---

WALES

St. David's Health Centre, Cardiff

Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 17 December, Official Report, column 587, if he will list for each of the parties concerned and their legal representatives the date on which his officials first made contact with them to propose a date for the oral hearing into the Triocare application. [10473]

16 Jan 1997 : Column: 378

Mr. Hague: The procedures for setting up an oral hearing require that dates are canvassed with panel members in advance. The parties to this hearing were advised of the date which had been set on 18 December 1996.

Welsh Development Agency (Redundancy Policy)

Mr. Ron Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on what date he approved a redundancy policy for the Welsh Development Agency. [11175]

Mr. Hague: The Welsh Office approved the policy on 20 September 1994.

16 Jan 1997 : Column: 379

TREASURY

Tax Revenue

13. Mr. Terry Davis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the total tax revenue generated by those taxes which have been introduced since 1992. [9528]

Mr. Waldegrave: Some £2.9 billion. However, of this, £1 billion was lottery duty, the rate of which was set to offset broadly the indirect tax lost from consumer spending diverted to the lottery.

Labour Statistics

14. Mr. Devlin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of Britain's working age population are in employment; and what is the figure in other European countries. [9529]

Mrs. Angela Knight: Total employment in autumn 1996 was almost 300,000 up on a year earlier, 900,000 million higher than at the end of 1992, and 1.5 million higher than at the end of 1979. Our impressive record on job creation means that, at 69 per cent., we have a higher proportion of our working age population in work, and a lower unemployment rate than any other major EU country.

Earnings

15. Sir Fergus Montgomery: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the real take-home pay of a family on average earnings in 1978-79; and what he estimates it will be in 1997-98. [9530]

Mr. Jack: In today's prices, real take-home pay for a family on average earnings was £220 a week in 1978-79 and should rise to £318 a week in 1997-98. That is an increase of nearly £100 a week, over £5,000 a year.

16. Mr. Bill Walker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much better off he estimates a family on average earnings will be in April 1997 compared with May 1992. [9531]

Mr. Jack: In 1997-98, a family on average earnings should be £1,100 better off than in 1991-92 after earnings growth, tax and inflation.

Illegal Imports

17. Mr. Tony banks: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what seizures Customs and Excise made of illegally imported (a) alcohol and (b) tobacco in the last available month. [9532]

Mr. Oppenheim: In October 1996, Customs and Excise detected smuggled alcohol with a revenue value of £258,599 and tobacco products with a revenue value of £267,463.

Private Shareholders

18. Mr. Hunter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimates he has made of the current number of private shareholders in the privatised utilities. [9533]

16 Jan 1997 : Column: 380

Mr. Jack: The most recent Government survey suggested that the number of individual shareholders was around 10 million, three times higher than the figure in 1979. Well over half of this number owned shares in privatised companies.

European Single Currency

19. Mr. Touhig: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the criteria for joining the European single currency. [9534]

Mr. Kenneth Clarke: The Maastricht convergence criteria are fully consistent with the Government's economic policy of achieving permanently low inflation and sound public finances. An assessment of which countries meet the conditions for joining the single currency on 1 January 1999 will be made by the Council of Ministers in early 1998. At present, there are considerable uncertainties surrounding this and other issues relating to the single currency.

27. Mr. Pope: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the benefits of a European single currency to the United Kingdom economy. [9543]

Mr. Oppeneheim: We cannot properly assess whether to join economic and monetary union until we know the key facts, including when it will begin, who will take part, and how strictly the economic criteria governing membership will be applied. This demonstrates the value of preserving our opt-out. It allows us to influence the negotiations to help ensure that the single currency proceeds only on a sustainable basis and that the UK's interests are protected, but it also allows us to reach our own decision at an appropriate time.

Airport Passenger Duty

20. Mr. Simon Coombs: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the yield from airport passenger duty in the last two years; and what he expects the yield to be in 1997. [9535]

Mr. Oppenheim: Receipts of air passenger duty were £343 million in 1995-96 and are expected to reach £0.4 billion in 1996-97. I expect the yield in 1997-98 to be £0.5 billion. This corrects the earlier estimate of £0.8 billion, published in the November 1996 "Financial Statement and Budget Report".

I am also taking this opportunity to inform the House of a correction to the forecast of insurance premium tax receipts in 1997-98. I now expect the yield to be £1.1 billion, compared to £1.2 billion in the "Financial Statement and Budget Report".

Value Added Tax (Fuel)

21. Mr. Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received relating to value added tax on fuel. [9536]

Mr. Oppenheim: I have received a number of representations on this subject.

16 Jan 1997 : Column: 381

Investment

22. Ms Quin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on investment in the United Kingdom economy. [9537]

Mrs. Angela Knight: UK businesses have invested more in relation to gross domestic product in the 1990s than in the 1980s, having invested more in the 1980s than in the 1970s. In setting the right climate of low inflation and steady growth, the Government's economic policies are encouraging business to expand and invest with confidence.

Petrol Duty

23. Mr. Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what account his assessment of the Budget's impact on the overall level of taxation has taken of the increase in the duty on petrol. [9538]

Mr. Jack: The impact of the Budget on the overall level of taxation is set out in table 6.1 of the "Financial Statement and Budget Report" 1997-98.

Computer Systems

24. Mr. David Atkinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with his European Union counterparts about achieving single currency compliance and millennium compliance of computer systems before 2000; and if he will make a statement. [9539]

Mrs. Angela Knight: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that I gave him on 13 January, column 19.

Inland Revenue (Local Offices)

25. Mr. Key: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what changes he plans to make to the network of local offices of the Inland Revenue. [9541]

Mr. Jack: Since 1993, the Inland Revenue has been carrying out a 10-year programme to reorganise its whole network of local offices. Firm plans exist for the period up to April 1998 and initial planning for the period from April 1998 is currently taking place.

Fixed Exchange Rates

26. Mr. Michael Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his policy in respect of fixed exchange rates. [9542]

Mrs. Angela Knight: The Government recognise the value of a stable exchange rate but do not have a target for sterling. The exchange rate is only one of many factors that has to be taken account of in policy decisions. Monetary policy is, and will continue to be, aimed at achieving the Government's inflation target of 2½ per cent. or less.

Retail Sales (Brent Cross)

28. Mr. John Marshall: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to visit Brent Cross to discuss the level of retail sales. [9544]

16 Jan 1997 : Column: 382

Mrs. Angela Knight: My right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has no plans to visit Brent Cross at present, but I am always happy to discuss the buoyant state of the British economy with my hon. Friend.

---