---

Still Births

Ian Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to amend the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953 to allow the parents of children who die between 18 and 24 weeks gestation to register a still birth. [59689]

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

Letter from John Kidgell to Ian Lucas, dated 10 June 2002:

The Registrar General and National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary question concerning what plans there are to amend the Births and Deaths Registration Act to allow parents of children who die between 18 and 24 weeks gestation to register a still-birth. I am replying in his absence. (59689)

There are no plans to amend the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953 to redefine the gestational age at which a still-birth which must be registered.

Adoption Orders

Mr. Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many adoption orders were made in each year since 1991. [60572]

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

Letter from John Kidgell to Mr. Keith Vaz, dated 10 June 2002:

The National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales has been asked to reply to your recent question, concerning the number of Adoption Orders made in each year since 1991. I am replying in his absence. (60572)

I refer you to Mr. Cook's letter of 22 May which answered PQ 57193 (Hansard vol. 386 no. 152), concerning the number of Adoptions since 1990. The granting of an Adoption order effectively means the same as an Adoption being registered in the Adopted Children Register, since the order is the legal basis for the registration.

Family Historians

Mr. Caton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to increase the availability of the Registrar General's information to family historians. [60577]

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

Letter from John Kidgell to Mr. Martin Caton, dated 10 June 2002:

The National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales has been asked to reply to your recent question concerning what plans there are to increase the availability of the Registrar General's information to family historians. I am replying in his absence. (60577)

10 Jun 2002 : Column 851W

The Government's proposals for modernising civil registration in England and Wales are contained in the White Paper "Civil Registration: Vital Change" published on 22 January 2002, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House. The White Paper sets out a new framework for access to information about births, marriages and deaths held by the Registrar General.

Birth Statistics

Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) boys and (b) girls were born in England in each year from 1980 to 1992. [59712]

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

Letter from John Kidgell to Mr. Barry Sheerman, dated 10 June 2002:

The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question on the number of (a) boys and (b) girls born in England in each year from 1980 to 1992. I am replying in his absence. (59712)

The figures are given in the table below.

Total number of live births by sex in England⁽²³⁾, 1980 to 1992

Year	Male	Female	Total
1980	316,441	301,930	618,371
1981	307,134	291,029	598,163
1982	302,764	286,947	589,711
1983	304,936	288,319	593,255
1984	307,436	293,137	600,573
1985	317,809	301,492	619,301
1986	319,585	304,024	623,609
1987	330,027	313,303	643,330
1988	334,898	319,465	654,363
1989	332,583	316,774	649,357
1990	341,353	325,567	666,920
1991	338,715	322,091	660,806
1992	334,365	317,419	651,784

⁽²³⁾ Births are to mothers who were resident in England at the time of the birth

Source:

Key population and vital statistics—Series VS.

Correspondence

Mr. Weir: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many letters were received by each Minister in his Department in each month since June 1997. [59306]

Mr. Boateng: The information in the detail requested is not kept or readily available.

Broadband

Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Office of Government Commerce Broadband Feasibility Group's report on the aggregation of public sector demand will be published. [60067]

Mr. Boateng: Ministers will make an announcement on the key recommendations from the OGC broadband procurement feasibility study in the summer.

Working Families Tax Credit

Mr. Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the number of additional households

10 Jun 2002 : Column 852W

which will become eligible for the working families tax credit when the children element of the tax credit is increased by £2.50 in June. [59747]

Dawn Primarolo: It is not possible to provide such an estimate as the surveys on which such an estimate would be made are too small to provide a reliable estimate of the number of families newly eligible because of the increase of £2.50 in the basic element of the working families tax credit.

Ministerial Direction

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many times in each year since 2000 his Department has been notified of a ministerial direction as provided for in the procedures set out in paragraphs 12 to 15 of the Treasury document entitled, "The Responsibilities of an Accounting Officer"; and if he will make a statement. [60004]

Mr. Boateng: I refer to the answer given by my predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for Oxford, East (Mr. Smith), to the hon. Member for South Norfolk (Mr. Bacon) on 8 May 2002, Official Report, column 253W and to my own further answer of 10 June 2002, Official Report, column 1037W.

Parliamentary Questions

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reasons paragraph 42 of his Department's guidance notes on parliamentary questions dated March states that briefings should include supportive statements from members of the Opposition; and if he will make a statement. [59598]

Ruth Kelly: In order to present as complete a picture as possible of the issue concerned.

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of draft parliamentary answers that his Department prepared in January were amended by special advisers prior to final approval by the Minister; and if he will make a statement. [59600]

Ruth Kelly: Ministers are responsible for the answers they give to parliamentary questions.

The Treasury does not maintain records relating to the number of occasions on which Special Advisers have contributed to the drafting of answers. It would, in any case, be inappropriate to disclose information concerning internal consultations on parliamentary questions, as provided for by Exemption 2 of the "Code of Practice on Access to Government Information".

Departmental Sponsors

Mr. Weir: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) which hon. Members have been appointed as sponsors to his Department since 7 June 2001; and when each of them was appointed; [59965]

(2) what the duties are of hon. Members appointed as sponsors to his Department; and what assistance is given by officials in his Department to them in carrying out these duties. [59980]

10 Jun 2002 : Column 853W

Ruth Kelly: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Mr. Beith) on 22 May 2002, Official Report, column 372W.

LIBRA Project

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what basis the LIBRA project was described as completed in his Department's evidence to the Treasury Committee in January 2000; and if he will make a statement. [59690]

Mr. Boateng: The Lord Chancellor's Department's project LIBRA was a Treasury Taskforce Significant Project. The LIBRA contract was signed in December 1998. Annexe B of the Treasury's memorandum dated 1 November 1999 to the Treasury Committee, showed progress on Treasury Taskforce Significant Projects. Those projects where the contract had been signed, and thus the Treasury taskforce's involvement had been successfully completed, were noted as being "completed".

---