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European Commissioner for Trade

Mrs. May: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) on what dates he has held meetings with the European Commissioner for Trade since October 2004; [47429]

(2) what telephone conversations he has held with the European Commissioner for Trade since October 2004. [47430]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: Treasury Ministers and officials have conversations and discussions with a wide range of organisations and individuals as part of the process of policy development, analysis and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of every such discussion.

European Court of Justice

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the Court of Justice's preliminary rulings on the acts referred to in Article 35 of the Treaty on European Union, as referred to in Official Journal L327 of 14 December 2005. [46485]

Mr. Douglas Alexander: I have been asked to reply.

Article 35 of the Treaty on European Union (within Title VI of that Treaty, on Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters) provides that the European Court of Justice may have jurisdiction to give preliminary rulings on certain questions referred to it by domestic courts in the member states. Member states can choose whether or not to accept such jurisdiction by declaration.

The notice in the Official Journal to which the hon. Member refers lists those member states which have made such a declaration. The United Kingdom has not made such a declaration.

Financial Services Authority

Anne Main: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff have been employed by the Financial Services Authority in each year since its creation. [45568]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: This is an operational matter for the FSA. I understand that the Chairman of the FSA will write to the hon. Member directly.

Anne Main: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the service offered by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to professionals seeking guidance and interpretation of FSA rules and guidelines; and if he will make a statement. [45573]

 
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Mr. Ivan Lewis: The matters raised in this question are the responsibility of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), whose day-to-day operations are independent from Government control and influence.

However, as part of the Treasury's Two-Year Review of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA), the FSA has improved its provision of advice and guidance. The FSA Contact Centre remit has been extended to cover large firms in addition to consumers and small firms. All calls and correspondence received through the Contact Centres are subject to revised service standards with tracking and delivery mechanisms to ensure that these standards are delivered consistently. Finally, public reporting against all service standards is moving to a bi-annual basis.

Anne Main: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the authorisation procedure operated by the Financial Services Authority for the authorisation of (a) individuals and (b) institutions to offer financial advice; and if he will make a statement. [45656]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: I have made no such assessment. This is an operational matter for the FSA, and its authorisation procedure is published on its website at www.fsa.gov.uk/Pages/doing/how/index.shtml.

Anne Main: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many applications from (a) individuals and (b) institutions for authorisation to issue financial advice have been received by the Financial Services Authority in each year since its creation; and how many in each category were successful. [45662]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: This is an operational matter for the FSA. The Chairman of the FSA will write to the hon. Member directly.

Anne Main: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what changes the Financial Services Authority plans to make to the fees it levies; and if he will make a statement. [45824]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: This is an operational matter for the FSA. I understand that the chairman of the FSA will write to the hon. Member directly.

Mr. Carswell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of the Financial Services Authority budget was spent on (a) financial capability and (b) staff entertainment in (i) 2001, (ii) 2002, (iii) 2003 and (iv) 2004. [46216]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: This is an operational matter for the FSA. I understand that the Chairman of the FSA will shortly write to the hon. Member directly about this matter.

Mr. Carswell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the Financial Services Authority has raised through fines of financial services companies in each year since its inception. [46217]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: This is an operational matter for the FSA. I understand that the Chairman of the FSA will shortly write to the hon. Member directly about this matter.
 
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Mr. Carswell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the Financial Services Authority spent on engagement with (a) local councils and (b) devolved administrations in each of the last three years. [46219]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: This is an operational matter for the FSA. I understand that the Chairman of the FSA will shortly write to the hon. Member directly about this matter.

HM Revenue and Customs

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the number of staff required to provide a walk-in service for HM Revenue and Customs on the Isle of Wight following the proposed closure of the Newport office. [46177]

Dawn Primarolo: The lease at 33 St. James Street, Newport, Isle of Wight will expire on 24 March 2006, although HMRC occupation of the building has been extended until 31 May 2006.

HMRC will continue to provide a face-to-face service for its customers on the Isle of Wight and new premises are being sought for the Enquiry Centre. The Isle of Wight Enquiry Centre is currently staffed by the equivalent of 6.68 full-time staff; there are no plans to change the level of staffing.

Identity Theft

Lynne Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department is taking to change HM Revenue and Customs computer systems to prevent identity theft; and what discussions he has had with other Departments about any implications of the threat of identity theft for (a) existing computerised systems and (b) systems being developed. [45366]

Dawn Primarolo: HMRC are planning to place stronger and more consistent controls on how a claimant can change their identity details on departmental systems. This includes better methods of authentication when customers contact HMRC.

HMRC are working with DWP to seek common standards of identity authentication.

As set out in my statement of 23 January 2006, Official Report, column 41WS, I met with the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, my hon. Friend the Member for Leigh (Andy Burnham) and the banking industry on 23 January to discuss the application of the Government's identity fraud strategy.

Inheritance Tax

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the role of the Valuation Office Agency is in the assessment of inheritance tax. [47025]

Dawn Primarolo: The Valuation Office Agency provides valuation advice to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs through its District Valuer Services business stream. This covers the provision of valuations of land, buildings, lordships of the manor, growing crops, live and dead farming stock, plant, machinery and fixtures, which are required for the assessment of inheritance tax. At the request of HMRC the VOA also
 
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undertakes negotiations with taxpayers or their agents to resolve any differences of opinion on valuation matters.

Insolvency

Peter Luff: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list individuals and corporate entities who (a) have been and (b) will be granted exemption prior to the issuance of any Lloyds market reorganisation order under the provisions of Statutory Instrument 2005, No. 1998, on insolvency. [45811]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: A court can make a Lloyd's Market Reorganisation Order upon application by the Society of Lloyd's or the FSA or both. The reorganisation order will specify the persons to which it will apply. It will be a matter for the courts to decide who should be excluded from the order. The court can consider applications for exclusion of particular assets or particular persons at the time of the original application or at any time subsequently.

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