17 Mar 1997 : Column: 357
Written Answers to Questions
Monday 17 March 1997
TREASURY
Arms to Iran Affair
Mr. Gale: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the official inquiry by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise into BMAR has found evidence of knowledge or involvement in illegal arms exports to Iran by the right hon. Member for South Thanet (Mr. Aitken). [17903]
Mr. Oppenheim: Customs' investigation is not yet complete--the result of some overseas inquiries is still awaited. It is not normally the practice of the Commissioners of Customs and Excise to comment on investigations of individuals or companies not yet accused of criminal offences. To do so could risk prejudicing any on-going inquiries or future criminal proceedings. I can, however, say in the particular circumstances of this investigation that inquiries to date have not produced any evidence which would support any criminal proceedings against any person, including my right hon. Friend the Member for Thanet, South (Mr. Aitken) in relation to the exports by BMARC which were alleged to have ended up in Iran.
Government Receipts (Scotland)
Mr. Richards: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the estimated Government receipts in Scotland by source for the last year for which figures are available. [19499]
Mr. Waldegrave [holding answer 10 march 1997]: The table shows the figures requested. With the exception of corporation tax receipts, these figures were published by the Scottish Office in table 10 of "Government Expenditure and Revenue in Scotland 1994-95".
| £ billion | |
|---|---|
| Income tax | 5 |
| Social security contributions | 3.7 |
| VAT | 3.6 |
| Council tax and non-domestic rates | 2.1 |
| Corporation tax | 1.8 |
| All other receipts(1) | 5.9 |
| Total receipts(1) | 22.1 |
(1) Excluding North sea revenues.
Fiscal Deficit (Scotland)
Mr. Richards: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the fiscal deficit in Scotland in the last year for which figures are available. [19498]
Mr. Waldergrave
[holding answer 10 March 1997]: Excluding privatisation proceeds and North sea revenues, the general Government deficit in Scotland is estimated to have been £8.2 billion in 1994-95.
17 Mar 1997 : Column: 358
Mr. Richards:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was general Government expenditure in Scotland in (a) identifiable, (b) non identifiable, (c) programme and (d) other expenditure categories, in the last year for which figures are available. [19553]
Mr. Waldegrave
[holding answer 10 March 1997]: Total expenditure on services by country and function for 1994-95 is given in table 7.7 of "Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 1996-97" Cm 3201.
Mr. Salmond:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the latest available figures for (a) GDP and (b) GDP per head, for the four countries of the United Kingdom, including the continental shelf, in (i) current and (ii) 1996-97 prices; what proportion of GDP for the United Kingdom continental shelf is ascribed to each country in these figures; and what would be the equivalent figure for Scottish GDP and Scottish GDP per head if 90 per cent. of the United Kingdom continental shelf were in the Scottish totals. [19406]
Mr. Waldegrave
[holding answer 11 March 1997]: The table shows the figures available. Estimates of GDP at factor cost by region are available only in current prices. The continental shelf is treated in the regional accounts as a separate region, and hence its estimated GDP can not be ascribed to England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
| GDP (£ million) | GDP per head (£) | |
|---|---|---|
| England | 504,893 | 10,324 |
| Scotland | 50,713 | 9,872 |
| Wales | 24,618 | 8,440 |
| Northern Ireland | 13,868 | 8,410 |
| Continental shelf | 10,348 | -- |
Notes:
1. Ninety per cent. of the GDP of the continental shelf is equal to £9,313 million.
2. Since there is no resident population in the continental shelf region GDP per head for the continental shelf cannot be calculated.
3. The GDP for the UK continental shelf comprises profits and stock appreciation which cannot be assigned to regions of the UK. The income from employment of continental shelf employees is, however, allocated to the region of residence of the employee and cannot be separately identified within the regional GDP estimates.
4. Estimates of GDP by region at factor cost are only available in current prices, which means that an increase over time reflects inflation as well as real growth. There are no regional price indices which could be used to remove the effect of inflation from the figures. Constant price estimates could be made using UK price indices, but these would be misleading if prices and price changes had varied significantly between different parts of the UK.
Source:
Economic Trends, January and February 1997 edition.
Personal Pensions
Ms Harman:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total amount which has been paid in compensation to people who were mis-sold personal pensions. [20016]
17 Mar 1997 : Column: 359
Mrs. Angela Knight:
Figures published by the Personal Investment Authority, the regulator responsible for most of the firms involved in the review of personal pensions mis-selling, estimates that about £60 million of compensation had been made in the period up to 31 December 1996.
Ms Harman:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the companies which have mis-sold personal pensions. [19945]
Mrs. Knight:
It is not possible to compile such a list at this stage.
Ms Harman:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people have been mis-sold personal pensions. [19946]
Mrs. Knight:
It is not yet possible to provide a reliable estimate of the number of people who have been mis-sold a personal pension.
Ms Harman:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the total cost of compensation likely to be paid to people who were mis-sold personal pensions. [20022]
Mrs. Knight:
There is no reliable estimate available of the total cost of compensation that is likely to be paid to people who have been mis-sold personal pensions.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on his policy in respect of value added tax on domestic fuel. [20107]
Mr. Oppenheim
[holding answer 13 March 1997]: VAT was applied to domestic fuel for sound environmental and revenue reasons, which continue to apply. The Government have no plans to change the current rate of 8 per cent. VAT, which applies to domestic fuel. The yield from this measure is about £1.1 billion a year.
Mr. Flynn:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what percentage of the population have (a) committed suicide and (b) suffered a fatal accident in each of the last seven years; and if he will make a statement. [20037]
Mrs. Angela Knight
[holding answer 13 March 1997]: 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 John Fox to Mr. Paul Flynn, dated 17 March 1997:
17 Mar 1997 : Column: 360
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked the Director of the Office for National Statistics to reply to your recent question asking how many and what percentage of the population have (a) committed suicide and (b) suffered a fatal accident in each of the last seven years. The Director has asked me to reply in his absence.
The figures for England are provided in the table below.
| Year | Suicides (ICD9(2)) codes E950-E959 and E980-E989 excl. E988.8) | Suicides per 100,000 population | Fatal accidents (ICD9(2) codes E800-E929) | Fatal accidents per 100,000 population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 5046 | 10.6 | 11111 | 23.2 |
| 1990 | 5240 | 10.9 | 10597 | 22.1 |
| 1991 | 5183 | 10.8 | 9944 | 20.6 |
| 1992 | 5126 | 10.6 | 9516 | 19.7 |
| 1993 | 4929 | 10.2 | 9617 | 19.8 |
| 1994 | 4780 | 9.8 | 9417 | 19.3 |
| 1995 | 4816 | 9.8 | 9369 | 19.2 |
(2) International Classification of Diseases, ninth Revision
Married Couples (Tax Allowances)
Mr. Leigh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will commission a report from the Inland Revenue on arrangements for allowing a husband and wife to elect (a) to transfer between them the personal tax allowances to which each is entitled and (b) to set the tax allowances and the amounts chargeable at the lower and basic rates of income tax to which both are entitled against the sum of their total incomes; and if he will ask the Inland Revenue to assess (i) the advantages and disadvantages of these arrangements, (ii) their cost to the Exchequer, (iii) a timetable for their introduction and (iv) the tax treatment of married couples in other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries. [20377]
Mr. Jack: The tax system already provides a special allowance for married couples, and the Government believe that, by rewarding hard work through reducing tax rates, married couples with continue to benefit under their policies. Nearly two thirds of the income tax package in the 1996 Budget will benefit married couples directly. Against that background, I have asked the Inland Revenue to produce a report about the arrangements that my hon. Friend mentions.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |