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2 May 2007 : Column 1740W—continued
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Child Trust Fund
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 17 April 2007, Official Report, column 689W, on the child trust fund, how much time Sheree Murphy spent (a) giving interviews and (b) participating in photoshoots to promote child trust funds. [134703]
Ed Balls: Sheree Murphy was contracted for four and a half days to give interviews and participate in photoshoots to promote Child Trust Funds.
Corporation Tax
Mr. Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the potential reductions in (a) corporation and (b) income tax avoidance from the increase in the rate of corporation tax announced in the Budget 2007. [135230]
John Healey: The increase in the small companies' rate of corporation tax will reduce the tax advantage for a self-employed person to incorporate and receive labour income as dividends. This impact increases corporation tax collected but reduces income tax and national insurance collected.
The measure will increase the corporation tax paid by those who have incorporated for tax reasons and will reduce the incentive for others to engage in this behaviour. The reduction in overall tax advantage depends on income level. For a self-employed person earning £30,000, the incentive to incorporate and take labour income as dividends will reduced by around £1,000 by 2009-10.
As the Chancellor noted in his Budget speech, if the tax-motivated incorporation is not tackled, it could cost the rest of the tax-paying population billions of pounds.
Cabinet Office Capability Review
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether a Cabinet Office Capability Review is planned for HM Treasury. [134397]
John Healey: I refer to the answer given to the hon. Member for Tatton (Mr. Osborne) on 13 September 2006, Official Report, column 2335W.
Departments: Africa
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 14 March 2007, Official Report, column 407W, on Departments: Africa, where (a) he and (b) his officials stayed in each country for each trip in January 2005. [134401]
John Healey: The Chancellor visited Africa in January 2005 in preparation for the G7 focus on development which, under the UK presidency, led to a pledge to double aid to Africa by 2010. The delegation stayed in the following cities:
Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania)
Maputo (Mozambique)
Johannesburg (RSA) and
Cape Town (RSA).
Departments: Consultants
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many external consultants are employed by his Department; [134563]
(2) how much his Department spent on external consultants in each year since 1997. [134564]
John Healey: HM Treasury controls consultancy spending by cost, and not by headcount. Information on the total number of consultants engaged at any point in time is not held. The provisional outturn for the total spent on external consultants in 2006-07 by HM Treasury is £5.14 million. I refer to the answers given to my hon. Friend the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, Central (Mr. Cousins) on 14 March 2006, Official Report, column 2128W and the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) on 29 November 2006, Official Report, column 721W, which detail consultancy costs for the financial years 2000-06. Figures for the years prior to 2000-01 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
In line with Office of Government Commerce guidance, in 2006-07 HM Treasury changed its definition of ‘consultancy’ to include advice on design and development of services, but exclude delivery of services on a longer term contracted out basis. Figures for prior years have not been restated.
Departments: Grievance Procedures
David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many complaints of bullying have been investigated in his Department in the last 12 months; and how many complaints have been upheld; [134820]
(2) how many grievance procedures have been initiated in his Department in the last 12 months; [135164]
(3) how many complaints of sexual harassment have been investigated in his Department in the last 12 months; and how many complaints have been upheld. [135382]
John Healey: In the last 12 months fewer than five grievances have been raised and investigated. No complaints of bullying or of sexual harassment have been upheld. As the number of complaints of bullying and of sexual harassment was fewer than five, the exact number cannot be disclosed on grounds of confidentiality.
Departments: India
Mr. Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which Ministers in his Department have visited India in the last 12 months; on how many occasions each Minister visited India; and what the length was of each visit. [135546]
John Healey: The Chancellor of the Exchequer visited India in January 2007. All ministerial visits are conducted in accordance with the “Ministerial Code” and “Travel by Ministers”. Since 1999, the Government have published on an annual basis a list of overseas travel by Cabinet Ministers costing in excess of £500 and the total cost of all ministerial travel. Information for 2006-07 will be published as soon as possible after the end of the financial year.
Departments: Paper
David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of paper used (a) for photocopying and (b) in printed publications by his Department was from recycled sources in each of the last three years. [134051]
John Healey: For details of the percentage of such paper used for photocopying and publications issued in the year 2004-05, I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) on 21 October 2005, Official Report, column 1306W. Our policy has not changed.
From 2005 to present, the Treasury’s Publishing Unit used recycled paper for all standard format publications and printed materials.
Departments: Plants
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much (a) his Department and (b) its agencies spent on the supply and maintenance of plants and flowers in 2006-07. [133298]
John Healey: The provisional outturn for the Treasury’s expenditure on the supply and maintenance of plants and flowers is £15,000 in 2006-07. The Debt Management Office spent £2,000.
Departments: Press
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spent on newspapers and periodicals in 2006-07. [133439]
John Healey: The provisional outturn for the Treasury’s expenditure on newspapers and periodicals in 2006-07 was £109,000.
Departments: Visits Abroad
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spent on overseas travel in each year since 1997. [134554]
John Healey: The provisional outturn for the total spent by the Treasury on overseas travel in 2006-07 was £1,573,000. For the earlier years, I refer to the answers given to the hon. Member for Rayleigh (Mr. Francois) on 29 November 2006, Official Report, column 719W, and to the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) on 19 July 2004, Official Report, column 44W.
Duty Free Allowances
Mr. Amess:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent progress has been made by the European Commission on his proposal to increase the duty free
allowance to £1,000; what recent representations he has received on this issue; and if he will make a statement. [134444]
John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 16 April 2007, Official Report, column 402W, to my hon. Friend the hon. Member from Cannock Chase (Dr. Wright).
HMT and HMRC Officials met stakeholders during negotiation of the new tax free allowance for travellers returning from outside the EU. We have also received a small number of letters regarding implementation of the higher allowance since it was agreed.
Excise Duties: Motor Vehicles
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was raised through vehicle excise duty in each year since 1997. [134565]
John Healey: The Department for Transport publish statistics of Vehicle Excise Duty revenues which are broken down into vehicle category in their annual transport statistics bulletin. This is available at:
Group of Seven
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was spent on his Department’s delegation to attend the last G7 Finance Ministers’ meeting in Washington DC. [134571]
John Healey: All ministerial visits are conducted in accordance with the “Ministerial Code” and “Travel by Ministers”. Since 1999, the Government have published on an annual basis a list of overseas travel by Cabinet Ministers costing in excess of £500 and the total cost of all ministerial travel. Information for 2006-07 will be published as soon as possible after the end of the financial year.
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