| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
17 Jun 2009 : Column 322W—continued
Northern Ireland
Demos
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what (a) private meetings and (b) public engagements Ministers in his Department have attended at which representatives from the think-tank Demos were present in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [279494]
Mr. Woodward: During the last 12 months, no representatives from think-tank Demos were present at any of the private meetings or public engagements Ministers attended.
Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has been claimed in reimbursable expenses by special advisers in his Department in 2008-09 to date. [260360]
Mr. Woodward: Costs incurred on reimbursable expenses in 2008-09 will be available only when the Department’s resource accounts are fully audited and laid before Parliament. This is expected to be before the 2009 summer recess.
Treasury
Banks: Finance
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the expected exposure range for bad debt is in relation to the Asset Protection Scheme. [279978]
Kitty Ussher: As announced on 26 February, the Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) agreed in principle to protect £325 billion of assets in the Asset Protection Scheme; and on 7 March Lloyds Banking Group (Lloyds) agreed in principle to protect £260 billion of assets in the scheme. After the deduction of the first loss (£42.2 billion and £35.2 billion respectively) that falls to the participating banks, the Treasury will guarantee 90 per cent. of the remaining value (at 31 December 2008) of the covered assets.
The Treasury and its advisers are continuing to work with participating banks to conduct due diligence on the assets intended for inclusion in the scheme.
Further detailed information will be provided after the final contracts are signed.
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent progress has been made in the implementation of the Asset Protection Scheme; and if he will make a statement. [279979]
Kitty Ussher: The Treasury and its advisers are continuing to work with the participating banks to reach a final agreement on the terms and conditions of the Asset Protection Scheme (APS) and to conduct due diligence on the assets intended for inclusion in the scheme.
The Government are in the process of recruiting a chief executive to run the new agency, the Asset Protection Agency, at arms length from the day-to-day business of the Treasury, and administer the APS on the taxpayer's behalf.
Further detailed information will be provided after the final contracts are signed.
Barnett Formula
Adam Price: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Government plans to publish its factual paper on the Barnett formula. [280247]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 16 June 2009]: No decision has yet been made regarding the publication date of the factual paper on the Barnett Formula.
Bradford and Bingley
Mr. Meale: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what date Ministers in his Department asked departmental officials to draft proposals to take the Bradford and Bingley Building Society into public ownership. [280083]
Kitty Ussher: I refer the Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Romsey (Sandra Gidley) on 10 March 2009, Official Report, column 257W.
Mr. Meale: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the decision to take the Bradford and Bingley Building Society into public ownership was taken. [280084]
Kitty Ussher: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Wyre Forest (Dr. Taylor) on 27 January 2009, Official Report, column 365W.
Mr. Meale: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reasons his Department determined that (a) bonds held by the Government in Bradford and Bingley would be ranked above Bradford and Bingley subordinated bondholders for settlement and (b) bonds held by the Government in Northern Rock would be ranked below Northern Rock subordinated bondholders for settlement. [280085]
Ian Pearson: The position of the Treasury in respect of both banks reflects the normal credit hierarchy.
In the case of Bradford and Bingley, the Treasury and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) provided £18 billion of funding to enable all retail deposits held in the bank to be transferred to Abbey. Given that this funding replaced retail deposits, the rights of the Treasury and the FSCS in respect of the proceeds of the wind-down and the realisation of Bradford and Bingley’s assets rank above subordinated creditors, in the same way that the rights of retail depositors would have been senior to subordinated creditors. The Treasury also has a claim on the proceeds of the wind-down as Bradford and Bingley’s sole shareholder. This claim ranks below the claim of subordinated creditors, in the same way that it is usual for equity to rank below subordinated debt.
In Northern Rock’s case, the position of the Treasury again reflects the normal credit hierarchy: the Government as senior creditor ranks above Northern Rock subordinated bondholders while as shareholder the Treasury ranks below such subordinated debt.
Council Tax: Costs
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department is taking to reduce the cost of administering council tax. [280409]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I have been asked to reply.
The cost of administering council tax is a matter for local billing authorities.
