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10 Jan 2005 : Column 130W—continued
Tax Credits (Dagenham)
Jon Cruddas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in each ward of the Dagenham constituency claim (a) pension credit and (b) working tax credit. [207156]
Dawn Primarolo: I understand from the Department for Work and Pensions that the numbers of recipients of pension credit at 31 October 2004 were as follows:
| Ward (Dagenham) | Households in receipt of pension credit |
|---|---|
| Alibon | 530 |
| Chadwell Heath | 540 |
| Eastbrook | 455 |
| Heath | 575 |
| Parsloes | 530 |
| River | 435 |
| Valence | 645 |
| Village | 465 |
| Whalebone | 340 |
Notes:
1. All wards based on Census Wards current at April 2003. Census wards do not always nest precisely inside parliamentary constituencies. The wards of Parsloes and River cross over into Barking parliamentary constituency. Figures are for whole wards.
2. Benefit counts at ward level are rounded to a multiple of 5 to protect the confidentiality of individual claimants.
Source:
IAD Information Centre, Department for Work and Pensions.
Estimates of the number of in-work families in each constituency receiving tax credits are published in "Child and Working Tax Credit Statistics. Geographical analyses. December 2004". This can be found on the Inland Revenue website, at www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/menu.htm.
Estimates for April 2005 will be published in April or May 2005.
Estimates for smaller areas are not currently available.
Unified Business Rate
Dr. Pugh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans the Treasury has to vary the unified business rate for small shops. [207530]
Dawn Primarolo: From 1 April 2005, all qualifying small businesses will be eligible for the small business rate relief. It is estimated that around 450,000 English small businesses, including many small shops, will benefit from the introduction of this relief. Beyond this, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has no plans to vary the unified business rate for small shops.
United States (British Visitors)
Mr. Lilley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of British citizens who have visited the USA (a) in the last 30 years, (b) in the last five years and (c) in the last year; and what estimate he has made of the proportion who obtained a visa for the visit. [206534]
Mr. Timms
[holding answer 21 December 2004]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
10 Jan 2005 : Column 131W
Letter from Karen Dunnell to Mr. Peter Lilley, dated 10 January 2005:
The National Statistician has been asked to answer your recent question asking Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of British citizens who have visited the USA (a) in the last 30 years, (b) in the last five years and (c) the last year; and what estimate he has made of the proportion who obtained a visa for the visit. I am replying in his absence.
From the International Passenger Survey we can measure the number of visits to the USA made by UK residents in each of the periods requested.
It should be noted that these represent the number of visits made by UK residents to the USA in each of the periods requested. As some people may make more than one visit, these figures are higher than the number of people who visited the USA. In addition, these are the number of visits to USA made by UK residents and that all UK residents are not necessarily British Citizens.
The International Passenger Survey does not collect information on whether a visa was granted for these visits or not. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office have attempted to obtain this information from the American Embassy but at the time of writing this data is not available. If the information does become available at a later stage, it should be noted that it will not be directly comparable with the figures derived from the IPS as one visa could be used for more than one trip and the number of visits each visa is used for is unknown.
Unleaded Petrol
Annabelle Ewing: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total tax payable on the average pump price of a litre of unleaded petrol was on 20 December 2004. [207601]
John Healey: The following table gives the total tax payable for the average pump price of a litre of ultra low sulphur unleaded petrol on Monday 20 December 2004.
| Pence per litre | |
|---|---|
| Average pump price | 81.46 |
| Amount of duty | 47.10 |
| Amount of VAT | 12.13 |
| Total Tax Payable | 59.23 |
Waste Services
Sue Doughty: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will specify (a) the basis and (b) the evidence on which the 2004 comprehensive spending review's efficiency target of £300 million relating to waste service was set. [206772]
Mr. Morley: I have been asked to reply.
Departmental proposals for, and the overall level of, efficiencies in environmental services were informed by consultation with Sir Peter Gershon's Efficiency Review team, the Local Government Association and other key organisations involved in this area. Detailed analysis was based on Defra's development of a new quantitative model, designed to support a robust, carefully modelled case for on-going government expenditure on waste as part of the 2004 Spending Review.
10 Jan 2005 : Column 132W
The model's primary purpose is to predict local authorities' waste management costs, flows of materials and the range of new facilities needed for waste treatment to meet the EU Landfill Directive targets and deliver increased rates of recycling and recovery. Analysis of the scope for greater efficiency in waste services identified the potential for delivering gains through: greater joint working between local authorities; encouragement and communication of best procurement practice; stimulating industry to ensure timely delivery of a wider, better designed range of facilities; improved operation of the land-use planning system; increased markets for recyclates and compost; and, shifting local authority planning from the short-term to the long-term in order to minimise overall costs.
Defra's Waste Implementation Programme already supports a range of activities to help local authorities drive up and re-orientate their waste management performance. Most will help deliver the improvements sought in the Efficiency Review, such as the targeted support being provided to improve procurement, and to stimulate industry to offer a wider, better designed range of facilities.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Arms Sales
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the amount of Indonesia's indebtedness to the UK is; and what proportion is attributable to the sale of military equipment. [206157]
Mr. Alexander [holding answer 21 December 2004]: As at the end of November 2004, the Export Credits Guarantee Department had claims to the value of £749 million outstanding in relation to Indonesia. Of this, £551 million related to defence contracts.
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much agent's commission the Export Credits Guarantee Department covered on the sale of Hawk jets to Indonesia; and what percentage of the contract the commission represented. [206130]
Mr. Alexander: Details of contractual arrangements (including agent's commission) are provided to ECGD by exporters in confidence.
Business (Impact of Legislation)
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which of the reviews carried out since 2001 on the working and impact of major pieces of legislation affecting business have been conducted by her Department; what changes to legislation were proposed as a result of each review; and if she will place copies of the reviews in the Library. [202139]
Ms Hewitt: The major pieces of legislation reviewed by the Department of Trade and Industry since 2001 are:
Renewables Obligation Order 2002 (reviewed three times for different aspects) Employment Relations Act 1999
Directors Remuneration Report Regulations (assessed for compliance and the extent of changes to remuneration practices).
Changes proposed as a result of these reviews include:
Publication of White Paper "Fair, Clear and Competitive—the Consumer Credit Market in the 21st century" following review of Consumer Credit Act 1974, and work is in progress on draft legislation to reform the licensing system and improve consumer redress;
Employment Relations Act 2004 incorporated recommendations from the review of the Employment Relations Act 1999.
The review of the Directors' Remuneration Report Regulations 2002 is ongoing.
Copies of review documents are available in the Libraries of the House and on the. DTI website for all of the above-mentioned reviews except for that of the Directors Remuneration Report Regulations which is still on-going, and expected to be published in January 2005.
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