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16 Jan 2003 : Column 750W—continued
Office of Government Commerce
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many employees work in the Office of Government Commerce, and what the cost is of their employment, including national insurance. [90563]
Mr. Boateng: At 31 December 2002 OGC had 672 employees, of which 243 were in the OGC trading fund, OGCbuying.solutions. The forecast annual OGC payroll cost for 2002–03, including employers national insurance and pension contributions, is #22.5 million, of which #6.4million is for OGCbuying.solutions.
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the administrative estimate for the Office of Government Commerce was in the year ending (a) April 2001, (b) April 2002 and (c) April 2003. [90564]
Mr. Boateng: Net voted administrative costs are as follows:
| Year | # million |
|---|---|
| 2000–01 actual outturn | 16.8 |
| 2001–02 actual outturn | 31.3 |
| 2002–03 estimate provision | 25.3 |
The 2002–03 provision does not include any proposed spring Supplementary Estimate changes.
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Mr. Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many times the Chief Executive Advisory Group of the Office of Government Commerce has met in the last year; what allowances from public funds are made to members of the group; and what the cost was in each year since 2000. [90565]
Mr. Boateng: The Chief Executive Advisory Group to the Office of Government Commerce met four times in 2002. No allowances from public funds are made through OGC to members of the group but some members may claim travel expenses from their own departments. Administrative support is provided by OGC staff.
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many times the Supervisory Board to the Chief Executive of the Office of Government Commerce has met in the last year; what allowances from public funds are made to members of the group; and what the cost was in each year since 2000. [90566]
Mr. Boateng: The OGC Supervisory Board has met three times in the calendar year ending December 2002. No allowances are paid to Members but one external Member, who provides invaluable US public sector procurement experience, is reimbursed travel costs through OGC. The cost each year since 2000 is:
| Year | # |
|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 12,700 |
| 2001–02 | 16,700 |
In addition some Members may claim travel costs through their own Departments.
Rebated Gas Oil
John Barrett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the Government's policy on the use of rebated gas oil. [91158]
John Healey: Rebated gas oil, also known as red diesel, is liable for duty at the rate of 3.13 pence per litre and is used in excepted vehicles and as a heating and industrial fuel.
Same-sex Couples
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what taxation benefits would be available to same-sex couples living together as a couple, and what would the cost of those changes be, if such same-sex couples were treated in the same way as normal couples. [89699]
Dawn Primarolo: There are no specific taxation benefits available for couples as such, although some tax allowances and reliefs are available to married couples. The Government intend to consult in the summer about the details of a civil partnership registration scheme for same-sex couples, including the implications of such a scheme for tax.
Sickness Absence
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many days were lost due to sickness absence in the Department in 2002. [90550]
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Mr. Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many working days were lost due to illness in his Department in (a) 2002 and (b) each of the preceding five years. [90748]
Ruth Kelly: Figures published by the Cabinet Office on sickness absence are available since 1994. The latest publication is XAnalysis of Sickness Absence in the Civil Service 2001" published in December 2002. For the Treasury, the figures for working days absence per staff year were:
| Year | Working days per staff year |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 4.9 |
| 1998 | 5.3 |
| 1999 | 5.5 |
| 2000 | 3.9 |
| 2001 | 4.7 |
Figures for 2002 will be announced in due course.
Spend to Save Initiative
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 25 November 2002, Official Report, column 62W, on the spend to save initiative, if he will place the evaluation in the Library; and if he will make a statement. [86848]
Dawn Primarolo: The results of the initiative were summarised and published in the Board of Inland Revenue's annual reports. They are set out in the reports for the years ending 31 March 1998 (page 21), 31 March 1999 (page 17) and 31 March 2000 (pages 15 and 16). These reports are available in the Library. They show that the initiative was a success, producing more than #1.8 billion in additional revenue, which was more than forecast, and a yield to cost ratio of 10 to 1. The Comptroller and Auditor General in his Audit of Assumptions for the pre-Budget 2000 report concluded that the monitoring and control systems were sound, and that the savings estimate was reported on a prudent basis.
Tax Administration (Internet)
Mr. Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of (a) tax returns filed and (b) vehicle excise duty licences applied for via the internet since these services were first made available. [91022]
Dawn Primarolo: As at 14 January 2003, 342,472 tax returns have been received over the internet since the service was first made available.
The DVLA does not, at present, provide an internet service for vehicle excise duty licensing.
Mr. Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost of setting up and administering the provision of (a) tax return filing and (b) vehicle excise duty licence application via the internet. [91024]
Dawn Primarolo: The cost of providing self-assessment tax returns on the internet is:
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The estimated cost of implementing the internet service for self-assessment for years one to three is about #17 million.
The on-going support costs, including maintenance, help desk support and on-going improvements to the system is between #3 to #4 million per annum.
Future costings for VED licensing via the internet are not currently available.
Taxation
Mr. Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the income tax receipts foregone, since 1999, as a result of the Government's policy of offering a tax relief on employee-loaned computers. [91021]
Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is not available.
Mr. Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the income tax receipts foregone, since 1 April 2000, as a result of the tax credits introduced by Her Majesty's Government to encourage corporate venturing in the Budget of that year. [91026]
Dawn Primarolo: The Government introduced the corporate venturing scheme (CVS) in Finance Act 2000, but this is neither a tax credit nor does it give any relief against income tax. The CVS gives relief against corporation tax and the latest estimates are that the scheme has reduced corporation tax liabilities by #5 million for both 2001–02 and 2002–03.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Antisocial Behaviour Orders
Mr. Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many anti-social behaviour orders have been issued for crimes against retailers since their introduction. [90262]
Mr. Denham: Anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) are community-based civil orders which can be applied for by the police, British Transport police, registered social landlords or local authorities against an individual or several individuals whose behaviour is anti-social.
Details on the offending types of behaviour initiating application for an ASBO are not collected centrally, although we are aware of areas where ASBOs have been used against shoplifters.
Further information on the use of ASBOs can be found in Home Office Research Study 236, 'A review of anti-social behaviour orders', published 2002.
Mr. Pope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders have been taken out in England in each year since their introduction, by local authority area. [90656]
Mr. Denham: Since their introduction, 1 April 1999, up to 31 May 2000 data on the number of Antisocial Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) issued was collected by police force area only. From 1 June 2000 official
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statistics on the number of ASBOs issued are based on quarterly returns from Magistrates Courts Committees (MCCs) and from copies of the orders received since this date, we are able to identify the local authorities.
I have placed a table showing the number of ASBOs issued within England, as notified to the Home Office, from 1 April 1999 to 30 June 2002 (latest available) in the Library.
We are aware that the numbers of ASBOs made nationally have been consistently under reported in returns made by magistrates courts and are considering how reporting can be improved.
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