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National Changeover Plan

13. Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the cost of the National Changeover Plan. [121384]

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Miss Melanie Johnson: The second Outline National Changeover Plan was published in March. It showed that by the end of February 2000, the public sector as a whole had spent around £6.3 million on planning for the possibility of the UK joining the single currency, mainly in the DSS and the revenue Departments.

Without preparation, the UK would not have a practical option to join the single currency. The Government are committed to giving the British people a genuine choice.

25. Mr. Clappison: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on progress with the National Changeover Plan. [121396]

Miss Melanie Johnson: Progress on national changeover planning was reported in the Government's second Outline National Changeover Plan which was published on 9 March. Copies of the Plan are available in the Library. We are now working with our partners in the business, public and voluntary sectors to take forward the next steps set out in the Plan.

38. Miss Kirkbride: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on the cost of the National Changeover Plan. [121409]

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.

National Insurance

14. Mr. Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the effects of raising the national insurance upper earnings limit. [121385]

Dawn Primarolo: Given the substantial increases in the starting point for paying employees' National Insurance contributions this year and next, raising the upper earnings limit helps to maintain a fair base for such contributions.

18. Mr. Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many women were paying reduced rate national insurance contributions in (a) 1988 and (b) 1990. [121389]

Dawn Primarolo: Around 1,060,000 and 785,000 women respectively paid National Insurance contributions at the married womens' reduced rate in 1988 and 1990.

Exchange Rate

16. Mr. Alan W. Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the impact of the value of sterling against the euro on UK manufacturing. [121387]

Miss Melanie Johnson: Exporters in general are coping surprisingly well with the weakness of the euro. In the three months to February, goods exports volumes to EU countries were up more than 6 per cent on a year earlier.

Somerset House

17. Mr. Tyler: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the future occupancy of Somerset House by the Inland Revenue. [121388]

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Dawn Primarolo: The Government will continue to keep the occupancy of Somerset House under review. For the time being, the Inland Revenue's occupancy provides the Somerset House trust with a substantial guaranteed source of income, which is needed for restoring and developing the site.

Competitiveness

19. Mr. Forth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect of the tax changes since May 1997 on the competitiveness of British industry. [121390]

Dawn Primarolo: Details of the Budget measures can be found in the relevant tables of the July 1997, March 1998, 1999 and 2000 Red Book. Our corporation tax rate is the lowest ever and lowest among major industrialised countries. The combination of this rate and other Budget measures have enhanced the UK tax system, providing an improved environment for UK business to compete.

Currency Speculation

20. Mr. Barnes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received recently concerning the taxation of international currency speculation. [121391]

Miss Melanie Johnson: This House had the opportunity to discuss the taxation of international currency transactions on 18 April, in the adjournment debate tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, Maryhill (Mrs. Fyfe). My hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury set out the Government's view on that occasion.

In addition, the Treasury has received several letters from hon. Members, who raised the issue on behalf of their constituents, and several letters directly from members of the public.

Reserves

21. Mr. Fabricant: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he next plans to meet the Governor of the Bank of England to discuss the value of the nation's foreign currency and precious metal reserves. [121392]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The Chancellor meets the Governor of the Bank of England on a regular basis to discuss a wide range of issues.

34. Mr. Swayne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the current value of the Bank of England reserves. [121405]

Mr. Andrew Smith: Part 1 of the Treasury Press Notice, issued on the third working day of each month, provides details of UK foreign currency assets and liabilities. The latest figures were published on 4 May showing net reserves of $13,643 million (£8,764 million) at the end of April 2000. A more detailed breakdown is provided in the template published monthly on the Bank of England's website.

Expenditure Plans

22. Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how he intends to use the (a) Budget surplus of 2000-01, (b) income from mobile phone licence sales and (c) Exchequer reserves. [121393]

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Mr. Andrew Smith: The Budget plans were set out in Budget 2000 (HC 346). Proceeds from mobile phone licence sales will be used to reduce public sector net debt. Reserves are used in line with the provisions of the Exchequer Equalisation Account Act 1979.

Mobile Phone Licences

23. Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received proposing the division of moneys raised from the sale of the third generation mobile phone licences between the devolved administrations and central Government; and if he will make a statement. [121394]

Mr. Andrew Smith: The Chancellor has received two representations.

Small Businesses

26. Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on his plans for a tax reduction for small businesses investing in computers or e-commerce developments. [121397]

Dawn Primarolo: The Government are introducing in the Finance Bill 100 per cent. first year capital allowances for investment by small businesses in information and communications technology between 1 April 2000 and 31 March 2003. These businesses will be able to write off immediately against their taxable profits the full cost of computers, software including websites, and next generation internet-enabled mobile phones. This measure will encourage small businesses to get on line and will help make the UK the best environment in the world for e-commerce by 2002.

Advertising

27. Mr. St. Aubyn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the cost of expenditure on advertising on behalf of his Department since 1997. [121398]

Mr. Andrew Smith: The total cost of advertising by HM Treasury from April 1997 to March 2000 has been approximately £6.5 million.

Unemployment

28. Mr. Khabra: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the impact of his Department's policies on the levels of employment and unemployment in London. [121399]

Miss Melanie Johnson: In London, as in the rest of the UK, we have created a sound and credible platform of economic stability that will help us attain our objective of high and stable levels of growth and employment. Since the election, employment in London has risen by 150,000 and unemployment has fallen by 73,000.

Steel Industry

29. Mr. MacShane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from the steel industry about the value of sterling. [121400]

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Miss Melanie Johnson: The Government regularly meet with representatives from the steel industry. The Government understand the concerns of the manufacturing industry more generally about the value of the pound.

New Deal

30. Mr. Page: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the level of funding for the New Deal. [R] [121401]

Mr. Andrew Smith: The New Deal is being funded, for this Parliament, by the revenue received from the Windfall Tax on the excess profits of the privatised utilities. Information on the estimated allocation of the Windfall Tax receipts between different programmes is set out in Table 4.1 of the Economic and Fiscal Strategy Report of Budget 2000. Plans for future funding are being discussed in the current Spending Review.

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