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5 Mar 2003 : Column 1043W—continued
Young Service Personnel
Mr. Paul Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the armed forces aged under 18 (a) are deployed and (b) are planned to be deployed in the Gulf; and if he will make a statement. [100108]
Dr. Moonie: The United Kingdom signed Optional Protocol II to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in September 2000 and on 24 February 2003 an Explanatory Memorandum was laid before the House to enable the Protocol to be ratified. It is accordingly our policy that we will take all feasible measures to ensure that no personnel under the age of 18 play a direct part in hostilities. Our plans for the recent deployment of Armed Forces personnel to the Gulf were drawn up and implemented on that basis. Despite these precautions, regrettably one such individual was deployed; but that has now been remedied. As a result there are no under-18s serving in the Gulf and there are no plans for any under-18s to be deployed there.
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WALES
Civil Servants
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many civil servants have been employed by (a) his Department and (b) each of its agencies and non-departmental bodies in each year from 1994–95 to 2002–03; and if he will make a statement. [92409]
Peter Hain: My Department came into being on 1 July 1999 and has no agencies or NDPBs.
The Departmental Report 2002 shows there to have been 35 permanent and casual civil servants in 1999–00; 43 in 2000–01; and 41 in 2001–02.
Ministerial Costs
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the cost was to the Welsh Office of ministerial (a) pay, (b) travel, (c) entertainment, (d) conferences, (e) overseas travel and (f) other costs in each year from 1998–99 to 2002–03; and if he will make a statement. [89957]
Peter Hain: My Department came into being on 1 July 1999.
(a) the remuneration of Ministers was £65,000 from July 1999 to March 2000; between £70,000 and £78,000 in 2000–01; between £95,000 and £110,000 in 2001–02.
(b) and (e) Since 1999 this Government has published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year. The Government has also published on an annual basis the cost of all Ministers' visits overseas. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House.
Costs of domestic travel by Ministers are not readily separable from those of the Department as a whole.
(c) figures are not readily available for 1999/00. Departmental spending on hospitality was £21,000 in 2000/01 and 8,000 in 2001/02
(d) figures are not readily available for 1999/00. No separate expenditure on conferences is recorded for 2000/01 or 2001/02
(e) most other Ministerial expenditure cannot readily be separated from general Departmental expenditure. However the cost of Ministerial cars was £113,000 in 2000/01; £154,000 in 2001/02 and has been £107,000 in 2002/03 to date.
Minsterial Meetings
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many times he and the honourable Member for Islwyn have attended meetings of the Council of Ministers in the past nine months. [95474]
Peter Hain: Since my appointment as Secretary of State for Wales, neither I nor the Parliamentary Under Secretary for Wales has attended any such meetings.
Renewable Energy
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proposals he has to increase tidal and wave generated electricity in Wales. [94253]
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Peter Hain: I maintain a close interest in proposals being taken forward or considered by the Department of Trade and Industry, the National Assembly for Wales and Welsh local planning authorities.
For example, the Department of Trade and Industry recently announced that Tidal Hydraulic Generators Ltd, who operate out of Broad Haven in Pembrokeshire, will receive £1.6m to develop and test a tidal stream prototype which could be deployed in areas of fast tidal flow around the world.
As the recently published Energy White Paper states "We are determined that wave and tidal technologies should be given the opportunity to play the fullest part they can in the expansion from renewables. This in turn can create another significant opportunity, with word-wide application, for our manufacturing sector".
Smoking in the Workplace
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what policy his Department has adopted on smoking in the workplace. [100927]
Peter Hain: My Department occupies two buildings. In London smoking is not permitted anywhere in the building during normal working hours. In Cardiff, where we are tenants of the National Assembly of Wales, smoking is permitted only in one designated smoking room.
University Students
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his Answer of 10th February, Official Report, column 564, on students (National Assembly), if he will establish whether the press were in possession of information on the question of further devolution of powers with regard to tuition fees and maintenance grants to the National Assembly for Wales in advance of contacting his press office. [98566]
Welsh Language
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much money the Government gave to support the Welsh language in (a) education and (b) cultural organisations in the last year for which figures are available. [100991]
Peter Hain: These are matters for the National Assembly for Wales.
TREASURY
3G Licences
Mr. Willis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to re-pay the capital sum raised through the sale of 3G licences to the successful bidder. [100128]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 28 February 2003]: I have been asked to reply.
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Age Diversity
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when his Department completed its diagnostic review for compliance with the Government's Code of Practice for Age Diversity in Employment; and what changes his Department plans to make following the review. [99422]
Ruth Kelly: The provisions of the Code of Practice on Age Diversity in Employment are embedded within the Treasury's equal opportunities policies in accordance with the Performance and Innovation Unit's "Winning the Generation Game" report. Policies are in place to ensure that there are no unfair or unlawful barriers to employment or advancement in the Treasury. These policies are kept under constant review.
Company Tax Relief
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to remove tax relief on corrupt payments and bribes made by companies to secure (a) export orders and (b) domestic orders; and if he will make a statement. [100390]
Dawn Primarolo: Section 577A of the Taxes Act 1988 provides that, when computing taxable profits, a business is not allowed relief for expenditure incurred on a payment if the making of that payment constitutes a criminal offence in the UK, or would do so if the payment were made in the UK.
