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EU Committees
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list (a) the names, titles and grades of the officials who sit on the EU Economic and Financial Committee, (b) the number of times, and the dates, on which it has met since January 2002, (c) the agenda items it has considered since January 2002, (d) the decisions it has made since January 2002 and (e) the means used to communicate the decisions to the House. [110307]
Ruth Kelly: The role and responsibilities of the Economic and Financial Committee are set out in Article 114(2) (ex 109c(2)) of the EU Treaty and in the Statutes of the Economic and Financial Committee, which were adopted by the ECOFIN Council on 31 December 1998.
Since the start of January 2002, The Economic and Financial Committee has met on 20 occasions. In accordance with Article 114(2) of the EU Treaty, member states each appoint two members of the Committee: the UK is represented by one official from HM Treasury and one official from the Bank of England. Each of these representatives has one Alternate.
The items considered by the Economic and Financial Committee since January 2002 were those discussed in the following months by the ECOFIN Council. The Government updates Parliament after each ECOFIN Council meeting in the form of a response to a written Parliamentary Question. Accountability and transparency to Parliament is further ensured by the regular EU scrutiny process.
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Financial Services
Mrs. Calton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the level of access to insurance, pensions and mortgage services among teenagers who are recovering from cancer. [109650]
Ruth Kelly: The Treasury has made no assessment of the level of access to financial services among teenagers who are recovering from cancer.
Foreign Investment
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the value of a multi-national agreement on foreign private investment in developing countries. [103524]
John Healey: The UK government recognises that foreign direct investment (FDI) is important for developing countries. It establishes long-term commitments and lasting assets, which bring new technologies, skills and products into developing countries. The UK Government has made an assessment that a basic framework of multilateral rules on FDI will reinforce sound domestic policies to attract FDI. Such a framework would help developing countries send a positive signal to potential foreign investors about the permanence of policy changes and the expected standard of treatment afforded to foreign investors.
Existing multilateral rules only partially cover FDI issues, and the proliferation of bilateral investment treaties does not provide a substitute for a coherent, basic framework of multilateral rules. Moreover, the UK government believes that the proposed agreement will have particular benefits for smaller developing countries which do not have the resources to negotiate numerous bilateral treaties or devise and implement an investment regime independently. We believe that the EU proposal under which WTO members would choose which sectors they wish to open up to FDI, offers a balanced and flexible approach, preserving countries' right to regulate in order to pursue national development objectives.
Iraq
Mr. Howard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 1 April 2003, to the hon Member for Eddisbury (Mr. O'Brien), Official Report, column 616W, on Iraq, what representations he has received from aid agencies and other non-governmental organisations regarding the likely cost of humanitarian aid in Iraq; and what discussions he has had with (a) ECOFIN and (b) the UN regarding the funding of measures to meet humanitarian needs. [108544]
John Healey: The Chancellor has not received any formal written representations from aid agencies or other non-governmental organisations regarding the likely cost of humanitarian aid in Iraq.
ECOFIN has not formally discussed the funding of measures to meet humanitarian needs. However the commission has reported to ECOFIN Ministers its preliminary assessment in relation to the allocation of
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funds for humanitarian aid from the EU budget at the Informal ECOFIN on 5 April. The Paymaster General attended this meeting for the UK.
There have been no discussions between the Chancellor and the UN regarding the funding of measures to meet humanitarian needs in Iraq.
The Chancellor announced on 27 March that a total of £240 million had been set aside for humanitarian assistance in Iraq. £90 million of this is from the Department for International Development budgets and £120 million from the Reserve. In addition, £30 million has been allocated for the Ministry of Defence to provide immediate assistance on the ground. In his Budget Statement on 9 April, the Chancellor set aside £60 million to back up the UN and the work of reconstruction and development in Iraq. This is additional to the funds already earmarked for Iraq.
Market Research
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what expenditure has been incurred by his (a) Department, (b) agencies and (c) non-departmental bodies in 2002 on (i) opinion polling, (ii) focus groups and (iii) other forms of market research; and if he will list the surveys commissioned and the purpose of each. [106261]
Ruth Kelly: Detailed information in the form requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Marriage Ceremonies
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost of marriage ceremonies is for each of the registration districts in England and Wales, for (a) weekday and (b) weekend ceremonies. [109996]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Registrar General. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Dr. Brian Iddon, dated 28 April 2003:
- As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning the cost of marriage ceremonies for each registration district. (109996)
- The cost of a civil marriage ceremony at a register office in England and Wales is £34.00 for any day of the week. The fee for civil marriages in approved premises, which are buildings approved by local authorities for the solemnisation of civil marriages, are set by local authorities on a cost recovery basis. Marriage fees for the Church of England. Church in Wales and other religious denominations are determined by the religious body concerned. Information on the cost of marriage ceremonies outside register offices is not held centrally.
New Business Creation
Jon Trickett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will make a further statement about the proposal to allow local authorities to share with Her Majesty's Treasury the benefits of new business creation outlined in the Budget speech. [109921]
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John Healey: The Government will consult this summer on the detailed proposals for a scheme to allow local authorities to retain some or all of the increases in business rates revenue as a result of economic growth in their area.
Public and Utilities Contracts
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received about the Public Contracts (Work Services and Supply) and Utilities Contracts (Amendment) Regulations. [109952]
Mr. Boateng: I have not received any representations about these Regulations.
Public Liability Insurance
Vernon Coaker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the level of premiums charged for public liability insurance in 2003–04 compared to 2002–03; and if he will make a statement. [109425]
Ruth Kelly: We do not collect regular information on UK public liability insurance premium costs, nor forecast changes in the level of premiums.
Public Service Agreement
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what grades of officials are responsible for the monitoring of progress towards the public service agreement targets of the department. [109465]
Mr. Boateng: Monitoring progress towards the department's PSA targets is undertaken by a wide variety of staff at all levels of the organisation.
Share Owning
Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of the UK population have held shares in each year from 1974 to date. [108950]
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of the UK population have held shares in each year since 1973. [109338]
Maria Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
Information is not available in the format requested. Such information for Great Britain is available in the table.
| Type of saving | ||
|---|---|---|
| Stocks and shares | Stocks and shares, ISAs, PEPs, TESSAs, unit trusts | |
| 1997–98 | 22 | 31 |
| 1998–99 | 21 | 31 |
| 1999–2000 | 20 | 32 |
| 2000–01 | 19 | 34 |
| 2001–02 | 19 | 37 |
1. All figures are estimates and are taken from the Family Resources Survey (FRS). A consistent series for assets and savings is available from 1997–98. 2001–02 is the latest year for which data is available.
2. Adults include all those aged 16 and over, except for 16 to 18-year-olds in full-time non-advanced education; all adults in the household are interviewed as part of the FRS.
3. Figures for investment income are particularly problematic. Questions on assets are a sensitive part of the FRS questionnaire and have relatively low level of response, and hence higher levels of imputation, compared to other parts of the survey. Responses are imputed in around one in 10 cases.
4. The estimates are based on sample counts that have been adjusted for non-response using multi-purpose grossing factors that control for tenure type, council tax band and a number of demographic variables. Estimates are subject to sampling error and remaining response bias.
5. The final column of the table shows the percentage of adults reporting one or more of the categories: stocks and shares, unit trusts, TESSAs, PEPs and ISAs. Note that not all ISAs, PEPs, unit trusts and TESSAs will be share based.
Source:
Family Resources Survey (Great Britain).
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