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24 Nov 2008 : Column 942W—continued
York Hospital
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the capital expenditure on York Hospital was in each year since 1992. [236883]
Mr. Bradshaw: This information is not available in the format requested.
Information on total additions for buildings for the York hospitals trust, excluding dwellings, fixtures, fittings and equipment, is shown in the following table:
| York hospitals NHS trust | |||||
| £000 | |||||
| 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | |
| Note: The trust became a foundation trust on 1 April 2007. Data from foundation trusts are not collected. Source: National Health Service (NHS) Trust audited summarisation schedules. | |||||
Women and Equality
Voting Behaviour: Religion
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what research the Equality and Human Rights Commission has undertaken on the implications for faith communities of proposals for weekend voting. [236755]
Maria Eagle: The Equality and Human Rights Commission has not undertaken any research on the implications for faith communities of proposals for weekend voting.
Treasury
Bank of Credit and Commerce International
Grant Shapps: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of the amount of unrecovered local authority deposits in the former Bank of Credit and Commerce International. [236130]
Angela Eagle: According to the liquidators’ website at:
admitted creditors of BCCI will have received 86.5 per cent. of their claims by December 2008.
Bank Services
Mr. Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform on the use of post offices to provide banking services. [238481]
Angela Eagle: Treasury Ministers and officials have regular discussions with the Secretary of State for BERR and with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government’s practice to provide details of all such meetings.
Bank Services: Charities
Jim Dowd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to protect the funds of registered charities held by Icelandic banks. [230114]
Ian Pearson [holding answer 27 October 2008]: The Government have put in place arrangements to ensure that all FSCS-eligible depositors in the Icelandic banks of Landsbanki, Heritable, and Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander will receive their money in full. If a charity is eligible to claim compensation from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, it will be entitled to benefit from these arrangements. Charities not eligible for compensation from the FSCS will be creditors in the normal way.
Bank Services: EC Action
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on action which might be taken at EU level to discourage nationals of EU countries from using offshore financial centres. [237711]
Mr. Timms: There have been a number of recent discussions at EU level focused on offshore tax evasion. The main EU instrument for tackling this is the Savings Directive, together with associated agreements with non-EU financial centres. The Commission has made a proposal to amend the directive, which the Government will be considering carefully. The proposal aims to expand the scope and improve the effectiveness of the directive.
Bank Services: Iceland
Adam Price: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Great Grimsby of 10 November 2008, Official Report, column 930W, on bank services, on which dates his Department was informed by the Financial Services Authority of (a) its decision to intensify its supervision of deposit-taking by Icelandic banks and (b) its decision further to increase contracts with the banks. [236211]
Ian Pearson [holding answer 17 November 2008]: As the memorandum of understanding between HM Treasury, the Bank of England and the FSA sets out, the three authorities meet at a number of levels on a very regular basis to exchange information on threats to financial stability.
Bank Services: Public Bodies
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of public bodies which use offshore banking facilities. [236310]
Ian Pearson: The Government do not collect this information centrally. However, in line with guidance in Managing Public Money, each public sector organisation is expected to manage its business, including its banking facilities, prudently, efficiently and effectively.
Banks
Mr. Fallon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he was first informed of concerns about Kaupthing, Singer and Friedlander Bank; when these concerns were first discussed by the tripartite authorities; and at what level the discussion took place. [235915]
Ian Pearson [holding answer 17 November 2008]: The FSA intensified its supervision of deposit-taking by Icelandic banks (including through increased contact with firms, more frequent visits and enhanced reporting requirements) from the beginning of 2008. As the economic situation deteriorated during the year, and particularly since September, the FSA worked increasingly with the banks concerned.
As the memorandum of understanding between HM Treasury, the Bank of England and the FSA sets out, the FSA informs the tripartite of its concerns on a regular basis.