Correspondence
Mr. Lloyd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the letter of 3 December 2002 from the hon. Member for Manchester, Central on insurance, ref 3/12838/02. [100287]
Ruth Kelly: I wrote to the hon. Member on 10 January explaining that I hoped to be in a position to provide a full response soon and noting the reason for delay.
Statistics
Mr. Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the (a) death rates and (b) age adjusted death rates for (i) England, (ii) Scotland, (iii) Wales and (iv) Northern Ireland for each year since 1997. [100734]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from John Pullinger to Mr. Nigel Evans, dated 5 March 2003:
- The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question concerning (a) death rates and (b) age adjusted death rates for (i) England, (ii) Scotland, (iii) Wales and (iv) Northern Ireland for each year since 1997. I am replying in his absence. (100734)
- The most recent available mortality data are for the calendar year 2001. The figures requested for the years 1997 to 2001 are given in the attached table.
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| 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (a) Overall death rate | ||||||
| (i) England | Persons | 1,096.8 | 1,067.9 | 1,063.9 | 1,022.4 | 1,008.7 |
| Males | 1,048.5 | 1,047.2 | 1,038.6 | 1,002.2 | 985.5 | |
| Females | 1,089.9 | 1,087.4 | 1,087.8 | 1,041.5 | 1,030.7 | |
| (ii) Scotland | Persons | 1,170.4 | 1,165.3 | 1,188.5 | 1,141.6 | 1,133.1 |
| Males | 1,158.9 | 1,153.4 | 1,174.0 | 1,131.2 | 1,122.7 | |
| Females | 1,180.9 | 1,176.3 | 1,201.9 | 1,151.2 | 1,142.7 | |
| (iii) Wales | Persons | 1,198.8 | 1,174.7 | 1,210.8 | 1,149.0 | 1,136.4 |
| Males | 1,186.3 | 1,151.8 | 1,191.2 | 1,127.5 | 1,110.2 | |
| Females | 1,210.5 | 1,196.2 | 1,229.2 | 1,169.3 | 1,161.0 | |
| (iv) Northern Ireland | Persons | 895.8 | 893.6 | 932.9 | 885.5 | 859.1 |
| Males | 888.3 | 894.4 | 911.9 | 868.8 | 849.9 | |
| Females | 903.0 | 892.9 | 952.8 | 901.5 | 867.9 | |
| (b) Age standardised death rate(12) | ||||||
| (i) England | Persons | 727.9 | 721.5 | 714.9 | 682.5 | 666.5 |
| Males | 904.6 | 894.5 | 880.5 | 839.9 | 815.7 | |
| Females | 597.0 | 592.0 | 589.6 | 563.0 | 552.0 | |
| (ii) Scotland | Persons | 853.1 | 843.0 | 849.1 | 807.7 | 792.5 |
| Males | 1,070.8 | 1,053.3 | 1,060.5 | 1,004.4 | 982.8 | |
| Females | 694.8 | 687.4 | 694.0 | 660.8 | 648.1 | |
| (iii) Wales | Persons | 768.2 | 747.8 | 764.4 | 718.2 | 702.6 |
| Males | 960.0 | 922.8 | 945.4 | 881.8 | 855.9 | |
| Females | 627.8 | 617.2 | 626.6 | 591.8 | 583.9 | |
| (iv) Northern Ireland | Persons | 755.0 | 746.0 | 769.9 | 727.9 | 697.6 |
| Males | 947.8 | 944.7 | 954.8 | 897.2 | 866.8 | |
| Females | 613.6 | 600.2 | 634.8 | 603.8 | 572.0 |
(11) Figures are for deaths occurring in each calendar year from 1997 to 2001 in England and Wales and registrations of death per calendar year for Scotland and Northern Ireland.
(12) The rates have been standardised using the European standard population.
Mr. Tony Clarke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the predicted population is for (a) Northamptonshire, (b) borough of Northampton, (c) Northampton South constituency and (d) other parliamentary constituencies in (i) 2004 and (ii) 2005. [100800]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from John Pullinger to Mr. Tony Clarke, dated 5 March 2003:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question on what the predicted population is for (a) Northamptonshire and (b) Borough of Northampton, (c) Northampton South constituency and (d) other Parliamentary constituencies in (i) 2004 and (ii) 2005. I am replying in his absence. (100800)
Subnational population projections are produced at local authority level but not for parliamentary constituencies. Table 1 shows the projected population for 2004 and 2005 for the county of Northamptonshire and constituent local authority districts. The figures are drawn from the latest short-term subnational population projections, which are based on the 2000 mid-year population estimates. These are not consistent with the latest
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- population estimates that are based on the 2001 Census. The next set of subnational population projections will be 2002-based and published in 2004.
For information we include a second table comparing the projected figures for 2001 and the new 2001 Census-based mid-year estimates for 2001. At county level the projected figures for 2001 show only a small difference. However it should be noted that for individual districts the differences are somewhat larger, and hence the projections are less consistent with latest population estimates.
| Projected population | ||
|---|---|---|
| Area | 2004 | 2005 |
| Northamptonshire | 641.6 | 645.3 |
| Northampton | 199.4 | 200.6 |
| South Northamptonshire | 83.1 | 83.8 |
| Corby | 51.0 | 51.0 |
| Daventry | 72.5 | 73.1 |
| East Northamptonshire | 79.5 | 80.2 |
| Kettering | 85.5 | 85.9 |
| Wellingborough | 70.6 | 70.9 |
Note:
ONS 2000-based short-term subnational population projections
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