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7 Dec 2006 : Column 693W—continued
Treasury
Corporation Tax
12. Mr. Walker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effects of corporation tax on the competitiveness of the economy. [104894]
Dawn Primarolo: As announced in Budget 2006 and reiterated in the recent PBR, the Government are determined to maintain the overall competitiveness of the UK business tax system and maintain a constructive dialogue with business on international tax issues. The Government are committed to a business tax system which supports business competitiveness, in order to promote productivity and growth; and which operates fairly across businesses and sectors. The Government have undertaken extensive engagement with business. The recommendations of the Varney Review of HMRC links with large business, published 17 November, will improve the responsiveness of tax administration to the needs of business.
21. Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect of the level of corporation tax on the competitiveness of the British economy. [104904]
22. Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect of the level of business taxation on the competitiveness of British companies. [104905]
Dawn Primarolo: As announced in Budget 2006 and reiterated in the recent PBR, the Government are determined to maintain the overall competitiveness of the UK business tax system and maintain a constructive dialogue with business on international tax issues. The Government are committed to a business tax system which supports business competitiveness, in order to promote productivity and growth; and which operates fairly across businesses and sectors. The Government have undertaken extensive engagement with business. The recommendations of the Varney Review of HMRC links with large business, published 17 November, will improve the responsiveness of tax administration to the needs of business.
Non-domiciliary Taxation
13. Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to reform the taxation arrangements for those with UK assets and income claiming non-domiciliary status. [104896]
Dawn Primarolo: The Chancellor announced a review of the residence and domicile rules as they affect individuals. That work is continuing. The Chancellor will base his decisions on any reforms in this area on the outcome of the review.
Pensions
15. Charles Hendry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last met the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to discuss the taxation of pensions; and if he will make a statement. [104898]
19. Miss Kirkbride: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last met the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to discuss the taxation of pensions; and if he will make a statement. [104902]
Ed Balls: Treasury Ministers regularly meet DWP counterparts to discuss a range of issues, including the taxation of pensions.
Unemployment
16. Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to tackle unemployment; and if he will make a statement. [104899]
John Healey: The Government’s measures to tackle unemployment are built on a platform of macro-economic stability, continued investment in the New Deal, investment in skills and training, and policies to make work pay. In a context of record employment levels, these policies have contributed to a reduction of 334,000 in unemployment since 1997; a two-thirds reduction in the numbers of young people claiming unemployment benefits for more than six months; and an unemployment rate which has declined in every region of the UK, and is well below the EU average.
18. Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to tackle unemployment; and if he will make a statement. [104901]
John Healey: The Government’s measures to tackle unemployment are built on a platform of macro-economic stability, continued investment in the new deal, investment in skills and training, and policies to make work pay. In a context of record employment levels, these policies have contributed to a reduction of 334,000 in unemployment since 1997; a two-thirds reduction in the numbers of young people claiming unemployment benefits for more than six months; and an unemployment rate which has declined in every region of the UK, and is well below the EU average.
Stern Report
17. Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he plans to take in response to the conclusions of the Stern report on the implications of climate change for the economy. [104900]
John Healey: The Government welcome Sir Nicholas Stern’s review on the economics of climate change, which is informing Government policy on climate change on an ongoing basis. Chapter 7 of the pre-Budget report sets out the significant steps the Government have taken since the publication of the review.
Millennium Development Goals
20. Judy Mallaber: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with international finance Ministers on progress towards the millennium development goals; and if he will make a statement. [104903]
Ed Balls: The Government are strongly committed to achieving the millennium development goals as set out in the Department for International Development’s recent White Paper on eliminating world poverty.
Under the UK presidency of the G8 in 2005 finance Ministers made a number of important commitments on ensuring the right resources are available to meet the MDGs: doubling aid to Africa by 2010, providing an extra $50 billion of aid a year globally and cancelling the debts owed by some of the poorest countries to the IMF, World Bank and African Development Bank. Our priority now is to ensure that we deliver on these commitments.
In 2006, the UK has been leading international progress in areas such as debt relief, education and innovative financing for health.
These issues are a regular topic of discussion with other finance Ministers, both bilaterally in our dealings with individual Ministers, and multilaterally, at meetings of the European Union’s economic and financial council, the IMF and World Bank, the G7, the G20 and the Commonwealth.
We welcome the recent announcement from Germany that Africa will be a priority under their G8 presidency. We will be working closely with them to
ensure that the international community delivers the necessary support to developing countries to make progress towards the millennium development goals.
Consumer Debt
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the latest estimate is of total consumer debt in the UK. [105278]
John Healey: The Bank of England provides monthly data on the outstanding stock of household debt. In October, the total stock of debt was £1,268,175 million, of which £1,055,947 million was secured against dwellings and £212,228 million was consumer credit.
Cost Effectiveness
Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the 10 biggest efficiency savings were which contributed to the total of £13.3 billion announced on 23 November in his Department’s news release 97/06; and if he will break down by department (a) the savings and (b) the gross reduction in civil service posts announced in the news release. [106906]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 4 December 2006]: The 10 biggest efficiency initiatives contributing to the efficiency gains we announced on 23 November are listed as follows. Further detail is available in departmental efficiency technical notes.
1. DH—Pharmaceuticals—Generic Switching £1,204 million.
2. DH—Service Improvement £1,056 million.
3. HO—Force level Efficiencies £888 million.
4. MOD—Defence Logistics Transformation Programme £541 million.
5. HO—Asylum Support Cost Reduction £445 million.
6. DH—Core PASA Procurement £442 million.
7. DWP—Payment Modernisation programme £311 million.
8. DH—Social Care Efficiency £306 million
9. DCLG—Local Government—Corporate Services £277 million.
10.DCLG—New Supply Registered Social Landlords £276million.
Departments are responsible for implementing their efficiency programmes and workforce strategies. They report on progress twice a year, in autumn performance reports and departmental reports. 2006 autumn performance reports will contain further information about the efficiency and workforce reduction figures announced on the 23 November.
Manufacturing
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to tackle the economic effects of unemployment in the manufacturing sector; and if he will make a statement. [105020]
John Healey: The Government’s measures to tackle unemployment are built on a platform of macro-economic stability, continued investment in the new deal, investment in skills and training, and policies to make work pay—since spring 1997 overall employment has risen by 2.5 million and unemployment has fallen by 334,000. Most people who do experience redundancy, find work again quickly and nearly 80 per cent. of people who claim unemployment benefit leave benefit within six months. Jobcentre Plus provides additional support in the case of large-scale redundancies through its rapid response service.
Public Bodies
Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what percentage of staff of each public body responsible to him were (a) on fixed term appointments and (b) agency workers in each of the last three years. [107340]
John Healey: The information is as follows:
| Fixed term appointments | Agency workers | |||||||||||
| 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | |||||||
| No. | % | No | % | No | % | No | % | No | % | No | % | |
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