20 Jul 1999 : Column: 455
Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 20 July 1999
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Bicycle Allowance
Mr. Baker: To ask the President of the Council how many hon. Members have claimed a bicycle allowance since its introduction. [91271]
Mrs. Beckett: Four hon. Members have claimed the bicycle allowance since its introduction.
Hon. Members' Cars
Mr. Baker: To ask the President of the Council how many hon. Members' cars were registered as being within each engine size capacity for which records are held in (a) May 1998 and (b) May 1999. [91272]
Mrs. Beckett: The information requested is not held as at May 1998 and May 1999 and could be produced only at disproportionate cost by an extensive clerical exercise.
The relevant details as at 31 March are available:
| Engine capacity | March 1998 | March 1999 |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 1300cc | 109 | 92 |
| 1301cc to 2300cc | 519 | 530 |
| 2301cc and above | 324 | 292 |
Disabled Access
Mr. Hilary Benn: To ask the Chairman of the Accommodation and Works Committee what plans there are further to improve disabled access to the Palace of Westminster. [91776]
Sir Sydney Chapman: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 9 March 1998, Official Report, column 37. If the hon. Member has a specific proposal for any further improvement, the Director of Works would be pleased to consider it.
TREASURY
Tax Credits
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he had made of the effect of paying a benefit directly through the pay-packet as a tax credit on incentives and behaviour. [90146]
Dawn Primarolo
[holding answer 8 July 1999]: No benefits are currently paid as tax credits. The Government have, however, already announced that the new Working Families Tax Credit and Disabled Persons Tax Credit will be paid through the pay packet from April 2000. This will demonstrate the link between reward and work, encourage take-up, and improve work incentives.
20 Jul 1999 : Column: 456
Ms Lawrence:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he intends to lay the Value Added Tax (Sport, Sports Competitions and Physical Education) Order 1999; and if he will make a statement. [92280]
Dawn Primarolo:
The Government laid the Order today. It will come into effect on 1 January 2000 and stop VAT avoidance by profit-making sports clubs, by laying down conditions for exemption from VAT which any non-profit making club can satisfy.
Ms Lawrence:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the performance targets for the Royal Mint for 1999-2000. [92281]
Ms Hewitt:
I have set the Royal Mint the target of achieving a rate of return on average net assets of 14.6 per cent. for 1999-2000 which is an increase over the target of 14.3 per cent. set for 1998-99.
The Royal Mint's other performance targets have also been tightened. The new targets are for:
Mr. Bercow:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many individuals his Department has recruited under the New Deal for Young People. [91892]
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 Slough (Fiona Mactaggart) on 25 May 1999, Official Report, column 116.
Mr. Cash:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the Government's policy relating to gold sales; and if he will estimate the job losses there (a) have been and (b) will be in third world countries which produce gold, with particular reference to South Africa. [91879]
Ms Hewitt:
As they will be spread out over a number of years, UK gold sales will be modest in the context of the world gold market. The 125 tonnes to be sold this year amounts to around 5 per cent. of estimated annual mining supply and less than a tenth of 1 per cent. of IMF estimates of above ground stocks of gold. Sales on this scale are unlikely to have a significant sustained impact on the price of gold.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the cost of reducing NI contributions by 0.5 per cent. [91648]
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Dawn Primarolo:
Reducing the National Insurance Contributions rates for employees, the self-employed and employers by 0.5 per cent. would cost about £2.9 billion in 2000-01.
Jackie Ballard:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what new data series separated by gender, race, disability and age have been commissioned by his Department since June 1997. [90826]
Ms Hewitt:
HM Treasury has not commissioned any new internal data series separated by gender, race, disability and age since June 1997. However, the Department has long-established procedures for routinely monitoring staff in post numbers and the outcome of recruitment, promotion and appraisal exercises by gender and race. In addition, an Equality Audit of the posting, appraisal and promotion procedures, by gender and race, will be undertaken later this year.
HM Customs and Excise has not carried out any national internal surveys, but several surveys have been carried out locally. Customs is also considering carrying out a national survey in the near future.
