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Serco Ltd.

Mr. Redmond: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what contracts his Department has with Serco Ltd; what is the current cost; when each contract ends; what are the penalties involved should he seek early termination of the contract; and if he will make a statement. [26642]

The Deputy Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given yesterday by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Office of Public Service.

NATIONAL HERITAGE

Television Licences (Blind People)

Ms Lynne: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what is the estimated number of blind people who receive a discount for their television licence; what is the level of discount; how long it has remained at this amount; and if he will make it his policy to increase the discount for blind people financed by the extra revenue raised through ending the exemption for a television licence on second homes. [26817]

Mr. Sproat: It is estimated that some 27,000 registered blind people receive the available £1.25 reduction in the television licence fee. The last increase was in 1965 and the Government have no plans to increase the level of this concession. Any such increase would inevitably lead to demands for similar concessions from other groups of people. These demands could not be satisfied without an increase for those who pay the full licence fee, irrespective of their means.

Heritage Sites (Canals)

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what estimate he has made of the number of heritage sites which are located alongside or in close proximity to canals. [27337]

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Mr. Sproat: No such estimates are possible because information held on listed buildings, scheduled monuments and other heritage sites does not necessarily indicate their relationship to canals.

Voluntary Sector (Ministerial Responsibility)

Mr. Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when she will assume ministerial responsibility for volunteering, the voluntary sector and charity matters; and if she will make a statement. [28030]

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley: My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced on 1 April, Official Report, column 1, that these responsibilities would be transferred to me from my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department as soon as the necessary financial and other arrangements could be made. I have agreed with my right hon. and learned Friend that I shall take over ministerial responsibility from 1 May 1996. At the same date, the staff who currently perform these functions in the Home Office will transfer to the Department of National Heritage.

I have decided that, following the transfer, my hon. Friend the Minister of State will become responsible for the work of the National Lottery Charities Board alongside his existing responsibility for lottery matters; and my noble Friend the Under-Secretary of State will become responsible for work on the voluntary sector, volunteering, charities and community development.

My Department will be seeking parliamentary authority in the summer supplementary estimates to enable it to make payments of grants and for the transfer of resources currently in the Home Office. Until such time as approval is given, the Home Office will remain accountable for the actual physical payment of these grants.

EU Directives

Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will list the directives which have affected her Department in each of the past three years and (a) the United Kingdom legislation introduced as a result of the directives, (b) the United Kingdom legislation which goes beyond the minimum standards set out in the directives and (c) the clauses within each piece of United Kingdom legislation which amplify the minimum standards set out in the directives. [27079]

Mr. Sproat [holding answer 29 April 1996]: My Department has implemented only one directive in the last three years in an area for which it has lead policy responsibility. This is directive 93/7/EEC on the return of cultural objects unlawfully removed from the territory of a member state. Implementation was made by means of a statutory instrument, SI 1994/501, The Return of Cultural Objects Regulations 1994, which came into force on 2 March 1994. The regulations do not go beyond the absolute minimum required to comply with the directive.

Playing Fields

Mr. Pendry: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when the Government will announce the results of their consultation process about giving the Sports Council statutory consultee status on the sale of playing fields. [27262]

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Mr. Robert B. Jones: I have been asked to reply.

The Government's consultation on the possibility that the Sports Council should become a statutory consultee for development affecting playing fields ended on 15 March. The responses have been analysed and indicate broad support for this proposal. Subject to further consideration of some technical and legal points, we expect to lay the necessary statutory instrument before Parliament in June.

TREASURY

EDS Ltd.

Mr. MacShane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the Inland Revenue contract with EDS mentioned in his answer of 19 July 1995, Official Report, column 1264, precluded open tendering for software development for self-assessment of taxpayers; what is the estimated cost of EDS's trial development of self-assessment software; and what is the expected cost over the next five years of full development of the software including delivery and technical support to the public. [27249]

Mr. Jack: As stated in my answer of 19 July 1995, Official Report, column 1264, the contract between the Inland Revenue and the computer company EDS Ltd. was awarded as a result of an open competition to provide all information technology services to the Inland Revenue for the contract period of 10 years. Software development for the self assessment programme falls within that contract.

