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Column 381
Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 10 February 1994
NATIONAL FINANCE
Consultancy Contracts
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the value of consultancy contracts awarded by his Departments each year since 1979, both in current prices and at constant 1994 prices.
Mr. Nelson : The table gives the value of committed expenditure, at current prices, for consultancy contracts awarded to Her Majesty's Treasury since August 1991. Information going back beyond August 1991 is not readily available and could be obtained only at
disproportionate cost.
$
Year |Value
|(excl. VAT)
|£
------------------------------------
<1>1991 |210,310
1992 |851,640
1993 |1,004,407
<2>1994 |446,645
<1> August-December.
<2> To date.
Similar information relating to the Chancellor of the Exchequer's other Departments is not held centrally.
Insurance Premium Tax
Mrs. Beckett : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are his plans for the rate of insurance premium tax, which is currently charged at 3 per cent.
Sir John Cope : The Government's proposals for the insurance premium tax are included in the Finance Bill currently in Committee. The rate chosen reflects careful consideration of a range of factors, particularly the revenue yield and the impact on the taxpayer.
Utilities (Privatisation)
Mr. Hain : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a table outlining privatisation receipts for (a) BT, (b) British Gas, (c) regional electricity companies and PowerGen and National Power and (d) regional water boards for each year following privatisation of each utility until 1993 and also including projections to 1994-95.
Mr. Dorrell : The table shows the information requested. In addition to proceeds from the sale of shares, privatisation proceeds include the redemption of preference shares, loan stock and debentures.
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Net privatisation proceeds
£ billion
|BT |British Gas|Electricity|Water
|(England |companies
|and Wales)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1984-85 |1.4 |- |- |-
1985-86 |1.3 |- |- |-
1986-87 |1.4 |2.6 |- |-
1987-88 |0.3 |1.8 |- |-
1988-89 |0.3 |1.8 |- |-
1989-90 |0.1 |0.8 |- |0.5
1990-91 |0.1 |0.5 |3.1 |1.5
1991-92 |1.8 |- |3.4 |1.5
1992-93 |3.7 |0.4 |1.5 |-
<1>1993-94 |3.8 |- |0.7 |-
<1>1994-95 |1.7 |- |0.3 |-
<1> Estimated outturn.
Subcontractors (Taxation)
Mr. Burns : To ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer if he intends to take forward the proposals for the construction industry tax deduction scheme in the 1991 Inland Revenue consultative document, "Taxation of Subcontractors in the Construction Industry".
Mr. Dorrell : It is the Government's intention, subject to other priorities, to include measures in the next Finance Bill to implement some of the recommendations in the 1991 consultative document "Taxation of Subcontractors in the Construction Industry", together with the recommendations of a later efficiency scrutiny. These changes will come into effect after the introduction of the proposals for self-assessment and the simplification of personal tax in the current Finance Bill. The Inland Revenue will be consulting on how this will be done.
Capital Allowances
Mr. Burns : To ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the availability of capital allowances for enterprise zone buildings brought into use two years ago.
Mr. Dorrell : Under section 10B of the Capital Allowances Act 1990, capital allowances at the 100 per cent. enterprise zone rate remain available for a period of two years after a building is brought into use, so long as the building was brought into use on or after 16 December 1991.
As announced on 13 January, Official Report, column 249, the Government will be bringing forward legislation during the Committee stage of the Finance Bill to amend a defect in the capital allowances legislation as it affects long leases given in return for a capital sum. The Government are conscious that, until the legislation is published, there will inevitably be some uncertainty for investors about the detailed conditions under which capital allowances will be available. In cases where entitlement to capital allowances under section 10B's two-year rule was shortly to expire at the time of the announcement, this uncertainty may have had the effect of preventing some investors from making a claim under the rule. That is clearly an unfair situation in which to place such investors.
Accordingly, we propose to bring forward a provision in the Committee of the Finance Bill which will give until 31 August 1994 for qualifying expenditure to fall within
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the section 10B rule. This will apply to cases where, under this section, the two-year period would have expired on or after 13 January 1994 and not later than 31 August 1994.Maintenance Payments (Taxation)
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will estimate the number of taxpayers who will be affected by the restriction of tax relief on the first £1,720 of maintenance payments to 20 per cent. in 1994-95 and 15 per cent. from 1995-96 ; (2) what will be the effect on revenues in 1994-95 and in a full year of (a) restricting tax relief on maintenance payments up to £1,720 to 20 per cent. and (b) the withdrawal of relief on payments made to or for the benefit of children when they reach 21 years ; (3) what he estimates to be the effect on revenues in 1995-96 and in a full year of proposals to reduce tax relief on the first £1,720 of maintenance payments from 20 per cent. in 1994-95 to 15 per cent. in 1995-96.
