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Written Answers to Questions
The following answers were received between Tuesday 7 October and Monday 13 October 2003
TREASURY
Asbestos
Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been spent by his Department on asbestos surveys since 1 January 2001; how much has been spent on the management and removal of asbestos for each building in which asbestos has been identified; and what budget is available for the Department and its agencies to (a) commission asbestos surveys and (b) manage and remove asbestos from buildings in (i) 2003 and (ii) 2004. [130911]
Ruth Kelly: Detailed costings have not been undertaken in the case of all the Chancellor's Departments, and where this is the case, the data requested can be obtained only at a disproportionate cost. Available data are as follows:
Customs and Excise and the Valuation Office Agency both recorded nil expenditure for asbestos surveys or the removal of asbestos between 1 January 2001 and 1 April 2001. Further information in both cases could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.
The Government Actuary's Department and the Debt Management Office both recorded nil expenditure for asbestos surveys and removal of asbestos since 1 January 2001.
Work is currently under way on the National Savings and Investments' Glasgow site. Estimated cost of the remedial work to date is £500,000, and estimated costs to the end of the financial year are £750,000 (excluding VAT).
Since 1 January 2001, the Royal Mint has spent £6,802 on asbestos surveys. Expenditure incurred in removing asbestos was £1,380 in 2001; £20,120 in 2002; and £2,980 in 2003.
The Office of National Statistics is currently in the process of conducting a new asbestos survey at a cost of £78,000. Expenditure on remedial work since 1 January 2001 is £154,000.
Expenditure by the Office of Government Commerce on asbestos surveys since January 2001 is approximately £27,000. The cost of remedial work since January 2001 is £279,000.
Council Tax
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the total revenue from council tax in (a) 1996–97, (b) 2001–02 and (c) 2002–03, in (i) cash terms and (ii) real terms using 2001–02 prices; and if he will make a statement. [130146]
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Dawn Primarolo: Government grant to local authorities has increased over the period since 1997. Overall there has been a 25 per cent. real increase in total grants since 1997, compared with a 7 per cent. cut in real terms in the four years previously. Most recently, the Local Government Financial Settlement for 2003–04 increased local authority funding through Formula Grant by 5.9 per cent. in real terms. Including other grants, the increase is over 8 per cent. For the first time, every local authority has generated above inflation increases this year.
It is in this context that local authorities have made their decisions about the level of council tax they wish to set in their areas.
The figures requested are shown in the table:
| Cash | Real terms(2001–02 prices) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1996–97 | 10.1 | 11.5 |
| 2001–02 | 15.2 | 15.2 |
| 2002–03 | 16.6 | 16.2 |
Customs Officers
Ms Atherton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many customs officers there are stationed west of the line from Bristol to Southampton. [131172]
John Healey: I refer my hon. friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South (Mr. Hancock) on 8 September 2003, Official Report, column 99W.
This information is not available in the format requested. Figures for the number of Customs and Excise Officers by Government Office region are published on an annual basis in the Civil Service Statistics, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House, and from the Cabinet Office website.
The Customs figures are based on the number of officers whose office address falls within the defined area. However, Customs are a flexible resource and are frequently called upon to work across regions. In addition, regional staff are supplemented by the National Strike Force, a mobile brigade which is deployed on a national basis according to risk. Staff in these teams are allocated an office address for administrative purposes.
Employer Documentation
Brian Cotter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list all the documentation issued by his Department that an employer must complete when he or she takes on his or her first employee, in order to be fully compliant; and if he will make a statement. [128689]
Dawn Primarolo: If the employee provides a form P45 showing past pay and tax details, the employer should complete its Part 3 and send it to the Inland Revenue. If there is no form P45, employer and employee should complete a form P46 and send it to the Inland Revenue.
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A new employer also needs to set up a PAYE scheme with the Inland Revenue. He or she does this by supplying the necessary details to a dedicated telephone helpline. The Inland Revenue then issue the employer with a "New Employer's Starter Pack". This contains guidance and documentation that the employer may need to operate PAYE throughout the year. The contents and format of this guidance have been developed in consultation with representatives of employers. The CD-ROM version has been particularly well received.
Lambert Report
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the Government response to the Lambert Report. [129699]
John Healey: Richard Lambert published an interim report of his review of higher education-business links on 14 July. This set out a summary of the consultation responses and emerging issues. The Government welcome the emerging findings and expect to receive the final report of the review in the autumn, to which we will respond in due course.
