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24 Nov 2008 : Column 964W—continued
My predecessor announced to the House on 15 May 2008 the following national targets for the Agency for 2008-09. They are available at:
Valuation: Licensed Premises
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 14 May 2008, Official Report, column 1625W, on valuation: licensed premises, if he will place in the Library a copy of the updated manual on valuing licensed premises. [235013]
Mr. Timms: The latest version of the Rating Manual is available on the Valuation Office Agency’s website at:
This includes updated sections on licensed properties in preparation for the 2010 revaluation, these are:
Rating Manual Volume 5: Section 825: Practice Note 2010;
Rating Manual Volume 5 Section 825: Public Houses, Licensed Restaurants and Wine Bars—Practice Note 1: 2010: Appendix 1: Approved Guide to Valuation; and
Rating Manual Volume 5 Section 825: Public Houses, Licensed Restaurants and Wine Bars—Practice Note 1: 2010: Appendix 2
VAT: Bingo
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) on what grounds HM Revenue and Customs is contesting the recent ruling relating to overpaid VAT on interval games of bingo; and if he will make a statement; [237697]
(2) what assessment he has made of the implications of the recent HM Revenue and Customs Tribunal on the application of VAT on games of interval bingo. [237954]
Mr. Timms: Considerations of taxpayer confidentiality prevent HM Revenue and Customs from disclosing its grounds of appeal in the recent case, or its assessment of the implications of the Tribunal decision, neither of which are in the public domain.
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the implications of the European Court of Justice ruling on Linneweber for the tax treatment of licensed bingo. [237953]
Angela Eagle: HM Revenue and Customs does not consider that the judgment has any implications for the tax treatment of bingo in the UK. It does not accept that there is any actual or potential distortion of competition in the UK caused by the different tax treatments and accordingly no breach of the principle of fiscal neutrality. This decision is being appealed in the High Court.
VAT: Energy
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 7 July 2008, Official Report, column 1267W, on VAT: lighting, what progress he has made at EU level on his proposals for wider application of reduced value added tax rates to energy saving and energy efficient products; and if he will make a statement. [237591]
Mr. Timms: In response to a joint proposal from the UK and France for a reduced rate of VAT on energy-efficient products and energy-saving materials, and following the Conclusions of the Spring European Council, the European Commission has launched an external study to examine the economic effects of such measures. The Government’s current understanding is that this study will be concluded within the coming months.
Welfare Tax Credits: Overpayments
Jenny Willott: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how much was recovered by his Department in overpaid tax credits following court cases in each (a) month of 2008-09 to date and (b) year from 2003-04 to 2007-08; and if he will make a statement; [230485]
(2) how much, on average, his Department clawed back per case of tax credits overpayment taken to court in each (a) month of 2008-09 and (b) of the last five financial years; and if he will make a statement. [231026]
Mr. Timms: The information requested is not available. Departmental records do not link sums recovered with individual court cases.
International Development
Climate Change: Conferences
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his Department's objectives are for the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poznan; what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Environment and Climate Change about the conference; whether a Minister from his Department will be part of the Government's delegation; and if he will make a statement. [234961]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: Officials from the Department for International Development (DFID) will be attending the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) talks in Poznan as members of the UK delegation. DFID officials jointly lead for the UK on adaptation policy and on climate financing. The UK will be represented at ministerial level by the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Ed Miliband, and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Joan Ruddock.
The Poznan meeting is an important staging post en route to the Copenhagen meeting at the end of 2009, where we hope to secure global agreement on a long-term framework for addressing climate change that enables us to avoid dangerous climate change. Poznan should mark a turning point from the 'year of ideas' to the 'year of negotiations'. We will therefore be looking for commitment from all parties to move into full negotiating mode in 2009.
Departmental NDPBs
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the remit is of each non-departmental public body sponsored by his Department; and what budget each has been set for (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11. [236927]
Mr. Thomas: The Department for International Development’s (DFID) only non-departmental public body (NDPB) is the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC), which was established by Act of Parliament in 1959.
The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission is responsible for managing the UK’s contribution to the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan (CSFP), an international programme under which all Commonwealth governments offer scholarships and fellowships to citizens of other Commonwealth countries.
The budget that has been set for the CSC is £15.93 million for 2008-09, £17.43 million for 2009-10 and £17.5 million for 2010-11.
Departmental Public Relations
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Selby of 6 February 2007, Official Report, column 767W, on public relations, what expenditure (a) his Department and (b) CDC has incurred on public affairs firms since 2002. [239173]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development's (DFID) central data management system does not currently hold information on public affairs as a separate category. It would therefore not be possible to provide the requested information for either DFID or CDC without incurring disproportionate cost.
A list of contracts awarded by DFID since January 2005 is available on DFID's website
This includes the contract title, which provides an indication of the nature of work being carried out. The information published on our website does not include lower value contracts issued by DFID departments or overseas offices under delegated authority.
Djibouti: Overseas Aid
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much UK aid was given to Djibouti in (a) 1997, (b) 2001 and (c) 2005. [237020]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Details on UK aid to Djibouti since 1997-98 are laid out in the following table.
| Total UK gross public expenditure on development (GPEX) to Djibouti, 1997-98 to 2007-08 | ||
| £000 | ||
| Bilateral GPEX | UK imputed share of multilateral ODA( 1) | |
| (1) 2007-08 data are not yet available | ||
The 2006-07 and 2007-08 bilateral data in the above table are estimates of the value of DFID funding to the Education Fast Track Initiative (FTI) allocated to Djibouti. This allocation is based on the breakdown of expenditure reported by the FTI.
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