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15 May 2009 : Column 1111W—continued

The cost of extending the holiday to 31 December 2009 was also published in table A1 of the Budget 2009 report at:

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue was raised in cash terms from stamp duty land tax on residential property in each year since 1996-97. [275855]

Ian Pearson: Estimates of the stamp duty land tax from residential property raised in cash terms since 1996-97 are given at:

Taxation: Bingo

Mr. Betts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what methodology was used to calculate the figure of £50 million estimated revenue lost to the Exchequer by the removal of value added tax on bingo participation fees in the 2009 Budget. [274772]

Angela Eagle: The estimated revenue impact of £50 million in the 2009 Budget Redbook relates to the cost of VAT exemption for both bingo and player-to-player gaming in casinos in 2009-10. Our estimate of the cost of removing VAT on bingo participation fees has been calculated using a methodology that is consistent with other costings of policy changes on tax. It uses information from the bingo industry, bingo duty receipts and takes account of behavioural effects.

Taxation: Gambling

Mr. Betts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what discussions his Department has had with representatives of the bingo industry on levels of taxation in the industry in the last three months; [274765]

(2) what discussions there have been between representatives of his Department and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on the proposed transfer of gaming machines to a gross profits taxation regime; [274755]

(3) what discussions he had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on gambling taxation prior to the 2009 Budget. [274761]

Angela Eagle: Treasury Ministers and officials met with a wide range of organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors as part of the usual Budget process. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such discussions

Mr. Betts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the changes to the tax rates for (a) bingo, (b) casinos, (c) betting, (d) gaming machines and (e) online gaming following the 2009 Budget are. [274784]
15 May 2009 : Column 1112W

Angela Eagle: Details of the tax changes relating to different gambling sectors were announced at Budget 2009. Costings implications are published in Table A1 in the Financial Statement and Budget Report. More detailed information on the tax changes can be found in HMRC Budget Notes 73 and 83, published on the HMRC website:

Taxation: National Lottery

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate his Department has made of the effect on (a) prize levels, (b) good causes’ revenue and (c) taxation revenue of a change to the taxation regime for the National Lottery from lottery duty to gross profits taxation. [275410]

Angela Eagle: The Government undertook a detailed assessment of the case for taxing the national lottery on a gross profits tax basis before the 2008 pre-Budget report.

The Government concluded that there was considerable uncertainty over the impact of a switch to a gross profits tax, particularly given the start of the new lottery operating licence in February 2009. The stakes based system of lottery taxation has therefore been retained.

VAT: Tax Rates and Bands

Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to change the date on which value added tax will revert to 17.5 per cent. to take account of trends in the turnover of retail outlets at the end of 2009. [275427]

Mr. Timms: Budget 2009 confirmed that the VAT rate will revert to 17.5 per cent. from 1 January 2010. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will continue to talk to businesses about practical issues associated with the change.

To address the particular difficulties for businesses such as pubs and clubs that will remain open beyond midnight on 31 December, HMRC will allow a few hours’ trading grace in which they may continue charging the 15 per cent. rate for a session that goes into the early hours of 1 January.

Wales

Departmental Billing

Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much his Department paid in interest to suppliers under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 in the last three years for which figures are available. [275192]

Mr. Paul Murphy: My Department has paid the following amounts to suppliers under the late payment of commercial debts:

£

2006-07

0

2007-08

117

2008-09

(1)822

(1) Interim payment under negotiation with a view to being refunded.

15 May 2009 : Column 1113W

Departmental Stationery

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proportion of office supplies purchased by his Department were recycled products in the latest period for which figures are available. [275336]

Mr. Paul Murphy: All paper used for photocopying and printing in my Department is sourced from recycled materials. Records are not held on all proportions of stationery that are recycled products and this information could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost. However, we are developing a sustainable development policy that will include recording this information.

Work and Pensions

Departmental Work Experience

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many work placements his Department offered to (a) school pupils, (b) university students and (c) graduates in each of the last five years. [274475]

Jonathan Shaw: The Department for Work and Pensions does not collate the information requested centrally and it could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Incapacity Benefit

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he plans to take to assist long-term incapacity benefit claimants back into work. [272482]

Jonathan Shaw: We set out in the White Paper “Raising expectations and increasing support: reforming welfare for the future” published in December 2008, a range of measures to help long-term incapacity benefit claimants into work.


15 May 2009 : Column 1114W

Pathways to Work was rolled out nationally on 28 April 2008 and is now available to everyone receiving incapacity benefits and employment and support allowance in Great Britain. Later this year we will be introducing mandatory work-focused interviews for existing incapacity benefits customers under the age of 25 in Jobcentre Plus Pathways to Work areas.

We intend to migrate existing incapacity benefits customers to employment and support allowance and, in the light of Pathways to Work evaluation evidence, plan to introduce a new system of three work-focused interviews for customers aged under 50 once migrated. They will be able to take up further support on a voluntary basis. It is intended that customers aged 50 and over will receive one mandatory work-focused interview, again with the option of further voluntary support. We also plan to run pilots to test new ways of delivering employment support to existing customers aged 50 and over, to establish what works best for this group.

In addition, five Invest to Save pilots are planned to test the innovative funding model proposed by David Freud, alongside Professor Gregg's vision of conditionality for existing long-term customers.

Service Personnel and Veterans Agency

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many cases his Department has referred to the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency in each year since 2007. [268671]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The Pension, Disability and Carers Service routinely refers people to a range of complementary services and organisations where appropriate. Information is not collected centrally on the numbers that are referred to the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency.


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