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18 Nov 2004 : Column 1724W—continued

Tax records

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tax records have been lost by the Inland Revenue due to recent computer errors; what estimate he has made of the amount of tax which will be lost to the Exchequer as a consequence; and if he will make a statement. [197046]

Dawn Primarolo: There have been no computer errors. The Chairman of the Inland Revenue has today written to the hon. Member for South Norfolk (Mr. Bacon) at the invitation of the Comptroller and Auditor General concerning PAYE Open Cases. A copy of this letter is being placed in the Library of the House.

Theft and Fraud

Mr. Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the cost of theft and fraud to
 
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(a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies in each year since 1997. [191425]


 
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Mr. Timms: The figures for the Chancellor's Departments and their agencies and NDPBs are given in the following table.
£000(5)

1997–981998–991999–20002000–012001–022002–032003–04
HM Treasury1521224511912
Debt Management Officen/an/an/an/a000
Office of Government Commercen/an/an/an/a160
OGCbuying.solutionsn/an/an/an/a000
Royal Mint00002608
Statistics Commissionn/an/an/a0000
Office for National Statistics310784528
HM Customs & Excise356014223125512
Inland Revenue, including Valuation Office93259136277514441702
National Savings and Investments304310298454371202352
Government Actuary's Department0000000




n/a = Not applicable—denotes that the body did not exist in the year in question.
(5) Rounded to the nearest thousand pounds.


The figures include known and estimates values for known instances of theft and fraud committed by employees, net of recoveries. They also include values for known instances of theft and fraud committed by contractors.

In common with other direct mail retailers, the Royal Mint experiences cheque and credit fraud in connection with its retail business. Reliable data on the level of such fraud is not readily available.

The figures for HM Customs and Excise and the Inland Revenue do not include estimates of revenue lost through fraud or theft by taxpayers.

The figures for National Savings and Investments include theft and fraud committed via savings products.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Departmental Events (Funding)

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will list the (a) conferences, (b) publications, (c) initiatives, (d) projects and (e) receptions organised by his Department which have received funding from outside commercial bodies since May 1997, broken down by (i) funding body and (ii) amount paid. [196600]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID works with a large number of civil society organisations both within the UK and elsewhere. However, we do not accept funding or sponsorship for projects or events that might be seen to link the UK Government's Overseas Development programme with commercial interests. The number of occasions where we have accepted funding or sponsorship from commercial organisations is therefore likely to be very small and the cost of obtaining the information required would be disproportionate.

Emergency Aid

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what contribution his Department (a) made and (b) is making to the dispatch of emergency aid to Butuo, Liberia; and if he will make a statement; [199183]

(2) what efforts his Department is undertaking to assist refugees from Côte d'Ivoire in (a) Liberia, (b) Guinea, (c) Mali, (d) Burkina Faso and (e) Ghana; and if he will make a statement; [199184]

(3) what assessement his Department has made of the numbers of refugees from Côte d'Ivoire that have arrived in (a) Liberia, (b) Guinea, (c) Mali, (d) Burkina Fasco and (e) Ghana in each month since September 2003; and if he will make a statement; [199185]

(4) what assistance his Department is providing to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees for its voluntary return programme for the repatriation of Liberian refugees; and if he will make a statement; [199186]

(5) what estimate his Department has made of the number of Liberian refugees in West Africa; and if he will make a statement; [199187]

(6) what programmes his Department (a) has set up, (b) is running and (c) is funding in Malaysia to assist the Rohingya refugees from Myanmar; and if he will make a statement; [199188]

(7) what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the Cartagena Declaration on refugees on the (a) definition and (b) treatment of refugees in Latin America; and if he will make a statement. [199189]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member for Moray in the time available before Prorogation.

Freedom of Information Act

Mr. Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the likely costs to his Department in the first quarter of 2005 of compliance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000; and if he will make a statement. [199078]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID has not attempted to estimate the cost of dealing with FOI (Freedom of Information) requests in 2005, due to the difficulty of estimating the volume of requests and because DFID divisions will be expected to meet FOI obligations within existing administration budgets.

The unit providing central support for meeting FOI requests has a staffing budget of £211,000 for 2004–05
 
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and also provides records management support across DFID. The level of resources will be reviewed in the light of public demand and the workload under FOI.

DFID will seek to comply with FOI cost-effectively through continuing to be open in what is proactively disclosed and through efficient records and information management.

Government Buildings (Disabled Access)

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether all Government buildings in his Department within the Greater London area are fully accessible to disabled people; and if he will make a statement. [199306]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: It has not proved possible to respond to my hon. Friend for Tooting in the time available before Prorogation.

Green Ministers

Mr. Horam: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many departmental Green Ministers there have been since 1997. [198314]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID has had five Green Ministers since 1997, as follows: George Foulkes, Hilary Benn, Chris Mullin, Sally Keeble, and myself.

Iran

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what provision has been made for (a) housing, (b) feeding and (c) schooling women and children who have left their homes in Falluja as a result of coalition forces' action; and what arrangements will be made for these refugees to return to their homes. [198994]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member for Brent East in the time available before Prorogation.

Iraq

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what assistance is being provided by the UK to restore essential utilities infrastructure to Falluja; [199268]

(2) what additional resources the UK will provide to assist in the re-building of Falluja; [199266]

(3) what action is being taken by the UK to ensure emergency water and electricity supplies will be provided to the citizens of Falluja. [199267]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: It has not proved possible to respond to my hon. Friend for Hampstead and Highgate in the time available before Prorogation.


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