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TREASURY

Cardiff Bay Barrage

Mr. Morgan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 27 January, Official Report, column 35, if he will list the principal differences between the Cardiff bay barrage scheme as presented for approval in November 1987 and as approved in June 1988. [13492]

Mr. Waldegrave [holding answer 30 January 1997]: The answer can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Morgan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 27 January, Official Report, column 35, concerning the Cardiff bay barrage, if he will list the consultant's reports supplied to his Department by the Welsh Office between November 1987 and June 1988 in support of the main economic appraisal document.[13493]

Mr. Waldegrave [holding answer 30 January 1997]: In November 1987, the Welsh Office provided the Treasury with a copy of an economic appraisal of the project prepared by Peat Marwick McLintock. Peat Marwick McLintock subsequently revised the appraisal and this was provided to the Treasury in June 1988.

Mr. Morgan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 27 January, Official Report, column 35, if he will place in the Library (a) the Treasury's letter of approval for the Cardiff Bay barrage project and (b) the appraisal commentary by his departmental economic appraisal team. [13491]

Mr. Waldegrave [holding answer 30 January 1997]: Approval was provided in a ministerial exchange of letters. It is not the Government's practice to place such correspondence, or advice provided to Ministers by officials, in the Library.

Administration Costs

Mr. Milburn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 17 January, Official Report, column 398, on gross running costs, if he will make a statement on how the additional expenditure in each of those Departments incurring an increase is to be used.[14582]

Mr. Waldegrave [holding answer 6 February 1997]: The effectiveness of Government policy in bearing down on the costs of departmental administration has allowed increases in certain Departments' running costs to reflect key Government priorities.

Additional running costs provision for the Inland Revenue, Customs and Excise and the Department for Social Security reflects additional anti-fraud and anti-evasion measures. Further details of this "spend to save" package can be found on page 106 of the "Financial

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Statement and Budget Report 1997-98". Extra provision for the Home Office reflects the projected growth in the prison population. Additional running costs provision for the agriculture departments is to fund the continuing package of measures to counter BSE.

The detailed allocation of running costs provision within Departments is a matter for individual spending Ministers.

Share Option Schemes

Mr. Pearson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list (a) the cost to the Exchequer in 1995-96, (b) the estimated likely costs in (i) 1996-97 and (ii) 1997-98 of approved discretionary share option schemes and (c) the estimated costs of company share option plans in 1998-99. [15101]

Mr. Jack [holding answer 10 February 1997]: Available provisional estimates are as follows:

Estimated cost of tax relief(1)£ million

Approved discretionary share option schemes(2)
1995-96	70
1996-97	80

Information on share schemes comes from annual returns which must be submitted by companies operating schemes. The latest year for which forms have been received and processed is 1994-95. The estimated cost of tax relief for executive share option schemes for 1994-95 is £60 million. This cost has been projected forward using, changes in the general level of share prices, and assumes a similar level of options exercised.

(1) Estimated costs are the effects on tax liabilities for each year, and not the receipts in each year. Figures are tentative and subject to a wide margin of error.

(2) The costs take account that relief from income tax is partially offset by liability to capital gains tax arising from disposals of shares acquired under the scheme.

Figures for further years are not available, however it is estimated that the first full-year cost of tax relief for company share option plans may eventually be around £90 million.

London Transport Funding

Mr. Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he received from (a) chief officers and the Board of London Transport and (b) the City of London about the Government's annual settlement for London Transport; and what was contained in the representations about the effect of the settlement upon London Transport's investment programme and existing infrastructure. [13762]

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Mr. Waldegrave: A number of representations have been received about the annual settlement for London Transport. In addition to investment in the Jubilee line extension, the settlement provides for average investment of £525 million per year, 50 per cent. higher in real terms than the average of the 1980s.

