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Competitiveness
David Tredinnick: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the principal factors affecting the competitiveness of UK businesses. [82823]
John Healey: The Budget Report provided an assessment of all areas of the UK economy, and action needed by Government to provide the right environment for businesses competing in the global environment.
The Government’s strategy for advancing productivity growth is based on two pillars: providing macroeconomic stability to allow firms and individuals to invest in the future, and making microeconomic reforms to ensure that markets function efficiently and that barriers to productivity growth are tackled.
Contributions Agency
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on failures by the Contributions Agency to collect and credit national insurance contributions in 2004-05; and what action is being taken (a) to avoid the issue of incorrect notices of deficient contributions and (b) to restore contribution records to individuals affected by such failures. [82928]
Dawn Primarolo: There have been well publicised delays in processing 2004-05 Employer’s Annual Returns. HM Revenue and Customs has now processed all error free returns.
HMRC has posted 99 per cent. of the 42.7 million relevant individual national insurance records for employment to its National Insurance Recording System (NIRS) by June 2006. The number of records yet to be processed is in line with what HMRC would normally expect to have at this point in the year.
HMRC is working hard to get the remaining data through to NIRS prior to the commencement of the Deficiency Notice (DN) exercise which is planned for September. It is anticipated that there will not be any increase in the amount of DNs issued than in any other normal year.
Correspondence
Sir Michael Spicer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Paymaster General will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 15 May 2006, on the tax credit system (PO Ref: 4/25865/2006). [81932]
Dawn Primarolo: I expect to be in a position to write to the hon. Member very shortly.
Mr. Salmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Chief Secretary to the Treasury will reply to the letter of 22 May from the hon. Member for Banff and Buchan regarding civil service pay and conditions. [82683]
Mr. Timms: I have done so.
Council Tax/Regional Rate
Dr. McCrea: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of (a) council tax in England and (b) the regional rate in Northern Ireland was returned to central Government in each of the last three years. [82597]
Mr. Timms: Council tax is collected and retained by English local authorities and contributes towards their expenditure.
The Northern Ireland regional rate is collected by the Rates Collection Agency and is paid into the Northern Ireland Consolidated Fund. This income contributes towards the funding of public services in Northern Ireland.
ECOFIN Meeting
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what date he agreed to attend the ECOFIN meeting on 7 June 2006; and if he will make a statement. [76944]
John Healey: It is the Chancellor who holds the UK seat at the European Council of Finance Ministers.
Engagements
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he next plans to visit Coventry. [71276]
John Healey [holding answer 18 May 2006]: As part of his official duties the Chancellor of the Exchequer visits the regions and nations of the United Kingdom and will be continuing to do so over the coming months.
EU Nationals
Mr. Davidson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many nationals from the EU accession states have applied for (a) child benefit and (b) tax credits since May 2004; and how many such applications have been (i) approved, (ii) rejected and (iii) terminated in each case. [82905]
Dawn Primarolo: These figures are included in the joint Accession Monitoring Report produced by the Home Office, Department for Work and Pensions, HM Revenue and Customs and Department for Communities and Local Government on 23 May 2006 and published on the Home Office Immigrationand Nationality Directorate’s website (http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/aboutus/reports/accession_monitoring_report)
Families (Father Involvement)
Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans the Government have to include consideration of ways to encourage fathers’ involvement within the family in the cross-cutting review of support for children and young people being conducted as part of the 2007 comprehensive spending review. [82785]
Ed Balls: Budget 2006 launched a policy review of children and young people to inform the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review. Copies of the review's terms of reference have been placed in the House of Commons Library.
In “support for parents: the best start for children”, published at the pre-Budget report, HM Treasury and the Department for Education and Skills recognised the contributions that mothers and fathers make and their potentially different needs for support as parents. As part of wider examination of the role of and support for parents in improving outcomes for children and young people, the review will consider the contribution of fathers and other male carers.
Life Expectancy
Joan Walley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the long-term trend for life expectancy in Stoke-on-Trent; and if he will make a statement. [80603]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 6 July 2006:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the long-term trend for life expectancy is in Stoke-on-Trent. I am replying in her absence. (80603)'
Figures for life expectancy at birth for English regions and local authorities are published annually by ONS based on three-year rolling averages. Results are available from 1991-1993 to 2002-2004 and are included in the table below.
| Life expectancy at birth (years) by sex in Stoke-on-Trent, 1991-93 to 2002-04( 1) | ||
| Males | Females | |
| (1
)Results are based on death registrations and mid-year population
estimates for each three year
period. | ||
Pension Rights
Greg Mulholland: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what mechanism is in place to ensure staff transferring from public to private sector under Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) terms have their pension rights protected; and whether he has made an assessment of the compliance of existing arrangements with the Government’s guidance on, Staff Transfers in the Public Sector: A Statement of Practice. [82876]
Mr. Timms: HM Treasury guidance: (Staff Transfers from Central Government: A Fair Deal for Staff Pensions) supplemented by further guidance issued in 2004 and Cabinet Office guidance: (Staff Transfers in the Public Sector Statement of Practice) remain in force. It is incumbent upon bodies or organisations transferring staff from the public sector to the private sector to be familiar with the guidance.
