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Inheritance Tax
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people and what percentage of taxpayers in Lancashire are liable for inheritance tax on estates valued over (a) £160,000, (b) £200,000, (c) £300,000, (d) £400,000, (e) £500,000, (f) £1,000,000 and (g) £2,000,000. [1988]
Mr. Jack: I regret that this information is not available.
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Mr. McAvoy:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the size of the United Kingdom labour force in each of the past five years; what were the activity rates for men and women during those years; and what were the numbers and proportion of self-employed. [1812]
Mrs. Angela Knight:
Estimates for the United Kingdom from the labour force survey are shown in the tables following:
| Economically active (thousands) | Economic activity rate | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (percentage of all persons aged 16 and over) | ||||||||
| Spring | All | Men | Women | All | Men | Women | ||
| 1991 | 28,592 | 16,247 | 12,345 | 63.5 | 74.8 | 52.9 | ||
| 1992 | 28,581 | 16,187 | 12,395 | 63.1 | 73.8 | 53.0 | ||
| 1993 | 24,447 | 16,021 | 12,426 | 62.7 | 72.9 | 53.1 | ||
| 1994 | 28,433 | 15,996 | 12,436 | 62.5 | 72.5 | 53.1 | ||
| 1995 | 28,426 | 15,981 | 12,445 | 62.4 | 72.2 | 53.1 | ||
| Self-employed (thousands) | Self-employed as a percentage of all persons in employment | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | All | Men | Women | All | Men | Women | ||
| 1991 | 3,402 | 2,582 | 820 | 13.0 | 17.5 | 7.2 | ||
| 1992 | 3,227 | 2,438 | 789 | 12.5 | 17.0 | 6.9 | ||
| 1993 | 3,184 | 2,384 | 800 | 12.5 | 17.0 | 7.0 | ||
| 1994 | 3,301 | 2,480 | 820 | 12.8 | 17.5 | 7.1 | ||
| 1995 | 3,355 | 2,544 | 811 | 12.9 | 17.7 | 7.0 | ||
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Correspondence
Sir Ralph Howell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the letters to the hon. Member for North, Norfolk from the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, dated 13 October 1993, reference cst.ps/dr/11mp12.10. [1669]
Mr. Waldegrave: A copy of the letter has been placed in the Library of the House.
Fuel Duties
Mr. Peter Bottomley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will rearrange fuel duties to reduce the retail prices of the least polluting fuels for motor vehicles. [2145]
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: I cannot anticipate my right hon. and learned Friend's Budget statement.
Mortgage Dealers
Mr. MacShane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the regulatory bodies which oversee the work of firms which sell or offer advice on mortgages which do not include an investment element in them. [2320]
Mrs. Angela Knight: The Bank of England supervises United Kingdom authorised banks; the Building Societies Commission supervises building societies. Credit institutions authorised in other members of the European Economic Area which provide services in the UK are supervised by their home state authorities.
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Spirits Duty
Mr. Peter Bottomley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will list the excise duty receipts from spirits in each of the first six months of the present and the last tax year; [2140]
- (2) if he has adjusted the forecast duty from spirits; [2142]
(3) if he will estimate the shortfall in estimated duty receipts from spirits for the current year. [2141]
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: The table shows spirit duty receipts for the first six months of 1995-96 were approximately 93 per cent. of revenues in the first six months of 1994-95. The outturn for the whole of 1994-95 was £1.776 billion.
| Month | 1995-96 | 1994-95 |
|---|---|---|
| April | 112 | 126 |
| May | 106 | 128 |
| June | 129 | 134 |
| July | 121 | 122 |
| August | 115 | 121 |
| September | 128 | 134 |
This information is published every month by the Central Statistical Office in "Financial Statistics", table 2.1D.
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Mr. Bottomley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Treasury model for tax on spirits was last adjusted. [2143]
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: The models used for spirits duty receipts are reviewed regularly.
