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8 Jan 2008 : Column 498W—continued
Customs Officers: Labour Turnover
Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the staff turnover rate was for customs officers in HM Revenue and Customs in each year since 2000; and if he will make a statement. [174522]
Jane Kennedy [holding answer 17 December 2007]: The numbers of staff leaving HM Customs and Excise yearly between 1 April 2000 and 31 March 2005 are shown in the following table. After 1 April 2005, comparable figures are not available as no statistics are available for HM Customs and Excise as a separate Department.
| Number of leavers | Rate ( percentage ) | |
Departmental Databases
Jo Swinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many confirmed security breaches of databases controlled by his Department occurred in each of the last five years; whether the breach resulted from internal or external action in each case; how many records were compromised on each occasion; and what estimate was made of the total number of records accessible to the individuals concerned. [173706]
Angela Eagle [holding answer 13 December 2007]: Except in exceptional cases, when it is in the public interest, it has been the policy of successive Governments not to comment on breaches of security.
Housing: Parking
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many domestic dwellings in England have (a) one parking space, (b) two parking spaces and (c) three or more parking spaces according to the Valuation Office Agency’s database of dwelling house codes and value significant codes. [176426]
Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 28 March 2007, Official Report, columns 1596-97W.
Housing: Valuation
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Valuation Office Agency’s assessment of the plot size of a residential property includes the area of a (a) garage space, (b) outbuildings and (c) garden inside the curtilage of the property as a whole. [176420]
Inheritance Tax: Tax Thresholds
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether an impact assessment has been produced for the proposed changes to inheritance tax thresholds for married couples. [176435]
Jane Kennedy: Preliminary work identified that, in accordance with current guidance, an impact assessment was not required. In line with normal procedure, preliminary work is not published.
Inheritance Tax: Valuation
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what role the Valuation Office Agency plays in undertaking inheritance tax valuations. [176247]
Jane Kennedy: The Valuation Office Agency provides advice to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs in connection with inheritance tax through the provision of valuations of land, buildings, lordships of the manor, growing crops, live and dead farming stock, plant, machinery and fixtures. At the request of HMRC the VOA also undertakes negotiations with taxpayers or their agents to resolve any differences of opinion on valuation matters.
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average capital value was of a domestic dwelling valued by the Valuation Office Agency for inheritance tax purposes, in each government office region area, in the last year for which figures are available. [176381]
Jane Kennedy: This information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many homes the Valuation Office Agency valued for inheritance tax purposes in (a) England and (b) Wales in 2006-07. [176398]
Jane Kennedy: This information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Irish
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Irish citizens are estimated to be resident in the UK; and what estimate he has made of the likely number in 2017. [174762]
Angela Eagle [holding answer 17 December 2007]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 8 January 2008:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to respond on behalf of the Chancellor of the Exchequer concerning your question about how many Irish citizens are estimated to be resident in the UK; and what estimate he has made of the likely number in 2017. (174762)
I would refer you to the answer given in the Official Report of 20 November 2007, Volume 467, Column 704.
Non-domestic Rates: Empty Property
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether an impact assessment was conducted of the reduction of empty business rate relief on business properties. [176382]
Jane Kennedy: A Regulatory Impact Assessment considering the reform of Empty Property Relief in business rates was published on 11 May 2007 and can be found on the Communities and Local Government website.
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of businesses which will pay higher business rates as a consequence of the reduction in empty property business rate relief. [176383]
Jane Kennedy: No estimates are available.
Non-domestic Rates: Pigeon Racing
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether HM Revenue and Customs recognises pigeon racing as a sport for business rates purposes. [176406]
Jane Kennedy: Sports clubs can qualify for mandatory business rates relief of 80 per cent. if they are registered charities or registered with HMRC as Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs). However, it is for local authorities, not HMRC, to determine whether to exercise their powers to give up to 100 per cent. discretionary rate relief to non-profit making bodies including sports clubs that are not eligible for mandatory relief either as a charity or a CASC. It is also not for HMRC to decide which activities are eligible sports for the CASC scheme. Eligible sports are defined by Treasury Order, by reference to the Sports Councils' list of recognised activities. The list can be accessed at:
Non-domestic Rates: Valuation
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what date the Valuation Office Agency’s Non-Domestic Referencing Manual was last updated. [176253]
Jane Kennedy: The Valuation Office Agency’s Non-Domestic Referencing Manual was last updated on 15 October 2007.
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether (a) the Valuation Office Agency and (b) HM Revenue and Customs has commenced the procurement process to develop an automated valuation model for non-domestic rates valuations. [176430]
Jane Kennedy: Neither (a) the Valuation Office Agency, nor (b) HM Revenue and Customs is intending to commence such a procurement process.
