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2 July 2008 : Column 962W—continued
Prisoners: Per Capita Costs
Mr. Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much was spent per prisoner per year in the latest period for which figures are available. [214290]
Mr. Hanson: In 2006-07 the average resource cost per prisoner was £37,500. The figure includes the total expenditure of HM Prison Service and also prison-related expenditure met centrally by the National Offender Management Service. Expenditure on health and education met by other Government Departments is not included.
Safety Belts: Children
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 16 June 2008, Official Report, column 477W, on safety belts: children, how many persons have been prosecuted for offences relating to transporting children under the age of 12 years in vehicles without an appropriate car seat since September 2006. [215799]
Maria Eagle: Available information held centrally by my Department on the prosecution of seat belt offences is only in respect of the person being prosecuted (age, gender and outcome in court) and does not cover the circumstances of each case.
Tribunals: Employment
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what mechanisms are in place to enforce decisions made by employment tribunals. [214802]
Bridget Prentice: Employment tribunals cannot enforce their awards. However, awards can be enforced in the county court. The Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act of 2007 will allow the claimant to go straight to bailiffs for enforcement rather than through registration at a county court. Implementation of these procedures is currently scheduled for April 2009.
Treasury
Car Allowances
Robert Key: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 13 March 2008, Official Report, column 536W, on car allowances, whether he plans to publish the results of the review. [209989]
Angela Eagle [holding answer 11 June 2008]: Following analysis of the information received during the review into the taxation of business travel, a report will be published in due course this year. A final date is yet to be set.
Charitable Donations
Mr. Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was raised for charities through payroll giving in the last year for which figures are available. [215788]
Jane Kennedy: Figures on amounts raised for charities through payroll giving can be found on the National Statistics website at the link provided. The 2007-08 figure is provisional and subject to change.
Child Care Vouchers
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish his Department's analysis of the care vouchers system. [215016]
Jane Kennedy: There is no official data collected on the number of employers who offer or employees who receive childcare vouchers. Employers are not required to report this data to HMRC.
HMRC commissioned research by the National Centre for Social Research into the reform of the Income Tax and National Insurance rules for employer supported childcare. This report was published in December 2006 and is available on the HMRC website at the following link
Child Tax Credit: Tamworth
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families in Tamworth constituency were in receipt of child tax credit in each year since the tax credit was introduced; and how much was paid in credits in that area in each such year. [215839]
Jane Kennedy: HMRC do not produce statistics separately for child tax credit and working tax credit.
Estimates of the number of families with tax credits, including information on average annual entitlements, in 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07 in each local authority, based on final family circumstances and incomes, are published in “Child and Working Tax Credits. Finalised Annual Awards. Geographical Analyses” for each relevant year. These publications are available on the HMRC website at:
The information on the number of out-of-work families includes those who are receiving child support through income support and jobseeker’s allowance.
East Midlands Development Agency: Finance
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the East Midlands Development Agency has received from HM Treasury in each of the financial years for which figures are available. [214776]
Mr. McFadden: I have been asked to reply.
The RDAs’ are financed through a Single Budget, which pools money from six contributing Government Departments.
The following table shows East Midlands Development Agency's annual budgets.
| Financial year | £ million |
Fraud
Jenny Willott: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many of his Department's staff were prosecuted for (a) attempting to defraud and (b) defrauding the tax credit system in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement; [214511]
(2) how many of his Department's staff were prosecuted for (a) attempting to defraud or (b) defrauding the child trust fund system in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement; [214518]
(3) how many of his Department's staff were prosecuted for (a) attempting to defraud or (b) defrauding his Department in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement; [214519]
(4) what estimate he has made of the losses to his Department from fraud committed by staff in the child trust fund system in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement; [214520]
(5) what estimate he has made of the losses to his Department from fraud committed by staff of his Department in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement; [214521]
(6) how many employees in his Department (a) defrauded and (b) attempted to defraud the child trust fund system in each year since it was established; and if he will make a statement; [214522]
(7) how many staff in his Department were responsible for each instance of (a) fraud and (b) attempted fraud in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement; [214523]
(8) on how many occasions staff employed by his Department have defrauded his Department in the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [214524]
Jane Kennedy: There have been no prosecutions or internal disciplinary cases on the basis of fraud in HM Treasury for any of the last 10 years other than in 2006. The procedures for investigating cases of fraud were initiated less than five times in 2006. Exact numbers are therefore not available on the grounds of confidentiality.
Prior to 2005, the Treasury only kept records of disciplinary cases that were proven. Information on fraud cases that were initiated but not proven is not available.
