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Parish Warden Scheme
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when he received a bid from Boyd Valley Ward in South Gloucestershire to participate in his parish warden scheme; and what level of financial contributions was to be made by the parties concerned at the time when the bid was submitted; [141344]
- (2) what financial contribution was required from parishes participating in his parish warden scheme when the scheme was first introduced; and what change there has been to the level of contributions required. [141343]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The Neighbourhood Wardens grant programme bidding guidance states that the Government would fund up to 50 per cent. of the cost of schemes. At the time when the bid was received on 7 July 2000, the estimated total cost of the funding for years one and two of the scheme to cover four parishes was £313,000. The bid was for a total of £156,550 worth of grants from the Neighbourhood Warden programme. Full match funding details were not provided by the four parish councils concerned.
The schemes are currently working on their implementation plans with the help of technical support consultancy advice. The completed implementation plans are due in by 15 December. Until the completed implementation pans have been received I am unable to say whether the level of funding details have changed.
Police Morale
Miss Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about the level of police morale in England and Wales. [141401]
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Mr. Charles Clarke: There is no single or precise measure of police morale. In any service one will find some people who are happy about their work and others who are less than happy.
The number of people leaving a profession may be taken as an indicator of morale. Total wastage from the police service is very low. Figures for the last four years are given in the table. As total wastage includes ordinary retirements of officers who have completed 30 years service, the table also shows the number of voluntary resignations from the service.
| Number | |
|---|---|
| Total police strength at 31 March 1996(18) | 126,901 |
| Total police strength at 31 March 1997(18) | 127,158 |
| Total police strength at 31 March 1998(18) | 126,814 |
| Total police strength at 31 March 1999(18) | 126,096 |
(18) Full time equivalents
| Total wastage(19) | Resignations(19) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Percentage of total strength | Number | Percentage of total strength | |
| 1996-97 | 5,951 | 4.7 | 774 | 0.6 |
| 1997-98 | 6,657 | 5.2 | 988 | 0.8 |
| 1998-99 | 6,104 | 4.8 | 1,083 | 0.9 |
| 1999-2000 | 5,948 | 4.7 | 1,236 | 1.0 |
(19) Number of persons
Comparative figures for the Civil Service are as follows:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| Total Civil Service strength at 1 April 1995(20) | 474,880 |
| Total Civil Service strength at 1 April 1996(20) | 458,660 |
| Total Civil Service strength at 1 April 1997(20) | 439,310 |
(20) Full time equivalents
| 1995-96 | 1996-97 | 1997-98 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total wastage(21) | |||
| Number | 43,680 | 47,900 | 35,070 |
| Percentage of total strength | 9.2 | 10.4 | 8.0 |
| Resignations(21) | |||
| Percentage of total strength | 2.4 | 2.6 | 3.2 |
(21) Headcount
Days lost to sickness may also be an indicator of morale. In 1996-97 the average number of days sickness per police officer was 12.80. This declined to 11.55 or by 1.25 days per officer by 1999-2000.
Pay rates may also have an effect on morale. According to the New Earnings Survey, at April 2000 average gross weekly earnings of full-time employees in Great Britain were:
- £464.70 for non-manual workers in the whole economy
- £485.20 for non-manual workers in the private sector
- £428.80 for non-manual public sector workers
- £438.10 for non-manual workers in local government
- £499.30 for local authority teachers
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PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL
People's Peers
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the President of the Council where people's peers will be placed in the order of precedence. [141540]
Mrs. Beckett: Those awarded peerages on the recommendation of the House of Lords Appointments Commission, like all peers, will take precedence from their rank, in this case as barons, and the date of their patent of creation.
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the President of the Council how many and what percentage of applicants for a people's peerage are to be invited for interview. [141541]
Mrs. Beckett: This is a matter for the Appointments Commission. However, the number will be substantially smaller than the number of applicants because the Commission has made it clear that it is likely to call for interview only those it is considering recommending for appointment.
TREASURY
Stamp Duty
Mr. Russell Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he plans to exempt from stamp duty reserve tax collective investment schemes within individual pension accounts. [142493]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Government plan to bring forward legislation in the next Finance Bill to achieve this exemption. This will exempt from stamp duty reserve tax transactions in certain classes of shares in open-ended investment companies where they are held as part of an Individual Pension Account. The exemption will also apply to unit trusts whose investors subscribe as part of their Individual Pension Accounts.
Government Expenditure
Mr. Wigley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the (a) gross and (b) net effects on total Government expenditure in each of the next five years of the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000. [141373]
Mr. Andrew Smith: The Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 provides the statutory basis for a resource-based system of parliamentary supply, as part of the long-planned move to resource accounting and budgeting (RAB) in Central Government. By measuring public spending more accurately and providing new incentives for Departments to manage their resource more effectively, I anticipate that RAB will bring about significant improvements in the value for money of public services over the next five years and beyond.
Broadband Fixed Wireless
Mr. Duncan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the Government's plans for using the receipts of the auction of licences for broadband fixed wireless access at 28 GHz. [141656]
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Mr. Andrew Smith: Allowance was made for the proceeds of this auction in the pre-Budget report projections of receipts. The Government intend to use these to reduce national debt.
VAT (Wales)
Mr. Wigley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was spent by the Treasury on (a) the Welsh Office in (i) 1997-98 and (ii) 1998-99, and (b) the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales and National Assembly in 1999-2000; what is the planned expenditure by the National Assembly and the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales in (A) 2000-01, (B) 2001-02 and (C) 2002-03; and if he will provide the figures on a consistent basis with regard to resource accounting and treatment of VAT. [141378]
Mr. Andrew Smith: Outturn expenditure for Wales Departmental Expenditure Limit expenditure for 1997-98 and 1998-99 and estimated outturn for 1999-2000 was published in table 1.2 of Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 2000-01 (Cm 4601) in April 2000. Expenditure
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in resource terms for Wales Departmental Expenditure Limit expenditure in 2000-01, 2001-02 and 2002-03 is published in table B14 of the pre-Budget report (Cm 4917) in November 2000; this table also includes outturn expenditure for 1999-2000 on the same basis.
National Insurance
Mr. Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will set out the details of his calculation that a reduction in the national insurance lower earnings limit to £59.20 per week would cost £420 million. [142082]
Dawn Primarolo: The estimate was provided by the Government Actuary's Department.
Mr. Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people are awaiting national insurance rebates for the tax years (a) 1997-98, (b) 1998-99, (c) 1999-2000, (d) 1997-98, 1998-99 and 1999-2000 and (e) 1998-99 and 1999-2000. [142080]
Dawn Primarolo: I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Havant (Mr. Willetts) on 22 May 2000, Official Report, column 383W.