---

BBC Licence Fee

Mr. Renton: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when she expects to make an announcement regarding the increase in the BBC licence fee. [8318]

Mr. Sproat [holding answer 11 December 1996]: My right hon. Friend hopes to announce later this month what the television licence fees will be from 1 April next year.

Private Finance Initiative

Mr. Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage, pursuant to her answer of 21 November, Official Report, column 647, what is the current total of future spending commitments arising under the private finance initiative as a percentage of the Department's discretionary expenditure. [8739]

Mr. Sproat [holding answer 12 December 1996]: The Department of National Heritage has no future spending commitments arising from the private finance initiative. Indeed, deals signed to date have generated an annual net positive revenue stream of £0.645 million. The Department's discretionary expenditure is £850 million, so this represents an annual income of 0.08 per cent.

TREASURY

Taxation and Expenditure

Mr. David Nicholson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the change in general taxation necessary to fund current levels of public spending, with current borrowing, if the United Kingdom economy had grown since 1979 at the rate established between the end of 1973 and the second quarter of 1979.[7388]

Mr. Waldegrave: The United Kingdom's real gross domestic product grew at an average annual rate of 1.64 per cent. between the third quarter of 1973 and the second quarter of 1979. Since the third quarter of 1979 the annual rate of real GDP growth has averaged 1.9 per cent.

If real GDP had grown since the third quarter of 1979 at an annual rate of 1.64 per cent., other things being equal, the combined impact on tax receipts and spending would raise borrowing by approximately 3½ per cent. of GDP. Therefore, to keep borrowing unchanged, taxation would have to rise by up to 3½ per cent. of GDP. However, there is great uncertainty over estimates of this kind.

Income Tax

Sir Terence Higgins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list those countries which do not have an income tax. [8027]

13 Dec 1996 : Column: 377

Mr. Jack: The information requested is as follows:

Countries with no personal income tax
Andorra
Bahamas
Brunei
Bahrain
Kuwait
Maldives
Monaco
Naura
Oman
Qatar
United Arab Emirates
Vanuatu.

Countries with limited personal income tax
Antigua [no income tax is levied on residents]
St Kitts and Nevis [no income tax is levied on residents]
Saudi Arabia [income tax is not levied on employment income]
Seychelles [income tax is not levied on employment income]
Korea, north [income tax is levied only on foreign nationals].
Note:
The Government of Grenada proposed to abolish personal income tax with effect from 1 April 1996. This has, however, not yet been implemented.
Dependent territories with no personal income tax
Anguilla [UK]
Ascension [UK]
Bermuda [UK]
British Indian Ocean Territory
Cayman Islands [UK]
Norfolk Island [AUS]
Pitcairn Islands [UK]
Sark [UK]
Tokelau [NZ]
Tristan da Cunha [UK]
Turks and Caicos Islands [UK]
Wallis and Futuna [FR].

Administration Costs

Mr. Milburn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will provide a breakdown by civil Department of gross running costs, indicating (a) current expenditure on running costs and (b) running costs as a percentage of each Department's total expenditure. [8272]

Mr. Waldegrave [holding answer 9 December 1996]: Running costs provision by departmental grouping for 1990-91 to 1998-99 is shown in table 3.7 of "Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 1996-97, Cm 3201. Table 2.2 details all expenditure within the control total

13 Dec 1996 : Column: 378

for each departmental grouping. More detailed information can be found in individual departmental reports, Cm 3202-20.

"Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 1997-98" and 1997 departmental reports, due to be published in March 1997, will contain updated information.

Housebuilding

Mr. Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the costs for (a) employers and (b) employees in terms of (i) taxes and (ii) administrative and payroll costs, in the housebuilding sector of the ending of the self-employed status of construction operativesfor Inland Revenue purposes. [8321]

Mr. Jack [holding answer 12 December 1996]: Self-employed status has not been ended for construction or building workers. As in all industries, whether someone is employed or self-employed depends on the terms and conditions of the engagement. Contractors will continue to be free to take on workers as self-employed where the terms and conditions of the engagement reflect genuine self-employment.

