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New Deal

Ross Cranston: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Dudley, North are in the New Deal programme; and how many had been placed in employment under the new deal up to the end of June. [2564]

Mr. Nicholas Brown: The information is in the table.

	Numbers currently on new deals as at April 2001	Jobs gained to April 2001
New Deal for Young People	197	547
New Deal for Long Term Unemployed aged 25+	275	148
New Deal for Lone Parents	119	153
New Deal 50+: Employment Credit	31	85

Notes:

1. Figures related to Dudley, North parliamentary constituency.

2. Latest figures relate to the period ending April 2001 which were reported in the June Statistical Release for New Deal for Young People/25+ and July Statistical Release for New Deal for Lone Parents.

3. New Deal 50+ figures related to clients claiming for employment credit only. Figures relating to the numbers on the New Deal 50+ case load are not available.

4. Jobs gained includes those who gain a job while accessing new deal or as an immediate destination on leaving the programme.

5. Detailed constituency figures for the New Deal for Young People are available monthly from the Library.

Source:

New Deal Evaluation Database

Mr. Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in the Uxbridge constituency are in the New Deal programme; and how many had been placed in employment by the end of March. [2825]

Mr. Nicholas Brown: The information is in the table.

	Numbers currently on new deals as at end April 2001	Jobs gained to April 2001
New Deal for Young People	35	170
New Deal for Long Term Unemployed aged 25+	36	46
New Deal for Lone Parents	95	104
New Deal 50+: Employment Credit	10	12

Notes:

1. Figures relate to Uxbridge parliamentary constituency.

2. Latest figures relate to the period ending April 2001 which were reported in the June Statistical Release for New Deal for Young People/25+ and July Statistical Release for New Deal for Lone Parents.

3. New Deal 50+ figures relate to clients claiming for employment credit only. Figures relating to the numbers on the New Deal 50+ case load are not available.

4. Jobs gained includes those who gain a job while accessing new deal or as an immediate destination on leaving the programme.

5. Detailed constituency figures for the New Deal for Young People are available monthly from the Library.

Source:

New Deal Evaluation Database

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Pension Credit

Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) if he will estimate, on the basis of the proposals and assumptions in the pension credit consultation paper, how many claimants of pension credit there will be in each region and nation; what proportion of the total number of pensioners the beneficiaries are likely to be; and how many are likely to be claimants of housing benefit and/or council tax benefit; [3625]

(2) to which other benefits the proposed pension credit will be a passport. [3626]

Mr. McCartney: The pension credit forms a key part of the Government's overall strategy for tackling pensioner poverty.

We are completing the design of the pension credit and will publish details of our proposals when the Bill is introduced.

Household Incomes

Mr. Kevin Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects the latest figures on Households Below Average Incomes to be published; and if he will make a statement. [4583]

Mr. Darling: Today I have published Households Below Average Income for 1994–95 to 1999–2000. Copies have been placed in the Library.

The report shows the position during the financial year 1999–2000. Consequently, it does not reflect the full impact of all policies or the changes introduced since—for instance the significant increases made to Working Families Tax Credit and Income Support child rates in Budget 2000, the Children's Tax Credit or enhancements to the Minimum Income Guarantee.

However the report shows encouraging signs that Government anti-poverty measures are beginning to work. There is a real downward trend in child poverty with 300,000 fewer children living in income poverty in 1999–2000 compared with 1996–97 and there are encouraging signs of improvement in pensioner incomes with the figures suggesting 100,000 fewer in poverty.

It shows that all groups have shared a significant growth in income, there has been a large fall in the numbers below absolute low-income thresholds and the tide has been turned in the long-term trend of rising relative income poverty for children.

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Tourism (Foot and Mouth)

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations she has received and what measures she has taken to ensure that the tourist coach industry is compensated following the effects of foot and mouth disease on the tourist industry; and if she will make a statement. [29]

Dr. Howells: My right hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment has received representations from the chairman of the Coach Tourism Council and a managing director of a north-east of England coach company. It is

13 Jul 2001 : Column: 695W

the long-standing policy of successive Governments not to offer compensation for consequential losses associated with animal disease outbreaks. However, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is closely monitoring the effectiveness of the financial assistance measures made available by Government to rural businesses, which is worth over £250 million. This package includes £50 million allocated to the Rural Business Recovery Fund, substantial hardship rate relief and £120 million available in loans under the Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme. Customs and Excise and the Inland Revenue will also agree to the deferral of tax or national insurance contributions where a business is in serious financial difficulty. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has provided an additional £3.8 million to the English Tourism Council to get the message across that there is plenty for the public to do in the countryside, and £14.2 million to the British Tourist Authority to rebuild confidence in Britain as a tourism destination in our key overseas markets.

Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the economic impact of foot and mouth disease on the tourist industry in each of the Regional Tourist Board areas. [2096]

Tessa Jowell: Our best estimate to date is that the loss of revenue in 2001–02 by the English tourist industry is likely to be around £120 million per week averaged over the eight-month tourism season. We are currently updating the assessment on which this is based in the light of the latest available data, including regional estimates made by individual regional tourist boards (these are not prepared on a consistent basis and so cannot simply be aggregated). We have not attempted to apportion the overall estimates to the individual regional tourist board areas, since the available data do not enable this to be done with a sufficient degree of reliability.

The National Lottery

Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the administrative costs as a percentage of National Lottery income for each of the National Lottery distributing bodies in the most recent year for which figures are available. [88]

Tessa Jowell [holding answer 25 June 2001]: The following table shows administration costs as a percentage of income for the lottery distributing bodies in 1999–2000, the most recent year for which published accounts are available.

Distributing body	Administration costs as a percentage of income
Arts Council of England	11.43
Scottish Arts Council	8.07
Arts Council of Wales	10.17
Arts Council of Northern Ireland	7.43
Sport England	7.40
Sportscotland	8.09
Sports Council for Wales	5.56
Sports Council for Northern Ireland	8.98
UK Sport	4.39
Heritage Lottery Fund	4.84
Community Fund	9.46
Millennium Commission	3.92
New Opportunities Fund	4.53

13 Jul 2001 : Column: 696W

British Archaeology

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the implications of article 3 of the Treaty of Valetta for British archaeology, following the UK becoming a signatory to the treaty. [2221]

Dr. Howells [holding answer 3 July 2001]: It is for each Government to apply the European Convention on the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage (known as the Valetta Convention) in ways that fit in with national practice and legislation. In broad terms, current measures in place in the UK already meet the convention's requirements. The Government do not believe that additional legislation, requiring a licensing system, is necessary to fulfil article 3. Much archaeological work is already controlled through existing mechanisms. There may be scope for developing a voluntary code of conduct for those who wish to undertake archaeological work outside the existing systems of control.

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