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Personal Equity Plans
Mr. Pearson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the yield from imposing a ceiling of (a) £10,000, (b) £20,000 and (c) £30,000 on the amount that may be held a PEP by any one individual. [14331]
Mr. Jack: Total tax relief for personal equity plans is provisionally estimated at £425 million for 1995-96. Information about PEPs is derived from annual returns provided by plan managers. These show the total value of funds, amount of subscriptions received and number of investors, but do not include information on the distribution of the number of investors by size of total PEP investment on which to base estimates of the yield from imposing ceilings on the amount individuals may hold in PEPs.
Accrued Income Scheme
Mr. Tim Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the cost of complying with the accrued income scheme following the introduction of the loan relationships legislation; and what is the average annual yield from the accrued income scheme from personal taxpayers. [13797]
Mr. Jack
[holding answer 8 February 1996]: The loan relationship provisions contained in the current Finance Bill will materially reduce the costs of compliance with the accrued income scheme, since companies will no longer be subject to it. So far as individuals are concerned, no yield is necessarily to be expected from the scheme, since it affords relief from tax as readily as it brings additional income into charge. The limited figures available suggest that the scheme does in practice generate a small net yield. its main purpose, however, is
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to avoid the much larger loss of revenue which would arise in its absence, from tax-motivated "bond washing" transactions.
Mr. Miller:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list all cases where spare computer capacity has been sold to other Departments since 1987, giving the Department and value of each contract. [14076]
Mrs. Angela Knight:
So far as I am aware, no spare computer capacity has been sold by Her Majesty's Treasury to other Departments since 1987.
Dr. Wright:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which of his Department's administrative manuals and internal guidance are now made public; and which remain private. [14027]
Mrs. Angela Knight:
The Treasury makes available to the public a large number of publications on various issues, details of which are included in the Treasury's booklet, "Publications in Print". The booklet has been deposited in the Libraries of both Houses.
Publications include guidance notes from the central unit on procurement, reports of the Treasury's fundamental expenditure review and a variety of other documents plus information via the Internet.
Those manuals and guidance notes which are not published deal mainly with internal staff and security issues. No central record is kept.
Sir Andrew Bowden:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what amount of trivial occupational or private pension can be converted into a lump sum; when the figure was last increased and from what sum; and what plans to increase it. [13785]
Mr. Jack:
Under the rules for occupational pension schemes, commutation on grounds of triviality is currently permitted if the aggregate benefits, including the pension equivalent of any lump sum benefits, payable from all schemes in respect of the employment are not more than £260 per annum. If total benefits exceed that amount, any residual pension left after taking the normal lump sum retirement benefit cannot be commuted even though it may not exceed the triviality limit.
The limit was increased from £104 to £260 in 1991.
There are no existing arrangements under the personal pension scheme rules to allow the conversion of trivial pensions to lump sums. However, as from 6 April 1996 procedures will be in place to allow personal pension funds which are insufficient to buy a pension of at least £260 per annum and total £2,500 or less to be taken in cash.
The Inland Revenue periodically reviews all administrative limits and announces any changes at the same time. The triviality limit for both occupational and personal pension schemes will be reconsidered at the time of the next review.
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Mr. Steen:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on which occasions in the last three years officials have vetoed draft EC legislation on the grounds that a fiche d'impact had not been correctly prepared. [13646]
Mr. Jack:
The correct preparation of fiches d'impact is a very important part of our consideration of proposals for EC legislation. It is one of the factors taken into account when Ministers consider the UK's negotiating position on a particular proposal.
Mr. Andrew Smith:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much of the yield in 1998-99 to the Inland Revenue forecast in the "Financial Statement and Budget Report 1996-97", resulting from the change to self-assessment, is attributable to (a) business growth and (b) changing from the previous year to current year basis. [13748]
Mr. Jack
[holding answer 5 February 1996]: As I said in the debate on clause 112 of the Finance Bill, Official Report, 25 January 1996, column 530, just over £700 million of the 1989-99 self-assessment yield shown in table 5B.2 of the "Financial Statement and Budget Report 1996-97" relates to income tax and class 4 national insurance contributions on the profits of trades, professions and vocations. This yield is almost wholly attributable to the interaction between the assumed growth in taxable profits and the move from the preceding year basis of assessment to the current year basis. If either of those factors were not present, there would be no significant effects on tax receipts from these sources of income attributable to self-assessment.
Mr. Cohen:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what assessment he has made of the proportion of his officials who have a declared interest in the arms industry; [12331]
Mr. Hanley:
We are not aware of any such declarations in recent years, but a check of all personnel files would incur disproportionate cost. I also refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent (Mr. Smith) on 1 February 1996, Official Report, column 854.
Mr. Redmond:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he is taking to ensure that helicopters sold by the United Kingdom to the Turkish Government are not used against civilians; and if he will make a statement. [12878]
Mr. David Davis:
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade on 7 February 1995, Official Report, column 229.
9 Feb 1996 : Column: 389
Mr. Cohen:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received about the possibility of Russia selling weapons-grade enriched uranium to European nuclear research reactors; what assessment he has made of the implications of such sales for nuclear proliferation; and if he will make a statement. [14231]
Mr. David Davis:
Euratom has since 1995 been negotiating with Minatom, the Russian nuclear ministry, about the possibility of acquiring non-irradiated highly enriched uranium from the Russian Federation for use in European research reactors. The material in question would be subject to Euratom and international safeguards and to stringent security arrangements and does not, therefore, create a proliferation risk.
Mr. Miller:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list all cases where spare computer capacity has been sold to other Departments since 1987, giving the Department and value of each contract. [14080]
Mr. Hanley:
The FCO diplomatic and aid wings have not sold spare computer capacity to other Government Departments since 1987.
Mr. Foulkes:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what consideration he has given to amending telecommunications operating licences so that telecommunication companies are required to offer discounts and concessions to (a) pensioners and (b) pensioners who are in receipt of income support. [13550]
Mr. Ian Taylor:
Modification of operating licences issued under the Telecommunications Act 1984 is a matter for the Director General of Telecommunications. He is currently consulting on a range of proposals intended to increase the range of tariff packages available to consumers, especially vulnerable users. There are no current plans to develop a special regime for pensioners, as vulnerable users may also come from other sections of society.
(2) in what form his Department's officials' declaration of vested interests are kept; and if he will make a statement. [12332]
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