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Comprehensive Spending Review
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will extend footnote 3 of Table A2 in the 1998 Comprehensive Spending Review to cover the years 1993-94 to 1997-98. [68389]
Mrs. Roche: Outturn figures for the UK's net contribution are published each year in the Departmental Report of the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Departments, the last being Cm 3917 of April 1998. The most current estimate of the figure for 1997-98 is £2.6 billion.
Local Government Expenditure
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will provide latest estimates and forecasts for (i) local authority self-financed expenditure and (ii) Scottish non-domestic rate payments, for (a) 1997-98, (b) 1998-99, (c) 1999-2000, (d) 2000-01 and (e) 2001-02. [68393]
Mr. Milburn: The latest estimate and forecasts of local authority self-financed expenditure are shown in the table.
| £ billion | |
|---|---|
| 1997-98 estimated outturn | 13.7 |
| 1998-99 estimated outturn | 14.5 |
| 1999-2000 forecast | 15.5 |
| 2000-01 forecast | 16.6 |
| 2001-02 forecast | 17.9 |
Scottish Non-Domestic Rates payments distributed to local authorities for 1997-98, 1998-99 and 1999-2000 are £1,326 million, £1,395 million and £1,441 million respectively.
As of 1 July 1999, responsibility for Scottish non- domestic rates will be devolved to the Scottish Ministers and the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish non-domestic rates yield for 2000-01 and 2001-02 will therefore depend on decisions by the Scottish Ministers and the Scottish Parliament.
8 Feb 1999 : Column: 25
Mr. Kirkwood:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he would estimate the rates of child benefit for the first and subsequent children from April 1999 required to ensure that if a higher rate taxpayer in receipt of child benefit paid tax on it at (a) the higher rate or (b) the standard rate, the net cash amount of benefit received remained at the level already announced from April 1999; if he would further estimate (1) the gross annual programme cost of increasing child benefit to those levels and (2) what would be the net cost to the Exchequer of raising child benefit to those levels (i) with
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no taxation and (ii) with higher rate taxpayer recipients paying tax on the benefit at the higher rate, taking into account the consequential effects on working families tax credit, income support payments and other means-tested benefits. [67795]
Mrs. Roche
[holding answer 3 February 1999]: The required rates of child benefit and the gross and net costs, are given in the table. The net costs take into account the consequential effects on income support, housing benefit and council tax benefit. Entitlement to Working Families Tax Credit is not affected by changes to child benefit rates.
8 Feb 1999 : Column: 25
| Rates of child benefit | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| From April 1999 | First child (£) | Subsequent children (£) | Gross cost (£ billion) | Net cost with no taxation (£ billion) |
| 14.40 | 9.60 | -- | -- | |
| (a) To give equivalent net cash amount when taxed at the higher rate of 40 per cent. | 24.00 | 16.00 | 5.5 | 4.4 |
| (b) To give equivalent net cash amount when taxed at the basic rate of 23 per cent. | 18.70 | 12.45 | 2.4 | 1.9 |
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If all child benefit payments to those mothers or lone fathers who were liable at the higher rate of 40 per cent. were taxable, the yield for 1999-2000 would be about £60 million with the child benefit rates at (a) and about £50 million with the child benefit rates at (b). Taxing child benefit for higher rate taxpayer recipients has no consequential effects on benefits.
Customs and Excise
Mr. Rooney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many vacancies there were in operation posts of Customs and Excise in (i) South Wales, (ii) Newcastle- upon-Tyne and (iii) West Yorkshire in (a) January 1995, (b) January 1996, (c) January 1997, (d) January 1998 and (e) at the latest available date. [68815]
Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 3 February 1999]: The following figures show the vacancies filled during the periods in question.
| South Wales | Newcastle/West Yorkshire | |
|---|---|---|
| January 1995 | (6)-- | 32 |
| January 1996 | 93 | 117 |
| January 1997 | 98 | 164 |
| January 1998 | 132 | 29 |
| January 1999 | 0 | 2 |
(6) No figures available
Scottish Consolidated Fund
Mr. Swinney:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what powers of direction he will have over money transferred to the Scottish Consolidated Fund as a consequence of increased investment in specific, nominated projects in England and Wales; if such money would have to be used by the Scottish Parliament for identical projects in Scotland or for projects in the same departmental heading; and what monitoring role his Department would have over the use of such money. [68599]
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Mr. Milburn
[holding answer 3 February 1999]: The Scottish Parliament will have the maximum freedom to determine its own expenditure priorities within the funds allocated to it. Control and scrutiny of spending by Ministers of the Scottish Parliament will be a matter for the Scottish Parliament. The Treasury will continue to collect and publish information on spending in Scotland.
