| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
DUCHY OF LANCASTER
Goods and Services (Payments)
Mr. Todd: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list each of the functions relating to payment for goods or services supplied for which his Department is responsible indicating the management systems purchased, all subcontractors involved in the work, co-operative arrangements with other Departments; and the costs of the systems and processes in the last year for which figures are available. [12563]
Dr. David Clark: For this purpose, I have responsibility for the Cabinet Office, including the Prime Minister's Office and the Office of Public Service and its agencies, and the Central Office of Information.
| Agency | ||
|---|---|---|
| COI | software package | Computer Associates |
| SAFE | software package | Tetra |
| GCDA | software package | arrangement with SAFE |
| CCTA | software package | Systems Union |
| TBA | bespoke system | supported by the Unisys |
| PACE | bureau service | supplied by the DOE |
Although there were no specific sub-contractual arrangements the COI system is run on hardware supplied and maintained by Hewlett Packard and SAFE has a similar contract with Connectivity Plus. CCTA has a maintenance contract with Touchstone Computers and a management arrangement with Chessington Computer Services.
The total costs of these systems and services during the year ending March 1997 was £334,093, excluding VAT. However, the Cabinet Office, core OPS and the Civil
27 Oct 1997 : Column: 653
Service College have now replaced the Chessington bureaux service with new package software supplied by Systems Union.
Mr. Vaz:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the number and proportion of (a) Asians and (b) Afro-Caribbeans in each grade in the civil service. [11103]
27 Oct 1997 : Column: 654
Dr. David Clark
[pursuant to his reply, 30 July 1997, c. 314-15.]: Information on the ethnic origin of civil servants is collected using a voluntary, self-classification, confidential questionnaire. The number and proportion of Asian and Afro-Caribbean civil servants, by grade equivalents, who have submitted a questionnaire, as at 1 April 1996, is set out in the table.
27 Oct 1997 : Column: 653
| Grade level | Afro-Caribbean | Per cent. Caribbean | Afro-Asian | Per cent. Asian | Total respondents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCS (1 to 5) | 13 | 0.34 | 43 | 1.13 | 3,819 |
| 6 | 18 | 0.42 | 91 | 2.10 | 4,325 |
| 7 | 82 | 0.55 | 216 | 1.45 | 14,906 |
| SEO | 68 | 0.33 | 263 | 1.28 | 20,500 |
| HEO | 553 | 0.84 | 736 | 1.12 | 65,839 |
| EO | 1,494 | 1.54 | 2,280 | 2.35 | 96,929 |
| AO | 4,275 | 2.97 | 5,873 | 4.08 | 144,099 |
| AA | 2,212 | 3.47 | 2,684 | 4.20 | 63,837 |
| Other | 5 | 0.33 | 8 | 0.53 | 1,505 |
| Summary information | 8,720 | 2.10 | 12,194 | 2.93 | 415,759 |
1. Percentages refer to total respondents in grade.
2. Source MANDATE/Departmental returns.
3. MANDATE is the Office of Public Service's database of information about civil service personnel.
It. covers most Government Departments and agencies, those not included in MANDATE are required to complete a manual return for the information.
4. The figures include both non-industrial and industrial staff.
27 Oct 1997 : Column: 653
PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL
Drugs Tsar
Mr. Flynn: To ask the President of the Council how many names were selected as a result of the first sift of applicants for the position of drugs tsar. [12932]
Mrs. Ann Taylor: The recruitment and assessment service performed an initial sift of all 202 applications for the post of UK anti-drugs co-ordinator. This resulted in the identification of 57 particularly strong candidates. Ministers considered these applications very carefully before interviewing the seven strongest candidates.
Mr. Flynn: To ask the President of the Council how many individuals applied for the post of drugs tsar, broken down by main occupational category of applicant. [12931]
Mrs. Taylor: A total of 202 applications for the post of UK anti-drugs co-ordinator were received from a very diverse range of candidates by the deadline of 5 September. A breakdown by occupational category cannot be provided without disproportionate cost.
