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8 May 2003 : Column 788W—continued
Home Safety Products (VAT)
19. Claire Ward: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the progress of discussions with the EU to reduce VAT on home safety products. [111901]
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John Healey: Discussions on the EU provisions for reduced rates of VAT will follow publication of proposals for such a review by the European Commission. We will consider the position of home safety products and other goods and services for which we have received similar representations as part of that review.
Manufacturing Industry
20. Mr. Hopkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the impact of the sterling exchange rate on demand for British manufactures. [111902]
John Healey: A full assessment of the prospects for manufacturing can be found in Chapter B of this year's Financial Statement and Budget Report (HC 500), a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.
Small Business
21. Mr. Henry Bellingham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, What discussions he had in advance of the Budget with the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry regarding new taxes and regulations imposed on small businesses. [111903]
Dawn Primarolo: The Chancellor meets regularly with my right hon. Friend , at which time he discusses a full range of relevant issues, including the Government's success at reducing the corporate tax burden on companies and introducing such reforms as a R&D tax credit and improvements to the capital gains tax regime.
23. Mr. Swayne : To ask the Chancellor of Exchequer, what representations he received from the Federation of Small Businesses in advance of the Budget regarding his policies on corporate tax and regulation. [111905]
Dawn Primarolo: In advance of the Budget the Government received representations from a number of organisations, including the Federation of Small Business.
International Finance Facility
22. Mr. Ross: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent steps he has taken to promote the International Finance Facility. [111904]
John Healey: The Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Treasury continue to promote the IFF through all relevant national and international fora.
In addition to positive discussions at recent G7 Finance Ministers' meetings and the Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank, the Chancellor and his officials continue to discuss the proposal with nongovernmental organisations, faith and community groups and the business community—both nationally and internationally.
I also raised this with fellow Ministers from Members States of the OECD at a meeting in Paris last week.
Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative
24. Mr. Reed: To ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of reduction in commodity prices on the HIPC initiative. [111906]
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John Healey: The UK believes that where countries have had to contend with external shocks—such as sharp falls in the price of key export commodities—we should be generous in providing additional debt relief to promote a lasting exit from unsustainable debt.
Moreover, the UK is seeking agreement that this additional debt relief or topping-up that HIPCs can receive when completing the HIPC initiative should exclude additional bilateral voluntary debt relief, to ensure fairer burden sharing between creditors and provide truly additional relief to HIPCs. This important change in the rules could provide a further US $1 billion in debt relief.
The Government also believes we must be much more cautious about the forecasts we use to calculate debt sustainability. Optimistic assumptions about future growth and exports often do not reflect the reality many countries face—and unnecessarily restrict the amount of debt relief we can provide.
Capita
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 15 January 2003, Official Report, columns 661–62W, on Capita, if he will give the (a) start and finish date, (b) value, (c) evaluation mechanism for successful delivery and (d) penalty charges for failure to deliver for each contract; whether penalty charges have been incurred; what the service level agreements were; what the contract numbers were; and if he will make a statement. [97334]
Ruth Kelly: It has been drawn to my attention that there were errors in my earlier answers about Capita of 13 March 2002, Official Report, column 1113W, and 15 January 2003, Official Report, column 662W. I apologise for this earlier inaccuracy, which I very much regret.
The following information is given separately in respect of each of the Chancellor's Departments.
In my earlier answers I stated that the Treasury had placed work with Capita under a single framework agreement for external recruitment with no defined value. At that time, no such framework agreement was in place: service orders were therefore being placed individually at a total cost of £170,847 (excluding VAT) in 2001–02. Spending during 2002–03 was £279,697 (excluding VAT). Details of the seventeen orders during this period are given in the following table. For reasons of commercial confidentiality it is not possible to list individual contract values. Exemption 13 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information applies, ((a) and (b)).
Delivery is assessed through internal mechanisms for review of the staff recruited. No penalty clauses or service level agreements were put in place: service requirements were specified for each piece of work, ((c) and (d)).
