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Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 13 January 1999
CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
Archive Collections
Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what provision he has made in respect of archive collections in the context of the merger of the Museum and Galleries Commission and the Library and Information Commission. [65303]
Mr. Alan Howarth:
The funding allocations for the new Museums, Libraries and Archives Council for the years 2000-01 and 2001-02 were set out in the document "A New Cultural Framework" which was placed in the
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Libraries of the House on 14 December 1998. Allocation of funds to particular areas of responsibility will be a decision for the board members of the new body.
Invest to Save Budget
Ms Lawrence: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what projects have secured funding from the Invest to Save Budget. [65564]
Mr. Milburn:
The Invest to Save Budget (ISB) was set up to help develop projects which bring together two or more public service bodies to deliver services in an innovative and efficient fashion. Overall provision for the ISB has been increased from £150m to £230m and, from that sum, £120m has been allocated to 33 projects following the first bidding round. The additional £80m allocated to the ISB will enable the programme to fund the new Single Work Focused Gateway. The full list of winning projects and the amounts allocated to each are set out in the following table:
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Mr. Alan Simpson:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proposals he has taken to the World Bank, as a member of its board, to provide protection for developing countries from financial speculators. [62768]
Ms Hewitt
[holding answer 16 December 1998]: As Chairman of the G7 Finance Ministers, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced on 30 October 1998 a far-reaching programme of reforms to strengthen the international financial system. On behalf of the G7, the Chancellor called on the World Bank, IMF and other international institutions to take forward work quickly on implementing these reforms, including the development by the World Bank of a code of general principles of good practice on social policy to ensure that governments have in place policies to tackle the social impact of sudden shocks to the financial system. In addition, the UK and other G7 countries committed themselves to strengthening in their own countries the regulatory focus on risk management in financial organisations, including in particular the implications arising from the operation of hedge funds and other highly leveraged financial organisations.
These reforms agreed by the G7 are designed to modernise the financial system to enable us to meet the challenges of today's global economy, minimise the risks of disruption, and maximise the benefits of globalisation to deliver greater opportunity and prosperity for all. The Chancellor recently met James Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank, and Michel Camdessus, Managing Director of the IMF, to discuss the implementation of these reforms and will continue to work closely with them on these issues.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if charges levied in respect of (a) road pricing and (b) workplace charging will be subject to VAT. [63640]
Ms Hewitt
[holding answer 15 December 1998]: As the recent consultation document "Breaking the logjam" issued by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions said, there may be VAT implications for road user and workplace parking charges. A case is to be heard by the European Court of Justice on the VAT treatment of toll charges, and the outcome of this case will determine whether road user charges should bear VAT.
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Mr. Whittingdale:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the period which will be required for the UK economy to demonstrate sustainable convergence before entry into a single currency can take place. [65098]
Ms Hewitt
[holding answer 11 January 1999]: In his statement to the House of Commons on 27 October 1997, Official Report, columns 583-606, the Chancellor of the Exchequer said that, barring some fundamental and unforeseen change in economic circumstances, there is no realistic prospect of the UK economy having demonstrated, before the end of this Parliament, convergence which is sustainable and settled rather than transitory. It is essential that Government and business prepare during this Parliament, to create a genuine option of joining a successful single currency early in the next Parliament.
Mr. MacShane:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families, broken down by family income, are likely to receive both the working families tax credit and housing benefit. [64674]
Dawn Primarolo:
Estimates for 1999-2000 of the number of families in receipt of both the Working Families Tax Credit and Housing Benefit are given in the table.
| Gross weekly family income | Number of families |
|---|---|
| Less than £60 | 50,000 |
| £60-£99.99 | 75,000 |
| £100-£149.99 | 50,000 |
| £150 and over | 50,000 |
| Total | 225,000 |
Ms Harman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the numbers of families who will be eligible for the working families tax credit, and their average net pay, comprising (a) a male as the main earner and their partner and (b) a female as the main earner and their partner, with in each case (i) one child, (ii) two children, (iii) three children and (iv) four or more children under eight years of age. [64227]
Dawn Primarolo:
I regret that estimates at this level of detail are not available.
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