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4 Feb 2004 : Column 933W—continued
Children With Heart Defects
Tim Loughton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the incidence was of children born with heart defects in each year since 2000. [152548]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Tim Loughton, dated 4 February 2004:
- As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking for the incidence of children born with heart defects in each year since 2000. (152548)
- The figures for 2000 and 2001 (the latest year available) are shown in the table below.
| Year | Number | Rate(8) |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1,250 | 20.6 |
| 2001 | 1,069 | 17.9 |
(7) Heart defects was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision codes 145,6,147.1.
(8) Rate per 10,000 live and stillbirths.
Source:
Health Statistics Quarterly no. 16: Annual update—Congenital anomaly statistics, notifications 2001 England and Wales.
Congenital Anomaly statistics for 2002 are scheduled for publication in April 2004.
Financial Services
John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people he estimates are actively using
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internet-based stockbroking services in the UK; and how many he estimates are doing so in other EU states. [152387]
Ruth Kelly: In the table are the latest available figures for the number of clients using online stockbroking services in the UK. This information is taken from a survey conducted for the Association of Private Client Investment Managers and Stockbrokers by ComPeer.
| Number of clients | |
|---|---|
| Q3 2003 | 461,848 |
| Q2 2003 | 432,556 |
| Q1 2003 | 348,700 |
| Q4 2002 | 362,040 |
Figures for other EU states are not readily available.
Future Tax Yield
Mr. Gray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Report of the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Inland Revenue for the year ending 31 March 2003 (Cm 6050), Page 107, Table 5, Note 5, in which year the inclusion of (a) taxpayer favourable adjustments and (b) additional sums arising from the method of estimating future tax yield prior to that employed in 2002–03 in calculating the compliance performance of the Large Business Office for publication in Inland Revenue annual reports first commenced; who first sanctioned the use of each of these methods to calculate Large Business Office compliance performance; and on what date sanction was given. [152218]
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Dawn Primarolo: In April 1998 the Large Business Office introduced an automated system to record adjustments arising from its enquiries into large companies' tax affairs. Inadvertent design faults resulted in the incorrect reporting of the results referred to. As soon as these faults were identified, they were corrected and the results for 2002–03 have been reported on the correct basis
Illegal Meat Imports
Mr. Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the Department's progress in tackling illegal meat imports. [152602]
John Healey: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Crawley (Laura Moffat) on 8 January 2004, Official Report, column 423W.
Two of the four new detector dogs enter into full operational service in mid-February and the remaining two are expected to do so early in April.
Pensions
Andrew George: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) residential and (b) other properties have been purchased under the Self Investment Personal Pension system since its introduction. [152163]
Ruth Kelly: The purchase of residential properties is not currently permitted under the current rules for Self Invested Pension Plans. No figures are available on the numbers of other properties purchased under Self Invested Pension Plans
Andrew George: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact of the changes proposed in his pre-Budget statement in respect of Self Investment Personal Pensions upon (a) availability of housing for rent, (b) the amount and proportion of second and holiday homes, (c) the availability of housing in areas with a high preponderance of second and holiday homes and (d) other aspects of the housing market. [152164]
Ruth Kelly: The Government's technical paper "Simplifying the taxation of pensions: the Government's proposals" proposes allowing pension funds to invest in all types of investments, including residential property. The impact of this change, if introduced, will depend on the extent to which trustees and administrators decide that residential property is a suitable pension scheme investment.
Andrew George: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what criteria will apply to the purchase of residential properties under his proposed changes to Self Investment Personal Pensions. [152165]
Ruth Kelly: The Government's technical paper "Simplifying the taxation of pensions: the Government's proposals" proposes allowing pension funds, including Self Invested Pension Plans, to invest in all types of investments, including residential property. There will be no specific criteria relating to residential properties. There will be a single set of simple, flexible investment rules underpinning the simplified regime.
The private use of pension scheme assets by a scheme member will be subject to a tax charge.
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Stamp Duty
Mr. Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the revenue to be raised from stamp duty land tax on leases in the next tax year. [152608]
Ruth Kelly: The yield from stamp duty land tax on the premium and rental elements of leases is forecast to be around £450 million in 2004–05.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the percentage of commercial rental contracts liable for stamp duty land tax. [152610]
Ruth Kelly: Approximately 60 per cent., of new commercial leases will pay no stamp duty land tax on the rental element. This compares with only 9 per cent. of leases that were exempt as regards the rental element under the previous stamp duty regime.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received concerning the future of e-conveyancing following the implementation of stamp duty land tax. [152611]
Thalidomide Trust
Mr. Singh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made by the Inland Revenue to establish the Thalidomide Trust's right to make distributions tax exempt under section 329 of the Finance Act 1996. [152301]
Dawn Primarolo: Discussions between the trustees of the Thalidomide Trust and officials of the Inland Revenue about the tax treatment of payments to beneficiaries of the trust are continuing. No conclusion has yet been reached.
US-UK Enterprise Agreement
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will list the (a) measures introduced and (b) events taking place as part of the US-UK enterprise agreement; [150763]
- (2) what meetings officials from his Department had with representatives of the United States Administration regarding the US-UK enterprise agreement; [150765]
(3) what the (a) total cost and (b) cost to the United Kingdom Government is of the US-UK enterprise agreement. [150769]
John Healey: The initiatives established in the US-UK Enterprise Agreement are:
- a scholarship programme;
- a forum to share best practice in enterprise education between school and related enterprise education providers and universities in the two countries;
- a joint government-business meeting to discuss common productivity challenges and policy implications;
- closer links between technology transfer offices in the US and the UK through the exchange of technology transfer professionals;
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- a review to study the removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers between Europe and America which we are taking forward with our European partners including France, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands.
Treasury officials have had a number of meetings and discussions with their counterparts in relevant departments in the United States Administration, and are in regular contact with US officials to develop these proposals.
The scholarships will offer the opportunity for entrepreneurs from the UK to study in the US. The budget for these scholarships is in the process of being finalised. Events to follow up the agreement will be announced in due course.
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