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Death Penalty
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the benefits of removing the death penalty from military law; and if he will make a statement. [39220]
Dr. Reid: During the passage of the Armed Forces Act 1996 it was suggested that the death penalty, in the Service context, should be abolished. As a result the previous administration undertook to carry out a fundamental review of the need to retain the death penalty as a maximum punishment for certain offences under Service law. This work is in progress. I will advise the House of the outcome as soon as possible.
TREASURY
Gaming Machines
20. Mr. Pike: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from working men's clubs regarding the effect of the Budget on gaming machines. [38263]
Dawn Primarolo: The Chancellor of the Exchequer has received one representation from the National Union of Labour and Socialist Clubs.
Sterling
21. Mr. Skinner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the advantages to Britain of a weaker pound; and if he will make a statement. [38265]
Mr. Gordon Brown:
The Government have made clear that we have taken the decisions that are important for creating a stable and competitive pound over the medium term. The best thing the Government can do to help British industry is to ensure businesses have the stability to plan and invest with confidence, avoiding a return to the boom and bust past which damaged prosperity and destroyed jobs.
23 Apr 1998 : Column: 695
35. Mr. Barry Jones:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he is having with the Governor of the Bank of England concerning the level of the pound sterling. [38279]
Mr. Gordon Brown:
I have regular meetings with the Governor at which a range of matters are discussed.
22. Mr. Coaker:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from Church leaders on his policy to reduce the debt burden of the poorest countries. [38266]
Mrs. Liddell:
The Government have made considerable progress in securing international agreement to the Mauritius Mandate and will continue to press for its speedy and determined implementation. Since his Mauritius Mandate statement to the Commonwealth Finance Ministers last September, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor has held a number of meetings with religious leaders and NGO heads to discuss the issue of debt relief and keep them informed of progress.
25. Mr. Davidson:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to reduce the debt burden of the poorest countries. [38269]
Mrs. Liddell:
The Government are fully committed to the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative that was launched by the IMF and World Bank in September 1996. In his speech to Commonwealth Finance Ministers in Mauritius last year, the Chancellor called on the international community to commit itself to dealing with the problem of unsustainable debt burdens faced by the world's poorest countries once and for all. He urged creditors and debtors to undertake action in order to ensure that at least three-quarters of the twenty countries, initially identified by the World Bank and IMF as probably needing debt relief under the HIPC initiative, have had decisions on the size and timing of their relief by the year 2000.
The Chancellor also encouraged all countries identified under the initiative to embark on the process of securing debt relief by the millennium.
The Government have made considerable progress towards securing international commitment to implementing the Mauritius Mandate. The Government will continue in their efforts to ensure that the Mauritius Mandate targets are met.
31. Ann Clwyd:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received on his policy to reduce the debt burden of the poorest countries. [38275]
Mrs. Liddell:
The Chancellor has recently given evidence to the International Development Committee of this House, and has attended the IMF and World Bank Spring meetings in Washington.
32. Mr. David Taylor:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with Church leaders in relation to reducing the debt burden of the poorest countries. [38276]
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Mrs. Liddell:
Since his Mauritius Mandate statement to Commonwealth Finance Ministers last September, the Chancellor has held a number of meetings with religious leaders and NGO heads to discuss the issue of debt relief.
23. Mr. Barnes:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the percentages of income tax payers paying the higher rate in (a) Derbyshire and (b) the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement. [38267]
Dawn Primarolo:
In 1995-96, the latest year for which there is comparable information, 5 per cent. of taxpayers in Derbyshire paid income tax at the higher rate, compared with 8.1 per cent. in the United Kingdom. It is not possible to provide a reliable breakdown below the United Kingdom level for 1998-99.
24. Mr. Love:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on his Budget measures to increase the financial incentive to work. [38268]
Mr. Gordon Brown:
The Budget contained a comprehensive set of measures to help ensure that work pays, including the Working Families Tax Credit and reform to National Insurance Contributions.
28. Mr. Charles Clarke:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the definition of the public sector borrowing requirement. [38272]
Mr. Darling:
The public sector borrowing requirement measures borrowing by the whole public sector from the private sector and overseas.
33. Mr. White:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the definition of the public sector borrowing requirement used in other European Union countries; and what plans he has for changes to the UK's PSBR definition. [38277]
Mr. Gordon Brown:
Other EU Member States use a range of definitions of government borrowing. There will be a number of small technical changes to the definition of the PSBR later this year resulting from the construction of national accounts according to the definitions in the European System of Accounts 1995 (ESA95). These changes were set out in Annexe B of the March 1998 Financial Statement and Budget Report.
29. Mr. Robathan:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much extra revenue will be raised in (a) 1999-2000 and (b) 2000-01 by the abolition of advance corporation tax and the introduction of quarterly payments of corporation tax. [38273]
Dawn Primarolo:
I refer the hon. Member to the March 1998 "Financial Statement and Budget Report" Table C.1 and paragraph C.87.
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30. Mr. Darvill:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received from pensioners' organisations on his tax and benefit changes to reduce pensioners' fuel bills. [38274]
Dawn Primarolo:
The payments of £50 to pensioner households on income support and £20 to all other pensioner households have been generally welcomed.
34. Mr. Syms:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the savings ratio, in the latest year for which figures are available; and what is his forecast for the savings ratio for (a) 1998-99, (b) 1999-2000 and (c) 2000-01. [38278]
Mrs. Liddell:
The personal sector saving ratio was 11 per cent. in 1997. A modest cyclical fall in the saving ratio is expected over the next three years. But over the longer term the introduction of ISAs and policies to promote economic growth and stability will increase the incentive to save for investment.
36. Mr. Hawkins:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many EU member states have deficits of less than 3 per cent. of gross domestic product. [38280]
Mr. Gordon Brown:
According to the Commission's Convergence Report, 14 Member States had a government balance in 1997 which was better than or equal to the Maastricht reference value for the deficit of 3 per cent. of GDP.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from companies operating from Newhaven on the impact of the abolition of duty-free sales. [38270]
Dawn Primarolo:
I have received a number of representations from companies located throughout the United Kingdom about the abolition of intra-European union duty free sales in June 1999. However, no records are held which would readily identify the geographical locations of those companies. Obtaining the information cannot be undertaken except at disproportionate cost.
23 Apr 1998 : Column: 698
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