Council Tax: Valuation
Robert Neill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Meriden of 7 May 2009, Official Report, column 384W, on council tax: valuation, what types of property data are provided to the Valuation Office Agency by the Stamp Duty Office of HM Revenue and Customs. [279799]
Mr. Timms: The property data supplied by the Stamp Taxes Office to the Valuation Office Agency are all such data contained within the stamp duty land transaction return, which is online at:
Departmental Billing
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what proportion of invoices his Department and its agencies paid within 10 days of receipt in each of the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [278828]
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many days on average (a) his Department and (b) each of its agencies has taken to pay invoices from suppliers in each month since November 2008. [278911]
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent progress his Department has made in ensuring that invoices for public sector contractors are paid within 10 days. [279981]
Ian Pearson [holding answer 10 June 2009]: Since the Government's commitment announced in October 2008 to pay invoices within 10 days, the Treasury Group's performance against the target, including the number of invoices processed and the number of days taken to pay is shown in the following table.
| Treasury Group invoice payment performance November 2008 to May 2009 | |||
| Month( 1) | Invoices paid within 10 working days | Percentage of invoices paid within 10 working days | Average working days to pay |
| (1) Payment performance for invoices received by Treasury Group organisations within each calendar month. | |||
Employment Tribunals Service
Grant Shapps: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many actions under employment law have been brought against his Department in each of the last three years; how many such actions were brought under each category of action; and how many such actions were contested by his Department at an employment tribunal. [277423]
Kitty Ussher: It is the Treasury's policy not to release data on staff where to do so could lead to the identification of individuals, including aggregated data relating to fewer than five staff members.
In each of the last three financial years there have been fewer than five industrial tribunal cases.
EU Grants and Loans: Wales
Hywel Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been received by the UK from the EU under the Objective One and Convergence Programmes Fund in respect of Wales in each year from 1999-2000. [280213]
Mr. Byrne: Receipts from the EU under the Objective One and Convergence Programmes Fund in respect of Wales are paid by the Commission to the Welsh Assembly Government. Programmes are agreed between the Commission and the Welsh Assembly Government.
Hywel Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of monies received from the EU as part of Objective One and Convergence Programme funding in Wales has been transferred to the Welsh Assembly Government in each year since 1999-2000. [280215]
Mr. Byrne: All monies received from the EU as part of the Objective One and Convergence Programme funding in Wales are paid by the Commission to the Welsh Assembly Government.
Hywel Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which departments have an agreement with his Department permitting the use in accounts of EU receipts to offset expenditure; and from what date each such agreement came into operation. [280407]
Ian Pearson: The Consolidated Budgeting Guidance sets out the budgeting treatment for receipts from the EU.
“Income from the EC may be netted off Resource Budget DEL if it is in support of DEL spending and if it supports current expenditure.”
The Consolidated Budgeting Guidance can be found at:
Geographical Information Systems: Procurement
Robert Neill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which companies have been awarded the contracts under OGCbuying.solutions contract tender Reference RM 341, on geographic information services and solutions; and which public bodies are purchasing geographical information under the contracts. [279801]
Ian Pearson: Suppliers awarded contracts under OCGbuying.solutions contract tender references RM 341 Geographic Information Services and Solutions can be found at
http://www.buyingsolutions.gov.uk/frameworks/full.html?list_by=name&;contract_search=GISS&search=search
The public bodies currently using the GISS framework to purchase GI services and data are:
Lot 1: Geographic Information Solutions
CEH Wallingford (Centre for Ecology and Hydrology)
Centre of Ecology and Hydrology
Cheshire Police Authority
Consumer Focus
Cumbria Constabulary
Department for Communities and Local Government
Department for Work and Pensions
Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
Devon and Cornwall Constabulary
Electoral Commission
English Heritage
Environment Agency
External Supply Group, DWP
Government Communications Planning Directorate
HM Revenue and Customs
London Ambulance Service NHS Trust
National Offender Management Service
NHS Connecting for Health
Office of Government Commerce
Renfrewshire Council
South Yorkshire Police Authority
Ministry of Defence CinCFIeet
Lot 3: Data Capture, Analysis and Manipulations Services
Animal Health
Department for Communities and Local Government
Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |