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Smuggling
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many flexible anti-smuggling teams have been established; and what plans he has to establish more in (a) 1996-97 and (b) 1997-98. [31098]
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: The composition of flexible anti-smuggling teams varies from place to place and time to time according to Customs assessment of the resources needed to carry out controls. Consequently the number of teams is not meaningful.
Approximately 2,250 officers are currently deployed on anti-smuggling duties. There are no plans to increase this number in 1996-97 or 1997-98.
Mr. Cunningham:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many brigades have been established to tackle drug smuggling; and what plans he has to establish more in (a) 1996-97 and (b) 1997-98. [31097]
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory:
In anti-smuggling terms, brigades are not forces additional to normal anti-smuggling complement. They are forces assembled temporarily on a local basis, and deployed outside their normal operational area to address specific targets or to test risk. Consequently they are not formally established and the question of numbers of brigades does not arise.
Mrs. Roche:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the proposed pilot scheme to aid small business compliance. [29954]
Mr. Jack
[holding answer 21 May 1996]: There is a wide range of work underway in the Chancellor's Departments, including a number of pilots, to reduce the compliance burdens of business in complying with their various tax obligations. For example, there are a number of pilots within the joint working programme between the Inland Revenue, Customs and Excise and the Contributions Agency--announced by the Deputy Prime Minister on 19 September--including plans for joint seminars for small businesses, a national helpline for employers and a review of forms and leaflets. All are well on course.
Mr. Steen:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the annual budget for his departmental deregulation unit; how many staff it employs; and of these how many (a) are career civil servants and of what grades, (b) have been seconded from business, and (c) have experience of the private sector. [30056]
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Mr. Jack
[holding answer 21 May 1996]: Within the Chancellor's Departments much of the work on particular deregulation issues is carried out by the policy teams with overall responsibility for those particular issues. Separate units do exist within the Treasury, Customs and Excise, Inland Revenue and the Office for National Statistics which have the responsibility of co-ordinating the deregulation effort of these departments, but in each case, deregulation represents only part of the workload of these units.
Treasury
In the Treasury, deregulation work is co-ordinated by the competition, deregulation and energy team, which has total annual budget of £231,048. The team has seven staff, comprising one grade 5, one (part time) grade 7, one HEO(D), one HEO, one assistant economist (half time equivalent, also has duties in another team), one AO and one personal secretary. Of these the grade 5, HEO, AO and personal secretary spend part of their time dealing with deregulation. All of these staff are career civil servants; none have been seconded from business.
HM Customs and Excise
In Customs and Excise, deregulation is co-ordinated by the business unit, which allocates £80,000 of its annual budget to work on this issue. Within the unit, one grade 7 and one HEO work full time, and one EO works half time on deregulation. All of these staff are career civil servants; none have been seconded from business.
Office for National Statistics
The survey control and deregulation unit of the Office for National Statistics has a total annual budget of £162,500. This unit has six staff, comprising one grade 7, two HEOs, one EO, and two AOs, all of whom spend part of their time dealing with deregulation. All of these staff are career civil servants; none have been seconded from business.
Inland Revenue
Inland Revenue's departmental deregulation unit has six staff, comprising one grade 5, a grade 6, two grade 7s, one SEO one personal secretary. This unit is a subdivision of a larger team, which has various other responsibilities, and there are no separate figures available covering the costs of deregulation work. All of these staff are career civil servants; none have been seconded from business.
Many of the officials listed, in each of the four departmental deregulation units, will have experience of contacts with the private sector, whether in the course of their present duties, or gained in previous posts. Each of these departments have separate internal accounting systems, so the figures for expenditure by the various deregulation units are not available on the same basis.
Tax Fraud
Mr. Battle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate he has made of the savings accruing to public funds from campaigns against tax fraud in each year since 1979; [30415]
- (2) how many staff have been employed full time by the Treasury in tackling tax fraud for each year since 1979;[30418]
(3) how much was spent by his Department on publicity campaigns against tax fraud for each year since 1979.[30420]
Mr. Jack [holding answer 21 May 1996]: It is not possible to isolate resources relating to fraud cases from other tax investigation work, but I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Darlington (Mr. Milburn) on 3 November 1995, Official Report,
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column 503 about the resources used for tax investigations generally back to 1988-89. Accurate figures are not available as far back as 1979.
The Inland Revenue seeks all appropriate opportunities to publicise its compliance activities. Publicity is sought for every successful Revenue prosecution and significant levels of press coverage have been achieved for its compliance work. In addition, contributions have been given to radio and television programmes, with occasional full-length feature programmes about the Revenue's work including its anti-evasion operations.
Given the varied nature of all this publicity, it is not possible to estimate its actual impact on tax revenues.
Miss Hoey:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will lower the limit on the minimum purchase of premium bonds to £10. [30249]
Mrs. Angela Knight
[holding answer 21 May 1996]: No. The increase in the minimum purchase to £100 was made in July 1989. At the time of the change the average purchase of premium bonds was £150. It is now much higher, at £1,730.
Mr. Byers:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was for each year since 1991 the percentage change in employment growth on the previous year for (a) the United Kingdom, (b) the European Union, (c) the United States of America and (d) Japan. [30161]
Mrs. Angela Knight
[holding answer 22 May 1996]: The information requested is held in the 1995 edition of "Labour Force Statistics 1973-1993" in table 6.0--"Civilian Employment". More recent data are available for countries that compile labour force statistics on a monthly or quarterly basis in the "Quarterly Labour Force Statistics Number 1 1996". These books are published by the Organisation for Economic C0-operation and Development and copies are available in the Library.
Mr. Pearson:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what is the estimated cost to the Treasury in 1997-98 of moving to payments on account of one twenty-fourth of companies' VAT liabilities in accordance with the requirements of the Value Added Tax (Payment on Account) (Amendment) Order 1996; [30223]
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
[holding answer 22 May 1996]: The effect on total VAT collected of the package of changes to the payments on account scheme is nil in 1997-98. There is however a cash flow gain to the Treasury of approximately £30 million from removing the seven-day extension to the time for companies making VAT payments on account. This is offset by a cash flow loss to the Treasury of approximately £65 million from
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moving to payments on account of one twenty-fourth of companies' VAT liabilities. There is therefore a net cash flow loss of £35 million.
(2) what is the estimated income to the Treasury in 1997-98 of removing the seven-day extension to the time for companies making VAT payments on account in accordance with the requirements of the Value Added Tax (Payment on Account) (Amendment) Order 1996. [30224]
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