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11 Nov 2009 : Column 588W—continued
Ben Chapman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had on the progress of Sir John Chadwick's work on an ex-gratia payment scheme for Equitable Life policyholders. [298283]
Mr. Byrne: The Government expects Sir John to submit his final advice by spring 2010. We will consider his advice as quickly as possible and announce a payment scheme that is practical to deliver and fair to both policyholders and taxpayers.
EU Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reasons an impact assessment was not produced for the implementation of the EU Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive. [299395]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: A copy of the Commission's impact assessment on its 30 April 2009 proposals for an Alternative investment Fund Managers Directive was deposited in both Houses on 6 May 2009.
The FSA published the impact assessment that it commissioned on 15 October 2009.
The European Parliament published the 'Quick' impact assessment it commissioned on 10 November 2009.
Gift Aid
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer at what rate individuals paying the 50 per cent. income tax rate, who donate to charities, will be eligible to claim back via gift aid. [299466]
Ian Pearson: The amount an individual is eligible to claim back following a qualifying gift aid donation will depend on the amount donated, and is relieved at the donor's marginal rate of tax. So an individual who would pay tax at 50 per cent. would be able to claim back an amount up to the difference between this higher rate of tax and the basic rate of tax, depending on the total value of the donation.
Government Air Programme
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which company has obtained the framework agreement for the Government air programme; and what is the monetary value of the agreement. [299473]
Ian Pearson: The Framework Agreement for the Government Air Programme has been awarded on a multi source basis to the airline carriers, shown in the following list. The estimated annual value of the programme is £69.6 million per annum, the duration of the Framework Agreement is two years with an option to extend for a further 12 months.
Aer Lingus
Air Canada
Air France / KLM
Air New Zealand
American Airlines
Austrian Airlines
BMI
British Airways
Brussels Airlines
Cathay Pacific
Continental Airways
Delta Airlines
Emirates
Finnair Oyj
Flybe
Gulf Air
Jet Airways
Kenya Airways
Lufthansa German Airlines
Malaysia airlines
Qantas Airways
Qatar Airways
Scandinavian Airlines System
Singapore Airlines
South African Airways
Swiss International Airlines
Turkish Airlines
United Airlines
Virgin Atlantic Airways
VLM Airlines
Government: Assets
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish at the time of the Pre-Budget Report a full list of Government assets planned to be sold. [299299]
Mr. Byrne: As stated in Budget 2009 progress on the asset management and sales strand of the Operational Efficiency programme will be reported in the pre-Budget report 2009.
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what evidential basis the estimate that sale of Government assets is expected to raise £16 billion between 2011 and 2014 was made. [299300]
Mr. Byrne: Local authorities are expected to contribute £11 billion in asset sales in the period 2011-14. This is based on historic sales of fixed and financial assets and trends in property prices and transactions.
The Government estimates that a further £3 billion will be raised from the sale of central Government business assets and will set out further details in the coming weeks.
An estimated £2 billion will be raised from the sale of central Government property.
HM Revenue and Customs
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment has been made of the level of failure demand in call centres run by HM Revenue and Customs. [299464]
Mr. Timms: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not specifically use the term or measure 'failure demand' within its call centres.
Job Creation
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer 21 May 2009, Official Report, column 1510W, on job creation, what methodology will be used to assess whether 100,000 new jobs have been created; and what role the UK Statistics Authority will play in vetting such statistics. [299327]
Mr. Byrne: As set out in my reply to the hon. Member in PQ 299465, the Government have published the methodology it used to calculate aggregate jobs supported by economic stimulus, as well as the individual measures that will support jobs in the UK. This is available at:
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment his Department has made of the number of full-time equivalent net jobs which have been created due to Government's stimulus measures; and over what period of time these jobs have been created. [299465]
Mr. Byrne: On 4 November 2009, HM Treasury published a paper setting out the estimated effect on employment of discretionary economic stimulus put in place since November 2008-see "Employment impact of Government interventions":
Personal Income
Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average income was in (a) Vale of Clwyd and (b) each region in each of the last 20 years. [299719]
Mr. Timms: Information on income by parliamentary constituency is only available for taxpayers. The mean income of taxpayers in the Vale of Clwyd for 2002-03 to 2006-07 can be found in table 3.15 "Income and tax by Parliamentary Constituency" and for the regions of the UK for 1999-2000 to 2006-07 in table 3.13 "Income and tax by county and region" available at:
The estimates shown in the tables are based on the Survey of Personal Incomes of which 2006-07 is the latest available.
Estimates of mean income of taxpayers by parliamentary constituency for earlier years are not available as the sample size of the survey was too small to give reliable results. However the mean income of taxpayers by region for earlier years is either shown, or can be derived from information shown, in Inland Revenue Statistics, copies of which are in the Library.
