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12 Jun 2006 : Column 926W—continued
Foreign Travel
Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was spent on foreign travel by his Department in each of the last eight years. [76067]
John Healey: I refer to the answer I gave on 15 December 2005, Official Report, column 2272W to the hon. Member for Southend, West (Mr. Amess). In 2005-06, the cost of foreign travel, including subsistence, for the Treasury was £1,741,000. All travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the “Ministerial Code”, the “Civil Service Management Code” and the “Code of Conduct for Special Advisers”.
HMRC Staff
Dr. Pugh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many HM Revenue and Customs officers are employed (a) at ports and airports and (b) elsewhere. [75677]
Dawn Primarolo:
At 1 April 2006, the number of full-time equivalent HM Revenue and Customs staff officially based within dock or airport areas was approximately 4,090 and 88,798 were officially based elsewhere. Most staff who are employed at ports and airports are part of the detection directorate. Some 4,500 of them are employed on frontline operational duties at ports and airports, although many of them
will not be based at those locations. Other HM Revenue and Customs staff will also attend airports and ports as part of their official duties.
Home Insulation (Pensioners)
Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his pre-Budget statement of 5 December 2005, Official Report, column 613W, by what means pensioners not in receipt of pension credit can gain access to financial assistance with the costs of home insulation; how much he has allocated to this scheme; who is responsible for administering the scheme; how many pensioners have so far taken up this entitlement; and if he will make a statement. [69612]
Ian Pearson: I have been asked to reply.
In the pre-Budget announcement of 5 December 2005, the Chancellor announced a significant financial boost to help tackle the issue of fuel poverty in the UK. As part of this announcement, the Chancellor pledged £300 towards the cost of a new central heating system for any pensioner household not eligible for Warm Front assistance. Detailed arrangements for the delivery of this element of the Scheme, which will be delivered by the Warm Front Scheme Manager Eaga Partnership, are being finalised ready for implementation this summer.
While these payments will only support the provision of central heating, a range of assistance is also available for homeowners wishing to insulate their homes. Information is available from Energy Efficiency Advice Centres or via the Energy Saving Trust Website at:
http://www.est.org.uk/
Household Incomes
Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average gross disposable household income was in (a) the UK and (b) each region and county in each year since 2001. [75485]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the national statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 12 June 2006:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about Gross Disposable Household Income (GDHI) for the UK and each region and county in each year since 2001. (75485)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) produce estimates for GDHI in Nomenclature of Units for Territorial Statistics
(NUTS) regions. Estimates are not produced separately at the county level. GDHI figures up to and including 2004 (the latest year for which estimates are available) were published in May 2006. Estimates for UK and NUTS1, 2 and 3 GDHI can be accessed in table 3.1 through the following link: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_economy/Results_ Tables_Values.xls
Housing Expenditure
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of the percentage of disposable income spent on housing by each income decile for each year from 1995 to 2005; and if he will make a statement. [75913]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 12 June 2006:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the latest estimate is of the percentage of disposable income spent on housing by each income decile, for each year from 1995 to 2005. (75913)
Estimates of expenditure on housing are based on the Expenditure and Food Survey (EPS), an annual sample survey of approximately 6,000 to 7,000 households in the UK. Family Spending, the annual report on the EPS, recently introduced a more comprehensive treatment of housing expenditure, and for this reason comparable figures are only available from 2002/03 onwards.
The table below shows the percentage of disposable household income spent on housing for each gross income decile group since 2002/03. All housing expenditure is included: rent; mortgage payments; costs associated with second dwellings; charges such as council tax and water charges; costs associated with moving house; maintenance and repair; alterations and improvements; and household insurance.
Housing expenditure as a proportion of disposable income is highest for households in the bottom decile. The bottom decile in particular does contain some households whose total expenditure including that on housing, greatly exceeds their income. Some of these households have, or report, very little income (for example, self-employed people starting a business or someone who has just been made redundant). These households may finance their expenditure by drawing on their savings, borrowing, or other kinds of receipts which are not treated as regular income in the EPS e.g. inheritance and severance payments.
A more detailed breakdown of housing expenditure by income decile is available in Table 2.3 on page 14 of Family Spending 2004/05, albeit expressed as average weekly household expenditures, rather than as proportions of disposable income. Family Spending is available on the National Statistics website at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=361& Pos=l4&ColRank=l&Rank=272.
| Percentage of disposable income spent on housing( 1) by income decile( 2) , 2002-03—2004-05 | |||||||||||
| Decile groups of all households ranked by gross income | |||||||||||
| Bottom | 2( nd) | 3( rd) | 4( th) | 5( th) | 6( th) | 7( th) | 8( th) | 9( th) | Top | All households | |
| (1) Includes: rent; mortgage payments; costs associated with second dwellings; charges such as council tax and water charges; costs associated with moving house; maintenance and repair; alterations and improvements; and household insurance. (2) Households are ranked by unadjusted gross income. | |||||||||||
Ministerial Meetings
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) on how many occasions since 1 June 2005 he met the General Secretary of (a) the Trades Union Congress, (b) UNISON, (c) the GMB, (d) Amicus and (e) the Transport and General Workers Union; [76313]
(2) how many times he has met (a) the Head of the Sustainable Development Commission, (b) the Government Chief Scientist, (c) the Executive Director of Friends of the Earth, (d) the Chief Executive of the World Wildlife Fund (UK) and (e) the Executive Director of Greenpeace in the last 12 months; [76814]
(3) how many times he has met (a) the Chairman of the British Medical Association, (b) the General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, (c) the Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation and (d) the Chief Executive of the King’s Fund in the last 12 months; [76815]
(4) how many times he has met the (a) Metropolitan Police Commissioner, (b) Director-General of the Serious Organised Crime Agency, (c) Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police for Specialist Operations, (d) Director General of the Security Service (MI5), (e) Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), (f) Chief of the Defence Staff, (g) First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff, (h) Chief of the General Staff and (i) Chief of the Air Staff in the last 12 months. [76816]
John Healey: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide range of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government’s practice to provide details of all such meetings.
Missing Trader Fraud
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost of missing trader fraud for each quarter since 1997 (a) in cash terms and (b) cost adjusted for inflation. [75931]
Dawn Primarolo: HMRC's latest annual estimates of total MTIC fraud were published in “Measuring Indirect Tax Losses-2005”, which is available from the House of Commons Library. A quarterly breakdown of these estimates is shown in Table 1, along with the corresponding constant price time series based on 1999 Q1 prices.
Measuring the size of MTIC fraud is inherently difficult. Therefore, the figures are presented as a range.
Due to lags in data becoming available, the annual estimate for 2005-06 cannot be published until PBR 2006. The associated quarterly figures will not be available until this time as their release could compromise the pre-announced publication.
| Table 1: Quarterly estimates of MTIC fraud at current prices and constant prices (1999 Q1 base)( 1) | |||||
| £ billion | |||||
| Current price | Constant prices | ||||
| Upper limit | Lower limit | Upper limit | Lower limit | ||
| (1) The complexities of the methodology used to estimate MTIC fraud are such that there will be minor discrepancies between these quarterly figures and the published annual estimates. | |||||
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