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24 Jan 2008 : Column 2128W—continued
Church Commissioners
Departmental ICT
Susan Kramer: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners how many (a) male and (b) female members of staff of the Church Commissioners were issued with personal digital assistants in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement. [181399]
Sir Stuart Bell: This information is not recorded but, by way of a statement, the commissioners invest in technology whenever they believe that this will improve their business efficiency. When they do invest in new equipment, the recipient’s gender is irrelevant.
Public Accounts Commission
Departmental ICT
Susan Kramer: To ask the Chairman of the Public Accounts Commission how many (a) male and (b) female members of staff of the National Audit Office were issued with personal digital assistants in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement. [181352]
Mr. Alan Williams: The information requested is set out as follows. This includes SmartPhones which have personal digital assistant (PDA) functionality. For 2006 and 2007 these numbers include more than once those SmartPhones that were issued for staff to test, withdrawn and then reissued. There are currently 20 staff with active SmartPhones.
| PDAs and SmartPhones issued to male members of staff | PDAs and SmartPhones issued to female members of staff | |
Treasury
Tax Returns: Online Filing
11. Mr. Robathan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the use of on-line filing of tax returns. [181420]
Jane Kennedy: Online filing is secure, quicker and more accurate for the customer and HMRC benefits by having better quality data and reduced administration and processing costs.
By the beginning of January, just under 2 million self assessment returns had been filed online, an increase of 26 per cent. on the same point last year.
International Debt Relief
12. Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what further steps he plans to take to advance international debt relief. [181421]
Andy Burnham: The UK welcomes recent agreements at the IMF, World Bank and African Development Bank to finance Liberia’s arrears clearance, paving the way for Liberia to enter the HIPC initiative. The UK will continue to support eligible countries to achieve HIPC debt relief and to qualify for debt cancellation under the multilateral debt relief initiative. The UK is working closely with international partners to address the problem of so-called vulture funds.
Contractors: Monitoring
13. Mark Pritchard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what contractual mechanisms HM Revenue and Customs has in place to monitor the effectiveness and efficiency of private sector organisations to which it has contracted out work. [181422]
Jane Kennedy: HMRC employs a wide range of procedures for monitoring the performance of private sector contractors, on a contract-by-contract basis, following HMRC’s good practice guidance.
Professionally qualified commercial specialists manage these contracts, which are kept under review.
Saving
14. Miss Begg: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps the Government is taking to encourage people to save. [181423]
Andy Burnham: Since 1997, the Government have introduced individual savings accounts (ISAs) (now held by one in three adults), and the child trust fund, which will ensure that all children will hold a financial asset at the age of 18. The Government have piloted the saving gateway and is now taking forward feasibility work to enable rollout.
The Government are also introducing personal accounts to enable individuals on low to medium incomes to save for a pension over their working lives.
10p Tax Rate
15. Miss Kirkbride: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the effect on revenue to the Exchequer arising from the abolition of the 10 pence tax rate; and if he will make a statement. [181424]
Angela Eagle:
The yield from removing the 10p starting rate of income tax on non-savings income was published in the Financial Statement and Budget
Report 2007 at line 15 of table A1. Removing the 10p starting rate of income tax was one single aspect of the Budget 2007 package, and should not be looked at in isolation from the other changes announced.
Leitch Report
17. Mr. Simon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on the Leitch report and on the skills base in the UK economy. [181426]
Angela Eagle: Discussions about the Leitch report and the importance of skills to economic growth are held at ministerial and official level on a regular basis.
Investing in education and skills is vital to ensuring our continued success in today's global economy.
That is why the Government are increasing their investment in improving education and the skills. UK education spending as proportion of GDP projected to increase from 4.7 per cent. in 1996-97 to 5.6 per cent. by 2010-11. Expenditure on higher education and adult skills in England will grow by over £2 billion over the next three years.
Africa: Education for All Initiative
18. John Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on the Education for All initiative for Africa; and if he will make a statement. [181427]
Angela Eagle: The UK is a strong supporter of education, with a commitment to provide £8.5 billion for education by 2015; it is the second largest contributor to the Education for All Fast Track Initiative. At the autumn meetings of the G7 and IMFC, Finance Ministers reaffirmed the importance they place on development issues, including education. Treasury Ministers and officials will continue to use every opportunity to promote the UK's development priorities with their international counterparts.
Trade Unions: Provident Funds
19. Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the upper limit for tax exempt payments from Trade Unions Provident Funds was last adjusted for inflation; and what plans he has to review the limit. [181428]
Jane Kennedy: The tax exemption limits whereby registered trade unions are able to claim relief in respect of certain income and gains used for provident benefits have not been raised since 1991. There are no plans at the current time to raise the limits.
Skills Shortages
21. Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the impact on the UK economy of skills shortages. [181430]
Angela Eagle:
The independent Leitch Review of Skills found no evidence that skill gaps or shortages have held back economic growth, though it did
recommend that the Government raise their ambitions on improving the skills of the workforce.
