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2 Feb 2010 : Column 211W—continued
Treasury
Financial Services: Regulation
16. Mr. Touhig: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he plans to take to improve arrangements for regulation of the financial services sector. [314444]
23. Gordon Banks: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what further steps he plans to take in respect of the regulation of the financial services sector. [314451]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The UK continues to pursue an ambitious regulatory reform agenda at domestic, European and international levels. Firms will have to meet stricter capital and liquidity requirements, including holding more capital against riskier activities, and ensure remuneration practices do not promote excessive risk-taking. The Government are legislating for recovery and resolution plans, which will reduce the likelihood and impact of firms failing.
Maintaining Demand
17. Jim Sheridan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he plans to take to maintain the level of demand in the economy in the next 12 months. [314445]
18. Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he plans to take to maintain the level of demand in the economy in the next 12 months. [314446]
Ian Pearson: I refer my hon. Friends to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Loughborough (Mr. Reed) on the Floor of the House earlier today.
Credit Availability
19. Mr. Evennett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the banking sector on the availability of credit. [314447]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Treasury Ministers and officials have discussions 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 discussions.
Equitable Life
20. Annette Brooke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received on compensation of Equitable Life policyholders; and if he will make a statement. [314448]
Mr. Byrne: Sir John Chadwick has met with a variety of stakeholders as part of his work. He published his Second Interim report on 16 December 2009.
The Government are committed to establishing a fair payment scheme as quickly as possible. It expects Sir John to submit his final report in spring 2010, and will announce details of a payment scheme to follow, also in spring 2010.
Fiscal Support: Families
21. Mr. Marsden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what fiscal measures he plans to introduce to support families in the next 12 months. [314449]
22. Mrs. Humble: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what fiscal measures he plans to introduce to support families in the next 12 months. [314450]
Mr. Timms: The Government are introducing a range of measures to help families. The child element of the child tax credit will rise by £65 in April 2010, while working tax credit and child benefit will rise by 1.5 per cent. At the same time, tax thresholds will be frozen, offering a real-terms gain for taxpayers. In addition, from September free school meals will start to be extended to primary school pupils in low-income working families.
Banks: Regulation
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will (a) take steps to establish a ring-fenced fund in each bank in receipt of public funds to provide financial support to the manufacturing sector and (b) commission research on the implications for levels of greenhouse gas emissions of foreign energy projects involving fossil fuels which have received financing from the Royal Bank of Scotland. [314040]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Government's interests in financial institutions are managed at arm's length by UK Financial Investments Limited (UKFI). UKFI's Framework Agreement with HMT requires it to manage the investments on a commercial basis and not to intervene in day-to-day management decisions of the investee companies.
In acting as an engaged institutional shareholder, UKFI will follow in full the Institutional Shareholders' Committee's Statement of Principles and take on board industry-wide recommendations or guidance contained in the Walker Review or elsewhere. If it considers that a particular bank's corporate social responsibility policies, including its environmental policies, are likely to have a negative effect on the value of the bank and its shares, we would expect UKFI to intervene, in order to protect the value of its holding.
As part of the lending agreements linked to their participation in the Asset Protection Scheme, RBS announced on the 14 January that they would provide a
manufacturing fund of £1 billion to support the manufacturing sector. This fund will provide loans between £250,000 and £25 million to any firm in the manufacturing sector.
Child Tax Credit
Mr. Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families in each (a) region and (b) parliamentary constituency are in receipt of child tax credits; and how many such households have an income of (a) less than £20,000, (b) between £20,000 and £30,000, (c) between £30,000 and £40,000, (d) between £40,000 and £50,000 and (e) more than £50,000. [314301]
Mr. Timms: The latest information on the number of families receiving child tax credit by Government office region and parliamentary constituency is available in the HM Revenue and Customs' (HMRC) snapshot publication 'Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics. Geographical Analyses. December 2009', available at:
The latest information on the number of families receiving child tax credit, in each of the specified bands of income used to taper awards, is available in the HMRC snapshot publication 'Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics December 2009', available at:
Child Trust Fund
Mr. Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many households in each (a) region and (b) parliamentary constituency have a child trust fund; and how many such households have an annual income of (a) less than £20,000, (b) between £20,000 and £29,999, (c) between £30,000 and £39,999, (d) between £40,000 and £49,999 and (e) £50,000 or more. [314211]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The latest statistical information on child trust fund accounts, including regional and constituency level data, can be viewed on HM Revenue and Customs' website:
The information requested about the annual incomes of households that have children with child trust funds is not available.
Mr. Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families with at least one disabled child have received a child trust fund payment. [314218]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: From this April payments will start to be made into the child trust fund accounts of all disabled children who are entitled to disability living allowance (DLA). We currently estimate that around 85,000 children have a child trust fund and are entitled to DLA.
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what average payment has been made into child trust fund accounts by parents in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK in each year since the scheme's inception; [313025]
(2) how many children have been eligible to receive a child trust fund voucher in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK in each year since the scheme's inception; [313026]
(3) how many child trust fund vouchers have been (a) issued and (b) used by parents to open an account in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) the North East and (iv) the UK in each year since the scheme's inception. [313027]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: All children born since 1 September 2002 who live in the UK and are not subject to immigration controls are eligible for a child trust fund. If the child's parents or guardians do not open an account within a year HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will open one for them, thereby ensuring that all eligible children get a child trust fund account.
Statistical information regarding the child trust fund is published on HMRC's website at:
The latest package of information was published on 4 November 2009 and included data on child trust fund eligibility, voucher issue, take-up and parental contributions at United Kingdom, parliamentary constituency, regional and local authority level for children born by 5 April 2008. The website also contains statistical information relating to previous years.
Departmental NDPBs
Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for how many non-departmental public bodies his Department is responsible. [314259]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Details of HM Treasury's arm's length bodies can be found in HM Treasury's Annual Report and Accounts. Copies of the Annual Report and Accounts can be found on HM Treasury's Website and in the Library of the House.
Excise Duties: Beer
Paul Rowen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of beer sold in the UK without the payment of value added tax and excise duty; [314166]
(2) what estimate he has made of the amount of revenue lost to the Exchequer through the non-payment of value added tax and excise duty on beer in each year from 2001. [314268]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department has an internal estimate for revenue losses due to fraud in beer. For 2006-07 estimated losses from beer give a range of between £270 million and £490 million in respect of duty and £120 million to £220 million in respect of VAT. This corresponds to a market share of between 7 and 12 per cent. No estimate currently exists for any other financial year. The methodology is still under development and therefore this estimate may be revised.
Fiscal Policy
Mr. Dai Davies:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 19 January 2010, Official Report, column
6WS, on the Draft Code for Fiscal Stability, what definition of transparency was used for the purposes of the Draft Code for Fiscal Stability; and for what reasons the requirements for economic and fiscal projections referred to at paragraph 42 of that code do not refer to reporting requirements relating to the projected financial effects on climate change under the Climate Change Act 2008. [314192]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Transparency is defined in paragraph 6 of the draft Code for Fiscal Stability which is available in the Library of the House.
Paragraph 42 of the draft Code sets out the minimum reporting requirements for the economic and fiscal projections. Paragraph 45 of the draft Code makes clear that such projections, so far as is reasonably practicable, should be based on all Government decisions which have a material impact on the fiscal outlook. This includes the decisions relating to the implementation of the Climate Change Act 2008.
Income Tax: Tax Allowances
Dr. Starkey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the system of income tax allowances. [314427]
Mr. Timms: The Government keep the tax system under review to ensure it is modern and efficient and that everyone pays their fair share of tax to support valuable public services. Personal income tax allowances will be maintained at their current levels in 2010-11, providing a real terms benefit relative to September's Retail Price Index.
Income Tax: Tax Rates and Bands
Chloe Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost to the Exchequer of reintroducing the 10p rate of income tax on the first £2,000 of taxable income in each fiscal year from 2010-11 to 2013-14. [313013]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 28 January 2010]: Estimates of reintroducing the 10p rate of income tax on the first £2,000 of taxable income in each fiscal year from 2010-11 to 2013-14 is provided in the following table.
| Cost (£ million) | |
The estimates are based on the 2006-07 Survey of Personal Incomes projected forward in line with the 2009 pre-Budget report assumptions. The figures exclude any estimate of behavioural response.
Inheritance Tax: Eltham
Clive Efford: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many estates in Eltham constituency paid inheritance tax in each of the last five years; [314371]
(2) how many estates in Eltham constituency would have been required to pay inheritance tax had the threshold been set at (a) £325,000 and (b) £1 million in each of the last five years. [314372]
Mr. Timms: Information on inheritance tax data at a constituency level is not available as postcodes are frequently missing from completed inheritance tax returns.
Lehman Brothers: Insolvency
Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he has taken to support the claim of UK-based creditors against the US parent company of Lehman Brothers. [313573]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry [holding answer 26 January 2010]: The administration of the Lehman Brothers group, including its UK and US subsidiaries, is a matter for the courts and the court-appointed administrators in the relevant jurisdictions. It would be inappropriate for the Government to intervene in independent, court-governed proceedings such as these. Where UK-based creditors have a claim against any part of the Lehman Brothers group, it is appropriate for them to present this claim to the administrators of the relevant entity in the appropriate jurisdiction.
National Debt
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of the present and future level of the UK budget deficit compared to other G20 economies; and if he will make a statement. [314796]
Mr. Byrne: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave on the Floor of the House earlier today to the hon. Member for West Suffolk (Mr. Spring).
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