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10 Sep 2008 : Column 1952W—continued
Departmental Sick Pay
Jenny Willott: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff in (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) the non-departmental bodies for which it has responsibility have received sick pay for sick leave due to (i) stress and (ii) mental health and behavioural disorders in each of the last 10 years; what the average length of time was for which sick pay was paid in these cases; and if he will make a statement. [216101]
Angela Eagle: I refer the hon. Member to questions answered on 8 July 2008, Official Report, column reference 1478-1479W.
Actual sick pay costs can be provided only at disproportionate costs.
Equitable Life
Gordon Banks: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what plans he has to publish the advice he has commissioned on the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s recent report on Equitable Life; [223439]
(2) what estimate his Department has made of the losses incurred by Equitable Life policyholders as a result of the company’s collapse; [223440]
(3) what assessment his Department has made of the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s recent report on Equitable Life; [223441]
Mr. Fallon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to respond to the recommendations of the Parliamentary Ombudsman in respect of Equitable Life. [223252]
Simon Hughes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consideration he has given to the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s report Equitable Life: A decade of regulatory failure; and what plans he has to respond to the recommendations made in the report. [223375]
Tim Farron: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will establish a compensation scheme under an independent tribunal for policyholders in the Equitable Life Assurance Company. [223417]
Kitty Ussher: As I explained in my written statement to the House on 17 July, the ombudsman has looked at matters of considerable factual and technical complexity. I am giving her 2,800 page report very careful consideration and will give my response to the House in the autumn.
Frieght
Dr. Ladyman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many winding-up orders of companies involved in road haulage have been requested by HM Revenue and Customs in (a) each month since April 2007 and (b) each financial year between 1990 and 2007. [223385]
Jane Kennedy: The information requested is not available.
HM Revenue and Customs
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 10 July 2008, Official Report, column 1786W, on HM Revenue and Customs, what the estate costs of (a) Swinson House, (b) Hilary House, (c) Cherry Court, Hull and (d) Custom House, Hull were in the 12 months before each building was transferred to Mapeley STEPS Contractor Ltd. [221735]
Jane Kennedy: The transfer of properties to Mapeley STEPS Contractor Ltd. took place in April 2001. Expenditure details prior to April 2005 and the creation of HM Revenue and Customs are not available other than at disproportionate cost.
Members: Correspondence
Mr. Salmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to reply to the letter dated 4 June 2008 from the right hon. Member for Banff and Buchan on his constituent, Mr. Rawles of Turriff. [218697]
Jane Kennedy: A reply has been sent to the right hon. Member.
Mr. Winnick: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the hon. Member for Walsall North’s letter of 10 July 2008 regarding a constituent, reference 1/59111/2008. [223190]
Angela Eagle: I have now done so and regret not being in a position to write to my hon. Friend earlier.
Mortgages
Gordon Banks: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent steps his Department has taken on mortgage (a) access and (b) provision for potential house purchasers. [223442]
Kitty Ussher: On 2 September, the Government announced a series of measures to help first time buyers get on to the housing ladder, help homeowners in difficulty and support the house building industry. Information on these measures is available at H.M. Treasury website:
and the Department for Communities and Local Government website:
Personal Savings
Mr. Brady: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the maximum monthly sum for investment into a Save As You Earn Sharesave Plan for employees if the £250 limit set in 1991 had been increased in line with the retail prices index. [223261]
Kitty Ussher: No such estimate has been made. The average monthly amount saved by most employees under SAYE is considerably less than the current limit.
Property: Valuation
Mr. Brady: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of private dwelling sales were valued at £175,000 or less in the most recent year for which figures are available, broken down by (a) parliamentary constituency and (b) region and devolved Administration area. [223260]
Kitty Ussher: Data on property transactions up to 2007—the most recent year for which figures are published—can be found at:
These data include property transactions by type of property and price as well as the number and value of property transactions broken down by parliamentary constituency.
Revenue and Customs: Labour Turnover
Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the staff turnover rate was in each HM Revenue and Customs office in each of the last five years. [219796]
Jane Kennedy: HMRC does not hold resignation and other staff wastage data for individual locations for the years 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06, or 2006-07. Accurate data for 2007-08 is not yet available.
Stamp Duty Land Tax
Pete Wishart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what realignments have been made to the communities budget for England as a result of the Stamp Duty Land Tax (Exemption of Certain Acquisitions of Residential Property) Regulations 2008; and if he will make a statement. [223363]
Kitty Ussher: The Chancellor will publish a full update on the Government’s fiscal plans in the pre-Budget report this autumn, in the usual way.
Dan Rogerson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment his Department has made of the effect of a suspension of stamp duty up to £175,000 on house price affordability in (a) Cornwall, (b) the South West and (c) England. [223397]
Kitty Ussher: Stamp duty rates and thresholds apply uniformly throughout the UK. The temporary suspension of stamp duty on purchases of residential property of not more than £175,000 will mean that purchasers will save up to £1,750 on the transaction costs associated with moving.
