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14 Jan 2008 : Column 904W—continued
Proof of Concept Pilot Scheme
Greg Clark: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what results have been reported from the proof of concept pilot scheme between HM Revenue and Customs, the Department for Work and Pensions and 12 local authorities; and when he plans to publish those results. [178534]
Mr. Plaskitt: I have been asked to reply.
The findings from the joint working proof of concept between Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, the Department for Work and Pensions and 12 local authorities were fed into Sir David Varney's report, “Service Transformation a Better Service for Citizens and Businesses: A Better Deal for the Taxpayer”, published in December 2006. This report recommended the establishment of a service that enables a citizen to report a change in circumstance only once starting with birth and bereavement, followed by change of address. The Department for Work and Pensions is taking forward this recommendation on behalf of Government as a whole and will present its business case to Her Majesty's Treasury for a decision on whether or not to begin implementation from April 2009.
Registration of Births Deaths Marriages and Civil Partnerships: Internet
Mr. Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the introduction of Registration On-line by the General Register Office. [177092]
Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Registrar General, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 14 January 2008:
As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking, what assessment has been made of the introduction of Registration On-line by the General Register Office. (177092)
The introduction of the RON system has encountered some delays. However, all local authorities in England and Wales are using it for registering civil partnerships, and 102 out of 172 are using it for birth, death and stillbirth registrations. Local authorities who are not yet able to use it for births, deaths and stillbirths are able to provide a fully adequate registration service using alternative software.
Mr. Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what date he expects the General Register Office to introduce Registration On-line for marriages. [177093]
Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Registrar General, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 14 January 2008:
As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking on what date it is expected the General Register Office will introduce Registration On-line for marriages. (177093)
The Registration On-line marriages module has been tested and is ready for use in a live environment. However, by agreement with the local registration service, it will not be introduced until the births, deaths and stillbirths module has been adopted in all local authority areas and shown to be working satisfactorily. No firm date has yet been set.
Reparation by Offenders
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward measures to grant powers to the police to require an offender to pay compensation to a victim without the need to put the offender before a court. [178439]
Maria Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
The Criminal Justice Act 2003 (as amended by the Police and Justice Act 2006) already enables the police and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to offer a caution with conditions attached to an offender where there is sufficient evidence to charge him or her with an offence which is admitted.
Conditions are currently aimed at rehabilitation (addressing the offender's behaviour) and/or reparation (making good the harm the offender has caused including the payment of compensation to a victim) and may include restorative justice processes.
The offender must agree to that caution and the conditions attached. It is for the CPS to decide whether a conditional caution is suitable and to identify appropriate conditions. If the conditions are not complied with, the offender can be prosecuted for the original offence.
The Government have no plans to grant the police powers to require offenders to make reparation by way of compensation.
Revenue and Customs: Cardiff
Anne Main: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion and how many of the staff at HM Revenue and Customs office in Ty-Glas Llanishen, Cardiff were employed (a) on permanent contracts, (b) on temporary contracts and (c) via an employment agency in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [177021]
Jane Kennedy: The headcount data for HMRC staff on (a) permanent HMRC contracts and (b) non-permanent HMRC contracts, in Ty-Glas Llanishen, Cardiff for each of the last three years and at October 2007 are as follows:
| Permanent | Non-permanent | Total | |
Data for agency staff are not available.
Revenue and Customs: Correspondence
Mr. Burns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects HM Revenue and Customs to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Chelmsford of 12 July on his constituent Mrs C. Irvine (Ref: 2007/07/002840). [171774]
Jane Kennedy: HM Revenue and Customs replied to the hon. Member on 30 November 2007.
Revenue and Customs: Tyne and Wear
Anne Main: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion and how many of the staff at HM Revenue and Customs office in Washington, Tyne and Wear were employed (a) on permanent contracts, (b) on temporary contracts and (c) via an employment agency in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [177022]
Jane Kennedy: The headcount data for HMRC staff on (a) permanent HMRC contracts and (b) non-permanent HMRC contracts, in Washington, Tyne and Wear for each of the last three years and at October 2007 are as follows:
| Permanent | Non-permanent | Total | |
Data for agency staff are not available.
Stamp Duties
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many homes, according to HM Revenue and Customs stamp duty land tax return records, have claimed the zero rate of stamp duty on zero carbon homes. [176390]
Jane Kennedy: The stamp duty land tax relief for new zero carbon homes has been claimed for three transactions. A stamp duty land tax certificate was issued for these transactions between 1 October 2007, the date from which the relief can be claimed, and the end of November 2007.
