Written Answers to Questions
Monday 12 November 2007
Culture, Media and Sport
Archaeology: Finance
The Portable Antiquities Scheme is funded by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA). Therefore, any decisions on its future funding will be taken by the MLA.
The funding for the Portable Antiquities Scheme is a matter for the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council. No final decisions have yet been made by the MLA on future funding of the scheme.
An assessment of MLA’s effectiveness against all the targets set in its Funding Agreement, including those for the Portable Antiquities Scheme, was carried out earlier this year.
The Portable Antiquities Scheme has made a significant contribution to encouraging the reporting of archaeological finds by members of the public.
An assessment of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council's (MLA) effectiveness against all the targets set in its Funding Agreement, including those for the Portable Antiquities Scheme, was carried out earlier this year.
Decisions regarding future funding for the Portable Antiquities Scheme are the responsibility of the MLA.
Community Development
The Where We Live programme is now known as Living Places. The programme is delivered through a partnership between the five leading national cultural agencies, the DCMS, the Department for Committee and Local Government and the regional cultural consortiums.
The Living Places Officers Group will meet on Monday 19 November 2007. The Living Places Chief Executives meeting will take place in January 2008 (date to be confirmed). A representative from DCMS is expected to attend both.
Departmental Expenditure
Expenditure on official hospitality is made in accordance with the principles of Government Accounting, the Treasury handbook Regularity and Propriety and the Department's internal guidance on hospitality. The Department's expenditure on official functions during the last year (to October 2007) was £5,970. Details of individual functions are not held centrally and can be identified only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Public Appointments
I am due to meet the Government Chief Scientist to discuss Dr. Dixon's report and consider what approach is most appropriate for my Department. I expect to publish the report, alongside our response, in the new year.
Digital Broadcasting: East of England
We do not collect statistics based on Government regions or counties. According to Digital UK/Ofcom figures, take-up for the Anglia region is 77 per cent.
Digital Switchover Help Scheme: East of England
The information is not available in the format requested. We estimate that around 615,000 households in the east of England area will be eligible for assistance from the digital switchover help scheme. Of these, 85,000 eligible households are in Suffolk.
Notes:
1. Eligibility for help from the digital switchover help scheme will be by benefit unit rather than the whole household definition used by the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) the Scottish Executive, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Northern Ireland Office to forecast future household growth. The scheme definition of eligible households mirrors Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) definition of a benefit unit: a couple (which from December 2005 includes gay couples) and any dependent children. It excludes adults deemed to be non-dependents who, if eligible, will be able to claim assistance from the help scheme in their own right.
2. The estimates use data from the Department for Work and Pensions Client Group Analysis for November 2005 adjusted by changes in future household and benefits growth for the period from 2005 until the date switchover takes place in the relevant area.
3. The figures do not include households where the person qualifying for help under the scheme is registered blind or registered partially sighted who qualify on grounds of registration rather than on grounds of age or entitlement to disability benefits.
Television: Licensing
(2) how many fines the TV Licensing Authority issued in (a) 2006, (b) 2005 and (c) 2004.
Fines are issued and collected by the courts, not TV Licensing. According to information reported to the Ministry of Justice (formerly Home Office) court proceedings database, 96,192 persons were fined in 2004 for offences under the Wireless Telegraphy Acts 1949 and 1967 and the Communications Act 2003, the majority of which relate to TV licence evasion. The figure for 2005 was 118,029. The total amount of fines collected is not recorded centrally.
The BBC estimates the evasion rate across the UK to be 5.1 per cent. The estimated number of evaders is 1.32 million.
TV Licensing, which administers free television licences for people aged 75 or over as an agent for the BBC, and provide geographical breakdowns of the number of free licences issued. However, the estimated number of households in each constituency in Northern Ireland with at least one person aged 75 or over claiming the winter fuel payment in 2005-06, based on records held by the Northern Ireland Department for Social Development, was as follows:
Parliamentary constituency Estimated number of households with at least one person aged 75 or over claiming the winter fuel payment, 2005-061 Belfast East 6,049 Belfast North 5,359 Belfast South 5,180 Belfast West 3,654 East Antrim 4,295 East Londonderry 4,261 Fermanagh and South Tyrone 4,611 Foyle 3,681 Lagan Valley 5,044 Mid Ulster 3,939 Newry and Armagh 4,685 North Antrim 5,683 North Down 5,644 South Antrim 4,276 South Down 5,167 Strangford 5,007 Upper Bann 4,728 West Tyrone 3,875 Missing postcode1 275 Total 85,413 1In producing this analysis, individual records were attributed to parliamentary constituencies (PC's) on the basis of their postcode. Not all records can be correctly allocated to a PC using this method.
The Northern Ireland Court Service only began collecting such data in November 2006 and so the information requested is not available.
Tourism
The UK's tourism industry was worth £85 billion in 2005, representing nearly 3.5 per cent. of the total economy in terms of gross value added. The industry's turnover was made up as follows:
£ billion Spending by UK residents on tourism day visits 44.3 Spending by UK residents on overnight domestic trips 22.7 Spending by inbound visitors to the UK 14.2 Fares paid to UK carriers by overseas residents 2.8 Imputed rent from second home ownership 0.9
VisitBritain: Finance
VisitBritain’s allocation of DCMS grant in aid for 2007-08 is £49.9 million. VisitBritain has told us that it will spend £35.5 million on overseas marketing and the remaining £14.4 million on domestic marketing.
In addition, a further grant of £750,000 was made to VisitBritain in August 2007 for additional marketing support for the domestic tourism industry, following the flooding in July.
Home Department
Community Support Officers: Wales
(2) how many police officers there were in each Welsh police force in each year since 1997.
The information is shown in the following tables.
31 March Police force 19973 1998 1999 2000 20014 2002 20035 20045 20055 20065 20075 Dyfed-Powys 1,005 1,002 1,026 1,040 1,055 1,132 1,149 1,160 1,174 1,182 1,177 Gwent 1,243 1,233 1,247 1,264 1,274 1,333 1,341 1,372 1,438 1,467 1,493 North Wales 1,369 1,396 1,391 1,403 1,444 1,506 1,539 1,603 1,652 1,617 1,591 South Wales 2,976 2,986 2,981 2,926 3,154 3,222 3,239 3,279 3,281 3,263 3,297 1 This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items. 2 Full-time equivalent excludes those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. 3 Boundary changes on 1 April 1996 transferred resources for the policing of the Rhymney Valley from South Wales Police to Gwent Police. 4 Boundary changes on 1 April 2000 transferred some resources from the Metropolitan Police to Essex, Hertfordshire and Surrey police forces. 5 Comparable strength (excludes those on career breaks, or maternity/paternity leave). The Police Numbers Task Force (2001) recommended that a clear presentation was made of the numbers of staff employed by police forces including those seconded into the force and those on any type of long or short term absence. These new calculations were first used in 2003, and are not comparable with data prior to March 2003. The data from 2003 onwards used here are termed comparable because they have been calculated on the old basis to allow comparison.
31 March Police force 2003 2004 20054 20064 20074 Dyfed-Powys 0 5 25 26 77 Gwent 30 45 77 76 105 North Wales 0 0 59 58 145 South Wales 0 59 107 111 314 1 This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items. 2 Full-time equivalent includes those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. 3 Police community support officers were introduced in statute in 2002, therefore data is not available prior to 2002-03. 4 Strength figures as at 31 March 2005 onwards include those staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. Therefore these figures are not comparable with those provided for other years in the table.
Crimes of Violence: Children
The information requested is not collected centrally.
