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NETA
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures she has taken to help intermittent suppliers adversely affected by NETA. [25894]
Mr. Wilson [holding answer 15 January 2002]: On 1 November 2001 I published a consultation document in response to Ofgem's reports on NETA and its impact on smaller generators, including intermittent generators. Consultation closed on 1 December and follow-up work to analyse responses and take appropriate action is now under way. On 20 December I announced the formation of a working group to look at obstacles to consolidation
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under NETA, and to report to DTI by 31 January 2002. Many of the issues raised and considered in the consultation document, and by the working group, apply to the demand side, including intermittent suppliers. The Government will be publishing a response to their consultation shortly.
Nuclear Waste Storage
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment has been made of the ability of the UK's intermediate and high level nuclear waste storage facilities to withstand terrorist attack. [25891]
Mr. Wilson [holding answer 15 January 2002]: The UK's civil nuclear sites apply stringent security measures regulated by the Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS), the security regulator. The security regulator works closely with the Health and Safety Executive, the safety regulator, which provides advice on the safety implications of events, including external hazards such as plane crashes, at nuclear installations. Security and safety precautions at nuclear sites are kept under regular review. Both regulators are reviewing all relevant precautions in the light of the terrorist attacks in the USA on 11 September 2001. It is not Government policy to disclose details of security measures taken at civil nuclear sites.
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the (a) annual cost of maintaining the nuclear waste storage facilities at Sellafield and Dounreay and (b) the forecast for the annual running and maintenance costs over the next 50 years. [25896]
Mr. Wilson [holding answer 15 January 2002]: I am advised by UKAEA and BNFL that the current total annual cost of maintaining radioactive waste storage facilities at Dounreay is £12 million, and at Sellafield is £50 million, while the forecast total running and maintenance cost of radioactive waste storage facilities over the next 50 years at Dounreay is £450 million and at Sellafield is £1,100 million.
All figures are at 2001–02 money values and include overheads.
Energy Charter Conference
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry who represented her Department at the Energy Charter Conference session on 17 December 2001. [27889]
Mr. Wilson: Officials of the Department of Trade and Industry represented the United Kingdom at this meeting.
BAE
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with BAE concerning the future of the plant at Broughton. [28658]
Mr. Wilson: Airbus UK owns the plant at Broughton and another site at Filton, where all the wings for Airbus aircraft are developed and manufactured. The Department remains in close touch with the company and with BAE Systems, which is a 20 per cent. shareholder in the Airbus company. UK work on Airbus programmes, including at Broughton, was covered in recent discussions between
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BAE Systems and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and also in discussions which I had recently with Airbus UK and Airbus in Toulouse.
TREASURY
Public Expenditure
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of each public expenditure programme was cash-limited in each of the years from 1992–93 to 2001–02. [26273]
Mr. Andrew Smith: Information on the cash limits and total spending for each Department is available in the following documents.
| Year | Spending plans | Final cash limits and DELs | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992–93 | Cm 1920 | Tables 3.3 and B1 | Cm 2273 | Tables 1 and 2 |
| 1993–94 | Cm 2219 | Tables 3.3 and B1 | Cm 2617 | Tables 1 and 2 |
| 1994–95 | Cm 2519 | Tables 2.1 and 2.2 | Cm 2903 | Tables 2 and 3 |
| 1995–96 | Cm 2821 | Tables 2.1 and 2.2 | Cm 3318 | Tables 2 and 3 |
| 1996–97 | Cm 3201 | Tables 2.1 and 2.2 | Cm 3696 | Tables 2 and 3 |
| 1997–98 | Cm 3601 | Tables 1.1 and 1.2 | Cm 3988 | Tables 2 and 3 |
| 1998–99 | Cm 3901 | Tables 1.1 and 1.2 | Cm 4416 | Tables 2 and 3 |
| 1999–2000 | Cm 4201 | Tables 1.2 and 1.3 | Cm 4812 | Table 1 |
| 2000–01 | Cm 4601 | Tables 1.2 and 1.3 | Cm 5243 | Table 1 |
| 2001–02 | Cm 5101 | Tables 1.1 and 1.2 | HC 391 | Table 1.4(10) |
(10) Latest position
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of the gross domestic product he expects public expenditure to constitute in 2006–07. [27447]
Mr. Andrew Smith: Firm spending plans for 2006–07 will be set out in a future Spending Review. Paragraph B20 of the pre-Budget report (Cm 5318) explains the assumptions made in the Government's current fiscal projections.
