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ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Scott Inquiry
Mr. Byers : To ask the Attorney-General how many current and former officials and Ministers in his Department have been asked to give written or oral evidence to the Scott inquiry.
The Attorney-General : To date, both I and my predecessor as Attorney-General have been asked to give evidence together with five officials currently in my departments.
PRIME MINISTER
United Nations Security Council
Q6. Dr. Godman : To ask the Prime Minister if, when he last met President Clinton, they discussed the structure, functions and membership of the Security Council of the United Nations ; and if he will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : The structure, functions and membership of the United Nations Security Council were not discussed during my visit.
Ministerial Visits
Q9. Dr. Liam Fox : To ask the Prime Minister when he intends to pay an official visit to Woodspring.
The Prime Minister : I have no immediate plans to do so.
Engagements
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 12 May.
Sir Peter Tapsell : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 12 May.
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 12 May.
The Prime Minister : This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall be having further meetings later today.
Tigris and Euphrates Valleys
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Prime Minister what latest assessment Her Majesty's Government have received from medical sources of the latest disease position in the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates, related to defective water-pump and water-filtering equipment.
The Prime Minister : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 21 April, Official Report, column 599. We have not received any subsequent assessments or reports.
Savings Disregard
Mr. Eastham : To ask the Prime Minister what the reasons were for the discrepancy between his oral answer of 5 May, Official Report, column 843, and the answer of
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the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Social Security on 14 March, Official Report, column 480, in respect of the uprating of the savings disregard.The Prime Minister : There is no discrepancy between my answer on the lower savings disregard and my hon. Friend's answer, which explained the basis of the formula affecting savings held between £3, 000 and £8,000. There is no statutory requirement to increase the capital limits as part of the annual uprating of benefits. We keep the limits under review, but there are no current plans for change.
Scott Inquiry
Mr. Byers : To ask the Prime Minister how many current and former officials and Ministers in his Department, including the Cabinet Office, have been asked to give written or oral evidence to the Scott inqury.
The Prime Minister : My predecesor and I have both given written and oral evidence to Lord Justice Scott's inquiry. In addition, one serving and one former official have given written and oral evidence relating to their respective service within the Prime Minister's Office and the Cabinet Office, and two former officials have submitted written evidence only.
TREASURY
Disposable Income
1. Mr. Austin-Walker : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate by how much the typical family's disposable income will change in 1994-95.
Mr. Portillo : Real personal disposable income is expected to rise by 1 per cent. in 1994.
Income Tax
2. Mr. Evennett : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much marginal rates on income tax have changed since 1979 ; and what evidence he has of the effect on incentives of cutting marginal rates of direct taxation.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : Since 1979 we have cut the top rate of tax from 83 per cent. to 40 per cent. and the basic rate from 33 per cent. to 25 per cent. We have introduced a new 20 per cent. rate for those on low incomes. This has improved incentives and encouraged enterprise at all levels.
14. Mr. Anthony Coombs : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of total income tax revenue is now paid by the highest 10 per cent. of earners ; and what was the proportion in 1979.
Mr. Dorrell : The top 10 per cent. of income tax payers are currently estimated to pay 45 per cent. of total income tax compared with 35 per cent. in 1978-79.
8. Mrs. Jane Kennedy : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the number of people in the United Kingdom who will be paying income tax in 1996.
Mr. Dorrell : Latest estimates suggest that 26.3 million individuals will be liable to income tax in 1996-97.
18. Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received in the last four weeks as to the level of income tax.
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Mr. Dorrell : I have received a number of representations on the level of income tax.
Taxation
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of earnings was payable by a person on average income married with two children in direct and indirect taxation in 1978-79 and 1994-95.
Mr. Dorrell : I refer the hon. Member to the information placed in the House of Commons Library as noted in the answer to the hon. Member for Edinburgh, South (Mr. Griffiths) on 13 April 1989, Official Report, column 620, for estimates, based on illustrative assumptions, of direct and indirect tax payments in 1978-79. Direct and indirect tax payments in 1994- 95 will depend on what happens to prices, income and spending patterns.