8 May 2003 : Column 791W
| Title of post | Start date | Completion date |
|---|---|---|
| HR consultant | 27 May 2002 | 27 June 2002 |
| Customer Relations Manager | 6 March 2002 | 12 April 2002 |
| Customer Relations Advisor | 11 July 2002 | 2 August 2002 |
| Accounting Policies Manager and Accountancy Advisor | 7 May 2002 | 7 June 2002 |
| Head of information services | 25 July 2002 | 9 September 2002 |
| HR Team Leader and HR Diversity Officer | 26 November 2002 | 10 January 2003 |
| Quality Manager | 17 June 2002 | 19 July 2002 |
| Head of Learning, Skills and Development | 9 January 2003 | 3 February 2003 |
| Development Consultant | 16 January 2003 | 28 February 2003 |
| Gold System Manager | 22 January 2003 | 13 February 2003 |
| Website Editor | 22 January 2003 | 14 February 2003 |
| Project and Programme Managers and Knowledge Manager | 29 January 2003 | 28 February 2003 |
| PA to Managing Director | 3 February 2003 | 28 February 2003 |
| Senior Programmer/Analyst | 24 February 2003 | 21 March 2003 |
| Policy Analysts | 26 February 2003 | 4 April 2003 |
| Senior Policy Analyst | 28 March 2003 | 25 April 2003 |
| Second Permanent Secretary— Managing Director, Budget and Public Finances and Head of Government Economics Service | 16 April 2003 | 20 May 2003 |
IR has two competitively procured management consultancy framework arrangements with Capita. One starts on the 1 April 2002 and runs until 30 September 2003. The other runs from 1 September 2002 until 29 February 2004. Neither contract has yet been used by IR. Accordingly, no IR contract values are associated with these arrangements, ((a) and (b)).
Evaluation criteria will be drawn up for each requirement under the framework, (c).
Neither penalty clauses or Service Level Agreements are associated with these frameworks. The requirement will be stated in the order/contract for each piece of work and the supplier will be judged on their ability to meet that requirement, (d).
Within the following broad headings, during 2002–03, HMCE have awarded the following work to Capita under one of IR's management consultancy framework agreements. The start and finish dates for the individual contracts could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Maximum return on Investment Training
Promoting Flexible Working Practices
GORS Selection Interview Training
Training Administration Introduction
Taking Responsibility Training
Advanced Assertiveness for Managers Training
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Access to Personal Information Training
Diagnostic Internal Communications Manager
Internal Communications Manager
Customer Contact Centre Advisor
In House Training (Feedback Skills)
Interviewing: The Selection Techniques
Diversity in the Civil Service
For reasons of commercial confidentiality, it is not possible to list individual contract values. Exemption 13 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information applies. In total, the value for the services listed is £238,097 (excluding VAT), ((a) and (b)).
Evaluation criteria were drawn up for each requirement under the Framework. The information required under detailed analyses (c) could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Office of Government Commerce OGC
To clarify my earlier answers, Capita Property Consultancy and two other consultancy companies were appointed to provide property related advice and services under the terms of a competitively tendered framework agreement from 16 August 2001 to 15 August 2004, with the option to extend for a further two years. At time of posting the tender notice in the
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Official Journal of the European Community, the estimated total cost of the agreement was £200,000 per annum. However, no spend has yet been made through the framework, ((a) and (b)).
The evaluation mechanism for successful delivery is covered by OGC buying. solutions customer care programme that comprises customer feedback on overall quality of service provider (understanding of requirement, speed of response, quality of administration and timescales met), (c).
Penalty clauses do not form part of the terms and conditions of the framework agreement, (d.)
In addition, during 2001–02, the OGC placed individual service orders with Capita to the value of £159,170 (excluding VAT). And during 2002–03, OGC used one Capita consultant under a contract. The contract with Capita was concluded in May 2002 when the consultant was subsequently employed by OGC on a fixed term contract. The total sum paid to Capita over the 2002–03 period was £46, 519 (excluding VAT), ((a) and (b)).
Neither penalty clauses or a Service Level Agreement were appropriate for this contract, (c.)
Nevertheless, the evaluation of the value for money for the payment was on the basis of the successful achievement of the objectives set for the programme of work to which the individual contributed, (d).
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