Sickness Absence
Dr Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the rate of sickness absence was in each (a) NHS organisation and (b) non-NHS independent sector treatment centre in each year since 1997-98; and how many work days were lost in each, in each year. [109727]
Mr Simon Burns: The information requested is not available.
Sickness absence is not reported by the number of days’ absence because of the difficulty in defining a standard working day in the national health service. Different shift patterns and the 24-hour nature of employment in the NHS mean that a percentage of whole-time equivalents is the standard used to define levels of sickness absence data in the NHS.
Sickness absence in the NHS is recorded in the electronic staff record system, in which the start and end of each absence by NHS staff is inputted. Every quarter since April 2009, the NHS Information Centre has calculated the national percentage of whole-time equivalents that
11 Jun 2012 : Column 165W
the sum of these absences represents. The most recent figures for sickness absence can be found on the Information Centre website at:
www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/workforce/sickness-absence
Data prior to April 2009 are not available. Due to the inconsistent ways in which data were collected prior to this date, it is not possible to report accurate data before April 2009.
The electronic staff record system only records data for NHS employees. As such there are no available sickness absence data for staff in non-NHS independent sector treatment centres.
Social Workers
Dr Poulter:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many social care workers were (a) employed in
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and
(b)
recruited to the NHS in each year since 1997-98. [109638]
Paul Burstow: The number of social care workers is not collected centrally as social care workers are employed by local authorities and the voluntary sector in England and not by the national health service.
Qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical (ST&T) staff in social services employed by the NHS in England are shown for every year since 2001 in the following table. Occupation codes for ST&T staff in the social services area of work were not introduced until 2001 so the figures were not collected prior to 2001.
| NHS hospital and community health services: Qualified ST&T staff in the social services area of work in England by level as at 30 September each specified year | |||||||||||
| Full-time equivalent | |||||||||||
| 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | |
| (1) Zero. Notes: 1. ST&T—Scientific, Therapeutic and Technical. 2. Full-time equivalent figures are rounded to the nearest whole number. 3. Occupation codes for ST&T staff in the social services area of work were not introduced until 2001. The small numbers from 2001-04 are likely an under-representation of actual staff numbers until use of the code became established in later years. 4. ST&T staff in the social services area of work are former local authority social care staff who may be employed by primary care trusts and care trusts. These are staff who need to be (or work directly with) qualified social services staff to do their jobs within the organisation. For example social or youth workers, day-care advisers, child protection officers, family placement officers, rehabilitation staff, or handicapped service workers. (Note that this list is not exhaustive). 5. These staff are NOT to be confused with social services staff employed by local authorities working in areas such as child protection, homelessness and domestic abuse. Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre Non-Medical Workforce Census. | |||||||||||
Surgery: Females
Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which health authorities have a policy of not operating on women aged over 35 years who have ruptured anterior cruciate ligaments. [109575]
Mr Simon Burns: We are not aware that any commissioner in the English national health service has such a policy. We understand that there is some debate over the appropriate treatment for a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament, and that the choice between surgery and alternatives such as physiotherapy may depend on factors such as the patient's general level of health and activity. Where commissioners have a general policy to restrict access to certain treatments on the grounds of limited effectiveness, there should always be a transparent and well-publicised process to allow exceptions to be considered in individual cases.
Tranquilisers
Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria his Department applies to determine whether patients are addicted to tranquilisers. [109615]
Anne Milton: The determination of a diagnosis of dependence is a clinical judgment.
The system of classification commonly used by practitioners in the United Kingdom for such diagnoses is the International Classification of Diseases System (ICD-10), developed by the World Health Organization (WHO). ICD-10 notes that the substances may or may not have been medically prescribed and provides clear criteria for a diagnosis of tranquilliser dependence under code F13.2—Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of sedative hypnotics.
These guidelines suggest that a cluster of three or more problems are required for a definite diagnosis of dependence. Anyone identified with a tranquilliser withdrawal syndrome who is showing two other listed problems would meet these ICD-10 criteria for dependence.
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Tranquillisers: Misuse
Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what dedicated withdrawal services are provided for involuntary tranquilliser addiction in (a) South Cambridgeshire, (b) Sutton and Cheam and (c) Chelmsford and Guildford constituency; and how many patients were successfully treated in each of those constituencies in each of the last three years. [109259]
Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on recognition of involuntary tranquiliser addiction as a medical condition; what his Department's definition is of involuntary tranquiliser addiction; and what estimate his Department has made of the number of people diagnosed with involuntary tranquiliser addiction. [109394]
Anne Milton: The National Drug Strategy focuses on tackling all drugs of dependency, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines. Services should be responsive to the needs of the individual, irrespective of an individual's route to dependence.
The determination of a diagnosis of dependence is a clinical judgment. It does not depend on the cause of dependence, although this would be a consideration in care planning.
The system of classification commonly used by practitioners in the United Kingdom for such diagnoses is the International Classification of Diseases System (ICD-10), developed by the World Health Organisation (WHO). ICD-10 gives clear criteria for a diagnosis of tranquilliser dependence under code F13.2—Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of sedative hypnotics.
These guidelines suggest that a cluster of three or more problems are required for a definite diagnosis of dependence. Anyone identified with a tranquilliser withdrawal syndrome who is showing two other listed problems would meet these ICD-10 criteria for dependence.
It has not been possible to establish a definite prevalence estimate of dependency on prescription or over-the- counter medicine. However, the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS) does collect information on the numbers of people in structured treatment for drug dependence.
The analyses for the report on Addiction to Medicine which was published by the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse on 11 May 2011 identified NDTMS data about the treatment of people being treated for addiction to medicines. It is not possible to analyse NDTMS data by parliamentary constituency. Information recorded on NDTMS about numbers treated for addiction to medicine in the local drug partnerships which include the constituencies listed by the hon. Member for Heywood and Middleton (Jim Dobbin) is given in the following table.
The columns headed "licit only" show the numbers of people treated for dependence to prescribed or over-the-counter medicine when there is no concurrent use of illicit drugs. The columns headed "licit and illicit" show the numbers of people treated for dependence who are using licit and illicit drugs concurrently. The methodology for analysing the NDTMS data is explained in Annex 1 of the NTA's report in May 2011.
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| Cambridgeshire | Sutton | Essex | Surrey | |||||
| Licit only | Licit and illicit | Licit only | Licit and illicit | Licit only | Licit and illicit | Licit only | Licit and illicit | |
Services to treat dependence are commissioned locally. Information about whether service providers organise clinics or sessions specifically for people addicted to medicine is not collected centrally.
