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Banking

Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made in implementing the findings of the Cruickshank report on United Kingdom banking; and if he will make a statement. [132871]

Ruth Kelly: There have been a number of recent developments.

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Following a recommendation of the Julius Banking Consumer Codes Review Group, Professor Elaine Kempson independently reviewed the Banking code in November 2002. The majority of her recommendations were accepted and the new Banking Code came into force in March of this year.

Secondly, the OFT have agreed to a number of undertakings with the eight main clearing banks to address the findings of the Competition Commission Report into SME banking in March 2002. These remedies will make it easier for customers to shop around and to move accounts between banks. In addition the four leading clearing banks have agreed to offer SME customers in England and Wales an account paying interest of at least the Bank of England base rate minus 2.5 per cent., or a current account free of money transmission charges.

Thirdly, the Government will make an announcement shortly on the commitment to review the Financial Services and Markets Act two years after it came into force.

Finally, the Government remains committed to legislating to give the OFT new powers to ensure effective competition in payment systems, and will do so as soon as Parliamentary time allows.

VAT (Children's Clothes)

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what guarantees have been obtained from the European Commission that zero-rating of children's clothes for VAT purposes may continue beyond 2007; [131996]

(2) what research he has collated on the cost of (a) children's and (b) adults' clothing in each EU country. [131997]

John Healey: The Government does not need guarantees from the European Commission about the future of the UK's VAT zero rates. Any amendment to the EC Sixth VAT Directive must be agreed unanimously by all member states in the Council of Ministers, and the Government will not agree to changes which go against our national interests and social objectives.

The Government remains committed to retaining the UK's zero rates on children's clothing and footwear.

Data on the cost of children's and adults' clothing in the UK is routinely gathered by the Office for National Statistics and by the European Commission. In addition, Customs and Excise have collected pricing information on children's and adults' clothing and footwear from UK retailers.

This evidence shows that the benefits of the VAT zero rates for children's clothing and footwear in the UK are passed on to consumers.

Woodlands

Mr. Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list woodlands which are in receipt of tax relief

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on condition of providing public access; what checks have been made in each case in the last year on whether public access is being provided; and what the result of the check was in each case. [132451]

Dawn Primarolo: Conditional exemption is not granted to woodlands as such, though many of the landholdings which have been exempted on account of their outstanding scenic, historic or scientific interest are wooded in whole or part. Details of conditionally exempt land, and the access available to them, are available on the Inland Revenue's website, at: www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/heritage The website invites members of the public to report any difficulties they encounter in visiting exempted property: the Revenue cannot recall any recent instances of problems with access to woodland. The Countryside Agency and its counterparts make inspection visits on the Revenue's

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behalf at least once every five years to check that owners are complying with the undertakings they gave to secure exemption.

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Milk

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list for dairy farmers within Shrewsbury and Atcham the average milk price in each month since 1997. [132208]

Mr. Bradshaw: We do not hold milk price information for specific areas of the UK. However, we do have national statistics for the monthly farmgate price of milk in the UK and the average monthly retail price paid by the consumer in the UK. These figures since January 1997 are as follows:

UK farmgate prices in pence per litre

	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
January	24.16	20.17	19.31	16.79	18.32	18.79	17.69
February	23.79	19.99	19.03	16.62	18.18	18.31	17.66
March	23.74	19.90	18.98	16.64	17.88	18.00	17.39
April	20.70	17.66	17.56	15.27	18.45	15.99	16.85
May	19.76	16.69	16.42	14.63	17.90	14.88	16.00
June	20.91	17.74	17.23	15.35	18.70	15.37	16.52
July	24.08	20.74	19.79	17.64	20.45	16.58	18.22
August	23.89	20.87	19.83	17.93	20.86	17.00	—
September	22.99	20.06	19.17	17.52	20.70	17.13	—
October	21.03	20.22	18.12	18.81	20.46	18.15	—
November	20.60	19.68	17.69	18.60	20.05	18.11	—
December	20.30	19.30	17.36	18.26	19.60	17.75	—

Note:

Surveys run by Defra, SEERAD and DARD including retrospective bonus payments made by purchasers.