Pensions
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to pages 58 and 59 of the White Paper Security in Retirement; Towards a New Pensions System, what the evidential basis is for the statement that (a) 75 is the appropriate upper age limit for annuities and (b) annuities offer good value for money. [82527]
Ed Balls: Latest Government Actuary Department (GAD) analysis shows that the guaranteed rates of return available on annuities by around age 75 become so large relative to other investments that increasingly unrealistic investment returns need to be achieved in order to match or do better than the income that could be achieved through an annuity. Any investment vehicle with an expected yield greater than an annuity after 75 would inevitably be both expensive and carry a significant degree of risk, which people in the later stages of life may be ill-equipped to bear. Of course the optimal age for individuals to annuitise before 75 will depend on a range of individual circumstances.
A comprehensive academic survey on annuity pricing was published in March 2006. The authors conclude that after looking at the most recent analysis,
“The mark-up paid to life insurers—measured by the so-called money’s worth ratio—is relatively small and fairly constant, thus suggesting that annuities are fairly priced”.
These findings are in line with previous annuity pricing studies covering different countries and time periods. The full paper can be found at: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rports2005-2006/rrep318.pdf, DWP research paper 318 ‘Annuities—A Pricing Survey’, Edmund Cannon and Ian Tonks.
The Government are committed to publishing a technical paper setting out the evidence base for policy in this area later this year.
Retirement Age
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 13 February 2006, Official Report, columns 1695-6W, on retirement age, if he will break down the estimated percentage probability by (a) female and (b) male workers; what assumptions have been used by the Government Actuary’s Department in relation to the impact of the announced changes in early retirement rights on staff turnover levels; and if he will place in the Library the supporting data for the answer produced by the Government Actuary’s Department. [82511]
Mr. Timms: Estimated probabilities that new entrants aged 20 will not remain in the scheme at normal retirement are in the following table.
| Percentage of workers | ||
| Scheme | Male | Female |
| (1)
Includes all members who leave the scheme before normal retirement age,
even those who subsequently rejoin and are members at normal retirement
age. | ||
These figures are based on the analysis of staff turnover in the Government Actuary’s Department’s latest actuarial valuations of the teachers’ pension scheme (England and Wales) and the national health service pension scheme (England and Wales), which are available in the Library.
The
assumed rates of turnover are derived from an analysis of the actual
turnover experienced in the past. Allowance has been made for the
strong link between resignation rates and duration of employment.
Levels of staff turnover may be different in the future. The
introduction of new pension schemes for new entrants is one of many
factors that will influence staff turnover; others include future
economic conditions and the ease of mobility in the labour market.
Given these uncertainties and the link between employment length and
resignation no explicit allowance for the effect of introducing new
public sector pension schemes was made in calculating the
figures.
Tallow
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the value is of support through the tax system for the use of tallow in the production of biodiesel; [82874]
(2) what assessment he has made of the impact of decisions of other European Governments to lower or remove subsidies for the burning of tallow for power or in the production of biodiesel. [82875]
John Healey: The use of tallow in the production of biodiesel used as road fuel is supported through a duty incentive. Fuel produced from tallow is eligible for the rate of duty for biodiesel (currently 27.10p per litre) if it meets the legal definition of biodiesel for tax purposes set out in section 2AA of the Hydrocarbon Oil Duties Act 1979. In other cases it is liable to duty at 47.10p per litre.
In addition, tallow used in power generation is not liable to any duty, while fuel oil (which is mainly used for this purpose) is liable to duty at the rate of 6.04p per litre.
We have not carried out any assessment of the impact of decisions of other European Governments to lower or remove subsidies for the burning of tallow for power or in the production of biodiesel.
Tax Credits
Anne Main: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his ministerial responsibilities are in relation to tax credits. [77906]
John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary on 7 June 2006, Official Report, column 862W.
Transport
Airspace (Northern Home Counties)
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the terms of reference are for the review of the management of the airspace over northern home counties of England being undertaken by the National Air Traffic Services. [82536]
Gillian Merron: This is an operational matter for NATS. I suggest the hon. Member writes to the chief executive of NATS, Paul Barren, for information on the matter.
Antisocial Behaviour (Trains)
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) staff and (b) passengers on the rail network were assaulted in the last 12 months, broken down by region. [77782]
Derek Twigg: The British Transport Police (BTP) have provided the following data in relation to the number of assaults of (a) staff and (b) passengers on the rail network from 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006.
| BTP area | Number of staff assaults |
| BTP area | Number of passenger assaults |
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