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G8 Meeting, Cologne
Mr. Dafis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to propose common standards for export credit agreements at the Cologne G8 meeting in June. [77080]
Mrs. Roche: Considerable work continues to be undertaken within the OECD to ensure that export credit agencies operate on the basis of a level playing field. The imminent introduction on 1 April this year of the OECD premia regime is the latest example of this work. The G8 recognises that the OECD is often the appropriate forum for export credit issues and for this reason has in the past encourage the OECD to seek a common standard on several export credit matters, including the environment and productive expenditure for highly indebted poor countries. We will continue within the G8 to support the work of the OECD Export Credits Group towards developing common standards for export credit agencies.
Export Guarantees Committee
Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 25 February 1999, Official Report, column 420, on the Export Guarantees Committee, if he will place in the Library a list of the items discussed at the four meetings of the Committee since 1 January 1998. [77154]
Mrs. Roche:
I have placed in the Library a note listing the items discussed by the Export Guarantees Committee in the meetings held since 1 January 1998.
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Mr. Field:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer at what rate the children's tax credit will be reduced for families where one or more earners is a higher rate taxpayer. [76662]
Dawn Primarolo
[holding answer 15 March 1999]: The children's tax credit will gradually be withdrawn where the person claiming it is liable to tax at the higher rate. These people will lose £1 of tax credit for every £15 of income above the point at which they start to pay higher rate tax until their entitlement to the credit is exhausted.
Mrs. Ewing:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the average weekly earnings (i) including and (ii) excluding overtime for (x) part-time and (y) full-time workers in (a) Scotland, (b) each of the Scottish local authorities and (c) Great Britain, broken down for (1) men and (2) women in (A) manual employment, (B) non- manual employment and (C) for all workers at (X) cash and (Y) constant terms for each year since 1991-92; and if he will estimate the same information for 1998-99, 1999-2000, 2000-01 and 2001-02. [76116]
Ms Hewitt
[holding answer 15 March 1999]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Tim Holt to Mrs. Margaret Ewing, dated 17 March 1999:
Ms Lawrence:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the financial promotion regime under the Financial Services and Markets Bill. [77538]
Ms Hewitt:
The Financial Services and Markets Bill provides for a prohibition on unauthorised persons making financial promotions without the approval of an authorised person. The Bill also provides for exemptions from that prohibition to be set out in secondary legislation.
The Treasury has today issued a consultation document on the financial promotion regime under the Bill. Copies have been placed in the Vote Office and the Libraries of
17 Mar 1999 : Column: 662
the House. The deadline for comments is 30 April. Following consideration of responses, the Treasury will publish further consultation draft secondary legislation setting out proposed exemptions from the prohibition on unauthorised persons making financial promotions.
Ms Lawrence:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Finance Bill will be published; and if he will make Explanatory Notes on the Bill's clauses available to hon. Members. [77737]
Dawn Primarolo:
The Finance Bill will be published on Wednesday, 31 March. Explanatory Notes on the Bill's clauses will be placed in the Vote Office and the Libraries of both Houses that day. Members of the public will be able to obtain copies of the Explanatory Notes from the Treasury; these will also be available on the Treasury's Internet site (http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk).
Mr. Swayne:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the presentation of Government policy in respect of EMU. [75362]
Ms Hewitt:
The Government's policy on membership of the single currency was set out by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in a statement to the House of Commons on 27 October 1997. This policy was restated by the Prime Minister in a statement to the House of Commons on 23 February 1999, Official Report, columns 179-84.
Mr. Maclean:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) if the achievements of the British Armed Forces over the past two centuries will be recognised in the Millennium Dome; [72672]
(3) what recognition will be given in the Millennium Dome to the part played by the British Empire in shaping the United Kingdom's history over the past two centuries. [72666]
Janet Anderson
[holding answer 24 February 1999]: The Millennium Experience does not plan to incorporate exhibitions of an historical nature. The main focus on the Millennium Experience project is the future. However, the Dome's National Identity zone and the Our Town Story initiative will provide vehicles through which issues of history can be addressed and reflected. The content and the narrative of the National Identity zone will be influenced by the outcome of qualitative and quantitative market research testing the opinions of the general public, and the historical content of Our Town Story will depend on what each of the groups taking part consider best reflects their community's history.
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Mr. Maclean:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's policy on European Commission proposal COM (1998) 733; what assessment his Department has made of its impact on the (a) number of asylum applicants, (b) number of rejected asylum applicants, (c) repatriation of asylum applicants and (d) costs of repatriating asylum applicants. [75557]
Kate Hoey:
Her Majesty's Government's current view on Commission proposal COM (1998) 733 is contained within the Home Office Explanatory Memorandum dated 8 February 1999, a copy of which was deposited in the Library. The proposal remains under consideration.
Mr. Lidington:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the impact on probation service budgets of the Government's changes to ACT; and if he will make a statement. [75913]
Mr. George Howarth:
The Comprehensive Spending Review settlement for Local Government includes £130 million in each of the next three years to cover the impact on changes in Advanced Corporation Tax on local authority pension funds. This should be sufficient to ensure that any impact on probation service budgets will be minimal.
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Mr. Blunt:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police were involved in policing the recent demonstration by Kurds in Holland Park; and what was the additional cost of this demonstration to the Metropolitan Police. [76604]
Kate Hoey:
The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis tells me that 481 uniformed officers were involved in policing the march and demonstration in Holland Park on 20 February. He is unable to calculate the additional policing cost to the Metropolitan Police as overtime claims for all the officers involved have not yet been submitted.
As Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary question on earnings.
The information requested can only be provided at disproportionate cost. There is a considerable amount of data, from the New Earnings Survey (NES) 1991 to 1998, available in the House of Commons library. This includes estimates of average gross weekly earnings for full-time and some part-time workers for the areas in question. Prior to 1996, data for the former Scottish regions are available. Average earnings excluding overtime can be derived from the relevant tables. Projected earnings are not calculated.
For the growth of earnings in real terms please see the Retail Prices Index (RPI) in the ONS Business Monitor MM23, a copy of which is also available in the House Library.
(2) what recognition will be given in the Millennium Dome to the achievements of Sir Winston Churchill; [72671]
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