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(1) 1 Direct taxes include interest and penalties.
(2) SA Non-business in 2006-07 included large and exceptional yield resulting from decisions reached in High Court cases.
(3) LC VAT for 2008-09 includes assessments issued to unregisterable entities and a notional £40 for each new business contact. These were not included in previous years.
(4) Capital gains tax inquiry yield separately identified from 2007-08. In previous years it was included within SA non-business.
(5) TEEL (targeted education, enabling and leverage) not separately reported until 2008-09. Includes direct and indirect taxes,
(6) Figures for SI before 2007-08 are not available on a comparable basis as a result of a number of reorganisations and changes in the reporting of yield claimed in other parts of the department.
(7) New team established in 2008-09.
(8) The team responsible for this yield transferred from CT and VAT into business international in April 2009.
(9) Includes all stamp taxes, (that is, SD land tax, SD reserve tax and SD) Historic figures only show SDLT as no figures available for the other two.
(10) Historic complex personal tax team (CPTT) yield included in the local compliance figures.
Taxation: Capital Gains Tax
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government what would be (a) the revenue implications, and (b) the additional number of people who would pay tax, if the capital gains tax rules were widened to encompass all United Kingdom property, regardless of whether ownership is by a resident or a non-resident. [HL1750]
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the estimated value of capital gains arising from properties disposed of attributable to non-residents and non-domiciled individuals in the latest year for which figures are available. [HL1784]
The Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Myners): The information requested is not available, as HM Revenue and Customs does not collect information about the capital gains made by individuals who are not resident or not ordinarily resident in the UK, except where the assets are used in a trade that is carried out by a branch or agency in the UK.
Teenage Pregnancies
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many girls under 16 years old became pregnant in each year since 2005; in how many cases the father was also under 16 years old; and in how many cases the pregnancy was terminated. [HL1916]
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Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Trinity House
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much Trinity House spent on hospitality and entertainment in each of the last 10 years. [HL1976]
The Secretary of State for Transport (Lord Adonis): The Department for Transport does not hold this information. Trinity House does not provide general hospitality or entertainment from the General Lighthouse Fund other than that required as part of its normal business activities. Any hospitality or gifts offered by suppliers are recorded in a hospitality register if they exceed £50 or if the value is unknown.
Uganda
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Uganda over (a) the production-sharing agreement between Tullow Oil and the government of Uganda over oil extraction in the Lake Albert basin, and (b) concerns raised by the Ugandan parliament about the transparency of that agreement. [HL2047]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead): My honourable friend Ivan Lewis underlined the importance of transparency and fiscal discipline in the oil sector with President Museveni last year and urged Uganda to sign up to credible transparency instruments such as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. Our High Commissioner has also made similar representations to Ministers of Energy and Finance. We will continue to encourage Uganda to establish a comprehensive and transparent framework (including the Production Sharing Agreements) to ensure the responsible exploitation and management of its oil resources.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Uganda about Uganda's Political Parties and Organisations Act which requires Ugandan political parties to disclose their sources of income to the Electoral Commission of Uganda. [HL2048]
Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: The Electoral Commission of Uganda is responsible for ensuring political parties adhere to the financial reporting requirements of the Political Parties and Organisations Act. We regularly discuss the issue of party finances with the Electoral Commission, as does the Deepening Democracy Programme (part funded by the Department
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As a member of the local donor Partners for Democracy and Governance group, we have noted in an open letter to the media that political parties should make an annual statement of their financial assets and liabilities.
United Nations Population Fund
Question
Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will place in the Library of the House copies of the annual reports of the United Nations Population Fund for each of the last two years, together with any other publications showing its budget and activities. [HL1842]
Lord Brett: I will arrange for the two most recent United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) annual reports, for 2007 and 2008, to be placed in the Library of the House.
Vehicles: Snow Chains
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government under what road conditions snow chains are permitted to be used by (a) cars, and (b) heavy goods vehicles. [HL2016]
The Secretary of State for Transport (Lord Adonis): Snow chains are permitted to be used by cars and heavy commercial vehicles when there is sufficient snow or ice on the roads to prevent such chains damaging the road surface.
Visas
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether visas for immigrants are granted in response to requests from companies which are having difficulty in finding bus drivers; and, if so, how many such visas have been granted in the last 12 months. [HL1691]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): Bus driving is not registered as a skill shortage under tier 2 of the points-based system.
To ask Her Majesty's Government why citizens of Pakistan are required to leave their passports with the Consulate whilst applying for a United Kingdom visa, thus precluding their travel elsewhere. [HL1853]
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Lord West of Spithead: In accordance with the Immigration Rules (paragraph 320(3)), all visa applicants are required to produce a valid national passport or other document satisfactorily establishing their identity and nationality. These checks need to be carried out by the Entry Clearance Officer prior to fixing a vignette sticker into the passport, when a visa is granted. If the passport has to be handed back during the decision phase, and the applicant then recalled when the decision is made, this will complicate the process and could cause delays, and inconvenience, to applicants.
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they make or will make special arrangements for academics from Pakistan who collaborate on a regular basis with British academics to have their visas to the United Kingdom expedited. [HL1854]
Lord West of Spithead: Our general policy is to deal with visa applications strictly in turn. We believe that to give priority to applications in any particular category would be unfair to other applicants. We will, however, prioritise individual applications if necessary e.g. if there are urgent, compassionate circumstances.
Current waiting times in Islamabad are three weeks; applicants are advised to take this into account before making an application.
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many dependants of students from countries outside the European Union granted visas to study in the United Kingdom have themselves been granted visas and admitted in the past five years. [HL1975]
Lord West of Spithead: The latest available statistics relating to the number of dependants of students (1) granted visas (prior entry clearance) and (2) admitted to (given leave to enter) the United Kingdom, excluding EEA and Swiss nationals, in the five calendar years from 2004 to 2008, are given in the table below. Data for 2009 are scheduled for publication in August 2010.
Statistics on passengers given leave to enter the United Kingdom by country of nationality and purpose of journey are published annually in the series "Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom". These publications are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html.
| Dependants of Students | ||
| Year | Visas Issued | Admitted |
(1) The data for visas issued are based on management information. It is provisional and subject to change.
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(2) It is not possible to determine how many of those admitted as dependants of students arrived with prior entry clearance.
Worker Registration Scheme
Question
Asked by Lord Foulkes of Cumnock
To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of European Union migrants known to be resident in the United Kingdom have registered on the Workers' Registration Scheme, broken down by region; and how the Government plan to advertise and promote this scheme to both European Union migrants and employers. [HL1758]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): Only nationals of A8 countries (Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary,
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Information about the requirement for A8 nationals to register is published on the UK Border Agency website at:
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/eucitizens/workerregistrationscheme/.
This information is provided for both employers and A8 nationals. The application form and guidance notes are also available to download.
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