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Statutory Instruments
Mr. Steen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many statutory instruments his Department introduced in (a) 1994, (b) 1995 and (c) between 1 January 1996 and 1 May 1996 which had the effect of repealing one or more previous statutory instruments without replacing them with a new regulation. [35045]
Mr. Jack [holding answer 4 July 1996]: This information is not presently available in the form requested, and could not be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost. However, a list of regulations that have been repealed or amended was placed in the House Libraries by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 8 May.
Parliamentary Questions
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many written parliamentary questions to his Department in the past 12 months had not received a full answer within five weeks of the question being tabled; and if he will list the reasons in each case. [36307]
Mrs. Angela Knight: Eight out of 2,102. In each of these cases, the answering Minister was concerned to give as complete a reply as possible.
Income Tax
Mr. Alan Howarth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the levels of income tax in
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(a) the 1996-97 and (b) the 1978-79 indexed regimes broken down into the top 1 per cent., 5 per cent., 10 per cent. and bottom 50 per cent. and 10 per cent. of taxpayers, showing the total changes in the level of tax and the average gain or loss to each group. [35511]
Mr. Jack [holding answer 4 July 1996]: Information on the reduction in income tax liability for 1996-97 compared with the 1978-79 indexed regime is given in the table. This comparison is hypothetical since if an indexed version of the 1978-79 tax regime had prevailed over the past 18 years the income base would not have grown as it has.
| Quantile group of taxpyers under the 1978-79 indexed regime | Amount of income tax | Reduction in income tax | Average reduction | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-97 | 1978-79 indexed regime | |||
| Per cent. | £ million | £ million | £ million | £ |
| Top 1 | 12,500 | 23,100 | 10,600 | 38,900 |
| Top 5 | 25,400 | 40,700 | 15,300 | 11,200 |
| Top 10 | 33,900 | 52,400 | 18,500 | 6,800 |
| Bottom 50 | 8,700 | 14,000 | 5,300 | 400 |
| Bottom 10 | 90 | 430 | 340 | 130 |
Bad Debts (Tax Treatment)
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchquer if he will make a statement on the tax treatment of bad debts on loans made to organisations which are not bankrupt. [35936]
Mr. Jack: The calculation of trading profit for tax purposes follows general accounting principles which, broadly, determine that income and expenditure should be brought into account on an accruals basis. This means that a trader may be charged to tax on money owed to the business in an accounting period even if the money is not actually received. However, if a particular debt to a business is bad or considered by the trader as being doubtful, a deduction may be given in the accounting period in which the debt becomes bad or is considered as doubtful, in effect cancelling out the charge to tax on so much of that debt as is viewed as bad or doubtful.
Capital items--income and expenditure--are excluded form the computation of taxable profits. Generally, loans will be on capital account, with the result that no account may be taken of the extent to which they are bad or doubtful in arriving at the profits for tax purposes, unless they are made in the course of a trade of banking or moneylending or as an adjunct, or as an essential part, of some other trade.
Relief may, however, be given as a capital loss when loans to traders prove irrecoverable, or when a guarantor of a loan to a trade is obliged to make a payment under the guarantee.
Whether a debt is bad or doubtful depends on the particular facts. But while bankruptcy or insolvency of the debtor may be evidence that a debt is bad or doubtful, it
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is not an absolute requirement at a debtor be insolvent or bankrupt before a debt can be bad or doubtful for tax purposes.
35. Mr. Simon Hughes:
To ask the Lord President of the Council what plans he has to introduce new proposals on Members' pay and allowances, pursuant to the report of the Top Salaries Review Committee. [34719]
Mr. Newton:
The Government have announced their proposals and the House will debate the matter on Wednesday 10 July.
Mr. Cohen:
To ask the Lord President of the Council what recent assessment he has made of levels of right hon. and hon. Members' pay and allowances. [34713]
Mr. Newton:
I refer the hon. Gentleman to the Prime Minister's reply of 4 July to the hon. Member for Chorley (Mr. Dover), Official Report, column 505.