TREASURY
VAT
Sir Richard Body: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the (a) procedure and (b) financial effect of VAT base capping in respect of the United Kingdom's contribution to the European Union general budget for 1998. [12283]
Mrs. Liddell:
VAT capping was first introduced for the EC budget in 1988, at a rate of 55 per cent. of 1 per cent. of each member state's gross national product.
27 Oct 1997 : Column: 654
Under the current own resources decision the VAT capping rate is being reduced progressively from 55 per cent. in 1994 to 50 per cent. in 1999. The 50 per cent. rate has applied to Greece, Spain, Ireland and Portugal since 1995. The VAT capping arrangements are broadly neutral for the UK because any change resulting from the application of the capping mechanism is offset a year in arrears by an equal but opposite change to our abatement.
Sir Richard Body:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what legislation he plans to introduce for the implementation of value added tax at the point of origin for intra-European Union imports and exports; [12532]
Dawn Primarolo:
None. The current EC VAT system, with tax accruing in the member state of consumption for intra-Community transactions, remains in force in the absence of unanimous agreement to change it. The European Commission has yet to produce legislative proposals for changes to the current system, and so discussions on the merits or otherwise of a move to an origin-based system have not even begun. The Government, while supportive of efforts to simplify and modernise the current EC VAT system, is opposed to further unnecessary harmonisation at the Community level.
Sir Nicholas Lyell:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to review the system of value added taxation in relation to cereal bars, morning bars, and similar products; and if he will make a statement. [12543]
Dawn Primarolo:
Cereal bars and similar products, other than cakes, are liable to VAT at the standard rate. I have no plans to change their taxation.
27 Oct 1997 : Column: 655
Sir Richard Body:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the correction of budgetary imbalances as experienced in the preliminary draft European Union budget for 1998, and its effect on the United Kingdom contribution to the European Union budget. [12511]
Mrs. Liddell:
The sterling value of the United Kingdom (UK) abatement contained in the 1998 preliminary draft budget--2,066 mecu--will be determined by the pound/ecu exchange rate which applies at the end of this calendar year. If the rate were to remain at the level it was at on 30 September--£1 = 1.4501 ecu--the reduction to the UK's contribution due to the abatement would be £1,425 million in 1998.
Sir Richard Body:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the actual and projected European Union budgets for (a) 1996-97, (b) 1997-98 and (c) 1998-99; what are the gross and net contributions from the United Kingdom (i) in sterling, (ii) in ecus and (iii) as a percentage of all national contributions in each year; and if he will make a statement. [12290]
Mrs. Liddell:
The European Community budgets on a calendar year basis.
(2) what proposals he has relating to trans-European Union harmonisation of VAT. [12485]
| 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total contributions by Member States | 72,160 mecu | 77,372 mecu | 82,313 mecu |
| UK gross contribution, before abatement, | 11,000 mecu | 11,332 mecu | 13,631 mecu |
| and percentage of total contributions | 15.25 per cent. | 14,65 per cent. | 16.56 per cent. |
| UK gross contribution, before abatement, (sterling) | £8,825 million | £8,355 million | £9,400 million |
Sources:
Figures for total contributions and UK gross contribution before abatement (mecu) taken from: 1996 Supplementary and Amending Budget; 1997 draft Supplementary and Amending Budget: 1998 Draft Budget. The sterling equivalent of the UK figures have been derived by converting at the following exchange rates:
1996 £1 = 1.2467 ecu; 1997 £ = 1.3564 ecu; 1998 £ = 1.4501 ecu.
The UK's net contribution for 1996, expressed in sterling and based on the cash transactions which took place during the year, was £2,352 million. The current estimate on the same basis for 1997 is £1,342 million. These net contribution figures include adjustments and corrections made in respect of our VAT and GNP-based contributions, of our abatement and of Community spending for earlier years. The figures are thus not directly comparable to the gross revenue raised in respect of particular Community budgets.
As is usual, the Government will provide an estimate of the net contribution for the Community budgetary year 1998 in the annual White Paper "Statement on the Community Budget", once the Budget for that year has been adopted and when the revenue and spending requirements for the year are known.
27 Oct 1997 : Column: 656
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |