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Children's Manifesto

Ms Shipley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received on "Our Children, Their Future--A Children's Manifesto" published by NSPCC, Barnardos and the Child Poverty Action Group. [140415]

Mr. Boateng [pursuant to his reply, 28 November 2000, c. 517W]: It should also be noted that I will shortly be meeting senior representatives of the Child Poverty Action Group to discuss the main recommendations in the Manifesto.

30 Nov 2000 : Column: 934W

TREASURY

Marriages (Immigration)

Mr. Crausby: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many marriages suspected to be solely for immigration purposes were reported by registrars to the Registrar General in (a) 1996, (b) 1997, (c) 1998 and (d) 1999, separated by registration area; and how many of these marriages were reported to the Home Office in (i) 1996, (ii) 1997, (iii) 1998 and (iv) 1999; [134762]

(2) how long it has been the practice of the Registrar General to report to the Home Office marriages suspected to be solely for immigration purposes; on what authority the practice was commenced; and what is its purpose. [134761]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Registrar General. I have asked him to reply.

Letter from Len Cook to Mr. David Crausby, dated 30 November 2000:

As Registrar General I have been asked to reply to your recent questions on the practice of reporting marriages to the Home Office suspected to be solely for immigration purposes and the numbers of these marriages reported between 1996 and 1999. (134761, 134762)

Arrangements for the reporting of suspected marriages of convenience by the Registrar General were introduced in 1925 at the request of the Home Secretary. The purpose of these reports is to identify marriages suspected to have been arranged for the sole purpose of evading statutory immigration controls. The reporting is on a non-statutory basis.

During 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999 Superintendent Registrars reported 607, 421, 467 and 315 cases to the Registrar General. Of this number, information in respect of 519, 294, 344 and 267 reports respectively were passed to the Home Office.

Details of the reports received by registration district are shown in the attached tables. These tables are too large to be reproduced in Hansard and I have therefore made arrangements for them to be placed in the House of Commons Library. Figures for 1996 marriages reported to the Home Office are not available by registration district.

Brussels (Official Visits)

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the occasions he has visited Brussels on official business since May 1997. [134969]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The Chancellor has travelled to Brussels on numerous occasions for meetings of ECOFIN and for other engagements.

Official Diary

Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library his official diary for the month of July. [134459]

Miss Melanie Johnson: During the month of July my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer attended a number of meetings with ministerial colleagues and others, carried out duties in the House of Commons, gave several speeches and undertook a number of engagements in his constituency.

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General Insurance Reserves

Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will issue draft regulations on general insurance reserves. [135897]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The draft regulations were issued on 17 November. The Government will ensure that adequate time is made available for comments to be made on the draft, before the statutory instrument containing the final regulations is laid before Parliament.

Overseas Investment

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the trends in the proportion of the overseas assets of the United Kingdom which are invested outside the European Union. [136405]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.

Letter from Len Cook to Mr. John Bercow, dated 30 November 2000:

As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question on the proportion of the United Kingdom's assets invested outside the European Union. (136405)

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) does not compile a geographical breakdown of the United Kingdom's total external assets although some information is available. A geographical breakdown of direct investment abroad is published annually in Overseas Direct Investment (ISSN 1369--1538)

Cross-border Shopping

Mr. Opik: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what his latest estimate is of the impact on net tax revenue of the purchasing abroad of (a) fuel for heavy goods vehicles operating in the UK, (b) tobacco products for consumption in the UK and (c) alcoholic beverages for consumption in the UK; and if he will make a statement; [138014]

(2) what his latest estimate is of the percentage of (a) fuel used in heavy goods vehicles, (b) tobacco products consumed and (c) alcoholic beverages consumed in the United Kingdom which are purchased abroad; and if he will make a statement. [138013]

Dawn Primarolo: For the most recently published estimates of the revenue loss from cross-border shopping for alcohol and tobacco I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 26 November 1999, Official Report, columns 254-55W. New figures for the overall revenue loss from cross-border shopping are in the process of being produced and will be published in due course. There are no figures for cross-border shopping for fuel for use in certain types of vehicle.

ECOFIN Council

Mr. Hood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the outcome of the ECOFIN Council held in Brussels on 7 November; and if he will make a statement. [137764]

Miss Melanie Johnson: I attended the meeting of the Economic and Finance Council of Ministers.

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The Commission presented its report on implementation of the Risk Capital Action Plan and a Review of Specific Community Financial Instruments for SMEs, which it was agreed will form the basis of a joint Council/Commission report to the Nice European Council.

The Commission agreed that their Communication on structural indicators can be reconciled with the work of the Economic Policy Committee (EPC) to allow for a single set of indicators to act as a base for the synthesis report for the Stockholm European Council in March 2001.

The Commission presented a progress report on the contribution of public finances to growth and employment. The EPC presented a report on the impact of aging populations on public pension schemes. The Presidency asked the EPC to continue its work, widening it to include the impacts of aging on financing public health care.

ECOFIN discussed the report of the Economic and Financial Committee (EFC) on exchange rate strategies for accession countries. The report will be submitted to the Nice European Council.

The Commission presented its proposal for recasting the Financial Regulation. The Presidency thanked the Commission and remitted the detailed work to the Budget Committee.

Mr. Hood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the outcome was of the ECOFIN Council held in Brussels on 26 to 27 November; and if he will make a statement. [140888]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The Chancellor attended the meeting of the Economic and Finance Council of Ministers.

Agreement was reached on the substantial content of the Directive on taxation of savings based on the UK proposal of exchange of information rather than a withholding tax on cross-border savings income. The UK policy objective of securing an agreement consistent with the outcome of the Feira European Council--including the requirement for all member states to move to full exchange of information no later than seven years after adoption of the Directive--was achieved. The agreement will enhance the effectiveness of tackling tax evasion, minimise the administrative burden on the City and maintain the competitiveness of UK and EU financial markets.

Agreement was also reached on further work under the Code of Conduct and on the timetable for the rollback of harmful measures.

The salient points of the Wise Men's initial report on the Regulation of European Securities Markets were presented. Ministers asked the group to continue its work and report finally in February. Their conclusions support the Chancellor's strategy for a more dynamic and efficient single market in financial services, published in July 2000.

On the question of VAT registration of non-EU suppliers of e-commerce services Ministers asked for further work on all possible options and for a revised draft directive to be presented to ECOFIN before June 2001.

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On the economic and financial stability of accession countries it was agreed the Commission would prepare annual macroeconomic analysis for discussion at the high level group with accession countries, followed by ECOFIN conclusions. Ministers emphasised that these arrangements impose no new criteria upon the candidate countries and will promote a dialogue that will facilitate the transition process.

The European Court of Auditors presented its Annual Report for 1999. Ministers noted the Report. They will consider discharge on the basis of this report in March 2001.

The Council examined and agreed conclusions on updated Stability Programmes for Germany, the Netherlands and Finland.

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