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Electors
Mr. Rammell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many electors there are on the electoral registers for 2000-01 in (a) Essex and (b) England. [114513]
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. Bill Rammell, dated 20 March 2000:
As Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your parliamentary question about the 2000-01 electoral registers for Essex and England.
These data are still in the process of being collected. They will be published in a First Release on 12 April. A copy of this press release will be available in the House of Commons library on that day.
Israel
Dr. Starkey:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if any of the other European Community member states' customs services have taken measures in the past three years to recover duties or collect security deposits in connection with goods of any sort that have been imported
20 Mar 2000 : Column: 448W
from Israel under preferences in cases where (a) the documents submitted in support of their originating status referred to locations in the West Bank, Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip or the Golan Heights or (b) the goods were labelled or otherwise identified in a fashion indicating that they were produced or had undergone substantial processing in the territories occupied by Israel since 1967. [115323]
Dawn Primarolo:
HM Customs and Excise are not aware of any such action taken by other member states.
Dr. Starkey:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answers of 1 March 2000, Official Report, columns 266-67W, whether examination of the documents accompanying the consignments referred to in those answers has substantiated the alleged non-compliance with the provisions of the Agreement between the EC and Israel. [115319]
Dawn Primarolo:
The information is still being evaluated. The results will be passed to the European Commission.
Dr. Starkey:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answers of 1 March 2000, Official Report, columns 266-67W, what measures to recover duties and collect security deposits have been taken in connection with importations from Israel under preferences of consignments accompanied by documents identifying the location of their suppliers as within the West Bank, Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights. [115320]
Dawn Primarolo:
No such measures have been taken.
Dr. Starkey:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answers of 1 March 2000, Official Report, columns 266-67W, whether, upon their examination by Customs and Excise, the information contained in the documents accompanying the consignments referred to in those answers, together with the maps and other information available to Customs and Excise, justifies imposing duties and collecting deposits from the importers of those consignments under UK and Community law. [115311]
Dawn Primarolo:
No decision has yet been taken by Customs and Excise to impose duties or collect deposits.
Dr. Starkey:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer where the responsibility for ensuring the appropriate application of Community treaties, including external trade agreements, lies and if the United Kingdom will ask the Commission to indemnify it against liability for losses to the Community's own resources consequent on failures of UK customs enforcement that may arise out of a misapplication of EU-Israel agreements by Israel's customs service. [115317]
Dawn Primarolo:
The responsibility for ensuring the appropriate application of Community treaties lies with the Community, and, where member states are also party to the agreement, with the member states.
The question of indemnity does not arise given that the United Kingdom, in conjunction with other member states, is co-operating fully with the European Commission.
20 Mar 2000 : Column: 449W
Dr. Starkey:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if Her Majesty's Customs and Excise has demanded security deposits from importers claiming the benefit of preferences under the Community's preferential trade agreements for importations from Israel based on evidence indicating that the products being imported may have been produced or undergone substantial processing in the territories occupied by Israel since 1967, including in Israeli settlements. [115322]
Dr. Starkey:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answers of 14 February 2000, Official Report, column 447W, and 1 March 2000, Official Report, columns 266-67W, whether the documents referred to in those answers referred to (a) importation of dates and (b) importation under preferences of other products, with particular reference to wines and carpets from the area Barkan and the Golan Heights. [115318]
Dawn Primarolo:
Yes, and the evidence from the further checking referred to in previous answers has been passed to the European Commission.
Dr. Starkey:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps HM Customs and Excise can take if Israel's customs service has been systematically misapplying the territorial clauses and origin rules in its trade agreements with the EU to prevent fraudulent preferential importations into the United Kingdom of products from settlements without the co-operation of Israeli customs. [115316]
Dawn Primarolo:
The question of further action by HM Customs and Excise will not arise until the European Commission has completed its assessment of the situation.
Dr. Starkey:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what account Her Majesty's Government have taken, in connection with imports from Israel under preferences, of public communications by the Government of Israel stating that Israel issues certificates of origin according to its own definition of territoriality. [115312]
Dawn Primarolo:
The content of these communications has been noted.
Dr. Starkey:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the extent to which achievement of the objects and purposes of the EC's trade agreements with Israel depends on the provisions of the agreement relating to the scope of territorial applicability and to bilateral customs co-operation. [115324]
Dawn Primarolo:
No such assessment has been made.
Dr. Starkey:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if Her Majesty's Customs and Excise has demanded security deposits from importers claiming the benefit of preferences under the Community's preferential trade agreements in cases where the documents accompanying
20 Mar 2000 : Column: 450W
the consignments being imported, or the labelling or other identifying details of the goods themselves, have given rise to strong doubts regarding their originating status under the agreements in question. [115321]
Mr. Green:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what advice he has received on the legality of the reduction in employers' National Insurance contributions in connection with the climate change levy for the purposes of complying with EU competition regulations; and if he will publish it. [115263]
Dawn Primarolo
[holding answer 17 March 2000]: The proposed reduction in the rate of employers' National Insurance contributions in April 2001 is in accordance with EU competition rules and is therefore a matter for the UK Government.
Mr. Barron:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what reports he has received of the level of tobacco smuggled into each European Union member state in each of the last five years. [115408]
Dawn Primarolo:
No information on this basis has been published. HM Customs and Excise do have information on levels of tobacco smuggled into the UK but there is no standard reporting of levels of smuggling into each member state of the European Union.
Customs however regularly receive and give qualitative information from and to colleagues in other member states about tobacco smuggling.
Mr. Woolas:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to include energy generated from waste incinerators in the 100 per cent. first year investment allowance for companies moving from environmentally unfriendly to environmentally friendly technologies and processes. [115351]
Mr. Timms:
The Government published a consultation paper on the additional support for energy efficiency measures available under the climate change levy package (including the proposed scheme offering enhanced 100 per cent. first year capital allowances for energy saving investments) on 9 December 1999. The consultation paper proposed that five energy saving technologies (combined heat and power plant, boilers, motors, variable speed drives and lighting systems) would be made eligible for the enhanced capital allowances. Responses received to the consultation paper are currently being assessed and further announcements will be made shortly.
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