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British Troops (Tax and National Insurance)

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will introduce reliefs on tax and National Insurance payments for British troops serving in Iraq. [133478]

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Colchester (Bob Russell) on 6 May 2003, Official Report, column 625W.

Business Taxation

Mr. Swire: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to change the levels of taxation levied on the business sector; and if he will make a statement. [132654]

Dawn Primarolo: The Government keeps all taxes under review and any changes will be made as part of the normal Budget process. Since 1997 the Government has introduced a wide-ranging package of measures to make the UK an attractive place for business to locate and help small business, including cuts in corporation tax and the introduction of targeted measures such as the R&D tax credit, permanent 40 per cent. first year capital allowances and improvements to the capital gains tax regime.

Correspondence

Norman Lamb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the letter dated 9 September from the hon. Member for North Norfolk to the Paymaster General concerning the export of BAC Strikemaster aircraft. [132866]

John Healey: I have done so.

Customs and Excise (Vehicle Seizure)

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer under what powers Customs and Excise officers may seize private vehicles at ports of entry in connection with duty paid goods. [133585]

John Healey: Section 141(1)(a) of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 (CEMA) gives Customs the power to seize vehicles used in the carriage, handling, deposit or concealment of goods liable to forfeiture.

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Travellers may bring back to the UK as many duty-paid excise goods from another EU member state as they wish for their own use. But such goods which are not for their own use may not be brought back into the UK without payment of UK taxes, and are liable to forfeiture.

Economic Growth

Mr. Simmonds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the economy's predicted level of growth for 2003–04. [132989]

Ruth Kelly: The Government's latest economic forecasts were published in the Financial Statement and Budget Report 2003 (HC 500) on 9 April. GDP growth was forecast to be 2 to 2.5 per cent. in 2003 and 3 to 3.5 per cent. in 2004. Updated growth forecasts will be published in the forthcoming pre-Budget report 2003.

Energy Efficiency

Alan Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 25 June 2003, Official Report, column 760W, if he will set out the timetable for the detailed consultation on specific fiscal instruments to encourage household energy efficiency announced in the November 2002 pre-Budget statement. [132744]

John Healey: A consultation paper 'Economic instruments to improve household energy efficiency' was published on 1 August 2003, and the consultation will close on 24 October 2003. Responses will inform decisions made as part of the usual pre-Budget report and Budget process.

European Court of Justice

Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the (a) reference number, (b) date and (c) subject of the decisions of the European Court of Justice that have a bearing on UK taxation regimes; and what the effects of these decisions are. [132557]

Dawn Primarolo: The European Court of Justice ensures that Community Law is uniformly interpreted and effectively applied, including in relation to tax matters. All judgments of the European Court of Justice are set out in full in the Official Journal of the European Communities (C Series), a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.

Income Tax

Mr. Milburn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the impact on marginal tax rates would be of reducing the starting rate of income tax by each one per cent. between 10 per cent. and 0 per cent. assuming no change in entitlement to tax credits or benefits. [133176]

Dawn Primarolo: I refer my right hon. Friend to table 2.1 on the Inland Revenue website www. inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats/income tax/it t01 1.htm and table 1.6 on the Inland Revenue website www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats/tax expenditures/g t06 1.htm.

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Influenza

Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people aged 65 years or over have died of influenza in (a) South Tyneside, (b) Tyne and Wear, (c) the North East and (d) the UK in each year since 1997. [133214]

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

Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Hepburn, dated 21 October 2003:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many people aged 65 years or over died of influenza in (a) South Tyneside, (b) Tyne and Wear, (c) the North East and (d) the UK in each year since 1997. (133214)

The information requested is given in the table below.

Numbers of deaths from influenza for people aged 65 and over,⁽¹⁾ 1997 to 2001⁽²⁾, for South Tyneside local authority, the former county of Tyne and Wear, North East Government Office Region and the United Kingdom⁽³⁾Number of deaths

Year	South Tyneside	Tyne and Wear	North East	United Kingdom
1997	-	*	7	413
1998	-	-	*	129
1999	*	17	35	598
2000	*	8	32	630
2001	-	-	*	27

- Zero deaths

* Fewer than 5 deaths

⁽¹⁾ Deaths with an underlying cause of influenza defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) code 487 for the years 1997 to 2000 and, for the year 2001, the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes J10 and J11.

⁽²⁾ Figures are for deaths occurring in each calendar year, except for data for Scotland and Northern Ireland included in the United Kingdom totals. These are deaths registered in each calendar year.

⁽³⁾ Deaths of usual residents of these areas.

Investment Trusts

Mr. Caton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment the Treasury has made of the Financial Services Authority's ability to regulate split capital investment trusts. [132990]

Ruth Kelly: The Treasury has full confidence in the way that the FSA is carrying out its regulatory responsibilities. Split-capital investment trusts are not currently directly regulated by the FSA—the Treasury has undertaken to consult on whether the FSA should regulate these companies.

Mr. Caton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment the Treasury has made of the security of investment in split capital trusts. [132991]

Ruth Kelly: Investments in split-capital investment trusts have many risks in common with other forms of equity investment. It is for individual investors to take appropriate financial advice before investing in the shares of these companies.

The Treasury, however, welcomes the changes to the listing and conduct of business rules, as they apply to investment trust companies, recently announced by the

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Financial Services Authority. We believe that these will improve investor protection and effectively tackle the issues which have arisen at some split-capital investment trusts.

Mr. Caton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will bring investment trusts fully into the regulation regime of the Financial Services Authority; [132992]

(2) if he will accept the recommendation of the Treasury Committee to bring investment trusts directly within the scope of investment product regulation by the Financial Services Authority. [132993]

Ruth Kelly: In its response to the Treasury Committee (published in the Committee's Fourth Special Report of Session 2002–03, HC651) the Treasury said:

'The Treasury welcomes the proposals put forward by the FSA in CP164 and believe that, when implemented, these will effectively tackle the issues which arose directly from split capital investment trusts. However, we accept that there may be a case for bringing investment trusts fully within regulation by the FSA. There are a number of ways in which this could be done and it is by no means clear which, if any, might be the most appropriate. The Treasury will, therefore, in conjunction with the FSA consider the available options for doing so and will, in due course, consult fully on these.'

This remains the Treasury's position.

Lorry Road User Charging Project

Pete Wishart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the estimated revenues for the lorry road user charging project are for each year for which figures are available; and what proportion of the estimated revenues for the project are expected to come from Scotland. [132776]

John Healey: There will be reductions in fuel duty for those paying the charge so that there is no increase in the overall tax burden for that sector of the haulage industry that buys fuel in the UK.

No assessment of revenues can be made until it is decided at what level the charge will be set, and what level of offsetting fuel duty reduction will be available to charge-payers. Decisions on fuel duties and other taxes are made on a Budget-by-Budget basis.

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