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Equitable Life

Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what indications he has received from the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration on when he can expect to receive his report into Equitable Life. [96588]

Ruth Kelly: The Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration is an Officer of the House and, as such, is independent of the Government. It is, therefore, entirely a matter for the Commissioner to determine the timetable for producing her report into Equitable Life.

The Commissioner wrote to all Members on 5 December 2002 with an update on the progress of her investigation into Equitable Life. In that letter she said that she did not expect to report before June 2003.

Euro

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 3 February 2003 Official Report, column 29W, on the euro, for what reason he was unable to state who is undertaking the background studies; and if he will make a statement. [97264]

Ruth Kelly: I refer the hon. Member to the comments I made to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) during the Adjournment Debate on 5 March 2002, Official Report, column 268.

Formal Economy

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people the Inland Revenue moved from the informal to the formal economy in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [96546]

Dawn Primarolo: In his report, "The Informal Economy" in March 2000, Lord Grabiner defined the informal economy as usually meaning any undeclared economic activity. There is no comprehensive information about the number of people who as a result

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of the Inland Revenue's efforts, especially in deterring non-compliance, have declared economic activity that might have gone undeclared in the past.

Following Lord Grabiner's report, the Inland Revenue set out in their last two annual reports details of the number of people who had been working in the informal economy and whom they subsequently identified and registered as self assessment taxpayers. Copies of Inland Revenue annual reports are in the House of Commons Library.

Landfill

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what modelling his Department has carried out on the level of landfill tax necessary to meet the legal obligations of the landfill directive (a) to reduce the landfilling of biodegradable waste to 75 per cent. of that of 1995 levels by 2006, (b) to reduce the landfilling of biodegradable waste to 50 per cent. of that of 1995 levels by 2009 and (c) to reduce the landfilling of biodegradable waste to 33 per cent. of that of 1995 levels by 2016. [96401]

John Healey: Extensive modelling has been carried out which shows that a standard landfill tax rate of £35 per tonne is necessary in the medium to long term to achieve significant reductions in waste disposed at landfill, and the corresponding economic and environmental benefits. This is reflected in paragraph 7.51 of the 2002 pre- Budget report. The Government are developing a comprehensive package of policies, in response to those recommended in the recent Cabinet Office Strategy Unit report, to ensure that the targets set by the landfill directive are met. This will include the system of tradable landfill allowances provided for by the Waste and Emissions Trading Bill and the reforms of the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme as well as the proposed increases in the landfill tax.

Non-compliance Action

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much additional revenue has been raised in each of the last 10 years as a consequence of non-compliance action taken by the Inland Revenue, broken down by (a) the large business office, (b) tax offices and (c) other specialist offices; and if he will make a statement. [96547]

Dawn Primarolo: This information is set out each year in the Inland Revenue annual report, copies of which are in the House of Commons Library.

Renewable Energy

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what changes in unit payments for electricity have resulted from the switch by (a) Customs and Excise and (b) the Office for National Statistics to purchasing renewable energy which is exempt from the climate change levy. [96481]

John Healey: The changes in unit payment at designated green sites are as follows:

(a) Customs and Excise—0.086 per cent. on average higher than in 2001.


(b) Office for National Statistics—0.089 per cent. higher than at April 2000.

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These increases in unit prices are more than offset by reductions achieved by qualifying for CCL exemptions.

Stability and Growth Pact

Mr. Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of whether Britain's fiscal stance meets the Stability and Growth Pact. [96427]

Ruth Kelly: As set out in the 2002 Pre-Budget Report and the 2002 UK Convergence Programme—submitted in line with the Stability and Growth Pact, the UK's latest fiscal projections are consistent with a prudent interpretation of the Stability and Growth Pact, which takes into account the economic cycle, sustainability and the important role of public investment.

Stamp Duty

Mr. Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment his Department has made of the likely effect of abolition of stamp duty on (a) share transactions and (b) the UK economy. [96424]

Ruth Kelly: The 2002 Pre-Budget forecast of revenue from duty on transactions in shares, and hence the direct yield cost of abolition, is £2.2 billion in 2003–04. This estimate makes no allowance for the effect on other taxes arising from the wider impact abolition may have on the economy.

We have been presented with various estimates of the impact on the economy, but in practice there is no convincing evidence that stamp duty on shares significantly affects either UK companies or the UK markets. As with all taxes, stamp duty on shares has to be understood in the context of the revenue raised, which would have to be found elsewhere if the tax were abolished.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Commonwealth Development CorporationVehicle Fleet

Rev. Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) at what annual rate the Commonwealth Development Corporation renews its vehicle fleet, broken down by volume and percentage for each category of vehicle, type of power unit, and type of fuel; [96977]

(2) what proportion of vehicles each NHS trust renewed in their vehicle fleets, broken down by volume and percentage for each trust and by category of vehicle, type of power unit, and type of fuel in each of the last five years. [96594]

Clare Short [holding answer 10 February 2003]: CDC Group plc (formerly the Commonwealth Development Corporation) own one saloon-car in the UK, which is renewed every four years. They do not maintain detailed central records of the vehicles operated by their overseas offices and it would incur disproportionate cost to collect this information.

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EU Aid Budget

Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what measures are in place to ensure that the annual aid budget of the European Union is spent properly. [96781]

Clare Short: In November 2000 we secured a commitment by the European Commission that poverty reduction should be the central objective of the EC's programmes in developing countries. We also worked with others to put in place a reform package which is designed to simplify the commission's aid instruments, reduce the number of budget lines and work through country strategies aligned to partner country poverty reduction strategy plans. The commission spent 43 per cent. of its overseas development assistance in 2001 in low income countries. This is a poor allocation of aid in terms of poverty reduction effectiveness. We are working to try to help ensure that aid is spent more effectively, mainly by trying to influence the annual budget setting process, where increasing the proportion of assistance to Asia, and to key international initiatives like the Global Health Fund are priorities.

My Department plays a full part in the scrutiny of strategies at the regional and country levels and responds to the commission's Annual Report on its operations and the opinions of the European Court of Auditors. We maintain a close dialogue with the institutions in Brussels and in-country to strengthen sector and programme priorities and implementation.

Renewable Energy

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what changes in unit payments for electricity have resulted from the switch by her Department to purchasing renewable energy which is exempt from the Climate Change Levy. [96487]

Clare Short: Since July 2002 the supply of DFID's electricity to our London headquarters has been under a new contract which provides that 100 per cent. of the electricity is generated from renewable sources. Because of the market at the time, this contract also resulted in a decrease in the unit cost over the previous arrangement from 4p KWH plus climate change levy 0.43p, total 4.43p KWH to 2.79p KWH plus 0.43p green levy for renewable, total 3.22p KWH, all plus VAT.

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