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Afghanistan

Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been allocated from the contingency fund to finance the military action in Afghanistan. [35767]

Mr. Andrew Smith: The Contingencies Fund is not part of the Government's budgetary arrangements. It allows for cash advances to departments for expenditure on urgent services in anticipation of parliamentary approval.

MOD are seeking an advance pending Spring Supplementary Estimates approval for ÿ1.6 billion, to be repaid once the Estimate is approved. This relates to a range of additional resources for MOD, including Afghanistan.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answers given by the Minister of State for the Armed Forces on 26 February 2002, Official Report, column 1133–34W, which set out the level of MOD spending on Afghanistan.

Arthur Andersen

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reason he selected Arthur Andersen to take the lead role in his value for money report on PFI; and how many PFI contracts have been given to (a) Arthur Andersen and (b) Accenture since that report was completed. [33283]

Mr. Andrew Smith: Through a competition under established procurement procedures, a report on Value for Money Drivers in the Private Finance Initiative was commissioned in 1999 by the Treasury Taskforce. Three firms bid for the work including Arthur Andersen, which was selected because it offered best value for money.

28 Feb 2002 : Column 1437W

The report was delivered to the Taskforce and made available publicly in January 2000. Information on contracts for advisory services to departments on PFI projects is not recorded centrally.

Contracts

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many contracts were let by his Department and agencies for which he is responsible to (a) PWC Consulting or PricewaterhouseCoopers,

28 Feb 2002 : Column 1438W

(b) Ernst & Young, (c) Deloitte & Touche, (d) KPMG and (e) Andersen for consultancy services for the financial years (i) 1997–98, (ii) 1998–99, (iii) 1999–2000, (iv) 2000–01 and (v) 2001 to the latest date for which figures are available, indicating the remuneration in each case. [33840]

Ruth Kelly: The following information and tables provide the information required in the form in which the Chancellor's Departments and agencies have been able to compile it, without having to incur disproportionate costs.

HM Treasury including DMO

Spend ÿ	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02
Andersen	nil	nil	nil	ÿ49,350	ÿ15,275
Deloitte & Touche	nil	ÿ411	nil	nil	ÿ91,473
Ernst & Young	ÿ9,928	ÿ156,144	ÿ122,800	nil	nil
KPMG	ÿ52,876	ÿ5,875	ÿ268,775	ÿ41,125	nil
PricewaterhouseCoopers	ÿ46,903	ÿ87,773	ÿ356,513	ÿ462,251	ÿ19,892

Office of Government Commerce including OGC Buying Solutions

Spend ÿ	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02
Andersen Consulting	nil	nil	nil	nil	nil
Deloitte & Touche	nil	nil	nil	nil	nil
Ernst & Young	nil	nil	nil	nil	nil
KPMG	ÿ138,000	ÿ117,000	ÿ110,000	261,000	ÿ85,000
PricewaterhouseCoopers	nil	nil	nil	nil	nil

HM Customs & Excise

Spend ÿ	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02
Accenture plc				ÿ57,479	ÿ6,181,215
Andersen Consulting				ÿ245,340
Deloitte & Touche	ÿ161,301	ÿ248,503	ÿ231,791	ÿ876,061	ÿ38,748
Ernst & Young	ÿ357,450	ÿ397,528	ÿ108,256	ÿ253,153	ÿ215,748
KPMG	ÿ37,167	ÿ282,528	ÿ255,856	ÿ214,190	ÿ1,237,316
PricewaterhouseCoopers		ÿ153,204	ÿ207,495	ÿ243,254	ÿ111,356

Inland Revenue

Spend ÿ	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02
Andersen	Information for these years can only be provided at
disproportionate cost.
				nil	nil
Deloitte & Touche				nil	ÿ2,115
Ernst & Young/Cap Gemini				ÿ1,937,237	ÿ1,673,971
KPMG				ÿ92,500	nil
PricewaterhouseCoopers				ÿ141,101	ÿ190,372

The Valuation Office—Executive Agency of the Inland Revenue

No contracts have been let by this agency during the period in question

The Royal Mint including Audit Work

Spend ÿ	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02
Andersen	nil	nil	nil	nil	nil
Deloitte & Touche	nil	nil	nil	nil	nil
Ernst & Young	nil	nil	nil	nil	nil
KPMG	nil	nil	nil	nil	nil
PricewaterhouseCoopers	ÿ99,000	ÿ58,000	ÿ57,000	ÿ137,000	ÿ51,000

28 Feb 2002 : Column 1439W

Office of National Statistics

Spend ÿ	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02
Andersen Consulting	nil	nil	nil	nil	nil
Deloitte & Touche	ÿ14,687	nil	nil	ÿ699	ÿ15
Ernst & Young	nil	nil	nil	ÿ50	nil
KPMG	ÿ44,325	ÿ472,769	ÿ44,325	ÿ251,876	ÿ191,296
PricewaterhouseCoopers	nil	ÿ581	nil	ÿ2,198	nil