Average retail price of milk in pence per pint

	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002
January	36	35	34	34	35	37
February	35	34	34	34	35	36
March	35	34	35	34	36	36
April	35	34	35	34	36	36
May	35	34	34	34	37	36
June	35	34	34	34	37	36
July	35	34	34	34	37	36
August	35	34	34	34	37	36
September	35	34	34	34	37	36
October	35	34	34	35	37	—
November	35	34	34	35	37	—
December	35	34	34	35	37	—
Annual average	35	34	34	34	37	—

Notes:

Average prices estimates include prices of delivered milk and shop bought milk. However, 80 per cent. price range includes only shop bought milk.

From February 2002, the average price for milk is calculated as the average price of one pint of delivered milk and the one pint equivalent of two pints of shop bought milk. However, the 80 per cent. price range (which is the range of prices with the top 10 per cent. and the bottom 10 per cent. excluded) only includes shop bought milk.

Source:

National Statistics

Beef Exports

Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on progress in United Kingdom export negotiations to free up the export market for (a) beef and (b) live cattle. [132391]

Mr. Bradshaw: The Secretary of State has discussed beef exports with Commissioner Byrne on a number of occasions, most recently on 22 September at the informal Agriculture Council at Taormina. Defra officials have also had regular meetings with the Commission officials. The Commission has sought advice from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) on amending the Date-based Export Scheme (DBES) and our methodology of scaling up testing results to support our claim that restrictions should be lifted so that the UK can trade on the same basis as other member states. An EFSA Opinion is expected in early 2004.

Large Combustion Plants Directive

Mr. Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what assessment the Department has made of the impact on jobs in the deep mine coal industry of the implementation of the Large Combustion Plants Directive through (a) a national emission reduction plan and (b) emission limit values as proposed on the present consultation; [132401]

(2) what analysis the Department has made of the impact on the deep-mined coal industry of the implementation of the Large Combustion Plants

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Directive by (a) a national emission reduction plan and (b) emission limit values as proposed in the current consultation. [132413]

Mr. Bradshaw: The Government has just completed a consultation on a proposal to implement the Large Combustion Plants Directive for plants first licensed before July 1987 using a national plan. Officials have discussed the potential impact of the alternative implementation routes with representatives of the UK coal industry and have received consultation responses from the Confederation of UK Coal Producers and other bodies and organisations with an interest in UK coal mining. The Government will take a decision on the most appropriate implementation approach after considering all of the consultation responses.

Mr. Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what modelling the Department has conducted of the financial dynamics of a sulphur dioxide trading scheme resulting from the implementation of the Large Combustion Plants Directive by a national emission reduction plan approach. [132407]

Mr. Bradshaw: The Government has just completed a consultation on a proposal to implement the Large Combustion Plants Directive for plants first licensed before July 1987 using a national plan. Analysis conducted for my Department suggested that such an approach would lead to significant cost-savings when compared to the alternative implementation approach. The financial dynamics of a trading scheme will depend on the decisions of operators of plants who take part in such emissions-trading. An outline of how such a trading scheme might operate was included in the consultation document but further consideration would be needed before the scheme could be introduced.

Mr. Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with (a) the UK mined coal industry and (b) trade unions about the likely impact of the Large Combustion Plants Directive implementation options proposed in the current consultation. [132409]

Mr. Bradshaw: Officials have discussed the potential impact of the alternative implementation routes for the Large Combustion Plants Directive with representatives of the UK coal industry, who have also responded formally to the Government's consultation paper. Consultations closed on 29 September but some responses are still being received. The Government will take a decision on the most appropriate implementation approach after considering the responses to the consultation.

Mr. Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects to announce the Government's decision on the implementation options of the Large Combustion Plants Directive. [132410]

Mr. Bradshaw: The Government will take a decision on the most appropriate implementation approach after considering the responses to the consultation. If the UK is to adopt the national plan approach, the plan has to be with the European Commission by 27 November 2003.

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