Neighbourhood Watch Schemes
Neighbourhood Watch schemes are set up on a voluntary basis and are not subject to monitoring by the Government. It is therefore not possible to state how many schemes are currently active. The Government do not directly fund schemes or associations but provide support through the funding of public liability insurance, publications and literature, maintenance of a website and managing the Neighbourhood Watch logo.
As of 1 November 2007, 127,000 Neighbourhood Watch schemes in England and Wales had registered for public liability insurance via the Home Office Neighbourhood Watch website.
Police: Early Retirement
The available data are published by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and are given in the following table.
Number 1996-97 2,012 1997-98 1,811 1998-99 1,642 1999-2000 1,232 2000-01 1,209 2001-02 1,114 2002-03 819 2003-04 418 2004-05 405 1 Data collated on behalf of and published by HMIC. HMIC have advised that assaults data will no longer be published in their Annual Report and that the data for 2004-05 is the last series of these data to be published. 2 This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items. 3 Financial year runs 1 April to 31 March inclusive.
Police: Wales
The information requested is not collected centrally in the police personnel statistics.
Prosecutions: Milton Keynes
The information requested is not collected centrally.
Terrorism: Nuclear Weapons
We keep all our legislation under review and the issue of whether to include radiological weapons in the list of weapons and substances that fall within the scope of the Terrorism Act 2000 is currently being considered.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Birds: Conservation
No decision has been made on any changes to the Bird Registration Scheme. It is anticipated that any changes that were made would be in force by 1 October 2008.
Climate Change
Tables 1 and 2 show figures for UK greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on a source basis and end user basis, respectively. The figures are taken from the UK Climate Change Programme Annual Report, which was laid before Parliament on 26 July.
Emissions arising from electricity are attributed to the consumer, rather than the power station, in the end user basis. Figures are given for 1990-2005, the latest year for which data is available. Emissions data from 2006 will be available in January 2008.
Disaggregated transport emissions are given in Table 3. It should be noted that emissions from domestic aviation are included in our Kyoto target, excluding emissions from international aviation. Emissions from households are counted under "residential", emissions from commercial properties under "business", and emissions from public buildings, including schools and hospitals, under "public". The UK does not separately report emissions from buildings.
Million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent Base year 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 Power supply 272.9 272.9 272.4 261.3 242.0 231.8 231.4 232.3 216.0 Business 113.3 111.9 114.0 109.7 109.8 110.6 108.1 110.9 110.5 Industrial processes 81.9 81.5 90.2 87.6 91.5 86.9 82.6 94.1 87.5 Transport 124.3 124.3 122.6 123.8 125.4 125.7 125.0 130.1 131.7 Residential 59.3 59.3 58.8 57.3 56.6 57.4 57.2 57.7 58.2 Public 2.9 2.9 2.8 2.3 1.1 0.9 1.0 0.9 0.5 Agriculture 55.3 53.7 51.9 46.5 42.9 44.7 44.2 45.0 46.5 Land use change 13.6 13.6 14.5 15.2 13.8 13.5 13.3 14.3 13.9 Waste 52.8 52.8 52.1 50.9 49.5 48.5 46.9 45.5 41.8 Total 776.4 773.0 779.2 754.4 732.6 720.0 709.7 730.7 706.6
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Power supply 217.3 204.6 213.3 222.6 220.6 225.8 224.3 225.8 Business 110.4 112.7 113.9 114.5 104.8 106.7 104.0 104.3 Industrial processes 90.2 89.6 90.2 92.6 89.3 90.4 92.0 88.1 Transport 130.9 132.0 131.3 131.2 133.5 134.5 136.2 137.5 Residential 57.0 56.3 54.1 51.3 51.6 50.9 50.7 49.7 Public 0.0 -0.2 -0.4 -0.6 -1.1 -1.2 -1.9 -2.0 Agriculture 43.5 26.7 23.9 21.3 17.7 18.5 17.9 17.2 Land use change 13.3 13.1 12.3 12.6 10.8 10.4 11.3 11.2 Waste 39.0 35.6 33.5 29.4 27.0 23.9 22.4 22.1 Total 701.6 670.4 672.0 674.9 654.3 660.0 657.0 653.8
Million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent Base year 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 Business 242.2 240.8 238.2 224.3 216.1 211.0 208.9 210.4 204.5 Industrial processes 58.6 57.0 54.9 49.4 45.7 47.2 46.9 47.9 49.4 Transport 148.0 148.0 145.8 147.7 150.7 151.0 151.5 156.9 157.7 Residential 168.3 167.9 178.2 171.7 167.4 159.5 152.8 165.1 149.9 Public 31.1 31.1 34.3 36.1 29.5 28.9 28.1 28.9 26.4 Agriculture 63.1 63.1 62.6 60.9 59.9 60.6 60.3 60.7 61.0 Land use change 2.9 2.9 2.8 2.3 1.1 0.9 1.0 0.9 0.5 Waste 52.8 52.8 52.1 50.9 49.5 48.5 46.9 45.5 41.8 Exports 9.4 9.4 10.2 11.1 12.6 12.4 13.2 14.3 15.5 Total 776.4 773.0 779.2 754.4 732.6 720.0 709.7 730.7 706.6
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Business 203.9 2Q1.2 208.7 214.0 202.0 206.7 203.5 204.9 Industrial processes 46.1 29.2 26.2 23.1 19.2 19.9 19.2 18.4 Transport 156.6 157.1 156.5 156.8 160.4 165.0 164.9 166.5 Residential 155.6 150.4 154.3 161.1 155.8 158.0 159.5 155.4 Public 25.6 24.7 23.7 24.3 21.8 21.5 22.3 22.2 Agriculture 59.8 58.9 56.8 54.1 54.5 53.6 53.5 52.4 Land use change 0.0 -0.2 -0.4 -0.6 -1.1 -1.2 -1.9 -2.0 Waste 39.0 35.6 33.5 29.4 27.0 23.9 22.4 22.1 Exports 14.9 13.6 13.0 12.5 14.6 12.5 13.7 14.0 Total 701.6 670.4 672.0 674.9 654.3 660.0 657.0 653.8
Million tonnes Road transport Domestic aviation International aviation 1990 109.4 1.3 15.7 1991 108.6 1.2 15.4 1992 110.1 1.3 17.1 1993 111.3 1.3 18.2 1994 111.9 1.2 18.9 1995 110.9 1.3 20.1 1996 115.2 1.4 21.3 1997 116.6 1.5 22.7 1998 115.9 1.6 25.3 1999 116.8 1.8 27.4 2000 116.0 2.0 30.3 2001 116.0 2.1 29.5 2002 118.4 2.1 28.9 2003 118.2 2.1 29.6 2004 119.4 2.3 33.1 2005 119.9 2.5 35.0
Market mechanisms, such as the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), play an extremely important role in tackling climate change by encouraging the cost of carbon to be included in production and consumption decisions.
However, as the Stern review highlighted, by itself carbon pricing will not be sufficient to tackle climate change cost effectively for the longer-term. The Stern review suggested that a three-pronged approach is necessary for tackling climate change: carbon pricing, technology policy, and the removal of other barriers, such as consumer inertia and misaligned incentives.
The Stern report highlighted that technology policy was an important requirement for bringing down the cost of carbon abatement over time and ensuring the necessary degree of technological development. Under the EU ETS the allocations for new entrants are based on best available technology benchmarks, which helps to ensure that new installations are developing clean and efficient processes.
The Government agree with Stern's assessment and regards initiatives to develop clean technologies as important complements to carbon pricing mechanisms such as the EU ETS.
Flood Control: Finance
Following public consultation in the spring, a set of measures has been developed to provide greater clarity on the outcomes to be achieved from flood and coastal erosion risk management funding and policies.
The consultation included a range of approaches to investment prioritisation. We are working with the Environment Agency to develop an effective prioritisation process for the capital improvement programme in order to deliver the outcomes desired in future years. We anticipate that targets will be set for the capital programme on the basis of the new Outcome Measures from the next financial year and for maintenance activities from 2009-10.
Floods
The information is as follows:
(a) New planning policy published by the Department for Communities and Local Government—Planning Policy Statement 25—aims to avoid and manage the risk of flooding to new development from all sources. Planning authorities should direct development to areas at least risk of flooding and consider how land use planning can reduce the risk of surface water flooding through the development of Surface Water Management Plans and sustainable drainage systems.
(b) For existing development, the impacts of surface water flooding can be mitigated by providing safe overland routes for the discharge of excess flows or improvements to below ground drainage. Below ground drainage is largely the responsibility of the water and sewerage companies for the public sewerage system, but also highway authorities for road drainage and private owners for drains and culverts on their land. Local planning authorities can ensure that drainage arrangements for surface water from new development do not impact on other areas.
For the future, DEFRA is currently funding 15 pilot projects to identify improvements to the integrated management of urban drainage. We also intend to give the Environment Agency a strategic overview of all forms of flood risk, including risk from surface water.
Floods: Insurance
The Association of British Insurers (ABI)’s Statement of Principles sets out the commitments made by ABI members towards the continued availability of flood insurance cover, together with associated commitments by Government on effective flood risk management. We have a continuing dialogue with the insurance industry at both ministerial and official level and have agreed to work with the ABI to review the Statement over the coming months.
We are continuing to work with the Association of British Insurers (ABI) to support our mutual aim of ensuring continued widespread availability of flood insurance cover. The ABI’s commitments on this and associated undertakings by Government on effective flood risk management are set out in the Statement of Principles.
Premiums and excesses are not covered by the Statement. These will reflect different degrees of risk and are a matter for individual insurers. Following the recent flooding, a Flood Recovery working group, consisting of representatives from Government departments and the ABI, has been established to consider issues relating to flood recovery and insurance.
The Government have also asked the Financial Inclusion Taskforce to work with the insurance industry to develop options for promoting increased take-up of key insurance products among financially excluded households. The Government will consider the Taskforce’s recommendations in developing a detailed action plan for financial inclusion later this year.
Treasury
Assets
Estimates of the total cost of the indexation allowance to the Exchequer are published in Table A3.1 of the 2007 Financial Statement and Budget report. Estimates for 2007-08 are published in Table 7 of the 2007 Tax Ready Reckoner.
Figures for the value of indexation relief claimed split by type of asset are not available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Table 14.9 of the capital gains tax National Statistics provides statistics on the distribution of length of time assets have been held by type of asset.
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/capital_gains/menu.htm
Research carried out by Ipsos MORI on taxpayers' perceptions of the capital gains tax regime was published in December 2006.
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/research/cgt-final-report26.pdf
Capital Gains Tax
Annual receipts of capital gains tax are available in National Statistics table 1.2 on the HMRC website at the following address:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_receipts/menu.htm.
Figures for monthly receipts of capital gains tax are not available.
(2) what steps he will take to monitor the effect of the changes to capital gains tax announced in his pre-Budget report on the (a) number of and (b) trends in purchasing second homes.
The 2007 pre-Budget report announced a reform of the capital gains tax regime. The Government keep all aspects of tax policy under review.
Civil Servants: Yorkshire and Humberside
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 12 November 2007:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning how many jobs in the Civil Service there were in (a) Yorkshire and Humberside and (b) Huddersfield in 1997; and how many there are in each area now. (162164)
The closest measure available is the full time equivalent number of people in employment in the civil service. These statistics are published only at the level of the Government Offices for the Regions i.e. Yorkshire and the Humber. In order to provide more detailed information, an ad hoc analysis has been required. This analysis is based on the Mandate survey which currently provides approximately 90 per cent. coverage of Civil Service departments and agencies. The most detailed level of information available is for Kirklees (including Huddersfield).
Full-time equivalents Yorkshire and the Humber Civil service (Mandate only)-Kirklees (including Huddersfield) 1997 (1 April) 32,270 1,030 2006 (30 September) 39,250 1,070 Source: Civil Service Statistics/Mandate
Death: Eastern Region
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 12 November 2007:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many winter excess deaths there were in (a) the East of England and (b) Suffolk in each of the last five years. (162584)
Estimates of excess winter deaths relate to a four-month period from December of one year to March of the next year. The table below provides the number of excess winter deaths in (a) the East of England government office region and (b) Suffolk county for the years 2000/01 to 2004/05 (the latest available).
Deaths (persons) Winter East of England Suffolk 2000-01 2,430 250 2001-02 2,790 370 2002-03 2,480 360 2003-04 2,280 270 2004-05 3,290 440 1 The estimated number of excess winter deaths is the difference between the number of deaths during the four winter months (December to March) and the average number of deaths during the preceding four months (August to November) and the following four months (April to July). Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2 Data are based on deaths occurring in each month. 3 Using boundaries as of 2007 for all years.
Industrial Building Allowances: Hotels
The information requested is not available. Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs publishes information on the total industrial buildings allowances claimed against corporation tax broken down by sector. The latest information, to 2005, is available here:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/corporate_tax/table11-10.pdf
Inheritance Tax: Wales
It is not possible to provide figures for England and Wales separately.
Manpower: Government Departments
I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer the former Financial Secretary, my hon. Friend the Member for Westminster (Mr. Healey) gave on 1 March 2007, Official Report, column 1489W.
National Insurance Contributions
Information on receipts of national insurance contributions is published in Table 1.2 on the HMRC website. A link to the most recent publication is
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_receipts/table1-2.pdf
Northern Rock
No money has yet been paid to Goldman Sachs for its advice on Northern Rock.
Pay
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karren Dunnell, dated 12 November 2007:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary question asking the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the rate of earnings growth was for (a) male and (b) female employees aged (i) 18 to 29, (ii) 30 to 39, (iii) 40 to 49, (iv) 50 to 59 and (v) 60 years and over in each year since 1997. (162304)
Levels of earnings are estimated from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) and are provided for all full-time employees on adult rates of pay, whose pay for the survey period was not affected by absence. The ASHE, carried out in April each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom.
I attach tables showing median gross weekly earnings for full-time males and full-time females by age from 1997 to 2007.
All employees Percentage growth 18-21 Percentage growth 22-29 Percentage growth 1997 357 — 198 — 295 — 1998 373 4.4 205 3.7 309 4.6 1999 384 3.0 220 7.2 320 3.7 2000 398 3.6 220 0.0 333 4.0 2001 416 4.5 230 4.7 349 5.0 2002 430 3.5 239 3.6 362 3.7 2003 445 3.4 244 2.3 369 2.0 2004excl 463 4.1 250 2.5 382 3.5
30-39 Percentage growth 40-49 Percentage growth 50+d Percentage growth 1997 380 — 416.1 — 360 — 1998 396 4.0 432.2 3.9 376 4.4 1999 405 2.2 444.9 2.9 387 3.0 2000 421 4.2 456.5 2.6 397 2.7 2001 440 4.4 472.7 3.5 416 4.6 2002 452 2.8 488.5 3.3 430 3.4 2003 474 4.8 505.0 3.4 443 3.2 2004excl 491 3.6 529.1 4.8 462 4.2
All employees Percentage growth 18-21 Percentage growth 22-29 Percentage growth 30-39 Percentage growth 2004incb 460 — 250 — 376 — 488 — 2005 471 2.4 253 1.4 380 1.1 508 4.0 2006 487 3.4 262 3.6 392 3.2 527 3.9 2006c 484 — 262 — 391 — 525 — 2007 498 2.9 275 5.3 403 3.0 540 2.8
40-49 Percentage growth 50-59 Percentage growth 60+ Percentage growth 2004incb 526 — 482 — 376 — 2005 540 2.8 498 3.3 398 5.8 2006 563 4.2 517 3.8 422 6.0 2006c 559 — 516 — 422 — 2007 575 3.0 534 3.4 442 4.9 a. Employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey pay-period was not affected by absence. b In 2004 additional supplementary surveys were introduced to improve the coverage of the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Figures are presented both excluding and including the additional surveys for comparison purposes. c. In 2006 a small number of methodological changes were introduced to improve the quality of the survey These include changes to the sample design itself, as well as the introduction of an automatic occupation coding tool. Figures are presented both excluding and including these changes for comparison purposes. d. Figures for 50-59 year olds and 60+ have only been produced since 2004. Prior to this the top age category produced was 50+.
All employees Percentage growth 18-21 Percentage growth 22-29 Percentage growth 1997 265.2 — 170 — 253 — 1998 276.5 4.2 177 4.2 264 4.0 1999 288.5 4.3 186 4.8 277 5.3 2000 298.1 3.3 192 3.2 288 3.8 2001 314.3 5.4 202 5.6 307 6.7 2002 330.7 5.2 212 4.6 325 5.7 2003 343.0 3.7 221 4.3 330 1.7 2004excl 360.8 5.2 230 4.4 349 5.8
30-39 Percentage growth 40-49 Percentage growth 50+d Percentage growth 1997 307 — 289 — 253 — 1998 319 3.7 297 2.7 265 4.9 1999 332 4.2 311 4.8 277 4.2 2000 341 2.7 321 3.1 286 3.3 2001 359 5.2 333 3.6 301 5.3 2002 375 4.5 349 4.9 314 4.2 2003 388 3.5 362 3.7 237 4.3 2004excl 411 6.0 384 6.1 346 5.8
All employees Percentage growth 18-21 Percentage growth 22-29 Percentage growth 30-39 Percentage growth 2004incb 356.7 — 228 — 345 —408 —380 —350 2005 371.4 4.1 233 1.9 353 2.2 426 4.5 2006 385.8 3.9 240 3.2 364 3.3 448 5.2 2006c 383.3 240 363 444 410 385 344 2007 394.0 2.8 254 5.7 374 3.1 460 3.6
40-49 Percentage growth 50-59 Percentage growth 60+d Percentage growth 2004incb 380 — 350 — 306 — 2005 396 4.1 374 6.9 319 4.3 2006 415 4.9 388 3.8 345 8.1 2006c 410 — 385 — 344 — 2007 420 2.4 396 2.9 357 4.0 a. Employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey pay-period was not affected by absence. b In 2004 additional supplementary surveys were introduced to improve the coverage of the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Figures are presented both excluding and including the additional surveys for comparison purposes. c. In 2006 a small number of methodological changes were introduced to improve the quality of the survey These include changes to the sample design itself, as well as the introduction of an automatic occupation coding tool. Figures are presented both excluding and including these changes for comparison purposes. d. Figures for 50-59 year olds and 60+ have only been produced since 2004. Prior to this the top age category produced was 50+.
Population
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 12 November 2007:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning how many people who were born in Wales now live in England; and how many who were born in England now live in Wales. (162502)
At the time, of the 2001 Census, there were 609,711 people born in Wales living in England and 589,828 people born in England living in Wales. These figures have been extracted from 2001 Census Table KS05—Country of Birth.
Revenue and Customs: Buildings
HMRC considers the impact of its plans on customers, staff, business efficiency, diversity and the local community before making decisions. The plans are subject to a widespread consultation process with staff, trade unions, MPs, local authorities and other interests. This provides an opportunity for further information to be given to the HMRC review team.
Tax Allowances
There are no estimates of the value of unutilised indexation relief. Estimates of the cost of the indexation allowance to the exchequer are published in table A3.1 of the 2007 Financial Statement and Budget Report. Estimates for 2007-08 are published in table 7 of the 2007 Tax Ready Reckoner.
Taxation: Car Allowances
There is no upper ceiling on mileage payments for volunteer car drivers. HMRC allows volunteers to use the Approved Mileage Allowance Payment (AMAP) rate for convenience, but it is not mandatory and volunteer drivers can claim tax relief for the full cost of motoring by completing a return, if they wish to do so.
Taxation: Self-Assessment
I refer the hon. Member to the written reply given on 17 November 2005, Official Report, column 1517W. The table provides details of penalty notices issued for failure to file self-assessment tax returns by the due date for the latest full years 2005-06 and 2006-07. As stated in the earlier reply, no details are held regarding the numbers of penalties subsequently refunded.
Locations 2005-06 2006-07 Beds/W. Herts 25,826 26,429 Berks. 16,957 16,841 Birm Solihull 28,396 29,720 Bris/N. Somst 34,277 36,951 Cambs. 18,233 18,676 Cent. Yorks 23,966 25,556 Chapel W. 85,694 82,835 Claims — 102 Cornwll/Plym 51,151 54,942 Cumbria 7,465 7,229 Devon 31,837 33,094 Dors/S. Wilts 5,848 6,144 E. Ches/S. Lancs 23,915 25,212 E. Hamp/Wight 35,568 40,653 E. Hert/W. Ess 21,134 20,041 E. Lancs 20,257 20,544 G. Belfast 11,899 12,935 Glos/N. Wilts 19,123 19,044 Humber 20,659 20,730 Kent 54,822 54,828 LBO 1,158 1,167 Leic/Northnt 51,102 61,639 Lincoln 12,514 12,670 Lisburn 3,410 3,752 London 1,592 902 Lothians 42,264 51,709 Manchester 22,390 22,529 Merseyside 26,821 27,322 Midlands W 13,432 13,564 N. E. Metro 46,208 50,781 N. I. Counties 27,712 30,293 Norfolk 25,804 26,621 Northumbria 15,427 15,902 Notts/Derby 27,479 29,780 N. Wales 25,939 30,309 NW Lancs 17,456 17,546 NW Mids/Shrop 21,559 24,236 N. Yorks 14,416 14,179 Oxon/Bucks 24,449 23,760 PD1 3,529 3,009 CNR 38,832 34,865 Scot Cent 14,502 12,490 Scot East 8,793 7,745 Scotland West 13,907 11,616 Scot North 9,736 8,374 Scot Sch E W 52,460 62,959 Scot South 14,086 13,856 Sefton 94,959 102,608 S. Essex 20,716 19,184 Somerset 11,902 12,393 Staffs. 17,930 18,555 Suff and N. Ex 31,644 33,143 Surr/N. Hamp 23,007 22,438 Sussex 35,304 37,199 S. Wales 58,756 61,207 S. Yorks 25,759 27,838 Tees Valley 52,822 55,698 Trusts 17,578 15,885 Warck/Cov 20,309 20,178 Wear/S. Tyne 12,630 12,537 W. Hampshire 24,497 26,180 W. Lancs/W. Ches 26,342 28,540 Worcs/Herefd 14,037 14,139 W. Wales 15,891 16,721 W. York/Cravn 40,796 44,717 Total 1,658,883 1,735,241
VAT
(2) how many and what proportion of VAT registration applications received in 2007 were not processed within (a) 40, (b) 50 and (c) 60 days;
(3) what the average processing time for VAT registration applications has been for each VAT registration unit since 31 July.
The number and proportion of VAT registration applications processed within target time (14 days) in August, September and October 2007 are set out in the following table. The figures for August and September have been updated since the answer I gave on 23 October 2007, Official Report, column 257W, to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles).
[Official Report, 15 January 2008; Vol. 470, c. 10MC.]
Month Number processed within target time Percentage processed within target time August 3,844 16 September 5,597 22 October 14,493 44
These latest figures represent an upturn in HMRC performance, and early signs of success for the improvement measures outlined in my earlier response. This upturn has taken place against an operational background that continues to present challenges, and alongside the ongoing need to operate pre-registration checks to protect the Exchequer against serious frauds such as Missing Trader Intra-Community (MTIC) fraud.
Vulture Funds
The UK is determined to stop so-called “vulture” funds profiting from poor countries. The UK has been working through the G7 and the Paris Club to tackle this problem. In addition, Ministers have a range of discussions with EU and other international partners on international development and related issues.
We are also focusing on creating a level playing field in which heavily indebted poor countries heavily indebted poor countries countries have the resources and expertise to defend themselves. In this context, we are working with the African Development Bank to develop proposals for a legal assistance facility to ensure that countries have access to high-quality legal advice to help them fight law suits.
The Chancellor raised this issue with G7 Finance Ministers at the Annual Meetings. In their statement, Finance Ministers reiterated their concern about the problem of aggressive litigation against HIP countries. They welcomed the steps already taken by the Paris Club to address this problem and urged all sovereign creditors not to sell on claims on HIPCs. G7 Finance Ministers are examining additional steps that might be taken to address this problem.
With respect to the sale of debts, Paris Club creditors have publicly stated their commitment not to sell their claims on HIPCs to creditors that might not be willing to implement the HIPC initiative. In their October statement, G7 Finance Ministers welcomed this step and urged all sovereign creditors not to sell claims on HIPCs. We will take forward discussions on this issue in international forums and with private-sector creditors.
So far as legal representation is concerned, we believe the right approach is to focus on creating a level playing field in which HIP countries have the resources and expertise to defend themselves. In this context, we are working with the African Development Bank to develop proposals for a legal assistance facility to ensure that countries have access to high quality legal advice to help them fight law suits.
Welfare Tax Credits
(2) how many households HM Customs and Revenue has written to in respect of tax credit awards for (a) 2003-04, (b) 2004-05 and (c) 2005-06 with reference to the written statement of 25 July 2007, Official Report, columns 62-3WS, on tax credit administration;
(3) what action he has taken to deal with the tax credit cases affected by the administrative problems described in the written statement of 25 July 2007, Official Report, columns 62-3WS on tax credit administration.
HM Revenue and Customs has started a planned programme of work to review around 100,000 tax credits awards from 2003-04, 75,000 cases from 2004-05 and 75,000 from 2005-06, and has written to advise the households affected.
HMRC is working to complete this review as quickly as possible.
(2) how many tax credit claimants were notified by HM Revenue and Customs that their finalised tax credit awards had been reopened incorrectly and that overpayments would be remitted, and what the value was of the remittances made to such tax credits claimants.
HM Revenue and Customs wrote to around 250,000 households in August and September about reviewing or inquiring into awards in order to correct an administrative error. The programme to take forward this action is now under way. No tax credits claimants have yet been advised that their overpayments will be remitted as a result of this exercise.
The circumstances in which HM Revenue and Customs will make compensation payments to its customers are explained in the Department’s fact sheet ‘Complaints and Putting Things Right’, which is available at:
www.hmrc.gov.uk
For information on the number of compensation payments made each year for 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 I refer the hon. Member to the reply that the Paymaster General gave the hon. Member for St. Albans (Anne Main) on 18 January 2007, Official Report, column 1346W. The updated figure for the number of compensation payments for 2006-07 is estimated to be 7,800.
Welfare Tax Credits: Bexleyheath
Estimates of the number of families with tax credit awards, including information on overpayments and underpayments by constituency, based on final family circumstances and incomes, for the years 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 are available in the HMRC publications “Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics. Finalised Annual Awards. Supplement on Payments. Geographical Analyses” for each relevant year. These publications are available on the HMRC website at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-geog-stats.htm
Information on the level of overpaid tax credit awards in 2006-07 will not be available until May 2008.
Welfare Tax Credits: Overpayments
Estimates of the numbers of families with tax credits awards, including overpayments and underpayments by country, based on final family circumstances and incomes, for the years 2004-05 and 2005-06 are available in Table 1.1 in the HMRC publication “Child and Working Tax Credits. Finalised Awards. Supplement on Payments. Geographical Analyses”, for each relevant year. These publications are available on the HMRC website at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-geog-stats.htm
Information for over and under payments in 2006-07 will not be available until May 2008.
Information broken down by country for each type of tax credit is not available.
(2) how many people received overpayments of more than £5,000 of each type of tax credit in the United Kingdom in each of the last three years.
Information on the number of tax credit awards, by size of over and under payment in 2004-05 and 2005-06, is produced in Table 3 of the HMRC publications “Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics. Finalised Annual Awards. Supplement on Payments” for each relevant year. These publications are available on the HMRC website at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-quarterly-stats.htm
Information for over and under payments in 2006-07 will not be available until May 2008.
Information broken down by size of over-or underpayment by each type of tax credit is not available.
Working Tax Credits
Estimates of the number of families with tax credit awards, including information on overpayments and underpayments by constituency, based on final family circumstances and incomes, for the years 2003-04,2004-05 and 2005-06 are available in the HMRC publications "Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics. Finalised Annual Awards. Supplement on Payments. Geographical Analyses”, for each relevant year. These publications are available on the HMRC website at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-geog-stats.htm
Justice
Charles Roy Taylor
(2) for how long and for what reason Charles Roy Taylor has been committed to HMP Nottingham; and if he will make a statement.
My Department will not comment on individual prisoners.
Children: Video Games
This was an internal piece of work conducted in 2001 and there was no cost to the Department other than internal staff time.
Crown Courts: Wales
The Ministry of Justice currently employs 2,692 staff in the Crown Courts of Her Majesty’s Courts Service agency—as at 30 September 2007. Of the employees who have recorded personal address details available on our Oracle HR system, a total of 60 staff or 2.3 per cent. are recorded as residing in Wales but working for our courts in England.
Regions of Crown Courts /CCs Employee resides Total residing in Wales North west region Cheshire 51 Clwyd 2 Flintshire 4 Wrexham 1 South west Gwent 2 Total staff in Crown Courts—2,692 — 60
Police Custody
Figures for convicted prisoners are not held separately. Between 22 January and 7 November 2007, convicted and remand prisoners were held under Operation Safeguard in police cells in Wales on 3,863 occasions. The number of occasions does not correspond precisely to the number of prisoners: one occasion means one prisoner night in a police cell.
This total breaks down by police force as follows:
Number Dyfed Powys 615 South Wales 1,054 North Wales 1,478 Gwent 716
Police: Wales
Information on officer-grade staff leaving Welsh prisons is shown in the following table. Information is only available from 1998.
Establishment Reason 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Cardiff Medical retirement 3 1 2 3 2 2 1 2 1 — Early retirement 1— 1— 1— 1— — — 2 1 — — Dismissals — — 1 1 3 — — — 1 — Swansea Medical retirement 2 3 1 1 1 2 — — 1 — Early retirement 1— 1— 1— 1— — — — — — — Dismissals — — 1 — 1 — — — — — Usk/Prescoed Medical retirement 1 2 — — — — — — — — Early retirement 1— 1— 1— 1— — — — — — — Dismissals — — — — — 1 — — — — Parc Medical retirement — — — — — — — — — — Early retirement — — — — — — — — — — Dismissals 2 6 5 2 2 1 1 9 6 8 Total — 8 12 10 7 9 6 4 12 9 8 1 Age at retirement was not recorded prior to 2002.
