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Corporation Tax Relief

Kate Hoey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he intends the abolition of corporation tax relief for small businesses making less than £10,000 profit a year to include sports clubs. [48147]

John Healey: The proposed abolition of the corporation tax starting rate means that this benefit will no longer be available to small businesses, including most sports clubs. The change is due to take effect from April 2006. This is in line with our stated intention to improve fairness between organisations, whatever their legal structure.

Sports clubs that are registered as charities would however be exempt from corporation tax on rental income, most investment income and their primary purpose trading income. Sports clubs that are registered with HM Revenue & Customs as Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCS) benefit from a range of tax reliefs similar to those enjoyed by charities. This includes exemption from corporation tax on bank and building society interest, on any trading profits where turnover is no more than £30,000, and on income from property where total receipts are no more than £20,000. Only those clubs with significant taxable income are likely to be affected.

Departmental Assets

David T.C. Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the items of departmental property worth over £100 that have been reported as (a) lost and (b) broken in the last 12 months. [47673]

John Healey: Five Safedial cards, one desktop computer and one Blackberry have been reported as lost since January 2005.
 
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Information relating to breakages of Treasury property is not available.

My reply to the hon. Member on 31 January 2006, Official Report, column 398W, should have stated that three Safedial cards, one Blackberry and one Palm Pilot had been reported as having been stolen during 2005, in addition to the three laptop computers mentioned in the answer. I apologise for this inadvertent omission.

Exchequer Costs

Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total cost to the Exchequer is of (a) income tax, (b) national insurance contributions, (c) corporation tax and (d) capital gains tax foregone for (i) the Share Incentive Plan, (ii) the Enterprise Investment Scheme, (iii) enterprise management incentives, (iv) venture capital trusts, (v) professional subscriptions, (vi) approved employee share schemes, (vii) approved employee option schemes, (viii) approved company option schemes and (ix) enterprise zones in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [47331]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The costs requested are available on the HM Revenue and Customs website at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_expenditures/menu.htm. except for the breakdown of the cost of the Enterprise Investment Scheme, where the figure published for 2004–05 consists of £45million in income tax relief and £135million in capital gains tax relief.

Financial Education

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions his Department has had with non-governmental organisations and social enterprises about the role they can play in financial education. [49259]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Financial Services Authority (FSA) lead on promoting financial capability. Their National Strategy for Financial Capability involves a range of interested parties including non-governmental organisations and social enterprises. As part of our engagement with the National Strategy and more widely, Treasury Ministers and officials have discussions about various aspects of financial education with a range of stakeholders.

Financial Services Act

Mr. Steen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to ensure that the requirements on small businesses under the Financial Services Act 1986 are not duplicated at national and county levels; and if he will make a statement. [48716]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Financial Services Act 1986 was repealed in 2001 and there are no current requirements on small businesses imposed by that Act.

Iraq

Mr. Gummer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what arrangements have been made in agreement with the Paris Club for the cancelling of Iraqi debt; and what safeguards have been put in place to ensure that creditors of less than £250,000 are protected. [47651]

 
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Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Paris Club of official creditors reached agreement with Iraq on 21 November 2004 on a fair and sustainable solution to Iraq's debt problems. All creditors agreed that Iraq's debt of over $120 billion was clearly unsustainable. The Paris Club deal cancels 80 per cent. of Iraq's debt in three tranches. The tranches are linked to Iraq's progress in implementing the economic reforms agreed in IMF programmes. All bilateral creditors of Iraq, whether official or commercial, must bear their proportionate share in relation to restoring Iraq's debt sustainability and are expected to negotiate debt treatments with terms comparable to those agreed by the Paris Club.

Lyons Inquiry

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will place in the Library a copy of the written submissions from his Department to the Lyons Inquiry into local government; [47906]

(2) pursuant to his answer of 30 November 2005, Official Report, column 542W, on the Lyons Inquiry, whether (a) his Department and (b) the Valuation Office Agency took the decision to make a formal submission to the Inquiry. [48151]

John Healey: The Lyons Inquiry is independent of the Government. Sir Michael Lyons will decide what to publish when he makes available his final report.

Money Outreach Pilots

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of models for the money advice outreach pilots funded through the Financial Inclusion Fund. [49415]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: As announced in June 2004, £6 million of the Financial Inclusion Fund has been allocated to the Legal Services Commission, through the Department for Constitutional Affairs, to pilot mechanisms of money advice outreach aimed at those who do not normally present themselves to debt advisers. The LSC have run a competition to fund outreach pilots and are currently in final contract negotiations with successful bidders. The Financial Inclusion Taskforce has been asked to monitor the progress of the pilots as they come into service from February 2006 and to consider the outcome of the project evaluation.

National Insurance Fraud

Mr. Holloway: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many incidents of National Insurance fraud for the purpose of making tax credit claims have been recorded in each year since 1997. [47665]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: As a National Insurance number may only form part of an identity profile it is not possible to provide the information in the format requested. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Paymaster General on 10 January 2006, Official Report, column 558W.
 
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Personal Debt Advice

Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what personal debt advice services are funded by his Department; and if he will make a statement. [48737]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: HM Treasury does not directly fund personal debt advice services. However, as announced in June 2004, £45 million of the Treasury's Financial Inclusion Fund has been allocated to the Department of Trade and Industry to support an increase in the provision of free face-to-face debt advice in areas of high financial exclusion. A further £6 million of the Financial Inclusion Fund will be used by the Department of Constitutional Affairs, through the Legal Services Commission, to pilot mechanisms of money advice outreach aimed at those who do not normally present themselves to debt advisers.

Planning Gain Supplement

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate the Government have made of the total annual revenue to be collected from planning gain supplement. [47875]

John Healey: The amount of revenue from a Planning-gain Supplement (PGS) will depend on decisions on its rate and scope. As set out in paragraph 1.9 of the consultation document published alongside the 2005 pre-Budget report, if introduced a PGS will be set at a modest rate to help finance additional infrastructure while preserving incentives to bring land forward for development.

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether planning gain supplement is planned to be levied on developments that received planning permission prior to its introduction but where the construction commenced after its introduction. [47883]

John Healey: As set out in Chapter 3 of the consultation document published alongside the 2005 pre-Budget report, if Planning-gain Supplement (PGS) is introduced the Government will consider how best to take account of the transition period before and after its introduction, to ensure that the levy is fair while protecting yield and minimising risks of avoidance.

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which Minister holds lead responsibility for the introduction of planning gain supplement. [48047]

John Healey: The Chancellor of the Exchequer has overall responsibility for the work of the Treasury. I support the Chancellor for policy on the Planning-Gain Supplement.

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the process for the introduction of planning gain supplement in the devolved parts of the United Kingdom. [48052]

John Healey: As set out in paragraph 1.20 of the consultation document published alongside the 2005 pre-Budget report, if introduced a Planning-Gain Supplement (PGS) would apply throughout the UK. The Government will continue to work closely with the devolved Administrations on the interaction of PGS with devolved policy areas.
 
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