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Ministerial Leave
Mr. Ian McCartney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many days of leave he plans to take during the Christmas adjournment; [9817]
- (2) how many days leave he has taken in the Easter, Whitsun and summer adjournments; and how many days leave he took during the time in which Parliament was prorogued this year. [9816]
Mr. Kenneth Clarke: I refer the hon. Member to the reply which the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has given today.
Insurance Premium Tax
Mr. William O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on his policy towards disparities in the insurance premium tax applying to (a) travel agents and (b) insurance dealers; and what representations he has received from (i) representatives of the travel industry and (ii) consumers on his Budget measures relating to insurance premium tax. [10147]
Mr. Oppenheim: Under Finance Bill proposals, with effect from 1 April 1997, all travel insurance sold through a travel agent, unless supplied free of charge, will be liable to insurance premium tax--IPT--at 17.5 per cent. As with the other insurances affected by this higher rate of IPT--primarily mechanical breakdown insurance on motor vehicles and domestic appliances and insurances sold with television and car hire--this tax measure addresses the VAT revenue currently lost through the disproportionately high margins often applied to ancillary sales of VAT exempt insurance by suppliers of taxable goods and services in these sectors. Those who practise such pricing policies, regardless of whether their prime
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motivation is commercial or fiscal, have a tax advantage and can distort the market. In the travel sector most travel insurance is sold by travel agents and tour operators despite their charging significantly higher prices than direct insurers. The current pricing and marketing arrangements indicate, therefore, that although insurance purchased direct from an insurer will be subject to IPT at 4 per cent., this tax differential is unlikely to have any significant effect.
Gross Domestic Product
Mr. Shore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the gross domestic product of the United Kingdom in 1995; and what percentage of European Community gross domestic product it comprised in that year. [9777]
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 Shore, dated 13 January 1997.
Mr. Milburn:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will update his answer to the hon. Member for Oxford, East (Mr. Smith) of 27 March 1995, Official Report, columns 427-30, relating to taxation by giving figures for (a) 1996-97 and (b) 1997-98. [10225]
Mr. Jack:
Provisional estimates are given in the table.
13 Jan 1997 : Column: 21
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply as the Director of the Office for National Statistics to your recent question on what was the gross domestic product of the United Kingdom in 1995; and what percentage of the European Community Gross Domestic Product it comprised in that year.
The latest information for UK gross domestic product as published on 21 November in Table A2 of the ONS First Release UK output, income and expenditure shows that gross domestic product at current market prices for 1995 was £700,575 million.
International comparisons of GDP for the UK and the European Community are shown in the OECD publication Main Economic Indicators which is available in the House of Commons Library. The latest available issue shows that at current prices and exchange rates expressed in billions of dollars, the UK accounted for 13.1 per cent. of the total gross domestic product of the European Community.
| Top 1 per cent. | Top 5 per cent. | Top 10 per cent. | Bottom 70 per cent. | Bottom 10 per cent. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-97 | 9 | 20 | 30 | 43 | 3 |
| 1997-98 | 9 | 20 | 30 | 43 | 3 |
| Top 1 | Top 5 | Top 10 | Bottom 70 | Bottom 10 | All taxpayers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| per cent. | per cent. | per cent. | per cent. | per cent. | ||
| 1996-97 | 37.1 | 87.0 | 127.7 | 183.9 | 12.4 | 425.6 |
| 1997-98 | 39.2 | 91.6 | 134.5 | 193.8 | 13.2 | 448.1 |
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| Top 1 | Top 5 | Top 10 | Bottom 70 | Bottom 10 | All taxpayers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per cent. | Per cent. | Per cent. | Per cent. | Per cent. | ||
| 1996-97 | 144,900 | 68,000 | 49,900 | 10,300 | 4,800 | 16,600 |
| 1997-98 | 152,900 | 71,600 | 52,600 | 10,800 | 5,200 | 17,500 |
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13 Jan 1997 : Column: 23
| Top 1 | Top 5 | Top 10 | Bottom 70 | Bottom 10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per cent. | Per cent. | Per cent. | Per cent. | Per cent. | |
| 1996-97 | 17 | 35 | 45 | 28 | (6)-- |
| 1997-98 | 18 | 35 | 46 | 28 | (6)-- |
(6) Less than 0.5 per cent.
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13 Jan 1997 : Column: 23
| Top 1 | Top 5 | Top 10 | Bottom 70 | Bottom 10 | All taxpayers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per cent. | Per cent. | Per cent. | Per cent. | Per cent. | ||
| 1996-97 | 12.6 | 25.2 | 33.0 | 20.6 | 0.2 | 72.7 |
| 1997-98 | 13.3 | 26.4 | 34.5 | 21.0 | 0.3 | 74.7 |
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Public Bodies (Christmas Cards)
Mr. Thurnham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the amount of public money spent by public bodies on sending unsigned Christmas cards in 1996; what assessment he has made of the benefits of sending such cards; and if he will make a statement. [10515]
Mrs. Angela Knight: None; none; and no.
Oil and Gas Revenues
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cumulative total for Government revenues from oil and gas production from 1979-80 to 1996-97 expressed in 1996-97 prices. [7821]
Mr. Waldegrave [holding answer 6 December 1996]: Using the Budget forecasts of North sea tax revenues and the GDP deflator in 1996-97, the cumulative total for Government revenues from oil and gas production from 1979-80 to 1996-97 expressed in 1996-97 prices is £125 billion. This represents about 1.75 per cent. of general Government receipts over the period.
Monetary Union
Mr. Marlow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his oral statement of 3 December, Official Report, column 797, if article 3 of the convergence criteria of the treaty of European union is operating. [8119]
Mr. Kenneth Clarke [holding answer 9 December 1996]: Article 3 of protocol No. 6 on the convergence criteria still forms part of the EC treaty, although its interpretation is uncertain because the operation of the exchange rate mechanism has changed considerably since Maastricht. The interpretation of the criterion will be considered by Heads of Government when they meet to decide which member states satisfy the necessary conditions for the adoption of a single currency. These decisions will be taken in early 1998 at the earliest.
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Abortion
Mr. Alton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what methods of abortion are included in the term "other surgical method" used in the abortion statistics published by his Department. [7925]
Mrs. Angela Knight [holding answer 9 December 1996]: 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. David Alton, dated 13 January 1997:
Mr. Alton:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the number of abortions performed from 21 weeks' gestation by "other surgical methods" in the last year for which figures are available. [7926]
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Mrs. Knight
[holding answer 9 December 1996]: 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.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply to your recent question on what methods of abortion are included in the term other surgical method used within the abortion statistics published by his Department.
An examination of the forms of notification of termination of pregnancy in the most recent two years for which forms are available showed that the Other surgical method was in each case used by clinicians to provide specific information about a procedure which could otherwise have been indicated in another category. The information given fell into three groups:
(a) the induction of labour by means of a surgical procedure, for example intra or extra amniotic prostaglandins administration. (Some practitioners record this procedure under the category Medical termination.);
(b) where the initial procedure preceding the abortion involved procedures to stop the fetal heart, such as injection of intra-cardiac potassium chloride. (Some practitioners record this information under Other medical agents.);
(c) where it was necessary to carry out surgical procedures post-termination, for example removal of the placenta, insertion of an intrauterine contraceptive device or other gynecological procedures.
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