Playing Fields: Sales
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has received representations on the likely effect on numbers of playing fields of the implementation of the Government's policy on asset sales; and if he will make a statement. [297912]
Mr. Byrne
[holding answer 5 November 2009]: Treasury Ministers and officials receive representations from 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 representations.
Police: Northern Ireland
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the content was of (a) correspondence sent by and (b) other communications made by (i) him and (ii) the Chief Secretary to the Treasury to the First and Deputy First Ministers of the Northern Ireland Executive since 1 September 2009 on issues relating to policing and justice in Northern Ireland; and if he will place in the Library a copy of each such communication. [297603]
Mr. Byrne: There have been a number of discussions between the Prime Minister and the Northern Ireland Executive First Minister and Deputy First Minister on issues relating to policing and justice in Northern Ireland. The key elements of the financial offer made by the Prime Minister were published on 21 October 2009.
Research and Development Tax Credits Scheme
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what changes there have been in the application of the rules for the Research and Development Tax Credits Scheme in the last 18 months; and if he will make a statement [299255]
Ian Pearson: On 14 November 2008, in Revenue and Customs Brief 55/08, HMRC announced a change of practice, effective from 1 December 2008, in relation to the research and development (R and D) tax relief schemes, where a company loses its status as a small or medium enterprise as a result of a merger or takeover. HMRC is also currently updating guidance on the R and D tax relief schemes in the Corporate Intangibles and Research and Development manual, including to explain that certain expenditure on 'Qualifying Indirect Activities' may be included in claims.
Revenue and Customs: Repayment
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for the Vale of York (Miss Anne McIntosh) of 27 October 2009, Official Report, column 275W, on Revenue and Customs: repayment, how much (a) capital and (b) interest has been paid by HM Revenue and Customs on sums it has collected in error in each of the last three years. [299342]
Mr. Timms: The information requested is available only at disproportionate cost, as HM Revenue and Customs' systems do not routinely record the reasons for repayments.
Tax Collection
John Hemming: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer within what timescale HM Revenue and Customs is expected to have recovered outstanding liabilities for (a) value added tax and (b) other taxes. [297150]
Mr. Timms: The dates on which payments of VAT and other taxes are due are set out in statute. The Government expect that all tax due will be paid in full and on time. If individuals or businesses are unable to pay on time they should contact HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) as soon as possible. The sooner they do so the sooner the Department can begin working with them to find a solution. For example, depending on the specific circumstances a Time to Pay arrangement may be appropriate, allowing payment to be scheduled over a period the taxpayer can afford.
Further information is available at:
HMRC vigorously pursues all those who will not pay when they have the means to do so or who otherwise try to cheat the system. All those who do not pay or fail to engage with HMRC face the prospect of legal enforcement action.
Damian Green: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many individuals received retrospective tax demands as a result of the (a) Finance Act 1987 and (b) Finance Act 2008. [297608]
Mr. Timms: On the assumption that the question concerns section 62 of the Finance (No2) Act 1987 and section 58 of the Finance Act 2008, I can confirm that both sections were introduced to prevent abuse of the United Kingdom's double tax treaties. Section 58 of the Finance Act 2008 was introduced to deal with a particularly aggressive and widely used avoidance scheme by which an estimated 3,000 users have collectively attempted to avoid more than £200 million of UK tax. There are no figures available in relation to section 62 of the Finance (No2) Act 1987.
Thalidomide Trust
Mark Durkan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Government received a request from the Thalidomide Trust in 1996 for the granting of tax rebates for victims of thalidomide receiving payments as a result of a covenant agreement between the Thalidomide Trust and Guinness. [295396]
Mr. Timms: The Government received a request in 1996 for additional funding on the basis of tax that had been paid by the trust.
The Government agreed to make a final 'once and for all' payment of £7 million in 1996 in recognition of the "unique and tragic circumstances which surround the Thalidomide disaster". However, the Government made clear that this payment was not made to offset the tax paid by the trust.
VAT
Willie Rennie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of the cost to the retail industry of the return of the rate of value added tax to 17.5 per cent. [299368]
Mr. Timms: The Impact Assessment published at the 2008 pre-Budget report provides an estimate of the compliance costs:
Willie Rennie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his most recent assessment is of the effect on retail prices of the return of the rate of value added tax to 17.5 per cent. [299369]
Mr. Timms: The Budget 2009 forecast is for CPI inflation to fall to 1 per cent. by the end of 2009 and increase to 1 per cent. in the second quarter of 2010. CPI inflation is forecast to remain below target in 2010 and then to return close to target during 2011.
Updated forecasts for inflation will be published later this autumn in the pre-Budget report, as is usual practice.
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