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17 Mar 2003 : Column 542W—continued
House Price Inflation
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of house price inflation in each year since 1997. [102924]
Ruth Kelly: HM Treasury do not estimate house price inflation. National house price indices are available from the Office for the Deputy Prime Minister, the Nationwide and the Halifax. ODPM: http://www.housing.odpm.gov.uk/statistics/live/index.htmtthm Nationwide: http://www.nationwide.co.uk/hpi/ Halifax: http://www.hbosplc.com/view/housepriceindex/historical dataspreadsheet.asp
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions officials from his Department have had with representatives of (a) building societies, (b) the estate agent industry and (c) consumer groups on (i) the state of the housing market and (ii) future estimates of house price inflation; and if he will make a statement. [102928]
Ruth Kelly: The Chancellor regularly meets representatives of a wide range of organisations to discuss important economic issues.
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Iraq
Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what provision he has made for the cost of war with Iraq. [103450]
Mr. Boateng: I refer the hon. Lady to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent (Llew Smith) on 12 March 2003, Official Report, column 283W.
Personal Income
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what (a) the average gross income and (b) the average annual net disposable income has been for each quintile of the income in distribution in each year since 1996. [102986]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
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Letter to David Willetts from Len Cook, dated 17 March 2003:
- As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking for the average annual gross and net household income for each quintile of the income distribution since 1996. (102986)
- Estimates for 1996–97 to 2000–01 are shown in the following tables. They are based on the analysis "The effects of taxes and benefits on household income 2000–01", published on the National Statistics (ONS) website on April 19th 2002 and in Economic Trends for May 2002. The analysis and those for earlier years can be obtained from the House of Commons library. They include measures of income inequality for the United Kingdom as a whole based on data from the Family Expenditure Survey.
- Estimates are given for all households in the United Kingdom and split by quintile groups ranked by disposable household income. Gross income includes income from employment, investment and cash benefits. Net disposable income is obtained by deducting income tax and national insurance contributions and local taxes. Local taxes include council tax, domestic rates, water and sewerage charges and are net of discounts, benefits and rebates.
Table A: Average annual gross household income:
| Quintile group of all households(6) | All | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bottom | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Top | Households | ||
| 1996–97 | 7,080 | 11,250 | 18,070 | 26,180 | 45,870 | 21,690 | |
| 1996–97 | 7,080 | 11,250 | 18,070 | 26,180 | 45,870 | 21,690 | |
| 1997–98 | 7,300 | 11,780 | 19,120 | 28,000 | 48,720 | 22,980 | |
| 1998–99 | 7,740 | 12,430 | 20.010 | 28,720 | 52,340 | 24,250 | |
| 1999–2000 | 7,720 | 12,810 | 21,010 | 30,040 | 55,540 | 25,420 | |
| 2000–01 | 8,420 | 14,290 | 22,080 | 32,000 | 56,850 | 26,730 | |
(6) Quintile groups of all households randed by equivalised disposable income before deducting housing costs.
Source:
Office for National Statistics, 'The effects of taxes and benefits and on household income,' published annually on the ONS website and in Economic Trends
Table B: Average annual net disposale household income 1996–97 to 2000–01:
| Quintile group of all households(7) | All | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bottom | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Top | Households | ||
| 1996–97 | 6,360 | 9,810 | 14,890 | 20,770 | 35,150 | 17,400 | |
| 1997–98 | 6,550 | 10,280 | 15,760 | 22,140 | 37,280 | 18,400 | |
| 1998–99 | 6,830 | 10,730 | 16,330 | 22,590 | 39,680 | 19,230 | |
| 1999–2000 | 6,830 | 11,000 | 17,210 | 23,640 | 42,450 | 20,230 | |
| 2000–01 | 7,440 | 12,200 | 17,960 | 25,060 | 43,550 | 21,140 | |
(7) Quintile groups of all households ranked by equivalised disposable income before deducting housing costs.
Source:
Office for National Statistics, 'The effects of taxes and benefits and on household income,' published annually on the ONS website and in Economic Trends
Public Sector Pensions
Mr. Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the public sector pension schemes which are funded; when was the last actuarial valuation of each scheme; what the value was of the assets at the last actuarial valuation of each scheme; and what deficit is disclosed by the last actuarial valuation of each scheme. [103346]
Mr. Boateng: Of the major public service schemes, only the Local Government Pension Scheme is funded. That scheme is the responsibility of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
In addition some of the small public service schemes are funded. In the wider public sector, corporations such as the BBC and the Post Office have their own funded schemes. Responsibility for these schemes rests with the relevant sponsoring department.
