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Firearms

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to pay interest on the compensation paid to gunholders who have handled firearms under the Firearms (Amendment) Acts. [90541]

Mr. Boateng: There is no provision to include interest as part of the payments made under the terms of the statutory firearms compensation scheme. Compensation claims made under this scheme are not commercial debts requiring payment within the standard 30 days.

Jury Trial

Mr. Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what evidence he based his statement to the Police Federation on 19 May concerning the proportion of either-way cases in the previous year in which defendants chose to be heard before a jury and the plea was changed to a guilty one. [90754]

Mr. Boateng: Crown Prosecution Service statistics for 1998 show that 18,500 defendants elected trial in 1998 in addition to 46,800 either-way cases directed to the Crown

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Court by magistrates. During the same period 74 per cent. of all defendants pleaded guilty before the commencement of the Crown Court trial.

TREASURY

VAT

Mr. Pearson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the list of questions put to the VAT authorities of the other member states and the Commission on the interpretation of Article 13.B(d)(1) to (6) of the Sixth Directive and the responses received. [88921]

Dawn Primarolo: Member states and the Commission were asked a number of questions designed to ascertain the meaning of the Directive term "negotiation" by reference: to the equivalent terms used in each Community language and the national laws of Member states; to any litigation in national courts; and to a number of case studies drawn from the UK courts.

This consultation was undertaken on an inter- governmental confidential basis, and publication of member states' responses would breach the confidence of the authorities consulted.

Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to paragraph 10 (Other Comments) of Her Majesty's Customs and Excise Summary of Responses (May 1999) to the VAT: Consultation Document on European Commission Proposal for Revised Rules on Input Tax Deduction, how many contributors (a) questioned what exchange rate would be used if foreign invoice amounts had to be converted to sterling, (b) suggested that it would be beneficial if all accounting were in euros and (c) suggested that the periodic rates of exchange published by Customs and Excise should be used. [88917]

Dawn Primarolo: Six contributors questioned what exchange rate should be used if foreign invoice amounts had to be converted to sterling; three suggested that it would be beneficial if the accounting were in euros; and three suggested that the periodic rates of exchange published by Customs and Excise should be used.

Company Liquidations

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many companies were put into receivership or liquidation at the suit of (a) the Inland Revenue and (b) Her Majesty's Customs and Excise in (i) 1994-95, (ii) 1995-96, (iii) 1996-97, (iv) 1997-98 and (v) 1998-99. [90294]

Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 8 July 1999]: The following figures show the number of company liquidations in England and Wales on Inland Revenue and

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HM Customs and Excise petitions, and also show those numbers as a proportion of the total number of company liquidations. Receiverships usually result from actions by debenture holders, and neither the Inland Revenue nor Customs take such actions.

Year	Inland Revenue	Percentage of total liquidations	HM Customs and Excise	Percentage of total liquidations
1994-95	761	5	2,409	15
1995-96	646	4.5	2,121	15
1996-97	625	5	2,120	16
1997-98	438	3.5	1,785	14
1998-99	519	4	(17)1,399	10

(17) Latest available figure

Bankruptcies

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many individuals were made bankrupt at the suit of (a) the Inland Revenue and (b) Her Majesty's Customs and Excise in (i) 1994-95, (ii) 1995-96, (iii) 1996-97, (iv) 1997-98 and (v) 1998-99. [90295]

Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 8 July 1999]: The figures in the following table show the number of individual bankruptcies in England and Wales on Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise petitions, and also show those numbers as a proportion of the total number of individual bankruptcies.

Year	Inland Revenue	Percentage of total bankruptcies	HM Customs and Excise	Percentage of total bankruptcies
1994-95	2,179	9	2,270	10
1995-96	2,217	10	2,524	11
1996-97	2,677	12.5	2,884	14
1997-98	2,428	12	2,548	13
1998-99	1,863	9	1,848(18)	9

(18) Latest available figures

Savings Income (Overpaid Tax)

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 1 July 1999, Official Report, column 229, concerning overpayment of tax on savings income, what discussions have taken place between his Department and the Department for Social Security concerning the Taxback campaign. [90453]

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue are planning to have discussions with a number of organisations, including the Department of Social Security, during the summer about a possible Taxback campaign next year.