Direct and Indirect Taxation
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the percentage change in upper tax income per income decile as a consequence of announced changes to direct and indirect taxation over the period 2002–03 to 2004–05. [26330]
Mr. Andrew Smith: There will be a reduction in income tax for a relatively small number of higher rate taxpayers with the increase in the children's tax credit to up to £20 a week for families in the year of a child's birth from April 2002. Apart from this, announced tax changes over the period 2002–02 to 2004–05 will have no impact on higher rate taxpayers.
Single Person's Allowance
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer by how much in real terms the average annual tax payments of a person with no allowance and reliefs other than the single person's allowance earning (a) £10,000, (b) £20,000, (c) £30,000, (d) £50,000 and (e) £100,000 has changed since 1997–98. [26214]
Dawn Primarolo: The reduction in tax at 1997–98 prices for a taxpayer claiming only the personal allowance and earning the specified levels in 1997–98 and 2000–01 are shown in the table.
| Earnings | Tax reduction at 1997–98 prices(11) |
|---|---|
| £10,000 | 271 |
| £20,000 | 531 |
| £30,000 | 792 |
| £50,000 | 1,816 |
| £100,000 | 3,276 |
(11) Deflated using RPI
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Customs and Excise Forecasts
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy (a) to record the reasons for manual adjustments made by HM Customs and Excise to their modelled forecasts for alcohol receipts and (b) to make public those reasons. [26411]
Mr. Boateng: Under Exemption 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, it would be inappropriate to publish internal discussion and advice leading to the published alcohol revenue forecasts.
Pre-Budget Report
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost was of the publication and distribution of the 2001 pre-Budget report. [27438]
Mr. Andrew Smith: The net cost of printing and distributing the 2001 PBR was £56,000.
Aggregates Levy
Mr. Weir: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which other countries in the European Union have introduced an aggregates levy; what discussions he has had with the finance Ministers of the European Union regarding a common aggregate levy; what the level of aggregates levy proposed in each of the countries of the European Union is; whether aggregates imported into the UK from other countries (a) in and (b) outside the European Union will be subject to the aggregate levy; what tonnage of aggregates has been imported into the United Kingdom from (i) the European Union and (ii) countries outside the European Union in each of the last five years; and whether added value aggregates products from outside the United Kingdom will be subject to the aggregate levy. [26775]
Mr. Boateng [holding answer 14 January 2002]: The aggregates levy is designed to address the environmental effects of aggregate extraction in the UK and the rate was set to reflect these costs following independent research. Aggregate taxes in other EU member states are a matter for the individual states themselves. The known current position in the member states can be summarised as follows:
- Denmark—0,67 euro/m 3
France—0.1 euro/tonne
Spain—no national tax but potential for regional taxation
Italy—regional taxation, typically 2 to 5 per cent. of value
Sweden—0.6 euro/tonne on sand and gravel only
Austria—regional tax of approximately 0.15 euro/tonne
Greece—2 per cent. of value
Netherlands—in the process of introducing a tax.
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| Tonnes | |
|---|---|
| 1994 | 2,166,211 |
| 1995 | 1,942,602 |
| 1996 | 642,581 |
| 1997 | 502,381 |
| 1998 | 822,087 |
Imported products made from aggregates are not themselves aggregates and so will not be subject to the levy.
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