The following is a revised table showing the number of individual conciliation cases handled by ACAS during the five years up to 2006/07. The table has been revised to include total local authority equal pay claims. It should replace the individual conciliation table in my answer of 23 July 2007, Official Report, column 895W to the hon. Member for Tamworth (Mr. Jenkins).

This is to announce a new procedure for dealing with suspected dishonest conduct for indirect taxes, where neither criminal investigation nor the Civil Investigation of Fraud procedure outlined in Code of Practice 9(2005) is appropriate.

Code of Practice 9(2005) covers HMRC investigations of suspected serious fraud against the Exchequer where, for policy or operational reasons, it is considered inappropriate to launch a criminal investigation. Where cases are not suitable for Code of Practice 9 (2005) or criminal investigation, for direct taxes, it is already possible for income tax self-assessment and corporation tax self-assessment inquiries to lead to penalties being imposed for either negligent or fraudulent conduct. However until the new penalty provisions in clause 96 and schedule 24 of Finance Bill 2007 take effect, there is no equivalent procedure for dealing with lower level fraud in relation to indirect taxes, with the exception of civil evasion penalties issued at the ports for customs duties and import VAT.

This statement announces a new procedure which will enable HMRC to tackle cases where dishonesty is suspected in relation to indirect taxes. It also introduces a new public notice 160 outlining that procedure. This will bring current practices more closely in line across direct and indirect taxes and help enable a smoother transition to the new penalty regime put forward in clause 96 and schedule 24 of the Finance Bill 2007.

The procedure complements HMRC’s policy of providing a level playing field for all businesses by supporting those who wish to comply but dealing more severely with those who seek an unfair advantage through non-compliance. It will be used in appropriate cases after 1 September 2007.

A copy of the new notice, PN160, is being placed in the House of Commons Library.

On 30 April 2007, during the Committee of the whole House debate on clause 7 of the Finance Bill, my hon. Friend the Member for Wentworth (John Healey), the then Financial Secretary to the Treasury, made a statement concerning the taxation of bingo. He said:

“The policy of applying VAT and duty to bingo participation fees is entirely consistent with our treatment of other player-to-player games in licensed premises, such as poker played in casinos”. [Official Report, 30 April 2007; Vol. 459, c. 1303.].

Similar statements have also been made in response to numerous letters and parliamentary questions from hon. Members.

I regret to inform the House that these statements were based on an incorrect understanding of the effect of the legislation relating to gaming duty as set out in the Finance Act 1997. In fact the Finance Act 1997 does not apply gaming duty to participation fees for poker played in casinos, so participation fees for poker played in casinos are liable only to VAT.

I apologise to the House for this misunderstanding.

I can, however, assure the House that HMRC have, nevertheless, been applying the law correctly, and casinos have not been required to account for gaming duty on participation fees for poker.

In the light of the effect of the current legislation relating to gaming duty, I will be looking again at the tax treatment of participation fees for player-to-player gaming in casinos.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government is today publishing “Proposed Changes to the Regional Spatial Strategy” (RSS) for the West Midlands. They follow the public examination held in January 2007 and the panel report published in March.

The panel report largely welcome the changes submitted by the West Midlands Regional Assembly (WMRA) and considered that the draft revision was broadly compatible with the previously agreed principles of the West Midlands RSS.

The Secretary of State is pleased to support most of the changes recommended by the panel. These include:

new policies to define broad areas for regeneration and growth in the black country,

a new policy which replaces Dudley with Brierley Hill/Merry Hill as a strategic centre,

a new policy to emphasise the importance of transforming the environment, and

revisions to the transport priorities to reflect the current status of transport proposals in the black country.

In addition, an appropriate assessment of the proposed changes has been completed and the recommendations incorporated.

I have today written to the WMRA with the proposed changes and indicating areas where views are particularly sought from any interested parties. There will now be a public consultation period on the proposed changes, which will end on 9 November.

Copies of the relevant document is available in the Libraries of both Houses and has been provided for all of the region’s MPs, MEPs and local authorities.

The more extensive phase 2 revision to the West Midlands RSS is also underway. The WMRA is considering revisions to housing and employment policies as part of this revision.