Vaccination
Mr Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether new vaccines will be included in the proposed value-based pricing scheme or continue to be procured via a tender process. [110058]
Mr Simon Burns: In developing the value-based pricing system, the aim is to create a system that has the capability to include the broadest possible range of new medicines, thus minimising the need for parallel mechanisms. Notwithstanding this, we note that there may be instances where it is sensible to conclude that an individual medicine should not be assessed under value-based pricing. We will keep the situation under review. If, as our work progresses, it becomes clear that some medicines, such as vaccines, would be better dealt with under different arrangements, we will consider alternative options.
Women and Equalities
Equality and Human Rights Commission
Philip Davies: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what the average salary is at the Equality and Human Rights Commission for (a) ethnic minority staff, (b) white ethnic background staff, (c) men and (d) women, excluding the salary of the chairman. [110755]
Lynne Featherstone: The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is an arm's length body; the following is based on information it has provided.
Based on the salaries of EHRC employees(1) as at 31 March 2012, the average annual salary of the employee groups requested are:
| £ | |
| (1) This does not include the Chair or the Commissioners (other than the Chief Executive, an ex-officio Commissioner, who is included). (2) The EHRC calculates an overall average salary for all black and minority ethnic employees. It does not calculate average salaries for each ethnic group. | |
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Treasury
Banks
Lindsay Roy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the likely risks to the banking system of the financial situation in Spain. [109537]
Mr Hoban: Exposures of UK banks to the eurozone periphery are published in annual reports and are given at:
www.bankofengland.co.uk/statistics/Documents/bankstats/2012/Apr/TabC4.2.xls
The Treasury conducts contingency planning for the UK banking system on the basis of a range of possible scenarios, including possible adverse events in the eurozone.
UK banks have taken action to strengthen their overall resilience and the FSA continues to monitor UK banks against stress conditions.
Ian Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information his Department holds on the proportion of UK bank customers who bank with (a) Barclays, (b) HSBC, (c) LloydsTSB and (d) RBS. [109848]
Mr Hoban: The Office of Fair Trading's report in 2008 into personal current accounts in the UK, provides information on the market shares of individual banks by number of customers. It is available online at:
http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/reports/financial_products/OFT1005.pdf
Building Societies
Ian Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many building societies were registered in the UK in (a) 1985, (b) 1995, (c) 2005 and (d) 2011. [109847]
Mr Hoban: In 1985 there were 167 registered building societies. In 1995 there were 80, in 2005 there were 63 and in 2011 there were 47.
Business: Loans
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how much finance has been allocated under the National Loan Guarantee scheme in each region and constituent part of the UK in the last 12 months; [109597]
(2) how many businesses have accessed finance from the National Loan Guarantee scheme in each region and constituent part of the UK in the last 12 months. [109598]
Mr Hoban: The National Loan Guarantee scheme launched on 20 March 2012 and is currently being rolled out across the UK by the participating banks.
Mr Darling: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Bank of England's quantitative easing programme on bank lending to small business; and if he will make a statement. [109920]
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Miss Chloe Smith: The independent Monetary Policy Committee's (MPC) policy tools, including quantitative easing (QE), are macroeconomic policy tools designed to affect the economy as a whole, in order to meet the 2% inflation target over the medium term.
The Bank of England estimates in its September 2011 Quarterly Bulletin that QE has raised spending and activity in the UK economy in order to help hit the inflation target in the medium term. The Quarterly Bulletin article also notes that given the strains in the financial system, the MPC expected little impact through the bank lending channel.
The Government recognises that the flow of credit to smaller businesses is constrained and ongoing pressures on bank funding are affecting borrowing costs. In order to address these pressures, the Government launched the £20 billion National Loan Guarantee Scheme on 20 March to lower the cost of bank loans for smaller businesses and expanded the Business Finance Partnership to £1.2 billion at Budget 2012 to encourage the development of non-bank lending channels for SMEs and mid-sized businesses.
Child Benefit
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many cases of child benefit fraud his Department investigated in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012. [108129]
Mr Gauke [holding answer 21 May 2012]: The information requested is detailed in the following table:
| Tax year | Number of cases of child benefit fraud investigated. |
In 2010 HM Revenue and Customs carried out more interventions on current awards as wel1 as validating information to prevent fraudulent claims from entering the system.
HM Revenue and Customs also work collaboratively with other Government Departments to identify individuals who are not entitled to child benefit.
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much funding he has allocated to the marketing of changes to child benefit for higher rate taxpayers. [109319]
Mr Gauke: The cost of marketing changes to child benefit for taxpayers with income over £50,000 is estimated at £1 million per annum as set out in the Tax Information and Impact Note (TUN) which was published on HMRC's website:
www.hmrc.gov.uk
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with the Office for National Statistics on whether the payments to be made to HM Revenue and Customs by higher rate taxpayers in receipt of child benefit are to be classified as a tax. [109936]
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Mr Gauke: This is a decision solely for the independent Office for National Statistics.
Community Development
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what research his Department has undertaken on the effect on community groups of the removal of the zero rate of VAT for alterations to listed buildings in community ownership. [110544]
Mr Gauke: The impacts are set out in “Annex B—Table of Impact for Individual Measures” of the HM Revenue & Customs consultation document “VAT: Addressing borderline anomalies” published in Budget 2012.
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2012/vat-con-4801.pdf
The consultation closed on 18 May 2012. HM Revenue and Customs is now analysing the responses and a response document will be published before legislation is laid before Parliament in the summer.
Correspondence
Mr Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many letters to Ministers in his Department were (a) not answered, (b) not answered within six months and (c) not answered within three months in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; how many such letters were from hon. Members; and if he will make a statement. [109444]
Miss Chloe Smith: The information is as follows:
| Number | ||
| 2010 | 2011 | |
The table above provides data for the most recent available calendar years. The Treasury is unable to provide data by financial year, or on the number of letters received from hon. Members. This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
On an annual basis the Cabinet Office publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of Departments in replying to Members correspondence. The report for 2011 was published on 15 March 2012, Official Report, columns 30-33WS. Reports for earlier years are available in the Library of the House.
Crown Estate
Mr Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 21 May 2012, Official Report, column 422W, on the Crown Estate, if he will publish the minutes of the Crown Estate's remuneration committee since May 2010; and if he will make a statement. [110283]
Miss Chloe Smith:
The Crown Estate plans to begin publishing minutes of its remuneration committee meetings on its website shortly. The first set of minutes to be
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published will relate to spring 2010. Minutes will be published retrospectively as they may touch on policy development and personal information.
