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18 Apr 2006 : Column 549W—continued
Energy Prices
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the effects of energy prices on (a) the purchasing power of households and (b) consumer spending. [63969]
John Healey: Chapter B of the Financial Statement and Budget Report 2006 (HC 968), published on 22 March, included an assessment of the effects of energy prices on both household's purchasing power and consumer spending growth.
Financial Services Authority
Mr. Donaldson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what plans he has to improve the accountability of the Financial Services Authority to his Department; [63616]
(2) if he will bring forward proposals to divide the responsibilities of the Financial Services Authority between new regulatory bodies related to specific sectors of the market. [63617]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The effectiveness of the regulatory regime for financial services was considered by the Treasury's two-year review of Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA), the outcome of which was announced on 2 December 2004. The review concluded that the framework established by FSMA is a resounding success and that existing accounting arrangements should remain unchanged.
Mr. Donaldson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will carry out a review of the fees levied by the Financial Services Authority. [63618]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is operationally independent of Government including in relation to the setting of fees. The FSA consults annually on its proposed regulatory fees. The FSA consultation for 2006–07 was announced on 1 February 2006 and is available at http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pubs/cp/cp06_02.pdf.
Grievance Procedures
David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many grievance procedures have been initiated in his Department in each of the last three years; [63525]
(2) how many complaints of (a) bullying and (b) sexual harassment have been investigated in his Department in each of the last three years; and how many complaints have been upheld. [63526]
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John Healey: Prior to 2005, the Treasury only kept records on grievances that were upheld. Information on grievances that were raised but not upheld is not available. In 2003, fewer than five 1 grievances were raised and upheld. None were raised and upheld in 2004.
Since 2005, records have been kept of all grievances. In 2005, five grievances were raised.
Income Tax
Ms Diana R. Johnson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many workers living in (a) Kingston upon Hull, North constituency and (b) Kingston upon Hull pay income tax at (i) the basic rate and (ii) the higher rate. [62860]
Dawn Primarolo: Information on the number of taxpayers by marginal tax rate in the constituency of Kingston upon Hull, North and the unitary authority of Kingston upon Hull is not available.
However, the latest information on the estimated number of income taxpayers and their mean and median total income by constituency is shown in table 3.15 Total income by parliamentary constituency" on the HM Revenue and Customs internet website; http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income_distribution/table-3–15.xls.
Similar information, by unitary authority area, is shown in table 3.14 Total income by borough and district or unitary authority" on the HM Revenue and Customs internet website; http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income_distribution/3_14_nov05.xls
The income tax information is based upon the 2003–04 Survey of Personal Incomes (SPI).
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the impact on general practitioners of advancing income tax payments for the self employed by one year. [63937]
Dawn Primarolo: There are no plans to advance income tax payments for the self employed.
David Mundell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his most recent estimate is of the (a) initial set up costs and (b) annual administration costs to (i) HM Revenue and Customs, (ii) other Government departments and agencies and (iii) businesses if the Scottish Parliament varied the basic rate of income tax under section 73 of the Scotland Act 1998. [62927]
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Dawn Primarolo: The White Paper of 24 July 1997 Scotland's Parliament" indicated that costs of introducing a Scottish variable rate would be in the order of £10 million with annual costs of £8 million. As both administrations of the Scottish Parliament have indicated that they will not take imminent advantage of the Scottish variable rate, the cost estimates have not been uprated. Doing so before a decision was made to introduce a Scottish variable rate would not produce a meaningful estimate of any change.
Informal Economy
Mr. Iain Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the size of the informal economy in (a) the UK and (b) the North East. [63281]
Dawn Primarolo: There is no reliable estimate of the size of the informal economy in (a) the UK or (b) the North East.
Mr. Iain Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department is taking to reduce the size of the informal economy in the North-East. [63280]
Dawn Primarolo: HMRC continues to detect and deter non- compliance in the informal economy as well as developing initiatives providing help and support to businesses and individuals who wish to formalise their tax affairs.
A direct taxes Hotline has been launched, with national publicity encouraging members of the public to report people operating in the informal economy.
Nationally HM Revenue and Customs' Business Support Teams and Right Track teams aim to move economic activities into the formal economy, where they are supported to continue operating in fair competition with other legitimate businesses. Those individuals and businesses who wilfully operate in the informal economy are targeted by HMRC, on the basis of risk with criminal investigation and prosecution considered in more serious cases.
Inheritance Tax/Stamp Duty
Mr. Carswell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate his Department has made of the amount of revenue which will be raised from inheritance tax in 2005–06; [63884]
(2) what estimate he has made of the annual cost to public funds in terms of revenue foregone of abolishing inheritance tax. [63965]
Dawn Primarolo: An estimate of inheritance tax receipts in 2005–06 is given in table C8 of the Budget 2006 Red Book".
Abolition of inheritance tax would result in the direct loss of this yield, and there may also be indirect effects on other taxes. These have not been quantified.
Mr. Carswell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost of collection of inheritance tax was as a percentage of the total revenue from inheritance tax in each of the last five years. [63968]
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Dawn Primarolo: The cost of collecting inheritance tax as a percentage of receipts is given, for each year from 2000–01 to 2004–05, in Table 1, Annex F of the HM Revenue and Customs Annual Report 2004–05.
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total tax revenue from (a) inheritance tax and (b) stamp duty was in the last year for which information is available, (i) broken down by the smallest geographical areas for which information is collected and (ii) per head in each area. [62277]
Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 29 March 2006]: Regional estimates of stamp duty revenues on residential property transactions for 2004–05, the latest year for which information is available, are available at:
Estimates of average stamp duty paid for residential property purchases by Government Office Region were provided in response to a previous Parliamentary Question on 15 June 2005, Official Report, column 394W.
A breakdown of inheritance tax receipts in 2004–05 for Scotland and Northern Ireland, as well as England and Wales combined, is shown in the following table:
| Country | Inheritance tax net receipts 2004–05 (£ million) |
|---|---|
| England and Wales | 2,729 |
| Scotland | 167 |
| Northern Ireland | 26 |
| United Kingdom | 2,922 |
Figures on the number of deaths by country are available from:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_population/Table1DeathRegistrations02–04.xls (England & Wales);
http://www.nisranew.nisra.gov.uk/Uploads/publications/births_and_deaths_2005.pdf (Northern Ireland).
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