| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
12 Jan 2009 : Column 340W—continued
Public Expenditure
Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much money was allocated to reviving (a) coalfield communities, (b) steel communities, (c) rural communities, (d) inner-city areas and (e) seaside towns in each of the last 10 years. [244274]
John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
I have placed in the Library of the House the totals of resource allocations from key programmes for 1997-98 to 2007-08 where such information is available, together with the local authorities that fall within existing definitions of the categories requested. I have also asked the Homes and Communities Agency to write to my hon. Friend separately, setting out the equivalent sums from that Agency’s programmes and those of its predecessor bodies over the relevant period. I will ensure a copy of this letter is placed in the Library of the House.
However, not all regeneration and renewal programmes record spend by local authorities such as Regional Development Agency programmes. Some other programmes funds are allocated to consortia of local authorities, and we do not gather information on how those funds are shared between the individual local authorities involved. In addition, Government do not classify English local authorities using all of the categories requested, so information therefore cannot be provided in relation to those categories. Information relating to Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland should be sought from the respective Devolved Administrations.
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with Ministers at the (a) Department for Transport, (b) Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and (c) Department for Communities and Local Government on bringing forward publicly-funded capital works commissioned by these Departments. [244276]
Angela Eagle: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings 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.
David Mundell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to lay before Parliament the factual paper on the Barnett formula. [246413]
Yvette Cooper: No date has yet been set for the publication of the factual paper on the Barnett formula.
Public Finance
Chris Huhne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to table B4 of the Pre-Budget Report, on the fiscal balances compared with Budget 2008, what the figures for the cyclically-adjusted (a) surplus on the current budget and (b) net borrowing are as a percentage of potential gross domestic product for each year. [245884]
Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided on to him on 15 December 2008, Official Report column 435-36W.
Cyclically adjusted fiscal aggregates are published as a percentage of forecast GDP not potential GDP.
Public Sector: Procurement
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy that the Office of Government Commerce ensure that the public sector procurers recognise any pre-qualification scheme that conforms to the core criteria in the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations; and whether he intends to bring forward proposals for a specific scheme. [246866]
Angela Eagle: It is already policy that Government clients involved in the procurement of built environments should ensure that their pre-qualification and tendering processes are appropriate for the project, meet legal obligations and avoid unnecessary bureaucracy and costs for suppliers. This requirement is made mandatory in the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) ‘Common Minimum Standards for the procurement of built environments’.
The OGC recommends that government construction clients make use of ‘Constructionline’, a Government-owned pre-qualification tool that aligns with the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations, when carrying out their pre-qualification procedures. However, clients may use an alternative mechanism if that is considered appropriate. It is not planned to restrict registration to a specific scheme.
The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations legislate the approach required to health and safety on construction sites. The Health and Safety Executive is responsible for any enforcement of those regulations.
Redundancy: Dartford
Dr. Stoate: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to support employees in Dartford facing redundancy in the near future. [246094]
Mr. Timms: HM Treasury is working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions to take steps to ensure that individuals facing redundancy are helped to move swiftly into a new job. The recent pre-Budget report announced measures which build on the support Jobcentre Plus already has in place. The package included the expansion of Jobcentre Plus rapid response service to target both small and large-scale redundancies, the extension of Train to Gain to provide new training to people before they are made redundant, and the launch of a National Employment Partnership.
The PBR also announced that Jobcentre Plus Regional Ministers will work with regional development agencies to develop plans for co-ordinated responses to large-scale redundancies, as soon as they are notified. “Meeting the economic challenges in every region”, published alongside the 2008 pre-Budget report, outlined the Government’s response to support regions and localities, and sets out how regional partners are working together to focus on meeting the pressing challenges of their regions. More information on the actions that the South East of England Development Agency is taking to meet current economic challenges in the South East can be found at:
Revenue and Customs
Mr. Swire: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how inspectors of HM Revenue and Customs are (a) incentivised, (b) appraised for promotion and (c) remunerated. [244911]
Mr. Timms: HMRC inspectors, in common with all HMRC staff below the senior civil service, are subject to a single pay and appraisal system which includes recognition bonuses for exceptional performance, top performance bonuses for those attaining the top marking as part of their annual appraisal, consolidated pay awards, and promotion on merit.
John Battle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what HM Revenue and Customs' policy is on answering enquiries from hon. Members; and if he will make a statement. [245287]
Mr. Timms: HMRC aim to reply to 80 per cent. of all correspondence within 15 working days, and 95 per cent. within 40 days. There is no separate target relating specifically to enquiries from Members of Parliament. Hon. Members can use the dedicated hotlines that HMRC have in place for specific issues, such as the ‘MP hotline’ for telephone queries about constituents' tax credits claims.