The 2007 National Employer Skills Survey conducted by the Learning and Skills Council highlights falls in the proportion of employers reporting skills gaps and the percentage of all vacancies caused by skills shortages.
The Government are increasing their investment in improving the skills of the population. Expenditure on higher education and adult skills in England will grow by over £2 billion over the next three years.
Capital Gains Tax
Andrew George: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the pre-Budget report proposals for capital gains tax on housing affordability. [181429]
Jane Kennedy: The Government take a range of factors into consideration when formulating tax policy, and keep all of the relevant issues under review. The tax regime is just one of a number of factors that influence housing affordability.
Banks: Insolvency
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to bring forward proposals for legislation (a) on bank insolvency and (b) to implement the Market Abuse Directive. [181024]
Angela Eagle: HM Treasury, the Bank of England and Financial Services Authority published a discussion paper, “Banking Reform: Protecting Depositors”, in October 2007. Comments on that paper were requested by 5 December 2007. A consultation document outlining proposals for reforms to banking regulation and depositor protection will be published shortly, and will be followed by a 12-week consultation period. I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by the Chancellor on 21 January 2008, Official Report, columns 1207-24.
Banks: Standards
Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the resilience of the UK banking system; and if he will make a statement. [181411]
Andy Burnham: The FSA has responsibility for assessing the resilience of individual banks and shares responsibility with the Bank of England for maintaining a broad overview of the financial system as a whole. Their views of the risks to financial system are made public, in particular through the Financial Risk Outlook and the Financial Stability report respectively. The chairman and chief executive of the FSA and the Governor and deputy governor of the Bank of England have set out their views on these issues over recent months to the Treasury Committee.
Cost of Living
Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the difference between the retail prices index and the rate of inflation experienced by families with an average income. [181409]
Angela Eagle: No official estimates have been made of the rate of inflation experienced by families with an average income. However, under the Government’s monetary policy framework, inflation has remained close to target and the economy has now experienced 61 consecutive quarters of growth. UK inflation, currently at 2.1 per cent, remains close to target. This stability, alongside record levels of employment, has allowed average real incomes to increase for all income groups since 1997 and aggregate real household disposable income to rise by 25 per cent.
Credit
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the trends in the availability of credit to householders in the last 12 months. [181410]
Andy Burnham: The UK economy remains strong and stable and is enjoying its longest period of macro-economic stability on record. The disruption in global financial markets has meant economic prospects have become more uncertain, with the pre-Budget report forecast incorporating some feed-through from financial market disruption to tighter credit conditions. But the UK economy has proved resilient to a number of shocks over the past decade, demonstrating the success of the Government’s macro-economic framework and promotion of open and flexible labour, product and capital markets.
Departmental ICT
Susan Kramer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) male and (b) female members of staff in his Department were issued with personal digital assistants in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement. [181368]
Angela Eagle: The current user list for PDAs in core Treasury shows (a) 59 male users, and (b) 32 female users. Financial records would only provide the information requested on PDAs purchased from 2001 annually at disproportionate cost.
Excise Duties: Fuels
Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is on fuel duty for motorists, with particular reference to the overall price of fuel and the Government’s climate change policy. [181583]
Angela Eagle: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answers I gave the right hon. Member for East Yorkshire (Mr. Knight) and the hon. Member for Southend, West (Mr. Amess) on 7 January 2008, Official Report, column 330W.
Government Departments: Property
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 7 January 2008, Official Report, column 332W, on government departments: property, in what methodological or statistical ways the data in the table placed in the Library differs from the data provided in the answer of 6 January 2008, Official Report, column 630W, on the same subject. [181335]
Angela Eagle: The data in the table placed in the Library in the answer of 7 January 2008, Official Report , column 332W, gives the total figures for vacant space recorded on e-PIMS as either actual, future or potential.
The data provided in the answer of 6 January 2008, Official Report , column 630W, is for vacant space recorded on e-PIMS only as actual, as that is how the question was interpreted.
The data provided for HM Courts Service, Home Office and Treasury Group is different for the following reasons:
e-PIMS is a working database and the latest information available is used in PQ responses. The data provided in the table placed in the Library were the vacant space recorded as at 10 December. The data provided in the subsequent response was the vacant space recorded as at 17 December. On 11 December HM Courts Service entered a total of 7579m(2) vacant space records onto e-PIMS, accounting for the increase in the figure given on 20 December, even though only vacant space marked as actual was included.
The data provided in the table placed in the Library gave separate vacant space figures for the Home Office and the national probation directorate, whereas the subsequent response provided the Home Office vacant space inclusive of the national probation directorate.
Similarly, the table placed in the Library gave separate vacant space figures for HM Treasury and National Savings and Investments whereas the subsequent response combines these in a single figure for the Treasury Group.
Other small variances are accounted for by the different dates on which information is recorded.
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