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Drugs

Mr. Leigh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list by department the total amount allocated to tackling problems relating to drugs for the five most recent years for which figures are available. [4798]

Mr. Darling: The Treasury does not yet hold this data centrally and information on total Government and individual departments' expenditure on tackling drug misuse is not recorded on an annual basis. The Government recognises the importance of greater clarity of information relating to drugs related issues and will therefore be appointing a "drug czar" to co-ordinate action against drugs. The drug czar will be working to the President of the Council as Chair of the Cabinet's co-ordinating committee on drug misuse. One of his or her first tasks will be to review urgently the existing drugs strategy, and put forward proposals for tackling the problem with renewed vigour. This review will include evaluating current Government expenditure.

The most recently available estimates we currently hold were published in the White Paper "Tackling Drugs Together" in May 1995. They show that at least £526 million of expenditure in 1993-94 could be directly attributable to drug programmes and activities across the UK.

Bereavement Allowance

Mr. Garnier: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his Department's policy on equalising the treatment of sexes in respect of the bereavement allowance; and if he will make a statement. [6320]

Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 1 July 1997]: There are no plans to extend the widows bereavement allowance to widowers.

Insurance Premium Tax

Mr. Fearn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will review the rates of insurance premium tax charged on travel insurance sold by (a) travel agents and (b) other outlets. [7184]

9 Jul 1997 : Column: 476

Dawn Primarolo: As is usual with new tax measures, the impact of the higher rate of insurance premium tax of 17.5 per cent., which from 1 April 1997 has been applied to certain specified insurance sales, including travel insurance sold by travel agents and tour operators, will be kept under review.

Hotels (VAT)

Mr. Fearn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will establish a review of the imposition of VAT charged on tourist rates for hotel accommodation. [7257]

Dawn Primarolo: VAT is payable under EC legislation on hotel accommodation, and this is accurately reflected in United Kingdom law.

Double Taxation

Mr. Wilkinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the annual loss of revenue to the British Exchequer from the requirement under the UK/Danish Double Taxation Convention and Protocol that retired Danish citizens permanently resident in the United Kingdom pay only Danish tax upon their Danish pensions. [6449]

Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 8 July 1997]: The Double Taxation Convention and Protocol permit Denmark to charge its normal tax regime on pensions paid to persons in the UK who formerly lived in Denmark. The UK will allow credit for that Danish tax when assessing the pension to UK tax. The cost to the UK exchequer will be negligible, because of the small number of pensioners who will be affected.

Mr. Wilkinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from the Commission of the European Union that double taxation conventions between member states be harmonised. [6447]

Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 8 July 1997]: I have received no such representations.

Mr. Wilkinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the harmonising of double taxation conventions between the United Kingdom and other EU nations. [6448]

Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 8 July 1997]: Bilateral double taxation agreements are a matter for the member states concerned. There is no process of harmonisation of double taxation conventions between the United Kingdom and other EU nations under way, nor is there a need for any such harmonisation.

Public Expenditure

Sir Teddy Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total amount of public expenditure per head of population in each of the constituent nations of the United Kingdom in the most recent year for which figures are available. [6655]

Mr. Darling [holding answer 8 July 1997]: The latest breakdown of expenditure per head of population for countries of the UK was published in table 7.1 of the Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 1997-98, Cm 3601.

9 Jul 1997 : Column: 477

Budget Leaks

Mr. Cash: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the Ministers who (a) gave interviews to (b) made statements to and (c) answered questions from journalists or representatives of the Financial Times in the period of 48 hours before the Budget Statement. [7265]

Mr. Gordon Brown [holding answer 8 July 1997]: No Treasury Minister gave interviews to, made statements to or answered questions from journalists or representatives of the Financial Times in the 48 hours before the Budget Statement.

Windfall Tax

Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Inland Revenue staff will be required to administer and collect the windfall tax. [7387]

Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 8 July 1997]: The additional staffing requirement will be negligible.

Private Finance Initiative

Mr. Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library the latest list of major signed PFI/Public Private Partnerships deals; and if he will update that list at regular intervals. [7903]

Mr. Geoffrey Robinson: I will arrange for the list to be placed in the Library, and for it to be updated every six months.

Personal Pensions (Misselling)

Mr. Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made towards providing redress for the victims of misselling of personal pensions. [7904]

Mrs. Liddell: In my earlier reply to my hon. Friend the Member for East Ham (Mr. Timms) on 24 June, Official Report, columns 454-55 I undertook to publish information each month about the cases handled by the 24 firms which have most cases to review. These are the firms for which the regulators (the Securities and Investments Board and the Personal Investment Authority) have published targets for completion of case reviews. Below is a table containing the information provided to me by these firms about progress with their casework to end June.

The figures in the table, which are those submitted by the 24 firms themselves, provide a benchmark from which future progress can be measured.

The volume of cases cleared is extremely disappointing. All the firms in the table have a great deal more work to do. Some appear hardly to have begun.

It is now imperative that all firms--not just these 24--which have sold personal pensions should make serious efforts to improve their performance in completing their caseloads. This is not only in the interests of their customers but also of their own reputations with the general public. The regulators will continue to monitor the firms' performance against the targets they have been set.

I will decide once I have seen some further figures to measure progress what further action may be called for.

9 Jul 1997 : Column: 478

	A	B	C	D	E	F
Hogg Robinson	602	50	8	2	1	0
Colonial	6,754	152	663	503	32	0
Gan	8,358	43	133	79	63	1
Sedgwick	6,731	359	436	262	64	1
Abbey Life	15,993	950	1,116	238	169	1
Allied Dunbar	16,422	1,177	761	281	182	1
Lincoln National	12,301	830	541	203	148	1
Windsor Life	7,830	0	164	157	131	2
London & Manchester	6,944	64	493	399	117	2
Cooperative Insurance	41,762	1,025	7,195	1,280	825	2
Equitable Life	10,761	4,097	3,788	437	307	3
Britannic	12,360	0	1,355	728	443	4
Sun Life of Canada	25,682	1,628	1,279	1,161	1,002	4
NatWest	13,192	2,657	1,801	1,059	573	4
United Assurance	12,648	382	1,521	783	585	5
Pearl	39,548	897	4,486	3,040	2,076	5
Prudential	58,606	35	13,829	12,861	3,128	5
Royal London	9,357	138	1,280	748	532	6
Legal & General	33,282	12,147	3,442	2,590	2,046	6
Norwich Union	6,772	1,824	1,009	548	428	6
Lloyds/TSB	46,562	4,662	6,836	5,166	3,310	7
Royal & Sun Alliance	14,995	927	1,933	1,605	1,213	8
Guardian	8,255	264	1,511	1,175	855	10
Barclays Life	16,700	5,134	4,413	3,121	2,315	14

A = Cases identified as requiring review. B = Of A, cases where investor was informed that information gained during assessment excluded cases for review.

C = Number of assessments completed.

D = Cases where redress has been offered.

E = Cases where redress has been accepted. This is a subset of assessments completed.

F = Cases where redress has been accepted as a percentage of cases identified for review.

Some further cases will have been completed without redress being due.

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