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16 Mar 2004 : Column 163W—continued

Pesticides

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the results

16 Mar 2004 : Column 164W

have been of the consultation on no crop spray buffer zones; and whether she proposes to introduce no crop spray buffer zones. [162027]

Alun Michael: There has been a substantial response to the no-spray buffer zone consultation and all the responses are currently being assessed. A range of opinions was expressed and the practical options are currently being evaluated. Once this work has been completed Ministers will be in a position to consider the way forward and take decisions.

Rights of Way (Motorcyclists)

Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will meet interest groups representing motorcyclists as part of the consultation on the use of mechanically propelled vehicles on rights of way. [161123]

Alun Michael: I met representatives of motor vehicle user groups last year and I expect to meet them again in future. I have decided to wait until all responses to the consultation have been received and analysed before meeting any of the interested parties to discuss the proposals.

16 Mar 2004 : Column 165W

TREASURY

Civil Servants (Relocation)

Mr. Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the greatest number of civil servants that could be moved from central London to other parts of the country; and if he will make a statement. [161953]

Mr. Boateng: Sir Michael Lyons' Independent Review of Public Sector Relocation published its final report on 15 March. The report includes an assessment of the scope for relocating public sector activity from London and the South East. Copies are available in the Library of the House.

Mr. Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the initial set-up costs of relocating 20,000 civil servants away from the South East. [161954]

Mr. Boateng: Sir Michael Lyons' Independent Review of Public Sector Relocation published its final report on 15 March. The report provides an estimate of the costs and savings associated with relocating public sector activity. Copies are available in the House of Commons Library.

Mr. Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to make an announcement about the relocation of civil servants away from London and the South East. [161955]

Mr. Boateng: Sir Michael Lyons' Independent Review of Public Sector Relocation published its final report on 15 March. Copies are available in the Library of the House.

Job Vacancies (Crosby)

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many job vacancies there were in Crosby in (a) 1997 and (b) 2003. [160528]

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Len Cook to Claire Curtis-Thomas, dated March 2004:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about job vacancies in Crosby. (160528)

According to Jobcentre Plus administrative records the number of unfilled vacancies in the Crosby area was 148 on average during 1997. This represents only a proportion of all the vacancies available, as not all vacancies are notified to Jobcentres.

Jobcentre vacancy statistics were withdrawn from National Statistics in September 2001 as a result of distortions to the data which occurred following the introduction of new administrative procedures by Jobcentre Plus. Comparable figure for vacancies in Crosby in 2003 are therefore unavailable.

16 Mar 2004 : Column 166W

Correspondence

Mr. Burns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the hon. Member for West Chelmsford will receive a reply to his letter of 21 November 2003, PO Ref: 4/17287/2003. [160369]

John Healey: I have done so.

Computer Equipment (Tax Exemption)

Mrs. Dean: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many businesses in (a) Burton constituency and (b) Staffordshire have benefited from the 100 per cent. tax exemption for the purchase of computer and internet equipment. [161839]

Dawn Primarolo: Information is not available to enable reliable estimates to be made.

Housing Stock Transfers

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether large-scale voluntary transfers of council housing are liable for VAT. [161511]

John Healey: There is no VAT due on large-scale voluntary transfers of council housing.

National Insurance

Ms Drown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 23 February 2004, Official Report, columns 112–13W, on National Insurance, what the cost to the Treasury would be in each case. [161544]

Dawn Primarolo: A reduction in the lower earnings limit would not increase revenue from contributions, but would increase the future cost of paying contributory benefits and the cost of contracted-out rebates. I regret that it would be possible to quantify this only at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Denham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many individuals pay self-employed National Insurance contributions. [161633]

Dawn Primarolo: I refer my right hon. Friend to table 10.2 of the Annual Abstract, which can be found on the ONS website www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme compendia/Aa2004/AA20Q 4.pdf.

Mr. Denham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the change in payments to the National Insurance Fund that would accrue if all those paying self-employed National Insurance contributions paid at the employed rate in 2003–04. [161634]

Dawn Primarolo: The Government Actuary's Department estimates that if Class 4 contributions were paid at the Class 1 employee rate of 11 per cent. on profits, between the Lower Profits Limit and the Upper Profits Limit, and 1 per cent. on profits above the Upper Profits Limit, that the increase in National Insurance contribution accruals for the UK in 2003–04 would be

16 Mar 2004 : Column 167W

£590 million. This estimate assumes that Class 1 contributions paid by the employer and Class 2 would not be paid.

Paddington Basin Hospital Project

Mr. Wilkinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what response he has received from the promoters of the NHS Paddington Basin project to his request for a new business plan; and if he will make a statement. [161465]

Mr. Boateng: The project team is carrying out a review of the outline business case for the Paddington Health Campus scheme. When this is complete, the outcome of the review will be submitted to the Department of Health.

Parliamentary Questions

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will provide a substantive answer to the questions tabled for written answer by the hon. Member for Perth, reference 157866 to 157868. [161665]

John Healey: I have done so.

16 Mar 2004 : Column 168W

Scottish Transport Group

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 9 March 2004, Official Report, column 1481W, on Scottish Transport Group Dissolution Order, what sums in addition to the £50 million reduction in the 2001–02 Scottish Departmental Expenditure limit have been received by the Treasury with respect to the Scottish Transport Group pension fund. [161428]

Mr. Boateng: I refer the hon. Member to the reply which my right hon. Friend the then Chief Secretary to the Treasury gave to her on 11 April 2002, Official Report, column 577W, which described the tax treatment in relation to the pension fund.

Secondees

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the secondees from outside organisations working in his Department, stating in each case (a) the name of the person, (b) the name of the organisation, (c) the post held and (d) the start and finish dates of the secondment; and which are involved in drafting parliamentary answers. [160602]

Ruth Kelly [holding answer 11 March 2004]: Information relating to secondees is given as follows:

Name	Organisation	Employee job title	Date start	Expected return date
Lalitha Colaco-Henry	Financial Service Association	Financial Service Legislation	23 September 2002	22 September 2003
Clare Wilson-Thomas	Christian Action Research and Education	Public Policy Manager	28 November 2001	27 November 2004
Geoffrey Spence	Partnerships UK	PFI Adviser	14 January 2002	13 January 2004
Andy Graham	BP	Team Leader Workforce, Innovation and Reward	8 April 2002	7 April 2004
Liz Corrin	Pannell Kerr Foster	Leading Policy Analyst	22 July 2002	21 July 2004
Victoria Creed	National Audit Office	Accountancy Adviser	6 January 2003	5 January 2005
Paul Lloyd	City of London Police	Fraud Investigation Officer	6 January 2003	5 January 2004
Rowena Weir	Australian Department of Finance	Budget Officer	23 January 2003	22 January 2005
Jeremy Baines	HM Forces	Policy Analyst	6 January 2003	5 January 2006
Kate Bellamy	Womens Budget Group	Policy Analyst Gender	6 March 2003	30 November 2003
Dan Lambeth	Local Government Management Board	Emergency Control Range E	24 February 2003	30 September 2005
Shrupti Shah	Ernst &Young	Leading Policy Analyst	1 April 2003	31 August 2004
Paul Sanderson	Bank of England	Head of Financial Stability Branch	2 June 2003	1 June 2005
Ana Lasaosa	Bank of England	Leading Policy Analyst	23 June 2003	22 November 2003
Hideki Takada	Japan Finance Ministry	Policy Analyst	24 July 2003	23 July 2004
Bhashkaran Naidoo	Health Development Agency	Policy Analyst	1 September 2003	31 March 2004
Charlotte Armstrong	Deloitte Touche	General Business Tax	8 September 2003	8 September 2005
Richard Weaver	Price Waterhouse	Specialist in Accounting Matters	6 October 2003	31 December 2004
Kerrie Quirk	London School of Economics	Senior Personal Assistant	3 November 2003	2 November 2004
Susan Bickham	Partnerships UK	Personal Assistant	3 November 2003	2 November 2004
Hilary Brown	Bank of England	Graham Review of Small Firm Loan Guarantee	21 January 2004	15 October 2004

Treasury staff are routinely involved in drafting parliamentary answers as the occasion demands.

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