Mrs. Ann Winterton:
To ask the Lord President of the Council what was the annual salary of a Member of the House of Commons on 1 October 1971; and what that salary would be today if it had been increased annually (a) in line with inflation and (b) in line with the national average increase in earnings. [35641]
Mr. Newton:
On 1 October 1971, a Member's annual salary was £3,250. The salary in May this year, the latest date for which figures are available, would be:
36. Mr. MacShane:
To ask the Lord President of the Council what recent representations he has received about the parliamentary calendar; and if he will make a statement. [34720]
Mr. Newton:
A few, including a letter from the hon. Gentleman and the exchanges at Question Time on Monday 10 June, Official Report, columns 19-20.
38. Mr. Gapes:
To ask the Lord President of the Council what recent assessment he has made of the sitting hours of other European parliaments. [34722]
Mr. Newton:
I have made no such assessment, but the hon. Gentleman may wish to consult the memorandums from the Director of the German Bundestag and the Secretary General of the French National Assembly which were submitted to the Select Committee on Sittings of the House in 1991-92 [HC 20-II (1991-92), pp 154-160].
34. Mr. Gunnell:
To ask the Lord President of the Council when he expects to act on the recommendations
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contained in the seventh report of the Select Committee on Procedure relating to Prime Minister's Question Time, HC 555, Session 1994-95. [34718]
37. Mr. Tony Banks:
To ask the Lord President of the Council what plans he has to review the procedures for Prime Minister's Question Time. [34721]
Mr. Newton:
The Government have always regarded the arrangements for Prime Minister's questions as a matter for the House to decide, and wish to hear the views of the House. Thursday's debate on parliamentary procedure will provide an opportunity to discuss this and a range of other procedural issues.
Sir Teddy Taylor:
To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will initiate a survey of the efficiency of the procedures of the House. [34723]
Mr. Newton:
The efficiency of the procedures of the House falls within the remit of the Procedure Committee.
(a) £24,041 had it been increased in line with inflation; and
(b) £36,899 had it been increased in line with the national average increase in earnings.
Staff Salaries
Mrs. Ann Winterton: To ask the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed, representing the House of Commons Commission, what was the average annual salary, including where appropriate any overtime, on 1 October 1971 of (i) (a) a senior Library clerk, (b) the highest-paid chef, (c) a senior Clerk in the House of Commons and (ii) a ministerial car driver; if he will indicate in each of those cases what that salary would be today if it had been increased annually in line with inflation; and what is the current annual salary for each of those grades. [35642]
Mr. Beith: Figures for salaries of Commission staff prior to 1978 are not available centrally and they can be provided only at disproportionate cost. Since the establishment of the House of Commons Commission in 1978, staff salaries have been included in the Commission's annual reports. Figures for ministerial car drivers are a matter for the Cabinet Office. The earliest figures readily available are those for 1 April 1978. London based salaries are as follows:
Senior Clerk: £7,315-£9,253 p.a
Senior Library Clerk: £5,917-£8,879 p.a
Executive Chef: £9,980 p.a. (at 1 January 1980) 1
Applying the inflation factors for 1 April 1978 (x 3.093) and 1 January 1980 (x 2.454), respectively, these figures become:-
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Senior Clerk: £22,625-£28,619 p.a
Senior Library Clerk: £18,301-£27,463 p.a
Executive Chef: £24,490 p.a.
The night allowance becomes £4,810 p.a.
Current salaries for the above grades are as follows:
| Senior Clerk | ||
| Senior Library Clerk | £28,954-£43,802 p.a. | |
| Executive Chef |
The current rate of night allowance is £4,010 p.a.
1 The Refreshment Department did not become a Department of the House until 1980 and staff salaries for that Department did not appear in the Commission's report until that for 1979-80.
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