As set out in the answer I gave the hon. Member on 21 May 2012, Official Report, column 422W, detailed information on director and board member remuneration is already published in The Crown Estate's annual report.
Debts Written Off
Mr Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much bad debt was written off by his Department in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement. [110208]
Miss Chloe Smith: The Treasury did not write off any bad debts in 2010-11 or 2011-12.
Disclosure of Information
Jon Trickett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spent on the updating of published data in line with the Government's transparency agenda in each month since September 2011. [110719]
Miss Chloe Smith: The Treasury's work on the Government's transparency agenda is part of the day to day activities of a number of departmental staff engaged in data preparation. Therefore the cost of publishing the transparency element of this work on a monthly basis since September 2011 is not separately identifiable.
Empty Property
Mr Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many buildings owned by his Department and the bodies for which he is responsible have been empty for more than two years; and if he will make a statement. [110869]
Equitable Life Assurance Society: Leicester
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many representations he has received on Equitable Life from policy holders resident in Leicester South constituency. [109696]
Mr Hoban: The Treasury does not hold a breakdown of the number of representations received on Equitable Life from Leicester South constituents.
Excise Duties: Fraud
Michael Fallon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of revenue lost due to excise duty fraud in each of the last five years. [110150]
Miss Chloe Smith: HMRC estimates losses in revenue associated with illicit sales of beer, spirits, tobacco products and oils. These are published in “Measuring Tax Gaps 2011”, which is available online at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/measuring-tax-gaps.htm
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For beer, more recent and improved estimates were published in “Improved Beer Tax Gap Estimate: Lower Bound”, which is available online at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/beer-tax-gap-feb2012.pdf
Tax Returns: Confidentiality
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he sought legal advice on the compatability of Schedule 1, paragraph 2 to the Finance (No. 4) Bill 2012 with the principle of confidentiality outlined in section 18 of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005; and whether he consulted on that issue. [109921]
Mr Gauke: The Government's position is that HMRC has the function of collecting the high income child benefit charge, which a taxpayer will need to notify HMRC about by way of their tax return. The disclosure to the taxpayer of very limited information that directly impacts on their own tax or child benefit position, and which is for the purpose of completing their tax return is a disclosure made for the purposes of HMRC's functions.
There was no consultation on this issue. Having carefully examined all of the possible options, this is the best possible design.
Industrial and Provident Societies Act 2002
Mr Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) on which occasions the power under section 2 of the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 2002 has been utilised; and if he will make a statement; [109397]
(2) if he will assess the further potential for using powers under section 2 of the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 2002 to reduce administrative burdens for co-operatives; and if he will make a statement. [109396]
Mr Hoban: The Government have not used the power under section 2 of the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 2002. The Government will keep this position under review.
The Government are, however, committed to promoting mutuals and fostering diversity within financial services. They have taken a number of steps to support this aim. In January 2012, the Legislative Reform Order (LRO) came into effect. The LRO reduces administrative burdens on co-operatives, and allows credit unions to draw their members from a wider base, removing restrictions on their growth.
The Government also announced in January that they will introduce a Co-operatives Consolidation Bill. This will put all legislation for co-operatives in one place, removing barriers to setting up a co-operative.
Interest Rates
Jonathan Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the IMF's suggestion that the Bank of England should reassess the efficacy of cutting interest rates below 0.5%; and if he will make a statement. [109886]
Miss Chloe Smith:
Decisions on setting bank rate, and the additional monetary policy tool of asset purchases
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financed by the issuance of central bank reserves, are for the independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) based on its judgment on the balance of risks to meeting the inflation target in the medium term.
JP Morgan
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the potential effect on (a) future availability of mortgage finance and (b) the cost of such finance of JP Morgan's purchases of British residential mortgage-backed securities; and what action he is planning to take to safeguard the UK mortgage market in the event that JP Morgan's trading operations are curtailed. [110116]
Mr Hoban: The Treasury, the Bank of England and the FSA continue to work with industry to explore ways of encouraging more sustainable, transparent and standardised UK mortgage-backed securities markets in order to lay the foundations for stronger markets in the future. The cost and availability of mortgages is a commercial decision for individual banks and building societies.
Departmental Staff
Mr Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what target he has set to reduce headcount across his Department, its non-departmental public bodies and executive agencies in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement. [110229]
Miss Chloe Smith: The Government have not set targets to reduce headcount across HM Treasury, its non-departmental public bodies or Executive agencies. Work force implications of the spending review settlement depend on internal budget allocations and subsequent management decisions.
Members: Correspondence
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he intends to answer the letter from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton (Sir Gerald Kaufman) of 26 March 2012 with regard to Mr Shaun Gordon. [110479]
Mr Gauke: I have replied to the right hon. Member.
Mutual Societies
Mr Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of full-time equivalent staff who will transfer from his Department, its non-departmental public bodies and Executive agency workforce to a mutual in (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement. [110188]
Miss Chloe Smith: There are no plans for the transfer of HM Treasury staff to a mutual in 2011-12 or 2012-13.
National Insurance Contributions
Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of the number of businesses that have participated in the national insurance holiday. [108670]
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Mr Gauke: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on National Insurance Contributions, 14 May 2012, Official Report, column 43W.
Non-domestic Rates: Public Houses
David Morris: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to harmonise business rates for public houses from pub turnover basis to the normal ground rates applicable to other small business premises. [109303]
Mr Gauke: All non-domestic property has a rateable value assigned to it for business rates purposes which is equivalent to one common measure—rental value—whether it is an office, shop, factory or public house. Rateable values for pubs are based on actual rents although those rents are analysed alongside turnover to ensure similar pubs are treated equally. This methodology has been agreed with the British Beer and Pub Association.
This uniform basis ensures consistency and fairness in the way all non-domestic property is valued for rating.
PAYE
Mr Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many letters have been sent to individuals on incorrect payment of PAYE tax since March 2011; and whether his Department has made an estimate of the number likely to be sent in the next 12 months. [107965]
Mr Gauke: HMRC does not hold the information requested and could supply figures only at disproportionate cost.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the answer of 30 April 2012, Official Report, column 1197W, on PAYE, what steps his Department is taking to reconcile payment information for employees who are paid using internet banking. [109556]
Mr Gauke: HMRC is not planning to reconcile PAYE real time information (RTI) sent to HMRC, with the related payment to the employee's bank account, where employees are paid using internet banking during the real time information (RTI) pilot year or when RTI is first implemented after the pilot.
Reconciliation of RTI with related payments to the employees' bank accounts will be undertaken where employees are paid by direct credit using a Bacs Service User Number. This payment method is used for the majority of payments subject to PAYE. The reconciliation will be facilitated by a cross reference in the payment instruction.
Over time, HMRC may extend the requirement for a cross reference to other electronic payment methods.
Peers: Allowances
Chris Bryant: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost was of Peers' allowances to the public purse in each year from 2000 to 2011. [109983]
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Danny Alexander: This is not HM Government's responsibility. The House of Lords is responsible for Peers' allowances. Information on this is published regularly by Parliament on the parliamentary website:
http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/members-allowances/house-of-lords/holallowances/hol-expenses04/
While it is the case that the House of Lords Supply Estimate is formally presented to Parliament by the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, together with most other Supply Estimates, the Treasury has no formal control over, or responsibility for, the House of Lords expenditure thereby Voted. This reflects Parliament's independence from the Executive.
Personal Service Company Arrangements
Mr Winnick: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps HM Revenue and Customs takes to check that individuals are genuinely involved in a business which would allow them to have personal service company arrangements instead of PAYE. [110104]
Mr Gauke: HMRC has no role to play in considering whether or not an individual is providing their services through a personal service company.
HMRC does police the Intermediaries legislation (more commonly referred to as IR35). This legislation requires intermediaries, such as personal service companies, to deduct income tax and national insurance contributions from income received by the company in respect of payments to it which would otherwise have been employment income of the individual and to do so according to a statutory formula.
HMRC carries out compliance activity on a risk basis to ensure that intermediaries are complying with the requirements of IR35.That compliance activity has recently been strengthened following the Office of Tax Simplification's review of IR35 and the Government's announcement at Budget 2011 that the administration of IR35 would be improved.
Mr Winnick: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the number of personal service company arrangements in the private sector. [110105]
Mr Gauke: No such estimate is available.
Mr Winnick: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will require HM Revenue and Customs to interview those applying for a personal service company arrangement in order to assess that it is genuine. [110106]
Mr Gauke: HMRC has no role to play in considering whether or not an individual is providing their services through a personal service company or in whether or not that is an appropriate working arrangement.
HMRC's role is to ensure that those providing their services through personal service companies comply with the relevant tax and national insurance obligations and that includes compliance with the Intermediaries legislation (commonly known as IR35) as appropriate.
Personal service companies are legitimate commercial arrangements. The Government recognises this and wants to support genuine entrepreneurial activity.
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Mr Winnick: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the amount a person would save annually in income tax if they earned annually (a) £1,000,000, (b) £750,000, (c) £500,000, (d) £400,000, (e) £300,000, (f) £250,000, (g) £200,000, (h) £150,000 and (i) £100,000 and instead of PAYE, they had a personal service company arrangement. [110107]
Mr Gauke: It is not possible to provide reliable estimates because there are too many variables to take into consideration including what amount of payrolled salary a person might be taking out of the personal service company, what employer and employee national insurance contributions need to be paid, what dividends are being paid and to who, what expenses might be allowable, the handing of profits retained within the personal service company, etc.
Even if such estimates were possible, focusing exclusively on the tax difference (“saving”) without considering all such other factors would present an unbalanced and misleading comparison.
Working through a personal service company is a perfectly legitimate commercial arrangement and there is no presumption that someone working in this way is necessarily achieving income tax “savings” by doing so.
Publications
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many publications have been issued by his Department since May 2010. [109822]
Miss Chloe Smith: Since May 2010, the Treasury has issued 258 publications, which are all available on its website.
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) circulars and (b) consultation documents were issued by his Department in each of the last two years. [110510]
Miss Chloe Smith: The Treasury has issued no circulars and 77 consultations in the last two years.
Revenue and Customs: Customer Services
Chris Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average (a) call waiting time and (b) number of staff allocated to respond to calls was for HM Revenue and Customs PAYE tax code helpline 0845 3000 627 in each month of the last two years. [109109]
Mr Gauke: [holding answer 23 May 2012]: The information requested is as follows:
| Average waiting time (m:ss)(1) | |||
| 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | |
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| (1) Average waiting time is defined as the time taken for a call to be answered by an adviser once a customer has selected an option from the call steering menu. | |||
Calls to HMRC from customers telephoning 0845 300 0627 are routed through a virtual network of centrally managed contact centres to advisers who also handle calls from customers telephoning other HMRC helplines (for example, the self-assessment helpline). Consequently HMRC are unable to disaggregate the number of advisers dealing with queries from customers telephoning 0845 300 0627 from those dealing with queries on other HMRC helplines.
Chris Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the number of callers to HM Revenue and Customs PAYE tax code helpline 0845 3000 627 waiting to be answered at any one time was (a) on average and (b) at its peak in the latest period for which figures are available. [109110]
Mr Gauke [holding answer 23 May 2012]: For April 2012, the information requested is as follows:
(a) Average—1,323 callers.
(b) Peak (highest number at any one time)—2,212 callers.
For April 2012, HMRC contact centres handled 1.1 million calls to the PAYE helpline.
HMRC contact centres handle around 60 million calls per annum using a sophisticated telephone platform and technology that is standard across large contact centre operations and is designed to be robust and flexible when dealing with large numbers of incoming telephone calls.
Rachel Reeves: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the answer of 1 May 2012, Official Report, column 1534W, on the Behavioural Sciences Unit, what the change in wording in letters sent out by HM Revenue and Customs that led to savings of £30 million a year was; and how much the research that led to the change cost. [109607]
Mr Gauke: The change in the wording of letters was one of several interventions carried out by the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) and Government Departments. These interventions are set out in the report ‘Applying behavioural insights to reduce fraud, error and debt’, available on the Cabinet Office website. The wording of the letters in question was changed to highlight the fact that ‘9 out of 10 people in Britain pay their tax on time’. The costs of the research consisted solely of the time spent developing the letters by members of BIT and the Debt Management and Banking division in HMRC. All the people involved were full-time civil servants, carrying out their core role to improve performance, so there were no additional costs involved.
Michael Fallon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many UK HM Customs and Revenue officers are based in China; and how many have been based in China in each of the last five years. [109865]
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Mr Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) currently has two officers based in China. In the last five years HMRC has had the following number of officers based in China:
2011: one officer;
2010: four officers;
2009: two officers; and
2008: two officers.
Simon Hart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much income was generated by the HM Revenue and Customs' helpline in (a) 2009, (b) 2010 and (c) 2011. [110612]
Mr Gauke: I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Shipley (Philip Davies), on 6 July 2010, Official Report, column 185W and to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Cathy Jamieson), on 17 May 2012, Official Report, column 301W.
Royal Bank of Canada
Tessa Jowell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Royal Bank of Canada falls within the remit of the Independent Banking Commission. [110136]
Mr Hoban: The Treasury will issue a White Paper on 14 June setting out the Government's final proposals on the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) recommendations. This will include details on the scope of the retail ring fence and other banking reform measures.
The Treasury does not comment on the individual cases or circumstance of specific banks.
Tessa Jowell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to investigate allegations of wrongdoing at the Royal Bank of Canada. [110137]
Mr Hoban: The investigation of alleged wrongdoing is a matter for the Financial Services Authority (FSA), whose day-to-day operations are independent from government control and influence. I have asked the FSA to write to the hon. Member with the information requested. A copy of the response will be placed in the Library of the House.
Tax Allowances: Charitable Donations
Helen Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish his assessment of the cost to charities of limiting tax reliefs which individuals can claim. [109348]
Mr Gauke: The Government announced at Budget 2012 a proposal to introduce a limit on previously uncapped income tax reliefs from April 2013.
As set out in the Budget, the Government are exploring with charities and philanthropists ways to ensure that this measure does not impact significantly on charities that depend on large donations.
A consultation document on the implementation of the policy will be published in the summer.
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Tax Avoidance
Mr Winnick: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what steps his Department is taking to prevent UK-based nationals from using offshore arrangements to minimise their income tax; [110033]
(2) if he will estimate the number of UK-based nationals who use offshore arrangements for income tax purposes; [110103]
(3) if he will ensure that no UK-based national may be an adviser to himself or any other Minister if the individual has offshore arrangements for income tax purposes; and if he will make a statement. [110032]
Mr Gauke: The Government is committed to tackling all forms of avoidance and evasion and ensuring everyone pays their fair share of tax. HMRC has worked to address the specific risks presented by offshore arrangements by enhancing its compliance work, extending the UK's network of bilateral agreements with foreign jurisdictions and exploiting new sources of information obtained from overseas. Examples of those efforts include:
Compliance work. The Liechtenstein Disclosure Facility (LDF) was signed in August 2009 and will run from 1 September 2009 to 6 April 2016. UK residents with bank accounts in Liechtenstein are now being invited to declare unpaid tax liabilities to HMRC. Those who do not come forward face their accounts being closed or having tax deducted from their balances. Registrations for this facility are currently running ahead of expectations and the expected yield, originally projected to be £1 billion, could be up to £3 billion.
New bilateral agreements. The. UK and Switzerland have signed an historic agreement to tackle offshore tax evasion. The agreement is expected to recover billions of pounds of unpaid tax and the long-running problem of offshore tax evasion using Swiss bank accounts will be addressed.
Exploiting new sources of information. A new dedicated unit to exploit new sources of offshore data became fully operational from 1 November 2011. The Offshore Coordination Unit comprises skilled investigators and other specialists who are using the improved data about offshore accounts available to HMRC, and co-ordinating the range of HMRC efforts to combat offshore tax evasion.
We currently hold no estimate of the number of UK-based nationals who use offshore arrangements for income tax purposes. It is not possible to derive an accurate estimate of the total number of UK nationals who use offshore arrangements for income tax purposes due to their nature and complexity.
As a result of the review of the tax arrangements of public sector appointees, new tighter rules governing ‘off payroll’ appointments in central Government will be brought in this year. This will enable Government employers to assure themselves that their senior staff are meeting their tax obligations.
Vaccination
Mr Barron: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) when he expects the development of techniques for direct social cost benefit analysis to be completed; and when he expects such techniques to form part of the Green Book; [109899]
(2) what his policy is on the inclusion of vaccines in societal cost-benefit analysis; [109900]
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(3) whether he plans to review the discount rate in the Green Book; and what methodology his Department would use to review the discount rate in the Green Book; [109902]
(4) if he will consider including vaccines in the next edition of the Green Book. [109901]
Danny Alexander: The information requested is as follows.
Techniques for direct social cost benefit analysis
Social Cost benefit analysis is already the preferred method for quantifying as far as is reasonable and proportionate the social welfare of all alternative spending proposals. The Green Book provides Government guidance on the methods and techniques to be used to assess the effects of public spending and regulatory proposals. It is technical guidance in the same way as accounting practices and it together with its supplements, provides a high level framework within which individual Departments and public bodies develop more detailed guidance on the application of the general principles to their area of specialist concern.
Inclusion of vaccines in societal cost benefit analysis
Vaccines as with other medical procedures currently fall within the arrangements referred to in the answer above.
Review of the Green Book discount rate
All aspects of the Green Book methodology are considered periodically to ensure that they remain appropriate and reflective of informed academic and professional thinking as applied to the economics of public sector spending decisions. There are currently no plans to amend the social discount rate.
Including vaccines in the next edition of the Green Book
Specific spending items such as vaccines do not need to be specifically identified in the Green Book as they are covered by its application to the assessment of all public spending options.
VAT: Listing Buildings
Helen Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will publish his assessment of the effect on charities which are not places of worship of his decision to withdraw the VAT zero rate of alterations to listed buildings; [R] [109347]
(2) if he will estimate the cost to colleges in Oxford and Cambridge universities of his decision to withdraw VAT at the zero rate from alterations to listed buildings. [109591]
Mr Gauke: Annex B—Tables of Impact for Individual Measures in HM Revenue & Customs consultation document “VAT: Addressing Borderline Anomalies”, published at Budget 2012, sets out estimates for VAT which will be raised from approved alterations to listed buildings and a summary of impacts:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2012/vat-con-4801.pdf
No further breakdown of the information is available.
