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Beer Duty
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has for harmonising beer duty in the United Kingdom with that of other European Union countries. [66970]
Dawn Primarolo:
Member states are free to set excise duty rates at the level they feel are appropriate to their own particular circumstances, subject only to the agreed minimum rates. This was the basis of the agreement reached by all member states in ECOFIN in 1992 and achieved harmonisation to the extent necessary for completion of the Single Market. Nevertheless, the UK continues to argue for a levelling up of most minimum rates but recognises that progress is likely only in the long term.
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Mr. Nigel Jones:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reasons Customs and Excise is unable to accept VAT returns in euros; and if he will make a statement. [66983]
Ms Hewitt:
Customs and Excise are unable to accept VAT returns in euros because to do so would present a real risk of serious revenue losses.
The tax is accounted for in respect of monthly or quarterly periods but there is a period of one month in either case for a VAT return to be submitted. Exchange rates may move during this period, giving the business an opportunity to time the sending of the return to maximise the benefit of any fluctuation.
Mr. Nigel Jones:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action he is taking to ensure that the Inland Revenue does not issue final reminders from more than one tax office, in cases involving pensioners who receive pensions from more than one source. [66982]
Dawn Primarolo:
The Inland Revenue provides taxpayers with a unique taxpayer reference in the SA system from which the issue of final reminders and other forms is controlled. This unique reference should ensure that even where a taxpayer has more than one source of income and deals with more than one tax office, final reminders are generated only once.
Mr. Kidney:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made towards the goal set out in the G8's Birmingham Communique of all the heavily indebted poor countries being admitted to the HIPC initiative by the year 2000. [66742]
Ms Hewitt:
Sixteen out of the 20 countries originally identified by the World Bank/IMF as eligible for HIPC debt relief have embarked on the process: Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guinea Bissau, Guyana, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Niger, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Four have not: Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar and Sao Tome and Principe.
Mr. Kidney:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent amendments to the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative have been made to give further support to post-conflict and post-catastrophe countries. [67037]
Ms Hewitt:
At the Annual Meetings of the IMF and World Bank in October, the decision was made to allow IMF post conflict assistance programmes to count towards a country's track record under the HIPC initiative. This could bring decision point (and therefore debt relief) forward by up to 12 months for certain countries, including Rwanda.
Following Hurricane Mitch, the Chancellor secured several measures to help mitigate the debt services burdens of post-catastrophe countries, including the establishment of an IMF/World Bank Trust Fund. The UK contributed £10 million to this. In December the UK
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participated in a Paris Club agreement which granted a three year moratorium on debt service payments from Honduras and Nicaragua.
Mrs. Gilroy:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Knowsley, South (Mr. O'Hara) of 8 December 1998, Official Report, column 140, regarding deaths from hypothermia, if he will provide the information by (i) region and (ii) parliamentary constituency. [67296]
Ms Hewitt:
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply. The tables referred to in the letter are in the Library.
Letter from Tim Holt to Mrs. Linda Gilroy, dated 26 January 1999:
Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the quantity of beer smuggled into the United Kingdom for resale in the last year. [67229]
Dawn Primarolo:
HM Customs and Excise estimate the volume of beer smuggled cross-Channel into the United Kingdom for resale in 1998 to be 2.6 million hectolitres.
Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many prosecutions for smuggling (a) alcohol and (b) tobacco there have been in each quarter since January 1993. [67230]
Dawn Primarolo:
The information requested is not available in this form. Specific figures are available for the number of prosecutions generated by Excise Verification Officers for smuggling of alcohol and/or tobacco from within the European Union:
As Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your parliamentary question on the number of deaths from hypothermia by (i) region and (ii) parliamentary constituency in England and Wales in 1997.
The information requested is shown in the attached table.
| Year | Number |
|---|---|
| 1993-94 | 44 |
| 1994-95 | 515 |
| 1995-96 | 438 |
| 1996-97 | 502 |
| 1997-98 | 417 |
| 1998-99 (April-December) | 408 |
Exports
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the level of business confidence in relation to UK exports; and if he will make a statement. [67630]
Ms Hewitt:
The Government welcome the improvement in exporters' sentiment revealed in recent surveys from the Confederation of British Industry and the British Chambers of Commerce.
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Mr. Maples:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how he travelled from the Commonwealth Finance Ministers meeting in Mauritius in September 1997 to Bangkok for the ASEM meeting; who accompanied him; what was the cost; and what use he made of chartered helicopters for travel in and around Bangkok during the time he was there for the ASEM meeting. [67784]
Mr. Gordon Brown:
All arrangements for this journey fully complied with the provisions of the Ministerial Code and Cabinet Office guidance on travel by Ministers.
Mr. Collins:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proposals he has to introduce an independent appeals element into the decisions of the Personal Investment Authority; and if he will make a statement. [67646]
Ms Hewitt:
As a self-regulating organisation, the Personal Investment Authority must have fair and reasonable rules for admission, expulsion and discipline over its member firms, with scope for appeals. The adequacy of these arrangements is a matter for the Financial Services Authority.
Mr. Nigel Jones:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he plans to take in respect of sole traders, partnerships and small companies in the construction industry who do not qualify for tax certificates as regards their position under the new deduction regulations; and if he will make a statement. [66980]
Dawn Primarolo:
We shall be introducing legislation in the next Finance Bill to amend the rules of the new construction industry scheme which is due to take effect from 1 August 1999. That will make it easier for many small and medium businesses to obtain gross payment certificates. Those who do not qualify for certificates will be paid with deductions made on account of tax and national insurance contributions (NICs), but they will not ultimately be liable for any more tax and NICs than if they held certificates. The Inland Revenue has consulted widely with construction industry representative bodies on the design of the new scheme and has published guidance and set up telephone helplines for contractors and subcontractors.
Food Standards Agency
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he anticipates that the Food Standards Agency will be in operation. [66554]
Mr. Rooker:
The date when the Food Standards Agency is established will depend on how soon the necessary legislation can be approved by Parliament. We hope to introduce a Bill later this Session if sufficient extra time is available.
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Mr. Hoyle:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will pursue with the European Commission proposals to reform the CAP by (a) abolishing the tobacco subsidy in Europe and (b) assisting pig farmers. [66895]
Mr. Rooker:
The European Commission is fully aware that the Government disapprove of the EU tobacco regime. The Commission is to report on the functioning of the common market organisation for raw tobacco before 1 April 2002, and we will continue to put forward our views.
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