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Trusts

Mr. Faber: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to review the tax treatment of income arising out of discretionary and accumulation trusts. [8733]

Dawn Primarolo: The tax treatment of all income is kept under review.

Charities

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consideration is being given to the interests of small high street businesses in relation to the current review of the tax status of charities. [8478]

Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 14 July 1997]: The review of charity taxation invites representations on all aspects of the taxation of charities.

Pensions

Mr. Gillan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the financial impact of the Budget measures on pensions in the self-employed sector. [8471]

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Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 14 July 1997]: The Budget promotes economic stability and encourages long-term and high quality investment. This is good for the UK economy including the self-employed and the pension funds through which they invest for their retirement.

Medical Insurance (Tax Relief)

Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of people receiving tax relief for private medical insurance who will terminate their current policies as a result of the Budget measures to terminate such tax relief. [8701]

Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 15 July 1997]: There is no reason for anyone to terminate a policy which was current at the time of the Budget, because tax relief continues to be given on eligible policies until they fall due for renewal.

Ethnic Minorities

Mr. Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what percentage of employees, in each payband, in the quangos for which his Department is responsible, are of (a) Asian origin and (b) Afro-Caribbean origin. [8935]

Mrs. Liddell: The advisory bodies and tribunals for which the Chancellor of the Exchequer is responsible do not employ any staff of their own.

Civil Servants

Mr. Vaz : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many civil servants there are on each payband in his Department. [8936]

Mrs. Liddell: The number of civil servants working the Treasury by payband is:

Pay band	Number
£7,400-£14,121	87
£11,000-£17,973	224
£14,000-£23,046	142
£19,000-£33,655	225
£28,000-£50,000	164
£32,054-£50,430	18
£38,000-£67,200	48
£55,900-£90,000	19
£67,000-£106,900	2
Total	929

Parliamentary Groups

Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what criteria his Department applies in awarding grants to all-party Parliamentary groups. [8798]

Mr. Darling [holding answer 16 July 1997]: The level of grants to Parliamentary bodies is assessed annually in accordance with their Financial Memoranda, in the light of submissions from them as to the level of funding which

18 Jul 1997 : Column: 380

they require. Their expenditure in previous years and the level of any reserves available to them are also taken into account.

The current level of grants is as follows:

Grant in aid 1997-98

	£
Inter Parliamentary Union	834,899
British Irish Inter Parliamentary Union	149,601
Commonwealth Parliamentary Association	88,750
British American Parliamentary Association	70,170

The level of future grants will be set in the light of the Comprehensive Spending Review.

Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reason his Department makes an annual grant to the British-American Parliamentary group. [8797]

Mr. Darling [holding answer 16 July 1997]: Grant in aid is issued to the British-American Parliamentary group so that it can foster better relations between Members of Parliament and parliamentarians in the United States. As with all Government spending, this grant will be examined as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review which I announced to the House on 11 June.

Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what arrangements his Department has for monitoring the use of the annual grant it makes to the British-American Parliamentary group; and if he will make a statement. [8796]

Mr. Darling [holding answer 16 July 1997]: Expenditure by the British American Parliamentary group is governed by its financial memorandum. Its level of grant is monitored in accordance with the Treasury's usual arrangements for the in year control of expenditure. As with all Government spending, the grant will be examined as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review which I announced to the House on 11 June.

Press Releases

Mr. Chidgey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spends on biking press releases to (a) hon. Members and (b) other individuals or groups, each time his Department issues a press release; how many such press releases were issued by his Department (i) in the period 1 May to 1 July and (ii) in the period 1 January to 1 March; and if he will review his Department's use of couriers to deliver press releases and investigate the possibility of using fax or e-mail. [8812]

Mrs. Liddell [holding answer 17 July 1997]: The Treasury uses various distribution methods for its press releases including fax, postal deliveries, and online databases. The Treasury does not bike press releases to Members of Parliament or individual groups. Press releases are distributed by post to hon. Members and other individual groups on request. Press releases are also issued to the Parliamentary Online Information Service which can be accessed by Members. Treasury news releases are widely accessed via our World Wide Web site on the Internet.

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The Treasury issued 34 press releases in the period from 1 May to 1 July 1997 and 22 press releases from 1 January to 1 July. As part of our distribution mechanism, the Central Office of Information send press releases to media organisations on our behalf to ensure that they receive releases promptly. The cost of biking releases to COI is £5.95 (excluding VAT). It is not possible for our service suppliers to provide a separate breakdown of the cost of delivering releases to the media. However, the Treasury reviews these services regularly to ensure that the most cost effective delivery mechanisms are used at all times.

CABINET OFFICE

Millennium Experience

Mr. Mitchell: To ask the Minister without Portfolio if he will list the cost overruns to date in the contracts for site clearance and preparation for the Millennium Experience. [6441]

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Mr. Caborn: I have been asked to reply.

There have been no cost overruns to date on the contracts placed by English Partnerships for site clearance and infrastructure works for the Millennium Experience.

ENVIRONMENT, TRANSPORT AND THE REGIONS

Judicial Reviews

Ms Hodge: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many decisions by his Department were challenged by way of judicial review in each Parliamentary session since 1994-95; and if he will list in how many cases (a) the Department's decision was upheld, (b) the court found for the applicant, (c) the Department submitted to the judgment and (d) the Department appealed successfully against the judicial review decision. [7834]

Angela Eagle: Figures are available for the former Department of Transport for the calendar years 1995 and 1996, and for 1997 so far, as follows:

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Year	Total	Department's decision upheld by the court	Court found for the applicant	Department submitted to the judgment	Department appealed against the decision	Withdrawn	Pending
1995	9	6	0	0	0	2	1
1996	8	5	0	1	0	2	0
1997	5	0	0	1	0	1	3

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In the past, it was not considered necessary for this sort of information to be held by the Department of the Environment and the information is not held in a form which would enable this Question to be answered except at disproportionate cost. I have asked officials to ensure that, in future, information of this sort will be kept for the whole of the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions.

Soundproofing

Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will review the building regulations in order to improve soundproofing; and if he will make a statement. [8344]

Mr. Raynsford: Each part of the Building Regulations is kept under review and revised when the need is identified and adequate technical solutions are available. The Building Regulations Advisory Committee has advised the Department that there is a need to revise and strengthen Part E--Resistance to the passage of sound, and my officials have begun a review of the options available. Any changes made will draw on the results of research when this is completed.

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