On 30 August 2007, my Department published the first NHS quarterly performance report for 2007-08, which highlights the progress made by the NHS across a range of indicators at the end of the first quarter of this financial year.

The report highlights how local NHS organisations are performing against key promises such as achieving maximum 18-week waiting times and reducing hospital acquired infections.

The report also shows that the NHS continues to make improvements on financial performance, forecasting a net surplus of £983 million at the year end, compared with £510 million unaudited surplus at the end of 2006-07. This overall net surplus delivers the necessary stability in the service that will help ensure that local NHS organisations have the flexibility to continue to improve services for patients.

The report has been placed in the Library and copies are available to hon. Members in the Vote Office. It is also available on the Department’s website at http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/publicationsandstatistics/publications/dh_078045

Pursuant to a reply to a written question, 14 May 2007, Official Report, column 505W, the then Minister of State for Justice provided the hon. Member for Bury St. Edmunds (Mr. Ruffley) with incorrect statistics on children who were the subject of new care proceedings in the family courts.

I apologise for this error. Corrected figures are given in the following table:

It has not been possible to obtain corresponding corrected figures for Bedfordshire or Hertfordshire.

These statistics relate to the location of the court where the case was heard, and not necessarily to the location of the care provider seeking the order, or the residence of the child on whose behalf the order is being sought. The figures cover both the family proceedings courts and the county courts, and exclude cases which are reported as having been transferred between courts.

I have written to the hon. Member for Bury St. Edmunds and copies of this letter have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

The Department for Transport announced to the London Stock Exchange on 14 August 2007 the award of the InterCity East Coast rail franchise to NXEC Trains Ltd., a subsidiary of National Express group. The franchise will commence on 9 December 2007, and will continue until 31 March 2015 with the last 17 months conditional on set performance levels being reached. NXEC Trains Ltd. has undertaken to pay the Department for Transport a premium of £1,414 million net present value over the life of the franchise that will be reinvested in the railways.

The franchise offers value for money to passengers and taxpayers, and provides for more capacity, performance improvements and investment at stations and in on-board services.

Bidders were required to reflect the emerging recommendations of the east coast route utilisation strategy, a draft consultation document published by Network Rail in June 2007. The contract with NXEC Trains Ltd. makes provision from December 2010 for up to 25 extra train services—around 14,000 seats—each weekday and up to 40 more carriages to deliver increased capacity. Until then, the current timetable will continue to be operated in the new franchise, including Leeds half-hourly service improvements introduced in May 2007.

The additional capacity from 2010 would enable a new London—Lincoln service to operate at two-hourly intervals, and an additional London—York service to operate at two-hourly intervals. Faster journeys will also be possible between London and Leeds, York and Edinburgh. NXEC Trains Ltd. will reduce delays for which it is responsible by 29 per cent. by March 2015. It will work closely with Network Rail to raise the public performance measure to over 90 per cent. by January 2010.

NXEC will invest £7.4 million to upgrade station facilities. Up to 2000 more car parking spaces will be provided by the end of the franchise with half of these expected within the first two years.

Environmental improvements have also been secured. Fuel consumption per passenger-kilometre will be reduced by 28 per cent. and four stations will be designated as “green stations”. Pre-series inter-city express trains, which will replace the current fleet of high speed trains, will be trialled on the east coast main line from summer 2012.

On-board improvements include CCTV on all trains and free wi-fi for all passengers. A full restaurant service on 87 weekday services will be offered. A hot food at seat service will be available to standard class passengers.

The Government will continue to limit annual rises of regulated fares—which include season tickets and saver fares—in line with national policy, which is currently RPI+1%. Unregulated fares will be, as with all franchises, the responsibility of the operator.

NXEC have indicated that they may wish to raise unregulated fares by an average of 2.1 per cent. above inflation each year over the course of the franchise. Overall, regulated and unregulated fares together are likely to rise by RPI+1.6% each year throughout the course of the franchise. Annual rises in regulated fares will continue to be capped at RPI+1%.

An improved website will be introduced that will highlight the cheapest tickets available and the expected seat availability on each train. Smartcards will be introduced by 2010.