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Timber

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the use of Indonesian rainforest plywood in the new Home Office building. [45562]

 
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Mr. Charles Clarke: The Department's 2 Marsham Street Headquarters has been procured via a 29-year PFI contract with Annes Gate Property plc which commenced on 26 March 2002. AGP has confirmed that it has complied with the Department's policy on the use of timber from sustainable sources as required by its contract with the Department. AGP has sourced any plywood that it has procured for the building from a sustainable supplier certified under the Forestry Stewardship Council scheme. The Department clarified its timber purchasing policy in mid-2003 to make clear that it also applied to any timber used in the construction process that would not be used in the completed building. Following this clarification AGP decided that any previous use of Indonesian plywood in the construction process should cease. Since the building opened AGP's facilities management sub-contractor has had its environmental management system certified under ISO 14001.

Violent Assaults

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many violent assaults where the perpetrators recorded the incidents with mobile phone cameras have been reported in each local authority area in each of the last two years; and if he will make a statement. [46299]

Hazel Blears: The information requested is not available from the recorded crime statistics.

Worker Registration Scheme

Mr. Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many workers from EU accession countries have (a) applied and (b) been accepted under the worker registration scheme since 1 May 2004. [47659]

Mr. McNulty: The latest published Accession Monitoring Report covers the period May 2004 to September 2005 and sets out the number of citizens from the EU accession countries (A8 nationals) who have applied to register with the worker registration scheme (WRS) during this period. This report is available on the Home Office website at: http://www.ind. homeoffice.gov.uk/ind/en/home/about_us/reports/accession_monitoring.html.

The next report, which will cover the period May 2004 to December 2005, will be published on 28 February 2006.

Table one (page five) of the report shows that during May 2004 to September 2005, 293,215 A8 nationals applied for registration, of which 277,060 were accepted and issued with work cards and certificates.

The figures shown in the report are for initial applications only; they do not include multiple applications, where a worker is doing more than one job simultaneously, or re-registrations, where a worker has changed employers.

The data has been obtained from local management information using the WRS database. They have not been provided under national statistics protocols and are therefore provisional and subject to change.
 
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TREASURY

Biodiesel Duty

Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the definition is of (a) diesel quality liquid fuel, (b) biomass and (c) waste cooking oil for the purposes of assessing the eligibility of fuels for the reduced rate of duty for biodiesel; [48818]

(2) what the criteria are by which users of cooking oil and straight vegetable oil have been judged not to qualify for the reduced rate of fuel duty applicable to biodiesel. [48819]

John Healey: I refer the right hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Yardley (John Hemming) on 15 December 2005, Official Report, column 2265W.

Community Development Finance Institutions

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the outcome was of the consultation on extending the community investment tax relief scheme to investments in community development finance institutions' personal lending activities. [49260]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The outcome of the consultation on extending Community Investment Tax Relief to the personal lending activities of community development finance institutions was announced in the pre-Budget report 2005. The consultation indicated support for an extension and highlighted a range of practical issues that need addressing. The Government are continuing to consider the case for, and practicalities of, this extension.

Credit Unions

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment his Department has made of the impact of raising the maximum rate of interest that credit unions can charge on loans on (a) the availability of credit and (b) the rate of take up of loans. [49258]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The pre-Budget report 2005 announced the intention to increase the maximum interest rate that credit unions can charge on loans from 1 per cent. a month to 2 per cent. a month, following consultation. This increase is designed to give all credit unions the flexibility to better serve low-income groups. The consultation provided strong evidence to suggest that this change will have a positive effect on the availability of credit union loans for those encountering exclusion from mainstream financial services, and will facilitate an expansion in credit union membership to those currently unable to access credit at affordable rates.

Energy Efficiency

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the (a) benefits and (b) costs to (i) businesses and (ii) the Department of having different rules for the eligibility for enhanced capital allowances for energy efficient (A) display light fittings and (B) general light fittings. [48583]

 
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John Healey: No such assessment has been made. The rules for 100 per cent. first-year enhanced capital allowances for energy saving plant and machinery do not distinguish between display light fittings and general light fittings.

Film Tax Credit

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when details of the new film tax credit to replace the section 48 credit will be announced; and if he will make a statement. [48482]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Chancellor made a number of key announcements regarding the new film tax incentives at the pre-Budget report on 5 December 2005, including revised rates and levels of relief. The Government are aiming to publish draft legislation as soon as is possible, so as to provide the UK film industry with certainty on the further details of the new incentives. Full legislation will appear in Finance Bill 2006.

Freedom of Information Act

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what total sum has been received by his Department for the provision of information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in its first year of operation. [48487]

John Healey: The Treasury has not received any monies for the provision of information under the FOI Act in its first year of operation.

Insurance Premium Tax

Gregory Barker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to reform the insurance premium tax. [49461]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury gave him on 22 November 2005, Official Report, column 1908W.

Intrastat

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what purpose HM Revenue and Customs collects statistics on behalf of Intrastat on the weight of goods imported from other EU member states; and what assessment he has made of the cost to businesses of collating this information. [48582]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: All member states have a legal requirement to collect Intrastat statistics on the weight of goods imported from other EU countries. These statistics are used by the European Union, the UK Government and private sector for economic monitoring and informing business decisions. This information is also used by HM Revenue and Customs to assure the Intrastat information provided. The cost to businesses of collating this information cannot be identified separately from the costs calculated for Intrastat information in totality. From 1 January 2006 member states may decide to remove the need for 'net mass' information where the 'supplementary unit' is required. A third of all commodity codes are included in this simplification which HM Revenue and Customs is implementing in the UK.
 
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Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what guidance HM Revenue and Customs gives to businesses that are required to complete the Instrastat statistical returns. [48584]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: HM Revenue and Customs provides an Intrastat Education Pack for all businesses required to complete Intrastat returns. Included in this pack is a copy of Notice 60—The Intrastat General Guide. Additional information is also available from their dedicated website (www.uktradeinfo.com) as well as a telephone help-line (Tel: [phone]) and e-mail inquiry address ([e-mail]).

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