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New Public Bodies

Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the new public bodies established by his Department since May 1997. [112659]

Mr. Rooker: The annual Cabinet Office publication, "Public Bodies", provides information on a range of public bodies. The 1997 edition lists those public bodies in existence prior to May 1997. The 1998 and 1999 editions list public bodies in existence in subsequent years. Copies of these publications have been placed in the Library of the House. Copies are also available on the Cabinet Office website (www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/quango).

In this Department no new public bodies have been established since May 1997.

Pensioners (Greater London)

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many (a) men and (b) women were in receipt of a State Retirement Pension in each of the parliamentary constituencies in the Greater London area on 1 February. [112617]

Mr. Rooker: Information on the number of men and women in receipt of a State Retirement Pension is not available at parliamentary constituency level. Although information is available on the number of people of pensionable age, this is from the 1991 Census published by the Office for National Statistics.

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Miners Compensation

Mr. Welsh: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if the payment of compensation for mining-related illness to ex-coal miners will result in a reduction of social security benefits currently paid to them. [112502]

Mr. Bayley: Payments of compensation are treated as capital in the income-related benefits ¹ . Where a person who has suffered a personal injury (including an industrial illness) receives a compensation payment, the capital value may be disregarded if it is held in a Trust Fund. Normal rules on income from Trust Funds would apply.

¹ The income-related benefits are Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.

Correspondence

Mr. Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he will answer the letter from the hon. Member for Wellingborough of 29 June 1999 and provide the breakdown requested of the £22 million stated by the Under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for City of York (Mr. Bayley), to have been paid in respect of war pensions for psychiatric illness in 1939, Official Report, 24 February 1999, column 518. [113170]

Mr. Bayley: A reply to most of the matters raised in the letter was sent on 9 September 1999, and a further letter, about war pensions paid in respect of psychiatric illness in 1939, was sent to my hon. Friend the Member for Wellingborough on 26 February 2000.

HEALTH

Accident and Emergency Units

Mr. Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the accident and emergency units indicating (a) the projected patient attendance expected when built, (b) the actual patient attendance achieved each year since 1992 and (c) the number of cubicle beds in each unit. [112951]

Ms Stuart: Copies of accident and emergency attendances by NHS trusts are available in the Library. The initial projected number of accident and emergency attendances and the number of beds within accident and emergency units are not collected centrally.

Global Cultural Diversity Congress

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he was informed of the cancellation of the Global Cultural Diversity Congress and the collapse of Global Cultural Diversity Congress 2000 Ltd., and by whom; and if he will make a statement. [112793]

Ms Stuart: The Department was informed of the cancellation of the Global Diversity Congress by the Chief Executive of the Commission for Racial Equality, Susie Parsons, in a letter dated 22 February 2000.

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DEFENCE

Employment Statistics

Mrs. Ann Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many civilians in each of the standard age groups were employed in his Department in (a) 1979 and (b) 1999. [104021]

Dr. Moonie: A breakdown by age group of the number of civilians employed by the Ministry of Defence on 1 April 1999 is given in the table. Corresponding information for 1979 is not readily available and could be produced only at disproportionate cost. A breakdown by age group for the whole Civil Service is provided within the annual publication "Civil Service Statistics", available from the Library of the House.

Civilian personnel employed by Ministry of Defence at 1 April 1999Thousand (Full time equivalent)

Age group	Males	Females	Total
16-19	1.0	0.4	1.4
20-24	2.8	2.0	4.8
25-59	5.9	4.0	9.9
30-34	8.6	5.1	13.8
35-39	9.6	4.9	14.5
40-44	9.7	4.2	13.9
45-49	9.9	4.2	14.1
50+	24.7	8.7	33.4
Unknown	2.4	0.0	2.5
Total	74.7	33.6	108.3

Notes:

1. Data may not sum to totals due to rounding

2. Data includes 5.3 thousand FTE MoD staff who are on secondments, maternity leave, unpaid leave, career breaks.

Source:

Defence Analytical Services Agency

New Public Bodies

Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the new public bodies established by his Department since May 1997. [112660]

Dr. Moonie: The annual Cabinet Office publication "Public Bodies" provides information on a range of public bodies. The 1997 edition lists those in existence prior to May 1997. The 1998 and 1999 editions list public bodies in existence in subsequent years. Copies of these publications have been placed in the Library of the House. Copies are also available on the Cabinet Office website (www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/quango).

Greek Commemorative Medals

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress his Department is making in negotiations with the Greek Government on the verification of service to allow the award of Greek commemorative medals to British servicemen and women. [112965]

Dr. Moonie: I presume that the medals referred to are the official campaign medals instituted by the Greek Government for service in Greece and Crete during the Second World War. In recent years the Greek Government have offered them to eligible British ex-Servicemen who have been invited to apply in writing

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to the Greek Embassy in London. The Queen has granted permission for the medals to be accepted as souvenirs or keepsakes, but not to be worn.

The eligibility criteria, assessment of entitlement and distribution of these medals are entirely matters for the Greek Government. My Department do not directly assist the Greek authorities with the verification of eligibility. However, on request, we will provide any British veteran with an official Record of Service, which he can offer to the Greek authorities and may provide sufficient proof of participation in the campaigns in Greece and Crete, to enable the Greek Government to issue a medal.

TREASURY

Government Investments

Barbara Follett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the Government's investments. [113413]

Miss Melanie Johnson: Today we have confirmed our plans to sell 150 tonnes of gold in 2000-01, a sum equivalent to the amount sold in 1999-2000 on a pro rata basis. These sales form part of the programme announced on 7 May 1999, Official Report, column 479W, to restructure the United Kingdom's reserves holdings. As in 1999-2000, the sales will be made through Bank of England auctions. There will be six auctions during 2000-01, which will be held every other month starting in May. As in 1999-2000, the auctions will be of approximately 25 tonnes each, and they will continue to be conducted on a single price basis.

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Regional Orchestras

Ms Atherton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make a statement on plans to reduce the size of regional orchestras. [112812]

Mr. Alan Howarth: The Arts Council's plans for the regional orchestras were announced last October. Discussions with individual orchestras on securing their long-term future are currently underway, and these will include looking at ways in which they could benefit from greater flexibility to vary the number of players so that they can diversify their repertoire and bring a greater range of music, including large scale symphonic work, to audiences across England.

Funding Schemes

Mr. Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list the funding schemes administered by his Department, indicating the total funds of each scheme and the administration costs of each scheme as a percentage of the total funds. [112491]

Mr. Chris Smith [holding answer 2 March 2000]: Although my Department provides funding for various schemes they are all administered by other bodies.

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