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1 Mar 2004 : Column 706W—continued
Counterfeiting
Mr. Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people have been arrested for producing counterfeit £1 coins. [156985]
Ruth Kelly: This is a matter for the law enforcement agencies and not for the Treasury or the Royal Mint. However, the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) has recently informed us that 63 persons were arrested for counterfeit coin possession and production in England and Wales since 1997.
Mr. Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what additional security measures are being considered for new batches of £1 coins to tackle problems of counterfeit coins. [156986]
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Ruth Kelly: The only effective option would be to introduce a new £1 coin. However, at present, given the very low incidence of counterfeit £1 coins by international monetary standards, it would not present a good value for money case to replace the existing coin.
Mr. Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department has identified the source or sources of counterfeit £1 coins. [156987]
Ruth Kelly: This is a matter for the law enforcement agencies and not for the Treasury or the Royal Mint.
Mr. Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what advice he has given to businesses to help them identify counterfeit £1 coins. [156988]
Ruth Kelly: As far as HM Treasury and the Royal Mint are aware, there is no evidence to suggest that businesses would benefit from Government advice on how to identify counterfeits.
Mr. Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps are being taken to reduce the number of counterfeit £1 coins in circulation. [156989]
Ruth Kelly: The only effective action HM Treasury and the Royal Mint could take is to replace the £1 coin. Any level of counterfeiting must be a matter of concern but, given the Royal Mint's recent estimate of the incidence of £1 counterfeit coins to be less than 1 per cent. and anecdotal evidence from cash handlers suggesting a figure even less than this, this is considered to be well within the level generally tolerated by monetary authorities across the world and does not provide a value for money case for replacing the £1 coin.
Mr. Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of the number of counterfeit £1 coins in circulation in the UK. [156990]
Ruth Kelly: The Royal Mint conducts annual surveys to establish the incidence of £1 counterfeit coins. The most recent survey in December 2003 indicated a counterfeit rate of just under 1 per cent.—almost identical to the previous year's results. Anecdotal evidence from cash handlers suggests that the real level of counterfeits may be substantially lower.
Employment (Lancashire)
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people are (a) employed and (b) self employed in (i) Lancashire and (ii) Chorley; and what percentage are sole traders. [157091]
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. Lindsay Hoyle, dated 1 March 2004:
- As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about employment and self-employment. (157091)
- The attached table gives estimates of the number of people employed and self- employed and the percentage of self-employed people who are sole traders in Lancashire and Chorley. Estimates are taken from the ONS Labour Force Survey (LFS), for the three month period ending November 2003.
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- As with any statistical sample survey, estimates for the LFS are subject to sampling variability.
| Lancashire | Chorley | |
|---|---|---|
| All people in employment(20) | 564,000 | 47,000 |
| Of these, number who are: | ||
| Employees | 491,000 | 39,000 |
| Self employed | 69,000 | (21)— |
| Sole traders(19) | 45,000 | (21)— |
| Sole traders as a percentage of self-employed | 64.7 | (21)— |
(18) People aged 16 and over
(19) Self employed with no employees.
(20) Includes employees, the self employed, unpaid family workers and people on Government employment and training programmes
(21) Sample size too small for reliable estimate
Source:
ONS-Labour Force Survey (Estimates are not seasonally adjusted and have not been interim-adjusted to reflect 2001 Census results)
Environmental Taxation
Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will ensure that (a) financial and (b) fiscal (i) incentives and (ii) disincentives for waste management encourage delivery of the Government's waste hierarchy. [156344]
John Healey: Through the use of the landfill tax, spending programmes, regulation and other economic instruments such as the landfill allowance trading scheme, the Government incentivises efforts to minimise the amount of waste generated and encourage sustainable waste disposal and waste management techniques.
Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the environmental benefits that would be derived from a tax on incineration; and if he will make a statement. [156345]
John Healey: The Government have commissioned a review of the evidence of health and environmental effects of different waste management options, and the case for economic instruments for waste management will be considered in light of this review.
European Constitution (UK Budget Abatement)
Mr. Spring: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer under what procedure in Article I-53(4) of the draft Constitution for Europe the UK budget abatement would be determined. [157100]
Ruth Kelly: Article I-53(4) of the draft Constitution covers the modalities of the Own Resources system that determines how the European Union budget is to be financed. The draft text provides for any new Own Resources Decision to be determined by qualified majority voting in the Council and consent of the European Parliament. The Government made clear in the White Paper on the Constitutional Treaty [Cm 5934] that it will insist on preserving arrangements which ensure that revenues remain a matter for member states, and decisions on them subject to unanimity and national ratification.
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Excise Revenue
Mr. Chope: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the yield in excise revenue from ready-to-drink products was in (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03; and what the estimated yield is for (i) 2003–04 and (ii) 2004–05. [157602]
John Healey: Excise revenue from wine-based ready-to-drink products can be found in the HM Customs and Excise Annual Report and Accounts 2002–03 (HC52), and is shown in the following table.
| Wine-based RTDs | Spirits-based RTDs | |
|---|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 236 | |
| 2002–03 | 67 | not available |
Until 27 April 2002 duty was levied on ready-to-drink products at the 'made wine coolers' rate. Since 28 April 2002 most ready-to-drink products have been taxed at the spirits (per litre of alcohol) rate. Revenue data are not separately available and are incorporated within the total for 'other spirits'. Information on the estimated yield for 2003–04 and 2004–05 ready-to-drink products is not available. The estimated yield for ready-to-drink products is incorporated in forecasts for wine and spirits that are published annually in the pre-Budget Report and the Financial Statement and Budget Report.
International Finance Facility
Tony Baldry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the countries which have indicated support for the International Finance Facility; and which of these countries he expects to attend the Paris Conference in April. [157561]
Stephen Hesford: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with international finance ministers on the International Finance Facility. [158128]
John Healey: At the Dubai Annual Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in September 2003, the International Finance Facility (IFF) proposal received wide support from the international community. The World Bank and IMF were mandated to work on aid effectiveness, aid absorption and financing mechanisms including the IFF, and to report back at the Spring and Annual meetings this year.
At the meeting of G7 Finance Ministers at Boca Raton, Florida last month, Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to help countries achieve the Millennium Development Goals through work on aid effectiveness, aid absorption and financing mechanisms including the International Finance Facility (IFF). This meeting built on the Annual Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Dubai in September 2003, where the World Bank and the IMF were mandated to do work on the IFF proposal, and to report back at the Spring and Annual meetings this year. In the same month the Commonwealth Finance Ministers welcomed further work on the IFF initiative.
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The Dubai meetings also called for consultation of emerging markets and developing countries on the IFF proposal. As part of this consultation process, Francis Mer, the French Finance Minister, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer will jointly host a Ministerial Conference on Financing for Development in Paris on 8 April. This conference will bring together Finance and International Development Ministers from over 60 emerging market, developing and donor countries to discuss the case for increased aid and the IFF. Invitations have been issued to members of OECD/DAC, the G20, the IMF Committee and World Bank Development Committee, as well as countries acceding to the ED and representatives from Africa and the Asia-Europe meeting (ASEM). Representatives from multi-lateral agencies, NGOs and academics have also been invited.
Discussion of the IFF proposal will continue at the Spring Meetings of the World Bank and the IMF, where the Chancellor will chair the IMF Committee.
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