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11 Mar 2003 : Column 126W—continued

Lorry Charging

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on his policy on lorry road user charging. [101525]

John Healey: As announced in Budget 2002, the Government intend to introduce a lorry road-user charge based on distance travelled. The Government remain committed to ensuring that the UK haulage industry will not have to pay more tax as a result of introducing the charge and will also introduce offsetting tax reductions for the industry.

The Government published their first progress report in April 2002, and will shortly publish a second progress report outlining the results of work on how to implement and procure the lorry road-user charge and offsetting tax cuts.

Award Schemes

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the award schemes in (a) 2001 and (b) 2002 promoted by the Department; what their scope was when the relevant participating organisations are scheduled to be sent results; and whether other parties will be given notification of the results at the same time. [102063]

Ruth Kelly: The Treasury has no award schemes.

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Bingo

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what plans he has to retain standard rate VAT on participation fees under the new gross profits tax system for bingo; [101755]

(2) what assessment he has made of the impact of a gross profits tax system on the opportunity for growth for licensed bingo clubs; [101756]

(3) what assessment he has made of the benefits change from bingo duty to gross profits tax will bring for (a) bingo players and (b) licensed bingo clubs; [101757]

(4) what plans he has to reduce the tax burden on licensed bingo. [101754]

John Healey: As with other tax changes, and as discussed in the Pre-Budget Report, changes to the taxation of bingo will be announced in the Budget.

Correspondence

Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 5 February from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to parishioners of St. James with the Holy Innocents. [102185]

John Healey: I have already done so.

Fuel Tax

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the annual income from fuel duties in each year from 1973. [102478]

John Healey: Duty receipts for hydrocarbon oils since 1973 are shown in the table:

Oil Receipts

	£ million
1973–74	1,586
1974–75	1,550
1975–76	1,543
1976–77	2,066
1977–78	2,465
1978–79	2,467
1979–80	2,931
1980–81	3,581
1981–82	4,643
1982–83	5,239
1983–84	5,605
1984–85	6,201
1985–86	6,395
1986–87	7,507
1987–88	7,810
1988–89	8,679
1989–90	8,728
1990–91	9,628
1991–92	11,003
1992–93	11,442
1993–94	12,742
1994–95	14,253
1995–96	15,679
1996–97	17,174
1997–98	19,454
1998–99	21,553
1999–2000	22,515
2000–01	22,623
2001–02	21,916

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Individual Savings Accounts

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what research he has commissioned to gauge the take-up of ISAs amongst new investors; [102123]

(2) how many investors have opened ISA accounts who did not previously hold a PEP or TESSA; and how much money has been invested in ISA accounts by investors who previously did not hold a PEP or TESSA; [102122]

(3) how many people have taken out an ISA in each year since 1998; [102114]

(4) what targets he has set regarding the uptake of ISAs in the UK. [102116]

Ruth Kelly: The table gives available estimates of the number of individuals who held ISAs in the first three years following their introduction in 1999. It is not yet possible to break down these estimates further into how many previously held either a TESSA or PEP.

Number of individuals holding ISAsmillions

1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02
8.5	12.5	14.0

The Government has no official target regarding the uptake of ISAs in the UK. However, ISAs are intended to give plenty of scope for people to begin saving, and for those who already save to save more. Since ISAs began in April 1999, over £100 billion has already been subscribed to them and within three years of their introduction an estimated 14 million individuals—some one in four adults—had an ISA. This is six million more than had either a TESSA or a PEP in 1998–99, their last and most successful year.

The Inland Revenue is currently analysing administrative data collected for compliance purposes to see if it could be used to give further detail on individual investors, including whether or not they previously held a TESSA or PEP. It is hoped that further estimates may be available later this year.

International Monetary Fund

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions officials from his Department have had with representatives of the International Monetary Fund concerning (a) Britain's fiscal policies and (b) the sustainability of Britain's fiscal stance in (i) the short-term, (ii) the medium-term and (iii) the long-term. [102106]

Ruth Kelly: The IMF mission visited the UK last year for the 2002 Article IV consultation. The concluding statement was published on 9 December. The Article IV discussions covered a wide range of issues, including UK fiscal policy. The final Article IV report, summarising the discussions, was published on 3 March.

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the IMF's assessment of the medium-term widening of the fiscal deficit, as set out in the 2002 Article IV Consultation Report. [102119]

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Ruth Kelly: The public finances remain strong and the Government are on track to meet their strict fiscal rules over the economic cycle. Modest levels of borrowing over the medium term reflect a sustained increase in capital investment of public services.

Manufacturing

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions his Department has had with representatives of the Engineering Employers' Federation on (a) insurance cover against remote risks, (b) the level of manufacturing investment and (c) manufacturing growth rates. [102111]

John Healey: The Chancellor and other Treasury Ministers regularly meet representatives from the manufacturing sector, including the Engineering Employers Federation, and discuss a wide range of issues.

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 28 February 2003, Official Report, column 1568W, whether he intends to extend the period of allowances for investments in plant and machinery; and if he will make a statement. [101798]

John Healey: As I said my answer of 28 February, the Government keep all taxes under review and any changes to taxation will be announced in the Budget statement on 9 April 2003.

Oil and Petroleum Revenue

Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the Government's revenue receipts on a monthly basis since January 2002 arising from (a) sales of petrol, (b) sales of the petroleum products and (c) North Sea oil production. [101807]

Mr. Boateng [holding answer 7 March 2003]: Monthly receipts data for petroleum revenue tax, hydrocarbon oils and oil royalties are shown in Tables 2.1C, 2.1D and 2.1E respectively of the National Statistics publication Financial Statistics. Table 2.1E is in the process of being corrected; the correct monthly figures for oil royalties in 2002 will be published in the March edition of Financial Statistics on 19 March 2003 and are as shown in the following table, in £ million.

	£ million
January	0
February	248
March	10
April	4
May	0
June	0
July	0
August	230
September	4
October	0
November	5
December	0

More up to date information on petroleum revenue tax and hydrocarbon oils receipts are available, respectively, on the Inland Revenue website at www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk, and on the HM Customs and Excise website www.uktradeinfo.com. Figures for North Sea corporation tax are only published on a financial year basis and are available on the Inland Revenue website. There are no published figures for VAT on petroleum products.

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