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5 Nov 2002 : Column 220W—continued

Domestic Fuel (VAT)

Alan Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what barriers exist to prevent domestic fuel being zero-rated for VAT; and if he will make a statement. [79497]

John Healey: Under long-standing formal agreements with our European partners, no member state is permitted to introduce new zero rates or restore a zero

rate once it has been withdrawn.

Fuel Smuggling

David Burnside: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the (a) volume and (b) value of petrol and diesel smuggled into Northern Ireland and (c) the loss of revenue to the Exchequer due to such smuggling in the last 12 months. [79191]

John Healey: The Government will be publishing their latest estimates of the revenue loss in the Northern Ireland road fuel sector as part of the pre-Budget report.

The most recently published estimates for the scale of revenue loss in the Northern Ireland road fuel sector, which are for the calendar year 2000 and include both revenue loss from fraud (smuggling, misuse and laundering) and from legitimate cross-border shopping, are contained in XTackling Indirect Tax Fraud" published in November 2001, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.

Inland Revenue

Mr. Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 22 October 2002, Official Report, column 218W, if he will list (a) the series of activities to enable the Inland Revenue to manage its records better and (b) the activities to enable the Inland Revenue to manage its records better which existed before the introduction of CR74; when the CR74 series of activities commenced; and if he will make a statement. [78576]

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue reviews its record management regularly to seek improvements. The latest exercise, internally called CR74, ran for around six months from the start of this financial year. It involved a check of national insurance numbers (NINOs) held on the existing records. Checking NINOs is part of the Inland Revenue's day-to-day work, but this was a systematic updating exercise conducted over a relatively short period of time. The Department has kept the updated records separate. It has also introduced better processes to trace and match the existing and updated records.

5 Nov 2002 : Column 221W

IT Contract

Mr. Caton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the new contractor will be required to provide (a) an employer contributed final salary pension scheme for all employees and (b) a pay and conditions system that guarantees equal pay for equal value, including for sub-contracted staff, when the contract for providing IT services to the Inland Revenue is awarded. [79453]

Dawn Primarolo: The invitation to tender for the procurement will apply Government policy on pensions as set out in XStaff Transfers from Central Government: A Fair Deal for Staff Pensions". An incoming supplier will be required to adhere to this policy and apply it to all staff transferring to them. The incoming supplier will also be obliged to comply with all UK laws and regulations relating to employment and non-discrimination.

Mr. Caton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether employees will be entitled to join a trade union recognised to negotiate on pay, conditions, pensions, career development and related issues when the contract for providing IT services to the Inland Revenue is awarded. [79458]

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue regards human resource and personnel issues as an important element in the evaluation of any bid for the IT contract. The Department will therefore ask bidders to provide information on their intended human resources policies, including their approach to trade union recognition, as part of their response to the invitation to tender. The right to trade union recognition—along with any collective agreements—is one of the transferable rights of any employee affected by a TUPE transfer. Therefore any incoming supplier will be required to provide trade union recognition, where this exists already, for employees working on the Inland Revenue's current IT contracts. The Inland Revenue will oblige the incoming supplier to comply with all UK laws and regulations relating to employment and non-discrimination. The Inland Revenue is actively engaging both PCs and USRO in the procurement process.

Mr. Caton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the new contractor will be subject to periodic independent reviews of performance when the contract for providing IT services to the Inland Revenue is awarded. [79459]

Dawn Primarolo: The draft contract requires the supplier to engage in a rolling programme of benchmarking to be undertaken by an independent agency to monitor performance. In addition, the Department has also specified rights for both National Audit Office and the Department's own internal audit office to be involved in reviews of systems and processes, in their respective roles, over the lifetime of the contract.

Landfill Tax

Dr. Whitehead: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer what the yield of the landfill levy was in the last 12 months; and what proportion of it was contributed by local authority levy payments. [78655]

5 Nov 2002 : Column 222W

John Healey: For the 12 months to end of September 2002, total Landfill Tax receipts were 505m. All revenue receipts are published monthly in Table 2.1 D of the Office for National Statistics publication XFinancial Statistics". The proportion of Landfill Tax receipts attributable to local authority activity is not available, as revenue information on Landfill Tax is obtained via the return declarations made by registered bodies, and Landfill Tax is therefore declared by local authorities under their own registration and by private contractors who collect waste on behalf of local authorities and declare the landfill tax on their own returns.

London Stock Exchange

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he plans to visit the London Stock Exchange. [79108]

Ruth Kelly: There are no immediate plans for the Chancellor to visit the London Stock Exchange. However, Ministers have met senior representatives of the London Stock Exchange in the past six months, and also have regular contact with management from companies listed on the exchange and companies who are members of the exchange.

National Insurance

Mr. Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 22 October 2002, Official Report, column 218W, on national insurance, how many letters have been sent to people that have been using incorrect national insurance numbers in the last (a) month, (b) six months and (c) year. [78575]

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue does not keep detailed records of the contents of a substantial number of letters received and sent every day. Most letters sent by our staff cover a range of issues relating to a customer's financial affairs that may include or relate to the use of the national insurance number (NINO). It would incur disproportionate cost to identify letters sent to people who have been using incorrect NINOs.

Saving

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department is taking to increase the level of saving in the UK economy. [79095]

Ruth Kelly: The Government recognise the importance of saving and asset ownership in providing individuals with security, comfort in retirement and long-term independence and opportunity. The Government is implementing a saving strategy focusing on three central strands:

creating the right environment for saving by maintaining macroeconomic stability and establishing a well regulated and efficient market in financial services;

creating the right incentives for saving by ensuring that the tax and benefit system does not unfairly penalise savers and by assisting those on lower incomes; and

ensuring that people have the information and financial literacy they need to make the right saving choices.

Statements on the progress of specific policies will be provided in the pre-Budget report.

5 Nov 2002 : Column 223W

Stability and Growth Pact

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what discussions he has had with his European counterparts regarding the future of the Stability and Growth Pact; [79136]

(2) what discussions he has had with his colleagues in the European Council of Finance Ministers regarding a review of the terms of the Stability and Growth Pact. [79103]

Ruth Kelly: The Government support a prudent interpretation of the Stability and Growth Pact, which takes into account the economic cycle, sustainability and the important role of public investment. We continue to discuss this with our EU colleagues.

Tax Processing

Matthew Taylor: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place the data on (a) outputs and (b) resources underlying the outcome target for tax processing work as reported in the Inland Revenue Annual Report (Cm5428) in the Library; and if he will make a statement. [78413]

Dawn Primarolo: Productivity on tax processing work in 2001–02 showed an increase of almost 1 per cent. over the previous year. The Inland Revenue's Public Service Agreement for 2001–04 set out targets for improvements in productivity, over three years. The aim is to achieve, by 31 March 2004, an increase of 7.7 per cent. (cumulative) equivalent to 2.5 per cent. year on year. Initiatives are in place to achieve the step changes in productivity necessary to meet this target. The productivity index for tax processing is calculated by comparing a basket of outputs representative of this work with the staff time spent carrying out the tasks. These include Self Assessment and Corporation Tax returns captured, PAYE end of year returns reconciled and closed and repayment claims processed.

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