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12 Nov 2009 : Column 805W—continued
HM Revenue and Customs
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many layers of line management there are in between the Chief Executive and frontline staff. [299456]
Mr. Timms: HM Revenue and Customs' (HMRC) frontline staff can be of any grade. This includes Senior Civil Service staff that have responsibility for dealing with our major taxpayers, involving, for example Corporation or Inheritance Taxes.
HMRC has the following staff grades:
Chief Executive/Permanent Secretary
Senior Civil Service 3
Senior Civil Service 2
Senior Civil Service 1a
Senior Civil Service 1
Grade 6
Grade 7
Fast Stream
Senior Officer
Higher Officer
Officer
Assistant Officer
Administrative Assistant
With the exception of Fast Streamers staff at grade Officer and above may have management responsibilities.
Lloyds Banking Group
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reasons his Department plans to subscribe for new right shares in Lloyds Banking Group. [299968]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: As a shareholder, the Government have the option to take up part of the newly issued equity. If we did not do so, the value of the existing taxpayer shareholding would be diminished. To protect the value of our shares, we have therefore decided to take up our share of this new capital investing £5.7 billion net of an underwriting fee.
Members: Correspondence
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to reply to the letter of 22 September from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. J Roche. [300078]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Treasury hopes to be in a position to reply to the right hon. Member shortly, and apologises for the delay.
National Debt
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of the level of the UK's financial liabilities, including debt, private finance initiative, public private partnership, unfunded pensions and bank liabilities. [299952]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Public sector net debt is measured by means of National Accounts aggregates compiled by the independent Office for National Statistics, using internationally accepted methodology. It is published on both an including and excluding financial sector interventions basis at:
Net public sector pensions expenditure is reported on a National Accounts basis in Table C9 of Budget 2009; while the Government Actuary's Department estimate of the total liability of the unfunded public service occupational pension schemes as at 31 March 2006 was published in Box 4.4 of the 2008 Long-Term Public Finances Report:
Data on the private finance initiative are published in Tables 2.4-2.6 of the HMT publication "Budget 2009: The Economy and Public Finances-Supplementary Material":
Non-Domestic Rates
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the (a) total and (b) average rateable value for hereditaments in each special category code is on (i) the 2005 Rating List and (ii) the draft 2010 Rating List. [294527]
Barbara Follett: I have been asked to reply.
I have placed in the Library of the House a table showing the number of hereditaments and the total and average rateable values for hereditaments in each special category code on both the 2005 Rating Lists and the draft 2010 Rating Lists at 29 May 2009. These data are consistent with the consultation document titled: "The transitional arrangements for the non-domestic rating
revaluation 2010 in England", published on 8 July 2009. A copy of the consultation document is available at the following link:
The number of hereditaments in each special category code has been rounded to the nearest 10 and the figures for total and average rateable value have been rounded to the nearest thousand pounds.
a) betting shops and offices have special category code 24;
b) bingo halls have special category code 25;
c) i) public houses/pub restaurants have special category codes 226 and 227; ii) restaurants have special category code 234; iii) wine bars have special category code 303;
d) night clubs and discotheques have special code 199;
e) casinos and gambling clubs have special category code 49;
f) petrol stations have special category code 209.
Northern Rock
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the timetable is for the sale of part of Northern Rock. [299951]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: It has always been the Government's intention to return Northern Rock plc to the private sector as soon as practicable.
No decision has yet been taken as to when this will be, and any sale will occur only when conditions are right.
Government will continue to base their judgments on the best available information in the current market conditions.
Post War Credits
Mr. Crausby: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the estimated monetary value of unclaimed post-war credits is. [299888]
Ian Pearson: Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs hold two million post-war credit cards representing unclaimed credits. The average credit is £20. The estimated amount unclaimed is therefore £40 million.
Mr. Crausby: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been paid out in post-war credits since March 1996. [299923]
Ian Pearson: So far this financial year HM Revenue and Customs have paid £5,150.49 (to end October 2009) which equates to approximately £10,000 per annum. Precise figures on how much has been paid out since March 1996 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Public Expenditure
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to publish his Department's factual paper on the Barnett formula. [299343]
Mr. Byrne: The Treasury has provided evidence on the Barnett formula to the House of Lords Select Committee on the Barnett formula. The evidence was published in the Committee's report on 17 July 2009 (HL Paper 139).
Public Sector: Pensions
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will include his most recent estimate of total public sector pension liabilities in his next statement on the pre-Budget report. [299308]
Mr. Byrne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to him on 21 July 2009, Official Report, column 1353W.
Revenue and Customs: East Kilbride
Mr. Ingram: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many established posts there were at each grade in Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs offices at East Kilbride in each of the last five years. [298424]
Mr. Timms: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has offices at Plaza Tower and Queensway House and Hawbank stores at East Kilbride.
The number of staff by grade employed at these offices on 1 April each year is provided in the following table.
| Grade | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
The figures shown are the number of permanent staff. The figures in brackets show the total number of staff. Separate records for permanent and temporary staff were not maintained for 2005.
Royal Bank of Scotland
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what assessment he has made of the bad debt position at Royal Bank of Scotland prior to granting it further financial support; [299966]
(2) what his latest estimate is of the likely level of losses on loan books at Royal Bank of Scotland. [299967]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry:
On 3 November the Government announced a final agreement with RBS on its participation in the APS. The agreement takes account of the detailed due diligence the Government have undertaken, as well
as the results of the FSA stress tests and the requirements of the European Commission's state aid guidelines, including those on impaired assets.
The most recent detailed information on RBS's financial position is set out in its 2009 Third Quarter Interim Management Statement.
Royal Bank of Scotland/Lloyds Banking Group
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the timetable is for the asset sales by Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group under EU competition requirements; and what estimate he has made of the size of those assets. [299965]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Under the agreements reached between the Government, RBS, Lloyds, and Commissioner Kroes announced last week, RBS and Lloyds will each have up to four years to make the announced divestments. Valuation of the assets is a matter for LBG/RBS, and will depend on market conditions at the point of sale.
Tax Evasion: Bolton
Mr. Crausby: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) individuals and (b) businesses in Bolton, North-East constituency were investigated for offences related to tax evasion in each of the last five years. [299636]
Mr. Timms: Records of HM Revenue and Customs' compliance checks into potential cases of tax evasion are not held centrally, and could currently be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Taxation
Mr. Burns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the change has been in percentage terms income tax, national insurance and indirect taxes for (a) a single person on average earnings and (b) a married couple on average earnings with two children since 1 May 1997; and by how much in percentage terms income has risen for (i) a single person on average earnings and (ii) a married couple on average earnings with two children since 1 May 1997. [299564]
Mr. Timms: Tax credits and child benefit offset income tax and national insurance and mean four out of 10 families pay no net tax. In 2009-10 the net direct tax liability for:
a single person, with no children on average earnings is two percentage points lower than in 1997-98; and
a couple with 2 children on average earnings is nine percentage points lower than in 1997-98.
Between 1997-98 and 2009-10 average earnings have increased by 14 per cent. in real terms.
Information on indirect tax liabilities is not available as these are dependent on household spending patterns, which vary widely within similar household types. There is also greater sampling variability for households at specific earnings levels due to the small sample sizes.
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