HC Deb 10 February 1998 vol 306 cc133-4W
Mr. Lepper

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list all(a) buildings, (b) works of art, (c) land and (d) other property in (i) the Brighton Pavilion constituency and (ii) East and West Sussex which are subject to public access or examination by the public as a condition of exemption from inheritance tax; what steps have been taken to inform the public about access to these; and what is the value of conditional exemption from inheritance tax for each year between 1979–80 and 1996–97 relating to (a) to (d) in (i) and (ii). [23938]

Dawn Primarolo

The statutory rules on taxpayer confidentiality prevent me from listing the specific details requested about conditionally exempt assets.

Owners of conditionally exempt assets are primarily responsible for publicising the arrangements for public access to such assets according to the terms of the relevant undertakings. In general, steps required to publicise access may include, for example, advertising in an appropriate national publication, in the local tourist office or town hall, or in the case of scenic land in England, displaying a map board at all points of entry on to the land showing the agreed public access.

For conditionally exempt works of art and other objects to which public access is by appointment only the Inland Revenue's Register provides relevant details. The computerised Register is available on the Internet at www.cto.eds.co.uk. Copies of the Register may be purchased from the Inland Revenue, and are also available for consultation at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, the National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh, the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, and the Ulster Museum, Belfast.

The Inland Revenue have published a leaflet about the Register, "Our heritage—your right to see tax exempt works of art", IR 156, and a related poster. The leaflet is available from Tax Inquiry Centres.

I regret that information about the value of conditional exemption for each year between 1979–80 and 1996–97 is not readily available in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Gordon Prentice

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish by county the names of landowners who receive conditional exemption from inheritance tax because they allow public access. [24575]

Dawn Primarolo

I refer to the reply I gave my hon. Friend on 6 June 1997,Official Report, column 278.

Mr. Gordon Prentice

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of landowners who restrict public access to their land despite receiving conditional exemption from inheritance tax. [24577]

Dawn Primarolo

The Inland Revenue is not aware of any landowners of conditionally exempt land who restrict public access to the land contrary to the terms of their undertakings. If my hon. Friend has any information on this issue, the Inland Revenue would be pleased to receive the details.

Mr. Gordon Prentice

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the names of individuals and the location of the land and buildings which are conditionally exempt from inheritance tax by reason of public access will be included in the scope of the proposed Freedom of Information legislation. [24667]

Dawn Primarolo

As explained in the White Paper "Your Right to Know", the proposed Freedom of Information Act will contain provision for access to official information generally. It will not list particular types of information. The information that my hon. Friend mentions will be within the scope of the Act. Its disclosure would depend, as for all information,(a) on decisions on the continuation of any relevant statutory prohibitions to disclosure and (b) on the substantial harm and public interest tests integral to the Act's access provisions.