---

Stamp Duty

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the impact of stamp duty rate increases on the housing market. [32928]

Ruth Kelly: We regularly review the state of the housing market, bearing in mind all the factors which have an impact on it.

Enron

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy that the report

4 Feb 2002 : Column 698W

prepared by Arthur Andersen accountants on the private finance initiative will not be considered by the Government until the completion of the US Senate Committee investigation into Enron. [33417]

Mr. Andrew Smith: This report was published by the Government in January 2000.

Ministerial Travel

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the cost of (a) ministerial cars and drivers and (b) taxis for his Department in each of the last four years. [27900]

Ruth Kelly: The expenditure on (a) ministerial cars and drivers was addressed in the answer given by the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office on 30 January 2002, Official Report, columns 405–06W.

Expenditure on taxis for the Treasury for the years 1998–99 to 2001–02 (inclusive) is as follows.

Taxis

	£
1998–99 outturn	148,657
1999–2000 outturn	123,015
2000–01 outturn	143,048
2001–02 year to date	89,800

Railtrack

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer under which section of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information he withholds information on consultations on draft legislation prepared by the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions to put Railtrack into administration. [29294]

Mr. Andrew Smith: A railway administration order was made in respect of Railtrack plc under the provisions of the Railways Act 1993. No extra legislation was necessary to put the company into administration.

There is no obligation to disclose confidential communications between Departments, in accordance with Exemption 2 (internal discussion and advice) of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Private Finance Initiative

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total external spend by his Department was on Private Finance Initiative consultants in each of the last four years; how many full-time equivalent consultants were employed over this period; how many billed consultancy days there were per year; what the implied average cost of each PFI consultant was; how many consultancy firms were used by his Department over this period; and if he will make a statement. [31047]

Mr. Andrew Smith: There are currently two Treasury PFI projects: the Treasury Building project and the Metropolitan Telephone Service (MTS) project, which is the responsibility of the Office of Government Commerce.

4 Feb 2002 : Column 699W

Fees paid to eight firms of professional advisers to the Treasury on the refurbishment between the start of the project in 1995 and financial close of the deal in May 2000 amounted to £2.637 million. Details on numbers of consultants employed and the number of days billed for each one could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

There has been no expenditure under the MTS project on PFI consultants in the last four years.

It is important that Departments develop their own internal sources of professional advice to reduce reliance on expensive external consultants. Where external advice is required Departments should take account of the guidance in Treasury Taskforce Technical Note No. 3 on How to Appoint and Manage Advisers, a copy of which is available on the Office of Government Commerce website www.ogc.gsi.gov.uk.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 6 December 2002, Official Report, column 522W, on private finance initiative projects, when the revised guidance from the Office of Government Commerce on the standardisation of PFI contracts will be published. [32067]

Mr. Andrew Smith: The private sector has been asked to comment on the draft revised general guidance on Standardisation of PFI Contracts, which has been placed on the websites of the Office of Government Commerce and Partnerships UK. Responses have been requested by 15 February. These will be considered by the Office of Government Commerce drawing on the advice of Partnerships UK, and there will then be a period of consultation with interested parties in the public and private sectors. Publication of the revised guidance is expected in the spring.

Departmental Leave Entitlements

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the average annual leave entitlement of staff in his Department in each of the last four years. [31750]

Ruth Kelly: The annual leave entitlements for staff below the senior civil service for the last four years is shown in the table.

	On entry	After 10 years service	After 20 years service
Range A-E
1998	—	—	—
1999	—	—	—
2000	25	30	—
2001	(13)25	—	—
Range A-C
1998	25	27	30
1999	25	28	30
2000	—	—	—
2001	—	—	—
Range D-E
1998	25	30	—
1999	25	30	—
2000	—	—	—
2001	—	—	—

⁽¹³⁾ 30 days after seven years service.

4 Feb 2002 : Column 700W

The annual leave entitlement for members of the senior civil service is currently set by the Cabinet Office at 30 days and has been so for the last four years.

Amateur Sports Clubs

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 11 December 2001, Official Report, column 773W, on community amateur sports clubs, how many such clubs (a) in the UK and (b) in the Buckingham constituency have applied for charitable status since the Charity Commission's announcement. [32069]

Mr. Boateng: The Charity Commission announced on 30 November that it would recognise as charitable the

promotion of community participation in healthy recreation by the provision of facilities for the playing of particular sports. Community amateur sports clubs are able to apply immediately. The commission has received a significant number of inquiries from sports clubs interested in taking advantage of the new charitable purpose. As clubs will have to consider the implications of charitable status, seek agreement from their members if they wish to pursue this option and make any necessary changes to their constitutions before applying for charitable status, there will inevitably be some delay before clubs are in a position to formally apply for registration. No clubs in the Buckingham constituency have yet formally applied to register.

Gibraltar

Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the balance of trade between Gibraltar and the UK in the last five years. [31860]

Ruth Kelly: HM Customs and Excise collect statistics for trade in goods with countries outside the EU from customs declarations.

Customs do not estimate UK trade with Gibraltar. The published figures are taken from customs declarations and reflect actual trade in goods.

The figures shown are the import and export totals for 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000, and the latest available for 2001 (ie to November 2001).

	£ million	Quantity: kg
1997
Exports	82,351,296	161,733,566
Imports	5,679,884	297,301
1998
Exports	81,070,327	168,491,470
Imports	10,075,382	1,566,507
1999
Exports	97,681,145	215,911,465
Imports	12,790,871	6,398,953
2000
Exports	121,598,796	199,572,334
Imports	11,547,065	4,977,261
2001(14)
Exports	116,063,008	107,221,109
Imports	13,734,599	2,490,850

⁽¹⁴⁾ January-November

4 Feb 2002 : Column 701W

Productivity

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 11 December 2001, Official Report, column 765W, on productivity, what steps he is taking to raise productivity growth to the level of the (a) G7 and the (b) OECD average. [32068]

Ruth Kelly: The Government's strategy for improving the UK's long-term productivity performance was set out in "Productivity in the UK: The Evidence and the Government's Approach" (November 2000). Further steps to raise productivity growth were announced in Budget 2001, "Productivity in the UK: Enterprise and the Productivity Challenge" (June 2001) and the 2001 pre-Budget report.

---