Professional Organisations: Subscriptions
Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many subscription or membership fees for (a) the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and (b) other professional organisations were paid from budgets of his Department in respect of its staff in each of the last three years. [57349]
Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate (DECC) has not taken out any subscriptions or memberships with the Chartered Institute of Public Relations over the last three years.
DECC records expenditure on subscriptions and membership fees but does not specifically collect data on the number of subscriptions and memberships held. It would incur disproportionate costs to investigate all payments to determine how many individual fees and subscriptions were paid for. Membership fees and subscriptions are taken out for a number of reasons. DECC pays membership fees to secure UK representation on eight international energy and climate change bodies. Where staff hold or are training for professional qualifications they are required to subscribe to professional institutes, for example accountants, lawyers, economists. DECC also takes out subscriptions to access a wide range of printed and electronic data required to deliver the Department's objectives.
Radioactive Waste
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether any potential nuclear operations in the UK have made applications for a waste transfer price contract for wastes and spent fuels for new nuclear reactors. [57441]
Charles Hendry:
Several prospective operators have expressed an interest in entering a waste transfer contract with Government as part of their possible future submission
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of a funded decommissioning programme for a new nuclear power station. EDF have requested an indicative “expected price” in the context of their preparation of a funded decommissioning programme for Hinkley Point C.
The Government have consulted on a proposed waste transfer pricing methodology and are now considering responses to this consultation, but do not intend to enter into any detailed negotiations of a waste transfer contract prior to issuing the consultation response.
Radioactivity
Mr Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what measurements were made of (a) concentrations and (b) activities of (i) plutonium and (ii) uranium in UK air in (A) March and (B) April 2011. [57243]
Richard Benyon: I have been asked to reply.
The Environment Agency, working with Scottish Environment Protection Agency and the Northern Ireland
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Environment Agency, monitors air and rain at seven locations around the UK. The analysis and reporting is mainly on a quarterly basis, with some variations and the analytical requirements are given in the table. Under this Euratom programme, analyses for uranium are not carried out at any location. Samples from Aberporth in Wales are analysed for certain isotopes of plutonium in both air and rainwater and the Environment Agency reports these annually. All the results are reported in the annual publication “Radioactivity in Food and the Environment”. The latest report (2009) is available on the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) website.
The Environment Agency adjusted its programme slightly during March and April to check on radionuclides arriving from the Fukushima accident in Japan. The particular adjustments were to analyse filters that were changed weekly before normal processing, to ensure that short half-life radionuclides were analysed appropriately. Results from this Fukushima-related monitoring have been placed on the Health Protection Agency's website.
| Analytical requirements for particulate and rainwater samples | ||
| Location | Particulate samples** (Bq kg (-1) of air) | Rainwater concentrations and total deposition samples (Bq (-1) and Bq m (-2)) |
| * Plus any other radionuclides detected by gamma spectrometry. ** Filters are changed weekly or monthly and collected and washed before analysis. *** The Chilton filter is taken off weekly and counted by gamma spectrometry before treatment to provide a quick screen for short half-life and volatile radionuclides. | ||
As part of the conditions of their permits, the Environment Agency requires some nuclear sites to sample air and specifically to analyse the samples for plutonium and uranium. The sites include Harwell, Sellafield, LLWR, Springfields and AWE-Aldermaston.
Renewable Energy
Nicky Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the financial implications for businesses participating in the CRC energy efficiency scheme of the decision to end revenue recycling; and if he will make a statement. [58132]
Gregory Barker: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Ogmore (Huw Irranca-Davies) on 4 February 2011, Official Report, columns 1018-19W.
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Renewable Energy: Heating
Guy Opperman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he plans to take to provide assistance in respect of initial capital outlay for those converting domestic heating systems under the renewable heat incentive. [57881]
Gregory Barker: £15 million has been set aside under the renewable heat premium payments scheme to help families with the initial capital outlay for the installation of renewable heating systems in their homes. This will help up to 25,000 residents with the up-front costs of qualifying installations.
Successful applicants to the premium payment scheme will then be eligible for the RHI domestic tariff scheme which launches in October 2012, provided they meet the eligibility criteria for the tariff scheme.
Full details of how the premium payment scheme will work are to be published very shortly and the scheme will launch this summer.
Solar Power
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 5 April 2011, Official Report, column 888W, on solar power, what estimate he has made for international benchmarking purposes of the amount of solar power generated in countries with large solar power sectors in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [58073]
Gregory Barker: The International Energy Agency’s Photovoltaic Power Systems (PVPS) Implementing Agreement provides a country by country analysis of solar PV development, including installed capacity, for the 25 participating countries. The annual report for 2010(1), which analyses 2009 data, shows that installed capacity for the 25 participating countries during 2009 was 6.2 GW, which was about the same capacity as in 2008.
The greatest proportion (74%) of the 6.2 GW of solar PV installed in 2009 was in Germany and Italy alone. By comparison, approximately 80 MWp was installed in the UK.
(1) IEA PVPS Implementing Agreement Annual Report 2010 (p11)
http://www.iea-pvps.org/index.php?id=3
Solar Power: Feed-in Tariffs
Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the total monetary value is of feed-in tariff payments made for (a) solar photovoltaic schemes and (b) all permitted technologies in (i) Cornwall and (ii) the rest of the UK since April 2010. [57552]
Gregory Barker: This information is not yet available in the form requested. However, Ofgem has published data from the quarterly levelisation process which show a total of £6,206,235 paid for all technologies up to 31 December 2010. Levelisation data can be viewed at:
www.ofgem.gov.uk/Sustainability/Environment/fits/Levelisation/Pages/Levelisation.aspx
Levelisation data for 1 January to 31 March 2011 will be made available on Ofgem’s website soon.
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Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will assess the potential effects of the feed-in tariff review on the solar industry in Cornwall and the south-west; and what funding mechanisms he is considering to provide future support for that sector. [57490]
Gregory Barker: The recent consultation on the fast-track review of the feed-in tariffs scheme was accompanied by an impact assessment which considered the effects of the consultation proposals. This is available on the DECC website:
www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/consultations/fit_review/fit_review.aspx
The Department did not produce a specific impact assessment for Cornwall and the south-west.
We received over 500 consultation responses which we are now considering. We will confirm the outcome of the consultation shortly.
Technical Advisory Panel
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change who the members were of the Technical Advisory Panel set up by the Office for Nuclear Regulation to assist the chief nuclear inspector in his preparation of his interim report on the “Japanese earthquake and tsunami: Implications for the UK Nuclear Industry”; whether any other experts were nominated to serve on the Technical Advisory Panel but not appointed; and what additional resources were provided to the Office for Nuclear Regulation to support the work of the chief inspector and the Technical Advisory Panel on the report. [57440]
Charles Hendry: The Technical Advisory Panel was set up by the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) to provide independent technical advice to the chief inspector on the emergent findings following the events at Fukushima. They were invited to focus on the technical evidence and facts available at the time and provide contributions to both the interim and final report. The Technical Advisory Panel members are shown in the following table.
| Member | Nominated by |
ONR sought representation from non-government organisations and one nomination was proposed but did not take up appointment.
ONR set up a dedicated project support team to lead and support this work, including a technical support team, covering aspects of the Fukushima accident that are likely to be important in learning lessons. The ONR’s costs in preparing this report were met from its existing budget, which is largely recovered from industry.
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Full information concerning the Technical Advisory Panel is publically available on the ONR website at:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/nuclear/fukushima/tap.htm
Wind Power
Ian Swales: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the potential financial benefits to communities of offshore wind farms; and for how long he expects any revenue stream to such communities from such farms to last. [57428]
Charles Hendry: A number of developers have developed community benefit packages for offshore wind farms and the precise detail of these packages will vary from development to development. Offshore wind developers and communities are able to discuss and agree specific benefits packages between themselves in relation to individual developments.
Offshore wind will be critical to the UK in meeting our renewable energy and carbon reduction targets and development can bring financial benefits to communities from construction of the wind farm, from manufacturing and assembly of components and from ongoing operation and maintenance over the operational lifetime of the wind farm. The Government are also providing up to £60 million for offshore wind manufacturing infrastructure at port sites in assisted areas in England. Attracting major wind manufacturing to the UK will enable us to realise the maximum economic potential this sector offers. It will also generate high value opportunities in the supply chain, a significant proportion of which are likely to be located close to these manufacturing operations.
Wind Power: Greater London
Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what progress his Department has made on the tender for an offshore transmission owner for the London Array wind farm. [57864]
Gregory Barker: Ofgem, the independent regulator, has responsibility for running the competitive tender process to appoint offshore transmission owners to own and operate offshore transmission assets. Ofgem commenced the second transitional tender round, which includes the London Array Phase 1 offshore wind farm, on 17 November 2010, and announced shortlisted bidders for the projects in this round in April 2011.
Treasury
Business: Regulation
Matthew Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the 2011 Budget, HC 836, page 3, what estimate he has made of the average potential benefit to (a) all businesses and (b) small and medium-sized enterprises from discontinuing existing proposals for specific regulations which would have cost business over £350 million a year. [55709]
Mr Prisk: I have been asked to reply.
The regulations that contribute to the £350 million cost reduction for business include: extension of the right to request time to train to small and medium-
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sized enterprises (SMEs), extension of right to request flexible working to parents of 17 year-olds, dual discrimination and third party harassment.
Right to request time to train
For the right to request time to train, we are not able to estimate the how many businesses will benefit on average as a result of this decision as costs are calculated on a per request basis not a per business basis. We estimated in the impact assessment (IA) we published in January 2010 that the cost of dealing with a successful request would be around £319. This covers an estimated procedural cost of £90 for dealing with the request and £229 for accommodating the request.
Extension of right to request flexible working to parents of 17-years-olds
We also announced that we would no longer extend the right to request flexible working to parents of 17-year-olds to any business regardless of size. The published IA does not break this down by business size for the same reason as the right to request time to train. The IA estimated that the cost of dealing with requests would be approximately £62 per initial request and £123 per appeal. For accepted request the costs of accommodating the requests are estimated at £241.24.
The £3 million set out in the Plan for Growth in respect of dual discrimination is drawn from the assessment by the Government Equalities Office of the costs and benefits associated with the commencement of the dual discrimination provisions.
Costs to private sector employers: It is estimated that there would have been a £15.1 million transitional costs to private sector employers. This can be further broken down to an equivalent annual figure with a cost to SMEs per annum of £1.6 million, and the cost to large employers of £0.02 million per annum. There would also be costs as a result of dual discrimination cases against private sector employers of £1.0 million per annum. It is not possible to accurately state what proportion of this cost would fall on SMEs(1) or large employers.
The £0.3 million set out in the Plan for Growth in respect of third party harassment is drawn from the impact assessment by the Government Equalities Office on the Equality Act published at Royal Assent in April 2010.
Costs to private sector employers: annually recurring (per year) cost of additional cases (£80,093 - £323,573) in 2009 prices—range low/high).
HM Treasury used the high figure as the potential annual saving to business of removing this provision.
(1 )SME 1-249 employees. Large is 250+ and figures do not include the voluntary sector
Carbon Emissions
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what methodology he used to determine the price levels of carbon price support in (a) his Department's consultation on the carbon price floor and (b) schedule 20 of the Finance (No. 3) Bill; and what the reason is for the difference between those price levels. [57520]
Justine Greening:
The consultation asked for views on how best to implement a carbon price floor, including how the Government should determine future market
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prices of carbon upon which to base carbon price support rates. For illustrative purposes the consultation used the Government's long-term carbon price forecast as modelled by DECC.
The Government response to the consultation on Wednesday 30 March 2011 confirmed that a market-based approach would be used to determine carbon price support rates as this was the option preferred by respondents. The Finance Bill reflects this approach.
The Government's response is available online at:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/carbon_price_floor_consultation_govt_response.pdf
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what impact assessment his Department has undertaken on the effects on energy-intensive industries of the introduction of carbon price support. [57632]
Justine Greening: An assessment of the impacts of the carbon price floor is given in HMRC's Tax Information and Impact Note published alongside the Budget. This is available online at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2011/tiin6111.pdf
Child Benefit
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the likely change in the purchasing power of child benefit in the next three financial years. [57570]
Mr Gauke: The following table shows the estimated average change per week per child as a result of comparing the rates of child benefit uprated by the retail prices index with freezing the rates for three years from April 2011.
| £ | |||
|
|
2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 |
Child Benefit: Applications
Dr Whiteford: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether his Department has a target for the time taken to process applications for child benefit; [56742]
(2) what the average time taken to process applications for child benefit was (a) in the latest period for which information is available and (b) in each month of the last five years; [56743]
(3) how many parents have waited more than one month for their child benefit application to be processed in each month of the last five years. [56744]
Mr Gauke: In 2011-12, HM Revenue and Customs aim to pay new claims to child benefit in an average of 23 calendar days with 70% of new claims paid in 12 calendar days.
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Performance out-turn in relation to the timeliness of processing new child benefit claims in each month of 2006-07 to 2010-11 inclusive is shown in the following tables:
| 2006-07 | ||
| Aim | ||
|
|
To process 69% of claims in 5 working days | To process 95% of claims in 36 working days |
| 2007-08 | ||
| Aim | ||
|
|
To process 69% of claims in 5 working days | To process 95% of claims in 36 working days |
| 2008-09 | ||
| Aim | ||
|
|
To process 69% of claims in 9 working days | Pay new claims in an average of 20 calendar days |
| Aim | ||
|
|
To process 69% of claims in 9 working days | Pay claims in an average of 20 calendar days |
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| 2009-10 | ||
| Aim | ||
|
|
To pay 66% of claims in 9 working days | Pay claims in an average of 20 calendar days |
| 2010-11 | ||
| Aim | ||
|
|
To pay 69% of claims in 9 working days | Average number of calendar days to pay |
Information on the number of child benefit claimants who have waited for more than one month for their claim to be processed in each month of the last five years is not maintained in the format requested.
Dr Whiteford: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many complaints his Department has received on the length of time taken to process a child benefit application in each month of the last five years. [56745]
Mr Gauke: Specific information on the numbers of complaints about the length of time taken to process a child benefit application in each month of the last five years is not available. Information on the number of child benefit-related complaints in the last four years is provided in the following table:
|
|
2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 |
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Child Benefit Office received a total of 623 complaints in 2006-07. No monthly breakdown of this figure is available.
Child Care Tax Credit: Barnsley
Michael Dugher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in Barnsley East constituency are in receipt of childcare tax credit. [58013]
Mr Gauke: As at April 2011 there were 800 families in Barnsley East constituency receiving the child care element of working tax credit.
The information in this answer is based on HMRC's tax credits snapshot interim data. More information can be found at the HMRC website.
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-geog-apr11.pdf
Corporation Tax
Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the likely effect of the reduction in the rate of corporation tax announced in the 2011 Budget on the level of growth in each year from 2011-12 to 2015-16. [52378]
Mr Gauke: In its March 2011 Economic and Fiscal Outlook, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has forecast further increases in business investment from 2011 onwards.
The OBR has stated that the cost of capital is the fundamental determinant of business investment in the long-run. The additional corporate tax measures announced at Budget 2011 provide further reductions in the cost of capital for firms and will promote higher levels of business investment.
The Government’s aim is to create the most competitive tax regime in the G20. The reductions in corporation tax rates announced by the Government will support this aim and, based on announced plans, in 2014-15 the UK will have the fifth lowest rate in the G20 and will continue to have the lowest rate in the G7.
Alun Cairns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department took to implement the recommendations of the Thirtieth Report of the Committee of Public Accounts, Session 2007-08, Management of Large Business Corporation Tax, HC 302, prior to May 2010. [57559]
Mr Gauke: The Committee of Public Accounts made 11 recommendations in its Thirtieth Report of the 2007-08 Session.
Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs accepted eight of the Committee's recommendations and has implemented these fully or partially. The Department has not implemented three of the Committee's recommendations.
1. On publishing analysis showing distribution of Corporation Tax paid (published in 2009—to be updated).
3. On publishing distribution of CT inquiries by value (published in 2009-to be updated).
4. On completing 95% of inquiries within 18 months (partially implemented and ongoing: HMRC's Large Business Service has a target for 2011-12 of 85%).
5. On evaluating the effectiveness of the Customer Relationship Manager Role.
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6. On developing and publishing a robust measure of the Corporation Tax gap (partially implemented and ongoing—estimates for Large Business Service component published 2009 and 2010).
7. On sharing information with other tax authorities.
10. On publicising the Department's approach to high and low risk businesses and robustly applying the new penalty regime.
11. On assessing the numbers and skills of staff needed and developing a linked training programme (partially implemented and ongoing).
Recommendations not implemented:
2. On publishing an annual analysis of the use of reliefs by industry sector.
8. Government to consider whether to introduce consolidated CT returns.
9. On indicators of tax avoidance.
HMRC will publish a full update on the PAC recommendations in its departmental report in July 2011, showing outstanding recommendations and progress towards them.
Corporation Tax: Tax Rates and Bands
Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many private sector enterprises he expects to benefit from the reduction in the main rate of corporation tax to 26%. [57491]
Mr Gauke: Around 45,000 companies that pay tax at the main rate, and around 40,000 that are taxed at the main rate but who receive marginal relief will benefit from the reductions in the main rate of corporation tax announced in the last two Budgets.
While the majority of companies benefiting will be in the private sector, exact information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Charitable Donations
Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to encourage charitable giving by Ministers in his Department. [57115]
Justine Greening: All Government Ministers have pledged to spend time supporting a charity or community group of their choice.
Departmental Compensation
Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) paid out in (a) compensation and (b) goodwill payments in respect of mistakes and errors by HMRC in each of the last five years. [53860]
Mr Gauke: We do not distinguish payments as “compensation” and “goodwill”. Total payments made under HMRC’s ex-gratia financial redress policy for 2006-07; 2007-08; and 2008-09 are contained in the HMRC Annual Reports. The information is available from the HMRC website:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/about/reports.htm
For 2009-10 the payments made totalled £3.74 million, including a single, exceptional payment of £1.2 million. For 2010-11 payments totalled £1.41 million.
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Departmental Data Protection
Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) data protection breaches and (b) confidentiality breaches were made by HM Revenue and Customs in each of the last five years. [53859]
Mr Gauke: HMRC has kept a central record of all security incidents reported by staff or members of the public since 2007. This central record was formed in support of the Cabinet Office reporting requirements put in place following the Data Handling Review. HMRC was created in 2005 at which point security incidents were managed locally within the legacy departments. This approach continued until the central recording method began in 2007. This central record includes all security incidents involving the unauthorised disclosure of customer or protectively marked information. These records cover both unauthorised disclosures that were accidental and those that were deliberate.