Revenue and Customs: Closures
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimates he has made of the potential for savings arising from the proposed closure of HM Revenue in each of the next five years. [242747]
Mr. Timms: Potential estates savings for the next five years for offices in Scotland which HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) plans to vacate are estimated as follows:
| £ million | |
These savings are only part of the overall savings HMRC expects to achieve from the closure of these offices. The main reason for closure is that HMRC will achieve overall business efficiencies by consolidating staff in a smaller number of offices and introducing new and more efficient working practices.
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been spent on refitting, repairs and general maintenance of those HM Revenue and Customs offices now earmarked for vacation or closure in each of the last five years, broken down by location. [242767]
Mr. Timms: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Revenue and Customs: Correspondence
John Battle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the average length of time taken by Leeds HM Revenue and Customs office to reply to correspondence from hon. Members in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [245288]
Mr. Timms: HMRC does not keep data in this form.
Revenue and Customs: Southend
Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to retain the HM Revenue and Customs office in Southend. [244677]
Mr. Timms: HMRC’s latest staffing projections, published in December on the HMRC website at:
indicate that about 1,500 HMRC staff will be needed in Southend by 2011. There are therefore no plans to revisit the decision announced in July 2007 to retain the HMRC office at Alexander house, Southend, which will be able to accommodate that number of staff.
Revenue and Customs: Southend on Sea
Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were employed at HM Revenue and Customs offices in Southend in each of the last five years. [243667]
Mr. Timms: The staff in post in Southend on Sea at 1 April for HMRC (and, for 2004 and 2005, the total of staff in HM Customs and Excise and the Inland Revenue) is shown in the following table.
| As at 1 April: | Headcount | Full time equivalent |
These figures do not include staff in the offices at Basildon, Rayleigh or Shoeburyness.
Royal Bank of Scotland
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to end the offshore operations of Royal Bank of Scotland. [245313]
Mr. Timms: This is a matter for the directors of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).
The Government’s investments in banks accessing the recapitalisation scheme will be managed on a commercial basis by an arm’s length company, “UK Financial Investments Limited” (UKFI). The overarching objectives for UKFI will be to protect and create value for the taxpayer as shareholder with due regard to the maintenance of financial stability and to act in a way that promotes competition. More details can be found in the letter dated 3 November from the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which is available in the House of Common’s Library.
Sight Impaired
Tom Levitt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what guidelines his Department follows in respect of making printed materials and forms accessible to people suffering red/green colour blindness. [245723]
Angela Eagle: The Treasury aims to follow the RNIB’s “See it Right” guidelines in respect of making printed materials and forms accessible to people suffering red/green colour blindness.
Stamp Duty Land Tax
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will increase the stamp duty holiday threshold to above £175,000; [245872]
(2) what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the stamp duty holiday in stimulating the market for properties priced below £175,000. [245873]
Ian Pearson: I refer the right hon. Member to the reply given by the then Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Kitty Ussher) on 15 September 2008, Official Report , column 2155W. The aim of the stamp duty holiday announced on 2 September 2008 is to demonstrate Government support for homebuyers at a time of difficult conditions. Data on property transactions can be found at
Tax Allowances: Redundancy
Dr. Stoate: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will raise the tax-free threshold of £30,000 for redundancy payments. [246095]
Mr. Timms: The Government keeps the £30,000 tax exemption for redundancy payments under review along with all other aspects of the tax system.
Tax Allowances: Rented Housing
Tim Loughton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to raise the tax-free threshold under the rent-a-room scheme. [246534]
Mr. Timms: There are no plans to raise the tax-free threshold under the rent-a-room scheme.
Tax Avoidance
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of levels of tax evasion among white-collar workers; and what steps his Department has taken (a) to recover revenue from taxes which have been evaded and (b) to reduce levels of evasion. [245840]
Mr. Timms: There are no figures available for the levels of tax evasion by white-collar workers.
The Government are committed to ensuring that the tax system operates fairly and efficiently and clamping down on those who try to cheat the system through evading taxes continues to be a priority. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) risk assess tax returns against their own and third party information and will open an inquiry into those cases where they believe there is a risk of tax evasion.
HMRC continues to improve its approach to tackling evasion. It has made improvements to the identification of evasion through investment in a risk capability and a single referral and escalation mechanism across the taxes. This is underpinned by the recent change in HMRC powers which extends real-time inspection of records to direct taxes as well as a new penalty regime to help deter evasion.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |