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Environmental Targets

29. Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the contribution his Department is making to efforts to ensure that Britain meets its national and international environmental targets. [125855]

Mr. Timms: Recent Budgets have introduced many measures to help the UK to achieve its national and international environmental goals. Measures to tackle climate change include the climate change levy and reforms to vehicle excise duty (VED). They put the UK on track to meet its legally binding Kyoto target for a 12.5 per cent. reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and move towards its own more challenging domestic goal of a 20 per cent. reduction in carbon emissions. Measures to improve air quality, to help meet targets in the Air Quality Strategy, include cutting and freezing duty on road fuel gas, introducing a duty differential to encourage ultra-low

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sulphur petrol, and extra incentives within the new graduated VED and company car tax systems for cars which use less-polluting fuels.

Fuel Duties

30. Mr. Paterson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact of increases in fuel duties since May 1997. [125856]

Mr. Timms: Revenues from fuel duties are set out in table 2.1D of Financial Statistics and table K2 in the Customs and Excise Annual Report 2000.

The Government are committed to appraising the environmental impact of all Budget measures and these assessments are published in Chapter 6 of the Economic and Fiscal Strategy Report 2000.

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how standard temperatures are applied in the determination of volume on which motor fuel duty is paid. [127362]

Mr. Timms: When motor fuel passes the duty point both its actual volume and its temperature are recorded. Using internationally agreed conversion tables the volume of the oil, had it been at a temperature of 15°C, is calculated. These are the "standard litres" on which excise duty is charged and paid by the oil companies.

Single Currency

31. Mr. Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received about joining the single currency. [125857]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The Government's policy on membership of the single currency remains as set out by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in October 1997, and restated by the Prime Minister in February 1999. The Government have said they will recommend joining a successful single currency only if it is in our national economic interest to do so.

Disadvantaged Areas

33. Mr. Bradshaw: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures he proposes to promote enterprise among disadvantaged groups and in disadvantaged areas in the south-west. [125859]

Mr. Timms: The Government's aim is to help create a supportive environment for entrepreneurial activity in all sections of society. Long-term unemployed people who want to move into self-employment are being helped with support under New Deal options nationally; while the Employment Zone pilot in Plymouth has been helping long-term unemployed adults aged 25 plus to get back into work, including the opportunity to pool benefits, training and job search funds to help with business start-up costs, since April 2000. We will also be offering New Entrepreneur Scholarships in high unemployment areas, to equip potential entrepreneurs with the management and business skills needed to turn their aspirations into successful businesses. A pilot programme will be running in Cornwall (and London and Manchester) later this year, before a national roll-out in September 2001.

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Moreover, the Government announced in November 1999 the creation of a new Phoenix Fund, with £30 million to invest over three years in promoting better access to business support and finance in deprived areas. This includes:

a development fund to promote innovative enterprise support in deprived areas, including incubator units;

a national challenge fund to help resource community finance initiatives, and to evaluate the variety of approaches and distil best practices;

loan guarantee support for community finance initiatives borrowing from wholesale sources of finance, so that they can on-lend in deprived areas; and

a network of mentors to pre and early phase business start-ups through a new Business Volunteer Mentoring Association, being run on a pilot basis until April 2001.

The Department of Trade and Industry has lead responsibility for the Phoenix Fund, including the disbursal of funding and business support in the South West.

The Government have also instigated a range of measures in recent Budgets, including cuts in capital gains tax and corporation tax, and enhanced capital allowances, which will benefit many of the 65,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in disadvantaged areas and the wider South West region. Moreover, the Government are currently financing a network of regional venture capital investment funds for early-stage SMEs, and contributing to a regional target of £85 million for the South West. The first steps towards this target are being taken now with the regional venture capital competition being run by the DTI.

The Small Business Service is also tasked with the brief of reaching-out to start-up and existing enterprises in disadvantaged communities, to increase accessibility of business support.

We are also bringing schools and businesses closer together, particularly those in high unemployment areas. We have already provided an extra £10 million nationally to boost enterprise skills in our schools. The new National Enterprise Campaign, launched this month, includes a particular focus on our high unemployment areas.

Taxation

34. Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of the net increase in the amount of tax that will be paid in the current financial year as a result of his Budget. [125860]

Dawn Primarolo: Details of the Budget measures can be found in Table A.13 of the March 2000 Financial Statement and Budget Report.

Employment Support

35. Mr. Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is on supporting (a) manufacturing and (b) service employment in the UK economy. [125861]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The Government are pursuing a comprehensive range of policies which are helping to support both manufacturing and service sector

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employment, including the Welfare to Work programme and tax and benefit reform. Since May 1997 UK employment has increased by over 900,000.

Small Businesses

36. Ms Keeble: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what fiscal measures he has taken to encourage small businesses. [125862]

Mr. Timms: The Government have dramatically improved the fiscal environment for investment in and by small businesses.

Since May 1997, the smaller companies Corporation Tax rate has been reduced from 23 to 20 per cent., and a new starter rate of Corporation Tax has been introduced which benefits companies with profits of up to £50,000. Small and medium sized companies have also benefited from the abolition of Advance Corporation Tax and the payment of CT in arrears.

To encourage investment by small and medium sized enterprises, the Government have now made permanent at 40 per cent. the enhanced first year capital allowances for plant and machinery, first introduced in the July 1997 Budget. This year the Government are also introducing a 100 per cent. first year allowance for small firms' investment in information and communication technology. This measure is designed to accelerate the take up of new e-commerce practices, and will operate for three years.

To encourage small and medium sized companies to invest in innovation through research and development, this year's Finance Bill introduces a new R&D tax credit. This provides cash flow support to companies investing in R&D even before they are paying CT, and increases the tax allowance for current spending on R&D from 100 to 150 per cent.

To encourage investment in the growth of small businesses, the Government have significantly enhanced the incentives for individuals to make such investments via reforms to Capital Gains Tax. Gains on any shareholdings in unquoted companies will now be taxed as business assets on a shorter four year taper, with the final effective rate for higher rate taxpayers now down to 10 per cent. This year's Finance Bill also introduces improvements to the operation of the Enterprise Investment Scheme and Venture Capital Trust scheme (notably reducing from five to three years the minimum holding period for access to income tax reliefs). These changes will further enhance the incentives for individuals to invest in smaller higher risk trading companies.

The Government are also creating new fiscal incentives for UK companies to invest as corporate venturers in smaller growing companies. This year's Finance Bill introduces a new Corporate Venturing Scheme, which provides relief against Corporation Tax for minority equity investments made in eligible higher risk companies for a minimum of three years.

Finally, to enable smaller higher risk trading companies to recruit and retain more easily the key employees which they need to deliver their growth potential, this year's Finance Bill introduces a new Enterprise Management Incentive scheme. Under this measure, eligible companies

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will be able to offer tax-advantaged options over shares worth up to £100,000 (at the time of option grant) to up to 15 employees.

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