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15 Jul 2004 : Column 1282W—continued

Industrial Innovation

16. Mr. Luke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on Treasury incentives to facilitate innovation in industry. [184090]

Mr. Boateng: The DTI's Innovation Report, published in December 2003, and the joint DTI-DfES-HMT "Science and innovation investment framework 2004–14", published alongside the Spending Review, set out the Government's framework to facilitate innovation in industry.
 
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Iraq

18. Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with European Finance Ministers on debt relief for Iraq. [184092]

Mr. Boateng: The Chancellor has discussed Iraqi debt relief with other Finance Ministers in a variety of forums, including the G7 meeting in New York in May.

Individual Savings Accounts

19. Mr. Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the total present value of cash individual savings accounts; and if he will review his decision to reduce the annual permitted contribution to cash ISAs. [184094]

Ruth Kelly: Since their introduction in April 1999 a total of £81 billion has been subscribed to the cash component of the ISA.

The limits for annual subscriptions to ISAs are set at a maximum of £5,000 with a maximum limit of £1,000 for cash from 2006 onwards. These were the original limits envisaged for subscriptions to the ISA announced in the 1998 Budget. It was also announced that for the first year of the ISA the limits were to be £7,000 and £3,000 respectively. These starting limits were retained for a second year and extended to the end of April 2006 in the November 2000 pre-Budget report. The higher limits were provided to help establish and embed the ISA.

As I said in the debate on this issue at Report Stage of the Finance Bill last Tuesday, April 2006 is nearly two years away and we shall continue to keep the ISA limits under review.

Of course any review is subject to the 10-year guarantee provided by the Chancellor—that savers will benefit from tax relief on up to £5,000 in saving in the ISA each year until 2009.

Child Tax Credit

Mr. Michael Jabez Foster: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many recipients of child tax credit are subject to recovery as a result of overpayment in the last financial year in (a) Hastings and Rye and (b) the UK. [184364]

Dawn Primarolo: I refer my hon. Friends to the answer given to the hon. Member for Northavon (Mr. Webb) on 9 March 2004, Official Report, column 1482W.

Drugs Liaison Officers

Mr. Blizzard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how he measures the success rate of drugs liaison officers situated in foreign countries. [183673]

John Healey: Drugs liaison officers are deployed according to an assessment of the drugs threat to the UK and where they can achieve the best results for the UK. Specific objectives are set for each country or region with a view to maximising the impact on drugs supply and traffickers to the UK.
 
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Economic Growth Rates

Mr. David: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on how economic growth rates in the UK compare with those in other EU countries. [184079]

Ruth Kelly: UK GDP growth has been above that of the euro area in every year since 1997. Independent forecasters expect UK GDP to continue growing more quickly than the euro area, both this year and next.

Eurozone

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether general economic growth within the Eurozone has changed as a result of European Union enlargement. [184264]

Ruth Kelly: The new Member States are not members of the Euro zone, hence they are not included in Euro zone growth statistics.

However, enlargement of the EU is expected to bring long- term benefits both for the UK and all EU Member States, through greater trade opportunities and access to the enlarged single market.

Flats Above Shops Scheme

Martin Linton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many claims the Inland Revenue has received under the capital allowances for flats above shops scheme; [183274]

(2) how many UK residents have benefited from the 100 per cent. capital allowance for renovation or conversion space above shops or other commercial premises to provide flats for rent in each year since 11 May 2001; [183275]

(3) if he will estimate the cost to his Department of successful claims under the capital allowances for flats above shops scheme in each year between May 2001 and May 2004; [183276]

(4) how many claims were made in each year between May 2001 and May 2004 for (a) an initial allowance on a qualifying flat and (b) writing down allowances on a qualifying flat under the capital allowances for flats above shops scheme; [183277]

(5) what estimate he has made of the funds recovered as a result of converted dwellings ceasing to qualify for the capital allowances for flats above shops scheme, broken down by (a) the reasons for non-qualification and (b) financial years (i) 2001–02, (ii) 2002–03 and (iii) 2003–04. [183278]

John Healey: The scheme for Flat Conversion Allowances (FCA) was introduced in Finance Act 2001 as part of a package of measures designed to encourage the regeneration of Britain's towns and cities, building on recommendations made by the Urban Task Force, chaired by Lord Rogers, in their report "Towards an Urban Renaissance".

FCA was always envisaged as a modest scheme. As published by the ODPM in "Evaluation Issues for the Urban White Paper Fiscal Measures" in May 2003, the estimated Exchequer costs were: for 2001–02: negligible; for 2002–03: -£5 million; and for 2003–04: -£5 million.
 
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During the combined tax years and accounting period 2001–02 and 2002–03 around 770 claims have been received from companies. No figures are yet available for 2003–04.

To minimise any extra burden on businesses there are no requirements to provide detailed information when a business includes a claim for the allowances on its tax return. The information requested beyond the number of claims is not available.

Fuel Taxation

Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what research his Department has commissioned on the effects on small businesses of fuel taxation increases. [184005]

John Healey: When taking decisions on fuel duty rate levels, the Chancellor of the Exchequer takes account of all relevant economic, environmental and social considerations.

Interest Rates

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact of recent changes in interest rates on net disposable income. [184086]

Ruth Kelly: The independent Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England takes a deliberately forward-looking and pre-emptive approach to delivering stability and growth, setting interest rates in order to maintain low and stable inflation. And the excellent job that the MPC has done, supported by our new fiscal framework, has delivered stability and rising prosperity: since 1997, real household disposable income growth has averaged 3.1 per cent. per annum, compared to an average of 2.3 per cent. between 1992 and 1997.

Despite the recent changes, interest rates are still low by historical standards. Low interest rates have ensured that the ratio of interest payments to household disposable income has remained close to 7 per cent. since 2002, compared to a peak of over 15 per cent. in 1990 when consumers were hit at the same time by rises in interest rates, well into double figures, and rapidly rising unemployment.

Landfill Tax Credit Scheme

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme. [184089]

John Healey: Since the introduction of the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme in 1996 more than £700 million in contributions have been made through the scheme in support of over 13,000 projects. As confirmed in Budget 2003, and following consultation with stakeholders, the scheme has been reformed to improve transparency, accountability and evaluation. A more strategic approach to sustainable waste management has been introduced by transferring funding for such projects to Defra's public spending programme, while the scope of eligible projects has been extended to include those that support biodiversity—these changes aim to improve monitoring, evaluation, and the overall performance of
 
15 Jul 2004 : Column 1286W
 
the scheme. In line with the Government's commitment to maintain the real value of the reformed scheme, this was increased to £48.3 million a year on 1 April.

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