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21 Nov 2005 : Column 1573W—continued
TREASURY
Capital Gains Tax Relief (Retired Tenants)
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent consideration has been given to proposals to use capital gains tax relief to encourage landlords to offer alternative accommodation to their retiring farm tenants. [29732]
Dawn Primarolo: The whole tax system, including CGT, is kept under review by the Government.
Consultants/Special Advisers
Mike Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) consultants and (b) special advisers were employed by his Department in each year since 1997; what the cost of each was in each year; and if he will make a statement. [27406]
Martin Horwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list departmental projects conducted by consultants in each year since 2000; what the cost was in each case; and what the total cost of employing consultants was in each year. [29091]
John Healey: The Treasury does not record centrally numbers of consultants. For the cost of consultants, I refer to the answers given to the hon. Member for Great Grimsby (Mr. Mitchell) on 10 October 2005, Official Report, column 281W, and to the hon. Member for Buckingham (John Bercow) on 25 March 2002, Official Report, column 733W. Details of the individual projects conducted are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The number and cost of special advisers employed by the Government is reported annually by the Prime Minister, most recently on 21 July 2005, Official Report, column 160WS.
Departmental Assets
Mike Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the 10 most valuable (a) movable and (b) immovable assets owned by his Department. [27374]
John Healey: HM Treasury's only immovable assets are:
The 10 most valuable movable assets are:
The Treasury's silver is either on display at 10 Downing street, the Cabinet Office, or stored for safekeeping at the Bank of England.
Departmental Salaries
Mike Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the 10 highest paid employees in his Department, broken down by (a) job title and (b) salary including bonuses; and whether the individual concerned is (i) a civil servant and (ii) a contractor in each case. [27438]
John Healey: Details on salaries for Treasury employees are set out in the Treasury's Resource Accounts 2004–05, copies of which are available in the Library or accessible via the Treasury's public website: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk./media/3A6/1E/resource_accounts_2004–5.pdf
The Treasury uses contractors from time to time but they are not members of the staff of the Department.
Departmental Underspending
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total value was of public underspending by each Government Department in financial year (a) 2003–04 and (b) 2004–05. [29397]
Mr. Des Browne: Provisional outturn against departmental expenditure limits in 2003–04 and 2004–05 is published in the Public Expenditure Outturn White Paper (PEOWP) for the relevant years (Cm. 6293 and Cm. 6639 respectively), copies of which have been laid before the House and placed in the Library. Changes between provisional and final outturn in 2003–04 have been reflected in the end year flexibility amounts presented in PEOWP 2004–05.
Direct Mail Contracts
Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many contracts for direct mail were signed by his Department in (a) 2005–06 to date and (b) 2004–05 and what the value was in each case. [27681]
ECOFIN Meeting
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what main agenda items are to be discussed at the ECOFIN meeting on 24 November; and whether they will include the United Kingdom's EU budget rebate. [30565]
John Healey: There are three main agenda items for ECOFIN on 24 November. First, the Court of Auditors will present the Annual Report for 2004; second the council will consider Preliminary Draft Amending Budget No. 8 for 2005; and third the council will conclude its second reading of the Draft Budget for 2006. The UK abatement is not on the agenda.
EU Budget
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the Government's key objectives are in the negotiations regarding the UK rebate from the EU budget; and if he will make a statement. [30562]
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John Healey: I refer the hon. Gentleman to my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's statement to the House on 20 June 2005.
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the UK's VAT contribution to the EU Budget was in (a) 2004 and (b) 2005; and what he expects it to be in 2006. [30563]
John Healey: The UK's VAT-based contributions to the EC Budget in the years 2003–04 and 2004–05, and the latest estimates of these for 2005–06 and 2006–07, are as follows:
| £ billion | |
|---|---|
| 2003–04 | 2.6 |
| 2004–05 | 1.9 |
| 2005–06 | 1.9 |
| 2006–07 | 2.0 |
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much money has been saved to UK public funds as a result of the UK rebate from the EU budget since 1984. [30564]
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John Healey: From 1985–86, when the UK abatement came into effect, to the end of 2004–05, the value totalled £44.2 billion.
Excess Winter Deaths
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many excess winter deaths there were in London, broken down by each London borough, in each of the last five years. [29555]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the national statistician who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell to Mr. Paul Burstow, dated 21 November 2005:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many excess winter deaths there were in London, broken down by each London Borough, in each of the last five years. (29555)
The latest available figures on excess winter deaths (the excess number of deaths each winter compared to the average during other months of the year) for local authorities are for 2003/4. Figures for London and its constituent boroughs are given in the attached table.
(15) Excess winter deaths (EWD) are defined by the Office for National Statistics as the difference between the number of deaths during the four winter months (December to March) and the average number of deaths during the preceding four months (August to November) and the following four months (April to July). Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
(16) The figures provided relate to residents of these areas.
(17) The excess winter deaths index is calculated as the excess number of winter deaths divided by the average number of non-winter deaths, expressed as a percentage.
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