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11 Jan 2007 : Column 658W—continued

Mr. Hain: I have regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of matters including the location
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of the Energy Technologies Institute. I understand that there are plans to establish the institute at various locations in the UK rather that at any one particular location. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Board is currently giving the matter careful consideration and will reach a decision on locations in due course.

The institute’s remit is to accelerate the development of secure, reliable and cost-effective low-carbon energy technologies towards commercial deployment. The institute will play a major role in technology developments internationally in support of the UK’s climate change goals.

On 14 September 2006, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry published a prospectus setting out the aims of the institute to attract additional private sector investors. An open information event was held on 11 October 2006, to attract wide participation not only by possible private sector investors, but also by those interested in collaborating in the work of the institute or hosting it.

The DTI has announced that it is prepared to provide .£500 million, creating the potential for a £1 billion institute over 10 years. The Energy Research Partnership, under the joint chairmanship of Paul Golby, chief executive of E.ON UK, and Sir David King, has committed itself to raising substantial sums of private investment. EDF Energy, Shell, BP and E.ON UK have already announced their intention to be involved.

Further Education and Training Bill

Mr. Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the Welsh Assembly on pre-legislative scrutiny of the provisions of the Further Education and Training Bill [ Lords] as they relate to Wales. [113056]

Mr. Hain: The Bill has already received its Second Reading in the House of Lords on 13 December 2006. Members of both Houses will be able to scrutinise and suggest amendments to the Bill during its remaining parliamentary passage, including in relation to the provisions for Wales.

To assist parliamentary scrutiny, all framework powers granting wider and more permissive powers to the Assembly will be accompanied by an explanatory memorandum setting out the policy context underlying the proposals. Copies will be sent to all Welsh MPs and will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

An explanatory memorandum relating to the framework power in the Further Education and Training Bill will be published shortly by the Welsh Assembly Government.

Parliamentary Questions

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many parliamentary questions were tabled to his Office in 2006, broken down by (a) ordinary written and (b) named day; what percentage of ordinary written questions were answered within 10 working days; and what percentage of named day questions were answered by the specified date. [115283]


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Mr. Hain: The information requested is as follows:

Pre-Budget Report

Mr. Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the First Minister for Wales on the pre-Budget report insofar as it affects the block grant for Wales. [112987]

Mr. Hain: I have regular discussions with the First Minister on a range of topics, including the pre-Budget report.

On 13 December 2006 the Assembly Government’s budget plans were approved. These set out increased spending for 2007-08 of £836 million more than 2006-07. This included £9.3 million announced in the pre-Budget report. The extra resources will support the delivery of public services across Wales.

I welcome these plans which include the following allocations:

Welsh Consumer Council

Dr. Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he is taking to safeguard the policy development and advocacy of functions on the new Welsh Consumer Council. [113095]

Mr. Hain: The Consumers Estate Agents and Redress Bill which is currently before Parliament provides for stronger and more effective consumer advocacy and redress.

The proposals relating to the Welsh and Scottish Consumer Councils are intended to avoid fragmentation in consumer advocacy. However, the Government are aware of concerns that the Welsh and Scottish Consumer Councils should keep functions of policy development and advocacy, rather than depending on the National Consumer Council to delegate to them.

The Government are giving this issue further consideration.


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Treasury

Charity and Third Sector

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many civil servants are employed to work to support the Treasury’s Office of Charity and Third Sector. [115192]

Dawn Primarolo: The Charity and Third Sector Finance Unit in HM Treasury directly employs 8.3 full-time equivalent civil servants as at 1 January 2007.

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether HM Treasury’s Office of Charity and Third Sector liaises with the charity v as part of its work. [115205]

Dawn Primarolo: The Charity and Third Sector Finance Unit in HM Treasury has regular contact with the charity v, as part of the Government’s ambitions to promote youth volunteering.

Child Care Vouchers

Sarah Teather: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the findings of the survey of employers commissioned by his Department from the National Centre for Social Research on estimated take-up of tax free child care vouchers among employers and their employees. [114440]

Dawn Primarolo: The Government published the report on 6 December. It is available on HM Revenue and Customs website at:

European Commission: Special Tax Rates

Michael Gove: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is on the special rates of tax applied to European Commission employees. [113832]

Dawn Primarolo: The taxation of personnel employed by the EU institutions, including the Commission, is governed by the Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Communities. The UK Government are a party to the Protocol as it forms part of the treaty on the European Union and the treaty establishing the European Community and there are no current plans to amend it.

