§ Mr. GibbTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received regarding the Contractors Helpline for the construction industry scheme. [98624]
§ Dawn PrimaroloThe contractors' helpline was set up to provide a single point of contact for any contractor who needed more information about the scheme. In response to a very high level of inquiries, the Revenue have now substantially increased the capacity of the helpline to take 25 calls simultaneously. The vast majority of calls are now being answered promptly.
§ Mr. GibbTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will publish definitive and complete rules for the transitional arrangements involved with the new construction industry scheme rules. [98623]
§ Dawn PrimaroloTransitional arrangements included measures for both subcontractors and contractors and were agreed in order to provide a breathing space for the industry at the start of the scheme.
The arrangements for subcontractors were announced in an Inland Revenue Press issued on 7 July. The arrangements for contractors were announced in a Press Release on 15 July. Further information about the arrangements was included in a Press Release issued on 30 July.
155WThe Inland Revenue also issued a letter to every known contractor to tell them about the arrangements. Those contractors who applied for a transitional dispensation were given the additional information that they needed to operate the dispensation rules correctly when the dispensation was granted.
All transitional arrangements ended on 5 November 1999. There are no plans to issue further information to the public on these arrangements now that they have come to an end.