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Fisheries Agreement

Mr. Gill: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the estimated number of fishing vessels affected by the absence of a new fisheries agreement between the EU and Morocco. [116250]

Mr. Morley: The European Commission has estimated that 500 Community vessels operated in Moroccan waters during the period of the EC/Morocco fisheries agreement from 1 December 1995 to 30 November 1999.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Workplace Parking

Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many workplace car parking spaces are available at the buildings used and controlled by her Department. [116765]

Clare Short: There is a total of 356 car parking spaces available at buildings controlled by my Department, with 305 spaces in East Kilbride and 51 spaces in London.

Zimbabwe

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what was the value of aid from (a) the EU and (b) the British Government directly paid to the Zimbabwean Government in the last 12 months. [116900]

Clare Short: The most recent figures available on EC aid for Zimbabwe are for 1998, when total EC official development assistance was £13.2 million. The figure for EU member programmes plus the EC was £99.7 million. We have no information on how much of this was paid direct to the Government of Zimbabwe. In 1998-99, the value of British assistance to the Zimbabwe Government is estimated at £10 million.

TREASURY

Migrants

Mr. Brake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what mechanism is in place to ensure that, for the purpose of compiling the sub-national population projections, migrants to the United Kingdom are not recorded at the point of entry to the United Kingdom as well as at subsequent places of residence elsewhere in the United Kingdom within the same statistical period. [116572]

Miss Melanie Johnson: 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. Tom Brake, dated 30 March 2000:

As Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your recent question on recording of migrants to the United Kingdom in the subnational population projections at point of entry as well as subsequent places of residence elsewhere in the United Kingdom within the same statistical period.

The projections model takes the ONS mid-year population estimates for the base year. The population is then projected one year ahead, by ageing on the population one year and applying

30 Mar 2000 : Column: 255W

assumptions on births, deaths, international migration to and from England and internal migration within England. This process is then repeated for each year projected.

The model treats international and internal migrants separately. The assumptions on international migration in the subnational projections are based on recent past information using a range of survey and administrative data. International in-migrants are assigned to their final destination, not their port of entry and added to the general population in the year of their arrival. As they are then included in the general population, any subsequent moves within England are covered in the internal migration element of the model.

Death Rates (Merseyside)

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the average death rates allowing for age and sex standardisation for (a) all causes, (b) coronary heart disease, (c) stroke and (d) cancer, for each ward in the Crosby parliamentary constituency and for the City of Liverpool as a whole in the last year for which figures are available. [116674]

Miss Melanie Johnson: 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 Mrs. Curtis-Thomas, dated 30 March 2000:

As Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your recent question on the average death rates for each ward in the Crosby parliamentary constituency and for the City of Liverpool as a whole.

The attached table shows indirectly standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) for all causes of death, coronary heart disease, stroke and cancer, for each ward (as constituted at the time of the 1991 Census) that lies wholly in Crosby parliamentary constituency, in the years 1991-1993, based on populations from the 1991 Census. Comparable figures are also provided for Liverpool metropolitan county district (based on 1991 boundaries).

We have provided indirectly standardised ratios rather than European standardised rates as the latter do not incorporate sex standardisation and are likely to be less accurate for small numbers of deaths by cause in each ward.

An SMR is defined as the ratio of the observed deaths in a given population over the expected deaths in that population if it experienced the age-specific death rates of a standard population (in this case the United Kingdom). The SMR for the UK is 100. Values greater than 100 indicate higher than average mortality and values lower than 100 indicate lower than average mortality.

Standardised Mortality Ratios (SMRs) by ward and cause of death (14)--1991-93Wards in Crosby parliamentary constituency and Liverpool MCD

		Standardised Mortality Ratio (SMR)
	Wardcode	All causes	Coronary heart disease	Stroke	Cancer
	Wards in Crosby
Blundellsands	CAFC	117	109	134	113
Church	CAFE	140	122	131	150
Harington	CAFJ	92	95	74	94
Manor	CAFN	96	108	85	106
Ravenmeols	CAFW	90	98	87	96
Victoria	CAFZ	96	100	87	113
	Liverpool metropolitan county district		105	103	99	110

(14) Cause of death is based on the underlying cause, using the following codes from the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision

Coronary Heart Disease: 410-414

Stroke: 430-438

Cancer: 140-208

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National Insurance Contributions Office

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his policy on requiring the National Insurance Contributions Office to pay interest on the late payment of the age-related element of NIC rebates to contracted-out money purchase schemes; how much has been paid in such interest payments for (a) 1997-98, (b) 1998-99 and (c) 1999-2000 to date; and if he will make a statement. [115984]

Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 23 March 2000]: The National Insurance Contributions Office applies the policy set out in the Inland Revenue's code of practice 1 when paying interest on the late payment of age-related rebates to contracted-out money purchase schemes. However, special arrangements were made for the 1997-98 tax year where payments were made at 0.5 per cent. of the rebate cumulatively for each month of delay after October 1998. The objective was to replace any State Earnings Related Pension benefits foregone at an annual rate of 6 per cent. (the prevailing gilt interest rate).

The 0.5 per cent. payable for the 1997-98 tax year includes both personal pension and money purchase schemes and a separate breakdown for each category is not yet available.

Compensation amounting to £40.9 million has been paid due to the late payment of age-related rebates for the 1997-98 tax year as a result of introducing the 0.5 per cent. addition. To date no compensation has been paid to contracted-out money purchase schemes for the 1998-99 tax year and as we have not yet commenced the processing of 1999-2000 employers end of year returns compensation is not yet an issue for this tax year.

Banking Services

Mr. Wray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the Cruickshank report, Competition in United Kingdom Banking. [116368]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The Government welcome the report and will act on its recommendations to improve competition in banking and services to customers. On 20 March, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry referred the provision of banking services to small and medium enterprises to the Competition Commission for examination under the complex monopoly provisions of the Fair Trading Act 1973. The Chancellor announced in the Budget on 21 March that the Government would legislate to open up access to payments systems and to oversee access charges; and that he had asked the Financial Services Authority to consider the recommendations in the Report concerning consumer information and to report to him within three months, consulting widely, on how they propose to respond. The Government will respond to the other recommendations in the report shortly.

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