United Kingdom Economy
Mr. Willetts : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to meet the director general of the Confederation of British Industry to discuss the state of the United Kingdom economy.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : I will be meeting the Director General of the CBI later this month as part of the regular contact that I maintain with him.
Corporate Taxation
4. Mr. Fabricant : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what analysis he has made of levels of corporate taxation in the United Kingdom compared with current levels in other EU member states.
Mr. Dorrell : The rate of corporate taxation in the United Kingdom is kept under frequent review. The United Kingdom continues to provide the lowest rate in the European Union.
Taxation Rates
Mrs. Roche : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many representations he has received since 1 April regarding increased taxation ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir John Cope : My right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has received a number of representations.
Sir Fergus Montgomery : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what effect the changes in interest rates since 1990 have had on the disposable income, after mortgage payments, of an average family with an average mortgage.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : The halving of mortgage rates since October 1990 has reduced interest payments on a typical £33,000 mortgage by about £160 a month.
Income Tax and National Insurance
7. Mr. Streeter : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the difference between (a) the total annual amount of income tax and national insurance contributions that it is estimated that a married man on average earnings with two children will pay in 1995-96 and
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(b) the amount that the same person would pay in 1995-96 under the regimes of (i) 1977-78, indexed and (ii) 1978-79, indexed.Mr. Dorrell : Income tax and national insurance payments in 1995-96 will depend on the levels of earnings in that year.
If a married man on average earnings with two children paid income tax and national insurance contributions in 1994-95 on the basis of the 1977-78 tax regime indexed to current prices he would be about £930 a year worse off ; on the same basis, the 1978-79 regime would make him £690 a year worse off.
21. Mr. David Evans : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much tax and national insurance was payable on an income of £150,000 last year and in 1978.
Mr. Dorrell : Assuming that all income is earned, that the only income tax allowances and reliefs available are the married man's allowance for 1978-79 and the personal and married couple's allowance for 1993-94, and that class 1 national insurance contributions are paid at the contracted-in rate, the amounts payable were £116,542 in 1978-79 and £56,015 in 1993-94.
Economic Growth
9. Mr. Lidington : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the rate of economic growth in the United Kingdom and that of other EC economies.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : The United Kingdom grew faster than any other major European Community country in 1993, and is expected to do so again this year.
30. Mr. Ottaway : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to review his forecast of the economic growth rate for the next 12 months.
Mr. Portillo : Publication of the first Industry Act forecast of 1994 is planned for the summer.
27. Mr. John Greenway : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the latest United Kingdom figure for economic growth.
Mr. Portillo : In the first quarter of 1994, United Kingdom gross domestic product grew by 0.7 per cent., to a level 2.6 per cent. higher than a year before. GDP has now grown for eight quarters in succession.
Inflation
10. Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the current rate of inflation in the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Germany and France.
Mr. Nelson : Headline inflation in the year to March was 2.3 per cent. in the United Kingdom, compared with 2.5 per cent. in the United States, 3.2 per cent. in Germany and 1.5 per cent. in France.
Mr. Simon Coombs : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the average rate of retail price inflation in each of the last five Parliaments ; and what is the current average for the present one.
Mr. Nelson : The average rate of retail price inflation for the last five Parliaments are shown in the table :
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Parliament
Assembled |Dissolved |Average rate of
|Retail
|Price Inflation Per
|cent.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6 March 1974 |20 September 1974 |17.0
22 October 1974 |7 April 1979 |15.2
9 May 1979 |13 May 1983 |11.5
15 June 1983 |18 May 1987 |4.8
17 June 1987 |16 March 1992 |6.4
These compare with a current average of 1.4 per cent. for the present Parliament, assembled 27 April 1992 up to and including March 1994.
23. Mr. Brazier : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimates he has made of the impact of non-seasonal sales and special offers on measurements of inflation.
Mr. Portillo : Non-seasonal sales discounts are recorded in the retail prices index in the same way as any other price change, as are special offers that involve a straightforward price reduction. However, some special offers, such as discounts on multi-pack buys or on the next purchase, are not measured in the RPI.
