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11 Apr 2003 : Column 463W—continued
Leafleting
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will take powers to allow her Department to regulate the number of hand-delivered leaflets to houses that have requested no further leafleting. [107040]
Miss Melanie Johnson: There are no plans to do so.
National Insurance
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the cost will be to public funds in 2003–04 of the rise in national insurance contributions on the salary bill of her Department. [107893]
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Ms Hewitt: It is estimated that the changes to employers' national insurance contributions announced in the Budget will increase pay costs on average by 0.7 per cent. next year.
TRANSPORT
Dartford River Crossing
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what projects to be funded in whole or in part by income from the Dartford River Crossing are (a) in construction and (b) in planning. [108919]
Mr. Spellar: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 7 April 2003, Official Report, column 60W.
TREASURY
Cancer
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the five year survival rates for (a) breast, (b) lung, (c) cervical, (d) colon, (e) stomach, (f) prostate and (g) bladder cancer are in (i) England, (ii) the Buckinghamshire Health Authority Area and (iii) the South East Regional Office area. [108489]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. John Bercow, dated 10 April 2003:
- As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question concerning what the five year survival rates for (a) breast, (b) lung, (c) cervical, (d) colon, (e) stomach, (f) prostate and (g) bladder cancer are in (i) England, (ii) the Buckinghamshire Health Authority area and (iii) the South East Regional Office area. (108489)
At the national level, figures are routinely presented for men and women separately, while those at regional and local levels are given for persons only. The latest available information is given in this format in the table below.
| England | South East | Buckinghamshire HA | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cancer Site | Men | Women | Persons(14) | Persons(14) |
| Breast | — | 75.9 | 76.9 | 79 |
| Lung | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 7.1 |
| Cervix | — | 66.0 | 68.0 | 62 |
| Colon | 43.5 | 43.3 | 46.2 | 47 |
| Stomach | 11.1 | 11.8 | 12.0 | 10.9 |
| Prostate | 59.8 | — | 63.0 | 63 |
| Bladder | 67.1 | 57.6 | 69.0 | 76 |
(14) Figures for breast cancer exclude the very small numbers of cases in men.
Source:
Report: Cancer survival in the health authorities of England, 1993–2000. "Health Statistics Quarterly" 13 (2002), 95–103. This is available on our website at: http://www. statistics. gov.uk/downloads/theme health/HSQl3 v4.pdf
'Cancer survival: five year relative survival rates in England by Health Authority up to 2000' at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Expodata/Spreadsheets/D5389.xls for breast (female), lung, colon and prostate cancer.
Survival rates for cervical, stomach, bladder and oesophageal cancer are on the website at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Expodata/Spreadsheets/D5392.xls
11 Apr 2003 : Column 465W
Enterprise Areas
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many new businesses have (a) sought and (b) secured exemption from stamp duty in enterprise areas. [107675]
John Healey: Stamp duty is charged according to the type of property, rather than the type of buyer so the Inland Revenue does not keep a record of the numbers of businesses or individuals who claim the relief. However, the exemption has been claimed on over 700 commercial property transactions and around 72,000 residential property transactions to date, benefiting buyers of all those properties with an exemption from stamp duty worth up to £1,500 per transaction. The number of claims in relation to commercial property is likely to increase now that the Chancellor has announced the abolition of the existing £150,000 cap for non-residential property from 10 April which will offer unlimited stamp duty relief on non-residential property to businesses investing in the 2000 enterprise areas.
Hospital-acquired Infection
Dr. Fox: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of deaths were officially recorded as being a result of a hospital acquired or secondary infection in each year since 1997–98; and how many people were recorded as having died from such causes in each of those years. [108642]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Dr. Fox, dated 10 April 2003:
- As National Statistician, 1 have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what percentage of deaths were officially recorded as being a result of a hospital acquired or secondary infection in each year since 1997–98; and how many people were recorded as having died from such causes in each of those years. (108642)
- As indicated in the answer to your previous question number 107729, Official Report 80, Column 145, it is not possible to give reliable figures on the number of deaths involving hospital-acquired infections from routinely collected mortality data, as information on where the infection was acquired may not be available to the doctor certifying the death.
National Insurance
Mr. Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what safeguards are in place to ensure that people with gaps in their national insurance records have the opportunity to make voluntary contributions before the deadline. [102604]
Mr. Wood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what system is in place to inform those making national insurance contributions when they have failed to secure the required number of stamps in any given year. [107165]
11 Apr 2003 : Column 466W
Dawn Primarolo: There is normally a six year limit for a contributor to pay Class 3 voluntary contributions to make up gaps in contributions in a past year. The Inland Revenue have announced an extension of the limit in respect of the years 1996–97 to 2001–02 to 5 April 2008. Starting later this year the Inland Revenue will contact people who could have gaps in their records for the years from 1996–97 to 2001–02, to allow them to check their positions and make voluntary contributions if they wish to do so.
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average cost of answering a written parliamentary question is. [107538]
Ruth Kelly: As at April 2002, the average cost of answering a written parliamentary question is £135.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer above what threshold the cost of answering a written parliamentary question is deemed to be disproportionate. [107539]
Ruth Kelly: The advisory cost limit was last increased to £600 from April 2002—11 April 2002, Official Report, column 579W. The latest annual costing exercise has confirmed that this figure remains appropriate.
Special Purpose Vehicles
Mr. Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 5 February 2003, Official Report, column 302W, on the private finance initiative, what assessment he has made of the debt held by PFI stakeholders in special purpose vehicles; and if he will make a statement. [101193]
Mr. Boateng: Banks and other financial institutions generally lend money to PFI special purpose companies in the form of limited-recourse debt, financed by project cash-flows. This money is at risk if the agreed PFI service is not provided.
Investors who hold equity stakes in Special Purpose Vehicles typically do not have an obligation to repay debt. Their equity in PFI companies is, however, at risk if the agreed PFI service is not provided.
PFI builders and facilities managers working under contract with PFI special purpose companies will also not generally be responsible for repaying the debt issued by PFI special purpose companies. However, the terms of their contracts will often put their payments at risk if their works are not delivered satisfactorily, to time, and to budget.
VAT (Blood Products)
Mr. Chope: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 7 April 2003, Official Report, column 26W, on blood products, what representations the UK Government has made to the European Commission about extending the VAT exemption; and whether it is the policy of the Government to support change. [108938]
John Healey: The UK has made representations at official level for change in the scope of the VAT exemption for blood products. However, as my answer
11 Apr 2003 : Column 467W
of 7 April 2003, Official Report, column 26W, made clear, the European Commission has not yet brought forward proposals for change in this area.
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