Information concerning the cost to the Inland Revenue of producing an electronic version of the return which will be distributed to taxpayers is commercial confidential.

Summer Economic Forecast

Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the summer economic forecast 1996 will be published. [27330]

Mr. Kenneth Clarke: The summer economic forecast will be published on Tuesday 9 July.

Small and Medium Businesses

Mrs. Roche: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of his Department's budget was spent on procurement from small and medium enterprises in 1995-96. [27519]

Mrs. Angela Knight: The Treasury does not distinguish between different sizes of supplier. The Department's aim is to award contracts which offer the

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best value for money, irrespective of supplier size. This follows advice on good procurement practice issued by the central unit of procurement. Small and medium enterprises are encouraged to bid for Government contracts as detailed in the video and booklet package "Think Big Buy Small" which was published in April.

Ministerial Residences

Mr. Hall: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which Ministers currently pay tax on their official residences as a benefit in kind. [27515]

Mr. Kenneth Clarke: Several Ministers do so, but for reasons of confidentiality details of individual Ministers' tax affairs are not disclosed.

Late Payments

Mrs. Roche: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the amount of money paid late to the private sector for goods and services in 1995-96 by each Government department. [27511]

Mrs. Angela Knight: This information is not held centrally.

Trustee Investments Act 1961

Mr. Matthew Banks: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to publish the consultation document on reform of the Trustee Investments Act 1961. [28031]

Mrs. Angela Knight: The consultation document has been published today. It proposes replacement of the Trustee Investments Act by an order under the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994. The proposed order would contain provisions designed to achieve the necessary level of continuing protection for beneficiaries of trusts and for trustees. The consultation period will end on 31 August. Copies of the document are available in the Libraries of the House.

Retirement Pension

Ms Corston: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list (i) average annual earnings and (ii) the annual value of the flat-rate retirement pension for a single person, for (a) the latest year for which both figures are available, (b) 2000-01, (c) 2010-11, (d) 2020-21 and (e) 2030-31, assuming that earnings grow at (1) 1½ per cent., (2) 2 per cent. and (3) 2½ per cent. per annum, and (A) that pensions remain price-related and (B) grow at the same rate as earnings. [26444]

Mr. Heald: I have been asked to reply.

The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the table.

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£ per annum 1995-96 prices

	Average earnings			Single person's basic retirement pension
Real terms growth per annum	1.5 per cent.	2 per cent.	2.5 per cent.	0 per cent.	1.5 per cent.	2 per cent.	2.5 per cent.
1995-96	17,490	17,490	17,940	3,060.20	3,060.20	3,060.20	3,060.20
2000-01	18,840	19,310	19,790	3,-6-.20	3,296.80	3,382.60	3,460.60
2010-11	21,860	23,540	25,330	3,060.20	3,824.60	4,126.20	4,435.60
2020-21	25,370	28,690	32,420	3,060.20	4,435.60	5,028.40	5,678.40
2030-31	29,450	34,970	41,500	3,060.20	5,148.00	6,128.20	7,269.60

Notes:

1. The latest year for which information is available on both earnings and basic retirement pension is 1995-96. A single person's basic retirement pension was £3,060.20 per annum, or £58,85 per week. Average earnings for all full-time adult employees in April 1995 were estimated at £17,490 per annum, or £336.30 per week (Source: new earnings survey).

2. The uprating convention for retirement pension has been followed, i.e. the weekly amount of uprated retirement pension is rounded to the nearest 5p and it is this rounded figure that forms the basis of the following year's uprating. Annual average earnings figures have been rounded to the nearest £10.

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1 May 1996 : Column: 533

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