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10 Jul 2003 : Column 925W—continued
Wildlife Sites
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what plans she has to publish guidance on establishing a common approach to managing local wildlife sites; [124250]
- (2) what recent representations she has received from local authorities about the actions required to promote and protect local wildlife sites. [124352]
Mr. Bradshaw: Officials in this Department and English Nature have been drawing up guidance on local wildlife sites taking into account the work of the Local Sites Review Group, which among others comprised representatives from the Local Government Association, Welsh Local Government Association and the Association of Local Government Ecologists. The aim is to provide a framework to help establish a consistent approach to the identification and management of these sites. During the course of this work, a number of representations have also been received from individual local authorities.
We are in the process of finalising this guidance and we aim to publish it before the end of the year.
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many local wildlife sites are managed by the wildlife trusts; what funding her Department gives to the wildlife trusts for this purpose; and what information her Department receives from the wildlife trusts about their performance. [124251]
Mr. Bradshaw: I understand from the Wildlife Trusts' publication "Status of UK Wildlife Site Systems 2002" that there are 76 local wildlife site systems in operation across England, which have selected 34,965 sites. The Wildlife Trusts lead or are a lead partner in 82 per cent. of these systems.
The Department does not provide direct funding for the management of local wildlife sites. However English Nature has provided local Wildlife Trusts with 767,000 under its Wildspace grants scheme, for the management of many local nature reserves in order to help local communities enjoy, care for and improve their local wildlife resources.
The Department does provide funding to the UK Office of the Wildlife Trusts towards the co-ordination of their conservation strategy and policy for the organisation. This includes work on planning, biodiversity and marine wildlife conservation. Last year we announced that funding totalling £675,000 would be provided over three years. The grant is paid on a
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quarterly basis and on the production of quarterly performance reports, based on targets agreed in a work programme at the beginning of the year.
In addition between 2002 and 2004 some £637,020 will be provided to 10 County Wildlife Trusts to enable them to co-ordinate and contribute to the delivery of local and regional biodiversity action plans.
TREASURY
Biofuels
15. Mrs. Helen Clark: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the financial incentives necessary to achieve (a) 2 per cent. take-up by the end of 2005 and (b) 5.75 per cent. take-up by the end of 2010 of biodiesel and bioethanol road fuel. [124657]
John Healey: My hon. Friend is referring to the European Commission's suggested indicative targets for the use of biofuels and other renewable fuels. Member states are required to set their own indicative targets to be met in the years 2005 and 2010, and we will be consulting key stakeholders in due course on what these targets might be and on the most appropriate ways of meeting them, so that our decisions are based on a proper assessment of the costs and benefits.
We have already put in place a number of measures to give incentive to the production and use of biofuels in the UK. In his Budget statement, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor announced that, from 1 January 2005, we would introduce a duty incentive for bioethanol, set at 20 pence per litre below the rate for sulphur-free petrol. Biodiesel already benefits from a duty incentive of 20 pence per litre below the rate for ultra-low sulphur diesel.
Income Tax
16. Mr. Barnes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a consultative document outlining a range of different options for future income tax policies. [124658]
Mr. Boateng: The Government sets out their policies on income tax rates and allowances in the Budget and pre-Budget reports.
18. Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the impact on the level of income tax of a transfer of all changes in the total level of taxation since 1997 to income tax. [124660]
Dawn Primarolo: As a result of personal tax and benefit reforms since 1997, households will be, on average £775 a year better off in real terms by October 2003.
Pensioner Living Standards
17. Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures he will take to improve the living standards of pensioners. [124659]
Mr. Boateng: From October, the Government are introducing the Pension Credit at a cost of £2 billion in its first full year. Including Pension Credit and other measures, compared with the 1997 system, on average
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pensioner households will be £1,250 a year better off in real terms with the poorest third around £1,600 a year better off—over £30 a week.
Small Business Taxation
19. Mr. Baron: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact of rises in taxation since 1997 on small businesses. [124661]
John Healey: The Government have taken a number of steps to reduce the impact of the tax system on small business and to reward entrepreneurship; including the introduction of a zero rate of corporation tax, tax credits for R&D, reductions in the rates of income tax and measures to reduce the administrative burden of VAT.
Mortgages
20. Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact of an increase in the number of fixed rate mortgages on economic management. [124663]
Mr. Boateng: The Chancellor has asked David Miles, Professor of Finance at Imperial College, to undertake a review of the UK's fixed rate mortgage market.