Mr. Dorrell [holding answer 1 February 1994] : It is thought that some 400,000 people making maintenance payments may be affected, although payers who are liable to tax at the lower rate only will not be affected by the restriction of relief to 20 per cent. in 1994-95. Approximate estimates of the revenue effects of restricting the relief based on a projection of information from the 1991-92 survey of personal incomes are given below.
£ million
Revenue yield in
------------------------------------------------------------------------
|1994-95 |A full year
Restriction to 20 per cent. |25 |30
|1995-96 |A full year
Further restriction to 15 per cent. |15 |20
It is not possible to provide a precise estimate of the small yield from the withdrawal of relief on payments made to or for the benefit of children when they reach 21 years.
Contraband
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what quantities and value of contraband (a) tobacco, (b) drugs, (c) alcohol and (d) other was seized by Customs and Excise in the last year for which statistics are available and in each of the five previous years ;
(2) what quantity of and value of contraband alcohol was seized by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise in the last year for which statistics are available ; how it was disposed of, and at what cost ; and what are the comparable figures for any previous years for which statistics are available.
Sir John Cope [holding answer 8 February 1994] : The amounts and street level values of the main drug types seized by Customs and Excise for the past six calendar years are as below.
Drug type |Weight |Total value
|(kilogrammes)|(£ millions)
--------------------------------------------------------
1993
Synthetics |1,096 \
Cannabis |53,157 | |518
Cocaine |748 |
Heroin
1992
Synthetics |348 \
Cannabis |44,556 | |545
Cocaine |2,250 |
Heroin |449 /
1991
Synthetics |473 \
Cannabis |2,285 | |308
Cocaine |1,061 |
Heroin |409 /
1990
Synthetics |89 \
Cannabis |24,581 | |244
Cocaine |561 |
Heroin |588 /
1989
Synthetics |23 \
Cannabis |50,715 | |258
Cocaine |424 |
Heroin |331 /
1988
Synthetics |18 \
Cannabis |44,018 | |185
Cocaine |283 |
Heroin |230 \
For single market excise-related offences the quantities of goods seized, and the amount of duties involved, for 1993 are as follows :
|Duty
|£
------------------------------------------------
1,355,485 cigarettes and cigars |132,059
10,191 kg tobacco |945,684
753,012 litres alcoholic drinks |590,025
Methods of disposal of alcoholic drinks include pouring down the sewer and the use of land-fill sites. Further details of contraband seizures before 1993 and of methods and costs of disposal could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Consultancies
Mr. Meacher : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the value of consultancy contracts awarded by his Department and its predecessors each year since 1979, both in current prices and at constant 1994 prices.
Mr. Eggar : The information requested is available for the period 1987 to 1993, and details are shown in the table. Other information can only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Value of consultancy contracts, including amendments, awarded by the Department of Trade and Industry, 1987-93, current prices Calendar year |Value ------------------------------------------ 1987 |18,814,000 1988 |15,831,000 1989 |26,578,000 1990 |27,620,000 1991 |38,491,000 1992 |36,612,000 1993 |29,369,000 Value excludes consultancy contracts let independently by the Department's executive agencies.
Public Bodies
Mr. Kilfoyle : To ask the President of the Board of Trade who are the members currently appointed to the Standards, Quality and Measurement Advisory Committee.
Mr. McLoughlin : The Standards, Quality and Measurement Advisory Committee currently consists of 12 members and chairman : Professor P. Payne, Chairman
Dr. L. Holt
Professor W. Gelletly
Professor K. Grattan
Professor A. Olver
Mr. H. Berridge
Mr. R. Brook
Mr. G. Matthews
Professor J. Metcalfe
Professor W. Stewart
Dr. M. A. Ford
Dr. E. Ellis
Dr. T. Wilkins
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Mr. Kilfoyle : To ask the President of the Board of Trade who are the members currently appointed to the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Committee.
Mr. McLoughlin : The current members of the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Committee are :
Mr. J. Puttick, Chairman, Warwick Manufacturing Group Mr. A. B. M. Braithwaite OBE, The Welding Institute
Professor A. de Pennington OBE, University of Leeds
Dr. F. K. Garas, Taylor Woodrow Construction Holdings Limited Mr. P. W. Harrisson, Linread plc
Mr. N. McArthur MBE, Thurnall plc
Professor A. Muhlemann, University of Bradford
Mr. J. K. Overstall, Kewill Group
Dr. A. G. Parker, Lucas Automotive Limited
Professor A. Pugh FEng, University of Hull
Mr. D. Walker, Defence Research Agency
Ministerial Visits
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what ministerial visits have been made by representatives of his Department, over each of the last three years to (a) Indonesia, (b) Jordan, (c) Oman, (d) Nigeria, (e) Ecuador, (f) Malaysia and (g) India ; and what was their main purpose in each case.
