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Tax System: Married and Unmarried Couples
Lord Lucas asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What advantages accrue to an unmarried couple, as opposed to a married couple, under the present taxation system.
The Minister of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Simon of Highbury): None.
Employment: Labour Force Survey
Lord Lucas asked Her Majesty's Government:
- With reference to the statement in the Labour Party manifesto that "one in five families has no one working", by what measure that is true, and what is the current level.
Lord Simon of Highbury: The labour force survey can produce estimates for families and households with no one in employment. The most common ways of presenting this information are in terms of non-pensioner households and families with dependent children. The major difference in coverage is that non-pensioner households include couples without dependent children and single adult units. Households may also consist of more than one family unit or a combination of family units and individuals/couples. In fact analyses for both non-pensioner households and families with dependent children yield similar results as can be seen in the table below.
| Non-pensioner households | Families with dependent children | |
| Summer 1996 | 17.9 | 18.8 |
| Autumn 1996 | 17.7 | 18.0 |
| Winter 1996-97 | 17.5 | 17.6 |
It is widely accepted that analyses of households with no one in employment should exclude pensioner households. This area of analysis is relatively new for the LFS and the definition of non-pensioner or working age households is not yet firmly established. The table provided is based on the same definition of non- pensioner household as previous responses to parliamentary questions to this topic. The ONS has been assessing the various alternative definitions and expects to publish its recommendations in the September issue of Labour Market Trends.
Similarly there are various alternative definitions of a family. In this case the common definition of a married or cohabiting couple or lone parent with at least one dependent child (i.e. all those aged under 16 and 16-18 year olds who are in full-time education) is used.
Earl Russell asked Her Majesty's Government:
(a) of a 1 per cent. rise in interest rates,
(b) of a 1p increase in the standard rate of income tax.
Lord Simon of Highbury: The cost of a 1 per cent. rise in interest rates to a married man with a salary of £40,000 and a mortgage of £100,000 would be £955 per annum in 1997-98. The standard rate of income tax was abolished in 1973. A 1p increase in the basic rate of income tax to the same person would be £220 per annum.
Lord Brougham and Vaux asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Simon of Highbury: The Chancellor stated the Government's policy about increasing duty rates on road fuels. The Government are currently reviewing policies and measures across all sectors which could contribute to a target of reducing carbon dioxide emissions to
20 per cent. below 1990 levels by 2010. That review will weigh fully the costs of policies and measures against the potential benefits for climate change, other environmental objectives and other social and economic goals. Decisions about what is included in the post 2000 climate change programme will be made after the climate change convention in Kyoto in December.
Lord Lucas asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean): Russia has not applied for NATO membership. Given the changes we have seen in European security over the last eight years and the obvious possibilities of further change, it would be unwise to say that NATO will never consider membership for Russia but at present such membership is not under consideration.
Lord Wallace of Saltaire asked Her Majesty's Government:
Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: According to the Commission's CELEX database, 104 measures have been adopted since June 1992 under the co-operation procedure. Forty-two of these would have been subject to co-decision under the terms of the Maastricht Treaty, which came into force in November 1993. A further 59 would have been subject to co-decision under the terms of the provisional draft Treaty of Amsterdam.
Lord Wallace of Saltaire asked Her Majesty's Government:
Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: The provisional draft Treaty of Amsterdam lists 11 Treaty provisions currently subject to the co-operation procedure under Article 189c to which the co-decision procedure will be extended. Copies of this document have been placed in the Libraries of the House. In these areas the agreement of the European Parliament (EP) as well as of the Council would be needed for the adoption of legislative proposals. Under co-operation if the EP opposes a proposal the Council can still approve it by unanimity.
Lord Wallace of Saltaire asked Her Majesty's Government:
Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: The provisional draft Treaty of Amsterdam includes a revised text of Article 189b. Copies of the document have been placed in the Libraries of the House. The main changes are to allow immediate adoption of a proposal where the Council and the European Parliament (EP) agree; to set a deadline to convene the Conciliation Committee, and to limit the scope of its discussions; and to simplify the existing procedure for the EP to block a proposal. These changes do not affect the existing requirement for both the Council and EP to give agreement to proposals under co-decision.
Lord Kennet asked Her Majesty's Government:
Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: It will be for the United Nations to allocate funds when they are received from the United States. The United Kingdom is owed about £51 million in reimbursement from the UN for four peacekeeping operations, all of which were approved by the United States.
Lord Kennet asked Her Majesty's Government:
Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: It is the policy of Her Majesty's Government not to comment on the intelligence activities of other countries.
Lord Kennet asked Her Majesty's Government:
What would be the cost for a married man with a non-earning wife and two children under the age of 16, with a salary of £40,000 per annum and a mortgage of £100,000:
Whether they will review their policy of increasing petrol prices as a CO2 reduction measure following research which shows that the cost per tonne to remove CO2 by this measure is around £2,000.
On what grounds they consider Russian membership of NATO to be undesirable.
How many measures were adopted in the last five years under the co-operation procedure provided for under Article 189c of the EC Treaty; and to what extent these measures would have been subject to the co-decision procedure set out in Article 189b of the EC Treaty if the changes outlined in the Treaty of Amsterdam had applied.
Whether under the Treaty of Amsterdam the transfer of matters currently subject to the co-operation procedure provided for under Article 189c of the EC Treaty to the co-decision procedure set out in Article 189b of the EC Treaty (as amended by the Treaty of Amsterdam) will significantly increase the powers of the European Parliament under the Community's legislative procedures.
What are the principal changes to the co-decision procedure set out in Article 189b of the EC Treaty resulting from the Treaty of Amsterdam and whether this has changed the institutional balance between the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers in favour of the European Parliament in the formulation of legislation under this procedure.
What part of the 1.2 billion dollars owed by the United States to the United Nations would, if paid, come to the United Kingdom as payment for past peacekeeping operations; which such peacekeeping operations were approved by the United States; and which were not.
Whether they consider that any activity sponsored by the United States Central Intelligence Agency has qualified as state-sponsored terrorism.
Whether the recently signed Founding Act between NATO and Russia is an international agreement that has been sent to or tabled at both the United Nations and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
7 Jul 1997 : Column WA59
Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: The NATO-Russia Founding Act is not an International Agreement and is not eligible for registration with the United Nations as an international agreement but it provides for the text to be circulated within the United Nations and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
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