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Anti-drugs Strategy
25. Mrs. McKenna: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has held with the First Minister on the co-ordination of the Government's anti-drugs strategy. [96370]
Dr. Reid: I meet regularly with the First Minister and discuss a range of topics. The Government's anti-drugs strategy is on the agenda for our meeting immediately after my meeting next month with the Government's Anti-Drugs Co-ordinator.
Fuel Poverty
26. Mr. Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he had with the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions on determining the proportion of total resources for tackling fuel poverty and cold homes which were allocated to Scotland. [96371]
Mr. Wilson: Discussions on the allocation of resources to Scotland for the years 1999/2000 to 2001/02 began under my right hon. Friend's predecessor. They were concluded after 1 July 1999, when responsibility for the subject had passed to the Scottish Executive.
National Air Traffic Services
28. Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has made to the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions on the future of National Air Traffic Services; and if he will make a statement. [96373]
Dr. Reid:
The Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions is fully aware that the Scotland Office supports the Government's commitment to maintaining, and improving wherever necessary, some of the most stringent aviation safety standards in the
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world. We also support the public/private partnership which will ensure the separation of safety regulation from the provision of air traffic control services. The Government's commitment to the New Scottish Centre at Prestwick is secure through the partnership arrangements.
29. Mr. David Stewart:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has made to the oil and gas industry task force; and if he will make a statement. [96374]
Mr. Wilson:
I participated in the most recent meeting of the Oil and Gas Task Force on 5 October, and expect to attend the last meeting of the Task Force in its current form, which is due to be held in early December. I am taking a very close interest in the oil industry and its service sector because we believe that it will continue to be enormously important to the UK economy for many years to come. We wish to see the industry and Government continue to work in partnership, with the objective being the maintenance of a vital UK Continental Shelf and the recognition of the UK as a world centre for the global oil and gas business.
Miss Begg:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the steps being taken by the United Kingdom Government to improve food safety in Scotland. [96369]
Mr. Wilson:
The UK Government are working with the devolved authorities to implement a UK-wide Food Standards Agency. Food safety is a devolved matter and the Agency will provide, through its Scottish arm, advice to the Scottish Executive.
Mr. Maclean:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what methods of depreciation his Department will apply in the current financial year to fixed assets in the preparation of departmental resource accounting balance sheets. [97040]
Dr. Reid:
Freehold land is not depreciated. Depreciation on other tangible fixed assets will be provided using the straight line method. This is in accordance with the Treasury's Resource Accounting Manual and Financial Reporting Standard 15 "Tangible Fixed Assets" issued by the Accounting Standards Board.
Mr. Welsh:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the entertainments budget for his Department since June in total; and if he will list the Scottish organisations he has met since June. [96717]
Dr. Reid
[holding answer 3 November 1999]: From 1 July to 31 October the Scotland Office has spent £80 on official entertainment. I and my ministerial colleagues have met a number of organisations representing a wide range of Scottish interests.
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Sir Teddy Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last had meetings with representatives of the Scottish opencast coal industry; and what issues were discussed. [R] [97682]
Mr. Wilson:
I met with Mr. Campbell Christie, a Director of The Scottish Coal Company Ltd, on 12 October 1999 to discuss transport of coal by rail.
Dr. Brand:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received relating to the differences in treatment for VAT between medical appliances donated to hospitals for named patients and the same items donated to hospital wards. [96448]
Dawn Primarolo:
No representations have been received relating to differences in treatment for VAT between medical appliances donated to named patients or to hospital wards. This is because the VAT treatment of goods donated to an NHS hospital is the same whether the goods are for a ward or named patient.
Mr. Drew:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will assess the advantages and disadvantages of exempting patient participation groups from VAT on their purchases of medical equipment; [97260]
Dawn Primarolo
[holding answer 5 November 1999]: There is VAT relief for medical equipment bought by charitable patient participation groups when it is donated to National Health Service bodies, charity run hospitals and research institutions operating on a not for profit
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basis, first aid or rescue charities or charities providing care to disabled people. This relief benefits public and charitable health care providers. There is no scope to extend VAT relief to medical equipment bought by patient participation groups for any other purpose.
Mr. Field:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what information his Department collates on the rates of pay of new jobs as a proportion of average earnings; [96237]
Miss Melanie Johnson
[holding answer 29 October 1999]: 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. Frank Field, dated 9 November 1999:
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(2) for what reasons some charitable bodies are exempt from VAT on medical equipment and others are not. [97261]
(2) what proportion of new jobs pay (a) below half average earnings, (b) from half average earnings up to average earnings, (c) from average earnings to twice average earnings and from (d) twice average earnings to five times average earnings and above for a convenient period for which he has data. [96236]
As Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your parliamentary questions about the earnings of people in new jobs.
The ONS is not able to identify people in newly created jobs. However, the Labour Force Survey (LFS) does collect data on the earnings of employees and on the length of time people have worked for their current employer. LFS estimates of the distribution of the hourly earnings of those who recently joined their employer relative to the average for all employees are shown in the attached table.
Data for those earning more than five times average hourly earnings have been combined with that for two to five times average earnings because the sample size in the former group is too small for the estimate to be shown separately. The distribution for all employees is also shown. We cannot know how many of these jobs in the former group are newly created and it would be difficult to collect such information reliably from a household survey such as the LFS. Nor does the New Earnings Survey ask employers whether a job is newly created.
| Pay band | Employees who started with their current employer less than 3 months ago (15) | Per cent. All employees |
|---|---|---|
| Less than half of average earnings (Less than £4.07) | 38 | 18 |
| From half average earnings up to average earnings (£4.07 to less than £8.14) | 46 | 46 |
| From average earnings to twice average earnings (£8.14 to less than £16.28) | 13 | 30 |
| Two or more times average earnings (£16.28 or more) | 3 | 7 |
| All employees (thousands = 100%)(16) | 1,160 | 23,680 |
(14) The LFS estimate of average hourly earnings for all employees in spring 1999 was £8.14. LFS hourly earnings estimates exclude employees earning £100 per hour or more.
(15) Employees who said that they started working continuously for their employer in the current month or the two previous calendar months.
(16) Excludes employees who did not give a valid response regarding their hourly earnings.
Source:
ONS, Labour Force Survey
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