| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
21 July 2008 : Column 712W—continued
Treasury
Alcoholic Drinks: Smuggling
David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the resale value of untaxed spirits intercepted in England and Wales was in each of the last three years, broken down by region. [219614]
Angela Eagle: Once condemned as forfeit to the Crown spirits seized by HM Revenue and Customs are destroyed thus they have no resale value.
Banks: Finance
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the proposal to allow major banks to translate certain mortgage debts into Government bonds was first considered by his Department; and what the reasons are for the timing of the implementation of the proposal. [201903]
Kitty Ussher: The special liquidity scheme announced by the Bank of England on April 21 is designed to provide liquidity support to participating banks and building societies by allowing them, for a temporary period, to swap mortgage backed securities and other assets for highly liquid assets in the form of Treasury Bills. The credit risk on the value of the mortgage backed securities or other assets remains with the banks and building societies.
As set out by the Chancellor in his statement to the House on April 21, the scheme announced by the Bank of England is a further step towards tackling the liquidity issues in the financial markets which became increasingly acute during the preceding weeks. The scheme was developed following extensive discussions with the Treasury and the Financial Services Authority.
Banks: Government Securities
Mr. Brady: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Special Liquidity Scheme in meeting its objectives. [220094]
Kitty Ussher: The Special Liquidity Scheme is operated by the Bank of England. In its Quarterly Bulletin issued on 16 June, the Bank noted that
“Feedback on the Scheme from market contacts suggested that it has achieved its objective of improving the liquidity position of, and hence confidence in, the UK banking system”.
Cash Dispensing: Wales
Mark Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of access to free-of-charge cash withdrawals in Mid and West Wales. [221388]
Kitty Ussher: As I announced on 17 July, excellent progress has been made towards the goal of providing around 600 new free ATMs across 1,707 low-income target areas identified by the ATM working group as lacking convenient access. I am pleased to say that of the 198 low-income target areas in Wales, 119 are now expected to benefit from convenient access to free cash withdrawals as a result of free new cash machines already in operation or under contract to be installed by the end of 2008.
Child Benefit: Personal Records
Mr. Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost to date has been of (a) the investigation into the loss of data discs by HM Revenue and Customs and (b) the planning and implementation of new procedures to avoid a future loss. [220152]
Jane Kennedy: Kieran Poynter identifies the costs of his investigation into the chain of events leading to the loss of child benefit data in October 2007 at Appendix A of the final report of his “Review of information security at HM Revenue and Customs”. A copy of the report is available in the Library of the House.
With regard to the costs associated with data security enhancements at HMRC, I would refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor on 25 June 2008, Official Report , column 287.
Cigarettes: Smuggling
David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the resale value of illegal cigarettes intercepted in England and Wales was in each of the last three years, broken down by region. [219616]
Angela Eagle: Once condemned as forfeit to the Crown cigarettes seized by HM Revenue and Customs are destroyed thus they have no resale value.
Corporation Tax
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the projected (a) oil and (b) gas price used in the assumptions for modelling the North Sea oil and gas element of corporation tax was in each Budget since 1997. [215732]
Angela Eagle: The National Audit Office has audited the oil price assumption underlying public finance projections since the 1997 pre-Budget report. The current assumption is outlined in box C1 of Budget 2008.
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, what the timetable is for the Valuation Office Agency's updating of its website to show changes to the 2005 council tax lists in Wales since 1 April 2005 as a result of inquiry or appeal. [218314]
Jane Kennedy: It is expected that the website will be updated by 1 September 2008.
Departmental Alcoholic Drinks
David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures are in place in his Department to monitor expenditure on alcohol for hospitality purposes. [219587]
Angela Eagle: The Treasury's expenditure is incurred in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money, as well as the Department's own internal guidelines, which state that expenditure on official entertainment (including alcohol) should be incurred in moderation and also be compatible with the occasion and the standing of guests.
Departmental Compensation
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the 10 highest payments made by his Department were under property compensation cases brought against it over the last 12 months for which figures are available; which of the cases were (a) contested and (b) uncontested by his Department; and what the nature of each incident was. [216703]
Angela Eagle: There were two uncontested compensation payments made in 2007-08. Both related to personal property lost during office moves and amounted to £146 and £75 respectively.
Departmental Conferences
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the conferences hosted by his Department in each of the last two years; and what the cost was of each conference. [211697]
Angela Eagle: The following table shows details of conferences attended by more than 100 delegates that were hosted by HM Treasury in 2006-07 and 2007-08.
Departmental Consultants
Mr. Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spent on consultancy fees in 2007-08. [215319]
Angela Eagle [holding answer 30 June 2008]: Details of the Treasury’s unaudited spending on consultancy in 2007-08 is shown in table A3 on page 111 of the annual report (CM 7408) available from
Departmental Expert Groups
Angus Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what expert groups his Department has set up in each year since 1999. [213198]
Angela Eagle: Details of formal, standing bodies set up by Government to provide independent, expert advice to Departments and Ministers are published annually by the Cabinet Office. These bodies, known as advisory non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs), are listed in the annual “Public Bodies” publication. “Public Bodies” also contains some details on short-term advisory groups and task forces. Copies of “Public Bodies” dating back to 1999 can be viewed and downloaded from:
Copies are also available in the Library for the reference of Members.
Details of Treasury's NDPBs for 2007-08 are published in Treasury's Annual Report, which can be downloaded from:
Copies are available in the Library for the reference of Members. Further details on Treasury short-term advisory groups and task forces can be found on the Treasury website:
Departmental Furniture
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) chairs, (b) desks and (c) other office furnishings have been purchased by his Department and its agencies in each of the last five years; and at what cost in each case. [211756]
Angela Eagle: The Treasury's expenditure on furniture and fittings over the last five years was:
| Amount (£000) | |
The provision of furniture purchase volumes and analysis of expenditure into the categories identified in the question are available only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental ICT
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department’s IT (a) systems and (b) services conform to the ISO 27001 standard. [216054]
Angela Eagle: None of the Department’s IT systems and services are accredited as conforming to the ISO 27001 standard, although in all cases our aim is to adhere to the main principles of the standard.
Departmental Manpower
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many permanent staff within (a) his Department and (b) its agencies are classed as (i) staff without posts and (ii) part of a people action team. [210867]
Angela Eagle: There are no “staff without post” in the Treasury or any of its agencies. “People action teams” do not exist in HMT or any of its agencies.
Departmental Marketing
Pete Wishart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost was of (a) internet and website design and hosting, (b) print media design and (c) broadcast media of each of his Department's public information campaigns since 1997. [214711]
Angela Eagle: HM Treasury has incurred no costs for public information campaigns since 1997.
Departmental Official Cars
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) which make and model of car the Chief Secretary to the Treasury has chosen as his ministerial car to be provided by the Government Car and Despatch Agency; [217752]
(2) which make and model of car he has chosen as his Ministerial car to be provided by the Government Car and Despatch Agency. [217762]
Angela Eagle: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given to him by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport my hon. Friend the Member for Poplar & Canning Town (Jim Fitzpatrick) on 16 July, 2008, Official Report, column 414W.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |