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Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 25 March 2004
EDUCATION AND SKILLS
Higher Education Bill
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many of the Higher Education Bill's (a) clauses and (b) schedules were (i) debated, (ii) partially debated and (iii) not debated during the recent committee stage. [162988]
Alan Johnson [holding answer 23 March 2004]: 25 clauses of the bill were formally debated during Committee Stage. Debates over fourteen sessions were both wide-ranging and detailed. Debate on the fees provisions lasted for seven committee sessions, and ensured a very full exploration of the Government's policy on tuition fees. A similarly long debate on the Government's proposal to establish an Office for Fair Access lasted for three Committee sessions. 25 clauses and seven schedules were not debated. Among the clauses not debated are 10 clauses that cover technical, interpretative or commencement provisions. The wide-ranging discussion on several clauses meant that the debates touched on a number of issues associated with later clauses that were not formally reached.
In order to ensure that the policies and legislation in the Higher Education Bill were debated in detail, the Government encouraged the extension of several Committee sessions into the evening and added an extra day to the time allotted for Committee stage.
TREASURY
Ouzo
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans the Government have to make an additional submission to the European Court of Justice regarding the level of excise duty levied by the Greek Government on ouzo. [163308]
John Healey: Officials from Customs, DTI and DEFRA are in the process of considering the legal and practical implications of such an approach to the European Court of Justice.
Bicycles
John Thurso: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue was collected from the (a) import and (b) sale of bicycles in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by (i) country of origin and (ii) number of machines in each case. [163124]
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John Healey: The number of non-motorised bicycles and other cycles (including delivery tricycles) 1 imported in 2003 from non-EU countries and the value of the revenue declared, broken down by country of origin, is shown in the following table:
- 1 Classified under commodity code 8712.
| Country oforigin | Supplementary units (number) | Customs duty | VAT | Anti-dumping duty | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vietnam | 695,302 | 3,431,085 | 4,972,919 | 0 | |
| Taiwan | 666,837 | 4,440,437 | 5,886,069 | 1,177,805 | |
| Philippines | 566,543 | 1,121,187 | 2,127,414 | 0 | |
| Bangladesh | 348,234 | 20,983 | 1,969,880 | 0 | |
| Thailand | 311,923 | 697,388 | 1,264,953 | 0 | |
| Sri Lanka | 297,825 | 398,525 | 777,177 | 0 | |
| China | 148,690 | 411,432 | 942,913 | 1,133,348 | |
| Tunisia | 140,309 | 0 | 565,686 | 0 | |
| India | 139,083 | 143,705 | 286,921 | 0 | |
| Poland | 99,872 | 2,751 | 656,036 | 0 | |
| Indonesia | 81,639 | 322,344 | 608,278 | 0 | |
| Bulgaria | 66,698 | 0 | 316,292 | 0 | |
| Turkey | 17,040 | 5,293 | 121,757 | 0 | |
| Hong Kong | 12,926 | 86,467 | 118,037 | 0 | |
| Hungary | 11,032 | 0 | 85,298 | 0 | |
| USA | 5,722 | 320,545 | 429,810 | 0 | |
| Macao | 1,975 | 17,476 | 24,113 | 0 | |
| Canada | 1,300 | 42,490 | 57,378 | 0 | |
| Liechtenstein | 978 | 0 | 11,556 | 0 | |
| Czech Republic527 | 1,847 | 4,799 | 0 | ||
| South Korea | 497 | 2,767 | 3,900 | 0 | |
| Brazil | 271 | 1,261 | 2,457 | 0 | |
| Japan | 105 | 264 | 365 | 0 | |
| New Zealand | 39 | 1,356 | 1,846 | 0 | |
| Australia | 14 | 1,842 | 2,489 | 0 | |
| Switzerland | 9 | 0 | 2,021 | 0 | |
| Malaysia | 3 | 286 | 423 | 0 | |
| Total | 3,615,393 | 11,1731,726 | 21,240,787 | 2,311,153 | |
Source:
Overseas Trade Statistics, HMCE.
Imports from the EU are not subject to Customs duty. VAT is accounted for on acquisition but information is not available on VAT collected by commodity. Data collected on imports of bicycles from the EU do not include the member state of origin.
Sales of bicycles in the UK in 2002 using Office for National Statistics figures for household expenditure on the purchase of all bicycles were £974 million. Information on VAT collected by commodity is not available.
John Thurso: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the level and nature of taxes and other charges made by the Government relating to the (a) import and (b) sale of bicycles in the UK. [163125]
John Healey: The full rate of Customs Duty for bicycles imported from non-EU countries is 15 per cent. of total value.
Reduced rates of duty varying from zero to 10.5 per cent. are applicable to particular countries of origin. Full information on these rates is contained in the Customs and Excise Tariff.
EU Anti-Dumping duties at a rate of 30.6 per cent. of value are currently imposed on importations of bicycles from the Republic of China. Similar duties at a rate of 18.2 per cent. were in force during 2003 on importations from Taiwan. These expired on 26 February 2004.
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VAT on bicycles, both imported and home-produced, is charged at the UK standard rate of 17.5 per cent. on the total amount payable by the purchaser.
Customs (Staffing)
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what effect the proposed merger of HM Customs and Excise with the Inland Revenue and reduction in staffing levels will have on the number of frontline uniformed customs officers in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) the Highlands and Islands and (d) Orkney and Shetland; and if he will make a statement. [163268]
Mr. Prosser: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which posts will be lost in HM Customs and Excise service under his plan to reduce numbers of civil servants. [163174]
John Healey [holding answer 23 March 2004]: The Chancellor has announced in this year's Budget the creation of a new Department, integrating the work of HM Customs and Excise and the Inland Revenue.
The new Department will be tasked with delivering the benefits of improved customer service, in particular reducing compliance costs, and improved compliance with tax law, as well as greater efficiency.
The reforms announced dovetail with the work conducted by the Gershon efficiency review. The integration of the departments, along with existing plans and proposed efficiency reforms, will create scope for overall savings equivalent to 14,000 posts by 2008. On the basis of policy commitments and plans to increase front line staffing in some areas, this will result in an overall reduction equivalent to 10,500 posts by 2008.
The location and nature of staffing changes will be determined in detailed business planning to be undertaken by the revenue departments and their new Executive Chairman, when appointed, who will be consulting as appropriate with all key stakeholders including trade unions.
Customs expertise in working at the borders to protect national security, collect revenue, facilitate trade and prevent smuggling will continue to play a vital role in the new integrated department.
EU Waste and Fraud
Sir Teddy Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the systems which are available to (a) control and (b) prevent (i) waste and (ii) fraud within the European Union; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of those procedures. [161698]
Ruth Kelly [holding answer 25 March 2004]: The Paymaster General made a full statement on these issues on 23 February in the debate in European Standing Committee B on the European Court of Auditors annual report and the Commission's Fight Against Fraud report. A further detailed assessment is provided in the Government's annual White Paper on the EC Budget and measures to counter fraud and financial mismanagement, the latest version of which was published in April 2003 [Cm 5800].
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Public Service Agreement Targets
Tony Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library the guidance provided to Departments on how they should report progress and achievement against their Public Service Agreement targets. [162930]
Mr. Boateng: A copy of the guidance issued for the spring 2004 departmental reports has been placed in the Library. This includes guidance on reporting against Public Service Agreement targets.
Working Tax Credit
Mr. Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the level of overpayment in the year to April 2004 of the child care element of the Working Tax Credit due to (a) fraud, (b) claimant error and (c) departmental error. [163695]
Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to my answer to the hon. Member for Northavon (Mr. Webb) on 5 February 2004, Official Report, columns 1003–1004W.
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