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15 Oct 2008 : Column 1302W—continued
Angela Eagle: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Morley and Rothwell (Colin Challen) on 14 October 2008, Official Report, columns 1059-60W.
Firearms: Smuggling
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many weapons HM Revenue and Customs prevented from entering the UK in 2007-08. [227244]
Mr. Timms: This information is published in annex F, page 110 of the HM Revenue and Customs Departmental Report 2008 which is available from the House of Commons Library and at the following web address:
Gift Aid Scheme
David Howarth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how long the gift aid transitional rate of 22 per cent. announced on 12 March 2008 will remain in place; and if he will make a statement. [227006]
Mr. Timms: The Chancellor announced at Budget 2008 that the Gift Aid transitional rate will be applied to qualifying donations from individual taxpayers made in the tax years 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11.
HMRC
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the operational costs of the HMRC offices in (a) St. Helens, (b) Blackburn and (c) Chorley were in each of the last five years. [226576]
Mr. Timms: Most of the offices of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) house staff from a number of different business units. Individual business units are organised on national lines and are allocated budgets to meet their total costs and overheads for all their staff. It would be possible only at disproportionate cost to break down the costs of each business unit to individual office level.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the condition of the HMRC offices in (a) St. Helens and (b) Blackburn; and if he will make a statement. [226613]
Mr. Timms: HM Revenue and Customs' (HMRC's) offices in St. Helens and Blackburn are occupied under the terms of an estates Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract. Under this contract HMRC's estates partner, Mapeley, is required to ensure that all HMRC accommodation meets the required contractual standards.
Managers: Fees and Charges
Mr. Betts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was paid by employers in fees and subscriptions on behalf of their employees, as recorded in section M of P11D forms, in each of the last three years. [226621]
Mr. Timms:
The taxable value of fees and subscriptions paid by employers on behalf of their employees is shown in table 4.1 “Recipients, taxable amount and
income tax and NICs liability, by each main category of benefit” on the HM Revenue and Customs website at:
Member: Correspondence
Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Northavon, sent on behalf of his constituent Mr. Mike Wetton, reference wet/jeh, dated 28 July 2008. [227238]
Yvette Cooper: I have replied to the hon. Member.
Taxation
Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the effect on revenue to the Exchequer of index linking capital gains and taxing them as income. [222938]
Mr. Timms: A broad estimate of the eventual steady state impact of index linking capital gains and taxing them as income, taking account of the likely taxpayer response to such a change, is additional receipts in the order of £2 billion a year by comparison with the capital gains tax regime contained in the Finance Act 2008. However, a reform of this kind would result in a large behavioural response and as such estimates are susceptible to a wide margin of error.
Working Tax Credit
John Battle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families with children have claimed the childcare element of the working tax credit in (a) Leeds West constituency and (b) the City of Leeds since the element was introduced. [226324]
Mr. Timms: The information requested is available only at a disproportionate cost.
However, estimates of the average number of families benefiting from the child care element of working tax credit, by constituency and local authority, in 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07 are provided in the HMRC publications “Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics. Finalised Annual Awards. Geographical Analyses”, for each relevant year. These publications are available on the HMRC website at:
Communities and Local Government
Council Tax: Fire Services
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions she has had with (a) regional management boards and (b) local authority-controlled companies’ representatives on the apportionment of running costs in respect of the FiReControl project with regard to council tax; and if she will make a statement. [226671]
Mr. Khan:
A consultation paper on inter-regional cost apportionment was issued on 7 August 2008 as Fire and Rescue Service Circular 41/2008. We have
invited responses to this consultation by 31 October 2008 and all of these will be considered before making a decision.
Council Tax: Valuation
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bromley of 1 July 2008, Official Report, column 787W, on council tax: valuation, what the evidential basis was for the observations on the number of consequentials made in the minutes of the meeting of the Programme Board. [225449]
John Healey: The observations referred to were made on the basis of ongoing feedback from staff who had been undertaking work, up to that time, on the revaluation.
Departmental Recruitment
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much (a) her Department and (b) its Executive agencies spent on (i) recruitment consultants and (ii) external recruitment advertising to recruit staff in each of the last five financial years; which recruitment consultants were employed for those purposes in each of those years; and if she will make a statement. [226806]
Mr. Khan: The Department for Communities and Local Government can provide information on the total amount it has spent on recruitment including the use of consultants and external advertising for the last five financial years.
| Financial year | Recruitment spend (£) |
The figures provided include the recruitment of staff into the senior civil service in the agencies of the Department.
We do not hold more detailed information on the amount spent by (a) the Department and (b) the Executive agencies on the use of (i) consultants and (ii) external advertising for the last five financial years.
The Department used the following recruitment consultants in the last five financial years:
Succession Planning Associates Ltd.
Penna plc.
Capita Business Services Ltd.
Saxton Bampflyde Hever
KMC International
KPMG
Succession Planning Associates Ltd.
Whitehead Mann Ltd.
Capita Business Services Ltd.
Hays Personnel Services
Centre Point Group Ltd.
Penna plc.
Capita Business Services Ltd.
Centre Point Group Ltd.
Taylor-Stewart Ltd.
Northern Recruitment Group plc.
Whitehead Mann Ltd.
KPMG
Penna plc.
Advanced Human Resources
TMP (UK) Ltd.
Personnel Assessment Ltd.
Penna plc.
Whitehead Mann Ltd.
Advanced Human Resources
Allen Lane
Odgers Ray and Berndston
Capita Business Services Ltd.
Departmental Voluntary Work
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many departmental staff of each grade undertook voluntary work as set out in her Department’s volunteering policy in the last 12 months; and how many days of volunteering those staff undertook (a) in total and (b) on average. [226121]
Mr. Khan: This information is not held centrally and so there would be a disproportionate cost involved in collating information from individual line managers to provide an answer at this time.
In addition to our provisions for special leave to undertake certain types of voluntary roles, the main Department has recently launched a new volunteering scheme to promote a variety of development opportunities for all staff to enable them to play an active part in their community. As part of this scheme we have improved our information management system so that staff can record their volunteering activities, and we will therefore be able to provide related information in the future.
Domestic Visits: Minister for Yorkshire and the Humber
Mr. Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which parliamentary constituencies the Minister for Yorkshire and the Humber has visited in her capacity as Minister for the region in the last 12 months. [226931]
Mr. Khan [holding answer 14 October 2008]: The Minister for Yorkshire and Humber has visited or attended meetings in the following constituencies since October 2007, some on more than one occasion.
| The right hon. Caroline Flint —from 4 October 2007 to 26 January 2008 | |
| Constituency | Number of times visited |
| The right hon. Rosie Winterton—from 27 January to 3 October 2008 | |
| Constituency | Number of times visited |
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