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10 May 2007 : Column 459W—continued
New Deal
22. Paul Farrelly: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effects of the new deal on the economy; and if he will make a statement. [136467]
John Healey: Since 1998, the new deal has helped over 1.6 million people to find jobs, and contributed to a fall in the number of young people claiming jobseeker’s allowance for more than six months from over 174,000 in April 1997 to 53,800 in February 2007. Independent research has shown the new deal for young people’s positive impact on the economy, with estimated benefits to the economy of up to £500 million a year.
Parenting
23. Mr. Allen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward a public service agreement on early intervention with parents and children. [136468]
Ed Balls: The performance management framework in the CSR07 period will include a focused set of public service agreements (PSAs) which, taken together, will articulate Government’s highest-priority outcomes for the spending period and will typically span several departments.
PSAs will sit alongside a new, comprehensive set of strategic objectives for each department.
All public service agreements and each department’s strategic objectives will be published together at the comprehensive spending review.
The Government are committed to delivering services for families which focus on prevention and early intervention, as set out in the “Every child matters” programme and most recently confirmed in the children and young people’s policy review “Aiming high for children: supporting families” (March 2007), published jointly by the Treasury and DfES.
Budgets
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on (a) the expected impact of the 2007 Budget and (b) the combined impact of the 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 Budgets’ measures on (i) women, (ii) men and (iii) families with children. [135811]
Mr. Timms: As a result of personal tax and benefit measures announced in Budget 2007, by April 2009 households will be, on average, £100 per year better off; households with children will be, on average £200 per year better off and households with children in the poorest fifth of the population will be, on average, £350 better off.
As a result of personal tax and benefit measures introduced since 1997, by April 2009, in real terms, households will be, on average, £1,150 a year better off, households with children will be, on average, £1,800 a year better off and households with children in the poorest fifth of the population will be, on average, £4,000 a year better off.
Budgets: Publications
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost of producing the Budget summary leaflet was in each year since 1997; and how much was accounted for by (a) design and commissioning, (b) printing and (c) distribution. [136318]
John Healey: In Budget 2002, Ministers made a commitment that the Government inform households of all tax and spending decisions made in the Budget. HMT took the following steps to honour this commitment:
release of documents on the public website immediately after the Chancellor’s speech; and
publication of the summary leaflet to organisations which serve as distributors of public information.
The following table shows the cost of producing the Budget summary leaflet in each year since 2003. Information in relation to the years prior to 2002-03 could only be provided at disproportionate cost due to a change in the Treasury’s accounting system in that year.
| £ | |||
| Printing | Distribution | Total | |
| Notes: 1. Please note that all figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand and hence may not add to total. 2. Figures include VAT where applied. | |||
There were no external costs associated with design and commissioning of the summary leaflet as these were done internally.
Debts
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the average levels of household indebtedness in the UK in comparison to other European countries. [136458]
Ed Balls: I refer the Gentleman to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for North-West Hampshire (Sir George Young) on the Floor of the House earlier today.
Economic and Monetary Union
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to update the third outline National Changeover Plan, published in 2003. [136302]
Ed Balls: The third Outline National Changeover Plan (oNCP3) provides a comprehensive statement of how the Government would manage a euro changeover in the UK. This remains the basis for any future euro changeover and there are no plans to update the oNCP3 at this time.
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of preparations for the possibility of joining the European single currency since 1997. [136303]
Ed Balls: I refer the hon. Member to the answer to the hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Mr. Hayes) of 14 November 2005, Official Report, column 880W.
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer who the members are of the Standing Committee on Euro Preparations; how many times the Committee met in each of the last five years; what the annual administration cost of the Committee was in each of those years; how many civil servants are seconded to the Committee on a (a) full-time and (b) part-time basis; and what the grade is of each of those civil servants. [136304]
Ed Balls: Details of the meetings of the Chancellor’s Standing Committee on Euro Preparations, including attendance and minutes of the meetings, are available on the Treasury’s euro website (www.euro.gov.uk). The members of the Committee are:
Chancellor of the Exchequer (Chair),
Economic Secretary to the Treasury,
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland,
Secretary of State for Wales,
Secretary of State for Scotland,
Secretary of State for Trade and Industry,
Chair of Cross Party Group on Euro Preparations,
Head of the Home Civil Service,
General Secretary of Trades Union Congress,
Vice-Chair of Local Government Association,
Chief Executive of National Council for Voluntary Organizations,
Chief Executive of Citizens Advice,
Chair of Yorkshire Forward (representing the RDAs),
Director General of the Confederation of British Industry,
Governor of Bank of England,
Chairman of Financial Services Authority,
President of British Bankers’ Association,
President of British Chambers of Commerce,
Chairman of British Retail Consortium.
