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25 Nov 2009 : Column 143W—continued
Departmental Legal Costs
Pete Wishart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the (a) cost and (b) purpose was of legal (i) representation and (ii) advice sought by his Department and its agencies in each year since May 1997. [300374]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The information requested could not be provided within the disproportionate costs threshold.
Departmental Meetings
Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which (a) individuals other than ministerial colleagues and officials of his Department and (b) organisations he met in an official capacity in the week commencing 9 November 2009. [301167]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with 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 meetings.
Departmental Pay
John Mason: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what (a) bonuses and (b) incentives have been paid to (i) consultants and (ii) contractors engaged by his Department in each of the last three years. [300651]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department does not normally pay bonuses to consultants or contractors. Performance incentives may be included within contracts, where appropriate, and paid according to the terms of those contracts. However, analysis of all the contracts in each of the last three financial years to determine whether incentives were paid could not be provided within the disproportionate costs threshold.
John Mason: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what (a) bonuses and (b) incentives have been paid to (i) consultants and (ii) contractors engaged by executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which his Department is responsible in each of the last three years. [300652]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Debt Management Office have not paid any bonuses or provided any incentives to consultants or contractors.
Departmental Rail Travel
Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what date he last travelled by train in the course of his official duties. [301206]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Chancellor of the Exchequer travels regularly by train in the course of his official duties.
Departmental Taxis
Ian Stewart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what contracts his Department has with private hire taxi companies; and what expenditure his Department has incurred under each such contract in each of the last three years. [300827]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: HM Treasury has had contracts with two taxi companies in the past three completed financial years. The following table sets out the total expenditure on each.
| £000 | |||
| 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
| (1 )Premier Despatch Ltd was acquired by Addison Lee in February 2009 | |||
Departmental Working Hours
Andrew Selous: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what proportion of staff of his Department, its executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies work flexibly or part-time; and what his Department's policy is on making jobs available on a job-share or flexible basis. [301332]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Treasury and OGC offer flexible working and job share to staff, where operational constraints permit, as a tool to improve work/life balance. Many flexible working arrangements including job share are made informally between managers and staff and are not formally recorded. This information could only therefore be provided at disproportionate cost.
The UK Debt Management Office has thirteen staff who work either flexibly or part-time, representing proportionately 13.13 per cent. of staff. The UK Debt Management Office has an "Alternative Working Arrangements" policy by which staff may make an application for working either flexibly or on a part-time basis. Decisions are taken on the basis of statutory and business requirements and on a case by case basis.
Financial Services: Regulation
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his assessment is of the proposals in the Financial Services Authority's Retail Distribution Review, with particular reference to their effects on independent financial advisers; and if he will make a statement. [301436]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Retail Distribution Review is a matter for the FSA, as the independent regulator. The FSA published a cost-benefit analysis alongside its latest proposals, as well as further analysis by independent consultants, on the FSA website.
Generic Financial Advice Review
Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent steps his Department has taken to implement the findings of the Thoresen Review of generic financial advice which the Government have accepted. [301222]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Government are testing the Thoresen Review's blueprint for a generic financial advice or 'Money Guidance' service through a large-scale pilot or pathfinder in the North West and North East of England. The £12 million pathfinder is jointly funded and delivered by HM Treasury and the Financial Services Authority. Launched in April, it is on track to meet its target to reach over 500,000 people by March 2010, through the Moneymadeclear website, helpline and face- to-face services provided by a wide range of local partners. The Moneymadeclear website and helpline is also available UK-wide.
Interim evaluation findings from the pathfinder indicate that the Money Guidance service can be effective and the Money Guidance service will therefore be rolled out nationally from spring 2010. The Financial Services Bill introduced in the Commons on 19 November includes provisions for a new consumer financial education body which will lead and direct funding to national implementation of Money Guidance.
Government Securities
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what cost-benefit analyses his Department carried out to assess the value for money of the issuance of a sterling sukuk; and if he will make a statement. [300292]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Government have looked carefully at the case for issuing sovereign sukuk and concluded that it would not offer value for money at the present time but it will keep the situation under review.
Housing: Valuation
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many properties are recorded with each individual (a) dwellinghouse code and (b) value significant code in the local authority area of South Cambridgeshire; and what the category for (i) type, (ii) number of rooms, (iii) number of bedrooms, (iv) number of bathrooms, (v) number of floors, (vi) floor level, (vii) parking, (viii) garaging, (ix) conservatory type, (x) age, (xi) outbuilding and (xii) modernisation code was according to electronic records held by the Valuation Office Agency. [300362]
Ian Pearson: A table showing the number of properties with each individual dwellinghouse code and each value significant code, for all local authority areas, has been placed in the Freedom of Information Disclosure Log on the Valuation Office Agency's website in Excel format. A link to the information is as follows:
Income Tax
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the tax revenues likely to be raised as a consequence of the treatment for income tax purposes of all capital gains accruing to individuals as income. [301502]
Mr. Timms: Due to the difficulties of assessing the large behavioural responses, which would result from a change of this kind, a reliable estimate can be determined only at disproportionate cost.
