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Consultants
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment on how many occasions his Department has used headhunting consultants for public appointment purposes in the last two years. [14515]
Sir Paul Beresford: No central record is maintained of the use of headhunting consultants for public appointments made by my Department. I regret that the information cannot be provided in the form requested.
Computer Crime
Mr. Derek Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) on how many occasions in each of the last five years computer systems have been illegally accessed by computer hackers in his Department; [14554]
- (2) how many cases of computer hacking, fraud and theft, including theft of computer chips his Department has recorded in the last five years. [14555]
Sir Paul Beresford: There have been 16 cases of suspected or attempted computer hacking--none of which were proven to have resulted in illegal access--no cases of computer fraud, but 150 cases of computer theft, including thefts of computer chips, reported by my Department, including its agencies and non-departmental public bodies, over the last five years.
Radioactive Waste Storage
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what evaluation his Department has made of the (i) short, (ii) medium and (iii) long-term safety of the storage of (a) liquid and (b) vitrified high-activity long-lived radio active waste at Sellafield. [14088]
Mr. Page: I have been asked to reply.
The safety of stored liquid high-activity waste at Sellafield has been fully evaluated by the Health and Safety Executive's nuclear installations inspectorate. In 1995, HSE published a report entitled "The Safety of the Storage of Liquid High-Level Waste at BNFL Sellafield" setting out HSE's assessment of the safety issues involved. This report concludes that:
Arrangement for the storage of vitrified high-activity waste at Sellafield have also been fully evaluated. HSE has concluded that adequate safety provisions have been made for the operational life of the vitrified store which is expected to be at least 50 years. HSE will continue to monitor the safety of the storage of high-activity waste at Sellafield.
6 Feb 1997 : Column: 678
Mr. Trotter:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many income tax allowances are available to reduce the tax paid by an individual; and what would be the total additional tax paid in each case if the allowances were to be withdrawn. [14042]
Mr. Jack:
The latest information about the costs of income tax allowances and reliefs has been published in table 1.6 and appendix B.1 of "Inland Revenue Statistics 1996". A copy can be found in the Library.
Mr. Milburn:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what factors underlay the figures for the cumulative total for Government revenues from oil and gas production contained in his answer of 10 July 1996, Official Report, column 228 and 13 January, Official Report, column 23. [14270]
Mr. Jack:
Government revenues from oil and gas production include corporation tax paid by North sea oil and gas production companies, before setting off their advance corporation tax payments; petroleum revenue tax; oil royalties; and, in 1981-82 and 1982-83, receipts from supplementary petroleum duty--SPD. Receipts from the latter were not included in the answer of 13 January. Including SPD receipts, and 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 1979-80 to 1996-97 expressed in 1996-97 prices is over £133 billion.
Mr. French:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from the unit trust industry about the proposals in clause 105 of the Finance Bill. [15201]
Mrs. Angela Knight:
Clause 105 of the Finance Bill contains proposals to replace the present stamp duty regime for repurchases of units by unit trust managers by a new stamp duty reserve tax regime. At present, a repurchase of units by the managers is liable to stamp duty at 0.5 per cent., but the duty may be repaid if the unit are cancelled within two months and the underlying investments are sold. The unit trust industry has criticised this regime because of the record-keeping required to check whether units are cancelled within two months, and because it is not certain, at the time of a repurchase, whether or not duty will ultimately be repayable.
Clause 105 seeks to deal with these problems by introducing a new stamp duty reserve tax regime which would remove the right to a repayment when units are cancelled, but would balance that by reducing the rate of tax on a repurchase to 0.2 per cent. This was intended to meet the criticisms which have been made of the present rules, and to raise broadly the same revenue as now but more simply and certainly. The industry has, however, now made representations that this particular approach would cause problems for some investors, and that it would prefer the present regime to continue for the time being while it considers possible alternatives. We are prepared to accommodate their request, and we will
6 Feb 1997 : Column: 679
expect the industry to come forward with proposals which are capable of dealing with the criticisms made of the present regime while continuing to raise the same revenue as now.
We therefore intend to withdraw the proposals in clause 105, and leave the present stamp duty regime to continue for the time being. The regulations we will be making for the stamp duty and stamp duty reserve tax treatment of open-ended investment companies will adopt a similar approach.
Mr. Timms:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 10 December 1996, Official Report, columns 125-26, if he will update the column relating to 1997-98 of the table headed "Private finance initiative: estimated capital spending arising from signed deals". [13893]
Mr. Jack:
Table 5.5 of the "Financial Statement and Budget Report 1997-98", and my answer of 10 December were derived from returns made by Departments as part of the pre-Budget expenditure round. Arrangements have been put in place for the collection and reporting of information on the private finance initiative to the Treasury on a quarterly basis, but the ultimate responsibility for individual figures lies with each department. Collecting information centrally on more than a quarterly basis could be achieved only at disproportionate cost and would distract officials from the important task of securing value for money deals.
Mr. Jon Owen Jones:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the compliance cost assessment published on 29 November 1994 remains his current estimate of how much the introduction of self-assessment in April will cost; and what plans he has to publish a more up to date figure of how much the new system has cost to set up. [14308]
Mr. Jack:
I can confirm that the Inland Revenue's compliance cost assessment in November 1994 remains the Government's current estimate of the impact of self-assessment on business compliance costs. The Inland Revenue plans to review its compliance cost assessment after the new system has bedded down and business and the Inland Revenue have gained practical experience of its operation.
Mr. Milburn:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many cases of evasion of payments of taxes administered by the Inland Revenue have been discovered in each year since 1990; and what has been the yield. [14508]
Mr. Jack:
I refer the hon. Member to the written answers which I gave him on 26 October 1995, Official Report, columns 727-28 and 11 December 1996, Official Report, columns 207-08.
6 Feb 1997 : Column: 680
Mr. Malcolm Bruce:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of (a) the additional tax revenues which would accrue to the Exchequer and (b) the reduction in Government spending, in each of the next five years if the annual rate of growth of gross domestic product in the United Kingdom were 0.25 per cent. per annum higher than assumed in the forecasts contained in the "Financial Statement and Budget Report 1997-98"; and if he will make a statement. [12768]
Mr. Jack
[holding answer 28 January 1997]: The table shows estimates of the effect on government receipts and spending if the annual rate of growth of GDP were ¼ per cent. per annum higher than forecast in the "Financial Statement and Budget Report 1997-98". These are based upon the estimates set out in HM Treasury occasional paper No.4 "Public Finances and the Cycle". All such estimates are inevitably uncertain.
A copy of that report is held in the Library of the House.
current programmes should lead to the backlog of liquid high-activity waste currently stored at Sellafield's high-level waste storage facility being converted to vitrified waste by around 2015; and that
safety provisions for the storage of high-activity liquid up until then are acceptable,
| Per cent. of GDP | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-00 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | |
| General Government receipts | (17)-- | (17)-- | (17)-- | ¼ | ¼ |
| General Government expenditure | (17)-- | -¼ | -¼ | -½ | -½ |
(17) Negligible.
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