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12 Jan 2006 : Column 776W—continued
Tax Returns
Mr. Bone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people have been fined for filing their income tax return late in each year since 1997. [40932]
Dawn Primarolo: The total numbers of late filing penalty notices (the first automatic penalty) issued in each financial year are detailed as follows. The figures for the financial year 1997–98 are not available.
Return year | Year issued | Total number issued (000) |
|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 748 |
| 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 744 |
| 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 808 |
| 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 823 |
| 2001–02 | 2002–03 | 847 |
| 2002–03 | 2003–04 | 953 |
| 2003–04 | 2004–05 | 998 |
Mr. Bone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much money was received in fines from filing late income tax returns in each year since 1997. [40933]
Dawn Primarolo: Available information on the amount paid in respect of penalties for failure to submit income tax self assessment returns, since the start of self assessment, is shown in the table as follows. The years relate to accounting years that run to the end of October.
| Year to end of October | Penalties paid (£ million) |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 18.07 |
| 1999 | 29.29 |
| 2000 | 33.01 |
| 2001 | 36.20 |
| 2002 | 36.45 |
| 2003 | 37.68 |
| 2004 | 37.26 |
Tax Treatment
Mr. Bone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to treat payment made to people who mark examination papers as self-employed income. [41177]
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Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 10 January to his questions 40625 and 40626. We have no plans to change the tax treatment of examiners.
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Business Financial Reviews
Mr. Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will list the meetings held between his Department and the Treasury at which the decision to remove the obligation on businesses to publish operating and financial reviews was discussed. [36707]
Hilary Benn: DFID has not had any such meetings.
Departmental Expenditure
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the total administrative costs for his core Department are; and whether these are regarded as (a) identifiable and (b) non-identifiable for the purposes of public expenditure statistical analyses. [39837]
Hilary Benn: DFID's provisional outturn for its grosscontrol administration costs limit for 2004–05 is £216,457,000.
DFID's total expenditure, including administration costs, is classified as identifiable, outside the UK for the purpose of the Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA).
Mr. MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the administrative costs were of each agency for which he has responsibility in the last year for which figures are available; what the total of such costs was in that year; and whether the costs are regarded for the purposes of public expenditure statistical analyses as (a) identifiable and (b) non-identifiable. [39858]
Hilary Benn: DFID does not have responsibility for any agencies.
Mr. Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the administrative costs were of each non-departmental public body for which he has responsibility in the last year for which figures are available; what the total of such costs was in that year; and whether the costs are regarded for the purposes of public expenditure statistical analyses as (a) identifiable and (b) non-identifiable. [40067]
Hilary Benn: DFID does not have responsibility for any non-departmental public bodies.
Departmental Functions
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what functions in his Department are carried out in Scotland; and what the administrative costs of these functions were in the last year for which figures are available. [40012]
12 Jan 2006 : Column 778W
Hilary Benn: The total number of UK staff is 1,372, of which 822 are based in London and 550 based in Scotland. DFID's Scotland HQ provides the majority of DFID's support services, including Human Resources, Finance and Corporate Performance, IT and office services. It also provides advisory and operational services for Policy, Knowledge and regional Divisions.
DFID does not break down its administration costs by location in the UK; however we estimate that for 2004–05, £45 million of our total administration outturn of £216,457,000 can be attributed to the teams based in Scotland.
DFID has moved a number of posts to Scotland in line with the Efficiency Review recommendations.
Famine
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the threat of famine in Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti. [41415]
Hilary Benn: Poor rains in much of the Horn of Africa at the end of 2005 have left many communities who are dependent on farming and raising livestock in serious difficulties. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation has issued a report saying that as many as 11 million people in Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti may require assistance in 2006. The severe food shortages in parts of these countries are sadly not a new phenomenon, and DFID has been responding with humanitarian assistance for many years. We are aware of the particular threat this year, the possibility that the current crisis may deepen, and that other areas may come to be affected.
DFID humanitarian advisers visited the worst affected areas in Kenya in November 2005, and visits to Somalia and Ethiopia are planned for early 2006.
This month DFID contributed £1 million to the World Food Programme for Somalia on top of the over £5 million we spent there on humanitarian interventions in 2005. This includes a number of health and nutrition operations in the worst affected parts of Southern Somalia.
In Ethiopia DFID made a commitment of £43 million in March 2005 to the cash and food aid based Productive Safety Net programme. This programme provides assistance to some of the poorest communities in Ethiopia. In December 2005 we announced a further £2.7 million for Kenya in response to the situation there.
DFID will continue to monitor the situation closely and we stand ready to provide additional support if necessary.
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
Departmental Expenditure
Pete Wishart:
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what has been the annual expenditure on training and development for (a) his Department and (b) each (i)non-departmental public body, (ii) Executive agency and (iii) other public body for which he is responsible in
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(A) Scotland, (B) Wales, (C) each of the English regions and (D) Northern Ireland in each of the last three financial years; and what the planned expenditure is for 2005–06. [39983]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The available information is given in the following tables. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) is not responsible for any training expenditure in bodies in Scotland or Northern Ireland.
Expenditure on training in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is split between budgets held centrally in the training and development team and those held by line management. The central budget covers the ODPM's
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induction programme, performance management training, the learning library and Skills for Life programme, helps deliver the ODPM's Excellence in Delivery programme and supports the implementation of Professional Skills for Government. Expenditure on training by line managers is via the Training Framework which offers over 600 public scheduled courses covering a wide range of topics to ensure staff have the necessary core skills.
With regard to the Audit Commission, this is an operational matter for that body. I will ask the chief executive to write to the hon. Member and to ensure the answer is made available in the Library of the House.
n/a=Not available.
n/a=Not available.
The Architects Registration Board's accounts operate on an annual basis—from January to December, rather than the financial year from April to March. The training expenditure, in £000 is as follows:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 2002 | 10 |
| 2003 | 6 |
| 2004 | 13 |
| 2005 | 6 |
| 2006 | 16 |
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