Previous Section Index Home Page

25 Apr 2007 : Column 1158W—continued


Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether lie detector test pilot schemes for benefit claimants will analyse the psychological impact of undertaking a lie detector test on claimants who are not committing fraud. [132223]

Mr. Plaskitt: The Department intends to test voice risk analysis software as part of wider efforts to improve customer service and reduce fraud. It is not a lie detector. Applications of voice risk analysis technology have been reported to help identify and reduce risk of fraudulent claims in other sectors. The Department will be considering the impact of this technology on its business and customers to ensure legitimate benefit claims are paid quickly and accurately.


25 Apr 2007 : Column 1159W

Social Security Benefits: Lone Parents

Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 20 March 2007, Official Report, column 816W, on social security benefits: lone parents, how many lone parents there were in the United Kingdom in each year since 1992; and what proportion of them had been in receipt of out-of-work benefits in each quarter since 1995. [130374]

Mr. Jim Murphy [holding answer 28 March 2007]: The available information is in the following table.

N umber of lone parents in Great Britain in spring each year and the proportion of lone parents in receipt of out-of-work benefits in Great Britain as at May each year, 1992 to 2006
Population Percentage

1992

1,199,000

n/a

1993

1,253,000

n/a

1994

1,369,000

n/a

1995

1,480,000

75.5

1996

1,560,000

72.5

1997

1,535,000

72.3

1998

1,639,000

64.7

1999

1,664,000

62.7

2000

1,627,000

62.8

2001

1,670,000

60.2

2002

1,732,000

56.5

2003

1,736,000

56.3

2004

1,789,000

54.3

2005

1,791,000

53.1

2006

1,779,000

53.2

n/a = Not available.
Note:
1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand.
2. "Out-of-work benefits" includes Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance, Incapacity Benefit, and Severe Disablement Allowance.
3. The Spring Labour Force Survey figures cover the months March to May and have therefore been used as the denominator in these calculations while the May quarter for administrative data has been used as the numerator. Figures produced in this way give a general guide only and should be used cautiously.
Source: 5 per cent DWP administrative data and Labour Force Survey, spring quarters.

Television: Licensing

Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much the Government spent to provide free television licences to pensioners in each year since 1997. [132910]

James Purnell: The information requested is in the following table.


25 Apr 2007 : Column 1160W
Years (outturn) Cash terms (£ million)

2000-01

306

2001-02

365

2002-03

374

2003-04

412

2004-05

435

2005-06

461

2006-07(1)

483

(1) Estimated outturn
Notes:
1. Free TV licences were introduced in year 2000 to people over 75 years of age.
2. Figures are for UK and they are rounded to the nearest £ million.
Source:
DWP Expenditure tables consistent with Budget 2007

Winter Fuel Payments: Expenditure

Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much the Government has spent to provide winter fuel allowances to pensioners in each year since 1997. [132911]

James Purnell: The information requested is in the following table.

Total cost of winter fuel payments paid out in Great Britain
Years (outturn) Cash terms (£ million)

1997-98

191

1998-99

194

1999-2000

759

2000-01

1,749

2001-02

1,681

2002-03

1,705

2003-04

1,916

2004-05

1,962

2005-06

1,982

2006-07(1)

2,011

(1) Estimated outturn
Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest £ million.
2. Winter fuel payment was introduced in 1997.
3. Payments made to people aged 60-64 years and over 80 payment are included from 2000-01 onwards. Following a European Court of Justice Judgement in 1999, winter fuel payments were extended to people aged 60 or over regardless of whether they were receiving a social security benefit. A claims process was set up in the year 2000 to enable payments to be made to those people who could not be identified through the Department’s records.
Source:
DWP Expenditure tables consistent with Budget 2007

Treasury

Departmental Expenditure Limits: Department of Health

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what date he increased the Department of Health's planned resource departmental expenditure limit for 2005-06 from £75,090 million, as stated in public expenditure statistical analyses 2005, to £76,365 million, as stated in the Treasury's Public Expenditure Outturn White Paper for 2005-06; and how this increase was divided between near-cash and non-cash. [127835]

Mr. Timms: Planned expenditure figures changed for a number of routine and technical reasons and because of the reprofiling of the Department of Health's budget. The main reason for the change in planned resource DEL expenditure in 2005-06, which increased the near-cash element of resource DEL, was a
25 Apr 2007 : Column 1161W
classification adjustment to the Department of Health's resource DEL to cover payments to NHS Trusts to meet their depreciation costs, as set out in Budget 2006. Chapter 2 of the public expenditure analyses 2006 compares the latest plans for DEL and AME with the plans set out in the previous year.

Departmental Staff

Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 29 November 2006, Official Report, column 721W, on departmental staff, whether individual teams in his Department keep records of the number of away days; and if he will estimate the cost of obtaining away days for one team. [109192]

John Healey: Individual teams do not maintain records of the number of away days and no such cost estimate has been prepared.