Security incidents that are data protection breaches are reported to the Information Commissioner's Office in accordance with the guidelines.
|
|
ICO reported |
Where staff are suspected of either accessing or deliberately disclosing information without authorisation, HMRC will investigate and oversee disciplinary proceedings that may lead to dismissal. This process is continually being refined to improve the ability to identify these types of occurrences. Depending on the nature of the incident it is also possible for staff to be prosecuted if they has breached the Data Protection Act and/or the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act. Since 2007 HMRC has had 35 such cases where fraud has been investigated, i.e. staff suspected of deliberate unauthorised disclosure
|
|
Investigations |
| (1) April to September | |
Departmental Mobile Phones
Mike Freer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the name is of each contractor or supplier of (a) mobile telephone and (b) mobile data services to his Department. [56062]
Justine Greening: Mobile telephone and mobile data services are provided to HM Treasury by Vodafone Corporate Ltd.
Departmental Research
Chris Ruane:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what (a) longitudinal and (b) other (i) research and (ii) collection of data his Department has (A) initiated,
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(B) terminated and (C) amended in the last 12 months; and what such research and data collection exercises undertaken by the Department have not been amended in that period. [56752]
Damian Green: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Disadvantaged: Financial Services
Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to ensure that money and debt advice is available to people who do not have access to the internet. [57909]
Mr Hoban: Advice on money and debt is available from a wide range of sources and through various channels, including the internet, the telephone, and face-to-face. The Money Advice Service, established in the Financial Services Act 2010, is providing a national money advice service, which is available via telephone and face-to-face channels for those for whom online advice is impractical or inappropriate. Publicly supported debt advice services are also available across a range of channels.
Employment Agencies
Mike Freer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spent on (a) recruitment agency fees, (b) outplacement agency fees for displaced or redundant staff and (c) staff training in the last year for which figures are available. [51396]
Justine Greening: The Treasury spent £59,000 on recruitment agency fees, £9,000 on outplacement fees and £1,159,000 on staff training during 2010-11. The figures are provisional and subject to audit by the National Audit Office as part of the annual audit of the Department's resource accounts.
Enterprise Investment Scheme
Mr Hanson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much additional investment he expects to arise from changes (1) to the enterprise investment scheme announced in the 2011 Budget (a) for businesses directly benefiting from the changes and (b) across the economy; [52533]
(2) to venture capital trusts announced in the March 2011 Budget (a) for businesses directly benefiting from the changes and (b) across the economy. [52537]
Mr Gauke: Estimates of the Exchequer impact of the proposed changes to the enterprise investment scheme and venture capital trusts relief were published at Budget in the policy costings document available at:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/2011budget_policycostings.pdf.
The post-behavioural costing takes into account a net increase in annual investment in both schemes totalling around £200 million resulting from the changes. The reduction in the rate of corporation tax will help to support investment growth through reducing the cost of capital.
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Excise Duties: Fuels
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effects of extending the scope of excise duty on hydrocarbon oils to all forms of shipping and aviation for the purposes of raising finance for the Green Climate Fund; and if he will make a statement. [58068]
Justine Greening: The UK welcomes the UNFCCC decision to set up the Green Climate Fund and will participate actively to ensure the fund can deliver results, impact and value for money. Decisions on any UK contribution will be made when the fund's capacity to deliver results, impact and value for money is clear. Furthermore, the UK has already announced in the most recent spending review that £2.9 billion is to be spent on international climate finance over the next four years.
Financial Services Compensation Scheme
Craig Whittaker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what his policy is on establishing a sub-class for the general insurance broking sector within the revised Financial Services Compensation Scheme; [57482]
(2) what assessment his Department has made of recent trends in the levy on general insurance brokers in respect of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme; [57483]
(3) what assessment he has made of the effect on costs for insurance brokers of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. [57486]
Mr Hoban: The Government appreciate that the levies applied to some members of the broking industry have increased over the last financial year.
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is responsible for the funding arrangements for the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), under powers in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and associated legislation.
Furthermore, the FSCS is responsible for setting levies on firms within the rules and limits set by the FSA. These rules specify the levies that may be collected from each class of firm and the apportionment of levies between individual firms within each class.
Craig Whittaker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment his Department has made of the effect on consumers of reviewing the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. [57485]
Mr Hoban: It is essential that the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is able to pay out compensation to all eligible policyholders. Without certainty of payout, consumer protection is substantially weakened. It is therefore vital that the FSCS is able to raise resources in a range of circumstances to compensate consumers effectively.
The rules governing the FSCS are set by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), which has commenced a review of the funding model of the FSCS. It will proceed to a formal consultation and cost benefit analysis once discussions on European directives affecting
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compensation arrangements have been concluded and the Government's policy on the future role of the FSCS in the context of reform of the regulatory architecture for financial services has been settled.
Gift Aid
Henry Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to introduce a mechanism to enable charities to claim back tax up to £5,000 per annum through the gift aid scheme; and what mechanism he plans to establish. [57512]
Justine Greening: At Budget 2011 the Chancellor announced the introduction of the new gift aid small donations scheme. The scheme will allow charities to claim a gift aid style payment on up to £5,000 of small donations received each year without the need to collect gift aid declarations from donors.
HMRC is consulting informally on the details of the scheme over the summer, with the aim of publishing draft legislation for formal consultation later in the year.
The scheme is planned to start from April 2013.
Income Tax: Greater London
Mr Evennett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of pensioners in (a) Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency and (b) London whose tax liability will be reduced as a result of the increase in the income tax personal allowance in 2011-12 for those aged (i) 65 to 74 and (ii) over 75. [57160]
Mr Gauke: Personal allowances for those aged 65-74 and 75 and over rise from £9,490 and £9,640 respectively in 2010-11, to £9,940 and £10,090 respectively in 2011-12. Personal allowances for individuals aged over 65 who have incomes above £24,000 in 2011-12 are gradually reduced to the personal allowance for those aged under 65, which rises from £6,475 in 2010-11 to £7,475 in 2011-12.
In the London Government Office region, an estimated 257,000 individuals aged 65-74 and 183,000 individuals aged 75 and over are estimated to see a reduction in their income tax liability as a result of the increases in personal allowances described above.
These estimates are based on the 2007-08 Survey of Personal Incomes, projected using economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility's March 2011 economic and fiscal outlook.
Reliable estimates are not available at the parliamentary constituency level, due to greater uncertainties in projections for small geographical areas and small sample sizes.
