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4 Mar 2004 : Column 1059W—continued
WALES
Former Departmental Officials
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which former officials of the Department have asked for permission to join (a) PricewaterhouseCoopers, (b) Deloitte & Touche, (c) Ernst & Young and (d) KPMG. [156889]
Mr. Hain: The Wales Office has been staffed entirely by secondees from other Government Departments who would need to seek any necessary permission from their parent Department.
New Hospitals
Mr. Jon Owen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the value of the capital expenditure on new hospitals built in Wales is in the last five years for which records are available. [156960]
Mr. Touhig: Capital expenditure for building new hospitals in Wales comes from different sources that are not identified in central recording systems as exclusively for building new hospitals.
The following table contains information on the total value of capital expenditure on the NHS in Wales for the last five years.
| Financial year | £ million |
|---|---|
| 1998–99 | 110.288 |
| 1999–2000 | 97.713 |
| 2000–01 | 91.611 |
| 2001–02 | 140.176 |
| 2002–03 | 123.388 |
New Schools
Mr. Jon Owen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the value of the capital expenditure on new schools built in Wales is in the last five years for which records are available. [156961]
Mr. Touhig: Capital expenditure for building new schools in Wales comes from different sources that are not identified in central recording systems as exclusively for building new schools.
The following table contains information on the total value of capital expenditure on schools in Wales for the last five years, and includes pre-primary, primary, secondary and special schools.
| Financial year | £000 |
|---|---|
| 1998–99 | 55,323 |
| 1999–2000 | 51,727 |
| 2000–01 | 70,421 |
| 2001–02 | 84,215 |
| 2002–03 | 89,926 |
Secondments
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what secondments (a) PricewaterhouseCoopers, (b) Deloitte & Touche, (c) Ernst & Young and
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(d) KPMG have made to his Department since 2001; for what (i) periods and (ii) tasks the secondments were made; whether secondments of staff from his Department have been made to those firms; and for what (A) periods and (B) tasks. [156917]
TREASURY
Public Spending and Employment
14. Dr. Desmond Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the relationship between levels of public spending and levels of employment. [158480]
Dawn Primarolo: UK public spending as a percentage of GDP is close to the OECD average, but the UK has one of the highest employment rates in the OECD. Across OECD countries there is no systematic relationship between levels of public spending and levels of employment.
Crossrail Project
15. Simon Hughes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department of the Government agreeing to support the Crossrail project following the completion of the Montague Report; and if he will make a statement. [158481]
Mr. Boateng: Crossrail is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport. I understand he is now considering the detailed advice that he has received from Adrian Montague.
Growth/Consumer Spending
16. Mr. Ian Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the last three years UK economy trend figures for growth and consumer spending; and if he will make a statement. [158482]
John Healey: Over the past three years real consumer spending has grown at a faster rate than GDP, supporting the economy through a prolonged period of subdued global demand.
IMF Expenditure Forecasts
17. Mr. Forth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the International Monetary Fund regarding expenditure forecasts. [158483]
Mr. Boateng: The Chancellor of the Exchequer and officials from HM Treasury had detailed discussions with representatives from the IMF during December in preparation for the UK's Article IV Report. The concluding statement of the IMF's Mission was published immediately after the visit on 18 December.
Tax Credits
18. Kevin Brennan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the net direct taxation payable in this financial year by a married
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couple with two children and an income of £20,000 from one partner's work, taking into account the impact of tax credits. [158484]
Dawn Primarolo: The direct tax burden on a single earner family with two children and gross earnings of £20,000 per year is 9.5 per cent. in 2003–04.
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with officials from (a) the Department for Work and Pensions and (b) the Inland Revenue regarding take-up ratio of tax credits. [158267]
Dawn Primarolo: Officials from the Inland Revenue and HM Treasury have had discussions on the size of the population expected to benefit from the Child and Working Tax Credits. The Department for Work and Pensions does not administer tax credits.
Employment Target
19. Mr. Blizzard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on his aim to achieve full employment. [158485]
John Healey: The Government's long-term goal is employment opportunity for all—the modern definition of full employment. Its aim is to ensure a higher proportion of people in work than ever before by 2010. The Government's strategy for delivering employment opportunity for all is based on maintaining macroeconomic stability and ensuring a dynamic and flexible labour market that equips people to adapt to change.
Disabled People
20. Mr. Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with the Inland Revenue relating to people with disabilities. [158487]
Dawn Primarolo: Treasury Ministers discuss a range of issues with the Inland Revenue, including those relating to people with disabilities.
Tax Concessions (Works of Art)
21. Chris Bryant: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to extend tax concessions for those who give major works of art to UK national galleries. [158488]
Dawn Primarolo: The Chancellor of the Exchequer considers all taxes as part of his annual Budget judgment.
Civil Servants (Relocation)
22. Mr. Grogan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to publish Sir Michael Lyons' report on the relocation of civil servants and other public sector workers to the regions. [158489]
Mr. Boateng: Sir Michael Lyons intends to publish his final report into the scope for relocating public sector activities out of London and the South East later this month. I understand that no specific date has yet been determined.
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International Development
23. Mr. Tom Harris: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list his public spending commitments to 2006 for International Development. [158490]
Mr. Boateng: As set out following the conclusion of Spending Review 2002 in July 2002, the Department for International Development's budget for this Financial Year is £3.64 billion. This will rise to £3.78 billion next year and will reach £4.53 billion in financial year 2005–06. This represents the largest ever increase in UK aid levels.
Euro (Ministerial Speeches)
24. Keith Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many speeches he has made in the last 12 months in support of the Government's policy on the euro. [158491]
John Healey: My right hon. Friend the Chancellor said in his EMU statement to the House on 9 June:
"a modern long-term and deep-seated pro-European consensus in Britain about Britain's role in Europe and Europe's role in the world can and will be built."
Aggregates Levy
Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate he has made of the cost to industry in Scotland of the aggregates levy since its introduction; [157858]
- (2) what estimate he has made of the impact on local authorities in Scotland of the aggregates levy since its introduction; [157859]
(3) what change there has been in imports of aggregates into the UK since the introduction of the aggregates levy. [157860]
John Healey: I refer the hon. Lady to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for North-West Leicestershire (David Taylor) on 21 January 2004 Official Report, column 1256W).
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