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Ministerial Visits
Mr. Harvey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list those constituencies (a) he and (b) members of his Department have visited in the last three months on official business and those constituencies he intends to visit in the next three months; and if he will make a statement. [35759]
Mr. Kenneth Clarke: My ministerial colleagues and I have visited various parliamentary constituencies as part of our official duties. We also expect to make further visits in the future. A detailed list of the various places
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visited by five Ministers over a period of six months could be compiled only at the cost of a great deal of official time and expense to ensure complete accuracy.
Tobacco Industry (Employment)
Mr. Cummings: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to protect the employment of employees in the tobacco industry; and if he will make a statement. [36045]
Mrs. Angela Knight: The Government's role is to create the right conditions for employment growth across the whole economy through a stable macro-economic climate and a flexible labour market. Excessive employment protection can damage employment prospects by acting as a disincentive for businesses to create jobs.
Tobacco Smuggling
Mr. Cummings: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the extent of revenue losses due to cross-border shopping and tobacco smuggling is currently estimated to be; [36157]
- (2) if he will make a statement on the discrepancy between the tobacco industry and HM Customs and Excise figures in relation to revenues lost to the Exchequer from cross-border shopping and tobacco smuggling. [36041]
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: Customs' estimate of excise duty revenue lost from legitimate personal importation of duty paid tobacco products for the year ending 30 June 1995 is £120 million. Additionally, VAT receipts of £30 million are estimated to have been lost. Thus, the estimate for the total loss of tax revenues from such legitimate cross-border shopping for the year ending 30 June 1995 is £150 million.
Customs does not currently have a reliable estimate of the extent of excise duty losses due to smuggling of tobacco products. It is working with the tobacco and alcoholic drinks industries with the aim of achieving an objective measurement of smuggling of excise goods.
Customs is currently discussing with the tobacco and alcoholic drinks industries the most reliable basis for estimates of revenue lost from the legitimate personal importation of duty paid alcohol and tobacco products.
Mr. Donohoe:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spent in meeting the costs of taxi cab fares in the 1995-96 financial year. [36006]
Mrs. Angela Knight:
Expenditure on taxi cab fares is included in the published running costs.
Mr. French:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many building societies there were in 1976; and how many there are currently. [36462]
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Mrs. Angela Knight:
At the end of 1976, there were 345 authorised building societies. There are currently 79, including the National and Provincial, which is expected to be acquired by Abbey National plc later this year.
Mr. Callaghan:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans next to meet representatives of the small firms sector. [36270]
Mrs. Angela Knight:
The Chancellor of the Exchequer meets representatives of the small firms sector frequently.
Mr. Robert Ainsworth:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what will be the cumulative total for Government revenues from oil and gas production from 1979-80 to 1996-97 expressed in 1995-96 prices. [36286]
Mr. Jack:
Total receipts of taxes and royalties from North sea oil and gas production are estimated to be about £130 billion from 1979-80 to 1996-97, at 1995-96 prices--measured by the GDP deflator. The summer economic forecast projects North sea tax and royalty receipts of £3.2 billion, and an increase in the GDP deflator of 2¼ per cent., in 1996-97.
Mr. Robert Ainsworth:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total amount of debt (a) nominally and (b) in 1995-96 prices written off in each of the privatisations and sale of Government assets since 1979 for each company privatised. [36284]
Mr. Jack:
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Cunninghame, North (Mr. Wilson) on 13 March, columns 612-13. Since then, Railtrack has been successfully privatised. On that sale, £1,229 million originally allocated to Railtrack on vesting was written off and debt on commercial terms of £589 million injected--1995-96 prices. The revised total for debts written off is therefore £23.78 billion. Debts injected total £14.53 billion.
Mr. Ainsworth:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what will be the cumulative total privatisation receipts from 1979-80 to 1996-97 in 1995-96 prices. [36285]
Mr. Jack:
The cumulative total of privatisation proceeds from 1979-80 to 1995-96, in 1995-96 prices, was £81.3 billion. The Government's privatisation proceeds targets for 1996-97 is £4.5 billion.
Mr. Ainsworth:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what have been the privatisation receipts since 1979-80 to date for each company privatised (a) cash and (b) at 1995-96 prices. [36283]
Mr. Jack:
Table 5.6 of the public expenditure statistical analyses 1996-97 (HMSO Cm 3201) gives privatisation proceeds by sale in cash terms. The following table sets out annual proceeds in cash terms and in 1995-96 prices. It would not be possible to give current price proceeds on a sale-by-sale basis without incurring disproportionate cost.
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| Year | Cash | 1995-96 prices |
|---|---|---|
| 1979-80 | 0.4 | 1.0 |
| 1980-81 | 0.2 | 0.5 |
| 1981-82 | 0.5 | 1.0 |
| 1982-83 | 0.5 | 0.8 |
| 1983-84 | 1.1 | 2.0 |
| 1984-85 | 2.1 | 3.4 |
| 1985-86 | 2.7 | 4.3 |
| 1986-87 | 4.5 | 6.9 |
| 1987-88 | 5.1 | 7.5 |
| 1988-89 | 7.1 | 9.7 |
| 1989-90 | 4.2 | 5.4 |
| 1990-91 | 5.3 | 6.4 |
| 1991-92 | 7.9 | 8.9 |
| 1992-93 | 8.2 | 8.8 |
| 1993-94 | 5.4 | 5.7 |
| 1994-95 | 6.4 | 6.6 |
| 1995-96 | 2.4 | 2.4 |
| Total | 64.0 | 81.3 |
Banks and Building Societies
Mr. French: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what represtations he has received about the benefits of mutual status; and if he will make a statement. [36463]
Mrs. Angela Knight: During the recently concluded consultation on the draft Building Societies Bill, a number of societies, and others, mentioned the benefits of mutual status. We are currently considering these responses along with all the others we have received.
Mr. French: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the difference in operating ratios between retail banks and mutual building societies. [36451]
Mrs. Knight: The rates offered by individual banks and building societies are publicly available, and the financial press provides regular comparisons between them.
British Industry (Investment)
Mr. Callaghan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to bring investment in British industry to a level comparable with major competitors. [36271]
Mrs. Angela Knight: Since 1979, the ratio of business investment to GDP has been very similar in the UK to that in most other G7 countries. Our policies to deliver macro-economic stability and strengthen the long-term performance of the economy will continue to promote a climate in which businesses can plan ahead and invest with confidence.
Business Investment
Mr. Callaghan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he next expects to meet the Confederation of British Industry to discuss the future levels of business investment. [36269]
Mrs. Angela Knight: My right hon. and learned Friend is planning to meet the CBI on 12 September. I note that the CBI, in common with virtually all other independent forecasters, expects investment to accelerate in both 1996 and 1997.
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Utility Prices
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 1 July, Official Report, column 286, if he will express in real terms and where the year of privatisation equals 100 the utility component of the RPI including VAT in (a) 1979 and (b) the latest available period for (i) gas prices, (ii) electricity prices, (iii) electricity and gas prices, (iv) water prices and (v) gas, electric and water prices. [36378]
Mr. Jack: The information requested is given in the table:
| Gas | Electricity | Electricity and gas | Water | Gas, electricity and water | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year of privatisation | 1986 | 1990 | 1990 | 1989 | 1990 |
| 1979 | 77 | 98 | 94 | 73 | 91 |
| May 1996 | 80 | 100 | 97 | 146 | 104 |
The components of the retail prices index for electricity and gas, and for gas, electricity and water, assume a privatisation year of 1990--the year that electricity utilities were fully privatised. These figures have been deflated by the RPI, and include VAT for gas and electricity.
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