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Special Advisers

Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many complaints were made by departmental civil servants regarding the conduct of special advisers between 31 March 2003 and 31 March 2004. [203471]

Mr. Leslie: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Cabinet Office on 13 December 2004, Official Report , column 946W.
 
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Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many special advisers there are in the Department, broken down by Civil Service pay-grade. [206511]

Mr. Leslie: Details on the names and number of Special Advisers by pay band by Department are published on an annual basis. For information for the financial year 2003–04, I refer the hon. Member to the statement given by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, on Thursday, 22 July 2004, Official Report, column 466W.

Information for 2004–05 will be published as soon as it is ready after the end of the current financial year.

Voter Registration

Dr. Pugh: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment the Government has made of (a) proposals for individual voter registration and (b) the possible effects of such a system on the number of young people likely to vote. [207295]

Mr. Leslie: Mr Christopher Leslie: The Government is sympathetic to the principles of individual registration and appreciates the benefits it might bring, particularly with regard to supporting remote voting. However, there are concerns about the possible impact of individual registration on registration rates and by extension the ability of eligible electors to vote. As such we are therefore considering the options to support remote voting with an approach that preserves the completeness and integrity of electoral registers.

The Government has made no assessment of the effects of such a system on the number of young people likely to vote, but research undertaken by the Electoral Commission following the introduction of individual registration in Northern Ireland (The Electoral Fraud (Northern Ireland) Act 2002: An Assessment of its first year of operation) has suggested that young people are among the most under registered, with 29 per cent. of 18–24 year olds not on the register. The Government is reluctant to see a fall in the registration rates of young people, already an under registered group, and any future work on registration will take this into account.

Voter Turnout

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps the Department has taken to encourage more people to participate in the next General Election. [206969]

Mr. Leslie: No date has yet been fixed for the next general election. The Government has introduced various measures aimed at making voting easier and more convenient, including postal voting on demand which has proved very popular among voters. The independent Electoral Commission has responsibility for encouraging public involvement in the democratic process. It plans to conduct a public awareness campaign to promote voter registration and participation in the forthcoming elections. This includes the local elections scheduled to take place across England and Northern Ireland and, when it is called, any general election.
 
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TREASURY

Aggregates Levy

Annabelle Ewing: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate he has made of the cost to industry in Scotland of the Aggregates Levy since its introduction; [207578]

(2) what estimate he has made of the impact on local authorities in Scotland of the Aggregates Levy since its introduction; [207579]

(3) what change there has been in imports of aggregates into the UK since the introduction of the Aggregates Levy. [207580]

John Healey: The Aggregates Levy was introduced in the UK in April 2002 and an assessment of the impact of its introduction is currently being conducted by HM Customs and Excise. No assessment has been made of the cost of the aggregates levy to industry or local authorities in Scotland.

Imports of aggregate make up less than 1 per cent. of total UK aggregate production levels. Between 2001–02 and 2003–04 (the years either side of the introduction of the aggregates levy in April 2002) aggregate imported into the UK increased by 622,425 tonnes compared with a total of UK aggregate production of around 200 million tonnes in 2003.

Childcare Vouchers

Claire Ward: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families have received (a) childcare vouchers and (b) child tax credits in the (i) Watford and (ii) South West Hertfordshire constituencies. [207584]

Dawn Primarolo: The information at (a) is not available.

The numbers of in-work families in each country, region, local authority and constituency receiving child and working tax credits are shown in various issues of "Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics. Geographical analyses." These appear on the Inland Revenue web site at www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/Dersonal-tax-credits/cwtc-qeoq-stats.htm

Claims to Tax

Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 16 December 2004, Official Report, column 1234W, on Inland Revenue and Customs, what criteria (a) Inland Revenue and (b) HM Customs and Excise use in decisions on reducing or eliminating claims to tax; at what level these decisions have to be sanctioned; and what the total sum involved in such decisions was for each organisation in the last tax year. [206988]

Dawn Primarolo: For both the Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise claims for tax or duty are rejected or reduced in accordance with the appropriate legislation. In all cases the claimant is advised of the reason for the rejection or reduction. The work is managed by officers in executive grades. The total sums involved are not held centrally and therefore cannot be provided without incurring a disproportionate cost.
 
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Crown Estate Property

Mr. Alan Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which Crown Estate property has been leased to Prince Edward; how long the lease is; and how many (a) bedrooms and (b) living rooms there are in the property. [207144]

Mr. Timms: The Crown Estate has a 50-year lease agreement with the Earl of Wessex for Bagshot Park in Windsor.

As a matter of principle the Crown Estate does not disclose details of the composition of any private residencies on which it has granted leases, as this is considered to be a confidential matter between the Crown Estate and the lessee.

Customs and Excise

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Customs and Excise staff were employed in Scotland in each year since 1997. [207581]

Dawn Primarolo: The numbers of staff employed in Scotland in civil service departments and agencies since 1997, including HM Customs and Excise, are available on the Cabinet Office's "civil service statistics" website at http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management_ information/ statistical_information/statistics/index.asp and in the annual editions of 'Civil Service Statistics'.

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the last review of staffing (a) numbers and (b) locations was carried out by HM Customs and Excise. [207582]

Dawn Primarolo: The national deployment of Customs and Excise staff is reviewed annually, and at other times as necessary. The number of staff deployed is determined by current risk and intelligence factors.

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the likely impact of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Bill on the number of Customs and Excise staff employed in Scotland. [207583]

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 20 December 2004, Official Report, column 1401W.

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