Mr. Swinney:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to establish a public service agreement between the Treasury and the Scottish Executive over moneys transferred to the Scottish Consolidated Fund; what will be the purpose of such an agreement; and what discussions he has had with the Scottish Office on this issue. [68430]
Mr. Milburn
[holding answer 3 February 1999]: I have no plans to establish a public service agreement between the Treasury and the Scottish Executive.
Mr. Swinney:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state the real terms annual percentage change in spending in (a) England and Wales and (b) Scotland between 1996-97 and 2001-02 on (i) education, (ii) health, and (iii) transport, broken down into (1) roads and (2) rail, (iv) housing, (v) police and (vi) local government. [68431]
Mr. Milburn
[holding answer 3 February 1999]: The allocation of expenditure to the programmes listed (with the exception of police spending in Wales) will be matters for the National Assembly of Wales and the Scottish Parliament when they assume powers on 1 July.
Mrs. Lait:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what work is being undertaken by HM Customs and Excise to include seizures at airports, EU diversion fraud and smuggling in freight containers originating outside the EU within the estimates of the revenue from (a) tobacco and (b) alcohol lost as a result of smuggling. [69532]
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Dawn Primarolo:
HM Customs and Excise's current estimate of the annual revenue lost (excise duty and VAT) through the smuggling of tobacco products by air passengers is £50 million. This estimate is contained in a report laid in the House of Commons on 19 November 1998. There is no estimate of the revenue lost through smuggling by air passengers of alcoholic drinks, but this is not believed to be on a comparable scale.
HM Customs and Excise are currently working with representatives of the trade and other interested parties to establish robust methodologies for the measurement of excise duty evasion as a whole. This work is in keeping with one of the recommendations of the report of the Alcohol and Tobacco Fraud Review, which was published in July 1998.
Mrs. Lait:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the latest estimate by HM Customs and Excise of the revenue lost on (a) tobacco and (b) alcohol products as a result of smuggling and bootlegging in the current financial year; and what are the final figures for the last financial year. [69531]
Dawn Primarolo:
HM Customs and Excise estimates for the revenue lost (excise duty and VAT) through smuggling of alcohol and tobacco products are produced on a calendar year basis. Their most recent estimates are contained in a report laid in the House of Commons library on 19 November 1998.
In 1998, Customs estimate that £1,000 million was lost through cross-Channel smuggling of tobacco products, and £220 million through such smuggling of alcoholic drinks. The equivalent estimates for 1997 are £790 million for tobacco products and £180 million for alcoholic drinks. Customs also estimate that the annual revenue currently lost through smuggling of tobacco products by air passengers is about £50 million.
These estimates exclude any amounts for revenue lost through smuggling in very large freight consignments, for which Customs have not published any estimates.
Mrs. Lait:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what further resources are planned for HM Customs and Excise to combat smuggling and bootlegging from sources (a) within and (b) outside the EU in addition to those already announced since May 1997. [69553]
Dawn Primarolo:
Customs has been allocated £35 million under the Comprehensive Spending Review to tackle evasion of alcohol and tobacco duties. This includes over 100 additional front line staff, both at ports and inland, to combat the smuggling and distribution of illicit goods. The staff will not deal exclusively with goods from within or outside the EU; they will tackle fraudulent activity whatever the source. They will all be in post by 1 April.
Mrs. Lait:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions are taking place with customs authorities outside the EU to determine the amount of smuggled alcohol and tobacco products which originate outside the EU. [69529]
Dawn Primarolo:
HM Customs and Excise are currently working with representatives of the trade and other interested parties to establish robust methodologies
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for the measurement of excise duty evasion as a whole. For measurement purposes, the split between EU and non-EU sourced smuggling is a secondary factor.
Customs and Excise have contact with many non-EU customs authorities for operational purposes.
Mrs. Lait:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reasons seizures at airports, EU diversion fraud and smuggling in freight containers originating outside the EU are excluded from the official HM Customs and Excise estimate of the revenue lost on (a) tobacco and (b) alcohol products as a result of smuggling. [69528]
Dawn Primarolo:
HM Customs and Excise's current estimate of the annual revenue lost (excise duty and VAT) through the smuggling of tobacco products by air passengers is £50 million. This estimate is contained in a report laid in the House of Commons on 19 November 1998. There is no estimate of the revenue lost through smuggling by air passengers of alcoholic drinks, but this is not believed to be on a comparable scale.
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