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10 Dec 2007 : Column 281W—continued
Capital Gains Tax
Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 26 November 2007, Official Report, column 47W, on capital gains tax, if he will estimate the revenue implications of taxing capital gains at the same marginal rates as income tax, with indexation from April 2008. [171466]
Jane Kennedy [holding answer 5 December 2007]: The revenue yield from taxing all capital gains at the income tax rates announced for 2008-09 with indexation allowance but without applying taper relief would be of the order of £3 billion a year by comparison with the current (2007-08) regime. This is a broad estimate that assumes continuation of the tax-free annual exempt amount and takes into account the likely taxpayer response to the change.
Paul Holmes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the capital gains tax (CGT) revenues received by the Exchequer from sales of residential properties in each of the last five years; and what estimate he has made of the net effect on this CGT revenue stream of the proposed reforms to CGT announced in the October 2007 pre-Budget report. [172798]
Jane Kennedy: Capital gains tax paid depends on the taxpayer's total gains, losses, reliefs and marginal rate, so it is not possible to attribute amounts of tax to separate disposals. Statistics on the number of disposals, disposal value and gains made on assets disposed of in 2004-05 by type of asset, including residential property, are available in National Statistics table 14.4 on the HM Revenue and Customs website at:
The 2007 pre-Budget report announced a reform of the capital gains tax regime for individuals. From 6 April 2008, all disposals that attract capital gains tax will do so at a rate of 18 per cent.
Capital Gains Tax: Private Equity
Mr. Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect of proposed changes in capital gains tax on private equity firms. [172636]
Jane Kennedy: The 2007 pre-Budget report announced a reform of the capital gains tax regime for individuals. From 6 April 2008, all disposals that attract capital gains tax will do so at a rate of 18 per cent. Along with changes to address loopholes and anomalies in the residence and domicile rules, these changes will increase the fairness of the tax system including for individuals in the private equity industry.
Child Benefit Office: Pay
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff in the IT department at the Child Benefit Office received bonuses in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and how much was paid out in such bonuses in total. [168945]
Jane Kennedy [holding answer 27 November 2007]: The Child Benefit Office is one of a number of HMRC business units responsible for delivering child benefit. 18 HMRC staff work in IT support for child benefit IT systems. The director of Information Management Systems recognises exceptional performance through a recognition bonus scheme.
Due to the small size of the IT team that supports child benefit IT systems it may be possible to identify individuals from this information and consequently it is not appropriate to say whether and how many bonuses were paid during the last 12 month period for which figures are available.
Child Benefit: Personal Records
Mr. Chope: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) when HM Revenue and Customs was first informed by the National Audit Office of the non-arrival of information from the child benefit database despatched on 18 October; [167702]
(2) how many officials in his Department have had access to the child benefit database in 2007; and what action he has taken to reduce the numbers having such access. [167703]
Jane Kennedy [holding answer 26 November 2007]: It would be inappropriate to comment on these issues as there is an on-going police investigation.
On 20 November the Chancellor announced an independent review of HMRC's data handling procedures to be conducted by Kieran Poynter, the Chair of PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Mr. Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) officials had access to a full copy of HMRC’s data on the payment of child benefits as at 18 October 2007; [167771]
(2) how many CD copies have been made of the full copy of HM Revenue and Customs’ data on the payment of child benefit in the last 12 months. [167772]
Jane Kennedy [holding answer 26 November 2007]: It would be inappropriate to comment on these issues as there is an ongoing police investigation.
On 20 November the Chancellor announced an independent review of HMRC’s data handling procedures to be conducted by Kieran Poynter, the chair of PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Lynne Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he plans to take to help alleviate concerns of child benefit recipients whose data was lost by HM Revenue and Customs on possible (a) identity fraud and (b) criminal use of bank or building society account details. [168651]
Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to the statement given in the House by my right hon. friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 20 November 2007, Official Report, columns 1101-04. The Acting Chairman of HMRC has also written to all customers affected, reassuring them that the police continue to have no reason to believe that the data has found its way into the wrong hands and setting out the advice that my right hon. friend the Chancellor offered in his statement.
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff work in the Child Benefit Office’s IT department. [168909]
Jane Kennedy: The Child Benefit Office is one of a number of HMRC business units responsible for delivering child benefit. 18 HMRC staff work in IT support for Child Benefit IT systems.
Child Benefit: Pregnant Women
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he received in favour of the introduction of child benefits in pregnancy before his 2006 pre-Budget speech; and if he will place copies in the Library. [172933]
Jane Kennedy: HM Treasury received a wide number of representations before the 2006 pre-Budget report on tax and benefits issues, which formed part of the process of policy development for the 2006 pre-Budget report.
