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Conceptions
Mr. Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the rate of conceptions to women aged under 18 years of age per 1,000 women aged 15 to 17 years of age in 1998. [108353]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The information falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.
| Year | Conceptions to women under 18 per 1,000 women aged 15-17 |
|---|---|
| 1990 | 47.7 |
| 1991 | 44.6 |
| 1992 | 43.6 |
| 1993 | 42.5 |
| 1994 | 42.0 |
| 1995 | 42.0 |
| 1996 | 46.4 |
| 1997 | 45.9 |
Amusement Machine Licensing Duty
Mr. Crausby: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been received in revenue from Amusement Machine Licensing Duty in each of the last five years. [108312]
Mr. Timms:
The figures for receipts in the last five calendar years from Amusement Machine Licence Duty are as follows.
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| Year | Receipts |
|---|---|
| 1995 | 113,014 |
| 1996 | 129,719 |
| 1997 | 132,943 |
| 1998 | 142,127 |
| 1999 | 162,157 |
Fiscal Policy
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make reducing inequality a central feature of his fiscal policy. [106894]
Dawn Primarolo: The Government are committed to building a fairer and more inclusive society in which everyone can contribute to and benefit from economic prosperity. In the Pre-Budget Report, the Chancellor set out the long-term ambition for the next decade to halve child poverty as a step on the way to abolishing child poverty within a generation. Measures in the last two Budgets will lift around 800,000 children out of poverty.
Pensioners should also share fairly in the nation's increasing prosperity. The Pre-Budget Report announced Winter Allowance for every pensioner household for the rest of the Parliament, free TV licence for older pensioners who are most likely to be poor, and will uprate minimum income guarantee in line with earnings for the rest of the Parliament.
Oath of Allegiance
Mr. Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many letters he has received since 1 May 1997 on (a) constituency matters and (b) other matters of Government policy from each of those Members of the House who have not taken the oath of allegiance. [108412]
Mr. Timms: Correspondence between MPs and Departments is treated in confidence and is not a matter of public record.
Knitted Goods Sales
Mr. Tredinnick: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the timetable for the publication of the Office for National Statistics 1998 figures for manufacturers' sales of hosiery and other knitted goods to the public. [106914]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Detailed product data from the 1998 quarterly Products of the European Community (PRODCOM) survey of manufacturers' sales of knitted and crocheted articles were published on 28 September 1999.
Provisional results of the 1998 Annual Business Inquiry (ABI) will be published on 11 February 2000. This News Release will contain values for turnover, purchases and gross value added for the textile and textile products industry. More detailed industry results, including those for the manufacture of knitted and crocheted articles, will be published around August 2000.
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Mr. Dalyell:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what drawings have been made from the Contingencies Fund in relation to events in Kosovo in the past 12 months. [106896]
Mr. Andrew Smith:
No advances from the Contingency Fund have been made to Departments involved in the peacekeeping, humanitarian and refugee programmes for Kosovo in the last 12 months. There was though in June an allocation from the Reserve for £10 million additional humanitarian assistance, and the Spring Supplementary Estimates which will be the subject of separate written answers providing a further £536 million for Kosovo-related spending from the Reserve.
Mr. Matthew Taylor:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what studies the Treasury has undertaken on the (a) cost and (b) financial, social, economic and legal effects of reducing VAT on energy-saving materials and technologies. [108302]
Dawn Primarolo:
Customs carried out just such a review in 1997. They published "Helping the Less Well-off Save Energy, The Scope for a Reduced Rate of VAT" in November 1997, a copy of which is available from the Library of the House. It can also be seen on the Customs and Excise website at:
Mrs. Lawrence:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what changes are proposed to HM Customs and Excise departmental expenditure limit and running costs limit for 1999-2000. [108698]
Dawn Primarolo:
There are currently no plans to change the overall departmental expenditure limit of HM Customs and Excise. However, subject to Parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimate for Class XVI, Vote 3 (HM Customs and Excise: administration), the running costs limit will be increased by £9,001,000 from £792,115,000 to £801,116,000. The increase is required to cover the effect of accounting classification changes on the department's IT current expenditure.
The increase will be entirely offset by a reduction in capital provision. It will not therefore add to either the departmental expenditure limit or the planned total of public expenditure.
Mrs. Lawrence:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what changes are proposed to the Inland Revenue's departmental expenditure limit and running costs limit for 1999-2000. [108697]
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Dawn Primarolo:
Subject to parliamentary approval of the Supplementary Estimate for Class XVI, Vote 4 the Inland Revenue Departmental Expenditure Limit for 1999-2000 will be increased by £10,053,000 from £2,168,461,000 to £2,178,514,000. The Inland Revenue running cost limit will also be increased by £5,663,000 from £2,168,840,000 to £2,174,503,000.
The increase is mainly due to the transfer of £5,610,000 running costs and £4,390,000 capital from the Department of Trade and Industry, Class 9, Vote 1 for the provision of payroll support to new employers.
The increase will be offset by transfers or charged to the DEL reserve and will not add therefore to the planned total of public expenditure.
Mr. Willetts:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many employees (a) opted-out of or (b) did not take the option to join contributory public sector pension schemes in the period 1988 to 1994 inclusive. [108002]
Mr. Andrew Smith:
Complete data are not held centrally and could be collected only at disproportionate cost. In the review of mis-selling of personal pensions it was estimated that around 300,000 employees may have opted out of the main public service pension schemes in this period. This figure excluded the Local Government Pension Scheme and the schemes for police and fire brigades which are administered on a decentralised basis by local authorities.
Mr. Willetts:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many employees were reinstated to non- contributory public sector pension schemes in the financial years 1996-97 to 1998-99 inclusive; [107999]
Mr. Andrew Smith:
Complete data are not held centrally and could be collected only at disproportionate cost. The numbers for the main public service schemes excluding those administered on a decentralised basis by local authorities are shown in the table. Information is not available on pension schemes in the wider public sector. The Armed Forces Pension Scheme is the only non-contributory public service pension scheme. Very few reinstatements were completed prior to 1997-98.
http://www.hmce.gov.uk/bus/vat/green.htm
We introduced a 5 per cent. VAT rate for grant funded installations of energy-saving materials as a direct result of this report.
(2) how many employees were reinstated to contributory public sector pension schemes in the financial years 1996-97 to 1998-99 inclusive. [108003]
| 1997-98 (5) | 1998-99 | |
|---|---|---|
| Non-contributory scheme | -- | -- |
| Armed Forces | 2 | 8 |
| Contributory schemes | -- | -- |
| Teachers | 1,626 | 4,078 |
| National Health Service | 3,290 | 22,448 |
| Northern Ireland Teachers, NHS etc. | 290 | 801 |
| Civil Service(6) | 16 | 66 |
| Scottish Teachers and NHS | 757 | 1,832 |
| Total | 5,981 | 29,233 |
(5) Includes small number of reinstatements made in 1996-97
(6) Employee contributions to the PCSPS are refundable in certain circumstances.
3 Feb 2000 : Column: 691W
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many employees (a) opted-out of or (b) did not take up the option to join non-contributory public sector pension schemes in the period 1988 to 1994 inclusive. [107998]
Mr. Andrew Smith: The Armed Forces Pension Scheme is the only non-contributory public service pension scheme. Entry to the scheme is automatic on employment. 83 employees opted out of the scheme in the period 1988 to 1994.
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