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Regulatory Reform
Mr. Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which Minister in her Department has responsibility for regulatory reform; and if she will make a statement. [117426]
Clare Short: The Under-Secretary has responsibility for regulatory reform within my Department.
PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL
Secondary Legislation
Mr. Duncan Smith:
To ask the President of the Council how many statutory instruments and other items of secondary legislation were passed in each of the years 1980, 1985, 1990 and 1999. [117953]
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| Session | Number of instruments subject to parliamentary procedure laid before Parliament (including special procedure orders) | Number of affirmative instruments approved by the House of Commons |
|---|---|---|
| 1980-81 | (29)940 | 149 |
| 1985-86 | (29)1,024 | 155 |
| 1990-91 | 1,279 | 181 |
| 1998-99 | 1,445 | 178 |
(29) Indicate the number of instruments considered by the Joint Committee and the Select Committee on Statutory Instruments rather than those laid.
TREASURY
Research and Development
17. Mr. Pike: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on his measures to help companies with research and development. [116619]
Mr. Timms: Our new research and development tax credit, introduced on 1 April, has been warmly welcomed by the CBI and others since its announcement a year ago. We received representations emphasising the importance of incentives for research and development in small and medium-sized firms, and so that is where the credit is being targeted. We have also decided, responding to representations, that the credit should be available as well to companies not yet trading. It will benefit 4,500 companies and support almost £1 billion for research and development per year.
Child Tax Credit
18. Mr. Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families that qualified for the married couples allowance in 1999-2000 will not qualify for the child tax credit in 2001-02. [116620]
24. Mr. Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many married couples that qualified for the married couples allowance in 1999-2000 will not qualify for the child tax credit in 2001-02. [116626]
Dawn Primarolo: As a result of measures we have taken in this and previous Budgets, pensioner households will from next April be on average £400 a year better off, and families with children will be on average £850 a year better off; and the number of couples liable for higher rate tax as a result of the withdrawal of married couples allowance will be zero.
VAT (Historic Buildings)
19. Mr. Tyler: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received calling for a reduction in the VAT rate for repairs and conservation work to churches and other historic buildings. [116621]
Dawn Primarolo:
Since February, the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer have received about 5,000 letters, mainly from parishioners in Cornwall,
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asking for a reduced rate for repairs to churches. A number of letters have also been received asking for a reduced rate for historic buildings.
20. Mr. Goggins:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action he is taking to improve employment incentives for the long-term unemployed. [116622]
Mr. Andrew Smith:
My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in his recent Budget a variety of measures to help encourage the long-term unemployed back into work. These include:
Expanding and strengthening the New Deal 25 plus to bring into line the rights and responsibilities for those over 25 that have so effectively helped those under 25 in the New Deal for Young People;
Alongside these the Government have also announced that from October the adult rate of the National Minimum Wage will be increased to £3.70 per hour, continuing to ensure greater decency and fairness in the workplace and making work pay.
Employment Zones and Action Teams to begin work with long-term unemployed people in the most deprived areas of the country to help them to address the barriers which are preventing them from finding work;
The Working Families Tax Credit which will deliver a minimum income guarantee of £214 for a family with someone in full-time work from April 2001; and
The new Job Grant, alongside Housing Benefit and Income Support Mortgage Interest run ons, which are easing the transition into work from benefits.
G8 (Debt Cancellation)
21. Ms Drown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he is having about further multilateral debt cancellation with G8 colleagues in advance of the G8 Finance Ministers' meeting. [116623]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Discussions about the multilateral Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative take place among G7 members on an on-going basis. The Chancellor of the Exchequer will discuss progress and implementation of the enhanced HIPC initiative at the G7 meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors on 15 April, and in the run-up to the Okinawa Summit.
Tax Allowances
22. Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the impact on the average family of his withdrawal of tax allowances to date. [116624]
Dawn Primarolo: Taking all measures together, personal tax and benefit changes in this and previous Budgets will mean that by April 2001:
- On average families with children will be £850 a year better off;
A single-earner family on average earnings and with two children will be £370 a year better off;
A single-earner family on half average earnings and with two children will be £2,600 a year better off; and
The tax burden on a single-earner family on average earnings and with two children will be the lowest since 1972.
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25.
Tax Burden
23. Mr. Gale: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the change in the total (a) indirect and (b) direct tax burden on families of his Budget measures to date. [116625]
34. Mr. St. Aubyn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the change in the total (a) indirect and (b) direct tax burden on families of his Budget measures to date. [116639]
Dawn Primarolo: As a result of personal tax and benefit measures introduced by this Government, the tax burden on a typical single earner couple on average earnings with two children will fall from 21.5 in 1996-97 to 18.8 by 2001, the lowest level since 1972.
Estimating the impact of indirect taxes is imprecise as spending patterns vary widely between households with the same composition and income, with the consumption of the majority of goods and services far from universal. For example, only around one third of adults are smokers, just over half the adult population are in households paying vehicle excise duty and around 10 per cent. of households pay air passenger duty. This can be contrasted with direct taxes and benefits where at specified earnings and for particular household types there is a known benefit entitlement or tax liability.
National Changeover Plan
26. Sir Nicholas Lyell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received in connection with the National Changeover Plan; and if he will make a statement. [116629]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Government work with a wide range of organisations from the private, public and voluntary sectors on changeover planning. A list of the private and voluntary sector organisations involved in Working Groups is given on page 57 of the second Outline National Changeover Plan, published on 9 March.
Fuel Duty
27. Mrs. Ann Winterton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of fuel duty revenues in 2000-01. [116630]
Mr. Timms: The projection for fuel duty revenues in 2000-01 is published in Table C9, Page 203 of the Financial Statement and Budget Report 2000.
Regional Development Agencies
29. Mr. Fraser: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the cost in the current financial year to the Exchequer of Regional Development Agencies. [116632]
Mr. Andrew Smith:
The Regional Development Agencies have taken on responsibility for a number of Government programmes, including the Single
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Regeneration Budget and programmes formerly run by English Partnerships and the Rural Development Commission. Including all their programme expenditure, the eight RDAs in England have been allocated an overall budget of £958,373,000 for 2000-01. This includes planned recyclable receipts of £145,094,000.
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