The Inland Revenue has not completed a full Departmental internal staff survey separated by gender, race, disability and age since June 1997. However, a full Departmental survey is currently being issued to everyone in the Department. The survey will concentrate on human resource issues such as training and development, motivation, equality and impressions of the Revenue as an employer. Survey respondents are invited to state their sex, ethnicity, if they have a disability as defined by the Disability Discrimination Act, their age and if they work part-time or full-time. Key results of the survey will be made available to everyone in the Department.
A disability survey will be taken forward later this year. As part of the survey everyone in the Department will be asked to state if they have any disabilities and the nature of those disabilities.
The Revenue routinely monitors issues such as performance management results and staff in posts by band (grade) separated by gender, race, disability, part-time and full-time and since 1998, by age. The Revenue is in the process of monitoring vacancy filling by gender, race, disability, part-time and full-time and age.
National Savings monitors its external recruitment to ensure there are no biases, but has carried out no internal surveys since June 1997 on gender, race, disability or age.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) routinely collects information from all applicants for jobs on gender, race and disability. Information about age is collected from those who take up posts. Internally it publishes annual information about performance marks by gender, ethnic origin and disability.
In June of this year, all ONS staff were asked to complete a questionnaire about disability. The results of this are being analysed at present. At the same time, staff who had not previously declared their ethnic origin were asked to do so.
20 Jul 1999 : Column: 458
Mr. Salter:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has had from (i) consumer organisations and (ii) organisations representing (a) the elderly, (b) the disabled and (c) the visually impaired, regarding the closure and automation of district banks in (1) rural and (2) urban communities; and what responses he has made. [91695]
Ms Hewitt:
Representations have been received from a number of organisations concerned about consumer interests. The Treasury's Policy Action Team's Report on "Access to Financial Service" is likely to be published in the autumn.
Mr. Sayeed:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment for what reasons the software to carry out financial assessments for student grant applications has not been supplied to local education authorities to date. [92090]
Mr. Mudie:
The three software companies used by most local education authorities have released the final version of their software to those LEAs. Those authorities are now finalising financial assessments for students who applied by the established deadlines so that they will receive cheques at the start of their courses. The remaining LEAs have their own in-house software provision or manual systems.
Mr. Sayeed:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what guidance his Department has issued to students who do not receive their grant by the first day of term. [92089]
Mr. Mudie:
None. We expect all students who have applied to the required timetable to receive cheques on the first day of their course, and are making plans to ensure that even very late applicants receive a payment upon arrival at their universities and colleges.
Mr. Sayeed:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment under what circumstances students are entitled to apply for compensation in relation to delays in the processing of their applications for a grant. [92093]
Mr. Mudie:
There are arrangements for students to make complaints if they are not satisfied with the processing of their applications for student support. However, we expect all students who have applied to the required timetable to receive cheques on the first day of their course, and are making plans to ensure that late applicants also receive a payment upon arrival at their universities and colleges.
Mr. Sayeed:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many local education authorities are expected to complete assessments for student grants using the new systems, in accordance with his Department's timetable. [92091]
20 Jul 1999 : Column: 459
Mr. Mudie:
We expect that all local education authorities will complete processing applications from students who submitted their forms by the required timetable, and that cheques will be issued to those students at the start of their courses.
Mr. Sayeed:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate he has made of the number of local education authorities which will have completed the processing of applications for student grants before the start of the university term. [92092]
Mr. Mudie:
The Department is monitoring closely the progress being made by local education authorities. We expect that they will all complete processing applications from students who submitted their forms by the required timetable, and that cheques will be issued to those students at the start of their courses.
96 per cent. of accepted orders from UK banks and the Post Office for UK circulating coin to be delivered within 11 working days;
95 per cent. of UK collector coin orders from individual UK customers to be delivered within 25 days;
97 per cent. of medals orders to be delivered by the agreed delivery date;
99.7 per cent. of collector products accepted by individual UK customers.
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