Mr. Needham : There have been no visits by DTI Ministers in the last three years to Jordan, Oman, Nigeria or Ecuador. One is planned, however, by me to Oman in April this year for trade promotion purposes. Details of other visits are shown in the table.
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Year and month |Market |Minister |Purpose
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1993
January |Indonesia |The Minister for Trade |Trade promotion
June |Indonesia |The Minister for Trade |Trade promotion
September |Indonesia |The Minister for Energy |Trade promotion
September |Malaysia |The Minister for Trade |Trade promotion
September |Malaysia |The Minister for Trade |Trade promotion
November |India |The Minister for Trade |Indo-British Bombay week/trade promotion
November |Malaysia |The Minister for Trade |Trade promotion
December |Indonesia |The Minister for Trade |Trade promotion
1992
September |India |The hon. Member for Gainsborough
|and Horncastle (Mr. Leigh) |Trade promotion
1991
February |India |The former Secretary of State |Ninth Indian engineering trade fair/trade
|promotion
November |India |Lord Reay |British energy seminar/trade promotion
Disqualification Unit
Mr. Cousins : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many cases have been reported to his Department's disqualification unit in each year since 1987 ; how many of these have been subject to full investigation ; and how many have been successfully prosecuted.
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Mr. Neil Hamilton : Detailed information is not available in this form requested by the hon. Member. The following information is however available :
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|Reports of |Cases identified as |Number of individual|Number of directors
|misconduct made to |prima facie meeting |directors whom |against whom
|disqualification |envidential criteria|directions given |disqualification
|unit
|orders were made
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1987-88 |3,499 |n/a |251 |130
1988-89 |4,209 |n/a |419 |293
1989-90 |3,444 |n/a |462 |288
1990-91 |4,508 |n/a |449 |251
1991-92 |6,171 |906 |700 |326
1992-93 |6,710 |877 |564 |446
Notes:
1. The figures quoted in the first two columns are for the number of companies reported on or identified.
2. The number of directions given or disqualification orders made in a particular year do not necessarily relate to reports
made or cases identified in that year.
Mr. Cousins : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the average length of time taken to investigate a case reported to his Department's disqualification unit in each year since 1987 ; and what was the median time taken to investigate such reports.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : The information requested by the hon. Member for Newcastle Upon Tyne, Central (Mr. Cousins) is not maintained by my Department.
Teaching Company Schemes
Mr. Cousins : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish a table showing the distribution of live teaching company schemes as at 31 December 1993, by region ; and which schemes started and terminated in 1992 and 1993.
Mr. McLoughlin : Tables showing the requested information relating to teaching company scheme, TCS, programmes are as follows :
1. TCS Programmes by region as at 31 December 1993
Region Company sites
|Number |Percentages
-----------------------------------------------------
East Midlands |35 |7.2
London |22 |4.5
North East |87 |17.8
Northern Ireland |35 |7.2
North West |52 |10.7
Scotland |30 |6.1
South East |77 |15.8
South West |66 |13.5
Wales |23 |4.7
West Midlands |61 |12.5
|------- |-------
Totals |488 |100
2. TCS Programmes starting and ending in 1992 and 1993.
Region Company sites
1992 1993
|Started|Ended |Started|Ended
---------------------------------------------------------
East Midlands |10 |8 |20 |14
London |6 |6 |14 |0
North East |45 |16 |33 |30
Northern Ireland |10 |6 |20 |14
North West |15 |23 |24 |20
Scotland |14 |14 |12 |10
South East |34 |25 |34 |16
South West |20 |26 |39 |9
Wales |15 |8 |6 |5
West Midlands |33 |21 |24 |18
|-------|-------|-------|-------
Totals |202 |153 |226 |136
Government Chemist
Mr. Cousins : To ask the President of the Board of Trade on how many occasions within the last five years the laboratory of the Government chemist has been asked to advise on export licence applications ; and what internal transfers of resources are made to the laboratory in recognition of these services.
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Mr. McLoughlin : Between 1989 and 1994 the LGC has provided advice to the relevant parts of DTI on 312 occasions. The LGC has charged the DTI the full economic cost of providing this service.
Expo '92
Mr. Cousins : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if the final accounts have now been settled for his Department's costs towards Expo '92 in Seville ; what was his Department's total contribution ; and whether this figure includes the costs of meeting the costs of Joanna Bickerton Associates.
