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Higher Rate Tax Payers (Buckingham)

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many higher rate tax payers there were in the Buckingham constituency in (a) 2000, (b) 2001 and (c) 2002–03. [107776]

Dawn Primarolo: There were around 10,000 higher rate income taxpayers in the constituency of Buckingham in the 2000–01 tax year. This estimate is based on the Survey of Personal Incomes. I regret that estimates are not available for later years.

No. 11 Downing Street

Keith Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many times No. 11 Downing street has been used for charitable causes in the last year; which organisations were involved; and how much was raised. [105661]

Ruth Kelly: Nine charitable events have been held at No. 11 in the last year.Events were held for the National Council for One Parent Families, Parentline, Family Services Units, Community Links, Charity Bank, National Deaf Children Society, Maggie's Centres, Streetsmart and the Special Olympics.

Funds are not raised at charitable events held at No. 11. Fund raising is a matter for the charities concerned.

Pensioners

Sue Doughty: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the percentage of pensioners in the population of each parliamentary constituency. [107432]

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

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Letter from Len Cook to Sue Doughty, dated 7 April 2003:

As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question concerning the percentage of pensioners in each parliamentary constituency, (107432)

The Office for National Statistics does not produce mid-year population estimates on parliamentary constituency boundaries. Results from the 2001 Census have not yet been published at this geographic level.

The smallest area level for which we produce mid-year population estimates is for local authorities. In view of this, I am placing in the House of Commons Library, a table which shows the percentage of people of pensionable age in each local authority in England and Wales.

Self-assessment

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the total cost of income tax collection in the latest year for which information is available per self-assessment taxpayer. [104758]

Dawn Primarolo: In general, the costs of collecting self-assessment tax are minimal because it is sent in voluntarily by the due date by most taxpayers. In relation to tax paid late, the Inland Revenue estimates that the average cost of collecting self-assessment income tax in 2001–02 was £3.58 per self-assessment taxpayer. This figure is based on the total pay costs for the staff and managers concerned.

Staff Numbers

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff were employed by his Department in (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03. [106980]

Ruth Kelly: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer the Minister of State, Cabinet Office gave him on 4 April 2003, Official Report, columns 891–92W.

Tax Credits

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received about the Tax Credits (Interest Rate) Regulations. [107787]

Dawn Primarolo: No representations have been received.

CABINET OFFICE

Civil Service (Training)

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will arrange for each member of the civil service to be trained in the provisions and application of the (a) Freedom of Information Act 2000 and (b) Data Protection Act 1998. [107543]

Mr. Alexander: The training of civil servants in the provisions and application of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Data Protection Act 1998 is a matter for individual Departments. Further information about the activities by Departments to train civil servants in readiness for the Freedom of Information Act 2000 can be found in section 6 in the

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most recent annual report by the Lord Chancellor on progress towards implementation of the Act (HC 6 November 2002) .

EU Directives

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will list the EU Directives and Regulations which have been implemented by his Department since 17 April 2002. [106830]

Mr. Alexander: The Cabinet Office has not implemented any EU Directives or Regulations since 17 April 2002.

Staff Union Duties

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many staff in his Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies receive paid leave to undertake union duties; how many days they are allocated; and what has been the cost to public funds in 2002. [106737]

Mr. Alexander: The Cabinet Office has one full time local union representative.

Cabinet Office agencies have one officer who spends part of their time undertaking union duties on an ad hoc basis, but does not have time formally allocated to them for this work.

Cabinet Office non-departmental public bodies have no such staff.

The total cost to public funds in 2002 was £32,507.

HOME OFFICE

Asylum Seekers (Bela River)

Mr. Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has to use the former Bela River prison camp, between Milnthorpe and Holme in Cumbria, as a dispersal centre for asylum seekers. [106891]

Beverley Hughes: There are currently no plans to use the Bela River prison camp as accommodation for asylum seekers. This should not be taken to mean that we would never use the accommodation in connection with housing for asylum seekers. If the accommodation were to be offered to us we would consider its potential use in the light of our needs at that time.

Command Paper 5778

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which (a) departments, (b) local authorities and (c) voluntary organisations his Department consulted in drafting Command Paper 5778. [106781]

Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The White Paper "Respect and Responsibility", published on 12 March, sets out the Government's vision for tackling anti-social behaviour.

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The White Paper represents a cross-cutting agenda being taken forward by a number of Government Departments. It has been informed by the experience of local authorities, the police, voluntary organisations, and communities up and down the country. We will continue to work closely with local authorities, the police and others to ensure that effective action is taken to deal with anti-social behaviour.

Entitlement Cards

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many submissions were made to the Entitlement Cards consultation; and if he will place copies in the Library; [106906]

(2) whether he intends to publish a summary of responses to the Entitlement Cards consultation. [106907]

Beverley Hughes [holding answer 4 April 2003]: A final assessment of all responses received during the consultation period is still being undertaken, but the figure is well in excess of 2,000.

Copies of every response received will not, as a matter of routine, be placed in the Library. It would be disproportionate in cost to provide such a large volume of paper records.

In accordance with current policy on written public consultation, we will be publishing a summary of the views received and individual contributions will be made available on request, unless the contributor has asked for confidentiality or that such publication would unfairly affect third party interests or privacy.

EU Directives

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the EU Directives and Regulations which have been implemented by his Department since 17 April 2002. [106842]

Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The Home Office plays a leading role in the UK's EU policy on asylum and immigration. Since 17 April 2002, the Home Office has implemented, on the basis of provisions in existing legislation, Council Directive 2001/51/EC of 28 June 2001 supplementing the provisions of Article 26 of the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement. Notification to the effect was sent to the Commission on 16 January 2003.

EC Regulations are, in general, directly applicable in the member states, without the need for further incorporation into national law. However, some Regulations may require UK measures to make them workable and enforceable. The legislative changes required to implement the EURODAC Regulation were made in the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, effective from 11 December 2000, by virtue of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (Commencement No. 8 and Transitional Provisions) Order 2000. Implementation was completed when the centralised EURODAC fingerprint database became operational on 15 January 2003.

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