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7 Feb 2008 : Column 1366W—continued

Mrs. James: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the incidence rate was for malignant melanoma in the latest period for which figures are available; and what assessment he has made of trends in such rates over the last 30 years. [185438]


7 Feb 2008 : Column 1367W

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

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 7 February 2008:

Incidence rates( 1) of malignant melanoma of skin( 2) , by sex, England, 1976-2005
Males Females

1976

2.4

4.2

1977

2.4

4.1

1978

2.6

4.3

1979

2.8

4.8

1980

3.0

5.0

1981

3.3

5.5

1982

3.3

5.8

1983

3.6

6.1

1984

3.5

6.1

1985

4.6

7.7

1986

4.7

7.4

1987

5.3

8.4

1988

6.3

9.1

1989

5.7

8.5

1990

6.2

7.7

1991

6.1

7.9

1992

6.7

8.8

1993

7.7

9.9

1994

7.6

9.8

1995

7.8

10.1

1996

7.9

9.8

1997

8.6

10.1

1998

8.8

10.1

1999

8.8

10.4

2000

10.0

11.4

2001

10.6

12.3

2002

11.0

12.5

2003

11.2

12.8

2004

12.1

13.6

2005

13.2

14.5

(1) Directly age-standardised rates per 100,000 population.
(2) Malignant melanoma of skin is defined as code C43 in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) and 172 in ICD—8 and 9.
Source:
Office for National Statistics

7 Feb 2008 : Column 1368W

Smuggling: Tobacco

David Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the major brands of smuggled hand-rolled tobacco seized were in each of the last five years for which data is available; [185357]

(2) what proportion, by weight, of the smuggled hand-rolling tobacco seized was (a) industry manufactured and (b) counterfeit in each of the last five years for which data is available; [185358]

(3) what estimate he has made of the proportion of the smuggled UK cigarette market made up of counterfeit brands in each of the last five years for which data is available. [185359]

Angela Eagle: In each of the last five years, the major brands of hand-rolling tobacco seized by HMRC have been Cutters Choice, Drum, Golden Virginia, Old Holborn, Raw, Samson and The Turner.

From 2003-05 HMRC seizures of hand-rolling tobacco over 10Okgs were analysed, of which approximately 87 per cent. by weight was industry manufactured and 13 per cent. was counterfeit.

From October 2006 to December 2007, HMRC seizures of hand-rolling tobacco over 50 kgs were analysed, of which approximately 86 per cent. by weight was industry manufactured and 14 per cent. was counterfeit.

Although HMRC do not routinely estimate the counterfeit share of the illicit cigarette market, they do publish in HMRC's annual report their own analysis of the provenance of large cigarette seizures (individual seizures in excess of 100,000 sticks). This information explains the proportion of such seizures found to be counterfeit and the principal non-counterfeit brands seized.

Tax Avoidance

Sarah Teather: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of people who will be affected in each parliamentary constituency by the proposed amendments to income shifting legislation proposed in the consultation document of 6 December 2007. [184752]

Angela Eagle: No such estimates have been made. Whole economy estimates of the number of businesses that will be affected by the proposed new income shifting legislation are published in the consultation stage impact assessment in Annex C of the consultation document.

Taxation: Aviation

Mr. Brady: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many times he, his Ministers or his officials have met representatives of (a) Friends of the Earth, ( b) Greenpeace, (c) the World Wildlife Fund, (d) AirportWatch, (e) the Aviation Environment Federation, (f) HACAN Clearskies, (g) Stop Stansted Expansion, (h) Plane Stupid, (i) the Council for the Protection of Rural England, (j) the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, (k) the Woodland Trust and (l) Enoughsenough to discuss issues related to (i) the sustainable growth and (ii) environmental taxation of aviation in the UK since 2007. [185817]


7 Feb 2008 : Column 1369W

Angela Eagle: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.

However, section D1 of the Government's consultation document on aviation duty published on 31 January lists a number of organisations which had been part of the informal consultation process prior to publication. We welcome representations from all organisations in response to the consultation document which may be viewed at:

Taxation: Business

Ben Chapman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer after what period of time HM Revenue and Customs sends reminders to companies informing them of their obligation to send belated payments of tax. [185364]

Angela Eagle: The main company taxes are corporation tax and VAT. In addition, companies are required to pay to HMRC PAYE and national insurance contributions deducted from their employees' remuneration, and in some cases to make these payments on behalf of their employees.

Each tax is administered under different legislation and, as such, the timing of reminders for payment for each duty may differ. Comprehensive guidance for companies required to make payments is available on the HM Revenue and Customs website and is accessible at:

Ben Chapman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what mechanisms are in place to prevent the resending of tax late payment reminders to companies who have paid. [185368]

Angela Eagle: HMRC processes payments and updates customers' accounts within 24 hours of receiving them in the vast majority of cases.

In a small number of cases, we are unable to credit customers' accounts immediately, usually because the payment is received with insufficient information.

In such cases the payments are allocated to a suspense account while inquiries are made to establish the account or record that is to be credited. Where such a payment is made on the due date for the tax, it is therefore possible that a reminder will be issued while the payment is in the suspense account.

Every payment application or notice to pay issued by HMRC carries full ‘How to pay’ guidance. This clearly sets out the information needed to allocate payments correctly. An expanded version of this guidance is available on the HMRC website and is accessible on

Any customer who is having difficulty with a particular payment method can phone the payment helpline for advice.


7 Feb 2008 : Column 1370W

Taxation: Self-Assessment

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people did not return their tax returns on 31 January 2007; and how much was (a) imposed and (b) received in resultant fines. [184582]

Angela Eagle: 1,007,012 taxpayers did not file self assessment returns by 31 January 2007. It is not possible to derive the amount of penalties imposed because penalties are capped to the amount of tax due where that is less than the penalty. The final amount received is not yet available.

Mr. Chope: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects that the technical problem on the HM Revenue and Customs computer system, preventing conclusion of the 2004-05 tax credits claim of Mr. Marshall of Ferndown, will be resolved; what the nature of the problem is; how many claimants are similarly affected; and if he will make a statement. [184966]

Angela Eagle: Tax Credit Office sent a further letter to the hon. Member about his constituent’s tax credits claim on 6 February 2008.

Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people did not submit a tax return before the 31 January deadline when required to in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [184989]

Angela Eagle: The number of people with self assessment tax returns outstanding at 31 January since 1997 is shown in the following table

Due date Thousand

1996-97

31 January 1998

666

1997-98

31 January 1999

820

1998-99

31 January 2000

877

1999-2000

31 January 2001

949

2000-01

31 January 2002

860

2001-02

31 January 2003

875

2002-03

31 January 2004

894

2003-04

31 January 2005

928

2004-05

31 January 2006

879

2005-06

31 January 2007

1,007


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