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EU Savings Directive

Denzil Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the revenue change to the Treasury arising from the implementation of the EU Savings Directive. [178130]

Dawn Primarolo: I refer my hon. Friend to the Regulatory Impact Assessment, published on 16 December 2003, which considers the costs and benefits of implementation of the EU Savings Directive. Copies of the Regulatory Impact Assessment were placed in the Library of the House. It is also available on the Inland Revenue website http://www.ir.gov.uk/ria/eusd- ria.pdf.

Financial Regulation

Harry Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department maintains a record of the annual percentage which financial institutions add to their with profits endowments, mortgage annuities and pension financial vehicles for their investors; whether any financial regulatory body keeps such a record; if he will require such a record to be made available in the public domain; what steps he is taking to (a) encourage competition between such financial institutions and the financial vehicles they promote and (b) enable investors to make an informed choice; and if he will make a statement. [178400]

Ruth Kelly: With-profits bonus decisions are publicly available through a variety of sources including statements to policyholders, annual reports and accounts, regulatory returns made to the Financial Services Authority and reports in both the general and the specialist financial press. There are no plans to compile and make available a comprehensive record. These are medium and long-term policies for which one year's annual bonus percentage provides only part of the information relevant to understanding the policy.
 
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The Financial Services Authority tells me that it regards improving transparency for existing and potential policyholders and treating customers fairly as the cornerstones of the changes that are being introduced for with-profits. Enabling consumers and those who advise consumers on their choice of investment to make rational choices on the basis of clearer and more transparent information will encourage healthy competition within the industry.

Harry Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to improve investment competition by reducing penalties upon investors who wish to opt out of very low paying annual percentage additions to with profits endowments, mortgage annuities and pension financial vehicles; if he will instruct the Financial Services Authority to bring forward proposals to ensure that investors are not effectively locked in to uncompetitive financial vehicles; and if he will make a statement. [178401]

Ruth Kelly: The value of with-profits funds depends on the interaction between annual bonuses over the lifetime of the policy and the level of terminal bonus. Surrender values sometimes incorporate market value reductions where the nominal value of a policyholders funds is in excess of the value of the underlying assets and the terms of the insurance contract allow one to be imposed. It is important that the amounts paid to departing policyholders are fair both to those who leave the fund and to those who wish to remain invested for the longer term.

The Financial Services Authority has already made a number of proposals relating to closed with-profits funds including better provision of information to policyholders explaining the circumstances of closure, setting out the options available to policyholders and better planning for the run-off of the fund.

Imported Electricity

Mr. Tynan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reasons electricity imported into the United Kingdom via interconnectors is not subject to the Climate Change Levy. [178352]

John Healey: Climate change levy is a single-stage tax which becomes due when a utility supplies a consumer with electricity, whether produced in the UK or imported via an interconnector.

International Development

Tom Brake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 27 May 2004, Official Report, column 1725W, on international development, if he will define what constitutes the usual representations. [178244]

John Healey: The Government have received many representations from Members, private individuals and other bodies such as NGOs on the subject of the 0.7 per cent. target for official development assistance. These include letters, e-mails and postcards.
 
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Parliamentary Questions

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) pursuant to the answer of 27 May 2004, Official Report, column 1728W, on tax credits, where the reference to (a) child tax credit and (b) working tax credit appears in the document sent to all honourable Members; [178844]

(2) pursuant to the answer of 27 May 2004, Official Report, column 1728W, on tax credits, whether (a) child tax credit and (b) working tax credit are subject to the right to reside test. [178845]

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to page 3 of the briefing sent to all Members of Parliament on 10 May 2004 by my hon. Friend, the Minister for Citizenship and Immigration (Mr. Browne).

Professional Football Clubs

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many professional football clubs have gone into receivership or administration since 1997; and what the average percentage is of the money they owed to the Government that (a) the Inland Revenue and (b) Customs and Excise has agreed the clubs should repay. [178177]

Dawn Primarolo: Individual businesses are monitored by both revenue departments when they fall into arrears. However, information on the debts of particular groups according to the nature of their business is not held centrally in both departments. The information requested is therefore not readily available.

STEPS Agreement

Denzil Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much in total has been paid to external commercial, legal and financial advisers in respect of the STEPS agreement. [178102]

Dawn Primarolo: The STEPS agreement can be split into two distinct activities—the STEPS Project prior to contract go live in April 2001 and STEPS Contract Management since then. The costs given as follows for external commercial, legal and financial advice in respect of the STEPS agreement reflect this:

	£
STEPS	Cost
Project	8,545,992
Contract 1 April to 4 April	4,838,910

Denzil Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was paid by the Department to Mapeley STEPS Contractor Limited in each year to April (a) 2002, (b) 2003 and (c) 2004. [178131]

Dawn Primarolo: Payments to Mapeley STEPS Contractor Limited for the Chancellors Departments are:

To April	£
2002	301,945,016.19
2003	309,546,889.08
2004	309,264,264.67

 
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Taxation (Married People)

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the cost to the Exchequer of allowing married people to transfer their unused income tax allowance to a spouse with a taxable income in respect of families where the child is (a) under one year old, (b) one, (c) two, (d) three, (e) four and (f) five years old. [178857]

Dawn Primarolo: The cost to the exchequer through lower income tax of allowing married persons with children to transfer their full personal allowance to their spouse if he or she has a higher gross income for the options are listed as follows.
Cost in 2004–05 per annum

Option	Amount (£ million)
(a) married and with at least one child aged less than one year	320
(b) married and with at least one child aged one year	340
(c) married and with at least one child aged two years	360
(d) married and with at least one child aged three years	350
(e) married and with at least one child aged four years	370
(f) married and with at least one child aged five years	340

Notes:
1. Figures rounded to the nearest £10 million. They exclude any estimate of behavioural response to the tax change.
2. Age of child at last birthday.

The change in revenue for other taxes can be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

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