Youth Juries
Peer panels in Lancashire were awarded just under £487,500 under a the Treasury’s Invest to Save award. In addition they were given a further £150,000 by local partners, the community safety partnership ‘Safer Preston’. For the Treasury funds to be awarded over the three years, the project must meet the objectives agreed with the Treasury at the time of the bid.
The aim of peer panels is to reduce the number of young people reaching court unnecessarily, for petty low-level offences for which it is not always in the public interest to prosecute. This exciting and innovative scheme seeks to reduce the burden on Courts’ and youth offender teams’ time and resources which will allow them to deal with more serious cases more effectively.
The Government await the outcomes of the peer panel evaluations before any decisions are made on whether this scheme should be extended beyond Lancashire.
Northern Ireland
Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties
This is now a matter for the Northern Ireland administration.
Police: Northern Ireland
The Government's overriding priority is to make sure that we have a new, high-quality and integrated public services training college. Desertcreat has been chosen as the preferred site after very careful consideration and there is no intention to reopen consideration of the site.
Communities and Local Government
Fire Services: Manpower
The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
Fire Services: West Midlands
Fire and rescue authorities are responsible for their own improvement. The Government set out performance expectations in the Fire and Rescue National Framework. The Audit Commission regularly assesses the performance of all fire and rescue authorities, and identifies areas of strengths and areas for improvement which fire and rescue authorities are expected to address. The Government fund the Audit Commission for conducting this work. In 2005, the Audit Commission assessed West Midlands fire and rescue authority as “good” in the comprehensive performance assessment for the fire and rescue service. Since then, the West Midlands has been judged as “improving well” by the Audit Commission in their 2006-07 performance assessment work and as “performing well” in their use of resources and delivery of value for money and in their front-line service delivery.
In addition to their performance assessment work, the Audit Commission has a local “relationship manager” for each fire and rescue authority who can provide ongoing advice to authorities on improvement issues. Fire and rescue authorities also have access to the joint Department for Communities and Local Government and Local Government Association capacity building programme through their Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnership.
Floods: Cornwall
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by the Minister for the Environment, my hon. Friend the Member for Oldham, East and Saddlworth (Mr. Woolas), on 29 October 2007, Official Report, column 719W.
Local Area Agreements
Guidance on the negotiation of new Local Area Agreements (LAAs) was published on the Department for Communities and Local Government website in September:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/negotiatingnewlaas
This was the first part of operational guidance. The second part, which will deal with the technical issues surrounding implementation of the new framework for LAAs, will be published shortly.
The Government will also shortly be publishing draft statutory guidance. ‘Creating Strong, Safe and Prosperous Communities’, to accompany sections of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, including Local Area Agreement clauses (clauses 103-118 of the Act). This guidance will set out what the different stages of the new statutory LAA process will look like, together with what will be expected from the upper-tier local authorities responsible for preparing an LAA and their partners. This guidance will be finalised in the new year following consultation.
Local Authorities: Standards
The Local Area Agreement (LAA) will consist of local improvement targets which have been designated by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and non-designated local improvement targets which the local authority and its partners may decide to include in the agreement if they consider it necessary. All designated targets will be drawn from the national indicator set and based on the priorities agreed for the local area. The minimum number of designated targets in each agreement has not been specified, but will be subject to negotiation. However, there will be a maximum of 35 in each LAA.
Local Government: Manpower
The information requested is not held centrally, and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Quarrying: Hampshire
The South East England Regional Assembly, as the relevant regional planning body, is currently preparing a revised sub-regional apportionment of primary land-won aggregates as a partial review of the draft South East Plan. The Regional Assembly's present timetable envisages that this policy review would be subject to a pre-submission public consultation between May and July 2008, envisages and a final submission of the recommended policy to the Secretary of State in December 2008. There would then be a further public consultation followed by an examination in public in 2009. The date on which the approved revised sub-regional apportionment will be published will depend upon how long this process takes, but we would expect to do so in the second half of 2009.
Schools: Finance
No separate guidance has been issued to Schools Forums.
Thames Gateway Bridge: Finance
Transport for London’s evidence to the public inquiry into the proposed Thames Gateway Bridge estimated that the total funding requirement for the project would be £640.7 million; and that the annual operational cost of the scheme would be between £4.379 million and £5.250 million.
There will be an opportunity to consider any revised evidence that is presented on the cost of the proposed Bridge at the reopened public inquiry, the earliest anticipated date for which is in spring 2009.
Work and Pensions
Children: Maintenance
Officials are currently developing plans to establish the commission. As these plans are still under development, cost estimates are subject to change and it is therefore not possible to provide the requested information at this time. We expect to have robust cost estimates by the time the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill receives Royal Assent.
Jobseeker’s Allowance
The information is in the following tables.
1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 January 190,642 253,196 270,908 275,216 207,808 217,855 161,795 211,763 February 376,643 328,437 336,358 318,069 283,170 394,236 336,577 253,951 March 301,720 328,229 330,673 311,181 370,714 307,706 262,935 259,047 April 283,938 303,811 391,365 362,335 266,274 285,320 242,472 245,428 May 364,652 404,240 331,626 295,051 299,334 280,629 288,936 311,468 June 301,136 309,946 310,346 283,163 334,859 344,672 231,813 240,924 July 291,184 310,041 387,135 344,357 266,357 260,122 222,398 242,571 August 362,932 387,570 312,984 286,948 259,630 320,882 290,062 307,593 September 326,164 348,793 344,374 410,335 381,390 305,224 272,294 262,408 October 396,791 515,928 497,625 361,103 362,229 320,724 284,084 342,963 November 384,325 326,687 320,798 293,069 385,049 337,751 298,472 242,886 December 275,642 271,198 272,759 289,752 225,240 225,981 216,932 219,838
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 January 184,043 152,793 139,510 130,575 126,576 161,940 160,959 150,193 February 253,222 236,409 274,592 269,156 258,678 191,272 183,427 204,966 March 250,926 235,242 227,003 221,923 212,931 189,645 196,920 210,965 April 310,809 285,730 221,965 224,325 201,804 229,208 228,094 246,102 May 230,139 204,914 220,020 190,190 241,144 183,946 186,049 202,381 June 226,338 263,532 254,474 257,688 201,444 185,474 191,088 252,557 July 285,453 207,133 209,270 207,402 188,033 228,097 233,612 199,562 August 227,673 202,075 211,895 251 ,949 224,595 179,492 195,561 192,324 September 308,302 278,149 281,752 225,898 197,451 184,676 253,183 263,806 October 249,588 232,108 235,403 225,572 252,423 243,572 214,780 — November 222,370 204,896 259,970 252,007 185,489 184,248 206,531 — December 243,096 228,869 185,162 179,137 170,572 164,094 218,099 — Notes: 1. Figures are unrounded. 2. Jobseeker's allowance was introduced in October 1996 and replaced unemployment benefit. Source: Figures are produced from 100 per cent. monthly flows data available on the NOMIS website—the preferred data source—and exclude a small number of clerically held cases.
New Deal Schemes: Contracts
No new contracts for New Deal services were awarded in 2004 or 2005. Contracts were competitively re-tendered during 2005-06 and new contracts were awarded which started between March and July 2006.
