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13 May 2003 : Column 238W—continued
Retirement
Mr. Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions by what age the majority of (a) males and (b) male manual workers have ceased to work. [112892]
Mr. Nicholas Brown: In the year March 2002 to February 2003, 52.2 per cent. of men aged 62 were economically active compared to 48.8 per cent. of men aged 63 1 .
It is not possible to give comparable figures for male manual workers only.
- 1 Source:
- Labour Force Survey GB March 2002-February 2003.
13 May 2003 : Column 239W
TREASURY
Birth Certificates
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer under what circumstances parents can apply for the birth certificate for their child to be issued in Welsh; and if he will make a statement. [112190]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Lembit Öpik, dated 13 May 2003:
- As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales, I have been asked to reply to your recent question concerning the circumstances under which parents can apply for the birth certificate of their child to be issued in Welsh rather than English. (112190)
- For a birth occurring in Wales, if the entry in the register is in Welsh and English, then the birth certificate will be bilingual. There is no current provision in law for a birth certificate to be issued in Welsh only.
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what guidance his Department has issued to local registrars on the issuing of birth certificates in the Welsh language to parents who have made this request; and if he will make a statement. [112191]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Lembit Öpik, dated 13 May 2003:
- As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales I have been asked to reply to your recent question concerning the guidance issued to local registrars over the issuing of birth certificates in the Welsh language. (112191)
- As Registrar General, I issue instructions and guidance to registration officers in England and Wales. The form of entry in the registers of births is prescribed. For Wales, it is bi-lingual and the particulars may be recorded in Welsh and English or in English only. Registration officers are instructed that on issuing a certified copy of an entry in a birth register it must contain the details as they appear in the register. Consequently if the details in respect of a birth in Wales were recorded in Welsh and English then any certified copy will contain the details in both languages. If the details were recorded in English only they will appear on the certified copy in English only.
Correspondence
Mr. Steen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Totnes of 19 March 2003 concerning VAT on medicines administered to animals. [112824]
Departmental Staff
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of regional variations in staff turnover in his Department. [112752]
Ruth Kelly: All Treasury staff are based in London.
13 May 2003 : Column 240W
Euro
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact of the exchange rate of the pound to the euro on export performance. [112289]
Ruth Kelly: A full assessment of the prospects for UK exports can be found in the Budget Report (HC 500, Chapter B).
Illegal Food Imports
Andrew George: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent (a) discussions he has had and (b) representations he has received on the application of intelligence by his Department in preventing illegal food imports from entering the United Kingdom. [112557]
John Healey: Customs worked closely in 2002–03 with Defra, Port Health Authorities and local authorities, who were then the lead enforcement agencies for illegal imports of meat and animal products, to improve intelligence relating to these imports.
The Statutory Instrument which effected the transfer of anti-smuggling controls to Customs with effect from 11 April 2003 contains a statutory gateway which enables Customs to strengthen their intelligence gathering and sharing with the other enforcement agencies.
Discussions are taking place this week between Customs, Defra and the Veterinary Laboratories Agencies to develop the risk assessment released by Defra on 25 March 2003.
Andrew George: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures his Department is taking to tackle illegal food imports into the United Kingdom. [112558]
John Healey: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the written ministerial statement made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 25 March 2003, Official Report, column 5WS.
The Draft Action Plan will be finalised following a Stakeholder Forum today, which provides an opportunity for discussion with interested parties.
Sponsorship
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which of his Department's projects have received sponsorship in the last financial year; who the sponsor was in each case; what the nature of each project was; what time period was covered by each project; what the total cost of each project was; how much money was involved in each sponsorship deal; and if he will make a statement. [112403]
Ruth Kelly: There were no occurrences of private sponsorship of my Department's activities in the two financial years ending 31 March 2002 and 31 March 2003. This information will be disclosed in the Treasury's forthcoming Departmental Report.
13 May 2003 : Column 241W
Tax Credits
Mr. Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many multiple identity tax credit fraud investigations are under way; and what the maximum number of identities assumed for a given case is. [112341]
Dawn Primarolo: There are currently 18 multiple identity tax credit fraud investigations under way. The maximum number of suspected false identities in one case is 200.
Mr. Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many multiple identity tax credit fraud investigations have been conducted in each year since tax credits were introduced; and what the maximum number of identities assumed for a given case was in each of those years. [112342]
Dawn Primarolo: In 1999–2000 there was one investigation This involved one suspected false identity.
In 2000–01 there were 10 investigations involving multiple identity tax credit fraud. The maximum number of suspected false identities in one case was 66.
In 2001–02 there were 18 investigations involving multiple identity tax credit fraud. The maximum number of suspected false identities involved in one case was again 66.
13 May 2003 : Column 242W
In 2002–03 there were 21 investigations involving multiple identity tax credit fraud. The maximum number of suspected false identities involved was 200.
All new tax credit applications are screened automatically before payment is made to pick up cases of suspected identity fraud.
Mr. Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many of his staff have been (a) disciplined, (b) suspended, (c) dismissed, (d) prosecuted and (e) convicted for matters relating to tax credit fraud in each year since tax credits were introduced; and what amount of tax credit was defrauded in each case. [112343]
Dawn Primarolo: The figures for the Inland Revenue for each year are:
- 1999–2000: None
2000–01: One prosecution leading to a conviction and involving £675. A second case is still proceeding, the amount suspected to be involved is less than £500.
2001–02: One case which is still proceeding, the amount suspected to be involved is approximately £6,000.
2002–03: Two cases which are still proceeding, the amounts suspected to be involved are approximately £10,000 in each case.
There have been no cases in which Treasury or Customs and Excise have taken disciplinary action against staff in respect of tax credit fraud.