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18 Oct 2007 : Column 1278W—continued
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library a copy of the Invitation to Tender issued by the Valuation Office Agency in October 2004 on the provision of Access to Property Data. [158413]
Jane Kennedy: The Invitation to Tender was issued in the form of a proposal to potential suppliers. This is available in Appendix 1 of the contract between Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and Rightmove.co.uk Ltd. and I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove) on 10 September 2007, Official Report, column 1969W.
Valuation Office: Manuals
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for North-East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt) of 25 July 2007, Official Report, column 1189W, on the Valuation Office: manuals, if he will place in the Library a copy of the Valuation Office Agency’s Council Tax Referencing Manual. [158281]
Jane Kennedy: A copy has been placed in the Library.
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the title is of each of the Valuation Office Agency’s learning manuals. [158401]
Jane Kennedy: The following learning documents are currently available to Valuation Office Agency staff:
Rating Support Application (RSA) Induction training support materials
RSA Data Retrieval training support materials
RSA Reconstitutions training support materials
RSA Rental Adjustment and Analysis training support materials
RSA Quality Assurance training support materials
RSA Forms of Return training support materials
RSA Case Registration training support materials
RSA training support materials
RSA Survey Data training support materials
RSA Valuation training support materials
RSA Scales and Matrices training support materials
RSA Overview training support materials
RSA Programming training support materials
RSA Management Information training support materials
RSA Procedures Manual
RSA - First Steps Guide
IT Services Division (ITSD) IT Training Information
District Valuer Services (DVS) Caseworker Support IT training support materials
Defence Support Package (DSP) IT application training support materials
CRAC, MILO, 1990 Rating Enquiries IT application work aids and trainer notes
Digital Mapping User Guide
Digital Photography User Guide
Microsoft Applications IT trainer notes
VOA Management Development guides and workbooks
NDR Referencers Manual
CT Referencers Manual
Zoning of shops handbook
Valuation Office: New Zealand
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what meetings the Valuation Office Agency has had in New Zealand in the last 36 months; and what conferences it has attended. [158399]
Jane Kennedy: The VOA has not had any formal meetings, or attended any conferences, in New Zealand in the last 36 months. The International Property Tax Institute (IPTI) was invited to meet with officials in New Zealand to discuss their local property tax system and a member of the VOA attended that meeting in his capacity as a member of the IPTI Advisory Board. IPTI met all the costs involved.
Valuation Office: Visits Abroad
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for North East Bedfordshire of 24 July 2007, Official Report, column 1020W, on the Valuation Office Agency: visits abroad, what the title of the Lithuania conference was; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the handouts and presentation given by the representatives of the Agency to the conference. [158282]
Jane Kennedy: The title of the conference in Lithuania was “Role of Property Taxation-Local Revenue Mobilization”. It was a conference organised by the International Property Tax Institute in conjunction with the Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation along with the co-operation of the State Enterprise Centre of Registers of Lithuania.
The conference was public and a copy of the presentation made by a member of the Valuation Office Agency at the conference has been placed in the Library.
VAT: Parish Councils
Mr. Todd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made in the explorations by his officials regarding the VAT status of parish meetings referred to in the answer of 26 April 2006, Official Report, column 1174W, on parish councils; and if he will make a statement. [157965]
Jane Kennedy: The VAT status of parish meetings remains under review, including whether any change to the current position would deliver cost-effective benefits that are consistent with the objectives outlined in ‘Strong and Prosperous Communities’, the Government White Paper on the future role and structure of local government published in October 2006.
VAT: Sunscreens
Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to reduce VAT on suncare products; and if he will make a statement. [158451]
Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave him on 23 April 2007, Official Report, column 998W.
Welfare Tax Credits
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) pursuant to the written statement of 25 July 2007, Official Report, columns 62-63WS, on tax credit administration, how many households have been written to by HM Revenue and Customs to inform them that their tax credit case is being reviewed; [158606]
(2) what deadline HM Revenue and Customs has adopted for completion of the reviews of the 160,000 tax credit cases described in the written statement of 25 July 2007, Official Report, columns 62-63WS, on tax credit administration. [158607]
Jane Kennedy: HM Revenue and Customs have written to around 175,000 households to advise them that they will be reviewing their tax credits awards from 2003-04 and 2004-05, and to around 75,000 recipients about their 2005-06 awards.
These are cases where new information came to light that reduced tax credit entitlement after the award for that year had been finalised and closed. The vast majority of those affected will not see any impact on their tax credits award and no-one will be worse off as a result of this issue.
The planned programme of work to review these awards has now started and will be completed in three years. The time span reflects the need to put these cases on a sound footing as soon as practicable while ensuring HM Revenue and Customs continues to improve the service it provides to tax credits claimants. The plans include ensuring that those where the overpayment is greatest will be reviewed first, and priority will also be given to those where there is an outstanding query about the overpayment.
Written Questions
Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will answer question 143315, on marginal deduction rates, tabled by the hon. Member for Twickenham on 13 June 2007. [152500]
Jane Kennedy: I have answered the hon. Member’s question and very much regret not being in a position to do so earlier.
Mr. David Anderson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to answer question 136787, on taxation and allowances, tabled on 8 May 2007 by the hon. Member for Blaydon. [156858]
Jane Kennedy: I have answered the hon. Member’s question and very much regret not being in a position to do so earlier.
Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
Arms Trade: Channel Islands
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what military goods have been licensed for export to the Channel Islands from the UK in the last three years. [158736]
Mr. Thomas: The Government publish detailed information on export licences issued, including the number of military export licences approved for the Channel Islands, in their Annual and Quarterly Reports on Strategic Export Controls. The Government’s Annual Reports, published since 1997, are available from the Libraries of the House and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) website at:
http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&;c=Page&cid=l007029395474
The Government have published quarterly reports on Strategic Export Controls since January 2004 and these are also available from this website.
Bevin Boys
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will make a statement on the progress to date of introducing the individual recognition scheme for the Bevin Boys. [159276]
Malcolm Wicks: The application process for the Bevin Boys Veterans Badge was launched on 24 September and the first Badge will be awarded to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the demobilisation of the final Bevin Boys in March 2008. The Badge is available to all survivors who, either through compulsion or on a voluntary basis, worked in the mines under the Bevin Boys’ scheme rather than serving in the armed forces. The widows of eligible men who died on or after 20 June 2007, the date of introduction, are also eligible. To date, some 600 applications have been received.
Defence Equipment: Exhibitions
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform which Ministers from his Department attended the Defence Systems and Equipment International exhibition in September. [158780]
Mr. Timms: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, attended the Defence Systems and Equipment International exhibition, as did the Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, and the Minister for Trade Promotion and Investment.
Derelict Land
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what definition of brownfield land is used for the Regional Development Agency’s target on the amount of brownfield land that is reclaimed or redeveloped. [158123]
Mr. Timms: The regional development agencies use the definition of brownfield land as specified in the Core Outputs Technical Note drawn up by the Office of Project Advice and Training (OffPat), which states that brownfield land
“includes contaminated, derelict or previously developed land which is or was occupied by a permanent structure (excluding agricultural or forestry buildings), and associated fixed surface infrastructure within the curtilage of the development.”
Details are available on the OffPat website:
Electricity Generation: Landfill
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what total amount of electricity was generated in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK from landfill gas in each year since its introduction as a fuel for electricity generation. [159188]
Malcolm Wicks: The information requested first became available in 1990 and is as follows. Data for Scotland are not separately available before 2000:
| GWh | ||
| Electricity generated from landfill gas | ||
| Scotland | United Kingdom | |
| Source: Digest of UK Energy Statistics, 2007, Table 7.1.1 and Energy Trends September 2007 pages 16 to 23 and corresponding articles in September 2003, September 2002 and December 2001. | ||
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