National Savings

Spend ÿ	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02
Andersen Consulting	nil	ÿ14,000	nil	nil	nil
Deloitte & Touche	nil	ÿ56,000	ÿ799,000	ÿ570,000	ÿ420,000
Ernst & Young	nil	nil	nil	nil	nil
KPMG	ÿ518,000	ÿ999,000	nil	nil	nil
PricewaterhouseCoopers	ÿ15,000	ÿ310,000	ÿ32,000	ÿ43,000	nil

Government Actuaries Department

Have not dealt with any of the companies in question for the years mentioned.

Royal Mint Shareholder Panel

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the process by which members of the Royal Mint shareholder panel were chosen; and if he will place the terms of reference for the posts in the Library. [38258]

Ruth Kelly: In addition to civil servants, the shareholder panel's three private sector members were appointed using the principles set out in the Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies issued by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. This involved seeking nominations from approximately 130 private and public sector bodies, selection by a panel including an independent assessor and public announcement of the appointments.

The terms of reference for the posts have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

War Debts

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what outstanding liabilities there are to the United Kingdom of lend-lease loan facilities arranged during the Second World War; [38441]

(2) what total payments have been made to meet World War II debts owed to the United Kingdom by other countries; what debts remain unpaid; and what the schedule is of future payments to the UK; [38425]

(3) what the level is of First World War debt owed by the United Kingdom to the United States of America; in what year repayments were last made to the USA; and what plans he has to (a) pay off the debt and (b) cancel liability to this debt; [38427]

(4) what outstanding schedule of payments the United Kingdom Government will make to the USA in respect of World War II debt; and what the date is of the final payment; [38424]

28 Feb 2002 : Column 1440W

(5) what loans and other financial liabilities incurred by the United Kingdom with the United States of America for World War II (a) have been paid and (b) are outstanding; [38426]

(6) what recent representations the United Kingdom Government have made to the USA for the cancellation of (a) World War I and (b) World War II debts and lend-lease loans. [38440]

Ruth Kelly: The information is as follows.

First World War debt

At the end of the First World War the United Kingdom debt to the United States amounted to around ÿ850 million. Repayments of the debt were made between 1923 and 1931. In 1931, President Hoover of the United States proposed a one-year moratorium on all War debts, which allowed extensive international discussions on the general problems of debt repayment to be held. However, no satisfactory agreement was reached. In the absence of such an agreement no payments have been made to, or received from, other nations since 1934.

At the time of the moratorium the United Kingdom was owed more by other nations (ÿ2,269 billion) than the outstanding principal it owed the United States ($4,368 billion—at 1934 exchange rates this was around ÿ866 million).

Second World War debt

Under a 1945 Agreement the United States Government lent the United Kingdom a total of $4,336 million (around ÿ1,075 million at 1945 exchange rates) in war loans. These loans were taken out under two facilities: (i) a Line of Credit of $3,750 million (around ÿ930 million at 1945 exchange rates); and (ii) a Lend-Lease loan facility of $586 million (around ÿ145 million at 1945 exchange rates), which represented the settlement with the United States for Lend-Lease and Reciprocal Aid and for the final settlement of the financial claims of each government against the other arising out of the conduct of the Second World War.

28 Feb 2002 : Column 1441W

Under the Agreement the loans would be repaid in 50 annual instalments commencing in 1950. However the Agreement allowed deferral of annual payments of both principal and interest if necessary because of prevailing international exchange rate conditions and the level of the United Kingdom's foreign currency and gold reserves. The United Kingdom has deferred payments on six occasions. Repayment of the war loans to the United States Government should therefore be completed on 31 December 2006, subject to the United Kingdom not choosing to exercise its option to defer payment.

As at 31 March 2001 principal of $346,287,953 (ÿ243,573,154 at the exchange rate on that day) was outstanding on the loans provided by the United States Government in 1945. The Government intend to meet its obligations under the 1945 Agreement by repaying the United States Government in full the amounts lend in 1945.

All World War II debts owed to the United Kingdom by other countries have either been repaid or settlements have been agreed with the countries concerned. Details are provided in the Finance Accounts of the United Kingdom and their successor the Supplementary Statements to the Consolidated Fund and National Loans Fund Accounts for the financial years 1945–46 to 1987–88 and the following Command Papers:

China CM 198;

Czechoslovakia Cmd 7798 and Cmnds 55, 56 and 2280;

France Cmnd 6988;

Netherlands Cmd 7358;

Poland Cmd 6864 and 7148 and Cmnd 1057;

Turkey Cmds 6165 and 9120; and

USSR Cmd 7297.

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