| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
3 May 2007 : Column 1810W—continued
Taxation: Public Transport
Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of the impact on tax revenue of increased use of public transport; and if he will make a statement. [134639]
Mr. Timms: We monitor tax receipts on an ongoing basis and take into account all the relevant economic, social and environmental factors in future decisions.
Welfare Tax Credits
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what proportion of families with children are (a) eligible for and (b) claimants of tax credits; [135559]
(2) what proportion of families without children are (a) eligible for and (b) claimants of tax credits. [135560]
Mr. Timms: Estimates of take-up rates for child and working tax credits in 2003-04 and 2004-05, including information on families with children and families without children, are available on the HMRC website at:
Written Questions
Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will be able to provide substantive replies to question (a) 133687, (b) 133686 and (c) 133685, on non-domicile tax status. [135263]
Ed Balls: I did so on 30 April 2007, Official Report, column 1382W.
Solicitor-General
Sentencing: Appeals
Mike Penning: To ask the Solicitor-General how many unduly lenient sentences for crimes committed by serving police officers were referred to the Court of Appeal in (a) England, (b) Hertfordshire and (c) Dacorum in each of the last five years; and how many appeals were upheld in each year. [135324]
The Solicitor-General: I regret that information on sentences referred by the Law Officers to the Court of Appeal as unduly lenient is not recorded by reference to whether or not the offender was a serving police officer. This information can be obtained only at a disproportionate cost
Scotland
Departments: Disciplinary Proceedings
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many grievance procedures have been initiated in his Department in the last 12 months. [135160]
Departments: Intimidation
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many complaints of bullying have been investigated in his Department in the last 12 months; and how many complaints have been upheld. [134824]
David Cairns: In the period April 2006 to March 2007, there were no complaints of bullying in the Scotland Office.
Departments: Sexual Harassment
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many complaints of sexual harassment have been investigated in his Department in the last 12 months; and how many complaints have been upheld. [135378]
David Cairns: The Scotland Office has received no complaints of sexual harassment in the last 12 months.
Trade and Industry
Climate Change
David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the role of scientific innovation in tackling climate change. [135426]
Mr. Darling: I have regular discussions with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to discuss a wide range of issues.
Corporate Social Responsibility Academy
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Corporate Social Responsibility Academy; and if he will make a statement. [135438]
Margaret Hodge: The CSR Academy played a significant role in raising the profile of CSR within UK companies. This success will now be built on as the work of the academy will continue through Business in the Community.
Trade Union Recognition
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to review the 21-employee threshold for trade union recognition by employers; and if he will make a statement. [135441]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The threshold was fully examined as part of the 2003 Review of the Employment Relations Act 1999. We continue to monitor the operation of the statutory recognition procedure, but we have no plans to undertake a further review of the threshold.
Africa: Exports
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what support the Government provided to British firms seeking to establish export agreements with African countries in the latest period for which figures are available. [134315]
Mr. McCartney [pursuant to the reply, 1 May 2007, Official Report, c. 1560W]: Incorrect figures were provided. They should read £6,194,177,000 and £5,777,083,000.
Bankruptcy
Mr. Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects to place in the Library a copy of the Office of Fair Trading Report on the mis-selling of individual voluntary arrangements. [134337]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Office of Fair Trading do not propose a specific report on the mis-selling of individual voluntary arrangements, however, its work in this area will be reported in its annual report, which will be laid before Parliament on 11 June 2007.
Business: Regulation
Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress his Department has made towards reducing the burden of regulation on British businesses. [135428]
Margaret Hodge: The Department's progress on reducing regulation is set out in our Simplification Plan which was published on 11 December last year. We will publish another report on the progress we have made and the further plans we have later this year.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress his Department has made towards reducing the burden of regulation on British businesses. [135439]
Margaret Hodge: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I have given to the hon. Member for Mid-Bedfordshire (Mrs. Dorries) today.
Carbon Sequestration
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received on the use of clean electricity generated using carbon capture and storage technology. [135592]
Malcolm Wicks: The Secretary of State has received many representations on CO2 capture and storage (CCS).
The Budget 2007 announced that a competition will take place to demonstrate CCS on a full scale power plant in the UK. Further details will be announced in May 2007 and the outcome of the competition will be announced in 2008.
The Government are aware of eight to 10 potential full-scale CCS power plant demonstrations in the UK. My officials and the Department's technical advisers have discussed plans with all the project developers on a number of occasions.
Energy Policy Progress Review
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has made an estimate of the effect on costs to domestic customers and businesses arising from the time taken to publish the Government’s Energy White Paper. [135429]
Mr. Darling: Consumers and businesses will benefit from the measures we will set out in the Energy White Paper, because they will help us deliver cleaner, more secure energy supplies.
Energy: Complaints
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to address the level of consumer complaints against energy companies. [135634]
Malcolm Wicks: Between 2002-03 and 2005-06, complaints to Energywatch declined substantially each year. We expect the final figures for 2006-07 to show an increase over 2005-06, principally because of complaints about British Gas. British Gas is working closely with Energywatch to address this. The Government have no plans to take any steps at this time. The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem), which is responsible for regulating gas and electricity supply, has extensive powers to act against suppliers that breach licence conditions.
Fuel Poverty
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many households in each parliamentary constituency were in fuel poverty in each year since 2001. [134612]
Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 27 April 2007]: Fuel poverty statistics are currently only available at Government office region level. Latest available figures are sourced from the 2004 English House Condition Survey. Figures for fuel poverty in each of the Government office regions in 2001, 2003 and 2004 are given as follows. Figures for other years are not available.
| 2001 | 2003 | 2004 | |
Small variations between years may be due to sampling variability, rather than underlying trends in the data.
A fuel poverty indicator giving estimates of the level of fuel poverty in small areas of England is due to be launched on 25 May 2007. These will be published at lower super output area, a geography that splits England into 32,482 areas.
Industrial Diseases: Compensation
Mr. David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what average damages have been recovered by the 20 law firms with the greatest volume of claims for (a) vibration white finger and (b) chronic bronchitis and emphysema. [134782]
Malcolm Wicks: The averages damages recovered by the 20 claimants’ representatives with the greatest volume of claims for vibration white finger (VWF), and for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are shown on the following tables:
| VWF | ||
| Claimants’ representatives | Claims registered | Average damages paid on claims settled by payment (£) |
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |