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3 Dec 2009 : Column 947W—continued
Capital Gains Tax
Andrew George: To ask Chancellor of the Exchequer if HM Revenue and Customs will undertake a review of the Capital Gains Tax rules as they apply to (a) hon. Members and (b) others selling second homes. [303284]
Mr. Timms: Tax policy changes are considered through the Budget process in the usual way. The Government consider a range of factors when formulating tax policy and keeps all aspects of the tax system under review.
Coinage: Counterfeit Manufacturing
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to minimise counterfeiting of the coinage. [303978]
Ian Pearson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell) on 3 November 2009, Official Report, column 894W.
Departmental Domestic Visits
David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many occasions he visited (a) Scotland, (b) Wales and (c) Northern Ireland in an official capacity in the last 12 months. [303494]
Ian Pearson: Treasury Ministers' officials official duties entail visits throughout the United Kingdom.
Departmental Consultants
Mr. Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many external consultants work for his Department. [303240]
Ian Pearson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the former Exchequer Secretary (Angela Eagle) on 24 April 2009, Official Report, column 983W to the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable).
Departmental Contracts
Mr. Touhig: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what criteria his Department uses in determining the award of contracts; and how much his Department has spent on the advertisement of tenders for Government contracts since 1997. [303137]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Treasury awards contracts on the basis of best value for money. Value for money is defined as the optimum combination of quality and whole life costs. The specific criteria used to determine the best value for money is decided on a contract by contract basis.
Advertised tenders are usually placed in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) or the Supply2Gov website. Only in exceptional circumstances are tenders advertised elsewhere. The costs of any such advertising are not recorded centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
EU Public Procurement Directive
Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which (a) companies and (b) organisations have made representations to his Department on the exclusion of companies found guilty of corruption from public tenders following the implementation of the EU Public Procurement Directive 2004/18/EC; and if he will place in the Library a copy of each written representation received. [303353]
Ian Pearson [holding answer 2 December 2009]: HM Treasury has no record of any such representations having been made to this Department.
Revenue and Customs: Telephone Services
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will commission research into the effect on the amount people would pay for calls to HM Revenue and Customs helplines with 0845 prefixes if they were changed to numbers with 0300 prefixes. [302368]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 30 November 2009]: There is no single numbering solution that meets all of HM Revenue and Customs' (HMRC) customers' needs, as call charges to customers are dependent on the tariff arrangements they have with their service provider, the device they use for the call and the location from which they call.
HMRC will continue to keep this area under review as part of its numbering strategy and its work looking at longer term options for its telephone service.
Taxation: Gaming Machines
Paul Rowen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the revenue to accrue to the Exchequer from taxes on gaming machines in the 12 months following the introduction of a gross profits tax. [303747]
Ian Pearson: No such estimate has been made. The Government recently concluded a consultation on the taxation of gaming machines, and the responses received are being analysed by Treasury officials. No decisions will be taken on the future of gaming machines taxation until this analysis is complete.
Paul Rowen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue has been collected in amusement machine licence duty from (a) bingo halls, (b) social clubs and (c) public houses in the last 12 months. [303748]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The total annual and monthly receipts from Amusement Machine Licence Duty can be found in the HM Revenue and Customs Betting and Gaming Statistical Bulletin, which is available from the HMRC
Information on receipts broken down by class of trader is not available.
Trust Ports
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is on the hypothecation of revenue raised from privatisation of trust ports; and if he will make a statement. [303317]
Paul Clark: I have been asked to reply.
Under the Ports Act 1991 a trust port privatising must form a successor company and make a transfer scheme for the Secretary of State's approval after a public consultation. A levy is chargeable on the disposal by the port authority of the securities of the successor company. We would consider the allocation of sale proceeds at the time that any voluntary privatisation scheme was submitted to the Department for Transport.
We would also consider the desirability of encouraging allocation of equity to managers and employees of the port.
VAT: Business
Stephen Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost to small businesses of amending their (a) accounting systems and (b) marketing materials for the purposes of implementing the change in the rate of Value Added Tax announced in the Pre-Budget Report. [303309]
Mr. Timms: The Impact Assessment published at 2008 Pre-Budget Report provides an estimate of the compliance costs, and is available at:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/pbr08 vat_1845.pdf
Welfare Tax Credits
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what proportion of those in receipt of (a) working tax credit and (b) child tax credit pay income tax. [301788]
Mr. Timms: Tax credits are part of the tax system, and deliver financial support which, overall, ensures that four out of 10 families with children in the UK pay no net tax.
Ignoring the effect of this financial support and considering only the gross amount of tax paid, it is estimated that 1.7 million households, accounting for 81 per cent. of households in receipt of working tax credits, contain at least one adult who is paying income tax. It is also estimated that 4.7 million households, accounting for 75 per cent. of households in receipt of child tax credits, contain at least one adult who is paying income tax.
Welfare Tax Credits: Hampstead and Highgate
Glenda Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many children in Hampstead and Highgate constituency (a) have been and (b) are currently in households in receipt of (i) working families tax credit and (ii) child tax credit. [304130]
Mr. Timms: Child and Working Tax Credits were introduced in April 2003 when they replaced Working Families' Tax Credits.