Tax Credits
Mr. Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the cost of distributing tax credit renewal packs was in the last 12 months for which figures are available; [223205]
(2) how many tax credit renewal packs were distributed in each of the last four years; [223206]
Jane Kennedy: The cost of posting the annual declaration and renewal packs for 2008 renewals was £2.95 million.
The number of tax credits annual renewal packs issued in each of the last four years is shown in the following table:
| Packs (Around) | |
Taxation: Aviation
Mr. Brady: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from (a) airline operators, (b) airport operators and (c) overseas Governments on the proposed aviation duty; and which of these were (i) in favour and (ii) against the proposals. [223259]
Jane Kennedy: The consultation on the proposed aviation duty closed on 24 April 2008 and considered all aspects of the operation of the duty.
Responses to the consultation were received from airline operators, airport operators and overseas Governments, among others.
A summary of responses will be published in due course.
Taxation: Scotland
Pete Wishart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what percentage of monies collected by his Department from local commission areas in Scotland is spent in Scotland; [223360]
(2) what criteria his Department uses to determine the percentage of monies raised in Scotland retained by the Government. [223361]
Jane Kennedy: The funding arrangements for the Scottish Executive are set out in the “Funding the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales and Northern Ireland Assembly: Statement of Funding Policy” published by the Treasury in October 2007.
Taxation: Welsh Language
Mark Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Welsh language inquiries have been processed by HM Revenue and Customs in each of the last five years. [223167]
Jane Kennedy: The information is not available in the format requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mark Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) which HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) offices will be able to deal with Welsh language enquiries following the planned reorganisation of HMRC; [223168]
(2) what provision he plans to make for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) offices to deal with Welsh language inquiries as part of the planned reorganisation of HMRC; [223169]
Jane Kennedy: HMRC remains committed to providing services to its Welsh speaking customers, in accordance with its Welsh Language scheme.
The Welsh Language Contact Centre in Porthmadog and the VAT Helpline in Cardiff will continue, as now. Enquiries received by HMRC offices may need to be referred to the dedicated Welsh Language services based in Cardiff and Porthmadog.
The Welsh Language Contact Centre in Porthmadog will continue to provide direct services to Welsh speaking customers who telephone, visit or write.
The current arrangements for handling Welsh speaking callers to other Enquiry Centres will also remain in place.
Tobacco: Smuggling
David Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will make an assessment of (a) the track and trace system operated on tobacco and alcohol products in Turkey and (b) proposals to introduce a track and trace system for tobacco products in Germany; [223229]
(2) what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the voluntary anti-smuggling agreement amongst tobacco companies on the amount of illicit tobacco entering the UK in the last year; and if he will make a statement; [223230]
(3) whether all the tobacco companies supplying the UK market are party to the voluntary anti-smuggling agreement amongst tobacco companies. [223231]
Jane Kennedy: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has no specific plans to assess the systems introduced in Turkey to track and trace alcohol and tobacco products, nor any proposed system to track and trace tobacco products in Germany. However, HMRC keeps abreast of developments in track and trace technology through its regular contacts with tobacco manufacturers and customs authorities in other EU member states.
The anti-counterfeit voluntary agreement between HMRC and tobacco manufacturers requires the incorporation of a covert security mark on packs of cigarettes and pouches of hand-rolling tobacco. The security mark was successfully incorporated onto packs of cigarettes for the UK market manufactured from October 2007, and it will be extended to cover pouches of hand-rolling tobacco manufactured from October 2008 as agreed. The intention of the security mark is to prevent counterfeit tobacco product from infiltrating the retail sector.
The four largest tobacco manufacturers, representing over 97 per cent. of the UK cigarette market and all brands that are commonly counterfeited, have introduced the anti-counterfeit security technology.
The Government have not made any estimate of the impact the agreement has had on the amount of illicit tobacco entering the UK in the last year.
Valuation Office Agency: Capgemini
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to page 56 of the Valuation Office Agency Annual Report and Accounts 2007-08, HC 583, if he will provide a breakdown of the goods and services provided under the heading of Capgemini service charges. [221279]
Jane Kennedy: The goods and services provided under the heading of Capgemini service charges were:
Charge for managing the Agreement.
Business Applications Support and Maintenance (BASM )
The maintenance and support of the VOA Business Applications.
The service covers the housing, operation, maintenance and monitoring of all the hardware and software components that reside within the Data Centre.
The service covers the activities related to managing, supporting and developing the VOA distributed computing environment—this covers desktops and laptops.
The service covers engineering, planning, provision and installation of all WAN hardware and software together with guidance, design, procurement and implementation of all new technologies and services.
Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery
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