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19 Nov 2007 : Column 588W—continued

Office of Government Commerce

Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which of the Office of Government Commerce's (a) internal processes, (b) purchase orders and (c) invoicing processes were automated in each year since 2003-04; and if he will make a statement. [165221]

Angela Eagle: In 2003-04, OGC automated the review and authorisation of Government procurement card transactions, the recording of these transactions in the financial ledgers and the automatic production of electronic remittance advices from the finance system. Purchase order processing were automated in 2006-07. Sales invoices were automated prior to 2003-04.

Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate he has made of the cost of relocating posts from London to Liverpool by the Office of Government Commerce Buying Solutions in each year since 2003-04; and if he will make a statement; [165224]

(2) how many posts were relocated from London to Liverpool by the Office of Government Commerce Buying Solutions in each year since 2003-04; and if he will make a statement. [165225]

Angela Eagle: No cost was incurred.

15 posts were relocated from London to Liverpool by OGC buying solutions in 2006-07.

Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the effect on travel costs of the use of video conferencing by the Office of Government Commerce Buying Solutions in each year since 2003-04; and if he will make a statement. [165228]

Angela Eagle: A figure for the reduction in travel costs through the use of video conferencing in OGCbuying.solutions has not been calculated for the period requested. However, OGCbuying.solutions has recently completed a procurement exercise to upgrade its existing audio/video facilities. As part of the business case for this, a target saving of £30,000 per year on travel costs has been set (from April 2008 when the new facilities will become available).

Personal Income

Mr. Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the median income is in the UK; how many people have less than (a) 10, (b) 20, (c) 30, (d) 40, (e) 50, (f) 60 and (g) 70 per cent. of that income; how many people have (i) 25, (ii) 50, (iii) 100, (iv) 200,
19 Nov 2007 : Column 589W
(v) 300, (vi) 400, (vii) 500, (viii) 600, (ix) 700, (x) 800, (xi) 900, (xii) 1,000, (xiii) 2,000, (xiv) 5,000, (xv) 10,000 and (xvi) 20,000 per cent. higher incomes than that income; and what the threshold income is in each case. [163061]

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 19 November 2007:

Percentage of UK Employee( a) jobs earnings less than percentages of the median in 2007
Percentage of a l l employees median earnings (£374.9) Threshold Earnings (£) Percentage of all employees earning less than the percentage of median

10

38

1.8

20

75

5.2

30

113

9.7

40

150

14.2

50

187

18.7

60

225

24.0

70

262

30.5

2007 UK Employees Median Gross Weekly Earnings = £374.9


19 Nov 2007 : Column 590W
Percentage of UK Employed jobs earnings greater than percentages of the median in 2007
Percentage higher than all employees median earnings (£374.9) Threshold Earnings (£) Percentage of all employees earning more than the percentage of median

25

469

36.6

50

562

26.2

100

750

12.8

200

1,125

4.1

300

1,500

1.9

400

1,874

1.0

500

2,249

0.5

600

2,624

*0.3

700

2,999

*0.2

800

3,374

*0.1

900

3,749

*0.1

1000

4,124

**0.1

2000+

7,872

<0.1

(a) Employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey pay-period was not affected by absence.
Guide to quality:
The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of a figure, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality.
The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an average of 200 with a CV of 5%, we would expect the population average to be within the range 180 to 220.
CV <= 5%
* CV > 5% and <= 10%
** CV> 10%and <=20%
Source:
Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Office for National Statistics.

Research and Development Tax Credit

Gordon Banks: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many UK companies have claimed tax credits for research and development since the introduction of the scheme. [164264]

Angela Eagle [holding answer 15 November 2007]: National statistics published on the HMRC website show that around 23,000 claims have been made for R&D tax credits in the first five years of the scheme. These claims have been made by a total of just under 12,000 companies, reflecting the fact that companies can make numerous claims.

Service Industries: Dacorum

Mike Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of people in Dacorum are employed in (a) service industries and (b) manufacturing industries; and if he will make a statement. [164126]

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 19 November 2007:

Skilled Workers: Dacorum

Mike Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of people in Dacorum are classified as (a) professionals and (b) skilled workers; and if he will make a statement. [164125]

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.


19 Nov 2007 : Column 591W

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 19 November 2007:

Statistics Commission: Finance

Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what efficiency gains in relation to the HM Treasury Efficiency Technical Note of December 2006 have been made by the Statistics Commission in each year since 2003-04; and if he will make a statement. [165304]

Angela Eagle: Under the HM Treasury Efficiency Note of December 2006 the Statistics Commission agreed to budget within “flat cash” grant funding through to 2007-08. It has achieved this for the period 2003-04 to 2006-07 and expects to do so in 2007-08. In 2004-05 the commission was allowed additional grant in aid to fund relocation. This relocation saved £487,000 on accommodation costs over the period 2005-06 to 2007-08 in cash terms, and new contractual arrangements saved a further £30,000, which was redistributed to staffing and research.

Sterling

Mike Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the purchasing power was as at November 2007 of the pound sterling at May 1997 prices. [164115]

Kitty Ussher: Estimates of the purchasing power of the pound sterling are conditional on the price index one uses to deflate from 1997.

The ONS provides price indices data in the monthly publication “Focus on Consumer Price Indices”. The most recent publication is available at:

Taxation: Domicile

Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of people claiming non-domicile tax status in the UK who were born in the UK; and if he will make a statement. [164225]

Jane Kennedy: HMRC does not hold information on how many individuals claiming non-domicile tax status in the UK were born in the UK.


19 Nov 2007 : Column 592W

Taxation: Rebates

Mike Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the value of unclaimed tax refunds was in each year since 2001. [164123]

Jane Kennedy: Tax refunds are made either as a result of a taxpayer filing a tax return or making a specific claim. The information requested on the total value of unclaimed tax refunds since 2001 is not available.

Telephone Services: Hemel Hempstead

Mike Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were employed in (a) call centres and (b) manufacturing in Hemel Hempstead constituency in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [164119]

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 19 November 2007:

VAT: Contraceptives

Mike Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health on reducing the VAT rate on condoms. [164303]

Jane Kennedy: Ministers from HM Treasury and the Department of Health regularly discuss a wide range of issues. The Government reduced the rate of VAT chargeable on condoms and other contraceptive products sold on an over the counter basis to 5 per cent. on 1 July 2006. The rate of VAT chargeable on these products is now the lowest rate allowed under our VAT agreements with our European partners.


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