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19 May 2008 : Column 92W—continued
National Savings and Investments
NSI has the following 0845 telephone numbers for the public.
| Helpline name | Number |
| (1 )Treasurers Account and the Tesco's helpline number will close on 30 April 2008. | |
The Office of Government Commerce
The Office of Government Commerce published telephone number is 0845 000 4999. By dialling this number, customers can access the OGC Service Desk which is the focal point for all customer inquiries.
Buying Solutions manages customer, supplier and colleague inquiries through a single dedicated helpline service on 0845 410 2222.
Royal Mint currently has six public facing 0845 numbers in operation used for receiving customer orders and inquiries shown in the following table.
0845 60 88 222
0845 60 88 300
0845 60 88 333
0845 60 88 444
0845 60 88 555
0845 60 99 666
VOA has two public facing 0845 telephone numbers for council tax banding inquiries, 0845 602 1507 for properties in England and 0845 600 1748 for properties in Wales.
With the exception of HMRC there are no 0870 prefixed telephone services for the public which are in use by the Chancellor's Department or agencies which report to him.
Within HMRC, some investigation teams have 0870 telephone numbers, and because these appear on correspondence, they are available to the public. Details of these numbers are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Excise Duties: Fuels
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will assess the merits of reducing the level of fuel duty. [205762]
Angela Eagle: Decisions on fuel duty are made as part of the Budget process. Government policy are that fuel duty should increase each year at least in line with inflation, as the UK seeks to reduce polluting emissions from fossil fuels, and fund public services.
The Chancellor considers a range of factors when deciding rates of fuel duty, including social, environmental and economic costs. Budget 2007 therefore announced that main road fuel duty would rise by 2p per litre in 2008. However, in order to respond to short-term economic conditions, at Budget 2008, it was announced that this duty increase would be deferred to 1 October 2008.
Financial Institutions
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which financial bodies which are regulated by the Bank of England have not disclosed fully their exposure to the sub-prime market failings as they affect the UK market. [201915]
Kitty Ussher: The Bank of England does not regulate banks. The Financial Services Authority supervises financial services activities in the UK under the powers granted to it in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.
It is the responsibility of banks to publish annual reports that provide a true and fair view of their financial position. For listed companies, the accounting treatment for measurement and disclosure of losses in companies' annual reports, including any in relation to exposure to sub-prime, is governed by the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) issued by the International Accounting Standards Board and adopted by the EU. Most UK banks have 31 December year-ends and will have included in their annual reports for 2007 their losses as at 31 December 2007. Under IFRS, there is no specific obligation for companies to disclose separately any losses from exposure to the sub-prime market, though many banks did provide such additional disclosures in their 2007 annual reports, reflecting the materiality of the disclosures.
Any company which has its shares listed on the London Stock Exchange also has a continuing obligation to provide adequate information to the market in a timely manner in order that investors can make informed decisions. Similar arrangements apply to companies with securities trading on other regulated exchanges. With the deterioration in market conditions in relation to sub-prime since 31 December 2007, in particular in March 2008, banks, where they consider it relevant, have disclosed additional losses they have incurred in 2008 in relation to their sub-prime exposure, in accordance with these requirements.
Gaming Machines: Licensing
Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate he has made of the number of amusement arcades subject to amusement machine licence duty in (a) 2003-04, (b) 2004-05, (c) 2005-06, (d) 2006-07 and (e) 2007-08; [205734]
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of amusement arcades subject to amusement machine licence duty there will be in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11. [205735]
Angela Eagle: No breakdown of amusement machine licence duty for amusement arcades is available.
Health
Mr. Andy Reed: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the outcomes of the cross-Government Review of Physical Activity will be published. [205881]
Yvette Cooper: In the context of the Government’s commitments to deliver on the comprehensive spending review, Olympics and Olympic legacy, and provide a world-class community sports infrastructure, a number of Government Departments are considering the most efficient and effective way of maximising the impact of investment in sport and physical activity. Findings of this work will be integrated into a number of forthcoming announcements.
JP Morgan
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department paid to JP Morgan in each year since 1997; and what the purpose of the payment was in each case. [199591]
Angela Eagle: The Treasury has no record of any payments having been made to JP Morgan since 2002-03 when a new accounting system was introduced. Information on payments made prior to that date could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Landfill Tax
Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the Landfill Communities Fund and its predecessor received in contributions in each year since 1997. [205731]
Angela Eagle: Annual contributions to environmental bodies in the Landfill Communities Fund were as follows:
| Contributions to environmental bodies | |
| £ million | |
Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was received in landfill tax receipts in each year since 1997. [205732]
Angela Eagle: Landfill tax receipts are published by HM Revenue and Customs at:
Landfill Tax: Carbon Emissions
Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of reductions in carbon dioxide emissions resulting from the landfill tax in each year since 1997, excluding any savings made as a result of the Landfill Communities Fund. [205729]
Angela Eagle: The environmental impacts of Budget measures are published in the Budget document. Table 6.2 of Budget 2008 confirms that the landfill tax is expected to save up to 0.2 MtC a year by 2010.
Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions resulting from the Landfill Communities Fund and its predecessor in each year since 1997. [205730]
Angela Eagle: The landfill communities fund aims to redress some of the environmental costs of landfill by improving the environment in the vicinity of landfill sites. Examples of the types of projects funded include the construction and repairs of village halls, repairs to churches and historic buildings, and the provision of sports facilities, cycle trails and wildlife sanctuaries.
No assessment has been made of the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions resulting from the landfill communities fund.
Poverty
Susan Kramer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what definition his Department uses of relative poverty; and if he will make a statement. [205624]
Jane Kennedy: The Government monitor a number of poverty indicators for different demographic groups included in “Households Below Average Income” 2005-06, published by the Department for Work and Pensions.
The definition of relative poverty underpinning the Government's objective to halve child poverty by 2010-11 uses a measure of the number of children living in households below 60 per cent. of contemporary median equivalised household income. Further details of this measure are set out in the HM Government public service agreement delivery agreement 9, October 2007.
Smuggling: Tobacco
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of illegal cigarettes sold in Northern Ireland in the last 12 months; and what proportion that was of the total number of cigarettes sold in Northern Ireland in that period. [206252]
Angela Eagle: The most recent estimates for the volume and market share of cigarettes that are illegally sold in the UK are for 2005-06 and were published by HMRC in the report ‘Measuring Indirect Tax Losses—2007’ which is available in the House of Commons Library.
Specific estimates for Northern Ireland are not available.
In 2007-08, HMRC seized approximately 4.6 million cigarettes in Northern Ireland compared to 591 million cigarettes for the UK as a whole.
Tax Evasion: Contracts
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward proposals for legislation to provide that any organisation convicted of tax evasion will not be allowed to compete for public contracts. [206195]
Angela Eagle: The public contracts regulations 2006, which implements the EU public procurement directive, permits public authorities to exclude from a procurement process any organisation that has not met its obligations relating to the payment of taxes.
Any decision whether or not to apply such an exclusion is for the individual purchasing authority to make, having regard to the circumstances of the procurement in question.
Tax Havens: International Cooperation
Mr. Andy Reed: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking in co-operation with other governments and international organisations to tackle tax havens; and if he will make a statement. [205886]
Jane Kennedy: The Government are committed to combating tax evasion and avoidance and is working closely with EU and OECD partners to tackle the problem. Tax havens are characterised by banking secrecy and a lack of cooperation for tax compliance purposes. A key objective therefore is to increase transparency and exchange of information. The EU savings directive and the associated agreements with non-EU countries and territories play an important part in this. The current review of the directive is an opportunity to pursue our objective. Within the OECD there is a renewed determination to push forward the process of negotiating tax information exchange agreements with offshore jurisdictions. We urge all countries, including tax havens, to meet OECD transparency standards.
Taxation: Pensions
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the additional tax revenue that would be raised in 2008-09 if the tax relief on pension contributions were restricted to the basic rate of income tax. [206199]
Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given to the hon. Member for Wolverhampton, South-West (Rob Marris) on 30 April 2008, Official Report, column 477W.
Taxation: Public Appointments
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer who the members of the business-Government forum on tax are; and what criteria were used to select the members of the forum. [205595]
Jane Kennedy: The members of the business-Government forum on tax are:
Richard Lambert, Conference for British Industry
Douglas Flint, HSBC Holdings plc
Julian Heslop, GlaxoSmithKline plc
Hanif Lalani, BT Group plc
James Lawrence, Unilever plc
Andrew Shilston, Rolls-Royce Group plc
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