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Regulation of Investigatory Powers Bill
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on his policy in respect of the use his Department, its agencies and public bodies will make of the powers relating to the authorised obtaining of communications data in Part I, Chapter II of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Bill once the Bill is enacted. [119507]
Dawn Primarolo: I refer to my hon. Friend to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary on 19 April 2000, Official Report, column 509W.
Comprehensive Spending Review
Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Departments have submitted environmental appraisals with their draft public service agreements for the second comprehensive spending review; and if he will make a statement. [118859]
Mr. Andrew Smith [holding answer 17 April 2000]: It was a requirement that the analysis submitted by all Departments to inform the spending review include consideration of the impact of their proposals and programmes on sustainable development.
Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the objectives of the second comprehensive spending review. [118860]
Mr. Andrew Smith [holding answer 17 April 2000]: The aim of the 2000 spending review is to determine how best Departments' programmes can contribute to the achievement of the Government's objectives, in particular their aims of:
- opportunity for everyone to fulfil their potential through education and employment;
a fair and inclusive society in which communities are healthy and secure;
higher productivity, sustainable growth and effective co-operation with our European and international partners.
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The review will set new departmental spending plans within the firm overall limits for public spending announced in the Budget.
Mr. Wigley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many representations his Department received in relation to this year's comprehensive spending review before 31 March; and if he will continue to accept representations from both public and private sector bodies. [119584]
Mr. Andrew Smith: No formal count is made, but the Treasury had received a number of representations in relation to the 2000 spending review by 31 March. Treasury Ministers will continue to accept representations from both public and private bodies while the review continues, either directly or through our colleagues in other Departments.
Minimum Wage
Mr. Salmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the additional cost to his Department's salary bill if the minimum wage for all age groups was raised to (a) £4, (b) £4.20 and (c) £4.50 an hour. [119973]
Mr. Andrew Smith: There would be no additional cost to the Treasury's salary bill under any of the scenarios.
Mr. Salmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the additional personal tax revenue if the minimum wage was set for all age groups at (a) £4, (b) £4.20 and (c) £4.50 per hour in (i) Scotland and (ii) the UK. [119972]
Dawn Primarolo: It is not possible to estimate the potential impact of raising the minimum wage on the labour market, so an accurate costing is not possible.
Inflation Figures
Sir Brian Mawhinney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what basis he has estimated that the inflation rate will be 3.4 per cent. in September 2000. [119994]
Mr. Andrew Smith: The basis for the projection that inflation will be 3.4 per cent. in September 2000 is set out in appendix A1 of the Financial Statement and Budget Report.
Sir Brian Mawhinney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reasons the inflation rate he has assumed for September 2000 differs from the target inflation rate he has set for the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England. [119993]
Mr. Andrew Smith: The forecast of inflation in September 2000 referred to in the Budget is a forecast of the annual increase in the retail prices index (RPI), whereas the target inflation rate for the Monetary Policy Committee is the annual increase in retail prices excluding mortgage interest payments (RPIX).
Working Families Tax Credit
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much of the forecast additional spending on Working Families Tax Credit will be spent on recipients who would
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have (a) been entitled and (b) not been entitled to Family Credit in (i) 1999-2000, (ii) 2000-01 and (ii) 2001-02. [119947]
Dawn Primarolo: Figures for the projected expenditure on the Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC) and Disabled Person's Tax Credit are given in Table C12 of the March 2000 Financial Statement and Budget Report. In 1998-99, the last full year for Family Credit and Disability Working Allowance, the outturn expenditure on these was £2.6 billion.
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been spent to date on the childcare tax credit of the Working Families Tax Credit; and what is his latest estimate of expenditure in (a) this financial year and (b) in each of the next two financial years. [108761]
Dawn Primarolo [pursuant to her reply, 10 March 2000, c. 852W]: The extra amounts of Working Families Tax Credit arising from the childcare tax credit in awards made by the end of January 2000 will result in expenditure of about £60 million during the 26-week period of award. It is estimated that for 2000-01, the first full year of the credit, the extra expenditure due to the childcare tax credits will be about £200 million. I very much regret that the figures given in my earlier reply were based on the average amounts of eligible child care costs, rather than the average extra award received as a result of the childcare tax credit.