David Morris: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the financial effects of his proposals for VAT on caravans on the holidays and parks homes industry. [109393]
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Mr Gauke: The impacts are set out in “Annex B—Table of Impact for Individual Measures” of the HM Revenue and Customs consultation document “VAT: Addressing borderline anomalies” published in Budget 2012:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2012/vat-con-4801.pdf
VAT and Excise Duties
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total yield from (a) VAT and (b) excise duty was in each of the last two years. [109812]
Mr Gauke: Total tax revenues from VAT and excise duties (including fuel, tobacco, alcohol, air passenger duty, insurance premium tax, landfill tax, climate change levy, and aggregates levy) are published monthly by HMRC, available at;
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_receipts/tax-receipts-and-taxpayers.pdf
VAT: Bakery Products
Luciana Berger: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether he has received any representations from bakeries of the cost incurred from changing their heated cabinets as a result of the planned changes to VAT on freshly baked goods; [110111]
(2) what assessment his Department has made of the potential effects on employment in bakeries of the changes proposed in Budget 2012 to charge VAT on freshly baked goods. [110112]
Mr Gauke: In answer to your question about cost the impacts are set out in “Annex B—Table of Impact for Individual Measures” of the HM Revenue and Customs consultation document “VAT: Addressing borderline anomalies” published in Budget 2012.
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2012/vat-con-4801.pdf
With regards to representations the consultation closed on 18 May. HM Revenue and Customs is now analysing the responses and a response document will be published before legislation is laid before Parliament in the summer.
John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect on the number of people employed in bakeries of the introduction of VAT on freshly baked goods. [110626]
Mr Gauke: The impacts are set out in Annex B—‘Table of Impact for Individual Measures’ of the HM Revenue and Customs consultation document ‘VAT: Addressing borderline anomalies’, published in Budget 2012:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2012/vat-con-4801.pdf
VAT: Caravans
Ian Paisley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to publish draft legislation on static caravan holiday homes. [110162]
Mr Gauke: The Government will publish draft legislation later in the summer.
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Working Tax Credit
Ann Coffey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in order to achieve the savings set out in the Budget 2012 Red Book for 2012-13 of £550 million from an increased working tax credit requirement for couples with children, what assumptions he made about the number of families who would not be able to increase their hours to meet the new requirement. [108380]
Miss Chloe Smith [holding answer 23 May 2012]:In the spending review 2010, the policy costing for increasing the working hours requirement for couples with children from 16 to 24 hours assumed a net 6% reduction to the yield of the policy to account for behavioural responses which included, among other things, the effect of households increasing their hours and those misreporting their hours. The OBR forecasts, published on 21 March 2012, include any wider indirect effects of the policy.
Energy and Climate Change
Correspondence
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many letters to Ministers in his Department were (a) not answered, (b) not answered within six months and (c) not answered within three months in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; how many such letters were from hon. Members; and if he will make a statement. [109435]
Gregory Barker: The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), can confirm the following:
There were no letters unanswered in 2010-11.
There are 161 cases in 2011-12 where a letter is currently being drafted and 37 of these are from hon. Members.
With respect to parts (b) and (c):
= three months = 817 letters, of which 126 were from hon. Members.
= six months = 16 letters, of which two were from hon. Members.
= three months = 412 letters, of which 115 were from hon. Members.
= six months = one letter, of which none were from hon. Members.
The Department receives a number of letters that do not require a response, such as post card campaigns, or letters for information only. These letters are therefore closed as ‘No Response Necessary’ and have not been included in these figures.
Disclosure of Information
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department spent on the updating of published data in line with the Government's transparency agenda in each month since September 2011. [110710]
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Gregory Barker: DECC does not record detailed costs of updating published data in line with the Government's transparency agenda. However, we have estimated that costs are in the region of £250,000 per year. Although' these cannot be broken down into precise monthly expenditure, based on the estimated annual spend this would equate to approximately £187,500 for the period from September 2011 to May 2012 inclusive.
Electricity
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many people are seconded to his Department to work on electricity market reform; and from where they are seconded. [109665]
Charles Hendry: There are currently four people seconded to work on electricity market reform, from Ofgem, National Grid, KPMG and Barclays.
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many people have been seconded to his Department to work on electricity market reform since May 2010; and from where they are seconded. [109666]
Charles Hendry: Since May 2010, 10 people have been seconded to work on electricity market reform, from the following organisations: Deloitte, Ofgem (two secondees), National Grid, Bright Futures NZ Ltd/PA Consulting, Xero Energy Ltd, KPMG (two secondees), Barclays, and Cambridge university.
Electricity: Meters
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his policy is on the development of a common language between smart appliances and the smart grid. [109928]
Charles Hendry: The smart metering system will employ open standards for communication within the home. These should be extensible to support smart appliances and the smart grid.
Electricity: Prices
Laura Sandys: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the answer of 20 December 2011, Official Report, column 1160W, on electricity: prices, what his latest estimate is of the (a) likely and (b) maximum possible effect on the average household electricity bill by 2020 of not implementing the Government's reductions to feed-in-tariffs for (i) small-scale solar PV introduced after the comprehensive review and (ii) large-scale solar PV introduced after the fast track review. [109929]
Gregory Barker: We estimate that not implementing the changes to tariffs for large scale (greater than 50 kW) solar PV in the fast track review would have added approximately £10 (2010 prices, undiscounted) to the average domestic energy bill in 2020. This is based on the estimate of the cost to consumers under the ‘Do Nothing' option in the Fast Track Review impact assessment:
http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/Consultations/fits-review/fast-track-review-announcement-impact-assessment.pdf
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Further changes were made to the tariffs for all sizes of solar PV installations in Phases 1 and 2A of the Comprehensive Review of Feed-in Tariffs. The Impact Assessment accompanying the Government Response to Phase 1 of the review estimated that with no changes to policy, support for solar PV under FITs would add £61 per annum to typical household electricity bills in 2020 (2010 prices, undiscounted). The Impact Assessment accompanying the Government Response to Phase 2A of the review estimated that with the policy changes, support for solar PV under FITs would add £9 per annum to typical household electricity bills in 2020 (2010 prices, undiscounted). The net impact of not making these changes would therefore have been £52.
We have not made separate estimates for the impact of changes to tariffs for large-scale and small-scale installations.
These Impact Assessments are available at the following URLs:
http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/consultations/fits-review/fast-track-review-announcement-impact-assessment.pdf
http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/consultations/fits-review/4310-feedintariff-comprehensive-review-phase-1-impact.pdf
http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/ll/meeting-energy-demand/renewable-energy/5391-impact-assessment-government-response-to-consulta.pdf
Electricity: Wales
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what capacity of new electricity generation above 50 megawatts is expected to be built in Wales in the next five years. [109667]
Charles Hendry: The best indicator for estimating the capacity of new electricity generation over 50 megawatts (MW) that could be built in Wales in the next five years, is provided by the Department of Energy and Climate Change's (DECC) database of existing planning applications and National Grid's Transmission Entry Capacity (TEC) Register.
