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Income Tax

Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the (a) first-year and (b) full-year costs of raising the personal income tax allowance in 1997-98, in addition to price indexation, by (i) £50, (ii) £100, (iii) £150 and (iv) £200; and what is his estimate in each case of the number of individuals who as a consequence would no longer be liable to pay income tax. [3244]

12 Nov 1996 : Column: 172

Mr. Jack [holding answer 11 November 1996]: Available information is given in the table.

Increase in non aged and aged personal allowances indexation	Full year cost at 1997-98 income levels(25)	First year cost at 1997-98 income levels	Number of taxpayers taken out of income tax
£	£ million	£ million	thousands
50	320	240	120
100	630	470	230
150	940	710	350
200	1,250	940	450

(25) Based on the Summer Economic forecast and allowing for statutory indexation.

Mr. Bruce: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the cost in 1997-98 of reducing the present 24p income tax band to a 20p income tax band. [3243]

Mr. Jack [holding answer 11 November 1996]: The estimated full-year cost at 1997-98 income levels of reducing the basic rate of tax from 24 per cent. to 20 per cent. is £6.8 billion after allowing for statutory indexation of allowances and tax band widths. This is based on the summer economic forecast.

Mr. Alison: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will estimate the cost of revalorising fully the married couples allowance and the additional personal allowance to their 1990 introductory value, assuming that the allowances continue to be given at the rate of 15 per cent.; [2827]

(2) if he will estimate the cost of revalorising fully the married couples allowance and the additional personal allowance to their 1990 introductory value, assuming that the allowances were given at the taxpayers' marginal tax rate. [2825]

Mr. Jack: The full year cost of revalorising the 1990-91 married couples allowance and the linked allowances, which include the additional personal allowance and the widows bereavement allowance, to 1996-97 levels is given in the table.

	Cost in full year at 1996-97 income levels £ billion
Allowances given at 15 per cent.	0.5
Allowances given at marginal rates	3.0

Mr. Alison: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the cost of allowing a married person to transfer an unused personal allowance to their spouse, on the assumption that the couple would not also be able to claim the married couples allowance. [2824]

Mr. Jack: The estimated full-year cost of allowing personal allowances to be transferred between spouses would be about £0.5 billion at 1996-97 income levels. This assumes that the married couples allowance would be abolished, but the widows bereavement allowance and the additional personal allowance would be retained. It does not take into account any behavioural change which would result from such a measure.

12 Nov 1996 : Column: 173

Overseas Investment Services

Mr. Alan Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will instruct the Inland Revenue to review the liability of Overseas Investment Services registered in the Turks and Caicos to pay tax in the United Kingdom in respect of its management from the United Kingdom; [2650]

(2) if he will investigate the financial regularity of the circumstances in which Firthpalm Ltd. transferred ownership of land at Mayals, Swansea in 1987-88 to Overseas Investment Services; [2652]

(3) if he will instruct the Inland Revenue to examine the terms in respect of liability for tax on which in 1987-88 Firthpalm Ltd. sold land at Mayals, Swansea, to Overseas Investment Services in Grand Turks and Caicos. [2651]

Mr. Jack: The tax affairs of particular companies are confidential between the Inland Revenue and the companies concerned. Treasury Ministers do not instruct the Inland Revenue to investigate a company's tax affairs or otherwise intervene in such matters.

VAT Reclaims

Mr. Salmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the impact of the Waelbroeck opinion on the Government's policy to place a three-year limit on VAT reclaims. [3300]

Mr. Oppenheim [holding answer 11 November 1996]: Customs and Excise has received a copy of this opinion and has had a meeting with the firm which commissioned it. It is being considered along with other representations received on the three-year cap.

Exchange Rates

Mr. Marlow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the change in the value of the pound against (a) the deutschmark, (b) the dollar and (c) all currencies since the first day of each month of 1996 to date; and if he will make a statement. [3080]

Mrs. Angela Knight [holding answer 11 November 1996]: The table gives the percentage increase in the value of the pound against the deutschmark, dollar and the exchange rate index from the first day of each month to close on 6 November--when sterling stood at DM2.49, $1.64 and 91.1 on the ERI. The effective exchange rate index measures the value of sterling against a basket of other currencies on a trade-weighted basis.

Percentage increase since:

1996	DM	$	ERI
January	12	6	10
February	11	9	9
March	11	7	9
April	10	8	9
May	8	9	9
June	6	7	6
July	5	6	5
August	8	5	8
September	8	5	7
October	4	5	5

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Working Hours

Ms Quin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of employees working more than 48 hours per week in each year since 1979. [2067]

Mrs. Angela Knight: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the chief executive of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from Tim Holt to Ms Joyce Quin, dated 12 November 1996:

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply as the Director of the Office for National Statistics to your recent question asking for a time series of the number of employees working more than 48 hours per week.
The available information is shown in the table below.
Employees usually working more than 48 hours per week(26)Great Britain: spring of each year(27) (thousands)

	Number
1984	2,740
1985	2,763
1986	2,968
1987	3,126
1988	3,512
1989	3,598
1990	3,606
1991	3,414
1992	3,263
1993	3,360
1994	3,518
1995	3,690
1996	3,793




Notes:

(26) Total usual hours per week including paid and unpaid overtime and excluding meal breaks.

