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Welfare Reform and Pensions Bill
Mr. Hoyle:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect of changes in the definition of employment for self-employed contractors contained in the Welfare Reform and Pensions Bill; and on what basis he has calculated the effect of such changes to the status of employment. [97112]
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Dawn Primarolo:
Our assumption is that the number of workers covered by the normal employment status tests will not be significantly different from the number which would have been covered by the "control" test, though the population is likely to be different. Any variation would be within the margin of error of the original estimate. The revised Regulatory Impact Assessment published in
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October, a copy of which is placed in the Library, sets out the likely impact of the changes we announced on 23 September.
Mr. Jim Murphy:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of Scots who have been resident in England in each of the last five years. [97369]
Miss Melanie Johnson:
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. Jim Murphy, dated 9 November 1999:
Mr. Pike:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what data he has collated concerning the numbers of 18 to 25 year olds moving from the North to the South of England to seek employment; and if he will make a statement. [97572]
Miss Melanie Johnson:
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. Peter Pike, dated 9 November 1999:
Ms Lawrence:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what changes are proposed to the Inland Revenue's Departmental Expenditure Limit and running costs limit for 1999-2000. [97919]
Dawn Primarolo:
Subject to parliamentary approval of the Supplementary Estimates for Class XVI, Votes 4 and 5 (Inland Revenue and Valuation Office Agency) the Inland Revenue Departmental Expenditure Limit for 1999-2000 will be increased by £297,235,000 from £1,871,226,000 to £2,168,461,000. The Inland Revenue running cost limit will also be increased by £28,351,000 from £2,140,489,000 to £2,168,840,000.
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The increase is due to the transfer to the Inland Revenue of the Contributions Agency and the National Insurance Fund funded by transfers from DSS and DHSS(NI) and the take up of end year flexibility of £950,000 by the Valuation Office.
The increase will be offset by transfers or charged to the DEL Reserve and will not add therefore to the planned total of public expenditure.
Mr. Flynn:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to ensure equal tax treatment of contributions to state and occupational pension schemes. [97619]
Dawn Primarolo:
Tax relief is given on contributions for occupational and personal pension schemes to encourage people to make pension provision for their retirement. Adopting the same treatment on contributions for state pensions would result in a significant loss to the Exchequer which would have to be made good by an increase in the rate of taxation, or by corresponding reductions in other tax allowances.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many enterprise investment schemes were undertaken in (a) 1997 and (b) 1998. [97717]
Dawn Primarolo:
Available information on the number of small unquoted companies raising money by issuing shares under the Enterprise Investment Scheme, and the number and amount of subscriptions, are shown in the table. The table is based on company returns received up to July 1999. However, because of time lags in the receipt of claims, figures for more recent years are less complete than for earlier years. In particular, information for 1998-99 gives a very partial picture.
As Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your parliamentary question asking what estimates have been made of the number of Scots who have been resident in England in each of the last five years.
The ONS is not able to make estimates of the number of Scots resident in England.
As Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your parliamentary question about young people moving from the North to the South of England to seek employment.
The ONS does not collect information on the reasons why people move from one area of England to another. The Labour Force Survey (LFS) does collect information on people's region of residence and employment status, both current and a year ago. One might infer that people who had not been in employment and who had moved and were either employed or actively seeking and available for work a year later may have moved in order to seek employment. However, LFS estimates for the geographies and age group specified are below the LFS release threshold. This release threshold (10,000 for one quarter's LFS data) arises because, like any other sample survey, the LFS is subject to sampling variability. Numbers below the threshold are not considered sufficiently reliable to release.
| Year | Number of companies | Number of subscriptions | Amount (£ million) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-97 | 643 | 8,765 | 59.6 |
| 1997-98 | 615 | 10,305 | 56.7 |
| 1998-99 | 464 | 8,192 | 40.5 |
EC Goods
Dr. Brand: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list those goods legally available in other European Community countries which cannot be brought into the United Kingdom. [97647]
Dawn Primarolo: I regret that this information, which would require detailed comparison of relevant UK legislation with that of all other Member States, is not available.
Official Engagements
Mr. Dalyell:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his official engagements were between 3.30 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Wednesday 3 November. [97749]
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Mr. Gordon Brown
[holding answer 8 November 1999]: I had meetings at the Treasury and visited the London Stock Exchange to launch Techmark, the London Stock Exchange's new technology market. At 7 p.m. I voted in the division following the debate on Lords Amendment 42 to the Welfare Reform and Pensions Bill.
Mr. Jack:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many individuals trading as personal service companies are currently (a) on contract to HM Treasury, (b) on contract to the Inland Revenue and (c) employed by EDS in pursuance of their contractual obligations to the Inland Revenue. [97295]
Dawn Primarolo
[holding answer 8 November 1999]: It is not possible to say how many individuals trading as personal service companies are currently on contract to (a) HM Treasury, (b) the Inland Revenue or employed by EDS in pursuance of their contractual obligations to the Inland Revenue.
Sir Peter Tapsell:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how, and under whose authority, the London gold bullion market is supervised; and what reporting requirements exist in gold bullion trades to prevent the manipulation of the gold market. [97394]
Miss Melanie Johnson
[holding answer 8 November 1999]: The London bullion market is regulated by the Financial Services Authority in accordance with the principles of the London Code of Conduct. The Code sets out general standards of behaviour and conduct, and appropriate systems and controls, for market participants to adopt when transacting business in gold. The Code also sets out procedures to be followed should there be complaints about non-compliance.
Sir Peter Tapsell:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what procedure was followed to sell gold from Britain's reserves. [97395]
Miss Melanie Johnson
[holding answer 8 November 1999]: As announced on 7 May 1999 the sale of part of the United Kingdom's gold holdings will be through a programme of five auctions in 1999-2000. The Information Memorandum, issued by the Bank of England on behalf of HM Treasury, details the arrangements and terms and conditions for the auctions in 1999-2000.
Sir Peter Tapsell:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the official gold reserves expressed in tonnes of (a) Germany, (b) France and (c) Italy; and what will be the gold reserves expressed in tonnes of the United Kingdom after the completion of the gold sales programme announced on 7 May. [97396]
Miss Melanie Johnson
[holding answer 8 November 1999]: Figures on the gold holdings of other countries can be found in the IMF's International Financial Statistics. Over the medium term the Government are planning to reduce their gold holdings to around 300 tonnes.
Sir Peter Tapsell:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the United Kingdom would continue to (a) own and (b) control its gold reserves if Britain were to join the single European currency after January 2002. [97393]
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Miss Melanie Johnson
[holding answer 8 November 1999]: If the United Kingdom joined stage 3 of Economic and Monetary Union the provisions of Article 31 of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks (Protocol No. 3 to the EU Treaty) would apply.
Sir Peter Tapsell:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consultation took place with other Governments and central banks prior to the announcement on 7 May about the sale of the United Kingdom's gold reserve. [97397]
Miss Melanie Johnson
[holding answer 8 November 1999]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr. Maude) on 13 July 1999, Official Report, column 184.
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