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26 Jan 2006 : Column 2251W—continued
Public Finances (Forecasts)
19. Mr. Hunt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures he is taking to improve the reliability of public finances forecasts. [45631]
21. Mr. Walker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the reliability of public finances forecasts. [45633]
Mr. Des Browne: I refer the hon. Gentlemen to the answer I gave on the Floor of the House earlier today to the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend, East (James Duddridge), Official Report, column 1508.
House Prices
20. Dr. Palmer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on trends in house prices and their impact on the economy. [45632]
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John Healey: House prices have been stable for the past year, with prices over 2005 rising by around 3 per cent. The outlook for the near future is for further subdued growth. Stable house prices contribute to a less volatile economy, which has in turn enabled the UK economy to take full advantage of robust global economic growth, with steady domestic growth, low unemployment and low inflation.
Pension Contributions (Tax Relief)
22. Rob Marris: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much tax was foregone in (a) 2003–04 and (b) 2004–05 in relation to tax relief on pension contributions. [45634]
Dawn Primarolo: Tax relief on contributions to approved pensions schemes is estimated at £16.3 billion in 2003–04, and £18.0 billion in 2004–05.
Manufacturing Industry
23. Mr. Kidney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the prospects for the performance of UK manufacturing in 2006. [45635]
John Healey: The Government's latest assessment of prospects for the manufacturing sector was set out in the 2005 pre-Budget report. As set out in table A9 of this report, manufacturing output is forecast to pick up to between 1 and 1.25 per cent. in 2006.
Development Aid
24. Mrs. Cryer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the prospects for progress on development aid under Russia's presidency of the G8; and if he will make a statement. [45636]
John Healey: In 2005 the G8 made commitments on aid, debt relief and the promise of treatment for all AIDS sufferers by 2010. The UK's priority for 2006 is to ensure the international community delivers on these promises, including making progress on agreed targets for international aid.
EU Budget (Rebate)
25. Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the future value of the UK rebate within the EU budget. [45637]
John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the Prime Minister's statement to the House on 19 December and to the reply given by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to my right hon. Friend the Member for West Dunbartonshire (Mr. McFall) on 20 December 2005, Official Report, column 2796W.
Children's Trust Funds
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the take-up of children's trust funds has been among low-income families. [45961]
Dawn Primarolo:
Child trust fund statistics are produced quarterly. The latest set were published on 30 November 2005 at:
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A statistical and distributional analysis of the child trust fund will be published in 2007.
Construction Industry (Taxation)
James Duddridge: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment HM Revenue and Customs has made of the relative influence of the taxation system and the practice of individual contractors as causes of miscategorisation of construction workers as self-employed individuals. [45485]
John Healey: It is a general requirement that businesses correctly determine the employment status of individual workers by reference to the terms and conditions of the contract under which they are engaged.
The Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) requires that subcontractors working within the industry register with HM Revenue and Customs. Some contractors in the construction industry operate under a misconception that holders of CIS registration cards or tax certificates, which are issued to show whether the holder should be paid gross or under deduction, are accepted as self-employed by HMRC. This is not the case and HMRC have worked with the industry to dispel this misunderstanding.
The new construction industry scheme to be introduced in April 2007 will dispense with cards and certificates and remove this source of misunderstanding. It will also require contractors to consider properly the precise terms of engagement of each subcontractor so as to ensure that the right taxation consequences follow.
James Duddridge: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the rate of compliance for payments of deductions to HM Revenue and Customs under the Construction Industry Scheme was in each year since it was introduced. [45486]
John Healey: Deductions from payments made to subcontractors under the Construction Industry Scheme are paid by contractors to HM Revenue and Customs monthly along with any PAYE and NICs due in respect of the contractor's employees. It is not possible to separate out the CIS element of those payments.
James Duddridge: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many contractors had their gross payment status revoked for the tax year (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2005–06. [45487]
John Healey: No record is kept of the number of sub-contractors who lose their entitlement to gross payment status.
James Duddridge: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the reform of the Construction Industry Scheme. [45488]
John Healey:
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) on 19 October 2005, Official Report, column 1106W.
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Correspondence
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will answer the letter to him dated 10 November 2005 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, with regard to Ms Ruckshah Choudhury. [45409]
Dawn Primarolo: I have already done so.
Departmental Staff
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many civil servants in his Department worked from home for at least one day a week in the last year for which figures are available. [40282]
John Healey: The Treasury actively promotes flexible working arrangements. A central record is not maintained of staff working from home.
Departmental Vehicles
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many cars are (a) owned and (b) leased by his Department; what models the cars are; what type of petrol each model requires; and what the fuel efficiency is of each model. [41348]
John Healey: The Treasury does not own any cars. The GCS provides six cars to the Treasury's Ministers and the permanent secretary. For vehicles provided to Government Departments by the Government Car and Despatch Agency (GCDA) my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Transport has asked the chief executive of the GCDA to write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
EDS
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the total cost, including legal fees, of reaching the settlement with EDS concerning tax credits. [41989]
Dawn Primarolo: The costs, including legal fees, from the time the claim for compensation became litigious were around £4.5 million.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which legal firms were involved in the settlement with EDS for problems with the tax credit system on which Queen's Counsels opinions were sought; how many hours were charged by lawyers for work in connection with the settlement; and how many face to face meetings took place between (a) lawyers and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) staff and (b) the HMRC's lawyers and EDS's lawyers. [41990]
Dawn Primarolo: Morrison & Foerster and Pinsent Masons were the law firms involved.
Jeremy Storey QC provided the principal advice. Sir Jeremy Lever QC advised on a narrow point in the settlement agreement.
The hours charged by solicitors and Counsel for work in connection with the prospective litigation and the settlement came to 9,496.
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There were many more meetings between lawyers and HMRC staff than can be readily enumerated. There were 18 meetings attended by legal representatives of HMRC and EDS.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library the written advice from (a) internal and (b) external lawyers recommending accepting the settlement with EDS concerning compensation for problems with the tax credit system. [41991]
Dawn Primarolo: This advice is legally privileged and commercially sensitive. It would therefore be wrong to make it available in the way suggested.
HMRC retains the ability to revive its Claim against EDS if the settlement sum is not paid in full. Disclosure of this legal advice could prevent that, thereby depriving HMRC of its main enforcement mechanism.
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