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14 Jan 2004 : Column 809W—continued
Correspondence
Mr. Steen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Totnes of 9 December 2003 regarding the overpayment and underpayment of tax credits to constituents in Totnes and Brixham. [147782]
Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue replied on behalf of the Paymaster General on 13 January 2004.
14 Jan 2004 : Column 810W
Departmental Advertising
Miss Kirkbride: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been spent on recruitment advertisements in the press, broken down by publication, by (a) his Department, (b) quangos under the Department and (c) non-departmental Government bodies under the Department (i) in the last year and (ii) since 1997. [145809]
Ruth Kelly: Available information concerning recruitment advertising costs is given in the tables. HM Customs and Excise, the Inland Revenue and the Office
14 Jan 2004 : Column 811W
for National Statistics delegate much of their recruitment to their various business elements. In consequence, only limited information is available.
A breakdown of all publications used could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The departments and agencies responsible to the Chancellor of the Exchequer use a wide variety of different publications for recruitment advertising, tailored according to the nature of the vacancy to be filled. This includes the use of professional journals and magazines, national and local newspapers, and websites.
Information for the financial years 1997–2002 could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Recruitment advertising costs for the most recent financial years are as follows:
| Financial year | Cost (£)(34) |
|---|---|
| 2002–03 | (35)126,238 |
| 2003–04 to date | (36)173,279 |
(34) excluding VAT
(35) This does not include the advertising costs for two posts for which figures were unavailable.
(36) This includes advertisements for two 'bulk' recruitment campaigns which were used to fill a number of posts, and advertisements for three roles at a senior level.
Customs and Excise delegate much of their recruitment to their various business areas. Information held centrally is limited, and therefore data could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
| Financial year | Cost (£)(37) |
|---|---|
| 1998–99(38) | 23,950.03 |
| 1999–2000 | 62,895.42 |
| 2000–01 | 101,731.50 |
| 2001–02 | 31,840.15 |
| 2002–03 | 20,790.45 |
| 2003–04 to date | 65,445.74 |
(37) including VAT
(38) The DMO was only established on 1 April 1998 and therefore no data exists prior to this date.
The Government Actuary's Department
Information for 1997 to 2001 could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Information for the financial years since 2001 is as follows:
| Financial year | Cost (£)(39) |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 27,083.75 |
| 2002–03 | 16,614.50 |
| 2003–04 to date | 22,993.58 |
(39) including VAT
The amount spent on press advertising by the Inland Revenue from April 1997 to March 2003 (the last full financial year for which figures are available) was £4.2 million. The figure for the last full year (2002–03) was £1.3 million. A breakdown of all costs since 1997 could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, the vast majority of Inland Revenue recruitment advertising appears in local or regional newspapers.
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National Savings and Investments
Since January 2003, National Savings and Investments has spent £92,874 on recruitment advertising exclusive of VAT. Costs for previous financial years are as follows:
| Financial year | Cost (£)(40) |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 5,345 |
| 1998–99 | 32,711 |
| 1999–2000 | 166,731 |
| 2000–01 | 153,243 |
| 2001–02 | 205,878 |
| 2002–03 | 116,778 |
(40) excluding VAT
The following costs cover the period from April 2000 when OGC was first established to December 2003. Due to the merger of three ledger systems it has not been possible to disaggregate the April 2000 to March 2001 figures.
Spend on recruitment advertising since formation of OGC in April 2000.
| Financial year | Cost (£)(41) |
|---|---|
| From April 2000–01 | (42)191,566.13 |
| 2002–03 | 351,576.74 |
| 2003–04 to date | 280,009.06 |
(41) including VAT
(42) OGC was only established in April 2000 and therefore no data exists prior to this date.
| Financial year | Cost (£)(43) |
|---|---|
| From April 2000–01 | (44)73,231 |
| 2002–03 | 82,670 |
| 2003–04 to date | 60,933 |
(43) including VAT
(44) OGC was only established in April 2000 and therefore no data exists prior to this date.