Defence: Expenditure
Mr. Streeter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of total Government expenditure in the last financial year was spent on (a) defence and (b) conflict prevention and resolution. [172295]
Andy Burnham: Table 4.3 of Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 2007 sets out total expenditure on services in real terms and the proportion spent on defence. Separately, section 2 of MOD’s annual report and accounts 2006-07 sets out the spend in that year directly attributable to conflict prevention.
Departmental Data Protection
Keith Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was budgeted by his Department in the last 12 months for ensuring the security of personal information. [168470]
Jane Kennedy: The information requested is not available. The costs of information security are included in the overall costs of running HMRC.
Departmental Expenditure
Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his core Department spent on (a) staff salaries and (b) administrative costs in each year since 2003-04; and if he will make a statement. [170348]
Angela Eagle: Details of salaries paid to staff in core Treasury in each year since 2003-04 are as follows:
| Salary paid (£) | |
Details of administrative costs spending can be found in Table 7.4 of the Treasury's Annual Report and Accounts 2006-07, HC 518. A copy of the document can be found at
hm-treasury.gov.uk.
Departmental ICT
Mark Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the latest forecasted cost is of the delivery of the ASPIRE IT support project. [169318]
Jane Kennedy [holding answer 4 December 2007]:The current projected cost, before inflation, of the ASPIRE IT Services contract, which now runs until 2017, is £7.7 billion, £800 million less than the projected cost disclosed at PAC last year.
Departmental Manpower
Tom Brake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what proportion of posts in his Department were recategorised from back office to frontline posts as classified by the Gershon efficiency review in each year since 2004. [172262]
Angela Eagle: HM Treasury Group publishes the progress against efficiency targets in its Spring Annual Report and Accounts and Autumn Performance Report. The 2007 Autumn Performance Report will be published shortly.
Departmental Marketing
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library a copy of the guidelines issued to staff maintaining his Department’s and its agencies’ corporate identity; and what the estimated annual cost is of (a) producing and (b) complying with such guidelines. [170225]
Angela Eagle: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave him on 8 October 2007, Official Report, columns 217-18W.
Departmental Public Expenditure
Justine Greening:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much of the core Treasury’s Strategic Reserve was spent on activities (a) not defined as and
(b) not previously categorised as strategic reserve-funded activities in each year since 2003-04; and if he will make a statement. [170345]
Angela Eagle: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 20 November 2007, Official Report, column 702W.
Excise Duties: Fuels
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue he received from taxation on fuel used by local authorities and by services contracted by local authorities in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [170957]
Angela Eagle: Estimates are not available for the revenue received from taxation on fuel used by local authorities and by services contracted by local authorities. Registered traders pay the duty to HMRC and information on the customer is not recorded on the return.
VAT charged to local authorities, and with respect to services contracted out by them, is normally recoverable in full by the purchaser; and so does not represent net revenue receipts.
Government Departments: Wastes
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what volume of waste was generated by each central Government Department over the last 12 months, as recorded by the Electronic Property Information Mapping Service database. [165550]
Angela Eagle: This data is not currently held within the Electronic Property Information Mapping Service database. It is planned to capture this information for the first time in 2008.
HM Revenue and Customs
Mr. Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his statement of 20 November 2007, Official Report, columns 1101-18, on HM Revenue and Customs, what representations he has received from banks requesting that he delay announcing the loss of personal data by HM Revenue and Customs. [168796]
Jane Kennedy [holding answer 27 November 2007]: I refer the hon. Member to the statement given in the House by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 20 November 2007, Official Report, columns 1101-04 and to his subsequent remarks to the House on 28 November 2007, Official Report, column 306.
HM Revenue and Customs: Delivery Services
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people are employed by HM Revenue and Customs to monitor deliveries placed with mail carriers and at what cost to his Department in the latest period for which figures are available. [169864]
Jane Kennedy: It would be inappropriate to comment on this as there is an ongoing police investigation.
On 20 November the Chancellor announced an independent review of HMRC's security processes and procedures for data handling led by Kieran Poynter, the chair of PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The full terms of reference for that review are available on the HM Treasury website at: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/newsroom_and_speeches/press/2007/press_133_07.cfm and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list all mail carriers employed by HM Revenue and Customs to handle outgoing mail. [169939]
Jane Kennedy: The following companies handle outgoing mail for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC):
Royal Mail;
TNT UK Ltd.;
Lynx Express Ltd.;
The DX Group Ltd.; and
G4S Ltd.
HM Revenue and Customs: Public Appointments
Harry Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the role is of the director of information technology at HM Revenue and Customs; what his salary is; how many staff there are in his team; and what responsibility he had for the systems in operation prior to the loss of child benefit data. [170011]
Jane Kennedy: The chief information officer (CIO) is the head of Information Management Solutions, the directorate that develops and runs the IT systems and solutions that help HMRC achieve its objectives.
The current CIO heads the 1,538 members of staff in the IMS directorate, the equivalent of 1,491 full-time posts. It would not be appropriate to provide details of his salary.
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