Dr. Ladyman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will set out, with statistical information related as directly as possible to South Thanet constituency, the effects on South Thanet of the policies and actions of his Department and its predecessors since 2000. [315636]
Mr. McFadden: Since 2000, the policies and actions of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (and its predecessors) have focused on building a competitive economy and on delivering prosperity and sustainable economic growth. The implementation of BIS policy in Thanet, has been taken forward primarily by SEEDA and GOSE, working in partnership with the local authority and other relevant bodies.
There are no data on South Thanet as it is not a local authority and consists of a number of wards. Data for Thanet have been used to respond to this question.
Examples of how BIS policies and actions have impacted on Thanet include:
The stock of VAT registered businesses has increased from 2,420 businesses in 2000 to 2,835 businesses in 2007(1).
The proportion of business registrations (including VAT and PAYE) per 10,000 resident population aged 16 and above has increased from 40.6 in 2002 to 48.4 in 2008.(2)
The number of business creation has also increased from 415 new businesses registering for VAT and/or PAYE in 2002 to 425 in 2008.(3)
The percentage of small businesses showing growth in employment has increased from 10.27 per cent. in 2003 to 13.78 per cent. in 2008.(4)
Levels of skills have changed in Thanet since 2001(5).
Performance at level 2 has increased from 57.5 per cent. to 58.7 per cent.
Performance at level 3 has decreased from 41.0 per cent. to 36.7 per cent.
Performance at level 4 has decreased from 23.0 per cent. to 19.2 per cent.
Specific data for South Thanet(6).
Between 2000 and 2008 the number of businesses units in the constituency of South Thanet increased by 600, which represents a 25 per cent. increase in business stock. This compares to an increase of just 14 per cent. in the South East as a whole over the same period.
Between 2000 and 2008 employment (excluding self employment) within South Thanet increased by 5,180, or 20 per cent., while in the South East as a whole employment grew by just 3 per cent. in the same period.
For further information on South Thanet specifically, the Neighbourhood Statistics Service provides a wide range of statistical information at parliamentary constituency level, taken from the 2001 census and other sources. This service is available on the National Statistics website at
http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/
(1) Extracted from NOMIS, source: BERR—VAT registrations/de-registrations by industry.
(2 )Data produced by BIS and available on the BIS website:
http://stats.berr.gov.uk/ed/national_indicators/index.htm
(3) As above.
(4) As above.
(5) APS—Annual Population Survey data. The data on skills levels is subject to large confidence intervals at district level and shows variation on a year to year basis.
(6) Annual Business Inquiry 2008.
Greg Mulholland: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the proportion of unemployed graduates of universities in Leeds who have received assistance from the Flying Start initiative in the latest period for which figures are available. [315574]
Mr. Lammy: The Flying Start - Make it Happen (MIH) initiative launched in September 2009 and delivered by the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship has so far had registrations from 202 graduates from the University of Leeds and Leeds Metropolitan University. 137 of these graduates have attended Make it Happen events in the area and 55 of these have pledged to start the self-employment and business start-up follow-on programmes.
No estimate can be made on the proportion of unemployed graduates receiving assistance from the Initiative until July 2010 when the Destination of Leavers in Higher Education survey results are published.
Chloe Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the revenue gain to the Exchequer of raising the rate of capital gains tax (a) for individuals from 18 per cent. to an individual’s marginal income tax rate and (b) to 40 per cent. for trusts (i) while retaining entrepreneurs’ relief in its current form and reintroducing indexation for inflation from March 1998 and (ii) while retaining entrepreneur's relief in each fiscal year from 2010-11 to 2013-14; how the estimated revenue gain to the Exchequer is distributed between (A) financial assets, (B) agricultural land and buildings, (C) commercial and industrial land and buildings, (D) residential land and buildings and (E) other non-financial assets in each year; and how the estimated revenue gain to the Exchequer is distributed between different marginal tax rates in each of those years. [313012]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 28 January 2010]:No such estimate has been made.
Due to the difficulties of assessing the large behavioural responses, which would result from changes of this kind, a reliable estimate can be determined only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what date the Standing Committee on Preparations for the Euro last met. [315312]
Ian Pearson: The last meeting of the Standing Committee on Preparations for the Euro took place on 16 July 2004.
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the answer of 11 November 2009, Official Report, column 589W, on the Government Air Programme, what the provisional, estimated amount is that will be spent on domestic flights per year under the Framework Agreement; and how many flights that will entail. [312437]
Ian Pearson: I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave him on 21 July 2009, Official Report, column 1346W.
Data on volumes and the performance of the Government Air Programme is not available until the end of the financial year 2009-10.
Hywel Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of the additional amount of revenue that would be raised in 2010-11 if higher rate income tax pension relief was abolished. [315725]
Mr. Timms: 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:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/pensions/menu.htm
If relief on pension contributions were constrained to the basic rate of tax, the amount of this relief would fall by one third.
The estimates do not account for behavioural effects, which are likely to be large.
Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether (a) he, (b) his Department or (c) his Department’s agencies have made representations to the US administration on the return to Lehman Brothers UK of its (i) funds and (ii) assets transferred to the US. [313909]
Mr. Timms: 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.
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the answer of 7 July 2009, Official Report, column 779W, on non-domestic rates, how many mobile telephone masts were on the Rating List in each local authority area in 1997. [311744]
Ian Pearson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 29 January 2010, Official Report, column 1146W.
Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects the National Insurance and pay-as-you-earn system to be completed; what the project's initial cost was; and what its final cost is expected to be. [315014]
Mr. Timms: The last major IT release for the National Insurance and PAYE Service (NPS) will take place on 6 April 2010.
The original business case for the programme responsible for the delivery of NPS was produced in January 2007. This estimated the programme's cost at £262 million over the period 2004 to 2014, delivering estimated efficiency savings of £399 million.
Since 2007 there have been significant changes in the scope and delivery timeline of the programme including major changes to meet the latest security requirements. The overall cost of the programme is currently estimated at £397 million, covering the period from the start of the programme in 2004 to 2015, delivering estimated efficiency savings of £546 million over the same period. The programme's cost and efficiency savings estimates will be updated once delivery is complete.
Mr. Curry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of the number of people likely to accept a voluntary redundancy package as part of HM Revenue and Customs' redundancy programme; and what estimate he has made of the likely average cost per individual entitlement. [314321]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 29 January 2010]: On 13 January 2010 HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) announced the next stage of its Workforce Change programme, which has been running since 2006. The announcement confirmed that HMRC will be vacating 130 offices during the 2010-11 financial year.
The 1,700 surplus staff in these offices who have not yet found alternative posts are now eligible to be considered for voluntary redundancy on compulsory terms; the best terms available under the Civil Service Compensation Scheme. Individual financial entitlement is dependent upon pay, grade and time in service. Whether an individual decides to accept these terms is a personal decision for them to make; an average cannot be calculated until these decisions have been made.
HMRC remains committed to avoiding compulsory redundancies wherever possible and will make every effort to redeploy people who wish to remain in the Department.
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what suppliers provided goods and services to the Valuation Office Agency in 2008-09. [314960]
Ian Pearson: A list of suppliers who provided goods and services to the Valuation Office Agency in 2008-09 will be placed in the Library of the House.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes were purchased under the (a) HomeBuy Direct, (b) New Build HomeBuy, (c) Open Market HomeBuy, (d) First Time Buyer's Initiative and (e) Social HomeBuy in each region in each year since 2005. [315675]
John Healey: The following tables are a breakdown of purchases from 2005-06 to 2008-09.
| 2005-06 | ||||
| New Build HomeBuy | Open Market HomeBuy | FTBI | SHB | |
| 2006-07 | ||||
| New Build HomeBuy | Open Market HomeBuy | FTBI | SHB | |