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Consultants

Mr. Milburn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are his latest estimates of the expenditure on all external consultants, including management consultants, for each year since 1992, in 1996 prices, for his Department and its agencies; and what are the quantified annual cost savings which such expenditure has resulted in. [41190]

Mrs. Angela Knight: I cannot answer substantively before Parliament is prorogued. I will, however, write to the hon. Member.

Population Statistics

Mr. Barnes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the latest estimates by the Registrar General of Populations of those aged 17 years and over, plus 63 per cent. of those aged 16 years, for each district council area and parliamentary constituency in England and Wales, together with the equivalent electoral registration figures also expressed as a percentage of these population figures and in ascending order. [41045]

Mrs. Angela Knight: As the information is contained in several tables, I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy in the Library.

New Buildings and Premises

Mrs. Bridget Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total expenditure on new buildings and premises by his Department and its agencies; and if he will indicate the square footage of new office space purchased or newly rented in each of the last five years. [41150]

Mrs. Angela Knight: The Treasury has not incurred any expenditure on new buildings and premises in the last five year; 5505 sq m--59,250 sq ft--in Allington towers were taken over in 1993. Information relating to the Chancellor's agencies could not be assembled before Parliament is prorogued.

Unemployment Statistics

Mr. Milburn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people have experienced unemployment, by Employment Service area office, in each region since April 1992. [41170]

Mrs. Angela Knight: Figures for separate Employment Service jobcentres could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, the figures for each standard statistical region are contained in the following table.

Number of people experiencing at least one spell of claimant unemployment since April 1992Thousands

Region	Female	Male	All
South East	1,082.1	2,040.7	3,122.8
East Anglia	112.4	212.4	324.7
South West	277.3	517.5	794.8
West Midlands	314.1	600.2	914.3
East Midlands	224	429.4	653.4
Yorkshire and Humberside	298.3	579.4	877.7
North West	386.1	760	1,146.1
North	181.4	376.7	558.1
Wales	159.9	315.7	475.6
Scotland	325.8	603.6	929.4
Great Britain	3,361.3	6,435.4	9,796.7

Source:

JUVOS cohort. excludes clerically operated claims.

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Abortion

Mr. Redmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the statistically most likely candidate for an abortion within the Trent region after the 24th week of pregnancy in the latest year for which figures are available in terms of (a) the age of the women, (b) marital status of the women, (c) the number of previous children of the women and (d) the grounds on which the abortion is performed. [40857]

Mrs. Angela Knight: The statistically most likely candidate for an abortion for each of the variables listed is defined as the category with the highest recorded frequency of legal terminations. The percentages are based on all legal terminations performed in 1994, to women usually resident in the Trent health region.

The categories with the highest frequencies found in each of the variables are as follows:

age of the women: 25 to 29 age group comprised 50 per cent. (4) of all post 24th week gestation terminations;
marital status: married women comprised 88 per cent. (7) of all post 24th week gestation terminations;
number of previous children borne by the women: women with no previous (live and still born) children born to them, comprised 50 per cent. (4) of all post 24th week gestation terminations;
legal ground under which the abortion was performed: statutory ground E alone comprised 88 per cent. (7) of all post 24th week gestation terminations. The definition of ground E is 'that there is a substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped'.
Reference: 1994 Abortion Statistics, England and Wales, Series AB No. 21, HMSO publication 1996.

Mr. Redmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make statement on the statistically most likely candidate for an abortion within the Trent region in the latest year for which figures are available in terms of (a) the age of the woman, (b) marital status of the woman, (c) the number of previous children of the woman and (d) the grounds on which the abortion is performed. [40858]

Mrs. Knight: The statistically most likely candidate for an abortion for each of the variables listed is defined as the category with the highest recorded frequency of legal terminations. The percentages are based on all legal terminations performed in 1994, to women usually resident in the Trent health region.

The categories with the highest frequencies found in each of the variables are as follows:

age of the woman: 20 to 24 age group comprised 29 per cent. (3,463) of all terminations;
marital status: single women comprised 64 per cent. (7,570) of all terminations;

17 Oct 1996 : Column: 1113

number of previous children borne by the woman: women with no previous (live and still born) children born to them, comprised 50 per cent. (5,923) of all terminations;
legal ground under which the abortion was performed: statutory ground C alone comprised 86 per cent. (10,143) of all terminations. The definition of ground C is "that the pregnancy has not exceeded its 24th week and that the continuance of the pregnancy would involve risk, greater than if the pregnancy were terminated, of injury to the physical or mental health of the woman".
Reference: 1994 Abortion Statistics, England and Wales, Series AB No. 21, HMSO publication 1996.

Lone parents

Ms Harman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what proportion of single lone mothers are in (a) part-time work, (b) full-time work and (c) all paid work;[41023]

(2) how many children are in families headed by (a) single lone mothers, (b) divorced or separated lone mothers, (c) widowed lone mothers and (d) lone fathers; and what were the figures five years previously; [41003]

(3) what proportion of one-parent families are (a) single lone mothers, (b) divorced or separated lone mothers, (c) widowed lone mothers and (d) lone fathers by English region. [41013]

(4) how many lone parents under 25 years of age are (a) in paid work, (b) economically active and (c) economically inactive; [41019]

(5) what proportion of lone parents are economically active; [41007]

(6) what proportion of one-parent families are headed by (a) single lone mothers, (b) divorced or separated lone mothers, (c) widowed lone mothers and (d) lone fathers (i) in total and (ii) in each region; and what were the figures five years previously; [41005]

(7) what proportion of widowed lone mothers are in (a) part-time work, (b) full-time work and (c) all paid work; [40894]

(8) what proportion of lone parents are economically active, by English region; [41024]

(9) how many children are currently in one-parent families; [41004]

(10) how many one-parent families there were in each of the last five years; [41014]

(11) how many lone parents are under 25 years of age; [41020]

(12) what proportion of families in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland were one-parent families in each of the last 10 years; [41001]

(13) what proportion of families were one-parent families in each of the last 10 years (a) in total and (b) by English region; [41008]

(14) how many one-parent families are there (a) in England by region, (b) in Scotland, (c) in Wales and (d) in Northern Ireland; [41006]

(15) how many lone parents there are whose youngest child is over five years old; [41016]

(16) how many children are in families headed by

17 Oct 1996 : Column: 1114

(a) single lone mothers, (b) divorced or separated lone mothers, (c) widowed lone mothers and (d) lone fathers by English region; [41002]

(17) what proportion of lone fathers are in (a) part-time work, (b) full-time work and (c) all paid work. [40895]

Mrs. Angela Knight: I cannot answer substantively before Parliament is prorogued. I will, however, write to the hon. Member.

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