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10 Mar 2003 : Column 23W—continued
National Insurance
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 28 February 2003, Official Report, column 769W, on national insurance contributions, what assessment his Department has made in recent economic forecasts of the effect that the increase in national insurance in April will have on (a) disposable income, (b) consumer spending as a percentage of GDP, (c) personal borrowing levels and (d) the savings ratio. [101911]
Ruth Kelly: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given him by my right hon. Friend the Paymaster General on 28 February 2003, Official Report, column 769W.
Pensions
Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what response he has made to the European Commission on its inquiry into whether UK pensions tax rules meet EC requirements. [101362]
Ruth Kelly: In common with all other member states, the UK was asked to provide details of existing tax rules for pension schemes, and whether any changes to those rules were contemplated. The response was a factual description of the reliefs and tax treatment currently available. Reference was also made to the pensions simplification review then under way.
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Personal Sector Wealth
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of total personal sector wealth was owned by the wealthiest half of the adult population in each year since 1997. [102112]
Ruth Kelly: The available information which relates to the distribution of UK marketable wealth, including that owned by the wealthiest half of the adult population, is given in Table 13.5 of Inland Revenue Statistics 2003 which is available at www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats/index.htm.
Public Sector Comparators
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish Treasury investment appraisal guidance used to construct Public Sector Comparators; and if he will make a statement. [101759]
Mr. Boateng: Guidance on Public Sector Comparators is set out in Treasury Taskforce Technical Note 5, "How to Construct a Public Sector Comparator".
Work is currently under way to assess how guidance might be updated to reflect recent changes in the 2002 Green Book.
Public Service Agreements
Mrs. Helen Clark: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will assess the contribution Public Service Agreements will make to the Government's sustainable development strategy. [101506]
Mr. Boateng: Public Service Agreements make a significant contribution to the delivery of the Government's sustainable development strategy. The Spending Review 2002 required each Department with its own Public Service Agreement to produce a Sustainable Development Report, explaining the sustainable development implications of its policy priorities. Further information on the specific contribution Public Service Agreements make can be found in the 2002 Spending Review White Paper and in the Government 2002 Annual Report on sustainable development, "Achieving a Better Quality of Life".
Revenue Qualifying Regimes
Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 3 February 2003, Official Report, column 33W, on revenue qualifying regimes, whether changes to the qualifying regime will be subject to an assessment of the likely impact to those on low incomes. [101810]
Ruth Kelly: I confirm that in considering changes to the qualifying policy regime the Government will assess the likely impact of those changes on those on low incomes.
Secondments
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 24 February 2003, Official Report, column 220W, on secondments, from
10 Mar 2003 : Column 25W
which private accounting firms the three people are seconded; how long the secondment is of each; and what their responsibilities are. [102046]
Ruth Kelly: The information is as follows:
Deloitte Touche—24.9.01–23.09.03
Duties: General Business Taxation (including corporation tax, capital gains for companies, tax issues for multinational businesses, taxation of insurance, offshore funds and other collective investment schemes, rural tax issues and film tax relief).
Arthur Andersen—2.1.02–30.6.03
Duties: Team Leader responsible for Public Enterprise Partnerships
Duties: Accountancy advice. Post-Enron work and Corporate Governance issues.
Suicides (Wales)
Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many suicides of those aged 15 to 24 there were in Wales in each of the last 20 years. [101244]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Mr. Colin Mowl to Mr. Chris Ruane, dated 10 March 2003:
- The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question concerning how many suicides have been recorded in each of the last 20 years for those aged 15 to 24 in Wales. I am replying in his absence. (101244)
- The most recent available mortality data are for the calendar year 2001. Figures for each year from 1982 to 2001 are given in the attached table.
| Calendar year | Number of deaths |
|---|---|
| 1982 | 31 |
| 1983 | 36 |
| 1984 | 28 |
| 1985 | 26 |
| 1986 | 31 |
| 1987 | 40 |
| 1988 | 35 |
| 1989 | 31 |
| 1990 | 33 |
| 1991 | 42 |
| 1992 | 42 |
| 1993 | 40 |
| 1994 | 44 |
| 1995 | 46 |
| 1996 | 40 |
| 1997 | 53 |
| 1998 | 47 |
| 1999 | 50 |
| 2000 | 35 |
| 2001 | 41 |
(4) The cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (1CD-9) codes E950-E959 and E980-E989 excluding E988.8for the years 1982 to 2000, and, for the year 2001, the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (1CD-10) codes X60-X84 and Y10-Y34 excluding Y33.9 where the Coroner's verdict was pending,
(5) Figures relate to deaths of people resident in Wales, rather than deaths occurring in Wales
(6) Figures are for deaths registered in the years 1982 to 1992, and for deaths occurring in each calendar year from 1993 to 2001.
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Tax Credit
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Northavon (Mr. Webb) of 10 February 2003, Official Report, column 604W, how much each mailshot to potential new tax credit claimants has cost. [100764]
Dawn Primarolo: The answer I gave to the hon. Member for Northavon (Mr. Webb) referred to a reminder mailing in November and a further mailing in February. The approximate costs for these mailings are as follows:
| Date | Print and production | Postage |
|---|---|---|
| November | 299,000 | 588,000 |
| February | 70,000 | 364,000 |
Mr. Tony Clarke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families in (a) the United Kingdom and (b) Northampton, South will be entitled to the new Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit; and of these, how many (i) have applied for them and (ii) have returned their claim form. [100788]
Dawn Primarolo: Six million families in the United Kingdom are expected to benefit from the new tax credits in 2003–04, including 1.3 million families with children who receive Income Support or Jobseeker's Allowance and who will receive the additional support through those benefits until they move into the Child Tax Credit itself in 2004. By the end of February we had already received over three million claims. Numbers for Northampton South are not available.
Tax Evasion
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the rate of prosecution for tax evasion. [102012]
Dawn Primarolo: The Revenue tackle fraud, error and avoidance using civil investigation and settlement, and applying financial penalties where appropriate. The Revenue also operates a selective prosecution policy intended to bolster the overall enforcement strategy. The focus is on cases where prosecution will do the most to promote compliance by deterring tax, contribution and tax credit fraud.
Statistics on prosecutions and convictions by the Inland Revenue are published each year in their Annual Reports, copies of which are available in the House Library.
Tax Revenues
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 24 February 2003, Official Report, column 222W, on tax revenue forecasts, what estimate he has made of the effect on public sector
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net borrowing (a) this year and (b) next year if GDP growth were 1 per cent. lower than assumed over the coming year. [102047]
Ruth Kelly: I refer the hon. Member to paragraph B17 of the 2002 Pre-Budget Report (Cm 5664), where the estimates are set out.
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what assessment he has made of the effect of lower than forecast manufacturing growth on total tax revenues; [102118]
- (2) if he will make a statement on the strength of the growth of tax revenues. [102107]
Mr. Boateng: Consistent with the Code for Fiscal Stability, projections for the public finances, including tax revenues, will be set out in the Budget to be presented to the House on 9 April 2003.
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