§ Mr. Stephen O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 19 January 2004,Official Report, column 1041W, on personal computers, what steps she is taking to assess the (a) take-up and (b) effectiveness of the annual tax 612W exemption on loaned computers; and what assessment will be undertaken following the recently published guidelines for employers. [152227]
§ Dawn PrimaroloI have been asked to reply.
The Office for National Statistics have included extra questions in their quarterly internet access survey to assess consumer awareness and take up of Home Computing Initiatives (HCI) which use the annual tax exemption on loaned computers. Industry partners are also conducting tracking which the Office of the e-Envoy and the Department of Trade and Industry will use as part of their overall assessment. The impact of HCI schemes on levels of home computer penetration and internet access will also be monitored on an ongoing basis.