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Petrol Taxes
Sir Sydney Chapman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total tax levied on a litre of standard unleaded petrol on 1 May 1997; and what it is currently. [117672]
Mr. Timms: The total tax (excise duty plus VAT) levied on a litre of standard unleaded petrol on 1 May 1997 was about 46p and that levied at the end of March 2000 was about 61p. Most of the duty increase is accounted for by the operation of the fuel duty escalator, which is no longer being applied.
Charitable Shares Donations
Mr. Tom Clarke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on his plans to change the tax treatment of shares donated to charity. [116604]
Miss Melanie Johnson: In his Budget speech the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a radical package of measures aimed at Getting Britain Giving. The package included a new tax relief on gifts to a charity of certain qualifying investments.
Qualifying investments include:
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or benefit received. The new relief will be in addition to the existing relief for gifts of shares and other assets to a charity when calculating capital gains.
The new relief comes into effect for gifts made on or after 1 April 2000 for companies and 6 April 2000 for individuals.
Mr. Matthew Taylor:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will place the next edition of the Tax Benefit Reference Manual in the Library. [117827]
Dawn Primarolo:
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Havant (Mr. Willetts) on 29 March 2000, Official Report, column 150W.
Mr. Willetts:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what checks are applied to confirm the identities of new employees in the Contributions Agency. [117721]
Dawn Primarolo:
A series of checks were undertaken within the Contributions Agency.
Mr. Matthew Taylor:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the estimates of Government receipts in his Budget statement include revenue raised from the sale of mobile phone licences; and if he will make a statement. [117369]
Dr. Cable:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the Government's plans for utilising the receipts of the auction of mobile telephone licences. [118102]
Dawn Primarolo
[holding answer 4 April 2000]: An estimate of the effect of proceeds from the auction of mobile phone licences is included in the Budget public finances forecast, and taken account of in the Budget tax and spending plans. The auction proceeds will have only a limited impact on the main fiscal aggregates such as the current surplus and public sector net borrowing because, in line with National Accounts conventions, the revenues raised are accrued evenly across the full length of the licence period.
Mr. Burgon:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in what circumstances immigration officers will be requesting passenger information from carriers under paragraph 27B of Schedule 2 to the Immigration Act 1971, as inserted by section 18 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999; and if he will make a statement. [118485]
Mrs. Roche:
The types of information which may be requested are set out in the Schedule to the Immigration (Passenger Information) Order 2000. The information specified in Part I of the Schedule to the Order is contained in the machine-readable zone of passports and visas. Provision of this information is essential if we are
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to be able to grant or refuse entry to passengers in advance of their arrival in the United Kingdom. We have set out what we propose by way of such flexibilities in the draft Immigration (Leave to Enter and Remain) Order laid before Parliament on 30 March 2000. We would expect to come to a mutual agreement with carriers as to the routes for which we might start to require Part I information and as to when the requirement would start. Beyond this, we would seek Part I information only on specific occasions for intelligence purposes. We would endeavour to keep such requests to a minimum. The information specified in Part II of the Schedule will be requested only where the carrier is in possession of it. However, we think it might take some time for carriers to put systems in place to allow them to provide us with any significant volume of information, so we will implement the new power gradually over the coming months. We will continue in this spirit of co-operation, but ultimately we reserve the right to insist upon the provision of passenger information under the new powers wherever we have good reason in the context of the immigration control.
Mr. Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in each of the last two years for which figures are available, what was the total amount of funding for asylum seekers' support (a) in total, (b) per head of population, (c) per income tax payer, (d) per household and (e) as a percentage of total Government expenditure; what are the estimated figures for 2000-01; and if he will make a statement. [117982]
Mrs. Roche:
In 1998-99, support for asylum seekers was the responsibility of the Department of Health and the Department of Social Security. The Department of Health states that the total payments for supporting asylum seekers were £190 million in 1998-99. The Department of Social Security estimate that, subject to audit, the total benefits paid to asylum seekers will be £285 million.
shares or securities which are listed or dealt in on a recognised stock exchange;
The donor will be able to claim a corporation tax or income tax deduction for the full market value of the gift, plus incidental expenses of transfer, less any consideration
units in an authorised unit trust;
shares in an open ended investment company; and
an interest in an offshore fund.
| Asylum support costs | 1998-99 | 1999-2000 |
|---|---|---|
| Total | £475 million | £597 million |
| Per head of population | £8.08 | £10.14 |
| Per income taxpayer | £17.02 | £21.38 |
| Per household | £19.63 | £24.64 |
| As a percentage of total managed public expenditure | 0.14 | 0.17 |
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The Comprehensive Spending Review in 1998 set a provisional Home Office allocation for 2000-01 of £300 million for the cost of asylum support for adults and families and £3 million for the Department of Health. The total managed public expenditure in 2000-01 is £370.9 billion.
