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8 July 2009 : Column 877W—continued
Departmental Correspondence
Alistair Burt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of letters to his Department from hon. Members' parliamentary offices were answered within 30 days of the date of receipt in each quarter from January 2008 to March 2009. [280461]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of departments in replying to Members' correspondence. The report for 2008 was published on 2 April 2009, Official Report, columns 80-86WS.
Departmental Databases
Mr. Watson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information databases his Department (a) maintains and (b) uses which do not contain personal information. [284385]
Jenny Willott: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which databases managed by his Department and its agencies hold personal information on members of the public; on what date each such database become operational; and if he will make a statement. [284901]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry:
I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by the then Exchequer Secretary to the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) on 18 February 2008, Official Report, column 349W. There are a number of databases maintained by the Department and its agencies that contain personal data, most of them
related to staff. Those that are managed by the Treasury and its agencies and contain personal information on members of the public are Financial Sanctions (operational since October 2007), Gilts Register (December 2004) and DMO Job Applicants (2004).
Fuels
Sammy Wilson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many litres of illegal fuel have been seized by HM Revenue and Customs in each of the last five years. [284647]
Mr. Timms: Figures for fuel seizures are published in HMRC Autumn Performance Reports, available on the HMRC website at
Inheritance Tax
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what account the Valuation Office Agency takes of the effect of flooding of the market in assessing the value of a property for the purposes of inheritance tax. [284080]
Mr. Timms: The value of a property for inheritance purposes is the price that it might reasonably be expected to fetch if sold on the open market, which will fully reflect the state of the market at that particular time.
However section 160 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 contains specific provisions to ensure that the value of property within a large estate is not reduced on account of all the property being placed on the market at the same time.
Non-Domestic Rates
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Valuation Office Agency forms VO6403 have been (a) sent out and (b) returned as part of the 2010 business rates revaluation. [283839]
Mr. Timms: Form VO6403 is an internal form used to record information when inspecting licensed property. It is not sent out to ratepayers. A full list of forms used to request information from ratepayers is published on the Valuation Office Agency website at:
Students: Loans
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much money HM Revenue and Customs has deducted from individuals’ salaries on behalf of the Student Loans Company in each of the last three years. [284611]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 7 July 2009]: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) collect Student Loan repayments for Income Contingent Loans via PAYE and Self-Assessment (SA) on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The amount of Student Loan repayments reported to the Student Loans Company in each of the previous three years are:
| Student loan repayments processed by tax year | |||
| £ | |||
| 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
These amounts include some deductions for previous years which have been reported in the tax years above. In certain circumstances, the amounts due to HMRC are received after they have been reported. These repayments are included in the table.
The amount of Student Loan repayments is increasing over time due to the increase in the number of graduates who have taken up Income Contingent Loans and have entered employment.
Taxation: Valuation Office
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what key performance indicators the Valuation Office Agency has in relation to improving the cost-yield ratio for capital gains tax. [284922]
Mr. Timms: The Valuation Office Agency does not have a key performance indicator to improve the cost-yield ratio for capital gains tax but one of its targets is to improve value for money on capital gains tax work for HMRC by 5 per cent. This is measured by comparing the Agency’s costs with the estimated tax achieved.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps the Valuation Office Agency is taking to increase the cost-yield ratio from inheritance tax. [284924]
Mr. Timms: The Valuation Office Agency considers valuations submitted by taxpayers for inheritance tax purposes in accordance with long standing legislative rules and procedures. The Agency is reducing the cost of the resources that it uses on these cases, as measured by the cost yield ratio. The aim is to spend less time on those valuations that do not require any adjustment and to focus on those that do, so that the amount of tax properly due is paid.
Valuation Office
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 27 April 2009, Official Report, column 1049W, on Valuation Office Agency, if he will place in the Library a copy of the minutes of each meeting of the project board overseeing the installation of a geographic information system. [284764]
Mr. Timms: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) on 30 June 2009, Official Report, column 210W.
Valuation Office: Contracts
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information technology contracts were entered into by the Valuation Office Agency or its representatives on its behalf between May 2001 and May 2006. [284766]
Mr. Timms: The primary ICT contracts for the VOA are via the HMRC Aspire and Sprint contracts effective from July 2004 and October 2005 respectively; the majority of 3(rd) party procurement is through these existing contract frameworks. In the preceding years, the primary ICT contracts were via the HMRC Eagle and eIROS contract frameworks.
A small system contract has been entered into separately:
Development and maintenance of time recording and case management system (TRACS software (including Panasonic data (barcode) scanners)) with TMS.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Peterborough (Mr. Jackson) of 11 May 2009, Official Report, column 542W, on the Valuation Office: ICT, for what purposes the Valuation Office Agency’s Sprint contract was entered into; and what the terms are of that contract. [284767]
Mr. Timms: Sprint is a framework agreement contract awarded in 2005 by HMRC to Specialist Computer Centres plc. (SCC) and Dataserv CES Ltd. for the supply of information technology, telecommunications and audio visual and related supplies and services. The agency is a participating authority to that contract.
