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Written Answers to Questions

Thusday 1 May 2003

TREASURY

Child Tax Credit

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many couples that have applied for the child tax credit have opted for payment to (a) the mother and (b) the father. [110938]

Ruth Kelly: Statistics on the Child and Working Tax Credit will be published quarterly, beginning in August 2003. The first set of statistics will cover awards at early July 2003

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, what assessment he has made of what population base provides reliable New Earnings Survey data for use by the ODPM to calculate area cost adjustment. [109365]

Mr. Raynsford: I have been asked to reply.

The area cost adjustment is calculated using New Earnings Survey (NES) data. This data contain no information on the size of an areas resident population. Office for National Statistics uses national insurance numbers to select those who participate in the survey.

The NES does contain information on the area in which the survey respondent lives and in which they work. Information on the area in which the survey respondent works is used in the calculation of the area cost adjustment.

The area cost adjustment (ACA) has been calculated for each 1991 county in line with the recommendations of the independent Elliott review of the area cost adjustment. The exception to this rule is that the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has further refined the ACA geography around London, by acknowledging fringe and non fringe areas in the counties which surround London, and by separating Greater London into four ACA areas.

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister calculates the ACA for county areas because we wish to produce robust ACA factors that are stable over time. For individual authorities the NES sample size can be small and small samples can lead to volatility. In reforming the ACA the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has had to strike a balance between more finely reflecting local labour market pressures, by calculating the ACA for smaller areas, and providing stable and robust ACA factors each year.

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Families With Children

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families with children there are in the UK. [110836]

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

Letter from Len Cook to David Willets, dated 1 April 2003:



Iraq

Tony Baldry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 19 March, Official Report, column 761W, on Iraq, what plans he has to make new funding available to the Department for International Development for humanitarian relief efforts during the conflict. [105253]

Mr. Boateng: In the Budget Statement of 9 April, the Chancellor announced the provision of $100 million to support the UN and the work of reconstruction and development in Iraq. This is in addition to the £240 million the Government has already set aside for humanitarian relief. The Government will consider further action as needed, in the context of future developments.

National Insurance

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost will be to public funds in 2003–04 of the rise in national insurance contributions on the salary bill of his Department. [107896]

Mr. Boateng: 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. this year.

National Minimum Wage

Andy King: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, for a couple with one child under 16 and one adult in work for 35 hours a week receiving the National Minimum Wage of £4.50 an hour from April, by how much she estimates the 30p a week increase in the National Minimum Wage will be eroded by (a) the resulting increase in national insurance contributions, (b) the resulting reduction in housing and council tax benefits, (c) the average increase in council tax on band D in London, (d) the average increase in social housing rents by local authorities and (e) the average increase in social housing rents by housing associations in London. [106591]

Mr. Boateng: As a result of the increase in the National Minimum Wage to £4.50 and the introduction of the Working and Child Tax credits a couple with one earner working full time on the National Minimum Wage will be £6.93 per week better off in real terms from

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October 2003 than they were over 2002–03. This includes the impact of the rise in National Insurance Contributions.

Even after average increases (across England) in rents and Council Tax this family will be £2.39 better off per week. Only some households in these circumstances will be eligible for Housing or Council Tax Benefit.

Regional Pay

Mr. Watts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to introduce regional pay for public services following his announcement that he intended to introduce a regional retail price increase table for all regions. [109362]

Mr. Boateng: Remits for pay review bodies and for public sector workers, including the civil service, will in future include a stronger local and regional dimension.

Further details will be announced in the coming months.

TRANSPORT

Air Transport (Consultation)

Andy King: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister about the effect of planning blight on domestic properties as a result of the National Consultation on the Future of Air Transport in the UK. [110362]

Mr. Jamieson: Prior to the publication of the airports' consultation documents last year, we consulted a number of departments, including the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. We will continue a dialogue within Government in the run-up to the Air Transport White Paper.

Car Clubs

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if the Government will establish a challenge fund for local authorities for car clubs; [110934]

Mr. Jamieson: My right hon. Friend the Minister for Transport announced the Government's response to the Motorist's Forum's Report on car sharing and car clubs on 3 December 2002, Official Report, column 72WS. The response outlined the work and further support it will give in this field.

The response was placed in the Libraries of the House and is also available on DfT's website at http://www.local-transport.dft.gov.uk/travelplans/mforum/index.htm.

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Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the impact upon CO2 emissions in 2010 of his revised forecast that car fuel costs will drop by 30 per cent.over the present decade, rather than the 20 per cent. assumption in the original 10 year transport plan. [110074]

Mr. Jamieson: In our revised forecasts, fuel costs in 2010 (measured in pence per km driven) are forecast to be only 1 per cent lower than assumed for 2010 in the original 10 Year Plan. This is estimated to increase CO2 by approximately 0.1 MtC in 2010.

It should be noted that the forecast drop in car fuel costs between 2000 and 2010 of 30 per cent., compared with 20 per cent. forecast in the original 10 year Transport Plan has arisen from two main factors. The first is that the actual base year (2000) fuel price was higher than that originally estimated (although this has no direct impact on 2010 costs) and secondly, that the forecast for fuel duty, which takes into account changes since 2000, will be lower. The underlying forecast for car fuel efficiency improvements remains unchanged.

Civil Service (People with Disabilities)

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made in meeting targets for the proportion of people with disabilities in senior posts in the Department. [110529]

Mr. Jamieson: The Department for Transport currently has 0.1 per cent. of senior civil servants (SCS) with a disability. Following last year's machinery of government changes, we are yet to revise the former DTLR diversity targets for DfT. However, we are reviewing this, and are working with two other departments on work they are doing on modelling for setting targets for under-represented groups in the senior civil service and below. It is expected that a model will be in place by the summer. In addition to this, we propose to undertake a disability resurvey of all our staff later in the year.

We are engaged in a number of measures and initiatives to help increase the representation of disabled people in more senior posts. The Department advertises open competition vacancies in media targeted at disabled people eg Disability Now, and Ready, Willing and Able as well as other medium. We also operate a guaranteed interview scheme (commonly known as "Two Ticks") whereby all disabled applicants meeting the minimum criteria for advertised posts are guaranteed an interview.

The Department is a corporate sponsor of the Employers Forum on Disability, and has a contract with disability consultants to advise on disability issues including ways in which we might increase the representation of disabled people within the Department.

We are continuing to support the Cabinet Office Disability Bursary Scheme, and are providing central funding for two successful applicants on the 2003 scheme. We also ran a short career development workshop for disabled staff in 2000 and 2001. We are offering work placements to disabled graduates in the summer to undertake specific high level projects, and

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will continue to monitor the progress of these measures, and consider additional initiatives to help bring about an increase in the proportion of disabled staff at senior levels.

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