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Accountancy Contracts

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the (a) number and (b) value of contracts awarded by his Department to (i) Arthur

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Andersen, (ii) Deloitte Touche, (ii) Ernst and Young, (iv) KPMG and (v) PricewaterhouseCoopers accountants in each year since 1997. [34983]

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the contracts agreed by his Department with the five largest accountancy firms since May 1997; and what was the total value of contracts with each. [42101]

Ruth Kelly: It has not been possible to establish the number and value of contracts awarded to the above named companies since 1997. This information is not held in the format required and any further examination would be of a disproportionate cost.

Second World War Debts

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it Government policy to seek a final settlement with the USA to write-off the outstanding British debt which arises from the conduct of World War II. [41873]

Ruth Kelly: As I stated in my answer to the hon. Member on 28 February 2002, columns 1937–39W, the Government intend to meet their obligations under the 1945 Agreement with the United States Government by repaying in full the amounts lent in 1945.

Household Expenditure (Alcohol)

Mr. Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the expenditure on alcohol in the family expenditure and resources surveys in each region and nation in the last five years in (a) cash, (b) real and (c) percentage of household expenditure terms. [42614]

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.

Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Jim Cousins, dated 13 March 2002:





Expenditure on alcohol by UK countries and Government office regions: three year averages 1996–97 to 2000–01 (based on weighted data)

Average weekly household expenditure ($)
Current prices At 2000–01 prices Percentage of total expenditure
Government office region1996–97 to 1998–991997–98 to 1999–20001998–99 to 2000–011996–97 to 1998–991997–98 to 1999–20001998–99 to 2000–011996–97 to 1998–991997–98 to 1999–20001998–99 to 2000–01
North East14.2014.4016.5015.4015.2016.90556
North West15.8016.4015.5017.1017.2015.90555
Yorks and the Humber15.7015.9015.6016.9016.7016.00554
East Midlands13.2014.5014.4014.3015.3014.70444
West Midlands13.7014.2014.7014.7014.9015.00444
East11.9012.5013.0012.8013.2013.30343
London14.1015.3016.4015.2016.1016.80444
South East13.1013.8014.1014.1014.5014.50343
South West12.7013.3014.2013.7013.9014.50444
England13.9014.5014.9015.0015.3015.20444
Wales13.3014.2013.4014.4014.9013.80444
Scotland13.7014.7015.1014.8015.4015.50455
Northern Ireland11.2012.4013.2012.1013.1013.60444
United Kingdom13.8014.5014.8014.8015.2015.10444

Source:

ONS, Family Expenditure Surveys 1996–97 to 2000–01


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Energy Costs

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on energy costs incurred by his Department in each of the last 10 years. [42451]

Ruth Kelly: The table shows energy costs the Treasury has incurred in each of the last 10 years. The figures exclude VAT.

Energy Costs 1990–2001

Year£
1990–91487,894
1991–92448,015
1992–93411,009
1993–94364,710
1994–95420,183
1995–96328,628
1996–97330,220
1997–98305,411
1998–99316,314
1999–2000337,396
2000–01210,696

Chief Economic Adviser

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the Chief Economic Adviser is subject to the Code of Conduct for special advisers. [42929]

Ruth Kelly: Yes.

Bank Accounts

Mr. Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people hold current bank accounts in each region covered by the regional development agencies in the age ranges (a) 0 to 8, (b) 18 to 24, (c) 25 to 50, (d) 50 to 65, (e) 65 to 85 and (f) 85 years and over at the latest date for which figures are available. [42958]

Ruth Kelly: The information is not readily available. The table sets out estimates (from the Family Resources Survey), of the proportion of respondents in each region and age category who had a bank account in the 2000–01 survey.

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Percentage of respondents by age with a bank account by region

Age group
Government office region18–2526–5051–6566–8586+
North East7682827262
North West and Merseyside8386857759
Yorkshire and the Humber7883827057
East Midlands8386857943
West Midlands7383837363
Eastern8893908480
London8485847557
South East8592928578
South West8691908584

HOUSE OF COMMONS

Equal Opportunities

Mrs. Calton: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, what procedures are in place to promote race equality and equality of opportunity for employees in the Palace of Westminster. [41937]

Mr. Kirkwood [holding answer 11 March 2002]: The House of Commons Service values the diversity of its staff and is committed to developing the working practices which will allow every member of staff to contribute his or her best, regardless of race, sex, marital status, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation or any other irrelevant factor. The following arrangements to promote race equality and equality of opportunity for employees are in place:


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Sitting Costs

Paddy Tipping: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, what estimate the Commission has made of the average cost of a day's sitting of the House in the last session for which figures are available. [41498]

Mr. Kirkwood: The overall cost of running the House administration (excluding capital works, etc.) in 2000–01 was some £103 million, giving an average daily cost of the order of £280,000. The difference in cost between a sitting day and a non-sitting day is negligible: the major costs, of accommodation and staffing, are not affected appreciably by sitting times. These figures do not include the cost of paying Members' salaries or allowances, which are not normally regarded as part of the cost of running the House itself.


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