European Community Finance

Mr. Spearing: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the main items of income and expenditure

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of the general budget of the European Economic Community for each year since 1973 at 1996 prices, together with the percentages of each main category of income or expenditure, indicating also accessions to the Community in relevant years. [14330]

Mr. Oppenheim: The information is set out in the tables.

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Table 1: European Community Budget: ExpenditureFigures are in millions of ecu at constant 1996 prices

	EAGGF guarantee	Per cent. of total general budget	EAGGF guidance	Per cent. of total general budget	ERDF	Per cent. of total general budget	ESF	Per cent of total general budget	Cohesion fund	Per cent. of total general budget	Research	Per cent. of total general budget	Admin.	Per cent. of total general budget	Other	Per cent. of total general budget	Total
	UK, Ireland and Denmark accede
1973	18,962	80.2	57	0.2	--	--	1,303	5.5	--	--	368	1.6	1,287	5.4	1,659	7.0	23,635
1974	16,048	71.7	175	0.8	--	--	1,132	5.1	--	--	512	2.3	1,420	6.3	3,100	13.8	22,387
1975	17,547	74.4	311	1.3	608	2.6	603	2.6	--	--	470	2.0	1,476	6.3	2,571	10.9	23,585
1976	20,442	74.5	407	1.5	1,088	4.0	768	2.8	--	--	461	1.7	1,562	5.7	2,700	9.8	27,428
1977	21,387	75.4	367	1.3	1,299	4.6	560	2.0	--	--	587	2.1	1,629	5.7	2,535	8.9	28,364
1978	25,548	72.1	958	2.7	1,545	4.4	1,584	4.5	--	--	786	2.2	2,021	5.7	3,003	8.5	35,446
1979	27,670	73.0	763	2.0	1,862	4.9	1,412	3.7	--	--	713	1.9	2,066	5.5	3,396	9.0	37,883
1980	26,762	71.2	746	2.0	1,880	5.0	1,660	4.4	--	--	863	2.3	1,967	5.2	3,704	9.9	37,582
Greece accedes
1981	23,644	64.6	1,154	3.2	5,143	14.1	1,326	3.6	--	--	666	1.8	2,013	5.5	3,937	10.8	37,882
1982	23,732	59.9	1,260	3.2	5,624	14.2	1,963	5.0	--	--	847	2.1	2,029	5.1	4,170	10.5	39,624
1983	28,164	64.4	1,026	2.3	4,115	9.4	2,140	4.9	--	--	2,401	5.5	1,977	4.5	3,899	8.9	43,721
1984	30,593	67.7	994	2.2	2,357	5.2	2,023	4.5	--	--	2,770	6.1	2,024	4.5	4,436	9.8	45,198
1985	31,090	70.8	1,080	2.5	2,537	5.8	2,218	5.1	--	--	1,068	2.4	2,056	4.7	3,867	8.8	43,918
Spain and Portugal accede
1986	33,009	63.8	1,151	2.2	3,666	7.1	3,637	7.0	--	--	1,157	2.2	2,289	4.4	6,840	13.2	51,749
1987	32,902	65.4	1,132	2.3	3,670	7.3	3,598	7.2	--	--	1,383	2.7	2,433	4.8	5,185	10.3	50,303
1988	37,949	67.4	1,567	2.8	4,092	7.3	3,156	5.6	--	--	1,551	2.8	2,631	4.7	5,386	9.6	56,331
1989	33,799	63.4	1,764	3.3	5,127	9.6	3,500	6.6	--	--	1,985	3.7	2,708	5.1	4,420	8.3	53,302
1990	33,619	61.5	2,265	4.1	5,651	10.3	3,985	7.3	--	--	2,221	4.1	2,920	5.3	4,012	7.3	54,673
1991	36,413	57.7	2,453	3.9	7,418	11.8	4,740	7.5	--	--	2,007	3.2	3,124	5.0	6,944	11.0	63,099
1992	35,143	53.9	3,205	4.9	9,627	14.8	4,844	7.4	--	--	2,142	3.3	3,097	4.7	7,160	11.0	65,217
1993	37,637	54.0	3,163	4.5	10,360	14.9	5,842	8.4	863	1.2	2,432	3.5	3,243	4.7	6,142	8.8	69,682
1994	34,775	55.9	2,617	4.2	6,691	10.7	4,560	7.3	900	1.4	2,613	4.2	3,406	5.5	6,681	10.7	62,243
Austria, Sweden and Finland accede
1995	35,347	52.0	2,596	3.8	8,591	12.6	4,665	6.9	1,743	2.6	2,611	3.8	3,653	5.4	8,794	12.9	68,001