The RPI does not identify the reasons for price changes, so the impact of non-seasonal sales and special offers is not separately distinguishable.
Tax Changes
11. Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate how much more a married man on average earnings with two children will pay in taxation over the next two years as a result of the changes in taxes announced in last year's Budgets.
Mr. Portillo : Since 1978-79 the real take-home pay of such a family has risen by around £83 a week. What happens to its tax payments and take-home pay in the next two years will depend on what happens to its income and its spending pattern.
VAT
12. Mr. Morgan : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of an average household's income he estimates will be spent on value added tax in (a) 1994-95 and (b) 1995-96.
Sir John Cope : The latest published information shows that VAT paid by households averaged around 6.8 per cent. of household gross income in 1992.
Alcoholic Drink Excise Duty
15. Mr. Couchman : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the change in excise duty on alcoholic drink during (a) 1993-94, (b) 1992- 93 and (c) 1991-92 ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir John Cope : In the March 1992 Budget excise duties on all alcoholic drinks were increased by 4.5 per cent. In March 1993 most of these duties increased by 5 per cent., while the duty on spirits remained unchanged. On 1 January 1994 most alcohol duties increased by 1.9 per cent. but the duties on beer and spirits remained unchanged. Full details are available in the Budget documents and the relevant legislation.
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Demand
16. Sir David Knox : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the level of total demand in the economy.
Mr. Portillo : For domestic demand, the most recent figures available are for the fourth quarter of 1993. By then it had risen for seven successive quarters, to a level over 4 per cent. above its trough in the first quarter of 1992.
Cross-border Shopping
17. Mr. Steen : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the estimated loss of duty from alcoholic beverage sales in the United Kingdom for 1993-94 and for 1994-95 as a result of cross-border shopping in the single market.
Sir John Cope : Information on which to base an estimate is available only for the calendar year 1993. Customs and Excise estimate the loss of duty from additional cross-border alcohol sales as £70 million.
Late Payment
19. Dr. Goodson-Wickes : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about proposals for combating the practice of late payment by large companies to suppliers.
Mr. Portillo : We expect to announce our proposals shortly. These will take account of the responses to DTI's recent consultation paper on prompt payment.
Tax Revenues
20. Mr. Chisholm : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect of the change in the number of full- time jobs on tax revenues.
Mr. Dorrell : I expect tax revenues to increase as the economy strengthens and unemployment falls.
Public Expenditure Debt Interest
22. Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of public expenditure debt interest represented (a) in 1979 and (b) currently.
Mr. Portillo : General Government gross debt interest payments accounted for 10 per cent. of general Government expenditure in 1979-80. The figure in 1992-93 was 6 per cent.
Finance and the City Review
24. Mr. Mudie : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the timetable for completion of the review of finance and the City.
Mr. Nelson : Work on the industrial finance initiative and the associated programme of consultations will continue tinto the second half of this year. The output from the exercise will, in the first instance, inform our Budget considerations in the autumn.
Public-private Initiative
25. Mr. Berry : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many of the projects announced in the public-private initiative are under construction ; and how many have yet to begin construction.
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Mr. Dorrell : Of the projects listed in "Breaking New Ground", published by the Treasury in November 1993, 30 are either completed or under construction. Decisions have still to be taken on some of the remaining projects, but the total value of those currently expected to proceed under the private finance initiative is over £6 billion, or approximately £8 billion if the Jubilee line extension is included.
Unemployment (Cost)
26. Mr. Ronnie Campbell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest estimate of the overall cost of unemployment since 1979.
Mr. Portillo : No accurate estimate can be made of the overall cost of unemployment because any such calcuation is highly sensitive to the assumptions on which it would have to be based.
Russian Economy
28. Sir Thomas Arnold : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he next expects to meet the managing director of the International Monetary Fund to discuss the Russian economy.
Mr. Nelson : My right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer had a meeting with the Managing Director of the IMF on 24 April before the spring meetings of the IMF and World bank. He discussed many issues during the meeting, including relations with Russia.