Based on National Grid data, there are two generating stations under construction in Wales with a capacity greater than 50 MW. One is soon to be commissioned and the other is still being built. Once fully commissioned, they would have a maximum total capacity of around 2,674 MW. More details can be found at:
http://www.nationalgrid.com/uk/Electricity/Getting Connected/ContractedGenerationInformation/TransmissionEntry CapacityRegister/
DECC's database of existing planning applications shows that there are currently an additional four proposed generating stations in Wales with a capacity greater than 50 MW that have been granted consent, but are not yet under construction. If built, they would have a maximum total capacity of 1,818 MW. More details can be found at:
https://www.og.decc.gov.uk/EIP/pages/recent.htm
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There are currently six applications for consent under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 in Wales for generating stations with a capacity greater than 50 MW with of maximum total capacity of 653 MW. More details can be found at
https://www.og.decc.gov.uk/EIP/pages/applications.htm
There is currently one application for consent under the Planning Act 2008 for a generating station in Wales with a capacity greater than 50 MW, which has a maximum total capacity of 84 MW. More details can be found at:
http://infrastructure.planningportal.gov.uk/projects/Wales/Brechfa-Forest-West-Wind-Farm/
At this stage, some of these stations are only at application stage and therefore it is possible that not all of the proposed stations will be built. Some may not be granted consent and even where consent is granted, some stations may not be built. Furthermore, some of these proposed stations may not be built within the next five years.
The total capacity figures quoted are based on the maximum output as estimated by the developers placing the application.
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on the building of new electricity generation above 50 megawatts in Wales. [109668]
Charles Hendry: Ministers in the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), including the Secretary of State, the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), have regular discussions with the Welsh Government on a range of issues, including energy infrastructure consenting. Officials in DECC also have regular discussions on such matters with Welsh Government officials. Given the quasi-judicial role of DECC Ministers in determining applications for new electricity generating stations above 50 megawatts in Wales, the propriety rules limit the ability of Ministers (and officials) to discuss the details of specific schemes. DECC has published guidance on this(1). On all such applications made under the Planning Act 2008 and likely to affect land in Wales, the Welsh Government is a statutory consultee.
(1) http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/meeting-energy-demand/consents-planning/3908-propriety-guidance-develop-consents.pdf
Empty Property
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will list the empty or largely empty buildings owned by his Department; and if he will make a statement. [110841]
Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change owns no empty or largely empty buildings.
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many buildings owned by his Department and the bodies for which he is responsible have been empty for more than two years; and if he will make a statement. [110859]
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Gregory Barker: The only empty buildings held by the Department or the bodies for which it is responsible are 23 empty buildings held by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). The majority of the empty buildings are disused offices on the site of a decommissioned power station. Others are derelict farm buildings on land the NDA owns near its sites. Nineteen of the properties are held by NDA Properties Ltd with a view to lease or sale.
Energy
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the written answer of 18 April 2012, Official Report, column 364W, on energy, how many consumers switched energy supplier in each quarter in each of the last 10 years. [109716]
Charles Hendry: DECC publishes statistics on the number of consumers switching supplier in the web version of its Quarterly Energy Prices publication. This can be found here on the DECC website (table 2.7.1):
http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/energy_stats/prices/prices.aspx
The data are summarised in the following table. The latest data available are for quarter 4 of 2011. Data are not available before 2003. Estimates for the number of consumers switching in quarter 1 of 2012 will be published on 28 June 2012.
| Quarter | Number of electricity transfers | Number of gas transfers |
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Energy Supply
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether suppliers which do not intend to use the data communications company will be required to sign the Smart Energy Code. [109802]
Gregory Barker: The scope of the Smart Energy Code (SEC) is currently subject to a consultation which closes on 1 June, available at:
http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/consultation/smart-metering-imp-prog/4896-smart-energy-code-con-doc.pdf
The SEC will primarily cover matters relating to users of the Data and Communication Company’s services; however, it is likely to also contain wider provisions relating to the operation of smart meters in the GB market.
In the light of responses to this consultation, the Government will publish further proposals on whether to require network operators and suppliers to become parties to the SEC and comply with its provisions, including whether to extend these obligations to all licence holders.
Energy: Billing
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment he has made of the effect on household energy bills of (a) the European Emissions Trading Scheme, (b) feed-in tariffs, (c) the Renewables Obligation, (d) the Warm Home Discount, (e) the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target and (f) other energy and climate change policies. [109626]
Gregory Barker: In November 2011, DECC published an assessment of the impact of energy and climate change polices on average household energy bills available online at:
http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/meeting_energy/aes/impacts/impacts.aspx
alongside the Annual Energy Statement, with a commitment to publish updated analysis each year alongside future Annual Energy Statements.
The Government is committed to meeting energy demand at the lowest cost possible by helping people to get the best deal on their energy, insulating homes and dealing with the root cause of energy price volatility, our dependence on fossil fuels.
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DECC estimates that household dual fuel bills in 2011 were, on average, around 2% higher than they would have been if energy and climate change policies weren't introduced. However, by 2020, these policies will mean household dual fuel bills could, on average, be around 7% lower than they would have been in the same year in the absence of policies. This is because the effects of policies which help households to save energy are expected to more than offset the necessary cost of investing in new capacity and greater efficiency. A breakdown of these impacts by individual policies is presented in Annex F of the aforementioned document.
Recent announcements on the draft Energy Bill and Feed-in-Tariffs scheme are not expected to change the overall assessment of the impact of policies in 2020. Updated analysis accounting for all policy announcements since November 2011 will be published alongside the next Annual Energy Statement later this year.
Energy: Housing
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to page 26 of his Department's Annual Report and Accounts 2010-11, what projections he has made of likely performance against Priority 1, Impact Indicator 1, which measures the total number of energy efficiency installations in households for the period 2012 to 2015. [109123]
Gregory Barker: Projections of the total number of energy efficiency installations (cavity wall insulation and loft insulation) for the period 2013 to 2022 were published in the Green Deal Consultation Impact Assessment(1) in November 2011. We will publish an updated assessment alongside the Government Response, which will reflect any new evidence received and policy changes made in light of the consultation.
(1 )Green Deal Consultation Impact Assessment:
www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/consultations/green_deal/green_deal.aspx
Energy: Prices
Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of collective purchasing in the energy market. [109526]
Charles Hendry: Collective purchasing and switching have the potential to help consumers get a fair deal on their energy bills. Following the Big Switch, a collective switch organised by Which?, they estimate that 70% of consumers who signed up will save an average of £123 per year and that 30,000 households could reduce their bills by over £200.
