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22 Jul 2004 : Column 481W—continued
Government Offices (East Midlands)
Mr. Dorrell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many full-time equivalent employees of Customs and Excise in the east midlands there were in each year since 1997. [185494]
John Healey: The figures are based on the number of staff in post at April 2001 each year. The regional distribution of permanent (including fixed term) staff in all Government Departments is published annually by the Cabinet Office in table D of Civil Service Statistics', a copy of which is available in the Library of the House. The number of HMC and E permanent staff based in the east midlands region for 1997–2002 are:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 1,104 |
| 1998 | 884 |
| 1999 | 863 |
| 2000 | 850 |
| 2001 | 770 |
| 2002 | 720 |
Figure for 2003 and 2004 are currently unavailable, however, the Cabinet Office are expected to publish figures for 2003 shortly.
Mr. Dorrell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what government offices have been identified for closure in the east midlands in the light of the Comprehensive Spending Review. [185497]
Mr. Boateng: There will be an overall gross reduction in posts of 84,150 by 2008 and Departments will pursue these reductions in line with business need. Departments continue to plan the implementation of their efficiency programmes.
Household Savings, Liabilities and Debt
Mr. Kenneth Clarke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the level of household savings expressed as a percentage of UK gross domestic product has been in each of the last seven years; [186213]
(2) what the level of (a) household liabilities and (b) household debt expressed as a percentage of UK gross domestic product has been in each of the last seven years. [186215]
Ruth Kelly:
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
22 Jul 2004 : Column 482W
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Kenneth Clarke, dated 22 July 2004:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your two recent Parliamentary Questions on the level of household savings; the level of household liabilities and the level of household debt, each expressed as a percentage of UK gross domestic product in each of the last seven years. (186213 and 186215)
The information requested is shown in the table below. Household debt is measured as the total of household outstanding liabilities at the end of the period and hence only the latter is shown in the table.
The household series used for these data are for the combined household and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH) sectors. The accounts for the household and NPISH sectors are currently combined: separate estimates are not available.
| Household 1 savings as a percentage of GDP | Household 1 liabilities(41) as a percentage of GDP | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 6.8 | 73.0 |
| 1998 | 4.4 | 73.3 |
| 1999 | 3.7 | 75.4 |
| 2000 | 3.9 | 78.0 |
| 2001 | 5.0 | 82.4 |
| 2002 | 4.1 | 89.2 |
| 2003 | 4.2 | 95.7 |
(40) Estimates are for the combined household and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH) sectors.
(41) Total outstanding liabilities at the end of each year.
Ministerial Visits
David Davis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will list the travel costs incurred by (a) his Department and (b) each Minister within his Department, for each of the last 10 years; [175658]
(2) how many journeys were made by helicopter by each Minister in his Department in each of the last 10 years; and what the journey length was in each case. [175737]
Ruth Kelly: Since 1999 the Government have published annually a list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year. The Government have also published each year since 1995–96 the total annual cost of all Ministers' visits overseas. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House. Information for 2003–04 will be published later today.
In respect of total travel costs for civil servants in the department I refer the r hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) on 19 July 2004 (Official Report, column 43–6W) which gave the costs for the financial years 1997–98 to 2003–04. The total costs on the same basis for 1996–97 were £951,347. Information for earlier years is no longer held. It is not possible to give a breakdown of total travel costs by individual Ministers.
I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the answer given to the Member for West Chelmsford (Mr. Burns) on 27 February 2003 which stated that no flights by helicopter were made between 2001 and 27 February 2003. Information relating to other years is not held by the department.
22 Jul 2004 : Column 483W
All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.
MOD Administration Costs
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reasons the Ministry of Defence does not have an administration costs limit. [181773]
Mr. Boateng: The Ministry of Defence was originally excluded from the administration cost control regime because it could have discouraged inter-changeability between Service and civilian personnel. The Ministry of Defence is not exempt from the administration costs efficiency target announced in the 2004 Budget. This target applies to all departments and MOD will be required to freeze the equivalent of its administration budget over the Spending Review years.
Oil Reserves
Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list, for each of the last 10 years, (a) the total output and (b) the total Exchequer revenue from the UK's oil reserves; and what assessment he has made of (i) output and (ii) revenue in each of the next 10 years. [185249]
Ruth Kelly: Annual information on UK indigenous oil production to 2002 can be found at http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/inform/energy stats/oil/dukes3 1 1.xls and more recent monthly information at http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/inform/energy stats/oil/3 10oilproduction-ettab13.xls
The latest available DTI forecasts of UK oil production, from 2004 to 2009, can be found at http://www.og.dti.gov.uk/information/bb updates/chapters/Section4 17.htm
And historic Inland Revenue financial year tax receipts jointly from North Sea oil and gas, together with published Budget 2004 projections for 2004–05, can be found at http://www.og.dti.gov.uk/information/bb updates/appendices/Appendix8.htm
Table C9 on page 261 of Budget 2004 shows longer term projections of North Sea revenues as a percentage of GDP.
Tax Credits
Mr. Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 10 December 2003, Official Report, columns 494–95W, on tax credits, if he will update the tables for each month for which figures are available. [185014]
Dawn Primarolo:
The number of manual tax credits payments issued in each month between December 2003 and March 2004 is shown in the table. Manual giro payments are made particularly to deal with an immediate change in circumstances pending automatic payments being adjusted.
22 Jul 2004 : Column 484W
| (42)Number of manual tax credit payments | (43)Number of automatic direct payments (million) | |
|---|---|---|
| December 2003 | 14,000 | 11.5 |
| January 2004 | 16,000 | 10.5 |
| February 2004 | 17,000 | 10.5 |
| March 2004 | 22,000 | 12.5 |
Notes:
1. These figures cover all manual payments—that is, giro payments issued by local offices, or issued by other Inland Revenue offices but outside the main tax credits automatic payment mechanisms. They are rounded to the nearest 1,000. The previous figures covered only same-day payments issued by local offices.
2. The numbers of automatic direct payments are rounded to the nearest 0.5 million.
Personal Income Tax Allowance
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate (a) the gross cost and (b) the cost net of savings in social security benefits of raising the personal income tax allowance to £10,000 per annum. [185705]
Dawn Primarolo: The cost of raising the personal income tax allowances to £10,000 per annum in 2004–05 is (a) £29.8 billion in gross costs and (b) £29.6 billion in costs net of savings of social security benefits. The figures exclude any estimate of behavioural response to the tax change.
The gross costs are based on the Survey of Personal Incomes 2001–02 and are consistent with the Budget 2004. The savings from social security benefits are from the DWP Policy Simulation Model, based upon the Family Resources Survey 2002–03 and consistent with the Budget 2004.
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