House of Commons Hansard Debates for 22 Jun 1992

Written Answers to Questions

Monday 22 June 1992

NATIONAL FINANCE

Animals (Illegal Imports)

Mr. Wilshire : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many illegally imported animals have been discovered by customs officers at each passenger terminal at Heathrow Airport in each of the past five years.

Sir John Cope : The discovery of illegally imported animals in the passenger terminals at Heathrow airport by customs officers is a rare occurrence because the airlines report illegally landed animals direct to Customs and to the Corporation of London's animal quarantine station before they are allowed to leave the aircraft. They are then taken direct to the animal quarantine station. The numbers of animals landed illegally were as follows :


Year    |Number       

----------------------

1991    |160          

<1>1992 |83           

<1>To 17 June.

Records do not distinguish between terminals and are not available for earlier years. Only one of the animals concerned was discovered by Customs officers in a terminal.

Income Tax Reliefs

Mr. Cousins : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the revenue forgone in each category of allowances and reliefs, including MIRAS, to income tax in each of the last four years ; and if he will estimate the regional distribution of the forgone revenue.

Mr. Dorrell : The latest available United Kingdom estimates for the last four years are provided in the 1990 and 1991 editions of "Inland Revenue Statistics" and in appendix D of the Statistical Supplement to the 1991 Autumn Statement (Cm 1920). The corresponding information for regions is not available.

Civil Service

Mr. Mans : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will extend performance-related pay in the civil service.

Mr. Dorrell : The Government are already doing so. For most civil servants, a limited form of performance-related pay has been in place for some years. However, last year as part of our citizens charter programme the Chancellor made a statement to Parliament in which he announced the Government's intention to negotiate changes to the long-term civil service pay agreements to introduce, among other things, very substantial extensions of the existing performance pay arrangements.

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Since then, a good deal of progress has been made in negotiating new schemes for virtually all civil servants, which will mean major changes for the ways in which they are paid. Any increase within a pay scale will have to be earned through performance, and better performers will earn greater increases. Pay increments will no longer be automatic. Every civil servant will have an element of his pay each year linked to his performance.

Sir Michael Neubert : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) industrial and (b) non-industrial civil servants were employed in (i) April 1979 and (ii) April 1992.

Mr. Portillo : Figures for 1 April 1992 are not yet available ; they will be announced in Parliament within the next few weeks. There were 166,460 industrial civil servants and 565,815 non-industrial civil servants at 1 April 1979 ; and 63,168 and 498, 735 respectively at 1 October 1991.

Mr. Terry Davis : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many civil servants were employed on the most recent date for which this information is available ; and how many were employed on the same date in 1982 and 1987.

Mr. Dorrell : There were 561,903 civil servants at 1 October 1991, the latest published figures ; 655,043 at 1 October 1982 and 585,155 at 1 October 1987.

Landowners, Cumbria

Mr. Martlew : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many landowners and estates in Cumbria have benefited under the tax procedures by which tax liability is reduced on the condition that there is an undertaking to manage and protect the land from development and allow reasonable public access.

Mr. Dorrell : There are six cases in Cumbria where conditional exemption from inheritance tax and capital transfer tax has been granted to land and buildings in return for undertakings to maintain and preserve the property and provide reasonable public access to it.

Land Access, Scotland

Dr. David Clark : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the counties or regions in Scotland in which he has granted exemptions from (a) inheritance tax or (b) capital transfer tax for the granting of access to land for each year since 1983 ; if he will give the amount and the numbers granted in each county ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Dorrell : There have been 26 designations of land in Scotland for exemption from inheritance tax or capital transfer tax. In addition, there have been 37 designations of historic buildings in Scotland, some of which will have extended to surrounding land. Some designations of historic buildings have been for the purposes of the tax exemptions for maintenance funds rather than for exemption of the buildings themselves.

A detailed breakdown by county or region is not readily available.

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Ozone-depleting Chemicals

Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will outline his Department's policy on recovery and recycling of ozone- depleting chemicals.

Sir John Cope : It is Treasury policy to recover or recycle products containing such substances where possible.

Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the amount in tonnes of ozone-depleting chemicals used or purchased by his Department for the years 1989 ; 1990 and 1991, and estimates of usage for the next year ; what is the estimated bank of ozone- depleting chemicals contained within his Department ; and how many months' supply of ozone-depleting chemicals have been ordered by his Department.

Sir John Cope : The amount of ozone-depleting chemicals used or purchased over the period specified has been significantly less than one tonne, as is the current stock of such chemicals. No ozone-depleting chemicals are on order.

Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his Department's policy on purchasing ozone-depleting chemicals and goods manufactured with these substances ; and in which year his Department expects to cease using, purchasing or releasing ozone-depleting substances controlled by the Montreal protocol and HCFC.

Sir John Cope : In line with both Government and EC policy, Treasury procurement is based on best value for money and objective non- discriminatory criteria.

Within these parameters, it is Treasury policy not to purchase, wherever possible, any substances containing CFCs, carbon tetrachloride, methyl chloroform or halons. This includes equipment and packaging where such substances have been used in manufacture. Where this is not possible, we expect suppliers to take all reasonable steps to comply speedily with the Montreal protocol.

Earnings Statistics

Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will update to April 1992 the information on net earnings provided in his reply of 10 February 1987 to the hon. Member for Fulham (Mr. Carrington), Official Report, columns 177-78.

Mr. Dorrell : Estimates of the level of earnings for the top 5 per cent. of earners are not published. The information in the table is based on estimates of these levels derived from distributions of earnings published in the relevant new earnings survey. Information for April 1992 is not yet available. Earnings levels are for men or women as appropriate paid at adult rates with pay unaffected by absence. Taxpayers are assumed to have no reliefs or allowances other than the appropriate personal allowance.