There are no civil servants seconded to the Committee on either a full or part time basis. Civil servants in the Treasury’s Euro Preparations Unit provide support for Committee meetings as required. The costs of the Euro Preparations Unit are met from within departmental expenditure limits.
Environmental Transformation Fund
Mark Simmonds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether he plans a public consultation on the Environmental Transformation Fund; [136277]
(2) from which Department’s budget the Environmental Transformation Fund will be allocated; [136278]
(3) if he will make a statement on the remit of the Environmental Transformation Fund. [136279]
John Healey: As announced alongside the publication of the UK’s National Allocation Plan for EU ETS Phase Two, a new Environmental Transformation Fund will be established to support renewable energy, biofuels and other non-nuclear, low-carbon technologies including carbon capture and storage. Details will be announced in the 2007 comprehensive spending review.
Budget 2007 announced that in the 2007 CSR, the Government will create a new international window of the Environmental Transformation Fund (ETF) with £800 million of official development assistance (ODA)to support development and poverty reduction through environmental protection, and help developing countries respond to climate change. Budget 2007 also announced that the Secretary of State for International Development will allocate £50 million from the international window of the UK’s Environmental Transformation Fund to support proposals that have been made by ten Congo forest countries to help them protect the Congo Basin’s forests and people.
Financial Services: EC Action
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether there are written protocols determining the respective roles of the Financial Services Authority and his Department when negotiating with the EU Commission on financial services matters. [136416]
Ed Balls [holding answer 9 May 2007]: The Government welcome the recent NAO report into the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which the Financial Services Authority has used its resources, when discharging its statutory functions. I told the high level group meeting on 30 April that the Government are proposing to publish an MoU setting out the respective roles and responsibilities of each organisation in this area.
Fiscal Rules
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect of his fiscal rules on the economy. [136463]
John Healey: In the last decade, the introduction of strict fiscal rules and clear objectives for fiscal policy have put the public finances on a more sound and sustainable footing than in previous economic cycles.
This responsible management of public finances, in line with the Government’s objectives, has enabled fiscal policy to effectively support monetary policy over the current cycle.
The UK’s macro-economic policy framework continues to deliver unprecedented growth and stability. GDP in the UK has now expanded for 59 consecutive quarters, the longest unbroken expansion since quarterly National Accounts data began.
Over the past 10 years, the UK has enjoyed more stability in terms of GDP growth and inflation than in any decade since the war.
Gift Aid: Bexley
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many voluntary groups were in receipt of Gift Aid in the London borough of Bexley in each of the last three years. [135992]
Mr. Timms: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) do not separately identify Gift Aid claims by types of organisations or by countries, regions or local authorities of the UK.
Amounts of tax repaid to charities in the UK on donations under Gift Aid are published in Table 10.1 on the HMRC website at: www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/charities/menu.htm. In 2006-07 a total of £828 million was repaid to UK charities under Gift Aid.
Market in Financial Instruments Directive
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made in determining the boundaries between the home state regulator and the host regulator of branches established under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive; and if he will make a statement. [136413]
Ed Balls [holding answer 9 May 2007]: Discussions are still ongoing between the Commission and the relevant member state authorities about the boundary between home and host authority regulators for the regulation of branches.
Pension Funds
Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will visit Essex to discuss the effect of changes made to dividend payments to pension funds. [136456]
Ed Balls: In Essex and across the country, as a result of the tough and necessary decisions taken by this Government since 1997, including on dividend tax credits, businesses and pension funds have benefited from a decade of stability, with low inflation, low interest rates and rising business investment.
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total assets were of pension funds in the UK in each of the last five years. [136025]
Ed Balls: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. member for Vale of Clwyd (Chris Ruane) on 1 May 2007, Official Report, column. 1626W.
Tax Credits
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the take-up of working tax credit in 2005-06; and if he will make a statement. [136464]
Mr. Timms: The latest figures show that in 2004-05 82 per cent. of working tax credit entitlement has been claimed.
Taxation: Fuels
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much tax revenue was raised through the sale of petrol and diesel in (a) 2003-04, (b) 2004-05 and (c) 2006-07. [136226]
John Healey: The total amount of tax revenue on the sale of petrol and diesel is not available. The total excise duty raised on the quantities of these products released for consumption is published in Table 3 of the Hydrocarbon Oils Bulletin. This can be found at:
HM Customs and Revenue do not collect data on the amount of VAT paid on individual goods and services.
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