Banks: Debts
Mr. Kilfoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what level of debt the banks to which public money is committed have in connection with their involvement in the leveraged buyout of professional football clubs. [236047]
Ian Pearson: It is a matter for the management of the banks concerned to release specific business information and updates in line with their regulatory obligations and provide any required disclosures in their audited annual report and accounts.
Banks: Government Shareholding
Mr. Fallon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consideration he has given to opening to public subscription the 12 per cent. preference shares in (a) Lloyds TSB/HBOS and (b) the Royal Bank of Scotland due to be taken up by the Government; and if he will make a statement. [235914]
Ian Pearson [holding answer 17 November 2008]: Agreements on the terms and conditions of the Government’s recapitalisation have been reached with the banks involved and are available in the House of Commons Library. The terms of these agreements ensure value for money for the taxpayer.
Banks: Iceland
Mary Creagh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of (a) the number of UK nationals who hold deposits with offshore Icelandic banks and (b) the value of such deposits. [229572]
Ian Pearson [holding answer 23 October 2008]: The UK Government and the Financial Services Authority do not hold such information.
Cost of Living: Barnet
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will assess the effects of rising prices in Chipping Barnet constituency. [237552]
Angela Eagle: A combination of an increase in global energy and food prices has driven inflation higher in constituencies across the UK although inflation fell in October. The Government do not underestimate the effect of higher prices on consumers and the constituents of Chipping Barnet are no exception. The Government have taken action to support people—including cutting income tax to give 22 million households up to £120 for this year and freezing fuel duty.
Council Tax: Valuation
Grant Shapps: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst of 4 November 2008, Official Report, column 314W, on the Valuation Office, whether the specifications will include the use of geo-data to support the operation of the council tax automated valuation model. [236029]
Departmental Advertising
Mr. Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spent on television advertising in each of the last five years. [230932]
Angela Eagle [holding answer 27 October 2008]: The Treasury spent £2,991,000 on TV advertising within a publicity campaign running from September 2005 to March 2006 to raise awareness of Stakeholder savings and investment products. There were no other instances of TV advertising in the last five years.
Departmental Consultants
Mr. Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many external consultants work for his Department. [237149]
Angela Eagle: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Holiday Leave
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the policy of (a) his Department and (b) its agencies is on whether leave taken by staff in the period between Christmas and new year must be taken from their annual holiday allowance. [237341]
Angela Eagle: HM Treasury and OGCbuying.solutions staff are entitled to one day's privilege leave over the Christmas and new year period in addition to the public holidays over this period. For any additional leave, staff are required to use their annual leave allowance between Christmas and new year from their annual holiday allowance.
Departmental ICT
Grant Shapps: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Fareham of 27 October 2008, Official Report, columns 778-80W, on departmental ICT, what IT projects (a) HM Revenue and Customs and (b) the Valuation Office Agency are undertaking; and what the most recent estimate is of (i) the cost and (ii) the completion date of each. [236024]
Mr. Timms:
The following tables list large IT change projects being undertaken by (a) HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and (b) the Valuation Office Agency
(VOA) as at November 2008, with their associated cost ranges and currently planned implementation dates.
HMRC and VOA undertake IT change projects across a wide range of their business processes and systems.
Table (b) includes IT change projects managed through the ‘World Class Programme’ of the VOA, which manages the delivery of business projects that have an IT impact. Projects currently preparing viability proposals have not yet assessed their IT costs.
The tables do not include projects which are making minor enhancements to existing systems, or projects being delivered on behalf of other Government Departments. Costs identified are those relating to the IT elements of business change projects from April 2008 to the expected implementation date.
Many of our IT projects are at an early stage in their development lifecycle, and detailed technical solutions and IT supplier costs are yet to be established. The figures shown below are therefore estimates and remain subject to revision, finalisation and formal investment approval.
| Table (a): HMRC IT projects as at November 2008 | ||
| IT project | Implementation date | Estimated costs (£ million) |
|
Implementation of Lord Carter’s Recommendations on online services | ||
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