Income Tax: Warrington
David Mowat: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of people who will (a) no longer pay income tax and (b) have their income tax payments reduced in (i) Warrington South constituency and (ii) the borough of Warrington a result of the rise in the personal allowance in (A) 2011-12 and (B) 2012-12. [57137]
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Mr Gauke: Personal allowances for those aged under 65 have increased by £1,000 in 2011-12 to £7,475, and will increase by £630 in 2012-13 to £8,105.
Reliable estimates are not available at the parliamentary constituency and local authority level, due to greater uncertainties in projections for small geographical areas and small sample sizes.
In the North West and Merseyside Government Office region, an estimated 100,000 are taken out of income tax and 2.52 million basic rate taxpayers gain from the increase in the personal allowance in 2011-12, in 2012-13, 28,000 will be taken out of income tax and 2.68 million taxpayers will gain from the increase in the personal allowance.
These estimates are based on the 2007-08 Survey of Personal Incomes, projected using economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility's March 2011 economic and fiscal outlook.
Insurance: EU Law
Craig Whittaker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had at EU level on the Insurance Guarantee Scheme Directive; and when he expects a final text to be drafted. [57484]
Mr Hoban: The Treasury submitted a UK response, with the FSA, to the European Commission's White Paper on Insurance Guarantee Schemes in November 2010. The Treasury has regular discussions with European stakeholders on a wide range of financial services dossiers, including the proposed Insurance Guarantee Scheme Directive. It is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.
The Government expect the European Commission to make a legislative proposal in the second half of 2011 and negotiations will then commence on the dossier.
Mortgages
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans his Department has to make it easier for people who are not in a relationship to share the mortgage for a property. [57558]
Danny Alexander: Decisions concerning the pricing and availability of mortgages are commercial decisions for individual banks and building societies. The Government do not seek to intervene in these decisions.
Northern Rock plc
Mr Umunna: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to receive recommendations from UK Financial Investments Ltd in relation to the future of Northern Rock plc. [54872]
Mr Hoban [holding answer 9 May 2011]:UKFI are looking at the full range of alternatives for divestment, and are exploring options based on maximising value for the taxpayer, maintaining financial stability and paying due regard to promoting competition. All exit strategies for Northern Rock plc will be considered with the final decision on the sale of Northern Rock made by the Chancellor.
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Public Expenditure
Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effects on each socio-economic group of the reductions in public expenditure announced in (a) the June 2010 Budget and (b) the comprehensive spending review. [57163]
Danny Alexander: At Budget 2011 the Government published detailed distributional analysis of the impacts of their decisions. Looking at the cumulative impact of tax, tax credit and benefit reforms introduced at the last Budget and previous fiscal events, the top decile sees the largest losses. This is the case across the income distribution, in both cash terms (Chart A.2) and , as a proportion of net income (Chart A.3). It is also the case across the expenditure distribution, in cash terms (Chart A.4) and as a proportion of expenditure (Chart A.5).
Chart A.6 in the Budget document shows that, after combining the impact of tax, tax credit and benefit and public service spending changes, the top 20% of households will make the greatest contribution towards reducing the deficit as a percentage of their income and benefits in kind from public services.
Revenue and Customs: Deloitte
Mr David Davis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in respect of how many cases involving the settlement of tax liabilities of over £10 million HM Revenue and Customs has had discussions with Deloitte in the last three years. [57560]
Mr Gauke: The requested information is not centrally held and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Social Enterprises: Renewable Energy
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether community renewable energy projects with social enterprise company structures whose electricity generation commences after 6 April 2012 will be eligible for the enterprise investment scheme or venture capital trusts. [57454]
Justine Greening: Legislation will be introduced in Finance Bill 2012 providing that companies whose trade consists wholly or substantially in the receipt of feed-in tariffs will only be eligible for the enterprise investment scheme or venture capital trusts where commercial electricity generation commences before 6 April 2012. The change will not apply to any shares issued before 23 March 2011.
The change is designed to improve the focus of the schemes on smaller, higher risk companies. Draft legislation will be published for consultation before it is implemented.
Tax Allowances: Age
Jo Swinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of using age-related tax allowances. [53001]
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Mr Gauke: The age-related allowances provide support for individuals on low and middle incomes aged 65 and over, and form part of the Government’s overall package of support for pensioners.
The age-related allowances mean that those aged 65 and over on the lowest incomes, up to around £10,000, are taken out of tax altogether and ensures that those with incomes up to around £29,000 pay less tax than individuals under 65. HMRC estimate that only 45% of individuals aged 65 and over will be liable to income tax in 2011-12.
Tax Collection: Appeals
Tessa Munt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many occasions individual tax codes were changed to recover tax arrears while appeals against recovery of underpayments were under way in 2010. [57450]
Mr Gauke: The information is available only at a disproportionate cost.
HMRC does not hold a central record of cases where tax codes were changed to recover underpayments or details of how many of these involved ongoing ESC A19 claims at the time when the codes were changed. HMRC revise codes and change tax codes on a regular basis for its customers as part of our normal processing.
Tax Credit: Income
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what analysis his Department has carried out of the effect on income levels in each income decile of (a) reducing the second income threshold for tax credits to £40,000, (b) increasing the first and second withdrawal rates of tax credits to 41 per cent., (c) tapering the family element of the child tax credit immediately after the child element, (d) removing the baby element of the child tax credit, (e) removing the 50-plus element of the working tax credit and (f) removing the supplement for toddlers. [54199]
Mr Gauke [holding answer 5 May 2011]: The measures to which the hon. Member refers are part of a range of reforms to the tax credits system announced at the emergency budget and spending review.
Estimating the impact of an individual measure does not give a clear indication of the full monetary impact on an individual household.
The Government published estimates of the distributional impact of the packages of announced tax and benefit measures which can be found at:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/junebudget_annexa.pdf
http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/sr2010_annexb.pdf
Taxation
Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many people have been issued with incorrect tax codes in each year since 1997; [53846]
(2) in how many cases individuals have been issued with an incorrect tax code owing to errors by (a) HM Revenue and Customs and (b) the individual in each year since 1997. [53849]
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Mr Gauke: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for East Dunbartonshire (Jo Swinson) on 3 May 2011, Official Report, column 684W.
Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate he has made of the amount of tax owed to HM Revenue and Customs by persons issued with incorrect tax codes in each of the last five years; in how many cases HM Revenue and Customs charged interest to persons owing tax as a result of being issued with an incorrect tax code; what estimate he has made of the administrative cost to HM Revenue and Customs of the issue of incorrect tax codes; and in how many cases in each of the last five years HM Revenue and Customs has written off tax owed due to an incorrect tax code being issued; [53847]
(2) how much tax is owed to HM Revenue and Customs due to the issue of incorrect tax codes that has been (a) written off or (b) left unrecovered in each of the last five years; and what the 10 largest amounts written off or left unrecovered are. [53848]
Mr Gauke: The information is available only at disproportionate cost.
Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many notice to file a tax return forms were automatically sent out by HM Revenue and Customs in each of the last five years. [53856]
Mr Gauke: The numbers of self-assessment tax returns issued by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) over the past five years with a due date of 31 January are provided in the following table:
| Tax return | Due by | Number issued (million) |
Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many notice to file a tax return forms were sent to people who had previously notified HM Revenue and Customs that they no longer used self-assessment in the last year for which figures are available. [53857]
Mr Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not hold this information.
Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many reportable errors were made by HM Revenue and Customs in each of the last five years. [53858]
Mr Gauke: HMRC reports financial errors in the Department's annual accounts as a note “Losses and special payments”. These annual accounts are laid in Parliament but are also available on the internet via:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/about/reports.htm
This publication also contains the report by the Comptroller and Auditor General on specific areas of audit review by the National Audit Office.
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In addition the Adjudicator provides a service to independently investigate complaints involving mistakes and other areas of reported poor service.
The Adjudicator's reports can be found on the internet from the following link:
http://www.adjudicatorsoffice.gov.uk/
Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect on the overall tax base of tax increment financing projects in England. [53991]
Mr Gauke: There are currently no tax increment financing projects in England. We are considering options for implementing tax increment financing as part of our work on the Local Government Resource Review. The review will cover a range of issues including the potential impact that tax increment financing could have on public finances.
Taxation: Construction
Mr Nuttall: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the total amount of deductions was held by HM Revenue and Customs under the Construction Industry Scheme as at (a) 31 March 2008, (b) 31 March 2009, (c) 31 March 2010 and (d) 31 March 2011; [54817]
(2) what assessment he has made of the effects on sub-contractors of their inability to obtain refunds for the deductions due to them from HM Revenue and Customs under the Construction Industry Scheme until after the end of each tax year. [54810]
Mr Gauke [holding answer 9 May 2011]: HMRC does not hold the data requested about deductions held under the Construction Industry Scheme.
No assessment has been made of the effect on sub-contractors of not being able to obtain refunds of the deductions until after the end of the tax year because HMRC seeks to make a prompt payment of any refund of deductions made under the Construction Industry Scheme due to sub-contractors entitled to receive them.
VAT
Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to review value added tax legislation; and whether the removal of exemptions will form part of that review. [56877]
Mr Gauke: All taxes, including VAT and the scope of its exemptions, are kept under review.
VAT: Financial Services
Conor Burns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the levying of value added tax on outsourced insurance-related services which are currently exempt from value added tax in the UK. [53360]
Mr Gauke:
Discussions concerning an EU Commission proposal that would modernise the VAT exemption for financial and insurance services have taken place at the Council of Ministers Working Party level for several
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years and are continuing under the Hungarian presidency. These have included the issue of the VAT treatment of outsourcing in the insurance sector. The matter was discussed by Ministers as part of an overall orientation debate on the dossier at the November 2010 ECOFIN.
Culture, Media and Sport
British Sky Broadcasting: News Corporation
Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (1) on what date he last met with representatives of Ofcom to discuss News Corporation's proposed acquisition of BSkyB; [58027]
(2) on what date he last met with representatives of the Office of Fair Trading to discuss News Corporation's proposed acquisition of BSkyB; [58028]
(3) on what date he last met with representatives of News Corporation to discuss their proposed acquisition of BSkyB. [58029]
Mr Jeremy Hunt: I last met with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and the Office of Communications (Ofcom) on 24 March, and with News Corporation on 20 January to discuss News Corporation's proposed acquisition of BSkyB.
Broadband
Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 23 May 2011, Official Report, columns 346-47W, on broadband, when he intends to publish the high speed broadband balanced scorecard; and how often he plans to update it. [58130]
Mr Jeremy Hunt: We intend to publish the scorecard during the summer. It will be updated annually.
Communications Bill
Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will publish the responses he has received to his open letter on his proposed Communications Bill. [58172]
Mr Jeremy Hunt: A summary of the responses to the open letter on the communications review will be published alongside the Green Paper at the end of 2011.
Construction: Standards
Mr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment his Department has made of the compliance of its Executive agency with OGC Common Minimum Standards for the Built Environment when commissioning construction projects. [57026]
John Penrose: The Royal Parks is this Department’s only agency and it is currently working towards compliance with OGC Common Minimum Standards for the Built Environment when commissioning construction projects.
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Creative England
Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport when Creative England's long-term business plan will be published. [58026]
Mr Jeremy Hunt: Following a consultation period at the start of the year, Creative England intends to publish its long-term business plan by September 2011.
Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what meetings he has had with the heads of the regional screening agencies on the creation of Creative England. [58173]
Mr Jeremy Hunt: I have not met with any of the heads of the regional screen agencies (RSA) to discuss the creation of Creative England; however my officials have been involved in a number of discussions with the RSA on this subject.
Departmental Manpower
Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will make it his policy to publish monthly information on changes in the numbers of his Department’s employees categorised by (a) seniority, (b) number of employees taking voluntary redundancy, (c) natural wastage and (d) involuntary redundancy. [57615]
John Penrose: The Department provides regular updates on its headcount and natural wastage through its annual report and accounts, and monthly returns to the Office for National Statistics. We have no plans to provide more regular updates given the administrative burden this entails.