HMRC expect the numbers of qualifying transactions to rise as more properties eligible to claim the relief go on the market. The Government are committed to conducting an interim review of the relief in 2010 which will examine the effectiveness of the relief in stimulating the innovation necessary to ensure that by 2016 all new homes are zero-carbon.
Strokes: Finance
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the Barnett consequentials have been for Wales of improved funding for stroke services in England in 2007-08. [177623]
Andy Burnham: Funding for the Welsh Assembly Government in 2007-08 was announced as part of the 2004 spending review. The Welsh Assembly Government received Barnett consequentials on the increases in spending for the Department of Health but the Welsh funding is on a block basis rather than disaggregated by specific spending streams such as funding for stroke services.
Tax Havens: British Nationality
Harry Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the amount of income foregone by the Exchequer as a result of people of British origin entering tax exile. [177074]
Jane Kennedy: No such estimate is available.
Taxation: Bingo
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reasons both value added tax and gross profit tax are applied to the bingo industry; and if he will introduce a single tax regime for the industry. [177893]
Angela Eagle: The Government consider all relevant factors when establishing and maintaining fair regimes for the gambling taxes and keep all taxes under review.
Taxation: Northern Ireland
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the introduction of the discrete capital values system of domestic taxation in Northern Ireland on house prices. [176385]
Jane Kennedy: The local domestic taxation system in Northern Ireland is a devolved matter for the Northern Ireland Executive.
Valuation Office: Official Hospitality
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the rules are for staff members of (a) the Valuation Office Agency and (b) HM Revenue and Customs on recording details of entertainment and hospitality received. [176417]
Jane Kennedy: The information requested is as follows.
(a) The rules for staff members of the Valuation Office Agency on recording details of entertainment and hospitality received are set out in Staff Handbook, Section 9.6 which states as follows:
“You must inform your Group Management, or your line manager for non-Group staff, in writing of any offers of gifts, inducements or hospitality (including invitations to working lunches and dinners) which you accept or, with the agreement of your Group Management, or your line manager for non-Group staff, record them directly in the office hospitality record maintained for that purpose.
You should also report or record any significant (worth 25 or more) or repeated offers which you have declined. If you are in doubt whether an offer you have turned down should be reported, you should seek the advice of your Group Management, or your line manager for non-Group staff.”
(b) The staff of HMRC are expected to maintain the highest standards of propriety at all times. To avoid any suggestion of impropriety they must not accept benefits of any kind from a third party including customers, suppliers and contractors other than isolated gifts of a trivial nature such as a calendar or diary, or conventional hospitality. HMRC has detailed guidance on gifts and hospitality, an extract of the guidance follows:
HMRC—Recording of benefits offered
“If you have been given permission to accept an offer of a gift or hospitality, for example, invitations to working lunches and dinners, you must record the details in the gifts and hospitality register held in your location. This includes the acceptance of a gift that is trivial in nature, for example, calendars or diaries. Minor refreshments such as tea, coffee and biscuits need not be recorded.
You must also report and record any significant single offer or inducement (worth £25 or more) or repeated offers of inducement that you have declined. If you are in doubt about reporting an offer you have declined, you must ask your manager’s manager for advice or contact HR Service Centre.”
Welfare Tax Credits: Borders Region
Mr. Moore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families in Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk were in receipt of (a) child tax credit and (b) working tax credit on (i) 30 April 2006, (ii) 31 December 2006, (iii) 30 April 2007 and (iv) 31 December 2007. [178085]
Jane Kennedy: The information is not available for the dates requested. Estimates of the number of recipient families with tax credits, by each parliamentary constituency, at 3 April 2006, 2 December 2006, 3 April 2007 and 4 December 2007, are available in the HMRC snapshot publication “Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics. Geographical Analyses” for each relevant date. This is available on the HMRC website at:
We do not produce statistics separately for child tax credit and working tax credit.
Welfare Tax Credits: Overpayments
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many requests to pay back overpaid tax credits (forms TC610) were issued by HM Revenue and Customs and its predecessor organisation in each month since April 2002; and if he will make a statement. [172774]
Jane Kennedy: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) started issuing TC610 notices to pay in October 2004. The number of requests to pay back overpaid tax credits (forms TC610) issued by HMRC in each month from October 2004 to October 2006 inclusive was:
| Thousand | |
| Month | Forms TC610 issued |
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