Mr. Winterton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for how many years construction operatives in the house building sector have been considered to be self-employed for taxation purposes; when, by whom and for what reasons the decision was taken to change that status; and if he will make a statement. [8322]

Mr. Jack [holding answer 12 December 1996]: Whether someone is employed or self-employed depends on the terms and conditions of their engagement. This has always been a matter of general law and applies in the same way to the construction industry as it does to all other industries. The primary responsibility for deciding employment status rests with contractors who engage workers. Construction industry representatives expressed concern about the difficulties sometimes met in establishing the employment status of those working in that industry and the implications of this for tax and national insurance. They asked for help with employment status in the industry. In response, the Inland Revenue and Department of Social Security published leaflet IR48, 'Are Your Workers Employed or Self-employed? ² This gives guidance to contractors to help them with the question of whether their workers are employed or self-employed.

Public Sector

Mr. Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the figures upon which each line in chart 1 on page 100 of the "Financial Statement and Budget Report" is based. [7222]

Mr. Waldegrave [holding answer 2 December 1996]:

The figures requested are as follows;

13 Dec 1996 : Column: 377

	The 1979 public sector		The public sector	The public sector excluding industries now privatised	Publicly sponsored capital
1979	35.7	1979-80	35.4	21.6	21.6
1980	33.4	1980-81	32.1	19.4	19.4
1981	26.7	1981-82	27.2	15.3	15.3
1982	26.5	1982-83	29.5	17.1	17.1
1983	29.5	1983-84	31.0	18.7	18.7
1984	29.2	1984-85	28.9	19.2	19.2
1985	29.8	1985-86	25.4	17.7	17.7
1986	28.4	1986-87	23.0	16.1	16.1
1987	27.9	1987-88	21.5	15.8	15.8
1988	28.7	1988-89	20.0	14.3	14.3
1989	34.0	1989-90	26.0	20.7	20.7
1990	36.7	1990-91	24.6	20.8	20.8
1991	36.6	1991-92	24.1	22.7	22.7
1992	36.2	1992-93	25.2	23.8	23.8
1993	36.3	1993-94	22.3	21.4	21.5
1994	36.5	1994-95	22.2	21.4	21.6
1995	37.0	1995-96	21.3	20.6	21.0
1996	--	1996-97	19.2	19.2	20.3
1997	--	1997-98	17.2	17.2	19.6
1998	--	1998-99	16.7	16.7	20.2
1999	--	1999-00	16.3	16.3	20.3

13 Dec 1996 : Column: 379

13 Dec 1996 : Column: 379

Correspondence

Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he intends to reply to the letters dated 9 August, 12 September and 24 October from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Dr. S. Ala-ut Dun.[7287]

Mr. Kenneth Clarke [holding answer 3 December 1996]: I sent a reply on 11 December 1996.

13 Dec 1996 : Column: 380

Local Government Finance

Mr. Milburn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were local authority capital receipts in each year from 1979-80 to 1995-96 in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland both in (i) nominal terms and (ii) 1996-97 prices. [7823]

Mr. Waldegrave [holding answer 6 December 1996]: The data requested are given in the table:

13 Dec 1996 : Column: 379

£ million

	England		Wales		Scotland		Northern Ireland
	Nominal	Real(1)	Nominal	Real(1)	Nominal	Real(1)	Nominal	Real(1)
1979-80	663	1,701	18	46	20	51	0	0
1980-81	965	2,093	25	54	39	85	0	0
1981-82	1,615	3,193	97	192	90	178	0	0
1982-83	2,239	4,133	126	233	142	262	1	1
1983-84	1,834	3,235	123	217	162	286	1	2
1984-85	1,789	3,005	128	215	179	301	0	1
1985-86	1,867	2,973	92	146	168	267	0	1
1986-87	2,972	4,593	101	156	186	287	1	1
1987-88	3,818	5,603	125	183	261	383	1	1
1988-89	5,418	7,452	223	307	368	506	1	1
1989-90	5,078	6,528	241	310	438	563	1	1
1990-91	3,257	3,878	123	146	431	513	1	1
1991-92	2,290	2,562	86	96	421	471	2	3
1992-93	2,107	2,262	77	83	423	454	5	5
1993-94	3,502	3,654	154	161	442	461	6	6
1994-95	2,438	2,500	95	97	507	520	7	7
1995-96	2,026	2,026	114	114	463	463	8	8

(1) Real terms figures in 1995-96 prices, the latest completed financial year.

13 Dec 1996 : Column: 379

---