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VAT
Mrs. Gorman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list those bodies which are able under section 33 of the Value Added Tax Act 1994 to recover value added tax; and if he will make a statement on how the
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EC sixth VAT directive restricts changes to eligibility to recover value added tax. [1807]
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: The public bodies eligible for refunds of VAT under section 33 of the Value Added Tax Act 1994 are too numerous to be individually identified. In addition to the general categories listed in section 33(3)
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(a) to (j), other bodies such as the National Rivers Authority, the Environment Agency and probation and magistrates courts committees have been added from time to time under section 33(3)(k).
Section 33 bodies are treated under the VAT system in much the same way as other taxable persons, except that, where they are carrying out statutory obligations outside the scope of the tax, they may recover their input tax. This accords with the general principles governing the tax treatment of public bodies laid down in the EC sixth VAT directive.
Domestic Fuel
Mr. Robert Ainsworth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate, by region, the average weekly expenditure in 1997-98 and 1996-97 of (a) all households, (b) families with children, (c) non-retired households and (d) retired households, on domestic fuel, showing separately for 1995-96 the extra expenditure as a result of VAT at 8 per cent. [92]
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: Table 5.1 of the CSO report "Family Spending: A report on the 1994-95 Family Expenditure Survey" provides the latest published data.
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Figures for 1995-96 and subsequent years will depend on the future level of fuel prices, and on what happens to incomes and spending patterns.
Labour Force Survey
Mr. McAvoy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the latest annual figures available on (a) the number of young people aged 25 years and under in the work force and (b) the number and proportion who are not in full-time or part-time employment; and if he will provide comparable information for each of the member states of the European Union. [1790]
Mrs. Angela Knight: Estimates from the spring-- March to May--1995 labour force survey show that there were 4,622,000 economically active people in the United Kingdom aged 16 to 24, of whom 706,000--15 per cent.--were International Labour Organisation unemployed.