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22 Jan 2003 : Column 405W—continued

Housing (Rural Areas)

Andrew George: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what proportion of housing stock was (a) owner occupied, (b) public sector rented and (c) private sector rented in (i) England and (ii) local authorities defined as rural, by region, in each year since 1978. [90836]

Mr. McNulty: The proportions of the housing stock owner occupied, public sector rented and private sector rented in England are tabled. Information on the proportions for rural authorities by region is also provided, but is available only for 2001.

Proportion of dwellings by tenure: EnglandPercentage

	Owner occupied	Public rented	Private rented
1978	56	31	13
1979	57	31	12
1980	59	29	12
1981	60	29	11
1982	60	29	11
1983	61	28	11
1984	62	27	11
1985	63	27	11
1986	64	26	10
1987	65	25	10
1988	66	25	10
1989	67	24	9
1990	67	23	10
1991	67	23	10
1992	67	23	10
1993	67	22	10
1994	67	22	11
1995	67	22	11
1996	68	22	11
1997	68	21	11
1998	68	21	11
1998	69	21	10
1999	69	20	10
2000	70	20	10
2001	70	19	10

Note:

Public rented is Registered Social Landlord plus local authority.

Percentages may not add exactly to 100 due to rounding.

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Proportion of dwellings by tenure in 'rural' local authorities by Government Office Region: 2001Percentage

	Owner occupied	Public rented	Private rented
North East	60	33	7
North West	75	14	11
Yorkshire and the Humber	78	14	8
East Midlands	76	16	9
West Midlands	72	17	11
East	76	14	10
London	—	—	—
South East	78	12	10
South West	73	15	11
England	75	15	10

Note:

Public rented is Registered Social Landlord plus local authority.

Percentages may not add exactly to 100 due to rounding.

Housing Co-operatives

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what discussions he has held with the Housing Corporation concerning the funding of new developments through housing co-operatives; and if he will make a statement. [92342]

Mr. McNulty: There have been no discussions specifically about funding new developments through housing co-operatives.

The Housing Corporation publishes an annual National Investment Strategy which sets out its investment objectives and policies. This is supported by investment strategies produced in each region which contain regional priorities derived from the regional housing statements prepared by the Government office for the region and the corporation with various regional and local bodies. Funding in each region is allocated according to these priorities and registered social landlords, including housing co-operatives, can bid for this funding.

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Housing Corporation

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what discussions he has held with the Housing Corporation on the provision of adequate funding for the rehabilitation of street properties. [92343]

Mr. McNulty: There have been no discussions specifically about funding the rehabilitation of street properties.

The Housing Corporation's national investment strategy aims to focus more of its programme on increasing the supply of homes, particularly in areas of high demand. However, the corporation will continue to fund refurbishment of existing properties where this meets strategic priorities.

Local Government Finance

Harry Cohen: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which London local authorities will not have a real terms grant increase this year based on inflation, wage commitments and net nursing care and health transfers applicable to those local authorities; how much the shortfall is in each case in (a) percentage and (b) cash terms; and what percentage that represents of each of those local authorities' average Band D council tax. [91873]

Mr. Leslie: All London authorities received a like-for-like increase in grant of at least 3.5 per cent. in the provisional settlement, considerably above the latest increase in the retail price indices. This increase fully reflects-at national level-the transfers of function and new burdens, including those for social services.

Mr. Laws: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to review the revenue supply grant settlement for South Somerset District Council for 2003–04; and if he will make a statement. [92296]

Mr. Raynsford: The consultation on the 2003–04 provisional local government finance settlement closed on 14 January. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is currently considering the representations that were made during the consultation period, including those on behalf of South Somerset District Council. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will announce the settlement to Parliament at the beginning of February.

TREASURY

Departmental Spending Plans

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the budget was of (a) Customs and Excise, (b) the Inland Revenue and (c) the Government Actuary's Department will be in 2004–05 and 2005–06; and if he will make a statement. [91775]

Ruth Kelly: The spending plans for all Departments for the years 2004–05 and 2005–06 were published in July 2002 in the 2002 Spending Review White Paper: "Opportunity and Security for All". The Chancellor's Departments including Customs and Excise, Inland Revenue and the Government Actuary's Department

22 Jan 2003 : Column 408W

were covered in chapter 20. http://www.hm-treasury. gov.uk/Spending_Review/spend_sr02/report/spend_ sr02_repchap20.cfm

Building Restoration (VAT)

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to alter VAT rates on the restoration of buildings. [91990]

John Healey: The Government's long-term objective is to secure a reduced rate of VAT for the repair and maintenance of listed buildings that are used as places of worship, which are currently not permitted under long-standing formal European agreements with our European partners. In Budget 2001, the Chancellor announced that the European Commission has indicated that it will review its reduced rates for VAT in 2003. In the meantime, the Government have introduced a grant scheme to run in the interim period, until the review has been completed.

Child Tax Credit

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families received the children's tax credit in 2001–02, broken down into those that received (a) under £100, (b) £101 to £200, (c) £201 to £300, (d) £301 to £400, (e) £401 to £500 and (f) over £500; and in what form it was collected in each case. [91971]

Dawn Primarolo: I regret that the breakdown requested is not available. For the number receiving the Children's Tax Credit (ChTC) for 2001–02 via PAYE code adjustments, and for the number of these for which the adjustment was reduced because the claimant was a higher rate, I refer the hon. Member to my answer to him on 17 April 2002, Official Report, column 971W.

Estimates of the values of the 2001–02 ChTC to all taxpayers, including those claiming via self assessment, will become available from the Survey of Personal Incomes towards the end of this year.

Construction Industry

Mr. Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the value is of tax lost in the last year to the Inland Revenue in connection with the Construction Industry Scheme. [91950]

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is not available.

Mr. Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimates have been made of the cost to date of developing software to manage the Construction Industry Scheme. [91951]

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue will not begin software development until a decision has been taken on the future of the Construction Industry Scheme, following analysis of the responses to the consultation document.

Mr. Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimates have been made of the total costs for developing software for the future administration of the Construction Industry Scheme. [91952]

22 Jan 2003 : Column 409W

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue published a Consultation Document with the PBR entitled "The Inland Revenue and The Construction Industry: Working Together for a New Scheme". This document contains a series of proposals for the future of taxation in the Construction Industry. The overall estimated cost to the Inland Revenue of putting these proposals in place—including IT, capital costs and staff training—is £40 million. At this stage in the development it is not possible to provide any reliable estimates for specific elements.

Mr. Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Construction Industry Scheme vouchers the Inland Revenue processed in the last financial year. [91954]

Dawn Primarolo: The total number of CIS vouchers processed during the period 5 April 2001 to 31 March 2002 was £8,821,609.

Mr. Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress is being made by the Inland Revenue to develop software to manage the Construction Industry Scheme. [91955]

Dawn Primarolo: The consultation period for the consultation document "The Inland Revenue and the Construction Industry: Working Together for a New Scheme" ends on 28 February 2003. No decision on the future of the Construction Industry Scheme will be

22 Jan 2003 : Column 410W

taken until the responses to the document have been analysed. In the meantime, software development will not begin.

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