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Child Care

Ms Buck: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the terms of reference and timescale are for the review of the effectiveness of the national child care strategy in ensuring an adequate supply of affordable child care, as indicated in the Budget Statement. [111761]

Dawn Primarolo: We will announce details in due course. The review will involve dialogue with family and parent groups and voluntary organisations.

Criminal Offences

Simon Hughes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list, broken down by Act, the criminal offences created in legislation sponsored by his Department since 1997. [112111]

Ruth Kelly: Under section 38 of the Bank of England Act 1998, it is a criminal offence to fail to provide information, or to provide false or misleading information, to the Bank of England. Improper disclosure of information received in the exercise of functions conferred by the Bank of England Act 1998 is a criminal offence under Schedule 7 to that Act.

The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 created the following criminal offences:

(1) Carrying on a regulated activity in the United Kingdom without being authorised or exempt under that Act (section 23)

(2) The making of a false claim to be, or falsely holding oneself out as, an authorised or exempt person (section 24)

(3) The communication of an invitation or inducement to engage in a financial services activity, except where that communication is made by, or approved by, a person who is authorised under that Act (section 25)

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(4) Where the Financial Services Authority ("FSA") has required an authorised person to transfer assets to a trustee, any release of or dealing in those assets by the trustee otherwise than with the consent of the FSA (section 48)

(5) Breach of an FSA order prohibiting an individual from performing functions in relation to regulated activities (section 56)

(6) Failure to deliver a copy of listing particulars to the registrar of companies (section 83)

(7) The offer of securities to the public in the United Kingdom before a prospectus is published (where publication is required by listing rules) (section 85)

(8) The issue in the United Kingdom of an advertisement in connection with a listing application without the approval or authorisation of the competent authority (section 98)

(9) Failure to comply with a requirement to provide information or a document imposed by the FSA, failure to comply with a requirement imposed by an investigator appointed by the FSA, provision of false or misleading information or the obstruction of an investigation or the exercise of rights conferred by a warrant issued under the Act (section 177)

(10) Failure to notify the FSA of a change of control over an authorised person or proceeding with a change of control without FSA authorisation (section 191)

(11) Breach of a prohibition or restriction imposed by the Office of Fair Trading on carrying on business relating to consumer credit in the United Kingdom (sections 203 and 204)

(12) The making of a false claim to be, or falsely holding oneself out as, a person who may carry on regulated activities without being authorised by the FSA by virtue of membership of a designated professional body (section 333)

(13) Provision by an authorised person of false or misleading information to an auditor or actuary who is appointed under or as a result of the Act (section 346)

(14) Improper disclosure or use of information received in the exercise of functions conferred by the Act (sections 351 and 352)

(15) Failure by a director of an insurer to notify the FSA of a general meeting at which a resolution for the voluntary winding up of the insurer will be proposed (section 366)

(16) Misleading statements or practices which relate to certain financial services (section 397)

(17) Provision of false or misleading information to the FSA (section 398)

(18) Misleading the Office of Fair Trading (section 399)

(19) Failure by an unauthorised UK firm to comply with the procedural provisions of the Act relating to the carrying on of regulated activities outside the UK (Schedule 3)

(20) Failure by a firm established in an EEA State (other than the UK) to notify the FSA of an intention to carry on regulated activities in the UK (Schedule 4)

(21) Failure to attend or give evidence before the Financial Services and Markets Tribunal (Schedule 13)

The Finance Act 2000 created the following criminal offences:

(1) The possession and sale etc. of unmarked tobacco or the use of premises for sale of unmarked tobacco (sections 8G and 8H of theTobacco Products Duty Act 1979, as amended by section 14)

(2) Being knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of income tax (section 144)

(3) Intentionally to falsify, conceal, destroy or otherwise dispose of a document which is the subject of a production order (section 20BB of the Taxes Management Act 1970, as amended by section 149)

(4) Being knowingly concerned in the evasion of the climate change levy (paragraph 62 of Schedule 6)

(5) Misstatement by false document for the purpose of the climate change levy, conduct involving evasions or misstatements relating to the climate change levy and preparations for the evasion of the climate change levy (paragraphs 93 to 95 of Schedule 6)

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The Finance Act 2001 made being knowingly concerned in, or taking steps with a view to, the fraudulent evasion of the aggregates levy, using a false document for purposes connected with the aggregates levy, conduct involving misstatements or evasions of the aggregates levy and preparations for evasion of the aggregates levy criminal offences (paragraphs 1 to 4 of Schedule 6). Under section 18 of the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001, it is a criminal offence to contravene a direction given by the Secretary of State which prohibits disclosure of information for the purposes of specified overseas criminal proceedings. Section 35 of the Tax Credits Act 2002 creates the criminal offence of being knowingly concerned in any fraudulent activity undertaken with a view to obtaining payments of a tax credit.

Debt Restructuring Mechanism

Mr. Colman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on progress at the Spring Meeting of the IMF on the introduction of the legal framework of the sovereign debt restructuring mechanism. [110038]

John Healey: At the Spring Meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) on 12 April, ministers discussed the report of the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund on a Statutory Sovereign Debt Restructuring Mechanism. The conclusion of that discussion is set out in the IMFC communique released on 12 April as:

"The Committee welcomes the work of the IMF in developing a concrete proposal for a statutory sovereign debt restructuring mechanism (SDRM) and expresses its appreciation for the IMF management and staffs efforts. The extensive analysis and consultation undertaken in developing the proposal have served to promote better understanding of the issues to be addressed in bringing about orderly resolution of crises. The Managing Director's report sets out the current position. The Committee, while recognizing that it is not feasible now to move forward to establish the SDRM, agrees that work should continue on issues raised in its development that are of general relevance to the orderly resolution of financial crises. These issues include inter-creditor equity considerations, enhancing transparency and disclosure, and aggregation issues. The IMF will report on progress at the Committee's next meeting."

Employment

Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the population of working age was in work in each of the last 30 years. [110689]

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

Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Frank Field, dated 6 May 2003:

The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about employment rates. I am replying in his absence. (110689)

The attached table gives the information requested for the three month periods ending May of each year from 1984 to 2002. The latest available estimates, for the three month period ending February 2003 are also given. These estimates are from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and are seasonally adjusted. This information is not available on a consistent basis for prior to 1984.

Employment rates⁽¹⁾ for people of working⁽²⁾ age—United Kingdom, spring and winter quartersSeasonally adjusted

	Percentage
Spring
1984	68.8
1985	69.6
1986	69.7
1987	70.4
1988	72.7
1989	74.5
1990	74.9
1991	73.2
1992	71.2
1993	70.3
1994	70.7
1995	71.2
1996	71.8
1997	72.7
1998	73.3
1999	73.7
2000	74.4
2001	74.6
2002	74.4
Winter
2002–03	74.6

⁽¹⁾ Working age people in employment as a percentage of the working age population.

⁽²⁾ Men aged 16–64 and women aged 16–59.

Note:

These Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates have been interim-adjusted to take account of the recent Census 2001 results.

Source:

ONS Labour Force Survey

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