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Tibet

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment has been made of the human rights situation in Tibet. [129468]

Mr. Rammell: We remain concerned about the human rights situation in Tibet and encourage China to continue dialogue with the Dalai Lama's representatives.

My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary raised our concerns with Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing on 25 June. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister raised Tibet with the Chinese leadership during his visit to China from 20–22 July.

Embassy officials visited Tibet at the end of August and discussed a range of issues with local government officials.

TREASURY

Audit Requirements

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will bring the audit requirements for industrial and provident societies in line with those of registered companies. [129273]

(2) if he will amend the requirement on industrial and provident societies wanting to publish interim accounts to undertake a full audit. [129274]

Ruth Kelly: The Government is keen to see, where appropriate, a level playing field between industrial and provident societies and companies. We continue to examine the options for taking forward this agenda. However, in order to provide for a strategic, consistent and up-to-date approach between companies and societies, the Government believes that the general modernisation of industrial and provident society legislation in this area should be considered in light of the Department of Trade and Industry's Company Law Review.

Bruemark Ruling

Richard Ottaway: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total sum of money deposited with the Bank of England by frustrated liquidations has been since the Bruemark Ruling in June 2001. [129221]

Ruth Kelly: The information requested is not available to the Treasury.

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Computer Fraud

Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been (a) budgeted and (b) spent by his Department since April 2002 on (i) combating computer fraud, (ii) preventing theft of computers and (iii) safeguarding the security of information held on computer; and if he will make a statement. [128801]

John Healey: The risks of computer fraud, computer theft and unauthorised access to information held on computer are taken very seriously by the Chancellor's Departments and they are active in raising awareness of those risks and managing them, though most of the expenditure on doing so forms part of existing budgets for business as usual rather than being separately identified. Therefore the information requested is not available in the form requested.

Corporation Tax

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the revenue raised by the March 1998 Budget decision to abolish advanced corporation tax and introduce quarterly payments of corporation tax, for each year from 1998–99 to 2005–06; and if he will make a statement. [130147]

Dawn Primarolo: Estimates of the impact on the Exchequer of the abolition of ACT and introduction of quarterly instalment payments were quoted in the 1998 Budget report.

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of the cost of the changes to the statutory corporation tax deduction for share schemes announced in the Pre-Budget Report November 2002; what the purpose is of the changes; and if he will make a statement. [130234]

Dawn Primarolo: The provision to introduce a statutory corporation tax relief for employee share acquisition announced in the November 2002 Pre-Budget Report was brought into effect by Schedule 23 of Finance Act 2003. The estimate of exchequer costs to provide the statutory relief is in the Final Regulatory Impact Assessment published on the 10 April 2003 and remain unchanged, growing to around £95 million by 2007–08. The purpose of the statutory relief is to encourage and enable companies to set-up or expand employee share schemes by removing the need for complex arrangements solely to obtain a CT deduction. It levels the playing field between the use of cash and equity as remuneration and provides a modern, simple and fair system. It gives certainty to companies in terms of timing and amount of relief, reduces administration and compliance costs.

Correspondence

Mrs. Roe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the letters from the hon. Member for Broxbourne of (a) 16 June, (b) 15 July, (c) 13 August and (d) 9 September relating to her constituent, Mrs. Julia Cuxson-Jones of Cheshunt. [129833]

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue replied on behalf of the Chancellor on 15 September 2003.

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Mrs. Roe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the letters from the hon. Member for Broxbourne of (a) 16 June, (b) 15 July, (c) 13 August and (d) 9 September relating to her constituent, Mrs. Louise Stevens of Cheshunt. [129834]

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue replied on behalf of the Chancellor on 15 September 2003.

Mrs. Roe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the letters from the hon. Member for Broxbourne of (a) 16 June, (b) 15 July, (c) 13 August and (d) 9 September relating to her constituent, Mr. J.A. Russell of Cheshunt. [129835]

Ruth Kelly: I wrote to the hon. Lady on 10 September.

Developing Countries

Mr. Barry Gardiner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what assessment he has made of the extent of (a) illegal property ownership and (b) illegal working patterns in developing countries; and what assessment he has made of the impact in each case on the ability of developing countries meeting their international financial obligations; [129314]

(2) what assessment his Department has made of the impact (a) property rights and (b) a formalised system for establishing property ownership has on the ability of developing countries (i) to improve their economic position and (ii) to fulfil their international debt repayment obligations. [129325]

John Healey: There is widespread consensus that weak property rights are a key barrier to private sector development, economic growth and poverty reduction by, for example, deterring foreign investment, discouraging people from investing in their land, and preventing them from using it as collateral for loans.

Almost all of the world's poor are engaged in some form of private sector activity, with most in the informal sector. Private sector policy must therefore support the development of small, medium and micro enterprises in both the formal and informal sectors.

The ability of a country to meet its international financial obligations depends on a range of factors that will support private sector development and economic growth, including sound macroeconomic policies that ensure the level of debt remains sustainable.

There are many other factors that are important to securing greater investment, raising growth rates and reducing poverty including: the quality of governance, the level of corruption, crime and political instability; access to credit and finance; the quality of infrastructure; and the macroeconomic environment. The ability of a country to meet its international financial obligations also depends on sound macroeconomic policies that ensure the level of debt remains sustainable.

The UK Government supports various initiatives to help developing country governments identify and create the right conditions for private investment and growth

Employer-loaned Computers

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the revenue cost each year of

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the tax relief on employer-loaned computers, as introduced in the 1999 Budget, for each year from 1999–2000 to 2005–06; what assessment he has made of the economic value of this relief; and if he will make a statement. [130143]

Dawn Primarolo: Information on which to base up-to-date estimates of the cost of this exemption is not available.

Employment

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his most recent estimate is of the number of people in Crosby who are in (a) temporary and (b) part-time employment. [129462]

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.

Letter from Colin Mowl to Ms Claire Curtis-Thomas, dated 15 September 2003:

The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question about part-time and temporary employment in Crosby. I am replying in his absence. (129462)

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) gives estimates of part-time and temporary employment rates, but not the numbers of people, for Parliamentary Constituencies. The latest available estimate, for the twelve month period ending February 2002, is that 24.9 per cent of the employed population resident in Crosby were working part-time. The LFS sample size is too small to give reliable estimates of temporary employment for Crosby.

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