Media Training
Mr. Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost was to his Department of media and voice training for ministers and officials in each year since 1997. [123133]
Ruth Kelly: Treasury Ministers and officials have not received voice coaching.
Media training for Ministers cost £1,199 in 2002–03. No expenditure was incurred in earlier years.
Officials can attend courses run by CMPS or GIGS which include media training, but these costs are not identified separately in the Department's records.
Ministerial Visits
David Davis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the (a) foreign and (b) UK visits he has made since 1 April 2003; with the cost to public funds of each; whom he met; and the gifts received. [126898]
John Healey: The Government publish the overall costs of all ministerial overseas travel and a list of all visits overseas by Cabinet Ministers costing in excess of £500 on an annual basis. For the period up to 31 March 2003, I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the answer given by the Prime Minister to the hon. Member for Warwick and Leamington (Mr. Plaskitt) on 16 July 2003, Official Report, column 327W. The next list for the period 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004 will be published at the end of the financial year.
In respect of gifts received, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 17 July 2003, Official Report, column 445W.
In the UK, the Chancellor visited Aberdeen University in April to receive an honorary degree at a cost of £192, the Carnegie Foundation in Edinburgh in May at no cost, the AMICUS conference in Blackpool in June at a cost of £306, the TGWU conference in Brighton in July at a cost of £42, the Local Government
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Association conference in Harrogate in July at a cost of £107 and the TUC congress in Brighton in September at a cost of £42.
All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.
Public Sector Pensions
Mr. Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the latest estimate is of the present value of the liability for payment of pensions to the beneficiaries of unfunded public sector schemes; and what the value would be if the real rate of discount was (a) 3.0 per cent., (b) 2.5 per cent., (c) 2.0 per cent. and (d) the real rate of return on an index-linked stock of similar duration to maturity. [130882]
Mr. Boateng: The Government Actuary's Department estimate that the liabilities of unfunded public service pension schemes were approximately £380 billion as at 31 March 2002.
It is not possible to update that figure before the 2002–03 Resource Accounts for public service pension schemes are published. Revaluation of public service pension liabilities using different discount rates could be carried out only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in relation to the estimation of the cost of pensions under the Whole of Government Accounts, why it has been decided (a) to issue figures without explanatory notes, and (b) to publish copies of guidance issued to Departments about the estimation of the cost of pensions. [130883]
Ruth Kelly: Central Government Accounts will be published for the first time for 2003–04, as part of the phased introduction of Whole of Government Accounts. Central Government Accounts will include the consolidation of the transactions and balances of those public sector pension schemes covered by the Resource Accounting Manual and other central Government accounting guidance. Central Government Accounts will provide a full explanation of the pension figures in both the income and expenditure account and balance sheet.
The liabilities of the main unfunded public service pension schemes are estimated by the scheme's actuary using assumptions published with the pension scheme accounts, as required by FRS17 and in accordance with the Resource Accounting Manual. Any Departments operating their own unfunded schemes are advised to seek guidance from the Government Actuary's Department on the calculation of the liabilities that should appear in their accounts.
The Resource Accounting Manual, which contains accounting guidance for Departments on all accounting matters, is publicly available.
Mr. Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in relation to the estimation of the cost of pensions under the Whole of Government Accounts, what excess of the discount rate over the rate of price inflation has been
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applied to future liabilities; and what the typical corresponding rate is that is used by the private sector under FRS17. [130884]
Ruth Kelly: Central Government Accounts will be published for the first time for 2003–04, as part of the phased introduction of Whole of Government Accounts. Pension liabilities relating to Government employees reported in Central Government Accounts, which will be published for the first time for 2003–04, are a consolidation of the liabilities reported in the underlying scheme accounts. The real discount rate to be used in these accounts is 3.5 per cent., as advised by the Government Actuary's Department and based on the expected yield on long-term gilts.
Private sector schemes reporting under FRS17 are required to use a discount rate equal to the yield on an AA-rated bond of equivalent term and currency to the liabilities, if available. One study (by Lane, Clark and Peacock—"Accounting for pensions: annual survey 2003") has found considerable variation in the discount rate adopted—from under 5.4 per cent. to over 6 per cent. with the majority clustered around 5.6 per cent. real. The value of the liabilities increases as the discount rate decreases.
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