§ Mr. Ridleyasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer by what date he hopes to clear the 50,000 applications for 714 certificates which were under inquiry at the latest count.
§ Mr. Robert Sheldon,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 4th March 1977; vol. 927, c. 358], gave the following information: 648W publish in the Official Report a table showing the percentage increase in each of the Royal annuities paid out of the Consolidated Fund in each of the last two years and the comparable figures for increases in prices and earnings.
§ Mr. HealeyThe percentage increases in 1976 compared with 1975 and in 1975 compared with 1974 in payments to members of the Royal Family from the Consolidated Fund as supplemented by the Royal Trustees under the Civil List Acts 1972 and 1975 are set out below. No account has been taken of the sums contributed by Her Majesty the Queen from her private resources, amounting to over £150,000 in 1975 and £118,000 in 1976.
Many of these applications relate to sub-contractors who have subsequently failed to reply to the Inland Revenue's initial inquiries; these applications are apparently not being pursued and simply remain dormant until the sub-contractor takes some action. A further considerable proportion of these applicants have been told that they will qualify for a certificate once they have met the statutory conditions, which in most cases involves putting their tax affairs in order. Their certification depends, therefore, on how quickly they take the necessary action. Those who have only recently applied, and met the conditions, can expect to receive their certificates within about three weeks of the date of approval.