Earnings Rates
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish hourly and weekly wage rates for 1992 and 1995 together with the percentage change between the two, according to data from the "New Earnings Survey" deflated by the retail prices index, for (a) full-time manual men on adult rates, (b) full-time non-manual men on adult rates, (c) full-time manual women on adult rates, (d) full-time non-manual women on adult rates and (e) full-time men and women on adult rates, giving the figures for 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles and the mean in each case. [2324]
Mrs. Angela Knight [holding answer 24 November 1995]: The 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th and 90th percentiles and the mean for the categories requested are published in part
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A, table 1 of the "New Earnings Survey", for 1992 and 1995. To compare data for the two years in question the retail prices index, all items, should be used. This information is published in the "Central Statistical Office Business Monitor" MM23. Copies of the publications can be found in the Members' Library.
Interest Rates
Mr. Harry Greenway: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are current interest rates; what was the average for the period February 1974 to May 1979 and May 1979 to date; and if he will make a statement. [1489]
Mrs. Angela Knight [holding answer 23 November 1995]: The rate, measured by the clearing banks' base rate, is currently 6.75 per cent.
The average interest rate, represented by the Bank of England's minimum lending rate, between February 1974 and May 1979 was 10.53 per cent. From May 1979 to date minimum lending rate--or clearing bank base rate in periods when MLR was not posted--has averaged 10.92 per cent.
The rates for recent periods can be found in table 7.1J of the CSO's "Financial Statistics", a copy of which is in the Members' Library.
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Mr. Tipping:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many male and female prisoners were held by the Prison Service on (a) 27 May 1993 and on (b) 27 November 1995. [1084]
Miss Widdecombe:
Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the temporary Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from A. J. Pearson to Mr. Paddy Tipping, dated 27 November 1995:
Mrs. Roche:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of his Department's expenditure in 1994-95 was spent on procuring goods or services from small and medium enterprises. [1948]
Mr. Howard:
The information required to answer this question is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Madden:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to take decisions on application by detained Irish nationals to be repatriated to prisons in the Irish Republic; and if he will make a statement. [2427]
Miss Widdecombe:
The Council of Europe convention on the transfer of sentenced persons came into effect for the Republic of Ireland on 1 November 1995.
Under the convention, both jurisdictions, as well as the prisoner concerned, are required to consent to repatriation before any transfer can take place. Requests will be determined on their individual merits as and when information is available to all parties to enable informed decisions on consent to be made.
Mr. Madden:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if those British citizens detained in prisons overseas who were received by the United Kingdom in the last five years, including those returned from America, were subject to remission and parole policies prevailing in the United Kingdom; [2429]
(2) how many British citizens detained in prison overseas who have applied to be repatriated to prisons in the United Kingdom have had their applications refused over the last five years to date; and if he will list the countries from which the applications were made. [2426]
27 Nov 1995 : Column: 458
Miss Widdecombe:
Repatriation requires the consent of both jurisdictions and the prisoner concerned. Information is held only in cases where the United Kingdom withholds consent. In the last five years, one prisoner, a British national imprisoned in Canada, has been refused repatriation.
Under the terms of the Repatriation of Prisoners Act 1984 and the international agreements entered into by the United Kingdom for the repatriation of prisoners, the United Kingdom is responsible for administering the balance of a prisoner's sentence remaining to be served at the date of transfer. Repatriated prisoners are considered for release under the same rules which apply to other prisoners convicted here.
Mr. Madden:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to take a decision on the transfer on compassionate grounds of Patrick Kelly and Michael O'Brien to prisons in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [2428]
Miss Widdecombe:
The requests for transfer to Northern Ireland made by Patrick Kelly and Michael O'Brien were refused on 26 September. Their requests did not meet the criteria for transfer. They had no known links with Northern ireland and they were not previously resident there before their present convictions.
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question asking how many male and female prisoners were held by the Prison Service on (a) 27 May 1993 and (b) 27 November 1995.
Figures for 27 May 1993 are not available. However, on 31 May 1993 there were 42,091 male and 1,494 female prisoners held by the Prison Service. Figures are not yet available for 27 November 1995. I will write to you again with these details as soon as they become available.
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