---

Gaming Tax

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the revenue from the taxation of gaming in each of the last three years. [134826]

30 Oct 2000 : Column: 265W

Mr. Timms: Information on the revenue from the taxation of gaming can be found in the HM Customs and Excise statistical bulletin "Receipts for Betting, Gaming and Lottery Duties", a copy of which is in the Library.

Red Diesel

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to reduce the duty on red diesel. [134654]

Mr. Timms: I cannot anticipate my right hon. Friend's Budget Statement.

Credit Unions

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to create a central services organisation for credit unions, following the November 1999 report of the Treasury Credit Unions Taskforce. [135821]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The Government strongly support the establishment of a central services organisation, as recommended by the taskforce.

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many credit unions are currently operating in (a) Coventry and (b) the United Kingdom; and what links the Treasury has with them and their representative body. [135819]

Miss Melanie Johnson: There are seven credit unions in Coventry, and 688 in Great Britain. I am pleased to be attending the launch event for Coventry Millennium and Phoenix Five credit unions on 14 November. The Treasury has regular contacts with the representative bodies.

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to (a) extend the ability of credit unions to borrow and (b) amend the legislation controlling them; and what assessment he has made of how such plans will affect credit unions in Coventry. [135820]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The Government will extend credit unions' ability to borrow and enhance their supervision following the implementation of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. This will improve the growth potential of all credit unions, by giving their members greater confidence about the safety of their savings and allowing them to play a bigger role in tackling the problems of financial exclusion.

Income Statistics

Mr. Flynn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average income and wealth are of (a) an urban dweller and (b) a rural dweller. [134497]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.

Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Paul Flynn, dated 30 October 2000:

As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question on average income and wealth in urban and rural dwellers.

30 Oct 2000 : Column: 266W

Information on income is available from the 1998-99 Family Expenditure Survey which categorises local authority districts by population density. Estimated average income was £458 a week in metropolitan districts and high and medium density non-metropolitan districts, and £454 a week in low density districts. Low density is defined as under 2.2 persons per hectare. About a quarter of households in the UK are in such districts, which include some small towns and their surrounding areas.

Like all estimates from sample surveys, these are subject to sampling variability. The difference between them is well within the range to be expected from chance variation.

Information is not available on wealth.

Euro

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment his Department has made of (a) public support for and (b) public opposition to replacing the pound with the single European currency. [135023]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The determining factor underpinning any Government decision to join the single currency is whether the economic case for the UK joining is clear and unambiguous. Because of the magnitude of the decision, the Government believe that whenever a decision to enter is taken by Government, it should be put to a referendum of the British people.

Pension Schemes

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the average extra annual payment which a subscriber to a pension scheme must pay to achieve the same return as would have occurred if the tax credit on dividends had not been abolished. [134967]

Miss Melanie Johnson: Our package of corporation tax reforms included not only the withdrawal of payable tax credits on dividends but also cuts in corporation tax rates. These and other measures will help to improve investment performance. The overall effect of these changes on pension schemes will vary depending upon factors such as the type of scheme and the investment policy adopted. So it is not possible to provide a general estimate of the effect on pension schemes' ability to meet specific investment targets.

Employment Statistics

Mr. Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if data on the number of people in employment are available by Employment Service area. [134736]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.

Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Frank Field, dated 30 October 2000:

As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question about the availability of employment statistics by Employment Service area.

The Annual Employment Survey, which is the current source of data on numbers of employee jobs, is no longer analysed by Employment Service Area. The geography was discontinued several years ago. The latest information for the available geographies (e.g. Local Authority districts) is for September 1998 and may be accessed from the NOMIS database in the House of Commons Library.

30 Oct 2000 : Column: 267W

Unemployment Statistics

Jackie Ballard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were unemployed in the Taunton constituency in each year since 1979 according to the International Labour Organisation definition. [134319]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.

Letter from Len Cook to Jackie Ballard, dated 30 October 2000:

As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question on the number of people unemployed in the Taunton constituency in each year since 1979 according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) definition.

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is the main source of labour market data on individuals used by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). However, estimates for the number of people ILO unemployed are not available for small areas such as the constituency of Taunton.

The measure of unemployment derived from the LFS is defined on a consistent and Internationally recognised basis set out by the ILO. It counts as unemployed people who are a) without a paid job, b) available to start work within the next two weeks and c) have either looked for work in the last four weeks or are waiting to start a job already obtained. This measure has been used in the LFS from 1984 onwards.

ONS also publishes the monthly numbers of people who are claiming unemployment-related benefits, also known as the Claimant Count. Comparable figures (based on the 1995 boundaries) are available since 1996. The attached table gives the annual average levels of claimants in the Taunton parliamentary constituency since 1996.

Information on the unadjusted claimant level by parliamentary constituency ward based on the 1981 wards are available monthly from June 1983 to January 1996 and can be obtained from the Nomis database in the House of Commons Library.

The annual average levels of claimants in the Taunton parliamentary constituency

Year	Number	Rate
1996	2,975	5.2
1997	2,195	3.9
1998	1,722	3.0
1999	1,503	2.5

Average for the nine months Jan to Sep 2000 is 1,184 (2.0 per cent.).

European Movement

Mr. Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much is allocated to the European Movement in the Draft EU Budget for 2000. [134126]

Miss Melanie Johnson: My hon. Friend will find this information in the Draft EC Budget and Adopted EC Budget for 2000, copies of which have been deposited in the Library.

European Central Bank

Mr. Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on recent European Central Bank intervention in the currency markets. [135379]

30 Oct 2000 : Column: 268W

Miss Melanie Johnson: After the September 23 meeting in Prague of the G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors the following statement was released:

At the initiative of the European Central Bank, the monetary authorities of the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom and Canada joined with the European Central Bank on Friday, September 22, in concerted intervention in exchange markets, because of the shared concern of Finance Ministers and Governors about the potential implications of recent movements in the euro for the world economy. In light of recent developments, we will continue to monitor developments closely and to co-operate in exchange markets as appropriate.

---