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19 Apr 2004 : Column 372W—continued
Administration Costs
Mr. Letwin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made in lowering administration costs as a proportion of total spending since his Budget statement. [165021]
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Mr. Boateng: The Budget announced that the administration costs of all departments will be capped at or below the 2005–06 nominal level for the remainder of the 2004 Spending Review period. This will reduce administration costs to a planned 3.7 per cent. of total spending by 2008.
Child Benefit
Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to pay benefits for each child rather than per pregnancy in the case of multiple births; and if he will make a statement. [166231]
Dawn Primarolo: By 2004–05, financial support for children through tax credits, child benefit and other benefits will have increased by £10.4 billion in real terms from its 1997 level, a rise of 72 per cent. The 2003 pre-Budget report announced a significant increase in the child element of child tax credit—up £180 to £1,625 a year from April 2004. Both the child element of child tax credit and child benefit are already paid in respect of each child in a household, according to income. The baby addition to the family element of child tax credit is intended to recognise the costs on the family of responsibility for a baby and as such is payable per family rather than per child. This and other structural design features of child tax credit will be kept under review, particularly in the light of the Government's commitment of halving child poverty by 2010.
Child Tax Credit
Mr. Alan Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families in Tynemouth constituency receive child tax credit. [165359]
Dawn Primarolo: I refer my hon. Friend to my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Burton (Mrs. Dean) on 15 March 2004, Official Report, column 98W.
Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families in Wirral south have received child tax credit. [166627]
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families in Birkenhead have received child tax credit. [166310]
Dawn Primarolo: Estimates of the number of families receiving the child or working tax credit in each constituency appear in Child and Working Tax Credit Statistics Geographical analyses January 2004. This can be found on the Inland Revenue website at www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/menu.htm. The estimates are based on a sample of cases, and are subject to sampling uncertainty.
Children (Overseas Holidays)
Tim Loughton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of children in England took holidays overseas in each of the last seven years. [165580]
Mr. Boateng:
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
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Letter from Len Cook to Tim Loughton, dated 19 April 2004:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question on the proportion of children in England that took holidays overseas in each of the last seven years.
The information requested is not available.However, the Office for National Statistics conducts the International Passenger Survey (IPS) which interviews people as they enter or leave the country. The IPS counts visits, and people who make more than one visit in a year can be counted more than once. From that source ONS can estimate the number of visits abroad made by UK residents aged under 16. The number of these visits, and the number of visits per 1,000 UK residents aged under 16, are shown in the table below for each of the last 7 years (1997–2003).
| Number of visits made by under 16s (thousands) | Number of visits made per thousand under 16s(132) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 4010 | 334 |
| 1998 | 4124 | 343 |
| 1999 | 4710 | 392 |
| 2000 | 4821 | 403 |
| 2001 | 5083 | 429 |
| 2002 | 5144 | 437 |
| 2003 | 5141 | (133)— |
Notes:
(132) A single child may make several visits abroad in one year.
(133) 2003 population estimates are not yet available.
Capital Allowances
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many businesses in Birkenhead have benefited from the 100 per cent. tax exemption for computer and internet equipment. [166311]
Dawn Primarolo: We regret that the information is not available to estimate the number of businesses in Birkenhead which have benefited from the 100 per cent. first year capital allowances for the purchase of information and communication equipment.
Council House Tenancies
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer after how many years council house tenancies will be notifiable under stamp duty land tax regulations. [166284]
Ruth Kelly: Under the usual terms of council house tenancies it is unlikely that any will be notifiable under Stamp Duty Land Tax.
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of council tenancies which will be notifiable under stamp duty land tax regulations by 2014. [166285]
Departmental Computers
Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to update computer (a) hardware and (b) software standard packages used in his Department. [166361]
Dawn Primarolo:
Inland Revenue, Customs and Excise and HM Treasury all aim to ensure that their standard computer software and hardware is maintained at versions which reflect business needs, and which are consistent with industry norms. All three
19 Apr 2004 : Column 375W
departments have a policy of replacing older mainstream hardware as part of ongoing refreshment programmes.
Departmental Policies (Sustainable Development)
Norman Lamb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what work his Department's Green Minister has undertaken in that capacity; [165527]
(2) what meetings his Department's Green Minister has attended in that capacity in the last 12 months; [165528]
(3) if he will list the meetings attended by a representative of his Department on the delivery of sustainable development across Government as co-ordinated by the Ministerial Sub-committee of Green Ministers; [165529]
(4) what steps he is taking to assist in the delivery of sustainable development within Government; [165530]
(5) what progress has been made on his Department's Sustainable Development Strategy. [165531]
John Healey: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave him on 26 January 2004, Official Report, column 110W. Since then, the development of the next steps of environmental measures contributing to the Government's sustainable development strategy announced in Budget 2004 has been my responsibility. These included:
new eligibility criteria for climate change agreements;a package of measures to promote household energy efficiency including a reduced rate of VAT for ground source heat pumps, and possibly for micro-combined heat and power units from 2005, and incentives for the private rented sector to invest in energy efficiency;duty rates for sulphur-free fuels raised in line with inflation from September 2004 and, to encourage the use of this clearer fuel, the duty for ultra-low-sulphur fuels set at 0.5 pence per litre above this level from the same date;an increase in rebated fuel rates, and three-year certainty for duty differentials on biofuels and road fuel gases;reforms to the tax treatment of company vans and emergency vehicles;publication of the third progress report on the lorry road-user scheme;reform of the aggregrates levy relief scheme in Northern Ireland to ensure that the levy achieves its environmental aims there.
In addition to this work on economic instruments to tackle environmental threats, consideration of sustainable development is incorporated directly into policy areas across the Treasury. For example, work on international poverty reduction and public spending, including this year's spending review, contribute directly to the Government's sustainable development goals.
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