Economic Forecasts
29. Mr. Ian Taylor : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the latest forecast for 1994-95 of (a) the rate of growth of gross domestic product and (b) the rate of inflation.
Mr. Portillo : In the November 1993, "Financial Statement and Budget Report", GDP was forecast to grow by 2.5 per cent. in 1994-95. Underlying inflation, as measured by the RPI excluding mortgage interest payments, was forecast to be 3.25 per cent. in the fourth quarter of 1994. A new forecast will be published in the summer.
Growth, Competitiveness and Employment
Paper Mr. Jim Cunningham : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the progress being made on follow up work on the Delors White Paper on growth, competitiveness and employment.
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Mr. Kenneth Clarke : The Brussels European Council in December 1993 discussed the Commission's White Paper on growth, competitiveness and employment. The presidency conclusions of the Council set out a framework for action, mainly by member states, to tackle unemployment and improve the European Community's competitive position. The main elements of this framework concern structural reform of labour markets ; deregulation ; completion of the single market ; and work on a programme of infrastructure projects--trans-European networks. I welcome the shift in the Community's agenda towards priorities advocated by the Government which this framework represents. The Council of Economic and Finance Ministers will discuss progress on 16 May and 6 June, in preparation for the Corfu European Council. I shall be reiterating the importance which the Government attach to effective implementation of the Brussels European Council conclusions, on a basis consistent with the principle of subsidiarity, and shall be seeking further progress in a number of areas.
Common Agricultural Policy
Mr. Jim Cunningham : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the effect of reform of the common agricultural policy on the European Union budget.
Sir John Cope : The effect of reform is to reduce the overall economic burden of the common agricultural policy.
Reform results in payments to farmers based on area of land rather than output produced, and this, combined with a set-aside obligation, reduces the encouragement of surplus production. Area payments to farmers increase budgetary costs, while the accompanying lower support prices reduce consumer and resource costs.
The budgetary costs of CAP reform continue to be met within the agricultural guideline.
Illegal Weapons
Mr. Blair : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many illegal weapons were seized by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise in each year since 1979.
Sir John Cope : Customs do not hold central records of seizures of illegal weapons prior to 1983. The table sets out the number of illegal weapons seized by Customs and Excise nationally in each financial year since 1983-84.
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Year ended 31 March |Handguns |Rifles |Shotguns |CS Gas |Stun guns |Total
|canisters
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1984 |908 |155 |10 |152 |11 |1,236
1985 |150 |52 |7 |174 |2 |385
1986 |108 |156 |11 |141 |30 |446
1987 |1,071 |28 |21 |114 |291 |1,525
1988 |168 |31 |6 |276 |309 |790
1989 |130 |55 |28 |395 |73 |681
1990 |1,489 |144 |44 |414 |301 |2,392
1991 |253 |535 |49 |1,132 |48 |2,017
1992 |176 |126 |82 |692 |53 |1,129
1993 |138 |41 |39 |2,580 |427 |3,225
1994 |304 |349 |68 |6,266 |216 |7,203
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Totals |4,895 |1,672 |365 |12,336 |1,761 |21,029
Firearms Imports
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people (a) were found by Customs to be illegally importing firearms and ammunition and (b ) were prosecuted for illegal importation of firearms and ammunition in (i) 1992 and (ii) 1993.
Sir John Cope : Customs do not hold central statistics on the number of people found to be illegally importing firearms and ammunition. The table shows, for 1992 and 1993, the number of : detected irregularities in firearms and ammunition importations ; seized firearms ; and resulting prosecutions. It is customs policy to take offence action, either by prosecution or compound penalty, when there is sufficient evidence to show that those concerned were knowingly concerned in a fraudulent evasion of United Kingdom prohibitions and restrictions. In all other cases action is restricted to seizure of the goods. The compound penalty procedure is used primarily in respect of non-commercial importations of CS gas canisters or undeclared firearms held for personal security reasons by visiting yachtsmen. These factors account for the low rate of prosecutions resulting from a large number of detections and seizures.
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