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15 July 2008 : Column 225W—continued
Republic of Ireland: Treaty of Lisbon
Mr. Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Wellingborourgh (Mr. Bone) of 1 July 2008, Official Report, column 779W, on the Republic of Ireland: Lisbon Treaty, under what circumstances the Government can withdraw an instrument of ratification in respect of an international treaty once it has been deposited with the treaty depositary; and if he will make a statement. [218172]
Mr. Jim Murphy [holding answer 14 July 2008]: The EU (Amendment) Bill received Royal Assent on 19 June. We are proceeding to ratification in the usual way; once prepared, the instrument of ratification will be deposited with the Italian Government in Rome. Once deposited, it will not be withdrawn.
Sri Lanka: Overseas Trade
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many trade inquiries were handled by the British high commission in Colombo, Sri Lanka in the last 12 months; what expenditure his Department has incurred on the promotion of trade with the Maldives in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [216260]
Mr. Thomas: I have been asked to reply.
The UKTI Trade and Investment team in Colombo handled 241 trade inquiries for the period from April 2007 to March 2008.
UKTI has neither a presence in the Maldives nor financial resources specifically dedicated to the promotion of trade with the islands. No change in this position is currently envisaged.
The British high commission in Colombo (Sri Lanka) however handles inquiries about trade with the Maldives on a reactive basis and companies interested in trading with the islands have access to background information via the UKTI website.
Westminster Foundation for Democracy: Finance
Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much funding his Department has provided to the Westminster Foundation for Democracy in the last three years; and how many days of training for parliamentarians from developing countries the Foundation has delivered in that period. [216780]
Meg Munn: From 2005-08 the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) received £4.1 million annually in grant-in-aid from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). In addition to this, from 2006-08 WFD received £432,000 from the FCO's Global Opportunities Fund to implement regional projects on behalf of the FCO.
WFD has delivered 192 framing days for parliamentarians in the following countries:
Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, Moldova, Bulgaria, Georgia, Kyrgyzstari, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Mozambique, Tanzania, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Bahrain, Peru, Yemen, Chile, Namibia, Belarus, Turkey and Palestine and regional projects in the Balkans, the Caribbean, Central Europe and Africa.
Leader of the House
Departmental Official Cars
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Leader of the House which make and model of car she has chosen as her ministerial car to be provided by the Government Car and Despatch Agency. [217767]
Helen Goodman: The Leader of the House’s current ministerial car is a Toyota Prius leased under agreement by the Government Car and Despatch Agency.
Members: Allowances
John Mann: To ask the Leader of the House how many hon. Members claimed additional costs allowance in respect of a second home (a) in London, (b) in the hon. Member’s constituency and (c) elsewhere in the last period for which figures are available. [218857]
Helen Goodman:
Hon. Members are entitled to claim the additional costs allowance when staying away from their main home on parliamentary business. The allowance
may be used for help with the cost of purchase or rental of a property, or for hotel or other overnight costs. Currently 441 Members claim the allowance for staying in London and 148 in their constituency.
Of the 148 Members claiming the allowance for staying in the constituency, 34 have homes that fall outside the constituency boundary. All of these are within 20 miles of the boundary, in accordance with the rules that allow second homes to be located up to 20 miles outside the constituency.
Public Sector: Pay
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Leader of the House what the median relevant increase for the public sector groups which will in future be used in the uprating formula for the salaries of hon. Members was in each of the last 10 years. [217714]
Helen Goodman: The information requested is not easily obtainable within the normal timescales for answering written parliamentary questions. I will write to the hon. Member with the information shortly.
Treasury
Bank Melli plc
Mr. Blunt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Government have evidence that Bank Melli plc has been in breach of UN Security Council resolutions 1737, 1747 and 1803. [217079]
Kitty Ussher [holding answer 8 July 2008]: The Government expect all financial institutions in the UK to comply with financial sanctions and any evidence of a breach would be investigated. We cannot comment on individual cases.
Mr. Blunt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the EU designation and his Department's asset freeze imposed on Bank Melli plc is (a) related to Bank Melli plc's activities or (b) aimed at the holding company in Iran; and if he will make a statement. [217080]
Kitty Ussher [holding answer 8 July 2008]: The financial sanctions imposed on Bank Melli plc are directly applicable EC sanctions which the UK has an obligation to enforce. The EC sanctions designated Bank Melli Iran and its branches and subsidiaries abroad, including Melli Bank plc and Bank Melli Iran Zao. As the relevant Council Decision makes clear, Melli Bank plc is designated for financial sanctions as a part of the Bank Melli group and as a subsidiary of Bank Melli Iran.
Capital Allowances: Rural Areas
Mr. Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect of the withdrawal of capital allowances on buildings in rural areas. [217954]
Jane Kennedy:
The phased withdrawal of agricultural buildings allowances (ABAs) is part of a package of measures which also saw the reduction in the main rate
of corporation tax and the basic rate of income tax and the introduction of a £50,000 annual investment allowance, allowing 95 per cent. of businesses to write-off all their expenditure on plant and machinery (apart from cars) in the year in which it is made. An impact assessment in respect of the business tax reform package as a whole was published as part of the December 2007 technical note on the capital allowances changes. A link to that document is as follows:
http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/crannelsPortalWebApp/channels PortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=page_Library_ ConsultationDocuments&propertyType=document& columns=1&id=HMCEPROD1_028217
Council Tax: Valuation
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 6 May 2008, Official Report, column 818W, on council tax: valuation, if he will place in the Library a copy of the Valuation Office Agency's (a) guidance and (b) manual in relation to using the TENET software. [218311]
Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given on 9 January 2006, to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman), Official Report, column 250W.
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 14 May 2008, Official Report, column 1622W, on council tax: valuation, which external contractors assisted with the development of the council tax banding support tool. [218316]
Jane Kennedy: The Valuation Office Agency's council tax banding support tool was developed with assistance from CapGemini, SAS and Cole Layer Trumble/Tyler Technologies.
Council Tax: Wales
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 14 May 2008, Official Report, column 1622W, on council tax: Wales, how many households moved (a) up and (b) down bands consequent on the 2005 council tax revaluation in Wales. [218313]
Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 14 May 2008, Official Report, column 1622W.
Departmental ICT
Pete Wishart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the value of his Department's computer systems (a) was at the time of purchase and (b) is now. [214710]
Angela Eagle: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the published Annual Report and Accounts of the Treasury 2006-07 (HC 518), pages 135 and 136.
To separately identify the value at purchase and value now of each component of the Treasury's computer system could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Research
Robert Neill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether projects or research have been commissioned from the Institute for Public Policy Research by (a) his Department or (b) the Valuation Office Agency in the last 12 months; and on what topics. [211924]
Jane Kennedy: No. HMRC does not hold the requested information centrally and it could be collated only at disproportionate cost. None has been commissioned by the VOA.
Departmental Sick Leave
Jenny Willott: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many sick days were taken by employees in (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) the non-departmental bodies for which it has responsibility due to (i) stress and (ii) mental health and behavioural disorders in each of the last 10 years; what proportion of sick days taken this represented in each case; and if he will make a statement. [216091]
Angela Eagle: Information relating to the Treasury and its agencies for 2004, 2005, 2006-07 can be found on the Civil Service website:
All three illnesses are grouped together under the ICD code 'Mental and Behavioural Disorders'.
Data for 2007-08 are not yet available but will be published later in the year. Information for years prior to 2004 data is not held electronically and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Financial Capability Action Plan
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the £200 million funding for the new Financial Capability Action Plan has not been previously announced. [218247]
Kitty Ussher: The Financial Capability Action Plan, published jointly by HM Treasury and the Financial Services Authority, made reference to various different projects to improve financial capability in the UK. This included over £200 million Government funding for debt advice, to help people in serious financial difficulty, which had been previously announced.
Foreign Investment in UK: India
Mr. Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much foreign direct investment into the UK was from Indian investors in each of the last five years. [219118]
Kitty Ussher: The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes data on foreign direct investment (FDI) annually in the “Business Monitor MA4: Foreign Direct Investment”. The latest available data on FDI are for 2006, as follows, and available at:
| Net FDI international positions in the United Kingdom, 1998 to 2006 | |
| Stock of FDI from India to UK (£ million) | |
| Source: Table 6.1 in Business Monitor MA4: Foreign Direct Investment 2006. | |
Housing: Valuation
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answers of (a) 17 March 2008, Official Report, column 899W and (b) 14 May 2008, Official Report, column 1628W, on the Valuation Office, what the value impact is, in numerical terms, of each of dwelling house codes 01 to 09, as identified during the calibration of the Valuation Office Agency's automated valuation model. [218264]
Jane Kennedy: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) pursuant to the answer of 14 May 2008, Official Report, column 1635W, on housing: valuation, if he will outline each substantive change to the coding guide made since January 2005; and on what date each change was made; [218317]
(2) whether the copy of the coding guide on the Valuation Office Agency website is the most up to date available version of the guide incorporating all changes made since January 2005. [218318]
Jane Kennedy: The Dwellinghouse Coding Guide currently shown on the Valuation Office Agency website is the most up to date version. The majority of the changes to the guide since January 2005 have been of a minor nature, and a compiled list could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Income Tax
Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the revenue from each (a) London borough area and (b) metropolitan authority area which would accrue from the addition of one penny to the basic rate of income tax. [219090]
Jane Kennedy: Information on the mean and median tax liability of taxpayers living in the London boroughs and metropolitan authorities can be found in table 3.14 “Income and tax by borough and district or unitary authority” on the HM Revenue and Customs website at:
The information is based on the Survey of Personal Incomes and 2005-06 is the latest year available.
The yield for the UK from a 1p change in the basic rate of income tax can be found in table 1.6 “Direct effects of illustrative tax changes” on the HM Revenue and Customs website at:
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