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Unemployment (Over 50s)

Mr. Waterson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of (a) men and (b) women aged over 50 is unemployed. [110181]

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. Nigel Waterson, dated 28 April 2003:

As National Statistician. I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about unemployment rates for men and women aged over 50. (110181)

The unemployment rate for men aged 50 or over is 4.1 per cent and the unemployment rate for women aged 50 or over is 2.4 per cent. These estimates are from the Labour Force Survey, for the three month period ending February 2003, and are seasonally adjusted.

Working Population

Mr. Waterson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of the working age population is over 50. [110182]

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. Nigel Waterson, dated 28 April 2003:

As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question concerning the percentage of the working age population who are over 50. (110182)

For the United Kingdom in mid-2001, 24.4 per cent of the working age population (16–64/59 for males and females respectively) are aged 50 and over (50–64/59 for males and females respectively).

Age Discrimination

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department is taking to address the issue of age discrimination. [109456]

Ruth Kelly: The provisions in 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.

Building Contracts

Norman Lamb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether PFI and PPP building contracts have to meet environmental criteria set by his Department or by others, beyond the requirements of building regulations; [108853]

(2) what arrangements are in place to ensure that PFI and PPP building contracts meet high environmental standards. [108852]

Mr. Boateng: Joint guidance promoting high environmental standards in PFI and PPP projects was issued in July 2002 by the Office of Government

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Commerce; the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; the Department for Transport and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Moreover, by integrating the design, build and operational aspects of a project into a single financial package, PFI helps to maximise efficiency, including energy efficiency, over the whole life of the contract.

Child Trust Funds

Mr. Howard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether children eligible for the child trust fund but born before accounts are set up will receive interest on the Government's payments into the fund during that interim period. [110231]

Ruth Kelly: As stated in the Budget, the Government will publish its full proposals for the Child Trust Fund in summer 2003.

Mr. Brady: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he plans to take account of funds paid by the Exchequer into child trust funds in the future calculation of the savings ratio. [109426]

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. Graham Brady dated 28 April 2003:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question on child trust funds.

The treatment of child trust funds in the national accounts has not yet been decided.

Climate Change Levy

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received about the Climate Change Levy (General) (Amendment) Regulations. [109438]

John Healey: Following the Chancellor's 2002 announcement to extend the current CCL exemption for good quality electricity produced in Combined Heat and Power (CHP) stations, a number of representations were received from trade associations and individual businesses commenting on a draft of the Climate Change Levy (General) (Amendment) Regulations 2003. After the Regulations were made and laid, one further representation was received from an organisation seeking to clarify its position in relation to simplified arrangements for small scale CHP.

Company Employee Development Schemes

Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether company employee development schemes remain exempt from being treated as a taxable benefit under the Budget proposals. [109081]

Ruth Kelly: If the hon. Gentleman has in mind employment training and skills development, there is nothing in the Budget proposals to affect any existing tax exemption for such employer provided training.

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Departmental Accommodation

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the value of purpose built office accommodation owned by the Office of National Statistics at Drummond Gate in London, referred to in the 2001 National Asset Register; what the value is of motor vehicles owned by the ONS; and if he will make a statement. [107444]

Ruth Kelly [holding answer 8 April 2003]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.

Letter from Len Cook to Mr. David Laws, dated 28 April 2003:

As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question concerning the estimated value of purpose built office accommodation owned by the Office of National Statistics at Drummond Gate in London, referred to in the 2001 National Asset Register, and what the value of motor vehicles owned by the ONS. (107444).

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) rents Drummond Gate from the Metropolitan Police. However, ONS includes on its balance sheet the cost of building refurbishments at Drummond Gate, the written down value of which at 31 March 2003 amounts to £21,384,000.

The written down value of motor vehicles owned by ONS at 31 March 2003 amounts to £96,000.

Earnings

Mr. Michael Foster: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 16 December 2002, Official Report, columns 606–7W, on average earnings, how much more reliable the new earnings survey figures are for (a) the West Midlands region and (b) Herefordshire and Worcestershire than the figures for Worcestershire. [109355]

Mr. Raynsford: I have been asked to reply.

The reliability of average earnings estimates can be gauged by looking at the coefficient of variation for that estimate. That is the standard error of the average, expressed as a percentage of the average. The smaller the coefficient of variation, the better the estimate. For the areas stated above the average weekly wage and coefficient of variation are as follows:

Area	Average Gross Weekly Earnings (£)(30)	Coefficient of variation (%)
West Midlands Government Office region	427.30	0.9
Hereford and Worcester ACA area	395.13	1.6
Worcestershire	400.5	1.9
Hereford UA	375.7	3.0

⁽³⁰⁾ New Earnings Survey, April 2002, Full-time employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey period was unaffected by absence.

The difference between the above figure for the Hereford and Worcester ACA area and that given on 16 December 2002, reflects the fact that unitary authorities are excluded from the published estimates of New Earnings Survey average wages in county areas. Therefore, the Hereford and Worcester estimate given previously corresponds to Worcestershire only.

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Economic Cycle

Mr. Howard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to paragraph C4 of Budget 2003, if he will set out his assumption of the date, by quarter, for the ending of the current economic cycle. [110247]

Ruth Kelly: As shown in Chart B4 on page 226 of the 2003 Budget Report (HC500), the current economic cycle is projected to end in the fourth quarter of 2005.

Employment Statistics (Hemsworth)

Jon Trickett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of working age people in the Hemsworth constituency were in employment in (a) 2002–03 and (b) 1996–97. [109900]

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. Jon Trickett, dated 28 April 2003:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question about employment in the Hemsworth constituency. (109900)

The working age employment rate in the Hemsworth constituency for the twelve month period ending February 1997 was 60.1 per cent. The rate for the twelve month period ending February 2002 was 65.5 per cent. These estimates are from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). Estimates of employment rates for Parliamentary Constituency areas for the twelve month period ending February 2003 are not yet available.

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