Departments: Public Opinion

Sarah Teather: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spent on (a) opinion polls and (b) focus groups in each of the last five years. [133023]

Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many opinion polls of the public his Department has commissioned since July 2006; and what the (a) purpose, (b) date and (c) cost was of each. [133440]

John Healey: I refer the hon. Members to the answer I gave on 8 March 2007, Official Report, column 2230W to the hon. Member for South-West Hertfordshire (Mr. Gauke).

EU Budget

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much expenditure was categorised under the European Union budget line of sundry debtors in the 2006-07 financial year; and if he will make a statement. [133074]

Ed Balls: ‘Sundry debtors’, covering receivables arising from the activities of the European Communities, including unpaid fines, cash advances and amounts paid to financial intermediaries, appears as an item under short-term assets in the balance sheet provided for the ‘Final Annual Accounts of the European Communities 2004’. This amounted to €4,140 million at 31 December 2004.

Following a modernisation of the accounts of the European Communities in 2005 and the change to an accruals accounting system, an asset entitled pre-financing is now recognised on the balance sheet and represents the advances paid to beneficiaries. In 2005, the latest year for which European Communities accounts are available, the amount of short-term pre-financing is given as €6,633 million as at 31 December (with a restated figure of €6,728 million as at 31 December 2004).


25 Apr 2007 : Column 1162W

Energy: Conservation

Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 15 March 2007, Official Report, column 474W, on energy: conservation, what proportion of the funding announced by his Department on 22nd March 2006 (a) has been spent and (b) relates to improved (i) energy efficiency in the public sector and (ii) increased access to the arts and culture; and what estimate he has made of energy efficiencies gained. [131353]

Mr. Timms: Priority areas for round 8 of the invest to save budget commencing in 2006-7 included improved energy efficiency in the public sector and third sector bodies; and efficiency and increased access to the arts and culture sector. ISB funding is awarded for up to three years. On conclusion, all projects submit an evaluation of their project against its stated objectives. Data on the energy efficiencies gained have therefore not yet been collected.

Excise Duties: Motor Vehicles

David Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment has been made of the merits of hypothecating vehicle excise duty revenue for funding policies to address climate change and other forms of environmental damage. [132952]

John Healey: The Government’s spending priorities are not in general determined by the way in which the money is raised. Revenue from the taxation of vehicles contributes—with other taxes and income—to the overall amount available to Government to spend, including on our transport and environmental protection priorities.

The Government’s principled approach to the use of taxation as an instrument of environmental policy is set out in paragraphs 7.3-7.5 of the Chancellor’s 2007 Budget report.

Migrant Workers: Eastern Europe

Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the impact of workers from Eastern Europe on the UK economy. [132739]

John Healey: The latest official statistics (October to December 2006) show workers from the new EU member states in Eastern Europe made up 1.2 per cent. of UK employment, and contributed around 0.8 per cent. of the economy.

Stamp Duties

Mr. Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the reduction in revenue from applying higher rate stamp duty (3 per cent. to 4 per cent.) only to the amount from a property sale above the relevant threshold for that rate in a full tax year. [132813]

Ed Balls: If all commercial and residential property sales above £250,000 were taxed where 1 per cent. was applied on the whole of the first £250,000, 3 per cent.
25 Apr 2007 : Column 1163W
on the excess consideration above £250,000 up to £500,000, and 4 per cent. on the excess consideration above £500,000, the reduction in revenue from stamp duty land tax is estimated at about £1.9 billion for the current financial year.

Taxation: Arrests

Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many occasions in 2005-06 HM Revenue and Customs requested that the police use their power of arrest as a result of a tax inquiry. [133739]

John Healey: HMRC does not hold a record of the number of requests made to the police to make arrests in 2005-06. However, on the basis of the information held, the Department estimates that around 150 arrests were made by police on its behalf during this year.

Taxation: Electric Vehicles

Mr. Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much tax is paid on the purchase of a new (a) Toyota Prius and (b) Honda Accord hybrid car. [132819]

John Healey: These cars are subject to annual Vehicle Excise Duty under the carbon dioxide emissions graduated class for cars registered from 1 March 2001 onwards. Honda’s Civic Hybrid has a certified CO2 emissions figure of 109 g of CO2 per kilometre and Toyota’s Prius Hybrid has a certified CO2 emissions figure of 104 g of CO2 per kilometre.

These vehicles are therefore subject to band B CO2 emissions graduated vehicle excise duty. In Budget 2007 the Chancellor built on Budget 2006 changes by further reducing this rate to £35 and freezing it until 2010-11. By announcing rates for future years the Government are providing future certainty and further sharpening the environmental signal to motorists to purchase more fuel efficient vehicles.

Cars purchased for private and business use are subject to VAT in the normal way. Under certain conditions cars that have been adapted for the carriage of a disabled person will be zero-rated. Charities and certain other eligible bodies (listed in HMRC Reference Notice 701/59 of March 2002) may also be able to purchase adapted vehicles free of VAT.


Next Section Index Home Page