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Correspondence
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the letters of 23 January and 15 April from the hon. Member for Huntingdon concerning compensation for tax on further distributions to be made by the Thalidomide Trust. [60712]
Manufacturing Industry
Mr. Cox: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the Government's support for the manufacturing industry in Greater London. [60709]
Mr. Boateng: The Government have put in place an ambitious programme of micro-economic reforms to raise UK productivity growth. Many of these measures will help manufacturers throughout the UK improve their productivity performance. For instance, manufacturers will benefit from the extension of the R&D tax credit to all firms as announced in Budget 2002, following the introduction of an R&D tax credit for small firms. Manufacturers will be the main beneficiaries of this initiative, as they undertake 80 per cent. of the UK's commercial R&D.
Manufacturing industry in London also benefits from a range of DTI programmes to encourage investment, to promote enterprise, innovation, and knowledge transfer, to raise skills, and to provide an effective and competitive framework. Information on these is available from the
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DTI. The Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) have recognized manufacturing as a priority in every region. The introduction of the Single Pot funding arrangement in April 2002 has given the RDAs unprecedented flexibility in the use of their resources. The London Development Agency (LDA) operates a number of schemes to support manufacturers in Greater London. Information on these initiatives is available from the LDA.
Oil Industry
Mr. Howard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact of the new supplementary tax on North sea oil profits announced in the Budget on oil industry employment in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK. [60590R]
Dawn Primarolo: The Government made a full analysis of the regime. The changes to the North sea taxation regime will ensure a regime that raises a fair share of revenue and encourages long-term investment, establishing a more secure basis on which companies can plan for the future.
Marriage and Birth Statistics
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the average birth weight was of children of (a) married couples, (b) cohabitees and (c) single mothers in each of the last five years; [60841]
- (2) what the infant mortality rate is among children of (a) married couples, (b) cohabitees and (c) single mothers. [60840]
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. Andrew Turner, dated 12 June 2002:
- The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent questions asking what the average birthweight and infant mortality rates are amongst children of (a) married couples, (b) cohabitees and (c) single mothers in each of the last five years. I am replying in his absence. (60840, 60841)
- Information on cohabitation is not collected directly at birth or death registration. However, for births outside marriage some information is available to infer living arrangements. The information available is shown in the tables below.
| Type of birth registration | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All live births(9) | 3,325 | 3,322 | 3,325 | 3,321 | 3,327 |
| Inside marriage | 3,356 | 3,354 | 3,355 | 3,350 | 3,357 |
| Outside marriage | |||||
| Joint registration, same address | 3,298 | 3,298 | 3,307 | 3,308 | 3,313 |
| Joint registration, different address | 3,231 | 3,234 | 3,231 | 3,232 | 3,237 |
| Sole registration | 3,219 | 3,211 | 3,214 | 3,213 | 3,213 |
(9) with stated birthweight
(10) per 1,000 live births
Source:
Office for National Statistics
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Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many were divorced in the most recent year for which information is available, broken down by year of latest marriage. [60838]
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. Andrew Turner, dated 12 June 2002:
- The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your question concerning how many were divorced in the most recent year for which information is available broken down by year of latest marriage. I am replying in his absence. (60838)
- The attached table provides the information for those divorced in 2000.
(11) The term divorce here includes both decrees absolute and decrees of nullity
Source:
ONS
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Social Care
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 16 May 2002, Official Report, column 807W, on social care, if he will make a statement on the recommendation of the Wanless report on a study of the trends affecting social care. [60819]
Mr. Boateng: The Chancellor's Budget statement of 17 April 2002 addressed the recommendations of the Wanless report.
Mortgage Companies
Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to put a duty of care on mortgage companies to repay funds to people who have had their properties repossessed and sold where there is a surplus arising on that sale. [60875]
Ruth Kelly: The Government are giving responsibility for regulating mortgage lenders to the Financial Services Authority (FSA). The FSA will be consulting in due course about its rules including in relation to the issue of repossessions.
Family Incomes (South-west)
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for South Dorset (Jim Knight) of 9 May 2002, Official Report, columns 342–43W, on family income (south-west), how many families will be eligible for the child tax credit in each region of the United Kingdom. [58785]
Dawn Primarolo: Estimates of the number of families with children expected to benefit from the child tax credit directly or via IS/JSA in 2003–04 by Government office region are shown in the table.
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| Government office region | Number of families expected to benefit from the child tax credit |
|---|---|
| North-east | 290,000 |
| North-west and Merseyside | 750,000 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 540,000 |
| East Midlands | 380,000 |
| West Midlands | 500,000 |
| Eastern | 460,000 |
| London | 700,000 |
| South-east | 670,000 |
| South-west | 470,000 |
| Wales | 320,000 |
| Scotland | 430,000 |
| Northern Ireland | 220,000 |
| Total | 5,750,000 |
The estimates given are based on the IGoTM tax benefit model for the UK, based on the Family Resources Survey (1999–2000) uprated to 2003–04 prices. The estimates are based on the number of families with children whose household income makes them likely to benefit from the child tax credit and do not take into account the way in which the new tax credits will respond to changes in income or other circumstances, described in detail in "The Child and Working Tax Credit" (HMT, 2001). Figures are rounded to the nearest 10,000 and the total may not sum because of rounding.
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