A list of contractors who have won contracts under the New Deal programme in the last three years is provided as follows. Information on the value on each individual contract is not currently available but will be placed in the Library as soon as possible.
New Deal providers awarded contracts in the last three years
A4e (Action for Employment)
Armstrong Learning
Best Ltd.
Birmingham Chamber of Commerce
Biscom Resource Management
Bournemouth and Poole College
BTCV
Career Development Group
Carmarthenshire CC Training and Technology Centre
Claverhouse Training
Community Links
Crosby Training
DASH Training South Wales LLP
DISC
Dudley MBC Future Skills
East Dunbartonshire Council
Glasgow Mentoring Network
Hyfforddiant Ceredigion Training
Inbiz
Inspire to Independence
Instant Muscle
Juniper Training
Kennedy Scott
Lauder College
Management Introductions
MBW Training Services LLP
Moray College
Norfolk and Waveney Enterprise Agency
North Hertfordshire College
Pembrokeshire CC
Pertemps People Development Group
Prospects Services
Quadrant Media and Communications Ltd.
Reed in Partnership PLC
Scottish Cultural Enterprise Ltd.
Scout Enterprises
SCVO
SEETEC
Sencia Ltd.
Shackleton Associates
Shropshire County Training
Skills Training
SOVA
Standguide
Steps to Work Walsall
Support into Work
Support Training Ltd.
Swansea College
TBG Learning
TD Training Ltd.
The Calderdale Colleges Corporation
The Wise Group
Training Network Group Ltd.
Training West Lancs Ltd.
Triage Central Ltd.
Tydfil Training Consortium
Voluntary Action Vale Royal
Warwickshire CC
West Lothian Council
Work Directions UK
Work First
Working Links
WTCS
YMCA Training
Source: Jobcentre Plus Commercial Employment Provision.
Pensions: Females
A woman who has reached state pension age can build up extra state pension, or a lump-sum payment, on that part of her state pension, based on her husband's national insurance contributions if he puts off claiming his state pension provided that she is not in receipt of a pension based on her own contributions or certain other social security benefits.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Departmental Manpower
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office recruits its UK-based staff from all parts of the UK. Our records do not show whether staff are able to speak Welsh.
Entry Clearances: Tourism
UKvisas does not use a 'holiday visa' category. Instead, UK visit visa applications are recorded as either ‘family visitor' or ‘other visitor’.
The following table displays the percentage of ‘family visitor' UK visa applications and ‘other visitor' UK visa applications refused by our Embassy in Bangkok and all UK missions overseas, for the financial year 2006-07.
Other Visitor Family Visit Applications received Refused Percentage of visas refused Applications received Refused Percentage of visas refused Bangkok 26,400 2,930 11 4711 538 11 All Posts 1,409,162 200,502 14 514,607 132,767 26 Note: This data is unpublished and should be strictly treated as provisional.
European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
The UK ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages on 27 March 2001 and the charter entered into force for the UK on 1 July 2001. The UK recognises Welsh, Irish, Scottish-Gaelic, Ulster Scots, Manx Gaelic, Cornish and Scots under the charter's definition of a regional or minority language.
The charter's monitoring mechanism requires member states party to the charter to produce, a year after entry into force of the charter for the state and thereafter every three years, a periodical report detailing the policy pursued under Part II of the charter and the measures taken in application of those provisions of Part III of the charter which they have accepted. Since ratification the UK has produced two such periodical reports, the first published on 1 July 2002 and the second on 1 July 2005. The UK's third periodical report is due for publication on 1 July 2008.
The UK's first and second periodical reports can be found on the Council of Europe website at:
http://www.coe.int/t/e/legal_affairs/local_and_ regional_democracy/regional_or_minority_languages/ 2_Monitoring/Monitoring_table.asp#TopOfPage
Guantanamo Bay: Detainees
My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary wrote to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on 7 August to request the release from Guantanamo Bay and return to the UK of five men (Shaker Aamer, Jamil El Banna, Omar Deghayes, Binyam Mohamed and Abdennour Sameur) who, while not British nationals, were legally resident here prior to their detention.
Discussions with the US Administration are ongoing and are confidential between our Governments. While we continue to give the matter due priority, we cannot guarantee that we will be successful.
Guatemala: Children
Our embassy in Guatemala City, along with EU colleagues, regularly raises human rights issues with the Government of Guatemala. We continue to urge Guatemala to improve security and health provision for the most vulnerable sectors of society, including street children.
On 15 October the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) hosted a meeting between Guatemalan Vice President Eduardo Stein and Minister of Foreign Affairs Gert Rosenthal and several non-governmental organisations, including Christian Aid, Amnesty International and Casa Alianza. The non-governmental organisations were able to put their concerns directly to the delegation. Child rights and the problems faced by street children including the alarming number of murders were discussed. On 30 October, FCO officials in London held a discussion forum with a number of international child rights non-governmental organisations to identify further opportunities for intervention.
On 25 September our Ambassador in Guatemala City, in partnership with EU ambassadors, met Alvaro Colom (since elected as the next President of Guatemala). They discussed a range of human rights issues. Our ambassador emphasised the importance of improving the protection and rights of children and undertook to develop this dialogue further with the new Administration. The FCO also sponsored a project earlier this year in which 800 Guatemalan police officers were trained in the rights of street children.
Iraq: Manpower
There are 42 Foreign and Commonwealth Office personnel employed in Iraq. Publicising the exact numbers in each province would risk compromising their security. They are supporting the democratically elected Government of Iraq in their efforts to forge a future for the country based on reconciliation, democracy, good governance, economic prosperity and regional security.
No third country nationals have been employed in Iraq by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office since 2003.
Iraq: Resettlement
We are focusing on staff who have given us dedicated service over a period of time. Staff who have not yet worked for us for 12 months but reach that mark in future will become eligible at that time. A 12-month requirement is not unique to the UK; it is also a feature of the US Special Immigrant Visa programme for its Iraqi staff. We have no plans to extend the assistance scheme.
Iraq: Security Guards
The information requested by the hon. Member is as follows:
Iraq
2003: Control Risks
2004: ArmorGroup, Control Risks
2005: ArmorGroup, Control Risks
2006: ArmorGroup, Control Risks, GardaWorld (formerly Kroll Security Group)
2007: Control Risks, GardaWorld
ArmorGroup provided static security until 2006, when GardaWorld (formerly Kroll Security Group) took over this contract. Control Risks provides mobile security. Both contracts were subject to a retender in early 2006.
Afghanistan
2003: ArmorGroup
2004: ArmorGroup
2005: ArmorGroup, Edinburgh International
2006: ArmorGroup, Edinburgh International
2007: ArmorGroup
ArmorGroup provides both static and mobile security. This contract was subject to a retender in late 2006. Edinburgh International provided a one-off contract for both static and mobile security services for a project between 2005-06.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) ensures that all contracts are subject to a rigorous selection process so that we obtain best value for money. Any company engaged by the FCO needs to pass through a stringent and transparent procurement process in line with public procurement guidelines and best practice.
Pakistan: Politics and Government
The Government have made numerous representations to the Government of Pakistan at various levels since President Musharraf declared a state of emergency. I myself have spoken to Prime Minister Aziz and to Foreign Minister Kasuri. In both cases, I urged the Government of Pakistan to act quickly to restore the constitution, to ensure free and fair elections on schedule in January, to release all political prisoners, to lift media restrictions and to honour the commitment that President Musharraf steps down as Chief of Army Staff by 15 November.
I refer the hon. Member to the statement I made to the House on 7 November 2007, Official Report, columns 130-32.
My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister spoke to President Musharraf on 1 November. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary spoke to Prime Minister Aziz and to Foreign Minister Kasuri on 5 November. In all cases, we stressed the vital importance that we place on Pakistan’ acting quickly to restore the constitution and the rule of law, which includes a legitimate and independent judiciary.
I refer my hon. Friend to my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary's statement to the House on 7 November 2007, Official Report, columns 130-132.
We are gravely concerned by the political situation in Pakistan. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and my noble Friend the Minister responsible for Africa, Asia and the UN, Lord Malloch-Brown, are working closely with our international partners to urge the Government of Pakistan to ensure free and fair elections by 15 January, to release all political prisoners, to lift media restrictions and to honour the commitment that President Musharraf step down as Chief of Army Staff by 15 November.
I refer my hon. Friend to my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary's statement to the House on 7 November, Official Report, columns 130-132.
Saudi Arabia: Official Visits
I will write to the hon. Member about Foreign and Commonwealth Office expenditure on the visit as soon as the accounts have been finalised and will place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.
Transport
Aircraft: Air Conditioning
The House of Lords Committee on Science and Technology looked into the organophosphate known as TOCP (tri-ortho cresyl phosphate) in 2000, and concluded that
“the very low levels of TOCP that would be found even in the highly unlikely worst case of contamination from oil leaking into the air supply lead us to conclude that the concerns about significant risk to the health of airline passengers and crew are not substantiated.”
The Committee looked again at this matter during its inquiry into Aviation Health in July of this year and took evidence from aviation stakeholders and Ministers. We await its report.
Typically cabin air is changed every two to three minutes and cockpit air every minute; so tests on cabin air need sampling equipment which can pick up transient contaminants. The Department for Transport has commissioned the testing of equipment which may be capable of capturing substances released during fume events. Subject to the results of this testing, the Department hopes to begin a study later this year or early next year.
That study will be designed to detect any potentially harmful substances rather than focusing on named substances, as recommended by the independent Committee on Toxicity which reported on cabin air on 20 September 2007.
Aviation: Security
Agreement having not yet been reached between the Council and the European Parliament on the text of a regulation to replace EC2320/2002, the draft regulation will shortly enter the formal conciliation process. The outcome should be known by the end of the year.
Motor Vehicles: Glass
Information was made available in 2003 when we consulted on amendments to the regulations covering tinted windows. A press release was issued at the time and when the new requirements took effect, from 1 January 2004, a leaflet was produced by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency. There is information on the direct.gov website about tinted windows including a link to the VOSA leaflet which sets out the position.
There have been no changes to the requirements since January 2004. However, as a new version of the Highway Code was produced we took the opportunity to include a reference to excessively tinted windows in the code.
The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency does not collect data specifically on the number of drivers that failed to meet the relevant visual light transmission standard. However, the number of prohibitions issued for glass/glazing defects are as follows:
2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 Private car 4,336 5,206 3,839 Taxi 85 85 38 Non-testable LGV 0 1 1 HGV plant 0 1 0 LGV 179 252 219 Class 5 3 10 2 LGV plant 1 1 1 Motor caravan 0 2 1 Ambulance 3 2 1 Total 4,607 5,560 4,102
The Department has no plans to do so.
Railway Stations: Milton Keynes
In the draft December 2008 timetable, the number of long-distance trains calling at Milton Keynes every hour is set to increase from two to three providing passengers with direct trains to destinations such as London, Manchester and Birmingham.
The level of services to local stations and other destinations served by the London Midland franchise (which took over from Silverlink on 11 November 2007) remains broadly as it was previously.
Railway Stations: York
(2) when she last considered the adequacy of (a) car parking and (b) platform capacity at York railway station; and if she will make a statement.
These are operational matters for Network Rail, as the owner and operator of the national rail network. The right hon. Member should contact Network Rail’s Chief Executive at the following address for a response to his questions.
Iain Coucher
Chief Executive
Network Rail
40 Melton Street
London NW1 2EE
Railways: Greater London
Statistics on passenger rail journeys are published by the Office of Rail Regulation in National Rail Trends. The Yearbook editions contain regional passenger journeys in and between regions. These are available in the House Library or from the ORR website:
www.rail-reg.gov.uk.
Statistics on the number of passengers using rail travel are based on ticket sales, rather than actual passenger numbers. The data is obtained from the ticketing database LENNON. The regional passenger figures are sourced from the Historic Rail Database, an annual compendium of LENNON.
Railways: Skipton
There are no plans to re-open the railway line between Skipton and Colne.
Roads: Accidents
The information requested is shown in the following table.
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Accidents 421 415 375 333 324 Of which: Fatal accidents 5 1 4 3 3
The number of speeding convictions and road traffic accidents in the last three years for which figures are available is shown in the following table.
Number of convictions Number of accidents 2003 2,066,000 214,030 2004 2,104,000 207,410 2005 2,118.900 198,735
No assessment has been made of the relationship between the two.
However, extensive research published by Professor Stephen Stradling, Napier university, Edinburgh in May 2006 on behalf of the Midlands Partnership Group, found that drivers who have been detected speeding by cameras are almost twice as likely to have had a collision as those who have not, regardless of age or mileage. Three quarters of drivers reporting four or more points on their licence also reported collision involvement, compared with 42 per cent. of drivers with a clean licence.
Furthermore, the four-year independent evaluation report of the National Safety Camera Programme, published in December 2005 and covering the period 2000 to 2004, confirms that there is an association between changes in speed and casualties. This found that there had been a reduction of 6 per cent. in average speeds, a 42 per cent. reduction in killed and serious injuries and a 22 per cent. reduction in personal injury collisions at camera sites.
Roads: Finance
Kirklees Metropolitan borough council is responsible for local transport in Huddersfield. Since 1997, Kirklees has not submitted any requests for funding to this Department for new local major road schemes. However, in September 2007, Ministers agreed to provide £15 million for a scheme to repair nine bridges and 3.5 km of retaining walls on the highway maintained by Kirklees metropolitan borough council.
The following table shows the funding through the Local Transport Plan (LTP) settlement that has been allocated to Kirklees metropolitan borough council since 1997. It is for Kirklees metropolitan borough council to determine how its LTP allocation is spent, in line with the LTP for West Yorkshire and local priorities.
Capital highway maintenance Integrated block Total Major schemes 1998-99 1.374 1.418 2.792 0 1999-2000 3.752 1.468 5.220 0 2000-01 6.227 6.227 0 2001-02 6.163 4.350 10.513 0 2002-03 6.405 3.746 10.151 0 2003-04 6.646 3.529 10.175 0 2004-05 8.398 3.554 11.952 0 2005-06 8.343 3.465 11.808 0 2006-07 5.851 3.837 9.688 2.098 2007-08 8.319 3.271 11.590 3.122 Note: The major scheme total for 2006-07 includes expenditure incurred by the authority prior to the approval of their scheme which is to be reimbursed to the authority. The 2007-08 figure is the current forecast expenditure.
Roads: Repairs and Maintenance
Expenditure data on highways in England are provided in table 8.2 of the National Road Maintenance Condition Survey (NRMCS) report for 2006, published in May 2007 and available in the Library of the House. The figures distinguish between structural and routine maintenance rather than between maintenance and improvement.
Speed Cameras: Huddersfield
This information is not held by the Department. Since 1 April 2007 the deployment of safety cameras has been the responsibility of individual local partnerships. The number of cameras in place in Huddersfield will therefore be a matter for the West Yorkshire Road safety partnership.
Taxis: Licensing
We are nearing completion of consideration of the views expressed by stakeholders on the draft guidance. We expect to issue the final version of the guidance later this month.