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will estimate the average amount paid by residential users for (a) electricity and (b) gas in (i) Wales, (ii) Scotland, (iii) England and (iv) Northern Ireland in the last year for which figures are available. [109664]
Charles Hendry:
These data can be found in the latest edition of DECC's Quarterly Energy Prices publication, with 2011 being the most recent year for which figures
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are available. The following table shows average domestic bills for gas and electricity in 2011, for each country, by the method of payment used. This is based on assumed fixed annual consumption of 18,000kWh for gas and 3,300kWh for standard electricity. We are not able to separate the data out and provide data for England and Wales individually. Data on gas are not available for Northern Ireland.
| £ | |||
| Standard credit | Direct debit | Pre-payment meter | |
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the oral answer of 16 May 2012, Official Report, column 562, on collective switching, what steps he has taken to encourage collective switching. [109854]
Charles Hendry: The Department has been working to build momentum behind collective purchasing and switching in the energy sector for several months.
The Working Group on Collective Purchasing and Switching set up last year made a number of recommendations to promote collective switching/purchasing. As part of the implementation of these recommendations, Ofgem have published guidance on the relevant licence requirements for energy suppliers and my Department has published guidance to help consumers and organisations interested in setting up group switching schemes:
http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/funding/collectpurch/collectpurch.aspx
DECC has also hosted two round tables with stakeholders on collective purchasing and switching to encouraging further sharing of experience and identification of barriers.
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the oral answer of 16 May 2012, Official Report, column 563, on energy prices, what the evidential basis is for the statement that there are currently 120 tariffs. [109855]
Charles Hendry: DECC's estimate that there are over 120 tariffs available to a typical household looking to switch was made by looking at all the tariffs offered by a variety of accredited comparison sites.
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EU Emissions Trading Scheme
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his policy is on the European Commission's proposal to review European Union Allowances under the EU emissions trading scheme. [109987]
Gregory Barker: The EU ETS has been successful in delivering emissions reductions, but the EU ETS is not at present sending the signals necessary to drive investment in low carbon technology and infrastructure needed for the low carbon transition. The UK has long argued for a move to a higher emissions reduction target of 30%. Any such move would include tightening the EU ETS cap, in order to deliver a level of ambition in the EU ETS that is consistent with our long-term targets and to strengthen the investment signal provided by the carbon price. We have not yet seen any proposal from the Commission but the UK will welcome a proposal which effectively tightens the EU ETS cap in line with the Government's stated objectives for a more ambitious EU emissions reductions target.
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his policy is on the linking of the EU Emissions Trading System to the South Korean emissions trading scheme. [109988]
Gregory Barker: The UK strongly welcomes South Korea's passing of the ETS Bill.
Linking the EU ETS with other trading schemes presents a significant opportunity to promote cost-effective emissions reductions and expand global carbon markets.
However, before the two schemes can be linked, we will need confidence that the two schemes are compatible. It will only be possible to make this assessment once the details of their trading scheme are finalised.
The UK will continue working closely with the South Korean Government on this issue.
Fraud
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the level of (a) procurement and (b) other fraud affecting his Department's spending in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement. [110177]
Gregory Barker: The information requested is as follows.
(i) The Department reported one procurement fraud in 2010-11 to the value of £10,000.
(ii) Nil.
(i) Nil.
(ii) Nil.
Fuel Poverty
Mr Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment he has made of the number of households in fuel poverty in (a) Coventry, (b) Coventry North East constituency and (c) England in the latest period for which figures are available. [109994]
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Gregory Barker: In 2010, the latest year for which data are available, the number of households in England in fuel poverty was 3.5 million.
In Coventry local authority, the number of households in fuel poverty was estimated to be 26,700, and in Coventry North East constituency, 9,000.
Fuel Poverty: Wales
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will estimate the number of people who are in fuel poverty in Wales. [109655]
Gregory Barker: Fuel poverty is measured at a household rather than individual level. For Wales, the last available data show that in 2008 approximately 332,000 households were estimated to be in fuel poverty. Projections for 2009 and 2010 estimate 368,000 and 332,000 fuel poor households respectively.
Green Deal Scheme
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the annual fuel poverty statistics report, how many homes with two or more of non-gas central heating (or no central heating), solid walls, uninsulated cavity walls, and loft insulation less than 150mm, will be fitted with energy measures under the Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation in each of the next three years. [109488]
Gregory Barker: The Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation Impact Assessment will be published shortly, alongside the Government response to the recent consultation. The impact assessment will contain projections for the delivery of measures such as central heating systems and loft, cavity wall and solid wall insulation but these will only estimate delivery. In addition we will monitor and report on actual delivery of insulation and heating improvements as the scheme gets under way.
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the Green Deal on the number of customers switching between energy suppliers. [109801]
Gregory Barker: The Green Deal finance scheme has been designed to minimise the potential effect on customers wishing to change their energy supplier. The existing process for switching supplier will remain unchanged. Although a few smaller electricity suppliers (those with less than 250,000 customers) may opt out of collecting and remitting Green Deal payments, we do not expect this to have a significant impact on consumers’ engagement with the competitive energy market.
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what research his Department has commissioned to support its work on the Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation; what the cost was of each research project; and whether the research is publicly available. [110085]
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Gregory Barker:
Across the analytical disciplines in DECC, a number of research projects have been commissioned to inform the Green Deal or Energy Company Obligation (ECO). Details of all the projects
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are listed in the following table, along with an assessment of costs and publication status. Note that only research started since May 2010 has been included.
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Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the total spend to date by his Department has been on administering the introduction of (a) the Green Deal and (b) Energy Company Obligation; and what the budget is for this work in 2012-13. [110142]
Gregory Barker: Green Deal spend in 2011-12 and 2012-13 (including administration, programme and capital spend) was, respectively, £33.8 million and £65.9 million.
The delivery of ECO is within the overall Green Deal Programme and therefore draws resource and budget allocation from across the programme.
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change who the members are of all current working groups in his Department working on the Green Deal. [110148]
Gregory Barker: A table detailing the membership of current Green Deal working groups will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Besides formal working group membership, in some cases group members co-ordinate views from among a wider group of stakeholders.
In addition, my hon. Friend the Member for Stourbridge (Margot James) chairs a Green Deal Women's panel which has membership made up of individuals rather than organisations.