The latest information on the number of children in families benefiting from tax credits, by each parliamentary constituency, is available in the HM Revenue and Customs snapshot publication "Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics. Geographical Analyses. April 2009", available:
Information on the number of children who have ever been in households in receipt of tax credits is available only at disproportionate cost.
Cabinet Office
Census
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) whether the Information Commissioner was consulted on the preparation of the privacy impact assessment for the 2011 Census; [302264]
(2) how many staff in full-time equivalent (a) media and public relations, (b) marketing and (c) communications posts in the (i) Cabinet Office, (ii) Office for National Statistics, (iii) UK Statistics Authority and (iv) Central Office of Information have been assigned to work on the 2011 Census; [302265]
(3) what external (a) media and public relations, (b) marketing, (c) communications and (d) advertising firms and consultants have been contracted for the purposes of the 2011 Census; and what the monetary value is of such contracts; [302269]
(4) what the monetary value is of the Office for National Statistics' contract with Elmwood to develop branding for the 2011 census; [302131]
(5) what the (a) marketing, (b) communications and (c) advertising budget is for the 2011 Census; [302566]
(6) what final estimate was made of the (a) error and (b) non-response rate in respect of the 2001 Census; [302266]
(7) whether the UK Statistics Authority plans to take steps to discourage campaigns which actively promote giving false or frivolous answers to the 2011 Census; [302267]
(8) what discussions the (a) Cabinet Office, (b) UK Statistics Authority and (c) Office of National Statistics has had with the Commission for Equality and Human Rights on the inclusion of questions on sexual orientation in the 2011 Census; [302270]
(9) what representations the (a) Cabinet Office, (b) Office for National Statistics and (c) UK Statistics Authority has received on the classification of Sikhs in the 2001 Census; and if she will make a statement; [302284]
(10) if she will place in the Library a copy of the (a) guidance issued in the 2001 Census and (b) draft guidance to be issued in respect of the 2011 Census on the application of the provisions of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act in communications with residents who decline to answer Census questions; [302271]
(11) what recent discussions she has had at EU level on proposals to harmonise census exercises across the EU; [302272]
(12) what targets have been set to measure performance in respect of the undertaking of the 2011 Census; and what value for money criteria have been applied in respect of that census. [302273]
Angela E. Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Jil Matheson, dated December 2009:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent questions regarding the 2011 Census. I have grouped together the responses to those questions where there are common themes.
(i) The Office of the Information Commissioner was consulted on the preparation of the privacy impact assessment for the 2011 Census. (302264)
(ii) The numbers of Office for National Statistics staff working full time on the 2011 Census are:
(a) media and public relations 9
(b) marketing and publicity 8
(c) communications 6
There is no one in the UK Statistics Authority working full time on the 2011 Census.(302265)
(iii, iv, v) The total budget for communications with the general public (including the marketing and advertising costs) is anticipated to be £16.8 million for the period 2005-2015. This includes all staff and contractor costs. The main contracts are with:
Bray Leino for advertising (including design and media buying) (£10.1 million);
Four Communications (£800,000) and Linstock (£553,000) for other marketing services (including pubic relations and market research);
Elmwood for delivering the branding for the 2011 Census (£139,000);
Big Mouth for online consultancy (£30,000);
together with a number of other smaller contracts. (302269, 302131, 302566)
(vi) (a) In total, adjustments due to errors in the 2001 Census made after publication of the results in September 2002 amounted to 275,000 people-a difference of 0.5 per cent
(b) The non-response rate in the 2001 Census was estimated to be 6.1 per cent of people. Adjustments for this non-response are included in the published results
A report of the assessment of the quality of the 2001 Census in England and Wales in terms of coverage, non-response and response error was published in 2005 and laid before Parliament. A copy is available at:
(302266)
(vii) The UK Statistics Authority, through its Executive body the Office for National Statistics, plans to undertake both national and local publicity to emphasise the value and importance to the public of the results of the 2011 Census and the legal obligation on the public to provide complete and accurate responses. This publicity will include an active response to any such campaigns. (302267)
(viii, ix) Representations to the Cabinet Office and the UK Statistics Authority from stakeholders on the inclusion of particular questions in the 2011 Census have all been directed to the Office for National Statistics.
The Equalities and Human Rights Commission, and the former bodies that have since been incorporated into it, have made representations to ONS proposing the inclusion of a question relating to sexual identity through:
verbal representations at one of the several Census Advisory Groups set up by ONS to consult regularly with a wide range of stakeholders;
written submissions in response to the programme of consultation on census topics in 2005;
in a letter to ONS in 2008; and
a bilateral meeting with ONS in June 2008
Neither the Cabinet Office nor the UK Statistics Authority (which was only created in 2008) would have received representations on the classification of Sikhs in the 2001 Census, but ONS took account of representations from a number of organisations in considering the inclusion of Sikh and other tick box categories in the religion question. Such organisations included:
Church of England
Inner Cities Religious Council;
Inter-Faith Network for the United Kingdom
Council of Churches for Britain and Ireland
Board of Deputies of British Jews
Network of Buddhist Organisations
Network of Sikh Organisations UK
UK Action Committee on Islamic Affairs
National Council of Hindu Temples, Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe
The Free Church Federal Council
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