Detailed information on the valuations of funded public sector pension schemes is not held centrally.
Recycling
Tony Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to encourage recycling
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initiatives through exemptions for recycling plants from landfill tax. [103140]
John Healey: Landfill tax is a tax on waste, and is applied to all waste disposed of by way of landfill at a licensed landfill site, unless that waste is specifically exempted. Recycling plants are therefore not liable to tax. Indeed, landfill tax is designed to encourage recycling—by making the disposal of waste to landfill more expensive, it encourages waste producers to recover more value from waste, for example through recycling or composting. Landfill tax also contains provisions for tax-free areas on landfill sites to encourage site operators to recycle material sent to their sites for disposal.
Stamp Duty
Mr. Flook: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when stamp duty on share transactions was reduced from (a) 2 per cent.and (b) 1 per cent. [103626]
Ruth Kelly: The rate of stamp duty on share transactions was reduced from 2 per cent. to 1 per cent. in 1984. At that time the scope of stamp duty was widened to include bearer instruments.
In 1986 the rate was further reduced to 0.5 per cent. which is when Stamp Duty Reserve Tax was enacted. The Finance Act 1986 also introduced a 1.5 per cent. charge for shares entering a clearance service or depository bank.
Mr. Flook: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the financial secretary to the Treasury will reply to the letter of the honourable Member for Taunton which referred to her comments on reduction of stamp duty on share transactions, Official Report, 23 January, column 425. [103627]
Ruth Kelly: I have already done so.
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Abducted Children
Keith Vaz: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will consult parents who have had their children abducted on ways to improve the services provided by her Department in such cases. [102238]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Parents are consulted through our work with reunite—International Child Abduction Centre which works closely with the parents involved. We consult reunite regularly. My Department also receives information from parents through meetings and correspondence from them and hon. Members, which all inform our consideration of service provision. Consultation takes place before Special Commissions of the Hague Conference, as they occur.
Domestic Violence
Stephen Hesford: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will make a statement on the Lord Chancellor's Department's policy on reducing domestic violence. [102182]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Government are committed to tackling domestic violence. My Department's main responsibility as a member of the Inter-Ministerial
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Group on Domestic Violence is to develop co-ordination between the criminal, civil and family courts to make sure that victims of domestic violence and their families have a swift and effective route to protection, and perpetrators of violence are brought to justice. We intend to do this through improving training and raising awareness amongst the professional judiciary and magistrates.
My Department recently launched a guide on civil remedies and criminal sanctions against abusers aimed to assist those who advise victims of their options.
Where necessary we will improve court processes through legislation, as we did with the Adoption and Children Act 2002 (ACA 2002) and the Children Act 1989. As a consequence of the ACS 2002, the application form used to apply for contact or residence will be amended so that the applicant can indicate, and give details about, whether abuse has taken place. The respondent will then also have a chance to comment. This will mean that judges will be aware early in the proceedings; that domestic abuse is alleged and findings of fact can be made before contact or residence are considered.
We have also published guidelines for the courts and other professionals which provide a structured and consistent approach for all court users in how to deal with contact cases where domestic violence is an issue. Their effectiveness is being monitored and evaluated.
A safety stakeholder group was set up to advise on how to improve our handling of domestic violence in proceedings involving children, and promote safe contact. Representatives from the judiciary, academics, practitioners and parents' and children's organisations are involved.
We have carried out a mapping exercise of the provision of child contact services, including centres where supervised contact is available, to help us to develop a national network of child contact centres that work to agreed standards. We are supporting child contact centres on their strategy for expanding and improving their services by putting in extra Government funding [over £1.7 million over the past two years] and an additional £2.5 million from Children's Fund announced in February 2003.
We will be working closely wi;th colleagues in the Home Office and other Departments to take various issues forward through the forthcoming domestic violence consultation paper and proposed subsequent draft bill later in the year.
With the help of our key stakeholder advisory groups we will continue to identify further action in every area of our responsibilities, and in those areas of responsibility that we share with other Government Departments, to make sure that tackling domestic violence and protecting its victims (adults and children) are given the priority they deserve.
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