Estimates for losses incurred by HM Treasury are not available and cannot be provided because this would involve disproportionate cost.
Revenue and Customs
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) for what reasons the HM Revenue and Customs office in Chorley was (a) originally earmarked to remain open and (b) subsequently scheduled for closure; [214107]
(2) what conclusions were reached as a result of the initial consultation and feasibility work on whether Chorley HM Revenue and Customs office should be scheduled for closure; [214176]
(3) for what reasons (a) Bolton, (b) Blackburn and (c) St Helens HM Revenue and Customs office will now remain open. [214177]
Jane Kennedy: HMRC took a range of issues into consideration before recommendations for all its offices in the north west urban centres, including those in Chorley, Bolton, Blackburn and St. Helens, were put to me for a decision. These included responses from staff, unions and other key stakeholders; analysis of staff travel; estimated estates savings; and any socio-economic impacts.
During the period of feasibility work following the consultation exercise, HMRC business units revisited their plans for delivering their long-term operations and decided they could operate more effectively by consolidating elsewhere. Detailed feasibility work also showed that staff from Chorley could be accommodated elsewhere with larger teams.
Revenue and Customs: Chorley
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will meet staff at Chorley HM Revenue and Customs office to discuss the decision to close the office. [214102]
Jane Kennedy: The decision to withdraw from the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) office at Lingmell House, Chorley, was announced to staff on 29 February 2008.
As the Minister responsible for HMRC I have already visited a number of HMRC offices, and will continue to do so. However, there are no current plans to visit the Chorley office at this time.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what assessment he has made of the likely effects on residents of Chorley of the closure of Chorley HM Revenue and Customs office; [214103]
(2) what account was taken of current and future population growth in Chorley in the decision to close the Chorley HM Revenue and Customs office. [214104]
Jane Kennedy: HMRC takes into account a range of issues during consultation before recommendations are put to Ministers, including socio-economic impacts. No specific account has been taken of current and future population growth in Chorley. The effects on residents of Chorley of the proposal to vacate the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) office in the town will be minimal.
Very little of the work currently carried out in local HMRC offices actually relates to the communities in which those offices are located, as most of HMRC’s business is arranged on national lines. Although a decision has been taken to vacate the HMRC office in Chorley, its inquiry centre services will remain at the same location or nearby. HMRC customers will therefore still have access to face-to-face services should they need them.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the performance of the HM Revenue and Customs office in Chorley against its objectives. [214108]
Jane Kennedy: HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC’s) workforce change programme is designed to modernise HMRC’s operations by restructuring its office accommodation in line with future business needs. The primary reason any office is proposed for closure is that the business units based there can operate more effectively by consolidating elsewhere. This is not a reflection on the current performance of staff in the offices affected.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reasons the decision to close the HM Revenue and Customs office in Chorley was announced on a later date than decisions to close other tax offices. [214109]
Jane Kennedy: The decision to withdraw from the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) office at Lingmell House, Chorley was announced on 29 February 2008; the same time as the decisions for the other HMRC offices in the North West urban centre review.
Revenue and Customs: North West
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will allocate some of the tax credits work due to be undertaken at St. Helens HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) office to Chorley HMRC office. [214089]
Jane Kennedy: HM Revenue and Customs has no plans to move tax credits work to its office in Chorley.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what account was taken of the fact that HM Revenue and Customs office in Chorley is in a purpose built building in deciding whether to close the office; [214100]
(2) what account was taken of standards of accommodation in Blackburn HM Revenue and Customs office in deciding whether to keep the office open. [214101]
Jane Kennedy: Estates issues including the cost of buildings and their capacity for being adapted to accommodate additional staff are among a number of factors which HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) considers when recommending offices for retention or closure to meet its overall objective of retaining the offices that best meet its future business needs. HMRC’s strategic estates partner Mapeley is required to ensure that all HMRC accommodation meets prescribed standards.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many jobs are expected to be lost if planned closures to HM Revenue and Customs offices take place in (a) Chorley and (b) the North West; and if he will make a statement. [214117]
Jane Kennedy: The decision to withdraw from the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) office at Lingmell House, Chorley will result in the 77 staff at that office relocating to other offices within the North West urban centre. A small number of staff will be required to provide enquiry centre services which will remain in Chorley.
At 1 April 2008 HMRC had a staffing headcount of 14,746 across the North West as a whole. By 31 March 2011 the present estimate for staff required in the region is 14,050. This is based on the latest business planning projections and may be subject to change.
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