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14 Mar 2007 : Column 406W—continued


14 Mar 2007 : Column 407W

Business: Orders and Regulations

Tony Baldry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his most recent estimate is of the (a) one-off cost and (b) recurring costs of implementing the Money Laundering Regulations 2003 to (i) businesses and (ii) the regulators. [126672]

Ed Balls: The Full Regulatory Impact Assessment for the Money Laundering Regulations 2003 lists the following costs for sectors:

HM Treasury’s simplification plan ‘Delivering Better Regulation’, published in December 2006, identified a net administrative burden of £921,617 (per annum). This relates to the supervisory arrangements for Money Service Businesses and High Value Dealers, as set out in Part 3 of the Regulations.

The Regulations have brought benefits in detecting, deterring and disrupting money laundering and terrorist financing.

HM Treasury is committed to reducing regulatory burdens where possible. Work on identifying simplification measures to reduce the burden for industry of applying anti-money laundering controls is ongoing.

Departments: Africa

Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many officials accompanied him on each visit he made to an African country in January 2005; what the cost of hotels was for (a) him and (b) his officials on each visit; and whether (i) he and (ii) his officials stayed in accommodation provided by the UK’s high commission or embassy in each country. [126921]

John Healey: In respect of overseas travel by Cabinet Ministers, since 1999 the Government have published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year. Copies of the lists are available in the Library for the reference of Members. All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the “Ministerial Code” and “Travel by Ministers”, copies of which are available in the Library for the reference of Members. For information on subsistence costs for HM Treasury I refer to the answer I gave on 16 October 2006, Official Report, column 1060W to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps). All official travel is undertaken in accordance with the requirements of the “Civil Service Management Code”, a copy of which is also available in the Library for the reference of Members.

Departments: Conferences

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 19 February 2007, Official Report, column 483W, on Members: correspondence, whether his Department will assist in the organisation of the conference. [126604]


14 Mar 2007 : Column 408W

John Healey: The organisation of this conference is not a matter for the Treasury.

Departments: Ministerial Policy Advisers

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether any members of the Council of Economic Advisers were involved in the formulation of his announcement on Citizenship and Immigration of 27 February 2007. [126576]

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 13 March 2007, Official Report, column 280W.

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has received representations on the number of special advisers he employs. [126574]

John Healey: All advisers are employed in line with the Ministerial Code.

Departments: Standards

Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the characteristics are of a Red RAG (Red, Amber and Green) score for a departmental programme. [126879]

Mr. Timms: RAG assessment is a common tool used in a number of contexts across the public and private sector. The description of what constitutes a rating in any given RAG system will differ. HMT does not maintain a standard definition.

Disposable Income

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much and what proportion of disposable income was paid on average in (a) direct taxes, (b) indirect taxes by (i) working age households with dependent children, (ii) working age households without dependent children and (iii) pensioner households in each of the last three years, broken down by income decile. [126508]

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 14 March 2007:

Table 1: Direct and indirect taxes paid by non-retired households with children by decile group, 2002-03 to 2004-05
Decile groups of all non-retired households with children ranked by equivalised disposable income
Bottom 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th Top All households

Average per household (£ per year)

Direct taxes

2002-03

826

1,426

2,038

3,398

4,629

5,840

7,588

9,728

12,456

23,632

7,156

2003-04

787

1,410

2,514

3,644

5,002

6,421

7,977

9,798

13,265

25,471

7,629

2004-05

910

1,517

2,908

3,876

5,197

6,492

8,271

10,088

14,220

27,420

8,090

Indirect taxes

2002-03

3,565

3,638

3,808

4,449

4,906

5,107

6,114

6,643

7,205

9,492

5,493

2003-04

3,301

3,755

4,518

4,948

5,662

6,089

5,963

6,942

7,423

9,538

5,814

2004-05

3,781

3,987

4,316

5,078

5,571

5,872

6,717

6,756

7,631

9,856

5,957

Percentages of gross income

Direct taxes

2002-03

8

9

11

15

17

19

20

21

22

25

20

2003-04

7

9

12

14

17

19

21

22

24

25

20

2004-05

7

9

13

15

17

19

20

21

23

26

20

Indirect taxes

2002-03

32

24

21

20

18

16

16

15

13

10

15

2003-04

31

24

22

19

19

18

15

16

13

9

15

2004-05

31

23

20

19

19

17

16

14

13

9

15

Percentages of disposable income

Indirect taxes

2002-03

35

27

24

23

22

20

20

18

17

14

19

2003-04

34

26

25

23

23

22

19

20

17

12

19

2004-05

34

25

23

23

22

21

21

18

16

13

19


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