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Lone Parents (Further Education)

Mr. Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to assist single parents with the costs of further education. [99273]

Mr. Wicks: Single parents on low incomes are a priority for assistance with further education. They are eligible for tuition fees reimbursement, help from the FE Access Fund, and may also be considered for a free or subsidised child care place. I have today announced a substantial rise in the FE Access Fund and for child care assistance to take effect from 2000-01. In addition, lone parents participating in the New Deal for Lone Parents can also receive financial assistance for training to improve their job-readiness.

Further Education Standards Fund

Mr. Pendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how much of the Further Education Standards Fund will be allocated to training in the hospitality and tourism sectors in the next 12 months. [98495]

Mr. Wicks: The Further Education Standards Fund (FEFC) comprises in total £35 million in 1999-2000, £80 million in 2000-01 and £160 million in 2001-02. Its objective is to raise standards and quality in Further Education by rapid improvements in colleges causing concern; in promoting better teaching, learning, management and leadership; and in spreading best practice.

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There is no specific provision for hospitality and tourism in the Standards Fund. Hospitality and tourism are treated in the same way as all other curriculum areas. Those colleges offering these programmes may benefit, as do all others, from funding to help them address any weakness found during inspection.

The five colleges judged by FEFC inspectors to be outstanding in their provision of hospitality or tourism training during the last year are all eligible to apply for funding from the Standards Fund to help them disseminate good practice. It is therefore impossible to predict precisely how much funding might be deployed for better training in hospitality and tourism during the next 12 months.

TREASURY

Corporate Assets

Ms Roseanna Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the value of land and property, including leasehold and freehold property held (a) in Scotland and (b) in total by (i) HM Customs and Excise, (ii) the Inland Revenue, (iii) National Savings (iv) ONS and (v) the Royal Mint and of the value of assets held by these bodies. [99731]

Dawn Primarolo: The following figures are based on the best information available at 31 March 1999.

£000

	(a) In Scotland	(b) In total
Land and property
ONS	0	32,617
Royal Mint	0	13,393
National Savings	7,017	22,470
Other assets
ONS	0	17,500
Royal Mint	0	31,069
National Savings	0	93

Customs and Excise and the Inland Revenue are currently examining whether there is a 'value for money' case for transferring their estate to a private sector supplier on a single 20 year contract (Strategic Transfer of Estates to the Private Sector--STEPS project). At present three consortia have been shortlisted and the contract is expected to be assigned to the successful bidder in autumn 2000. The value of Customs and Inland Revenue land and buildings cannot therefore be disclosed on grounds of commercial confidentiality.

Ms Roseanna Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the value of land and property held (a) in Scotland and (b) in total by the Bank of England, and of the value of other assets held by the Bank of England. [99730]

Dawn Primarolo: The totals for equipment and property are provided on page 77 of the Bank of England's Annual report 1999, laid before Parliament on 26 May 1999.

The Bank has no land or property holdings in Scotland.

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Departmental Estate

Ms Roseanna Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the value of land and property held by his core Department (a) in Scotland and (b) in total and of the value of (i) investments, (ii) investments held in trust, (iii) heritage items and (iv) IT, telecommunications and other equipment, furniture and fittings. [99729]

Dawn Primarolo: Value information is being developed as part of the implementation of resource accounting. This information is currently being audited. The first set of resource accounts will be published in respect of 1999-2000.

Correspondence

Mr. Winnick: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the hon. Member for Walsall, North will receive a reply to his letter of 20 September regarding valuation boards. [100075]

Dawn Primarolo: Appointments to Valuation Tribunals are a matter for the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, who will reply shortly.

Post Office

Mr. Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the principal activities of his Department and its agencies which provide business for (a) Crown post offices and (b) other post offices; if he will assess whether the level of business generated in each case is likely to increase or decrease over the next five years; and which new areas of business for post offices are likely to be developed by his Department and its agencies over the same period. [99578]

Dawn Primarolo: The agencies of the Chancellor which provide business for Crown and sub-post offices are National Savings, Inland Revenue and Royal Mint.