Mr. Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the means by which those seeking asylum in the United Kingdom, who are currently outside the United Kingdom, can lawfully enter the United Kingdom to claim asylum without causing any others to commit any offence in assisting with their arrival in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement. [117995]
Mrs. Roche:
A person who claims asylum on arrival in the United Kingdom and is subsequently granted leave to enter will, by definition, have entered the United Kingdom lawfully. A person who obtains leave to enter without disclosing an intention to claim asylum may, depending on the circumstances, be guilty of an offence of seeking leave to enter by deception. In either case, the actions of the asylum seeker do not of themselves cause any other person to commit an offence, but depending on the circumstances an offence may arise if the asylum seeker's entry was facilitated by another person.
Mr. Lidington:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many appeals were lodged by him against the granting of judicial review of asylum decisions in each of the last five years for which figures are available; how many appeals were upheld; what was the total cost to public funds in each year of such appeals; on how many occasions Queen's Counsel were employed by (a) him and (b) the respondent; and if he will make a statement. [115970]
Mrs. Roche
[holding answer 23 March 2000]: The information requested is available only for the past three years and is shown in the table:
| 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of cases | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Appeal upheld | 1 | -- | (30)(31)-- |
| Appeal dismissed | 1 | -- | 1 |
| Queen's Counsel employed by both parties | Yes | -- | Yes |
| Costs | £66,884 | -- | £63,104 |
(30) One appeal was withdrawn
(31) One appeal not yet heard
Dr. Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimates he has made of the cost of (a) vouchers, (b) accommodation for asylum seekers and (c) other administrative costs relating to them in each of the last three years. [117051]
The information available is that in 1997-98 and 1998-99 grant payments for the support of asylum seekers were the responsibility of the Department of Health. In 1997-98, the grant payment by the Department of Health was £139,202 million. Costs such as administrative costs are amalgamated into the actual payments made to Local Authorities.
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The Department of Health is currently reconciling, in the light of the audit certificate now being provided, the amount claimed by authorities and the payments made to authorities in 1998-99. It is, therefore, not possible at the moment to give the information for 1998-99.
Since 1 April 1999, the Home Office has been responsible for reimbursing local authorities for the costs of supporting asylum seekers. Costs for the period 1 April-5 December 1999 are on the basis of a Special Grant. Local authorities may claim the costs incurred, within cost limits, in supporting asylum seekers. Local Authorities claimed a total of £183,177,970 for the period 1 April-5 December 1999. These claims will be subject to audit by District Auditors and may be subject to variation in the light of the findings of auditors. Full information for the period 6 December 1999-31 March 2000 is not yet available.
How these resources are allocated is a matter for each individual Local Authority.
Dr. Harris:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimates he has made of the cost of police arrests and deportations of asylum seekers and illegal immigrants in each of the last three years. [117049]
Mrs. Roche:
The costs of police arrests of asylum seekers and the costs of deportations of asylum seekers and illegal immigrants are not available.
Mr. Gardiner:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum applications were received in 1999; and what proportion of those applicants came from Sri Lanka. [117643]
Mrs. Roche:
The total number of asylum applications to the United Kingdom in 1999 was 71,160. 5,130 (7 per cent.) were from nationals of Sri Lanka.
Mr. Sanders:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what mechanism is used for reimbursing local authorities for costs incurred in respect of the dispersal of asylum seekers. [117297]
Mrs. Roche:
Since 1 April 1999, the Home Office has been responsible for reimbursing local authorities for the costs of supporting asylum seekers. Payment is by way of grant. Under the interim regulations, local authorities may claim the costs incurred in supporting asylum seekers. These claims will be paid within cost limits and are subject to audit by District Auditors. For those asylum seekers who will remain the responsibility of local authorities, these arrangements will continue.
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