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7 Nov 2006 : Column 1036W—continued
Public Sector Pensions
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will publish the Whole of Government Accounts 2006-07; what information on public sector pensions they will include; and if he will make a statement. [100057]
Mr. Timms: The 2005 pre-Budget report reaffirmed the Government's intention to publish the first Balance Sheet information for the year ending 31 March 2007 once the methodological issues raised by the development work have been addressed. Further detail on developing accruals accounting for public sector bodies was discussed in “Delivering the Benefits of Accruals Accounting for the Whole Public Sector”, which was published alongside the 2005 pre-Budget report.
Whole of Government Accounts will include the public sector pensions disclosures required by UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost of public sector pensions in (a) 2003-04, (b) 2014-15 and (c) 2024-25 in (i) cash terms and (ii) real terms in 2003-04 prices. [100058]
Mr. Timms: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answers I gave him on 26 October, Official Report, columns 2019-20W.
Renewable Energy
Sir Michael Spicer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what account he took of representations from the energy industry on his policy to place in the Consolidated Fund the surplus arising from the auction of Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation; if he will make it his policy to use such surplus to provide support for emerging renewable energy technologies; and if he will make a statement. [97785]
John Healey [holding answer 30 October 2006]: Funds in the Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation Fund have been transferred into the Consolidated Fund in the light of legal advice that the funds are hereditary revenues, and so are required by law to be paid into the Consolidated Fund. Support for renewable technologies is currently provided through the Renewables Obligation which, along with exemption from the climate change levy, will be worth around £1 billion of support per year to the renewables industry by 2010.
Reverse Charge Procedure
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made in implementing the reverse charge procedure as outlined in the March 2006 Budget. [99409]
Dawn Primarolo: A proposal has been produced and it has been discussed in Council Working Group. Negotiations are continuing and we are therefore not in a position to comment any further at this time.
School Meals (Wales)
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much money was allocated to Wales as a result of the additional funding made available at the time of the 2006 Budget to improve the quality of school meals. [100194]
Mr. Timms: None. Funding to improve the quality of school meals in England announced in May 2006 has been financed within the 2004 Spending Review settlement for the Department for Education and Skills, on which settlement the Welsh Assembly Government received consequential funding in 2004. Funding for the Welsh Assembly Government for the period of the Comprehensive Spending Review will be announced next year. It is for the WAG to decide how to allocate its budget.
Science
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to appoint Sir Christopher Evans to any further reviews on science-related matters for which his Department has responsibility. [99387]
John Healey: Any reviews will be announced in the normal way.
Ship Searches
David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many ships were searched by HM Revenue and Customs in Northern Ireland ports in each of the last three years. [100272]
John Healey: HMRC deploys resources according to risk and a number of modes of transport are searched as part of the UK Oils Strategy. Revealing specific information regarding geographical deployment could undermine the Department’s efforts to prevent and detect smuggling and to apprehend and prosecute of those who set out to evade the controls.
Social Investment Taskforce
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what criteria were used to appoint the chairman of the Social Investment Taskforce. [94530]
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what criteria were used to appoint the chairman of the Social Investment Taskforce. [99347]
John Healey: The Social Investment Taskforce was created in 2000 to review the role of community financing and venture capital in the creation of enterprise in our disadvantaged areas.
Every member of the taskforce, including the chairman, was chosen for their expertise and all were unpaid, both for the preparation of the taskforce’s report and its successful promotion.
Social Mobility
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effects of taxation on social mobility in British society since 1997. [96162]
Dawn Primarolo: Since 1997 the Government have reformed the taxation and benefits system to ensure that work pays, improving incentives to move into work and to progress in work. This should encourage people to take opportunities for upward social mobility.
Since 1997 the number of families facing marginal deduction rates from taxation and withdrawal of tax credits and benefit of over 70 per cent. has fallen by half a million, and there are over 2 million more people in employment.
Special Advisers
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether special advisers in his Department have a role in whether requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 are accepted or rejected. [99396]
John Healey: The Treasury has established guidance on arrangements for clearance and approval of freedom of information requests under the Freedom of Information Act. There is no role for special advisers within this process.