Economic and Monetary Union

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reason the current applicants to the EU are not required (i) to adopt the euro immediately on accession or (ii) to join an exchange rate mechanism. [90756]

Ms Hewitt: The accession partnerships between the European Union and the accession countries state that the applicants are not expected to adopt the euro immediately on accession. The partnerships do however require the applicants to pursue policies aimed at achieving real convergence with the European Union, with the

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ultimate goal of adoption of the euro. The partnerships impose no obligation to join the exchange rate mechanism, which remains voluntary for all member states.

Correspondence

Mr. Burns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of mail received in the last 12 months for which figures are available from right hon. and hon. Members was replied to by him within (a) up to 20 days, (b) 21 to 30 days, (c) 31 to 40 days and (d) over 40 days. [90163]

Ms Hewitt: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office to my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Gillian Merron) on 11 June 1999, Official Report, columns 403-06, which sets out departmental performance against the targets set for answering correspondence from right hon. and hon. Members in the 1998 calendar year.

More detailed information about the percentage of correspondence replied to within the time scales specified could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Overseas Tax Evasion

Mr. Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has agreed, with the relevant professionals, guidance on the conduct by corporate clients which they should regard as evidence of overseas tax evasion in cases where they are obliged to report suspicion thereof to the NICS. [89921]

Ms Hewitt: The Joint Money Laundering Steering Group, a body of representatives from the financial services industry, chaired by the British Bankers Association, provides guidance to the financial sector on money laundering issues. They have recently consulted the Treasury and Home Office on new guidelines on the proceeds of tax-related crimes, including those committed overseas. Those guidelines have now been published, and are endorsed by the Treasury.

Under the Criminal Justice Act 1993, financial institutions should report to the National Criminal Intelligence Service all transactions which they suspect involve the proceeds of criminal conduct. This obligation is a central element of our defence against money laundering, and provides valuable intelligence in the fight against crime. The obligation applies equally to the proceeds of overseas offences (including overseas tax offences), where the conduct would have been criminal if it had occurred in the UK. "Evidence" is not required: the obligation applies where there is knowledge or suspicion that the relevant conduct has occurred or is occurring.

Climate Change Levy

Mrs. Brinton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what response he will make to the letter addressed to him by the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution in relation to the compatibility of maintaining coal burn in electricity generation with the stated aim of the climate change levy. [88741]

Ms Hewitt: The climate change levy is expected to save around 1.5 million tonnes of carbon a year by 2010, thereby making a significant contribution to meeting both the legally binding target for reducing greenhouse emissions

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set under Kyoto Protocol, and the Government's domestic goal of a 20 per cent. cut in carbon dioxide emissions by 2020.

The final rates of the climate change levy will not be set until the Finance Bill 2000. It is proposed to set them on an "energy" basis with one rate applying to all electricity. This is entirely consistent with the Government's Review of Energy Sources for Power Generation, which identified distortions in the generation market as a potential threat to the security and diversity of energy supplies and announced a programme of reform to ensure fair competition between fuels.

It also reflects the fact that under current electricity trading arrangements it is only possible to determine the carbon content of electricity as a broad average with a downstream tax. Thus, the extent of switching between fuels is likely to be limited with a tax set to reflect the carbon content. Given that the carbon content of electricity is changing all the time, a tax structured on an energy basis also has the advantage of simplicity.

We are liaising closely with DTI colleagues on how electricity trading arrangements might change in the future. We have also consulted on the specific issue of whether it might be possible to offer tax relief to new forms of renewable sources of electricity like wind power. The consultation document issued by Customs and Excise on Budget day asked for views on whether--and if so, how--this could be done.

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