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Tax Evasion
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what amounts are involved in the prosecutions for tax evasion in the financial year 2001–02; and if he will make a statement. [64249]
Dawn Primarolo: The amount involved in the prosecution cases for tax evasion in the financial year 2001–02 is £12,791,736.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many prosecutions there have been for tax evasion in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [64250]
Dawn Primarolo: In the years since 1997, the numbers of prosecutions have been as follows.
| Total | Including internal cases of: | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 83 | 13 |
| 1998–99 | 57 | 8 |
| 1999–2000 | 55 | 2 |
| 2000–01 | 68 | 24 |
| Plus tax credit cases | 2 | — |
| Total | 70 |
The internal cases detailed include those cases of Inland Revenue employees who were prosecuted. They also include external accomplices.
The 2000–01 figure of 70 prosecutions includes two cases of tax credit fraud.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much funding has been given to investigating tax evasion in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [64251]
Dawn Primarolo: The amounts of funding given to investigating tax evasion are not recorded in this way by the Inland Revenue.
2 Jul 2002 : Column 289W
The annual report of the Inland Revenue records figures for the resources allocated to each of its departmental objectives. A copy of this report is in the House of Commons Library.
- "bringing into the Exchequer the taxes, national insurance contributions and other receipts, maintaining contributory records and disbursing tax reliefs and credits, for which the Revenue are responsible".
Public Service Monitoring
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 21 June 2002, Official Report, column 586W, on public service monitoring, if he will place the value for money scores for each financial year since 1999–2000 for each Government Department in the Library; and if he will make a statement. [65181]
Mr. Boateng: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 21 June 2002, Official Report, column 586W.
Land Decontamination
Ms Shipley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what level of tax relief has been provided for land decontamination in each (a) nation and (b) region of the UK. [65067]
John Healey: Where qualifying conditions are met, waste arising from the reclamation of contaminated land is exempted from landfill tax wherever in the United Kingdom it is landfilled.
Companies can also claim a 150 per cent. payable tax credit for the costs incurred in cleaning up contaminated land sites. No estimates of the take-up of this measure are yet available.
Inheritance Tax
Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans the Government have to extend inheritance tax provisions to all people in the UK. [65596]
Dawn Primarolo: Inheritance tax is payable on the world-wide estate of those who die domiciled in the UK, or are treated as domiciled here by virtue of their length of residence.
New Businesses
Vernon Coaker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received about the requirement for new businesses, including the self- employed, to register with the Inland Revenue within three months of setting up; what steps he has taken to inform businesses of this new requirement; and if he will make a statement. [65704]
2 Jul 2002 : Column 290W
Dawn Primarolo: Newly self-employed people who are liable to pay Class 2 National Insurance contributions are required by law to register with Inland Revenue "immediately" but this term was not further defined. Following public consultation, we have established a set time-limit for registration. At its introduction in January 2001 the modified requirement was advertised through the national, regional and ethnic press and on local radio stations. The requirement is clearly stated in all the Inland Revenue leaflets and guidance on starting up in business. Inland Revenue is evaluating the effectiveness of the new requirement and a report will be issued later this year. In 2001, the first year that the new requirement was in force, the number of self-employed people registering with Inland Revenue increased by 19 per cent. over the number registering in the year 2000.
Treasury Building (Refurbishment)
Michael Fabricant: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans his Department has to restore the parts of the facade of the Treasury main building not recently cleaned. [65560]
Ruth Kelly: Under the terms of the Treasury's PFI deal with Exchequer Partnership plc, it is their responsibility to clean the façade. The remaining parts will be cleaned in the next phase of the project.
National Insurance (Reduced Rate)
Mr. Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what basis the contribution rate of married women paying national insurance contributions at the reduced rate is set. [65292]
Ruth Kelly [holding answer 1 July 2002]: All National Insurance contribution rates, including those for married women who chose to pay reduced rate contributions, are set to provide for contributory benefit expenditure and for an allocation towards national health service funding.
Cancer
Mr. Bruce George: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the mortality rate was for skin cancer in the last year for which figures are available. [66682]
Ruth Kelly: the information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Bruce George, dated 2 July 2002:
- As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question concerning skin cancer mortality rates for the last year for which figures are available. (66682)
- The latest available information is for deaths occurring in 2000. In that year, the death rate in England and Wales for malignant melanoma of the skin (International classification of Diseases Ninth Revision code 172) was 28 per million population for males and 21 per million population for females (directly age-standardised to the European Standard Population). 1
- 1 Source: Office for National Statistics. "Mortality Statistics: Cause. Review of the Registrar General on deaths by cause, sex and age, in England and Wales 2000". Series DH2, Number 27. The Stationery Office (London: 2001).
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HEALTH
Milk
Gillian Merron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to ensure that all primary school children receive subsidised milk. [65033]
Mr. Miliband: I have been asked to reply.
There are no plans to ensure that all primary school children receive subsided milk. Milk provision policies are decided locally by local education authorities, or the governing bodies of former grant maintained schools and former grant maintained special schools.
Air Pollutants
Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 15 May 2002, Official Report, column 678W, on air pollutants, what plans he has to make and assess measurements of concentrations of aldehydes in the air in localised environments; and if he will make a statement. [61527]
Mr. Meacher: I have been asked to reply.
An assessment of ambient formaldehyde concentrations was carried out by the former Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions in January to March 2000 to help inform the deliberations of the Department of Health's Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants. Formaldehyde was assessed as a marker for aldehydes. Monitoring sites were located at Teddington, London Marylebone Road, Southampton, Rochester, an industrial site near Hull and a coal burning site near Rotherham. Short-term concentrations (measured over 4 to 7 days) at all locations were low in comparison with concentrations that have been shown to produce irritation (see Table). Thresholds for sensory irritation in the majority of subjects are reported as 0.6–1.2 milligrams per cubic metre for formaldehyde and the World Health Organisation guideline is 0.1 milligrams per cubic metre. The highest concentrations were observed at the traffic dominated site at London Marylebone Road and the industrial site at Hull. No indoor measurements were taken. My Department does not have plans for further measurements of aldehydes.
| Location and site type | Mean formaldehyde concentration (micrograms per cubic metre(14)) Minimum and maximum concentrations in parentheses |
|---|---|
| Teddington (suburban) | 3.2 (0.25–9.1) |
| London Marylebone Road (kerbside) | 13.4 (2–33.6) |
| Southampton (urban background) | 2.3 (0.1–20.9) |
| Rochester (rural) | 1.2 (0.2–4.0) |
| Hull (industrial) | 4.4 (0.15–45.0) |
| Rotherham (coal burning area) | 0.6 (0.1–2.5) |
(14) One microgram per cubic metre is one thousandth of a milligram per cubic metre.
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