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30 Apr 2007 : Column 1381W—continued
Olympic Games: Greater London
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what effect he expects the recent revisions of the Olympics budget to have on plans for Crossrail. [133713]
Mr. Timms: Crossrail funding and financing issues will be considered further in the context of Sir Michael Lyons’ recommendations and wider spending pressures and priorities. However, the affordability challenge represented by the scheme remains significant.
Revenue and Customs: Publicity
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many click throughs from HM Revenue and Customs online advertisements to the HM Revenue and Customs website have been recorded as part of the online aspect of the “Tax doesn't have to be taxing” campaign since its launch. [133323]
John Healey: As at end of March 2007 1,151,339 click throughs from HM Revenue and Customs online advertisements to the HM Revenue and Customs website have been recorded as part of the online aspect of the ‘Tax doesn't have to be taxing’ campaign.
Taxation: Members
Mr. Heath: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) hon. Members, (b) Members of the House of Lords and (c) Members of the European Parliament elected for United Kingdom constituencies are non-resident in the UK for tax purposes. [133346]
Ed Balls: No Members of Parliament or Members of the European Parliament are non-resident in the UK for tax purposes. This information is available because the tax affairs of Members of Parliament and Members of the European Parliament are dealt with centrally by HMRC. No such information is collected for Members of the House of Lords whose tax affairs are not dealt with centrally but by local tax offices.
Taxation: Overseas Residence
Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many people claimed non-domicile tax status in the UK in each of the last five years for which records are available; [133685]
(2) what estimate he has made of the tax forgone by the UK as a consequence of use of the remittance basis by those not domiciled in the UK; [133686]
(3) what estimate he has made of the average length of residence in the UK of those claiming non-domicile status; [133687]
(4) what methodology is used to estimate the economic benefits to the UK from the retention of the domicile laws on taxation; [133688]
(5) what estimates he has made of the economic benefits to the UK from the retention of the domicile laws on taxation; [133689]
(6) what investigations have been carried out looking into non-domicile status in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement; [133673]
(7) how many people qualified for non-domicile tax treatment in the UK in each of the last five years for which records are available. [133674]
Lynne Jones:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect
on the economy of non-domiciled residence tax status; and if he will make a statement. [133972]
Ed Balls: No overall figure for the number of individuals with non-domicile tax status is available.
Estimates of the tax foregone in the UK as a consequence of the use of the remittance basis by those not domiciled in the UK are not routinely made. Information is not held on overseas income and gains that do not give rise to a tax liability in the UK.
Information on the average length of residence is not routinely collected. A small sample survey in 2004 suggested that the majority of non-domiciled individuals who had already left the UK spent no more than five years here.
No estimates have been made of the economic benefits to the UK from the retention of the domicile laws on taxation.
HMRC carry out investigations into non-domiciled status where this may be relevant to a taxpayer's UK tax liability. Such investigations may occur to verify information given to HMRC by individuals completing self-assessment tax returns or making other claims for non-domicile status; as a result of third-party disclosure; or because of the outcome of other HMRC enquiries. No information is available on the number of investigations undertaken.
Information on how many individuals qualify for non-domicile tax treatment in the UK is not available. Some 112,000 individuals indicated non-domicile tax status through their SA returns in 2004-05.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people (a) employed by and (b) contracted to supply services to HM Treasury claim non-domicile tax treatment. [134096]
John Healey: HM Revenue and Customs is statutorily debarred from disclosing to third parties information relating to the tax affairs of individuals or public and private sector bodies. Treasury Ministers do not have access to such information.
Taxation: Polygamy
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people married abroad polygamously and settled in the UK transferred property free of (a) inheritance tax and (b) capital gains tax to their spouses in each year for which figures are available. [134938]
Ed Balls: No information is available on such transfers.
Written Questions
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will answer question 131290, tabled by the right hon. Member for Birkenhead on 28 March 2007, on the abolition of the 10p tax rate. [135054]
Ed Balls: The Treasury hopes to be in a position to answer the right hon. Gentleman’s question shortly.
Culture, Media and Sport
Arts Council of England
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what the investment returns were for the Arts Council of England from National Lottery funding in August 2006; and what they were in the latest period for which figures are available; [134373]
(2) how much funding the Arts Council of England received from the National Lottery in August 2006; and how much it received in the latest period for which figures are available. [134374]
Mr. Lammy [holding answer 27 April 2007]: The following table shows the Arts Council England's income from the National Lottery Distribution Fund in August 2006, in March 2007 and in the entire financial year 2006-07.
| Period | Operator -related income to nearest £1,000 | Investment i ncome to nearest £1,000 | Total to nearest £1,000 |
Broadcasting Programmes: Children
Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will take steps to improve the provision of children’s programming by public service broadcasters. [134466]
Mr. Woodward [holding answer 27 April 2007]: In advance of their next scheduled PSB Review, Ofcom have announced they are looking at the future of children’s TV programming in the UK. We await the outcome of that review with interest.
Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the sustainability of the market for the commissioning of quality children's television programmes in the UK; and if she will make a statement. [134481]
Mr. Woodward: The Government recognise that the changing broadcasting environment presents challenges to the ability of commercial public service broadcasters to sustain their programming for children.
We welcome Ofcom's review into children's television, due to be published this autumn, which will include the current state of the children's TV market and the sources of future funding for children's programming.
Broadcasting Programmes: Violence
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps the Government plan to take in response to the recent conclusions of Ofcom on violence in television soap operas. [134575]
Mr. Woodward: Parliament has charged the independent regulator, Ofcom, with maintaining broadcasting standards, notably to protect children and to protect the general public from harmful and offensive material. Ofcom sets out the rules and guidance with which broadcasters must comply. Within this framework, it is the broadcasters' job to make judgments about what individual programmes should contain and the time at which they are broadcast. It is a long-standing principle that the Government do not interfere in programming matters. That applies to both scheduling and content. Where there are deliberate, serious or repeated breaches of Ofcom's rules, the regulator may impose statutory sanctions against the broadcaster.
Cultural Heritage: Essex
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps are being taken to ensure the preservation of Essex’s cultural heritage; and if she will make a statement. [134578]
Mr. Lammy: English Heritage, the Government’s statutory adviser on heritage matters, is taking a number of steps to ensure the preservation of Essex’s cultural heritage. These include contributing funding towards buildings repairs—such as £400,000 towards repairs to St. Osyth’s Priory—and securing the future of a number of “buildings at risk”, enabling 44 buildings to be removed from their Register. English Heritage is in discussion with agencies involved in the Thames Gateway expansion, the Stansted airport proposed expansion and proposed wind farm off Maldon. English Heritage is responsible for the management of 11 historic sites in Essex, the largest being Audley End House. English Heritage is a member of the East of England Regional Cultural Consortium and chairs the East of England Heritage Environment Forum.
Since 1994 the Heritage Lottery Fund has made close to 500 awards to the county totalling some £33.5 million to preserve cultural heritage.
Departments: Bullying
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many complaints of bullying have been investigated in her Department in the last 12 months; and how many complaints have been upheld. [134833]
Mr. Lammy: There have been no complaints of bullying investigated in the Department in the last 12 months.
Departments: Paper
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what percentage of paper used (a) for photocopying and (b) in printed publications by her Department was from recycled sources in each of the last three years. [134057]
Mr. Lammy: The photocopying paper used by the Department is made from 100 per cent. recycled paper.
All publications have been produced on recycled stock in the last three years.
Digital Switchover Help Scheme
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much her Department spent assisting older and disabled people with the switch to digital television in (a) 2005 and (b) 2006; how much it has spent in 2007; and how much it plans to spend in (i) 2008, (ii) 2009 and (iii) 2010. [134583]
Mr. Woodward: To the present date, a total of £211,000 has been spent on helping vulnerable groups with switchover, this being solely for the Bolton Digital Television Trial in 2005-06. This funding was equally split with the BBC.
All future assistance, which is to be delivered by the Digital Switchover Help Scheme (DSHS), will be provided by the BBC and paid for through the licence fee. We estimate the cost of the scheme at £600 million and this will include assistance provided for the Whitehaven project.
National Lottery: Charities
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the eligibility criteria are for registered charitable organisations to receive Lottery funding; and which charitable institutions are ineligible. [134492]
Mr. Caborn: Almost any organisation in the United Kingdom, including registered charities, can apply for lottery funding for projects which are not intended primarily for private gain and for which funds would be unlikely to be made available by Government or the devolved administrations.
Under the National Lottery Act 2006, “charitable expenditure”, in relation to expenditure under the charitable, health, education and environment good causes, means expenditure for a charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purpose. Such expenditure is not restricted to registered charities, which are able to benefit from all the lottery good causes.
However, each of the lottery distributing bodies publishes specific eligibility criteria for each of its funding programmes, and applicant organisations must comply with these.
Office of Communications
Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how she plans the Ofcom Public Service Publisher service to be funded. [134465]
Mr. Woodward [holding answer 27 April 2007]: Ofcom published its discussion document into the potential role of the Public Service Publisher (PSP) in January and asked for comments by the end of March. At present they are reviewing those responses with a view to publishing a summary later in 2007.
While we believe the proposal for the PSP has stimulated a healthy debate it remains too early to make a wider Government response to the PSP proposal.
Olympic Games: Finance
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much of the planned World Class Pathway funding for the Beijing Cycle was spent in the 2006-07 financial year, broken down by Olympic sport. [134070]
Mr. Caborn: Between 2006 and 2009, a total of £250.2 million has been budgeted to be invested in the World Class Performance Pathway (WCPP) for Olympic and Paralympic sport, of which a total of £72.5 million was ring fenced to be spent in 2006-07.
The total amount actually invested in Olympic sports for 2006-07 is primarily dependent on the extent to which their World Class Pathway programmes and governance are fit for purpose to receive public funding. The final figures will be available once UK Sport has signed off the audited 2006-07 year-end accounts in June.
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