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29 Sep 2008 : Column 2304W—continued
Council Tax
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the Valuation Office Agency’s local authority liaison meeting of 23 July, what assessment (a) his Department and (b) the Valuation Office Agency has made of the effect of council tax backdating on budgeting by billing authorities. [224078]
Kitty Ussher: No such assessments have been made.
Gaming Machines
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what research (a) his Department and (b) the Gambling Commission has (i) commissioned and (ii) published since March 2008 on the effects of the availability of high-stake, high-prize gaming machines on problem gamblers. [224047]
Andy Burnham: I have been asked to reply.
On 14 March 2008 my hon. Friend the Minister for Sport wrote to the chair of the Gambling Commission, asking the Commission to prioritise its planned research into the impact of high-stake, high-prize gaming machines on problem gambling. The Gambling Commission replied on 31 July 2008, setting out the outcomes of some internal research which looked at the evidence surrounding this issue. A summary of the evidence reviewed will be published later in 2008. In the letter the Commission set out a programme of small projects that it would undertake to help establish a better understanding of the evidence. Among other things it will set up an expert panel and work with the gambling industry to explore player data, with a view to understanding how this data can be used in future research. The Commission will report to my Department again in June 2009 on progress with this programme of work.
National Insurance Contributions
Mr. Bone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was raised in national insurance contributions in (a) the UK, (b) England, (c) Wales, (d) Scotland and (e ) Northern Ireland in each of the last 11 years. [224076]
Kitty Ussher: Information on UK receipts of national insurance contributions is published in National Statistics Table 1.2 on the Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs website.
Estimates of national insurance contribution receipts for Scotland are prepared by the Scottish Government.
No other estimates are available of national insurance contribution receipts in the separate countries of the UK.
National Minimum Wage: Agriculture
David Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his most recent estimate is of the level of compliance with national minimum wage requirements in the agricultural sector; and if he will make a statement. [224234]
Jonathan Shaw: I have been asked to reply.
The Statistics Digest for 2008 provides data on farm labour and wages. This includes data on workers paid below the statutory agricultural minimum wage rate. The table below shows the proportion of people according to the grades set out in the Agricultural Wages Order being paid below the set minima during the last full AWO year (October 2006-September 2006).
| Grade | AWB minimum (£) | Below minimum (percentage) |
These data are collected from the Department for Environment’ Food and Rural Affairs’s Earnings and Hours Survey and are based on a sample of 939 workers and only include people who are 20 years or over.
DEFRA is responsible for enforcing the Agricultural Wages Order and will investigate complaints about underpayment of the minimum wages rate.
Revenue and Customs: Correspondence
Mr. Winnick: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will arrange for a substantive reply to be sent to the hon. Member for Walsall, North to his letter of 13 August to the tax credit office, Preston, concerning a constituent, ref JA121568A. [224017]
Kitty Ussher: I have arranged for the Tax Credit Office to send a substantive reply to my hon. Friend about his constituent by 19 September.
Revenue and Customs: Official Hospitality
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much each HM Revenue and Customs office spent on (a) alcohol and (b) entertainment in the last three months, broken down by region. [224260]
Kitty Ussher: Expenditure, including that on entertaining, is subject to audit and the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety. £2,192 was spent within HMRC (excluding the Valuation Office Agency) on entertaining during the three months June 2008 to August 2008. Obtaining information on the amount spent on alcohol within this figure is available only at disproportionate cost.
Stamp Duty Land Tax
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the percentage of home purchase transactions that will benefit from the stamp duty exemption for properties between £175,000 and £125,000 in each of the next two years. [224207]
Kitty Ussher: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond) on 15 September 2008, Official Report, columns 2155-56W.
Tax Incentives: Energy
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to use tax incentives to encourage energy conservation. [224057]
Kitty Ussher: Government use a range of policy instruments to encourage energy efficiency, including spending, regulatory and voluntary approaches.
The Government keeps all taxes and reliefs under review.
Taxation: Energy
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has for the introduction of a tax on energy companies in relation to windfall profits. [224212]
Kitty Ussher: The Government keep all taxes under review.
Valuation Office: Geographical Information Systems
Robert Neill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether an invitation to tender document has been published for the Valuation Office Agency’s new geographic information system. [224085]
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library a copy of the specification for the Valuation Office Agency’s new geographic information system, redacting any commercially sensitive information. [224079]
Kitty Ussher: The specification for the geographic information system is still being finalised.
Valuation Office: Rightmove
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the Valuation Office Agency’s Management Board meeting minutes of 19 June 2008, what conclusion the Board reached in relation to (a) the renewal of the Rightmove contract and (b) the use of third party information to support the automated valuation model. [224080]
Kitty Ussher: The Valuation Office Agency Management Board approved further work to identify cost-effective approaches to gathering information to support its work.
Robert Neill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 19 June 2008, Official Report, columns 1106-07W, on the Valuation Office Agency: Rightmove, what the contractual deadline and timetable are for the Agency to make a decision on whether to extend or continue with the contract. [224084]
Kitty Ussher: The initial term of the contract between Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and Rightmove.co.uk Ltd. expired on 31 March 2008. On the question of a timetable for a decision on whether to extend or continue with the contract, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 19 March 2008, Official Report, column 1225W.
Valuation Office: Travel
Robert Neill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what overseas countries and cities have been visited by representatives of the Valuation Office Agency during the last 12 months at public expense; and what the cost of such visits was. [224086]
Kitty Ussher: During the last 12 months Valuation Office Agency staff have visited the following overseas cities and countries at public expense:
| Cities | Purpose of visit |
|
Annual meeting to discuss valuation practice and procedures across England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland | |
The cost of these visits was £7,006.
VAT: Energy
Mr. Brady: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of the revenue that will be raised from VAT on domestic energy as a result of increases in fuel prices in 2008-09. [224043]
Kitty Ussher: No estimate has been made.
International Development
Departmental Alcoholic Drinks
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what purchasing process is used by his Department for the procurement of alcohol for hospitality purposes. [219944]
Mr. Malik: DFID does not encourage expenditure on or consumption of alcohol in relation to hospitality. Therefore there are no specific processes for the purchase of alcohol. All entertainment and hospitality expenditure is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury Handbook on Regularity, Propriety and Value for Money.
Departmental Buildings
Mr. Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what account his Department takes of the level of energy efficiency of buildings before entering into agreements to (a) rent and (b) purchase those buildings. [221109]
Mr. Malik: The Department for International Development (DFID) has only two buildings in the United Kingdom, and has not taken on any properties in the last seven years. We have no plans to rent or purchase further properties.
Departmental ICT
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what IT contracts his Department has entered into in the last two years. [215137]
Mr. Malik: Copies of the document entitled "IT Contracts Awarded 2006-07 and 2007-08" which provides details of IT contracts entered into by the Department for International Development (DFID) in the last two years, have been placed in the Libraries of the House.
A limited number of low value IT purchases made by our overseas offices are not recorded centrally and would incur disproportionate cost to collate.
Departmental Postal Services
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department has taken to monitor the cost of its mail services in the last 12 months. [221484]
Mr. Malik: All items sent through the UK post are through the Royal Mail, or in the case of items sent directly between our two offices, under a contract with TNT (Express) UK Ltd. Expenditure is monitored against budget in each location, and last year reduced overall by 12 per cent. over the preceding year.
Departmental Sick Leave
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff in his Department have had five or more periods of sickness absence of less than five days in two or more of the last five years. [218969]
Gillian Merron: There have been 90 home civil service staff in the Department for International Development (DFID) who have had five or more periods of sickness absence of less than five days in two or more years since 2003.
Departmental Visits Abroad
Mr. MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the cost of overseas visits by each Minister in his Department has been since 1997. [214648]
Mr. Malik: Since 1999, the Government have published the total cost of all overseas travel by Ministers and a list of all overseas travel by Cabinet Ministers costing over £500. Information for the last financial year was published on 25 July 2007, Official Report, column 1112W. Details for the financial year 2007-08 will be published before the summer recess and will include details of overseas visits undertaken by all Ministers. All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the “Ministerial Code”.
Information in respect of overseas visits by all Ministers for the period 1997-99 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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