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10 Nov 2004 : Column 704W—continued
Equity Release Schemes
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what assessment he has made of the likely impact of the taxation of pre-owned assets on equity release schemes; [194291]
(2) whether the reversion scheme equity release plan will be affected by the changes made in the Finance Act 2004 to the taxation of pre-owned assets. [194292]
Dawn Primarolo: We will ensure that the pre-owned assets measures have no impact on the full range of bona fide equity-release schemes with arms-length providers, while continuing to bear down on schemes aimed merely at avoidance. The Inland Revenue are in discussion with equity release providers to define what provision is needed to ensure this. We will be making further announcements about the pre-owned asset regulations following the conclusion of the current consultation.
Fuel Prices
Mr. Weir: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what measures he plans to implement to protect (a) fishermen and fisheries and (b) farmers from rising fuel bills; and if he will make a statement; [196912]
(2) what measures he plans to put in place to restrict the increase in the price of industrial diesel; and if he will make a statement. [196913]
John Healey: Oil prices have been volatile and high during this year. On 1 October, the Chancellor issued a statement identifying four steps to reduce the risk of high oil prices denting confidence and pushing up inflationary pressures. Firstly, OPEC must continue to take necessary action to return prices to levels consistent with global prosperity. Secondly, actions are needed to improve the transparency and efficiency of the oil markets. Thirdly oil producing countries need to promote sustainable investment in their reserves and productive capacity. Fourthly, all countries must promote greater energy efficiency and develop new sources of energy.
Oil price rises affect the whole of the UK economy, and therefore are not limited to specific sectors. The Chancellor takes account of relevant economic, social and environmental factors when deciding taxation policy.
Funding (Hertfordshire)
Claire Ward:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from
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Hertfordshire police authority on funding of services; and if he will make a statement on the funding of (a) Hertfordshire and (b) other shire counties. [197139]
Mr. Timms: The 2002 spending review provided for record growth in spending on crime, justice and communities, from £16.5 billion in 2002–03 to £20.5 billion in 2005–06. The 2004 spending review has built on this progress by embedding the Government's success in delivery and further increasing spending in these areas by £3.5 billion by 2007–08, compared to 2004–05. The Home Secretary is due to announce specific policing allocations for 2005–06 shortly.
Productivity
Mr. Trimble: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the levels of Gross Value Added per employee in the (a) manufacturing sector and (b) private services sector were for each year from 1997 to 2003 in Great Britain. [196865]
Mr. Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. David Trimble, dated 10 November 2004:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question on the levels of Gross Value Added per employee in the manufacturing sector and in the private services sector for each year from 1997 to 2003 in Great Britain. (196865)
The table below shows the index levels of UK manufacturing output per job for each year from 1997 to 2003.
| Index levels | |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 85.9 |
| 1998 | 87.0 |
| 1999 | 90.9 |
| 2000 | 96.6 |
| 2001 | 100.0 |
| 2002 | 101.5 |
| 2003 | 106.6 |
We do not produce private services sector productivity. Total services industries output per job is available on the National Statistics website as part of the release of experimental statistics on services sector productivity. The web address of the latest release of service sector productivity is given below:
Income Tax Evasion
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department is taking to reduce the level of income tax evasion. [196778]
Dawn Primarolo:
The Inland Revenue has a programme of risk assessment directed at tackling income tax evasion. In addition, in Budget 2003 and again in 2004 the Government funded a package of further compliance initiatives. These included work on tackling evasion via offshore trusts and improving the inflow of information to the Inland Revenue. The proposed formation of HM Revenue and Customs, by
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merging Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise, will further enhance the effectiveness of the work currently undertaken by those departments.
Older Workers
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of (a) men and (b) women of each age from 50 to 70 years were in work on the latest date for which figures are available. [194849]
Mr. Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. David Willetts, dated 10 November 2004:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about employment. (194849)
The attached table provides the percentages of men and women at each age from 50 to 70 who are in employment.
These estimates from the Labour Force Survey are, as with any sample survey, subject to sampling variability.
(7) Percentage of people in the relevant age and gender group who are in employment.
Source:
ONS Labour Force Survey.
Employment (Pendle)
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many jobs have been created in the Pendle constituency since (a) 1997 and (b) 2001. [197035]
Mr. Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Gordon Prentice, dated 10 November 2004:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about jobs created in the Pendle constituency. (197035)
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 Pendle, for 1997, 2001 and 2002, which is the latest year available.
(8) Excludes self-employed jobs.
(9) The 1997 to 2002 change and 2001 to 2002 change has been rounded to the nearest hundred separately from rounded levels for 1997, 2001 and 2002.
Source:
1997 rescaled Annual Employment Survey; 2001–2002 Annual Business Inquiry
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