National Savings raises deposits from the retail sector through a range of savings and investment products for personal savers retailing 10 of its 11 personal savings products through the full network of post offices.

On current projections National Savings transaction levels through post offices are forecast to reduce by some 8 per cent. over the next five years. This trend is seen as an inevitable consequence of competition from other financial services providers and personal choice as

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customers opt to deal through other channels such as post, telephone or electronic commerce. Enhancements over the next five years are likely to be direct replacements for existing products and as such unlikely to stimulate an increase in overall traffic levels through post offices.

The Inland Revenue has, for some years, given certain taxpayers the option to pay their taxes at any Post Office and expects these volumes to grow over the next five years. The Inland Revenue's National Insurance Contributions Office generates the payment of Quarterly Bills for Class 2 and Class 3 National Insurance Contributions (via giro bank) through all post offices, although contributors are encouraged to pay by direct debit rather than giro payment.

The Inland Revenue is also responsible for administering Working Families Tax Credit and Disabled Person's Tax Credit. Currently most successful applicants receive their tax credit payment by order book which can be cashed at post offices. From April 2000, however, it is expected that the vast majority of employee applicants will be paid through their employers and that there will be a consequent decline in payments at post offices over the next five years.

Royal Mint use all post offices to distribute commemorative UK circulation coinage. This business is expected to remain at the same level over the next five years. Collector coins are also offered through all post offices and Royal Mint are working to increase the volume of business in this regard. No new areas of Royal Mint business for Post Offices are currently considered likely to be developed in the next five years.

Alcohol and Tobacco

Mrs. Lawrence: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are his latest estimates of the revenue evaded and revenue lost to the Exchequer through (a) smuggling and (b) cross-border shopping of (i) alcohol and (ii) tobacco; and what steps he is taking to deal with this issue. [100568]

Dawn Primarolo: As stated in paragraph 5.99 of the pre-Budget Report, HM Customs and Excise assess the total amount of revenue (excise duty and VAT) evaded through all forms of tobacco smuggling in 1999 will be around £2.5 billion, based on work in progress.

Customs' new estimates for revenue evaded and revenue lost (excise duty and VAT) through cross- Channel smuggling in 1999 and cross-border shopping in 1998 are set out in the tables, together with a revised estimate for cross-Channel smuggling in 1998:

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Table 1: Revenue evaded and revenue lost through cross-Channel smuggling

				£ million
	1998 (revised)		1999
Product type	Revenue evaded	Revenue lost	Revenue evaded	Revenue lost
Beer	200	150	215	165
Wine	65	50	45	35
Spirits	40	30	20	15
Alcohol	305	230	285	215
Hand Rolling tobacco	685	685	720	720
Cigarettes and other tobacco products	250	250	340	340
Tobacco	935	935	1,055	1,055
Total	1,245	1,165	1,340	1,270

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Table 2: Revenue lost through cross-border shopping

			£ million
Product type	1996	1997	1998
Beer	45	50	55
Wine	100	140	180
Spirits	45	50	50
Tobacco Products	50	60	85
Total	235	305	375

Notes:

1. Figures have been independently rounded to £5 million. Components may not therefore sum to the totals shown.

2. The figures shown for revenue lost use Customs' assumption that between 70 per cent. and 80 per cent. of all alcohol purchased abroad substitutes for similar purchases in the UK (100 per cent. assumed for tobacco products).

3. The figures exclude any amounts for revenue lost on alcoholic drink and tobacco products smuggled in freight consignments. Customs have not published any estimates for the extent of these activities for alcohol but the assessment includes freight smuggling.

In addition, Customs and Excise estimate that about £50 million per year is lost through smuggling of cigarettes from non-European Union countries by air passengers.

The pre-Budget Report sets out the further steps the Government are taking to ensure that tobacco smuggling does not pay. Having taken advice from Martin Taylor, the Government will introduce a range of measures designed to tackle the evasion of tax on tobacco. These include:

a national network of x-ray equipment;

pack marks to show UK duty has been paid and ensure more effective prosecution of smugglers; and

other measures including increased asset confiscation and a new licensing framework.

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