Family Income: Tamworth

Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many estates in Tamworth constituency paid inheritance tax in each of the last five years. [114254]

Dawn Primarolo: Figures for estates paying inheritance tax are not available at local levels.

Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how much was spent on working tax credit for families living in Tamworth constituency in each year since its introduction; [114255]


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(2) how many families in Tamworth constituency are in receipt of working tax credit; and what the average weekly payment is for such families. [114256]

Dawn Primarolo: In reply to the question regarding expenditure of working tax credits in the Tamworth constituency I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Warrington, North (Helen Jones) on 30 November 2006, Official Report, column 844W.

The number of families in receipt of working tax credit, at December 2006 in the Tamworth constituency, is estimated at 2,700.

Information on average weekly tax credit payments to families receiving working tax credit is not available at constituency level.

However, the average annualised entitlement for in-work families receiving working tax credit in the Tamworth constituency in 2004-05, is (a) £1,830 for families receiving working tax credit only and (b) £6,217 for families receiving both working tax credit and child tax credit.

Greater London Tax Exports

Mr. Pelling: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate HM Treasury has made of the annual net export of taxes to the rest of the UK from Greater London. [113952]

Dawn Primarolo: No such estimate has been made by the Treasury.

HM Revenue and Customs

Mr. David Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many items of (a) external and (b) internal correspondence at the large processing offices of HM Revenue and Customs remain (i) unopened and (ii) unprocessed. [113761]

Dawn Primarolo: Correspondence received in the large processing offices at HMRC is opened on the day of receipt. HMRC have calculated that as at close of business on 5 January there were 356,429 items of external correspondence and 100,610 items of internal correspondence to be processed.

Mr. David Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many days were lost through staff sickness at the offices of HM Revenue and Customs and the Inland Revenue in each of the last three years. [113763]

Dawn Primarolo: Details relating to staff sickness absence in these Departments for 2003 to 2005 can be found at:

Data for 2006 are not yet available.

Ministerial Visits

Anne Main: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 19 December 2006, Official Report, column 1747W, on visits, if he will list each
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such visit in the last 18 months, broken down by (a) Minister and (b) tax credit facility; and when each minister last visited (i) tax credit, (ii) contact centre and (iii) IT development offices in each of the last 18 months. [113926]

Dawn Primarolo: Treasury Ministers pay visits to the departments and agencies for which we are responsible and discuss a wide range of issues with the officials concerned. This is an integral part of our day-to-day routine. It is not our usual practice to provide details of all Ministers' meetings with staff.

NSI Interest Rates

Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the relationship is between the interest rates provided on the National Saving and Investments' (a) Easy Access and (b) investment savings account and the Bank of England base rate; and if he will make a statement. [113825]

Ed Balls: Movement in the Bank of England base rate is one of a number of factors taken into account when setting interest rates on the NS&I Easy Access Savings Account and Investment Account. The other factors include the administration costs of running the product, the rates offered by competitors on similar products, and the interest rates offered on other NS&I products.

Private Medical Insurance

Mr. Pelling: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue has been raised from (a) pensioners and (b) pensioners over the age of 75 arising from taxation of private medical insurance provided by their previous employers since April 2006. [113953]

Ed Balls: As part of a radical simplification of the taxation of registered pension schemes the Finance Act 2004 made changes to the taxation of benefits, such as private medical insurance, provided after retirement outside of a registered pension scheme. A regulatory impact assessment (“Regulatory Impact Assessment for Simplifying the taxation of pensions—Update”) was published on 22 March 2006 setting out the Government's assessment of the impact of pensions simplification. This is available at:

The Government estimate that pensions simplification will have an overall cost to the Exchequer building up to £250 million per year.

Tax Exemptions

Chris Huhne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in respect of how many tax exemptions his Department has made no estimate of the cost to the Exchequer. [113805]

Dawn Primarolo: A list of the direct tax exemptions for which insufficient data exist upon which to base any reliable estimate is published on the HMRC website.

Exemptions from VAT can be found in Schedule 9 of the VAT Act 1994.


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Estimates have not been made of six of the fifteen exemptions.

Tax Self-assessment

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if his Department will undertake research to assess the extent to which individuals understand tax self-assessment forms; [113793]

(2) what steps his Department has undertaken to simplify the tax self-assessment form; [113794]

(3) what estimate his Department has made of the cost in time spent by (a) individuals and (b) his Department to process and complete tax self-assessment forms; [113795]

(4) what estimate his Department has made of the average length of time it takes to complete a tax self-assessment form. [113796]

Dawn Primarolo: Following a review of self assessment forms within HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), work has been undertaken to make the self assessment return easier for customers to complete. This includes:


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