§ Mr. Higginsasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why the Inland Revenue does not provide taxpayers
474Winto by all Government Departments where the contract was entered into with a private sector organisation, in the last five years for which figures are available, naming in each case the Government Department and the private sector concern, as well as the nature of the product or service supplied.
§ Mr. BrookeThis information is not held centrally and could not be obtained without disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. Strawasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total amount spent in respect of each Department on the acquisition of goods and services expressed in terms of net contract prices; and how many individual contracts comprised that volume of purchasing for each of the last five years for which figures are available, giving both the overall totals for each Department and the totals disaggregated into the following categories: (a) capital and revenue expenditure, (b) construction and non-construction projects, (c) goods and services purchased from United Kingdom-based companies and non-United Kingdom-based companies and (d) goods and services purchased from the private sector and from other parts of the public sector.
§ Mr. BrookeInformation in the form requested is not available and could not be obtained without disproportionate cost. Information on new contracts let for goods and services in the calendar years 1983 and 1984, excluding construction contracts and Ministry of Defence warlike expenditure, is as tabulated below. Similar figures for earlier years are not available.
receiving cheques covering refunds of income tax with information on that tax year and other details to enable them to identify the period to which any refund relates.
475W
§ Mr. LawsonIt is the Inland Revenue's normal practice to accompany refund payments with a computation and explanation. If my right hon. Friend has a specific case in mind where this has not happened, perhaps he would like to send me details.