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Plutonium Waste
Mr. MacShane: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what discussions she has had with British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. about the transfer by air of plutonium waste from Britain to Germany. [2180]
Mr. Battle: None. Arrangements for the transport of nuclear material from British Nuclear Fuels-owned sites is an operational matter for the company and its customers, subject to meeting regulatory requirements.
TREASURY
Tax Receipts
Mr. Jack: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will publish on a monthly basis for this financial year the actual receipts achieved for each of the taxes collected by the Inland Revenue. [1856]
- (2) what estimate he has made of the receipts in each month of the present financial year from each of the taxes collected by the Inland Revenue. [1857]
Dawn Primarolo
[holding answer 3 June 1997]: Monthly receipts of taxes collected by the Inland revenue are first published in the monthly PSBR release and
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further detail is supplied in table 2.1c of Financial Statistics. Estimates of receipts are not published on a monthly basis.
Mr. Fallon:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the dates on which he has written to the Governor of the Bank of England; and if he will place a copy of each letter in the library. [2302]
Mrs. Liddell:
The Chancellor wrote to the Governor on 6 May, setting out the new monetary policy arrangements, and on 20 May dealing with the future of banking supervision. Copies of both of these letters have been placed in the Library.
The Chancellor writes to the Governor from time to time on a range of matters, some of which are commercially confidential or market sensitive. It would not be appropriate to place such letters in the Library.
Mr. Mitchell:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate, based on the Treasury model of the economy, the level of interest rates and the weighted average exchange rate required to enable the economy to return to full employment at a high and sustainable rate of growth. [2283]
Mrs. Liddell:
It has not, since 1978, been the practice to provide results from the Treasury model in response to Parliamentary Questions. The model is available for Members' use through the Library of the House.
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will make publicly available the names and addresses of landowners who claim conditional exemption from inheritance tax or capital transfer tax because they allow public access to their land; [1106]
Dawn Primarolo:
In return for conditional exemption for land or buildings, owners must undertake not only to allow reasonable public access to the property but also to maintain and preserve its character. A number of agencies advise the Inland Revenue on matters concerning eligibility for exemption. The relevant agency also negotiates and agrees with each owner the arrangements covering the maintenance, preservation and public access aspects, including the appropriate level and nature of publicity about access.
Owners' compliance with their agreed undertakings is regularly monitored by the Inland Revenue and the heritage agencies. Any breach of the undertakings may result in the loss of the exemption and the payment of the deferred tax charge.
Information about the names and addresses of owners of land conditionally exempted from inheritance tax or capital transfer tax is, like other information about taxpayers, covered by the confidentiality provisions of section 182 of the Finance Act 1989.
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Mr. Flight:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to propose the inclusion in the draft directive on integrated services digital network a statement that the directive will not apply to communications relating to financial services. [1220]
Mrs. Liddell:
It is intended that the directive will apply to financial services. My right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade is aware of the concerns raised by the financial services industry and its regulators. The Government are seeking to balance the interaction between investor protection and industry practice with the need for adequate data protection.
Mr. Mitchell:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps the Government propose to take to stop insider trading; and if he will introduce legislation (a) requiring public companies to provide notification to their shareholders of significant changes in their circumstances to reach them not later than the information is released to the Stock Exchange and (b) prohibiting meetings with representatives of such companies by investment analysts enabling the analysts to acquire information about a company earlier than the company's private shareholders. [2128]
Mrs. Liddell:
The Criminal Justice Act 1993 makes it a criminal offence to engage in insider dealing in the UK. The Government will keep the scope and effectiveness of this legislation under review. But we have no plans to introduce the additional legislation suggested. The Stock Exchange Listing Rules already place a duty on listed companies to make price sensitive information available to their shareholders and other members of the public on the same basis.
Mr. Mitchell:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the Treasury's forecast of the change in the volume of production, imports and exports of manufactures in each of the next five years as a result of the rise in interest rates and the exchange rate since 1994. [2290]
Mrs. Liddell:
It is not possible to isolate with confidence the effects of changes in interest rates and the exchange rate from the various other factors affecting changes in manufacturing output, exports and imports. The next Treasury forecast will be published on 2 July 1997.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what remit he has given to the National Audit Office when asking them to report on the economic assumptions underlying last November's Budget. [2165]
Mrs. Liddell:
In order to assist the Government in preparing their forecast of the public finances, the National Audit Office has been invited to review the assumptions adopted for economic growth, unemployment and interest rates and the conventions used for projecting proceeds from privatisation and from "spend to save" expenditure measures. A report will be published before the Budget.
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Mr. Ben Chapman:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the implications of his oral statement of 20 May, Official Report, columns 508-11, as regards departmental responsibilities for the insurance industry. [1123]
Mrs. Liddell:
The statement did not cover this matter.
Mr. Mitchell:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the total of ways and means advances from the Bank of England to Her Majesty's Government at the end of each financial year since 1990-91. [1448]
Mrs. Liddell:
Outstanding ways and means advances from Issue Department at the Bank of England to the National Loans Fund at the end of each financial year since 1990-91 are set out in the table.
(2) what steps he takes to ensure that landowners conditionally exempt from inheritance tax publicise adequately the agreed public access requirement. [1105]
| Date (end of financial year) | Outstanding ways and means advances from Issue Department (£ millions) |
|---|---|
| 1990-91 | 6,918 |
| 1991-92 | 7,187 |
| 1992-93 | 3,062 |
| 1993-94 | 6,750 |
| 1994-95 | 15,904 |
| 1995-96 | 15,654 |
| 1996-97 | 14,322 |
Public Sector Deficit
Mr. Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer to what extent he is currently over or under funding the public sector deficit. [1530]
Mrs. Liddell: From 1996-97 the funding rule was replaced by a target to finance the Central Government Borrowing Requirement (CGBR) plus maturing gilts and any net increase in the foreign exchange reserves through debt sales. The latest estimate of the 1996-97 financing requirement is £39.4 billion, of which £25.1 billion is to finance the CGBR, £12.4 billion is to finance gilt redemptions, and the remaining £1.9 billion is to finance the net change in foreign reserves and financing carry-over from 1995-96. Gilts sales in 1996-97 amounted to some £38.8 billion, sales of National Savings products £4.8 billion, and there was negative financing of £0.4 billion from sales of other public debt. Overall there was therefore a £3.9 billion excess of gilt sales relative to the final gilt sales requirement.
Mortgage tax Relief
Mr. Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will investigate the German system of mortgage tax relief for first-time buyers of homes as an alternative to MIRAS. [2089]
Mrs. Liddell:
Whilst I am aware of the general German system of tax relief on home purchase I do not know of any special arrangements for first-time buyers. My officials will therefore seek to obtain details of these.
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