Staff Costs
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was spent on staff (a) bonuses and (b) overtime in his Department in each year since 1997. [97961]
Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff in his Department received bonus payments in each of the last five years for which information is available; what proportion of the total workforce they represented; what the total amount of bonuses paid has been; what the largest single payment was in each year; and if he will make a statement. [98528]
John Healey: The figures for the Treasury are set out in the table. Bonuses are paid in two circumstances: performance bonuses are those linked to the annual staff appraisal system; special bonuses are those paid to recognise specific contributions or pieces of work during the year. The two types of bonus were not recorded separately in 2002-03 so an aggregated figure is given for that year. Information for the financial years before 2002-03 could be obtained only at disproportionate cost because of a change of accounting system in that year.
| Performance bonuses (£000) | Special bonuses (£000) | Largest single bonus payment (£) | Percentage of work force receiving bonuses | Overtime (£000) | |
Stamp Duty
Mr. Holloway: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what revenue has come from stamp duty on property in (a) Gravesham constituency and (b) Kent in each of the last five financial years; and what projections he has made for the next three financial years. [99666]
Mr. Timms: Estimates of amounts of stamp duty payable on property transactions in 2005-06 for each local authority in the United Kingdom were deposited in the House of Commons Library in response to a parliamentary written question from the hon. Member for Hammersmith and Fulham (Mr. Hands) on 26 June 2006, Official Report, columns 94-95W.
Information on the amounts of stamp duty payable from property sales for each parliamentary constituency for 2005-06 will be available on the HMRC website within the next few months.
Projections of the amount of stamp duty expected in the future are not available below the United Kingdom level.
Tax Credits
Mr. Moore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tax credit overpayments were remitted between (a) 1 September 2005 to 1 September 2006 and (b) 1 September 2004 to 31 August 2005; what the total value of such remittances was in each period; and what criteria were used in each period in determining eligibility for a remittance. [92972]
Dawn Primarolo: For the number of tax credits overpayments remitted on the ground of official error, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey (Danny Alexander) on 10 October 2006, Official Report, columns 730-31W.
For the value of tax credits overpayments written off on the ground of official error between June 2004 and March 2006, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 14 July 2006, Official Report, column 2116W.
The value of overpayments written off on the ground of official error from March 2006 to August 2006 was:
| £000 | |
| Value of disputed overpayments written off on ground of official error | |
The value of overpayments remitted on the ground of hardship is compiled annually to the end of October and shown in the table:
| £000 | |
| Year to end of October | Amount remitted |
| Note: Details for the year to end of October 2006 are not yet available. | |
This information gives working tax credit (WTC) and child tax credit (CTC) remittance. Figures given on 4 July 2006, Official Report, column 998W, in answer to a question from the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) and on 9 October 2006, Official Report, column 301W, in answer to a similar question from my right hon. Friend the Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field) provided figures for WTC only.
For details of the criteria applied by HMRC in deciding whether an overpayment should be written off, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 9 October 2006, Official Report, column 299W.
David Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether non-resident parents are liable for repayment of child tax credit overpayments by HM Revenue and Customs. [96288]
Dawn Primarolo: Liability for overpayments is set out in Section 28(4) of the Tax Credits Act 2002. HMRC's approach to handling overpayments is set out in their Code of Practice 26, "What happens if we have paid you too much tax credit?"
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of the average cost of administration for each (a) tax credit payment and (b) child benefit payment; and if he will make a statement. [96538]
Dawn Primarolo: The estimated cost of the payments in 2005-06, the latest period for which details are available, is: tax credits £2.78/payment; child benefit £0.74/payment.
The variation in cost is a reflection of the frequency of contact between the Department and its tax credit and child benefit customers being significantly different. Tax credits are responsive to a household's changing circumstances and require annual renewal, whereas once entitlement to child benefit has been established no further contact is normally needed until a child leaves school.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many of the recommendations made by the parliamentary ombudsman's report “Tax Credits: Putting things Right” have been (a) implemented, (b) accepted but not implemented and (c) rejected; and if he will make a statement. [97021]
Dawn Primarolo: HMRC have responded positively to the recommendations set out in the ombudsman's report. In respect of recommendation 10, current policy is for overpayments to be written off where there was a mistake by HMRC and it was not reasonable for the claimant to have spotted the error. The Government believe this strikes the right balance between being fair to those claimants who have been paid the incorrect amount and being fair to the taxpayer in general.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many technical difficulties within the tax credits system are affecting tax credit awards for 2006-07; and if he will make a statement; [97276]
(2) how many tax credit claims are being adversely affected by IT problems within his Department’s responsibilities; and if he will make a statement. [98868]
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