Departmental Research
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what (a) longitudinal and (b) other (i) research and (ii) collection of data his Department has (A) initiated, (B) terminated and (C) amended in the last 12 months; and what such research and data collection exercises undertaken by the Department have not been amended in that period. [56765]
John Penrose: The information you have requested can be found in the following table:
| Project type | Research | Data collections |
|
Creative Industry (CI) Small/Medium Enterprises access to finance |
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|
Volunteering analysis via Culture and Sport Evidence programme (CASE) |
||
Other data collections and research projects that remain unchanged are as follows:
Olympics meta-evaluation
Country and Regional Analysis
DCMS Sponsored Museum Monthly Visits
University Museum Visits
Jobs, Skills, Futures Employment and Skills update
Geographical distribution of contracts
Museum Key Performance Indicators
Export of Objects of Cultural Interest
Portable Antiquities and Treasure
Whole of Government accounts (WGA)
Laying of sponsored bodies annual reports and accounts
Annual public bodies directory
Broadband Rollout programme Monitoring data
Finance statistics
HR statistics
Lottery grants database
Football
Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (1) what recent meetings he has had with the Football Association on football governance; [58169]
(2) what recent meetings he has had with the Football League on football governance; [58170]
(3) what recent meetings he has had with the FA Premier League on football governance. [58171]
Mr Jeremy Hunt: Along with the Minister for Sport and the Olympics, I meet regularly with the Football Association, the Premier League and Football League, as we take forward our commitment to work with these bodies to help reform football's current governance arrangements and support the co-operative ownership of football clubs by supporters.
We look forward to receiving the report from the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee on football governance before setting out our intentions in this area.
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Intellectual Property and Growth
Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport when he last met the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills to discuss the Hargreaves review of intellectual property and growth. [58168]
Mr Jeremy Hunt: I regularly meet with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) to discuss a range of subjects and views. Although we have not met specifically to discuss the Hargreaves review of intellectual property, this has been a part of more general discussions.
The Minister for Intellectual Property, Baroness Wilcox, together with Ian Hargreaves, and I have met representatives from the creative industries to discuss the Hargreaves review.
There have also been regular meetings between Baroness Wilcox and the Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries (Mr Vaizey); at which the review was one of the topics for discussion.
Music: Licensing Laws
Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with Phonographic Performance Ltd on licensing requirements for occupants of private offices who listen to a radio owned by an individual where the public cannot hear the radio broadcast. [57105]
Mr Davey: I have been asked to reply.
These issues are for the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), who has responsibility for intellectual property matters. However, neither the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills nor the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), have had any specific discussions with Phonographic Performance Ltd on this point.
Ofcom
Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 3 May 2011, Official Report, column 632W, on the Digital Economy Act 2010, when he expects to receive the report from Ofcom on the technical workability of reserve site blocking provisions. [58128]
Mr Jeremy Hunt: I have now received Ofcom's report on the workability of sections 17 and 18 of the Digital Economy Act. We will consider the report carefully and publish it and the Government's response in due course.
Olympic Games 2012
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 10 May 2011, Official Report, column 1059W, on the Olympic games 2012, what criteria he plans to use to determine who would qualify as (a) a domestic political leader and (b) dignitaries and others with a close connection to the games for the purposes of allocation of tickets. [57905]
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Hugh Robertson: The Olympic and Paralympic games are a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the UK to showcase itself to a massive international audience, and the Government will use this unique opportunity for the benefit of the whole of the UK.
The objective of Government's Olympic and Paralympics Games Domestic Dignitary programme is to ensure that dignitaries represent the UK at the full range of sporting and cultural events in London; including supporting the teams and carrying out media duties. It will provide opportunities for Government to represent the UK with other international dignitaries and promote the UK, as well as providing a memorable experience for dignitaries who have made a significant contribution to the games, or whose organisation is operational at the games.
The Government are in the process of assessing the allocation of tickets to support the dignitary management programme.
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 10 May 2011, Official Report, column 1059W, on the Olympic games 2012, for which events the Government have applied for tickets; and what the basis is on which those events were chosen. [57964]
Hugh Robertson: The Government have bid for a selection of tickets at different price categories for a wide range of events covering all days of the Olympics. The tickets will be used to support a domestic dignitary management programme on behalf of central Government. Where appropriate, we plan to charge for these tickets. In addition, some tickets will be used for international guests who are not accredited to the games (only sovereigns, heads of state/Government and Sports Ministers are accredited) and for international business guests in support of securing economic benefits.
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 10 May 2011, Official Report, column 1059W, on the Olympic games 2012, what criteria he plans to use to determine which staff are eligible to apply for the 3,000 tickets. [57965]
Hugh Robertson: A ballot has been set up to allow a range of public servants, who have worked closely on the games for over a year, the opportunity to purchase a pair of tickets at face value.
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 10 May 2011, Official Report, column 1059W, on the Olympic games 2012, if he will publish a list of Olympic tickets the Government have obtained; to whom they were allocated; and the cost to the public purse of such tickets when the information is available to his Department. [58107]
Hugh Robertson: After the games, the Government will publish a list of those dignitaries to whom they allocated tickets, the cost to Government of those tickets, and the number of staff who purchased tickets.
Ian Austin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 10 May 2011, Official Report, column 1059W, on the
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Olympic games 2012, what criteria he plans to use to decide who is invited to use the 6,000 tickets not being made available to staff. [58108]
Hugh Robertson: The bid for dignitary tickets covers Government Departments and some host venue towns and cities outside London.
Government tickets will be used for a variety of purposes including inviting and accompanying a number of international and domestic political and business leaders, as well as dignitaries and others with a close connection to the games and its legacy.
The venue towns and cities will buy their allocations under their host county or borough agreements with LOCOG and will offer tickets to civic leaders, local influencers, or other local causes at their discretion.
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 10 May 2011, Official Report, column 1059W, on the Olympic games 2012, what proportion of the 6,000 tickets will be used by the Government for liaison with international and domestic political and business leaders, dignitaries and others with a close connection to the games. [58109]
Hugh Robertson: The figures will change between now and the Olympic games, but on current forecasts, we expect around two-thirds to be used by central Government and around one-third to be used by venue towns and cities outside London.
Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (1) what recent assessment he has made of the likely effect on the economy of Northern Ireland of the London 2012 Olympics; [58112]
(2) what recent assessment he has made of the likely effect on the economy of Wales of the London 2012 Olympics; [58113]
(3) what recent assessment he has made of the likely effect on the economy of Scotland of the London 2012 Olympics; [58114]
(4) what recent assessment he has made of the likely effect on the economy of London of the London 2012 Olympics; [58115]
(5) what recent assessment he has made of the likely effect on the economy of the north-west of the London 2012 Olympics; [58116]
(6) what recent assessment he has made of the likely effect on the economy of the north-west of the London 2012 Olympics; [58117]
(7) what recent assessment he has made of the likely effect on the economy of the west midlands of the London 2012 Olympics; [58118]
(8) what recent assessment he has made of the likely effect on the economy of the east midlands of the London 2012 Olympics; [58119]
(9) what recent assessment he has made of the likely effect on the economy of the east of England of the London 2012 Olympics; [58120]
(10) what recent assessment he has made of the likely effect on the economy of the south-east of the London 2012 Olympics; [58121]
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(11) what recent assessment he has made of the likely effect on the economy of the south-west of the London 2012 Olympics. [58122]
Mr Jeremy Hunt: The whole of the UK stands to gain from the wide range of opportunities created by the 2012 games, through businesses winning games-related work, increased tourism and cultural celebrations. London 2012 has already brought significant new opportunities for UK businesses especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) is responsible for developing and building the venues and infrastructure for the London 2012 games. As of May 2011, 1500 businesses have supplied the ODA from across the UK. Thousands of businesses up and down the UK are working on the games through supplier contracts worth in excess of £5 billion.
For the specific nations and regions you have requested, the number and value of contracts awarded by the ODA can be found in the following table:
| Nation or region | Number of suppliers | Committed spend to date (£) |
These figures do not include the value of contracts further down the supply chain, in tiers two, three and so on, which are awarded by the tier one contractors and not by the ODA. The ODA estimates that the total value of supply chain contracts to the regions runs into millions of pounds, but these are not public procurements and so the full value of contracts won across the UK is not captured by the figures provided. The ODA estimates that overall up to 50,000 contracts will be generated throughout its supply chains.
All companies in the UK have the opportunity to register an interest for London 2012 business opportunities on CompeteFor, the London 2012 supplier website. For the specific nations and regions you have requested, the number of companies who have registered and been awarded contracts through CompeteFor can be found in the following table:
| Nation or region | Number of companies registered on CompeteFor | Number of contracts awarded via CompeteFor |
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In addition, the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) is now ramping up procurement for £700 million worth of goods and services it requires to stage the games.
Pre-games training camps will provide an opportunity to create further economic benefits, including inward investment, through the international attention that will follow. Facilities across the nations and regions that met the criteria to be world-class training venues are included in the official London 2012 Pre-Games Training Camp Guide. The guide has been produced in an online form and is accessible at:
http://trainingcamps.london2012.com
Agreements are now in place in nations and regions for teams to use the facilities in preparation for the games.
Further assessment of the growth being created in the UK because of the London 2012 games can be found in the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Quarterly Report, the most recent of which was published in May and can be found at the following link:
http://www.culture.gov.uk/images/publications/DCMS_GOE_QR_May_2011.pdf
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many tickets for the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics have been allocated to schools in (a) London, (b) England, (c) Scotland, (d) Wales and (e) Northern Ireland. [58131]
Hugh Robertson: The London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) has placed 6.6 million tickets for the London 2012 Olympic games on sale to the UK public, including special prices for young people in a “Pay Your Age” scheme for over 200 sessions. Further tickets will go on sale for the Paralympic games in September, with prices for young people starting at £5. As the Paralympic games take place in term-time, LOCOG will particularly encourage school groups to attend by providing group packages.
In addition to the main ticketing process, LOCOG has also announced a scheme called Ticketshare. Through a levy on those purchasing hospitality packages for the London 2012 games, Ticketshare will donate up to 100,000 tickets for children and young people in schools and colleges across the UK. To be eligible, schools and colleges need to apply to join the Get Set Network, part of LOCOG's education progamme. 50,000 of these tickets will go to schools and colleges in London, and 50,000 will go to schools and colleges across the rest of the UK. In addition, the Mayor of London has provided 75,000 additional tickets for London schools and colleges.
The tickets will be distributed through the Get Set network, and therefore the numbers to each nation/region will depend on the number of schools and colleges that apply by the deadline of Friday, 16 December 2011.
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Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to ensure (1) that (a) jobs and (b) growth in all parts of the UK benefit from the London 2012 Olympics; [58175]
(2) the legacy of the London 2012 Olympics will benefit all parts of the UK. [58176]
Mr Jeremy Hunt: The whole of the UK stands to benefit from the London 2012 games, including those through direct contracts and their supply chains; from tourism, the investment in sport and through the opportunities for schools and young people.
The Nations and Regions Group, established by the Government Olympic Executive (GOE) and the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG), works directly with each UK nation and region to help them realise and maximise the benefits from the economic, sporting and cultural opportunities offered by the games.
The games will also provide a focus for the tourism industry. The Government’s tourism policy, published in March, aims to help the tourism industry achieve its potential for growth through a range of measures. This initiative aims to generate 4 million extra overseas visitors over the next four years bringing in an extra £2 billion worth of visitor spend and helping to create 50,000 new jobs across the country.
The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) and LOCOG procurements continue to provide business opportunities for companies across the UK, in particular the SMEs which benefit from supply chain opportunities. LOCOG is now accelerating its procurement programme. It is procuring £700 million worth of contracts for goods and services across eight sectors—including performance and events, security, sports and technology. It will require a workforce of around 200,000 people, including 6,000 staff, up to 70,000 volunteers and up to 100,000 contractors. The procurement process for contractors was launched at the end of 2009 and most of the contracts will be awarded by the end of 2011.
The games will also provide a sporting and cultural legacy across the UK. We are introducing the school games, a new school sport competition which will provide more opportunities for pupils to compete in sport through a vibrant programme of regular intra and inter-school competitions. Through the Inspire Programme cultural and sporting projects can link their events and projects in an official capacity to London 2012. Get Set, the London 2012 education programme, aims to enhance young people’s learning through sport, culture and education and the Legacy Trust UK will help communities from across the UK build a lasting legacy from the games.
In addition, the “Places People Play” programme has been created to bring sporting legacy to life in communities across the country. This will be achieved by transforming the places where people play sport, inspiring people to make sport happen at a local level and creating sporting opportunities that give everyone the chance to become part of the mass participation legacy.
Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many contracts the Olympic Delivery Authority had awarded to firms located in (a) Wales, (b) each region of England, (c) Scotland, (d) Northern Ireland and (e) elsewhere up to and including 30 April 2011. [57144]
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Hugh Robertson: The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) is responsible for developing and building the venues and infrastructure for the London 2012 games. As of May 2011, 1,500 businesses, including those directly involved in the construction programme, have supplied the ODA from across all of the devolved nations and English regions.
The number of the ODA's direct suppliers, by nation and English region (according to their registered address), can be found in the following table:
| Regional development agency | Number of suppliers |