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28 Apr 2008 : Column 138W—continued
Duchy of Lancaster
10 Downing Street: Repairs and Maintenance
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what refurbishments and renovations of 10 Downing Street, including the Prime Minister’s flat above Downing Street, have taken place since the Prime Minister took office. [198984]
Mr. Watson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) by the then Parliamentary Secretary Cabinet Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Gillian Merron), on 14 January 2008, Official Report, column 913W.
Cinemas: Conservation
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps have been taken to prevent further deterioration of Churchill’s Cinema, part of the 26 Whitehall estate, as stated in English Heritage’s Biennial Conservation Report on the Government Historic Estate 2005-07. [198178]
Mr. Watson: The Cabinet Office has undertaken some protection work to the roof of the cinema building. In addition, further maintenance work is currently being considered following receipt of the latest quadrennial inspection report prepared by heritage consultants.
Departmental Buildings
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which works, renovations and refurbishments originally considered by Project George are to be taken forward. [199117]
Mr. Watson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 20 March 2008, Official Report, column 1307W.
Departmental Intranet
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 19 February 2008, Official Report, column 687W, on the departmental intranet, whether his Department’s IT system is able to provide a record of Wikipedia entries (a) created and (b) amended from within his Department. [195837]
Mr. Watson: The Department does not hold this information.
Departmental Records
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham of 13 December 2007, Official Report, column 826W, on departmental records, which division of the Cabinet Office holds the records of the invoices and purchase orders formerly held by the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office. [199101]
Mr. Watson: The Deputy Prime Minister’s Office residual responsibilities were transferred to the Cabinet Office, although the records of invoices and purchase orders pertaining to the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office are held by the Department for Communities and Local Government and not by the Cabinet Office.
Government Departments: Charities
Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the rules govern the provision of office accommodation by Government Departments to charitable organisations; and if he will make a statement. [201715]
Mr. Watson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells (Greg Clark) by the then Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, my right hon. Friend the Member for North-West Durham (Hilary Armstrong), on 22 March 2007, Official Report, column 1099W.
Official Residences: Repairs and Maintenance
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 20 March 2008, Official Report, column 1307W, on Official Residences: Repairs and Maintenance, what the infrastructure is that the Government intends to (a) renew, (b) upgrade and (c) refurbish in Downing street. [199105]
Mr. Watson: I have nothing further to add to the earlier answer.
Planning Permission: Costs
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what initial estimate was made of the costs associated with planning application 08/00696 prior to the grant of authorisation for the project; and what completion date was set prior to the project’s commencement. [199103]
Mr. Watson: I have nothing further to add to the answer I gave on 20 March 2008, Official Report, column 1307W.
Public Sector: Priory Healthcare
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many public-sector staff, including military personnel, have been treated at cost to the public purse at branches of the Priory chain of rehabilitation and treatment centres in the last 10 years. [198624]
Mr. Watson: Information on the cost to the public purse of public sector staff who have been treated at the Priory chain of rehabilitation and treatment centres is not held centrally by the Cabinet Office.
Trade Unions
Margaret Moran: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what discussions he has had with trades union representatives on diversity among public service deliverers; and if he will make a statement. [198797]
Mr. Watson: The Cabinet Office has met civil service union representatives regularly to discuss actions being taken to achieve a truly diverse civil service workforce, and have a diverse group of people delivering public services. These meetings are ongoing.
The procurement of private-sector suppliers to deliver public-services is governed by procurement policy. The Office of Government Commerce in HM Treasury leads on procurement policy.
Treasury
Carbon Emissions
Alan Duncan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the change in UK carbon dioxide emissions between 2006 and 2007; what proportion of this was attributable to the Government's carbon tax and spend policies; and what the equivalent figures are, excluding emissions reductions achieved by purchases from overseas under carbon trading arrangements. [201491]
Angela Eagle: In 2007, UK emissions of the basket of six greenhouse gases covered by the Kyoto protocol were provisionally estimated to be 639.4 million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent. This was 2 per cent. lower than the 2006 figure of 652.3 million tonnes. In 2007, UK net emissions of carbon dioxide were provisionally estimated to be 543.7 million tonnes. This was 2 per cent. lower than the 2006 figure of 554.5 million tonnes.
The decrease resulted from fuel switching from coal to natural gas for electricity generation, combined with lower fossil fuel consumption by households and industry. Details of the Government's policies and their expected impact on emissions is set out in the Energy White Paper published in May 2007. Details of the impact of fiscal measuresintroduced by the Government are outlined in PBR and Budget documents, and were summarised in table 6.2 of Budget 2008.
The Government see emissions trading as one of the most powerful tools available to tackle climate change in a cost-effective manner. These figures do not include the effect of emissions trading, as 2007 EU Emissions Trading Scheme results will not be available until May 2008. However, figures for 2006 show that, including the impact of emissions trading through the EU ETS, UK greenhouse gas emissions in 2006 were 20.7 per cent. below the 1990 level.
Coinage: Design
Mr. Godsiff: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost was of organising the public competition to design the new set of British coins; and what the overall cost of the introduction of the new coins will be. [200316]
Angela Eagle: The estimated cost of the new coin designs is approximately £119,000, which includes, under the terms of the public competition, a £35,000 fee to the artist who submitted the final design.
