| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Millennium Dome (Religion)
38. Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what decision has been made about a Christian component to the New Year's eve and New Year's day celebratory events at the millennium dome. [77407]
Mr. Chris Smith: The New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC) is currently developing plans for the opening celebrations of the Dome on 31 December this year in discussion with the Government and others including the Lambeth Group. The nature and scope of the celebrations will be announced in due course. 1 January 2000 will be the first day of operation of the Millennium Experience within the Dome. Announcements about the content of the Experience, particularly the individual exhibit zones, are being made by the company as and when it considers such announcements appropriate in the context of its marketing strategy. The company has already confirmed that displays included in the Spirit Zone will reflect the significance of the year 2000 as a major Christian anniversary and include aspects of the birth and life of Christ.
Tourism
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the works council directive's impact on the tourism industry. [77388]
Janet Anderson: The Government will be consulting widely on implementing regulations for the European Works Council Directive, which have to be in place by 15 December 1999. Tourism employers and trade organisations will therefore have the opportunity to make their views known.
Television Licence Fees
Dr. George Turner:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made
29 Mar 1999 : Column: 519
of the relative value for money of the television licence fee for those viewers who cannot receive the regional broadcasts appropriate to their home. [77396]
Janet Anderson:
A television licence is required to install or use television receiving apparatus to receive any television programme service, as defined by the Broadcasting Act l990. The licence fee is therefore a payment for permission to receive television broadcasts and not for a service provided. It is payable in full irrespective of the services that can be received or the use made of those services. Linkage of the level of the fee to the services available to, or used by, individual licence holders would undermine the principle of a universal licence fee to fund the BBC's services and would be wholly impractical to administer.
Income Tax
Mr. Pond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer in the financial year 1999-2000 of replacing the reduced rate of income tax with a 10 per cent. income tax rate that extends from the personal allowance to (a) £9,433 per year and (b) £7,114 per year. [74397]
Dawn Primarolo: The estimated full-year costs at 1999-2000 income levels of introducing a 10 per cent. lower rate extending for (a) £5,098 (£9,433 less the 1999-2000 personal allowance of £4,335) and (b) £2,779 (£7,114 less the personal allowance) would be £12 billion and £6 billion, respectively.
Maintenance Payments (Tax Relief)
Mr. Rendel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people will be affected by the loss of the tax relief for maintenance payments; and what the average amount of the tax relief lost will be. [76843]
Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 15 March 1999]: The latest available Survey of Personal Incomes (1996-97) shows around 300,000 taxpayers in receipt of income tax relief for maintenance payments. Of these, an estimated 20,000 will be eligible after 5 April 2000 for the maintenance relief for the 65s and over.
We estimate that the average amount of maintenance relief for 1999-2000 will be around £220.
As a result of the withdrawal of maintenance relief, approximately 10,000 people who receive maintenance under arrangements set up before 15 March 1988 will no longer be taxable on the payments they receive.
Mr. Burstow:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to review the CSR if the best value objectives for the public-private partnership for the London Underground cannot be met. [77169]
Mr. Milburn
[holding answer 16 March 1999]: The Government expect that the PPP will represent best value. As the progress report published by London Transport on
29 Mar 1999 : Column: 520
15 March made clear, good progress is being made with implementing the public-private partnership (PPP) for London Underground.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the size of the Government's overdraft on the Ways and Means account at the Bank of England. [77471]
Ms Hewitt
[holding answer 18 March 1999]: The size of the outstanding balance of Ways and Means borrowing fluctuates each day, reflecting the seasonal and daily changes in the Government's cash requirements. At the end of February 1999, it stood at £2.8 billion.
Mr. John M. Taylor:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue has been derived by the Exchequer, since 1990, from the sale of (a) micro-film and other copies of United Kingdom 1841/1851 to 1991 decennial population census enumerators' books and (b) certified copies of 19th and 20th century United Kingdom birth, marriage and death certificates. [78275]
Ms Hewitt:
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.
| Year | £ million |
|---|---|
| 1991/92 | 2.9 |
| 1992/93 | 3.2 |
| 1993/94 | 3.6 |
| 1994/95 | 4.0 |
| 1995/96 | 3.9 |
| 1996/97 | 4.4 |
| 1997/98 | 4.8 |
Information relating to earlier years could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
29 Mar 1999 : Column: 521
Fuel Duty Escalator
Dr. Marek: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 25 February 1999, Official Report, column 426, if he will place a copy of his Department's environmental appraisal on the impact of the fuel duty escalator in the Library. [78401]
Ms Hewitt [holding answer 23 March 1999]: The environmental appraisal of measures in the 1999 Budget is contained in table 5.1 of the 1999 Economic and Fiscal Strategy Report and Fiscal Strategy and Budget Report, which includes an environmental appraisal of the road fuel duty escalator.
Industrial Disputes
Mr. Cox: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many working days were lost in the United Kingdom in 1998 as a result of industrial disputes. [78534]
Ms Hewitt: 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 Mr. Tom Cox, dated 29 March 1999:
As Director of the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your parliamentary question on industrial disputes.
The estimated number of working days lost to labour disputes in the United Kingdom in 1998 is 282,400.
Jobs (Greater London)
Mr. Cox: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the estimated number of new jobs created in the Greater London area in each of the last three years. [78892]
Ms Hewitt: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.
| Thousand | ||
|---|---|---|
| Level | Net change from previous year | |
| 1996 | 3,872 | +78 |
| 1997 | 4,005 | +133 |
| 1998 | 4,088 | +83 |
Note:
1. Civilian Workforce Jobs comprise Employee jobs, Self- employment jobs and Government-supported trainees, (only the Employee Jobs component is seasonally adjusted).
29 Mar 1999 : Column: 522
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |