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27 Jun 2006 : Column 367W—continued
Treasury
Company Tax Credit
Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost to the Exchequer of each company tax credit in each year from 2006-07 to 2010-11; and if he will make a statement. [80594]
Dawn Primarolo: The estimated cost of research and development tax credits, vaccines research relief, land remediation relief and film tax relief are given in the table.
| £ million | ||||
| Research and development tax credits | Vaccines research relief | Land remediation relief | Film tax relief | |
| Note: Figures are on a receipts basis and rounded to the nearest £10 million. | ||||
Departmental Finance Directors
Chris Huhne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the (a) name, (b) professional and academic qualifications and (c) relevant experience are of the finance director of (i) his Department and (ii) HM Revenue and Customs. [80075]
John Healey: The information is as follows:
(a) Mary Keegan is Finance Director.
(b) She is an MA (Somerville College, Oxford) and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. She also holds honorary doctorates from the Universities of Manchester and Oxford Brookes, and is an honorary member of both the Association of Corporate Treasurers and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.
(c) She was appointed in September 2004. She was previously Chairman of the UK Accounting Standards Board and before that a senior partner in a large accounting firm where she advised major multinational companies on matters of financial reporting, governance and management.
(a) Stephen Jones is Finance Director.
(b) He is a Scholar (Balliol College Oxford) and holds a BA, 1st Class Honours, Mathematics [1976]. He is a fully trained HM Inspector of Taxes [1980] and a passed finalist of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants [2006],
(c) He has extensive experience as a tax inspector and in a range of senior management positions in the Inland Revenue and subsequently HMRC. He was Director of the Large Business Office in the Inland Revenue from 2000-03. In October 2003 he was appointed as Finance Director of the Inland Revenue, a role which he continued with for HMRC on its formation.
Doorstep Lending
Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps have been taken by the Government to regulate doorstep lending. [79827]
Mr. McCartney: I have been asked to reply.
Home credit providers (or doorstep lenders) are regulated under the Consumer Credit Act (1974). This Act lays down rules covering:
the form and content of credit agreements;
credit advertising;
the method of calculating the Annual Percentage Rate (APR) of the Total Charge for Credit;
the procedures to be adopted in the event of default, termination, or early settlement;
extortionate credit bargains;
the canvassing of loans away from trade premises.
The Act also requires that all traders who make regulated agreements obtain a licence from the Office of Fair Trading.
The Consumer Credit Act (2006) reforms the 1974 Act and (among other things) will provide consumers with tools to challenge unfair lending, and more effective options for resolving disputes. It will also improve the regulation of consumer credit businesses by ensuring fairer practices and through targeted action to drive out rogues. There will also be new regulations covering the post-contractual information given to consumers.
In addition, the Competition Commission is currently conducting a market inquiry into the supply of home credit. Provisional findings and possible remedies were published on 27 April 2006. The statutory deadline for the final report is 19 December 2006.
HM Revenue and Customs
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many searches were carried out by customs officials at border checkpoints in each year since 1997. [80408]
Dawn Primarolo: The number of searches of persons is contained in the Annual Reports for HM Customs and Excise and HM Revenue and Customs. The figures for the year ending 31 March 2006 will be published in the next Annual Report. HM Revenue and Customs do not routinely record the number of other searches they undertake.
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many customs officers are deployed at Northern Ireland’s ports and airports; how many there were in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [80099]
Dawn Primarolo: The number of HMRC frontline staff regularly deployed at Northern Ireland Ports and Airports was:
| Number | |
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many customs officials are stationed at each (a) port and (b) airport in the UK during each 24 hour period. [80837]
Dawn Primarolo: This information cannot be disclosed as this would provide information of value to those seeking to circumvent HM Revenue and Customs’ controls, thereby prejudicing the prevention and detection of crime.
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of customs officials employed in the UK were deployed (a) at fixed ports and airports and (b) in mobile patrols in each of the last five years. [80840]
Dawn Primarolo: In the last five years the percentage of HM Customs and Excise operational front-line staff regularly deployed to ports and airports was:
| As at 1 April each year | Percentage |
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to improve the speed of response of the customer support office at the HM Revenue and Customs office in Preston. [76253]
Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave on 14 June 2006, Official Report, column 1272W to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws).
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many HM Revenue and Customs officers are located in each office in Wales. [80437]
Dawn Primarolo: At 1 April 2006, HM Revenue and Customs full-time equivalent staff in Wales were located in the following offices:
| Building | Town | Staff |
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many seizures of (a) illegal firearms, (b) drugs and (c) cigarettes have been made in Wales in each of the last five years. [80438]
Dawn Primarolo: The information is given in the table:
| Firearms | Drugs | Cigarettes | |
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many HM Revenue and Customs staff were located in Wales in each of the past five years; which HM Revenue and Customs offices in Wales closed in each of the past five years; and when each closed. [80439]
Dawn Primarolo: The numbers of HM Revenue and Customs (HM Customs and Excise and Inland Revenue prior to 18 April 2005) full-time equivalent staff in Wales was:
| Number of full-time equivalent staff | |
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