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Regulatory Impact Assessments

Mrs. Browning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what were the gross costs of the regulatory impact assessment for (a) the Restriction on Pithing Regulations 2001, (b) the Feeding Stuffs (Sampling and Analysis) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2001, (c) the Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) (Charges) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2001 and (d) the Gelatine (Intra- Community Trade) (England) Regulations 2001. [17700]

Yvette Cooper: These costs are shown in the published regulatory impact assessments which are available in the Library.

Contaminated Blood Products

Mr. Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with the Haemophilia Society; and what action he plans to take in respect of people who have contracted HIV and Hepatitis C from contaminated blood products. [21975]

Yvette Cooper: Officials met with the Haemophilia Society on 30 November 2001. Issues discussed included the Society's 'Carpet of Lilies' campaign, the CJD Incident Panel's consultation document "Management of possible exposure to CJD through medical procedures" (issued on 10 October 2001) and the role of primary care trusts in commissioning haemophilia services.

11 Jan 2002 : Column: 1033W

A special payment scheme (The Macfarlane Trust) for those infected with HIV through national health service blood products was set up in 1988. We have also set up a multi-disciplinary steering group to assist in the development of a strategic approach to hepatitis C as a public health issue. As a result, we will be publishing a consultation paper early this year.

Haemophilia Drugs

Mrs. Lawrence: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many UK-resident patients over the age of 16 are being treated with rcFVIII. [22325]

Yvette Cooper: The latest information from the United Kingdom Haemophilia Centre Doctors Organisation shows that 43 per cent. of patients aged 20 and over in the United Kingdom are receiving recombinant clotting factors.

All health authorities and national health service trusts in England have been asked to provide recombinant (synthetic) clotting factors for new haemophilia patients and children under 16. We are giving careful consideration to the case for providing recombinant clotting factors for all haemophilia patients in England.

Chief Medical Officer Annual Report

Mr. Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) total costs and (b) design and printing costs were involved in producing the annual report of the Chief Medical Officer for the Department of Health 2001. [26148]

Mr. Hutton: The total cost for producing the Chief Medical Officer's annual report for 2001 was £74,506. Of this cost £17,863 was spent on printing and £56,643 was spent on the design, development and production of the report.

TREASURY

Uncollected Tax

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what are the latest estimated levels of uncollected (a) income tax and (b) other taxes (i) in cash terms, (ii) current values and (iii) as a percentage for each year since 1997–98; [24816]

(2) how much tax remained uncollected at the end of each fiscal year since 1978–79. [25302]

Mr. Andrew Smith: Figures for amounts of assessed and collectible tax as at the end of each accounting year (31 October) are available in the Inland Revenue's annual reports for years up to October 1998, in Table 1 of Appendix 1.

The figures for uncollected tax represent net tax charged but not paid as at the accounting date, and are a snapshot of the position at the date of the account. Most of the tax uncollected at the balance of each account is subsequently collected, and most of the amount outstanding attracts an interest charge.

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Public Service Agreements

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the performance of Government departments against their Public Service Agreement targets. [26130]

Mr. Andrew Smith: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave in response to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 10 July 2001, Official Report, column 502.

Expenditure

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give for the years 1997–98 to 2003–04 a detailed reconciliation between the public expenditure planning total and general Government expenditure. [26286]

Mr. Andrew Smith: The information sought can be found in tables 1.1 and 1.13 of Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA) 2001–02, HM Treasury Cm 5101, April 2001. Those tables give spending details for the years 1998–99 to 2003–04. Data for 1997–98 are not available on the same basis because of switch to resource accounting and budgeting. The tables show the reconciliation between total departmental expenditure limits, and total managed expenditure.

Social Security Expenditure

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the planned social security expenditure as a percentage of GDP in (a) 2001–02, (b) 2002–03, (c) 2003–04, (d) 2004–05 and (e) 2005–06. [26103]

Mr. Andrew Smith: The planned total social security expenditure, excluding tax credits, as a percentage of GDP is:

(a) 2001–02: 11.1 per cent.

(b) 2002–03: 11.0 per cent.

(c) 2003–04: 11.0 per cent.

The Government have not yet published social security spending figures beyond 2003–04.

Taxes

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the tax burden as a percentage of gross domestic product, using total taxes and social security contributions on an individual accounts accruals basis for each tax year from 2001–02 to 2006–07. [26333]

Mr. Andrew Smith: The available estimates of net taxes and social security contributions as a percentage of GDP are shown in Table B9, p. 175, of the November 2001 pre-Budget report.

Comprehensive Spending Review

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on the Comprehensive Spending Review and its impact on levels of public infrastructure investment. [26142]

Mr. Andrew Smith: Treasury Ministers receive a wide range of representations about public spending issues. These will be considered as part of the 2002 Spending Review.

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Capital Receipts

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will announce the capital receipts initiative for the next three years. [26100]

Mr. Andrew Smith: Capital receipts released from the disposal of surplus assets can be invested back into public services. Table B18 in the pre-Budget report 2001 sets out annual projections for sales of fixed assets up to 2003–04.

Non-North Sea Tax Receipts

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of the percentage of gross domestic product which will be accounted for by non-North Sea taxes and national insurance contributions in each of the next five years. [26331]

Mr. Andrew Smith: Estimates of non-North Sea taxes and national insurance contributions as a percentage of GDP can be derived from Table B9, p. 175, of the November 2001 pre-Budget report.

Education Expenditure

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the planned education expenditure as a percentage of GDP in (a) 2001–02, (b) 2002–03 and (c) 2003–04. [26102]

Mr. Andrew Smith: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Skills on 20 July 2001, Official Report, column 776W.

Hospital Repairs

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if expenditure on hospital repairs is classified by his Department as current or capital expenditure. [26138]

Mr. Andrew Smith: Expenditure on hospital repairs is classified as current expenditure in national accounts, and as resource expenditure in departmental budgets.

A major enhancement to a hospital that extended its working life or added new facilities would be classified as capital expenditure. Decisions on the classification of activities on the borderline between repairs and major enhancements would be made by a hospital's accountants and subsequently audited in terms of Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (GAAP) applied by the accountancy profession. The decision of the accountants would follow through into national accounts and departmental budgets.

Government Trading Funds

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the financial performance of Government trading funds in each of the last four years. [26105]

Mr. Andrew Smith: Information on the financial performance of Government trading funds can be found in the annual reports and accounts prepared and published by each trading fund.

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