This will involve an examination of whether there has been any market failure that has held back the market for fixed and long-term fixed rate mortgages and a consideration of associated opportunities, risks and potential costs.
Professor Miles will deliver an interim report by autumn and a comprehensive report and recommendations to the Chancellor by Budget 2004.
New Deal
21. Linda Gilroy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the use of the windfall tax on privatised utilities to fund the New Deal. [124664]
Mr. Boateng: The New Deal for Young People and the New Deal for 25+ have both contributed significantly to cutting long-term youth and long-term unemployment by more than three-quarters since 1997.
Almost 430,000 long-term unemployed 18 to 24-year-olds have found jobs through NDYP, while ND25+ had helped more than 145,000 older people back into work and over 193,000 people have found employment through the New Deal for Lone Parents.
The Government have established a comprehensive program of independent and in-house evaluation for all the New Deals, and is fully committed to ensuring that the lessons learned contribute to continuous improvements in the performance of the New Deals in helping people into work.
This evaluation program has demonstrated the success of the New Deal. In 2000, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) found that, without NDYP, the level of long-term youth unemployment would have been twice as high as it actually was. Independent evaluation evidence also confirms the overwhelmingly positive impact of NDLP
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in helping lone parents into work and suggests that the programme more than doubles the employment chances of participants.
Employment
22. Mark Tami: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on current employment levels and their impact on the economy. [124665]
Mr. Boateng: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer gave my hon. Friend the Member for Coventry, South (Mr. Cunningham) on 10 July 2003, Official Report, column 1360.
Equitable Life
23. Norman Lamb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the progress being made by the Penrose inquiry into Equitable Life. [124666]
Mr. Boateng: Lord Penrose's inquiry is independent of the Treasury. The conduct of the inquiry is entirely a matter for him.
However, I understand that he is now in the process of drafting his report. He has said that he intends to report to Treasury Ministers later this summer.
Council Tax
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 10 June 2003, Official Report, columns 746–47W, on council tax, what the council tax was as a percentage of gross income for (a) female-headed households and (b) male-headed households in each income decile in England in the financial year 2001–02. [124370]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Matthew Taylor, dated 10 July 2003:
- As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking for a break down of council tax as a percentage of gross income in England in 2001–02 by (a) female-headed households and (b) male-headed households consistent with estimates given in my previous answer of 10th June for households in Great Britain. (124370)
- Estimates for council taxes and income are based on the analysis "The effects of taxes and benefits on household income 2001–02" produced by the Office for National Statistics and published on the National Statistics website on April 11th 2003, and in Economic Trends in the May 2003 edition. The analysis can be obtained from the House of Commons library. This includes measures of income inequality for the United Kingdom as a whole based on data from the Expenditure and Food Survey. Sample sizes are only sufficient to allow a breakdown to be given by quintiles of income distribution and not by decile.
- The Household Reference Person is identified during the interview and is defined as the member of the household who:
- a. owns the household accommodation, or
- b. is legally responsible for the rent of the accommodation, or
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- c. has the household accommodation as an emolument or perquisite, or
- d. has the household accommodation by virtue of some relationship to the owner who is not a member of the household.
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- If there are joint householders, the Household Reference Person will be the householder with the highest income. If the income is the same, then the eldest householder is taken.
| England | Quintile groups of all households ranked by equivalised disposable income | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Households | Bottom | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Top | All households | ||||
| Quintile points(2)(equivalised disposable income, £ per year) | ||||||||||
| Female-headed | 9,573 | 12,766 | 17,451 | 25,709 | ||||||
| Male-headed | 11,466 | 16,583 | 22,412 | 30,545 | ||||||
| Gross council tax | ||||||||||
| Female-headed | 7.8 | 5.3 | 3.8 | 2.7 | 1.4 | 2.8 | ||||
| Male-headed | 6.5 | 3.7 | 2.7 | 2.1 | 1.3 | 2.3 | ||||
| Net council tax(3) | ||||||||||
| Female-headed | 4.5 | 3.1 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 1.4 | 2.2 | ||||
| Male-headed | 4.7 | 3.2 | 2.6 | 2.1 | 1.3 | 2.1 | ||||
(1) Households where the household reference person is female or male.
(2) Equivalised disposable income at the boundary point between two quintile groups.
(3) Net council taxes after deducting benefits and discounts.
Source:
Office for National Statistics, based on the analysis "The effects of taxes and benefits on household income", published on the ONS website and in Economic Trends No. 594 May 2003
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