Mr. Needham : The final accounts for DTI's contribution towards Expo '92 in Seville are nearing completion and should be finalised by the end of March. These accounts will include the costs of settlement with Joanna Bickerton Associates.
Disqualification Unit
Mr. Cousins : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many cases were reported to his Department's disqualification unit for each year since 1987 which failed to come before the court because they had exceeded the statutory limitation period.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : The precise details requested by the hon. Member are not maintained by the disqualification unit. However, expiry, actual or imminent, of the two-year period is the principal reason why cases which otherwise broadly meet the evidential requirements are not pursued. The number of such cases was as follows :
Financial year |Number --------------------------------------------- 1991-92 |369 1992-93 |332 <1>1993 |551 <1> Nine months to 31 December 1993.
Information on prior years is not available.
Timeshare
Mr. Hunter : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make representations to the European Commission for the inclusion in the draft directive on timeshare of payment of limited deposits by timeshare purchasers, as requested by the United Kingdom timeshare industry.
Mr. McLoughlin : I am aware of the concerns expressed by the timeshare industry in this matter, but I regard the prohibition on the payment of deposits during the cooling-off period proposed in the draft timeshare directive as important for consumer protection. In any event, political agreement on the directive has been reached.
New Businesses
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many new businesses were started in the past year ; how many people they employ ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. McLoughlin [holding answer 9 February 1994] : Estimates of numbers of small business start-ups are produced by Barclays and NatWest. Their latest estimates indicate that there were around 400, 000 new start-ups in 1993.
Estimates of employment in new firms are not available.
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Rooker : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list those topics on which it is not his practice to answer parliamentary questions ; and if he will list any recent changes in the practice of his Department.
Mr. Heseltine [holding answer 9 February 1994] : There has been no change from the practice of this and previous administrations, as described on page 292 of the current edition of "Erskine May".
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Indonesia
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Indonesians have been supported by Her Majesty's Government since 1975 to study in Britain.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Since 1975 we have provided some 3,000 awards for Indonesians. Precise figures could be provided only at
disproportionate cost.
Public Bodies
Mr. Kilfoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs who are the members currently appointed to the Wilton Park International Advisory Council.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The Wilton Park International Advisory Council consists of the ambassadors and high commissioners of all OECD embassies and high commissions in London. The countries currently represented are : Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the USA.
Consultancy Contracts
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the value of consultancy contracts awarded by his Department each year since 1979, both in current prices and at constant 1994 prices.
Mr. Goodlad : The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Accounting Officers
Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions since 1979 a Foreign Secretary has issued a direction to an accounting officer ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Goodlad : Since 1979, there has been a ministerial direction to ODA's accounting officer on one occasion, in
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1991 in respect of the Pergau hydro-electric project in Malaysia. No ministerial directions to the FCO's accounting officer have been issued since 1979.ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Executive Agencies
Mr. McMaster : To ask the Attorney-General if he will list the subjects on which his Department formerly answered parliamentary questions but which are now referred by him to an executive agency.
The Attorney-General : No parliamentary questions have to date been referred by me to the Government Property Lawyers, the only executive agency in the Departments for which I am responsible. The subjects which I would normally expect to refer are the day-to-day operational matters of the agency and the provision of conveyancing and lands advisory services by the agency, subjects for which the chief executive has delegated responsibility as set out in the agency's framework document.
Prosecution Witnesses
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Attorney-General what proportion of prosecution witnesses in July 1993 had to wait more than two hours before being called to give evidence.
The Attorney-General : No figures are available for July 1993. A census of six CPS areas during the last two weeks of March 1993 showed that 42 per cent. of witnesses waited less than two hours and 58 per cent. had to wait more than two hours.
A further pilot study in four Crown court centres between 1 September 1993 and 30 November 1993 showed that 48.5 per cent. of witnesses waited less than two hours and 51.5 per cent. more than two hours. A nation-wide monitoring survey will commence on 1 April 1994.
The samples to date have been analysed to identify the principal reasons for extended waiting time for witnesses. The objective is to use such information in co-operation with other agencies to bring about reduced waiting times in future.
Hizb ut Tahrir
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Attorney-General what action is being considered by the prosecution authorities over racist material issued by the Hizb ut Tahrir organisation ; and if he will make a statement.
The Attorney-General : The Crown Prosecution Service does not maintain a central record of cases referred to it. Inquiries have been made of CPS headquarters staff but no cases concerning the Hizb ut Tahrir organisation are presently being considered at headquarters. If the hon. Member will identify to me when and where any such material has been referred to the CPS I will make further inquiries.
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SOCIAL SECURITY
Public Bodies
Mr. Kilfoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security who are the members currently appointed to the disability living allowance advisory board.
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