Valuation Office: Geographical Information System
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the scale is of the mapping data that will be held in the Valuation Office Agency’s new geographical information system. [284919]
Mr. Timms: The geographical information system will use the Ordnance Survey standard MasterMap topography product.
For cartographic representation, the scale of the mapping data within the geographical information system will range from 1:1250 to 1:250,000.
Valuation: Housing
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what methodology is used by the Valuation Office Agency to allocate a TQ value significant code to a dwelling; and whether a maximum level of traffic has been set for the allocation of that code. [284763]
Mr. Timms: The value significant code TQ may be used where a property is located in a particularly quiet road, to the extent that this will affect the value of the property. There is no maximum level of traffic set for the allocation of this code—it is a matter of local knowledge and judgment. General guidance on the use of all its dwelling house codes is published on the VOA’s website at:
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many domestic dwellings were valued by the Valuation Office Agency for (a) inheritance tax and (b) capital gains tax purposes in England in the most recent year for which figures are available. [284926]
Mr. Timms: This information cannot be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.
In 2008-09 the VOA gave advice in 21,480 IHT cases and approximately 15,996 CGT cases. The majority of the IHT cases relate to dwellings but some also include non-domestic land and buildings. A lesser proportion of CGT cases also relate to dwellings.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to Baroness Warsi of 12 May 2009, Official Report, House of Lords, column 192WA, on housing: valuations, what factors are taken into account by the Valuation Office Agency when deciding whether to allocate a dwelling with a NA (Quality - atypical for Group or Type) value significant code. [284483]
Mr. Timms: The value significant code NA may be used where the quality of the property is considered to be significantly better or worse than properties of a similar style or type, to the extent that this will affect the value of the property. The Valuation Office Agency does not provide specific guidance to its staff on when to use the code—it is a matter of local knowledge and judgment. Guidance on the use of all its dwelling-house codes is published on the VOA's website at:
International Development
Departmental Databases
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what information databases his Department (a) maintain and (b) uses which do not contain personal information. [284390]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development maintains a number of computer databases for internal administration purposes, in the following business areas:
The central Human Resources (HR) systems support staff recruitment, administration, payroll and performance, and contain personal information on members of DFID staff. Payroll systems in use by overseas offices contain personal information about locally engaged staff.
Financial and Projects systems (ARIES, MIS and Coda) are used for administration of projects and accounts. These databases contain DFID suppliers and customers’ contact and bank details.
The Overseas Pensions system supports administration and payment of pensions to former colonial servants. This database contains personal, bank and payment data on former colonial servants.
The Electronic Document and Records Management System (Quest) provides a repository for all documents and correspondence. A small number of documents containing personal information are held in secure areas.
Correspondence systems enable tracking of parliamentary and public correspondence. These systems contain names and contact details of correspondents.
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which databases managed by his Department and its agencies hold personal information on members of the public; on what date each such database become operational; and if he will make a statement. [284904]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) manages the following databases that contain personal information on members of the public:
Financial and Projects systems (ARIES, MIS and Coda) are used for administration of projects and accounts. These databases contain DFID suppliers and customers’ contact and bank details. The MIS and Coda systems became operational in February 1998; the ARIES system that replaces them became operational in November 2007.
The Overseas Pensions system supports administration and payment of pensions to former colonial servants. This database contains personal, bank and payment data on former colonial servants, and became operational in February 1998.
Correspondence systems enable tracking of parliamentary and public correspondence. These systems contain names and contact details of correspondents and became operational in December 1999.
India: Overseas Aid
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding his Department has allocated to the Orissa region of India in the last five years; and what assessment he has made of the effects of that assistance on the Adivasi population. [284012]
Mr. Michael Foster: Through its state programme, the Department for International Development (DFID) has spent £124 million in Orissa over the last five years (2004-09). In addition, Orissa has benefited from DFID’s support to national level programmes and to civil society: an estimated £4.5 million in the year 2008-09, with comparable expenditure in each of the previous years.
Two DFID programmes directly address poverty among the Scheduled Tribes (Adivasis) in Orissa. The Western Orissa Rural Livelihoods Project, aims to benefit 725,000 poor people, including 140,000 belonging to Scheduled Tribes. A recent independent review found that so far 31 per cent. of those targeted have moved out of poverty. The second programme, the Orissa Tribal Empowerment and Livelihoods Programme (OTELP), co-funded with the International Fund for Agricultural Development, aims to benefit 1.7 million people, including 315,000 Scheduled Tribe people. An independent review of the programme found that so far food security has improved in 67,500 households, safe drinking water has been provided to 47,625 households and 15,134 families have benefited from paid employment.
DFID also provides major support to the health sector across Orissa. This benefits all people in the state including the tribal population.
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