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30 Mar 2004 : Column 1356W—continued
Tax Collection
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost of tax collection was in each of the last five financial years for which figures are available. [162454]
Dawn Primarolo: For years up to and including 2001–02, details of the duties collected by the Department and the associated costs of administering those duties can be found in Table 1 at Appendix 1 of the Inland Revenue Annual Report for the year ending 31 March 2002 (published in December 2002).
For 2002–03, comparative figures are:
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| Net receipt of Inland Revenue duties | 219,194.8 |
| Total cost of administering Inland Revenue duties | 2,431.9 |
Tax Receipts
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much money the Government received from (a) VAT, (b) income tax, (c) inheritance tax, (d) corporation tax, (e) capital gains tax and (f) stamp duty in each of the last five financial years for which figures are available. [162453]
Dawn Primarolo: Receipts from VAT are published on the HM Customs and Excise website, www. hmce.gov.uk/about/reports/ann-report-2003/a1.pdf.
Income tax, inheritance tax, corporation tax, capital gains tax and stamp duty receipts are published on the Inland Revenue website, www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats/tax receipts/table-12.pdf.
Trusts (Income Tax)
Mr. Flook: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what discussions he has had with the trust sector regarding the effect of income tax on pre-owned assets on trusts set up before December 2003; [164561]
- (2) what assessment he has made of the ease with which tax avoidance schemes using trusts can be dismantled. [164781]
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Dawn Primarolo: The consultation process on pre-owned assets was open to all interested parties, and the Chancellor took account of all responses received when settling the details announced in his Budget. How readily any particular tax avoidance scheme using trusts can be dismantled will depend on the scheme; in the case of schemes involving pre-owned assets the Chancellor concluded, with the benefit of consultation, that dismantling them would often be difficult. Provision to address this is among the matters covered by his Budget announcements.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
ACAS
Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the cost is of production of hard copy leaflets issued by ACAS that cover employment rights. [164157]
Mr. Sutcliffe: I refer the hon. Member to my reply given on 15 March 2004, Official Report, columns 63–64W.
Advice Booklets
Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 11 March 2004, Official Report, column 1676W, on advice booklets, which of the organisations invited to be part of the practitioner group (a) accepted the invitation to form part of the group and (b) supported the policy to cease production of hard copy prints of the relevant leaflets. [164228]
Mr. Sutcliffe: I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Lynne Jones) on 25 March 2004, Official Report, columns 962–93W.
The group were asked for their views on reducing the number of publications in hard copy. No one at the meeting opposed the proposed changes.
Arms Exports
Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many open individual export licences for arms components have been granted to (a) Côte d'Ivoire, (b) Nigeria, (c) Senegal, (d) Colombia, (e) Angola and (f) Namibia in each year since 2002 broken down by (i) type, (ii) volume and (iii) value; and under what conditions each licence was granted. [163414]
Nigel Griffiths: Since May 1997, the Government have published an Annual Report on Strategic Export Controls containing details of all goods, including components, authorised for export from the UK and to which destinations. The total value of SIEL licences issued for each destination is recorded in these reports. Copies of the Annual Report (up to and including 2002) are available from the Libraries of the House. Details of export licences approved in 2003 will be published later this year in the 2003 Annual Report.
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Concerning quantities exported, HM Customs and Excise and DTI compliance officers check that the terms of the licence have been respected but do not store data on volumes of actual exports which have been vetted and licensed.
All licensing decisions are only made following careful and rigorous scrutiny of applications against the consolidated EU and national arms export licensing criteria, taking account of circumstances prevailing at the time and other announced Government policies.
Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what weapons components have been licensed to (a) Brazil, (b) Jordan, (c) Malaysia, (d) Singapore, (e) Turkey, (f) South Korea and (g) South Africa in the last two years; and what quantities each of those countries has received. [163416]
Nigel Griffiths: Since May 1997, the Government have published an Annual Report on Strategic Export Controls containing details of all goods, including components, authorised for export from the UK and to which destinations. The total value of SIEL licences issued for each destination is recorded in these reports. Copies of the Annual Report (up to and including 2002) are available from the Libraries of the House. Details of export licences approved in 2003 will be published later this year in the 2003 Annual Report.
Concerning quantities exported, HM Customs and Excise and DTI compliance officers check that the terms of the licence have been respected but do not store data on volumes of actual exports which have been vetted and licensed.
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether her Department has binding agreements in place to prevent the re-export of UK components without the prior knowledge of the UK Government. [163850]
Nigel Griffiths: When considering an application for a licence to export strategic goods, the DTI requires the applicant to forward an undertaking from the end-user of the goods that they are for his ultimate end-use. A risk assessment is then made, taking account of any information we may hold on the end-user and the risk of diversion. I am advised it would not be practicable for the Government or another party to enter into binding agreements with end-users who are outside UK jurisdiction.
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many countries since the introduction in July 2002 of revised guidelines for the licensing of arms components in incorporation cases she estimates have received export licences for arms components where the licensee may not be the final end-user of the finished goods. [163851]
Nigel Griffiths: For 2003, information on whether UK licensed goods were for incorporation has been recorded on the DTI Export Control Organisation's (ECO) databases. Information prior to this can be obtained only at disproportionate cost, via a manual search of licensing files. Statistics on incorporation cases will be published in the Government's 2003 Annual Report on Strategic Export Controls later this year.
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Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what definition her Department uses of a non-aggressive component. [163852]
Nigel Griffiths: The DTI has no definition of a non-aggressive component. All components which are on the UK Military List or EU Dual-Use Regulation require an export licence before they may be exported.
Broadband
Mr. Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to extend (a) broadband access to the internet and (b) digital television to all rural areas of the UK. [164221]
Mr. Timms: The DTI is working with the devolved Administrations and regional development agencies to extend the availability of broadband still further with a view to broadband being available in every community by the end of next year. We have given them £30 million for pilot schemes to extend the availability of broadband in areas not currently served by the market. This has helped to stimulate further regional schemes across the UK worth at least £377 million over 2000–06.
In England, the Broadband Aggregation Project will make sure that the £1 billion Government spend on broadband connectivity for the public sector between 2003 and 2006 will offer the best value for money and widen availability to surrounding communities.
A joint DTI/Defra rural broadband team has been set up specifically to address the issue of availability of broadband in rural areas. It aims to support local community action to secure affordable access to broadband, to ensure rural communities derive the maximum benefit from the deployment of broadband and promote rural access and take up of broadband to those in a position to effect positive change.
With regard to digital TV, we said in 1999 that before we switch off analogue transmissions everyone who could receive the main public service broadcasting channels in analogue form must be able to receive them on digital systems, and that switching must be affordable for the vast majority of people. These criteria still hold true. However, the Government consider that the advantages of digital television are such that the question is not whether, but how and when we should switch off analogue transmissions.
One of the main arguments for switching off analogue transmissions is that until we do so around 25 per cent. of households will not be able to receive digital services through an aerial. This is because if the power of digital transmissions were increased to enable more complete coverage this would interfere with analogue transmissions, thereby degrading the quality of analogue television reception. Full digital coverage therefore depends on switching off the analogue signal. We are currently working with broadcasters and other stakeholders (including consumer groups) under the Digital Television Action Plan (available at www. digitaltelevision.gov.uk) on an analogue to digital switchover implementation plan. One of the deliverables under this plan will be a region by region timetable for switchover.
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Many rural areas are already able to receive digital television signals. Whether a particular household can receive them depends on whether that household is in the reception area of one of the 80 main transmitters from which digital signals are currently broadcast, not on whether it is in a rural or urban area. Digital terrestrial television reception can be checked by entering the viewer's postcode on either the Freeview or the Digital Television Group (DTG)'s websites www.freeview. co.uk or www.dtg.org.uk. Additionally, retailers are advised to check whether customers can receive digital terrestrial television where they live before buying, and most retailers normally bring this to the customer's attention at the point of sale.
It is already possible to receive digital television services by satellite in the vast majority of rural areas. Satellite broadcasts are available to over 98 per cent. of households in the United Kingdom. Viewers can choose to receive all the BBC services and many others free-to-view by purchasing a satellite dish. Alternatively they can subscribe for packages of services which include all public broadcasting services.
Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what targets the Government have set for the development of broadband by 2010. [164264]
Mr. Timms: The Government's current broadband target is to have the most competitive and extensive broadband market in the G7 countries by the end of 2005. The Government are in the process of considering with stakeholders (including the Broadband Stakeholder Group), on what targets are necessary to measure the UK's progress in this area after this date. This process will be completed during this year and the Government will make an announcement once the review is complete.
Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on Government plans to widen access to broadband over the next 12 months. [164285]
Mr. Timms: In November 2003, the DTI called on the Government, public bodies and broadband providers to bring broadband availability to 100 per cent. of communities across the UK by the end of 2005. BT and other stakeholders in the telecommunications industry came forward to support this target.
The Government expect that considerable progress will be achieved within the next 12 months. According to Ofcom, an estimated 85 per cent. of UK homes and businesses are covered by a mass-market broadband solution and this is almost certain to rise to 90 per cent. this year.
The Government welcome the advice of the Broadband Stakeholder Group in helping to develop a strategy for reaching the last 10 per cent. of communities. This will involve continuing action by the public and private sectors working in partnership to complete the access to an extensive and competitive broadband market throughout the UK using a variety of technologies.
Decisions on where and when networks will be deployed will be predominantly for the market. However, the Government will continue to play their part, for example, by aggregating the £l billion demand for public
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sector connectivity to 2006 through the Broadband Aggregation Programme, helping to ensure that this investment extends broadband availability to local communities.
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