Monetary Policy
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his most recent assessment is of the effects of quantitative easing on levels of high street credit; and if he will make a statement. [300291]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Bank of England has operational responsibility for monetary policy, including use of the Asset Purchase Facility. The Bank publishes quarterly reports on the APF, the first of which was published on 27 April with subsequent reports published on 27 July and 26 October. The Bank also reports on the APF in its Inflation Report and Quarterly Bulletin and regularly publishes operational information for the APF on its website.
Public Expenditure
Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what (a) primary and (b) secondary legislation is planned for the implementation of the Clear Line of Sight Project. [300354]
Mr. Byrne: The Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill contains two clauses in Part 8 of the Bill that relate to implementation of the Clear Line of Sight project.
Clause 57 makes provision to include the spending of non-departmental public bodies, and other central Government bodies so designated by HM Treasury, in the Supply Estimates and resource accounts of the responsible Government Department. Clause 52 makes corresponding provision by amending part 5 of the Government of Wales Act 2006 to enable the Welsh Assembly Government to include in their annual Budget motions information on the use of resources by bodies funded by the Assembly.
Both clauses provide for a statutory instrument to contain an order listing the bodies to be designated.
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with each of his Cabinet colleagues on plans for the next comprehensive spending review; when he expects to announce the arrangements for the next comprehensive spending review; and if he will make a statement. [301533]
Mr. Byrne: Departmental budgets have been set to financial year 2010-11. The Chancellor of the Exchequer will announce the timing of the spending review process to set budgets from financial year 2011-12 in the normal way. The Chancellor will set out more detail on the Government's spending plans at the pre-Budget report 2009.
Tax Allowances: Pensions
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the tax revenue which would be raised by limiting tax relief on pension contributions to the basic rate of income tax only for all taxpayers in 2009-10. [300728]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Latest detailed estimates of the annual cost of tax relief in relation to registered pension schemes are available in Table 7.9 on HM Revenue and Customs website at:
Tax Allowances: Professional Organisations
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the tax revenues likely to be raised as a consequence of the ending of tax relief on professional subscriptions paid by accountants and lawyers. [301504]
Mr. Timms: Information on the tax relief given for payments made for professional fees and subscriptions is not available by industry or professionalism.
Taxation: EU Countries
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will assess the effect of tax competition in the European Union on revenues to the UK Exchequer; and if he will make a statement. [300316]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Tax developments in all EU member states are continuously monitored and taken into account when deciding tax policy.
The comparisons we make illustrate that the UK remains a competitive place to do business with the lowest corporation tax rate of the major G7 economies.
The Government remain committed to maintaining the competitive position of the UK.
Ulster Bank
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has received recent representations on the foreclosure by Ulster Bank on (a) building contractors and (b) small businesses. [300910]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: 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.
Olympics
Olympic and Paralympic Games
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what proportion of the £9.325 billion public sector funding package for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games has been spent since 2005-06. [301017]
Tessa Jowell: 33.8 per cent. of the £9.325 billion public sector funding package has been spent to the end of September 2009.
Further information is provided in the latest London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games quarterly economic report (published 23 November 2009). I have placed copies in the Libraries of both Houses.
Operational Efficiency Programme
Dr. Cable:
To ask the Minister for the Olympics what efficiency savings projects her Office put in place under the Operational Efficiency Programme; on what date
each such project was initiated; how much each such project was expected to contribute to the Office's savings; how much had been saved through each such project on the latest date for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement. [300936]
Tessa Jowell: My ministerial portfolio requires my office to operate out of the Cabinet Office and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Both Departments have Operational Efficiency Programmes, the details of which are outlined in the answers provided by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport and the Minister of State for the Cabinet Office, respectively.
Third Sector Organisations
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what funding her Office has allocated to third sector organisations to develop their sporting facilities as part of the plans for the legacy from the London 2012 Olympics; and if she will make a statement. [300321]
Tessa Jowell: An element of the Olympic Delivery Authority's (ODA) budget has been allocated for upgrading local host borough sporting facilities for use as Games-time training venues, and some of these facilities may be owned by third sector community organisations. It is expected that such facility developments will remain as a benefit in legacy.
Works to enhance existing facilities for the Games have been agreed at a number of venues including Eton Dorney (for rowing and flat water canoeing events) and at Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy (for sailing events).
As agreements are being reached with each individual facility, the value of the budget available for these works is commercially confidential.
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