Northern Rock
Mr. Redwood:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether Northern Rock meets banking covenants on
(a) profitability and (b) cash flow on its borrowing from his Department and the Bank of England. [168528]
Kitty Ussher: On 14 September 2007 the Chancellor of the Exchequer authorised the Bank of England to provide a liquidity support facility to Northern Rock. A further facility with the Bank of England was announced on 11 October 2007. Extensive representations, warranties and undertakings govern the terms and conditions of the loans. The terms and conditions of the facilities are confidential.
Offshore Industry: North Sea
Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the net cumulative contribution made to the British economy by North Sea oil and gas over the last three decades, expressed in 2007 prices. [173879]
Malcolm Wicks: I have been asked to reply.
North Sea oil and gas has made a huge contribution to the British economy over the last three decades but that contribution cannot be encapsulated as a single value in 2007 (or any other) prices. Between 1997 and 2006, the cumulative gross revenue of the UK upstream oil and gas sector, principally from sales of oil and gas produced from the North Sea, amounted to £761 billion in 2006 prices. Over the same period, cumulative operating costs of the sector amounted to £129 billion in 2006 prices. The cumulative total gross operating surplus of the UK upstream oil and gas sector between 1997 and 2006 was thus £632 billion in 2006 prices. The gross operating surplus of the sector is a little less than its gross value added (GVA), data for which go back only to 1985. GVA is the best single measure of a sector's contribution to Gross Domestic Product. Over the period 1997 to 2006, the UK upstream oil and gas sector spent a further £44 billion in 2006 prices on exploration and appraisal and £171 billion on capital expenditure (these and previous data come from the BERR Oil and Gas website—http://www.og.dti.gov.uk/information/bb_updates/appendices/Appendix7.htm). It also contributed £233 billion in 2006/07 prices to the Exchequer over the period 1977/78 to 2006/07 (source: BERR Oil and Gas website—http://www.og.dti.gov.uk/information/bb_updates/appendices/Appendix8.htm). None of these figures captures the overall net impact the sector has had on the economy.
OGC Buying Solutions
Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the ratio was between administrative costs and value for money improvements secured by OGC Buying Solutions in each year since 2003-04; and if he will make a statement. [170350]
Angela Eagle: The following table shows the ratio of administrative costs, which has been assumed to be total organisational operating costs, against value-for-money (VFM) improvements. These have been reported in the annual report and accounts 2006-07.
| 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | |
Personal Income: Cleethorpes
Shona McIsaac: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average household income was in Cleethorpes constituency in each year since 1997. [176890]
Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 8 January 2008:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the average household income was in the Cleethorpes constituency in each year since 1997 (176890).
Estimates of household income which include income from all sources such as earnings, benefits, pensions, and investment income, are generally based on household surveys. The largest of these is the Family Resources Survey which has an annual sample in the UK of around 28,000 households. This is sufficient to produce estimates of household income at national and regional level, but not for smaller areas. Statistics on earnings by employees are available for local authorities from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) which is an employer based survey.
The ONS has published estimates of household income for wards for 2001/02, and using a newer geographical classification—the medium layer super output areas—for 2004/05. There are no figures available for other years. The geographical boundaries and data sources used in producing the 2004/05 figures are different to those used for 2001/02 so they are not directly comparable. In particular, they cannot be used to provide an accurate measure of change over this period. Both estimates are based on a statistical model and are classed as experimental statistics—this means they have been developed in accordance with the principles set out in the National Statistics Code of Practice but have yet to be fully accredited as National Statistics. They are available through the Neighbourhood Statistics section of the ONS website.
Table 1 shows mean net equivalised incomes, both before and after housing costs, for Cleethorpes parliamentary constituency in 2001/02, and for the wards that made up the constituency. Table 2 shows just average incomes for Cleethorpes constituency in 2004/05. The estimates for 2004/05 are based on the super output areas which do not correspond to areas which are as easily recognisable ‘on the ground’ as wards. They are designed to be built up to form larger areas and so Table 2 shows only an average for the constituency as a whole. All of these figures for Cleethorpes and wards within Cleethorpes, either appear in the ‘experimental’ datasets described above, or have been calculated directly from them.
For comparison with these figures, both Tables 1 and 2 provide mean incomes for either Great Britain or the UK for the relevant years. These are based on the Households Below Average Income series derived from the Family Resources Survey, and are National Statistics. The Household Below Average Income series generally presents results based on median incomes, however mean incomes are presented here to be directly comparable with the small area statistics.
| Table 1: Average weekly household income 2001- 02( 1) | ||
| £ per week | ||
| Net weekly equivalised household income (before housing costs)( 2) | Net weekly equivalised household income (after housing costs)( 2) | |
| (1) Figures rounded to the nearest 10. (2) Housing costs include rent (gross of housing benefit), water charges, mortgage interest payments, structural insurance and ground rent and service charges. (3) These wards are split between Cleethorpes parliamentary constituency and Great Grimsby parliamentary constituency. (4) Based on an average of the ward incomes, weighted for the number of households in each ward. Source: ONS, Department for Work and Pensions. | ||
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