(27) Data for 1979 to 1983 either not available or not consistent with later years.

Source:

Labour Force Survey, Office for National Statistics.

Landfill Tax

Ms Ruddock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the landfill operators who have registered their liability for landfill tax, broken down by Customs and Excise region. [3328]

Mr. Oppenheim: The information as requested is not currently held in a form that can be published. The Finance Act 1996 allows the commissioners of Customs and Excise to publish information from the landfill tax register and they will do so as soon as possible.

Ms Ruddock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what sum of money he estimates will be paid to approve environmental bodies through the landfill tax credit scheme in the financial year (a) 1996-97 and (b) 1997-98. [3333]

Mr. Oppenheim: It is estimated that £10 million will be made available through landfill tax credits in 1996-97 and £50 million in 1997-98.

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Labour Statistics

Mr. Hain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the figures for the average tenure per job in (a) manufacturing, (b) services and (c) general for (i) 1966, (ii) 1970, (iii) 1980, (iv) 1990 and (v) the latest year available. [2815]

Mrs. Angela Knight: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the chief executive of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. Peter Hain, dated 12 November 1996:

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply as the Director of the Office for National Statistics to your recent question on the average tenure per job in manufacturing, services and all industries and services.

Information showing the length of time continuously employed is available from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) from 1984. However, of the periods requested, it is only possible to provide accurate averages at Spring 1996. The information is provided in the following tables.
Length of time continuously employed in Great Britain(28): Spring 1984

	All(29)	Manufacturing	Services
At least lower but less than upper band (thousands):
Total(30)	23,131	5,767	14,231
3 months or less	1,042	251	655
3 to 6 months	818	193	546
6 to 12 months	1,764	392	1,198
1 to 2 years	1,869	437	1,240
2 to 5 years	4,341	1,062	2,839
5 to 10 years	4,528	1,290	2,752
10 to 20 years	3,988	1,185	2,353
20 years or more	2,071	703	1,036




(28) Based on employees and self-employed.(29) Includes those who did not state their industry.

(30) Includes those who did not state the length of time they were employed.




Length of time continuously employed in Great Britain(31): Spring 1990

	All(32)	Manufacturing	Services
At least lower but less than upper band (thousands):
Total(33)	25,871	5,814	16,889
3 months or less	1,526	301	1,060
3 to 6 months	1,258	243	891
6 to 12 months	2,527	519	1,751
1 to 2 years	3,060	671	2,073
2 to 5 years	5,628	1,219	3,778
5 to 10 years	4,155	931	2,711
10 to 20 years	4,980	1,184	3,140
20 years or more	2,693	740	1,454




(31) Based on employees and self-employed.

(32) Includes those who did not state their industry.

(33) Includes those who did not state the length of time they were employed.

12 Nov 1996 : Column: 176

Length of time continuously employed in Great Britain(34): Spring 1996

	All(35)	Manufacturing	Services
Average (months)	99	110	91
At least lower but less than upper band (thousands):
Total(36)	25,225	4,912	17,814
3 months or less	1,227	217	899
3 to 6 months	1,165	214	870
6 to 12 months	2,184	365	1,666
1 to 2 years	2,838	523	2,103
2 to 5 years	4,603	807	3,430
5 to 10 years	5,167	1,025	3,671
10 to 20 years	5,054	1,059	3,391
20 years or more	2,941	695	1,755

(34) Based on employees and self-employed.

(35) Includes those who did not state their industry.

(36) Includes those who did not state the length of time they were employed.

Mr. Hain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will list the figures for the change in the level of (a) employment, (b) male unemployment and (c) female unemployment since (i) November 1990 and (ii) December 1992; [2826]

(2) if he will give figures for the change in the level of part-time (a) male, (b) female and (c) total employment and part-time employment since (i) autumn 1990 and (ii) winter 1992-93; [2821]

(3) if he will give figures for the change in the level of full-time (a) total, (b) male and (c) female employment and full-time employment since (i) November 1990 and (ii) December 1992. [2822]

Mrs. Knight: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the chief executive of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. Peter Hain, dated 12 November:

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply to the Director of the Office for National Statistics to your recent questions for the changes in the levels of employment and unemployment.
Information showing the levels of employment and unemployment, broken down by full and part-time, is available from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). Information on employment is published in Table 2 of both the LFS Historical Supplement 1984-1996 and the October 1996 LFS First Release. Information on unemployment is published in Table 20 of the historical supplement and Table 9 of the First Release. Information on the number of people who are looking for work as either full or part-time employees is published in Table 28 of both the historical supplement and the LFS Quarterly Bulletin, which is next published on 18th December. Copies of these publications are available in the House of Commons Library.
The claimant unemployment count does not distinguish between full-and part-time unemployment. Monthly seasonally adjusted counts of unemployment are available from the NOMIS database which can be accessed through the House of Commons Library.

12 Nov 1996 : Column: 177

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