpayers |5,580 |1,040
Northern Ireland
Top 1 |127 |45
Top 5 |412 |114
Top 10 |664 |169
Bottom 50 |727 |87
All taxpayers |2,660 |492
Information on Quantile Groups of Taxpayers within each country of the
United Kingdom
1989-90
Quantile group of tax units |Total income |Income tax liability |Employees' and self-employed national insurance contribution liability
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Per cent. |£ million |£ million |£ million
Scotland
Top 1 |1,570 |476 |28
Top 5 |4,680 |1,180 |149
Top 10 |7,530 |1,730 |286
Bottom 50 |7,640 |885 |330
All taxpayers |28,700 |4,880 |1,370
England
Top 1 |21,300 |7,100 |231
Top 5 |53,900 |15,400 |1,180
Top 10 |81,300 |21,000 |2,320
Bottom 50 |69,800 |8,400 |3,060
All taxpayers |275,000 |51,000 |12,100
Wales
Top 1 |885 |283 |13
Top 5 |2,270 |591 |61
Top 10 |3,460 |815 |117
Bottom 50 |3,560 |403 |150
All taxpayers |13,100 |2,230 |595
Northern Ireland
Top 1 |522 |163 |9
Top 5 |1,180 |310 |37
Top 10 |1,860 |440 |65
Bottom 50 |1,630 |175 |69
All taxpayers |6,510 |1,110 |296
Information on quantile groups of taxpayers within each country of the
United Kingdom
Quantile group of |Total income |Income tax liability|Employees' and
taxpayers |self-employed
|national insurance
|contribution
|liability
Per cent. |£ million |£ million |£ million
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scotland
Top 1 |1,770 |559 |26
Top 5 |4,980 |1,340 |120
Top 10 |7,820 |1,910 |234
Bottom 50 |7,590 |824 |330
|------- |------- |-------
All taxpayers |28,900 |5,070 |1,300
England
Top 1 |25,400 |8,540 |236
Top 5 |61,100 |17,900 |1,190
Top 10 |91,100 |24,100 |2,360
Bottom 50 |78,800 |8,950 |3,310
|------- |------- |-------
All taxpayers |311,000 |58,200 |13,300
Wales
Top 1 |804 |248 |13
Top 5 |2,230 |562 |57
Top 10 |3,540 |816 |114
Bottom 50 |3,970 |414 |159
|------- |------- |-------
All taxpayers |14,200 |2,370 |631
Northern Ireland
Top 1 |448 |144 |6
Top 5 |1,180 |316 |28
Top 10 |1,800 |439 |57
Bottom 50 |1,680 |169 |73
|------- |------- |-------
All taxpayers |6,460 |1,110 |291
Information on quantile groups of taxpayers within each country of the
United Kingdom
1991-92
Quantile group of |Total income |Income tax liability|Employees' and
taxpayers |self-employed
|national insurance
|contribution
|liability
Per cent. |£ million |£ million |£ million
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scotland
Top 1 |2,080 |665 |27
Top 5 |5,420 |1,430 |142
Top 10 |8,310 |1,990 |271
Bottom 50 |7,770 |788 |317
All taxpayers |30,000 |5,170 |1,370
England
Top 1 |27,800 |9,420 |257
Top 5 |65,200 |18,900 |1,280
Top 10 |96,500 |25,300 |2,590
Bottom 50 |82,200 |9,040 |3,340
All taxpayers |323,000 |60,000 |13,900
Wales
Top 1 |934 |288 |15
Top 5 |2,480 |618 |69
Top 10 |3,950 |898 |145
Bottom 50 |4,180 |408 |156
All taxpayers |15,300 |2,500 |700
Northern Ireland
Top 1 |421 |131 |4
Top 5 |1,150 |299 |28
Top 10 |1,770 |418 |57
Bottom 50 |1,610 |147 |66
All taxpayers |6,270 |1,050 |271
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OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION
World Bank
Mr. Denham : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what criteria the United Kingdom's executive director of the World bank uses to determine whether a project merits evaluation by the Overseas Development Administration.
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