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Table 2: European Community Budget: RevenueFigures are in millions of ecu at constant 1996 prices

	Agricultural levies	Per cent. of total revenue	Customs duties	Per cent. of total revenue	VAT source	Per cent. of total revenue	GNP/4th resource	Per cent. of total revenue	Misc.	Per cent. of total revenue	Total
UK, Ireland and Denmark accede
1973	2,677	10.4	10,420	40.4					12,684	49.2	25,781
1974	1,531	6.4	12,698	53.2					9,628	40.4	23,858
1975	2,393	9.2	12,776	49.3					10,720	41.4	25,889
1976	4,220	14.2	14,741	49.7					10,722	36.1	29,683
1977	5,774	20.5	12,751	45.3					9,641	34.2	28,166
1978	6,708	18.3	12,925	35.3					17,023	46.4	36,656
1979	5,710	14.4	13,823	34.8	12,621	31.8			7,515	18.9	39,669
1980	4,745	12.2	13,997	35.9	17,203	44.2			3,000	7.7	38,945
Greece accedes
1981	3,734	9.2	13,661	33.8	19,635	48.6			3,399	8.4	40,429
1982	4,312	10.1	13,193	30.9	23,230	54.3			2,010	4.7	42,746
1983	4,342	9.5	12,907	28.1	24,426	53.2			4,228	9.2	45,904
1984	4,923	11.3	12,723	29.2	24,310	55.8			1,574	3.6	43,530
1985	3,434	7.8	13,096	29.6	23,985	54.2			3,746	8.5	44,261
Spain and Portugal accede
1986	3,413	6.8	12,197	24.3	33,166	66.0			1,468	2.9	50,245
1987	4,441	8.7	12,812	25.0	33,638	65.6			409	0.8	51,300
1988	3,578	6.2	12,785	22.3	32,857	57.2	6,105	10.6	2,134	3.7	57,459
1989	3,136	5.2	13,487	22.5	34,387	57.3	5,910	9.8	3,108	5.2	60,028
1990	2,327	4.0	12,762	22.1	34,048	59.1	118	0.2	8,404	14.6	57,659
1991	2,924	4.4	13,497	20.4	35,600	53.8	8,756	13.2	5,378	8.1	66,156
1992	2,237	3.3	12,709	18.9	39,008	58.0	9,366	13.9	3,883	5.8	67,204
1993	2,095	2.9	11,999	16.8	37.432	52.5	17,927	25.2	1,823	2.6	71,276
1994	2,192	3.1	11,813	16.9	35,143	50.4	18,686	26.8	1,916	2.7	69,750
Austria, Sweden and Finland accede
1995	1,995	2.6	12,834	16.7	40,202	52.2	14,560	18.9	7,438	9.7	77,029

Notes:

1. Figures are for outturn. As yet outturn figures are not available for 1996.

2. Figures converted to constant 1996 prices using EU15 deflator throughout.

3. Items are denominated in ecus as the unit of account for the EC Budget.

4. Other spending includes spending on external policies, internal policies other than research and Financial Instruments for Fisheries Guidance.

Sources:

1. The Community Budget: The Facts in Figures, 1996 Edition; European Commission.

2. European Economy, Number 62, 1996; European Commission.

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