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4 Oct 2004 : Column 1789W—continued
Fair Trade Products
Mr. Wood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what incentives the Treasury offers to British businesses which (a) sell, (b) stock and (c) use fair trade products. [189496]
John Healey: The Government are committed to supporting ethical trading wherever possible and through the Department for International Development it provides significant support to the Fairtrade Foundation's efforts in promoting the supply and marketing of Fairtrade products.
Since 1997 the Government have also introduced a range of tax incentives to benefit business, including cuts in the rates of corporation tax, measures to simplify the administrative burden of VAT and permanent enhanced first year capital allowances for small and medium-sized enterprises.
HM Revenue and Customs Department
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his Answer of 7 September, ref. 187239, what responsibility (a) the Paymaster General and (b) the Economic Secretary will have with regard to the proposed HM Revenue and Customs Department. [188465]
Mr. Gordon Brown: An updated list of Ministerial Responsibilities has been published on the HM Treasury website. This establishes the Paymaster General as Departmental Minister for HM Revenue and Customs.
Information and Communication Specialists
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many information and communication technology specialists are in full-time employment in the Department. [189597]
Mr. Timms: HM Treasury's HR system shows 14 IT specialists are employed in the Department, working in areas such as the central IT helpdesk, the Information Services team, and the HR Information Systems team.
Job Creation (Mitcham and Morden)
Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many jobs have been created in Mitcham and Morden since 1997. [189338]
Mr. Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Siobhain McDonagh, dated 21 September 2004:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about jobs created in Mitcham and Morden. (189338)
While statistics of new jobs created are not available explicitly, statistics from surveys enable comparisons to be made of net changes, in numbers of jobs, from year to year.
The attached table shows the information requested, relating to jobs in Mitchem and Morden, for 1997 and the latest year available, 2002.
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 18,100 |
| 2002 | 22,800 |
| Change from 1997 to 2002(4) | 4,700 |
(3) Employee jobs only, not self-employed jobs.
(4) The 1997 to 2002 change has been rounded to the nearest hundred separately from rounded levels for 1997 and 2002.
Source:
1997: Annual Employment Survey, rescaled. 2002: Annual Business Inquiry.
Tax Credits
Tim Loughton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many appeals against rulings on tax credits have been lodged in the last 12 months. [189431]
Dawn Primarolo: In the twelve months to the end of August 2004, Inland Revenue submitted to the Appeals Service about 1,800 written appeals against tax credit decisions.
I understand from the Appeals Service that, of these appeals, about 1,500 were heard by a tribunal by the end of August 2004. Others appeals were settled without a tribunal hearing, were withdrawn, struck out, not accepted as duly made or were outstanding.
Taxation of Pensioners
Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of total income tax in the last year for which figures are available was derived from pensioners; and if he will make a statement on the taxation of pensioners. [189542]
Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to table 3.12 'Income and tax for the elderly, by region and country' and 2.4 'Shares of total income tax liability' on the Inland Revenue website http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats/income distribution/table-312–2001–02.xls and http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats/income tax/table2–4.xls. From 2004–05, as a result of measures introduced since 1997, including the Pension Credit, the government will be spending around £10 billion more in real terms on pensioners. Around 65 per cent. of pensioners now pay no tax at all or tax at 10 per cent.
Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward proposals to reduce the burden of taxation on pensioners' incomes. [189543]
Mr. Timms:
Around 65 per cent. of all pensioners pay no tax or tax at 10 per cent. Age-related personal allowances increased from April 2004 in line with earnings from £6,610 to £6,830 for those between 65 and
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74, from £6,720 to £6,950 for those over 75. Since April 2004 no pensioner aged 65 or over will pay tax on income of less than £131 a week. Age-related personal allowances rise in line with the rise in average earnings for the remainder of this Parliament.
Personal tax and benefit changes mean that the average pensioner household is 26 per week better off in 2004–05 than would have been the case under the 1997 system. The poorest third of pensioners are now £33 per week better off.
Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer of exempting the state retirement pension from income tax; and if he will exempt the state retirement pension from income tax. [189544]
Dawn Primarolo: It would cost around £4 billion to exempt state retirement pension from income tax. These estimates are based upon the 2001–02 Survey of Personal Incomes and are consistent with the Budget 2004 forecasts.
Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer of making the first £10,000 of occupational pensions income subject to a taxation rate of 10 per cent.; and if he will make the first £10,000 of occupational income subject to a taxation rate of 10 per cent. [189545]
Dawn Primarolo: It would cost around £2 billion to extend the starting rate of income tax to £10,000 for all non-state pensions. It would cost around £19 billion to extend the starting rate of tax to £10,000 for all earned income.
These estimates are based upon the 2001–02 Survey of Personal Incomes and are consistent with the Budget 2004 forecasts.
US/UK Trade Links
Keith Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures the Government is taking to deepen its cooperation with the US on trade and investment. [189573]
Mr. Timms: The US is our biggest single export market. UK trade with the US is worth around £50 billion (taking exports of goods and services together). In 2003–04 the US was by far the largest investing country in the UK with 314 projects creating 10,668 jobs. The Government in the form of UK Trade and Investment in London and the US, and funding for Regional Development Agencies, is committed to maintaining the UK as the primary destination for US inward investment in Europe.
The Government is also actively engaged with the Commission, other Member States and stakeholders such as the Transatlantic Business Dialogue to. encourage increased economic cooperation between the ED and the US. The Government welcomes the call at the June 2004 EU-US Summit for stakeholder consultation leading to a new forward-looking strategy to break down remaining barriers to closer cooperation and will participate fully in this process.
4 Oct 2004 : Column 1792W
LEADER OF THE HOUSE
Civil Service (Job Losses)
Bob Spink: To ask the Leader of the House which services within his Office will be (a) affected by and (b) subject to job losses consequent on the cuts in the civil service announced in the Spending Review. [189645]
Mr. Hain: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 16 September 2004, Official Report, column 1659W.
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