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many parents are claiming the childcare tax credit in respect of children (a) aged under eight years and (b) over eight years; and what is the average payment per (i) family and (ii) child. [108760]
Dawn Primarolo [pursuant to her reply, 10 March 2000, c. 853W]: Families in receipt of the childcare tax credit received on average an extra £31 per week as a result of this credit, or £25 per week per child receiving the child care. I very much regret that the figures given in my earlier reply were the average amounts of eligible child care costs.
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many calls have been made to the WFTC helpline in each month since it was established. [119946]
Dawn Primarolo: Monthly figures on the number of calls handled by working families' tax credit helpline and response line are given in the table:
| Month | Helpline(12) | Response Line(13) |
|---|---|---|
| September(14) | 389,300 | 316,800 |
| October | 449,300 | 322,700 |
| November | 384,900 | 141,500 |
| December | 242,400 | 42,900 |
| January | 406,800 | 15,400 |
| February | 387,400 | -- |
| March | 502,800 | -- |
(12) The helpline has been in operation since the campaign launch of
WFTC on the 8 September 1999.
(13) The response line has only been in operation during the first
advertising campaign.
(14) The helpline and the response line were made operational on the
8 September 1999.
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Combined Heat and Power Plant
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action has been taken as a result of the study by property advisers to the Civil Estate concerning the case for installation of a combined heat and power plant for central Government Departments. [120024]
Mr. Timms: A combined heat and power plant was installed in 1997-98 as part of the replacement of the central plant of the Whitehall district heating system. Generation of electricity commenced in July 1998.
Debt Relief
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which aspects of the Cologne G7 Summit agreement on debt relief have not been implemented by (a) the IMF, (b) the World bank and (c) individual countries. [118982]
Mr. Timms: The World bank, the IMF and all individual creditor countries signed up to implementation of the enhanced HIPC Initiative at the IMF/World bank annual meetings last September.
Some individual countries, including the UK, have now gone further than last September's agreement, by committing to provide 100 per cent. relief on the commercial debts of countries qualifying under the HIPC initiative. The UK Government welcome these developments as a further step along the road to providing faster, wider and deeper debt relief, and encourages other countries to follow suit.
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made on establishing the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Trust Fund; and what contributions have been made by (a) national and (b) international donors. [118983]
Mr. Timms: The HIPC Trust Fund was set up last year to assist multilateral creditors meet the cost falling to them from the enhanced HIPC framework.
The total amounts pledged and contributed to the Trust Fund are equal to roughly $2.4 billion. (Australia has pledged $12 million; Austria $19 million; Belgium $40 million; Canada $104 million; Denmark $42 million; Finland $25 million; France $199 million; Germany $252 million; Greece $10 million; Ireland $20 million; Italy $162 million; Japan $200 million; Luxembourg $3 million; Netherlands $169 million; Norway $41 million; Portugal $22 million; Spain $128 million; Sweden $49 million; Switzerland $28 million; United Kingdom $359 million; US $600 million.)
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) which countries have already received debt relief through the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries 2 programme; how much they have received; what progress is being made to relieve debt; and when the debt relief will be received; [118981]
- (2) what proposals he has for improving the speed and performance of the IMF implementation process of the heavily indebted poor countries initiatives. [118984]
Mr. Timms: Bolivia, Mauritania, Uganda, Tanzania and Mozambique have all reached their decision points under the enhanced HIPC initiative and are receiving debt relief. Bolivia will receive over $2 billion in relief: a
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30 per cent. reduction in the net present value of its debt (additional to the relief already granted under the first HIPC initiative); Mauritania will receive $1.2 billion debt relief: a 50 per cent. reduction; Uganda $4.4 billion, or a 72 per cent. reduction; Tanzania $3 billion, or a reduction of 54 per cent.; and Mozambique £2 billion in debt relief, or a 40 per cent. reduction.
The UK was disappointed that, to date, only these five countries have started to receive relief under the enhanced HIPC initiative. In Washington, at the spring meetings of the IMF and World bank, shareholders re-affirmed their wish to see countries coming forward to decision point quickly.
The Chancellor and the Secretary of State for International Development recently wrote to the Acting Managing Director of the IMF and Chairman of the World bank, setting out their concerns over progress and urging them to consider the introduction of a HIPC Implementation Unit. The UK therefore welcomed the announcement by the Bank and Fund that they will be setting up a joint committee on HIPC implementation, as well as providing monthly briefing sessions to both Boards on the progress of individual countries under the initiative.
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