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Budget Summary Costs

Dr. Fox: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the cost to his Department was of sending leaflets and posters summarising the last Budget to (a) general practice surgeries and (b) other healthcare institutions; [80951]

(2) how many general practice surgeries have been sent leaflets summarising the last Budget. [80950]

Dawn Primarolo: The Treasury has, for many years, produced and distributed a summary of the Budget. The total cost of producing and distributing all Budget 2002 leaflets was met from within Departmental Expenditure Limits and amounted to approximately #208,000.

Within the total distribution, around 8,000 GPs' surgeries received summary leaflets. These and other healthcare institutions accounted for around one third of all leaflet recipients.

Life Expectancy

Mr. Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the local areas where the expectancy at birth of (a) a man and (b) a woman is less than 70 years; and if he will estimate in each case the number of (i) men and (ii) women who live in each area. [81048]

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

Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Steve Webb, dated 19 November 2002:

The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your question asking for a list of the local areas where the expectancy at birth of (a) a man and (b) a woman is less than 70 years; and to estimate in each case the number of (i) men and (ii) women who live in each area. I am replying in his absence. (81048)

The most recent available figures for life expectancy at birth by local authority in England and Wales are for the years 1999 to 2001. These show that Manchester was the only local authority for which male life expectancy at birth was less than 70 years (69.7 years). There were no areas with female life expectancy at birth lower than 70 years.

The estimated mid-year population of Manchester in 2001, based on the 2001 Census, was:

(i) 191,778 males

(ii) 201,130 females.

Local Government Funding

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many representatives his Department has received from Eddisbury constituency residents about local government funding in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement on the arguments in those representations. [81264]

Mr. Boateng: The information requested is not available. Correspondence from members of the public is not recorded by Parliamentary constituency.

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Mortgage Direct

Mr. Todd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received concerning the activities of Mortgage Direct. [80784]

Ruth Kelly: None. But if he has particular concerns, perhaps my hon. friend could write to me.

Office for National Statistics

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many occasions Ministers in his Department have been consulted by National Statistics about proposals which impinge on Government policy as defined in the response of the Statistics Commission to the draft National Statistics Code of Practice in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [80414]

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

Letter from Len Cook to Matthew Taylor, dated 19 November 2002:

As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question concerning how many occasions Ministers have been consulted by National Statistics about proposals which impinge on Government policy as defined in the response of the Statistics Commission to the draft National Statistics Code of Practice in each of the last five years. (80414)

My responsibility for consulting Ministers on Xproposals that impinge on government policy" is embodied within the XNational Statistics Protocol on Consultation Arrangements between the National Statistician and UK Government Ministers" which came into effect on October 11th this year. Since that date I have not had occasion to consult Ministers under this Protocol.

As the Protocol indicates, a record of ministerial consultations will be kept and reported annually in the National Statistics Annual Report.

Public Finances

Mr. Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the state of the public finances; and if he will make a statement. [81804]

Mr. Boateng: Consistent with the Code for Fiscal Stability, an interim forecast update will be provided in the pre-Budget report to be presented to Parliament on 27 November 2002.

Public Service Agreements

Mr. Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to receive the report from the National Audit Office on details on the methods used to validate systems in reporting on public service agreements. [80589]

Mr. Boateng: The methods used to validate systems are a matter for the National Audit Office.

Resource Costs

Mr. Lilley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the resource cost of building (a) homes, (b) schools, (c) hospitals and (d) public utilities for an expansion of the population by one million. [80706]

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Mr. Boateng: The cost of additional infrastructure investment needed to support an expansion of the population would depend upon a large number of variables. The Government takes into account all relevant factors in setting spending plans in biennial Spending Reviews.

Split Capital Investment Trusts

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with the Financial Services Authority regarding the collapse of the split capital investment trusts; and when the FSA will produce the results of its inquiry. [81036]

Ruth Kelly: The Treasury is in regular contact with the FSA on a wide range of issues. The FSA issued a policy statement on Split Capital Investment Trusts in May 2002. It will consult on changes to the listing rules in early 2003. It also has on-going investigations into individual cases.

Stability and Growth

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with his European counterparts regarding the future of the Stability and Growth Pact; and if he will make a statement. [80739]

Ruth Kelly: I refer the hon Member to my answer to him on 5 November 2002, Official Report, column 211W.

Statistics

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions his Department has had with the Office of National Statistics regarding the accuracy of the statistics it provides; and if he is reviewing standards in the office. [80733]

Ruth Kelly: Treasury Ministers and officials have regular discussions with the National Statistician and other officials at the Office for National Statistics on a range of statistical issues. Under the Framework for National Statistics, responsibility for ensuring the accuracy of national statistics lies with the National Statistician, who keeps such standards under constant review. The National Statistics Code of Practice, which was officially launched earlier this year, states that the National Statistician will report annually on the quality of official statistics.

Tax Harmonisation (Private Pensions)

Mr. Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the proposals by the European Union to harmonise the tax treatment of private pensions. [80923]

Ruth Kelly [holding answer 18 November 2002]: The Government are not aware of any such proposals.

Treasury Buildings (Air Conditioning)

Jane Griffiths: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the climate change impact will be of the use of HFC in the air conditioning system in the Treasury building in Great George Street. [81768]

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Ruth Kelly: The Treasury building in Horse Guards Road is largely naturally ventilated, with limited use of air conditioning. With proper maintenance and disposal, the use of HFC will not have any impact on climate change.

Treasury IT System

Brian White: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he has taken to review the security of the Department's IT system; and how many digital attacks there were on the Department's system in (a) October and (b) 2002. [80771]

Ruth Kelly: The Department has in place a BS/ISO 17799 compliance programme, and has recently undergone a CRAMM v.4 risk assessment, allowing us to review the effectiveness of our security controls. Several aspects of our office system have also been subjected to independent 'health-checks' in the past 12 months. The controls covering the departmental system's external connections are reviewed every six months by the national security authorities. There have been no incidents of digital attack in either (a) October, or (b) 2002, on the office system, however there was one incidence of digital attack on an external website that was under construction, discovered in June 2002.

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