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Red Book Changes

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list and quantify the revisions/forecasting changes referred to in Table 2.5 of the Red Book. [80865]

Ms Hewitt: Revisions to the forecasts of government receipts and expenditure since the Pre-Budget Report are shown in tables B11 and B13 of the March 1999 Financial Statement and Budget Report.

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list and provide an explanation of the changes to the components of Annually Managed Expenditure referred to in paragraph 2.57 of the Red Book. [80859]

Mr. Milburn: Changes to the forecast of Annually Managed Expenditure since the Comprehensive Spending Review are listed and explained in paragraph 2.9 and table 2.2 of "Public Expenditure: Statistical Analyses 1999-2000" (Cm 4201), published in March 1999.

Government Debt

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the total level of Government debt in cash terms in (a) 1996-97, (b) 1997-98, (c) 1998-99, (d) 1999-2000, (e) 2000-01, (f) 2001-02, (g) 2002-03 and (h) 2003-04. [80889]

Ms Hewitt: The stock of public sector net debt at end-March 1997 is set out in the monthly Office for National Statistics First Release 'Public Sector Finances'. Estimates and projections of the stock of debt in subsequent years were published in table B8 of the March 1999 Financial Statement and Budget Report.

20 Apr 1999 : Column: 496

Public Sector Finances

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the figures used in preparing Chart 2.4 of the Red Book on the basis of (a) per cent. of GDP and (b) cash terms; and if he will estimate the effect of the same assumptions on the public sector net cash requirement over the same periods. [80866]

Ms Hewitt: Figures used in Chart 2.4 as a per cent. of GDP can be found in Table 2.6 of the Red Book and are reproduced from 1990-91 onwards in the following table. Figures for the cautious case can be calculated by applying the ready reckoners set out in Table 3.1 of 'Fiscal policy: public finances and the cycle', published on 9 March alongside the Red Book. Figures can be converted to cash terms using money GDP figures from Table 2.1 of 'Economic Trends', published by the Office for National Statistics, and Table B4 of the Red Book.

The cyclical behaviour of the public sector net cash requirement matches (with opposite sign) that of the current budget. Figures for the cyclically adjusted public sector net cash requirement can thus be calculated by applying the difference between the actual and cyclically adjusted surplus on current budget to the public sector net cash requirement (set out in Tables B26 and B27 of the Red Book). Figures for the cautious case and in cash terms can be calculated by use of the methods set out.

Cyclically adjusted surplus on current budget, central case

	Per cent. of GDP
1990-91	-0.8
1991-92	-1.2
1992-93	-3.5
1993-94	-3.7
1994-95	-3.3
1995-96	-2.8
1996-97	-2.4
1997-98	-0.7
1998-99	0.2
1999-2000	0.6
2000-01	1.0
2001-02	1.1
2002-03	0.9
2003-04	1.0

Source:

Table 2.6 and Chart 2.4 of the Red Book

Engagements

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list his official engagements for 9 and 10 March. [80883]

Mr. Gordon Brown: I delivered the Budget statement in the House on 9 March. Over the two days referred to, I also had a number of meetings with ministerial colleagues and others.

European Central Bank

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 17 March 1999, Official Report, column 658, on the European Central Bank, if he has been informed of the salary of the President of the Bank. [80396]

20 Apr 1999 : Column: 497

Ms Hewitt: No. As I set out in my answer to the right hon. Member for Penrith and the Border (Mr. Maclean) on 17 March 1999, Official Report, column 658, decisions on the terms and conditions of employment of the ECB Executive Board, including the President, are for the ECB. There is no obligation on members of the ECB Executive Board to reveal details of their terms and conditions of employment, including their salaries.

Macpherson Inquiry

Mr. Efford: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department of the Macpherson Inquiry recommendations; and if he will make a statement. [80521]

Ms Hewitt: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to him by the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 14 April 1999, Official Report, columns 239-40.

Teenage Pregnancies (Wales)

Mr. Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many births to girls conceiving under the age of 16 years there were in each local authority in Wales in each of the past 10 years. [81332]

Ms Hewitt: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.

Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. Chris Ruane, dated 20 April 1999:

As Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary question on teenage births.

The numbers of girls who conceived at under age 16 and went on to a maternity are shown in the table. The areas shown for each of the years 1992-97 are the Welsh Unitary Authorities which were created in 1996. Information on a comparable basis is not readily available before 1992.

20 Apr 1999 : Column: 498

Conception by girls under 16 leading to maternity, Welsh Unitary Authorities, 1992-97

Unitary authority	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997
Blaenau Gwent	8	11	13	13	15	9
Bridgend	17	13	16	20	25	15
Caerphilly	27	27	25	36	33	31
Cardiff	30	26	18	38	37	37
Carmarthenshire	9	9	10	7	10	12
Ceredigion	3	1	3	0	0	5
Conwy	6	9	8	12	15	11
Denbigshire	5	6	8	4	8	7
Flintshire	8	14	9	10	12	10
Gwynedd	10	8	7	4	12	9
Isle of Anglesey	6	8	5	5	5	1
Merthyr Tydfil	15	11	14	12	6	9
Monmouthshire	5	2	4	6	9	3
Neath Port Talbot	7	11	6	21	9	10
Newport	15	17	23	14	14	19
Pembrokeshire	1	7	6	7	10	5
Powys	4	5	1	6	7	4
Rhondda, Cynon, Taff	23	26	24	37	38	42
Swansea	11	14	18	25	31	30
Torfaen	9	9	17	11	17	9
The Vale of Glamorgan	9	4	12	10	11	16
Wrexhan	12	9	8	13	13	14
Wales	240	247	255	311	337	308

Premature Deaths (Wales)

Mr. Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many premature deaths there were in each local authority area in Wales in each of the past 10 years. [81337]

Ms Hewitt: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.

Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. Chris Ruane, dated 20 April 1999:

As Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your parliamentary question asking how many premature deaths there were for each local authority in Wales in each of the past 10 years.

The information requested is given in the attached table.

20 Apr 1999 : Column: 497

Deaths for persons under 65 in Welsh unitary authorities, 1990-97

Unitary authority	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997
Blaenau Gwent	198	168	178	151	166	171	180	145
Bridgend	323	282	285	282	263	267	247	268
Caerphilly	358	358	378	373	365	359	386	352
Cardiff	649	602	577	623	576	582	540	574
Carmarthenshire	401	368	384	362	345	384	364	362
Ceredigion	116	131	128	129	122	151	115	113
Conwy	245	204	197	210	219	230	181	229
Denbighshire	181	178	179	186	182	180	197	192
Flintshire	305	299	314	320	302	274	289	273
Gwynedd	261	264	226	220	229	225	216	188
Isle of Anglesey	167	142	145	156	159	139	121	118
Merthyr Tydfil	146	157	130	149	145	130	158	152
Monmouthshire	148	142	149	145	146	145	150	156
Neath Port Talbot	325	321	327	321	329	305	337	290
Newport	313	303	308	317	284	262	268	294
Pembrokeshire	260	237	253	227	211	232	200	212
Powys	257	232	236	237	227	260	227	207
Rhondda, Cynon, Taff	557	573	494	566	536	555	534	511
Swansea	501	478	474	497	447	481	415	473
Torfaen	213	202	189	213	206	195	180	180
The Vale of Glamorgan	231	218	209	226	229	196	209	218
Wrexham	269	234	256	286	252	264	267	254

Note:

Boundaries as constituted at 1 April 1996

20 Apr 1999 : Column: 499

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