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19 Jun 2006 : Column 1617W—continued
Hilary Armstrong: Information on working days lost per employee due to illness in the Cabinet Office and its agencies is published each year in “Analysis of Sickness Absence in the Civil Service”. The latest publication for calendar year 2004 was announced by ministerial statement 15 November 2005 and copies were placed in the Libraries of the House. The following table details the approximate total cost of working days lost to the department and its agencies in years 1997 to 2004.
Cabinet Office and agencies are committed to managing sick absence effectively by making sure that managers proactively manage sickness absence and that they have the tools and training to do so.
| Working days lost per employee | Average basic salary (£) | Estimated cost of total days lost (£) | |
| Notes: 1. The figures are based on Cabinet Office and the agencies that were attached to the Department and reported returns at the time of each report. 2. The estimated cost of total days lost is based on the average annual salary figures used in the report “Analysis of Sickness Absence in the Civil Service”. | |||
Wage and Administration Expenditure
Mr. Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much was spent on (a) wages and salaries and (b) total administration of the (i) Cabinet Office, (ii) Prime Minister’s offices and (iii) Central Office of Information in each year since 1996-97, including the estimated outturn for 2005-06; and what the planned expenditure is for (A) 2006-07 and (B) 2007-08. [73539]
Hilary Armstrong: The Prime Minister’s office is an integral part of Cabinet Office and is included in this response.
Details of the Cabinet Office, including the Prime Minister’s Office, expenditure on wages, salaries and total administration costs in 1999-2000, 2000-01, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2003-04 and 2004-05 can be found in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Resource Accounts, schedule 2 (Cm 5053—page 14, Cm 5443—page 11, HC346—page 21, HC185—page 21, HC1190—page 27, and HC372—page 23 respectively).
Copies of these reports are available in the Library and the reports for 2000-01, 2003-04 and 2004-05 are available on the Cabinet Office website at http://www. cabinetoffice.gov.uk/reports/annualreport/index.asp.
For 1996-97, 1997-98 and 1998-99, administration costs for the Cabinet Office can be found in the Cabinet Office Appropriation Accounts (HC 251-XV11—page 6, HC 1-XVII—page 6 and HC 11-XVII—page 6 respectively) copies of which are available in the Library. Expenditure on wages and salaries is not separately identifiable for these years.
2005-06 figures are subject to final audit, but are estimated to be:
| £000 | |
On a like-for-like basis, planned expenditure in 2006-07 and 2007-08 is expected to be at a level similar to 2005-06, other than for the effects of inflation and Cabinet Office’s continuing strive for efficiency. However, wages, salaries and total administration costs are likely to vary as a result of machinery of government changes.
Details of wages, salaries and total administration costs for the Central Office of Information for the years 1996-97 to 2004-05 are contained in COI’s annual report and accounts, (pages 5, 6, 6, 7, 22, 32, 41 and 42 respectively) which are available in the Library on the COI website, at: http://www.coi.gov.uk/aboutcoi.php ?page=56.
2005-06 figures are subject to final audit, but are expected to be:
| £000 | |
On a like-for-like basis, planned expenditure in 2006-07 and 2007-08 is expected to be at a level similar to 2005-06, other than for the effects of inflation and COI’s continuing efficiency target to reduce the unit cost of output by 2.5 per cent. per annum. However, wages, salaries and total administration costs will increase because of the transfer of Directgov and the Media Monitoring Unit from Cabinet Office to COI from 1 April 2006.
Treasury
Capital Gains Tax Taper Relief
Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the revenue implications of abolishing capital gains tax taper relief and reducing the annual exempt amount for individual and trustees to (a) £500, (b) £1,000 and (c) £2,500 in each year from 2004-05 to 2009-10 while simultaneously reintroducing indexation linked to (i) the consumer price index and (ii) the retail price index; and if he will make a statement. [76887]
Dawn Primarolo: Broad estimates of the yield of abolishing capital gains tax taper relief and reducing the annual exempt amount for individual and trustees to (a) £500, (b) £1,000 and (c) £2,500 for the 2006-07 while simultaneously reintroducing indexation linked to either the consumer or retail price index are available in the following table.
| Annual exempt amount | Additional revenue (accruals £ million) |
The figures are consistent with the assumptions made in Budget 2006 on future asset prices, and take into account the likely taxpayer behavioural responses to the tax change. The Annual Exempt Amount for Trusts is assumed to be half that of individuals. Figures for other years are not available.
Data Protection
Mr. Gray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 5 June 2006, Official Report, column 175W, on the Data Protection Act, how many responses to requests to HM Revenue and Customs for information under the Data Protection Act 1998 were completed (a) within 40 days, (b) between 40 and 59 days, (c) between 60 and 100 days and (d) over 100 days after receiving the original letter in each of the last five years; and how many are outstanding. [77765]
Dawn Primarolo: HM Revenue and Customs was created in April 2005.
| Number | |
| 1 To date. | |
Mr. Gray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 5 June 2006, Official Report, column 175W, on the Data Protection Act, what procedure HM Revenue and Customs uses to respond to requests for information under the Data Protection Act 1998; and what steps the Department takes to ensure that responses to such requests are completed within 40 days. [77766]
Dawn Primarolo: HM Revenue and Customs includes training on Data Protection issues for all staff as part of their compulsory induction training. HM Revenue and Customs has a dedicated network of subject access officers who trace, retrieve and copy the personal information requested. These officers attend a mandatory interactive, training workshop where advice and guidance is provided on handling subject access requests as well as information about the principles of the Data Protection Act itself.
An on-line training package is available for all staff to use and a data protection intranet website provides day to day advice on handling subject access requests as well as all aspects of DP legislation.
A central team acts as the central point for logging all subject access requests. This team collates and issues all the information and by maintaining regular contact with the offices holding the data, ensures that as far as possible all responses are dealt with within the prescribed legislative time frame.
Mr. Gray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 5 June 2006, Official Report, column 177W, on the Data Protection Act, when redactions made to documents to be disclosed following a request under the Data Protection Act 1998 are made whether a record is kept of (a) who made each redaction and (b) why it was made in the case of (i) HM Treasury and (ii) HM Revenue and Customs. [77767]
Dawn Primarolo: The information is as follows:
(a) Records are not routinely kept of the name of the officer who made each redaction.
(b) Redactions are most commonly made to protect personal data belonging to another individual; because the data do not constitute the data subject's personal data; to safeguard the accurate assessment and collection of taxes.
Mr. Gray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 5 June 2006, Official Report, column 177W, on the Data Protection Act, what the minimum font size is in which documents held in electronic form are made available by (i) HM Treasury and (ii) HM Revenue and Customs for disclosure under the Data Protection Act 1998 are printed in relation to HM Treasury's policy to provide enlarged print size for the partially sighted. [77768]
Dawn Primarolo: Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs have a policy to provide enlarged print size on request to assist those with visual impairment. HM Revenue and Customs standard is font size 11 although slight variance may occur from system to system. In addition, the font size of documents which have been electronically scanned reflects the font size of the original(s).
Devolved Countries and Regions
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the responsibilities and operational duties are of his Department's devolved countries and regions team. [78220]
Mr. Timms: The devolved countries and regions team advises Treasury Ministers on a range of issues including matters in relation to the devolved Administrations and English regional bodies.
Doha Development Round
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the concordat of the G8 meeting in St. Petersburg on the Doha Development Round, what discussions he plans to have with (a) Commissioner Mandelson, (b) the director general of the World Trade Organisation and (c) Ambassador Susan Schwab on (i) agricultural subsidies, (ii) non-market access and (iii) designation of import/export sensitive commodities. [77699]
Ed Balls: As the Chancellor set out in his statement to the International Monetary and Financial Committee on 22 April 2006, the international community must grasp the opportunity presented by the Doha Development Agenda of world trade talks to achieve an ambitious outcome, by the end of 2006, that will make a real contribution to poverty reduction.
The need for a fairer trading global trading system was a key message of the UK presidency reflected in the communiqués of the G8 Finance Ministers in June 2005, the G8 Heads of State at Gleneagles in July 2005 and G7 Finance Ministers in December 2005. G8 Finance Ministers reiterated this message in their June 2006 communiqué, where they agreed:
“on the importance for global growth of an ambitious outcome from the Doha Development Round and recognise that urgent progress is needed for its achievement. Many developing countries also need substantial aid for trade to help them take advantage of general trade liberalisation”.
As set out in the 2006 Budget, the UK Government continue to work with fellow EU and WTO member states towards an ambitious and pro-development conclusion to the Doha Round that would: substantially increase market access for developing countries; substantially reduce all trade-distorting domestic support; and provide effective special and differential treatment to enable developing countries to capture the gains from trade. All WTO members need to maintain commitment to the Round so that we can deliver on the promises of Doha without lowering the level of ambition.
To this end 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.
Domestic Building Renovations (VAT)
Mr. Soames: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he applied to the European Commission by the 31 March 2006 for a reduced rate of VAT on repair and renovation work for domestic buildings. [78429]
Dawn Primarolo: The Government chose not to apply to the European Commission for this reduced rate.
Government Spending
Anne Milton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what total Government spending was in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland in each of the last three years. [78105]
Mr. Timms: Total public spending that can be identified as benefiting a particular country or region for 2000-01 to 2005-06 is published in table 7.1 of Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA) 2006 (Cm6811). Public spending can be split into that which can be identified as benefiting a particular country or region and that which is for the benefit of the UK as a whole, for example defence spending. Therefore, the figures in PESA 2006 do not represent total public spending, which is not available by country.
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