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Housing (VAT)
Mr. Tom King: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue would be lost by reducing the rate of VAT on refurbishment and conversions of existing dwellings from 17.5 per cent. to 5 per cent. [43860]
Dawn Primarolo: The cost of reducing VAT on all house repair and maintenance to 5 per cent. is estimated to be £1.1 billion. From the source data, it is not possible to separate refurbishment from repairs and maintenance.
Mr. Tom King: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue would be generated by introducing value-added tax on (a) new construction and (b) new housing at a rate of 5 per cent. [43859]
Dawn Primarolo: The additional revenue yield from introducing VAT at 5 per cent. on the construction of new dwellings is estimated to be £550 million. There is no official estimate of the expected yield from introducing VAT on the construction of other new buildings currently qualifying for zero-rating.
Duty Free
Dr. Ladyman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will draw up plans to support the ferry industry and the ports of Ramsgate and Dover if duty-free sales are abolished in the European Union. [43795]
Dawn Primarolo: Responsibility for the transport industry lies with my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister. However, the impact on the ferry industry and on the ports of Ramsgate and Dover of the abolition of duty free will depend on the nature of the successor regimes which are being discussed at official level in Brussels.
Mail
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the liability to customs checks is of (a) mail sent by national postal administrations to the United Kingdom and (b) mail carried by express couriers to the United Kingdom. [43800]
Dawn Primarolo: The liability to customs checks for anti-smuggling purposes is the same for mail sent by a National Postal Administration and that carried by express couriers. Provision for such checks is contained in the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979. Checks on both types of traffic are also undertaken for fiscal and regulatory purposes under the Community Customs Code, which is European legislation. However, some differences apply to the treatment of postal packets, which is subject to national provisions under the Post Office Act 1953 and the Postal Packets (C&E) (Amendment) Regulation 1992.
Lloyd's of London
Mr. Hammond:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 7 April 1998,
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Official Report, column 151, regarding discussions between officials of the British Embassy in Washington and the United States authorities concerning Lloyd's of London, who initiated those discussions; what matters were discussed; who was present on each occasion; what requests were made to the United States authorities by the British representatives present; and what requests were made to the British representatives present by the United States authorities. [44339]
Mrs. Liddell:
The discussions were initiated by the British Embassy and concerned the case of Richards et al v Lloyd's of London then before the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Only one such meeting took place at which a First Secretary from the Embassy met four Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) attorneys. The Embassy asked the SEC to recognise that any intervention by them in the Richards case should take account both of the British Government's interest in protecting policyholders by insurers continuing to meet their insurance obligations and the regulatory role of Lloyd's in protecting the interests of policyholders. The SEC made no requests to the British Government.
Mr. Timms:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the remit of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee. [44793]
Mr. Gordon Brown:
In accordance with Section 12 of the Bank of England Act 1998, I have written to the Governor re-stating the Monetary Policy Committee's remit and how it will be held accountable for meeting the remit.
My letter has been laid before Parliament today and a copy has been sent to the Chairman of the Treasury Committee. Copies are also being deposited in the Libraries of both Houses.
Mr. Mitchell:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how banking regulations and supervision of participant members of the euro will be brought into line; and who is responsible for ensuring this occurs. [44457]
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Mrs. Liddell:
The supervision of European Union credit institutions is already subject to a series of harmonising Directives, which impose minimum standards in a wide range of areas and help facilitate the Single Market. The Commission is responsible for ensuring that they remain up to date, and take account of developments in financial markets. The advent of Stage 3 of EMU does not change this responsibility.
Mr. Mitchell:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on his Department's responsibility to protect bank deposits in circumstances when banks lend transnationally under Economic and Monetary Union. [44448]
Mrs. Liddell:
Deposits in UK banks, along with those in banks of other EU members, are covered by arrangements drawn up under the Deposit Guarantee Directive, which sets out minimum standards that apply throughout the Union. Stage 3 of Economic and Monetary Union has no effect on those arrangements.
Mr. Mitchell:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer who will supervise and regulate transnational banks under Stage 3 of Economic and Monetary Union. [44458]
Mrs. Liddell:
The European Banking Directives, which harmonise standards of supervision of credit institutions within the EU, are based on the principle of Home State supervision. Although they may operate or offer services anywhere in the Union, credit institutions are required to have their registered office and head office in the same Member State, and the supervisory authorities there are responsible for its supervision throughout the EU. Stage 3 of Economic and Monetary Union will not change these arrangements.
Mrs. Ewing:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of homes in Scotland were (i) council owned and (ii) owned by publicly financed bodies in each year since 1978-79. [43393]
Mr. Macdonald
[holding answer 2 June 1998]: The information available is set out in the table.
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(7) Figures for the years up to and including 1988-89 are for the Scottish Special Housing Association (SSHA) and New Towns. From 1989-90 to 1995-96, figures are for stock owned by Scottish Homes and New Towns. For 1996-97, figures are for Scottish Homes stock only--New Town stock was transferred to councils, Scottish Homes and Housing Associations during the course of 1995-96 and 1996-97
(8) Estimates from December 1991 onwards are based on the 1991 Population Census. Estimates for earlier years are based on the 1981 Census and are not strictly comparable
(9) The council stock figure for 1997-98 is as at September 1997
(10) Housing associations, although not public bodies, receive public subsidy from Scottish Homes. At 31 March 1997, the latest date for which information is available, housing associations owned around 105,000 dwellings, 4.7 per cent. of the total estimated housing stock at December 1996
(11) Not yet available
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Mr. Chisholm:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to introduce a full system of licensing for houses in multiple occupation. [44654]
Mr. Macdonald:
We are committed to protecting the rights of tenants, and those in shared accommodation are no exception. We have issued a consultation paper today proposing the introduction of a full system of licensing for Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs), in line with our Manifesto commitment.
We value the contribution of the private rented sector, and HMOs play their part by accommodating a wide range of households including mobile workers and other single people. However, while many HMO landlords are providing perfectly acceptable accommodation, there is concern about both the physical condition and management of some HMOs.
Licensing would allow authorities to refuse a licence where an applicant is not a fit and proper person to hold an HMO licence. This will provide a powerful mechanism for preventing exploitation of tenants. For example, licences could be refused for those with relevant criminal convictions. Depending on the circumstances of the particular case, this could include Housing Benefit fraud.
Licensing would also enable local authorities to take a co-ordinated approach to regulating HMOs across departments. This should be a benefit for landlords.
We therefore propose to make it mandatory for all local authorities in Scotland to introduce HMO licensing. Councils were given discretionary powers to licence in 1991, but so far only seven have used them.
A consultation paper setting out our proposals has been sent today to a wide range of bodies with an interest in HMOs, with a request for comments by 30 October 1998. Copies of the consultation paper have been placed in the House Libraries.
Mr. Wallace:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish the criteria under which the New Housing Partnership schemes were assessed. [44044]
Mr. Dewar:
The criteria were set out in a letter issued by the Scottish Office Development Department to Chief Executives of local authorities on 5 December 1997
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inviting local authorities to submit bids and also in a summary report issued on 5 May 1998 explaining how the bids were assessed. Copies of both documents have been placed in the House of Commons Library.
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