Office for National Statistics
Recruitment is carried out across several sites, and therefore information held centrally is limited. The data could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
Advertising expenditure 1997–2003
| Financial year | Cost (£)(45) |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 39,070.60 |
| 1998–99 | 53,355.87 |
| 1999–2000 | 64,292.58 |
| 2000–01 | 61,255.66 |
| 2001–02 | 15,375.30 |
| 2002–03 | 17,620.21 |
| 2003–04 to date | 32,805.44 |
(45) excluding VAT
Advertising expenditure 1997–2003
| Financial year | Cost (£) |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | (46)13,308.71 |
| 1998–99 | (46)20,637.36 |
| 1999–2000 | (46)30,089.83 |
| 2000–01 | (46)36,181.67 |
| 2001–02 | (46)47,372.60 |
| 2002–03 | (47),(48)120,649.41 |
| 2003 to date | (47)154,814.20 |
(46) excluding VAT
(47) including VAT
(48) VOA accounting practices were changed to include VAT with effect from financial year 2002–03 onwards.
14 Jan 2004 : Column 813W
Departmental Relocation
Ms Walley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff in his Department work in (a) the West Midlands and (b) North Staffordshire. [146911]
Mr. Boateng: There are no Treasury staff working in North Staffordshire or the West Midlands.
End of Year Returns
Brian Cotter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many businesses employing (a) less than 50 staff and (b) between 50 and 249 staff have filed their employer's end of year returns electronically for each year since 2000. [147602]
Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue does not have this information.
Brian Cotter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on his Department's plan to bring forward regulations for the introduction of mandatory electronic filing of employers' end of year returns. [147608]
Dawn Primarolo: Following consultation two Statutory Instruments (SI 2003/2494 and SI 2003/2495) were laid on 29 September 2003 and came into force on 20 October. The first of these requires the e-filing of an employer's end of year PAYE return from May 2005 where the employer has 250 or more employees, and from May 2006 where the employer has between 50 and 249 employees. The second makes e-filing incentives available to employers with fewer than 50 employees over the five years from the 2004–05 tax year. In accordance with these regulations, the Inland Revenue has sent a letter to every employer on their database setting out the employer size band for 2004–05 and giving guidance about e-filing options.
Family Tax Credits
Mr. Gale: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many outstanding family tax credit cases were awaiting processing on 31 December 2003. [146842]
Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 12 January 2004]: There are currently around 20,000 claims (60 per cent. of which have been received in the past four weeks) which are waiting further information or being verified.
Financial Services
Norman Lamb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact outsourcing of financial services operations to foreign countries will have on the UK economy and its skilled labour market. [147640]
14 Jan 2004 : Column 814W
Ruth Kelly: Despite fears of outsourcing abroad having an adverse effect on UK employment, the performance of the UK labour market over recent years has been strong by both international and historical standards. The UK has the highest employment rate and the lowest unemployment rate among the G7 economies.
Moreover most jobs outsourced tend to be at low to intermediate skill levels. The Government's policies aim to ensure that those whose jobs are directly affected can acquire new skills and move quickly into alternative employment.
Norman Lamb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer to what extent the Financial Services Sector Skills Council will duplicate the work of existing examining bodies in the financial services sector. [147641]
Ruth Kelly: The Financial Services Sector Skills Council (FSSSC) will not duplicate the work of existing examining bodies in the financial services sector.
The FSSSC will work closely with a range of industry bodies, including the Financial Services Authority and the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) to ensure the qualifications that employers want. This will include reviewing the suitability of existing training programmes and qualifications to meet sector needs and, where there are gaps, working with awarding bodies in the sector to develop new qualifications. The QCA will retain responsibility for maintaining the rigour and fitness for purpose of the national qualifications framework, ensuring qualifications are robust and reliable measures of achievement.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the Financial Services Authority has levied in fines since its foundation; and how much of this has been rebated to regulated firms by way of reduced fees. [147756]
Ruth Kelly: The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has been able to levy fines on regulated bodies since 1 December 2001, and has levied £18,544,000 to date. The FSA reduces the amount charged to all fee-payers in any one financial year by the amount of financial penalties received in the preceding financial year. To date, £9,269,000 the FSA has been rebated by way of reduced fees.
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