Departmental Advertising
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 22nd February 2008, Official Report, column 1107W, on publication supplements, if he will place in the Library copies of the publication supplements commissioned by Ogcbuying. Solutions and HM Revenue and Customs. [193311]
Angela Eagle: The publication supplements were produced and distributed by Supply Management magazine not OGCbuying.solutions. We therefore do not hold a supply of copies, but we will place a copy in the Library.
HM Revenue and Customs did not commission the publication of any newspaper or magazine supplements in 2006-07.
Departmental Written Questions
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many days it took on average to answer written parliamentary questions tabled by each hon. Member for answer by him in the last six months. [201752]
Angela Eagle: Information to the level of detail requested is obtainable only at disproportionate cost.
Treasury Ministers are committed to answering written parliamentary questions promptly whenever possible. In the present parliamentary Session 71 per cent. of the 2,063 ordinary written questions we have received have been answered within a working week of tabling (as provided for in Erskine May, twenty-third edition, page 342) and 56 per cent. of our 538 named day questions have been answered on the day nominated by questioners. The corresponding figures for the whole of the 2006-07 session were 83 per cent. (of 3,689 questions) and 71 per cent. (of 743 questions) respectively.
Excise Duties: Fuels
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effects of the change in fuel duty rates announced in Budget 2008 on those living in remote areas. [202202]
Angela Eagle: The Chancellor considers a range of factors when deciding on rates of fuel duty, including social, economic and environmental ones. The planned fuel duty increase for April 2008 will now take place on 1 October 2008. This Budget 2008 decision is consistent with an overall stance of ensuring stability for the long term, while maintaining responsiveness to short-term conditions.
Financial Services: Pay
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what conditions govern the payment of (a) dividends and (b) bonuses by banks and financial institutions which have received financial support from the public purse; and if he will make a statement. [197720]
Angela Eagle: The remuneration of the majority of staff of commercial undertakings is a matter for the boards of the organisations concerned. The normal practice for Executive Board remuneration is for the company's Remuneration Committee, formed of non- executive directors, to put forward proposals for shareholder approval where any bank is in receipt of financial assistance, whether or not it is in public ownership.
I refer the right hon. Member to what the Chief Secretary to the Treasury said in the House on 31 March, Official Report, 585.
Income Tax: Tax Rates and Bands
Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his announcement on 23 April of measures to alleviate the impact of removing the 10p tax rate, what the estimated cost to the public purse is of these measures will be in (a) 2008-09 and (b) 2009-10. [202118]
Jane Kennedy: The Chancellor wrote to the Chair of the Commons Treasury Committee on 23 April to outline how the Government intend to do more to help low-income households. This letter made clear that a report on the issue will be published in the run-up to the pre-Budget report, and that the Chancellor will report back to the House in the pre-Budget report.
Inflation
Harry Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment has been made of the likely effects on inflation of the provision by the Bank of England to banks of arrangements for enhanced liquidity. [201898]
Angela Eagle: The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has full operational independence in meeting the Government’s inflation target. The MPC makes interest rate decisions based on rigorous analysis, taking into account all relevant information, which includes the provision of liquidity to banks by the Bank of England.
In addition, the Bank of England has stated that the Special Liquidity Scheme announced on 21 April 2008
“will be ring-fenced and independent of the Bank of England’s regular money market operations. So it will not interfere with the Bank’s ability to implement monetary policy.”
Members: Correspondence
Sir Michael Spicer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire dated 18 March 2008 on tax on Land Rovers used by farmers. [202387]
Angela Eagle: I have replied to the hon. Member.
Minimum Wage: Prosecutions
Danny Alexander:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many employers has been prosecuted for paying employees at a rate below the minimum
wage in each year since the minimum wage was introduced, broken down by region. [202208]
Jane Kennedy: There have been no prosecutions of employers for the non-payment of minimum wage. In 2007 there were two successful prosecutions of employers, one for obstructing a compliance officer and one for failing to produce records, in the London and South West regions.
In the great majority of cases where minimum wage arrears are identified, the employer pays any minimum wage arrears without the need for any formal enforcement action. When arrears are not paid, an enforcement notice will be issued setting out the arrears that are considered to be due. An employer will then have 28 days to lodge an appeal and subsequently have his case heard before an employment tribunal. If the tribunal does not uphold the appeal, or the employer does not appeal, the enforcement notice against the arrears becomes due.
Sovereign Wealth Funds
Mr. Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received on sovereign wealth funds; and if he will make a statement. [201975]
Angela Eagle: The Government have received contributions from a wide range of parties with an interest in the current international debate about sovereign wealth funds, including the Business Council for Britain.
The Government welcome these contributions to the international debate that is currently taking place at the International Monetary Fund and the Office for Econmic Co-operation and Development to develop best practice for sovereign wealth funds and host countries.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether sovereign wealth funds are exempt from taxation in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement; [201976]
(2) how much was raised by sovereign wealth funds in the UK in each of the last five years. [201977]
Angela Eagle: Where a sovereign wealth fund is an integral part of the government of a foreign sovereign state it will benefit from immunity from UK tax. As a result of this immunity, no taxation will have been received from sovereign wealth funds.
The United Kingdom recognises the principle of international law known as sovereign immunity whereby one sovereign state does not seek to apply its domestic laws to another sovereign state. In accordance with this principle, current UK practice is to regard as immune from direct taxes all income and gains which are beneficially owned by the head of state and the Government of a foreign sovereign state recognised by the UK.
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